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Showing results for tags 'Lupercalia 2019'.
Found 92 results
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[No additional description provided.] Honeyed rum cake with fig! This is more honeyed fig dominant and not overly boozy. I’ve never had Baba au rhum, but this is how it smells in my head.
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Mandarin, carnation, and clove bud. Fresh from the mail, no time to settle -- but I was already getting ready to review other BPAL when this arrived. I couldn't wait; I let it cut in line. Will definitely update after it's had time to get used to its new home. Edit 3/3/19 -- Text in blue is my review now that the scent has had time to settle. In the bottle: Mandarin and clove. It's beautiful spicy orange (the scent, not necessarily the color). Mostly mandarin in the bottle. The clove is detectable, but it's not as much as I remember there being a week ago. On my skin: Wet, it's largely mandarin with a touch of clove. It almost has an orange candy -- the old-fashioned stick candies -- quality to it. (The oil color, by the way, is clear or nearly so.) Yup. Still has that mandarin-dominant, orange spice candy thing going on. The initial drydown is much the same, though the clove has some impressive throw on it -- but since it's just a grace note on the blend for the moment, it's not overpowering. I don't get any detectable carnation as of yet -- though I can't tell if that's still yet to develop on my skin, if it's being overshadowed by the clove, if it's due to the freshness of the oil, or some combination of factors. I'd tell you that settled, the initial drydown is even more mandarin on me. The clove hasn't really started to assert itself yet. (And no, still no carnation.) Given another twenty or so minutes to develop on my skin, and the carnation does make a subtle appearance. It's a supporting note, toning down the super brightness of the mandarin and adding a more delicate nuance of spiciness to the clove. I want to say it's starting to add some sophistication to the blend. (I say "starting to" because it's still very much a background player at this stage, but I can see that as its role as the blend unfolds.) Aaand this is where Twelve Tastes in the Classification of Passion leaves off on me, at least for the time being. Luper and Shunga and evocative title notwithstanding, this is a warm, cheerful, inviting blend on me. The mandarin is bright, the clove warm and happily spicy, and the carnation works to add some unity and balance to the blend. The scent itself would be at home in a variety of venues, including for work or everyday wear (at least as it manifests on me). At this point, a couple of hours after the initial application (which is mandarin and clove on me), the carnation comes out, and it is elegant and sexy as hell. It does take a while to get there on me, but the cheerful warmth of the mandarin and clove is also pretty great, so I can't complain. The throw is on the stronger side of average on me, and we'll see about the wear length -- Mandarin disappears on me notoriously quickly, but clove and carnation can hang around forever... If this perfume were a Luper Goat, it would be a social butterfly Luper Goat with excellent people manners. I can imagine it making the rounds in any given room, nuzzling up to people as a way to ask for treats and pets (which I suppose is a nicer way of saying food and attention). While Twelve Tastes (the Goat!) might push her head underneath someone's unsuspecting hand and while you of course want to be mindful of your fingers when proffering any treat, this is not a goat that's going to knock someone over or chomp any hands off. She has manners -- but also Charm and Game, as well as the confidence to rely upon them.
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Amber cream, white tea, lemon peel, and lotus root. In The Bottle: Lemon, cream and a touch of lotus. Wet On Skin: A bit of the white tea is coming round now, making this smell like a tea party with lemon cake! Dry Down: Tea leans a bit toward the lemony side of things anyway on me, and this scent therefore has both a "high" and "low" lemon note in that the low is more of a foodie, lemon curd variety and the high is that clean, bright lemony tea. It's a lovely combination. The amber cream seems to be way more cream than amber, which is not a bad thing, though I'm curious to see how it'll age. The lotus can be a bit iffy on me, and I was worried it would turn soapy but so far it's behaving itself, if juuuuust barely In all, I think this will be a fine scent as we move out of late winter and into spring. It's a very bright and sunny daytime scent and if you're a gourmand fan, you should definitely give this a try.
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What a great freakin' word. BPAL LOVES TEH SMUT! Three swarthy, smutty musks sweetened with sugar and woozy with dark booze notes. BPAL loves teh smut! I know Beth warned us about this one, that it'd smell a bit aggressive in the bottle but is positively wonderful once on. I haven't smelt Sed Non Satiata yet, which is the scent Beth said this is a lot like, so I have no basis for comparison there. Sorry, guys? In the bottle, yes, it's definitely aggressive. It almost smells like Robitussin cough syrup - that same boozy, quasi-fruity medicinal quality. It has the potential to be sexy, though, I can definitely see/smell that. Smut immediately sweetens when it hits my skin. It's pretty much musky sugar sweetness after a few drinks, precisely what the description says. There's no more medicinal smell to be had, but it's definitely warmer - do I smell vanilla? Very sophisticated and womanly, almost reminiscent of Jean-Paul Gaultier, only without the headache J-P gives me. A seductive, sophisticated, heady, little-black-dress-and-stilettos, 'take me now' scent. I love teh smut. If you haven't already, GET SOME. 9/10. P.S. Throw is amazingly good.
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METRO I beg you, don’t lie, dear Coritto: Who was the Man who stitched for you this bright red dildo? CORITTO I don’t know if Cerdon is from Chios or Erythrae; bald, small – you’d call him a right ‘Mr. Tradesman’. You’ll think you’re seeing the handiwork of Athena herself not Cerdon’s. I – for he arrived bringing two, Metro – at the sight of them – well my eyes bulged; men can’t make their rods as rigid as this – we are alone and can be frank – and not only that, these are as soft as sleep; and the little leather straps are as soft as wool, not like leather straps at all. A kinder cobbler to a woman you’ll not find – even by putting-out. METRO Why then did you not take the other one as well? CORITTO What didn’t I do, Metro? What sort of means of persuasion did I not apply him? Kissing him, stroking his bald head, pouring out a sweet drink for him, calling him by a pet name, giving him all by my body to enjoy. METRO If he asked even that you ought to have given him it. Red leather and honey. I'm having one of those this is really complex for a scent with two notes moments This starts out as prominent leather. it's a new leather and has a sharp quality. There is also something Red about this ,but at first, I wasn't quite sure why. It didn't seem to be coming from the leather itself. As it morphs, the leather starts to smell musky and takes on a worn aspect. The honey starts to come out. Its there but minds its manners; for which I'm thankful. It's not until the drydown that I realize what's going on. There's red musk. Yep, red musk and I'm over the moon. I also believe that I'm smelling some other musk, a darker musk. I have this impression because the scent has a red quality to it but also something darker, murkier. It all comes together in a musky, raw, sweet, sexy scent. Absolutely love this!
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Wildflower honey, broom flower absolute, iris concrete, and gardenia. Just got this and decided to take it to the tub fresh from the mail. I have very dry skin, and I really love the feel of the lab's bath oils, so I'm a little more forgiving with the scent than I would be for a strait perfume. If this were a perfume, I probably wouldn't keep it, but as an oil, I'm pretty happy. Overall, this is a musky/musty floral on me. I'm getting very little gardenia, maybe just a bit of lushness in the opening, but this doesn't smell "white floral" to me. I don't get a lot of honey either. I am not super familiar with the lab's wildflower note, and I know nothing about broom flower, but I suspect that's what I'm getting the most. It's almost a warm, brown herbal smell. The iris is a bit dusty, and I can smell it blending with a softer gardenia in the background, but they aren't the prominent notes to me. This isn't overly sweet, and it's not a standard or grandiose floral. It does have sort of a vaguely musty, sweet skin smell that I haven't smelled in anything else. I'm almost getting a chamomile vibe. Anywho, I'm curious to see how this smells once it's had time to settle in, and I'm curious to see other's reviews. ETA: I read up on broom flower, and the fragrance is described as reminiscent of orange blossoms and grape. Now that the oil has has time to sit, I AM getting a less musty, more fruity smelling concoction that I am quite happy with. It actually reminds me a bit of a gentler, less sweet Fairy Wine. Quite lovely for spring.
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Crushed grass, pink clover, white cedar, bamboo, fig leaf, and white moss. To me this smells like the scene in Bambi where Thumper is eating the clover blossoms. It’s happy and green and sunny! Kinda like Lush’s Fox in the Flowers bath bomb in atmo form, or maybe Down the Rabbit Hole’s spring sister: clover blossoms, fresh grass (but not too grassy), and moss. This will be a beautiful linen spray.
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Mahogany polished with burgundy musk, rosewood, jasmine absolute, and Spanish moss. Gorgeous! Jasmine (it would be purple!), dark moss, dark polished wood, and musk. Fancy, and sexy. I bet a lot of people who typically don’t like jasmine or red musk would love this. I’m in the latter camp, and I think it’s gorgeous.
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White musk, lemon peel, and ambrette seed. I loooove this one!! Lemon candy!! Happy, bright, tart, fresh, with a hint of sugar. I’m excited, because lemon perfume doesn’t work on my skin, but it will be perfect in my hair! 😍😍
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Neon strawberry, pink peppercorn, viscous white honey amber, and a smear of Brazilian vetiver. Fresh honeyed strawberries! The pepper keeps it bright and peppy, and the amber note is similar to the one in Pa-Pow HG. Love this!
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Green tea, white sandalwood, and white amber. A refreshing and pretty neutral green scent that will be great in spring and summer. This is close to Shanghai. Green tea and sandalwood. I really can’t imagine anyone not liking this scent, it’s lovely and inoffensive.
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White cedar, tomato leaf, clary sage, woodmoss, sweet labdanum, clove husk, and leather. Dark, masculine, woody! I get clove and leather, and a bit of cedar. The cedar is really nice—it’s like the scent of a nice cedar hope chest (as opposed to the dreaded hamster cage scent).
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Silken red musk, black leather accord, patchouli, Malaysian oudh, cardamom, and vetiver. Clean black leather, musk, touches of oudh. This one has a very clean woody smell laced throughout, and on the drydown I get a shot of cardamom. It's a very refined black leather. Medium throw and wear length.
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Smoky black orchid and agarwood. Gorgeous!!! Orchid and fragrant (not indolic) agarwood. A little perfumey in a good way. The orchid note is a bit vanilla-y. This smells expensive and is reminding me of something—Selbstverliebt maybe?
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Golden amber, apple-crushed oudh, blackened apricot, sweet musk, saffron, neroli, and gilded leather. Apple oudh and neroli on wet, and then I get the oudh, apricot, musk on a leather background. Monster throw while on wet thanks to the apple oudh. Oudh is not my friend.
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Peach-touched sandalwood, fig meat, and milky white musk. This is a nice white peach musk. Something in it—perhaps the musk—is reminding me of orris. It’s a clean and dry scent that’s fruity but also a little elegant. It’s like a grown up version of a peach perfume—very pretty and classy.
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Piss off, Saint Valentine! Lupercalia is an ancient Roman celebration, held on February 15th, that kicked in the advent of Spring with a very, very festive purification, fertility and sexuality ritual. The ritual began near the cave of Lupercal on the Palatine, an area sacred to Faunus, as well as Ruminia, Romulus and Remus. During Lupercalia, Vestal Virgins first made offerings of sacred cakes to the fig tree under which the she-wolf suckled the Sacred Twins. A dog and two goats were then offered in sacrifice to Faunus. The blood of the sacrifice was smeared onto two naked patrician youths, who were assisted by the Virgins, and the blood was wiped clean with sacred wool dipped in milk. The youths donned the skins of the sacrificial goats, wielding whips made from the goat skins, and then led the priests and the Virgins around the pomarium, and around the base hills of Rome. This was a ceremony of great happiness and merriment, and was of particular interest to young women: being touched by the goat-whips young men that led the procession ensured their fertility in the coming year. It is believed that, after the initial rite, male participants would draw the name of an available maiden, with whom he spent the rest of the night. This scent is for the Luperci, the Chosen of Faunus, the Brothers of the Wolf: raw, down and dirty patchouli, Gurjam balsam, and essence of Sampson Root sweetened with the heightened sexuality of beeswax, virile juniper, oakmoss, ambrette seed over honey and East African musk. ... am I really the first? Oh dear! Stage fright. In the bottle: Patchouli, smacking me in the nose! Beeswax, moss, earthy, dirty, powerful. The husband likes this. Wet on skin: Patchouli and juniper, with a honey-sweet undertone, but the sharp woody note is on top. Dry on skin: Patchouli and a heavy, sweet musk. Juniper's still there, but the musk is overpowering it. Over time: Woody and sweet and musky. This is a heavy, woody, honey-sweet scent; patchouli likes me, as usual, and is sticking around as the strongest note. The juniper has receded almost entirely, leaving me with only a quiet sharpness in the woody scent to remind me of its presence. Overall: I expected to like this, and I'm not disappointed. It's a very earthy, sexy kind of scent, not a pretty or delicate scent; this is precisely what I wanted and expected out of it. Elf still likes it, too. Bonus. I used to wear patchouli straight, but I like this more; it's more complex and appealing. 4.5/5 - not hoarding like I do with Geek, but I'm glad I got a bottle, so it will last me a nice long time.
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White and yellow roses, violet silk, Himalayan cedarwood, mandarin, white musk, carnation, and dried red currants. I'm actually surprised at how lovely this is. I get tender pale roses, touch of violet, musk, and whiffs of both carnation and red currants. The overall effect is a silken floral, very elegant and regal. This is like draping yourself in a silk kimono - its rich, luxurious, and beautiful in an understated way. Absolutely stunning.
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[No additional description provided.] Ahhhh I love this one! It’s the best, most realistic honey scent in the world, with some spicy carnation. I have a hard time finding honey scents that I like, and this one is such a winner!
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[No additional description provided.] Gorrrrgeous. Sweet, fluffy, creamy, perfect, marshmallows!!!
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[No additional description provided.] This one’s beautiful!! It’s honeyed soft leather (light brown in color), with a pinch of dry tobacco. It’s like sniffing the inside of an old, empty wooden tobacco box. Really lovely.
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Russet musk, white cream amber, sweet red patchouli, and pink pepper. Oooh boy, a lot of people are going to love this one. Red musk and sugary patch lovers rejoice! It’s sweet wood, musk, and cream. The pepper keeps it peppy. The sweet patchouli is dominant. This one’s a beauty.
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Ink, white moss, and rose petals. In the bottle Dark, deep moss with something darkly floral. But mostly moss. And definitely an ink note. Wet on skin True to my skin chemistry's form, I get a luscious, red rose note as soon as this touches my skin. But it works beautifully with the moss and inky darkness. This is not a dark scent, per se. It's lovely. Dry on skin after 30 minutes The rose fades a little bit into the background and this smells a lot more like the ink and moss. Not woody, really, but more green and almost like very fine paper and ink with flower petals and greenery. It has a nice throw, and the overall scent has not faded. Thoughts This makes me think of a fancy lady writing a letter with a fountain pen, expensive ink, and expensive paper, then spritzing her finest perfume on everything before sealing the envelope. Unexpected and beautiful. Really glad I went for a full bottle.
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[No additional description provided.] Fresh from the Lab, this one is overwhelmingly rice in the bottle and on application. And specifically basmati rice. It's a very rich, savory grain smell. On the skin, the champaca comes out, and, to a much lesser degree, the honey. Moments after application, the savory and the floral/sweet are warring with each other, not quite meshing. As time wears on, the honey comes out more, and the rice decides to stop screaming, but that savory note is still there. It seems to be settling into center-stage champaca, with the other notes balancing and supporting. This one has a lot of throw. Beware-- that rice is STRONG at first. Edit: This is the first scent that my partner has physically recoiled from. The champaca is going very ammonia/urine-like on my skin. Edit 2: In the end, this scent was all heavily buttered popcorn and ammonia on my skin. Traded it away.
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Beeswax, sandalwood incense, ti leaf, roasted nuts, and bamboo. In The Bottle: Sweet, creamy beeswax (YUM) and a hint of the roasted nuts. NOMNOMNOM. Wet On Skin: The beeswax is definitely in the lead here, with the nuts adding a bit of salt. I'm not getting the greenery of bamboo or ti leaf, and I don't detect anysandawood at this stage, either. Dry Down: One of those scents that really stays true from bottle to dry down, this oil has a low throw, stays close to the skin (as many Shungas tend to do in my experience) and is quietly delectable. Beeswax from the lab tends to age extraordinarily well, and I'm excited to see where this goes, because it's already eminently wearable straight out of the mailbox!😋
