Goatweed Leafwing

[MuskWitch]

Tonka bean, orange blossom, ambrette seed, and brown sandalwood.

Just to let you know, I don't have the incredible nose that some of you have, so I just say whatever I can about a scent.

Goatweed Leafwing, in the bottle, YUM! I like this! It does smell "brown", but in a really good way! Nothing jumps out at me. On my skin, vanilla, very faint orange (VERY faint, VERY nice) and what must be the brown sandalwood, I don't get the champaca flower at all. Might need a backup! Or course, things could change drastically the next time I try it. I have the "yips" since what HAL did to me (Loved the first try, the second and third went straight to sour old-lady wearing WAY too much jasmine perfume).

Ooooooo, I just keep sniffing my wrist!

After about 15 minutes of dry down, I can pick out what reminds me of faint brown musk. Still LOVE IT!

 

Edit: Testing again, it seems to be a bit milder in the bottle than it was before. On my skin, after about 15 minutes, I get the wonderful scent of Vanilla and Nag Champa (without the "annoying cat pee" scent that seems to come with it), with a slight woodsy background. Mmmmmmm, LOVELY!

 

Edit again on October 17: This is absolutely GORGEOUS! It has melded and mellowed into a well blended champaca flower dominant scent with woodsy orange blossom and a hint of sweetness. Still has a trace of that "brown" scent, only in a REALLY good way. Perhaps I will be ordering another bottle?

Edited October 18, 2014 by MuskWitch

[fetish911]

I don't smell any orange while this was wet, just tonka and sandalwood. It dries to a very soft, sandalwood that stays close to my skin. Not a lot of throw, but it's a nice fuzzy brown scent. This would be nice when you want an snuggly, understated skin scent .

Edited August 22, 2014 by Fetish911

[EnchantedMoon]

The butterflies have just amazed me Each one so unique and beautiful. This one definitely does not disappoint. I do detect orange in this, but not a very powerful in your face orange. It is enveloped by a brown fuzziness which I suspect is the brown sandalwood. All of the notes make this blend very comforting. It is a bit sweet, fuzzy brown, with a twist of orange. The longer it is on your skin and matures the softer it becomes which I really enjoy. Beautiful!

[Balame]

A lot of people seem to be digging this one. To me, it’s a very “lady-like” blend. The tonka and sandalwood make for a very smooth, dignified base of resins, while the ambrette adds a touch of sharpness making it smell more typically “perfumey.”

 

I can’t pick out the orange blossom specifically, but I think without it Goatweed wouldn’t be as warm and (fairly) sweet. Contrasted with the lushness of Eastern Comma this is a good bet if you want something less overtly sensual but still alluring.

 

I’m kind of on the fence about this one. Every time I think I can pass I give it another sniff and think, “Well maybe not!” Something about the resins almost remind me of the Lab’s “paper/book” blends like Aziraphale, but where some of those are dusty or dry, this is smooth and warm. It’s understated but attractive.

 

*edit* No longer on the fence. After retesting a few times, I'm getting an offputting baby powder smell on the drydown (as have a few others, it seems). Pass.

Edited October 30, 2014 by Balame

[FragranceLush]

This blend whispers cuddles with a small furry animal more than stating flittering butterfly. To my nose it is lovely - well blended and hard to discern individual notes - but just too damn light. Damn. The same scent but stronger would make me very happy indeed, but even slathering I find it just too light.

[Zii]

Wet: I don't know why this is screaming floral sap to me, but this is very green. Very similar to my SN Dandelion of all things. Not what I wanted at all...

 

Drying: This must be the orange blossoms drowning everything out because this is a nasty sappy green floral with the barest hint of something musky. No tonka, no sandalwood, and the only thing that might be ambrette seed is the musky thing floating around, seeing as the googles tell me it smells like musk. But it's really just smelling like cheap floral soap right now.

 

Dry: Well, now at least I can figure out that this is ORANGE blossom and not just generic floral. But I had no idea that this was going to be so floral on me. Florals and I do not get along in the slightest, and both tonka and sandalwood are usually very rich on me. We'll see what a little aging does to this, but I think this one isn't going to work on me.

[Blood onmy hands]

I love the sweet, creamy, smooth mix of tonka and orange blossom in this (almost smells a little like fruity pebbles cereal on me at first, which I loved). The brown sandalwood amps up and drowns out the other notes for me, though, and is unfortunately very baby powdery on my skin. It quickly becomes a warm, baby powdery sandalwood with a hint of creamy orange blossom as it dries down.

[somacat]

On me this is a beautiful fresh sunny orange blossom. I wish I had a bottle. Not a low of throw but perfect for work.

[OctoberGwen]

I agree with the "fuzzy brown" assessment that most reviewers are giving above. Something about brown sandalwood actually reminds me of amber: it's got that dry smoothness happening, and the lovely orange blossom and warm tonka give it a bit of airy sweetness.

 

A very nice blend, understated and grown up. I didn't order a bottle, but I will use my decant for sure.

[PinkoCommie]

I know there's no pine in this scent, but when I put it on, it smelled lovely and smooth and a bit herbal.

 

Within 30 minutes, I was being strangled by the mf'ing Christmas spirit. PINE EVERYWHERE. My nose probably mistranslated something, but I couldn't handle it. Luckily, this was a joint order with my BFF because we both wanted to try this and Southern Cloudywing. On her? No trace of murderous Christmas trees anywhere to be found. It because a soft, warm herbal scent and it was amazing. So that became her bottle. I will not risk invoking the wrath of an invisible Christmas tree again.

[sqwook]

See, for this one, I'm with MuskWing -- I am totally getting a soft, beautiful scent of nag champa burning outdoors in the open air and a light breeze. Not the lab's typical nag champa note, but my scent-memory of what it's like at a particular store I visit, where they always have a single stick of nag champa burning just outside the door, and when you enter the store, the breeze outside the door floats the scent lightly past you. I do not know why it's hitting me this way, given the notes, but that's definitely what it's like on my skin!

[zankoku_zen]

Tonka, hints of orange blossom and sandalwood. This is light, comfy and very wearable.

 

Soft, cuddly, brown.

[cameroncrazed]

In bottle: Hello, sandalwood! Is there anything in here except sandalwood?

 

Wet on skin: Sandalwood with a hint of sweet orange blossom. There's a touch of something else that I can't quite identify, other than it's none of the listed components. It's reminding me of something that I used to use that I can't quite remember – some type of body lotion or shampoo? It's very lovely, but it's driving me insane that I can't quite name it. Seems to be getting sweeter by the second.

 

Dry on skin: Gorgeous! Almost all orange blossom and tonka bean with a hint of sandalwood in the background. Love, love, love! There's not much throw, so I keep having to sniff my elbow and wrist. I'm going to have to get a bottle of this one!

[ClockworkMoM]

I agree with zankoku_zen, this is soft, cuddly brown. On me, it is all tonka and sandalwood with a slight hint of ambrette seed. I do not smell orange blossom, but perhaps that just adds to the softness of the scent. This is my favorite of the 2014 Metamorphosis blends and it is perfect for a crisp autumn.

[annemathematics]

This butterfly landed in my mailbox yesterday.

 

Bright, sharp, clean, higher in tone than I expected. It reminds me of an old-fashioned perfume. Mostly orange blossom with a very restrained base of the wood and resin. There's a hint of smokiness.

 

 

This is not a sticky or fuzzy butterfly, but one that is bright and smooth and polished.

[Astarial]

In the imp, this is tonka and sandalwood I think. Brown and fuzzy.

 

Wet, it gets a bit sweet and heavy, I'm not sure if that's the ambrette or the orange blossom being weird. Then it goes to.. sweet baby powder? It's not exactly baby powder, but it's sweet and dry and kind of dusty. Oh wait, no, now it's full on baby powder. And doesn't change back.

[Magycmyste]

In the imp: Bitter, bitter orange. I'm not sure I'm going to like this.

 

Wet on skin: Slightly... less bitter orange.

 

Dried down: Ok, this is better. Wearable.

 

Throw: There is a little bit of an orangey throw here.

 

Verdict: *** It morphed into something better, but I wasn't fond of the beginning, and the ending wasn't quite special enough for me. This one goes to the swap pile.

[sariasister]

In the imp and wet on skin: Mostly sandalwood. I don't get any of the orange blossom that other people describe.

 

Drydown: Still mostly just sandalwood on me, although I may be getting hints of the tonka bean. At the end of the day, I can barely smell anything on my shirt or skin.

 

For me, this seems like a better room scent than a perfume and is the most masculine of the butterflies that I have tried.

[Gateau]

I got a huge blast of orange blossom with this one, which was fine by me, as it's one of my favorite notes, all sweet and warm. Later once dry, I smell it commingled with the tonka. Then I started smelling whiffs of a really beautiful warm (not sharp or cologney) sandalwood, but when I'd press my wrist to my nose it was nowhere to be found. Crazy! It would be there, and then not there. This didn't stick around terribly long (yet, we'll see if aging helps that) but it was a very nice, late summery orange blossom and tonka blend that sticks to the skin but wafts this lovely sandalwood from time to time. I will enjoy this when I need a bit of summery warmth.

[MiasmaResonance]

This reminds me SO MUCH of another BPAL scent... but what is it??? *scratching head* I was unsure about the scent itself at first, but it's growing on me.

 

*eta*

 

AHA! I figured it out. It's Khajuraho 2013. It has the same basenotes going on, except this one has the orange undercurrent and doesn't work as well on me as Khaj does. This has an herby...ness at first, whereas Khaj always smells like this one does on the drydown. I like it more with a small retest; it almost gives me a froot loops vibe! But there is a slight powdery undertone with sharp herbal qualities, which I noticed the first go 'round, that makes this veer into grandma territory. Hmmm. Will have to think about this one!

Edited October 10, 2014 by MiasmaResonance

[theseagrows]

this starts off with a blast of orange blossom and then I think I'm sensing the ambrette and hints of tonka and sandalwood. the sandalwood goes a bit sour on me as it often does, but not too bad. it's mostly just orange blossom as the dominant note though. almost an orange blossom single note.

[doublehelix]

Why hello there, musk! This is the sexy counterpart to question mark and eastern commas orange notes. While I found question mark to be almost dainty like, this is sultry, and beautiful. I get mostly musky sandalwood, the orange hides a bit more in this one. Very grown up and pretty.

[Jangzonrice]

Wet: strong sandalwood and tonka bean makes it vanilla-like

Dry: still "brown" but now something is making it have a baby powder edge that I dislike.

 

Unfortunately, the metas are not working for me this year...

[milo]

A bit sharp and smoky at first, almost like there's vetiver here. The smokiness fades, and it is more orange blossom now, it reminds me a lot of Khrysee, a luper from a few years back. I really like orange blossom, but this is too similar to Khrysee and Hunger to warrant any more.

[astarinel]

Strong orange blossom at first. This is the same orange blossom note in Katharina and Harlequin, which is good because that's the orange blossom note I like. I'm sort of wondering where the rest of the scent is, because this isn't very brown or cuddly to me at all. It's all orange blossom all the time.

 

Reading other reviews, I'm wondering if there were mixing issues or batch variations here. I'm definitely not smelling anything woody or vanillic, even as it dries. I was really hoping for the warm fuzzy tonka and sandalwood to come out, and I think they'd mix well with this orange blossom... they just aren't there.