LiberAmoris

I love how gentle this blend is—it's like the perfume equivalent of a soothing word in a time of need. Wet, I can smell all the notes, although white plum is a new one for me. But the green tea, honey, pale plum, ambergris, and vanilla flower are all there. Dry, most fall away and I'm left with green tea, honey, and a just wisp of the others. It only lasts an hour or so on me, and then it's really difficult to detect. But it seems right somehow, like it whispers something sweet in the ear and then is gone. I reapplied a few times today and didn't mind because that wet phase is so lovely.

If you've never tried Shub, you should—it's a BPAL classic. It's one of those blends that walks the line right between foody (the ginger and resins smell like some amazing ginger candy at times) and sexy/incensey. If I don't wear it for a while, I miss it and have to find my rollerball so I can give myself a good coating. Shub hair gloss smells wonderful when I apply and for an hour or so afterwards, but then the smell is almost completely gone—which is so odd, because it's so intense right out of the bottle. I wish it lasted longer, but it smells great when I'm drying my hair in the morning and then my hair is smooth and frizz-free all day.

Venus Caelestis is really pretty. In my mind it's like a pale blue-grey sky dotted with stars. The blue lotus is watery and contemplative and wide. It pushes up like a vaulted sky. The amber, myrrh, and frankincense are like a dropped anchor for the blend, bringing everything down to earth and letting the top and bottom notes create a wide space between them, giving the impression of airiness and distance. The lemon is both sugar and peel, so the sweetness and bitterness are in balance. The citrus brings everything to a point, or many small points, that cut through the floral and resins like light...something clear and bright. Overall, this wears as an ambered, slightly incensy blue lotus on me with a lemon twist. The lotus is handled beautifully here, but I think this will smell even better on me after some aging, which should intensify those bottom notes.

Neutral was a frimp from the Lab in my last order, and I'm so glad I got to try this one! It is a lovely skin musk, and this would be perfect for people who want a low-key, clean scent to wear in a setting where personal fragrance is discouraged, as this smells like clean skin, or the remnants of a nice shampoo or soap. The smell is tough to pinpoint. I'm getting musk and white flowers, maybe gardenia or honeysuckle? The floral note is one that includes a very faint smell of banana. Normally the smell of banana is pretty much the worst thing in the world for me, but here it smells more like a pale, golden yellow, like unripe bananas and white flowers, rather than the ripe, too-sweet banana smell that I find off-putting.

I've had a bottle of Tombeur for years, but it lives in my husband's BPAL drawer. He doesn't usually wear scent unless I ask him to or it's a special occasion, but yesterday he was looking for something to go with an afternoon of drinking beer and playing Assassin's Creed Unity (otherwise known as 'Saturday' on his calendar) and this was what he picked out. And wow, it's aged so well! It's musky, lavendered vanilla sandalwood on him with a dash of Snake Oil. The lavender is particularly nice here...paired with the vanilla, there's a gentle, relaxing aspect of the blend that contrasts beautifully with the blood musk, patchouli, and vetiver. The vetiver is very light here, and I could barely pick up on it (although that could be due to the aging). So good!

A Peculiar Spirit has a good dollop of the black tea note that I really like and that seems to smell like licorice on some people...here, it has a licorice-y edge even on my skin, but I don't mind it. I get a lot of tobacco, and a bright spark of neroli, with the oudh and benzoin trailing. It doesn't surpass Furo or Blacker than the Raven Wings of Midnight as my favorite black tea perfume, but I like it and think the tobacco is particularly good here. I moved this one over to my husband's BPAL drawer, because it smells really good on him, like a smoky, woody, black tea.

John Watson is metal and oil—with a little linen and lime. I'm going to age this a bit, but my early impression is that I don't love wearing this on its own...but do really enjoy this layered with Sherlock. On the drydown I do get a bit of tweed...it's amazing!

Ugh, this is so good. Sherlock Holmes is tobacco plus soap (in the best way) plus Morocco on me. I've smelled a lot of rosin in my day (my best friend from childhood was an amazing violinist) and pick up on the rosiny resin from time to time, which hits me like a brick-wall flashback. But mostly this is manners meets man—something clean and leisurely up against something striving and dynamic. I bought my husband a bottle, but got a frimp from the Lab that's all mine.

Every time I wear Ivory Vulva, it smells a little different on me. Mostly it's coconut marshmallows, but sometimes I get more of the amber, and sometimes it smells a bit buttery or gingery, and sometimes I get a big dollop of the macadamia milk. But it's delicious no matter how it's sliced. I wouldn't reach for this every day—I have to be in the right mood for something this sweet and foody—but I really enjoy it. Yum!

Comparison of Celebrated Beauties is like floral marzipan on me! The almond/almond flower is the most prominent note, followed closely by the vanilla cream. The mimosa gives this a floral edge that's springy and cuts the foody-ness of it in a nice way. Even so, this is a bit like a flowery dessert in the best way possible. Feels like it's in the same family as (distant cousins to?) Boo and Dana O'Shee.

Alma Venus sure is pretty. I get blood orange, orange flower, and honey/beeswax in equal measure, with the ambergris, neroli, and tuberose acting as supporting players. The cedar is very, very subtle. I wouldn't know it's in here if it wasn't listed. The neroli is prominent when wet but dries down to a mere whisper. About an hour after application, this is primarily a sweet burnished orange and orange flower blend...very elegant and upscale.

The Onnagata and the Pillow Roll is a beautiful cedar blend. Cedar sometimes gets a bad rap, but it's a lovely wood note! And the Himalayan cedar note is so contemplative and mellow. Paired with the rose, bergamot, and white patchouli, there's a really meditative vibe going on here. The pink peppercorn and hay absolute are much fainter on me. Wet, this is cedar plus a lot of lovely, blurry complexity. Dry, the cedar and bergamot do something on my skin that smells a bit sharp. I'm going to age this a bit and test again, because there is so much going on here that I enjoy! The white patchouli is just as lovely as ever, par exemple. Those whom cedar loves...this is your Shunga!

I ordered Venus Libitina but was worried about the orris and bourbon—orris can give scents too much powder for my tastes, and the boozy notes like bourbon can amp on me and be a little too much. But the blend here is really nice. On me, the notes are detectable in the order of the scent list—rose, cherry, cream, bourbon, and orris. The bourbon and orris are both very light and give the other notes a kind of subtle 'pastel cordial' feel. I'm also surprised at how much I'm enjoying the rose-cherry-cream...it really is like some luscious dessert, yet the rose water makes this primarily a floral on my skin, and very wearable. ETA: After wearing this a few times, I think it might be one of my favorites from this year. It smells like the colors of a Mendl's box.

For Each Ecstatic Instant is so good. This is an incensy patchouli-jasmine-rose blend on me, and I'm so excited to have two new jasmine loves from this year's Lupercalia release (Venus Genetrix is the other, and shares notes of jasmine, black amber, and bourbon vanilla). Amongst the other lovely Lupers in my order, this one offers the most unabashed, unrestrained, no-holds-barred trip to sexytown. It's well-blended, but I can definitely pick out the red rose, jasmine, and patch—the other notes act as a kind of scrim, blurring any sharp lines like a scarf thrown over a lampshade. The jasmine here is gorgeous. What I love about jasmine is that it straddles the line between floral and feral...as if a blossom could smell both at its prime and about to turn and start decomposing all at once. It's like a flower fulcrum, and there's something lovely about being right at that point (a point that is usually so fleeting). In combination with the other notes, it's a stunning incense to have at the end of a wrist (or other parts). Really wonderful, and definitely being worn on my next date night.

I looove jasmine, so Venus Genetrix is right up my alley. This is a jasmine-heavy blend, with the jasmine tea note skewing softer and 'steeped'both more velvety and more condensed. The black amber darkens it up and adds depth. The vanilla bourbon here seems to actually give off a bit of bourbon at first (not sure how that's possible, considering that there's no bourbon in bourbon vanilla), making it smell almost like some fantastic cocktail. That burns off quickly and the vanilla deepens as it dries down. A few hours after application this is almost gone on me, but when I sniff my wrists or my clothes where it touched, I can smell the most beautiful darkened jasmine sweet tea. It smells like something that would come in a dark purple bottle, and be prized as a potent aphrodisiac. Love it.

Aristocratic Couple is truly cardamom-spiced apricot preserves...so delectable. Wet, it's mostly apricot and cardamom, and as it dries down the cardamom burns off a bit, leaving a yummy apricot-vanilla skin scent. I love cardamom, but like this best after everything has settled down. Uncomplicated and beautiful!

Prosperous Flowers of the Elegant Twelve Seasons is lovely. Wet, I get a big hit of patchouli, but on my skin that quickly settles down and the wood vanilla and leather come forward. The honeyed saffron sweetens it up, and the labdanum is doing something here that reminds me a bit of tobacco. This would fit right in with some of my favorite autumnal BPAL blends. At times the wood/leather is a little much for me, but only when I'm sniffing my wrist—in the air around me I get more of the patchouli and honey. After an hour, it's really settled down and the honey and vanilla have come forward to balance out the leather and wood. I'm looking forward to seeing how this one ages!

Mmmm, coconut. The note here is absolutely the white flesh of a mature coconut...so realistic that I can almost taste it. It's by far the most prominent note on me, with the honey and saffron rounding things out and adding very subtle sweetness and faint floral notes. It smells a bit like a very nice tropical vacation, not in a suntan product kind of way but in a drinking fancy cocktails/swanning around in caftans kind of way. It's rather transporting to wear this on a cold day.

YUM. Hard Cider Cake is another mouthwatering Yule foody blend...it smells so real. In the bottle and on my skin, this is pure white cake saturated with hard cider and topped with buttercream frosting. That buttercream note is just the bee's knees—it's so delicious. Definitely a keeper, for weekend days when I'm powering through chores or projects...and want to smell like cake while doing so.

2014 version The Fruit of Paradise is almost like pomegranate single note on me, a slightly bitter, juicy pom. It's very reminiscent of a crushed pip. Definitely for pomegranate lovers!

2014 version Brandied cherries! Suck It is sweet brandied cherries in the bottle and on my skin. It also reminds me of a cherry lollipop or popsicle. I would have to be in just the right mood to wear this, as I usually don't wear super sweet scents, but I can see myself reaching for this occasionally or layering it with other scents. I bet a touch of this would be great with Bliss.

I think I might like Gingerbread Goblin even more than Goblin! The gingerbread and coconut is just a great foody combo, and the patchouli and benzoin ground everything so it lasts and lasts on my skin. This isn't one I'd wear to work unless I wanted people popping into my office to ask if I have cookies, but it's perfect for wearing around the house where I can revel in the yummy scent.

Christougenniatiko Dentrophobia starts out when a green crush of needles and then dries down to a predominately wood and tobacco blend on me. It's a lovely progression if you like evergreens but only want a few minutes of strong greenery...seasonal but still very wearable. I'm adding this to my husband's BPAL drawer because I think this will smell very good on him.

Sweet minty candy cane! Lick It is just as seasonally sweet as ever. I enjoy this during winter weekends when I'm cleaning or working on house projects, and also during the summer, when the icy blast of mint on my skin offers a cooling respite from the heat and humidity. As the mint fades, the vanilla musk comes forward for a really nice, wearable skin scent.

Vixen hair gloss has everything I love about Vixen, but in slightly different proportions. In the hair gloss, I get less patchouli and more orange blossom, which works fine for me, as orange blossom smells like a harbinger of spring and I'm craving spring right now! My hair was eating this gloss up so quickly that I actually spiked it with about 1/3 a 5ml of Vixen, and now it lasts almost all day. As the day goes on, the ginger and patchouli fade and the orange blossom remains. I'm so glad I nabbed a bottle of this when I could! It layers beautifully with Vixen (of course), but also Spellbound, Sin, Shub, and many other favorites.