Girl and Butterflies

[doomsday_disco]

A fluttering tempest of black oud, indigo poppy, pale lavender, blue lilac, white tea, ambergris accord, and sweet pea.

 

Frances Macdonald
 

Edited June 1 by doomsday_disco

[doomsday_disco]

Girl and Butterflies is mostly a black oud and lavender scent on my skin, with touches of the lilac and poppy, a airy quality that must have been from the ambergris, and a bit of brightness that must have been from the white tea. I tried this twice and never ended up detecting the sweet pea on my skin. The oud is not funky whatsoever -- it just smells deeply resinous. Paired with the lavender, it smells a little perfume-y, but it's not high-pitched. As the day goes on, the black oud increases and strength, and the lavender calms down, yet never leaves its side.

 

I think this smells nice, but since this scent didn't make me swoon and there are other lavender scents available right now that I want back-up bottles of, I do not need more of this.

[Assimbya]

Darkened, moody purple floral. Wet I get a lot of lavender and that in combination with the lilac reminds me of a more dramatic, less comforting variation on Gloomily, Gloomily. I also feel like I get violet at this stage, though it's not listed and so probably an olfactory illusion from the other floral notes. As it dries I get more woodiness, depth, and complexity, and can pick out the lab's poppy note (which is distinctive to me though I have trouble describing it), and an underlying sharp, perfumey sweetness; the florals recede somewhat with wear. The oud is not challenging at all in this blend for me. This feels well-balanced and sophisticated, with a certain kind of confidence, like a dark velvet cloak with crystals on it. It's really lovely; on my own I probably wouldn't have gone for a bottle, but my partner absolutely adored it so a bottle now lives with us and I will probably wear it more than I otherwise might!

[quintessentially]

Oh my goodness, what a beautiful blend. On wet application, you get a flurry of florals and sweetened white tea. As it dries down, the black oud and lavender come out, the purple eye of the storm of this ‘fluttering tempest.’

[leptonpyr]

Girl and Butterflies is gorgeous! I haven't worn this one in a minute, so I'm afraid I'm not going to do it justice in my review, but I wanted to jot something down before the scent goes down. Goes on with a rush of purple florals, BPAL's beautiful, aromatic lavender, soft and pillowy but with an undercurrent of crisp camphor. The lavender mingles with a sweet, heady lilac (a little more perfumey than photorealistic/fresh, and very lovely), like I've just stepped into the most heavenly garden. The ambergris and oud accords give this a gorgeous, sophisticated sort of texture, and the ambergris lends it a bit of throw. This is a very friendly and approachable oud, it is sweet and berry-like, recalling dried fruit and honey. The tea doesn't jump out at me, but a few hours in, I get a lovely waft of it, as if someone's just come to bring me a crisp, refreshing cup of tea while I've been sitting in this possibly enchanted garden. I'm not familiar enough with sweet pea or blue poppy to pick them out, but I wonder if they're altering the lilac accord.

 

Really good throw for the first couple of hours, and surprising longevity, a good 6-8 hours. It sort of deepens and warms as the day goes on; the florals eventually burn off, but they give way to something that feels quietly radiant and gorgeously textured. I ordered my bottle this afternoon!