crystaltongue
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Everything posted by crystaltongue
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I get: herbs and fruit, very nearly gender neutral. The lemongrass is aromatic and just slightly astringent. I only get the slightest hint of honey, but I am glad for its sweetness all the same. Thankfully, the patchouli is just barely detectable. There is something ecclesiastical about this scent, dignified without being melancholy. Not my usual aesthetic, but definitely pleasing all the same.
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There is some sort of alchemy in this scent on me. The verbena is VERY citrus fruit on me. As it dries down, the sandlewood is trying to make an appearance, but the verbena keeps shoving it down and saying "STAND ASIDE PEASANT". The ambergris rounds it out a little and keeps it from getting too sharp. Overall, a clean and refreshing scent.
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This was such a surprise. Now, I amp roses like no ones business, so I expected that to be the dominant note on me. Not so. In the bottle and wet on the skin, it is SO much silk. As it dries down, a delightfully bitter black tea (specifically, I get an assam) comes to the front. The roses are there, but they aren't the star. I only detect the slightest hint of honey, so no worries about this going too sweet. I had expected this to be something closer to the family of Jezebel, but I am not at all disappointed with what it actually turned out to be.
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A sweet, delicate scent. I don't especially get the frost note, but the hinoki is lovely and green. The frangipani and white tea give it the exquisite delicacy, while the honey lends just a hint of sweetness. I want to try pairing it with my Teahouse on Nakanocho hair gloss!
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GORGEOUS. A candy, fizzy, boozy lime. There is a hint of juniper, a hint of the sloeberry, and just a general delightful cheeriness. Not to sweet or too foody, though the booze is strong enough I MAYBE shouldn't wear it to work. Glad I picked this one up!
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This goes really unfortunate places on me. It somehow smells like secondhand smoke from a hipster. The orange blossom disappears, the clove amps, and something just goes WRONG. Tragic.
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The Discples reminds me strongly of a woodier, sweeter version of Snooty Rose. The prune note echoes the plum of snooty rose; the roses are similar; and the combination with sandlewood has a similar effect. The labdindum and vanilla, though, make The Disciples warmer and more resinous than Snooty Rose, which the orange blossom is more sweet and floral than Snooty Rose's bergamot. One the whole, though, I would describe this as another surprisingly gender neutral rose-and-wood scent, and a delightful addition to my collection.
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Reviewing the 2020 version: Exactly what it says on the bottle. A juicy pink apple dipped in a light, slightly floral honey. Sweet without being cloying, and gourmand without making me want to chew on myself. It reminds me a little of a sweeter and more all-season version of my favorite three note (white clover, elderflower, and apple). Honey and apple are two bpal notes that always always work on me, and together they are a complete delight. So glad I managed to get ahold of a bottle.
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Definitely a lighter and dreamier anise than most, as others have desscribed. Wet on the skin, it almost reminded me of pencils. The florals are taking longer to express on me than most florals do, and the vanilla note is unfortunately slightly plasticky, but it seems to be settling into a combination that, if not notable, is at least pleasant. EDIT: Aaaaand another 15 minutes of drydown fixed the vanilla. Now it is a creamy vanilla floral with an undertone of anise. Delightful!
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A friend described the scent of tweedledee as "several people are typing". This seems accurate to me, as it smells different on every person I've smelled try it. On me, it is sweet candied citrus with just a bite of pepper - delightful and energizing. This one warranted a full bottle.
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A very sweet and candied ginger, with sweet and candied pears. A friend gave me a decant of this, and it is intriguing my brain today. In the bottle, it is almost a fake potpourri sort of smell, but on the skin that odd fakeness goes away and the scents resolve into ginger and fruit. There also seems to be a slight honey note in there, at least on me. It is VERY sweet - folks looking for a dark complex ginger should look elsewhere. But it is so very cheerful, that one cannot wish for it to be anything other than what it is.
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Blueberry Banana Cream Pie
crystaltongue replied to Silvertree's topic in Gifts with Donation or Purchase
In the imp, it is all banana all the time. On my skin, though, some butter and spice notes come out, and I get a hint of that blueberry tartness. Definitely a sweet and cozy scent overall. I'm not so enamored that I will be seeking out more than my one imp, but I am still glad I got to experience this one. -
For a scent with so many rich and creamy notes to it, this is quite refreshing! In the aged imp I have, it is soft shea butter and coconut at first, but quickly becomes fresh water with what almost seems to be a hint of banana. Not an overly strong scent, but definitely pleasant.
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I keep forgetting how much I love Kumiho. It is one of the simpler of BPAL's tea scents, but it really doesn't need more going on than it already has. It is a fragrant, floral white tea with fresh young ginger. Simple, sophisticated, and elegant. I am really not convinced that there is actually a citrus note here, so much as young ginger having a tang all its own, but I can see why it reads as citrus on folks.
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Unfortunately, this smells EXACTLY like sugar snap peas to me. I don't dislike sugar snap peas, but I don't think I want to smell like them. I wish I could give a more nuanced and complex review, but it is just all peas all the time to me.
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We were lucky enough to snag the blue bottle of Yuki-Onna that went up on ebay recently, and WOW I am in love. The jasmine is sweet and doesn't go at all cat pee on me (unlike some). The lemon verbena, though, is the real star for me. Citrusy and herbal in all the right ways. The sandlewood is just the slightest whiff giving it complexity and interest. I am absolutely thrilled and look forward to wearing this.
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This is fourth lunar new year I have had the privilege to smell, and it is possibly the most delightful yet. The citrus is DEFINITELY forward in this one, but it is a candied citrus rather than a fresh one. It has all the usual lunar new years notes, and its commonalities with the authors can definitely be smelled on the skin as well as the bottle. It is really too bad that we collectively only managed to source one bottle, because I would wear this more often if I had the opportunity.
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I love plum and carnation, and unlike every other musk I have tried this one did not immediate trigger asthma when I sniffed the imp, so I actually tried this on. When wet on the skin, it is DELIGHTFUL. Rich plum and spicy carnation with just a little spicy warmth. As it dries, though...well. Upside: I am not allergic to this musk! Downside: Once it dries, the musk is about all I can smell. And it turns out I just don't like musk at all So, if you like musk but have been allergic to others, maybe give it a try? But if musk is not your jam, this won't be either.
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Ginger Cake With Quince And Orange Zest
crystaltongue replied to Silvertree's topic in Gifts with Donation or Purchase
In the imp, it is all cake to me - lots of butter and baking notes, not much else. There is a super brief period when it's wet on the skin where the ginger is strong, but that immediately dies down. Dry on the skin, it is mostly quince and butter with just a little ginger and orange. Not much throw all on this one once dry, so this might be good to wear on days that you want perfume but don't want it to be very notable to others. -
The tragedy of falling in love with a scent that is long gone. Moon rose, from the old half full imp a friend passed on to me, definitely loves my body chemistry. The moonflower starts out the stronger scent in the imp, but as it dries down on my skin the rose blooms into a lovely, soft rose (cultivated, not wild, but still delicious all the same). The balance of the two is dreamy and lush in a way that pleases my brain. I will continue to hunt for anyone getting rid of an old supply.
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Reviewing the 2022 version: Peacock queen is a far more civilized rose than Rose Red. It is an expensive hothouse cultivar, and opposed to the wild deep forest fairytale rose. But it is lovely all the same. Classic, sophisticated, and just a little wicked. I love using it as a layering scent with other things, to turn all scents into rose scents.
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Rose Cross was a frimp in my Lupercalia order, and it definitely pleases! In the bottle the rose and frankincense are pretty evenly balanced, in a way that honestly made me think it might be too much incense for me, but on the skin that lovely fresh rose amps and amps until it is mostly rose with just a whiff of ecclesiastical dignity. I don't know how often all I will reach for this over my favorite Rose Red, but I am glad to have it in the collection of roses for variety.
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Night Gaunt is one of my brother's favorites, so I tried it out today to see what the fuss was all about. A deliciously juicy citrus, overall. I don't get the flowers when wet, but there is a hint when dry on the skin. Very little throw compared to other citruses (the kumquat in this doesn't have NEARLY the power of the kumquat in, say, tweedledee) but that isn't necessarily a bad thing. A good perfume to wear when you just want scent for yourself, and not to share with the people around you.
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Dark Chocolate, Blackcurrant, Rosewater, and Apricot
crystaltongue replied to Seajewel's topic in Lupercalia
A surprise - this is a chocolate scent I actually like! In the bottle, it is just a rich dark chocolate scent with a hint of soapy rosewater. On the skin wet, the rose and apricot notably amp on me (though the currant never made an appearance at any stage, as far as I could detect). It is still primarily a chocolate scent on dry down, but it unlike other dark chocolates it doesn't go plasticky or smell like a tootsie roll. The apricot and rose continue to be detectable, and give the chocolate note an interesting complexity. I got this bottle to share with a friend, and I wouldn't want more than the half bottle I have, but it is a pleasing surprise all the same. -
Goblin cider, my beloved. This was one of the very first full bottles I obtained, and it continues to please. Wet on the skin, it is spices, especially ginger, with just a little apple sweetness. On the skin, it the apples bloom. The apple note is the exact smell of apple picking very late in the season, when rotten apple strew the ground and ferment. The spices are very much still present when dry, but they seem to get deeper and spicier. It is a very autumnal sent, but not a bad choice for something cozy and just a LITTLE sinister for winter.