elissamay
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Everything posted by elissamay
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This has echoes of Moon When the Cherries Turn Black, but more tart and a bit less complex. If you missed that one, this one scratches the itch.
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Allllll boozy fruits, sweet and juicy. The little bit of astringency from the wine hits at drydown, with the brown sugar molasses-y note and nutmeg starting to join the party.
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Sweet forest resin incense and smoke. This lair is on the edge of the holiday village, near the woods. Dark and moody, but with a bit of crispness from the woods.
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Pure comfort. What's that word, hygge? Yeah, that. Initially lots of leather, but that very quickly mellows out to a musky, very slightly woody sweetness. You can smell the crackle of the pages if you try!
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At first, vanilla spiced latte stirred with fir boughs. Pretty, spicy, sweet and just sharp enough touch of fir. Fully dried down, I started to ask myself if I spilled Morocco when I was putting away new imps. It's uncanny! Like @boomtownrat said, Morocco from the northern climes.
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This is so different from my other bottles of Raven Moon (2009?) that it's kind of hard to believe they're the same scent! If this is your first go-around with this one, definitely suggest putting it away for a bit. I know I'm going to, and I'll come back to it in a month or so to see how it may have changed. Letting this version warm on the skin, I'm finding a bit of that delightful nose-tingling chili pepper I love so much in the dark and mature bottles I've hoarded, but I am hopeful a bit of time on this fresh bottle brings it out more.
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Gauzy is the perfect word for this one. It's ethereal, bright, and the bergamot lives up to its citrusy reputation here moreso than in other bergamot blends I've tried. The barest hints of ambergris and incense. Will definitely return to this one after a good rest.
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Realistic tangy strawberry and spicy carnations really come out when wet, with earthy patchouli playing a supporting role. The red labdanum adds a sharp, almost astringent quality at first, but it mellows out as this one dries and warms. A mature fun scent; not too sweet and silly, but it's having a great time.
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Hot damn, this is gorgeous. I think I sort of, kind of get the poudh perception, but only when first applied. Not poo per se, but a unique and frankly addictive funk. Dry, I kept re-checking to see if there was cacao in this. Carob is mentioned in the description, but not in the notes, so I dunno. I could swear it's there. It's a dark, fizzy, exceptional example of a Snake Oil variant that takes everything spectacularly sexy about Snake Oil and pushes it to the next level. I hope I can try the others in this series!
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I'll preface by saying leather is not one of my absolute favorite notes. I enjoy it in a blend. Wet on the skin, this slapped me in the face as Band-Aids, hospital ward sharp. Antiseptic, even. Knowing leather isn't totally my thing, I let it dry and warm up. Once the balsam starts to come out, it totally changed. The antiseptic quality became more herbal. Vanilla and beeswax followed the warmed balsam, sweetening the sharpness. I don't really find the tobacco but I think I would miss it if it wasn't there to ground the vanilla. At this point, well warmed and drying down, the leather becomes supple and soft, like well-loved cowhide boots, an English saddle, or a favorite leather satchel. (No barnyard here, lest the "boots" and "saddle" send you that direction.) If you love leather, I expect you would love this one. I am going to return to this one in a few weeks and see how it's all melding together.
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This one almost strikes me as a very posh cologne intended for a gentleperson of status, dabbed on the pulse points of a sinister demon. Like it's luring me down these stairs to see who in the world smells this fancy in this dark cellar. Surely noone who would blend spicy peppercorn with patchouli and vanilla tar would inhabit such a place as this? Oh, hello. Why yes, I'll follow you down this creepy descent. Nothing unusual about this in the slightest. Try it if you enjoy well-blended cologney scents with a bit of dirty vanilla creepy vibe. The peppercorn really pops. I am enjoying it but I may see how it smells on my fiancé!
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This is beautiful! I almost didn't pick this one up, and I'm glad I did. I'm not doing it justice, but it is definitely not like anything else in my (young) collection. There's a sweetness and a creaminess from the bergamot and rice milk, and a spicy, woody thing happening from the sandalwood and palo santo. Really, really lovely and unique. The sweet and creamy isn't overpowering or gourmand, and the spice/wood aren't taking over. Very nicely balanced all around.
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Red Musk, Sugared Amber, and Red Berries
elissamay replied to Silvertree's topic in Duets & Menage A Trois
OOB this is ALL red berries for me. Almost to a Hubba Bubba strawberry bubble gum extent. Note: My bottle was cloudy when it arrived, and reading reviews made me take a look at it now that it's been sitting. Definitely separated into a cloudy, milky bottom (1/4) layer and a clear top layer, so shake well if you have it stored. After a good shake, wet on skin it's still all strawberry bubble gum, but as it warms, the edges get fuzzy with ambery musk. I think this one will be amazing for adding some sugared berry oomph to other favorites, but may not be something I wear on its own. -
I love this so much that I have moments of, "This is it, this is my one true BPAL. I don't need any other smell," every time I wear it. I'm not sure what it is about it, but it's just perfection. For me, it's a shimmer of motor oil floating on pools of inky black musk, with sweet and resiny myrrh blooming as it dries down. It's sexy and gritty, and it lasts and lasts. I think the throw is good, but I kind of don't care. I only care about smelling this one myself. It has the built-in vibe of, if you don't like it, go eff yourself. I'm inclined to try this layered with Autumn 1990 to see what happens! (But that means I will wear it again this week and then I risk spiraling into wanting to wear it every day!)
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For me, this blend is the counterpart to Satyr. That sexy, almost effervescent red musk is wrapped with some sexy lingerie here instead of sporting cloven hooves, but the effect is the same. A BPAL classic!
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I don't understand this scent at all, and I'm here for it. All bright, fresh lemon balm at first, maybe with some mint, or maybe even dill? It's herbaceous and bright and bracing. When it dries down, there is a sweet resiny thing happening along with the lemony and minty notes. It isn't the lemony resin of frankincense for me, almost sweeter like amber. This is definitely not my usual scent wheelhouse, and definitely not what I expected for a scent whose name is "Shadow," but I'm enjoying it quite a lot. This will make for a beautiful spring/summer wear!
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This is another SO variant that goes savory on me, but not to the intense degree that Sugar Cookie SO did. I get mostly dry apple pie at first and very little Snake Oil. Over time, it's as if a dry Snake Oil blooms. Not sweet, just spicy and musky. As savory as Snek can be.
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Testing this one today, and this reads with fresh-cut, dew-kissed spicy roses with their stems peeking through the ambery warmth, but there aren't roses in the notes. "Budding herbs," maybe? The rose-esque note isn't dominating, and the stem or herbaceous quality makes it feel very real, like it came from this Sorcière's garden. The honey comes up as this warms on the skin and melds so nicely with the amber, but the honey isn't dominating, either. It evokes the image of the Sorcière with a bundle of budding, dewy roses and herbs, spinning in a spiral dance with clouds of amber and honey around her. I don't find the sandalwood or polished wood until I take a deep inhale from my skin. I think a more normal everyday application (vs my test drop or two) would help bring that forward (on me).
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This gives me big Silky Bat vibes when first applied, but later it opens up to Silky Bat wearing a crown of flowers. I'm enjoying the honeysuckle, which I wasn't totally sure about, but having grown up in California with plenty of honeysuckle bushes, it conjures my youth. The vanilla in Final Girl is closer to "ice cream" to my nose.
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I hesitated on Final Girl because I thought it would veer too sugary sweet for me, but on my skin it reads creamy sweet vanilla with a really lovely undertone of cloves. I'm glad I took the plunge on this one!
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2022 fresh from the mail: I'm getting the fir needle right up front vs. 2021 (my only other version). "Medicinal" came to mind up front, and as it sits on the skin, the apple comes out, and the rest of everything we love about this classic. I especially love the mullein, which is what I reveled in when I got my very first bottle last year. It arrives in 2022 once it's warmed up on the skin. I love how there's a little twist from version to version, making me want to pick up a few others.
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I don't have any other citrus BPALs in my collection, so I can't compare to anything else. OOB, it's all tart and even bitter citrus peel, but on the skin the velvet musk quickly takes over. The citrus is hovering over the musk with a crispness, but the bitterness OOB fades. I don't expect the citrus will last long, but while it's here, it's a nice contrast and companion for the deeper musk. I don't get a ton of "blooming" mock orange floral at all, but it is sweetening the citrus a bit. Not my usual musk scent, which is a good thing! I think this one will be a nice option in the spring. EDIT: This has aged a little now, and this musk is swoon-worthy. The citrus is still bright and a little bitter up front, hovering over that lush, lush red velvet musk.
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I love this. I'm a sucker for red musk, so I expected to like "merlot musk," but this really delivers. Wet it's very much cherry-spiked wine, and the clove bud comes through while wet as an almost numbing or tingling in the nose/back of the throat. On the skin, the the burgundy wine and merlot musk meld together for a really sophisticated, sweet (but not foody or cloying), velvety hug. The spiced chestnut is coming through as a bit of a woodsy anchor for me, and rides along very nicely with the clove. Really enjoying this one so far!
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This More Than Bloody Deed is really an interesting one, and way more complex (and challenging) than I ever would have thought based on the notes. The "wildflower" honey is very realistic to a squeeze of wildflower honey from a bear-shaped bottle, with a sharpness and a floral kind of effervescence, almost. On the skin it starts to mellow down to a more warm (and less floral) honey, but if you want red labdanum to come out and play it definitely takes a while to go there, and I don't really get vanilla at all, crazily enough! I think my nose is reading the red labdanum as medicinal, kind of numbing to the back of my throat. Day 2 test: The medicinal quality of the red labdanum already seems to be mellowing out, but the vanilla is still taking its sweet time to show itself. I'm looking forward to how this one will change with some time!
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Out of bottle this was 100% dead leaves, but on the skin it really opens up into Snake Oil wrapped in a warm amber hug. The leaves dissipate almost immediately as if taken away by an autumn gust of wind, and the amber-wrapped Snake Oil blooms. I don't get the lavender oil at all, and the smoke from the fires really is distant. If you love Snake Oil, you will no doubt love this, but if you don't like dead leaves, they only stick around for a brief time. I have also never smelled original Snake Oil or Dorian, so more discerning noses than mine may have a different experience!