fairnymph

In the bottle I get jasmine, like 90% jasmine, with a little hint of violet.

 

On my skin, the violet comes out, but there's still some jasmine - upon drying, it's maybe 80% violet and 20% jasmine. This makes it a very rich, slightly heady, classic feminine scent. It's a little old ladyish, but only faintly powdery. It feels very violet-hued in feel, or mauve-ish. The violet actually comes out more over time and the jasmine fades. There's a soft sweetness, a bit of green freshness, but mostly velvety soft feminine floral. It's much nicer than I expected, with good throw and longevity.

I think the Radiance Exfoliating Body Wash smells vaguely like Jingo-Kogo.

Sniffed: Sweeter, richer - more tonka especially, but the vanilla is much stronger also, creating an overall intense, heavy vanilla. A hint of almost soapy-floral powder, *JUST* like Antique Lace and XCDL13, which this scent reminds me of greatly.

 

Wet: This starts to dry quickly and the leather begins to amp immediately - it's the slick, chemically-powdery-plastic De Sade/Spanked style, alas. It's now on par with the vanilla and tonka, with amber still just behind. The latter definitely has a perfumey quality and has gone a bit powdery, but so far bearable. It sort of merges with the clay note which is totally unique and really exactly like clay. The Spanish moss is more..herbal, almost a little bitter, and dry - it reminds me of a sage note.

 

Dry: Vanilla & tonka were fighting the leather for a short while upon full dryness the former notes have one out and amped greatly, making this very sweet, heavy, and rich in a way I find nauseatingly cloying. It's now a tad more buttery-foody from the tonka than AL & XCDL13. The clay has amped a bit and is a fascinating note, absolutely textural. The amber is more perfumey, but not any more powdery fortunately. And while the leather has faded greatly, it's still too harsh for me. Also, this particular moss note, one I've never liked, has gone more musty as it usually does and it combines very poorly with the sweet richness.

 

Later: This morphs a bit more - I get more clay, amber, and moss - and one of these turns very, very earthy-musky, quite strongly, on me - I think it's the clay/moss combo. The amber never goes truly powdery, though it's still too perfumey and golden-warm for my tastes. The cloying, sweet, rich almost butter-foody tonka and vanilla (tonka really foremost) still dominate, but less strongly than earlier - the leather has returned a bit and is almost as strong.

 

Summary: Heavy, too-sweet and too-rich TONKA with a more ethereal vanilla note just barely outpower the earthy-musky clay and moss & perfumey, faintly floralish amber and slightly sharp black leather. It ends up being quite balanced in terms of all the notes being clearly present, and I do like how the vanilla orchid is when it soften in later drydown, as well as the interesting clay note. Moderate throw that fades quite substantially. Feminine, but not nearly as intensely as Male is masculine once this fades and loses so much of the initial vanilla.

 

Like Male, a total failure for me personally but a blend I expect to be quite popular.

Sniffed: Creamy, slight cologney, softly sweet vanilla and light sandalwood jump out most, but I can smell the clove, galbanum (faintly smoky - or I think that's the galbanum, it's a sort of piney resin note with a fair bit of incensey smoke tone), leather and iron - which is rusty and pretty unique - each distinctly, too. The patchouli is lightest, very softly earthy.

 

Wet: Whoaa. WAY more leather, lots and lots of leather (it's the slick, chemically-powdery-plastic De Sade/Spanked style, alas - as in Female), and more iron, sharper and harsher, both of the aforementioned. More wood, less sweet vanilla. The clove too has a woodiness as well as a sharpness. More patchouli, which is still light, and has an almost mossy quality - it reminds me of oakmoss more than patchouli.

 

Dry: The iron metal (which is only faintly nutmeg-y) provides more sweetness than the vanilla now, though the scent is barely sweet on my skin and it was definitely sweet in the bottle. The leather and clover are just amping and amping on me like these particular types always do, heavily and unpleasantly smothering the other notes. The sandalwood has gone a bit drier and less smooth, the patchouli's a little rooty, and the galbanum's more smoky - basically, I am hating this more and more.

 

Later: Like Female, this is quite a morpher! The leather's still strong, but the iron has amped up enough to just barely overtake it, and it's by far the strongest and nicest and most realistic iron note I've smelled. It's both hard and metallic in a classic sense, with a bit of coolness, and it also has that fascinating rusty tang, and only a hint of nutmeg spice (usually the lab's iron note) is just 90% nutmeg to my nose. But the strongest note on drydown is definitely clove, which is that sharp sort - more piercing than spicy, though it is spicy - and almost medicinal with a mentholic quality. The sandalwood's still quite dry, but softer and more rounded, and sort of merges with the soft smoky resin of the galbanum. The patchouli has disappeared entirely and it was barely present to begin with.

 

Summary: Sharp, slightly spicy clove, tangy-rusty nail-hard iron, and intense, chemically-sharp black leather over dry wood and smoky-earthy resins with a very faint touch of sweetness if I sniff close to my skin. Good throw and longevity. Definitely masculine and totally fitting the description and general concept, but not something I can wear.

 

This reminds me most of Spanked of all the 1500ish BPAL scents I've tested. Which means I dislike it immensely but imagine it will be very popular.

2008 Version:

 

Golden oil. Sweet, musky, perfumey - from both the amber and the dragon's blood, and rather green-herbal - a sort of dry grassy note from the hemp. I'm not getting any red currant and the honey is light. Loads of amber.

 

Much more powdery; the amber is even stronger! More floral, in a way that makes my face itch - dragon's blood for sure. The hemp is also much stronger, and hemp is a unique sort of scent, but there is a lot of hemp here. Honey still sadly faint, but then white honey is very light IME. A tiny bit of tart-juicy red currant, but it's being smothered, by the amber and hemp in particular, but the DB and musk are definitely super strong also.

 

Gettiing sweeter, and going plastic. This amber is totally like sickly sweet baby powdery and diapers. This is reminding me a lot of O, which explains its popularity (and my dislike). The honey has amped, and the hemp has softened. The red currant has turned sour in a bad way, like sour milk. The musk is rich and languid - the Arabian musk - but I get some lighter, sort of fresh (but totally not working here and so clashing as a result) skin musk, too. At least it has faded a bit overall.

 

Dry herbal hemp, sour red currant, sickly sweet, heavy, plasticky amber powder and a whisper of soapy dragon's blood air freshener make this revolting to me, with only the sexy musk and hint of light honey as redeeming features - but not anywhwere near redeeming enough. Low throw after initial rapid fading, but after that it sticks to my skin like evil glue.

 

Rich amber coloured oil. Sweet, heady, fruity, slightly spicy and smoky rich floral. I get a lot of plum, heliotrope, calla lily and ylang ylang, a fair bit of honeyed beeswax and incense smoke and a spicy kick of pimento, but only light red musk and tuberose. Definitely a dark, sophisticated, complex womanly scent - which means it's totally not up my alley.

 

Suddenly oddly sour, in a weird way - the pimento, maybe? It reminds me of a lot of the old heavy and sour floral/incense type DCed blends, blech. Lots of incense, lots of smoke - very much hazy. The plum and beeswax are much fainter on my skin. The pimento takes on a vegetal, slightly sharp bell-pepper tinge, and the tuberose is going very soapy, while the calla lilla has gone a bit powdery, and ylang ylang is heady and just too much. I also get a bit more red musk, which really makes the blend almost unbearable on top of everything else.

 

Better; less sour, more cohesive, though still totally not my sort of scent. The plum and beeswax (which has become much more waxy in a really realistic way) have returned, especially the plum which is a little tart - it's definitely wild plum, and not the lab's standard plum note. The heliotrope gives this a golden glow. The red musk has amped a bit, going sort of mentholic as it does on me. Still loads of incense smoke and heady floral powder-soap.

 

Sweet-tart wild plum, heavy smoky incense and heady, old lady florals and powder-soap with a little vegetal, mildly spicy pimento and sort of old dusty beeswax - this scent is very heady and smothering and dusty and powdery and I SWEAR there must be amber here, and the red musk doesn't blend at all - time for the sink, I've withstood this unpleasantry long enough. Good throw, alas.

 

 

Super fruity; very citrusy, slightly tropical, nicely tart. The tangerine, mandarin, and peach leap out most with quince and kumquat just blow. I get the plum blossom, quite sweet, a little peony and a little fresh bamboo...fortunately no hemp or dragon's blood. It smells more peach and orange-citrus forward the previous Chinese near year scents.

 

Tarter, and still citrus above all, which I love! more kumquat, lychee, and quince too, and the peach is a little syrupy, but not too cloying. This also goes a teensy bit soapy, which unfortunately I think is the dash of dragon's blood - not something that's ever been identifiable in prior CNY scents. I also get a bit of of a green-earthy hemp, but lightly, and a little of the lovely grounding pine resin, which is similarly a little earthy and musky (and it reminds me a bit of oakmoss), but not really 'piney'. The bamboo's a little aquatic, luminous.

 

The scent blends together more, but otherwise doesn't morph much. That hint of DB is annoying, but not quite a dealbreaker, especially since the citrus in this blend is so fantastic. I am getting more peony as it dries, typical with florals for me and fortunate as I love peony. This is gives it a more balanced, rounded, airy feel. I can't pick out the hemp anymore - it's faded. Bamboo and pine resin remain light and grounding.

 

Final drydown (musky, lightly floral-fruity pine resin and bamboo) after multiple hours is very similar to all the CNY scents, but the citrus is still brighter here than in the others, and that unfortunate faint hint of soapy dragon's blood remains. I'll keep my bottle - which btw has the best label art of all the CNYs! - but I won't need a back up.

Rich, dark, earthy and woodsy with a hint of sweetness and quite a bit of smokiness.. I get the patchouli, lots and lots of frankincense and olibanum (definitely resin-forward as a blend), some green-fresh herbal thyme, a fair bit of sharp-bright juniper but not so much balsam, and a hint of bittersweet cocoa. Can't pick out any oakmoss.

 

Much more sour and woodsy; the balsam must be partly responsible, but there is something else in here giving the strong sour herbal aspect, and it's not in the list of notes. The juniper's a little more spicy, less green. The thyme is stronger, as is the rooty-dirty patchouli, just the kind I hate - I suspect black patchouli. The resins are still strong but a bit overwhelmed at this stage. Still no oakmoss, and the cocoa has disappeared.

 

Okay, less piercingly sour, but still very much so and still from an unidentifiable mysterious source. Still very heavily earthy from the dark, dark black patchouli. The resins have amped up, smoky and intense and DARK. This is a rooty-fllth-covered sharp and black, evil sort of blend, which I guess is appropriate - war shouldn't smell pretty - but it's absolutely retched on my skin.

 

The roommate says 'smells like mothballs' in regards to the late drydown, and I have to agree - it's camphoric. That sour green note never goes away. The thyme holds on nicely and it's the one note that I enjoy in this blend. Mostly though this is overpowering black patchouli, that weird sharp sour note, juniper and smoky frankincense-heavy resins. It reminds me of Minotaur and blends of that ilk, but more sour. The sweetness and cocoa are long gone without a trace, and oakmoss never appears. Strong throw and longevity.

 

Blech. I didn't expect this to be good and it wasn't. So unfortunate the lab sent me THIS one instead of Enkh...

A good friend of mine says her favourite perfume ever was Spirit, but she's not sure who makes it and can't find it anymore...she thinks maybe it was made by Indiado, but is not sure on the name or spelling. Google fails me in my search. Any ideas?

 

If I can find the notes in it maybe I can find something similar in BPAL.

Light, sweet, delicate florals. A bit fruity, definitely a citrus note - dare I hope, grapefruit? Yes, I think this is pink grapefruit! A bit of stemminess and a light grass note, and then some slightly soapy springy white florals. Fitting.

 

Sweeter and juicier - the grapefruit bursts on my skin! I think there are also some sweet florals, namely plumeria and linden. This reminds me a little of both Dirty and The Unicorn. Unfortunately, I get more of a powder-soap from this, stronger than in the bottle, slightly sneeze-worthy. I'm pretty sure there is some sort of lily in here, and I get a little of peony too. Complex; lots going on.

 

This reminds me a lot of something else I have, much more than the two blends I mentioned above - Night-Gaunt, I think. Still a bit soapyish in a definitely-lily-esque way, almost too soapy. But I'm loving the sweet-tart juicy fruit, which is really holding on my skin, and other than the lily, the florals are a light seamless backdrop. The green notes have disappeared, except for maybe a tiny bit of soapy grass.

 

Drydown is sweet citrus (definitely that grapefruit-like note from Night-Gaunt) with musky and slightly soapy light florals. It reminds me a lot of N-G as said, and dries down very similarly. This is a little sweeter and soapier though, but the fruit hold betters, so while I do prefer N-G, this may be worth keeping. To retest. Good throw and longevity.

Totally different from what I suspected, this is a faint, dusty-powdery, lightly soapy, dry sort of scent in the bottle. None of the fresh ginger and lime I'd hoped for. Maybe a little white musk...and the yellow rose, oud, but most of all this is amber.

 

A bit stronger on my skin, but that mostly means just more amber - the extremely powdery, nappies/diaper/talcum sort that's a bit plastic - it reminds a lot of the amber in O, a scent I abhor. I get a little sour, slighty soapy rose and a bit of also sour, off-putting tarragon (it's almost vaguely minty). No heliotrope, no ginger, no lime, no beeswax - ie not a single one of the notes I got this for. Fuck. At least the neroli is also absent, or mostly - I don't get its chemical sharpness here.

 

Yeah this is diaper cream and baby powder with dry dust. It's completely the sort of thing I hate and while unpleasant in the bottle, it's foul on my skin. Even white musk, usually a heavy-hitter, has been utterly smothered by the Evil Amber of Doom. Fortunately it has only moderate throw and I didn't slather it. People mention greenery and florals. WHAT? Did they get the same blend? That seems iMPOSSIBLE to me. This is literally 99% amber with 1% spicy woody dust. And I'm off to the sink.

 

GORGEOUS label (sadly, as I am to discover, the only gorgeous aspect of this blend). Slightly floral, slightly fruity, vaguely aquatic, and then a sort of crushed stone note, more dusty than gleaming. I'm not really getting a metal note, certainly not my beloved chrome.

 

Much more stone, and more dusty/powdery as a result. I strongly suspect a wood of some sort, maybe sandalwood? Definitely a dry, pale wood. It's sharper on my skin as well, and a little soapy in a scented dryer sheet sort of way. Definitely some sort of florals here, but I can't pick them out. Unfortunately I'm strongly suspecting a bit of Dragon's Blood. I get a spicy note that I think is meant to convey metal (the way iron smells like nutmeg to me), maybe mace? It's a little peppery.

 

This oil doesn't dry. Which is ironic, because it's a very 'dry' scent; harshly dry wood dominates at this point - what sort, I'm not sure, other than it's white in feel and a little camphoric. Quite possibly a blend of woods; I think there MUST be cedar in this. I'm less sure about the DB at this stage. It's also a bit less sweet now, but I still suspect a fruit - maybe a berry note, maybe raspberry? But very faint. Still that dry-dusty-peppery spice, but not one that feels warm - despite all the dryness, this blend avoids warmth rather amazingly.

 

DRY, dusty, spicy woods (cedar, and maybe sandalwood?) with a hint of raspberry and some type of pepper or mace, and a dash of dragon's blood for faint soapy-powder. A massive disappointment; this is dull, not at all gleaming, not at all metallic, and not at all good on my skin. Good throw and of course, excessive longevity.

 

An interesting mix of contrasting notes - a little sweet, feminine, and sort of delicate from the rice flower and honey, with a rather dry, harsh and manly white sandalwood note and a hint of biting black pepper. I get the sort of musky depth that I get with oakmoss-containing scents, but I can't pick it out specifically.

 

Sweeter, much more honey and rice flower, and the rice flower stands out more - it's sort of creamy and vanillic, definitely Asiatic, and absolutely gorgeous! The sandalwood is still a bit harsh and too dry for my tastes, and oddly it's a bit sour on my skin - yeah, it's almost like cedar. It amazes me how much variation there is with white sandalwood. I do get a little oakmoss distinctly now, but it's the lightest note, softly earthy. The black pepper still prickles at me unpleasantly, and also makes me feel like sneezy. Boooo pepper.

 

Okay, this is becoming nicer; notes are harmonising. The sandalwood has softened a bit, but it's still too dry, or else there is cedar in here - I'm really leaning towards the latter, because it reminds me a lot of Bony Moon. The oakmoss has amped a little bit and it's responsible for much of the blending of the scent, I think - it's very sutble, but it adds this lovely earthy/mossy fullness. Also, there's a note here that reminds me of crumbly thick tree bark. This has lost most of its sweetness; the honey (which struck me as a white honey, i.e. very light to begin with) has faded greatly, and the rice flower a little too - it was never strong, but it's holding somewhat better than the honey, and it adds an almost nutty/grainy sort of creaminess that also serves to emulsify. The black pepper is finally substantially lighter, but STILL THERE.

 

A little bit of the sweetness comes back, but this doesn't morph much beyond initial drydown, though the oakmoss, which was never strong, peaks low and early and starts to fade back down to almost nothing.. It's predominantly warm, dry, dusty sandalwood and CEDAR with a bit of nutty-creamy, softly sweet rice flower, and little lick of white honey and kick of dusty black pepper. It's a simple-feeling blend, fairly unisex leaning a little towards masculine, and it does feel Asian...but it's far too dry/dusty/warm for me. Great throw and it fades a little but then holds pretty well.

 

Not what I expected, and another one that while not awful, really doesn't work for me.

Very rich, creamy, ganache-like dark chocolate - perfectly truffle-esque, and reminiscent to my nose of PSX54, Candy Butcher, and Dark Chocolate (Gaiman). Much lighter below is a delicious lime skittles note - bright, candied, a little juicy and little tart and bitter from the peel. It reminds me greatly of the lime note in Scurvy.

 

WAY more lime, instantly. And it is definitely the same note from Scurvy, which unfortunately goes horrid on my skin - all bitter and sharp, all pith with a hint of peel, and barely any fruit - this still has some tartness, but it's essentially lost all fruity sweetness within seconds. It is a little bit more fruity and less pure bitter sharpness than Scurvy, though. It's an incredibly STRONG note, and whereas the scent in the bottle is maybe 75% DC and 25% KL, on my skin it's 98% KL and 2% DC. And that's within SECONDS and it's not even dry! I can't analyze the chocolate bc it's so overwhelmed it's barely even noticeable.

 

This stuff really amps up on me to have super strong throw. The lime actually has softened and sweetened a bit - it's still not the delicious skittles note of the bottle, but it's quite nice, and almost salty, and smells almost like how Scurvy smells on my roommate. Okay, it's pretty darn good! The chocolate has amped up a bit too, providing more balance, though lime remains firmly in command. The chocolate has lot most of its richness, which is good for me, but I get hints of that weird musty powdery note that many foody scents dry down to on me, and a very faintly of that rancid-nutty note that I get with most chocolate - but I have to really sniff deeply to get that.

 

Apparently this make my skin itch, because I caught myself subconsciously scratching at that arm and thus scratching away a good bit of the scent. In the final drydown, the lime does eventually fade further, and it's the juicier, tarter, sweeter notes that fade most while the bitter pith and rind remain more strongly - still, it is clearly lime, and it is not Pez like the Panacea lime notes, and it's not nearly as sharp as in Scurvy, though I think it's the same note. The chocolate note unfortunately goes a bit more musty and while it never really goes rancid, the vague nagging suggestion is too much for me. This *almost* worked, but not quite. Throw is very good at first, but my skin eats this up quite quickly, scratching aside.

 

Not what I'd wished for, but I'm not surprised because it's rare that the lab's citrus holds on me and that its chocolate behaves. :\

Super boozy! Cognac, rich,a little creamy and fruity, leads the way, with whiskey just below, and the creamy dark chocolate lightest and definitely more distant than either booze note. The chocolate note here seems different from the one in DC & KL; less rich, for sure, and I swear I get a banana note in this. Actually this reminds me a little of the Bake Sale proto, somehow! Also, this is not really that sweet nor is it really foody due to the heavy booze.

 

Whoa - even boozier, and now the whiskey's on top, a little sharp and a tiny bit sour, but bearable. Cognac just below, also very strong on my skin. But the chocolate has amped too, and gained in complexity - though it's still a different note than in DC & KL. It's like it has a higher cocoa content, and in fact I get some cocoa, a beautiful bittersweet (barely sweet, almost unsweetened, only that natural sweetness raw cocoa powder has) note, and not much creaminess - it's a darker chocolate, but less heavy and cloying. And I still get banana (but very lightly, and it's a natural, not at all fake note), and now some hint of spice - nutmeg, I think?

 

Total morph! This is still boozy, but it's much sweeter, creamier, and the notes have melded smoothly. Unfortunately, the spice has amped, and I get that sharp sort of CLOVE-y red carnation (which is also a little velvety-powdery) and still the nutmeg - in fact these are the strongest notes on my skin now, with whiskey in second place. Still some light banana. The chocolate has gone a bit darker/more intense yet, and the mild sweetness in this scent seems to come entirely from the cognac and maybe the banana and spice. Somehow though this is also much creamier than it was earlier, perhaps a side effect of the scent coalescing...it's definitely a very unique scent.

 

Final drydown is 85% spicy/clovey, very tactile, rich red carnation, 10% creamy sweet cognac (all the whiskey's burnt off after a few hours), and 5% faintly-banana scented super dark chocolate-cocoa. Very interesting, and richer and more foody in final drydown than many of the early stages...but this is not a carnation that I enjoy. Totally unexpected and not like anything else in BPAL, though, so I'm glad I got to try it. Good throw and great longevity.

Light golden oil. Super dry and woody - a little warm, but mostly DRY, so dry it makes me thirsty! - with a little bit of powdery-perfumey amber, and faint sour rose. It's that same 'rose-infused amber' from the Miller's Daughter, except the ratio here is different - more amber, less rose. But same notes. It's quite sharp, acrid, and then there's this hint of almost-foody sickly cloying sweetness below.

 

More rose, more sour. Also very sharp (even sharper than in the vial), in a way that could be the rose - it reminds me of the sharp plastic aspect of most of the versions of Rose Red. There's a little bit of fruitiness too, to the way that there is in RR. Rose is definitely dominating with this wet on my skin. I do not like this sandalwood at all - it's rough and dusty. And I'm positive there is cedar and rosewood in here too - still plenty of dry woods below the rose. The amber is quite present too, and still perfumey and a little more powdery in a way that makes me want to sneeze. The mysterious sweetness remains distant, probably smothered by the rose.

 

The sweetness is now emerging, while the rose continues to amp (though it's becoming less plastic and sour, possibly due to the sweet note amping). It's either tonka or vanilla, a really heavy, rich, almost creamy, foody sort. I think it's vanilla, because this is reminding me a lot of the sugared vanilla note in Hope & Faith - in fact now that the sour/sharp/plastic/acrid notes have receded - and the woods have faded too, thank god - it reminds me quite a bit of Hope. The scent has definitely coalesced; it's much less unpleasantly chaotic.

 

The roommate says this smells like 'buttery popcorn and wood' and I agree that there's a buttery note here, which is almost definitely tonka, or maybe chestnut. Yup. I think there's tonka/chestnut AND vanilla, though, that same super strong sugared vanilla note from Hope. So in the end this dries down to butter and sugary fake vanilla with slightly sour rose, powdery-perfumey amber, and a mix of dry, dusty woods. Pretty horrible once the buttery sweetness comes out, with unfortunately strong throw. And of course, it refuses to wash off.

Dark amber oil. Sour, classic florals (definitely that sour rose of the Empress etc, some jasmine, and maybe some gardenia) and woody incense. It smells like many of the older DC'ed scents.

 

Definitely lots of rose, and more jasmine (a little cat pee-ish) on my skin - I'm doubting the gardenia now, but there are definitely several florals here. The incense is earthier, definitely a patchouli of some type, and I get some dry, slightly musky sandalwood too, as well as a touch of cedar. Pretty complex. Less sour, much more grounded, earthy, and woody on my skin.

 

Eeeek jasmine amping and turning more urine-y, too. Also, this is going sort of soapy. One of the other florals is maybe a type of lily, and I also suspect a type of orchid. And the woods are going drier and DUSTY, yech. I think there's rosewood actually in this - not so sure about the sandalwood anymore. This has the rosy warmth of rosewood. The patchouli's quite nice, not dirty or too rooty, and almost a little spicy - a refined note.

 

This actually becomes more bearable as it dries down, with the florals fading substantially, but it's still not at all my style. Dusty woods, earthy patchouli, and sour, classic florals - rose and jasmine standing out, in that order. Good throw and once it fades down a bit, it holds.

 

It reminds me of a woodier/earthier version of the Empress.

Light amber/deep goldenrod coloured oil. Lots of slightly harsh herbal mint (the strongest note) and violet leaf - peppermint and/or pennyroyal most likely, but definitely not spearmint, a bit of slightly sharp osmanthus, soft slightly powdery and a little rooty orris, and something sort of plastic? Definitely some depth but I can't pick out the opoponax.

 

More orris and violet, much more floral, more powdery, softer, less medicinally herbal; the violet notes now overpower the mint, Unfortunately I'm pretty sure the mint is pennyroyal, my #2 nemesis. Still oddly plastic, and the osmanthus, though light, is unbalanced here - it's clashing with the other notes. Overall this is pretty chaotic. More of that depth, a sort of woody resin, though still not identifiable.

 

More and more violet and orris. This reminds me a lot of the Violet Ray, except it's heavier and more powdery - VR has more petal, this has more root (orris). Also, the mint here is much less pleasant. Now I'm not sure it's pennyroyal, since pennyroyal usually amps on my skin - I think it's maybe catnip? This is going a little dusty, maybe from the violet leaf. And I'm pretty sure the osmanthus is what's plastic here; though usually a nice note on me, it's acting badly in this company. More opoponax as this dries, too.

 

Huh, it's morphed, with the green notes becoming stronger than the florals again. That mint has returned, turned a little mentholic (!) and I really do think it is catnip now. The violet leaf is back (it was very faint for a while), along with its rather harsh, sort of manly, medicinal edge - it's a little 'dry' feeling too, like dried herbs, or sage. Still, the orris is very strong, and quite heavy, but surprisingly only a touch powdery despite that.

 

This has a very 'white', opaque feel. In the later drydown - which is pretty different from the wet and early dry stages - out of all the strongly violet scents, this reminds me most of Faeu Boulanger, and then to a lesser extent Silver Phoenix. But this is much heavier and more orris-y than both those. It reminds me a little of Sugar Moon, too, though it's obviously less sweet - very similar vibe, though - much more like SM than those other scents in feel. I consider this a feminine blend. I'm surprised it's not more powdery, and once the osmanthus smooths out taking the plastic aspect with it, it's a surprisingly pleasant blend, but not my style and not worth the less pleasant, too lengthy early stages. Great throw, but it fades quite a bit.

Sweet, fruity rose with a hint of piney resin. Delicious! The rose is definitely strongest but it's not an overwhelming note at all, rather a lovely true rose note, expensive and classy smelling. The lychee is lightly tropical-exotic, but mostly it provide a lot of almost syrupy sweetness, and the cistus is like a faint balsam note - very pleasant.

 

More lychee! Sweeter, more tropical, more fruity. This is almost candied - it's a very sweet scent - and I totally get the sugar syrup or candied rose vine others mention. There's more cistus now, which is a little sharp-bitter and greener on my skin. It's almost too sharp for me, but at this level it's cutting some of the sweetness nicely. I would say the rose is no longer the strongest, but on part with the lychee, and the cistus is just below. Well-balanced.

 

Okay, rose amping a little - but it's still not a HELLO I AM ROSE sort of rose - and keep in mind, I love rose, but I amp florals generally and I have enough rose blends that I don't need another one that's 90% rose. Which this is definitely note. The rose is only just barely leading the way, and it doesn't have overpowering throw as rose often can. I don't know how or why, but this scent has developed a sort of creaminess on my skin. It also reminds me vaguely of a really nice face cream I once used - in a good way. The cistus has lost most of its bitterness and is more resiny now, yay! And lychee continues to hold - I wish it were more juicy, but hell I'm happy it's such a strong note here.

 

This scent has strong throw and it doesn't fade, either. After initial drying and some amping of the rose and softening of the cistus, I'm left with a rich (in all senses of the word) but not overbearing rose heavily sweetened by lychee & sugar syrup, with a light hint of dark green, slightly piney resin to deepen and ground the blend. It's very lovely, very luxurious yet sort of 'fun' in a girly way - definitely one I'll be stocking up on.

LOTS of white musk - by far the strongest note here, it reminds me greatly of White Musk SN, with fresh, almost citrusy-piney cypress a little bit behind, and sadly (and predictably) a soft tangerine note (very sweet and a little juicy - not much tartness) lightly below everything.

 

WHITE MUSK, even stronger and more dominating on my skin. I don't hate white musk, and in fact I enjoy it when it's blended properly, but when it's the strongest note or it stands out too much, I find it very generic and preteenish. Which is what I'm getting now. The tangerine is a tad brighter on my skin, a little tarter and juicier, yay! The cypress is about the same, and it's a lovely note, not at all sharp or generically piney, so those who fear cypress should not fear this blend.

 

This has super strong throw. The combination of a green note and a fruit and white musk reminds me GREATLY of Fae, very similar vibe, except here the white musk is just so incredibly overpowering. The tangerine actually opens up a bit more on my skin as this dries, shockingly - and it's a lovely, sweet note - I do with it were a bit tarter and juicier, but I'm so pleased it's holding on my skin at all for more than 5 sec (and often citrus doesn't even show up on my skin.

 

The cypress is pretty much gone, while the tangerine has continued to amp (wow, citrus amping on my skin? has hell frozen over?), and the white musk reminds overwhelming. But the tangerine has developed a delicious sparkling quality which makes me think of Orangina. This is definitely the best tangerine and also the best orange citrus scent (other than PL176) that I have ever tried.

 

As this dries, the trend continues - tangerine amps, becoming more sparkling and delicous, and the white musk fades very minutely, while the cypress completely dissipates. So I'm left with a very simple blend of white musk and tangerine. I'm undecided on whether I will keep this at this point, because the white musk is much too strong for my tastes and it totally dominates for the first hour, but the tangerine is gorgeous. Damn you white musk! Intense throw and great longevity.

 

 

FWIW, this doesn't remind me of Lilith vs the Giant Crab AT ALL - different tangerine note and totally different vibe - this is way more like Fae with tangerine, to me at least.

 

ETA: Several hours later, it's still going strong and the white musk for so long and so strong becomes nauseating. I am so very devastated.

Old leather (!!!!!), aka Dead Man's Hand style leather, some sort of delicious fruity-tart-citrusy note, and a deep wood note - oak, or mahogany, or maybe a sandalwood, or a mixture? Definitely smells polished. But instead of olive oil, I'm getting some sort of delicious fruit. Not that I'm complaining!

Ohhhhh myyy godddddd I missed you so, old delicious worn leather. *rolls around like a cat with catnip* Still that delicious citrusy note, though it's somewhat smothered by the leather which is first and foremost - I think it's got to be sweet orange. Yes. This is like Dead Man's Hand layered over Gaiman's Orange with an extra jolt of fresh squeezed OJ. Which may sound strange but it is DELICIOUS. The wood is much lighter on my skin, and sort of musky, so I'm guessing it's either sandalwood or oak, as those are the nicest, sexiest woods on my skin. Still no olive oil, unless it's super fruity oiive oil!

Not much morphing here - maybe a little fading of the OJ, but otherwise not much. This has fantastic throw (much like Dead Man's Hand) and I'm really surprised by how faint (and thus unidentifiable) the wood is. I'm leaning towards white sandalwood because it's so light and because this has a musky sort of feel to me, as white sandalwood often does. I completely took a random chance on this bottle and it was a brilliant risk. I am huffing my arm here!

Yeah, this is really not a morpher. After a couple hours it's Dead Man's Hand with hints of orange juice and musky sandalwood. All which I adore so it's pretty much a slightly feminized, even more delicious DMH. I am over the moon! Great throw, but it does fade fairly quickly.



I have now tried 6 Lupers, and all but one have been fabulous.

Dark, intense, a little smoky, masculine. Not what I was expecting! This is all about the musk and the khus (vetiver), though it's a nice light vetiver, not gritty or overwhelming. I definitely get the burnt mandarin rind, though it's light, and a bit of a 'cologne' feel which is probably due to the white musk. Some very light, fresh, and not at all sharp or sour gardenia. It makes me think on the whole of expensive financier's cologne, maybe one who does a lot of business in Japan. No blackberry.

Wayyyyyy more mandarin, mandarin galore! As well as some definite lime. Lots of tart, juicy, delicious citrus. Only a lingering hint of smoke. The musk is immediately more apparent, and I also get some sort of a tea note - black or green, it's both herbal and a little citrusy. I get the very faintest hint of unripe blackberries, the kind that make your mouth pucker, that are still hard. And the gardenia remains light, and while bright is not at all piercing but well-behaved. It's sort of a masculine Tis the Voice of the Lobster, but with way more citrus and must less jammy-sweet fruit, and more...suave refinement.

Hmmmm. I suspect a sake note in here as well as the tea, because this reminds me a fair bit of The Lantern Ghost of Oiwa, except much more delicious. And definitely black tea. I am getting both more of the vetiver and the white musk, so this is going quite manly, but everything's well balanced, no one note is dominating. Other than the fruit - the lime and mandarin and unripe tart blackberries continue to just blast on my skin - amazing! My skin NEVER holds citrus! Btw, if it's not obvious, this is not a blackberry note I've ever smelled before, and I don't know I'd even peg it as blackberry if I hadn't read the notes. The musk does remind me of Black Lace's, in that it's sexy, sophisticated, and incredibly smooth. It has depth but also subtlety.

Some of the citrus/fruit - well, the tarter, juicier aspects - is burning off, but a lovely bittersweet mandarin peel note remains, and the sake has burned off, leaving the mandarin peel, some light cologne-y vetiver, very faint unripe blackberries, and amped black tea (same note from Lantern Ghost, Severin, Famine etc to my nose), over that subtle, masculine Indian musk. I'm surprised because I usually amp musk but this musk, while definitely present, stays close to my skin. The white musk is brighter and more like cologne, and blends with the vetiver note to my nose.

Strongly brewed black tea, fainty smoky mandarin rind (and yes, eventually the peel turns to rind, a dried peel note), smooth Indian musk and clean, bright but light white musk-vetiver man-cologne with a whisper of tart, unripe blackberries. I'm not sure I can pull this off - and I like many a manly scent - but I put this in the James Bond category of uber sexy manfume. But more cerebral, much more sly. Another fabulous winner amongst this year's Shunga!

Vetiver, blackberry, and white musk fearers - fear not. This blend WORKS and is, like all I've tested in the line so far except for Pink Mood, incredibly well-balanced, seamlessly blended, and complex. Brava, Beth!

Very light and fresh - almost foamy sea water, a fresh blue-green-white floral note that I assume is the water lily (it's almost aquatic, very clean and cool), and a little bit of fruity-fresh freesia. This has a much lighter and greener feel than I expected. It's cool, gentle, tranquil. I don't get wood, but this has a faint cologne aspect.

Still extremely light on my skin - it's just a very demure sort of scent - and what must be water lily really shines. It's a bit brighter and headier, 'whiter' in feel, but still cool and aquatic with an almost cucumbery, grassy aspect. This scent on the whole reminds me a bit of Anais Anais (which I love), but more delicate and innocent. It's only very barely oceanic - it's definitely aquatic, but it's only lightly salty - this isn't ocean water, it's ocean MIST. A bit of ambergris comes out on my skin, adding some musky depth, and a little more freesia, which is very lightly soapy-clean (in a good way) - still no driftwood.

Slow to dry, but becoming more floral and definitively feminine as it does so. I *know* this water lily note from somewhere...I think the Black Swan? The grassy note has amped; this is greener, stemmier, and almost a little spicy, while still being cucumbery-fresh. The freesia has gone a bit more soapy, but still within tolerable limits. While I'm not sure what seashell accord is meant to smell like, there IS a sort of chalky, crushed-stone note that reminds me of the note in Julia Stone, or in Sarah (both scents I love), a sort of smooth stony whiteness. And this still smells a little cologney.

This remains subdued, and while for a brief period there's a bit of turbulence as notes emerge and submerge, everything settles down quickly into a beautiful harmonious blend. The almost-troublesome soapiness dissipates as does the nearly-sharp greenness of the water lily, while the smooth white stony note amps, and the ambergris softens into a gentle but rather sexy musk. This is not a scary BAM ambergris note - it's a backup player, not a diva as it was in say, Lilith vs the Giant Crab. If there's wood here, it never emerges on my skin distinctly.

My only qualm with this scent - which is more beautiful than I'd hoped, so it's a very minor qualm - is that it's only so very faintly salty. I'd love a really BRISKLY salty scent without a lot of overpowering notes, and I've yet to find such a scent in BPAL. As I said earlier, this is sea mist, not ocean water. It's not a strongly aquatic scent by any means. I'd describe it more as clean, soft, green-white feminine floral and smooth polished stone with a bit of salty musk. Sutble and lovely, but with good throw and excellent longevity. Another winner!

Fresh! Tart red fruits and bright green herbs, with some warm exotic depths. It's absolutely unlike anything else in BPAL and I want to keep sniffing it addictively. The red currant, thyme, mint and cranberry all pop out, roughly in that order but all strongly and yet in harmony. Then comes the tobacco flower, which adds a feminine floral richness - without overpowering, and the teak and lastly and mostly faintly cedar linger warmly below. A fascinating and delicious mishmash.

This is sooooo delicious, so refreshing and bright. I'm getting some geranium here, and some sake, and the mint is most definitely spearmint. I get cranberry more strongly than I've ever gotten it in a bpal, in fact on my skin it's almost as strong as the juicy-tart red currant. The sake acts as salt does to food - it brightens and enhances these almost-sparkling notes. The tobacco flower, despite being a heady, rather intense floral in general, stays below these fresh red & green top notes, and the woods too remain distant, though they still add warmth, continuing that interesting juxtaposition of the fresh/bright and warm/dry.

Cedar and teak are notes that scare me, but they are behaving beautifully as supporting cast here. There is a very faint cologney soapiness, possibly from the mint (I'm reminded vaguely of Usher), but it's not too soapy - just clean, and another aspect of this very complex and intriguing blend. I am so amazed by how well those bright top notes are holding - they are so persistent, and so utterly addictive - I haven't glued my nose to my wrist like this in ages. Invigorating.

The woods have decided to emerge more while the tobacco flower amps a little, and the top notes are losing a bit of their dominance, though they are by no means faint. It's more that the scent is gaining depth and power; oomph. Recall again that I am not generally a fan of either teak or cedar, but they work SO well here - warm, exotic, almost spicy - they add tremendous sophistication to what would otherwise be delicious, but ephemeral and rather simplistic.The mint has faded more than the other top notes, and thyme has held on the best, while both tart red fruits have faded only slightly.

Several hours later most of the fruits wear off leaving bright green herbs and rich feminine tobacco flower over warm exotic woods. This scent just blends into itself more and more seamlessly over time; it's totally unique, sort of paradoxical, and yet so incredibly well-blended and wonderfully complex. I love that it's both 'fresh' and sophisticated - scent categories that I find rarely overlap for me. A smashing success far beyond my expectations! Also, great throw and longevity.

Interesting! The first wave is vanilla-licorice (the star anise is almost exactly like black licorice), followed closely by fluffly pink florals, the cherry blossom and peony, really tactile. Then it finishes sharply with the neroli, and a bit of an herbal edge which I'd guess is the violet leaf. It has a pink floral-licorice candy feel.

My skin absorbs this instantly despite repeated re-slathering, so there's no wet stage. The star anise is still front and centre, but it's more complex, a little more spicy-woody instead of straight black licorice, though it's still much more like regular anise - I wouldn't peg this as star anise blind. The vanilla's creamy and sweet but not too heavy or cloying, but it's overwhelmed by the anise, as are the flowers. Cherry blossom manages to sort-of assert itself, but the peony is struggling. I also get a distinct black tea note, even though none is listed. Definitely an asiatic feel. And sadly, the neroli is still sharp, and on my skin, as usual, a little plastic.

ANISE ANISE ANISE! I do not believe this is star anise. I am getting pure ANISE/LICORICE, which is not a note I find wearable in perfume. Especially not when it beats all the other beautiful notes in the blend into a bloody pulp. I can't find a trace of the peony, and the cherry blossom is faint. The vanilla still sweetens the blend, but doesn't really stand out individually. But tea, I get intensely brewed black tea strongly, and the almost leathery sharpness of the neroli, though it's lighter than it was earlier. Maybe I'm confusing violet leaf with tea...otherwise, I'm not getting violet leaf, either.

This reminds me a lot of Humbug, somewhat of l'Heure Verte, and a little of Manhattan. But it does still have a pink feel unlike any of those. Unfortunately it's developing the 'rotting floral' note that I associate with a particular iris, though it could be jasmine. The floral vibe is not dissimilar from Jingu, and this also reminds me of Hua Mulan - oh damn, I don't know which, but it reminds me of one of those. With huge walloping dose of LICORICE.

Mostly sweet, anise-y LICORICE over rotting pink-white florals with a little sharp neroli and strong black tea. The anise was too strong even in the bottle, but this scent just gets worse and worse over time on my skin. I really think it has the same jasmine note as Jingu which took a similarly distressing turn on my skin. This is not at all what I expected, and I've never had star anise behave this way on my skin, so I maintain some other true anise is in here amping to high heaven. Where are my lovely pink blossoms? Good throw and longevity.