ShadowEtienne

The lab's dragon's blood note tends to work well on me, it's sweetly spicy and resinous. That makes up the base here, definitely noticeable and identifiable. The galbanum is there adding more layers to the resin and a slightly sharper more herbal resinous note. I don't think that I'd like the galbanum note much alone, but as a supporter to the Dragon's blood in the resinous backdrop, it brightens and sharpens the scent in a pleasant way. Growing fresh and sweet and in full bloom atop the resins are an entire lilac bush and sweet freshly bloomed lily of the valley. This is definitely the scent of the whole plant for both, not just the flower. The greenery blends well with that herbal resinous element of the galbanum, and the two flowers play very nicely together on my skin. The scent is very true to its notes, and I'm very pleased with it.

This one takes a little while to settle on my skin, but I do really like where it ends up. As it settles in, all the notes that end up being there take turns being out of balance. I was worried it was going to not turn out great, and then about 15 minutes in, everything balanced out into the really lovely, evocative scent it landed on. A sweetly spicy resinous smoke with the barest hint or rose wafts through a clearing in evergreen woods where long overgrown grapevines are surrounded by sweet fresh lilies. It really does evoke a dreamlike place in the forest. Liles as always amp on me, so they bloom sweetly here, but the rest of the scent holds up to them. This is delightful! I am very very sure looking at the reviews and also just with the wildly unbalanced settling phase on my skin that this is one that will be wildly different on different people.

This isn't a scent I normally would have picked out, but I was frimped it by the lab in an etsy order, and it's one of the GC beard oils (though currently out of stock so I will get to see if it comes back), and one of the few that sounds tolerable and I need a new beard oil. Leather is usually a note I avoid, but I was glad to have a chance to sample this imp to see if I would be interested in getting the beard oil if/when it came back. On my skin, this is primarily soft woods with rosewood taking center stage. I like the way rosewood smells, so I'm pretty pleased with that. It has undercurrents of smokey-spicy incense and something tannic (probably leather, but the good part of leather smell to me). It does smell a little bit of old library in a good way. While I'll probably not be wearing this as perfume (and will likely pass it on to someone who will get better use of it), I'm definitely interested in picking up the beard oil. I'd like to switch to a BPAL beard oil, and this is better than the only other readily available ones to me which are basically fell face first into several trees. I can see why people are super into this as a scent too!

My first impression of this is that it definitely shares some notes with Prague, but the winter version. I suspect at least some of the floral in there is crocus (shared note, also would make sense with the label). There's a creamy snowy floral element to this too, and a hint of saffron. Overall, this is a lovely smooth floral, that definitely evokes the first blooms as winter turns to spring for me. I'm happy to have picked some up when it got put up on etsy.

I got a bottle of this off etsy just recently, slightly nervous from all the negative reviews, but knowing that lily of the valley is a note that works well on me from the lab generally, and I like it with resins. On me, this is a soft, creamy lily of the valley, still fresh but towards the end of it's bloom. That layers over a soft, spicy, fruity resinous scent from the opoponax. It's simple but beautiful on my skin. I suspect from the reviews that this is one that goes a lot of different ways with skin chemistry, but if lily of the valley plus resins is generally good for you, it might be worth a shot.

So I like durian, don't love it but like it, especially in the context of durian paste mooncakes which I've had a few times. Durian also doesn't smell vile to me fresh (I lucked out on the smelling front on that one), though the inside definitely smells better than the outside. With that out of the way, I was intrigued when I got to smell a friend's bottle of this, and was able to get a decant from said friend's bottle. This smells and tastes sort of like the paste made with durian for the inside of mooncakes to me. It's got that custardy tart very slightly musty but like in a good way scent-flavor from the durian and a bright warm sweetness from the honey while not being too sweet. The brandy is an interesting balancing note, bringing some more warmth and spice to the blend. I love this (more than I like durian of its own accord), and I am fascinated at how well it captures the best elements of durian.

This is lovely on my skin! The most forward notes are a pretty evenly balanced set of the floral and tea. The lily of the valley, is a gentle and fresh, the orange blossoms are sweet and lightly citrusy, and the jasmine tea is freshly brewed, it's aroma wafting through the garden where these flowers grow. The honey and apple both behave on my skin, which they do not always do, bringing a crisp juiciness of a just sliced apple, definitely green, but not all skin or too tart, and the soft sweetness of a lightly floral honey. The sandalwood is barely there, just adding a touch of grounding woodiness that helps keep the scent from getting too sweet. These flowers and tea notes tend to be winning notes on my skin, and I adore both lily of the valley and jasmine, so this definitely works for me, and I'm very excited for the decant that I managed to get a hold of!

I love the Lunar New Year scents and have at least small quantities of most of them at this point. Earth Dog was one that I was nervous about because patchouli generally does not love me, but I figured in such a complex blend, where the rest of the blend generally is things that work so well for me, I needed to try it (other LNY blends with things I'm iffy on have worked well for me). I was able to get a decant from a forum order (thank you!!!), and I'm so glad that I've managed it because this is indeed lovely, and the patchouli doesn't seem to be causing me problems. Like all of the LNY scents, the overarching scent profile seems to be the dried and candied fruit put out on lacquered trays at LNY with a backing of some soft airy peony, plum blossom, and peach blossom. Citrus is the strongly predominant fruit here, lots of orange/kumquat/mandarin, and the lychee while there is pretty quiet on me. The lotus note is an interesting addition to the floral, but it's not a loud part of the floral mix. The fruit floral combo is warmly backed by the resins and slight woodiness here. This is definitely the woodiest of the LNY scents for me. I suspect that the patchouli is playing supporting note to sandalwood to achieve this, but I'm fortunately not picking up any distinct patchouli. Overall, while this isn't my favorite LNY blend, I'm excited to have it, and glad that the patchouli didn't ruin it for me. I'm definitely going to be keeping an eye out for a bottle!

I love the Lunar New Year scents and have most of them in at least a small amount at this point. Water Tiger (2022) shares some really prominent notes with Water Rabbit (2023) and Fire Cock (2017), especially in that they all three have the "sticky rice cakes" note. Like most LNY blends, the overarching scent profile is citrus and the enamel candied and dried fruit trays that get put out for LNY, backed with some beautiful drifting floral and resin notes. So far, I'd say that Water Tiger is one of the most resinous and herbal smelling blends, which is not something that I would have necessarily expected. It really reminds me of the scent of freshly brewed sticky-rice pu'erh leaves! (The sticky rice scent in sticky rice pu'erh is achieved with an herb that has a scent and flavor very similar to sticky rice, and they've got that spot on here.) Citrus is a prominent player here, but the sweetness is less prominent than in several of the other LNY blends. It's an interesting addition to the collection of LNY scents, and I really like that I have a somewhat less sweet one that still has these lovely notes!

Seraphim is a beautiful scent on my skin. I amp lilies much of the time, which is good because I love them, so unsurprisingly, on my skin, the cala lily is the star. The lab's cala lily note on me isn't the big bright juicy nectary and slightly spicy lily of say Black Lily (or my beloved Tiger Lily), but it is fresh and floral and crisp. There is a sappiness of still growing plants to the flower, and also a deweyness. Rose and wisteria are there, but they provide mainly a floral backdrop to the much more powerful lily. Rose warms the scent some, but this is not a sweet rose, just soft and warm. Wisteria adds a slight spice that is excellent at blending into the wood and resin. Sandalwood isn't strong in this on my skin. Considering it's my least favorite note here (not bad, just neutral), I don't mind. It's mostly providing a background sense of wood. Frankincense plays a much stronger role, giving a soft, warm, resinous backdrop with just a hint of resinous spice. I appreciate that this scent isn't sweet at all on my skin. It's still a beautiful lily but it's different from many of the others that I've tried, and I'm definitely keeping an eye out for more cala lily. I think this is the point where I realize that while I'm picky about it, done well I really appreciate frankincense.

I know it's been a bit since you posted this, but you might find one of the somewhat recent Lunacies that is still live interesting based on the notes described: Death Moon (Eternity: Oman frankincense, white sandalwood, palo santo, white copal, cypress leaf, angelica root, helichrysum, and Bulgarian rose absolute.) It looks like there aren't a lot of BPAL scents with palo santo right now, though sandalwood is common as a note. Looking through notes of things that are available as imps, these are a few that seem like they could be of interest (I've not tried most of these but they might be a place to start). I'd also consider looking at the imp packs that are available on the site and seeing if any of them have the right sort of theme in terms of notes. • Half-Elf (RPG) - White sandalwood, beeswax, white tea leaf, oud, and a hint of sophisticated urban musk. • Seraphim (Sin and Salvation) - calla lily, wisteria, white sandalwood, Damascus rose and frankincense. [This is not sweet at all on me and I love it, but I don't know how you feel about florals] • Brown Jenkin (A Picnic in Arkham) - dusty white sandalwood and orris root, dry coconut husk, creeping musk, and the residue of ceremonial incense. • The White Rider (Marchen) - White leather and sandalwood. • Ode on Melancholy (Bewitching Brews) - Lavender and wisteria, heart-wrenching pale rose, desolate white sandalwood and thin, tear-streaked white musk. • Rakshasa (Bewitching Brews) - Sandalwood with rose and patchouli. • The Harlot's House (Bewitching Brews) - angel's trumpet, violet, white sandalwood, oude, copaiba balsam, angelica, white tea, olibanum, and oakmoss • Yggdrasil (Bewitching Brews) - The World Ash. Nine woods, nine leaves, and three herbs each for Ratatosk and Vidofnir, with three final herbs to placate Nidhogg. [This one is a bit of a shot in the dark, but it might suit based one what you seem to like about the scent you've described] • Ave Maria Gratia Plena (Ars Amatoria) - Rosewood with Sicilian lemon peel, red Mysore sandalwood, pale musks, sweet mountain sage and a dusting of lily, night-blooming jasmine and orris. Good luck with exploring and sniffing things! I hope that you are able to find a scent that plays nice with your skin and nose.

This was posted a while ago, so I'm not sure how far you've gotten in your experiments, but based on the description of The Grave-Pig, you might also find Dwarven Ale (Brewed with fermented mushrooms, pumpkin rind, honey, and apple rootstock) interesting. It's one that I wasn't expecting to like but was too curious not to sniff the frimp, and it turned out to be awesome.

I was able to get one of the old blue bottles of this in a forum order, so my test is of well aged Dormouse. It is beautiful, and I'll need to get a newer bottle as well so that I can have one that I am happier using with abandon. I'm getting white and green teas with a hind of something citrusy at the forefront. I suspect a touch of bergamot and some lemon verbena among the herbs. The peony is a freshly opened flower wafting in through the window, and there's a background note of a darker richer black tea. There is a tiny quiet hint of star anise in this scent for me, hiding in the back barely making itself known that takes this from a like to a love. It's fresh and tea and herbal and floral and just a bit of citrus and spice. Very much my thing! (I will likely update this once I've acquired a newer bottle as well to compare.)

Earthy, herbal, and cedar roots. It's interesting, but not really what I want to smell like. I do get something that seems to border on patchouli without being evil on my skin the way patchouli can be, so that's interesting. I think that it achieves what it's going for but that isn't really my thing. I'll be passing the imp I got with a forum order along to a friend who it is more appealing to.

This one is pleasant but not exciting and not really for me on my skin. It's cinnamon and creaminess and a touch of something fruity-floral. Too foody for my tastes and not really lending itself towards inspiration or motivation.

On wet, I thought for a moment this might be it, the scent where myrrh works on me. It was lovely lilac and tea and a touch of something resinous. As it dried down, the sticky sweet yet sharply bitter thing that myrrh likes to do on my skin slowly crept forward overtaking the more pleasant notes. This will get passed along to someone who will appreciate it more.

I'm taking a stab at this because it's been sitting here for a while, but I'm not familiar with the original perfume. Could you tell us a little more about what it smells like to you and what you like about the smell? It looks like the listed notes of the perfume that you are talking about are: citrus, ginger, red apple, juniper, tamarind, cannabis, geranium, freesia, tonka bean, cedarwood, musk, vetiver, and frankincense. That's a lot of notes, and I don't know how much each is noticeable and important to you (thus why your take on the scent is important). I'm sticking to general catalogue things that you could get an imp (sample) of first to see if it worked for you, especially since it looks like you're trying to replace something that you're running out of. These are not so much meant to be dupes as things that seem like they might have a relevant and similar vibe: - Azathoth (A Picnic in Arkham): tangerine, saffron, vetiver, black amber and cedarwood. - Tweedledee (Mad Tea Party): Kumquat, white pepper, white tea and orange blossom. - Oberon (Illyria): Orchid, white musk, and bergamot wafting over juniper berries, with a gentle touch of soft, earthy patchouli. - Aizen-Myoo (Excolo): Yuzu, kaki, and mikan with cherry blossom and black tea. - Shango (Excolo): red apples, banana, chili pepper, coconut, pineapple, pomegranate and sugar cane. - Baobhan-Sith (Diabolus): Grapefruit, white tea, apple blossom and ginger. - Zephyr (Bewitching Brews): Lemon, lemon verbena, neroli, white musk, white florals, white sandalwood, China musk, bergamot and a drop of vanilla. - Desire (Ars Amatoria): bittersweet neroli, black patchouli and black musk, gilded by apple, bergamot, blood red rose, teak, and vanilla. - Les Bijoux (Ars Amatoria): Skin musk and honey, blood-red rose, orange blossom, white peach, red apple, frankincense and myrrh. I can't speak for all of these directly (though Aizen-Myoo is one of my favorites), but they seemed like starting places based on the descriptions I could find of the perfume you mentioned. Folks might be able to help you more accurately with a little more info about your perspective on the scent.

I was fortunate to be able to pick up a bottle of this from a wonderful forumite in an order. The Lunar New Year blends and tea containing blends are both among my favorite and this has elements that reminded me of both, so I was very excited for it. It is beautiful on my skin! On me, both wet and dried down, the predominant notes are a soft sweet-spicy resinous dragon's blood, cherry blossom, and a very fresh tea. The bamboo is there softly in the background, and I'm not really getting sandalwood at all. There's a beautiful balance of freshness and resins and florals, that just smells delightful. It's a very comforting scent to me!

When this went on, it was extremely MINT! Specifically the sort of medicinal mint scent I associate with tiger balm. Now, this is a scent that I actively like and find soothing, but if it stayed there, I'd have been keeping this as a sleep scent. Fortunately about 15 minutes after application, the mint mellows and the citrus shows up on my skin. The grapefruit and the lime, specifically zest forward on both, seem to be the predominant notes on my skin of the citrus. They balance out the mint, but keep the scent fairly sharp and fresh. I'm definitely glad to have this, and I still definitely find it a soothing sort of smell. Of the listed uses, this definitely is an unwind and get rid of stress scent for me. It makes my exhaustion less jangling and would actually make it easier for me to sleep well as opposed to fitfully. I'm not sure restful was what was being aimed for, but that's where it's landed for me.

I was uncertain about Cthulhu from the description and even more from the reviews here. I'd been contemplating it for some time, and someone kindly gifted me a free imp as part of a forum order. Aquatics generally seem to behave well on my skin, and this seems to be another case of that. This scent is something very specific to my brain: being on the Mendoncino (Northern California) coast in an early summer storm. This is a vivid scent memory of walking on the Mendocino Headlands as a summer storm blew in back when I was in high school and went out there in the summers: sea spray and that ozonic storm smell and flowers blooming in amongst the sea grasses that blanket the headlands. There's the smell of seaweed in the ocean air, but not the way it gets weird when on the shore too long. This is a beautiful scent on my skin, though I'll have to be in the right mood to wear it. Coming back to this review to add: right mood to wear it is apparently very broad. This has become one of my most reached for scents and one of the GC scents that I've upgraded to a full bottle of. UPDATE with an original Springtime in Arkham bottle (2024/04/17) A wonderful forumite reached out to me with a bottle of the original Springtime in Arkham Cthulhu which I purchased. If this is how Cthulhu ages in general I am overjoyed. It's much the same scent, but there is something deeper, darker, richer and more vivid about it. There's a greater anticipation of the storm, the clouds are darker, it feels stronger somehow.

I got this as a free imp added on to a forum order. I'm really glad to have gotten a chance to try it! I was nervous about the ozone, so ordering it was not high on my priority list, so I'm glad it landed in my path. Aquatics usually seem to behave pretty well on my skin, and this is no exception. Lightning smells like a storm, but also flowers that have had petals knocked off in heavy rain. I think that there might be a wee bit of lily in this, and it reminds me of a brighter sharper Sea of Glass. Lovely scent that I'm glad to add to my collection and might need a bottle of eventually.

Brisingamen is confusing on my skin, and while I like parts of it, I don't think that it was meant for me. There's definitely amber in this, but it's a muddled sort of amber on my skin. I think that some of the amber notes are working and some aren't, but it's just a little too much amber all around. I love the myrtle and apple blossom notes hanging out right behind the amber, and I wish that they would take the lead on this scent. They're a delicate floral and herbal combination that works nicely together. The carnation is nowhere to be found on my skin. Overall, I think this one just isn't playing nice with my skin, and I'll pass it along to someone who it works better for.

This is one I likely never would have tried if it had not been gifted to me in a forum order as an added on imp. There are some folks in my circle of BPAL enjoying friends who have it, but foody and I are rarely friends, and there are so many other things to sniff and test. I'm really glad I got to sample this though! Miraculously on my skin, it's not food, though it does smell like a lovely drink (this is an important distinction for me). It's still a little sweet for my tastes, but I could see wearing it from time to time, and I could see some really lovely layering with it. On me, it settles into a lovely homemade blackcurrant and rose syrup mixed with something a little fizzy and a little creamy. Its sweet and rich, but there's nothing giving me pastry, more like cream Italian soda. This is fascinating!

On my skin, the citrus in this is very much the oils of the peels, lemon and bergamot both. They're gently mingling with the floral of the neroli, in a way that definitely shows the continuum of different citrus (fruit and flower). The herbal sage is a notable component that I'm realizing is a note I really like! It's a fresh warm herbal backed by the resinous elements from the amber and labdanum. It blends so nicely with the floral citrus. In general, herbal-floral-citrus is a hit for me, and this is certainly not an exception to that. I currently have a decant from a friend, may need to upgrade that to a bottle at some point.

I'd been hoping to get a chance to try this before ordering a full bottle and a friend had a decant that she passed along to me. I tested it lightly at a sniff things party and enjoyed it, and today, I'm giving it a proper wear test. "Green" scents (leaves, grass, lettuce, and such, but not a lot of specific herbs) haven't historically been my friend, amping to the point that they cover up all other scents. Dandelion and purslane don't seem to be doing that to me, so I'm excited! This is a fresh, green but not overpoweringly so, aquatic and specifically that lovely just had the first rain in a while petrichor scent. I don't know that I could specifically identify what purslane smells like (in fact a cursory search indicates to me that a lot of the plants in that family don't really have a distinct aroma). This smells so much like going for a walk along a nearby trail during a first rain in a while, fresh and green and a little sweet a little bitter in the greenery, but not unpleasantly bitter. I do like that this scent calls to mind the rain itself as well as just the petrichor for me. I'm going to be seriously considering a full bottle of this, and I'm also excited to try layering this with some florals!