Record of Women’s Treasures of the Way of Elegance Day and Night

[doomsday_disco]

Peru balsam, champa absolute, sugared patchouli, toasted cardamom, black pepper, labdanum, and coffee bean.

[Muffin]

This is a very sexy scent and I got many compliments wearing it. Some lady said she actually wanted to stand closer to me. 🤣 It's definitely patchouli-forward, sweet and warm, not foodie. The champa gives it a mystical, otherworldly quality. I can pick up the coffee in the bottle, but not so much on. The cardamom surprisingly sticks around in the background for most of the wear, which I love. Balsam is my favorite note I think - this reminds me a bit of the Contemplator which is one of my faves. My favorite Shunga of the year. 

[Roogna]

almost nutty, sweet, toasted, and peppered. Yes, coffee bean on close sniff, but mainly champa incense, cardamom, and pepper

[doomsday_disco]

I decided to grab a decant of this because it shares some notes with Destructive Vagina of the Fox Spirit (vanilla orchid, black amber, coffee bean, labdanum, champaca, and oudh), of which there's probably less than a milliliter left in my bottle. I think that scent being discovered in my early BPAL days really helped cement it as one of my most beloved Shungas, but what I really appreciate about it is that a lot of the notes in it are not really in my wheelhouse at all, but they somehow all come together to create this really pretty scent that I imagine is like... the best indie coffee shop/bookstore.

 

So I deathmatched the two.

 

Record of Women’s Treasures of the Way of Elegance Day and Night does indeed share some similarities with Destructive Vagina, but oddly enough, Destructive Vagina is less destructive.  While that scent has a bit of an airy quality to it thanks to the vanilla orchid, Record of Women's Treasures doesn't contain any notes that lift the scent. This is mostly resins, incense, patchouli, and spices on me, with the black pepper being one of the most prominent spices (it made me sneeze at one point). The patchouli, champaca, and spices are very noticeable, especially during the first few hours of wear, and the coffee bean and resins lurk in the background during this time. Once those notes calm down, it settles into a soft resin scent that does smell like a cousin to Destructive Vagina of the Fox Spirit -- I'm guessing because of the labdanum (which is not cola-like in either blend). But Destructive Vagina ends up being the stronger scent by the end of the day.

 

I still prefer Destructive Vagina between the two, but I do enjoy this, and I plan on giving it a full-day slather to see if I need more of it. It's definitely a possibility, since it does share some similarities with that scent (and I doubt I'd be able to find more of that one).

[Lyahdan]

I'm finding that I love sweet+patchouli (all the honeyed ones in recent years are a hit). I don't usually like coffee bean. But here, the bitter blends with the peppery note and really gives the earthy sweetness some sexy bite. The cardamon is a hazy, cozy warmth once it dries down. Liking this one way more than I expected.