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Milk, Burnt Honey, And Ambrette Seed

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Burnt honey! It smells like bochet-style mead (which is, of course, made from burnt honey), without the alcohol. I can detect some creaminess and muskiness from the milk and ambrette, but the dark, caramelized burnt honey is the star of this show. It's beautiful, and I love it. If you've had trouble with honey notes, then this one might be something you'd like to try. It's not at all floral, and the sweetness is heavily tempered. As it dries down, I get more of the milk, and I think it keeps the honey from edging into "charred" territory. I haven't smelled this particular honey note in anything BPAL has done so far, and I'd love to see other iterations of it.

 

The milk note is one that works well on my skin, but it does smell like the same note I've seen others complain about going "sour" or "off." So that's a consideration.

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This might be a really good scent for a honey-lover, or for someone searching for a more unique, honey-forward scent. It is almost entirely a warm, lovely, rich honey. Not a charred honey, or a fresh honey, but a cooked one - it smells like you've been cooking honey on your stove and it's turned caramelized and thick. Despite that description, it's not particularly foodie. Just pure toasted honey.

 

For me this one is a blast of wet burnt honey when I put it on wet. The wet silliage feels pretty huge - it's hard NOT to get a whiff of it constantly.

 

Into the drydown this remains mostly honey, becoming a little more complex, with a less aggressive throw. It develops a caramelized quality which is I think the lactonic milk note coming out a little more. The ambrette seed might be subtly here inflecting the other notes, but it's not really identifiable on its own.

 

After several hours, the sweet honey develops almost a cherry edge, very slightly. The perfume as a whole is also gradually dryer - a little more powdery honey-warm-sweetness with a hint of milky skin.

 

Nonetheless, it's a consistent honey scent. Any other notes I've mentioned are really just inflections within the honey show.

 

Unfortunately, I love milky and musky scents, so I was really hoping the milk and ambrette seeds would be dominant, with honey as a secondary player. I may put this one away to age for a while and hope it becomes a little more balanced between the three over time.

 

 

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Bright honey turned into a crunchy, hard toffee that's burnt around the edges.  There's also a floof of powdered milk that smells clean and fresh (and less powdery, more milky in the drydown).  It's like LUSH's Honey I Washed the Kids was made into a slightly fresher version that's a bit sharper, but this definitely does remind me of HIWTK, especially in the sweeter, creamier drydown stage.  

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I grabbed this,  because I saw someone on BPAL Parlour compare it to Aoede.  In the bottle I can definitely see that comparison.  It’s similar but with some sweet honey.  Wet I also get super sweet almost carmelized honey.  This stage lasts a while.  I love this stage but was wondering where the milk and Ambrette were.  Then the final dry down to this for me is an amazing, soft fuzzy creamy milky scent with a hint of sweetness from the honey.  
 

Basically I love all the stages of this.  And I do see with the dry down the comparison to Aoede.  This is less intense, kind of like a lighter fuzzier sister to Aoede.  I do believe I’ll be getting a backup or two.

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This ménage is knocking my socks off most unexpectedly. I ordered a decant because I was interested in the burnt honey note, and when I tested it fresh out of the mail, the burnt honey and milk combined into a chewy caramel scent - straight up foodie goodness, but not particularly exciting.

 

Now, two days later, it's a whole different story: the dark, rich, burnt honey note stands more on its own when freshly applied, backed by nutty ambrette, and there is almost (ALMOST) something floral to it. As it dries, the milk comes forward only enough to suggest caramelization, but it is decidedly less foodie this time around. It's not NOT sweet, but it's not straight up sugar sweet, and the end result doesn't translate as milky or creamy on me. It's kinda sexy tho!

Anyway I'm obsessed, I keep sniffing myself, and it lasts forever on my skin. Definite bottle.

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When I first got this, it was all caramelized honey on me, which was nice but similar to other scents I have. However, after some rest the milk and ambrette seed are blossoming and mingling with the honey in gorgeous ways. The milk note is similar to the one in Snake Milk, smooth and non-sour, and the ambrette gives it an almost malted shake quality without being too gourmand. I think the ambrette really adds something special to the mix.

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Smells strongly of hookah tobacco! I used to go to a hookah bar and this reminds me of a fruity tobacco my friends and I would share. 

Edited by wolf_truffles

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This starts out with a beautiful honey and the burnt note like in The Gorroble. I can even smell a little bit of the ambrette seed at this point, a clean white musk that's soft and plush in the honey. Once dry I smell the milk in this. 

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So BPAL honey notes can be hit-or-miss on me. Some work great, while others are simultaneously cloyingly sweet and strangely sharp. Unfortunately, this honey note is the latter. After drydown, the honey settles and lets a rich milk note and sweet, musky ambrette come out...but only temporarily, as later in wear the honey comes back. The milk and ambrette are lovely, but the way this honey note goes on my skin is making this blend a miss for me.

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A nice, bright honey mingles with burnt milk. Like, the milk started to burn on the bottom of the pan, and someone scraped it off and mixed it with honey. This is definitely burnt, and not just toasted... and for me it clearly smells like the milk got the scorch, not the honey.

 

Burnt food smells often repel me, but I'm oddly drawn to this while it's wet on my skin. 

 

In drydown, though, the story changes. The burn turns chemical, moving toward burnt rubber tires. This bit of nasty still floats over a cozy vibe of warm milk and honey. It's a taunt.

 

Later, it settles down again into something cozy. I'm on the fence about whether the nasty phase is worth an upgrade.

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honestly this is one of the greatest honey blends i’ve tried from bpal. i tested a smidge of oil that got on the decant paper and it’s SO strong and soooo good. not as foodie as i was expecting from the milk-honey combo. it was slightly creamier and nuttier in the bottle but once applied to the skin the honey definitely comes out to shine. it’s very evocative of dark, golden, caramelized floral honey. does not go at all plasticky on me as some honeys have done. an absolute stunner 

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