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Resuscitation proves why experiencing a scent in the bottle, applied to the skin, and dry is vital! After settling, the bottle is ever so slightly scary to sniff. A little bit like wet cement, or something electrical that's been this side of overheated. It goes on exactly like that, too, wet on the skin. If I had just sniffed this and didn't skin-test, I would have moved on. But the bottle is mine, so of course I'm going to slather and see how it goes!

 

After a couple of minutes of drying, the scariness is gone, and it's all deeply smoky. A smokiness that's had any sharpness completely kindled away and leaving a smooth, dark shadow behind. The acrid "barbeque" smoke of 2018 is no more. This is miles deep into the earth. 

 

The longer it warms on the skin, the better it gets. A few more minutes, and it's beginning to smell like the best leather. Like leather that has zero plastic. Like leather that is snuggly, soft from years of wear and lotion. I don't get any individual note in the lineup. Just leather. Which is not in the lineup, but that choya ral (a new note to me) is a balsam which smells "smoky-leathery, dry-woody, sweet resinous...with a delicate amber undertone." Nailed it. This baby smells like choya ral. The more it dries, the more it smells like old things to me. Like an old garage, with various bits of machinery and clothing and old boxes and books and wood all in one place. This is really, really good.

 

I thought it had low throw, staying very close to the skin, because I couldn't smell it on myself unless I huffed my wrist. Then my partner commented on my "pretty" perfume from the other side of the couch. Well there you have it. It's pretty, and it has great throw. If this is what Resuscitation is like fresh, I am here for it this year and next!

 

 

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This immediately reminded me of Gloomy Day (February), from the Art of Winter Yule release a few years ago. Gloomy Day contains dry balsams, wind-smooth woods, ambergris-grey clouds, and autumn hay, so it seems my nose is in the know.  :D  Gloomy Day was beautiful, and so is Resuscitation. 

 

This is a dry, warm, calming incense on me, with the amber being the most prominent note and the frankincense and balsam gently backing it up.  I have no idea what choya ral is.  I smell the hay as a weird funk at the beginning stages of the perfume, but it soon blends in seamlessly and lends the fragrance its warmth.  Overall, there's a raspy, almost powdery feel to this one, but it never goes baby powder.  It makes me think of the soft glow oil paintings seem to have.  I need to compare it directly to Gloomy Day to see if I really need a bottle of this one, but I'm at least very happy to have a partial of it.  

 

ETA:  Comparing GD and Resus directly, they still smell very similar to my nose, but GD has something a tiny bit sharp in it, kind of like a hint of biting wind, and I think the frankincense in Resus makes it a touch more incensey.  Also, if you liked Gloomy Day, but it was a tad too masculine for you, Resus might be a better fit.  

Edited by VetchVesper

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It is always good to skin test a perfume and never judge it just from the scent of it in its bottle or vial. This is especially true of Resuscitation.

 

Upon opening the vial, I was greeted with a sour scent, almost pickle-like in its sourness. But that sourness ends up dissipating shortly after application. It's resinous, with the frankincense being one of the stronger resins to my nose, but it is not heavy or dark. In fact, it's a lot lighter than I thought it would be based on the notes, and that is because the ambergris ends up being one of the main players on me and really lightens up the scent, making it is a smooth, slippery, musky incense. And it just keeps getting better with wear, as the ambergris gains strength, and the hay joins in and adds a nice warmth to the scent.

 

Pretty sure I am going to need more of this. Thanks to the lovely BPALista that sent me some to try. :heart: 

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Autumn hay, wood, and frankincense. Very gender neutral to slightly masculine. Honestly, this smells like the best roll in the hay. Would definitely roll around in the hay with someone who smelled like this. Medium throw and good wear length.

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Smooth and warm. A lot of frankincense and ambergris, but it's extremely well blended. It lasted all day without losing much of its strength, and the only change was that I could pick up on the hay more and the ambergris got stronger. A bright, charismatic resin blend.

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The opening is super weird, as other reviewers have mentioned. A chemical metallic waft like glue, mixed with paper pulp, or dirty wet clay. Once on and beginning to dry, those weirder chemical elements burn off and fold into a raw incense scent. I have a box of Tibetan incense and it smells just like it. It's like a smoky, leathery Mysore sandalwood. "Toasted sandalwood" is maybe a euphemism for Mysore? Or the notes are combining into a Mysore dupe. Definitely give it a whirl if you are a incense fan or like that type of sandalwood. It's putting me a bit in mind of Aerodynamic Junk but without clove. 

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My final Luper impulse buy! This is so nice. I wasn't sure what I was smelling for the first few minutes but it certainly wasn't bad. Something about my body chemistry is bringing out an extremely muted dark velvety cinnamon note which is really really nice but I'm not sure why. I definitely smell the sandalwood (hooray!) the hay and the hinoki and I love this. If the ambergris and frankincense come forward that will make it even more precious. (I get the comparison to Gloomy Day (which is a favorite of mine) but I don't think they smell similar and the vibes are completely different.) I'm so glad I took a chance on this bottle. This year's Lupers were just full of amazing blends.

Edited by HerbGirl

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Wet: sweet hinoki, sandalwood and ambergris.

On: it is slightly dark, very much a blend, actually quite nice here.

Later: The sweetness starts to overpower the other scents for some reason. Salty ambergris but also smokey sweet wood.
Much later, I could still smell this super skin close, more as a slightly red currant ambergris. It lasts a while which is nice but it's not for me.

Edited by follis

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Nope, not loving this.. that asshole frankincense is screaming so loudly that I can’t enjoy any of the other notes. 
 

I tried talking nicely to it “Aww c’mon please, Frankie! Let the sandalwood and ambergris come out and play, please?” but it just laughed right in my face. So I tried a more direct approach “Look, Frank, how about you just fuck all the way off?” but nope, that didn’t work either - it just stayed there, stubbornly refusing to move. All the other notes never had a chance. 

It’s becoming very clear to me that Frank is a prick, and we will never be friends. 

 

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