sprout

Ice from the Kabuki series is a perfect winter air note to this nose.

My best: Fenris wolf, Jersey Devil, Tombstone, Lear, Odin and my personal fave=Loup Garou

Maybe Nyx? Similar notes... . Perhaps Depraved or Ravenous? They smell similar. You may have to layer to get the clove...

preconceived notions: I really wanted to skin test this as I know rose can be a problem note for me, expecting it to be really good (I like myrrh usually) or really overpowering rose imp: mostly myrrh wet: and HELLO rose, very perfumey resinous myrrh in support drying: ROSE, diva that she is, starts on a high note and continues on an ascending scale. Myrrh, usually no wall flower on me, takes a back seat and pretty much just adds powder to the rose drydown: ROSE amping like a MOFO. I may have to scrub this. I really cannot tell this "black rose" from other rose and my nose is not savvy enough to distinguish between types of roses, except I am pretty sure this is a tea rose variant, as it smells of SN tea rose with a powderous resin background, just really smelling more like rose scented talc powder to my (relatively unsophisticated) nose Late drydown: I have no comment, I am going to scrub it off before I get the chance to find out, I cannot stand the overwhelming floral tea rose note and it is giving me a prescription strength headache. Final thoughts: Just, NO. Not for me. If you rightly fear the rose because your skin amps it, well I strongly recommend a decant before you commit to a bottle purchase, because my skin amp'd it like gangbusters. It was ROSE!!! in extremis for me. Which is fine if you like rose single note, however, I really have found I need more complexity for me to like the rose--like some spice or foody accord (Rose Red has worked for me, likely due to the "green" note, Whip works due to the leather, and Othello works, due to the spice, so I don't hate ALL rose blends, promise, but I am very wary of them because of this amp thing that happens, more oft than not. I have to face facts and Rose is usually my KILL note). I was hoping the myrrh would temper things a bit, but this rose is too diva-esque to share the spotlight. This is going to be a scrubber for me. I won't even bother to layer or try to make it work. To be fair, this has not aged at all and maybe the myrrh would develop it some and reading through other reviews, I am the only one who got the extreme rose powder, so it could just be my skin chemistry and YMMV. I am not sure I am brave enough to re-test and I don't have enough in my decant to retry at a later date, so maybe other reviewers can chime in after their oil has aged somewhat. My plan was to test before the bottles became unavailable on teh Lab's site, and as is, I will not be ordering any more of this one. More for you rose lovers, I expect you folks will be tickled pink.

preconceived notions: (did not look at the notes) heavy on the wood, maybe some nuts? Vial: predominantly wood notes, I am guessing pine as it is slightly evergreenish, but mostly newly carved wood Wet (wrists): wood, hamster cage (cedar?), and a hint of evergreen needles, no nuts Drying: I would have guessed this is pine and cedar, which I am guessing is the combo of the frankincense and galbanum notes, it smells like nonfinished wood planks with a fruit back up, looking at the notes I recognize this now as fig, it is a green fig, not overly ripe Final thoughts: I love fig, and I love wood, and I love frankincense, so this was all made of WIN. Drat, this little decant will make me hunt down a bottle. I REALLY love this. (but I am surprised no actual wood notes, like cedar, pine or sandalwood and NO NUTS--what up with that?) I can see this being read as masculine, due to the predominant wood vibe, but I think it could be unisex. This type of blend is right up in my happy zone. Although I wish it had a hint of the dry coconut base that is in Black Pearl--maybe I can layer?

Initial impression: expecting an aquatic with floral component based on notes In vitro: aqueous accord, smells like artificial cucumber or melon (my nose's interpretation you see) plus a hint of ozone, white floral? Wet on wrist: More aquatic note, intensifying (cucumberish, melonish, like body wash or shampoo) plus a floral of some sort Drying: It goes high pitched on me, headache inducing floral, like Hyacinth, which is in the same species as Bluebells per Wikipedia... Dry down: Tons of throw, unfortunately, almost all floral note now, which I am guessing is the Bluebell. On my skin, this is cloying and slightly sweet, reminiscent of early summer blooms Final thoughts: I wanted to love it, but it just did not work on me. For a floral to work it must have some better grounding notes (like sandalwood, moss, or resin) or a spice, like ginger, to temper the sweet of the floral notes. Unfortunately, this smell just evoked the impression of generic floral type body wash scents and was too headache inducing. I must chalk up Bluebell to a note that may be incompatible with my skin chemistry. Well, it is probably for the best, as this has been discontinued, so it is one less rare for me to have to hunt down. (For the record, I am not a floral hater, I do like jasmine, lily, some rose blends, and I love carnation, peonies and orchid generally. Violet is my favorite, and I am fond of daisies, dandelions, daffodils, and, evidently, lilac, wisteria and others. But this floral was not for me. I like some aquatics, but I tend to gravitate towards more foody, resinous, or wood based blends. I am always on the hunt for some nice florals to wear in the Spring, on very hot days, or when I feel like being girly, but this was not the one.) I would consider this as a nice room or bathwater scent, it if hadn't given me a headache, as it did, then I must allow this discontinued precious to be swapped to someone who will love it...

Preconceived notions: I expected this to smell like all of the Rapiccini's Garden of imps in a box, you know the disgusting cacophony of notes when a bunch of imps are together? The decay part has me nervous, I don't want to smell like a bog or swamp. In vitro (imp): sharp ivy dominating a green herbal background (we used to have a wall covered with Boston ivy and I recognize the smell, just like the ivy used to smell in the summers--shady and cool, refreshing and comforting) Wet: Various green, botanical notes which I suck at differentiating, and are well blended, nonspecific (but maybe my untrained nose just lacks the ability to distinguish) Drying: a hint of herbal mint (very ephemeral), an evergreen note that is sharp and almost peppery, that reminds me of the Baneberry from the GC. It is sharp and aggressive and almost evergreenish, but thankfully is also short-lived. I had a headache that lasted a few minutes, before I could go and take a Tylenol, it was gone. The ivy remains, cool, lush, green. Drydown: Smells like botanical skin creams, very nonspecific, but not floral, not evergreen, not sharp, not woody or herbal. Just a background of plants. Cypress note is a no show. Final thoughts: I really liked the late dry down, the wet phase was almost too much and the headache inducing "baneberry" note was almost a deal breaker. I did not get anything like decaying plants, bog, swamp, or floral. If you like the smell of botanical without floral, this is your blend and the cacophony of notes I expected did not happen. I am hoping aging will bring out the Cypress, if so, this would be great. As it smells today, it is like, not love. If I get a bottle or partial, it would not be my priority, but this is because I have quite a few and have to limit my bottles at this point to blends I really love, not just like. Even without the problematic baneberry note, I have to concede that I like it a lot, but it isn't love. The ivy part was really nice and if I could find an ivy predominant blend, I would go for that! If the cypress came out and the ivy continues to predominate, I may change my mind.

Preconceived notions: Expected it to be hazy, resinous, medicinal, and herbal. All these notes are win for me so I don't see it being a "scrubber" (you know the one where you must scrub off right away or feel the urge to anyway) In vitro (imp): Lavender, more herbal than medicinal or floral (lavender can be any of those on me). Dreamy but not hazy. Wet: Lavender overpowers all the other notes initially, but if I huff close to the skin, I think I get the black tea note, and a sweetness which is likely the orange blossom (it is a sweet, non high pitched floral on my skin usually). Still herbal and almost completely dominated by the lavender. Early dry: I can pick up more of the tea and a note that is almost like mint, perhaps the green tea note, mostly lavender becoming slightly less dominant and more tea. Orange blossom still contributing a hint of sweetness to the tea, almost like citrus rind, but it really isn't that strong. It is more floral hint and sweet than acidic or fruit. Drydown: Same as the wet, with slightly less lavender dominance and more black tea. No more mint/green tea. Lavender is relaxing and dreamy, but not hazy or inducing light headedness. Throw is very light and this did not last past 4 hours. Sad face, because I love the scent, wanted it to last. Final thoughts: The "inky resins" are conspicuously absent for me, and my skin usually amps them. No musk notes, no patchouli, no resin of any kind. The herbal lavender with minimal floral note from the orange blossom and the astringency of the black and green tea blend very well and are indeed dreamy and soothing--I wanted to smell this all day and felt it could be used to help with sleep induction. I tried to extend the drydown by layering with unscented lotion, but no dice. I am getting a bottle anyway because this may be my favorite lavender blend to date and I love almost any blend with tea (Bakeneko, White Rabbit, Dorian). I want to figure out how to make it last longer, but I am not opposed to slathering every 3 hours or so if needed. Wondering if a scent locket would help. I wonder if I need more than one bottle? This will be a great comfort scent at night or mixed with lotion. I don't think it would be apparent to anyone else unless they are right next to the spot where the oil was applied, however, so that may be a consideration for some. I expected more bewilderment, befuddlement, or haze and disappointed with no resin, but maybe those will age later? If so, I will definitely multiple bottles! If that happens, this may become HG.

Retested this after it settled some and really glad I did, because I would have given up on it if it hadn't developed, now it is divine and I need a bottle. Preconceived notions: Read description and thought the notes sounded like the other Lace variants, so really excited, and red musk is usually a win. All these notes are made of win, except tobacco which can be either icky or neutral. In vitro: Musk, "perfumey" like a Lancome dept store perfume, maybe Tresor??? Wet on skin (antecubital areas, wrists): Vanilla, wrist huffing musk (guessing red musk as it always induces the urge to huff wrist) with red fruit (checking notes--that would be the currant. Doesn't smell like berries or cherry). I can see the Mme Moriarty comparisons at this point. Drying: A woody scent like celery stalks versus wood chips tries to dominate, I am guess that is the tobacco note/accord, but it is somewhat off putting to my nose. There is an ick factor if I huff up close, but it isn't too bad and smells like generic wood notes at a distance. Waffs at a greater distance than huffing give off a nice musky, red currant, and slightly vanilla odor. Later Drydown: Celery, ick note doesn't last long, thank goodness and may age into a note that is more woody and less like "celery." This is a lovely musky, curranty, vanilla resin. Very good throw for me and lasts hours, at least 8. The patchouli blends in very well with the dark musk and the currant and I can't differentiate it. It does not give the heavy floral vibe or the dirty hippy vibe. FInal thoughts: Very nice blend, minimal problematic notes which I think will age well. I tend to like musky, resinous blends and this is a very good one. I am trying to score a partial bottle and hope it will age to smell like a relative of Mme Moriarty. It isn't a sibling, but maybe a kissing cousin and definitely has the same "Vibe". This is what I expected much of the Ligeia blends to smell like, gothic & dark in extremis, plus sexy and twisted somewhat. In case you wondered, it is more musky, dark, and sexy than sweet, but the vanilla and currant sweeten it some. This may be my favorite of the series although Tumultous Vultures is a close contender and I have not yet tested Strangeness in the Proportion...

Preconceived notions: I expected something ambery, based on the "radiance" in the name, with something opium like, maybe similar to the Laudanum from the GC In vitro: white florals (checking the notes, ah, this is going to be very floral with jasmine, tuberose AND lily). Perhaps I should have paid a bit more attention to the notes rather than the theme... Wet on wrist and antecubital area (the inside crook of the elbow for the non-medical peeps): white florals, green and fresh smelling, I can pick out jasmine most prominently, the tuberose develops later, then last the lily Drying: these florals work for me, I don't get any high pitched notes, soap, or shrieking notes, which is good. I can make out the individual components of all the florals as I am familiar from other blends. I really enjoy lily and the note here is similar to the one in Tumultuous Vultures, very green, fresh and almost buttery. I do not detect anything resembling smoke, opium, or related notes. It lasted at least 8 hours on me, fading slightly but unchanging and was still sniffable if I huffed the application points > 8 hours later, then I showered...low throw/sillage for me Final thoughts: this was fairly one dimensional on my skin and lacking complexity, and the dry down late did not morph or change and was close to the smell wet. this is my skin chemistry, mind you, but these florals are working, and are lovely if lacking depth. I wish I got the opium tar note, perhaps it is a resin that needs curing or ageing to develop? I could layer this with Laudanum to get that effect if not. I don't see me buying a bottle unless this changes with age, simply because I have many florals and they are not really my thing, but if you love white florals, this is superb. I am going to keep this imp and hoard any that come my way for layering purposes as I do think the blend is lovely and it works for my skin. If the opium tar note develops later, I will edit my review and rethink the bottle thing. please don't think my saying I am not going to buy a bottle now means this isn't lovely, it is very pretty and I think I would like to mix my imp in with some unscented hand lotion or use it for layering. I think layered with Yggdrasil or a single note of wood would work very well, or perhaps an incense themed scent. I am just on bottle overload at present and have to save bottle purchases for scents I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE and I only Love this a little bit If you find jasmine to be iffy on you, this may be one you pass, but these florals are well behaved for me. slight disappointment for me as this did not suggest radiance, dream, or opium to me, I guess I need to let go of my expectations and just enjoy it for it own loveliness

Late reply but iirc aromatic elixir is a chypre. If you searched review thread with the word chypre it could stimulate some ideas of imps to try...

Hetairae source (lab fresh imp) in the vial: fruity honey (this is fig and honey, but it just smells fruity to me) wet on wrists: patchouli, with a high pitched floral (ylang ylang) which is sweet and cloying drying: spicy clove with ylang ylang and powdery, resinous honey--very well blended late dry down: very resinous, powdery, I would swear it is myrrh but I guess this is the patchouli plus the clove? very sweet with great throw and lasted > 10 hours on me verdict: very lovely, wondering if aging will bring out more of the fig and patchouli. I am contemplating a bottle, but the hoard is growing and I have many honey scents. if this was figgier, there really would be no question, but I will probably end up with a bottle eventually

Urania source (personal bottle) in vitro: Windex? definitely smells like window cleaner fluid, high pitched ozone wet on wrists: green leaves/moss, floral notes (jasmine or lily) and a citrus note which is not listed, so maybe it is part of the "crystal musk" accord? and ozone (unlike other ozone accords, this does not go dryer sheet on me or powdery, it is just clear, cool and crisp) early dry phase: jasmine and crystal musk (forgive my synesthesia but it really does smell chilly and evokes the cold space between stars and a clear night). it is hard to describe how this smells, but it is one of my favorite notes that Beth has created and evokes celestial bodies and a clear night sky... later in the drydown: moonflower and jasmine, a well blended floral with a musk cloud surrounding.. a bit of powder from the orris, but it is faint very little throw and disappears within 4 hours to my sad face, but, an excuse to slather more and get more ozone and clear, crisp musk and jasmine! verdict: this one is quite difficult to describe but just beautiful. i am not big on florals, but I do like jasmine and I do not seem to amp it or get the bad notes mentioned by others. I love the smell of single note moonflower which I can clearly smell here and the "crystal musk" is sublime--must get more of this. Urania captures the muse of the spheres very, very well.

Lurid: source (well aged imp) found it rolling around in my imp box in vitro: Lavendah! herbal lavender, not floral, not too medicinal, somewhat green and calming wet on wrist: soft floral lavender note, woody resin (just a hint) and soil note ( pure speculation on my part, I think the resin here was likely balm of Gilead or something similar, it smelled like fresh evergreen boughs and soil) drying: musky notes, herbal lavender, starting to go slightly soapy, the ozone is missing here, perhaps it has aged out of my ancient imp, a sweet currant note that is just a hint of berry or fruit (I had to look at the notes to see it was currant, I would have guessed berry, but it is faint) late drydown: musk and herbal lavender--no floral notes, no ozone, no haze verdict: I like this imp and want to see if testing other imps gives a different variety. it may well be that the aging process has mellowed out the ozone notes and the fruit (currant). the throw was slight and it did not last long. this will be in my retest group. I don't want to count it out, but it did not wow me. I find the lavender very comforting and this would be a good skin scent to fall asleep whilst sniffing. Edit: since I wrote this review, Lurid has become a favorite of mine. This oil is quite different depending on the age. Whether or not you'll like it probably depends on how you feel about the Lab's white musk. Fresh, I find Lurid too soapy. Very aged, it loses its berry sweet black currant component somewhat. About 12 to 24 months old, Lurid hits a sweet spot and comes together. Lavender and currant combine for a berry sweet lavender herbal heart with flashes of white musk, trust me it isn't as soapy when aged, it's soft and snugly. The ozone mellows out. The resin becomes softer and less evergreen. I've purchased three bottles of this from the forum, as I like it so much.

source: lab fresh imp in vitro: almond and perhaps the moss (I jot down impressions before looking at the notes, my nose read this note as herbal but its the moss) wet on wrists: bitter almond which smells much like fresh almonds to me (my nose often confounds sweet almond oil with cherry, that does not happen here) and a bit of the jasmine and musk early dry phase: soapy musk (unfortunately, it may be that Arabian musk is soap to my nose on my skin chemistry) and a hint of jasmine, the almonds fade pretty quickly drydown: buttery jasmine with soapy musk late drydown: single note jasmine, which is lovely but faint throw average to slight, did not last more than 4-5 hours for me, although the faint dry down was there if I "huffed" my wrist 8 hours later, very faint floral jasmine, slightly buttery verdict: this was not complex enough for me to love it, I would have liked more support of the sandalwood and oakmoss to give weight to the floral jasmine. I am not a jasmine hater, I don't think I amp it as much as others, and I do not think it is the note that has gone "soapy" on me, I believe it is one of the florals constituting the "arabian musk," but not sure. I am going to age the imp a bit to see if the sandalwood and oakmoss develop better as it marinates. If not, I will keep Salome imp for layering purposes, but it needs complexity to intrigue me into buying a bottle. I am a bit disappointed, as I like all these notes, but it really became single note jasmine for me, which was lovely, but not deep or "sexy" as I wanted the scent to be. If the almond note had persisted longer it would have been more interesting or if the moss and sandalwood had made more of a show. Not sure, if the musk is going to go all soapy on me, I am not sure if other notes can save this. I loved the wet phase and the late dry down but the majority of the time it was just too soapy to suit.

in the vial: lab snow note (mint + fruity note (citrus/grapefruit/cucumber) and/ O3/ozone note plus evergreen note (spruce/fir/pine?) similar to Cold Moon wet on wrists: snow note, spruce?, faint ozone? (no fabric softner sheet, thankfully), a hint of violet early dry phase: spruce (or other evergreen note) with violets (no soapiness, no high pitch floral, no dryer sheet) it evokes snow in an evergreen forest with violets peeking through the snow drifts drying: lovely, powdery, slightly sweet orris late drydown: warmth of amber, slightly sweetened by the orris, warm and almost vanilla like, but not foody or floral, powdery and sweet like the bird's feathers..the evergreen and "snow" note are absent Bottleworthy for a certainty. of all the Yules over the years, the Thrush remains my favorite. It could be the poem, as the scent captures it very well I have a thing for birds, and the imagery of the thrush song stirring the hope of Spring through the Winter gloom is certainly romantic so it obviously colors my passion for the creation I may have to get back up bottles so that I may slather

source: an imp from a lovely forumite in the vial: sweet fruit, my nose cannot tell what type, my best guess is honeydew melon (my nose interprets many of the lab snow notes as a blend of melon, or perhaps pineapple, with mint) wet: slight hint of cedar, that was very brief, then powdery, vanilla-esque mint drydown: lovely, minty powder which has a hint of vanilla with an occasional waft of the ?cedar or wood note (my best guess is cedar or sandalwood, but my nose is not very sophisticated at distinguishing) this was not overpowering at all and just a hint. If I had to guess, I would wonder if there isn't some benzoin in here as it was powdery, sweet, and vanilla like, without being foody or floral (no ozone notes either) I thought the throw was light, but I received compliments on the scent, over 8 hours after I had applied, so it lasts and lasts and has good throw verdict: captures the olfactory experience of the loveliness, and fragility of snowflakes. this inspired me to get a bottle

in the bottle: smells a bit like baby oil, good old Johnson and Johnson brand baby oil wet on skin: baby powder mixed with a sweet, slightly vanilla note, recalls to mind Valentine heart candies, powdery, sweet (probably a mix of carnation note, angelica and powder accord) drying phase: lavender with a honey note, mostly sweet baby smell with creamy honey and a lavender note that blends in with the carnation, which on me smells almost citrus like, rather than spicy as it usually does but this could also be the orris, it sometimes smells a bit citrus like with my skin chemistry. Orris is one of my favorite notes on a dry down and this is no exception, it carries the baby powder vibe very well very light throw and lasted about 4-5 hours sage never made an appearance for me ;( and the rose never amped, thank goodness this was a very lovely smell, bottle worthy but it would need better throw to be HG status for me, still I will treasure the bottle and save it for days when I want a soft, sweet, comforting skin scent

2014 Version In the bottle: minty paste. remember the paste they had in the 70's (okay, showing my age here) when you were in kindergarten? JUST like THAT Wet on wrists: minty paste! delicious. Love the wet phase. Wet to dry: minty paste to an evergreen note (best guess = fir or pine), a fruit note that my nose reads as melon (honeydew?) pineapple or maybe yuzu (sorry, my nose is not sophisticated enough to differentiate, I must sniff more single notes) plus ozone! the ozone/evergreen/fruity note are equally forceful with good throw Drying: the loveliest minty notes, mixed with evergreen note and ozone. Stays minty fresh for about 5 hours no powder, no dryer sheet ozone note of doom, never went soapy, too sharp or too "high toned" which is perfect! Verdict: bottleworthy! will be well loved through the winter and I am betting that this will be lovely chilled and worn on those blazing dog days of summer when we need a cool, sweet treat

Smelled like honeyed fruit in the bottle. Wet on skin= honeyed nectarines! Dry down very similar to the wet phase, powdered honey and nectarines with a soft fade to benzoin powder that is somewhat like vanilla. Low to medium throw factor. Lasted about six hours and very little changes over the drydown. This is bottle worthy for me. I did not get any booze or cognac notes and I tend to amp those. I love this, it captured the idea of ambrosial nectar for me. The honey is sweet and light.

Anyone have recommendations for scent with "crystalline" musk like Urania, Zorya, or Zechenryaya? I want something that evokes a starry night but those are disappearing. Interesting as Nuit is long gone as well. Our pantheon is missing the starry night goddesses

Okay, another review for the 2014 version, in case you were contemplating it. Go easy on me, I am a noob reviewer, but I am doing this in the interest of science, yo! In vitro: hmm, fruity, almost drinkable, delectable, is that pineapple or maybe honeydew melon? and slightly sweet, maybe vanilla, it smells like fruity juice with an undercurrent (slight) vanilla extract Wet: wish I could capture the wet phase longer, but I get a blend of mostly fruit (can't decide between tropical citrus or melon, a hit of vanilla, a lesser hint of mint, spearmint perhaps, and a wood, maybe cedar, but not quite I am guessing fir or spruce it isn't pine or cedar Drying: The wood note amps for a minute or two, then I get the ozone/fabric softener sheet smell, and I can't unsmell it, it is quite dominant Drat, this note may kill the blend for me--it may be my skin chemistry If I hold my arm away I get the sweet, snow note, slightly fruity, aquatic, with a *hint* of spearmint, but if I lean in close I get fabric sheets--BAH! with soft, almost, but not quite vanilla, powdery resinish fluff note Final drydown is a mixture of that ozone note (it really amps on me, drat) hints of the fruity component, less hint of vanilla, the fir or wood note, and finally, dead last, a hint of vanilla As a prior reviewer said, it smells much better at a distance...then, more like citrusy, minty aquatic slush/snow note I am hoping aging will improve the ozone note, so I will report back. The note that is mysterious and amping is somewhat between ozone, clean fabric softener, and a pretty powder similar to the powder dry down of Snowflakes, so I am hopeful that aging this will get us closer to that note. Edit: I tested again, a year later than my first reviews and I am happy to report that the ozone note that made this blend off putting has aged out. Initially this is that sweet, slightly fruit, slightly evergreen, slightly mint, slightly vanilla, and a touch of hairspray or dryer sheets that is my nose trying to pick apart the components of "Lab snow.". It's delightful! It dries to a nonfoody vanilla kissed powder with a hint of spearmint and amber. More mint than" Snowflakes, " but very similar. It's become one of my favorite snow scents.

I like spearmint and most mint but not wintergreen and I'm shy with eucalyptus but I love Ultraviolet so go figure! I cannot recall Yule's I've sniffed except Snow White which I loved and Jolasveinar, which I liked. I love the Carpathian Mt. so evergreen is fine, I love fir, pine, spruce, and juniper. I just want to avoid smelling like I'm wearing Ben Gay or Icy Hot arthritis ointments! I like cold, e.g. Urania and ozone is okay but strong white florals scare me. Narcissus and lily in small amounts are okay.

How about a necro bump? Recs for a snow or Yule scent minus the wintergreen/vapor rub/menthol note/s of doom??:-P

Quintessence of Dust is very beeswax-forward, at least on me. I was totally eyeballing that oil. TY! So many oilz to try...