Tungerine

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.

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.

It smells exactly like a cheap bakewell tart to me. That's not to say it's unpleasant (those bakewell tarts are tasty!), it's just VERY sweet with too much vanilla. I do kind of like it, but it's too strong and it's not something I'd want to wear. I'd rather smell it from a distance, or wafting past for a brief moment. It's not for me but if you like lots of vanilla I recommend it.

This is a surprise favourite that changed my mind about honey, which I used to think I always disliked. I'd never have tried it if I hadn't received a frimp. Lemon often goes wrong on me, and usually I find the honey note is cloying without the richness and slight sharpness of real honey. But here the honey combines with the black musk and lemon peel to create something much closer to real honey, although still much sweeter. The black musk doesn't just enrich the honey though, it's still there as a note in its own right. The saffron is subtle, but it adds some complexity, and the smoky vetiver gives it a hint of incense. The lemon peel quickly disappears but otherwise it changes very slowly. After several hours only the black musk and honey remain. It's dark, sweet, and sensual. It could easily be a scent for driving men mad! For me, though, it's more warm and comforting. It's yellow because of the saffron, so take care where you apply it because it might show on your skin or stain fabric. I find that I need to use quite a lot. Much as I love it (it might even be in my top 10), it's not actually something that I'm ever likely to wear out, it's too feminine and not my style. It's more a scent for home. For me alone. I've been reaching for the imp a lot and I'll need a bottle.

This is one of the few BPALs that I can't stand, at least in the bottle and on my skin (but I haven't tested it on anybody else). It just doesn't work for me. There's something artificial and almost rancid or sweaty about it, and it's much too sweet. I think it's the pumpkin, because I like peach and spices. Or it might be how the pumpkin combines with the other notes rather than that note alone.

Very gentle and clean, without overpowering white musk like a lot of "clean" scents. I don't find it all that sweet. It's more floral than fruity to me, with the peach mostly staying in the background. The combination of honeysuckle and lemon blossom reminds me of winter honeysuckle, although much less sharp, but it's definitely a late spring or summer scent. A summer evening in a garden with a cool breeze. I don't think it's quite the shining gold of the setting sun, but the golden sky around the sun instead.

I was worried that this would be too floral, but it's not. The star anise starts off strong and tangy, and the cherry blossom is prominent but gentle. After a couple of hours, the star anise has mostly receded, but still adds some woody spice, and the cherry blossom has almost gone but not quite. The sandalwood is now the most prominent note. I think it's gender neutral. The three notes work extremely well together through all phases. It's light and clean, but I don't find it soapy. It's just really nice.

I wouldn't have tried this if I'd realised bunn was coffee when I ordered, but I'm glad I did. The bunn isn't like the sweet coffee in Miskatonic University, which I dislike. It blends in so well with the other notes that you might not even notice it. The scent is rich, dark, very woody, powerful and intense but not overpowering, slightly sweet but not foody. It sweetens a little over time but otherwise doesn't change much. I really like it.

After an initial pleasant burst of herbs, it starts to smell almost rotten, sadly. Like cut flowers that have been left in the same water too long. But I think layering could save it, and perhaps ageing will help.

This shares a lot of notes with Old Demons of the First Class, which is why I got it. At first I thought it was very similar, but I think I didn't let it settle long enough because it's more different to Old Demons now. There are still obviously notes in common, but it's much lighter, smoother, and somehow... slimier. Yes, it's slimy. Not aquatic, slimy. Like algae-covered rocks. Like bladderwrack, in fact, but nicer than real bladderwrack. It's also less musky than Old Demons and the galangal adds some light sweetness. It probably sounds bad from my description but it's actually amazing. I love it.

Ethereal and golden. I'm not the biggest fan of pale florals, but it's quite nice. Sadly after a couple of hours only the musk is left, and it's not a note that I like on its own.

This is AMAZING. It's immediately one of my top 5. I have spent half an hour so far waving my arm in front of my nose. In the bottle and for the first few moments on my skin, it's quite bitter. I smell musk, spices, and petai beans (of all things - I think it's the bitterness!) I personally like it during this phase, but I understand why people wouldn't. The bitterness quickly recedes to a level that I think is close to black tea. It's very warm, woody, musky, and spicy. It's not a green scent to me, it's black and rich brown.

At first this is mainly ambergris. After a few minutes, unfortunately, it becomes shampoo in the swimming pool showers. Probably the combination of ozone, ambergris, and sandalwood. Eventually the other notes start to come out, but I'm not going to wait around with that swimming pool shampoo smell. I have to wash it off now. I think I'll set it aside for a while. Update: Maybe it just needed to settle a little longer after arriving. It's much better now. The ozone is less powerful and the leather is more prominent. Overall it's chilly and gloomy like an overcast day, which is what I hoped for, but the ambergris is still a bit too strong for me. I don't feel the need to wash it off any more. I'll wait a little longer to see if it improves more.

This is similar to Event Horizon, just as dark, but colder. I think it's also a little less sweet. If Event Horizon is purple, this would be green-blue. It doesn't end up soapy like most aquatics do on me, in fact I think it's more metallic than aquatic, or maybe like cold stone. I wouldn't call it pleasant but it's interesting and evocative and I think I'll need a bottle because I keep reaching for it and have nearly finished the imp.

When I got it a few years ago my initial impression was DEAD LEAVES!!! (damp rotting ones) with a hint of ambergris, and the other notes were barely detectable. I put it away for a while and now it's much improved. All the notes are well balanced, and it's more dry leaves than wet. It reminds me a little of Alecto, but softer and sweeter.

To begin with I smell lime and white musk. I'm not a fan of white musk, but it isn't too strong at this point. After a minute there's coconut, then the lime gives way to lemongrass. It changes fast to begin with! It's bright and effervescent. At this point I can't detect any florals, but a little later it's lime, lemongrass, and subtle white flowers. Thankfully white musk stays in the background. Several minutes later there's something a little woody that gives it more depth. It's really nice at this point, but it doesn't last. After half an hour the white musk is beginning to torment me again. It's not awful but I wish it wasn't so strong. Hours later, everything but the white musk has faded. I think it's an essential element of the scent, but I just don't get on with it! For that reason it's not one of my favourites, but I like it enough to wear occasionally. And I really like the way it changes.

This is a warm scent, slightly incensy. I imagine a hay meadow in late summer, grassy with yellow and purple flowers and lots of butterflies. I can't tell that there's any coconut, perhaps due to ageing, but I think I can detect non-coconut amber. The patchouli is subtle and not overwhelming. I think it's the combination of amber, tobacco and khus that makes me think of sun-warmed hay. Unfortunately the blueberry note spoils it for me (although it's not unwearable). I just don't like dried blueberries!

My absolute favourite. The notes that stand out most to me are musk, clove, black pepper. It has a slight resinous sweetness, and I think it's become less sweet as it's aged. I think it's similar to Dracul, but less sweet and piney. It's more of a masculine scent to me. It's dark and mysterious, and the name suits it perfectly.

This almost works for me but it has this sort of damp smell. Damp ashes. It's not particularly smoky, it's ashes that have been rained on for several days, but without any outdoor freshness. It's not grey so much as green. It's not really unpleasant, but it's not what I hoped for, although I think it could be very good combined with something else. I'll have to experiment a bit. But at least it doesn't smell anything like actual brimstone! (not that I expected it to...)

This is very rich and dark. The cocoa and leather are the most prominent notes. The patchouli stays in the background, and adds a sort of earthiness. The flowers are barely detectable but add complexity. It sweetens a little after a while, but it's never foody, and it remains rich and dark for hours. It's definitely in my top 10.