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Showing results for tags 'Lupercalia 2015'.
Found 76 results
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VENUS VERTICORDIA Venus the Changer of Hearts Fickle dandelion florets dancing through honey-drenched wildflowers. I love the Lab's Wild Dandelion single note like whoa. It's one of my 'happy' scents. I associate the scent with hope and innocent days gone by. I also adore sugary floral scents. Needless to say, I was really looking forward to this one. It did not disappoint. In the bottle: It smells exactly like the description. The green dandelion note is the strongest, followed by the honeyed wildflowers. Wet: On my skin, the honey note is stronger than it was in the bottle, but the florals still reign (with the dandelion note being the most prominent). I can't identify which flowers comprise the wildflower note, but I will say that this really does make me think of being in a meadow in the spring, and smelling it brought tears to my eyes. Dry: Sweet dandelions and wildflowers. Verdict: I am so happy that I have a bottle of this. I will need a second bottle of this one before it goes away.
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White apple, benzoin, and oudh. Slightly sweet apple, benzoin makes it much sweeter and the oude dries it out to keep it incensey on my skin this is truly one of the best apple scents I have ever had. This will get a lot of use and I may just need a back up before it goes away.
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BLOODLUST BONBON Smoked cacao with dragon’s blood resin, red musk, red patchouli and vetiver with a drop of cinnamon. In The Bottle: Smoky vetiver and a little cinnamon. YUM. Wet On Skin: The dragon's blood has just shown up. It's mixing nicely with the smoky aspect, adding a little sweetness to it. The cinnamon has faded off, and has become closer to cassia, like in MB Underbed. Dry Down: This hasn't morphed much from bottle to dry down. The smoke remains, with the dragon's blood contributing well. But I get no cacao at all, no red musk and the cinnamon is only a presence in the most remote capacity. In All: Low throw- I think you'd have to wear quite a bit to get this to move off the skin- and the smoke has the nice aspect of being leathery without actually smelling like leather- a find for a person like me that amps leather notes to sickening levels. It reminds me a bit of Time's Infliction Of Eternity. If you loved that one, give this a try- it won't disappoint.
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IVORY VULVA Marshmallow root, coconut, macadamia milk, cream accord, and a drop of golden amber. This is definitely a creamy coconut scent. I've had it on for about 30 minutes and it's stayed the same. The other notes don't stand out to me but I think they're what's making this a warm coconut as opposed to just coconut. If you like coconut you will like this. It reminds me of the coconut in Goblin without the patchouli.
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Slender arrows lodged in my heart: red amber, benzoin, red musk, bourbon geranium, oak bark, Atlas cedar, and 13-year aged Sumatran patchouli. In The Bottle: The bourbon geranium is by far the most dominant note when opening the bottle. When I take a few additional sniffs, I also get a trace of the benzoin. but that geranium is hands-down the most dominant note. Wet On Skin: The germanium is still present but *much* less front and center. With this wet on my skin, I'm now also picking up the red amber and red musk (which are playing together in a really sexy way, and the patchouli, which is of the variety that has been in such favorites as Mme Moriarty Misfortune Teller and also Snake Charmer. Patchouli of the 'dirty hippy' variety this is not. Not a patchouli to fear, in other words. Dry Down: Very much the same as when still in the wet stage, and in the same proportions. In All: Medium to Strong throw, this scent has a deep, layered quality. There's a lot going on here, and because of the intensity of the individual notes, I really think this is one that will require some aging. That said, I'm *slightly* uncomfortable with how much geranium is coming through. However, I think there's a strong possibility, given the top-note quality of the geranium, that it'll fade further into the background, once it's had a chance to marinate further with the other notes. I'm really glad I have this bottle, but I think the one bottle will likely be enough. Still, I'm glad I have a few months to order a second, as that will give me a chance to see how this ages at least a little bit.
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VENUS LIBITINA Venus of the Undertakers Rose water, black cherry, cream accord, bourbon, and orris root. In The Bottle: Light but strong rosewater (definitely not rose- this is the water for sure) with cream and a little black cherry giving it some bite. Wet On Skin: The black cherry has faded. At this stage, it's reminding me quite a bit of Victorian Rose Milk- which is a GOOD thing, because that scent is really beautiful. Dry Down: Yes, this is straight up rosewater and cream on my skin. Orris tends to go a bit powdery on me and I detect none of that. I'm a bit sad to not get any of the bourbon, but the combination od those two main notes is really really lovely. In All: Medium throw. If you loved Victorian Rose Milk- or were sorry you missed out on it- get this while you can. It does not disappoint <3
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Bulgarian rose, dark musk, orange blossoms, white fig, and honey. first i smell leafy greenery and then roses. though maybe that greenery is really orange blossom? I think it is. after it settles down the fig, musk and honey come out more, softening the rose and orange blossom and adding some sweetness, wherein it becomes a figgy rose with a touch of honey. i am really into the honeyed-roses and this one works better for me than honeyed golden musk, rosewater and red sandalwood did, though i feel it could kind of be a cousin scent to that one. it's lighter and less nutty, which i like because i tend to not like nuttiness in a scent unless it's almond. definitely keeping my decant, though a big bottle is not necessary, as i've been going crazy with all the rose atmo. sprays!
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VENUS CLOACINA Venus the Purifier A magnificent white gardenia in full bloom, gilded by frankincense, sheer musk, and vanilla orchid. The throw on this oil is phenomenal! When first applied, this was a musky gardenia with a strong, woody, resiny frankincense. At this point, it smelled how I imagine Billie Holiday would smell- feminine and powerful (and too powerful to suit me, alas), with a gardenia tucked behind her ear. Eventually the frankincense backed off and now I'm getting a lush and juicy gardenia-- as if I'd rubbed fresh blossoms all over my wrists. The scent is wafting all around me and is absolutely divine. I love gardenia, and this scent is gardenia perfection.
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JOYFUL ROMP Plum blossoms and white sandalwood with indigo, tuberose, plum musk, and a drop of vetiver. I have been looking forward to testing this and it arrived today! Disclaimer: i don't like vetiver. I *almost* didn't get a decant because of it but i love plum so very much that i crossed my fingers that it would behave. If there's a way that vetiver could improve a blend, i would say it does here. I can smell it, but the way it supports the plum is exquisite...just lends a smooth bitter/reedy quality to the blend. It smells like the plum musk is infused with vetiver, if that makes sense. After 10 minutes, the tuberose comes through and the vetiver remains and the plum takes a backseat to the tuberose. Dry? Well, to be honest, i am still sniffing my hand in disbelief that i love it so much and it has vetiver and i can smell it and it isn't killing the blend! This is stunning, almost breathtaking but comfortable...and i need a bottle. The drydown of this reminds me so much of the Evening on the Veranda atmo spray...they don't really smell that similar, but the vibe is the same to me...i love this!!!
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VENUS ERYCINA Venus of the Prostitutes Honeysuckle absolute with white gardenia, red patchouli, red amber, and crushed diamond accord. The Lab's honeysuckle note smells just like the real thing to me. It's really pretty, but it's a sweet flower and I have to be in the right mood for it. This morning I was! Wet, Venus Erycina is primarily honeysuckle on me with gardenia making it even richer and sweeter. I can smell the red patchouli and red amber bringing the florals a bit to heel, and there's something slightly sparkly or effervescent that I imagine to be the crushed diamond accord. Dry, this remains a heady, broadcasting floral with a 'red bottom' and a diamond crown. I can see myself wearing this in the summer, and it pairs beautifully with Chorion hair gloss.
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THE WET NURSE AND THE OLD MONK Red sandalwood, peach, white tea, and champaca. Ok this gets my vote for Name Which Inspires Most Horrifying Images... But I had to buy it because it sounded so delicious, and yes, it is. Very fruity and lush at the top, peachy but grounded, I guess that is the red sandalwood, champaca is present in the background but not aggressive. I can't smell the White Tea yet, but I didn't wear it that long. Fresh, lush, not cloying.
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PROSPEROUS FLOWERS OF THE ELEGANT TWELVE SEASONS Patchouli and honeyed saffron with labdanum, leather accord, and wood vanilla. In Vitro A very rich honey and resin kind of scent. I should mention that I have not checked the notes list recently and all I remembered going into the test was patchouli, honey, and saffron. Wet The oil is light orange-brown. Freshly applied it was slightly less intense but gained and almost creamy sweetness. This subsided after a minute or two and and the overall scent was more spicy. Drying It became less sweet and hinted at a woody or even musty quality, but was not at all unpleasant. ETA: Two hours after application, the leather is prominent but not harsh, with underlying sweetness. This is both lovely and sexy.
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ARISTOCRATIC COUPLE Bourbon vanilla, preserved apricot, and cardamom. In the bottle, this smells like an juicy apricot floating over a spicy vanilla base, with a tickle of cardamom taking over at the end. Creamy and sweet with the nutty warmth of cardamom--absolutely lovely in the bottle. Wet, the cardamom comes out full force and this is all spice over a vanilla base. On dry down, the caradamom loses its edge and settles down into a barely discernable background note as the apricot takes center stage and I'm left with light, sweet apricot over musky vanilla. This scent hangs very close to the skin and dries down faintly on me (but I'm also not a slatherer). Really lovely, but the apricot note turns ever so slightly plastick-y on me, so I might have to give this one a pass after all.
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SEATED COUPLE LEANING ON HIPS Sake, skin musk, and ambrette seed. I love this! In the bottle it's a super strong blast of sake, it's insanely boozy and way more upfront than other sake blends from the lab. Wet on the skin the sake stays dominant but it's now supported by gorgeous musk that almost goes along the lines of floral. It has a tiny tiny second of smelling a little soapy but it fades the more it dries and when it begins to completely dry it is a lovely softened floral musk with a touch of sweetness. I think this would be great for a hot Summer day and I am very glad to have a bottle of it.
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HAUNTED BONBON Dark chocolate with thick golden amber and murky black musk. This was the only bonbon from this year's bonbon box that I picked up—I can't resist Haunted. I have a 10ml from 2004 or early 2005 that I'm still working on, and it's only gotten better with time. There's just something about the combo of the amber and black musk that's so straightforward and yet so...haunting? Wet, Haunted Bonbon is chocolate-forward, with the amber and black musk in the background and a very faint, almost citrusy tang. As it dries, the chocolate recedes until what's left on me is a richer Haunted—a little darker, a little more bready, with a slight molasses-y note adding complexity. A half hour after applying, the chocolate is almost gone but I can smell it informing the other notes, and I mostly get a marriage of dark, rich supermusk and golden amber.
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VENUS GENETRIX Venus the Progenitor Black amber and jasmine tea with 7-year aged vanilla bourbon absolute. Beautiful. I smell the same jasmine tea note from The Mysterious Warning, and a similar vanilla to the one from Signior Dildo...i don't get much amber yet but would assume it will become more prominent with aging. No throw but a beautiful skin scent. I am glad i bought a bottle, it is lovely. ETA: i put this on early this morning and it has changed a bit...the amber reminds me of the amber from Hesiod's Phoenix but not sweet at all. The jasmine tea gives the amber a slightly bitter/astringent sweetness. No vanilla this morning. I cannot wait to smell this when it is settled in at the end of Spring...very nice blend. Funny, i don't get the licorice from BPAL's black tea note so i am thinking this is more of a Darjeeling? Quite nice. :-)
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Coconut, white jasmine, and mint-green moss with honeysuckle, tuberose, and white amber. I honestly didn't pay much attention to this one when the Lupers were posted because I don't like mint notes and thought it would be too out of my element since I mostly wear foody scents, but I am very pleasantly surprised and am so happy I received a decant of this! Firstly, I smell no mint at all (yay!). The Jasmine is the most prominent note, followed by honeysuckle, moss, and the amber. I loveeee the jasmine, it's just gorgeous, fresh and sweet. The honeysuckle and amber create this beautiful soft golden halo around the jasmine, and the moss is very subtle, adding freshness to the blend. I love this and can't wait to get my hands on a full bottle. If you love jasmine, you'll want to invest in a few bottles. Just save some for me.
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FOR EACH ECSTATIC INSTANT For each ecstatic instant We must an anguish pay In keen and quivering ratio To the ecstasy. For each beloved hour Sharp pittances of years, Bitter contested farthings And coffers heaped with tears. – Emily Dickinson Equal parts joy and grief, lust and regret, pain and pleasure: velvet-red roses and sensual aged patchouli with night-blooming jasmine, caramelized bourbon vanilla, labdanum, black amber, and oudh. In the imp: Wet, slightly incensed rose petals. Wet on my skin: Much the same as in the imp, but more incense and less rose. It's slightly boozy, as well. Dry: This is the first scent I've tried that has called to mind the word "sexy." This scent is lush, deep red, and velvety. It's the deepest red rose, darkened further by resins and incense, and topped off by a hint of rummy vanilla. The patchouli and oudh combine to soften it in an almost musky sort of manner. The rose is not overpowering at all as rose can sometimes be, instead blending beautifully with the rest of the notes. The jasmine is also starting to come out as my skin warms the scent, which rounds the scent from lush red into deep burgundy. It may sound odd to describe a scent in terms of colour, but in my mind, it looks like this:
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With tea leaf and cistus. This is fantastic. When I first spray it, my hair smells like fresh tangerine. The blast of zesty citrus lasts a good long while, and then slowly but surely morphs into something with a little more depth. If I make any sudden movements and my hair swishes around it's all fruity spiciness with a tang to it. Maybe that's cubeb? I'm not familiar with it. White ginger seems far more playful than its regular counterpart. I can definitely see myself wearing this at the park in the spring or at the beach in the summer months. Heck, I'd wear it to the beach today. Living in a coastal town means I will probably be reaching for this one quite a bit in the coming months.
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Glittering, ductile amber wet with carrot seed and bittersweet grey musk. Get this. Get it NOW. The Carrot seed makes this seem like champagne on my skin...but not the nauseating kind. It's slightly effervescent. The grey musk is slightly sweet but not overwhelming and the amber...maybe this is the glittering part...is amazing. Subtle and not overwhelming. GET THIS NOW...you need it. If you love amber and grey musk...you will love it.
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Champa resinoid, frankincense, red wine kyphi, and myrrh. This reminds me a lot of Frankincense, Myrrh, and Rose Petal Beads bath oil. It smells more hard incensy (like Midnight Mass) in the bottle, but the champa develops on and combines with the red wine to make it significantly fruity. I love it, but I also bought 2-3 bottle of that bath oil, so YMMV. 8/10
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With a touch of cinnamon, tobacco, and oudh. This gloss is gorgeous, and deceptively simple. Its rich melange of sweet vanilla and softly spiced cardamom swirls around a deep, dark core of tobacco and oudh, creating a warm, beautifully blended scent. It's gentle, even comforting, yet utterly alluring. The throw is lighter compared to some of my other glosses, but it still works its smoothing, detangling, silkifying magic. I get a little cinnamon, but not that much, which is surprising--I'm used to that dominating most blends it's in. Cardamom is one of my most beloved notes, and I can't wait to wear it with some of my favorite cardamom BPALs like Southern Cloudywing, Mama-Ji, Café Mille et une Nuits, or Pumpkin I from this year's Weenies.
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Ambergris accord, white musk, tobacco absolute, opoponax, and bitter cacao. Reviewing this fresh from the mailbox. This was a blind bottle buy, as I'm addicted to bpal tobacco and like all of the other notes listed for this scent. Freshly applied, this feels like it could go a little perfume-y, a little cologne-y, and it does pleasantly for about twenty minutes before drying down with the tobacco being soft but the strongest note. visions of autumn vii was tobacco and opoponax with a spicy, woody edge, and this is a cousin, only here the scent is made slightly sweet with the cacao and the whole is lightened with the musk and ambergris. Essentially this is a nice treat for tobacco lovers. A non-foodie tobacco truffle. This is baby spanking new, and the throw is low. I wager based on previous bpal experience that this scent will grow stronger with a bit of time and that the ambergris and musk will come forward more, letting this develop into a scent that is more than the sum of its parts. Even if it stays exactly the same, I've no regrets as I like this sort of thing immensely.
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I worship you like night's pavilion, O vase of sadness, o great silent one, And love you more since you escape from me, And since you seem, my night's sublimity, To mock me and increase the leagues that lie Between my arms and blue immensity. I move to attack, beseige, assail, Like eager worms after a funeral. I even love, o beast implacable, The coldness which makes you more beautiful. Not the desperation, desolation and anguish of unrequited love, but the distant, chill and pitiless scent of the object of that doomed desire. White musk, osmanthus, Nile lily and frankincense. In the bottle More bright and fruity than one would imagine. Thusfar this smells sort of like Blue moon meets..I dunno... Neo-Tokyo maybe a bit. The Lily, osmanthus, musk and frankincense blend together so well that the no one thing really sticks out as primary...yet. On Still smells the same as in the bottle (thank God). The lily and osmanthus are primary now. I can't pick out the frankincense nor the musk any longer. Very pretty blend, somewhat perfumey, and similar to an aquatic. There's a cucumbery mintiness to this underneath the perfuminess. 30 minutes The dry down is even better because it becomes a bit powdery, but this slight powderiness only adds to the loveliness of this white floral. Throw: Yes it does have more than average. Scent category: Floral/Animalistic/Incense Summary To me this doesn't smell like a incensey floral. It smells more bright white floral, aquatic blend. I'm not even able to pick an existing blend to compare it to. I would say a Jasmine Danube or Tulszcha but no, this is not getting at what it smells liek exactly. So pretty and different. I bet some would imagine Snow White to smell like this. It's that kind of scent. Greatest throw of the Lupercalia blends and the longest lasting of the bunch as well Purchase again? Yes. This is beautiful. 1-5 rating (5 being best) 4.5
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Thick raw honey with a touch of Russian sage and hyssop. While it's in the bottle this is the richest, thickest honey ever and it's gorgeous. Once in the bath it is far more subtle - a gentle hint of honey and a fresh, slightly medicinal quality from the herbs. It doesn't linger though and feels rather ephemeral. I suspect if I used my bath oil as a moisturiser then the scent would stick around much longer.
