LiberAmoris

The Penitent Magdalen, Georges de la Tour.Immortelle, lily of the valley, gaiac, amber, honey, white sandalwood, almond flower, blonde musk, and hyssop. The Penitent Magdalen was another new Salon blend that I couldn't resist. The Immortelle alone was enough to pique my curiosity. And I have to say, this is another amazing well-blended Salon oil. It smells like it's absolutely seamless. Usually when I smell perfumes I feel like I perceive them in layers, but here it feels like all the notes are on the same plane. In the bottle it smells very perfumey. I've noticed this before in other blends that have honey and musk---it creates a slightly sweet cologney smell in the bottle. I feel like I can also detect short bright flashes of the lily of the valley interjecting. On my skin, it blooms. In the bottle it was compressed, but now it unfolds. There's the honey musk base that I always love, the lily of the valley which creates height for the blend but does not overpower, mellow warm amber fills in all the gaps, and the white sandalwood and gaiac provide subtle, whispering woods. I don't know immortelle or hyssop well enough to try and find them in here, but there is a slightly herbal-floral side to this that balances everything out. The individual notes are detectable if I concentrate, but feel inseparable, if that makes any sense. The Penitent Magdalen reminds me a little of La Fée Verte, which also contains honey, musk, and hyssop. But whereas La Fée feels 'green' to me, Magdalen seems 'white' and almost luminescent. There's something tender and slightly vulnerable about the combination of notes, although it lasts a good long time on my skin---5 hours and counting, which for me is quite good. This is definitely going to get a lot of wear in my rotation. It's so warm and glowing and pretty.

Red sandalwood is one of my favorite notes, so Mors Syphilitica was a must-try. I get exactly what's described, red sandalwood and saffron oudh. The oudh here is the kind that goes tangy/earthy on me. The red sandalwood is incensey and wonderful as usual. Saffron also has a bit of a tang on me, so the result is a smooth red sandalwood with something a bit pleasantly sharp (or at least sharper than the sandalwood). It's simple and very nice. This one has a lot of throw and is really strong...I put on what seemed like a normal amount, but it's so strong it's actually making me a bit queasy! A little dab'll do ya.

I love the impetus behind Fake News, and what a glorious patchouli scent this is! On me it's pure hippie heartwood, pink pepper and white tobacco, rolled in gold leaf. It does smell upscale, but the patchouli isn't so buffed down that it loses that earthy tang that I enjoy. Wonderful!

La Prostitution et la Folie Dominent le Monde is right on the edge of being a bit too sweet for me, but there's something that keeps making me come back and test it again. I love the jasmine blossom and sweet cream vanilla together, reminding me a bit of 2014's Peach VIII amazing whipped jasmine cream note. Here, it also reminds me of gourmet springtime candy. The drop of star anise is welcome to cut the sweetness a bit and add depth to the flurry of cream, jasmine, and sugar. I'm going to keep testing this one...lovely creamy scent for the jasmine-lovers out there, but might be a bit too much for me.

My favorite of the hair glosses from this year's Lupercalia update! On me, The Moon Reflected in Every Rice Paddy reminds me of the underpinnings of Enveloped In Silk HG (like, if you took away the strawberries and cream). In Enveloped in Silk, there's white musk and orris root, and In Moon Reflected there's pale musk and iris root, so I think that explains why there's a happy echo for me. The vanilla and rice powder of this gloss makes it very unique, and gives a starchy-sweet, powdery coating to this light musky confection. I'll test again, but at least today, it's so light that it almost disappears in my hair after blow-drying. I catch the slightest trail of it every once in a while, but it's so gentle that I could wear it to work without disturbing anyone who's sensitive to scent.

I picked up Importune Me No More because it shares notes of patchouli, red rose, jasmine, and amber with past Lupercalia favorite of mine For Each Ecstatic Instant. I love the dark, sensual treatment of the florals there and was hoping for a similar feel here. And Importune Me No More definitely lives up to that expectation. On me, this is like a bouquet of red rose, red carnation, and jasmine plunged into the golden blur of amber and patchouli. The jasmine here is less heady (or perhaps more seamlessly absorbed by the rose and carnation) than I imagined, and I hope that makes this blend more wearable for those who amp that note. It becomes more incensey the longer I wear it. An absolutely beautiful dark floral!

La Pierreuse is a beautiful rose and tobacco blend. Wet, I also get a sugar/maple syrup note that I wasn't expecting. But within a few minutes, that note is gone and it's just red roses, on the dry side rather than the dewy side, and a nice side note of tobacco. (I'm wondering if it might be Bulgarian Tobacco, since my bottle of that single note has a bit of sweetness to it.) It really is a rose-stained tobacco, as the rose is center stage and the tobacco note is a fine veneer on that rosy surface. I love BPALs roses and try them all...there is always room for one more in my collection, and what this one brings to the table that's unique is the clarity of a dry red rose note and the perfect balance with tobacco. It's an uncomplicated pairing that still manages to smell complex and wonderful on the skin.

If you like By Kilian's Beyond Love, try Humanite! Though they are of course not exact, the way the tuberose is used is appealingly similar.

Entertaining the Heian Court Maiden is woody honey vanilla. This oudh is relatively restrained on me, and lacks the earthy tang that it can have in other applications. As it dries down, it mellows beautifully and the woody note dissipates a bit to leave behind what smells like honey musk with a touch of dry vanilla wood. Love this!

Beautiful and dark. I don't know if the cashmere note is related to Kashmir wood (as in my beloved Lucretia) or cashmeran, but it's like a fuzzy blanket thrown over everything. Hoîru is so well-blended that its tough to describe, but I guess I'd sum it up as 'coconut leather oudh blanket'. (I know there's no oudh listed for this one, but that's how it's playing out on my skin.) I enjoy this, but it's way better on my husband so this goes into his stash. I'll ask him to bring this on our next warm weather getaway, since the coconut makes this feel vaguely tropical.

Delight in Disorder is straight-up red musk and cherry on me, and it makes me happy. Definitely in the same family as Smut, but less musky, more cherry! If you're a red musk fan, I'd say the musk wins here...the cherry is prominent, but not cloying (at least on my skin). Fun!

A Thousand Thoughts, and Hopes, and Joys is an unabashed floral, reminding me of the sweetness, simplicity, and joy of Hope and Faith. Like those sweet florals, this is also a mood elevator and perfect at this time of year when I'm craving spring. Freesia isn't one of my favorite notes, but it's ok, because this comes across on my skin as Sweet Carnation Plus. The carnation is so intense that it pulls all other notes into its core...you can run but you can't hide, vanilla freesia! The result is a perfume that comes across as primarily carnation, but has depth and complexity beyond that single note. To enjoy this one, you need to like carnation. Carnation is a unique floral, cellulose-stiff and spicy like an uptight, hard-to-get rose. But if you're into it, this is a must-try.

Mmm, slinky! Snake Skin is exactly what it promises to be: Snake Oil and leather. On my skin, there's a phantom almond note that lifts up here and there, and a minty edge that fresh Snake Oil has. It's glorious stuff. Snake Oil in a leather jacket! I bought a bottle for myself, but it also smells so good on my husband that I've added it to his collection. It's ok, I've already ordered some more for myself.

In addition to having a terrifically entertaining name, Consoling Pussy of Horse Face Mountain is totally pretty. Wet, this pussy is chock-a-block wisteria, which smells like sweetish blue blossoms to me...a little like lilac. The oakmoss is a classic bottom note that nearly gives the impression, with the wisteria, of a springy chypre happening here. Tuberose is one of my favorite notes, and the 'tuberose incense' plays tuberose at a lower register that those who don't adore tuberose might be able to tolerate. Because of that tuberose, this has a bit of a tropical feel, but just barely. Dry, this is tuberose and wisteria in smokeless incense floating over a bed of oakmoss. It's an overt floral, but the oakmoss is strong enough that it remains a real presence, smelling to me like moss and something a touch marine (salty, tangy, fresh).

Adventure with Bandits in a Kago is such a beautiful fruity-floral. The nectarine and pearl peach are juicy but not too sweet, and the gardenia is perfectly balanced. The white frankincense helps anchor everything but doesn't overwhelm at all, in fact it's quite subtle. On drydown, the nectarine, peach, and gardenia are equally weighted and the frankincense just acts like a dimmer, bringing down the natural brightness and sweetness of these notes a bit, making them even more wearable for me.

As a superfan of Golden Champa Accord, I was hoping that the golden sandalwood and champaca resin in Keichu Nyoetsu Warai Dogu would somehow share similarities with that glorious golden floral nectar. And it does. This is a lovely blend of sandalwood, coconut, what smells like 'brown' leather, and champa. A merged note keeps wafting up, smelling a bit like GCA. No complaints here. Because of the spread of notes, on drydown this leans woody, incensey, leathery, and tropical at various points. Over time, it only gets more mellow and golden and incensey...very comforting. Great cause, great scent!

I agree that Gingerbread, Red Patchouli, Orange Peel, and Champaca Flower bears a resemblance to Shub. I get equal parts gingerbread, orange and red patch...trailed by an incensey floral note. It's not sweet; it leans more to savory. I really like this, especially the drydown when it turns into a ginger, orange, and patch skin scent that sort of hovers around me.

Fixed earth: the essence of ownership and possession. This blend assists you in seeing the truth of what you need while highlighting destructive desires that wound your soul so that you may purge them. It is the scent of determination and persistence, devotion and drive, bound by silks of raw sensuality. Rose absolute and Moroccan jasmine with ylang ylang, red sandalwood, black pepper, and red patchouli. Taurus is a study in two parts. On one side: petal-soft, gentle rose and jasmine. On the other: a dash of spicy black pepper and sharp ylang ylang. The red sandalwood and red patchouli make a bullish base for these forces to play out against. The notes that end up winning on my skin in terms of strength are the rose and jasmine and ylang ylang—these are the notes that last well into the drydown. If you love the rose and jasmine combo in Mata Hari, this might work for you...they smell similar in concert here as they do in concert there, at least to my nose. Very nice!

Lonely and Disregarded, A Myth is so much gentler than I thought it might be. This is a red sandalwood-heavy blend on me, with myrrh and cinnamon truly trailing. The fig husk is like a brush of dry fig, just the right amount to add depth. This starts and ends as a skin scent on me, restrained and comforting. The cinnamon does seem to emerge more on the drydown, but not to the point that it takes over. The kind of BPAL I'd reach for after a tough day and needed something warm and soft to wrap myself up in.

I love Beth's scents with aged patchouli, so Belonging to the Darkness: Moonstone & Silver was a no-brainer. On me, this is like a white floral-aquatic patchouli. The brown patchouli is infused with all the white notes (tuberose, jasmine samba, lily of the valley, white moss, and white musk), which add airiness to the earthiness of the patch. The white moss gives this the edge of something that smells like the sea, and the white flowers pull this back to shore. Dries down to a mild floral patchouli that lingers nicely on the skin. Glad I picked this up!

Honeyed Apple is simple and sweet, and really enjoyable to wear. I agree that this smells like golden apple, and with the honey this smells rich and round and absolutely emblematic of the height of autumn.

Cacao Pod is like a sandalwood-chocolate-coconut pudding when first applied! As with nearly all blends with chocolate, the chocolate burns off pretty quickly on me, and I'm left with a coconut, sandalwood, and musk skin scent that lasts for hours. The best part of this blend is how well-balanced the sweetness is...even with the 'sweet musk', this doesn't get too sugary on me.

L’Hyver is really mysterious and different. Every time I test it, I get a slightly different experience. If I sniff it in the bottle and look at the note list, I think I can smell each individual element. But it's so well-blended that once I put it on, it's tough to tease them apart. This dries down to a grey amber and black tea scent. Two hours later, this is a soft, musky skin scent, like a swipe of pale grey.

I bought Allegory of Winter for my husband and it's very nice on him. The leather, amber, blood orange, and crimson musk are all nicely balanced when first applied, but the crimson musk and leather come forward as it dries. The coal dust is (I think) the dark, slightly gritty, dusty note that weaves itself through the others, giving the brightness of the blood orange a sooty dimness. Another one that I'll borrow from time to time.

A Breathless Chuckle is like a pile of treats. Well, it starts out as a pile of treats, and then it dries down to a MALLOMAR. I have happy childhood memories of eating mallomars, so there's no way I'm parting with this bottle. Another fun Yule gourmand!