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- Today
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This was a smack in the face of spiced rum (reminiscent of the Kraken brand). I got the sweetness of the dates, almost as though they were sliced and squashed and left to macerate in some brown sugar. The wear time was immense - around 12 hours - drying down to an indiscernible dark booze and almond.
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This smelled like a thick, rich hot chocolate - like those hot chocolates in a fancy teacup in Paris, made from melted chocolate - with a generous dollop of cream on top. And all this build up and hype for nothing! What a skin chem fail. I used to volunteer with a charity, getting foster dogs ready for adoption days, and my job was to bathe them. And to me, wet doggies smell kind of musky, kind of earthy. No cream, no chocolate. Around 15 minutes after the initial application, this smelled like wet dog. After about 2 hours, my skin has eaten it into a musky soft cocoa (like wet cocoa powder), and the cream has come out - but it's sadly plasticky.
- Yesterday
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I very much get dry spices here, and no coffee, at least on first application - but it does give a truly beautiful chai smell on my skin, and the cinnamon didn't burn me - yay!
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A dirge sung to Atropa bella-donna: caramelized patchouli root, crushed purple berries, and opium tar.
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The silent, obsidian pool of narcosis, a dark reverie whispering horrid secrets: indigo oud, laudanum accord, myrrh, red musk, and black kyphi.
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This is a cold white floral AND a sweet incense smoke AND a spicy clove-blackened lavender at the same time, all bottled up in orris root soap like a trio of baffled genii. It's clean skin, but also a clouded smudge of myrrh. The clove never dominates, but lends a spicy quality to the floral notes. The lavender is astringent and herbal, but also mild. This winds up smelling like a really, really expensive French soap on me.
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Ok I am on the hype train, I really love this. Excellent balance of the notes, not too dank on the patch side and not too sweet/too vanilla. There is a gentle earthy sweetness to the blend, but nothing like Silky Bat, for example. The hemp I think helps ground the notes and maybe tames the patch, it's not reminding me of the lab's cannabis at all. I thought I could not hang (sorry) with the hemp in Hanging Johnny from the Fire Down Below collection, but now I suppose it was just the interplay of notes in that particular blend. Anyway this is perfect. It has the perfect amount of throw, in that I feel like I'm wearing the scent and the scent is not wearing me. Magnetic, gender neutral, lasts and lasts.
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A Guardian Angel Serves a Small Breakfast
doomsday_disco replied to doomsday_disco's topic in Limited Editions
This is mostly about the Rosenkuchen with a splash of coffee in the background. It's too cinnamon-heavy for me, but I'm at least glad that it wasn't strong on the milk note. After a while, the celestial amber musk emerges, and it ends up being all about that note on my skin by the end of the day. I don't dislike it, but I wish my skin hadn't amped the cinnamon in the baked good note and that I had gotten more coffee from this. -
Fencedeck joined the community
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Revenant Rhythm (2025 Version) At first application, this immediately makes me think of MUGLER's Angel perfume. Once it dries down a little, it smells like something dirty/unclean and a dollop of vanilla. To me, this scent is weird - not sure if I like it, TBH update - after about 30 minutes this one gave me a splitting headache and turned my stomach...I could not get this one off my skin fast enough! A very, very rare total & complete BPAL bust for me!
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Death Moon: Belladonna Berries and Sugar
doomsday_disco replied to doomsday_disco's topic in Duets & Menage A Trois
I don't know what happened with this one, but it didn't smell particularly sugary or strong on the berry note in the vial, and on my skin, it was all soap. I was expecting this to be like the belladonna berry note in Beautiful Death, but with some sugar, but this isn't like that at all. -
Death Moon: Absinthe and Lavender Tar
doomsday_disco replied to doomsday_disco's topic in Duets & Menage A Trois
This duet is heavier on the absinthe than the lavender. It starts off being very black licorice-y but then ends up calming down to a citrusy herbal green swirled with a bit of lavender. Definitely one for absinthe lovers. -
I always want to try blends with vanilla & sandalwood. Tobacco is usually my friend. I don't think any blends with blackcurrant (in any form) have been huge winners for me, but hope springs eternal. In the decant, it smells fruity & a little musky. The tobacco isn't showing up for me. Once it's on my skin, Record Book is pleasant, but kind of flat and unremarkable. I'm going to chalk it up to my skin not playing well with blackcurrant. I'm glad I got a decant, but won't need a bottle.
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Neurite changed their profile photo
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Affair Between an Amorous Doctor and a Wanton Married Woman
nikaida replied to Jenjin's topic in Lupercalia
Oh! This is fun! I only have time for a quick “first impressions” review tonight, only 30ish minutes of wear went into this quickie review. Please, future me, come back and say more! Opens with a zingy ginger and a slightly …lemongrassy…? lemon? I can smell that clovey warm heart right away! This smells like something your yoga teacher friend who’s really into using essential oils would give you as a cheeky bachelorette party gift with a note about how you should wear it to help heat things up on your honeymoon. Invigorating and a little naughty. I am liking this one a lot more than I thought I would! I think it’ll dry down beautifully, but this might be a fun not-so-sleepy bedtime scent too 😂 -
this opens with lemon blossom and a ton of sharp frankincense which smells like pencil shavings...this is one of BPAL's notes that sometimes goes wonky on me. after a few seconds i get some neroli and honey, then later the ylang ylang. it ends up being mostly lemon and honey, and this is not one of my favorite honeys i've smelled...it's a little weird on me-has a bit of a pee thing going on. between that and the frankincense, this one just isn't working for me, unfortunately.
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i get a lot of sandalwood incense with some violet, frankincense, ti leaf and a hint of jasmine which grows stronger over time. on me this is primarily a dry, unsweet incense with a hint of unsweet florals. it's nice but i wish i got more of the other notes. the sandalwood incense is definitely the strongest note on me. the jasmine never overpowers and then deep into the drydown i get a bit more violet-it's a this point that i like it the best.
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I love milk scents. I blind bottled this when it was released because I too was going through a love affair with lactonic perfumes (at the time, it was Kissing by Killian) Anyway, the scorched aspect of this intrigued me. My skin chemistry amps sweetness, and aged snake oil becomes multifaced on my skin. The risk was only going to get better with age. now, two years in, this perfume is just glorious. It reminds me of cooking the milk too hot when making abuelita hot chocolate. It is carmelized just enough that just before I think I get sick of the milkiness, it turns golden and warm and gooey. Even though I amp sweetness, the milk carries through the day and doesn’t read as condensed, which I love. The snake oil in here adds body and a depth that screams comforting, and gives character what could be a super linear experience. i love love love my bottle and I’m so glad this milk note works on me.
- Last week
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Boney Moon: Piñon and Blackened Lavender
doomsday_disco replied to doomsday_disco's topic in Duets & Menage A Trois
I really thought this would be a win and almost blind bottled it, but I ended up going the decant route, and I'm glad I did. I get lightly smoked lavender and pine and then, wham! An unlisted red musk note emerges, and I amp that note, so it is a very musk-swirled lightly smoked lavender with a hint of pine on me. WHY -
This reminds me of Madrigal from Lupercalia 2024 (somnambulic lavender, wild plum, Siamese benzoin, and sugared opium tar) without the lavender. This is mostly about the perfume-y opium tar on me, backed by the plum cognac (which isn't as plum-y as the straight up plum in Madrigal), and a tiny bit of Snake Oil's musk and spices... but my god, the Snake Oil is hella light here and cannot hold a candle to that opium tar. I'm really surprised, since Snake Oil is generally a powerhouse on its own, although it has been lighter in color and throw since I think 2019... I think I'll hang onto my decant to see how this ages, but I don't think this is Snake Oil-y enough for me to warrant a bottle (and I'm no longer getting bottles to age just to see if I love them in the future).
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I'm getting a heady white floral note and a fuckton of red musk. The ink is there at first, but it gets overtaken by the heady floral note and the vat of red musk after about an hour, and the red musk is the dominant note by the end of the day. My skin amps red musk, and I'm not a fan of the note, so this isn't a win for me.
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Cake for Breakfast is mostly about the bread of the pain au chocolat for me (I'm actually not getting the chocolate) and the black tea. I get a light touch of peach silk (which is like a light peach note) and a bit of the cherry during the wet phase of the scent and for a little while after, but after that, it's all about the bread and tea. The cream emerges and makes this a buttery bread backed by some tea after several hours of wear. I wish I were getting more cherry like the other reviewers! As it is, it's a good bread scent, but I have enough buttery bread scents that I don't need more in my life.
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Rushing to post this review before the weenies come down. This scent is AMAZING. It's bright, fresh, and juicy, addictively sweet with quite a bit of carbonation. I love wearing this after a shower and now my PJs smell fantastic. If you like sweet, fruity, fun scents, take a ride in the Hot Pink Hearse. I'm ordering a full size as we speak.
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Citrus, red musk, red amber, honey, pepper: all notes that I often enjoy. Champaca isn't usually a dealbreaker, and can be nice, so I wasn't expecting any issues with Fire Poppy. And yet! The drydown is a pleasant honeyed citrus, but there's something in it (strongest early but doesn't seem to fully recede) I don't get along with well -- something that will probably make it more appealing for most wearers. It reminds me a bit of the nose-tickle I get from white musks and white ambers, a tone I usually describe as "clean". The sum is citrus, a touch of honey-sweetness, and an impression of both warmth and cleanliness. To borrow from an earlier reviewer, it's a "watercolor" vision of the subject.
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Alas, I'm getting black licorice too. No opium or lychee, just black licorice on my skin. Wahhh.
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I adore this one so much. Peacock Queen perfume oil is stunning, but so far at least it fades pretty quickly on me. This may change as my bottle ages (though I in general have some problems with my skin devouring rose and leaving none for me), but for now I was so thrilled to discover that the hair gloss lasts forever and ever in my hair, with a gentle but distinctive throw. It's a deep, pure, dark red rose, velvety and smooth and delicious. Whenever I wear it I feel happy all day to get hints of rose from my hair. Highly recommended for rose fans, especially those who like me generally do the opposite of amplifying it. Right now this and Laura are alternating as my two everyday hair glosses, and I need to get some more in the rotation to avoid using them up too fast! But Peacock Queen HG is a delightful addition to my routine.
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I went back and forth on trying this one; it's full of notes I sometimes like but sometimes find too powdery, soapy, or, well, boring. When I first opened the bottle, I was optimistic: the magnolia (+) is coming on as a dewy fresh white floral. On skin, the other florals come out more and balance each other; it's very pretty and while it could be a (nice) soap-scent it does not itself smell like soap, though it threatens to as it dries down. I assume the ambergris is doing some "classic perfume" work, but I don't really smell it. A very soft, non-threatening, slightly melancholy sort of femme. As far as other BPALs, it reminds me of The Lady of Saintonge, but with more florals and 'perfumey' notes instead of the earthy notes and sandalwood. Personally, I might prefer that scent, and will ponder whether to keep both.
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