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In the imp: fruity apple

Wet: Honey and apples

Drying: juicy apples paired with honeyed carnation and a musky, nutty support which is the ambrette.

 

Another full bottle worthy creation. The carnation makes this different enough from straight honeyed apple. This is a lovely carnation scent with the apple balancing the spice of the carnation and sweetened with a hint of honey. Love this, it's going into heavy rotation in the Springtime and Summer. Like a more mature Alice tasting an apple.

In the imp, Honeyed florals

Wet: creamy florals, Orange Blossom Honey and a hint of mallow (more floral, not foodie)

Dry: magnolia petals, waxy and dripping with honey. So, a creamier The Bride with honey instead of sugar and orange blossom bringing an orange Creamsicle impression, from a distance, the wild Musk is apparent and it's glorious,

I have to qualify my review to state that orange blossom tends to be sweet on me.

 

Wow, I was worried about the neroli but it isn't sharp at all.

 

If Muse of Fire and The Bride had a Honey covered Creamsicle baby, this is what that baby smells like.

 

Must. have. full bottle.

Edit to add, late drydown is Honey covered marshmallows. Love this!

I was anticipating a skin reaction to the cinnamon but fortunately that didn't happen. In the vial, this was mostly cassia.

 

Wet on skin the cassia is the most dominant note but the musk is present as is the myrrh. Unaged myrrh is unpleasant to my nose or maybe it's just my skin. Coffee makes this a little bitter. This phase oddly evokes a red egg. It's almost like flan with coffee liquor and cinnamon (my nose reads the cassia as cinnamon). In a way this phase reminds me of the Trading Post scent Great London Spaghetti Hunt. It is not unlike a creamy egg based dessert sprinkled with cinnamon.

 

Drying there is a phase where the myrrh becomes quite powdery and amps. My skin does this fairly consistently and YMMV.

 

Drydown phase revealed the musk. I love the egg shell Musk. It is delicate and light as an egg shell and seems fragile. It is different from white musk. It is a bit reminiscent of the musk from the Monster bait series.

 

I really like the imp and will be pursuing a full bottle because I enjoy Musk based scents and this Musk is Heavenly. The Red Egg nailed the concept for me. The unpleasant myrrh powder phase should improve with a little age. Brava!

I would suggest Lady of Shallotte

Are there any Persimmon + Tea combinations? Aizen Myoo is one of my favorites already, but persimmon tea is definitely one of my favorites teas! Smell wise especially.

 

Persimmon Tea or Pomegranate Tea?

 

Tart fruits in general with a tea note.

Lady Una with blackberry leaf, but is a sweet blend due to the addition of honey

 

Firethorn Berry Tea, very tart Black tea with mystery fruit (or perhaps Beth really distilled Firethorn berries, they smell similar to tart red fruits to me)

 

Yurei, white tea with hibiscus

 

The East, Tea Leaf and red currant

 

Apothecary, Tea and fig

 

FBT is probably closest to what you're looking for

 

Searches for Pomegranate didn't find any Tea notes

Search for persimmon turned up no results!

For snow plus berry:

 

Midwinter's Eve!

Perchta

Snow Maiden

I hate to mention Rares but Ice Queen too

 

For Snow plus sweet:

 

Snow White

Snow Flakes

Winter-Time

Night Guant

Mother Ginger

Flesh Eating Reindeer from Uranus

Shub Niggurath (3rding the suggestion)

Gingerbread Poppet (hard to find but not impossible)

Gingerbread Sin

Ginger Skulls

Vespertilio Proterus (seconding)

Saw-scaled Viper

 

I have a thing for ginger myself , these are the sweeter, foody gingers that I like, I can go off on other categories if you like

Quintessential cupcakes blend. The only way to hate this is if you dislike buttercream, Vanilla, or Cardamom.

 

This blend be truth in advertising, my hearties. Truth with a capital "T"

 

It smells like delicious, freshly baked but cooled, Yellow cupcakes with vanilla buttercream icing then dusted with Cardamom. I am not sure if there are spice ampers, batch variations, or my skin turns things sweet (probably that), but I am getting 30/30/30 Yellow Cake/buttercream/Cardamom.

 

Full bottle acquired, hoard mode activated!!! Throw is average, dry down a little better (longer) than average. I think I can actually let go of things like Cake Smash and Sprinkle cake...

Okay I have a few holy grails to suggest.

 

I am searching for the perfect

 

Leather scent (please not Loviatar, I can't afford it).

Jammy Rose

Ambergris

Petrichor

Night air

Vanilla with Amber

Carnation (I'm on a carnation quest at the moment with leather a close second)

Wine

I'm looking for the ultimate "smokey forest" scent. I love tree sap, fir/pine, and smoke. I don't care for wood. I have Black Forest and love it but it doesn't have the smoke or sap and a tad bit too much wood for me. I have high hopes for the new 'weenie Przeczucie but the reviews so far are worrying me. Anybody out there with a recommendation? Thanks!

Try layering Scarecrow or SN Bonfire with your favorite Forest/wood blend?

 

Also, it's old, so possibly tricky to find, but there was a BPAL perfume called Wildfire. Also, I can't miss an opportunity to plug The Ifrit and Agnes Nutter. (You'd have to layer to get the forest)

[No additional description provided.]

 

Okay, I hate going first, but in case anyone needs this review to make a purchase decision, here we go.

In the bottle, this smells of hibiscus tea. But on skin, it is undoubtedly rock rose, the resin.

 

If you aren't familiar with rock rose, it's a resin distilled from the sap of an evergreen bush that grows in Mediterranean areas. The sap is collected as tears from the shrubs, similar to harvesting frankincense.

 

Reading more about how it's made, I learned it can also be steam distilled from the leaves of the plant and the flowers. The sap is sticky and can be brushed from the wool of sheep after they rub against the sap during grazing.

 

As a resin, the odor is similar to frankincense or myrrh, but it is sweeter and less airy than frankincense and less powdery or sweet as myrrh. It did have a slightly floral, almost rosy hint initially but drying down, it's a sweet, slightly woody, musky and amber like resin. It isn't smoky or metallic like DBR.

 

Interestingly, this oil is used for calming the nerves during terror states and it's evidently present in Bach's flower remedy.

 

I love this and I am considering a backup.

 

The sillage is modest at this point but I expect that will improve with age. This is quite fresh from the mailbox, arriving yesterday and only giving it overnight to settle. I will report back later with how long it lasts.

 

ETA, lasted approximately 3.5 hours, fresh. I predict aging will improve the longevity. The throw/sillage was fairly mild, close to the skin.

 

If you are a fan of Zombi, you're probably going to love this. The roses are somber and subdued, which is a new experience for me. The ivy and moss bring astringent balance to the sweetness of the roses. These smell like the flowers, very natural, not powdery or soapy. Some roses smell almost fruity to my nose but these don't, this is more of a white rose.

 

Drying, the balanced rose and ivy maintain a presence as the moss and shadow musk join the dance. This is a nice Musk of the not quite Black variety, fairly androgynous. The moss is a fuzzy base without the sour I get from oakmoss. I'm guessing closer to Spanish moss.

 

Overall, the composition is very balanced yet all the notes are well represented. The rose is a restrained floral, bringing sweetness and moisture to the dry ingredients, peppery ivy adding some astringency and likely keeping the rose in check, and moss and Musk providing a warm, fuzzy base.

 

If you have wanted a Rose that behaves itself, this could be the perfume of your dreams. If you collect Rose scents, you probably already ordered this. I started my review comparing this to Zombi, and this lacks the dirt and arid quality of that scent, it's more moist, if you will, but this would be quite at home with the Ars Moratoria line.

 

This may become a bottle purchase for me as I'm looking for behaved Rose scents and this is different from most of what I have, my previous Rose acquisitions tend to be the more fruity, jammy types and I like the ivy and moss here. This would be fantastic layered (I'd like layering with dirt or wood but incense or cake combinations would be interesting too) I'm wondering too how the musk will age, will this be like the loved Crypt Musk? Only time will tell.

Yes, there are some who will say this perfume suggests women of a certain age. I agree with nostalgic, vintage, classic, and even grandmotherly. But these are not bad connotations. This does evoke an earlier and more flower centric age of perfumery and an Era where make up products were scented with Rose water and violet.

 

The rose is indeed divaesque initially, over a bed of what could be cosmetic cream, as in cold cream. This isn't Ponds purchased from your five and dime though, it's something exclusive and probably costs more than $100 per ounce. It does remind me of Clown White, but less vanilla.

 

Drying the iris makes her appearance, upstaging the rose, which is teetering on the edge of powdery and soapy. Rose and Iris battle for a few minutes, but Rose is no match for Grand Dame Iris. No soil here, just regal iris, pale and almost violaceous, a watery rose water backing, in a bed of expensive cosmetic cream.

 

This is beautiful. I am a stay at home wallflower type that rarely goes to parties so I'm not sure that I could use a full bottle of this but Lawd! it is beautiful. I love iris as a note and I'm quite tempted. I may get a full bottle yet.

 

If you are looking for a Springtime floral that isn't high pitched or cloying, you have a match.

Thunder Moon, Waiting, Poisson D'Avril for rainstorm

Pool of Tears, Sea Foams Milk, Y'ha Nthlei, Windward Passage, Cristobal, Gold and Tears for salt water

My favorite aquatic is Lady of Shallot, Sea of Glass gets honorable mention, as does Water of Notre Dame

 

With respect to searching, I find the best ideas by going to the Directory on the Lab's website, and clicking on their categories, especially individual notes, but they have themes also like Rain, Rage, etc. It's time consuming to search this way, but worth it.

 

Also, if I love a particular BPAL perfume, I search the review thread and hunt down samples or read reviews of what others consider to be similar scents

Would anyone happen to have a suggestion for a similar GC blend to 'The Temptation?'

 

I love this one, and it's pretty much my go-to...and I'm on my last bottle.

 

Thanks much!

I've never sniffed The Temptation but La Bella Donna Mia Mente has some notes in common, Peach blossom, Musk, Rose.

And finally a Dead Leaves perfume that disproves my rule of not being able to wear these kinds of scents, yay!

 

Dead Leaves note starts this off with peppery vegetable vibes (as in cutting Red Bell Peppers). Luckily this straightens out as the Tobacco comes into play. The tobacco note is earthy, dry, and toothsome. Interestingly, the tobacco note helps the Dead Leaves smell drier and more like actual leaves.

 

Drying, the black currant joins the party and keeps the dry ingredients in check. Without smelling like fruity shisha, it brings a balance to the dry leaves and Tobacco, keeping things from blowing away, becoming too dry, bitter, or acrid. It adds a hint of sweetness without smelling fruity.

 

This has medium sillage and better than average wear time.

 

My love of tobacco perfumes compels me to add this as a full bottle to the ranks. Brava! Beth. Love this one. I am pleased as punch to have a dead leaves scent that I can wear and will be eagerly searching through my decants as this gives me hope that there could be other winners.

Leads off with the frozen aldehydes, which smell to my nose like eucalyptus, the blossom. Benzoin takes this into sweet, vanillic baby oil territory. The iris is pearlescent and melds with the cold notes. Iris dominates the drydown and has quite the throw! My impression: chilled baby oil. I agree with the cold cream association. I like this especially as a chilling yet earthy floral that does not veer into screeching high notes. This would be a gorgeous perfume for those sweltering dog days of summer. But then, I'm an iris/orris fan.

 

Interesting and evocative, this is the olfactory equivalent of insubstantial, dry lips that shimmer in the moonlight. I think I'm possibly talking myself into a bottle. Conceptually this is genius and it's certainly unique. I'd love to try layering this with a patchouli based scent.

Wet, this starts off like fruity wine coolers, overly ripe fruit and cheap wine.

 

Fortunately, it quickly rights itself to bubbly champagne with apple flavor dominant and melon just at the limit of detection. I only appreciate the melon note with my nose because my eye spied it reading the notes. This is lovely: fizzy, just sweet enough, and lasts much longer than I would have predicted. The throw is less than average but this isn't a skin scent only.

 

Despite having many Apple scents, I'll be getting a bottle of this as I don't have anything like it. Tres magnifique!

This is vanilla kissed lavender with a hint of clove for me. This differs from TKO in being more sweet, less herbal, and more ethereal (soft, fuzzy). I am hoping to hoard this as a sleep scent: definitely shooting to my top 5 favorites.

Hearth 2005 for me is very smoky

This is perfect! I wish I'd purchased a big bottle of this. It smells like Pumpkin Spice caramel popcorn! The creaminess of the butter or cream accord balanced the spice notes. As an atmosphere spray, my skin doesn't turn the cream into spoiled milk. Be warned, it made me crave popcorn and so I had to pop some right away.

No egg note detected. This may be my favorite of the Weenies I've tried this year.

Well, like the eponomymous Pumpkin Spice Latte, this was mostly Pumpkin Spice without the actual gourd itself at the start but all strawberry cream in the dry phase. The red currant helps the strawberry pop and contributed to the juicy quality at the heart.

 

To be honest, I was hoping for more strawberry and more throw but I'm willing to cellar it to see if that helps. This smells more like strawberry cream hard candies (think Lifesavers brand) than cotton candy. No regrets, I'm keeping my bottle. This is my first Pumpkin Floss to try and I'm looking forward to acquiring more!

This was predominantly cardamom for me although the orange and mango were more in evidence when I first sprayed it. If you are worried about the neroli taking this into masculine territory, it doesn't. For such a fruity sounding blend from the notes, it's surprisingly dry smelling.

 

More spice than fruit. I really like this. The musk is delightful too. It isn't a red musk, it's more golden

This starts with a strong Dead Leaves note, bell peppers is how my nose reads it but no matter it quickly settled into something resembling dead leaves. The leather gives it a pungent edge.

 

For the record, my skin noms leather, so if there is any present, it never had a chance.

 

Drying the balsam lends a hint of green and resin but orris is the star. This is Bone dry but sweet and ethereal, like a ghost hug.

 

The Dead Leaves aren't too sharp or screeching. The balsam suggests evergreens were once present. This evokes dry bones rattled by ghostly drafts in an abandoned barn. I couldn't pick out the mums or leather but I think they add to the impression of high Plains.

 

Concept nailed. If you enjoy orris, this will likely satisfy, but if you wanted leather, there isn't much here. I can layer, as I have more than a few cowboy leather scents so I'm okay with that. It takes a metric ton of leather to detect it on my skin so I'm not surprised but I do wish this had a touch more.

 

I will be keeping my bottle and besides, the artwork is adorbs.

Oooh thanks everybody! Lots of good stuff here. I have tried Black Forest, Dracul, Yggdrasil, and The Jersey Devil. The last two were close but not quite sweet enough! I'll see if I can't track down an imp of Przeczucie!

I should have mentioned this earlier but Organ Grinder is actually my favorite sweet pine scent. I prefer the new one but try aged: it's a not quite gourmand but sweet pine with tobacco. Also, Doc Constantine is sweet foresty Musk, but it's fir not pine.

 

And, I almost forgot about Jupiterian Phoenix.

 

Other, wild card recs are Gacela of the Dark Death, Ronde du Sabbat, Voodoo, Blithe Hollow, Moons of Jupiter: Metis, Arkham, Thanatopsis, This is Your Wilderness.