HerbGirl
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Everything posted by HerbGirl
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I always jump at an opium tar scent! And with black musk this should have been amazing. The clove ruins this for me. Aside from smoking djarums years ago, I have never really enjoyed clove. I certainly didn't enjoy it in this oil. Myrrh is ok most of the time but felt out of place here. This was a complete miss for me.
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This is much deeper than its notes. I'vd had my bottle since its release and have been wearing it lately. The depth must be coming from the tobacco and vetiver, but I'm not smelling them: they don't stand out to me. I do smell the amber, red musk, wisteria and rose hips, and they make the scent what it is for me. I believe this is orange blossom doing what it does so well in Vixen. It makes it deeper with a floral tinge but it doesn't scream 'orange blossom!' like it does in so many other oils. Conjure is gorgeous, especially for folks who avoid patchouli (which I don't, lol). I've been wondering when the right manifestation oil would present itself - yesterday Conjure made it clear that I had found one. This isn't just a perfume. If you're magically inclined, this might be a great oil to work with. I certainly will.
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I have been wearing Aureus for more than a decade and am finally getting around to randomly reviewing my loves. I love this. It truly glows. Maybe more like smolders. Amber and copal are obvious, possibly a touch of white oakmoss, maybe a bit of patchouli. I see many reviews mention 'church', 'incense', sandalwood and/or cedar but I don't feel or smell any of that. I do love Viiinylflowers' review mentioning FFVII...and am in total agreement because of the feels (nothing to do with typical 'church' though)! There is a definite older BPAL vibe that exists in the older GCs that is completely absent in the collaberations and trademarked series oils that I love but can't pinpoint. It's a shame there's so much more focus on the LEs and the ginormous releases than the fabulous GC that showcases the true gloriousness behind the brand, but that's an unpopular opinion, and my own.
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The combination of the first seven notes is a recipe for dark, mysterious beauty. I am a huge fan of opium tar in perfume so I am thrilled it is the star for me here, supported by the black musk, patchouli, cypress, frankincense and vanillaic oils. I feel like the frankincense and patchouli almost cancel each other out. I can tell they're both here, but neither dominates. It's more of a feeling but that's hard to explain. Beautiful.
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This is it. Head shop. Dragon's Blood incense. Yup. No weird. Just the good. Also- yes, separate layers in the bottle. I haven't played with the nuance of the wearing shaken or unstirred (lol), but I put just a dab on after I gave it a good swirl and it was wonderful. Just a bit sticky. Very enjoyable. It's a shame the bottle was only full to between the label and the shoulder though. Editing to add a comparison between this and Garnet, since there isn't a review thread up yet... Garnet and Dragon's Blood Incense are very similar. In fact, the only difference to me so far is that Garnet is sweet and DBI is amber/champa-y. Yikes. Also worth noting is that my bottle of Garnet was also filled to below the shoulder and, for $35, that's crap. Garnet is extremely similar to Nocturne Alchemy's Kashmir. I would say Kashmir is inbetween Garnet and DBI. Nothing revolutionary going on with DBI or Garnet.
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Well, I have no idea what this has to do with London or smoke but I love it. This tea is actually black tea (!!!) with no anise/licorice leanings. The tobacco flower (which, I believe, is also called nicotiana) is gorgeous and melds so well with the tea. I was looking forward to the grey amber (Grey Columns is one of my favorites!) but I don't smell any here. That's ok...it is lovely. I don't smell any lemon mentioned above, and I don't find the tabac flower to be overwhelming at all. This was my first true wear but I have had it since early January. I love it.
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I am curious to see how this ages- the drydown is beautiful but it takes a while to get there. Oddly enough, I'm not getting anything I expected from this. It does remind me of Marshmallow Snow (I haven't tried this year's version), but starts off as a semi indolic floral fruit punch. ??? Interesting. Settles into the evergreen version of bpal snow with a hint of berry. Not sure how I feel about it but I am upset that my bottle arrived filled to well below the shoulder of the bottle. As it wears, the 'indolic fruit punch' does fade into a really nice scent. I'm trying to pick the scent apart for notes but just can't. And that's ok. This is turning into a beauty. The waft is gorgeous.
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I am pleased to report that this is quite an amazing mash up of Snake Oil and Snow White. No red musk weirdness, no minty slush. This is gorgeous and exactly what I hoped for!
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If you enjoy bpal's ink and pomegranate notes, this is an obvious win. I cannot stop sniffing the back of my hands...quite addictive. Not too sweet, candied yet mellow. This might be my favorite of the Yules I chose. That ink note goes perfectly with pomegranate. There is something extra going on here that I cannot explain but it is fantastic. I will watch reviews to see if someone else can explain the 1+1=3!
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This is really very nice. I am looking forward to a full day's wear of this one sometime soon. Yes to all of the notes! To me, the 'chilly' is Snow White, not the minty or evergreen versions of chilly, if that matters. The vanilla, cacao and labdanum are strongest but this is very well done and I was able to smell all of the notes. It's almost too busy? But I really enjoy it. Eta: similar to Velvet Snow but different enough to enjoy having bottles of both.
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Well. It definitely fits the description! The spruce is fierce and for the first 15 minutes the amber fights with it 🫣. Then it calms down a bit, spruce always strongest, but never quite smells 'good' to me. The plasticky element is definitely present which gets the point across but might render it unwearable for me. This would, however, make an excellent room spray. Might have to try this in an oil warmer...
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If you remember and love original Snake Oil, this should bring a smile to your face, as it does for me. Ah. There you are! Original Snake Oil with a touch of gingerbread. There is thankfully no crazy red musk vibe here (as there has been in the Snow Snake variations) and I very much enjoyed my first wear of this. Eta how I love reading reviews after mine and how wildly different we all are! Unless there's a variation or mispour...
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Perfectly balanced lavender and brownie...exactly what I hoped for. Eta: The next morning I was disturbed by a sickly sweet smell...it was the extreme dry down of the Lavender Brownie. I hope this ages out because the first few hours (reapplying to get that hit of lavender) are awesome. Another edit: I tested this again yesterday (25 December). My husband and I both have an aversion to honey notes. I feel like there must be some unlisted honey lurking in here because we both smell it. I will have to decide if it ruins the scent for me or not.
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This is about as good as a chocolate and coffee perfume oil could ever hope to be. Eta: but the dry down smells chemical. I usually have this issue with bpal coffee (the only exception being El Dia de los Reyes) and this, sadly, is no different. The initial scent is great and maybe it will get better with age.
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Just as lovely as all of her previous incarnations. I get the chilly marzipan- ish vibes, I get the flowerish vibes, but it is hard to describe. Snow White is a beautiful mood.
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Wow. This is such an autumnal rosey scent! I grabbed it earlier this morning to use as a divination aid (need to harness the love I have for myself to become myself, if that makes any sense) to get out of a rut. Not only does it smell 'safe', but it also has a grounding, insulating effect that I want to curl up in...and also do all of the things. I don't smell patchouli at all, but I can smell everything else. I am so glad I listened to my intuition and bought a bottle while this was available.
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Yup. If anyone loves the Blackberry Sage tea from The Republic of Tea, you will love this. Very similar and equally nice.
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Woohoo! My decants finally arrived yesterday. This is gorgeous- starts off with the cypress and blackberry and the mandrake and incense even it out within minutes. After about 20 minutes, there's a chemical smell up close that must be the myrrh and the blackberry disappears. Love it.
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Oh how I love this. I love how it smells like Golden Sunrise but with cypress in place of bergamot. Creamy sweet amber with a hint of lush dark cypress...an instant favorite.
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As I'm testing News From Afar, I realize that I never left a review for its cousin: Golden Sunrise. Hello Amber Cream. Amber Cream. Even if there wasn't more, wouldn't that be enough? Yum. Fantastic. My only complaint about this isn't about the perfume oil itself but of the lack of quality control and batch variations. The first bottle I bought, as soon as they were announced, was perfect. The two subsequent bottles I bought were both lacking...Amber Cream. I couldn't believe it. Anyhow. I just wanted to mention that if you loved the heavy amber cream original batch of Golden Sunrise and aren't afraid of a touch of cypress, give News From Afar a try. I doubt you would be disappointed!
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LAWFUL Rigid oak, blue chamomile, rhubarb, and fig leaf. Lawful smells sparkly. The first thing I smell is the Blue Chamomile which, despite being a flower, is so earthy and comforting. Next the Rhubarb and Fig Leaf come out and smell delicious together - the Chamomile is starting to lessen. After about 20 minutes, this turns into such a wonderful blend - I can still smell the Chamomile and the Fig leaf with a sparkle of Rhubarb, and the oak lays nicely underneath. I love Oak, but it tends to be quite powerful, and in this blend it is very smooth and understated. What a great blend - I'd say this is my favorite of the RPGs so far. 5/5
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This has aged beautifully. It's 10° here but still no snow accumulation on the roads with beautiful sunshine and snow capped mountains so...I grabbed my decant to wear today. Snow White with cocoa and enough myrrh to dirty it up a bit. Gorgeous.
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The moonflower with the evergreens is amazing. They compliment each other so well. Moonflower is rare to see in a perfume oil and sometimes, like Tuberose, is unwelcomely strong. Here it is on equal footing with the evergreens, which are fresh, and the whole thing feels bright...and somehow cold (apt for a Moon based concept). This feels like a Yule oil to me, and I love it. I'm surprised there are so few reviews of this so far.
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Just getting around to trying my decant of this. Holy moly this is gorgeous...and strong! The throw keeps vavooming into the 2nd hour 😳 which is intense. The sandalwood and terebinth are strongest on me, the vanilla is a sweet afterthought and the red musk is a nice bottom layer. I really like this.
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Finally getting around to testing my decant. I love this and wish I had bought a bottle, but the plum note scared me off. It's there, but very subtle and just adding to the sweetness. The tea and bamboo and sandalwood are lovely. Very smooth and comforting to me. A bit of lift from the lemon, a bit of smoky woody-ness from the hinoki. Love it. Actually, during the drydown phase I started smelling the Bordello plum...yup, the good one. I'm not sad about it. Eta Dec. 24 The smoky hinoki, hint of lemon petal and green tea are most prominent today with just a hint of plum. This may be one of my favorite bpal oils.