Ennikar

Opening "tickles the nose, like when you cut a pepper and you can tell that it's hot". That's probably the black pepper over the red sandalwood, making for a pretty sharp opening, but that lays down in minutes as the bergamot and and orange blossom come out. I don't usually get along with pumpkin but picked this up because of the above reviews, which talk about the pumpkin being minimal - and I'm glad I did, because neither I nor my second opinion noticed any at all on me. It's somewhere on the clean-masculine ends of the spectrum, but not aggressively so. I personally really like orange blossom, and it is fairly prominent (though not overwhelming) for most of the wear time, so I'm glad to have this spicy-woody-masc take on it.

I quite like this, but my first thought was that it was something I'd smelled before, in Fledgling Raptor Moon 2010. It's not quite the same, but it is similar, a spicy-earthy-warm scent. The black musk and catnip are very soft; I don't really pick them up. The amber, cedar, and hay come together in to a soft, warm, earthy background for the cinnamon-clove-carnation spices. Definitely not "a floral", but the carnation is detectable, with that and maybe the catnip or hay giving it a slightly plantish dimension. I can see comparisons to incense, but without any sort of smoke or char. I had a pair of other people give it a sniff; they agreed it was similar to but not quite Fledgling Raptor and noted that there was something about it that smelled "fuzzy" after seeing the bottle.

Rich, more earthy than woody at first but the sandalwood does take over a bit in the drydown (unsurprising, as it's a base note). I don't get much of the greenness/tulsi beyond it maybe lightening things up for the first hour or so. It's very pretty and just nice; I agree with some of the above reviews that describe it as a meditative scent. Decent throw.

Hell yes. Red musk, tobacco, and smoke with earthy patchouli, very little fruit. It's not for everyone but it's very much to my taste.

I second the preponderance of light red musk. I do get a solid hit of ginger at the beginning, and a touch of smokey clove, but this is less dark & spicy than light & powdery with a touch of spice. The throw is fairly subdued, and it's down to a close skin scent in an hour or two.

This is the thing that's impressed upon me that 'blood musk' and 'red musk' are, in fact, different. I get a strong cinnamon impression, almost like cinnamon candy, but not openly sweet. It reminds me strongly of olympic orchids dev #3, if you're familiar with that - mostly a very-slightly-sweet cinnamon, with a touch of wood and resins that are stronger, relatively speaking, in the dry stage.

The first impression I got was red musk, wood, and very definitely lacquer. It stayed lacquered all the way through, with varying levels of dry woodiness and a touch of musk, like a drier, lacquered fenris wolf. It's actually a touch too dry and astringent for me to want to wear it every day, but it's got a time and a place - in this case, I'm thinking when I want to put across the air of someone refined who can very much handle themself. It's probably the theme that has me thinking "Bond villain during a card game", but that's the image we get. Edit April 2024: The more chemical-y aspects of the lacquer have either calmed down, or I've started to like them. It now feels very smooth, and the throw and longevity are impressive.

Very sharp when fresh. The vetiver I get is more grassy, as it dries I get more of a smoke dimension but I think the green is still dominant. The black pepper is detectable, but strongest early and I'd probably consider it a complementary note. Overall, the impression is smokey, kicky, and grass-like. I do like it - it reminds me of the sort of scent you'd get in a ~natural~ deodorant or bath product. Feels like some sort of low-level forest fae, the sort that offers you a deal you absolutely shouldn't take.

I don't have a lot of specifics about this one, though there's a few things I can pick out. There's a lovely soft gardenia opening, and the clove is detectable, before drying down in to a vaguely spicy-earthy-sweet floral haze. The thing is, though, that despite not getting a super strong impression, I really like it. It's comfortable. I put it on and feel like I could wear it every day. My partner commented that the drydown read to them as a 'disturbingly realistic pumpkin pie', and someone with a slightly more trained nose 'gets something green', both of which make sense with the notes and my own impressions - but, again, my strongest impression is just 'comfy'.

Resting changed this one a lot - when the bottle was fresh, it was powerful patchouli and a bit of bourbon vanilla. Now, after sitting on the shelf for a few months, it's a lot less 'nasty' and more 'pleasant', and has been moved from the 'statement' shelf (Talvikuu, Woman as Dragon) to the 'femme' shelf (Rose Red, A-Rovin', Rabbit Moon). The patch still comes on strong when wet, but after a few minutes, relaxes in to the background, leaving sweet fig and vanilla in the foreground. I don't really get rose from the loukhoum, but in retrospect there's a touch of almond. Overall, it's sweet, vaguely fruity, and grounded - my partner commented that it seemed 'right' on me, despite being different from the atmospheric/woody/green scents I tend to wear (October, Fenris Wolf, Believe), which I'm taking as an endorsement.

What a delicious dry-spicy-woody scent. Tried it at the same time as Fenris Wolf, and they've got a lot in common, though G has a lot more spice/bay rum (not really a boozy sort, at any stage, but spicy-focused) while FW dries in to a sweet-musky thing. The staying power is good and the throw standard for BPALs - very nice for your partner and maybe noticeable to anyone else paying attention, but not screaming. Resisted the urge to douse with it.

Much more floral than I was expecting based on reviews, especially in the drydown - there was a hint of tannins and woods at the beginning, but the drydown is all melancholy florals. Perfectly nice ones, maybe a touch melancholy and supported by the other notes, but I got mostly dry rose and lilac.

Lavender-centered, but not astringent or at all aggressive. The ambergris and amber appear to be mostly there for balance. What impressed me about this one was how it stayed true all the way through the drydown - the lavender was always center stage. Medium-to-low throw and decent longevity; what could be described as an "intimate" scent.

Woody and masc, with an almost sweet musk/amber drydown. Not really an "outdoorsy" wood, more a finished one. Very warm and snuggly.