As much as I can remember, Lupercalia is my least favorite of the yearly 'big updates' from Black Phoenix. Every year, I get excited about trying some new scents, but overall, they've had the lowest success rate for me. I like a couple of the Shunga scents from '08, like Ebisu Making Love, and Men Ringing Bells (actually bought a whole bottle of that one, even though I don't wear it much). They both remind me of some kind of fabulous, expensive hair care products. And I really like Chintimani-Dhupa, which I think was a Lupercalia scent.

Today I got some of my decants from this year's update, and so far I've briefly tested Miller Vs. California, Lovers In A Rice Field, and Lovers With Rutting Cats. I think the Rice Field is the best out of those, but again, it smells like some kind of fancy shampoo or conditioner. Not so much foody as drinky to me, it starts out rather like shampoo or soap. Then it drifts into plum tea, then later into plum wine. This scent, in the early stages especially, is extremely reminiscent of one of the 4 Fat Cats wax tarts, but I can't remember which one. Basmati Rice, or maybe White Plum Chutney. This is nice because it reminds me of when I lived in northern Kentucky, three years ago, which although not the greatest time of my life, does have some pleasant memories.

Lovers With Rutting Cats is probably my least favorite of the three. It reminds me of Love's Philosophy, but not as sweet or sugary. Or maybe Stimulating Sassafras Strengthener, without the sassafras. Basically I get a lot of vanilla that comes off a little plasticky, and as a whole, the scent just feels a little flat or one-dimensional to me. I might be spoiled because so many other bpal scents seem 'deep' to me, and this one just falls flat on my skin, unfortunately. Of course, this is from a first impression, and those sometimes change.

Miller Vs. California is an interesting one. This scent actually smells more complex than the notes suggest. I first smelled a lot of sweetness, fruit, berries, and cream. The leather seems to be a supporting note only, nothing like the leather in Quincey Morris, or other leathery blends. As this one dries, it changes a lot. The papery note and the leather both come out stronger, and it also seems to get spicier, which I attribute to either the leather, fig, or possibly both (or maybe something else entirely!). At the beginning, this reminds me a lot of the newer Milk Moon, which I hated, but this is better....the cream isn't so sour or cloying. It's creamy, but the sweetness of the berries and fig balance it out a little more. I think the leather is actually helping to ground the scent a lot, even though I couldn't really smell it at first. Later, after drying, this scent smells entirely different.....it does remind me of some other GC scent, but I can't think of which one. Nephelim? Or the one I can never spell, Tzadikim Nasturtium or something. Anyway, I swear there is another scent that smells something like this, but I can't place which one it is. I like the early sweet and creamy stage more than the later, dry, papery/spicy stage of this one.

So far I can't say that I'm likely to get much wear out of these, but I also have yet to try my other decants. I have Flowering Chrysanthemums and Phallus Head still to try, as well as decants from another circle still on the way. I'm really looking forward to Dia and Glukuprikos (sp?).