Tungerine

Dance of Death's living sister. Just as elegant, somehow deep inky purple-black and gentle white at the same time, but where Dance of Death is dry this is dewy and fresh. The first time I tried it, the violet went plasticky but I gave it another chance a few years later and I love it now.

Starts off smelling strongly of wintergreen, which is probably birch, and after a few minutes dries down to a clean, herbal scent. My cats seemed unusually interested, which suggests there's valerian in there (it affects some cats similarly to catnip). I wouldn't describe it as medicinal at this point, because that suggests it's harsh or bitter, but I could see it as a toothpaste flavour. After a while, woody notes start to come out and it sweetens. It's no longer toothpaste, it's fresh forest air. It's really nice at this point. The sharper herbal notes continue to fade until it's finally just gentle wood.

Tzadikim Nistarim is very hard to describe. Wet, there's a moment of confusing tropical fruitiness, but it's brief. Dry, it's smooth and gentle, with a little herbal bitterness. It's clean without being soapy. It's light, but deep. It glows. It reminds me of Alecto, but Tzadikim Nistarim is much gentler and kinder. Update: the bitterness is sticking around, and once the other notes have faded it's impossible to ignore. It's like tasting soap (not smelling it), and kind of metallic, no longer herbal at all. I might be allergic to something in here, or at least sensitive to it, because I have this problem with a couple of others, only it's much worse for them. This is still wearable and pleasant as long as I don't get it too close to my nose.

To begin with it's all strong, dark musk and vetiver. After a minute or so, a lighter musk comes out, and I think it's the combination of that with the mullein that gives it an undertone of something like air freshener, which sticks around longer than the darker notes. I like the initial phase, but I don't like how it changes on my skin.

This is the creepiest BPAL I've ever tried, out of over a hundred! It's damp, mouldy, cold dirt and very sweet fruity wine with a hint of dusty herbs. The Lab's dirt notes usually just make me think of gardening (especially when combined with florals) but the way this cold green dirt combines with the sickly sweet wine is very unsettling. Not unpleasant, exactly. Just creepy. I wear it to create an atmosphere, maybe while reading/watching horror, not to smell good.

It smells like a cat in a forest! Many cat owners say their cats smell sweet between their ears, one of mine certainly does (the other doesn't), and the civet smells just like him only much stronger. It's definitely a clean sweet cat smell rather than dirty cat pee, with a fresh herbal foresty background, and musk which makes it more wild animal than housecat. The vetiver is more grassy than smoky. It's VERY strong though, I used a tiny drop and it can be smelt across the room. I think the strength helps evoke a HUGE cat (rather than a normal sized cat), but I have to be careful with it. I love it, but I can't wear it out (except maybe hiking alone) because it's so strong. It's also long-lasting and hard to wash off, so I avoid it even if I'm not going out for several hours. But when I can wear it, it's one of my favourites. (I got Yule Cat before I had cats, and the other day I noticed my cat's head smelt familiar so I dug out the bottle!)

Snake Oil is warm, dark, dry, and sweet. It reminds me of Aperotos Eros, but it's softer and sweeter with vanilla and perhaps patchouli. I'm picky about vanilla, and it's threatening to become overpowering here. Snake Oil is not really for me, but I can see why it's so popular and I'd recommend that everybody should try it a couple of times even if they think they won't like it.

Can someone compare Hoggle and Jack? Is the pumpkin note similar? I find it rancid in Jack, but I think the peach contributes to that. Also, how sweet is Hoggle compared to Jack?

Unfortunately, it smells like the mouthwash the dentist gives me after I've had a filling. It's something about the way the labdanum dominates and combines with the other notes. It's not unpleasant, but I don't want to be reminded of getting a filling! I think I'd like it if the labdanum wasn't so strong. I got it for the leather, but I can barely detect it. It improves after an hour or so, but the mouthwash phase is too long.

The red musk immediately turns very sweet and kind of powdery, and the cherry is artificial and unpleasant to begin with, but improves a lot as it dries. Red musk usually doesn't work for me, but the anise REALLY helps, I often want to wash off scents with red musk immediately but with the anise it's tolerable. It doesn't quite save it though. Kabuki is not for me.

This is pretty much all cassia and cinnamon. The other notes come out more eventually, but there's just too much cassia for me.

This starts off with very strong fresh chrysanthemum, like shoving your face into a bunch of flowers. It's almost astringent, but very definitely floral. After 20 minutes the chrysanthemum has become gentler, and is nicely balanced with the tea. It's like black tea with chrysanthemums in it rather than fresh chrysanthemums and tea. The lotus root takes a while to show up. It adds just a little sweetness and depth. This might be my favourite 2024 Shunga. It's simple but lovely and I can even make a drinkable version in a teapot. ETA: I don't get honey from this at all!

In bottle: Plums and so much brandy. First impression on skin: Mostly plums and brandy. It's not so much dark as heavy, with none of the bright tartness that fruit sometimes has. Plum blossoms add a little clean lightness on top. It's very strong. People tend to assume fruit scents are feminine, but to me this is VERY masculine, which is unsurprising given the inspiration! Dry: Fruity, sweetened more by the vanilla. Still pretty similar to when I first put it on. After half an hour: The plums and brandy are overpowering the vetiver, nutmeg, and tabac, but I can tell they're there. At this point it could be more unisex. It's almost too masculine for me, but I won't let that stop me. I might have to dilute it though, because I used just a tiny drop and it was really strong. I'll set it aside for a couple of months and see if it improves.

Since I first discovered it years ago, I have dreamt of telling people that I'm wearing Eau de Ghoul in a pretentious voice with a ridiculous French accent. The description scared me back then, but now I know all the notes work well on me. First impression is very hot, fiery, and sweet ginger with soft leather, with a hint of other spices. The leather isn't harsh shiny black leather like in some blends, it's soft and brown. You know, like dessicated skin. It REALLY evokes hot, dry ghoul skin. I can't help but imagine a shrivelled hand creeping over my shoulder to strangle me. Probably that's just my overactive imagination, because it actually smells really good! After 20 minutes the ginger recedes a little, although it still dominates. The other spices come out. I can't detect any dirt. I find it has a lot in common with Troll at this point. This has ginger and leather where Troll has musk. It's warm, spicy, leathery, and surprisingly gentle. It fades really quickly though, it's almost gone after a couple of hours. It's in my top 5 for sure, I just wish it lasted longer.

It's mainly honey/beeswax on me, but it doesn't have the depth of real beeswax and it's much sweeter. There's a hint of candle smoke, but just a hint. It's too sweet for me.