sprout

In vitro- leather!, spice? Wet- Serious leather, take no prisoners leather. Perhaps I amp it? Lavender and bay leaf contribute spicy and peppery energy. The tobacco wraps around the edges. It is mellow, dried tobacco, not smoky or burnt. Oudh is well blended, as in I don't detect it, unless it's lending a woody base, blended with the tobacco. Dry- Lavender reappears, over a cozy and masculine base of leather and tobacco. Agreed, this is worn, saddle leather, not the sharp black leather of a new jacket. Drydown- Sweet, leather and tobacco with a floral lavender. Woody oudh is finally apparent. Final thoughts- A complex composition with herbal elements, soft and well worn leather, woody oudh and tobacco. This is mostly base notes and wonderfully resinous and masculine. I may need a bottle upgrade, as the Quincey Morris comparison is quite right. This is lovely now, I am excited to imagine it aged!

In vitro- citrus, honey, spicy and sweet Wet - Mainly honey, carnations, and the red clover which is astringent and citrus like. Drying- Like Alice, but more vanilla and an almost lemon flavor. Creamy, floral with carnation forward, backed by vanilla'd honey. This stage is magnificent. The reviewer who noted lemon tarts has it right, with vanilla tea flavored by cream and honey, displayed next to a vase of fragrant carnations. Drydown- my nemesis rose emerges, and this goes to powder. Sweet, rosy, powder, but nevertheless not good. My skin amps rose and unfortunately, the honey and cream can't compete. Of course this phase lasts. Final thoughts- I'm very tempted to buy a bottle but I'd have to use a scent locket. I think I'd rather try layering a lemon scent with Alice in an attempt to replicate the scent. If roses behave on your skin, this is sublime, a creamy, honeyed floral with bright, citrus like clover,that is different from Alice. Sadly, my skin ruins this for me, but that leaves more for the rest of you to love.

In vitro- smoky DBR, vanilla like tonka Wet- DBR is smoky incense, tonka is a sweet, soft counterpoint and there's a hint of woodsmoke. Oak is presumed, from the notes, I don't think I'd have identified it otherwise. Drying - tonka predominantly with DBR adding a smoky incense quality. DBR can go either powdery, as it does here, or sweet, syrup like and floral. The oak note is a lovely wood base, the tonka fuzzy like a baby blanket. The patchouli is present, woody rather than dirty, but subdued. Final thoughts- Fuzzy, incense, cuddly and slightly sweet without being foody or burnt. Not quite my jam, I prefer my incense sweeter or with spice, woodier or earthier. This is too airy and pure, but I'll bet it has it's admirers.

In vitro- sweet honey, light and sunny. Wet- very honey, a hint of wood from the cypress, lemony rose petals Drying - creamy floral, honey supporting, becomes creamy, and this stage is glorious. There is a hint of greenery, herbal beneath, but faint Drydown- my skin chemistry turns the rose powdery. It's a crying shame. This is a mature woman's rose soap. Think oil of Olay. Final thoughts- My skin massacred this, as it does most rose notes. Before the rose went soapy and powdery, this was a beautiful honeyed cream with rose petals. I could try a scent locket but I will probably frimp this away. I have a few rose blends that work and honey ones too. If you have a more benign skin chemistry, perhaps you can enjoy this as the beautiful creamy floral intended. Still, I had to try, knowing rose is my nemesis, I keep hoping that I will find those exceptional blends where it somehow works...

In vitro-herbal, green, medicinal, and honey Wet- heavy on the honey, but the bella donna or mandrake (bitter, astringent, green herb) and rue (bitter, citrus like) are present. No bay rum. It smells like a Rapaccini scent with herb laced honey. It is sweet, mild citrus, green and herbal Drydown- Sweet honey and myrrh base. Waxy honey, musty hemp, a hint of resin. Final analysis- Very nice honey dominant scent with green herbs accenting. Just right balance between botanical, sweet, resinous and astringent. I'd like more of this, I'll have to match it against the Apiary scents from Rapaccini, especially Hemlock Honey but I think this wins due to added complexity with the mixed herbs, hemp and wax notes. Witchy kitchens smell divine!

In vitro- musk, pepper Wet- lofty white florals, zingy musk, the combined effect smells like classic cologne on a sexy, sophisticated man. The contrast of the pepper and sandalwood is almost buzzing, like t.v. static Drying- black pepper, effervescent musk, florals. The floral notes are clearly white, I'm guessing Narcissus primarily as lily usually smells different, but it's presence may be lending a creamy aspect to the composition, or is that the sandalwood? Drydown- this reads masculine to me. Peppery, musky, aloof. I would have guessed ambergris but it isn't in the listed notes. Not quite an aquatic but "perfumey" Final analysis- this reminds me of a classic man's perfume, not quite aquatic but astringent, cool, edgy and airy. Musk tends to amp on me, so this may skew my review. This musk reads more black to me than white. I imagine that this would be sublime on a man. It's too high brow for my usual wearing but I'll keep the imp. This is one of those compositions you can use when you want to introduce BPAL to other people who like mainstream perfume. Or if you want to smell like you're wearing designer perfume from a fancy Parfum house. I'll be treasuring my imp, however I have to be in a certain mood to wear this.

This is just lovely. In the vial, orange and tea. Wet, neroli mainly, which is tempered by the musk and tea so it is not sharp or cologney. Orange blossom tea, a hint of musk, a hint of floral, which is by process of elimination, tobacco flower. It is hard to pick out,as I'm less familiar with the smell and it is well blended with the tea and neroli. The general impression is delicate, soft, and barely sweet. Dry, the Neroli fades and the blonde leather comes forward. Leather and musk combine to form a heart that is warm and soft, like a very worn suede glove. The tea and neroli are still present, soaking into the white suede glove. The throw is slight, very close to the skin. White musk is soft here, as I like it, supporting and snuggling rather than soapy. Final analysis, this is subtle and sweet. I'm one of the lucky people on whom neroli is sweet and smells faintly of oranges. And I love tea, it is usually sweet on me and brings a liquid, feminine softness to the mix. This is really more of a Luper than a Weenie but I like it. The orange blossom tea juxtaposed with the white suede and accented by the tobacco flower is charming and unexpected. I'm contemplating a bottle purchase.

In the vial, smoky vetiver dominant over a bone dry sandalwood. Wet, vetiver amps, smoky and sinister over a dry base of sandalwood and sweet myrrh. This is dry and wispy rather than sweet. Early drydown, finally the plum emerges. It is a dessicated, dry black plum, a prune? Sandalwood has become more woody and less skeletal. Myrrh marries with sandalwood and vetiver and this is plummy incense burned hours ago, warm and woody. No burned character or powdery quality. Late drydown: Sweet myrrh and sandalwood. Woody, warm, sweet. Final analysis: Carcass indeed! A masterful creation, evocative of the painting in it's bone dry quality. The drydown is much more wearable art. Unfortunately, my skin ate the prune, I mean plum note, which was intended I surmise to add needed sweetness to counterbalance the dry woodiness of the resin notes. I'll retest of course, as I love the sandalwood enhanced by vetiver and opoponax.

In the vial, smells complex, gourmand rather than foody. Red musk is obtrusively present. Wet, the cocoa covers the red musk, amber vanilla and clove base like a warm, fuzzy blanket. This phase is glorious. Unfortunately, as all things of beauty, it is not stable enough to last. Drying, the leather aggressively asserts itself. The red musk, being the power hitter it is, amps equally. Red musk and black leather circle around the ring, entangling, then separating, sparring for dominance. The clove, vanilla infused amber, tobacco, soft patchouli and red musk merge to create a complex base that is slightly sweet, warm, musky-sexy, and resinous. The cocoa is MIA. Despite the powerful notes, there is not much throw. Late drydown, less sweet, more leather, clove, and red musk. This is somewhat smoky. This smells like a new leather jacket wrapped around a sexy vampire, who fed a few hours ago. Sexy and menacing. Next day, I can still smell the amber and red musk. What was lacking in throw is more than compensated by longevity. Final analysis: I wish that I had Sunshine Daisy Bliss's note removal machine to extract the leather. I like my leather well worn out, not new. This leather note took the scent to a masculine level that clashed with the warm, gourmand, clove currant, tobacco vanilla feminine base. I'm very tempted to purchase a bottle to age it. It evokes the inspirational art magnificently. Clove is one of my favorite notes and it is glorified here with the pairing with red currant on a resiny base of vanilla/amber, tobacco, patchouli and red musk. I'm thinking age will soften the brusque leather and hopefully allow a truce with the red musk. The notes list reads like a Who's Who of my favorite things. My hesitation comes from having a BPAL box overrun with sexy, red musk scents and this being not quite right for my skin chemistry due to the rebellious leather note. Should be easy to rehome if the leather doesn't mellow out, right?

First note, in the vial and wet on skin is loam, as in freshly overturned dirt. Drying I smell damp vegetation, which I am guessing is carrot seed oil from a previous experience. There is still that loam note. It is a very realist dirt smell. Early drydown the dirt note begins to fade and there is a metallic note, like the metallic taste of blood or wet clay. This does evoke red clay, if you have ever smelled it. Late drydown there is a lovely skin close musk. It isn't like the musk that is identified as red, green, brown, white, or blue. I'm guessing this is a blood musk. It is warm and comforting. Overall this is very natural, with dirt, vegetation, a hint of blood or clay, then soft musk. I'd swear there is a bit of ambergris too, it was salty at times. I'm considering a bottle because it is so unique and I'm a musk girl. I don't see this being wildly popular though.

For what it's worth, I don't get wine from the Perversion atmo. I do get a metric ton of leather! Maybe combine a foody atmo such as On Halloween with Saloon #10?

Movie Night, one of the current Lilith scents, is mostly butter on me. I get strawberry licorice candy at first, but then it is all buttered popcorn, emphasis on butter. The corn part isn't really there on my skin. Or, if you can track down Shill, it is all buttery popcorn but it is hard to find. HTH

If you are a cake lover, jump on this now! Rum laced cupcakes! Coconut rum laced cupcakes with emphasis on CAKE. A hint of caramel too. This complements other sweet fragrance oils very well or works as a stand alone. The rum isn't too boozey. No one will think you've been imbibing at work. The throw is medium, but I hope aging may impact that for the better.

This is brilliant and beautiful but I think too complex for my taste. I amp wine and patchouli isn't helping matters. This smells as if I took multiple, random imps and combined them. Fruits of the red variety marry with patchouli, lush red florals, sweet honey, soft resins and well worn leather. It's too much. If you want to smell like your BPAL box, get this. It does smell like a sophisticated, sexy and witchy woman. I never thought I'd find a blend too sweet for my taste but I was mistaken. Nevertheless, it is imminently and compulsively huffable. I think it is actually starting to grow on me. I'll retest in two weeks.

Grapey nag champa plus smooth, sexy musk meets bubblegum sweet. Reminds me of Jailbait with not quite red musk and clove. Burgundy musk is something to be savored. The sandalwood adds creaminess and the saffron an element of exotic spice, not unlike Morocco. The incense does not smell smoky, so more like a room where the oil of incense burned hours ago lingers. No blood notes, so if dbr scares you, I'm not getting that or anything like the GC dragon blood scents or "Blood." This is extra special musk and a must have. The clove is subdued by the other elements. Sorry this review is lacking in details unlike my usual hyperverbal diatribe but I know others need reviews for purchase decisions! I'm getting a full bottle and a back up because this is that good.

Try Staged Moon Landing. The Lab's etsy page probably still has it.

How about Saloon #10 atmo?

Incantation Nefertiti Mr. Ibis

I want to do this analysis because I see it will have good predictive value for blind bottles and guessing which scents will be winners. In part I'm a little worried about taking the magic out of the smellies or unintentionally excluding blends that would unexpectedly work. That being said, I'm going to do this anyway. I've noticed that I seem to have a bimodal predilection for scents, first type is crystalline, musky and cold; second type warm, spicy, resinous and sweet. I wonder if this will skew my results or perhaps reveal a common denominator?

This is a very sweet plum for me, with sweet orange blossom round the edges, darkened by floral patchouli. It seems to be a child of Madam Moriarty with a brighter, fruitier plum, candy notes, and sugared patchouli. Not exactly Autumnal or deathlike. Fruit juice fiends must give this a whirl. A candied, fruitier version of Mme Moriarty sans red musk. If red musk made Mme not to your taste or you want a younger, sweeter version, this is it!

Vial: Creamy almonds. Wet: Almond or cherry? Interestingly, I get vanilla like icecream and maybe almond or cherry. Drydown: If I had not smelled Zombie Moon, I would be at a loss to describe this, but it smells like the fragrance oil equivalent to the Zombie Moon atmo spray. I am guessing almond/cherry (my nose mixes those up, it smells like either, both) with a creamy and slightly musky base. The base does give the olfactory impression of cosmetics products, like lightly scented creams, etc. so I can see how this will evoke stage make up. But it smells enough like cherry vanilla icecream to make this foody lover happy. It does not smell exactly like cherry vanilla icecream but it does suggest those things. So, maybe cherry vanilla scented stage make-up? Final analysis: Almond (or cherry) vanilla with a light musk like you find in many skin care or cosmetic products. Somewhere between clean musky and foody. This lasted only about 4 hours on me, and had less than average sillage. It may age to become more predominantly vanilla and almond/cherry (I really cannot decide which!) and since I think it would complement the ZM atmo nicely, I will definitely get more of this. I think it would be interesting layered with Polyester Spiderweb too. It definitely nails the "Clown White" concept. Source: Decant from TrailerTrashPrincess. Tested on inside of both wrists.

Zombie Moon is unexpectedly foody. I get no blood note, which I expected to be clove or DBR, I think it is a tongue in cheek reference to cherry vanilla. Or maybe it has some blood musk in it. It smells like cherry vanilla icecream and sand. I wonder if there is not a hint of sandalwood in this. It does evoke a cherry vanilla icecream scoop lying on slightly wet sand. Maybe there are lunar oils too, because it smells like wet sand at night. I wish I could get this as a fragrance oil, but I will use it to spray on scarves, bedclothes, and clothing to get my sniffing on. . There is hope, I think that Clown White could pair well with Zombie Moon...

Okay, poor little Polyester Spiderwebs gets no love, so I had to review it first of my Weenie decants. In the vial: Melon? Hope this is not going to be aquatic. Creamy florals like the Lab's snow scents. Wet: Very synthetic hair spray and plastic smell like the foil bows at Christmas and plastic decorations. My mental image is one of those crazy aluminum Christmas trees we had in the 70s. I agree with the Spencer's store reference. Drying: Hairspray, plastic, the not quite snow and not quite aquatic notes from BPAL Yule scent: Winter Time. It hovers between floral, aquatic, and maybe metallic. I cannot pin down any specific notes, I guess that is the point, but my olfactory associations include Aquanet hairspray, that smell of new clothes purchased for "back to school," a hint of melon scented hand cream, a light floral such as daffodil, jonquil, hyacinth, narcissus or snow drops. Late drydown: No notes that I can identify, scent associations are fabric softner, so probably generic musk (not soapy though!), cotton blossoms, the linen note of Sticky Pillowcase without the candy, Aquanet hairspray dried, and the slightly floral notes as above (nonwhite Spring florals, slightly creamy). Final analysis: This was surprise hit for me. It quite defies categorization, as I would not really lump it in with the floral scents, aquatics, metallic, botanical, or "clean/skin musk" scents, but it certainly has elements of all of those. There is no foody component, wood or resin that I could sniff out. But, if you wanted a clean scent that did was not high pitched, soapy, aggressively floral or ozoney, this hits the mark as it smells fresh and clean without becoming too much in those areas. It reminds me of Stardust without the white floral aspects (no tuberose) as it is sort of synthetic like hair spray or like the discontinued scent, Asphodel, as it is a ghostly, not white Springy, diaphanous floral or cool aquatic that isn't dime store man body spray, like Wintertime. A synthesis of Stardust minus the white floral aspects, Sea of Glass without the aquatic aspect, plus Sticky Pillowcase, minus the candy. I found myself sniffing compulsively, and not just to figure out the scent as it's quite nice in the drydown. I rather think this would be nice as an unobtrusive clean scent for really hot summer days or wearing when you don't want your scent to be noticeable but you want to smell fresh. The wet, Aquanet phase did make me worry about getting a headache but its just shy of that. This also has layering possibilities. Or, maybe you just want to have that "new clothes" smell. Since I miss the discontinued Asphodel and this sort of reminds me of that scent, I think I will try and upgrade to a bottle. I suggest trying this if you like scents like Sea of Glass, if you are nostalgic for Stardust or Asphodel (or Aquanet!), if you wanted a more complex and natural version of BBW Cottonblossoms, "Clean Laundry", etc. Source: Decant from TrailerTrashPrincess tested on inside of both wrists Sillage: slight, it was mostly a skin scent and wear time was better than average, I'd guess 5-6 hours

In the vial: Hmmm, must be a misnomer. This is definitely a wet leaf note. Wet: Still wet leaves, the same note as in October and the other "Leaves and..." scents. Unfortunately, either my skin chemistry changes this to, or my nose perceives this as, bell pepper. Drying: The myrrh begins to amp, the wet leaves note, aka bell pepper, becomes a dry, more dessicated leaves note. Now it actually smells like dead leaves and myrrh. Late drydown: Dry, dessicated leaves, resinous myrrh, and a hint of sweet vanilla. No cakes or cookies in this vanilla, just a hint of sweetness. Myrrh tends to go sweet and just shy of powder on my skin, and I also tend to amp it. So this is 40/40/20 dead leaves/myrrh/vanilla. This is no surprise as I think this particular blend, per upthread reviews, is heavy on the leaf note and my skin amps myrrh like gangbusters. Poor vanilla did not have much of a chance. Final analysis: Very nice realistic vegetal note, which unfortunately brings to mind bell peppers, which quickly mixes and dries with the skin chemicalz to become a realistic dry leaf note, with a hint of powdery and slightly sweet resin. I tend to like myrrh, despite it being a diva of a note, amping and overshadowing the others on my skin, because it usually smells good. Being relatively unaged, this is more powdery and with less throw and sweetness than how it will probably become in just a few weeks to a couple of months. The vanilla note that is hardly noticeable now will likely become more prominent with age and sweeter with better sillage. The myrrh will undoubtedly become more complex, resinous and sweeter. The dead leaf note will hopefully become less bell peppery. I am torn. I will certainly keep this to age it and I am enough of a vanilla hoor to probably track down a bottle or a partial because I think this will age into something very nice. But, I will be taking a chance, because the wet phase is almost intolerable. I know from other blends with the wet leaf note that it is likely to mellow out so I can probably get past that bell pepper thing and besides, it calms down pretty quickly on my skin to become a more realistic leaf note. I do wonder if this is different enough from other Autumnal scents--like Sonnet D'Automne as Dark Alice astutely pointed out--to justify the purchase. For a certainty I will keep and hoarde imps and if I come across a well priced partial bottle or more decants, I will invest in those. Thus far, Red Musk, Neroli and Dry Leaves is winning as my favorite of the series but there is something about the myrrh and vanilla combo that I really like and I have to admit I have been compulsively sniffing. Source: Decant from TrailerTrashPrincess Test Sites: Antecubital spaces both arms

oh oh oh oh oh oh oh ah ah ah ah ah ah I am interrupting my smell-gasm to report this Sinus Amoris oil is sexy vanilla incense good. I mean, nothing to see here people, keep moving, ALL YR SINUS AMORIS ARE BELONG TO US! I am getting mostly vanilla myrrh (think La Petit Mort, but but more vanilla! with a hint of incense) Mostly, this is a nonfoody vanilla candle that just extinguished. Not a Yankee Candle or something you get at BBW, this a high quality candle you can only get in the most booshey upscale French salon. And, if like me you don't know French, you cannot even begin to pronounce it. The closest thing that I have sniffed to this vanilla is Vanille Cannelle by CSP, but there isn't any ginger or cinnamon in this. It is not foody at all, not cupcakes or cookies or anything like that. Just really, really good vanilla with incense and the gentlest of myrrh. No pepper for me, which is why I did not get multiple bottles and I am SO SAD that I didn't. Final analysis: Mainly myrrh, vanilla and sandalwood/champaca. No burning, no foodiness, no powder, just the best vanilla incense you ever smelled. But, don't hunt this down, because I am going to need more.