Ennikar

Reading the reviews above, I had one major concern before picking up a bottle (secondhand): is this gonna be soap? Like WhatAHoot, I can be very sensitive to 'clean' or 'detergent' vibes, which has cursed my aquatic hunt for years. Wet on skin, the answer appeared to be "yes, but also you're miraculously not mad about it". The first impression was almost like soap, yes, but like the more "masculine" scented soap I can sometimes tolerate - probably the bay leaf, tobacco, and/or balsam, which are popular components for those types of smells. Kinda clean-herbal. Still, that would have put it in "okay" rather than love or even like. The fig is here, adding some fruity sweetness, but overall still on the dry side. As it dries, though, the floral elements of the tobacco flower, the ambergris, and the amber start to come forward - and here it's giving, of all things, To a Wreath of Snow, minus the vanilliac/pseudo-gourmand elements that scent carries. Now it's basically dry and the bay, fig, ambergris, and tobacco flower are making a light clean-skin unisex-to-masc cloud. I'm excited, honestly, because most of the masc scents I love are on the spicy-resins side and can be just too heavy for warm weather, but I think this one is going to shine.

I had no idea what to expect with this one, given 'white sandalwood' is the only note with a real point of reference, but I was a little concerned about things like 'perfumed black silk' going soap, clean-linen, or dryer-sheet. What I actually got wasn't exactly that, though tones of it are there. I believe the 'perfume' referenced in the description is iris (or orris) , and for me this ends up as a cool musky iris-sandalwood blend. The blood is more an iron-y version pulling things in that 'cool' direction, not the sweet red 'blood musk' I've gotten in some other BPAL blends. Reminds me of Alkemia's Black Iris, but less 'rainy' and more musky cool night air. I get the 'classic perfume with foreboding undertones' intent, though I'm not sure someone else smelling it without the description would get any of the 'foreboding' aspect - my beta tester described it as 'light. It seems fruity, but I'm pretty sure it's actually floral. I like it.' I like it too, though I think it's a situational pick.

60% clove, 30% cinnamon, 10% ashes and (green) poisons. Neutral sweetness level. Pretty good throw when you first apply it, and then moderate for several hours. I, a nonsmoker, imagine that in a perfect world clove cigarettes would smell like this.

Firstly, a wave of sweet resins, and then a second wave of woodsmoke and brown musk. The woodsmoke is strong, as is the musk, and they have very high throw when first applied. I actually forgot it had a woodsmoke note when I first applied it and expected only musk and resin, but the smoke was strong and distinct enough that after a moment I was very sure that was what I was smelling. As it settles, it's giving like... guy wearing an old bearskin who lives in a cave where his fire is always burning, but like, idealized enough to not be "stinky". I can see it being very sexy or else offputting, depending on your tolerances. Normally I'm not too concerned with wearability, but this one tests that, since the musk is the sort that's somewhere between "animal", "sexy", and "dude who hasn't showered in a couple days" and I don't want anyone to question my hygiene. For that reason, it may be too situational to buy a bottle even though I enjoy it. I can also see some of the acrid/vingear-y tones and the bbq sauce comparison, though personally I didn't find these aspects strong or distracting. Also a couple notes on the oil itself - it's the darkest, most viscous perfume oil I've ever tried. This stuff left a yellow-brown sheen on my skin for nearly an hour after being applied, even though it was just a wandcap's worth spread over my wrist.

I like this Raven. Retested it after sitting for a year or so, and I get the patchouli, alongside a variety of other notes. This is not a warm, snugly, or dank patchouli, though; if asked to guess the notes I would describe it as cool, fresh water, black pepper, and a patchouli base. Decent throw and wear length, the patchouli gets less identifiable over time but I would not describe it as a big morpher. As of now, it's not a bottle upgrade, but it's a mood.

Fresh on, this is a tropical white floral with a swirl of spices. The creamy coconut seems to be combining with something in an interesting fashion, because I'm getting a very... banana impression. The cardamom and jasmine are here with the coconut milk, and at this stage it's very soft and pretty. In the drydown I expected more resins, but lo, it was not to be. Instead the jasmine, coconut milk, and maybe rosewater stick around and make a light sweet-floral haze. The resins never really came out for me, which is a shame because I love resins, but if you prefer lighter and airier vibes this might be for you. There are a couple other blends this reminds me of. When it first goes on, it seems a lot like Rabbit Moon 2021, and the drydown reminds me of Tomie - possibly because I tested Tomie recently.

One of the early reviews talks about "cuddly patchouli" and I would agree. This patch smells warm and "fuzzy", and stands in contrast to the other patchoulis I've tried, which have tended towards either gnarly atmospherics or very "sugared" and slightly floral blends. The other notes are here and add to the warm-fuzzy vibe, but to me this is "about" the patchouli. It's very comfy and I'm happy to have it - might try layering it, especially with spicier scents, just for fun. Other opinions: one of my betas, who has stated that he doesn't care for patchouli, described it as "very pleasant in the bottle" - though for the record I've long suspected that his thing is less not liking patchouli and more having had a bad experience with certain flavors thereof.

Overall, Tomie is nice, light, and pretty. If pressed on notes, I would say vanilla and jasmine (gentle and soft, not remotely indolic), and looking at the list I can also pick out almond blossom. The rose/sandalwood seems quiet, and the white amber is blending in nicely. It's got decent throw, but nothing intrusive, and it's more "clean" than "dirty" but not in danger of smelling like detergent. ...however, I'd agree with the comparisons to more mainstream scents. It's Perfectly Lovely, but it makes little impression on me, which might be a good interpretation of the character. I'm not disappointed, though, because I got this as a gift for a younger person who likes the books and I feel like edgy-association-but-Nice-smell is very much up their alley.

Maybe I was primed by previous reviews, but this reads as lavender shampoo to me - maybe with some other herbal scent components thrown in for flavor. Less aggressively soapy after the first few minutes. Maybe not bad if that's your thing, but it's a no-thanks from me. Other opinions, more for flavor than anything as neither of them agree with me or each other At All: "Spicy. Spicy... water?" "None for me... something about it reminds me of an old folk's home. I feel like I'm getting a tiny bit of formaldehyde?" (the latter was off a bottle sniff)

I was hoping for a rosewood/resin/beeswax blend with a dark musk and that sort of happened. Definitely beeswax happened and it sticks around from application to late drydown, so that's nice. However, the intermediary stages are a bit of a trip... something in there is sharp and powdery in a way I don't really enjoy, and I think it would prevent me from reaching for this over other "masc" or beeswax scents. On the other hand, that does make it lighter than the very warm/spicy/resin-y masc scents I prefer (I love the rosewood and musk in Fenris Wolf, for example), so if you're interested in that it might be worth trying.

I was hoping for rose and resins, but a week out of the mail this one seems really just reminds me of vetiver. Frankincense and I don't always get along, so maybe that's the culprit.

In the bottle, I didn't think I was going to like this as much as previous reviewers - myrrh and I don't always get along, and it smelled cola-y in the bottle. On skin, though, it really opened up, and I got labdanum with an undercurrent of black musk. Not really "dry" or bitter, but not sweet either; the cola impression subsides quickly. Rose is usually a top note for me, but with this one the rose actually got stronger over time and stuck around for hours, tangled up with dark incense-y resins. That's the clinical description, but I don't know that it captures how good this blend is. When I've been disappointed by other "dark" resins, this is what I was imagining. I've tried other rose blends and found them discordant or unbalanced (which is why my other preferred roses are essentially single-note), but this harmonizes. This one is an absolute monster in both throw and longevity. At first it didn't seem that strong, but after a few minutes I realized that someone a few feet away could smell it (a real rarity for them and oils), that remained the case for several hours, and I picked up whiffs all day. Fortunately most people seem to like it, but I'll be careful with it on transit/in enclosed spaces. Both my usual betas commented that it was a) strong and b) good. Both of them picked up on the rose aspect, one of them thought there might be some vanilla floating around. I don't really do backup bottles (have bought one in years of indies), but with this... it's a possibility.

This is an odd one - very difficult to describe. I do get a "cool" impression... other words that come to mind are "round" and "watery". I think I can pick up the white oud? Maybe ti leaf? The other notes combine in a way that that reminds me of leather. It's well-blended, in that I don't get distinct vanilla or sandalwood but believe they're here. Throw and longevity are pretty lab-typical. While I can see the love for it, so far it does not compel me. Might retest later and/or try it on a friend who has an affection for leather notes and seemed interested in the bottle sniff.

Of the lavender scents I've tried, this is one of my favorites. I like the smell of fresh lavender, but usually find it too "clean" as a perfume component; it often evokes laundry or fabric softener. I was particularly worried about this possibility with Wreath, given it also contains ambergris, which I sometimes like but can have a similar effect. Here, though, it's almost juicy, or creamy... "lush" and "rich" also come to mind. Very different from other lavender notes I've tried, in a way I enjoy but that also might make it less recognizable to others. I'm not familiar enough with tobacco flower to pick it out, but as it dries down, I can get the ambergris and oud. Decent throw for the fist couple hours, then dries down more intimate. All the notes are still around, though, which is nice - and again, unusual for a lavender scent. Other opinions: "fruity" in the bottle, then "Vanilla? still a little fruity." ("Lavender?") "Yeah, I buy that."

Agree with above that Paladin is a very mild scent. On top of that, white musk and I usually don't get along, and that holds here - altogether too clean for me. I do also get some leather, and maybe hints of the other notes. If you like mild, clean, leathery scents this may be your thing. ETA: After the first hour or so, I do catch some drydown wafts every so often, and now it's more of a clean skin musk - still not my favorite, but I may actually reach for it under my-skin-but-better circumstances.