theseagrows

this was one of the yules i was most excited about. it starts with oudh and saffron, i don't get much florals in the beginning. after a few minutes i get a hint of the translucent petals, but not much rose. there is a hint of orris root if i breathe deeply. this is not quite what i expected at all. after being on the skin at least 30 minutes, i get the rose and now it's mostly rose and saffron. this is pretty at this point, a bit weird in the beginning, so the jury is out till another test.

at first all i smell is a clear, beautiful tea-just dreamy! after about 10 minutes i get some of the woods and maybe a tiny hint of vanilla, but overall this is mostly a slightly sweet tea on me. after maybe 20 minutes, i get more vanilla and this is just so gorgeous. after it's been on the skin about an hour, there is something a bit odd about it, almost dusty. not sure i like this stage and it's mostly dissipated at this point. the beginning stages are gorgeous though.

starts with a rosy musk, and a few seconds later the sandalwood starts to come through. after about 5 minutes i get hints of benzoin, and as others have said, this is primarily a resinous, musky rose.

ah yes, i definitely smell something light and shining but cannot place it, but it could be ambergris. along with the fur, this is so pretty. it is very reminiscent of fur, though not literally. it definitely smells fuzzy and musky. i am reminded, in terms of feel, not scent, of bakeneko, which reminds me of cat fur in an non-literal way. this is like the dog version. i really like this one, likely not bottle worthy but i will probably keep my decant.

i am a fan of dorian, but antique lace is just ok on me. this is pretty gorgeous from the get-go though. it starts off with strong lavender, tea and vanilla...it's like dorian and TKO, and it's beautiful! it's basically dorian with extra pumped lavender on me, which makes me think i should try this as a bedtime scent. after about 15-20 minutes on the skin, i can sense more of the antique lace component, and the lavender has calmed down a bit. the lavender seems to get softer and stronger, with the white tea remaining fairly constant. i don't get the pink pepper till maybe a half an hour in, and it adds a pretty element to the whole scent, but now it smells more like antique lace and i am not really a fan of antique lace, so i guess i'd say the beginning stage is good and the drydown is just ok.

i was very excited about this one! all loved notes, hoping for a gorgeous combination. at the beginning, i get a very woody note with some myrrh.it doesn't really read as oudh to me, but i suppose that's what it is? it's meditative and smells like incense. something in this is mildly fizzy, not sure what it is, but there it is. it's pretty linear on me, and i don't seem to get any labdanum, vanilla or benzion. i will have to try it again after it settles a bit.

the polished woods are the strongest note at first, mixed with myrrh. after a few minutes on the skin, i get hints of honey, vanilla and the frankincense comes out fairly strong. unfortunately, i amp the frankincense in this, as i often do and it overpowers the scent. the honey is quite pretty though. i will give it another try later on and see how i feel. it *is* pretty, just too heavy on the frankincense for me.

i got this as a frimp in a swap this is much softer and sweeter than i thought it would be. i get the victorian oriental perfume along with hints of absinthe. it's a light, slightly sweet scent, but not as charged and intense as i thought it might be from the description. there is something almost floral in this but i'm not sure what it is, maybe lotus? or maybe it's just absinthe, it gets mildly sugary which makes me think it may be the absinthe. this is a pretty scent but not really me. also it's soft, my skin seems to eat it up.

i dunno, i'm usually not a foody person, but this spoke to me. i guess i need the comfort! it starts off with booze and coffee..kind of smells like an irish coffee. then i get some almond and coconut. praying the coconut doesn't completely take over as it often does. after a few more minutes i think i get molasses. there is definitely chocolate in here but it's not too strong. at this point it's mostly coffee and cardamom. i rarely wear foody scents but i could see reaching for this on a cold winter's day when i just don't wanna get out of bed, until it turns plasticky like most foody scents do. oh well...

right off i smell violets and orris/iris with hints of greenery. it's so pretty and springlike. i get lavender after it's been on my skin for about 10 minutes and i am really loving it now, it's a very interesting iris scent and reminds me of lolita lempicka without the anise. so pretty, i think i need a bottle.

this scent is pretty but so soft that i can barely smell it! i think it's mostly tobacco, sandalwood and maybe the "marbled" part is vanilla, because i swear there's something a bit like vanilla in this. i think i am smelling iris in the background but not the bergamot or leather...wish the leather came out more on me. this scent is pretty and i like it quite a lot, but it's very subtle and dissipates very quickly.

this is a soft milky iris/lilac scent. this milk note is so familiar and i feel like i smelled something similar in a moment in time, but a milk note isn't listed in that scent. i think maybe it's like the scent of soft goats milk & honey soap mixed with iris and lilac. it's very soft and comforting, i could see wearing this at bedtime. bpal had a milk note that did not work on me, but this one does, thankfully. this scent feels perfect for a rainy spring day and i really like it a lot.

right off, i smell coconut milk and honeyed saffron. it smells a bit like a chi chi tiki drink at this stage. after about 5 minutes on the skin, the olive blossom comes through, with hints of amber, deepening the scent and cutting the sweetness. 5-10 more minutes pass and the coconut milk gets stronger again. at this point it's basically coconut milk and olive blossom. i looove olive blossom but the coconut is just too sweet for me. and i get no leather, which is a bummer.

i'm getting something pale, powdery and floral in the beginning. it almost smells like tuberose mixed with vanilla. after about 20 minutes, yes, that's it. this is like an amped up version of neutral which has a really nice tuberose. this is just stronger and sweeter to me, but very similar.

this smells like a classic scent to me, something from the 20s-50s. it starts off with vanilla and vetiver i believe. it's slightly bitter earth with a powdery softness. the vanilla gets more honeyed after a couple of minutes, which warms up the scent and makes it increasingly sexier. after about 5-10 minutes i get more labdanum which is very pretty. it's resin-y and powdery at this point. i don't seem to get a lot of patchouli or jasmine yet. during the drydown i get a bit of patchouli but not much. jasmine is nowhere to be found! i really like this scent though, it reminds me of caron's tabac blond without the leather and a bit more powdery. <3

White patchouli leaf, beeswax, ambergris, and pale incense. ooh, this starts off so beautifully. it's a very pretty beeswax with something slightly sweet and golden. this is a beautiful honey! after a minute or two, i think i get hints of incense. still so pretty. after being on the skin about 10 minutes, i think i sense the ambergris but get no strong patchouli scent, but then again it's white patchouli leaf, which i am guessing is more subtle (?) overall, this is a very pretty beeswax/honey scent. i'm really loving it and may need a bottle. i really love the interaction of beeswax and incense

this is a very sugary, sweet, creamy rose. it's reminiscent of hope, but sweeter. it's like a rosy whipped cream/vanilla/marshmallow scent. this is very pretty, and i love this rose, the scent itself is just a bit sweet for me.

this starts off with something woody and kind of nutty? not sure what that is. quickly it softens and turns to incense and rose with some bergamot for good measure. at this point, it's a little bit sharp, but not too bad. then it gets deeper from the labdanum. after about 10 minutes i get a smooth oude and a the vanilla musk. it dries down to a vanilla-oudh with rose and incense. so pretty. i honestly wish i had an incense that smelled like this! in the end it's a vanilla-rose with oudh, very pretty.

yes this definitely starts off with a strong red wine note! after about a minute i get hints of ash lingering in the background. a few minutes later i get something fruity-plasticky, like a plastic scented doll. perhaps it's something that makes up the red wine, because this sometimes happens to me with some of BPAL's fruit notes, especially plum. after about 10 more minutes, the plastic note dissipates, thankfully. i think i am left with amber, wine, ash and benzoin. i don't seem to get much vanilla from this. this seems like a fall/winter scent to me, and i think i need to try this again in the fall, when it will really shine.

from the start, i get mostly blood musk with hints of amber and jasmine tea, but it's primarily musk. after about 10 minutes the jasmine tea becomes stronger. this is a sweeter jasmine, not a strong and indolic one. if memory serves, it reminds me a bit of the jasmine in venus genetrix. (just checked and the note is listed as jasmine tea in that scent, so it's likely the same.) after about 15-20 minutes it's more smoothed out by the amber but the blood musk is still prominent. i like this one a lot-it's mysterious and makes me think of dark, warm summer nights.

got a frimp of this! it smells pine-y at first, then after a minute or so i get a hint of something sweet, kind of like a spicy muffin. then i get a masculine sort of woodiness and some other notes i can't place but it's primarily pine then woods.

oh this is very pretty and soft. a soft ambergris-tobacco, it's slightly salty and slightly creamy. the woods come out later during the drydown, and the tobacco becomes a bit more pronounced. still this is a pretty and understated scent.

got a frimp of this from someone at first i smell mint and vanilla with some buttery rum and a hint of coconut. i don't seem to get the cocoa. it's very airy somehow, and after a couple minutes i smell primarily coconut and mint and it's kind of beachy. i think i start to get a hint of cocoa/chocolate after about 5-10 minutes. it smells like ice cream to me! the mint settles a bit but the coconut stays fairly strong. this is definitely not my kind of scent but i'm glad i got to try it. foody scent lovers rejoice

received a frimp from the lab! it does smell like a soft woodsy cologne with some citrus and basil. there's definitely a bit of a herbaceous quality. i also swear i smell something slightly like leather? not sure what combination that could be. it smells like citrussy herbal soap with a hint of leather. kind of nice in a way, and not what i expected. still, probably not a keeper for me, though it is a nice scent.

notes i love (or mostly like): oakmoss, violet, tea, tonka, leather, white musk, skin musk, red musk, black musk, neroli, amber, tobacco, carnation, orange blossom, orchid, incense, smoke, clove, benzoin, dirt, moss, opoponax, green tea, lime, stephanotis, chrysanthemum, oudh, saffron, iris/orris root, tuberose, honey, ylang ylang, honey, heliotrope. notes that sometimes work: rose, vanilla (bpal's), iris, wine, cherry, coconut, tea rose, berries, myrrh, sage, patchouli, sandalwood, bergamot, ylang ylang, lily, dragon's blood, lotus, orange, lemon, cinnamon, lavender, tuberose, vetiver, honey (bpal's), woods, champaca, ginger, nectarine, heliotrope, pomegranate, fig, pine (not very often), peony, sweet pea, almond, pumpkin, mint, sugar, grapefruit, lilac, jasmine, honeysuckle, milk, teak, coffee, caramel, oudh: bpal's black oudh doesn't seem to like me but the white and red varieties do. notes i dislike: cedar, frankincense (bpal's turns to pencil shavings on me, same for cedar, unless very subtle), peach, strawberry, plum, civet, chocolate (except DDLM), cake, milk, cassia, opium, poppy, cocoa, apple, rum, ozones/aquatics, dragon's blood, currant, eucalyptus, banana, blue musk, pomegranate, peony, sweet pea.