puellacaerulea

2020 version: In the decant, I'm getting mostly honey with a whiff of Snake Oil. As it dries down and develops more, the vanilla cream starts to come out more, and the spicy, resinous S.O. notes also start to amp up more. It's really well blended -- while the overall scent softens with wear, the honey and vanilla never quite overpower the S.O., or vice versa. If you like the idea of Snake Oil but find it too heavy/incense-y for everyday wear (which is why I don't reach for my imp of it that often), this might be one to try -- it's like a warm, sweet, cozy version of S.O. that's a bit less heavy on the resins. I might need a full bottle for when cooler weather comes back again.

2020 version: So I never understood what people were talking about when they talked about p'oud. This was never an issue I'd had with oud blends before. Reader, I now know what people are talking about when they talk about p'oud. In the decant, it's a very true, fresh rose with just a slight hint of woody backdrop. Then I applied it, and then p'oud happened. That weird, vaguely fecal smell does eventually settle down and I get rose with slightly hay-like woods, but that fecal stage is a bit tough to power through. I'll hold onto my decant because I want to see how it fares in a scent locket, but can pass on a full bottle.

In the decant, it's all soapy florals, but it develops fantastically once on. The ambrette seed, vetiver, and sandalwood amp up a ton (there's also just a faint hint of smokiness there), balancing out the white florals and creating something both comforting and sophisticated. It's probably because my skin's really amping the ambrette seed, but it reads to me like a lighter version of Wander Darkling in the Eternal Space, minus the myrrh and with more floral oomph. I might need a full bottle of this.

Was recently frimped a decant of this -- not sure which year I have! In the decant, I mostly get bright lemongrass. As it wears, the amber comes out and tempers the scent -- after drydown, the oakmoss also amps up more, giving a mossy, herbal, green counterpoint to the lemongrass. If anything, several hours in, I'd call this oakmoss with a lemony edge to it. Fortunately, I like oakmoss, so that works for me. I can see myself reaching for this more often as the weather warms up. (As a side note, I love the bright greenish-yellow color of the oil -- matches the name.)

In the decant: Cool green tea, bamboo, and a hint of juniper. Cool and fresh. Once on: The juniper amps up a lot, giving the scent a slight fruitiness. As it dries down, the sandalwood gets more noticeable, adding a little groundedness and complexity to the otherwise cool, green elements of the scent. I'd still call this a primarily green tea scent, though. Super low throw; would be great for warm weather or when you want something subtle. Probably going to need a bottle of this.

In the decant: Olive blossom, amber, and something surprisingly spicy -- is that the fig wood? Once on: The spiciness fades fast, and the olive blossom and amber stay prominent, with just a bit of fig. The wood slowly amps up over time, but this is primarily olive blossom, amber, and fig on me. Deep, heavy, and sexy, sort of like Defututa 2.0. I can't see myself reaching for this enough to get a full bottle, but will hang onto my decant.

This is maybe the most unique of the 2020 Shungas that I've tried so far. In the decant, honey stands out to me the most, but the other notes are there, adding this wonderful complexity to the honey. After applying, the lemon blossom and maple leaves amp up a lot more -- it's not as strong as the dead leaves blends, so don't let that scare you off if you're not a fan of that note, but it does give the scent a more cologne-y quality for a time. This fades as it dries down, and the end result is more of a soft honey and beeswax with a slight citrusy brightness. Definitely give this one a try if you like honey scents. I'm glad I have a decant, and haven't ruled out a bottle purchase yet.

This starts off with lots of slushy, wintry evergreen and mint notes, along with wintergreen-like birch. As it dries down, the evergreen and minty notes fade, with earthy patchouli, hay, and subtle florals taking over. The birch is still there, but the wintry notes are mostly gone after drydown. It definitely has a brown, furry quality to it. Evocative of the name, and a good late winter/early spring scent.

In the decant and once on: The salt stands out the most, but there's also something more generally aquatic under there, which I'm guessing is the kelp note. As it dries down, the patch gets more noticeable, but it's never dominant and blends reasonably well with the salt and kelp. Worth trying if you like BPAL's salt note or fresh aquatics in general.

In the decant and once on: Very bright, loud yuzu and bergamot, with a slightly discordant undertone of cedar. Citrus and wood notes are an unexpected and kind of weird combo, but it kind of works. As it dries down, the cedar and musk amp up on me, making the yuzu less screechy, but definitely still a presence along with the bergamot. It eventually dries down to a soft cedar and musk brightened up by the citrus. It has a glowing, yellow quality, but without the loudness you'd expect if you sniffed it wet. Not yet sure if it's bottleworthy, but I definitely like it.

In the imp, I mostly get coffee and Irish cream, with a little bit of the wood notes. As it wears, the wood notes amp up more -- unfortunately, there also seems to be a skin chemistry fail on me, as it starts to go a little plasticky. Not sure what note is to blame. After drydown, that plasticky undertone starts to go away, leaving me with mostly the scent of Irish coffee -- I never fully get the old books note. Despite that, it's definitely evocative of old libraries and university buildings, and would make a great fall or winter scent. The skin chemistry stuff might keep me from getting a full bottle, but I'll hang onto my imp.

Didn't get this during its original run, ended up having FOMO (because it turns out BPAL's dandelion note plays really well with me), and luckily came across a secondhand bottle. In the bottle, it's surprisingly sharp and bitter, with the fresh earth note dominant. It stays sharp and weirdly cologne-y for a time after applying. However, as it dries down, the sharpness settles quite a bit and the dandelion note I love gets more prominent. The dirt's still there, but it's much softer and better balanced. The initial stages aren't great, but it's worth powering through to the drydown stage.

In the imp and once on: Almond! Lots of sweet almond; having a hard time picking out the other notes. As it dries down, the myrrh amps up a lot more. It is slightly powdery, but that and the hint of dark musk balance out the sweetness of the almond. Overall, dark (but not overpowering) and subtly sweet; worth trying if you're into almond or myrrh. Not yet sure if I need a full bottle (Wander Darkling in the Eternal Space will be meeting all my moody myrrh scent needs for the foreseeable future), but I like it and will hang onto my imp.

A sepulchral, desolate scent. Long-dead soldiers, oath-bound; the perfume of their armor, the chill wind that surges through their tower, white bone and blackened steel: white sandalwood, ambergris, wet ozone, galbanum and leather with ebony, teak, burnt grasses, English ivy and a hint of red wine. In the imp, I mostly get the leather, wood, and ozone, with a hint of the burnt grassy notes. As it wears, the leather and wood notes stick around and soften a bit, as muted, mossy notes start to come out. It's a somber, autumnal kind of scent, but surprisingly lighter than what the description might suggest.

In the imp and once applied: Strong, herbal, astringent cypress and juniper. As it dries down, the rose and chamomile amp up more and tone down the astringent notes. Rose tends to go powdery on me, but I don't notice it as much here -- the cypress and juniper could be balancing that out. Overall impression is rose and chamomile with a backbone of cypress and juniper -- the latter notes don't dominate the scent, but they keep it from being a pure floral. I was skeptical when I first applied it, but the drydown stage is better than expected. Will hang onto my imp.

Both in the imp and on, I get mostly a honeyed vanilla cream, with just a hint of dragon's blood. After drydown, the dragon's blood gets more noticeable, but this stays primarily a honey-vanilla scent to my nose. Pleasant enough, and definitely wearable if you're looking for a lighter take on dragon's blood, but not something I necessarily need a full bottle of.

Forgot I had a decant of this on hand, so. In the decant, I get the amber, coconut, and lemongrass -- bright, sunny, and summery. The coconut and lemongrass seriously amp up once on, heightening the summery impression. After drydown, the lemongrass and coconut settle down a bit, making more room for the amber and a hint of dandelion. I have a hard time picking out the lavender and grass notes. Overall impression: a little tropical, very summery, generally bright and happy. Will definitely reach for my decant more come summer.

In the imp and once on, this is very much a clean scent, with a hint of white florals, but not particularly loud white florals. Fresh, pretty, and unobtrusive. It gets progressively muskier as time goes on, becoming more obviously a skin scent. Throw is relatively low, especially after drydown. Worth trying if you want something clean and subtle. Not sure if I need a full bottle yet, but will hang onto my frimp to experiment with layering with the other RPG imps in my stash.

This starts out as straight-up champa incense, but after some wear, the myrrh amps up quite a bit, almost overtaking the champa and making the overall scent more resinous than smoky/incense-y. A little strong and dark for everyday wear, but I'll be hanging onto my decant.

In my decant, I get mostly olive blossom, black fig, and frankincense -- heavy, resinous, and more traditionally masculine, but the orris root is also noticeably softening the whole blend. My skin really amps the orris and ambergris, enough that they overtake the heavy/resinous notes almost entirely. They creep back in well after drydown, but for the most part, this is powdery, soft orris and ambergris with a touch of olive blossom. Fortunately, I really like orris and ambergris.

Before drydown, I get green fig, dry, non-foodie vanilla (think vanilla husk), and the earthy component that others have noted. My skin seems to really amp the fig, as it gets strong and significantly sweeter as the scent dries down. My skin eats it up almost entirely after a few hours. Overall impression is a slightly dusty, earthy-sweet fig scent.

This version of 13 starts out as mainly chocolate and coconut on me, slowly giving way to mostly a vanilla marshmallow scent as the day goes on. Well after drydown, I'm still getting mostly vanilla marshmallow, but with a pleasant, dry cocoa note mixed in. Overall, it's sweet, foody, and whimsical. Staying power is also great through all the various stages it goes through on me (11 hours later, still very sniffable on my wrists). Will hang onto my decant for when the mood for something fun and foody strikes.

In the decant: Mostly watery violet; the woods are tough to detect. As it dries down, the woods start to come out more, giving the scent more of a backbone and keeping things from getting into watery/soapy floral territory. The woods are subtle, but they complement the violet well. Soft and low-ish throw; this isn't an in-your-face floral.

In the decant and once on, I get heady, lush gardenia, with just a hint of vanilla in the background -- it's definitely an assertive white floral, but the vanilla seems to keep it from getting screechy. This lasts long, has good throw, and morphs very little. If you're a gardenia fan, it's worth tracking down a bottle of this.

In the decant and once on, I get the creamy, slushy version of the snow note, without much in the way of citrus. The herbs and white florals come out as it dries down, adding a floral and slightly bitter edge to the snow note. It's like a less lemony version of The Moon's My Own. Chilly, pretty, and perfect for a snowy day.