ljaylh

The Bow and Crown of Conquest is a dead ringer for Tobacco Vanille to my nose...no, scratch that, it's a better Tobacco Vanille (or TV's a worse BCC).

 

I much prefer it to Tobacco Vanille, I agree.

I was just trying out Dolly Kei for the first time this morning, and I found it to be almost the same as Tobacco Vanille on my skin - just a little softer. I didn't see this thread before writing my review of DK though, and now I'm going to have to find my imp of Bow and Crown to check it out.. I don't remember recognising any similarity to TV when I tested it, but now I'm curious! briecheese - unfortunately Dolly Kei is going to be hard to find right now due to it only being available at the recent Anime Expo, but if you can manage to find a little tester then I'd definitely recommend trying it out to see if you think it's a TV-alike

I also agree with GRR's suggestion of Sri Lanka for Amber Absolute

First up.. a HUGE thank you to my pick-up fairy for getting this one for me!! Much to you

OK.. so Dolly Kei. Of course, this is the one I was most excited about when I read the notes.. and so it's the first I've tested from the Anime blends. I slowly open the bottle, leaning in for what I hope is going to be a big hit of rich bourbon vanilla and resiny goodness.. and what do I get? Tobacco! I thought for one moment that I was having some sort of Matrix-esque experience where instead of opening the lid of a little glass bottle I had actually torn off the seal on a pack of cigarettes.. but I looked around and couldn't see Keanu Reeves nor anyone lurking around in a black suit so I guess not. Slightly disappointing, I must say (both the uber-tobacco hit and the absence of Keanu Reeves).

So I dab some oil on, then go quietly about my business for ten minutes or so.. then dive in for another smell. Hey! Hello vanilla, hello resins!! The tobacco is still there, but now instead of being all TOBACCO it's mellowed out into a nice golden hue that's flirting around under all the resiny goodness. The tonka is lovely with the vanilla, and there's a gorgeous smoky tone in there too. This is turning out to be really interesting - I was expecting more sweetness but it really isn't sweet at all on my skin. It has a real tactile vibe about it though - like that particular kind of toffee you can smoosh around in your hand without it sticking to you.

I do agree with mxtine's comparisons to Haloes (but this is less golden and sweet), and Antikythera (but this is more smoky).. but what this really reminds me of is one of my favourite commercial perfumes - Tom Ford's wickedly sexydelicious Tobacco Vanille (with notes of tobacco blossom, tobacco leaf, tonka bean, vanilla, cacao and woody something) - Dolly Kei is almost *exactly* the same as Tobacco Vanille on my skin, but so much better in this oil format than the spray that I have TV in. So it's true - Beth > Tom Ford Although as a side note - TV lingers on my skin for hours.. Dolly Kei starts fading after about 20 minutes and is pretty much gone completely within the hour. I'm curious to see how this one will age - I'd like to see it deepen a lot more.

Anyway - does this live up to the hype? Hmm.. I dunno, it's nice - but ultimately for me the tobacco is just a bit too dominant and I would prefer the vanilla + resins to be more obvious - also its (lack of) staying power is a problem. I kinda need Dolly Kei to go to 11, and it really only makes it to about 7 for me. I'm also a bit sad that I can't really find the sandalwood in here at all (and to be honest, still kinda bummed about Keanu). It's a magnificent blend, very interesting and quite unique amongst the BPALs I've encountered to date. I know nothing of anime, but I really like windbourne's mention of vintage shops and warm autumn-like colours - that's it for me too, this smells kinda like being in a slightly dishevelled but elegantly groovy old vintage clothing shop and rummaging around in piles of old coats and scarves and hats and things. Good times, good smells.

There's definitely an icy edge to this - it's a little sharp at first, bordering on smelling a bit chemical-y, but I think that's just the 'high' point of the absinthe because after only a few minutes on my skin the sharpness settles down. Then this lovely smokey absinthe comes out - I can almost visualise it rising from my wrist.

From what I know about absinthe, louching is said to unlock the power of the green fairy - as the cool water meets the absinthe it's supposed to release the essential oils from the herbs that the absinthe contains, and it's those herbs that are said to be responsible for the intoxicating effects of the absinthe. And that's kind of how Absinthe and Lace works for me - over the drying-down period, a definite herbal tone emerges and the scent becomes quite intoxicating.It's the same absinthe note from La Fee Verte - rich, dark, smokey, gorgeous.

The green cognac adds an interesting element of booziness that kind of balances the licorice-y flavour of the absinthe - and the tobacco smoke is just kinda hanging around in amongst all that.. not in an obvious way, but the tobacco is definitely there - and I would say that this is a 'smokey' scent. The only thing I really can't find is the lace! I'm not picking up anything 'lace' like in this at all at first - unlike others in the Lace series, it's not until about an hour later than I get a hint of the 'lace' element. And that's also about the point where I realise this is very much like Black Lace, with the addition of Absinthe.

This is probably the least wearable of all the Laces - not because it's horrible or anything, but because it's kinda potent. It's a bit.. naughty. And nice

Err.. can I eat this? The blast of chocolate-orange when I open my decant is swoonworthy.. and when I first dab it on, it's all dark rich chocolate and orange - the same kind of dark chocolate that I get from The Candy Butcher and also the Dark Chocolate imp (yes, that one). The orange is dark and rich too - not sweet, ,more like a blood orange.

But wait - there's more! This isn't just a choc-orange scent.. oh no, not at all. Ten minutes in, and the beautiful hues of the coffee come through - completely changing the vibe of the chocolate and making it somehow less-chocolatey but still just as rich and dark. The tobacco is just lingering around the edges, giving a nice golden glow, but at this point it's still very much about the choc-coffee-orange. I remember 'ebony musk' in Raven Moon, and I think Pirate Moon had 'ebony' in it, but I can't say I'm really sure what it smells like.. dark wood, maybe?

At about the 20-minute mark, things change a lot. The chocolate has faded almost completely away, the coffee has gone very dry and dusky, and the tobacco has a much stronger presence. Orange? Where did it go?!? It's still there, but so light now. The whole fragrance has changed into something very subtle and dusky.. almost powdery, but not quite.

Overall.. I'm just not sure about this one. At first dab, I loved it. At full dry-down, I'm not so sure - there's something about the tobacco + coffee combination that isn't quite working for me, and that lovely chocolate+orange that I got at the start has all but faded away. I think this would make a beautiful body creme or shower gel, but for me personally not so much as a perfume. I dunno.. it started off so good. SO GOOD. I kinda want to love it.

When I read the notes for this, I really wonder why I got a decant - lemongrass is never my friend, and white plum doesn't appeal at all.. and cedar often goes funky on my skin. Ah.. I know - it was the opium, ambergris, coffee and coconut meat that tempted me.

So of course - what happens? All I get here is lemon and cedar. There's a slight incensey-smokiness from the opium tar and vetiver, but no sign of the coffee or coconut or ambergris. Fully dry, this one ends up smelling like lemon with a hint of wood. That's not what I wanted

I'm very torn on this being too sweet, or actually kinda wearable.

Yeah.. that's where I am with this one too

I'll admit.. I got excited about the prospect of dark chocolate, figgy vanilla and pear - the kind of excitement that tricks my brain into telling me "don't worry about the quince, it won't be noticeable - you'll like it". When will I learn?

Quince, you stinky bastard. Why did you have to mess this up? Me and dark chocolate, we got a thing goin' on - don't you know? And WTF are you doing, messing with my figgy vanilla and pear? You don't belong in here! You've ruined everything!! Where's the chocolate? I dunno. Where's the vanilla? I dunno. Where's the fruit? OH IT'S RIGHT HERE IN MY FACE.

I think it's not just the quince that's spoiling this for me - I suspect it's actually the fig + quince combination that just isn't sitting right on my skin. Fig is usually a winner for me, with its rich fleshy darkness, but with the quince it's giving off a slightly boozy smell that I just can't decide whether I like. And the pear on top is giving it a slightly bitter edge. Fruit combo fail

I won't give up on you, Uncle Matt - I think there's hope, and perhaps in time that quince will mellow out a bit, so for now I'll keep my decant and see what happens.

I have a soft spot for Wembley - and not just because of the Hawaiian shirts. So I had to try this.. even though on my skin white musk=sweat, honey=baby poo, and mint=toothpaste. Inspired by Wembley himself, I chose to cast aside the potential evil of the white musk, honey and mint.. and believe in the good of the banana, orange blossom and pineapple.

I'm so glad I did! This really isn't a perfume I'm ever going to wear, but I will use up my decant just for fun because it smells like mushed up bananas, oranges and pineapple. Sweet but not overly so, fruity without being FRUITY, and simple without being dumb. The honey almost ruins it.. almost, but not quite. The mint is sharp at first, but soon fades away, although there's something green underneath all this fruit - perhaps that's mint remnants.

Much like its namesake, this one is a bit all over the place - fruit cocktail one minute, musky honeyness the next - kinda quirky, but cute. If I were five years old, I would probably wear this every day.

I was a bit taken aback at first by the blast of soap that I got from Boober when I first put it on - something about the soap and the linden blossom was creating a smell not unlike dying flowers, and I didn't really like that at all. But thankfully within 15 minutes the linden comes to the front, leaving the soap behind - phew!

As others have said, this is definitely a 'clean' scent.. but it's more than that - there's a definite floral tone from the linden blossom, and also something almost violet-like if I really take a big whiff of my arm - and I swear I can smell something green in there too. I'm really not getting much of the vanilla at all - I know it's there, because otherwise this would just be linden and soap, but it's definitely not a prominent note on my skin. It's interesting that the word 'fretfully' is included in the scent description - that's how this one is on me.. it just never really settles; it keeps fidgeting around and can't seem to decide which way to go.. floral, or soap? Soap, or floral? Geez.

Overall, the floraliness (that IS SO a word!) of Boober just kinda spoils it for me - it's just a wee bit too much. I'd like to swap out a bit of the linden for a bigger sprinkle of vanilla

I really don't think anything is ever going to beat Cottonmouth for me, when it comes to linden blossom in the BPAL world.

At first, this was all berry all the time - the cranberry had a definite slightly-tart tang to it, and the red currant had a lovely sweetness. Over about 15 minutes, the two berries mellowed out a bit and the pink musk made an appearance - that totally changed it from being berrylicious to something more grown-up and complex. I really love pink pepper - it's been a star in some other blends (Hermia, and High-Strung Daisies come to mind, and also BPTP's L'Essence de la Folie recently) - and here it provides a nice little hint of spice to balance all that pink/red business.

I really enjoyed the first half-hour of Red on my skin, but ultimately it dries down to a pretty 'generic' berry/fruity smell that kinda reminds me of how those 'fruit flavoured' lip glosses smell. I wish the musk and pink pepper were stronger players here, but alas.. nope. Fun to try, but not a keeper for me.

On me, this is more fizz than cream - that would be the grapefruit bullying the vanilla cream into nothing

Overall, Gobo smells like a fruity drink - the lemon is quite bright, and the grapefruit is the most obvious note on my skin. Grapefruit is a note I usually stay away from, because it tends to go stinky/sharp on me - it's not that bad here, probably due to the 'sugared pink' aspect, but it's still definitely bitter rather than sweet on me. And lemon is another note I generally stay away from because it always amps on me. The tangerine is the note I notice least... and of course, that's the one I was hoping would be most prominent.

This actually smells like an orange/lemon version of Geek.Goth on me - it has the same fizziness (for reference, GG was awful on my skin too). And it didn't have a lot of staying power - completely gone from my skin within an hour.

It's cute, but not for me.

I kinda wish now that I had invested more time in fully exploring all the Salon blends. The ones I have tried have all been really impressive - even the ones I didn't personally like were still beautiful - I always thought that the Salon oils were a bit extra special.

Of the ones I can remember trying, I know Lucifer and Carceri D'Invenzione and Love and Pain were standouts. I vaguely recall being impressed by Parsifal, too, and Judith & Holofernes was also very pretty . But the only ones I own bottles of are Wezwanie/Hold, Heavenly Love & Earthy Love, and Haloes (as others have mentioned, I presume the retail-only Salons are also going?). Wezwanie/Hold has such a beautiful dusky smoothness with that amber, sandalwood, myrrh and honey, and the vanilla bean is outstanding - the hazelnut was sometimes iffy on me though, so I have to be in the right mood to wear it. HL&EL is just such a rich smoky resin-y incense-y mix.. my bottle has aged beautifully, I love this one. Haloes is a big fave - on me it's like Antikythera Mechanism's sensual and voluptuous older sister.. all gold and creamy - I love the oak+vanilla+amber+sandalwood combo, plus the apricot is heavenly. Luckily I have a couple of bottles of those three blends, so I don't need to do a last-minute order but I will certainly cherish what I have

I hope everyone manages to get themselves stocked up with their favourites - this feels like a sad loss but I know nothing lasts for ever and I understand that part of the creative process requires sometimes requires letting things go in order to let new things in.

Get out. Just GTFO. This should smell like seventeen varieties of poop on me, but it doesn't. It smells like seventeen flavours of awesomesauce.

The cream here reminds me of something else, not sure what.. but it's heavy and silky and decadently sweet and syrupy without being sugary. It smells like the kind of cream you'd get stuck in, should you walk through a field of it - you know, like quicksand. I'm not sure about you, but where I live there's loads of fields of cream and I regularly walk through them. Yes I do.

Rose usually hates me - well, not so much hates me - but it always amps itself up all puffy-chested like, and drowns out any other notes present so that I end up smelling like I've bathed in potpourri juice. But not here, nope.

The rose + cream combo here is similar to the dark chocolate + cream combo in The Candy Butcher - that rich, OMG kind of sultry luscious richness that makes you want to do indecent things to yourself. On me, this is cream with a dash of rose - which is just perfect.. had it been rose with a dash of cream (like, say.. Alice) then I'd be unhappy.

This should definitely be kept out of reach of teenagers, grandmas and anyone else susceptible to wanton acts of lewdness, because this is exactly the bath oil to corrupt even the most pure amongst us.

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The Precious is here! The Precious is here! To celebrate finally getting my grubby paws on some Panther Moon, I posed my slinky black kittehs together:

YAY! And congrats on finding your Panther Moon

In addition to being one of my favourite Lunacy oils, I think PM is perhaps my favourite Lunacy label.. and it's definitely the Lunacy tshirt I coveted more than any other and almost didn't manage to resist

Hyacinth is such a lovely fragrance! Unfortunately florals are not my friend, but here's what a quick search found...

In the GC:

Egle (Marchen)

Ocean water, hyacinth petals, star jasmine, and fir.

Grief (Marchen)

Inconsolable: lily of the valley, hyacinth, calamus, muguet, hydrangea, and elemi.

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And some LEs which might be a little harder to find (try posting an ISO for decants or testers) -

Stardust '05 and '06

champagne, hyacinth, tuberose, ylang ylang and flashing white musk with jonquil, tobacco flower, white sandalwood and a pale poppy.

Kindly Moon

Utterly ethereal, an exquisite expression of love: moonflower, lotus root, white gardenia, beeswax, peach blossom, blue musk, stargazer lily, golden osmanthus, ti, sandalwood, hyacinth, ylang ylang, and a touch of vanilla bean.

Whirling Wind Moon

Dreams of joy and fear: swirling dark and airy musks, mogra, plumeria, hyacinth, lily of the valley, dry white sandalwood, gardenia, pale amber, and oakmoss.

Fire Phoenix

Chinese musk and red musk with hyacinth, cactus flower, cubeb berry, galangal, tobacco, pink pepper, and sarsaparilla.

Wilhelmina Murray

Tea rose, white sandalwood and a flurry of pale, virginal blossoms, smeared with a smoky, blood-soiled blend of myrrh, hyacinth, Daemonorops resin, dark musk and blackcurrant.

The Gibbous Moon

Moonflower, Madonna lily, orris, white ginger, cucumber, hyacinth, and Irish moss.

Her Voice (Lupercalia)

Hyacinth, beeswax, wild roses, vanilla amber, lily of the valley, tiger lily, honeysuckle, carnation, and heliotrope.

I've got some Cottonmouth incoming to test ( this community) and I don't know if I'm hoping the Snake Oil ruins it for me (since it's odd on my skin chem) or the linden blossom saves the day. :s

Well.. on me, Cottonmouth is one of the least Snake Oil-y blends out of the Snake Pit, so maybe it will work nicely for you

If anyone's curious - the others that are low-SO for me are Coral Snake with the gorgeous blood orange, and Green Tree Viper with the minty goodness.

*snip*

Well, I know The Unicorn and Cottonmouth shared linden.

If I remember correctly, there was some discussion about this when the discons were announced and I believe it was linden/linden blossom that was the problem component (ie the one behind the discontinuation). Such a shame, because linden blossom is gorgeous and Cottonmouth was one of my favourites from the Snake Pit. I'm just glad I have a couple of bottles hoarded away

seraphiminia - I haven't found anything like Queen Mab yet, so I share your pain.. that one was a really unique blend

Hi deskew2 welcome to the forum

The first thing that came to mind was Dirty:

Reviews are here, but most people say it smells like clean sheets that have been hanging out on the line in the sunshine.

Another one is Wensleydale:

This one has a slight sweetness to it, but it's another very 'clean sheets' kinda smell. You won't be able to buy an imp of this from the Lab, because it's in the Neil Gaiman collecton, but you should be able to find a decant of it here on the forum in the 'For Sale' section.

Hi guys I'm new and I'm actually looking for a scent similar to the mix of patchouli, vanilla and lavender. - I'm more of the classic Gothic smell. If anyone can help me find either one of the scents that'll be great.

 

~VM

Hiya VM

The first thing I thought of was a blend called Wulric the Wolfman - here's the description:

It doesn't have the patchouli you're looking for, but the combination of the cocoa + vetiver gives it a lovely smokey/earthy tone which is similar to a patchouli-esque kinda vibe. The vanilla + lavender isn't too sweet - the other notes darken it up nicely.

Wulric is from the Carnaval Diabolique line, which is currently on hiatus at the Lab (it will be back, but we don't know when), but if you check through the For Sale area here on the forum you should be able to find a decant of it so you can try it out

On my skin, this smells exactly the same as Lump of Coal. Exactly.. really, exactly. Eggsackly!!

The chocolate definitely has a slight bitterness, but it's not actually bitter - nor is it super sweet. It's a dry, dark chocolate with the oude sitting darkly but very quietly underneath. It smells like a brownie.

'

Nooooo.... not that kind of brownie! Cakey brownies - rich, soft and gooey brownies.

The oil itself is smooth and silky - I have no cacoa globules in mine (I don't have a full bottle - just a 10ml decant), and I was kinda hoping I would have, because I love it when there's cocoa globules - it's like having a little lava lamp in a bottle. The fragrace stays on my skin for a while - maybe an hour or so? And then.. it's gone. I'm a bit sad about that, but this test was done on dry skin - not in the bath/shower - so I'll have to try it another time as an actual bath oil to see if that improves the staying power. Plus, I bet it makes the house smell amazing after it's been wafting out of a warm bath for a while

On the OMG I LOVE CHOCOLATE BROWNIES scale of one to ten.. this one goes to eleven.

Deep, dark, delicious vanilla. Naughty, booozy vanilla. I applied this directly on to my skin, because it would have been inappropriate to derobe and bathe in it at work, and the scent I got was rich and gourmand - like the world's most expensive vanilla extract that you would use if you were baking a $5000 cake. There's a slight undertone of rich, warm wood and yes - maybe a hint of something sassafrasish - I agree with others on the Tombstone likeness, but the vanilla here is 100x more vanillasome.

I am going to consult a plastic surgeon and enquire whether it's possible to have this bath oil injected into my body somehow so that all of me smells like it. I want it to ooze out of every pore and be in my hair, my spit, my pee, my sweat.. even my poo. It all needs to smell like this. That must be possible, with all the advances in medical techology - right?

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Is Goblin sweet at all? Or is it all Patchoulli? And Tomstone scares me because of the balsam and cedar but does the vanilla overpower those?

 

Wonder what vanilla scent would be the same/closest as the one in Banshee Beat to layer with?

Goblin isn't really sweet.. it's kinda gnarly, raw, dirty - but in a good way.. but that's coming from me, a lover of black coconut The benzoin in Goblin is sweet and syrupy - similar to a dark vanilla - but it's not 'foodie' like vanilla is, but mostly it's all about the patchouli with Goblin - it's pretty patchouli-heavy, but it's not as full-on as it is in #occupywallstreet, and the coconut/benzoin sweeten it up nicely. Tombstone is really lovely - the balsam is similar to the hemp in BB, and the cedar is soft and smooth because it has the sassafras to warm it up, but to me the vanilla is the star of the show - with the balsam it has a really nice smokey tone.

They're both worth a try, I'd say.. but out of the two, Goblin is probably more Banshee Beat-ish because it has that same raw kind of vibe about it, and the same syrupy rich feel as BB. If you like black coconut and patchouli, then Gobin is a must-try anyways

I need to know what GCs smell like Banshee Beat! I spilled my bottle today (first devastating spill ever). I'm hoping a sweet forumite will sell me there back up. But if that does not happen I need to know what else may work. I LOVE the black vanilla note in it the most. And the patchoulli in it is the ONLY patchoulli that worked for me so far. So please tell me what else is similar or the closest!

Vanilla323 - Banshee Beat is my most favourite BPAL, and I haven't found anything else in the GC that smells anything like it. Tombstone has a similar feel, but it's different.. and Goblin (which was mentioned by Orata) has a similar darkness but the coconut makes it completely different to BB. Those two are definitely worth a try though, if you like the darker vanillas. Sorry I haven't got any suggestions for you as Banshee Beat substitutes, but I've seen bottles of BB around here for sale, so hopefully you'll be able to replace your bottle.

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And I'm late to reply to earlier questions, but here goes...

Is there anything LE or GC that smells like Neil Gaiman's Orange? I am so in love that it hurts.

Reviving this to let you know that you're not alone and that I, too, am pining away for Orange. Specifically, I want to know where else in the BPAL catalogue I can find that Orange-Crush-esque bit to Orange that I got. I know there's already a thread for orange blossom (which I'm scouring!) and I had recommendations for outside-of-BPAL, commercial-brand perfume, but I am on a hunt for the perfect Orange-y orange.

You guys should try and track down PL176 - it's a prototype, so it won't be easy to find, but definitely easier to find than Orange! PL176 is a gorgeous straight-up orange crush

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Any hope for similar scents to Midway? Besides Midway Res, and others are saying Velvet Unicorn, but that seems hard to track down.

Velvet Unicorn has a 'pink' tone to it, more candy-like, so for me it's not at all like Midway/Midway Res. I haven't found a GC or LE yet that's even close to that unique smell of Midway

I didn't go for many of the Lupercalia/Shunga blends this time around - I never have much success with them, because there's often a lot of white florals and/or otherwise 'white' notes like skin musk that hate me. This year's batch featured a lot of honey, which is a very problematic note for my skin and usually ends up smelling either like sweaty feet, or vomit. Nice

The Vine could have been a winner, but the honey ruined it and the vanilla cream smelled kinda weird on me. Lady in Speckled Pink Kimono is really pretty, but not any more impressive than other similar 'pink and sweet' BPALs I've tried before.

So my stand-out hit for this year is... *drum roll* Body, Remember. I wrote a rather embarrassingly love-fuelled review of it here, but anyone who loves black coconut (think Goblin, Death Adder, Snake Charmer, Red Lantern) must try it! Gorgeous gorgeous gooooorgeoussssss

ETA - I predict Body, Remember and Variety of Pleasing Amusements will be this year's sleepers - maybe also Snowy Mountains and Kingfisher

The last couple days I think I've noticed that the oil on my hands and wrists seems to be fading quickly, but I can still smell what seems to be the oil from my neck. Is my air conditioning in my car drying it out too quickly and causing it to fade?

I'm not sure whether it's related to the air conditioning in your car, but I definitely get the same results as you in those three spots - the back of my hand loses the fragrance most quickly, my wrists hold a scent for a couple of hours, but if I apply the oil to my neck (typically towards the back/side of my neck, below the back of my ears) then it lasts for ages.

I think it probably has more to do with the varying dryness of your skin in those three places, rather than any air conditions, but I'm not really sure.. the back of my hand definitely has drier skin (also, thinner skin) than the other two places though.

Hazelnuts, oh hazelnuts

Sometimes I quite hate your guts

Cumin, cumin, how 'bout you

On my skin you're baby poo

Amber, amber, cannot lie

I love you 'cos you're soft and dry

Cardamom I think you know

How I love your spicy glow

Labdanum, so woodsy sweet

Smelling you is quite the treat

Tobacco tar, you stinky beast

Of all these notes, I love you least

Sweet and golden honey dear

You're the note I always fear

Blackbear Moon starts off all hazelnuts on me - like someone's just eaten a big bowl of hazelnuts then burped in my face.. warm, nutty air. But then mama bear comes out, and she's all soft and fuzzy and I smell the beautiful warm earth of the patchouli and the golden tones of the spices and honey together, and I'm right there in the forest, breathing in the trees and the earth and the musky animal smells and I'm loving it - it's warm and snuggly. The labdanum here is stunning - it has everything it should.. gorgeous resiny woodiness, soft leathery fruitiness and wonderful smoky earthiness - I think that's the note most responsible for the 'bear' feel that I get from this. Honey is not a note that my skin wears well - it's just a wee bit cloying here, especially with the strength of the hazelnut smell, but I'm handling it OK - it fades away nicely once the oil has fully dried down.

Blackbear Moon is a beautiful, beautiful blend that I think will deepen and become even more lovely with some age on it.