LiberAmoris

Vanilla Orchid is a gorgeous floral. I've always assumed that the smell of the single note alludes to the scent of the flower itself, rather than a compound with the scent of the vanilla pods produced by the same plant. Even so, I always catch the tiniest hint of something vanillic in the note that might just be my imagination.

The orchid note smells warm and slightly waxy, sweet and gently tropical. There's a humidity and a thread of pleasant sharpness that also runs through it. This will be a go-to for me this summer!

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This post is merely a placeholder for future reviews. Whoever is first to review, please report this post using the report button below, so a mod can merge it with yours. Thanks!

This post is merely a placeholder for future reviews. Whoever is first to review, please report this post using the report button below, so a mod can merge it with yours. Thanks!

This post is merely a placeholder for future reviews. Whoever is first to review, please report this post using the report button below, so a mod can merge it with yours. Thanks!

So good. I love the smell of lime, and Sri Lankan Lime is a smooth, zippy, bright lime that makes my mouth water! It's such a mood lifter and I've been dabbing on a bit while working to help me wake up/focus. I splurged on two bottles and don't regret it. I also imagine it will be a great layering oil to play with.

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.

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!