Assimbya

This is a really beautiful spiced white floral, smooth and calm and definitely very appropriate to its inspiration. I can very much see this for the High Priestess of the tarot, and it definitely has a glowing, moonlike sensibility. On me it's predominantly jasmine and clove, but a luminous and smooth jasmine, not sharp or indolic. I get subtle hints of cardamom throughout wear, and when I look for them I can pick out some other indistinct floral notes, though the jasmine is definitely central. As I've been looking for a good night-blooming jasmine scent, this is a welcome delight. Something about the earthiness of the clove helps ground the ethereal paleness of the florals in this one and contributes to the olfactory depiction of a priestess, a woman who is very much human while also serving and in contact with the divine. It's lovely, and I feel very glad to have it. This has a reasonable throw and quite good wear length, fading around 7 hours in for me.

This is definitely predominantly a rose-sandalwood-frankincense on me, backed by pretty strong creamy coconut and faint vanilla. The rose note here feels like the same one in a number of the Ars Moriendi and Ars Amatoria GC blends, which reads on my skin as what I'd call a more dry, perfumey and less lush rose; it's a soft, pretty scent, but not my personal favorite type of rose that the Lab does. I get a sense of some light musk or perhaps the oud smoothing the blend out and holding it together, and some indistinct plumeria/frangipani, but I cannot pick out the other notes. Overall, this perfume gives me the impression of pale, veiled florals, which is something I also get from a number of the GCs classified in the 'soft floral' category. It's lovely, pleasant and inoffensive, but it doesn't grab me; I'm learning with time that I generally prefer my florals brighter and more intense. I'll keep my imp around for a while and see how often I feel drawn to wear it, but I don't think I'll be wanting a bottle of this one.

I got this as part of my search for a plumeria/frangipani-focused blend - I tend to be a little wary of coconut notes, but was encouraged by reviews here describing this as floral-forward, with the coconut working more to smooth out the blend. Having now tested it a few times, that description seems accurate to me. The coconut is moderately strong at first, but is creamy and smooth rather than aggressively sunscreen-like, and as it dries down the coconut recedes into the background and I get very gentle, subtle florals, primarily frangipani but with hints of gardenia and orchid. The ginger also definitely comes through for me, and has a gently fruity sense rather than being spicy. This is a very calm floral, not at all sharp or indolic, and would probably be a good entry point for people who are wary of florals. I enjoy it, but would also be happy for the flowers to be louder and brighter! It's also quite faint on me, with notably low throw. Now about five hours into wear I still get some soft lovely frangipani when I smell extremely close to my wrist, but I have to really search for it. I'll have to try applying more than I'm accustomed to, but in general I think this is going to be one I keep for times when I want a very subtle low sillage perfume, probably more than something to get me through my whole day.

I bought a decant of this off a fellow forumite to layer with my bottle of Cold Moon, and am so glad I did! This is a really lovely blend. I recently had the chance to smell a freshly blooming champaca tree in a botanical garden, and I found the scent so striking and vivid - similar to regular magnolia, but earthier and less perfumey. It's definitely recognizable to me here, along with a gorgeous dripping jasmine. There's something which feels gauzy to me about this scent, like light passing through thin cotton. Layered with the main Cold Moon blend it adds that sensibility, jasmine vines and flowering trees growing on the side of a river, their white blossoms almost obscuring the water below, though you can still feel it. It definitely brings out the jasmine already present in Cold Moon, and its delicacy strikes an interesting contrast with the aquatic and earthy notes in that main perfume. The combination is really beautiful. I find this wearable on its own and probably would do so if I had gotten a full bottle of it, but as it is I plan to use it mostly for the beautiful effect of the layering.

I bought a decant of this off another forumite to layer with my bottle of Cold Moon! When this first goes on, it's vividly realistic river silt for me - I can almost feel the dirt between my toes at the river where I used to swim sometimes as a child. As it dries, it turns sharply much greener, and I get a very fresh, clean, yet also vegetal moss, with something wet and almost cucumber-like about it. It's fascinating, and not unpleasant, but a little odd to have on my skin. Layered with Cold Moon, however, the gritty silt stays much more present, combining with the evocative, atmospheric feeling of the main blend to create what feels like a very full scent-picture of a cool, softly-flowing river, damp moss growing on its banks. This isn't one I'd want to wear on its own, but layered I like it quite a bit, and it creates a fascinating experience when I want to push the main blend further in its atmospheric direction. I definitely don't need a bottle of this, but a decant turns out to be just the perfect quantity.

In the bottle and wet on my skin, I get an intensely sharp neroli, myrrh, and sandalwood combination which feels intense and aggressive and does indeed evoke the "bursts of glory" in the description - there's a sense of something coming towards me, almost taking me aback. I'm not too familiar with pink pepper as a note, but I think I get it here as well, in an edge which almost tingles to smell,. I wasn't sure I would like it on me at this stage; it reminds me of neroli's classic use in men's perfumery, and I thought to myself that of course there was a chance that an Apollo perfume might end up feeling too masculine to me. But there's a hint of something softer underneath, which turns out to be the honey and mallow combination, and as it dries that becomes more and more central, with the assertive neroli fading to become part of a more cohesive whole. The sweetened mallow becomes the main thing I smell at this point, along with a nutty, almost almondy floral which I think must be the heliotrope, though it's not a note I know well (I do think I can recognize the similarities with Dawn: Maiden though, which is rather apropos). I can track the osmanthus when I look for it, but it doesn't come out as strongly as those other notes. The myrrh and amber at this stage seem to give shape and definition to the blend and an overall resinous feeling, evoking incense being burnt for the god, but they're smoothly blended and no longer taking over. In this drydown I really very much enjoy wearing it. This feels like a very Apollonian perfume to me, which I find really impressive; there's something in the combination of the really overwhelming wet stage and then the much gentler drydown which really does work as a representation of the contradictions and complexities of this particular god. It feels very golden, but in a way that has some force and energy behind it; this is not a diffuse and floating type of perfume, even with the soft mallow.

I was a little wary of the lettuce note in this one and so procrastinated for quite a while on trying my imp. But I shouldn't have worried - this is a lovely scent, and feels very appropriate to the fairy tale in ways that are difficult to define! Angel's Trumpet isn't a floral note I was familiar with before this, but it's the center of this blend on me and it's truly lovely - similar to lily but with a pale creaminess that reminds me of the Lab's Datura Blossom SN. The knowledge that it's a flower both poisonous and extinct in the wild evokes something of the violence and darkness of this fairy tale, which has always been one of my favorites. The lettuce is present as a wet greenness, and I think I can track the orris, a powdery note holding the blend together and making it feel like more of a perfume. I can't consciously identify bois de rose here, but that was also my experience with Endymion, which makes me think that it's a note I'm not great at noticing yet. As a full experience, this blend reminds me a little of a Prague, which I also experience as a very gentle lily-like white floral, but Rapunzel has a little more body from the orris. It fades pretty fast on me, which may because of the age of the imp, which is unknown to me. I'm disappointed that this one is discontinued, but glad that I've had the opportunity to try and will definitely use my imp, though I don't think I'm in love enough to try and seek out a secondhand bottle.

I got this because I adore osmanthus, and after losing my mind over it as a note in other BPALs, the idea of a duet truly centering it was too enthralling to resist. This turned out to be exactly what I was hoping for - nearly an osmanthus single note, with the secondary floral of the honey bells complementing but not at all detracting from it. This is osmanthus at its most golden and fruity, coming right up to the edge of the scent of apricot. The osmanthus here has a tactile quality that I would almost describe as tacky, giving me this dry, puckering sensation which I know makes it sound unappealing but in fact here just makes it feel very alive and fresh and real. The honey bells, which aren't a flower I get to smell very often in person, are similar to honeysuckle but somewhat sweeter and greener; less perfumed and wafting than honeysuckle tends to be. The blend of the two notes is harmonious and it takes effort to distinguish them, creating this overall rich yellow floral scent. This has strong throw for such a bright, simple floral scent, and good longevity. Its freshness means that this feels more youthful and less sophisticated and sensual than some of my other osmanthus scents (Idyll, The Brides of Dracula), but it's perfect for when I just want to luxuriate in osmanthus, or when I want a more straightforwardly cheerful golden floral. I have been really loving this in the summer heat, which the fruity edge of the osmanthus cuts through refreshingly, but I imagine it will also be very cheering for the colder months. Very glad to have this one.

On me this is an elegant and balanced blend of the three listed notes; they all come through, with the rose at the center. There's a kind of mature depth despite or perhaps because of its simplicity, and the freshness of the rosemary adds a compelling edge to the florals. As a commenter above noted, this feels like a sister scent to Bess, or perhaps rather what I hoped Bess would be, since the grape took over on me in that one. I really enjoy this, and feel lucky to have ended up with an old imp of it, but not so in love that I have to quest in search of a bottle, which is something of a relief. I want to remember to keep wearing my imp, though!

My imp of this is of an undetermined age, and seems faded and sort of stale in the way that old imps, especially of delicate floral blends, sometimes do. I suspect I might enjoy a less aged version of this fragrance more. As it is, this is mostly green tea and lemon on me, with soft green woodiness from the cedar and an ineffable, indistinct, floral notes. I looked hard for the lilac, wisteria, and osmanthus (all favorite notes of mine!) but they didn't come through on me, whether because of the age of the imp or my skin chemistry which likes to thwart me by grabbing on to non-floral notes in a floral blend. Either way, this unfortunately won't be one I keep around, I think.

On me this a very fresh, bright floral with strong green notes. I'm wearing it today with the White Lilac & Moss hair gloss, and the lilac note in the hair gloss has this soft-edged indolic quality, while the lilac in this perfume oil is sharper and younger, perhaps buds just beginning to bloom. The lily of the valley has its characteristic white floral bite, similarly fresh and young. It feels like both floral notes come off distinctively and cleanly. I can imagine almost slight droplets of dew at the edges of these blossoms. This has solid throw, and reasonable longevity which I imagine will continue to improve with time as my other BPAL lilacs have. By comparison with Lorrainna or Eusapia, this feels less perfumey and sophisticated, more atmospheric, as feels appropriate to a duet as opposed to a more complexly blended perfume. I am enjoying it very much and it feels different enough from those other two to warrant having all of them, though I wouldn't choose this over them.

I really adore this one and am so so happy I decided on a somewhat profligate whim to blind bottle it. This is definitely a hair gloss for lilac lovers only, but for those of us in that category it's an absolute delight. The lilac scent here may be pale but it is also full and billowing and a little intense; I'd agree with @tajana's description of it as slightly indolic in their lovely review above; it's unabashed in that quality, heady and intoxicating. The moss is very much a grounding green undernote, sinuous under the waves of floral. Excellent longevity and strong throw, just barely on this side of being too much lilac for polite company. This has quickly become a very treasured hair gloss for me; I love wearing it with one of my lilac perfumes for a full lilac experience (it subtly contrasts beautifully with both Eusapia and Lorrainna, bringing out each of their nuances), and am enjoying starting to try pairing it with other perfumes (it was lovely matched with Datura Blossom last week).

I love this very, very much, but have been struggling to write a review of it! Partly because so many reviewers in this thread have articulated it so beautifully already, and partially because my experience of this perfume is so ineffable and difficult to put into words. It most definitely has a shimmering quality, golden but as once translucent, almost opalescent; it feels a bit paler and cooler than sunlight to me, like a film of light over skin. As it goes on I get a sweetness from the vanilla and honey, sharpened and given shape by a gently woody cedar which never takes over, and with a citric edge which is almost lemony but not quite. As it dries down, the skin musk and olive blossom combination is definitely at the center, and it's utterly stunning - at once sensuous and elegant, bodily while also feeling clean. I agree with previous reviewers who described this as extremely Hellenic, and I love that about it, though for me I'd say it doesn't so much evoke the beach as it does the feeling of sitting on sun-warmed stone in a high place, sparsely forested but with cedar and gray-green olive trees with their tiny yellow blossoms. I'm still not great at picking out orris butter as an independent note, but triangulating with other blends I can definitely track a continuity with From Whose Eyes as They Glanced's orris butter-skin musk combination, which is very distinctive and also, for me, very difficult to describe. Whatever that combination is, I love it, and I love that it's a version of sensuality I feel able very authentically to inhabit. I am so glad to have this perfume in my life; I'm trying to keep it as something I wear for non-work days to keep to the association of leisure, but I love it so much that I may have to let go of that intention eventually. I have been trying to avoid buying backup bottles of things, but with this one I am definitely tempted.

Fully agree with previous reviewers that this is a very gentle and pleasant scent. On my partner, whose skin amplifies sweet notes, this leans almost unwearably foody (he described it as "the platonic ideal of porridge"). On me it's much more balanced - soft but distinct almond foremost, perfumey honey, and smooth milk; the grains are present but more in the background. Reasonable longevity for such quiet notes. This is lovely and I'm happy to have an imp of it, but I don't imagine it's one I am going to wear often enough to want a bottle.

Thank you so much @BetteNoire and @topazphoenix! I have an imp of Dirty, so I'll have to test for that, and now I would love to try Xiutecuhtli! For anyone who might be reading this thread in the future, I'll share that I have now tried Delight and unfortunately didn't get much plumeria from it, so the quest continues!