elissamay
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Everything posted by elissamay
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Perfectly blackberry black tea. Comes on strong at first but mellows out to a lovely skin scent. Comforting, familiar, happy, and lovely for a chilly autumn day.
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This is not the sharp and smoky fire scent I expected. In the bottle, it's almost effervescent and Dr Pepper-esque. On the skin, it's deeply resinous, and the scent of the pine pitch blooms as it warms, but it is never harsh or sharp. It's the sweetness of pine sap, never on the medicinal end of the pine pitch spectrum. There's really no smoke here, just warm smoldering, glowing embers. This really evokes a scene at the end of a magical bonfire in the woods, but without that "campfire smell" you might be thinking of. Very good, very Halloween, and a bit hard to explain since it veered so much from where my expectations took the notes. Pleasantly surprised, even though I do enjoy a good smoky fire scent, too!
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Googling this scent is a whole journey, so I'm glad you found your way here, lol. The condensed milk here smells a little caramelized, like the very beginnings of dulce de leche. The linen and tea almost evoke a lotus note for me, and the coconut is probably contributing to that, too. A little toasty, lotus-sweet and floaty, with a bit of the more grounded myrrh sweetnesd rounding it out. I don't get any of the acrid or bitter note I expected from bitumen, but it wouldn't be unwelcome if it appears, as this is a very sweet cloud at present. As it wears the other resins start to come through and add complexity that's very enjoyable. Sweeter than I expected, even with the "condensed" milk, but I am enjoying how it's getting more layered as it wears. I don't get any laundry notes or "clean/fresh" vibes, but the linen and tea does read sort of floral for me (lotus, specifically), though I personally definitely wouldn't call this a floral scent. Sugared milky resinous with the rest supporting.
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WOW. Total black musk vibes even though that isn't here. I'm getting a Halloween brimstone version of Streets of Detroit and I am LOVING it. Leather is very muted for me at this stage but I will update after more wear. Updated with drydown - I don't get any strong leather, which for me is amazing! Dark, dark and musky with sweet amber and that very special touch of pepper and brimstone.
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This is the kind of dead leaf note I can get down with right away. I usually have to either shy away from that note or let it settle for a good long while before it works for me. This one, on the other hand, delivers the dry, crunchy leaves with some maple-sugar sweetness. Not a ton, but just enough to allow it to work for me. (That might actually be the pumpkin that I'm mixing up with the maple leaves, but whatever it is, it's just enough sweetness.) The Bay Rum is a sensational combination with these dry, crunchy leaves, and the overall scent blend is evoking a well-dressed man strolling ominously through an autumn path, smoking a fine cigar, with possibly spurious intentions. I mean, he's got a pumpkin on his head, so how spurious can he be?! 🤣 There was a mention once of a Bay Rum Snake Oil maybe existing, back when the Purge scents were introduced, and this is one that makes me want to smell something like that desperately!
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Sweetly boozy, and the drier coconut scent of the coconut shells add to the "dust" and overall evocation of a scene. You put the skeleton key you found on the dusty bar into the lock of an old wooden door in the back of the tavern. It creaks open to bring into your view an altar in a darkened room and its ofrendas. A burning candle, a coconut shell with a shot of whiskey in it, and the gift of an unlit cigar ready to be smoked. I don't get a sense of foreboding, but of anticipation. Someone's been invited to this scene. It isn't you, but you'd like to stick around to find out who's coming and take your chances, make your deals. Halloween magic!
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Ever-so-slightly scorched goat's milk and spicy clove. There isn't a ton of "goat" in this milk for me, but enough for it to have more depth and pleasant funk than your usual moo juice. Creamy and sweet, but very well spiced with the familiar, fierce clove, which is smoothed out and clotted up with this toasty leche de cabra. Update: End of the work day, and this is still going strong, and somehow got sweeter and toastier.
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Sticky, resinous, deep, dark pumpkin incense. This is not a bright and shiny drug-store candle candy pumpkin. This is a spooky-ass, kinda warped and warty pumpkin that's seen some shit whilst perched on a porch on a rough street. Like if that smell of the inside of the lid of a lovingly carved, candlelit Jack o'Lantern was tranformed and captured into tears of resinous incense to smolder. Maybe a touch of the motor oil note making it just that much more blackened and viscous, or maybe it's a touch of very black musk. Whatever it is, it's exactly what I was hoping for, and pairs amazingly with Pumpkin Incense atmo spray!
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This was very warm, sweet, skin-close, and a little smoky. I wore this for my year-and-a-day handfasting on the solar eclipse new moon and it was the perfect accompaniment for a promise in the shadows of a different sort! I enjoyed the caramelized notes and the overall warmth of the scent. Comforting, familiar, but yet unique.
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Just beautiful. Fizzy at first, almost a little tropical; I'm guessing that's the coconut milk peeking through. Jasmine sambac really works for me more than any other in the jasmine world, and this is no exception. Sweet, but not cloying. Fresh, but not laundry. Floral, but not overwhelmingly so. The sandalwood and amber are in the background at first, but they appear as this warms. This is absolutely giving me Luper in the Weenies vibes. I love it. Also, if you liked To Lallie, I think you will like this one.
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A dusting of fireplace ash on warm puppy and kitten fur, taking a break by the glowing amber-sweet wood embers before the next romp. Sweet, a little smoky, a little fuzzy, and grounded with smooth wood. Very enjoyable and evocative; a great fall or winter mood.
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I don't go for floral, as a rule, but I just love Alice. Carnation is the one flower I tend to always enjoy, so that helps, but this is just such a perfect essence of innocence and mischief. If you like the spice of carnations and fresh-cut red roses, smoothed and sweetened with milk and honey, try Alice. It's an iconic BPAL creation everyone should try at least once.
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This is petrichor, but make it fashion. Bursting with cypress evergreens and suffused with a woody red patchouli, the mud is an earthiness anchoring it all together. The rain has passed, the earth is sodden, and the forest floor is alive and quenched. Breathe it all in! I'd like to layer this with Death Cap next time!
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It smells exactly like a well-loved black leather motorcycle jacket that's been drenched in years of that scent you get when you open your box of BPAL imps. You know the one. It's a gentle black leather; this isn't strong or overpowering leather for the leather-averse (me). And it morphs together seamlessly with a balanced blend of l'essence de BPAL: an amalgam of dragon's blood, musk, amber, patch, and incense. Dragon's blood is the loudest player in the melody, but the orchestra is all here. It's like one of our souls captured in a 5ml amber apothecary vial. I feel like while this scent may be a love letter to the Lab's dear friend behind the brand Bloodmilk, it's also kind of a love letter to the BPAL fandom.
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This reminds me a bit of Horses Cooling Themselves in Water, but that one was sweet with a touch of musk. The hazelnut leads the dance on my skin, with the chammomile gently behind. I get some of the woodiness coming in behind that, which for me is a lovely combo of that unmistakeable cedar and my beloved woody red patchouli. This is very dry, so if you crave a scent that isn't sweet, and you enjoy a nutty or woody blend, I'd give this one a go. Utterly genderless; this could smell sohpisticated and elegant on anyone.
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This is airy, sweet, and somehow also a little crisp. It's almost a linen-y quality but not laundry. Just airy and light and white. As it dries down there's a citrus to it, which I'm guessing is how I'm reading the tea, and it's floating on top of a very smooth and gentle amber and wood base. Very sheer and ephemeral. Will be a great one to come back to and check in with as it matures.
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Ooh, I love this! It's kind of just an earthy, lemony amalgam of goodness for me that I can't really pick apart, but it's perfect. It smells much more funky OOB than it does once you apply it and it dries down.
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For me, this is the black musk that I absolutely adore from Streets of Detroit, but here sweetened and warmed and fuzzed with amber instead of myrrh and motor oil. It's dark and absolutely feline, and I can see it becoming one of my go-tos. I really, really love this one.
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This is really beautiful. In the bottle and wet, this amber is giving me something a like balsam, or another very gentle pine resin, sweetened. As it warms on the skin, it really blooms. This amber is sweet, warm, with that little touch of balsam-maybe, and maybe a sprinkle of spices. Reminds me of the way Horses conjured radiant warmth from an animal's body for me. So comforting and redolent of safety, trust.
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WOW. Majestic af. I did not expect this one to be an unabashedly red musk sexpot powerhouse! It's a day out of the mail, so YMMV. Super intense red musk with the distinct haze of (what I now know to be) red labdanum there in the background. It's sweetened up by the vanilla and honey, but not in a sugary/foodie way. There's just so much happening here, but it's pretty seamlessly blended, so I can't really pick out the other notes leaping forward. There's an earthiness or fuzziness that could be the patch/myrrh/tonka or maybe even the cashmere. I'm finding the oakmoss as it dries down, but again, not leaping forward. The musk envelops everything and blurs the lines. Into the drydown, the vanilla starts to show itself in a more obvious way. Ginger cat in a bottle? If so, it's an absolutely bold and over the top tribute!
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Fluffy, vanilla-marshmallowy, and just a touch of fuzzy, amber-glow musk. Cozy and comfortable like a warm, purring, fluffy white cat!
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I thought I'd reviewed this one, but apparently I didn't. This is a totally unique scent that is ideal for spring and summer because it is all about green, juicy freshness with just enough green musk to keep it on the ground. More of a skin scent, which is also a great pairing for hot weather, and it really surprises you when you catch it. Who knew that cabbage perfume could smell fresh, clean and a little sweet, even? I get the crunchy lettuce and pulpy cucumber, but the cucumber isn't dominant as others mentioned. Definitely not my usual and I'm very happy I took a chance on something completely different.
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This is certainly a more floral-leaning scent, based on the notes, than I would usually choose, but the benzoin and musk (and the concept) caught me. I'm glad they did! "Blanket of benzoin" is apt, because this dries down into a sweet, vannilic, cozy musky cloud, with blooms in the background. I don't really use sleep scents, but this would be one if I did. That's not to say the floral notes aren't here: while wet this is more floral than sweet and cozy. But if you're like me and don't reach for floral, this one may still appeal to you once you get to the drydown.
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Musky dead leaves, rich raw honey, and a squeeze of juicy blackberry. I get a hit of maple sugar as it dries down. Cozy.
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This is incredible. I can't say more than what's already been said. Snake Oil's impossibly sexier older sister. She left the vanilla and ran away from home with that one guy with the motorcycle.
