OxfordComma
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Everything posted by OxfordComma
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Ahhh I love BPAL's olibanum/frankincense notes. I got mine secondhand so I'm guessing it's aged a bit because the throw is nice and solid! Olibanum and labdanum with a light dusting of cardamom, edges gilded with olive blossom. Cade and spikenard add to the meditative, sacred feel of it. This is really pretty. It might usurp Templum Dei from its top shelf frankincense throne.
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A veritable thwack of cypress in the bottle, but it opens up on skin to a softly smoky incense with a roughly woven moss silk base. This feels like Girl Holding a Snake's older and bolder sibling, with amber instead of vanilla cream. The calla lily is soft, green stemmy floral breeze, stirring the incense plumes gently. If this was an Ars Anni scent it would be something like The Old Temple by Hubert Robert. A golden glowing scent, trimmed in green.
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I love reading the reviews here and seeing how differently people can interpret the same scent. This one especially seems all over the place! Fortunately (for me), I'm getting the same vibes as nikaida, Becca, and forspecial_plate! This starts out with a fresh cut dewy lily, not the loud spicy lily, but a cool soft one. There's a green stem note that fades away into a freshness from the green tea, backed by creamy florals. This is so pretty in an elegant, put-together way. It smells like someone fresh from the bath, having used nothing but Crabtree & Evelyn products. It's such an easy everyday type scent that I'm tempted to grab a backup bottle.
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At first whiff, I thought there must be carnation in here because it immediately reminded me of Shelley, Byron, and Keats. But I forgot about poppies! So poppy party, a hint of the sweet-tart vibe I always get from peonies, and ofc Snake Oil. It actually does remind me quite a bit of SB&K + SO, which I am very OK with because I adore both. Another lovely Snake for my floral Snake brigade! 🐍💐
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This starts out with a grassy burst, like smelling a freshly mown lawn on the breeze, over SO. The wildflowers peek out on skin, and the overall effect is wearing SO outside on a warm sunny summer day, surrounded by wildflowers and endless green expanses rippling in the wind, Studio Ghibli style. I'm not normally a grass fan but it works here as a perfect summery snake variant.
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Damp, sticky green notes. Like the sap of green stems, mixed with wet leaves and ivy. The florals are strong but definitely in that that nondescript wildflower vibe, like a breeze carrying a jumbled melange of floral notes. It does remind me of shampoo actually, and a specific one I used years ago that was sunflower scented iirc. This is surprisingly strong for a greenery and soft floral scent, maybe the silk is giving it the oomph. This feels clean and wild, Dryad vibes.
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Dear merciful gods this is so pretty. Lilac is one of my true loves, notes-wise but grape/wine scents usually go sticky sweet cloying candy on me, which I cannot handle. This is gorgeous though. I fully agree on the ice wine comparison, but it stays in that general vibe on me. The honeyed aspect gives way to a more pollen dusted, chilled floral beverage vibe. Great throw and longevity on me. This whole Luper season has been full of bangers but this one is Top 5. It's ethereal and otherworldly, big fae energy. Exquisite.
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(The mere mention of Love Lay Upon Her Eyes sold me on this! I had also overlooked the note tags, so major shout out to RoseThornAndOak for that!) This is super pretty. I agree it's like a sister to Love Lay, but with lily. The lily is gorgeous, green in that way lilies can be, but not grassy or too stemmy. Pollen dusted with the ethereal glow from white amber and a little hint of rose (and again I agree with above, tea rose came to mind!). It's not shrill or sour to me, more cool and airy. The white amber is definitely less in your face here than Love Lay, or maybe of a different variety, it feels less warm. This is lovely in hot weather! Good throw and decent wear for a scent that's fairly light!
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Something about this makes me think of wax, not like candle wax or beeswax in the usual way, but like... vintage waxy lipstick? Like the real old school ones in pots. Much waxier than the other lipstick BPALs I've tried so far. The smooth coolness of the lotus makes an interesting counter to the warmth ofcassia and myrrh. I totally agree that it's completely unobjectionable, I can't see anyone hating it. Smells like opening the drawer of an old vanity that used stored makeup once upon a time. Definitely vintage glam vibes. Elizabeth Taylor playing Cleopatra. Lowish throw.
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I've been loving all the SM beauties but Lorrainna 😍 STUNNING. The florals are dewy and delicate, like the scent of blooms on a humid morning before the sun starts baking everything to death. I adore lilac and was worried it would be too similar to my many other lilac scents, but the magnolia is an equal partner here, adding its breezy southern charm to the bouquet. Orris doesn't go full on powdery. Everyone is playing nice and being polite lol. I definitely agree with the "ethereal" description, it smells faelike, otherworldly. The throw is superb, I had no issue smelling it on myself even out in public with just a few wand swipes. It lasted a good 8ish hours on me, probably maintaining the throw for a good 6. This is so absolutely my jam, I'll be grabbing a bottle in my next order for sure.
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I can definitely see the white tea comparison, but white tea goes very shrill on me often and this fortunately does not. This is such a pretty floral earl grey tea scent though, omg. It smells like those gorgeous loose leaf blends with loads of flower petals and dried fruit in them. The bergamot is really gorgeous here, but I'm a bit partial to it as a note so ymmv on that lol. Honeysuckle is often very loud and kinda laundry on me but here it's playing very nicely. Gosh this is so pretty. This whole series is killing me, I've liked or loved every single one. 💀 Throw is surprisingly good on this one, but it dries down quieter after an hour or so. Overall medium throw and longevity so far, but it's so pretty I am willing to reapply nonstop if needed lol
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Agreed with the above. Reminds me of the strangely fizzy Batty Cathedral. The amber gives this a nice base to stand on, so it's lasting better than Batty Cath did on me. Bright and fizzy, grounded in smooth resins. Oddly refreshing and decidedly unisex. Ok throw, decent longevity. Another W for the Skull Maskerade series.
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Dry, baked desert spices. The vetiver warms up on the skin and starts lurking in the periphery. Clove and I don't often get along but it really works here. No medicinal edge, and it doesn't trample everything else into submission. The musk isn't feral or loud, just kinda there. Vibing. I like this a lot more than expected! Good throw and longevity as well.
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Definitely champaca forward, as mentioned, but what a beautiful champaca. The honeyed tobacco and spiced fruits rounds it out, makes it feel fuller and more robust. It reminds me of another indie favorite, but with better longevity and throw. Although she's not as much of a powerhouse as some of the other SM ladies, longevity seems solid so far. I'm really loving this whole series tbh, but I love cozy incense smells and this one is real good. Update: The longevity has really improved on this. It's an all day affair now and I'm here for it. This scent is like putting on a cozy jacket that fits you just perfect. I've been reaching for it a lot since I got it.
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Dry, sun-warmed earthy patchouli and leather sweetened by beeswax. Wafts of incense. This is so cozy and perfectly unisex. The dry aspect keeps it from being too heavy in the humid heat, despite the fairly heavy note list. It definitely fits the scholarly/academia vibe. Longevity is great, throw as well. I'm smitten ♡
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A couple years ago there was a Honeypot scent called White Honey, Lemon Peel, and Salt and this is it's softer, rounder sister. Tart lemon with a salted tang, drizzled in honey and cushioned on soft vanilla cream. Golden yellow, but in a mellow way. More a golden afternoon than dazzling summer sun. I love that Honeypot trio, so I'm pleased to have a flanker for it, since I never see it pop up in swaps! ETA: ooh the amber gets stronger over time and it's more like I layered WHLP&S over a glowing amber, which I'm definitely not mad about. So so pretty.
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(I bought this because the notes sounded nice but also because the painting rules and BPAL's knack for really nailing the vibe of the art is uncanny so I was super curious to see how this one played out.) The dates are the absolute first thing I get here, which is awesome! I love dates, my whole family has a weird thing for dates. We used to get a giant box of medjool dates from my grandmother every year for the holidays and it was always a looked forward to event lol. Anywhooooo. It's dates! Dusky purple dates. How are they dusky and/or purple? Bpal magic. The rest of the notes are kind of swirling around and bringing out different facets of the date note imo. It's not too foodie, almost a dried date incense. If that was a thing that existed. Man this smells so good. Idk if it's just because I'm so excited about the dates, or this is just super well blended, but I'm struggling to pick out individual notes. There's something that hints at spice without being "spice", probably the labdanum or DBR. Neither are cranked to their usual volume. This makes me think of those classic paintings of people lounging around in diaphanous clothing, sprawled in richly appointed rooms. Rich jewel tones, muted by haze. It's pretty. It's date forward. Good throw. I'll stop rambling about it now. 👍
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Floral strawberry milk. It reminds me of Pink Moon but without the more lactonic tang that one had, and with addition of velvety soft florals. It has a cosmetics bend to it, but as if your cold cream was strawberry milk scented. It manages to not read as inherently tweeny or kawaii, although I think it could work for those, but a more...grown up strawberry? A fancy locally sourced strawberry milk pudding sprinkled with dried flower petals, foodie yet not? It's pretty and I like it a lot, is what I'm getting at lol. I could see it being a good year-round strawberry scent. Decent throw and wear length for me.
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This is really pretty, y'all. And I second everything said above! Peony always reads vaguely fruity to me, so I definitely get the fruity-tarty-sweetness mentioned. The salt starts to ramp up within a few minutes and the florals mingle to give it a sort of beautiful pastel iridescence. Like a toned-down Lisa Frank seascape. It manages to have that salty air freshness, but still have a creamy floralness to it. It fits the art *perfectly* imo, and it's going to be a great summery scent without hitting the usual notes of summer fruity/floral staples. Throw is good, wear length I've clocked at at least 5 hours (but I was not paying super close attention after that.)
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Growing up we had a big backyard veggie garden and zucchini was one of our constant crops. The opening smells so much like watering zucchini on a hot day, hiding in the shade of our big oaks. The sandalwood incense is wafting in the background and I get it more in the throw than when I go sniffing for it. I can definitely see the spa association, and I agree full heartedly on the relaxing vibes, but this feels more gardenish than anything to me.
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Dear God this is so pretty. I knew I was gonna love it, being an unrepentant hoe for lilac, but holy crapola is it good. It does remind me of Cottonmouth! Like Cottonmouth but stuffed with big glorious lilacs. It has that same kind of smoothness. Between this and L'Homme Fut Solitaire BPAL has been killing it with the lilac scents this year. Stunning. I'll be thinking very hard about a backup. Great throw!
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Agreed with above! It vanishes on drydown but when I first sniffed it I wondered why tf I bought so many strawberry scents lol. The buttercream note is so pretty and does make me think of icing roses on a cake. The drydown is indeed a warm, skin/cosmetics type scent. Kinda 'effortlessly glam' type vibe. If I sniff directly I can pick out a suede note, but this isn't a typical leather note. Really decent throw though. I put some on the back of my hand to test and I'm sitting here playing vidja games going "oh! oooh!" every time I get a whiff.
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Onnagata Making Love at a Tea House as Mane’emon Watches While Holding a Kite
OxfordComma replied to Jenjin's topic in Lupercalia
This is so pretty and sunshiney. Like a golden sunbeam on a perfect, sunny, not-too-hot day. Sweetened citrus-y orange blossom floating over a very friendly patchouli. The floral notes leaned towards laundry for a bit, without tipping into full dryer sheet territory on me, but I honestly fuck with it. Just adds to the breezy summer day vibe imo. Throw was really good and it lasted several hours until I showered. I could see this being fantastic for spring or summer when it's not so horrifically humid. ETA: This has become even more dreamy imo. The notes have melded together more, and it's still has that clean vibe I usually get from honeysuckle, so I'm guessing it's the yellow tobacco flower? Regardless, it's smoother and more rounded now. It reminds me of Alphonse Mucha's Topaz or maybe Autumn. One of the ones that's done almost entirely in shades of golden yellow. I wore it yesterday and my husband commented that "Whatever you're wearing today is extra nice". (He always thinks I smell nice, just in varying degrees lol) He's not a fan of typical laundry scents or patchouli, so I was kinda surprised but I think this one is a 'greater than the sum of it's parts' deal. ♡ -
I was torn on this one because jasmine... and it does have a kinda pee vibe in the bottle, but not HELLA PEE like it can be. The sandalwood incense is apparent immediately upon application however, and tempers the jasmine quite a bit. This feels like a classic perfume all BPALed up. Kinda sexy in a hazy, sketchy, speakeasy way. The purplish florals and incense notes remind me of something, but I can't put my finger on it. The word "vintage" comes to mind. Wears fairly quiet on me currently, surprisingly! Longer drydown pulls out the labdanum more, which I'm always a fan of. Still not a ton of throw, unless my allergies are running interference. The jasmine reads more 'heady floral' now without the indolic hint. Update: The pp hint is almost entirely gone now, which I appreciate. The overall effect is more hazy floral incense now. An almost smoky undercurrent, like the difference between lit and unlit incense. It still kinda reminds me of the speakeasy days but more a 'mysterious lady who's really into chinoserie' vibes. Lol
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L’Homme Fut Solitaire Dans un Paysage de Nuit
OxfordComma replied to doomsday_disco's topic in Limited Editions
Fuuuuuck this is so pretty. Lilac is the star on me but this lilac is being anchored by the other notes. The labdanum is not cola, the frankincense smells like the one from Midnight Mass etc, but it's not as much in the spot light. This notes list sounded like a slamdunk for me and I was right! Throw is great, longevity seems solid. All around win.