Xue_Bai

...what went wrong here? This should be a win, but...

 

So in the bottle, amazing! Wet on skin, crazy almond cherry.

 

And then dry it's dirt. Like, I'm going to have to pull out my dirt SN and compare to make sure I'm not just crazy, but yeah...it's a sweet, musty dirt scent.

 

Maybe aging might make things play nicer? This is just weird for me.

Got two decants.

 

III

In Bottle: MINT! AND BOOZE! And a touch of currant? (Or some other berry.)

In Hair Small Test: More booze than mint now, but the berry's still hanging in the back ground.Also, it's gone a touch musty? Which is what the lab's snow note does too, so the mint might be related (or it could be my nose being weird from sinuses right now).

Verdict: While not necessarily my thing, I do like it quite a bit, and will be lovely paired with some of the Yules I have.

 

VII

In Bottle: OMG! IS THIS...?!?!? *skin tests against another scent* IT IS! It's pretty much an ever so slightly different version of last year's Harvest Moon. I think the leaf note's the traditional one over the red leaves, but it's nearly identical.

In Hair Small Test: Yup, same here.

Verdict: I HOPE this ages okay because I'd love to have some around for next fall. But as I liked Harvest Moon as an early summer scent too, this should work then as well. Hiding it away for now though!

This starts out an awesome, dark, foreboding blend of musk, guiac wood, opoponax, and a hint of vetiver. And then it does all sorts of weird morphing, picking up the champaca and lemon peel occasionally.

 

And then, after an intense hour, it becomes slightly flowery hand sanitizer. I THINK it's a mix of the opoponax and lemon peel over a hint of the champaca and vetiver. But it's not pleasant...and headache inducing even with a miniscule amount.

 

To the unloved pile. Ah well!

I am utterly in love. I mean, I knew I'd like it, but it's more amazing than I imagined!

 

Initial impression as drying without searching for notes, it's all smooth sweet resins over incense with a slight astringent note. It's dark, but not heavy or intimidating, instead coming across as playful.

 

Pulling the scent apart, I can find the beeswax and tea most easily behind the resins and frankincense (the astringent quality). Playing within is the bourbon vanilla and the sugar cane.

 

Dry, the daemonorops and hints of the vetiver appear, adding a slightly green floral to the mix, which shouldn't work but balances perfectly with everything else. The rosewood must just tie things together, as it doesn't come through enough to pick out by itself.

 

Dark, slightly murky, without being heavy, while also managing to be sweet and exciting. It really is a good staged horror show scent.

Frimp!

 

Wet: Almond and herbs. And mint? ZOMG smells like my beloved (and gone) Draco blend by Cara on Adagio. I want to drink my wrist now, please and thank you!

 

Dry: Rose slowly pops it's head into the scent, and something turns a bit powdery and very green. It's nothing like the wet stage. As others have said, vaguely potpourii-ish, but not in a bad way.

 

If it hadn't changed from the wet stage it would have been an instant buy. As is, it's just okay...not really me. Got to see how the voodoo works before passing final judgement though.

Frimp!

 

Starts warm almond cookies, before the cinnamon takes over. Goes Red Hots over almond cookies for a bit, before evening out between the two notes closer to skin than before. This has a LOT of cinnamon in it, as it's the only BPAL with it that's caused actual skin redness (not just a burning sensation). If the initial burst of almond cookies kept around, the burn would have been worth it. As is and as much as I love cinnamon, it's not for me.

I've always loved the handmade candles my local apple orchard makes, but for their short burn life (real cinnamon and apple pieces mean they were oversized width wise but really short and designed not to burn entirely due to fire hazards) I could never justify buying them at $30 a candle.

 

This, though, smells as good, if not better because of a stronger apple! And after burning it for three hours I can tell it will last much longer.

 

Anyways, the scent is deep (but not dark) mulled apple cider. I don't get any sort of booze note, which is fine with me. Burning in a large open area, it didn't have much range, but smelled nice near the candle itself. However, once moved to a smaller, closed space...well, even unlit I can smell apple cider as I move through the room!

From bottle to puddle in hands, I get mostly yuzu from this, with hints of lime, over a softer, un-menthol mint. On, the white tea and the slightest hint of ginger develops in the background. It is amazingly yummy and refreshing smelling all at once, though it isn't chilly for me, but electric. Lasts much longer and stronger than the Juniper Mint HG (the only other one I have). Waiting to see how it pairs with matching perfume and bath oil (and will update my review then), but for now it plays well with and against Cheshire Cat.

Edited for an "a" jumping in at a random place.

 

ETA: Blow drying my hair with this stuff on is AMAZING. It eats the scent on my hair but leaves me whole room smelling wonderful for hours.

I am so glad a got a bottle of this. even if it's not quite what I was expecting.

There's very little beeswax and no honey on me, but the vanilla is there, as is a soft musk and shimmery amber with soft florals.

Love it!

I bought this to see if it was narcissus that ruined Darkness for me (Spoilers: It was.)

 

It starts so promising in the decant. Fresh and green, with lovely daffodils.

 

On wet, there's something lurking there now, rising from the depths.

 

Dry, it's the swamp of DOOM! (Doom! Doom! -oom!)

 

Well, now I know. Off to the unloved with this decant.

In the decant: A swirl of myrrh, orris, and rose. No real hint of pomegranate yet.

 

Wet: Annnd there's the pomegranate, playing front and center with the rose (which is different from some of the lab's other roses). Below that is the myrrh and what I assume is the cypress. The orris might still be there, but it's hard to tell.

 

Dry: The orris came back with revenge. Now it's rose and orris, with the pomegranate playing second fiddle, and a background of woodiness.

 

Throw is amazing without being too much. I might need a full bottle.

In the decant: Medicinal, yet smokey, lavender.

 

Wet: Soft, smokey, cool resin and lavender. The lavender is still loud, but it plays nice with the oudh.

 

Dry: The lavender is very soft now and is amazing with the smoky resin I'm getting from this.

 

Verdict: Still not really a lavender fan, but this is really nice! Not too much of a throw, playing soundly in the realm of unisex. Not something I'd wear out, but it's just the thing I want for a bedtime perfume. Interesting without being to complex or heavy. So while not bottle worthy, the decant is getting it's own home in my bedside table's drawer.

In the bottle: Rich white peaches! With honey and neroli below.

 

Wet: Ah, there's the tea. The peaches are still front and center though, with the tea mixing in, and the honey and neroli beneath.

 

Dry: Well, nothing goes wrong with this one (unlike Peach II), but nothing is quite right with it either. It doesn't go soapy, but the peach scent pretty much just vanishes leaving a "clean" scent behind to mix with the tea. I can still find the neroli below that, but the honey's also pretty much gone.

 

Verdict: I'm going to sit on my half bottle. It might be wonderful in a scent locket later down the road, or I might get a hold of a single note that will work well with it. But for now Peach V is going to hide shamefully in my BPAL box. (Which means between the two Peaches I got, white peach gets added to my list of skin failures.)

I feel like I'm the party pooper for this review, but...yeah.

 

In the decant, Peach II smells AMAZING! Like, woah! Weirdly reminds me of the fizzing Japanese soda candies.

 

On my skin...well, it plays nice while wet. Lots of peach and tangerine, with the bubbly grapes in the background.

 

And about 10 minutes in, everything goes wrong. It fades to nearly nothing before returning horribly. My peach becomes fabric softener sheets. Nothing of the grapes or tangerine remains either.

 

As much as I wanted to love this scent, I'm very happy now I only went with the decant. To the pile of unloved with it.

I also had decant leakage due to separation, with various luck at getting it recombined.

 

Anyways, this starts out as a warm prickly cocoa, which lasts for about 10 minutes. Then it morphs, bringing the nutmeg to the front, followed by the plum, with the cocoa receding and the hazelnut and sandalwood tying it all together. Still warm and prickly, but rather different than the scent in the decant.

 

Overall, it's lovely and I will love my decant, but I don't think I'll need a whole bottle as a little goes a long way.

ITI: Medicinal something or another.

 

Wet: OMG! Yummy cherry and vanilla, not foodie or sweet, but !

 

Dry: Warm light rose and cherry in vanilla light. Again, not foodie or sweet, but lightly incense.

 

Verdict: Yeah, I'm probably going to need a bottle. It's so warm and happy and light without being childish. Plus, the cherry from the licorice is just perfect.

ITI: Musk and sandalwood, with hints of florals and resins.

 

Wet: Smoky resin and rose, initially with a fruity aspect underneath (the gummy bears maybe?), before the sandalwood takes its place.

 

Dry: Smoky myrrh and rose, with light hints of musk and sandalwood. It's very much like a PG version of Obsidian Widow, subsituting the booze for fruit punch and leaving out the dirty patchouli and jasmine. If that makes any sense to anyone...

 

Later: Wow, morphing! Spicy smoky floral with hints of fruits, specifically citrus.

 

Verdict: Ugh! I was waffling on upgrading my Obsidian Widow to a full bottle and now this, which is friendlier to wear because it's not as boozy and because of the hints of citrus later wil wear better in warmer weather. Well, I have a month to decide what to do...hmmm....

Something about this blend called to me, so it became my first Lunacy.

 

First Test:

Bottle: It's a medicinal mix of heliotrope and herbs.

 

Wet: That went sweet fast! It's a mix of florals (definitely heliotrope), dragon's blood, and the current, which is not bitter on me at all. There's a nice un-describable mix of scents below, I'm only able to pick out the amber. It's very warm and hazy.

 

Dry: Still warm and hazy, but much less sticky. The heliotrope has also backed off a bit, and I can for sure pick out chamomile and marigold, along with a green bite I believe to be the cilantro and a nice citrus throughout. Drying further, I get some vanilla in there as well (from the tolu balsam?). It's sweet, hazy, warm floral and green scent, without being overbearing. I like it, but I think I'd like it more if it was a tad less sweet. It has a decent throw, but it's only really the sweet that gets far...the subtle herbs are lost further away. But I have a feeling my skin chemistry is off today, so retesting on a later date before giving a final verdict.

 

Second Test: It's slightly less sweet now, and the amber and herbs come out to play more. It's the haze of a hot, late summer evening, the peak before the world tumbles into fall. Glad to have bought a bottle.

ITB: Apricot and coconut milk, very sweet, with the funk I usually associate with wet vetiver hidden way beneath. The apricot is so juicy smelling!

 

Wet: Much the same as in the bottle, but now I can pick out the currant now. I can't pick out lemon per say, but it appears to tie the fruit scents together.

 

Dry: The vetiver comes forward as it dries, though it has lost the wet funk smell. It's smoky apricot in coconut milk, with hints of currant. The best I can describe it is FUZZY. While sweet, it's not all that fruity now because of the vetiver. It balances between dark (the vetiver) and light (the lemon sugar). Throw is moderate, but the scent lasts a good long while, changing subtly as time goes on.

 

I may be in love with it! It will serve well as an end of summer into fall scent, as well as a spring one.

So, I accidentally fell in love with Bloodlust, but hadn't really experimented with either vetiver nor Dragon's Blood/daemonorops much outside of it. When I saw this scent appear, I HAD to at least try it.

In the Decant-So, this isn't vetiver heavy....or at least compared to the other things I have with it. With Bloodlust and [Redacted] Dragon, I can't pick out anything in the imp but BLEGH vetiver! But this...this is much calmer, with the Dragon's Blood and orris at the front and only a whiff of vetiver, which is a much more pleasant initial experience.

Wet-Much the same as the decant, but the vetiver initial stinky is even less present.

Drydown-The dragon's blood comes further forward, and the vetiver settles into a nice smokiness. It has a dry menacing feel to it, which when combined with the floral aspect of DB and the orris root really does fit the Other Mother. As it dries further, the florals settle down, and a wood aspect comes forward. It also gets this weird sweetness to it...well, more like the afterimage of sweet. It's feminine, with hints of once being lovely, but it's now dry and cold and sharp. And it changes a bit again, adding something muck like to the mix...yup, that's musk. The musk really grounds the whole thing, keeping the scent from being too...skittery? It's stays fairly close to my skin once dried, and I really like the scent through all of its phases, but it goes through them fast. It lasts close to the skin for quite a long time though, going sightly powdery and incense-y but manages to keep the menace.

Not necessarily what I thought it would be based off of the description, but still very Other Motherly. I quite like it! However, I'm going to have to wear it a few more times before deciding to buy a bottle or not.

In the Decant- Crushed flowers in the garden! Only oddly missing the dirt. High and clean.

 

Wet- Much the same as in the decant.

 

Drydown- Loses much of the green aspect, while the florals develop beautifully. I can’t pick anything out of the florals, but it’s a mesmerizing mix. There's a sense of dustiness now too, but it's way far below. It never goes soapy, but it is quite sharp on me for quite awhile. But it is very much a scent of loss, while also whispering of childhood. It does fade fast, though what remains lingering very very close to the skin is a perfect afterimage: softer and lighter than the original, but capturing the same feelings. It reminds me of a scent I've experienced before, but I can't remember just what.

 

Overall, it's lovely, but not really my thing. Glad to have the decant, but I won't spring for an entire bottle.

ITB: Sweet apples! With a hint of mint, and perhaps a musk...?

 

Wet: Lots of BPAL's snow note! With apple below.

 

Dry: It's overly sweet red apples that somehow have the tart bite found in green apples (or maybe just a barrel of both), covered with snow. And the light musk is back, along with a sharp white floral way beneath (very much like glass). It's a cold sexy sweetness...if that makes any sense!

 

As it dries further, less bite to the apple and less snow, but amazing in a subtly different way! I'm still floored to have a bottle!

Frimp.

 

Imp: Yup, that's a tropical smoothie!

 

Wet/Dry: It's mostly sweet bananas and coconut with a touch of apple and hints of the other fruits, all lightly spiced with chili pepper. Reminds me vaguely of childhood summers, when my family would add lime juice and this chili powder mix to different fruits, cucumbers, and jicama as a snack. There is no difference in wet to dry for me. Throw's okay, but it settles really close to my skin after an hour or two.

 

Overall, , and the chili makes it complex enough to not just be a straight up smoothie. Still not sure if bottle worthy, but worth keeping an imp or two around during the summer.

A forumite frimped me a decant, so here we go!

 

Imp: Wood, rose and a touch of iris.

 

Wet: Initial blast of rose, but it settles as it dries.

 

Drydown: Floral mix (mostly iris, but some rose and lotus), over a fruity mix of lemon and mulberry, with a touch of sandalwood.

 

Later: Top note becomes a very tart lemon, before the entire scent becomes a soft (yet still tart) floral with rose at the front close to the skin.

 

Overall, it's nice, and it's my first BPAL with lemon front and center. Will track down more lemon, but I'm good with just the decant of this.

Lab frimp!

 

So, I didn't expect to love this one, but...yeah.

 

On me it's mostly mellon, sweetened and spiced by honey and chili powder. Honestly, it reminds me of summer snacks I had as a child in California. Behind that is tobacco, heavy but lightly sweet. Between is the gin, which adds a slight sharp note, with a touch of soap very close to the skin (as the Lab's straight juniper tends to do). It's very sweet, and lightly masculine...very much more unisex because it is so sweet! It also has a throw that reaches across the room...just a touch is enough of this.

 

It balances so many things and does so well. It would be my more go to masculine scent....but the reason I didn't want to even like it prevents that. I have a number of friends and family members who are allergic/sensitive to tobacco and this scent does bother them. It also has just enough of a boozy quality to make it inappropriate for work. So, the imp will be more than enough for me given how few times I'll be able to freely use it.