MCS4096

There is something about vetiver + sweet (fruit, wine, chocolate, etc) that just totally reminds me of the smell of the bottle recycling center-- old alcohol aging in the sun What an unpleasant scent association..(I refer to it as "wino's backside ) When this is first applied I'm hit by That Smell quite forcibly. But as the blend dries down the anise emerges and it's dry and, mixing with the vetiver, becomes almost asphalt-like and I'm suddenly fascinated. I agree with the package of figs description also because there is sweet chewiness too.. This is very dark and somehow both juicy and dry-- there is a feeling in your nose almost like sniffing smoke, and it feels velvety and heavy. I'm very surprised how much I like this one, to be honest.

I smell Ritz crackers and big white flowers here! I am generally not a fan of aquatic blends so my description can not really do this scent justice for those that do enjoy them. I find it a bit cacophonous, that mix of earthy saltiness and high pitched florals. As it dries down I get some of the ashiness others have described.

I have yet to use this oil in any practical way, so I cant yet review it in that regard, but I wanted to comment on the scent of the blend for anyone who may be interested. This smells like straight cinnamon oil to me. The kind you buy for candy making that is dry, hot, and almost has a slightly woody component. I applied a small dot to my skin just to see if any other notes would reveal themselves, but I continued to smell only cinnamon. It had low throw and short duration. Cinnamon is considered a symbol of Bast, which I personally think is appropriate since cats' fur always smells a little dry and spicy to me, but I guess I was still expecting a little more dimension. As such, I doubt many will be interested in using this as anything but a ritual blend. I have had a skin reaction to a few bpals in my time, but it generally depends where they are applied, and this one applied on the back of my hand did not result in burning for me. I plan to use this oil on candles and at the foot of a statue of Bast I have set up in my altar/shrine for my deceased cats.

When I applied this I was immediately reminded of the Neverwhere blend Hunter (Leonine amber, tanned hides, clove, and clary sage) as they are both leather, light spice, and sage scents. Hunter is a lighter, whiter leather while this is a slightly darker brown leather. This blend is clean, slightly herbal-spicy, and warm-leaning. The blast of juniper you get upon application is fleeting, and this dries down to be quite well blended and well rounded. It may not be very exciting or unusual (and I prefer Hunter actually, but that's my personal taste), but it's an excellent every day type scent for when you'd like to smell good but not too exotic.

This is so strongly saffron.. it's basically the only thing I can smell. As such it's very much like Celeste, which is also primarily saffron. As time wears on the honey is noticeable here as a clear sweetness, whereas Celeste has a musky vanilla vibe, but they are still very similar though I think I prefer Celeste. It's odd that I dont really detect any coconut, when so many others seemed to..

I loved this in the decant-- candied cherries and a hint of cream and rose water. Like a tasty cordial cherry without being too obviously foody. But the second it hits my skin its a rosepocalypse. I dont really have anything against rose and I'm not usually a major rose amper, but this is crazy. It's that super rosey rose, bordering on "old lady" and unfortunately it isnt working for me at all

I sat out for this years Yule decant circles, and in the end decided to blind buy a couple bottles based on reviews. I picked this one due to the comparisons to Dorian.. the idea of ashy Dorian sounded awesome. I dont find this remotely like Dorian unfortunately.. there is a strong acrid note that must be something "herbal" but instead reads as vaguely citrus and vaguely caustic cleaning agent. I tend to stay away from foody blends, so it's been awhile since I had a 'cake' scent, but I recognize the same white cake note here as was in I Fell In Love With A Floating Brain. IOn my skin it quickly morphs into plastic. I was hoping for Doarian sweetness and softness, with an edge of gritty ash. To me this is acrid herbs and cologne and plasticy white cake.. most unfortunate.

Hmm.. my nose is telling me there is ginger here. Maybe it's an aspect of the macadamia or amber? This winds up being the same slightly off buttery-cream I get from Boo (unfortunate), a hint of coconut, and that weird ginger. I'm reminded of some marshmallow blend that has crossed my path before-- Marshmallow Pumpkin or something with *toasted* marshmallow in it.. that "toasted" part always winds up smelling gingery to me. The bad part is I'm very sensitive to gingery type smells and dont really care for them and this blend is just not really sitting right with me because of that.

I was immediately reminded of Black Temple Burlesque Troupe (Cacao, black musk, and tobacco absolute.) The ambergris and white musk here feel, at first, a little discordant in their brightness against the unsweet cacao and tobacco, but (on me at least) ambergris dries down to a musky your-skin-but-better scent that bridges the two aspects together-- a singing white musk preceding a chewy resinous base. I imagine if I compared this side by side with BTBT there would be notable differences, but the association was so immediate in my mind I cant imagine I'll need to own both of these even though this is a lovely lovely blend!

This is awesome! It is mostly olibanum, of the sort you've smelled if you're familiar with the SN (very real smelling.. woody and sappy), with a little bit of perfumey saltiness and spice.. maybe like a drop of Blood Popsicle made it in here. It's actually a great compliment to the Whisky, Candlesmoke and Musk atmo-- they are great together, and I like this one almost as much as that one because they are similar in feel-- cozy incense soaked occult bookshop, but this one doesnt have as great of staying power. A couple sprays faded away to nothing within an hour (some may prefer that anyway).

Holy cow, how are people not raving about this?! I thought from the notes it had the potential to be pretty funky-stinky, but wanted to try a decant all the same and boy was I blown away! When first sprayed the notes are pretty discernible, and it smells good-- like a hunky dude in a bar, but then they blend together and it becomes this glorious incense and spice and warmth and golden glow... it's hard to describe, but if you like incense blends that smell like your favorite occult bookshop this is for you. Great lasting power too. Sprayed twice in my car and could smell it for 3 days. Probably my favorite atmo since Thriambus!

When I blind bought this I was dreaming it would smell like Gypsy (the moth LE from 2010). That is gorgeous creamy vanilla and cardamom. Well.. Nope. This is straight tobacco. I get nothing else. Very sad. Will keep it a little while to see what happens, but I wish the description wasnt so misleading..

Placed an order on 1/29. Got an email confirmation from the lab immediately. Got an identical email confirmation 2/19. Hoping someone hit the "send receipt" button when they meant to hit the "send shipping notice" button

I pulled out my two bottles-- one I bought from the post and a back up I purchased recently off the board. They are both an amber color, but the backup is more clear, while my original bottle is more opaque. When I first sniffed them side by side I thought I could smell a slight difference.. but once I got them on my skin I dont think I can distinguish them. I think it smells a little funky in the bottle, to be honest, but blooms on the skin.. so maybe I'm amping a certain note that's cancelling out whatever might be different between them?

I first purchased this oil in 2009 when I was preparing for my doctoral thesis defense. I knew that the situation wasnt strictly what the oil was intended to address, but I felt drawn to it so I hoped it might help me. I'm a cat person and I liked the idea not only of a lion guarding me during a trying time, but of my heart being instilled with the noble courage of a lion. On the big day I used a finger to apply a smudge of the oil over my heart, while in my head directing myself to be brave, be strong, and I would get through this. Since then I've only used this oil a couple times, during my most trying moments (a job interview most recently) and I do think it has helped. Smelling it occasionally during the event brings my mantra back to mind, and smelling it afterwards on my clothes reminds me that I've survived and made it through the other side. It doesnt have a wide throw, but it is strong enough that I do catch a whiff from a single chest smudge. It reminds me most of Hod.. a golden spicy floral.

Hmm... My bottle arrived yesterday, so hopefully this is a settling issue.. but I used it today and it's just plain musk (very similar to that in the Trading Post Dungeon spray) I dont get anything remotely Bastet like, even sniffing the bottle contents directly. Where is the sweet cherry-like almond/lotus for example? I'll update if this changes.

I ordered this right when it came out, and I guess I just read the description too fast and missed the implication of the "frosted" part... 'vanilla sandalwood' sounded simple but perfect and amazing and I jumped right on it. I was so confused when I got my bottle and all I could smell was the Lab's snow note. I actually wondered if I got a mislabeled bottle. But I checked the description again and "aaaaah... right" So this has aged since I got it (before Christmas) and still.. I only get snow. It's like snow SN. I get absolutely nothing else. I will continue to hold on to it, like several other folks here, to see if age brings anything else out. But I was rather disappointed in this I'm afraid.

Hmm... I was hoping this would remind me of the 'fog' note in Thriambus, which is one of my favorite lab scents ever, but unlike Absinthetics I do not find them remotely similar... This is quite floral to my nose. It's ethereal and unusual to be sure, but I'm not getting that little bit of nose-stinging almost 'cold' vibe I get from the scent of artificial fog.. There have been a couple lab blends that this reminds me of because of a certain celery-like edge to the floral notes.. super weird I know, but I smell celery. Psychological Horror is one, Zarita is another (although I cant be sure of what note they may have in common) I guess it's just not exactly how I imagined it, but I do still enjoy the concept and am interested to see what it does with time and if I enjoy wearing it.

I used to have a bottle of the 2009 variation, but I sold it. My preferences have morphed over time and it was, unfortunately, one of many bottles I regret letting go. I save an imp of everything that crosses my path, and retesting it lately had made me crave more. So, I was quite happy to see it come back this year and immediately ordered a bottle. Wowza is it different. Others have already said, really... To me it's like bubble gum and teen-boy musk cologne. It's light, fleeting, super sweet, and not at all what I wanted. I get zero smoke, which was the main attraction of my previous bottle to me. So... I'll let it age, and in the mean time I've sourced a bottle of 2009 off the forum.

Ward of Lord Richard Sasquets, Aubin grew up in the shadow of the ancient house in which he was reared. Quiet, moody, and reserved, his love for Lady Cecily goes unspoken and unrequited: pale fur, lavender water, Corsican immortelle, white thyme, benzoin absolute, ambergris accord, and sorrowful carrot seed. Oh my oh my, oh my... this is lovely. I'm kind of afraid to say this, but.. this is like TKO meets The Girl meets Antique Lace. I know.. that sounds totally insane. I'm having trouble writing anything coherent because I'm too interested in huffing my arm. Ok, hear me out. Most prominent is the lavender from TKO, with just a touch of thyme and carrot seed around the edges-- it's very soft and herbal, only slightly astringent. Next comes something that smells like the deep vanilla of Antique Lace (RIP).. and I'm not sure what it is. I know immortelle (a note also found in The Girl) can be described as smelling syrupy, caramel-like or honey-like, perhaps it is a combination of that with benzoin, giving a resinous sweetness here. Sweet, herbal, softly musky... dang, I'll be looking for another bottle.

Cement, sewer moss, black patchouli, myrrh, violet leaf, green tea leaf, and immortelle. This sounds like it would be dank and musty, but it is definitely not! Upon application I get a lot of almost-grassy green tea and slightly floral violet leaf at the forefront, with a well blended base of powdery myrrh, subtle moss, and very understated patchouli. I'm not familiar enough with immortelle to distinguish it here, but there is a bit of almost flowery sweetness that I think must be it, as I can't really attribute it to another note. The "cement" is the Lab's cologney stone note; it starts faint but as this dries down it becomes more prominent.. about equal with the violet leaf and green tea. I'd call this one earthy-fresh. Bruised Violet Compound (Crushed violets, red currant, patchouli root, and Spanish moss) springs to mind as a very similar scent... that combination of earthy sweetness, a little bit of earthy cologne, and a base of earthy greenery.

When I? Flue gas, smoke, oil, and tears. This is fascinating! From a distance it's a floral aquatic.. I can't quite put my finger on what florals exactly because I dont wear many and so have poor identification skills. They're clean and bright and surprisingly juicy.. Maybe apple blossom? Perhaps a tiny hint of rose? A little nicotiana? I'm guessing.. But a little closer to your skin the more unusual notes emerge.. There is the Lab's salty "tears" note.. clear and yep, salty. I recognize it most recently from The Voice. And my favorites, the oil and smoke, which are seamless enough here to be as one-- an absolutely true to life greasy oil.. thin, dirty yellow, slightly solvent-like; slippery between your fingers. When I sniff up close they are the most prominent notes, and somewhat obscure the florals, making it even harder to attempt to identify them. But in the throw the smoke and oil are only occasional players.. wafting in and out of the watery floral "flue gas" Eventually they even take on a bit of a resinous vibe from time to time. I'm not generally a fan of aquatic blends; they are probably the most poorly represented genre in my collection, but this blend is interesting enough that I can see myself wearing it. If you dont count yourself an aquatic-floral lover, but you like smoky, murky, oily blends you might consider giving this one a try.

From what I found via Google about nagarmotha, I was expecting something a little more leathery or herbal... My first thought upon sniffing it in the bottle is that it must have some vetiver in it. Once on it opens up a bit and you get more nuances-- the fuzziness of the musk, a soft woodiness that's less like cedar in smell than it is like the softness of cedar wood to the touch... but I still think there's vetiver here because I get that slightly sour smokey burned-vegetation scent. I dont personally find it overwhelming here because so much is going on, but it is unexpected. I'd say this is like the brown fuzzy musk from Brown Jenkins-- it almost has a hint of coconut husk like that blend has, plus a little soft wood and a dash of well-behaved vetiver. I think this will probably age very nicely and become more mellow with time.

Absinthe, pink lime, yuzu fruit, and thyme flower with creosote and tar. Oh this one is awesome! Loads of yuzu, recognizable from Yellow Snowballs, and lime. They combine to make a sour, slightly bitter (absinthe are you helping there? I don't get much of this note otherwise..), juicy fruit scent that is almost green apple-like. I'm most excited about what I think is the "thyme flower", which really smells like thyme-- it's a slightly spicy green scent like crushed herbs-- stems, leaves, flowers all. The "creosote and tar" are not smoky or dank but biting and a little chemically.. they are faint though, and not at all central here. When I smell this the mental image I get is of a bright green wave, rising higher and higher, then suddenly breaking and falling to the creosote and tar which are lurking far beneath the crest of the wave. It smells decidedly GREEN, and a little corrosive... Perfect for the concept.

YESSSSS I have been wanting a good BPAL Egyptian musk for ages and here it is! It's like dewy skin with a hint of dry grasses and a touch of sweetness. Will test a few more time to be sure but this is probably going to be a bottle purchase.