VioletChaos

Oh my groodness, I love this SO. HARD. I am already a huge fan of the Lab's Sugar Plum note, and this is just...wonderful. It's sweet and twee and yes, adorable. I want to dress this scent up in fluffy pink bows, that's how cute it is. And now, the TMI Review: I do this thing that I've been secretly referring to as the "Cat Poop Test", which, as you may have guessed, involves sprayed a scent near a freshly pooped litter box. (I use sprays to manage those odors pretty regularly, actually) and so I took tis opportunity to test out Sugar Plum and Vanilla Bean. And behold! Like magic, the poop smell has VANISHED! Huzzah! So, not only delicious and cute and cuddly, but a serious defense against certain varieties of chemical warfare

In The Bottle: I'm reminded heavily of the sweet juniper note in 21 when I put the bottle up to my nose. Nothing but juniper. It's very holiday-like, don't get me wrong. Just not what I was expecting the 'frost' note would be like. Wet On Skin: I'm still getting nothing but the snow note at this wet stage. I like it, but I hope to see the vanilla and sandalwood soon... Dry Down: Oh, you pesky water and ozone notes. I thought for sure it would be held in check by greater forces but...nope. There is nothing but frost on me. Forever and ever. If the Lab decides to do a vanilla-sandalwood scent on their own, I will be very, very happy. But with my skin chemistry, those more subtle notes simply can't fight their way through the total amping of frost. Sigh. Off to swaps you go...

In The Bottle: Yummy hazelnut softened by some vanilla. (In the bottle there's something reminiscent of Banshee Beat. The warm sweetness, I'd guess.) Wet On Skin: The sandalwood immediately begins to take this scent out of the realm of foody and into something more musk-and-wood oriented. Still warm and sweet, but the 'food' vibe I got from the bottle is already gone. Dry Down: The myrrh has done it's annoying powder-thing on me, which makes me a not-happy camper. I am having an extremely vague memory of trying this many years ago and having the same thing happen. *However* that was before I know about the importance of aging resins, and there's enough good in this bottle, with enough promise, that I'm completely willing to age this puppy for 6 months to a year, as that's usually what's required for myrrh to play nice with me In All: Medium to high throw- use sparingly!- with little morph once dry. A promising array of notes keeps me anticipating what will happen when this ages.

I haven't gotten a Lunacy scent in quite a while, but the notes in this sounded too hard to stay away! In The Bottle: I get vanilla-honey-almond-rose all in a rush. It's sweet, light and very "pink". Wet On Skin: The tangerine and rose are doing something kind of ghastly at this stage, one pretending to be floor cleaner, the other insisting on becoming nail polish remover. I hope this stops right away! Dry Down: Hmmm. That mugwort-and-musk combo might be the culprit behind the above cleaner/acetone mashup on my skin. But the longer it sits, the more the unpleasantness seems to move away, leaving behind a rosewater/almond combo that reminds me of Victorian Rose Milk. In All: Medium to High throw- go easy in application with this, and expect changes. I don't know that this scent is 'me', but I'll hold onto it, at least to test another few times before I toss in the towel.

In The Bottle: This is a first- a scent that morphs just while I'm *sniffing* it in the bottle. First I got the black licorice thing for a few seconds. Then I keep sniffing and something sweet and vaguely fruity emerged. Then it changed AGAIN and became creamy and dusty (the vanilla and incense?). Wet On Skin: The black tea is prevalent now. I recognize this tea note as the one from Time's Infliction Of Eternity. Dry Down: The tea is still the dominant note, but it's lost it's acrid edge, which is great. It's also gained a lemon-y aspect so that, yes, this smells something like tea with lemon. I'm bewildered as to where all those other notes went, though! In All: Low throw. I'm truly perplexed. Those other notes are hiding in there somewhere. I'll let this age and re-test later. I won't object to a "black tea single note". However, given the amazing note-list for this scent, I have to say I'll be more than a bit disappointed if those other elements don't eventually come out to play.

In The Bottle: I get almost nothing but tobacco, with some of the honeyed black currant adding a little top note to the proceedings. Wet On Skin: Things start to shift here. This 'dark, sweet' musk has actually barreled over the tobacco (virtually unheard of with my skin chemistry!) and made a little nest with that black currant note. The tobacco is now in a grounding, supportive role. It's different than what I'm used to, though I don't object in the least. Dry Down: The tobacco has stepped back to the forefront, bringing a warm, caramel quality with it and melding with the musk. I get none of the patchouli or currant now. In All: Medium throw and there's potential with this scent. Because of the richness of the notes, it's one of those scents that I think (for me, at least) needs to age a bit before the spark really happens. So I'm going to hold on to my bottle, and retest in a month or two. I anticipate it being worth the wait.

In The Bottle: How to explain such a strange experience? For upon opening the bottle, I got, inexplicably, a nose full of fruity scent, yet without the fruit. I can only assume that's the pink pepper working it's magic. Wet On Skin: The scent has morphed, pretty dramatically. Honestly, at this wet stage, I'm a little worried, because mostly it's smelling like nail polish remover on me Dry Down: Morphed again! Whew! And not a moment too soon, for this has become something rather beautiful. The oudh and the saffron have joined with a drop of labdanum to create a sweet, resin-y bit of gloriousness. Many years ago, there was a little mystical shop that carried the most wonderful traditional Kyphi incense and it had actual raisins in it (which made me want to eat it!) and other sweet, heady bits- and that's what Some Strangeness In The Proportion reminds me of. There's an incense-y feel to this, and it's sacred, but not in such a manner that it feels like I need to only wear this on rare occasion. On the contrary, I anticipate wearing this all the time, everywhere. In All: Low throw and just exquisite, I anticipate this scent achieving the kind of greatness in aging generally reserved for something like Snake Charmer.

In The Bottle: It's rather strong, just from first sniff. My initial impression is one of BPALs passed: A mash-up of Crypt Queen and Mme Moriarty with some Haitian Vetiver tossed in for good measure. (This is somewhat typical for me, when a scent has a number of notes. The first impression winds up being something of a cacophony of impressions. It'll sort out, I'm sure.) Wet On Skin: The sorting has begun. As the scent warms up on me, the vetiver mellows considerably and the plum and lily both make their presence a bit more obvious from their companions. Dry Down: This has become what I had so wished Crypt Queen would be on me. It's basically taken the best part of CQ - the Plum and the Patchouli- and mingled them with resins to ground them and musks to sweeten them and created a stunning all-winter scent. Yes! In All: Surprisingly low throw for such a heady scent. Still, I wouldn't slather until you see how it mixes their your own chemistry. Given the abundance of low-base notes in here, I'd say this is likely to age *very* well. I anticipate having this in heavy rotation throughout the winter, especially when I'm feeling all broody, like tromping around in the cold, grey world whilst listening to The Cure. Stern Passion shall be a perfect companion for such an outing, I feel certain.

In The Bottle: The sweet dustiness of the ambergris and sandalwood in combination give an immediate early association with Tombstone for me, with the vanilla cream and patchouli mixing together for what I agree someone else in this thread called a "chewy" patch. It's almost got a fudge-like quality- though not in a foodie way. Wet On Skin: Initially the sandalwood/ambergris dominated making it just seem like Tombstone v2. However, after about 90 seconds, it really starts to bloom and the benzoin comes out to play. There's a surprising warmth to this scent. I knew there'd be sweet resin involved but this "feels" really warm to me. Dry Down: There's a way this scent keeps trying to fight for it's right to go powdery on my skin (immortelle, is that you?) but is held in place by the surrounding notes. I get no tobacco from this, which feel miraculous, as normally I amp that note to the heavens. In All: Medium throw, though subtle- it can waft, but is more of a 'skin' scent, so resist the urge to slather, as you won't be doing yourself any favors. There are certain scents that for me are nearly the same as putting on a big comfy sweater and drinking a giant mug of tea while reading a good book. (Hod is one of those, for point of reference). This, too is such a scent. I think that given the notes, some real aging is required (patchouli, I'm looking at you.) But I feel strongly that give this a year and it'll be a covetable thing indeed.

The scent was strangely subtle in the bottle. I say "strangely" because, based on the mild scent there, I slathered a bit on application and was greeted with "HEY THERE! I'M GONNA MAKE YOU SMELL LIKE A THING!" as the scent took over my arms and neck I've no remorse, though. What I got immediately was a strong combination of the sugar and the clove. I knew I amped sugar, but perhaps I amp clove as well, because there must've been a solid 20 minutes of nothing but those two notes, no matter how hard I huffed my arm. After that, those BFFs finally started to settle down and THEN the oats started to come around. This is the same oat note from Gunpowder, so if you liked the cuddly warmth of that, then SPM just might be for you. Largely absent on me? The sweet potato! I don't know what's happened to it! I wonder if it's my nose, or perhaps it needs to settle after shipping...but it's nothing I can easily detect, not at THIS time (if it shows up later, I'll edit my review!) Even with the slather and initial loudness, this scent has a low throw and sticks pretty close to the skin. A warm, close, comfy scent, Sweet Potato Musk, in all, comes off lovely, friendly and unassuming. I'd put this scent into a similar category as Hod, Halfling and Gunpowder for warmth, wearability and general coziness. Perfect scent for putting on your softest sweater and drinking hot cocoa while reading a favorite book or cuddling with furbabies.

For me, this scent was a lark. I didn't think on it much, I just sorta tossed it in my cart because it sounded fun. And now it's turned out to be one of my favorite new scents! For a perfume with such a low throw, this oil has incredible staying power! I put this on about 7 hours ago and traces of vanilla ice-cream and light sandalwood still cling to me. In the bottle, and for many hours after, this scent was just yummy ice-cream and warmth. There are a few BPAL scents that I classify in my head as being "sweater scents", by which I mean, when I need comfort and warmth and envelopment, these are the scents I reach for to hug me and protect me from the sharp pokey bits of the outside world. Hod is one such scent. Dragon's Milk and Bliss are two others. And now Mini Magdalene. As I said, the scent has low throw- this perfume plays it very close to the skin- but it's there, a constant comfort. I'm really glad I went with my instinct on this one. I predict this to be the sleeper hit, the one people kick themselves for not ordering when they had the chance.

In The Bottle: It's like Pumpkin+Diwali Wet On Skin and into Drydown: Welllllllll....I guess it turns out that pumpkin must be one of those notes that I kinda amp. This version smells mostly like a fresh-but-buttery pumpkin out front and then little traces of...maple? This is pretty sad for me- I've been looking FOREVER for a good chai scent, preferable something heavy with cardamom. But this isn't it. Oh, I'll test it out a few more times but honestly, I'm having better luck with the Pumpkin Spice Everything Single Note: it seems to come far closer to chai than this year's Pumpkin I on me. :Biding my time:

2014 version. In the bottle: Church incense and buttery sweet cake. Strange, perhaps, but I like it! Wet On Skin: This is the incense note from 2006's Midnight Mass. It's holy, and strong with a slight powdery quality to it. Dry Down: Okay, this is going to sound TOTALLY. WEIRD. But...this scent has turned to Love's Baby Soft on me. I am so deeply confused by this, it makes positively NO sense at all, but, well- it is what it is. I'm not terribly troubled by this because 1. There's a number of notes in here that can change dramatically with aging and 2. I actually have warm-and-fuzzy associations with Baby Soft, so if it stays this way on me forever, then I actually won't be that sad. Totally flummoxed, perhaps. But not sad.

I'll join in on the chorus of those that find comparisons to Banshee Beat. BUT- And this is important- this is not the sexy-hippie-love-thong vibe that I got from Banshee Beat. Not by a mile. While I'm not getting any of the cinnamon, the honey has done it's trick and very much transformed this scent and made it sweet and soft and maybe even a little sticky. As it dried further, the patch makes it's presence slightly more known but again, this is no dirty-hippie kind of scent. The honey makes the patchouli almost come across like a very, very soft leather. There's a sweet-but-earthy interplay here and I am interested in seeing how this scent might age for a month or so. In the meantime, it's keeping me interested enough to wait and see what happens next.

I can definitely see the cheery sherbet comparison, but this also reminds me strongly of Lik-M-Aid Fun Dip- sweet and sour cherry candy all the way. In the bottle it's got that karo-syrup sweetness that yes, I would associate with stage blood. But then it's gets fizzy, reminding me of cherry poprocks and maybe goes *slightly* lemony (but really, that lemon is an afterthought). As it finishes the dry down, the fizz remains, if in a slightly more subdued manner and the scent becomes slight more sophisticated- but not by much. Mostly, this is a strangely adult-flavor of poprocks. Consume by the handful- IF YOU DARE.

This is just one of those scents where I yell "How does she DO IT???" because how can Beth (or any mere mortal) take something as ephemeral as the smell of a fire and make it into a fixed substance like a perfume??? It's witchcraft, I tell you! But seriously, this has the smokiness of a good Lapsang Souchong tea but if that tea was ON FIRE instead of in a cup, brewing with water. It's really just an incredible thing. I don't know exactly how I'll use this, though I might try layering it with something rich and sweet like Bliss and see where it goes (hey, I love chocolate with smoky bits of bacon to eat- maybe I'll love smoky chocolate perfume, too!) But anyway, this was the Single Note of the whole bunch that definitely blew my mind with it's hyper-realness.

In The Bottle: A-yup, that's there's a bottle full o' spices used in flavoring pumpkin-y things. Wet On Skin: It's staying the same this far, which is a relief mostly in the sense that it's SO well blended. There's not any element that's stands above the rest, it's not like ginger is more dominant than cinnamon etc. It's pretty incredible. Dry Down: As usual for most Single Notes, this had pretty much stayed true from bottle to end-time, with just a little touch of dryness to the scent that might've not been there at the beginning. I, too, primarily got this as a layering-scent and I'm really excited at the possibilities. I am another that got NO pumpkin from this scent- just the spices. And honestly, as much as I love pumpkin, I'm not disappointed with this. I think this scent as is, without pumpkin, has a wide range of possibilities!

In The Bottle: Luscious, creamy, sugary buttery candy. Wet On Skin: Ah. There's the "stale" aspect. Yes, I get it- it has maybe the same "dusty" note that's in Miskatonic U. I like it better here, it lends a little weight to the scent so it's not "all foodie, all the time". Dry Down: Okay, I'm *totally* getting the (LUSH) Snowcake association now. Wow- that's kind of amazing, actually (Snowcake being my favorite LUSH soap *ever*). In All: Not only is this a keeper, but I *just might* have to get a backup bottle. Hmmmm...

What IS this?!? It's driving me a little mad- there's something in here that's incredibly distinct and I'm not...quite...able to figure it out. Part of it is that there's a sweet citrus-y quality to this, I *sorta* agree with the person that mentioned lime and *sorta* agree with the person that mentioned quince. Both feel like they're on the right track, but... I can't name it. It's like grapefruit citrus soda mixed with a light, twinkling musk. If anything, it reminds me of Juba, a perfume that I used to wear from the Body Shop some 23 years ago, mixed with a Betsey Johnson perfume that *also* hasn't existed for nearly two decades. So, I think that's the bottom line. Which for me is pretty great, because I was missing both of those scents of my past, and now here they are in one handy bottle.

This is the painfully-beautiful note that was in Death of Autumn, I feel certain. It's indeed a pile of wet, autumnal leaves. (At least when it's in the bottle as wet on skin.) As it dries, the change is subtle, but distinct, and the Pile indeed dries up too, leaving the unmistakable fragrance of sweet, dry, crackly leaves. I don't know that this is something I'd wear on it's own, but I can certainly see layering this with possibly something foodie, to give it a bit more grounding, like Cranberry Cider or perhaps even Eat Me or Crumpet Rebellion. Maybe it's pure madness to speak of such things, but I have a feeling that this is an avenue worth exploring.

I was delighted (delighted, I tell you!) to see the mighty return of Graveyard Dirt. I had a bottle a number of years ago, during one of it's previous incarnations and even at that time I remember thinking to myself "This really is a Single Note" because it was just SO purely what it is. But then, as we all have stories of, I swapped it away for something else and have regretted it over the ensuing ages. Until now! And so, it's been a total pleasure to uncork this latest vintage and discover that it's just as it was in past versions and I really couldn't be more relived or pleased. Graveyard Dirt has a name that can be perceived as silly or sinister or Goth-y, but the scent is pure evocation of this very real world. This is rich, black, damp soil. This isn't dusty city dirt, baked and frozen too many time to harbor or support life. This is the mineral-rich topsoil that grows robust fields of nourishment and holds summer rains and sweet longing. This is long, hot nights laying back in tall grasses and autumnal harvests and the whispering promise of spring's return and the chance to ride hobby horses and dance around maypoles and find hands-feet-nails caked and coated with rich, fragrant life. Bottled. Perfect for layering since, as is the case with many Single Notes, Graveyard Dirt stays true from bottle through dry-down, I find that it's eminently wearable all on it's own. Glad to have this beautiful scent back in the fold.

In the bottle, the tobacco was the strongest, followed by the pumpkin. At this level, I got nothing more than those two notes, but they were STRONG. Wet On Skin, the tobacco immediately started pulling back and the pumpkin got rich and buttery- a classic pumpkin note maneuver on me As intense as the scent was in the bottle, I was surprised how quickly after application it started to calm down. Dry Down found the pumpkin losing it's butter side and becoming a fresh, still-on-the-vine kind of pumpkin. A "green" note, it reminded me of the smell of all gourds this time of year. About 40 minutes later, the scent has gotten incredibly light on my skin and what's remaining is a whisper of tobacco with a tiny hint of the caramel (which isn't doing the sugar-amping thing on me, and I'm super happy about that) and a faint trace of the bourbon vanilla- which isn't reading as foodie in the least. In All: Very low throw- if this oil doesn't deepen with age I'll have to slather it- and a delicate, sweet smell. This is a good one for daytime use. I'm hoping with all those rich notes that aging it will bring some of that stuff up close and personal.

In The Bottle: The strong, thick coffee note from Bah! mixed with a sharp, astringent poke from the chicory. Wet On Skin: Wow. The chicory give the coffee an earthy vibe at this stage. It's so deep and rich that it *almost* reads like a leather note. Dry Down: Yeah, this has become coffee-and-leather on me Surprisingly, the pastry/sugar notes aren't present AT ALL on me, which is highly unusual, as generally, any sugar near me amps to the heavens. This scent is very perplexing! In All: I know that this coffee note gets better and better with age, so I'm not cashing in my chips just yet. I don't know that I've tested anything with a chicory note before, but my hope is that given some age time that the notes might influence each other in a more grounded and mellow direction. *Fingers crossed*

In The Bottle: Yup, that's some bananas, alright! But not just any bananas- to my nose, this smells almost *exactly* like Laffy Taffy Banana candy. Which I would've lived on as a child if I'd been left to my own devices, so I'm in already. Wet On Skin: The banana immediately starts to tone down as the oil warms on my skin, even at this wet stage. And what comes to fill in the void is a beautiful, light incense. It reminds me actually, of a very light version of Midnight Mass, oddly enough. Dry Down: Okay, so the "flambé" aspect of the bananas foster- that is, that which makes it caramelized- is now out. So what remains is a light, slightly fruit-based incense with some beautiful caramel note rounding it out. In All: It might sound strange, but this scent feels holy, and silly and magickal, and, having just spent my honeymoon in NOLA a few months ago, I do declare that Puddin has done an near-impossible thing, which is transmute a place into it's essence and make it utterly wearable and sacred. Well done, sir! Definitely a keeper!

The rum note that was so dominant in Hot Buttered Rum makes its triumphant return here in this atmo spray. I am a person whose skin amps rum notes to high heaven (and also sugar- maybe a connection? Hmmm…), so I was very curious to see what I'd make of a rum scent that wouldn't come in contact with me. And the verdict is, it's delicious The rum note on it's own wouldn't really tempt me. It's not complex enough to keep my interest. But paired with the cream and something really yummy happens between the two notes. The cream tempers the boozy aspect and makes it more sophisticated, but also more accessible. I didn't get the Red Lantern association the prior reviewer mentioned, mostly because there's a rich, foodie, caramel feel to that scent (especially the atmosphere spray version), where as this, for me, created less of a feeling of envelopment (RL always makes me feel somehow like I'm actually transported back in time) and more of pure atmosphere in this present moment- timeless and timely. Of this year's crop of atmo sprays, it was definitely my favorite.