Llanval

A less intense, less bold Believe. Very enjoyable dirt, leather and myrrh notes that all work really harmoniously with each other for that forlorn, lost feeling. If Believe is the act of rising, of becoming, then Library is Haunted is the midnight twin. Soft, pallid, sweet, a little gritty with the leather, but overall incredibly wearable and well blended. The cypress adds a bit of fresh air zing in the opening hour or so, but I don't get much paper. I don't need a full size because Believe takes care of me for that insane dirt/wood combo, but if Believe is not your thing or is OOS, this is a wonderful, gentle alternative. You could wear this at work!

This is a very pretty scent, if somewhat linear. It's mostly soft, downy orris root without any of the usual overwhelming powder I'm used to, and a gentle breath of pine that melds with the amber and sandalwood without issue. I wouldn't say the pine is astringent, it's more like that rounder, fruitier pine in Christmas candles. Not bad, just not as PINE as I prefer. The mosses really struggle to make it out from under the orris. If the pine needles and mosses had shone through more, this would have been an easy FS. Good wear time, but not much throw. Would not offend anyone in the office.

I was on the hunt for this scent and rspades answered my ISO!! My first impression is immediate love!! Love love love this. Smells like idealized green and growing plants, and over top the green is a bright, sunny, milky dandelion that really makes me smile. The juniper makes this sharper and brighter than expected but in a really lovely way. I don't get much ambrette or black currant bud but that's okay. If they're in here still, they only add to the complex greenery of the scent. The hot concrete comes out as it wears, but it isn't a strong note on me. I was hoping for a bit more concrete but I do smell it in here and it makes this bottle a keeper. It does smell like the idea of dandelions growing through concrete warmed by a summer sun. The only drawback is the very low wear time, about 2hr until it fades into a close skin scent, but for this one I don't mind reapplying to enjoy that incredible opening again! Really, really glad I was able to pick up a bottle of this, it is basically exactly what I was hoping for, and scratches the itch for my white whale, Tennis Match, lol!

I'm having the same experience as doomsday up thread, tragically. The slightly bitter purslane leads and dandelions never really bloom, giving this a generic, commercial spa vibe. The peritrichor is dusty and too understated for me, with just an okay rain note that goes slightly shampoo-ish, which I'm inclined to blame the purslane for causing lol. I'll retest in a month to see if I get a better result. I was really hoping this would be an instant FS, because I want to smell like dandelions so so bad 😭

This one is lovely, with an opening of fresh black tea leaves, a little fruity and tannic. The vanilla is present from the beginning, along with the incense smoke. I enjoy all the notes here, and none outshine the other. However, the incense smoke smells very similar to the one used in 2021's Inspecting the Lantern. I have a full bottle of that, and it is a more complex and long-lasting scent. If I didn't have Inspecting the Lantern, I'd pick this up. It's a great balance of notes, the smoke is light and pleasant and it last about 4ish hours on a gentle application. It's not terribly strong, so if it had a bit more throw or staying power I would have gone for the full size. This is a really nice, enjoyable tea scent!

I think the cream note is turning a bit sour on me so this one is a pass. I can smell sweeter things under the sourness, but I'm not prepared to slather to see what happens. I'll let the slonk rest a bit longer and see if I get a better result.

A bit like birch tree soda, then it becomes pine trees and the lab's snow note underpinned by a warm amber that really takes this out of the forest and into the idea of a forest. I enjoyed this a lot, but I find there's no 'forest floor' to anchor this pine scent enough for me to FS it. I really really love Theoi Nomioi and that is a whole forest in a bottle. When matched against Theoi, Zima falls short. The issue here is that it's too safe for me. This is a good pine scent for those afraid or wary of pine. If you want the whole forest, dark and deep (Black Forest), or cold and stony (Theoi), there are better options still up for grabs.

I wasn't sure about this one, as I love juniper berry and white sage but found this to be more clove and peppercorn dominant. However, this is not a bad thing! The juniper berry is so so good in this, and the other notes really DO lend this a sharp, opinionated yet lazy vibe. And the clove-cola vibe is there, which I LOVE. This dries down to a scent memory of my grandfather outside working on construction projects at the cottage, so I think bygraveyardlight kinda nailed it. This is the scent of an artsy, odd sort of fellow (genderless) who goes for long hikes in the woods and who enjoys deliberately not telling you where they've been wandering. I ended up getting a half bottle from ajevie, so I'm excited for it to show up to compare it to my slonk.

Mostly a buttery scent, not quite vanilla but not quite buttercream. I was hoping the tobacco and scorched oak would take the lead, but on me this is a straightforward sweet cream scent that lacks depth. This also reminds me of 2021's Famous Kabuki Actors in Imagined Scenes of Lovemaking, which I prefer. Also strongly reminded of Black Goat Eating a Pink Flower. There's nothing to complain about here, just not as complex or as scorched as I was hoping for. Will use up my slonk for sure.

I really enjoyed this one, even though I am not a citrus fan, and have no full size citrus scents in my collection. I really enjoy the whirl of fruit and lime rind here, with a more complex undertone from the ti leaf, tobacco and ambrette seed, which gives it a more perfumey vibe. It really is a carousel of nose-numbing fruit and lavender and other delightful scents. It whirls and fades and then comes back. This one makes me smile. It doesn't always have good throw, which is my only hesitation. I'm going to keep using my decant and a bottle may end up in my cart before these come down.

A very nice high-end lavender shampoo that vanishes within an hour of application. Very much reminds me of last year's The Garden of Shut-Eye Town, with an almost identical smelling lavender. Bummer. Still on the hunt for my perfect lavender scent.

Tested from an ajevie slonk - this is DOMINATED by the rose cream but not in a way I find appealing. The rose cream does not read as 'cream' but more like those rose bath cubes you can get in gift sets during the holidays. It's a type of rose scent I do not have fond feelings for, as it reads like cheap rose potpourri. And hooboy does this rose only get louder and more insistent as time goes on. This is the energizer bunny of frilly rose scents. If you're here for rose then you'll have a good time. I do get a dusty, airy sort of sweetness that I interpret as the cotton candy floss, but the peonies and cognac struggle to make themselves known under the force of this very pink, very chipper rose. Not for me. I think I really will have to put all bpal rose note on the 'nope" list ☹️

I had a lot of hope for this one because i love the notes in here A LOT. Tested from an ajevie slonk, I get good strong mentholated pine and a tinge of rubbery black ink. The pine stays mentholated and somewhat inky/fruity for several hours, but I never get a clear 'burnt' note and the terebinth resin doesn't shine like I would have preferred. The green tea is fresh and lovely, but I have a bottle of Cooling Breeze (the superior cooling scent tbh) so this isn't something I need. It also reminded me so so much of last year's The Snow Woman, and I still have my full imp of that so.....no FS for me *sigh*

This one disappointed me. Tested from an ajevie slonk, I get beeswax and a thin dusting of what reads as brown sugar and then that's where the scent stays for the rest of the wear time. Like a "high-end" body lotion from Shoppers Drug mart 😔 Not much throw, and I can't comment on staying power because it became a faint skin scent that I caught whiffs of during the day but eventually lost around 4pm.

Tested from an ajevie slonk! I find this is a muddle of pleasant beach impressions that doesn't unfold or expand once worn on the skin. The throw is light but the staying power isn't too bad. Nothing stood out in this blend to me. Nothing emerged as the note leader, and I found myself frustrated that the green parts of this scent seem to be very far down in the scent tree. It's not bad, but not the pine and beach rocks I was hoping to experience. If you do not enjoy aquatics, this one is only gently aquatic and wouldn't give you much trouble. I didn't find this to be too dryer-sheet like, but it is still there for those who avoid that note.