dancingchair
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Everything posted by dancingchair
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This one is very well-blended so it's hard for me to pick out many specific notes. The crisp and clean bergamot is very prominent at first, but it fades into the background as time passes. The scorched cedarwood gives the impression of incense, it's smoky and mysterious in the same way. This is the most prominent note for me. I think I also get the vanilla husk. It's the same vanilla husk in the Vanilla Husk, Nutmeg, & Hay Absolute ménage, so it's grassy and lemony. The other notes are all blended into the background. I can occasionally catch a whiff of leather, but I was hoping for more than that since I'm a leather fiend. Taking a step back, this gives me the impression of a mainstream perfume or cologne because it is so well-blended. Someone might wear this on a fancy date night. Does it pair with the painting? I am not sure what a surrealist perfume would smell like, and that's an interesting question I don't feel equipped to answer. I think generally it does pair well, though. The scorched cedarwood smells mystical and vibrant with all the other notes swirling around it, which is reminiscent of all the vibrant life I see in the painting.
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I love what The Lab can do with seemingly simple note combinations. There are only two notes listed here but they come together so beautifully and make a perfume that is more complex than you would expect from the description. Here, the white sandalwood is a bone-dry wood. It brings a stark heat to this perfume, like being in the desert sun. It pairs well with the pomegranate, which is surprisingly sweet and delicate. Together with the sandalwood, the pomegranate almost gives a floral impression. I think this perfume really fits its name and the painting. I wasn't expecting to like this one so much, but the combination sounded intriguing. I'm glad I tried it!
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Hazelnut, Red Amber, and Toasted Sandalwood
dancingchair replied to Seajewel's topic in Duets & Menage A Trois
I tested this straight out of the mailbox, so I might have to update this review later. I think it's everything I was hoping for. I adore the interplay between the nuttiness of the hazelnut and the crackling, warm sandalwood. It gives the impression of rich, caramelized roasted nuts. The red amber seems to be more of a supporting player, adding sweetness to the blend. I really like gourmand perfumes that have a non-gourmand twist and I think this falls into that category. It's very rich and yummy, but the sandalwood keeps it from being too overindulgent. It's less sweet than The Empress and Their Heckhound, but they are very similar. If you want a perfume that's more focused on the hazelnut and sandalwood, it's probably still worth a bottle. -
This is very wearable on me. It's very well-balanced, too. I don't outright get a lot of lotus or almond, but I think I can smell them in the background adding sweetness. The myrrh is playing nice, it's not screechy like it can be on me sometimes. I am getting a lot of the dusty amber, but it works well with the sweeter notes. I don't think I get much of the saffron. Overall, it's a sweet, powdery musk with just enough incense to keep Bastet from being cloying.
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Sometimes my skin chemistry makes me sad. I mostly get patchouli and maybe champaca while this is wet, not really much cannabis or other notes at all. The patchouli is fluffy and sweet, keeping it from getting too sharp. There is a note in here I occasionally catch a whiff of that is dry and raspy, giving a contrast to the sweet patchouli. Maybe it's the leather or the charcoal? As this perfume dries, I get a bit more green peeking through the patchouli, but I'm not sure I'd be able to identify it if I didn't know what it was already. My skin tends to really amp patchouli and champaca, but I was hoping the other notes would put up more of a fight. Happy I got to try it but I think it's not for me.
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This one is a bit of a morpher. Wet, I get wafts of mouth-wateringly sweet and rich honeycomb under a bouquet of lilies. Occasionally, the woody bite of hawthorne bark comes through, but its presence is fleeting. As it dries, the white moss takes center stage and it settles into a clean scent. I do get the berries and violet at this stage, but they're not as prominent as the moss.
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This is a well-worn pair of studded leather motorcycle gloves in a bottle. The strongest note is the leather, but the metal is probably the second most prominent. I think I get a hint of machine oil, but it's really just working to support the metallic note to me. I don't really smell the tobacco, which is a bit of a shame, but the leather is good enough to make up for its absence.
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2022 version Wet, this is strong black leather and cherry tobacco. The two are intoxicating together, sweetened just enough by the tonka. As it dries, the grassy vetiver comes out more. Eventually, the vetiver becomes the most prominent note, but I really enjoy the leather stage of this perfume. The vetiver has citrus and anise elements to it, and it's a bit bitter. I don't really get much of the dirt or ambrette seed, but maybe they're supporting the other notes. The early stage of this perfume is a dream. I love the blend of leather and tobacco, maybe age will help them stick around for longer? The throw is pretty strong, and the longevity seems great so far. Really glad I grabbed a bottle of this!
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And Though They Are With You Yet They Belong Not To You
dancingchair replied to Seajewel's topic in Limited Editions
This is quite lovely. The vanilla is rich and sweet. It threatens to go plastic on my skin but thankfully as the scent dries it loses that quality. The sandalwood comes out more the longer I wear this perfume. It's woody and dry, but it pairs well with the richness of the vanilla. This one is beautiful in its simplicity. It's very easy to wear and lovely. -
On me, this starts off with the rose sugar being the strongest, then the molasses and date paste take over. The combo of notes almost smell like honeyed cinnamon or nutmeg. The cacao is there throughout, adding a bitterness that balances out the sweetness. It's very indulgent and richly sweet, but I like how complex it is.
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I decided to try this because it was such a wild blend of notes. Wet, I get a burst of grapefruit juice, tangy and bright. It calms down as the perfume dries and I get a lovely spread of florals and creamy fruit tarts. The florals aren't too overwhelming, and I'd say it's a bouquet of picture-perfect roses with a few carnations stuck in. The tarts are creamy and seem to be more of the red currant variety. Cutting through the florals and tarts is a heady swirl of opium and weed. It's not as sharp as the lab's opium notes can be and it plays very nicely with the rest of the perfume. The weed adds a green note that balances the sweetness of the other notes. It's not very dank or identifiable as weed unless you know what you're looking for, so I'd feel all right wearing this in public. My overall impression is that this smells like an afternoon tart break at a rose garden in Wonderland. The caterpillar is there and the garden is clouded with whatever fun concoction is packed in his hookah. It's sweet and fun, I'm glad I nabbed a decant.
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Opens with tons of pine. It's backed by another green note, which I guess is the weed? It doesn't really read like weed or smoke to me, so if you're nervous about that it might be worth trying this one out. I think there's an aquatic sort of note here, which must be the mist? The aquatic mist note makes this smell very clean and a tiny bit soapy to me. I'm not entirely sure what brown musk smells like, but there is something furry in the misty woods. Overall, this is a wolf that showered before dashing through the woods. I don't mind the soapiness at all. I wear this when I want to smell clean and green. I like that it has a feral wolfy edge to it so it's more complex than my other pine-forward perfumes.
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This cat is made of very dark chocolate! There is a bit of honey in this, but it is not that sweet to my nose. The vetiver pairs wonderfully with the chocolate, making it a bit grassy and amplifying the bitterness. I love the lab's chocolate notes and I'm amazed that this one truly smells like dark chocolate. I'm not always in the mood for sweet perfumes and this is great for those moments.
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In the bottle, this is beautiful leather. It's smoky and snappy new, like it hasn't been broken in. On my skin, it goes a tiny bit BBQ. I think my skin chemistry must sweeten the perfume up just enough for this odd transformation, because it isn't overwhelmingly like glazed barbecue ribs or anything. It also doesn't ruin the perfume for me since I can usually still identify it as leather. It's still smoky, but it is more sweet now. I get an impression of something diabolical lurking under the surface from it, sweet black leather swirled with a haze of smoke. Layering this is heavenly. Some layering notes I've tried don't really mesh well with other perfumes as well as I'd like, but this blends very well. I'm very excited to come up with fun perfume combos. I do wish this lasted longer on me, since it fades away after a couple of hours. I really like it while it's around, though.
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This is primarily a chewy tobacco and sweet tonka on me. I think I get some fruitiness from the chardonnay, but this perfume isn't that boozy to me. The rum isn't that prominent, but it's sweetening things up and adding a little bit of smoke. I don't really get leather. I can see why people say this is too much for them, it's quite sweet. I like it, but maybe not in warm summer weather.
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I took a chance on this before it went down and I'm glad I did. The sandalwood isn't really perfumy, it's very woody and there's a bit of something like lemon in it. Wet, I get a lot of a pumpkin spice blend, but as it dries it melds with the sandalwood. There is a toasty vegetal note in here, which must be the pumpkin. The sandalwood is the real star of the show, though.
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The amber in this also reminds me of beeswax. It's a touch sweet without being cloying, but it's also smooth and creamy. It's a little dusty, not in a sour way, though. The amber is wonderfully balanced by the rain-slicked aquatic note and the moss. I don't know what gaslight smells like, but here it me think of the smoldering remains of a fire. I love how this comes together, it's such a good rainy day perfume.
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Dank, musky honey. It's sultry and caramelized. I don't necessarily identify it as taffy but it is heavy on the honey. Some honeys are light and floral, but this one is downright filthy. I'm a big fan!
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2022 version I also have an imp of unknown age that I've tested and that was very strong on the patchouli. This version of Snake Oil is vanilla-forward on me, which is great because the vanilla is stunning. As of right now, the vanilla doesn't go too powdery on me. I'm not great at telling different types of vanilla apart, but this vanilla is frosting-sweet with a hint of a caramel note. I get a swirl of the patchouli and musks, but they're playing a supporting role to the vanilla. Overall, I'm very happy I nabbed a bottle of this. It's really nice!
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Lots of the lab's dusty dark chocolate note here. The teakwood blends in with the dark chocolate very well. The rice milk is keeping things from being too bitter. I don't get more than a whisper of Snake Oil vanilla, but the musks and patchouli from Snake Oil are definitely present and adding an interesting layer of complexity. I love the lab's chocolate notes so this is a winner for me!
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This is sweet, but it doesn't make me think of caramelized sugar. I am getting a lot of frothy steamed milk and it is very realistic. It blends wonderfully with the musks and patchouli from Snake Oil. This is basically a Snake Oil steamer. I like it!
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I've never had a babka, so I can't compare it to that. However, I love almond horns and that is what this perfume makes me think of. There's a lot of toasty almond in this covered with dark chocolate. There is a bready component, which also makes me think of a chocolate croissant covered in almonds. Sometimes almond notes smell more like bitter almond than the actual nut, but this definitely smells like a lightly roasted sliced almond. It's very nice!
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White Chocolate, Pink Carnation, Coconut Cream, and Clove
dancingchair replied to Seajewel's topic in Lupercalia
I bought a bottle of this after reading the reviews. Like the other reviewers, I don't get a ton of carnation from this perfume. I think I occasionally get the impression of some carnation qualities, if that makes sense? I get a whiff of the peppery aspect of carnations sometimes. In the bottle, I can smell the spicy green stem of a freshly-picked carnation. When smelling the perfume on my skin, there's nothing that I can really point out as being carnation, though. The coconut cream is just as good as promised. It blends very well with the Lab's amazing white chocolate note, making this perfume a buttery rich gourmand dream. The clove is very woody compared to what I was expecting, almost a bit powdery or dusty. It keeps the whole thing from being too sickly sweet. Luckily, it doesn't go weird on my skin like it sounds like it does for other reviewers. I adore this! I really wanted a coconut perfume that didn't read as a tropical drink and I think this is it. -
2022 version Wet, this is a sticky honey. As it dries, it blossoms into a delicate floral perfume. It's powdery and sweet, fitting for springtime. Compared to my 2010 bottle, this is much less decadent and more of a delicate, refined wildflower honey. I also get a lot less incense than in the 2010 version, but it might be hiding under the florals.