LavenderCoffee
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Everything posted by LavenderCoffee
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I find this blend to be quite subtle and instantly wearable. The dead leaves are recognizable on application but not screechy or sharp. The vanilla helps bring the leaves and praline together, and the praline is fairly unassuming. I get the "warm, caramel-y nutty" impression mentioned above tossed together with the leaves: whiff of this, whiff of that. Nicely done!
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I FOMOed myself into getting this because I love sweet patchouli. I initially passed because I don't enjoy honeysuckle. So after a good long rest, of course I get a whisper of yummy patch, and then vanilla honeysuckle is doing a big old "nyah nyah" right in my face. Maybe I will put this in a drawer and forget about it and it will turn into something more pleasing, or maybe I will rehome it.
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This is a beautiful vanilla almond in the bottle, but fresh on my skin tonka takes over and adds a weird dirty/waxy quality that mutes the other notes - this happened to me with last year's tonka duets. Fully dry, the vanilla almond fights its way back through, with some musky ambrette, allspice, and ...dirty tonka. Boooo.
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Every rum cake recipe I've seen calls for a butter rum sauce to be poured over the finished cake. This blend seems to have butter rum sauce in the recipe too! Plus whipped cream and pumpkin notes can go into buttery territory, so that's likely why this is all butter when freshly applied. After it dries for ~20 minutes or so, Pumpkin Rum Cake starts to remind me of Zipline II: tasty pumpkin rum cookies. I only get a hint of coconut, and I'm not getting much of the pumpkin pie spice, but I don't miss it, since it tends to stomp out other notes in my experience.
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Dead Leaves, Vanilla Bean, Pink Fig, and Brandied Dates
LavenderCoffee replied to Seajewel's topic in Halloweenie
This is one of my favorite weenies this year. I'm a fig person. Are you a fig person? This DL blend is for us. It goes on very fruity (almost juicy!) and vanillic with a nice shot of brandy - all the notes are there except the DL, to my nose. Then as it dries, the dead leaves sneak in and fill out the background. Very different from my usual experience with DL blends, because normally the leaves are the ones to rush up to greet you. I wasn't sure how the sweet fruit would work with the leaves, but they balance really nicely, and I think the vanilla bean helps bridge the gap. The booziness of the brandy fades, and this becomes a gently sweet, earthy fig blend. A lovely bridge from Fall to Winter. This kind of fig note wears all day for me, with enough throw for a nice personal scent bubble. Excited to see how the vanilla in this will evolve with age. -
The honey in this is not agreeing with me at all, and it's the loudest note in the blend when applied to my skin. I have several honey scents I love, but I don't think this one will work out.
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I'm enjoying this one more than I thought I would. It begins with a lemony floofy marshmallow and settles into a somewhat dry tea scent with some sweetness around the edges. Not getting much honey or cream, but still quite nice.
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I only tested this briefly because my sister loved it so much I had to give her my decant. The only thing that jumped out at me was that the rose cream reminded me a bit of the poinsettia gown, but this blend is not as rich than that one, and it's tricky to pick out many other distinct notes. The honey was not overpowering, and I wouldn't call it a floral blend, if you are concerned about the jasmine or rose. edit/update: lies, it is definitely a floral blend, but it is also slinky and creamy and subtle, low throw and come hither - agree that the color impression is indigo/purpley. some other recent blends with a linen note have been Very Linen/Laundry but this one is not. I definitely get the wildflower honey, jasmine milk, and rose-touched sweet cream notes all swirled together in a silky smooth blend. I am also getting a bit of seashell in the drydown. really nice.
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This one starts in a very promising place for me. The chestnut/russet vibes are great and well balanced with the sweetness from the fig, but then the myrrh really amps up on me and brings out more powder in the musk. Very minimal clove in this.
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This is a lovely pink sandalwood, but that white chocolate/mallow flower combo is creating a big ol poufy sweet cloud around it. It feels very flouncy and silly and fun.
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Champa Orchid, Chocolate, and Vetiver
LavenderCoffee replied to Silvertree's topic in Duets & Menage A Trois
Freshly applied the chocolate is most evident, but it recedes quickly. The blend is chocolate flavored, not chocolate forward. The champa orchid has less of an incensey character and less throw here but it still blooms up into prominence. I think the vetiver is keeping the volume down on the champa without becoming too loud itself. This is an interesting, velvety-quiet combination on my skin. -
I get a big hit of white sage at first, then as it dries the strawberry and currant are coming through - quite a shift! I am regrettably unfamiliar with the carnaval characters in the mix. Curious to see how this develops over time. ETA: as this is wearing it is reminding me of the strawberry/may rose/red musk trio, but less juicy and with an herbal backdrop ETA again: more aspects of the carnaval characters emerge later in the dry phase for me, here are the notes to save you some clicking: Mlle.: Coconut and a bit of sugar with pomegranate, pink musk, orange blossom, cypress, honey myrtle, and incense. Mme.: Red musk, vanilla bean, pomegranate, black currant, patchouli leaf and wild plum. Theodosius: Earl Grey tea leaves, a white fougere, jasmine leaf, pearlescent white musk, and vanilla bean.
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Wow, this is stunning. Of the Roy G Biv spectrum of scent notes, the red/orange/yellow end goes on brightest when freshly applied, especially king mandarin and dragon's blood. As it warms and dries on my skin I get more of the moss and musk lurking behind Frank(incense) and Roy, adding a cologne-like dimension to this golden amber-hearted scent composition. Not getting much plum, but if it has any acidic sourness to it, it's probably hiding out with mandarin.
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I really dig this. I passed on it initially because amber/coconut/tuberose are all iffy for me, but those notes don't come across very strongly on my skin. I get smoked vanilla/honey/orange blossom and it is divine. The smoked vanilla is so gorgeous, I just cannot stop sniffing myself. Plus the musk seems to anchor the other notes really well to give the scent some staying power. It doesn't have a ton of throw, but you don't have to go nose to skin to pick it up. Also agree this has a tobacco sort of vibe to it.
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Heloise really does smell like a charming haunted witch puppet - stranger than the sum of her scent notes. Her scent is a bit sour and green, like she was working on a potion with eye of newt, etc. Maybe she was in the vicinity when Witches' Lace 2019 was being brewed. I suppose the polished aspect of the polished limewood (broomstick?) is what's coming forward, but it's not as prominent as other polish/lacquer notes I've smelled. There is much less of a dusty aspect than with Abelard, although the hint of smoke and spice suggest some age - myrrh has been burnt and only smoke remains, the blackened bits of spices served their purpose. I am also testing Abelard and A&H together. Together, they smell happier and less haunted, more like a pair of well-loved old puppets you might keep in a drawer. The sourness of Heloise and the stale dusty aspect of Abelard are tempered when they are combined. It's not quite like putting the lime with the coconut, but they clearly belong together. I think I'd be more inclined to wear Heloise as a standalone scent because of the witchy-ness. Edited to clarify the A&H combined scent - it's kinda cozy.
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Abelard really does smell like a charming haunted clown puppet - stranger than the sum of his scent notes. It's almost like he lived with a puppeteer that smoked cigars 100 years ago, even though he no longer smells like any kind of tobacco. There is an overall dusty old wood type of effect, although there is also a bit of sweetness that I suspect is coconut husk with frankincense, and something sortof sharp that might be pearwood. It's maddening and wonderful to try to pick out the notes in this unfamiliar context. I am also testing Heloise and A&H together. Together, they smell happier and less haunted, more like a pair of well-loved old puppets you might keep in a drawer. The sourness of Heloise and the stale dusty aspect of Abelard are tempered when they are combined. It's not quite like putting the lime with the coconut, but they clearly belong together. Edited to clarify the A&H combined scent - it's kinda cozy.
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On wet, this is mostly lavender violet tears. Tears are coming across as a nice salty wet smell that goes well with lavender. (Paging fans of the lavender/sea salt/rain trio.) Drying down the pumpkin and sandalwood start to come through, and it is just the puree, no pumpkin spice to be found. I can't say I've smelled purple sandalwood before, but it provides a nice sturdy base here for the other notes. Lavender and tears hang out in the top range, while violets hang out with the pumpkin in the middle. The tears are not capital A aquatic, but they're not Not aquatic, and they provide a nice contrast to the spoopy purple pumpkin. Nothing soapy happening - just atmospheric and a bit salty. This could be the sad cousin of Every Day is Halloween. Instead of the booming warmth of toasted pumpkin and sandalwood, this is a subtle, cool salty pumpkin sandalwood with a handful of crushed flowers. Definitely an unusual pumpkin blend. It doesn't have a ton of throw but I keep wanting to sniff this, I think it's the violet/sandalwood combo. Really nice.
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My skin loves apples, but I don't always love apples on my skin. Lucky for me, even though I'm getting mostly bourbon apples and then pumpkin stuff, I must confess that bourbon apples with pumpkin stuff smells delish. Fully dry there is a suggestion of candy corn in the form of a light vanillic sweetness. Was hoping to get more candy and coffee from this - my two favorite food groups! In my head this is Prairie Witch goes to Target. I like Prairie Witch on the prairie better, but I still wanna hang onto this one because I also like distorting time and hoarding BPAL. 😅
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Freshly applied, Sheut smells like a faceful of the lemon balm growing in (taking over) my front garden beds. Then in short order, there is something pleasantly sinus tickling, like camphor, as mentioned above. It's lemony, sweet, resinous, camphorous. After a few minutes, the Vicks aspect calms down and I get frankincense more clearly. It's not incredibly long lived on my skin but it is rather pleasant while it's there. A morning pick-me-up sort of scent.
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I love this muffin! It's perfect: warm, muffiny, comforting. Pumpkin spice behaving itself on my skin, and I get chocolate chips more after the oil has dried. I kinda want to put a dab of Pinched w/Four Pumpkins with it, or Pumpkin Snake Latte. A delightful muffin on its own, and also an option for layering!
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Dead Leaves, Honeycomb, and Vanilla Butter
LavenderCoffee replied to Seajewel's topic in Halloweenie
This is one of the DL blends that works well for me. I didn't jump on it right away, but I'm glad I was able to find some. A year of mellowing has probably worked some magic here, since I don't get knocked over with a mountain of leaves right away, but the honeyed vanilla butter is immediately, richly present. Everything settles in cozily together, and I agree with artisjok that this and Snake's Kiss share a similar vibe. The leaves add an almost nutty, apple-y quality to the honey sweetened vanilla, which is the star of the show. -
Well, this is positively delightful! One hundred percent as advertised, does exactly what it says. In the bottle and fresh on, there's a bit more of a Kool-aid type thing going on, but given a moment to open up on the skin, it's all gorgeous ripe strawberries luxuriously covered in honey. A rich, sweet, red and gold scent.
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I'm not sure if I love everything with ambrette seed in it or not, but I'm batting a thousand for everything I've tried so far. This is an exquisite pool of dark fruits when freshly applied, and then it just gets better. Guiaic and ambrette add layers of warmth over the sandalwood, and pink pepper pops out as a top note. Gorgeous interpretation of "a red room, a rich, deep, glowing red, where the shadows glistened as if they were soaked with wine." I could spend a season in this room.
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I absolutely adore the wet phase of Descent. Inky pom, spicy rose, myrrh! I can pick up on the pink pepper, the lily, the champaca, and even a touch of honey while the oil is still fresh on my skin. But as it starts to dry, the black musk slowly takes over. It's not too bad at first, but after 30 minutes it's all black musk with a dash of pom. I know my skin chemistry well enough to know I'm gambling every time I pick up a blend with black musk in it. Anyway sometimes it works out, but sadly this is not de-scent for me (ha ha). If you love a black musk though, and it loves you back, this is real good stuff.
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Vanilla Cream, Pistachio, and Macadamia
LavenderCoffee replied to Seajewel's topic in Duets & Menage A Trois
I do get the impression of the classic cherry-almond scent briefly on initial application, but that subsides for me. Weirdly I think I'm getting the macadamia during that part. Then it goes very vanilla cream for a bit, and finally I get some pistachio nuttiness. I'm not getting soap or powder in the drydown, but I prefer the pistachio cream in the 2020 Dead Leaves blend.