Leopard403
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I bought a decant of this because I, too, am confused by the idea of ruby chocolate. Smelling this scent does not create any clarity whatsoever. Sniffing from the decant I smelled something cocoa-based, but that is not true on my skin, even on first application. I’m in my red musk era and that tends to drown out other notes, but I’m not getting that clarion call here, either. I don’t know, this kind of smells like sweetened red wine? Sangria sans overt fruit? I actually quite like it, but I can’t make any damn sense of it. In some way it is familiar; it reminds me a bit of Blood Countess, which I adore.
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Another hibiscus Luper! (And I’ll say again: I didn’t know hibiscus had a scent LOL.) This is a candy floral on me, like if the floral notes were put into a Jolly Rancher-type hard candy, or someone just handed you a sweetened hibiscus tea infusion over crushed ice. Honey can turn too unctuous on my skin, but the scent here just reads as “sweet” on top of a juicy flower smell. It’s slightly green, too. Very refreshing and lasts a surprisingly long time!
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I’m in my red musk era, but I find that other musks are quite tricky. I was hoping that “russet” meant more red-leaning here but I definitely get more of a brown musk that is likely heightened by the patchouli. Not a lot of red here despite the other notes. I don’t get anything that’s honey-like either, nothing sweet or even unctuous as is typical from lab honey notes. This lasts a very long time on my skin, but it’s essentially a commercial perfume musk.
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Right before I started grad school back in the aughts, I worked at a candle and knick-knack shop who did major business with Yankee Candle. I loved that job, but those candles ruined me for life on certain scents. This lab blend, for example, is straight up YC Tulips. I’ve found this to be the case with several floral lab blends, often in the Luper line. It’s not a smell I dislike, but once that connection is made in my brain that’s all it can ever be. I wish I got lily or lilac here, but that bright red wax will always haunt me.
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My first whiff was that bubblegummy lotus but that was gone quickly. This identifiably smells “like flowers” but it’s grounded by a whiff of strawberry Nesquick powder. Hint of something buttery from the iris, hint of spice from the carnation, hint of something green from the peony. It’s really nicely blended.
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Rose Milk is surprisingly gourmand! The almond milk froth and the tapioca do wonderful things together, almost a spongey almond coffee cake sort of vibe. The rose is there and while it’s probably pink (maybe white? It’s definitely not red rose) there is nothing “flowery” or dainty about this scent overall. Lasts a nice long time on my skin as well. I’m into it.
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Surprisingly nutty, and warmer in the decant than on the skin (which is a bummer). I’ve recently identified fig as a love-hate note for me and here the note leans slightly too commercial perfume, but it’s fairly well grounded by the champaca and the toasted notes and roasted coconut. I can smell every note in this blend, which is very cool, but it harmonizes well. Happy with my decant for now and I might seek another, but I don’t need a whole bottle.
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Full disclosure: I do not like cherry blossom as a scent note. For me it’s somehow entirely antithetical; it’s delicate in such an overt way it’s almost aggressive with it, which is just weird and f*cking confusing. But then, dammit, this blend comes along with other notes that sound so delightful I have to try it. I’m glad I took a chance because that “blush marshmallow” note is ridiculously good, and the cherry blossom note is top-only so it’s gone from the skin in a second. Sadly, with the amber alongside, those strawberries turn a little too shortcake doll on me after about ten minutes of wear. Verdict: Can we get a Blush Marshmallow single note/duet?
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I bought a decant of this because I didn’t know hibiscus had a scent. This is a light, green floral scent, with juicy dampness. Ephemeral like spring in both smell and staying power: this one is gone quickly.
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Sniffed from the decant: Yep, it’s one of those creamy pink scents from the lab that I love so much, sort of a rosewater buttercream. No sign of musk. On my skin: Despite having no notes in common this reminds me a lot of Tiki Princess, so clearly my nose is reading something “cold coconut” about it. Not unpleasant but I’m surprised!
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This is strangely evocative for me, because it smells just like the cold, foggy air in The Haunted Mansion at Disney. Like, uncanny.
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Sniffing from the decant: Yep, lavender and lemon. Slightly herbaceous, slightly tart. On my skin: Much more lemon than lavender (yay!) and a dessert kind of lemon, not cleaning product lemon (YAY!). Exactly what I was hoping for and I’m sad I didn’t buy more last year.
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For the first few minutes on my skin, LL is extremely sour. The herbal floral wars with the yeasty bread and it almost smells like something in the cupboard has gone bad. After that initial settling period the scent is pretty magical, very “dried lavender hanging above the warm bread oven, and I think the person standing nearby might be a witch,” but dang it’s hard to make it through the early moments.
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There is something about Fuchsia Eyes that reminds me of my beloved Blood Countess. It’s not a dupe or a replacement, but maybe a much younger half-sibling. I definitely smell raspberry here but it’s *evil* raspberry (sorry if that makes more sense in my brain than it does out loud LOL). For a scent where only three notes are named, it is surprisingly complex, and not overtly “fruity” in any notable way despite the scent description. There’s something unexpected and wonderful happening here. What a lovely little surprise.
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Over time the Lilith blend Motherhood has been something of a signature scent of mine, and it might’ve just been bumped aside by SITBS. It’s interesting considering I cannot wear the original SO on its own. It just doesn’t like me. But the addition of sweet things makes it perfectly perfect. SITBS clearly has jammy berries—no fresh picked fruit here!—and a slight butteriness that must be the bakery bits. I was a little worried the molasses would be too overt, but it slithers in the background and intermingles well with the SO notes. This is very well blended, and manages to be both a fruit-forward and exceptionally grounded gourmand. I might need a second bottle (and I very rarely buy backups). Two thumbs way up.
