dancingchair
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This is also all about the patchouli on me. Luckily, it's a really nice patchouli note. It is a dry and woody variety, not heavily musky like patchouli can sometimes be. It's got an herbaceous waft that makes me believe it's a member of the same family as mint. I can clearly imagine patchouli root freshly pulled from the earth, spicy and shedding clumps of earth. I can smell the powdery honey and amber lurking under the patch. Those notes veer into baby wipes territory but I don't mind at all because I think it contrasts with the patchouli nicely. The honey doesn't really smell funky or floral to me, but it might be because of how much the patch is taking over. I'm generally pretty cagey about patchouli because sometimes I really hate it, but this was a win for me! I'm hoping the honey and amber come out more as it ages.
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As you can probably guess from the notes, this is quite salty. Wet, it kinda smells like white floral ocean potpourri but any hints of floral notes soften down significantly as it dries. It is still a little floral, but the other notes are strong enough that it doesn't bother me. The vetiver is so smooth and maybe a little smoky. The vetiver and the lichen give this a distinctly green tinge, but not really in a grassy way. It's like how I would want kelp to smell. This is a nice aquatic. I agree with tigermilking, I don't think it leans too floral or too soapy. If you missed out on Hagstone, this is a nice substitute without the tobacco.
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Wolf Moon: Balsam & Leather
dancingchair replied to doomsday_disco's topic in Duets & Menage A Trois
Strong black leather and a dewy, almost musty balsam note. Smells like a leather jacket in wet woods. I think the balsam also almost reads more like wood polish than actual wood on me. I'm used the lab's balsam note being sweet and lemony, but this is more like balsam scraped off a water-logged, rotting pine tree. Wet, the balsam is a little bit mentholated but that aspect doesn't stick around for long. I'm pretty happy with this one. I was originally wary of this duo because of the balsam, but this smells feral and dangerous in a way that I want a wolf-themed perfume to smell. -
If I had to sum this up, I'd probably say this was spiced cranberry jello. There's more going on than that, however. The cranberry is probably the most distinct note, and it smells like cranberry relish made on the stove from fresh berries. It's got the the characteristic clash between sour, red fruit and bitterness that I associate with cranberry. After the perfume has dried, the blackberry is a background player. It's more like a blackberry jam because it brings syrupy sweetness that balances out the cranberry. The pumpkin mash is basically a vehicle for spice. It's maybe a tiny bit vegetal, but it doesn't stand out as particularly pumpkiny amidst the bouquet of berries. I'm having a hard time picking out the carrot, but maybe it's lost in the pumpkin and spices. Thankfully, this does not go waxy on me, but maybe I'm just fixated on how much I love the blackberry and cranberry together. Between this and the Blackberry Apple Sufganiyot, I think I love the lab's blackberry note. This is probably going to be an autumn staple for me.
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I'd sum this up as a red musk lollipop dropped in incense glitter. The vanilla and strawberry come through strong, but they're both candy-sweet. I think the amber must be giving this the lollipop vibe. The red musk is very heavy and sucks out the sweetness from the strawberry vanilla. I get a heavy sprinkling of myrrh, which smells like earthy incense smoke spiked with baking spices. I only occasionally get a glimpse of the cherry mixed in with the strawberry. I think this is a bit of a skim chemistry fail for me. I really amp spices and so this one ends up being lots and lots of spice from the myrrh on me. I do wish the red musk lollipop part was stronger than the myrrh for me because it is a lot of fun.
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Wet, there's a lot of musk, maybe from the honey? As it dries, the musk calms down and I'm left with a neatly set table of tea. The white pepper has a bite, but it's not overly sharp. The ginger layers well with the pepper, but it's lighter and more crisp. The black tea is the real star of the show. It's smoky and smooth, almost like a rich tobacco note. The vanilla, milk, and honey add a sweet backdrop for the tea. Although the honey was strong during the wet stage, it's much more tame after the other notes come out. I think I also get florals from the linen note, but the other notes put up enough of a fight for me to tolerate them. The florals also don't go indolic on me here, which is key because I think I'm sensitive to that. Overall, this is a honeyed clean floral scent with an incredible black tea note. I've never sought out tea perfumes before, but maybe I'll have to start keeping an eye out for them.
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Wolf Moon: Grass & Moonlit Dew
dancingchair replied to doomsday_disco's topic in Duets & Menage A Trois
I agree with Biocarbons that this is 90s aquatic potpourri. It's the kind of aquatic that brings to mind the ideal concept of a beach, all deep blue sky and pristine water contrasted against the bright white shine of immaculate beach sand. Something in this type of aquatic always makes me think of white florals and this is no different. It's a little tiny bit indolic, but I'm probably just more sensitive to it. I am horrible at telling them apart, but maybe there's a bit of night-blooming jasmine somewhere in this blend to bring the moonlight to the moonlit dew note. The aquatic note is definitely the strongest in this duo, but I think I can maybe detect the citrusy wet grass under the loud aquatic. I like aquatics but I'm pretty picky about them. I'm reminded of my experience with Choke Me, which has a similar white floral aura to it. This duo was pretty different from what I envisioned. I think I was imagining grass and mud and cool, salty dew but this isn't really like that to me. -
A Winter’s Scene with Skaters Near a Castle
dancingchair replied to doomsday_disco's topic in Limited Editions
Wet, this is a big blast of dead leaves. As it dries, the other notes peek out. The stroopwafels are more like a general doughy sweet note. It doesn't quite approach the warm, fresh waffle smell of a stroopwafel stand, but it is nice and atmospheric. The stroopwafel note also has some spice in it, like a bit of clove or nutmeg maybe. This is by no means a spice bomb, though. I only really get it on the waft. The dead leaf note calms down into a scattering of leaves on fresh, wet snow. The snow is a little bit aquatic to me, but it also brings the sweet snow from Snow White to mind. The boot leather is understated. If I'm not trying to pick it out, I don't really notice its presence. Overall, it's atmospheric but brighter than you would expect for a perfume evoking a cold winter's day. -
Wolf Moon: Beeswax & Pine Needle
dancingchair replied to doomsday_disco's topic in Duets & Menage A Trois
Wet, this is a mix of smooth, melty beeswax and camphorous pine. As this dries, the beeswax really takes over. The pine is still present, but it's more like pine needles mixed into a beeswax candle. During the dry stage, it's definitely green and pliable fresh pine needle rather than pinewood. It's pretty straightforward, but I like the combination of the swoon-worthy beeswax note and the green pine needle note. -
Portrait of Princess Marthe Bibesco
dancingchair replied to doomsday_disco's topic in Limited Editions
Echoing that this is toffee-forward, enshrouded in a cloud of honey dust. The honey dust is a little more on the musky side, but that could be the auburn musk. It's not as sweet as you would expect, if that makes sense. To me, it smells like how I wish a fuzzy bumblebee dusted with pollen would smell. The musk is also pretty present for me and it's a cuddly and brown musk. I think I get the white rose petals as a green note rather than a floral note. To me, it smells like the velvet waft of dewy air on a rose petal. It's almost vegetal, but it doesn't quite get there. I don't really get any of the silk. Generally, this reminds me of Famous Kabuki Actors in Imagined Scenes of Lovemaking. I was getting a very strong lettuce note that did not play well with the honey dust from that perfume, and this perfume does veer in that direction. It doesn't quite get there, so I'm still not quite sure how I feel about this one. If you're into the idea of a toffee perfume, though, this is probably going to be a big hit. -
This only has two notes listed, but it's more complex than I expected. The white chocolate is very present. It's the kind of white chocolate note that almost veers into milk chocolate territory because of how rich it is. The taro cream note is where the complexity lies. Sometimes, I think the taro cream smells like gobs purple taro syrup. I get wafts of an unlisted cashmere note every now and then. I also occasionally feel like this smells like it was doused with ribbons of caramel sauce, especially in the wet stage. I do not actually get a milky note from the taro cream, but maybe the cream is the note that is making the white chocolate smell so rich to me. I really like this! I don't think it's too sweet, but it is definitely a chocolate perfume. I'd say it's in the same vein as Ghost Milk. I'm addicted to the taro cream note and I hope taro appears in more perfumes in the future!
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I agree with the previous reviews, this is reminiscent of a cozy witch's cottage in October. The spices are the most prominent to me. Saffron can amp for me, but here it's pretty tame and is balanced well with the cardamom and nutmeg. The spices blend well with the incense notes, giving this the witchy vibe instead of just freshly baked pumpkin bread. The woods are probably the second most prominent. I can pick out the sandalwood the most, but the other wood notes add a deeper base to the higher-pitched sandalwood. The tobacco and pumpkin round everything out, adding a sweet and chewy base for everything. The cacao is very present, too, but it works so well with every other note. I really like how well all the notes mesh in this 13. It's a fun olfactory puzzle trying to pick out every note, too. Glad I got to try this one!
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Big disclaimer up front: I really dislike fizzy perfumes. I guess I have a very strong sense memory with lemon-lime soda and stomach illness because it makes me feel queasy whenever I smell something similar. However, I really wanted to try BPAL's champagne note because it's in so many fun perfumes and people gush about it. Wet, this is a lot of effervescent citrus. It doesn't really read as champagne to me, more like a bright lemon soda. As it dries, I get a wave of booze and ginger. The citrus burns off and I'm left with ginger ale. Sometimes, I do get the impression of dry champagne. I do also get the musks and spices from Snake Oil surfacing in the bubbles. I don't really get much of the vanilla. It's kind of lost in the sticky sweetness of the ginger ale. This is kind of a weird one for me. It shifts between "yuck, fizzy soda" and "ooo, ginger" and very rarely "hmmm, that does smell like champagne mixed with patchouli." If you're on the fence about this one, you probably shouldn't be looking at my impressions unless you also dislike fizzy lemon-lime soda perfumes. I'm glad I got to try it because it does confirm my suspicion that champagne notes are not for me.
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Wet, this is possibly the most cherry that could be crammed into a perfume. This phase doesn't last long, and it settles into the next phase: cherry chestnut goodness. I love how the deep chestnut backs up the sweet, bright cherry. The oakmoss is probably the strongest here, but I only catch whiffs of it occasionally. This phase also doesn't last long and the perfume stabilizes into a sweet, resinous chestnut. The cherry isn't very strong in this phase and it reads more as a sweet dusting off sugar. There's something a bit spicy in here. I was worried the labdanum was going to be fizzy, but it is not. The oakmoss is a supporting player, which is a relief because sometimes it takes over on me. I wasn't sure if this would lean musky or gourmand, and I think it is more gourmand on me. I wish the cherry stuck around for me more, but that isn't really unexpected. The sugary element is unexpected but I like it.
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Wet, I get a lot of leather, hearth smoke, and something with a menthol bite, the lamp oil maybe? As it dries, the minty note disappears and I'm left with soft brown leather and the last coals of a smoldering fire. The lavender sachets and rose water are very faint on me and I don't think I get much linen until after quite a while. I do like the small wisp of floral notes amidst the heavy leather and smoke notes. It draws a nice contrast and keeps this from being too heavy.