tinyvulture

I received an empty bottle of L'Inverno, just enough to sniff. It's a pretty floral bouquet with strong white musk and benzoin notes. I'm not getting any plum or pine, sadly. It doesn't seem particularly wintry, but white musk does have a detached, chilly quality, at least to me, sometimes. Here, yes. So I get the impression that this a perfume for a refined, proper lady. Not really my style, but quite nice and elegant.

I received an empty bottle of Jingu, just enough left to sniff. It's gorgeous! A feminine, happy, springtime floral blend. Cherry blossom and plum blossom are the main notes I can detect, with hints of juicy mandarin orange and orchid. I love the lab's plum note and I'm currently obsessed with sakura, so I'll be on the lookout for decants now to fill the bottle.

It's taken me awhile to write a review because I only apply Somnus when I'm climbing into bed. And then I drift off to sleep. So yes, it works. I fall asleep, I have nice dreams which I remember. Best of all, because this is where I typically have sleep issues...if I wake up during the night, I quickly fall back asleep, instead of lying awake for ages. Scentwise, Somnus is lavender and herbal notes. It's comforting, yet medicinal, and very strong. You don't want to overdo it. If you've spent nights staring at the clock, trying to get back to sleep, you really ought to try this.

I honestly don't know what peonies smell like, but I like this scent. I get a lemony floral, fresh and cheery, with a fair amount of green leaves and stems. In the background, rich cream that's slightly nutty, like hazelnut milk. A bright, youthful perfume.

I've always longed to try Skadi. When I first discovered BPAL years ago, I had just missed it being available. I'd consider Skadi the original ancestor of Snow Maiden, Talvikuu, Frau Holle, Mistletoe, all of those wintry blends full of slush and pine needles and berries. There's also a good amount of sweet mint, which calls up Snowblind. Cold and invigorating, yet sweet and nostalgic. Perfection. THANK YOU for bringing it back!!!

Pure frankincense resin, sweetened by vanilla. Dry and powdery in the best way. Think of the frankincense note in Anne Bonny. How can I not love this? Simple yet beautiful.

At first, when it's still wet, I get an off-putting hairspray scent. But, no worries, it quickly fades and I get a vanilla-sweet, creamy floral blend. The tropical airiness of tiare (gardenia) and the American forthrightness of tagetes (marigolds) are an unconventional floral pairing that works quite well.

Juke Joint is nice, if you don’t mind the booziness.

This is an interesting one! At first, pine and yew berries make me think of Christmas. Then the spicy carnation shows up, and that's not very Christmasy. Next, the leather balsam rears its head. I'm not sure how "leather balsam" differs from leather...is it just a vegan leather note? Anyway this is a strong, sharp, black leather. Finally, clove and sweet vanilla show up to mellow out that leather. By now, the pine and berries have practically disappeared! So I'm left with carnation, leather, clove, and vanilla. After enduring the really sharp pine and leather notes that first appear, what remains is a soft and homey blend. Not exactly foody, but the clove + vanilla reminds me of Pickled Imp. Complex and cool!

Dark, dirty patchouli! I'm always up for new patchouli blends. This one's got a strong cocoa note, a nice amount of tobacco, and a bit of leather. Compared to another patchouli/cocoa blend, Tezcatlipoca, this is stronger, less powdery. Bold, strong, as the hand of destiny ought to be! I'm not sure what pau d'arco smells like, and I don't get any cinnamon or vanilla. I love the way the patchouli, cocoa, leather and tobacco blend together. A unique, powerful, awesome scent!

Sugar cookie topped with caraway seeds? That's what I'm getting. A sugar cookie's not as buttery as shortbread, but it still has that buttery baking note. I can see how it smells like snickerdoodles, too. I drink a lot of ginger tea and I'm not getting that, nor the citrus that others have mentioned. Caraway is an interesting choice of spice. Maybe I'll have to make caraway sugar cookies! Not a ton of throw, but I'll enjoy the decant I got.

At first: warm golden musk, red berries, and a forest note that my amateur sniffer identifies as pine, but which must be hawthorn bark or aspen leaf. These notes together make me think of Yules, like Mistletoe and Skadi. I can't pick out any violet, moss, or honeycomb, and I'm not sure what life everlasting smells like. After 5 minutes: the woodsy note is gone, now it's all berries (sweet/sour/fruity) and honey. Sort of reminds me of Florence. Strong and bright, a happy, youthful blend.

A close match with Black Forest, one of my top GC's. They share pine, juniper and animal musk notes. The animal musk in Faunalia, while warm and sweaty, is also more cuddly and soft than in Black Forest. Think Ivanushka. Faunalia's scent description also lists some herbal and floral notes, but I'm not picking up any of those. The only additional thing I notice is a bubbliness or fizziness. Makes me think of a gin and tonic. A lovely woodland scent; if I didn't already own a bottle of Black Forest, I'd be ordering one of Faunalia.

With shared pear and milk/cream notes, I'll have to compare this blend to The Perilous Parlor, which I own and love. PP is super sweet and creamy. Contemplating the Moon has the same juicy pear note, but the milk accord is dry, powdery...like powdered milk, I guess. Plus, there are soft, dry floral notes -- jonquil, tuberose -- and the vegetal neutrality of carrot seed. So while PP is a playful, foody scent, Contemplating the Moon is more of a complex women's perfume that happens to contain a pear note. I like Contemplating the Moon, but it's a bit too powdery, so I prefer The Perilous Parlor.

With leather and sarsparilla notes, I thought there might be an "Old West" vibe to this scent, but it's actually coming across as an "outdoorsy" blend. The earthiness of the patchouli and the distinct spiciness of sarsparilla have bound together to remind me of walking through the woods in Western Maryland as a kid. That earthy, woodsy, herbaceous, sweet scent of all the different foliage. The leather blends in seamlessly and I'm not picking up any honeysuckle or vanilla. I don't feel the need to track down a bottle, but the imp is a definite keeper, for nostalgic reasons.

On my skin, lotus can either be terribly cloying, or sophisticated and lovely. It's simply gorgeous here, its sweet womanly perfume enhanced by golden honey notes. Not overstated, a bit powdery but in a nice way. This may end up on my bottle list. For fans of Glowing Vulva or The Flower Song.

At first I smell lemon tea. Similar to Shanghai, but more wispy and subdued. Shadows of florals and watery notes in the background...there's a stronger flash of dry, powdery floral...poppy?...that quickly fades. Nice but too subtle for my tastes.

On first application, not a pleaseant scent. Smells like an old, abandoned library with lots of mildew. I love libraries. Mildew, not so much. I guess the dark green herbal/musty note is coming from the balsam. The leather note's also strong, but I'm getting no vanilla. After 10 minutes: Was hoping for a morpher, but it's not changing. Still quite strong. I long to visit the Mutter Museum some day and this blend is perfectly creepy, but not something I'd wear on my skin.

My husband and I both adore copal. Where we live, it's burned at Dia de los Muertos festivals, and we always have a little bag of resin rocks on hand to burn at home. This is almost pure copal to me. It is slightly cologne-ish, but so is copal resin, IMO. I guess many folks would call this a masculine scent, but I'll wear it. Regal and rich and mineral and sweet all at the same time.

I love the oats in Gunpowder, and I adore the lab's pear note. And wine's never a bad thing. So I knew I'd love this blend, and I do. The oats are warm, comforting, foody without being sickeningly sweet. I'm not sure if the lab has different wine notes, but this wine really reminds me of the honeyed red wine in my favorite, Athens. So gorgeous, just the right amount of throw, and perfectly blended so all the notes are balanced. I want a bottle so bad now! Thanks to Mellifluous for including a tester with my decants!

For orchids, Magdalene is my go-to blend, so I'll do a comparison. Opiate Southern Gardens isn't as lush; it's more dry and understated. The poppies are noticeable, too, and I always equate their scent with a candle being blown out. I'm not really picking up any peony. I can see how this blend fits the description because, for a garden full of lovely orchids, there's something dark and somber about it.

At first, almond extract? OK, that's random. When that goes away...buttery cookies with caramel. Like a tin of those shortbread cookies you get at Christmas. Super buttery and sweet. I didn't know the meaning of "squamous" so I googled it and it means...scaly. After a couple minutes, I get the aquatic note that other reviewers have mentioned. Oh, darn, it's that aquatic note that goes sweet on me, like pineapple. I'm trying to tell myself, "Well it still smells okay, like pineapple upside-down cake." But honestly aquatics don't do much for me and as far as this year's foody Yules, Pumpkin Pecan Treacle Tarts has already won my heart.

Cold, but not slushy/snowy...it's more of a cold ozone scent, wintry air, with a touch of aquatic for the river. It's so smoothly blended, I can't pick out any woodsy or smoky notes. A winter's day in the woods, turned into a cologne. Too masculine and I don't do well with ozone.

Gingerbread meets Snake Oil! So we have gingerbread with plenty of bite from fresh ginger and cinnamon, plus lots of vanilla and the other spicy/woodsy secret notes that comprise Snake Oil. A close relation to Shub-Niggurath, Pumpkin Queen, and undoubtedly Gingerbread Poppet, although it's been ages since I've sniffed that one. Also kin to Dia de los Reyes, for that heavy cinnamon note. Foody meets sexy, with excellent throw.

Here's the slush/snow that was missing from my Pink Snowballs. It's paired with sweet and sour (mostly sweet) plum. This is one strong, bold blend. The currants are present, too...this scent is heavy with dark fruits. Cardamom is usually easy to pick out, but I'm not finding it. I like this decant, but there are other plum blends that I prefer, so no bottle necessary.