Amoraexcena

An October funeral, 1888. Black linen and delicate, sugar-spun lace suffused with the scent of tobacco, black tea, Indian musk, liturgical incense, and cognac, with a drop of laudanum and crushed Autumn leaves. Mmmmm. Autumn Lace is definitely my fav of the lace series since the original Black Lace. It's definitely in the same category but is more wearable in my opinion. The incense and cognac are well balanced with the sugar and linen, and the musk comes out once it settles into your skin. The tea, laudanam and leaves I can't distinguish separately but they definitely give this scent a more golden-brown feel than Black Lace (which, in colour of scent association, is ink black). Autumn Lace also a little similar to Tattered Lace but minus the slightly strange lemon I get from that one. As an aside, a rather famous October funeral in 1888: Elizabeth Stride, who was killed by the Ripper. May she rest in peace.

I definitely +1 the Dorian rec, and also the Midwinter's Eve. Definitely a sweet fruity floral, lovely.

I tried this without remembering any of the notes listed - I vaguely remembered I wanted a The Girl that actually works on my skin. I put it on, and I couldn't for the life of me name any note. It's VERY well blended. My first thought was: Joyful Moon and Midnight on the Midway's sensual coupling produced this. Now that I look at the note list and reviews, I'm a little surprised. I don't usually get along with honey at all and I thought tea rose was my least favourite type of rose. I guess not. This blend is absolutely gorgeous, and I'm sad that not many people got to try it because it's so exclusive...and because I wouldn't mind #grabbyhands me some more. It's complex in the best way possible - it's definitely not too citrus-y, not foody from the vanilla, the tea rose doesn't overwhelm, there's only a hint of cognac, honey doesn't amp to high hell on me, the olibanum and musk grounds it... Props Beth, you're incredible. PS: it's not much like The Girl, which is more... white, cold, birch-y, not nearly as sweet. The only common factor, in my opinion, is how well blended they are.

Here it's already starting to get chilly, so... Dorian Lamb's Wool aged Snake Oil and I can't wait for Raven Moon! though I suspect I'll sniff it and think, two years of cellaring for you!

I don't smoke anything, but this is what I imagine clove cigarettes to be like. Sweet, dark and spicy. I read somewhere that this is a red-musk-dominant blend, and I'm happy to say it's not. Siberian musk is nothing like red musk, the latter which I can't wear. I'd say Siberian musk is closer to black musk. I agree with parrot_suspect: this scent is evocative of a leggy blonde Russian woman in a drapey-sexy cashmere sweater with a black lace bra-strap peeking out. In farther drydown the resin comes out, tonka sweetens a little more, the clove and musk lingers. I'd say it's the lovechild of Hellhound on my Trail and Schwarzer Mond. If this was a LE blend, it's the sleeper hit kind that's overlooked until it's aged a few months, then goes for $50+ on ebay. It also reminds me of the sloowwwwww, sensual sex. The thorough, fulfilling-all-your-darkest-desires kind.

I also did a little double-take when I smelled Ice Princess! She's very little like most of the lab's ice or snow scents. IP is very sweet, mouth-wateringly juicy, and has the most wearable honey on me to date. It's predominantly berry fruit, and like Imbrium I get an underlying pink rose -but it could be the blackcurrant I'm smelling, because this oil is seamlessly blended. It's also strongly scented, and will be great for those who use it as a in-shower moisturizer.

Ro's Argan Body Conditioner is pretty close to Joyful Moon

What's the most benzoin-heavy BPAL? I love Death Cap's almost-all-benzoin drydown, but the initial dirt+cedar isn't really my thing.

Wet, Death Cap is sweet patchouuuuuuuuuuuli and leaves, translating into loamy dirt and mushrooms. Dry: sweet mushrooms, loam, cedary wood, coconut husk, and definitely an undercurrent of benzoin. I'm quite certain it's not any of the lab's vanillas, it's a milder vanilla-incense-resin; benzoin. I can even feel the stickiness of the resin oil. Quite nice and warm, with benzoin taking over in far drydown. It's a lovely skin scent. I'm guessing this one will age spectacularly. I'll definitely keep the imp for a while and see what happens. I might look for a bottle, I love the far drydown of this after the cedar fades... or maybe I should just buy some pure benzoin oil

Wow that's really interesting. I'm wondering if Beth's cake accord includes the same chestnut note in it, because this smells a lot like that cake batter note from Cake Smash, BJ&S, Sprinklecake.... the same butteryness. Very foodie and sweet, but this actually works better on me than most FOOD blends. The labdanum creeps into the sweetness after a bit (but the nice, tart juniper berries are only detectable in the imp) making this more wearable for me. The drydown's a little similar to Haloes, which is nice.

I'm wearing A Bachelor's Dog right now, and yup. I definitely get the Sherlockian vibe.

I was leery about trying this one, because I'm not usually too much of a fan of the lab's cake note (Eat Me, BJ&S, etc.) and the reviews haven't been too wonderful. I'm also not much of a foodie (Midway and Cake Smash are alright.) So I can say I'm pleasantly surprised that Sprinklecake is not Betty Crocker chocolate cake mix or horrid plastic almond or cherry syrup (I hate all of those things.) It's icing sugar and sweet vanilla cupcake, especially its throw in drydown stage is very convincing. It *is* what some people would associate with children, although I will love sugar overload until I die. To bottle or not to bottle!!! hmmmmmm. I think it's an affirmative!

I'm a sweet floral lover and it seems the Wiley Grasser is definitely up my alley if the pine needles are mild. I didn't order a decant but I'll probably have to tack it on my next order. What's your budget like ivyandpeony? Did you order any decants?

I absolutely adore Liz. There's a flower in Liz that I'm not very familiar with. It's a little on the sharp, sweet and sour, bright side, which gives this blend a lot of character. I'm going to hazard a guess that it's orange blossom, along with maybe ylang ylang. The leather in this one is more leather-y than the soft suede of CC:F. The sharpness largely fades in drydown into a floral vanilla with a hint of leather. It's a beautifully blended, complex scent that's quite different from other scents in my collection. I reach for this every autumn/leather jacket season.

More decants suggestions: The Illustrated Woman and Black Lace

Wet: The sandalwood threatens to overpower for a minute or two, then leans back and lets cocoa and vanilla take centre stage though, almost as an afterthought, it sticks around to ground the scent and keeps it from becoming a foodie blend. Dry: Beth's description, as usual, is dead on: warmed on the skin, this scent gives a soft, gentle, sensual embrace. The throw is quite close but it lasts a decent length, 3-5 hours on my skin. It's a cousin of Boomslang but without that rice milk that goes funky on me. The slightly bitter cocoa is also reminiscent of Black Temple Burlesque Troupe, but it's much more of a caress compared to the punch of BTBT. Velvet is a seriously beautiful gourmand, and I love it. Bottle purchase soon!

I brought this out in honour of the recent Weenie update, and am absolutely loving it. It's a beautiful creamy pumpkin pie with a steaming mug of mocha. It hits most of the palate -sweet, bitter, creamy, spicey. Love it. This is going to be a staple this autumn

Wet: Whoa, clove! This rum is definitely spiced with clove, with a hint of heat –maybe black pepper? I do get a little hint of “prostitute’s perfume,” but I wouldn’t have if it wasn’t in the description. It reminds me of Hellhound. Drydown: A touch of salty aquatic, distinguishing it from Hellhound. Off to the SO this goes!

Indigo musk, wild plum, rose geranium, benzoin, night-blooming jasmine, and patchouli. Wet: Beautiful musk, subtle plum and soft florals. It’s pretty gender-neutral in my opinion. I’m loving that indigo musk…it’s very, very different from Beth’s other musk accords. Drydown: The wonderful night-blooming jasmine becomes a little more prominent, making it distinguishable from the other flowers. It has pretty gentle throw. The patchouli and resin come out a bit more too. It's quite nice

This and CC:F has become my winner-wears for this summer, and I can see both of them becoming long-term favs. Initially, the frankincense is pretty strong, and I think combined with the woodmoss gives this almost a citrus feel. After the wet stage however the sharpness fades completely (I think possibly it'll fade completely with some aging.) The drydown is so comforting. The lace is very well loved, snuggly, soft and with a worn-in feel. The vanilla tea is prominent with the cognac, opium tar and resin as supporting notes that keeps this from being a simple young-feminine blend. I can't get much of coconut bark or silk (I have no idea what the latter is supposed to smell like). There is none of the coconut note in Obatala or Tarot: Star etc. It did initially remind me of Dorian but it's less sweet and way less musky. I wear it more than Dorian! It lasts about 3-5 hours, with a really enjoyable close throw.

Gypsy is a pretty good clone of (aged) Hellhound on my Trail. The latter is pretty much impossible to find lately.

In the imp I get a lot of burnt cedar, which is probably the smoke note. Upon application the sweet cranberry amps, reminding me a lot of Fruit of Paradise, which I love. It's also somewhat similar to Midnight Kiss, with the musk+berry element. Tart and sweet, with the barest hint of spices. The cedar hangs around for a while then fades. I like the rose-amber colour of the oil.

I didn't buy this from the lab because I was scared of the ambrette seed -I somehow read annis. Thankfully I was able to get it through the forum! There is, of course, no icky licorice smell to this In the bottle, I smell a warm, soft vanilla and sweet, almost fruit-like honeysuckle. The rose is velvety and gentle and lurking beneath. On my skin the rose immediately amps, but it's a very realistic, beautiful rose. It's more subtle than Hope (which is the other rose scent I can wear), and is supported with a bouquet of sweet white-and-cream florals. I would wear this to a wedding, for sure. The florals do bloom quite a bit, obscuring the vanilla a little, for about ten to fifteen minutes. On the drydown however the vanilla musk predominates. The rose has largely faded into the background. I get wafts of gently floral vanilla musk, very similar to the effects of Antique Lace in its far drydown (the scent itself is quite different). I don't get any lunar oils at all from this blend unless you count white musk, which to me smells like musk that's been infused with coconut water. I like it better than The Girl, which had a similar crystalline musk. Now I want to get married under a Joyful Moon someday!

Wow, I'm amazed that this isn't getting more love. MORE FOR ME. I'm adoring this one... In the bottle, this is QUITE spicy. If cardamom wasn't listed explicitly like it is, I would probably have guessed dust and clove. Gypsy definitely feels dusty: it gives off the image of soft, feathery gray moth wings, tinged with gold and brown. On and dry, the sugar and bourbon vanilla comes out, balancing the spice with sweet. I don't think I get any "alcohol" from this, unlike some of the other posters....(I have a feeling people see "bourbon" and equal it to the booze, but "bourbon vanilla" is a type of vanilla.) I'm pretty sure bourbon vanilla is just slightly smokier than black vanilla, Madagascar vanilla or (foodiest) vanilla bean. This scent is hitting a lot of my scent palate (made-up term): it's sweet, smokey, spicey, rounded and smooth (buttery tonka and Egyptian musk, I think that's you) and maybe even a tad bitter. It's a beautiful olfactory pleasure. It's in the same family as Hellhound on my Trail. It doesn't have the wear-length or throw that Hellhound does, but it's VERY wearable. It's undoubtedly going to be one of my midsummer-night favs. Beth&BPAL.... I love you. This scent makes me SO happy. I'm having a tough time with my family right now and you're helping me pull out of it

In the bottle, this one definitely has a rich booziness to it. I think it's the saffron's fermented-honey-like quality that's adding that liqueur element to Celeste. It doesn't morph too much on. Up close, it's got a bit of bite to it -maybe saffron's the top note- but the throw, the throw!!! Soft, snuggly, smooth, cuddle-worthy vanilla spun sugar. An adult version of Aquolina's Pink Sugar. I LIKE. Celeste has fantasitc throw and higher-than-average longevity. The scent lingers for hours on end. I've used orris root powder as a scent fixative, maybe it's contributing to the wear for this oil or something. It's pretty powerful stuff too. A little dab on my neck is plenty to last me 5 hours. I'm glad I got a few bottles because this is definitely one of my Antique Lace/XCDL13/Elf v4 replacements! Hype? There's not enough of it yet, this girl's beautiful.