MamaMoth
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Everything posted by MamaMoth
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prune and nag champa! don't be put off by the prune, it just gives the nag champa a bit of sweet depth. https://blackphoenixalchemylab.com/shop/a-little-lunacy-limited-edition/lunacy/strawberry-moon-2024-prune-and-nag-champa-perfume-oil/
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dark, buttery, unsweetened pumpkin flesh, and what almost seems like an oud incense. it's been kind of a sleeper hit for me lately. i usually lean into seasonal scents, but i've been continually drawn back to this one, in april no less... i just find myself craving it randomly.
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this opens as a cloud of lemon floof accompanied by a deliciously sweet flaxen amber. gourmand in the upper register, but playing chicken with that foody/not foody classification. eventually it settles as a golden sticky amber pastille slowly melting into a baked lemon meringue. glowing, warm, sweet, and velvety. it's a delight.
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this is lovely! it's the antique lace (2017) you know and love, made more... substantial by the batty additions. the wistful nostalgia of AL is there, but with a sweetly musky, in some ways more robust foundation that feels grounded in pragmatism. the leather is just a suggestion, as aged and brittle as the yellowed lace it sits alongside. honestly, while i appreciate antique lace, and occasionally find myself in the mood for it, this is more my jam. i'm very pleased with it!
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everything is marshmallow amber and nothing hurts.
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i'm always a bit wary of leather notes, but i'm very fond of snooty bat, and my love for snake oil is practically boundless, so this was a must-try. and i wasn't wrong. this miiiight be one of my favorite sneks. is leather really the only additional component listed here? i'm shocked. it's snake oil, but so much more, too. it's more leathery upon initial application, with a touch of the plastic quality that sometimes puts me off leather blends. but the leather slips under the surface and joins the chorus soon enough, morphing into a soft brown almost doe-skin of a thing. the spices and vanilla seem a bit amped here from og snake oil, too. it's sweet and musky, cuddly and sexy like a lazy evening under a blanket with someone special. backup bottle, please.
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i don't always have the best luck when it comes to blind-bottle picks, but this one called to me and i really scored a hit! gorgeous grey/white amber, softened and sweetened by creamy white chocolate. the green tea is understated, but it brings a subtle breath of freshness and lightness, making this dance on the skin. but the amber is the star here and it's really outstanding! there's a resiny sharpness to the amber that creates a great foil for the rich, creamy white chocolate. the green tea note just lifts the whole thing up. i agree with @doomsday_disco that this is reminiscent to the composition of the mysore sandalwood trio. a different scent profile altogether, but if you liked the way those notes played off each other, and aren't opposed to the notes here, you might like this one too!
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initially i was half expecting a silky bat variant out of this one, and it's not that. when it was fresh, i got a bit more leather than i was comfy with (especially on initial application), so i put it away for a while to give it time to settle in and to reset my expectations. i didn't dislike it, but it wasn't what i had hoped for. trying it again today, i'm MUCH happier with it. everything is smoothing and mellowing out wonderfully. i still can't detect any silkybat in its dna, this bat is his own critter, but that's not a bad thing and i quite like it! the leather is still strongest on initial application. but clovey incensey patchouli quickly overtakes it, with leather dropping to a background note just giving it texture. the patch here is quite sweet, but it's not the distinctive lemony-type silkybat sugar. it's deeper, almost like a brown sugar. it doesn't really even feel like the same kinda patch, but i may be wrong. whereas silkybat feels like a bright, sparkly-sweet, high-note patch, snooty bat is warmer and deeper: a dry-ish, incensey, spicy-sweet patch. the nag champa is not super prominent, but it is definitely more incense than floral so i'm very pleased with its presence here. as it really settles in, that clovey sweetness gives it an almost-foody vibe that i'm really digging on. a spiced patchouli cookie served on a scrap of leather.... in a room where incense is stored? sorry, the analogy fell apart there. anyway, this is yummy and i'm glad i blind-bottled it!
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i mostly get spicy-spicy figgy pudding from this. deeply sweet, rich, and spicy. much christmas-y. i keep retesting it, hoping the other notes will have developed more, but so far no luck.
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this is the kind of thing my brain categorizes as "schwarzer-mondy." deep, raspy, sweet, and resiny. the myrhh comes on strongest to start, but everything settles down together very harmoniously. this has some slink to it. i love the edge that the red peppercorn brings. i wouldn't call it spicy exactly, it just sharpens everything, keeps it from going too flat and resin-heavy. it's verrah nice!
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this has the same creamy, rich, decadent, cocoa-buttery white chocolate note as the recent mysore sandalwood luper trio, which is absolutely divine in this one as well. here there is is the barest tinge of red fruit to it, but this is not a fruity perfume. i can pick it out in the opening, but it disappears into the blend as it settles in. overlaying everything is a gauzy, almost effervescent musk. as it wears, the musk gains a lot of traction and really blunts the other notes, creating that pastel feeling that lavendercoffee mentioned. this becomes a deliciously creamy-yet-airy musk with a touch of tartness. i like it very much!
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this opens with some chocolate and a plasticy, watery leather note, the likes of which keep me perpetually wary of leather blends. not a very pleasant combo and not a great start. but it really improves after a half-hour or so on the skin. it becomes a soft, comfortable, suede-leathery amber, tinged by a hint of dry chocolate and just the barest whiff of fir to give it lift. it actually gets pretty nice and i'm shocked by how much i like this!
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this starts off heavy and rugged, with lots of dark smoky cacao, a little patchouli and vetiver, and a brown-adjacent musk dominating. but as it wears, it sweetens up considerably, and that smoky ruggedness drops to the back as support. what emerges is an almost ambery musk, that bears less resemblance to brown musk but in that same family. it's animalistic, but not cuddly in the slightest. i'm not sure where all the sweetness is coming from, but it really blooms out on me and wow, the more it settles in the more i LOVE this! it's a sweet and musky, darkly earthy, a little smoky, almost velvety in texture. this is fantastic!
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this is good. i'm learning that oak is one of my favorite woodsy notes. i don't actually get a lot of scorchiness from this. on me, it's primarily tangy, goaty creaminess and tobacco-sweetened oak. it feels like there might be a touch of a musky component, so i see where the red ribbon comparison can be made. very nice!
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Tea Leaves, Vanilla Bean, and Incense Smoke
MamaMoth replied to Seajewel's topic in Duets & Menage A Trois
this opens with a burst of lemon-adjacent tea leaf, but as it settles in the vanilla really comes forward to soften things up, and it's just really, really pretty. there's an incense-y kind of background hum to it, like bpal white noise. but there's nothing i can point to and say: oh, that's champaca, or myrrh, or whatever. it has a good strong throw to it without being overbearing, but there's a softness to the scent that is gentle and calming. the way that softness plays against the crispness of the tea creates a really pleasant experience. i can see myself reaching for this a lot, and i think it will be a wonderful bedtime scent. i love it. -
i'm probably not the best person to review this, because gardenia can go fairly ghastly on me. but i tried this on a lark because the other notes sound amazing. so if you're like me, and wondering how strong the gardenia is: she strong. especially at first. but if you like all those other notes AND gardenia, this could potentially be a huge winner. the red musk is that really smooooth sweet one that's been cropping up lately that is absolutely tdf. it combines with the mango to create a unique twist on your standard-issue fruity red musk. labdanum, patch, and honey create an amazing, sweet, rich, resinous backdrop, but they're not particularly agressive. i'm not getting a lot of black honey but the thread of it i pick up on keeps me snuffling for more despite the gardenia (and champaca) assault. i would love to see more black honey occurances in the future! eventuallyyyy the gardenia/champaca settle down enough that i can appreciate their presence in the composition. it's silky-smooth, sweet and lush. ultimately not for me, but undeniably beautiful.
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the herbs and plant matter are what hit me first, greenly herbaceous, flirting with bitterness. they're not freshly gathered, but rather lightly dried. i can see bundles of herbs hanging from the rafters of a rough hut, speckled with the rich garden soil they were gathered from. patchouli waits for the drydown to really emerge. when it does, it's everything you'd imagine from those notes: dense, earthy, sweet, and utterly beautiful. it's accompanied by a touch of opium, that dark sweet floral note. i keep mentioning sweet, because there is an unexpected natural sweetness to this blend, which is playing very nicely against the slightly-bitter, slightly-sharp greenery. i also find it to have a surprising lightness. it may begin on terra firma, but it takes to the air. in a way this feels like a TAL, something crafted and worn with intent. it smells great, but that seems almost incidental. many thank yous to the wonderful fairies who allowed us the chance to experience this! 💙
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fudge marshmallow heard me saying that a lot of chocolate scents don't end up smelling very chocolatey on me, and was like "oh no she didn't! somebody hold my purse!" decadently sweet chocolate goo. i personally don't get a distinct marshmallow note, but the chocolate seems intensely sticky and sweet. like eating hot fudge topping by the spoonful! i stand chastened, fudge marshmallow! this is a whole CHOCOLATE experience.
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begins with that sweet, almost smoky-carmelized myrrh that others have mentioned, and a dry soft sandalwood. over time the myrhh fades mostly into the background, so that the sandalwood reigns with just the faintest whisper of smoky-sweet resin to back it up. it's not my favorite version of sandalwood, and overall i crave a bit more jazz from my scents, but this is perfectly lovely. there's a contemplative serenity to it.
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An Aroused Prostitute From Maruyama Yukatu and a Merchant From Qing
MamaMoth replied to Seajewel's topic in Lupercalia
this exactly. almond-nutty toasty rice milk. it makes me wonder if there was a mispour situation. how bizarre! -
almond is a note that rides the line of too much for me at times, but i think this sweet almond variant hits it just right for my tastes. it comes on strongest at first, but settles into a creamy sweet almond milk that the rest of the ingredients are steeping in. the incense is gentle and pillowy, leading with champa to me, but carrying soft hints of sandalwood (i think) and some amorphous resin that i'd probably have to do side-by-side comparisons with to identify with any certainty. amber fills out the back end to give this some robust perfumey body without necessarily making it amber-forward. i would characterize this as an incense blend that is creamy, sweet, and mildly nutty. it feels soothing and somewhat nurturing. very enjoyable!
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oh boy. sometimes i make some really oddball decisions when i'm swept up in the heady excitement of a new big drop. which is how i ended up with a decant of black silk orchid, a fragrance that i doubt anyone who knows me would ever mark for my interest. it snagged my attention though, so here we are. but you know? after testing this, i'm not questioning my choices quite so vigorously?? this is a dark, slinky, seductive floral. slightly provocative. deep and sweet, musky, vanilla-forward. there's an air of sensual vintage gloom to it. i can't get the image of maila nurmi's vampira out of my head. i did wonder how the black truffle would present, but i've never had the privilege of trying truffles so what do i know, really? i think i'm picking up on what could be called an umami undercurrent that balances out the more sweetly assertive and familiar notes in the upper register. possibly the power of suggestion, because i admit that i am a suggestible creature. but there's something here, something deep, dark, and sly that i can't quite account for. i am strangely enamored with this perfume. how cool would i be, if even just a little of my persona could be reflective of this scent on occasion. maybe by wearing it, i can manifest a bit of that persona when the whim strikes me. definitely hanging onto my decant. kooky!
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sweet red musk and rich golden amber, gently spiced. when i try to pry apart the spice aspects, i find some dry tickly peppercorn and a bit of floral-toned spicy carnation. there is perhaps a hint of something like a sweet cinnamon, which may be the cassis. i can find no gingery bite, but there's a little heat to the red musk as it gains more prominence, and i think that might be red ginger giving me what it's got. honeycomb was a no-show for me, but there is plenty of sweetness here. after a while, an almost sour note emerges that isn't sitting completely well with me. i think i'll put this one aside for a while to let it develop, because that spiced ambery musk was very promising.
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oakmoss at its best: plush, green, and earthy. this is why i can never write it off completely. there's a touch of woodiness to the moss that might be hinoki, but i'm not familiar enough with that note to distinguish it. green tea is a light but very true tea note, flirting with mint and citrus. plum gives the tea a very lightly fruity aspect, but this is not a particularly plummy blend. incidentally, plum is one of the notes that compelled me to try this, but i can't honestly say i wish it were more present, because this is deftly blended and well-balanced. as it settles in, amber and fuzzy tonka develop a sweet fullness to the composition. i think it would be so easy and expected for these more robust notes to dominate, but along with the oakmoss they provide a deeper, complex base for the fresher, lighter tea to skim across. there is a lovely push/pull between them that keeps the nose engaged. it's with true regret that i will probably eliminate this from my bottle-upgrade list. it's not me, but i would very much enjoy smelling it on someone else. well done!
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a smoldering, glowy ember of clovey, woodsy incense banked under a soft drift of sandalwood ash. starts off somewhat powdery from the sandalwood quarter, but settles in a bit sweeter than expected. a husky clove gains prominence as things progress, until it is the dominant note for me. but i am sensitive to aggressive clove, and it never overwhelms. warmth, woodsy spice, just a touch of ashy charcoal, and incense. (don't think headshop, though. this incense is a bit more luxe.) i'm pleased with how mellowly it all comes together, with none of the potential harshness that made me wary before trying. it's an enjoyable atmospheric blend, and a faithful representation of the notes/description. if it sounds like something you might like, then you probably will!