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You Are Not Alone

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A dribble of lavender oil running along the cracked spine of a well-loved mass market paperback enveloped in a snuggly oversized hoodie.

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You Are Not Alone is definitely a bookish scent. The paper of the paperback is what I get most from this scent throughout wear, and it somehow does smell like there's a crack in the spine. The lavender in this really is just a dribble, so if you're averse to the note and are here for the other elements of the scent, you might be pleasantly surprised. The hoodie just smells like something soft behind the paperback and isn't a clean cotton scent like in Apocalypse Box. There's something in the background that is slightly weird to my nose -- I am not sure if it's the glue from the cracked spine or if there's secretly some hemp in this or something. But I'm testing this a day after it arrived, so perhaps it just needs a little more time to settle.

 

If you're looking for a book scent unlike the other book scents from the Lab (which typically have leather in them), this should fit that bill. If you are hoping for something more lavender heavy and less atmospheric, another lavender scent in this update might be better for you.

 

I'm currently undecided on how I feel about this, so I am going to tuck this away for a while and retest it later on down the road.

Edited by doomsday_disco

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I actually really like this. I dislike how heavy the leather usually is in book scents but I took a chance with this and I'm glad I did. I don't smell leather. I smell something akin to paper but my brain keeps saying it is a nutty scent (?) and there is just a hint of lavender. Very comforting. Very snuggly. Not a strong scent.

ETA: I've been trying to figure out what smells so familiar here. It is the parchment note from Dee that I'm smelling. I love this oil so much.

Edited by HerbGirl

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Surprisingly, this one is a little perfumey to my nose. I think it’s the combination of the paper and cotton with my skin chemistry. The lavender, to my nose, is of the floral and softly sharp variety. This is a bookish blend, but it’s an elegant one that could be worn to something fancy, not a snuggly one to curl up and read with.

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I enjoyed this. It was cozy and kind.

 

Sweet, almost sugary lavender with a mingling of paper and warm cotton. (I actually got a little something like white sugar from this at times.)

 

The cotton smelled well-worn but also well-loved -- there was a sweetness there that was not quite a laundry scent, but perhaps closer to the scent of a person who smells good naturally, unadorned.

 

 

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This is sweet and kind and soft. It feels comforting, that faintly vanilla cotton-clean scent and sugared lavender and a papery tinge that all-together reminds me of curling up in a bed with a much-loved book when I was a young child. Honestly I can see myself wearing this on days when I need a scent that feels like a gentle, uncomplicated hug.

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Lavender cotton and paper. Its soft, lavendery, and smells more masculine on the drydown. It goes from soft-cuddly to a much more assertive blend on the drydown. Good throw and wear length.

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Wet: Lavender and paper - what I imagine it would smell like to be wearing  lavender perfume oil while reading a book. So.. spot on! (Well, minus the "hoodie" smell.)

 

Dry: The paper note has overtaken the lavender. It's as if a drop or two of lavender oil was spilled on some book pages - you can catch a whiff of it, but it's still mainly just the book's paper you smell.

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The two predominant notes I am getting from this are sandalwood and perfume-y amber. If there is lavender here, it's faint. I can kind of see how the sandalwood could be the "paperback" note. I imagine another perfumer calling this blend something like "Midnight Cashmere" or "Moonlight Amethyst" and describing it as mysterious, sultry, alluring, and so on. Not generally my sort of thing.

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So many other “book” scents can have sharp notes that are too woody or leather-like. None of that here! It’s very much that biblichor smell you get when you bury your face in the spine of an old book, really soft and organic, with the teeniest drop of sweet lavender. There’s a notable warmth to it, as well—like this paperback is so beloved it is always tucked into your pocket—which I think may be the “hoodie” note. 

Edited by Leopard403

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I really love this and will need a bottle. It opens with a sweet, perfumey lavender and dries down to the scent of old paperback pages. The paper scent reminds me a little of a very dry sandalwood or even oud, but so light. It brings me back to being around the age Lilith is now, reading paperback fantasy novels that my parents probably wouldn't have approved of. :D So nostalgic and cozy.

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On me, this is very dominant on the paper note -- the same one that's in Books, Black Coffee and Old Books, etc. So if you liked that note as much as I did, you should be good to go. The lavender is barely here at all. After the wet phase I get almost none of it, just a whisper. "Hoodie" is the same to my nose as the lace note that's in the Lace series (Lycan lace, etc); it's a vanilla/cotton scent. It's not very dominant here -- it just kind of gently swaddles everything else. 

 

This is a lovely, comforting take on the Books line, and I really like it. 📖

Edited by supreme_c0rt

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I absolutely adore this. It's definitely meant to be worn on skin; I tried it both in my locket and on myself, and while it's lovely in the locket, it comes to life on skin. It is a warm, snuggly scent, lavender up top; almost a whiff of cigarette smoke when you open the bottle (not scary, I promise, I can't stand cigarette smoke); then quickly warming into the smell of some old comforting scent that's been on your clothes for ages that you just don't want to wash. I think there must be some vetiver in this since it reminds me a lot of Two Sheep and Two Goats...(and if you like that, you must try this). Honestly this felt like the back of a bar, or a library or old bookstore, something like that. It's so beautiful and evocative and comforting. I had a decant and ordered a bottle with the latest 13 because I found myself immediately wanting to wear it again. 

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This is the lovechild of Villain and Spinning On Graves. If you like either of those, you'll probably love this. It's got that exact beauuuuutiful lavender from Villain, fresh cotton, and a wee bit of book-paper acidic mustiness. Warm and cozy but still bright.

This ticks every box for my favorite kind of lavender scent and I'm definitely gonna go for a bottle! I don't get much book-ness from it atm but I think it'll come forward with aging. This is the Lilith I was most excited for this round and I'm so happy with it!

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I think I finally understand what a "bookish" scent is. This evokes cracking open a paperback as I sit on the couch bundled by blankets with a cup of tea near at hand. The lavender is subtle and soft, not astringent, and super calming. I find this one cozy.
My friend compared it to Two Sheep and Two Goats, but with lavender instead of vetiver and a little less vanilla, and I have to agree. This feels like it's in the same family.

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This is so gently cozy. Wet, the "book" element reads as almost smoky to me (a smoked vanilla vibe), but as it dries I think what this most reminds me of is the warm toner-and-paper smell of copies fresh off the machine...in a room someone just walked through wearing a slightly sweet vanilla-lavender scent. I don't know yet if I need a bottle of this, but it really is comforting to sniff!

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In the bottle I get that classic Lilith musky-sweet lavender, and I know I'm in for a good time! On my skin lavender is not the first thing I smell, but the paper note. Then cotton (but not a super clean-breezy cotton) and then the lavender. I swear there's a vanilla, maybe suuuuper lightly smoked, there's a smooth darkish quality to the scent. It's gorgeous and unlike any of my other Lilith lavenders. It smells like being cozied up in a dark corner of the house reading (with a lamp of course- don't want to strain the eyes!). An absolutely wonderful book scent, particularly if leather doesn't tend to work on you. 

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I love lavender but it never lasts on my skin.  You Are Not Alone's lavender lasts.  It's not strong -- it's very gentle and soft, and the paper and cotton notes are as well, but it stays with me.  For a quiet scent, as any book scent seems meant to be, this has really good staying power.  It's hard to describe the "paperback book" and "cotton hoodie" notes except that they ring true.  Comforting, soft, clean (but not dryer sheets clean), You Are Not Alone does wrap you up in a protective scent blanket of well-being. 

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Pure, snuggled comfort.

 

Slightly astringent lavender, like a handful of crushed buds, sparkles at the top then quickly relaxes into a lavender cream. This has a vanillic quality to it, one which I associate with the scent of worn paperbacks when the pages have gone soft. I may be catching a bit of paper pulp and a musk-touched soft cotton. It brings up a sense memory of quietly reading fantasy paperbacks in my childhood bed. 

 

This is a bottle of comfort. A new favorite.

 

(Edited to fix typo.)

Edited by wordortwo

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Soft, papery, cuddles in a bottle.

 

Vanillic aged paper, fuzzy fabric, and a hint of lavender, but it all blends together into soft. It has plenty of throw, but the texture of the scent is downy and smooth. The hoodie note doesn't give me any laundry vibes. It seems similar to the wool blanket from 2019's Cafe Au Lait and a Wool Blanket -- a reflection of how pulling on your favorite hoodie feels. The lavender is mild, but sticks around, which is more than lavender usually does on me.

 

As a hoarder of books, I'm always surprised by how strong leather notes are in book blends. This paperback note rings truer to my nose to what I think of as booksmell, though smoothed out by the lavender/textiles, and I would love to see more of it.

 

Wonderful.

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Good lord, this should come with a warning. 

 

Scent wise it's a used bookstore, where maybe the owner's got a diffuser running in a corner with lavender oil in.

 

What this really is, is one of those long hugs from someone who loves you where suddenly you're crying because it's been too long since you felt safe enough to feel all your feelings and they all come up at once.

 

Yikes, that was oddly specific. But this is one of those that bypasses everything and smacks you straight in the limbic system. There's a reason all the reviews mention a memory. 

 

I'll probably need a backup bottle, it's cheaper than therapy.

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A lovely, soft blend of lavender and cotton with a faint hint of books. I see why a lot of people love this: it's definitely a cozy and comforting scent and would be perfect for bedtime. The lavender is sweet but not too strong to overpower the rest of the notes. While there is a book note, I can't smell any ink; I haven't tried many bookish BPALs so I'm not sure if ink is a note that is used with these types of blends. The throw is on the low side, but if I'm wearing this to bed that's not a huge deal breaker for me. 

 

I much prefer this to Apocalypse Box, which also had lavender and cotton. If you are itching to try a lavender and cotton blend but was disappointed by that one like I was, give You Are Not Alone a try!

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Comfort in a bottle! Lavender blended with ink and paper.  It’s hard to describe as anything other than “inky.”  Just trust if you love lavender you need this.

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Tragedy! The amazing lavender comfort scent everyone is raving about touches my skin and becomes...Old Spice!!! 😭 Oh the humanity, it seems book scents are not for me! I’ll try it on my husband, but unless it works its magic on him my blind bottle goes to swaps. 💔

 

EDIT: Ok, the Old Spice mellowed out after a couple of years of languishing in my swaps drawer and now I smell like I'm curled up in a lavender blanket of sweet nostalgia and coziness! Out of the swaps drawer and into my comfort rotation, YANA, you've served your time and been successfully rehabilitated. 💖

Edited by LadyLuckless
It got better!

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At first sniff I thought it was going to be too masculine smelling as well but re-testing now that it has aged a few months I think that part of it is mellowing out a bit. Either way when it dries down it somehow turns into pure comfort! A must have, definitely a unique lavender blend!

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