Search the Community
Showing results for tags 'Lupercalia 2014'.
Found 62 results
-
Florentine iris, white almond, and golden honey. I am using testing this on my skin as opposed to using it in the bath. In the decant: This smells like Dr. Pepper to me. Letting it sit for a few days didn't change that. It still smells like Dr. Pepper to me! If I inhale really deeply, I can detect a trace of the almond. The boy originally thought it smelled like “really good cough syrup.” I don't get that at all, and besides, how could cough syrup smell good? Wet: Dr. Pepper. It starts off that way and stays that way for a really long time. I am not familiar with Florentine Iris, but I think it must be that note giving me that impression. I looked it up online and discovered that it used to be used to flavor soft drinks. Dry: The honey has emerged, and the Dr. Pepper scent seems to have dissipated. It is now a very light floral scent that stays close to the skin. Verdict: Well, that was interesting! I won't be needing a bottle of this one, but I am glad that I was able to try it.
-
Red rose and white magnolia in a tomb of vetiver, oak leaf, mahogany, and Somalian olibanum. Caveat: My nose is still pretty untrained, so others will be better at picking up individual notes. But since nobody's reviewed this at all yet, I thought my efforts would be better than nothing. In the imp I get heavy florals and sharp woods. Can't pick anything out distinctly. Wet, there's the same heavy florals -- I can pick out the rose, not familiar enough with magnolia but I assume it's the rest of the floral. Mostly they blend together. There's also something vegetative that I'm guessing is the oak leaf. Overall it's evocative of rich waxy flowers on a very expensive wreath with a lot of dark leaves and twisted stems. Dry, after a couple of hours, I'm getting a lot of mahogany, which I'm familiar with from The Mahogany Tree. Apparently I'm not a big fan of the note, although it's such a lovely word and color it took two blends for that reality to sink in. To me it's kind of a shrill note: sharp and loud without the depth that I love in other aggressive notes like vetiver. (Speaking of vetiver, I'm not getting any from this, or maybe it's light enough that it's blending with what I'm taking to be the oak leaf.) Overall, I'm disappointed in this one... it's not bad, especially at first, but I was expecting it to be a favorite.
-
Oman frankincense, grape flowers, sweet myrrh, black currant bud, and Haitian vetiver stained by red wine. The first sniff from the vial is sickly sweet vetiver. Be strong, you know it'll open up when it hits the skin! Not going to lie, when it first hits the skin it smells like my local recycling center Old wine and garbage. BE STRONG! This is a complex, layered blend-- Sweet myrrh and a moderately aggressive vetiver, here damp and smokey, form the base. Above them is a slightly sour and juicy purple fruit, the wine I suppose, but I don't find it boozy at all. And at the top an indistinct white-smelling floral mixed with bright frankincense. It's a little high-pitched. I got this decant for the 'grape flower," which I had never seen before, but I cant say I'm able to distinguish it here. I'm not sure if the floral aspect I smell also includes the currant bud, or if that note is contributing more to the fruitiness. The vetiver is prominent but not dominating as time goes by. I would call this a wine and florals blend primarily, but the influence of the vetiver does give it a sort of decayed vibe. The florals become less and less obvious during dry down, allowing the blend to lose that high-pitched top note and mellow out. Fully dried down it's got a medium throw and is fairly soft-- lightly floral purple fruit, with every now and then a whiff of well-behaved smokey vetiver. Quite a change from the bold opening upon first application.
-
Cypress boughs swaying in a crisp night breeze, with red sandalwood incense and blood grass. Well, I guess I will give my impressions since no one else has...its SO good. I think its the blood grass (whatever that is) that makes me think of red musk...not the cherry/grapey sort but a true red musk. The sandalwood incense is to die for and I don't get much cypress, though I can tell its there. My impressions are from a decant, just in case it matters. And I will be buying a bottle of this.
-
Sea buckthorn berry, salt musk, white nectarine, kelp, oakmoss, green musk, and elemi. Yay!! I have been waiting for a review of this one since people first began posting, and now that I've received my decants, I'm going to get a review up! There have been several blends over the last few years that have had the sea buckthorn berry/kelp/moss trio in the notes. Octopus: Pale moss, white kelp, sea buckthorn berry, ambergris accord, Somalian frankincense, rose geranium, and salt. Alcie: Just a hint of gorgon blood: bright nectarine, honey, sandalwood, green musk, sea buckthorn berry, and oakmoss. I've enjoyed both of them but the rose geranium in Octopus, and the honey in Alcie just weren't working for me. Carp and Octopus doesn't have the same level of nectarine as Alcie and it is less salty than Octopus. It wears close to the skin, and starts off with a light freshness that reminds me of an expensive alcohol-based perfume I can't remember. It settles down into a gentle sea scent with a hint of fruitiness. All in all, I really like it, and I would recommend it if you liked Octopus and were looking for something less salty, or if you liked Alcie but were looking for less fruity/sweetness. There is a hint of soap at the end, but I think that is a typical interpretation of these types of scents and it doesn't bother me a bit.
-
A perfect red rose darkened by vetiver, opium tar, labdanum, and red benzoin. In the bottle: Well hi there, vetiver! On my wrist, wet: Vetiver! And yet a little something spicy and soft blooming underneath. After 20 minutes: At this point, I can't identify the vetiver as vetiver (and I LOVE vetiver). It has blended perfectly into a softly spiced rose. This is not the "straight from the florist's cooler" rose of Rose Red, but more of the slightly soapy Rose Cross rose. The vetiver holds the soapiness back as the rose note develops. After 40 minutes: Now a soft, powdered rose. The vetiver at this point is not really perceptible. The drydown process for The Sick Rose is very interesting. The wet scent is really nothing like the mature, dried bloom on the wrist. If you don't care for vetiver, I don't think its use here is a deal-breaker because it compliments the other components so well. Vetiver tends to amp on my body, and I found that it was beautifully muted and balanced after the initial drydown period. No note in this blend is overpowering-- in fact, I find it to be one of those scents that draws people closer because it's such a soft, unusual scent. I will wear this all spring.
-
Absurd! Green mango, fig, patchouli and green tea with white chocolate and white hazelnut cream. In bottle: I’m surprised this has no liquor. I think it’s an accidental accord with the white chocolate dominant in it, but it smells like whiskey to me. I’m having trouble parsing it back into the listed components. I love the way it smells to me, but that is likely no help to people with more standard sensoriums. So call it whiskey with a strong white chocolate component supported by hazelnut cream and hints of patchouli and fruit. Omnomnom! Wet: It still smells like whiskey, but I’m now reading the mango as the dominant element of the accidental accord. If I concentrate, I can now disentangle the listed components from the accidental accord. As it wears, the accord collapses and you get a strongly mango dominant scent, with green tea support, a hazelnut cream second with white chocolate support, over a canvass of fig, with hints of patchouli. I still like it and it still reminds me of whiskey. It is delightfully strange. Wet: Fast Fading, alas to a soft patchouli.
-
King mandarin, green mint, green tea leaf, and white musk. I was very excited for this as I have fallen hard for King mandarin and must try everything that has it as an ingredient. I have tried this three unique times and each I get something different, so hold on, it's going to be a bumpy ride! In the bottle, mint is the most prominent. I'm not a mint lover (but I don't hate it, either) and not very familiar all the varieties. It's not soft like Go To Sleep, Darlings, Ded Moroz, Green Tree Viper or Snow, Glass, Apples, but sharper, ice-inducing mint, take-a-deep-breathe-and-feel-it-in-your-nose and the back of your throat. But the mandarin is there, tempering the cool with sunshine. I was most worried about the tea as it seems to overtake most scents on me, but this is not the case. It wants to hide, buried deep under the mint. Right now I'm not getting any musk (white musk, like in Fae, is one of my favorite notes). Now for a caveat: I always step outside to test my perfumes. Normally, it's very humid here (Florida) and it helps me judge sillage. But a wonderful thing happens as I step out (and it's cold for Florida today with low humidity); the mandarin steps up and now I am getting a perfect balance of mint and mandarin. A perfect scent for summer; cooling and refreshing. As this dries, there is a battle for dominance between the mint and mandarin, each in time taking the lead. The mandarin stays on top; the mint closer to the skin. The mandarin is crisp, clean; the mint, cooling; a perfect reflection of the battle of nature and season, yin and yang, finally melding together as one. Tea is making a quick appearance and stays close to mint; very fragile leaves needing a slow, steady warmth to expose its true nature, too afraid to take the lead. I am hoping with a little age the musk will help to temper and keep everything in check. The first time I tested (right out of the mailbox) I thought this needed less mint and more mandarin/musk, but today, after sitting for three days, it feels absolutely perfect and is an accurate representation of the image chosen for the label; quickly aggressive, calming, soothing and then, surrender and passion. eta: After several hours of being on my skin, the tea made itself know. A light, close-to-the-skin scent of tea, orange and a hint of musk. No mint to be found.
-
Honey, mimosa petals, and white amber. Origin: Straight from the Lab Initial Thoughts: I have known for quite some time that when it comes to musk, I need the lighter side of the spectrum: white/pale/skin/crystal all tend to work well on me while black/red/brown/dark all amp to a hideously stinky level. I would get the same amping problem with patchouli, incense, and amber scents as well. I only recently learned that such a thing as white patchouli existed--thanks to Butterflies, Flowers and Jewels Attending--and that white patchouli smells nice on me. So when I started seeing white *amber* as well, I definitely wanted to try that, too. This was the first scent in that quest that didn't have other deal-breaking notes along for the ride. In the Bottle: Honey-drenched amber, with the mimosa creating an intoxicating floral zing. This is a sexy caramel of a scent without being the least bit foody. Wet: Hello, honey! For a moment I might as well be huffing a bear-shaped squirt bottle. Then the mimosa springs out with a burst of pink-and-green springtime. Drydown: I get the amber now, but hallelujah, it's playing WITH the other notes, not stomping all over them. It continues to be very come-hither, but with a light and playful tone rather than the in-your-face sense a darker musk or voluptuous rose would offer. Verdict: I am giddy at the thought of being able to explore scent families that I assumed were closed to me because of my skin chemistry. The fact that BPAL can still surprise and excite me like this going on nine years later is a real testament to Beth's genius. More white amber, please!
-
Rosewood, red currant, green tea, and caramelized sugar. I'm horrible at reviews but thought I should write one because no one else has yet. Lovely, simply lovely. I used it as an after shower moisturizer. I was a bit nervous about the rosewood taking over because it really isn't my favorite but it was nicely balanced. I could smell each individual note and they blended well. I feel cuddly like I want to go hide under my covers but it isn't a heavy scent. It definitely has a early spring feel to it. I have a decant right now but am strongly considering a bottle should I have the funds before they go down.
-
Nightshade accord-infused summer honey encased in dark chocolate. This is a creamy, soft honey, softly herbal blend with a touch of cocoa. The herbal note fades quickly, and leaves a lovely sweet floral with little wisps of the chocolate swirling around. This is not a complicated scent but it does have lasting power, I can still smell it's unique scent three hours later. For such a soft scent I think that's pretty good. One bottle is enough for me though.
-
Vin de Bourgogne with smoky beeswax, a splash of rose water, cracked pomegranate, bruised, fallen lily petals, and a smear of tobacco absolute. Holy gods, this is obscenely lovely. I bought several Luper atmos, and I sprayed each in a different room, closed the doors, and then went around to smell each one individually. I sprayed this in the guest bathroom, and when I walked in my jaw dropped. I ended up spraying it throughout half of the apartment after smelling it. It's a really beautiful floral with a dark sweetness; the beeswax and tobacco come together in an almost chocolaty way. I don't know that I could really pick the notes apart as well as some could, but I do know I'm considering selling off 2 or 3 other atmos and just stocking up on this and putting it in every room. It's gorgeous. Really stunning. If you're considering it at all, try it.
-
Black tea, bergamot, red patchouli, peru balsam, and bourbon vanilla. In The Bottle: I get a sharp sliver of bergamot with a hint of the peru balsam- though the peru is also more sharp than I would normally expect. Wet On Skin: The tea note blooms spectacularly on my skin pretty much on contact. It's a really lovely, unmistakable lemon-y black tea. Dry Down: All black tea (with a hint of the bergamot citrus) all the time. In All: A light, close-to-the skin sort of scent. Although I'm slightly disappointed (and frankly confused) that the patchouli, balsam and vanilla have all chosen to simply not show up on my skin, I am really excited about having a straight-up tea scent. This is definitely the same tea note from Time's Infliction and my sadness with that scent was that I just wanted the tea. Now that Furo is in my life, I can have my tea and my Infliction too
-
Strengthens emotional bonds and cultivates blossoming love: bourbon vanilla with ylang ylang, Roman chamomile, and white honey. In the bottle: This is my favorite of the Luper blends that I ordered. Hopefully it will remain that way once it hits my skin! The bourbon vanilla note is the most prominent (huzzah!), followed by the white honey. The florals are present, but they are in the background. I love sugary florals, so unless my skin chemistry ends up hating the ylang ylang, this should be made of win. I just applied this to half of my arm. It doesn't take long to sink in, and I can detect all of the notes in this blend. The florals are more prominent than they were in the bottle, but the bourbon vanilla note quickly claims its place on the center stage. Oh, this is lovely. The honey note doesn't seem to be one of the main players in this blend, because I just tested Fallen Woman hair gloss (which also has a white honey note), and it isn't very prominent on my skin. Maybe it adds to the general sweetness of this blend. It's mostly just bourbon vanilla awesomeness now. The other notes have been confined to small background roles. I am in love. Needless to say, I adore this! I will be needing back-ups of this one! *edit* After a little over an hour has passed, the chamomile and ylang ylang emerge, but they stay close to the skin.
-
Discussion on the First Climb of the Mountain of Passion Atmosphere Spray
doomsday_disco posted a topic in Atmosphere
Sugared vanilla rose, pink carnation, pink peppercorn, cistus, Oman frankincense, white peony, white moss, and lemon peel. In the bottle, the pink carnation is the dominant note. It pretty much dominates all of the other notes in this blend. After much sniffing, I can get a bit of the rose, moss, and frankincense out of this. This scent does seem like it would be appropriate for spring, and I'm hoping that I get more of the sugared vanilla rose and pink peppercorn out of this once I spray the scent all over the room. Once sprayed, the frankincense note is one of the prominent notes, and it smells like a frankincense and floral blend at first. I also sprayed this on a blanket, and I can smell the lemon peel note when I sniff the blanket, mingled with the floral notes (especially the strong pink carnation), moss, and frankincense. The scent on the blanket is sweeter (thanks to the lemon peel giving it a candy-like quality), and I prefer it to the scent of it in the room (which has mellowed out into frankincense, moss, and florals). The pink carnation is the strongest of the florals in this blend. I like this, but I'm not in love with it. I will keep my bottle, but I won't need a back-up of this one. -
Honeyed jasmine, white neroli, red sandalwood, champaca, and raspberry wine. Holy crow. HOLY CROW. I LOVE THIS. Opens with a blast of the sweetest jasmine you can think of with just a breath of sweet wine to tickle the palate. I really expected the wine to be rather loud, but amazingly it isn't. The way it sneaks around the back is a nifty little trick and wish it hung around a bit longer. The jasmine takes the tiniest step back and allows the sandalwood and champaca to share the fringes of the spotlight, but it's still very much her show. This was definitely a high risk/high reward purchase for me and I know that this just won't be everyone's cup of tea. But if these notes appeal to you in any way, I would highly recommend giving this a test spin. It's simply as heady as it sounds and jasmine lovers everywhere should be quaking with excitement.
-
Sweet tonka, ambrette seed, golden musk, and smoky myrrh. I had to have a bottle of Playful Cat just because of the label art. I also wanted it because of the sweet tonka note. In the bottle, it smells incense-y. I mostly get the smoky myrrh note, and a hint of something that reminds me a bit of a note in Hair Loosened and Soiled in Mid Orgies -- it's either the ambrette seed (which I know that Orgies contains) or the musk note. When it is first sprayed, the myrrh note is quite prominent, and then it turns into a very powder-y scent. I had the boy walk into the livingroom to smell it, and he said it smelled like baby powder. (Note: He does not normally say this about scents.) I actually have to agree with him on that one. Once he said it, I couldn't stop smelling baby powder myself... well, a more expensive baby powder. Then, the myrrh note (and the note that reminds me of something in Hair Loosened and Soiled in Mid Orgies) returns. I will update this review if the scent ends up changing after settling for a few days, but at the moment, I am not loving Playful Cat.
-
Fig milk, vanilla, orchid, and ylang ylang. Absolutely beautiful blend. Lusciously soft & creamy fig with a beautiful floral blend of ylang ylang and orchid. These two floral notes do not overpower the blend at all, rather they fall into the background just enough to make the whole blend almost "powdery". Gorgeous!
-
Rose oudh with fossilized amber, benzoin, blackened labdanum, golden myrrh, and dark musk. Ah, pressure's on! Wet, this is the dark musks with a hint of red rose. There's mostly the sweet resins and amber, all a deep, thrummy, spicy melange that provides a nice base for the subtle rose in this scent. I am mostly getting a rich, chewy, deep and delicious amber/myrrh base. The rose is just a gentle hint, but it provides a touch of lighter floral in this resinous choir. Worth a try! ETA: This reminds me of the rose in Elizabeth of Bohemia, but more resins. Also, strangely, the rose amps MORE over time, so different from my first impression.
-
French lavender, white plum blossom, white ginger, and rice wine. I just got this in the mail and wanted to share my initial impression, this usually changes but: Lavender is most prominent in bottle and wet on skin. Its not a TKO lavender but closer to the lavender in Needlework and A Nocturnal Reverie. Actually, this has a very similar vibe to Needlework. Dry - I get a hint of ginger and a nice soft hit of the rice wine. In short, if you think you will like this, get it. There are no surprises here if you like the notes involved. I think it is pretty now and may very well turn into a drop dead stunner in a few months time. ETA: After an hour the plum comes out! This scent has a gorgeous waft...it will certainly age well!
-
White fig, tea leaves, oakmoss, and lilac blossoms. Such a lovely atmo for Spring! I mostly smell the moss, which has the same dusky, fresh, and floral quality of the Spanish Moss SN, and the lilac. The fig note is delicious, sweet and unripened, and there are gentle hints of tea. It's very fresh in a good way!
-
White honey, camellia, and tobacco. Whoa my goodness is this lovely. It's very rich, like a gathered bouquet of camellias and tobacco leaves dipped in honey. It's pretty dern sexy and I think that it will pair very well with Dolly Kei.
-
White tea, golden apricot, and orange blossom. I didn't expect to love this nearly as much as I do, since I'm not really a lover of fruit scents. It is such a happy scent! The apricot (perfect, ripe, and juicy) is the strongest note and is sweetened, but not overly, by the orange blossom, which nearly smells like honeysuckle to me. There is a hint of greenness as well, which I think is the white tea note. So so good. If I get a BPTP backup from this collection, this is the one.
-
The last lamenting kiss: velvet red rose absolute with sweet myrrh, amber honey, and red sandalwood. The scent reminds me of a heavy-lidded beauty, face upturned, lips poised to provide one final kiss.. Wet on my skin, the amber and myrrh are most prominent. Once dry, the sandalwood and rose decide to take over, with the luscious rose mostly dominating. Over all this one is truly lovely. I'm very glad I have a bottle.
-
Bolsters sexual vigor, stimulates sensuality, and inspires relaxation: cacao with coconut, vanilla cream, and shea. Normally I don't bother with massage oils. I no longer live with an MT, so I feel like "what's the point?" However, when I saw the note list for this item, I felt that there was just no possible way I could ignore such a thing. so here goes: In the Bottle: Imagine the most delicious edible suntan lotion that has never existed. Cocoa butter? Check. Coconut? Check. Vanilla frosting in a can? Check, check, check. On the Skin: Oh, holy crap. This smells AMAZING. Not only do all the above elements stay true, but the shea butter shows up and adds a little sugary note, right on at the end. the oils texture is light and absorbent, leaving my skin feeling moisturized without being slick or greasy or sticky. In All: A must have, I will use this post-shower or post-bath as a nice light moisturizer and I will also put some into the ends of my hair, where it's most thirsty. In other words, do not deny yourselves something so yummy and lovely simply because you don't get that many massages. Trust me- you'll find ways to use this heavenly treat!
