elissamay
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Strawberry Moon: Kyphi and Sweet Cream
elissamay replied to doomsday_disco's topic in Duets & Menage A Trois
I am searching for the kyphi and only finding the sweet cream. It doesn't go sour on me, and it's a beautiful cream note, but I would do unspeakable things for a no-holds-barred BPAL kyphi. I love Cairo but I don't smell even a smidgen of that kyphi in this blend. I am optimistic that giving it some time will let those elements come forward. -
2026 Smut Hell, yes! Last year I thought it was a little boozier than other versions I have (only circa 2021, I think) and extra good. But this year?! I am smelling my beloved BPAL black musk in this year's. It's almost got a little Streets of Detroit quality going on in that boozy, woozy bottle. I cannot WAIT to slather the hell outta this one. Sorry, not sorry, everyone around me!
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Strawberry Moon: Wild Strawberries and Inky Musk
elissamay replied to doomsday_disco's topic in Duets & Menage A Trois
If you liked Wild Strawberries & Patchouli from last year, just THINK about how good these two would layer together! This is that same realistic strawberry with a lovely black musk, but a black musk that isn't completely intense and over-the-top potent BLACK MUSK like it can sometimes be (which I do actually love). Maybe imagine if it was 50% black musk and 50% BPAL's ink note plus that realistic tangy strawberry. This will be so fun in summer with the Wild Strawberries & Patchouli to layer or with a little spritz of the Feuilles de Patchouli hair gloss. Just call me a filthy, fruity hippy. -
Am I the only one who gets freshly peeled rhubarb from this blend? Anyone? It's fresh and tart and very enjoyable, especially as a warm weather scent.
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I ordered this because a) I wanted the book and b) I fancy myself a sensuous witch. I might not be the best person to review it since florals generally aren't my jam, but this blend is dark and stormy enough that I'm almost reading the flowers as fruit. Except for the tuberose - that one stands out unmistakably among her covenmates. It isn't loud or taking over, but I can discern it specifically. (I don't love tuberose, can you tell?) The oud and patchouli are truly grounding and centering this one, and the vanilla has a smoky, dry sweetness that is probably helping to keep that tuberose high priestess in check for me. One thing I definitely can't pick out yet is honey. But this is brand new, so I will give it some time. Recommend for anyone who loves an intoxicating, dark blend where the patchouli and spice take a bit of a backseat to the other players for a change.
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This is so interesting because OOB I get so much nag champa incense, but imagine if nag champa incense was, like, really, really classy. I think I'm also reading the bergamot as an almost sparkling or fizzy aspect. I can't wait to wear this!
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This is so effing good. I just picked up a second bottle because I always wished I had done so when it came out. I'm wearing it now and damn, if it isn't one of my favorites. It has aged into the perfect amalgamation of every single thing you love about these three scents, somehow kicked up to 11. Hippie, occult, headshop, maybe? For me, that's just what I want my whole world to smell like!
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Cardamom and rice are two of my favorite notes, but I never thought I'd find them together in a perfume that wasn't very much a gourmand. Until this one! This is sweet and creamy, but not terribly foody. The warm amber and the musk keep it out of "rice pudding" territory for me, even with the milk and honey.
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I'd like to jump inside this bottle and soak in it. This is one of those BPALs that made me pause for a brief moment and say, "That's it. That's the one. I don't need any more." Of course I will always need more, but this is one that blends together several things that I love -- black musk, rum, vetiver -- and turns them into something sublime and beyond just the sum of their parts. It's dark, kind of creepy, kind of sinister, but it's sweet and sexy all the same. I could wear this every day and never tire of it, much like my original ride or die Anne Bonny. Now if only I could find a couple aged bottles to appreciate how much more gorgeous this brand-new bottle will eventually become!
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Anne Bonny fans, take note: this is the frankincense in that blend or I'll eat my shoe! I would layer this with Anne Bonny and add the Palo Santo & Patchouli hair gloss and smell better than 99.99% of the human population on any given day. Such an essential Duet!
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This is stunning. I have been really, really behind in inventory-ing all of my scents, and I just took a deep inhalation of this and was transported to a shrine of worshipful contemplation. I have no idea what iron oxide smells like, but there is a vaguely metallic shimmer at the top of this one that enhances the lemony (but not screechy or Pledge-y) frankincense. Behind it is that wine and crimson musk, sweet and reverent. I find the linen in a sort of dusty quality that grounds the whole thing, and the saffron threads it all together. So beautiful, and little bit sad.
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This is pretty much as described: Deep, dark and spicy. I don't get any fruit or patchouli. It's an incensey, non-floral dragon's blood sweetened by amber and spiced with clove. I was going to say it's Dragon's Milk-adjacent, but it isn't that kind of creamy-sweet, and it's certainly more spicy.
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Sweet and toasty as others have said, but if you're like me and gourmand isn't your main vibe, this is a stunner paired with some filthy patchouli or woody perfumes. Amazing staying power!
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This is really lovely. There is a leather-bound quality to this scent, and sweetness with a faint crinkle of paper. In that sweetness, I might be smelling a little spilled wine, or maybe blood, and there's possibly a wee splash of faded cologne. There might be just a bit of warm beeswax, but it isn't a waxy or honey scent. Leather doesn't always jive with me, but this is old and well-worn leather. Not sharp, not punch-you-in-the-face leather. Antique-books-on-a-mansion-library's-carved-wooden-shelf leather. I posted this review after I knew I'd secured a second bottle just in case. So selfish!
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Wet this is so green and full of dewy clover, and it's like nothing else in my collection. A bright and sunshiney meadow of Snake Oil that dries down later into the most spectacular, vintage-smelling SO you ever did smell.