coernixen

While wet, this is very much a bubbly green apple and mint. The mint calms down very quickly upon application, and while you can tell it's there if you focus on sniffing for notes it is really is just there for a cold vibe. Much like Pink Lovebat, there's one note that stays at the front for me, and that's the green apple. The currents, mint and sugar add depth to the blend, but it is very much an apple blend on me above all else. It takes the cream a little while to come through for me, but when it does it leaves just a very nice, sweet, creamy apple scent. This is absolutely the green version of Pink Lovebat and it's soft sweetness to me - light, subtle with a decent wear time , though not much throw. They're a perfect pair! (And the bottles look adorable next to each other.)

In the bottle this a very fluffy and pink, like a cloud of pink sugar. On the wrist there's a blast of something almost acetone like which thankfully dies out immediately as it dries, but the sugariness goes with it, and I'm left with a nice mellow, light red fruit scent. The strawberry is definitely the star of the show - the papaya and cherry don't come through to me as individual notes, but at the same time it's very obviously more than just strawberry. There's definitely that malted note others have picked up as well. It doesn't have a strong throw at all, but for such a subtle scent it does stick around for a good while. This is definitely going in the 'office-safe' pile - a good blend for when you want something light and fun to brighten the day, but need to keep it low-key.

2025 Version From bottle to drydown, this is all hot and humid florals on me, with no one note standing out at all. There's a hint of the banana and something resinous giving it an almost gummy undercurrent of body heat, but none of the foodie notes come through on my skin at all. The floral throw is very strong on first application but does die down pretty quickly. It's very evocative of being in a tropical greenhouse, and enjoyable to sniff, but not necessarily something I'd wear as a scent.

In the imp and wet on the skin this a a very strong and astringent mix of jasmine and lavender - it has that peppery edge of wet green stems and for a while on the wrist it smells quite close to Jasmine Cottage, though not quite as deep or complex. After an hour it dries down to just a soft white floral, though neither predominantly lavender or jasmine. It's a bit too heady for me to wear as a bedtime scent, but it has a nice rainy spring day vibe.

Came across this one languishing in the back of my BPAL box from the original Salon release and checking up on the notes was not sure why I'd kept it. I enjoy vetiver in some blends, but patchouli is a tricky one, even if carnation and amber are very reliable notes for me and in the bottle this is a HEAVY blast of vetiver and patchouli only, to the point of almost being intimidating. On the skin though, it morphs very quickly; the pomegranate shines through instantly to lighten the blend and the vetiver and patchouli calm down just as quickly. They are still the main two notes throughout for me, but they sit well with the black musk. Given how strong and earthy it is in the bottle, I was genuinely surprised how quickly this dried down to a really rather discreet soft and smokey cologne, especially given that I've amped patchouli to the high heavens in other blends. The carnation never really comes through for me, but I think it's giving a bit of depth that might otherwise be lacking. It's a bit sexy, and very comforting, and I definitely remember why I kept it now.

This doesn't morph much on me - from bottle to drydown it's a cool airy ozone with a backing of soft florals and a touch of depth from the resins. I don't get violet specifically from it, which is nice as it's a risky note on my skin. This doesn't go soapy or powdery on me, just a classic and gentle spring-like blend, though for such a light, thin scent it's got a surprising amount of throw.

Out of the bottle, this is an incredibly strong blast of red musk. The other elements are all there, but apart from the ginger they don't stand out and are really very well blended. It's a very rich and heady scent on first application, very evocative of the artwork it's based on - an almost oppressive swirl of black and red heat. After a few minutes on the wrist though, everything settles together and it's gorgeous. The red musk calms down and the black musk starts to poke through, and there is a dry softness from the wood and a slightly cleaner edge from the herbs, but nothing overpowers anything else. It's still quite heady, but in a mature, almost decadent way. It's probably one of my all-time favourites of the lab's red musk blends.

Out the bottle this is a very strong blast of spiced rum, very rich and sweet and for the first few minutes of drydown the brown sugar note is very strong as well. The resins come through for me quite quickly after though, and soften the blend considerably. It dries down to a sweet, soft brown musk that sticks close to the skin. It's close to a low-key caramel coffee scent, which is very exciting for me as I never have any luck with actual coffee and caramel notes!