LiberAmoris

I'm so happy with Frosted Silkybat—the snow note isn't one that's historically great on my skin, although I like it in the air (in atmo sprays and oil burners). I love the creamy fluffy snow note in the snowballs, but that's really different than the snow note here, which is the classic, slightly ozoney, minty/lemony accord that smells like cold air. And that's the one that's always better off my skin than on it. So having it in a hair gloss is pretty much the best, as I can smell it in the air around me, but it's not on my skin where I'd amp it to high heaven. This smells like piles of fluffy white snow and a shadow of sugared patchouli. The patchouli is much lighter here than in Silkybat proper, as it's mixed in with all the snow. As the day goes on, I get more patchouli—it deepens and darkens a bit. I'm so glad to have a snowy hair gloss to wear this winter! Definitely a nice twist on my beloved Silkybat.

Just as advertised. I smell all of the notes, and the combination is unexpected but kind of wonderful in Yule Buddies. Leather and frosted gingerbread...not two notes that I'd imagine would harmonize. And yet, they work. This is definitely not just leather and pipe tobacco on me—it's both of those if they careened and crashed into gingerbread and fruitcake. Perfectly Yule and fun and festive.

This is totally Yule Smut. The birch tar and patchouli darken Krampus' Shadow quite a bit, and render it a bit sooty in the best way. There's definitely a pitchy, charred note that's really evocative and nice with the patch and red musk. As it dries down, that note lessens and this is a shadowy patch/red musk...really nice on me and pretty damn good on the man. I might try to get him to wear this out one night when I wear Smut.

Rose Red hair gloss is everything I hoped it would be. Rose Red on my skin is a lush, dewy red rose, with a hint of something that comes across a bit like raspberry in the sillage. In my hair, it's just the same, and as on my skin, it lasts a really long time. A few sprays of the hair gloss this morning and hours and hours later it's still throwing off the most beautiful rosy scent. In addition to being lovely in its own right, this HG will be wonderful to layer with some of my favorite rose scents.

2014: Faunalia is like forest musk champagne on me. There's definitely something effervescent here, reminiscent of the Lab's champagne note. The musk is crazy good, equal parts ambery/mellow and animalic/feral. The forest foliage and woods smell almost like they've been crushed underfoot—they're present but not overwhelming. The musk is really the star here, from wet to drydown...and in combination with the other notes it smells a bit like my big dog's underfur after a run through the forest. A little wild, a little sweet, a little like soap, and a little like the outdoors (greens and dirt). I love that smell, it smells like happiness. Definitely a keeper, and I think this will age well.

Hagiophobia might embody the fear of saints and holy things, but it smells like Christmas! The ginger and yuzu are effervescent and bright (I might even say jolly), and the cypress and pine smell like fresh boughs and holiday trees. The frankincense and myrrh...classic Christmas. Wet, this is HOLIDAY SPIRIT. Dry, this is the best Yule incense ever. I used up my last drops of Skadi last week, but won't be sad, because Hagiophobia will fill that niche nicely. So glad I picked this up!

I think bheansidhe nails it here—Claircognizance smells like clean linens and sandalwood. It's definitely reminiscent of Antique Lace minus the sweet vanilla. On its own it's like white flowers and white linen plus something mind-clearingly bracing...not like mint but with the same effect on me. It smells very pure, very white, very clean. I think I'd enjoy wearing this on its own if I wanted to feel focused but it would also be great as a blender. I can imagine this with all kinds of scents that could go lace-y. I'm looking forward to doing some experimenting.

Agree 100% with Silvertree, this hair gloss is the sh*t. It's Sin, in the hair. What more could a person want? I wore this the other day and went out with friends after work, everyone who hugged me mentioned how good I smelled. Definitely the Sin hair gloss. I bought two bottles and will enjoy every single drop. This is my favorite item to come out of the lunacy poll, and I'm still so grateful to have another way to wear my beloved Sin.

Psychodynamic Discharge is as dynamic as its description. Leather isn't always the best note on me, but here it's balanced beautifully with the rose, pepper, red musk, and coconut. The vetiver is exactly how I like it: a sharp, slightly disruptive green spike that knows its place. The ginger is subtle on me...this is mostly leather, red musk, patchouli, rose, and coconut. It smells like a leather jacket worn by a god. I can imagine myself reaching for this in certain moods, but I think this would be unbelievable on my husband. Like Whip's bad-boy boyfriend riding in on a motorcycle. I may give him this one and get my own bottle. I agree that this will be very popular...buy it now or hunt it down later!

I love all the gingerbread mash-ups, and I love Sin, so this was an immediate, no-holds-barred Yule purchase. And gingerbread is so good with Sin! I definitely smell both parts, but Gingerbread Sin is more than the sum of its parts, just as Nepthys says. Wet, it smells like fancy, fancy gingerbread—gingerbread with depth and dark sweetness, caramelized patchouli and amber, an undertone of sandalwood and a hit of cinnamon. Dry, this is Sin with ginger shot through it...and it's fantastic. If you like Sin, and you like ginger, don't miss this one!

Bewildered in a Dream smells like an amazing herbal/green/black tea blend. I like lavender blends in general, but sometimes they're a bit too astringent for me. Here, the lavender is balanced with the tea notes and orange blossom so beautifully. I smell something pink and flowering at the top and something dusky at the bottom, but they're seamlessly blended. This definitely smells like tea in the springtime, and is very relaxing (perhaps due to the lavender?). This would actually make a great sleep scent, I think. It smells clean and fresh and calming. Lovely!

The Gourd of Deprivation really smells like fall...and doughnuts. I took the plunge on this atmo based on Mel's review, and I'm so glad I did! It smells to me like a sunny, late fall day when the air is cold and carries hints of kettle doughnuts, dry grasses, and woodsmoke. I can smell faraway fires in it, but they are in the distance, or have already passed through...this is no Brimstone or Djinn. So beautiful and weirdly addictive...I've already gone through 1/4 of my bottle!

Boo hair gloss is pretty much just vanilla cream goodness for the hair. I also get less linen in the hair gloss than I do in the perfume oil—this smells just like vanilla pudding on a linen tablecloth. Unlike other reviewers, I find this to be the lightest scented hair gloss I own and after drying my hair, it's almost imperceptible. But it leaves my hair beautifully shiny and glossy, with a faint sweetness that never competes with whatever scent I pick out for the day. When I want a little more Boo, I just dot on some perfume.

Some Strangeness in the Proportion also smells pink on me...almost like a peppery pink bubblegum when wet! The woods come forward on the drydown, and then I can smell the sandalwood and oudh and vanilla. The labdanum and saffron are subtle, but that pink pepper note remains really prominent. After an hour or so, it's very incensey with a bit of pink sweetness. It's a really interesting combination of notes, but I can't stop smelling (imagining?) Dubble Bubble! I'll set this aside and try it again in a couple of weeks, because there are times when the woods are really forward, and they're absolutely gorgeous. I agree with VioletChaos that this will age like a dream!

Obatala and Brown Jenkin are my fave coconuts. Psychodynamic Discharge looks promising as well (hope the vetiver is restrained!): black leather and red musk with aged black patchouli, Chinese rose, black pepper, coconut meat, Haitian vetiver, and igneous red ginger.

Somehow, in 2008, I did the right thing and ordered a bottle of The Illustrated Woman...I just didn't review it. Many years later, this is even more syrupy and viscous than when I first got it, and more concentrated. Every single note here gets to sing: the smoky vanilla, patchouli, pine pitch, resins and tobacco work together to make the scent feel outdoorsy and incensey. The honey and skin musk smooth everything right out. The effect is almost hypnotically calming: this is 'slow the f*ck down' in a bottle. It's also absolute catnip to anyone who smells it. Coworkers, strangers in the elevator, friends...everyone loves the smell of The Illustrated Woman and wants to lean in. Hours later into the drydown, it's a resiny, foresty, slightly smoky skin musk. Great stuff, and I'm so glad I hung on to my bottle!

This really is a great meditation scent. I love clary sage, and it definitely boosts this blend. Beautiful frankincense, sandalwood, rose, and clary sage—in equal proportion on me. Definitely mind clearing. At times, this goes into pickle-rose territory, which I think is just the intersection of frankincense and rose. But then it swerves out of pickle town and goes right back to resiny rose with sandalwood and clary sage. Very contemplative and relaxing.

Venustas is really lovely—my favorite of this year's Liliths. I do get a bit of citrus, but only at the very beginning. Then it's a dead match between the pale, mossy fougere and the incensey, churchy frankincense and myrrh. It does remind me a bit of Dorian, but it's lighter, wispier, and more resiny. After an hour or so, it does smell a bit soapy, but I like it—it smells clean and subtle and calming.

Oh wow, Incipient Madness is like Super Musk! The red patchouli, musk, and tobacco make for a dark, deep, sweet ride that's less smoky than I had imagined it would be...between the smoky musk and the tobacco, it's still very well balanced. The honeyed black currant adds sweetness and something tart and bright. It mellows to a incensey, honeyed musk and the tobacco note comes forward a bit more—really nice. It definitely has the feel of a classic '20s or '30s perfume, and lasts and lasts on me. This goes into my 'perfect for a night out' top ten list.

Streets of Detroit is totally fascinating. Whatever is in the motor oil note, it smells just realistic enough to be completely evocative without being overly terpenic. The black musk accord is dark and deep and smooth like tarmac. The myrrh is really subtle—definitely not the strongest note on me. All together, this is perfect for the scene in OLLA and captures beautifully the mystery and allure of driving through a city late at night. It mellows out to black musk with a touch of oil; surprisingly, delightfully wearable. And truly sexy—the black musk accord is slightly animalic, and smells a bit like danger barely restrained. I think this would be amazing on my husband, but I might take it out for a spin as well from time to time.

Vasilissa is the kind of blend that I think won't be for me because it's so sweet and youthful...and then it is. I have to be in the right mood to wear this, but when I want a BPAL that smells pink, pink, pink—this is the one (well, Vasilissa and Pink Moon). It's so sweet and pretty, but there's also something grounding and smart in there (as with all fairytale heroines who survive!). It's tough to pick out the individual notes, it just smells like a layered pink musk, like innocence carried through to knowledge and power. It's also a great blender, playing well with Snake Oil, Snow White, and The Rose—anything that can take a hit of a candied pink flower. This smells like Andie's dress in Pretty in Pink. I know that's something of a polarizing fashion love, but—haters to the left—I'm team seam ripper.

Blacker than the Raven Wings of Midnight is like a list of my dream notes, but when I first tested it...it didn't hit me the way I'd hoped it would. I set it aside for a few days and tested again today. It opens with a smell that reminds me of tempera paint, a scent from childhood that I've always loved—I think it's something about the way the patchouli and black tea leaf fougere are colliding. That burns off quickly and then it's like the most heavenly burnished patchouli and sandalwood, with the vanilla and osmanthus cutting through the darkness like shimmering beams. The fougere is stunning, and the suggestion of incense is just that—like the smell of incense in a room where it's been burned, but is not currently burning. As it dries down, it's almost intoxicating. Equal parts elegant and earthy, polished and primal. The fougere is gone within twenty minutes, leaving a tracery of tea leaves in the bottom of the cup. The patchouli mingles with the sandalwood and incense and vanilla and stays close. The osmanthus stitches them together with barely-there gossamer. I get no anise or licorice note at all. After a couple of hours, it's a very faint sandalwood, patchouli, and vanilla skin scent. Gorgeous.

The Lab's roses are so wonderful, I don't know how I missed this one for so long! I got to test it during NYCC this year and fell in love. Gorgeous red rose, warm plum, and red sandalwood. The bergamot is short-lived on my skin, just the way I like it. An hour after application, it's one complicated, plummy red rose. Total keeper.

The White Witch really does smell red! When I saw the note list, it was an instant buy, but I was a little worried about the vetiver. But the vetiver is completely in check, adding just a bit of dark sharpness, like a delicate, sharp thorn on a rose. Wearing it is like working through a cascade of reds: red musk, pomegranate, red rose, with patch and violet leaf attendant. The bourbon vanilla adds sweetness. It definitely has an incensey vibe—the red musk, patchouli, and amber give it a pleasant 'blurriness'—but if this skews hippie, it's one upscale hippie.

The tobacco note in Visions of Autumn VII is so beautiful. The opoponax is also perfect here, sweet and resiny—one of my favorite notes in the BPAL catalogue. I can pick out the myrrh, black sandalwood, and black pepper, and they round everything out but don't step forward. There's something restrained and elegant about this blend...I think it would pair just as well with a beaded dress as it would with jeans and a t-shirt. It has a classic feel, like it would be at home in some gorgeous art deco flacon. Lovely!