sprout

I really like this one, it's probably a full bottle upgrade and a surprise winner. From the notes list, there's plenty going on but it's all copacetic.

 

To start, mostly herbal, lavender and petitgrain. Maybe a hint of osmanthus sweetening the whole. Hard to say really as I rarely see petigrain showcased in a scent especially with these basenotes.

 

Early dry phase I'm less fond of because the oakmoss is a little high pitched but the bay and maybe the cedar prevent it from taking over.

 

Drydown this is rich and on the manly side of unisex, but just a bit. Bay, leather and cedar form a nice thrumming heart with a hint left of the lavender. This is almost seamless, certainly well balanced, being neither sweet nor floral not resinous per se but with nuance from all those scent categories. I'd say the leather holds it's own but the lavender, bay and petigrain add a warm roundness and citrine golden quality. There's no osmanthus at the dry down but I'm okay with that.

 

The juxtaposition of the leather with the petitgrain and lavender works better than I would have hoped. I didn't tease out the ambrette but it is probably tying this together and adding a golden warmth and sweetness. The ambrette and leather create a superbase as the leather almost never lasts like this for me, my skin eats it. Another blend where this combination works is Mythological Scene with Warrior Mansion and Classic Ladies...

 

Well, this is difficult to describe but all the notes are present, well blended, and beautiful. This is up there with Spanked and Perversion for me, but I love the leather. Love how this never goes sharp, cologne like, or powdery. Definitely unique in a large catalog of scents.

Morocco, shmexxxy vanilla spice

 

Fenris Wolf, sexy forest wolf God musk

A few more suggestions on the creamy floriental category:

Cock Stamen (2018 Lupers)

Moon of Saturn: Telesto

Cat Chasing Butterflies (2018 Lupers)

Novel Ideas for Secret Amusements (2018 Lupers)

Pearl in the Volcano (2018 Lupers )

Zarita the Doll Girl (Carnival Diabolique)

Vasilissa

Volcano in Springtime

Ivory Vulva

Vivid Enjoyment of Memory of Rupture

Sure have and I have a couple of bottles! No antiseptic type scent though. Just red musk all the way with a hint of ashes.

Have you tried the Ibis and Jackals Funeral Parlor scent from the Post?

 

https://blackphoenixtradingpost.com/shop/ibis-and-jacquels-funeral-parlor-atmosphere-spray/

Have you tried Sea of Glass? I get a beautiful hyacinth note. It's heavenly if you pardon my pun.

I think Anesthesia is similar to the discontinued Pain? Anyways, I can attest that lavender oil by itself is a bee magnet, they love it. My partner loves lavender oil but he's been visited by both bees and wasps when he wears it. Fortunately, not stung. Not sure about mosquitos and lavender, but they don't like citronella. And bees like lemongrass, so I'd avoid that!

 

Mad Hatter with it's potent pennyroyal is probably the best?

 

https://www.anniesremedy.com/chart_remedy_insect_repellents.php

I took it easy and didn't slather to avoid welts, as I'd read there's a generous amount of cassia in the original, but I needn't have worried. Those reports are either overstated or based on skin chemistry.

 

There's definitely tea, cinnamon, sandalwood, and the rest I'll guess as ginger, cardamom, saffron, neroli, and olibanum. The sillage is not smell me across the room, but this has aged less than 3 weeks. This comes across as spicy, dry, sweet and Eastern. Fans of Morocco and Bengal will like this one. I get a hint of cola too, so maybe sweet myrrh and frankincense but this doesn't smell like incense or smoky, it's dry, unlit resins. I don't get any patchouli or rose. This lasted well past 6 hours too, very impressive for an unaged oil!

 

Overall a very complex scent that has much to love and is well blended as well as well balanced. I would venture to say I'm liking it better than the original! It goes through a perfumey phase but the drydown is spicy, sweet and reminiscent of Underpants.

 

I will have to stock up on this before it goes away.

In the imp: Frankincense predominant with a big dollop of thick honey

 

Wet: Wow, that is some honey. Cloying, thick, this is Autumn Honey with a frankincense support. This is not the type of honey I like, I prefer the white honey blends that are a tad less, viscous? I get the "asphodel" note underneath, but only if I huff close to the wrist. Lab asphodel smells suspiciously like hyacinth to me, but having not plumbed the depths of Hades, it could be a real asphodel that I just have never actually sniffed IRL.

 

Drydown: My skin is doing all kinds of things with amperage on this honey, it just keeps getting thicker and more cloying. I will try and stick it out, however, this may be a scrubber for me.

 

Impression: Definitely a blend for the honey lovers, but you have to really love that note. I thought I was in for any honey blend, as there are no death notes here, and I love frankincense but it can't save this blend. I guess honey is going to be on my love/hate list. I agree with above reviewers that the honey is the main player and is the skanky/shmexy, NSFW kind, the frankincense lends an air of mystery, and there is some type of floral weaving throughout--no consensus on that note though.

 

I will age the decant and hope but my bet is either my skin chemistry is changing and I can't do honey anymore, or I can only do the white/Spring honeys and this one is not compatible. Good thing I did not blind bottle this. Don't misunderstand me, this smells very good, but my tolerance for super sweet is not what it used to be and I seem to turn everything sweet up to 11 and break off the knob. Of course it has hella sillage too. Somebody get me a syringe of insulin.

In the imp, this was nondescript fruity with hint of floral from the rose.

Wet--same as the imp.

Drying--mainly pomegranate, not really a hint of wine, a little bit of rose, and solid back up of hyssop. This has modest throw at this point.

 

Impressions, definitely a pom-wine with the hyssop rounding things out to add complexity. It is not especially lush/boozy and I am shocked the rose or the cedar don't amp, so I guess they are in minimal amounts, so if those are deal breakers and a pom wine scent is desirable, this fills the bill. This is sweet on me, not a bit of sour. A great pom blend for those who love it. For me this is pleasant and I am not thinking I need a bottle as Persephone is my fave Pom scent and I get more of the rose with it.

As predicted, myrrh pawns the other notes. Juniper adds a hint of clean, natural grocery store soap (I could appreciate the gin association but the natural grocery store products is where my olfactory lobe jumps first) and in a very positive way, but for all intents and purposes this is myrrh SN. I actually love the wet phase before the skin makes this smell like the dust on the discount rack at a metaphysical book store, but it's short lived. I'm going to keep and cellar the decant as it could develop but I'm pessimistic about needing a bottle. Ah, there's the cinnamon. I have to snort really near the wrist to appreciate it, as the myrrh suppresses it, but it's nice. No burn from the cinnamon which is a bonus.

 

To be fair, since I've become a lady of a certain age, my chemistry is dry and often makes things sweet and powdery. Also I live in a dry climate and no doubt these factors impact the oil's performance. The result in a scent diffuser or layered over pre-moisturized skin may be different. If I get around to trying those alternates I'll report back but given the number of decants that I need to test, it could be a long time. If I revisited the scent, it may have aged favorably. That's not unusual and sometimes necessitated my hunting down a bottle later but it's a chance I'm going to take.

Figured this was the place to ask, anybody have thoughts or comparisons on the newest lavender blends? I loooove The Air and The Ether and TKO but I haven't tried many other lavender blends and wondering what the lavender lovers out there think or what their new faves are.

I'm a fan of lavender pairings that feature other herbal oils or lean cool, pristine, and ethereal if you will.

 

Here's a short list which includes the overlooked Somnium section of the catalog and a few Lilith perfumes

Ganymede

Bewildered in a Dream

Yvaine if there's any still to be found

Baku

Lurid

Oneiroi

Serving Tea After Coitus

Goddess of Mischief

Plush Viscera

Waiting

Motherhood

 

And I'm putting Lurid in the list, although I know newer creations are being solicited but I think it's a GC treasure that's underrated

I think La Bella Donna Mia Mente would be one to consider

 

http://www.bpal.org/topic/3280-la-bella-donna-della-mia-mente/page-8?do=findComment&comment=1622169

I am hoping that someone else weighs in on your question. Agape is the one and only BPAL that I recall smelling a passion fruit note. I think there's one listed in Rangoon Riptide also but they are both super sweet scents to my nose...

Antony (Illyria)

Arcana

Becoming Thunder!!

Magus

In Templum Dei 2nd'd

Interfector

King Cobra 3rd'd

Sanctus

Titus Andronicus

 

LE

Carfax Abbey

Crucifixion

Ego Sum Lux Mundi

La Cloche Felee

La Ronde du Sabbat

Library of John Dee

Om Gan Ganapataye Namaha

Ossa Arida

Palmyra

Practical Occultism

Texare

The Contrast (Fluerette's Purple Snails)

The Cracked Bell

The Magic Circle

There's a Certain Slant of Light

Venus Caelestis

Wynter Wakeneth Al in My Care

Sort of surprised that no one has mentioned Queen for this purpose, seems custom made for enhancing female power...I definitely feel a girl boss vibe wearing it.

 

ETA looks like Queen was mentioned. I'm also going to suggest Queen of the Nile, it's a TAL oil

The 2017 yule Not Such an Agreeable Seat is a great rose. It's described as golden and that's a very accurate description as ir's warm and sweet without turning foodie. It didn't turn powdery or soapy on me. The rose was very "rosy" a la geraniums or rosewood.

On a side note i'm looking for a rose recommendation. Is there a red roses-red wine dominant scent out there? I don't know why but i had a thought that it might match perfectly with a chocolate-coffee dominant scent. Kind of in a valentine's day way but also not

Wanda (but this has violets) http://www.bpal.org/topic/2637-wanda/

 

Obsidian Widow (has jasmine and patchouli) http://www.bpal.org/topic/44508-the-obsidian-widow/

 

Lilith doesn't have other floral notes, just rose and red wine but I don't get much rose and black musk isn't for everyone

 

http://www.bpal.org/topic/133-lilith/page-1

 

Kali is roses and red wine with chocolate but it's complex, with spices. I'd say it's a roses, wine, and chocolate Valentine's scent though

 

http://www.bpal.org/topic/2457-kali/

 

And all those are at least impable

 

For past Lupers with wine and roses, Chinoiserie was popular http://www.bpal.org/topic/88498-chinoiserie/

Well, someone needs to review this lovely bath oil. This is lavender forward with blueberry in support. The bergamot isn't sharp, it keeps the blueberry in check. I'm not sure that I can pick out the chamomile, it blends in perfectly with the lavender. This is not as sweet as I anticipated but that is okay. It's a lovely herbal floral with a hint of the fruit.

 

I like this so much that I wore it every night after showering since I received it. It isn't soporific and could be used day or night. I use the bath oils as post shower moisturizer. This one has good sillage but the scent isn't very long lasting. It does make the bathroom smell lovely afterwards though.

It's happening. My much loved last bottle of The Hamptons is almost gone, and I need to find something similar. The original description is "the scent of a cosmopolitan cocktail" and it's very true. It's fruity, a little berry-toned, a little citrusy without getting too much so, and sparkly. I swear there is some pineapple in there somehow. Out of all of my blends it's one of the longest lasting and one of my most loved. Any thoughts?

Have you tried Swank? It's described as sparkling with pomegranate juice and gin. Or, Violent Gestisticulations from the Weenies Poe series last year: lots of pomegranate with a hint of juniper.

I am surprised I have not reviewed this yet as I'm on my 3rd bottle! Now, I try to score an imp with every other order or so to keep the supply steady. If you are picking up on any narcotic references in this review, it's because this essential oil blend is narcotic in the original sense of the word: sleep inducing. More on that point later.

 

For those haters complaining that this formula is too sharp or high pitched, age it a little. You don't have to cellar it, about 3 months is all it takes to take the edge off. Now, patience is a virtue as is said, and if you have the patience to age it 6 months or longer, it really mellows. I am not the best guesser when it comes to no notes named creations but I think there's consistency in the reviews that there's a healthy amount of jasmine and lavender in the bottle. I'd also wager a guess there's some rose and chamomile. Maybe some thyme or lilac or moonrose. On skin, jasmine and the floral constituents amplify over the lavender. Of course it stands to reason that my skin noms the lavender, it loves everything I want to project...

 

If I want to smell more of the lavender note as I drift off to sleep, I've found that dribbling some drops of the Somnus on a handkerchief (let's be real here, I'm not a fancy lady and I really mean an old singleton sock that lost it's twin) will let the lovely lavender note waft about and last for hours, nay days, and give it a chance to outshine the jasmine. If you prefer it on skin, layering with other oil blends with lavender will help concentrate that note of course. If you like the soporific effect of Somnus but prefer the lavender benzoin marshmallows smell of TKO, that's a winning pair. This is a fairly unidirectional fragrance as it stays it's jasmine lavender self until late in the wearing where I suspect the rose is the culprit in making it powdery. The middle phase is more jasmine rose and less lavender, unless you use the handkerchief (sock).

 

As to the soporific effect, this is potent! Until I tried TAL Ebon Night, I thought it was the most effective sleep oil from the Lab. As with most sleep remedies, I've found that it loses effectiveness if I use it too many nights in succession. Insomnia is difficult to overcome.

That being said, this is very effective and impable. And if jasmine isn't your thing but you like the soporific effect, give it a try on linens rather than skin. I think that circumvents the dreaded cat pee effect too. On the other hand, if you don't care for the smell of jasmine, steer clear of Somnus. TKO or Baku may be what you are searching for.

 

Now, with this being the most effective sleep oil and my preference of the scent after it's aged 9 months or more, you can see how I keep a few bottles aging on hand. Of the sleep blends I've tried, I actually like the smell of Baku the best, yes even more than TKO, which some will find heretical. But if TKO is a technical knock out metaphorically, Somnus is a straight to the jaw blow from Tyson that leaves you irrefutably unconscious.

Does anyone know of any scents similar to Zorya P? I am absolutely in love with the blueness of the vanilla.

I tried Pediophobia and I think the tobacco gave me similar impressions, but it just wasn't "blue" enough, if that makes sense?

I'm sorry for suggesting a rare, but Edith Cushing could be it. It's definitely similar with the whispy ethereal vanilla and ambergris. Ava from the Only Lovers Left Alive is also in the same family, as is Butterflies, Flowers, and Jewels Attending...also HTF

 

Lyonesse could be a GC close cousin.

This was hands down my favorite scent of the Hymn to Fortuna. The motherwort and cedar aren't especially prominent or my skin noms them or they meld with everything else.

 

White ambrette must be similar to the Lab's ambergris or White Amber note because I just love this like other scents with those notes. The ambrette gives the top notes a musky base like sweet, clean skin.

 

Early, wet phase is floral green tea with restrained peony. As this unfolds, the jasmine and bergamot ascend in potency with the green tea holding it all together. This smells natural and feminine and I get the association with babies and young mothers. I am craving sweet and fresh but not straight aquatic fragrances for Spring and this fills that niche perfectly.

 

The beauty of the ambrette is it never becomes powdery or dry. Sometimes ambrette is sort of nutty but as this is identified as white ambrette, maybe it's different from the other kind? If you were worried about the cedar, it's not overbearing, as it sometimes goes hamster cage on my skinistry but I don't think I can detect it at all.

 

This didn't last more than 4 to 5 hours but I'm more than happy to reapply for the wet phase. I truly expected something more herbal and unwearable but this is gorgeous. The bergamot isn't sharp as I thought it was sweet orange or orange blossoms until I consulted the notes.

 

If you are a fan of ambrette, ambergris, or tea blends like The Dormouse, this is a must try. This actually smells like a more complex Dormouse with the ambrette.

 

Undoubtedly I'll utilize the imp and need at least one full bottle, perhaps 2.

Another happy customer for Dana O'Shee bath oil here: it smells very much like the Lab scent, but (agreed with Milo above that it resembles) the fresh version. Of course I've found that the Post products scents age in a similar fashion to the Lab's.

 

Fresh Dana O'Shee smells like honeyed cream with a hint of grains. The scent is soft, comforting, and reminds me of products like Burts Baby Bee creams, without smelling like them. There's a similarity to baby oil also. This fragrance garnered a compliment from the partner, who almost never notices although not sure if the scent was the hair gloss or the bath oil as I was wearing both to double up the good smells. The oil and hair gloss smell identical on me. I also get a smell association with pearls with the scent, similar to Fluerette's Purple Snails (no violet or orris, just a silky smell).

 

Nota bona: I utilize the bath oils in the shower, as I rarely take time out for a bath, although I've tried bath oil as originally intended also. Usually I moisturize post shower, while still dripping wet, and towel dry after giving time for the oil to absorb (hopefully that isn't TMI, but I think I capitalized on the moisturizing aspect best with this method and it's incredibly dessicating this time of year in the mile high city).

 

TL;DR: Lovely, soft scent evocative of a baby bathed in honeyed cream with cereal that's very similar to fresh Dana O'Shee from the Lab. Scent has good sillage but limited longevity as an after shower moisturizer. Love this and wish I had moar.

That you Sprout that really is an amazing list! I definitely saw a few to pique my curiosity

And thanks as well Ziggy.

 

Last night I layered Antique Lace and TKO and while TKO dominated as I fell to sleep when I woke up all bleary eyed at 6am I swore my husband was baking vanilla cookies. When I woke up again at 8 I realized that was what 10 hours of faded AL/TKO was. Delicious vanilla cookies. So now I'm on the hunt for a basic Vanilla cookies/Pure vanilla extract scent.

For me, Sugar Cookie is that quintessential vanilla, foodie scent. I saw it being sold in the thread here recently...

 

I'm going to try your AL + TKO combination. I'll have to wait for night though to test because TKO is associated with falling asleep on lavender marshmallow clouds in my mind, so I'm afraid it will be too relaxing for daytime wear...

Additional honey favourites from 2017

Audumla (possibly my favorite yet, although I like a lot of honey scents)

Honey Snowballs

Hanerot Halalu (beeswax)

Lots of new bakery scents in the last few years, so I'm necro bumping so you guys can help complete the lists of our favorites

 

Boo (marshmallows)

The Gorobble (melty marshmallows)

Stekjarstaurr, Stale Sugar-crusted Marshmallow Chick (marshmallows)

Gollettes (strawberry donut)

Monsterbait Underpants (sexy cake)

Monsterbait Closet and Underbed (different dessert cake confectionery things) Bloody Mary (cherry dessert)

Sugar Cookie

Beaver Moon 05 (cheesecake)

Spooky and Tokyo Stomp (thin mint cookies)

Heck on Wheels (red velvet cake)

Mari Lywd (Lavender cake)

Jolasveinar (violet and pastries)

Gingerbread Poppet and Flesh Eating Reindeer from Uranus (gingerbread)

Huesos de Santo, Gunpowder (orange and carrot cake)

Sprinkle Cake (Lilith cupcake)

Cake Smash (self explanatory)

Very Pink Surprise Cake

Liliths Bubblegum and Roses

Liliths Tea Party (roses, tea, and pastries)

Braving the Ice (iced mint cookies)

Frosted Pumpkin Spice Cookie, Pumpkin Cheesecake Cupcake

Splatter Comedy, The 12th (banana cream pie)

Cheshire Moon (creamy cake)

Mystical Aphorisms of the Fortune Cookie (almond cookies)

Great London Spaghetti Hunt (tiramisu)

My Little Grotesque (cardamom cupcakes)

Little More Tea (tea and cookies)

Knock Out Drops (lemon cookies)

Baby's First Con Panel (chocolate chip cookies and pretzels)

Anne Beany (rum cake)

Pralines and Powdered Sugar (seen on etsy, recently!)

Teatime in Roswell (Battenberg Cake, but faint)

Chocolate Stout Cupcake

Hard Cider Cake

Salted Caramel Shortbread

Gattepefur (buttered bread and marmalade)

Strawberry, Raspberry and Black Current Sufganiyot

Brunch Witches (pancakes)

Little Lady MacBeth (red currant honey cake)

King Cake

Take a Knee, Star Promenade (Apple pie)

Gingerbread Lust, Goblin, Sin, Dodo, Cathedral, Satyr

Gingerbread, Red Fruits and Jam

Gingerbread, Vetiver and Black Clove

Gingerbread, Orange Peel and Champaca Flower

Gingerbread, Vanilla and Pink Pepper

Gingerbread, Mint, and Matcha Tea

Cinnamon Chai Cupcake

Cardamom Cream Pumpkin Cake

Pumpkin Brownies

Feeding the Dead

Singularly At Ease (scones, cookies, rum cake)