gloame

Just bought a BNNU bottle after previously having only an imp from some long-forgotten decant circle. Age has changed this one for sure. Wet, it's super apricot-grapefruit; very juicy and chewy. Makes your tongue curl up lie when you taste a lemon. No ginger or rum in this one. As it dries down, it becomes very light. There's a little bit of spiciness now, but the overall impression I have is "pink". I remember this being much boozier and spicier, but apparently it doesn't hold up well. Hopefully the Lab will do another Atomic Luau. Where I'd wear this: To a swim-up tiki bar

I was hoping for a good chunk of clove and sandalwood with violets/night-blooming flowers here. On my skin, I'm having trouble picking anything out, or indeed even finding it. I get a touch of dusty violet, and that's about it. It's rather watery on me, which is a shame because the notes sounded lovely! Where I'd wear this: a job interview where you don't want your perfume to be noticeable

Sweet, red candy and flowers. Lotsa cherry. Drydown gives it more resiny spice, but it's still quite red. Nice, but not something I'd go out of my way for. Where I'd wear it: On a visit to Japan

A perfume of freedom, regeneration, and renewal: bitter orange and tangerine with warm patchouli, tobacco absolute, glittering amber, and white musk. Just now giving this a try and unfortunately it didn't stand the test of time. There's not much here now except some orangey playdough. Bummer! I bet this was lovely when it was fresh! Where I'd wear this: Who knows!

Oh, I wish there was some pear for me, but it's all rose and lily. A sleepy, dusky rose. Lots of Lily of the Valley. Smells quiet and elegant, but ultimately feels incomplete to me. This could be due to the imp, which was from a private sale and of unknown age. The pear may show up more in a newer blend. Where I'd wear this: A garden funeral

Herbyyyyy. I am so confused by this scent, but I keep sniffing it, so I'm confused in a good way. Or just too confused to know which way I'm confused. The cake note is more apparent when wet; by drydown, it's more herbal. Not super cologne-y, which is good in my opinion. More fresh garden herb than cologne herb. I think Mrs Pattmore's kitchen would smell like this. I think I'd get a decant of this if it came out in another Yule, but I'm not sure about a bottle. MAYBE though. I'm still confused. Where I'd wear this: Watching Downton Abbey and eating chicken pot pie

So weirdly purple. Grape, but not gross candy grape. It's like grape preserves; sugary sweet to cover up the fermentation. There's a bit of dry spice rounding it out. The bread is way underneath, sopping up the spilled wine. Not getting too much linen but maybe I don't know what to look for. This is interesting and unique, but not something I'd probably use much. Where I'd wear it: Holiday wine and Netflix party

I don't think this is soft at all. To me, it's hyperactive, imaginative, and definitely child-like. There are no softened, womanly edges; it's all girlgirlgirl. I don't know how old my imp is but I get a lot of fruit and honey; tangy-sweet. There's some milk, but it's the spilled milk of impatience vs the creamy milk of a more womanly blend. The rose is not at all dusty or stuffy. Nice, but not for me. Where I'd wear this: Playing drunken croquet with girlfriends

Not my favorite. It’s definitely a sexy scent, but the cinnamon overwhelms on me. If you wear cinnamon well and want a sexy scent, this is a great one to try. Patchouli, cinnamon, dirty weekends. Where I'd wear it: On your walk of ~unashamed,~ after a dirty weekend

At first this was woooah, cherry! The cherry faded super fast, and I was left with a very Tombstone-esque pencil shavings/cedar. Man I wanted to love this so much, but the balance just wasn't there, at least in my imp. More cherry please! Where I'd wear this: Camping, hot summer

Morphs like crazy. I love the tea. Don't get much ginger, honey, or vanilla. There's a tanginess to this, and a bit of pepper. The linen's nice, too; makes it feel clean. I think I like this, but I'm never sure if I love it. Where I'd wear it: Spunky house-cleaning

This is like Hermione’s Amortentia. Fresh cut grass, and… Okay so it’s like 1/3 of Hermione’s Amortentia. I smell lavender, lime, and grass. Like summer! Definitely a surprise keeper for me! Where I'd wear this: Working in a spring herb garden

Woahhhh, rose! I'm so iffy about rose. It often goes soapy and smells like dried flowers, very Victorian. This... does smell dry and Victorian. But I'm trying to evaluate it as a rose blend, and in that sense, it's quite nice. I don't detect any leather, but I bet that's what's making this blend feel more approachable to me than normal rose blends. Where I'd wear it: On a Steampunk comedy of manners adventure

Love this one. It’s just barely unisex. The jasmine is gorgeous. There’s something wet and hot in here (humid is exactly it). It smells like the Bayou, decaying flowers, sultry swamps, honeysuckle; like water, like summer. Beautiful. Feminine, floral, heated. Where I'd wear it: New Orleans in an early, humid spring

Creamy patchouli, sweeter and warmer; I swear there's some tobacco in here. A bit of cedar? Masculine and lovely, but could definitely be unisex. Nice! Where I'd wear this: To the barber, fam

Definitely 'watery' but not in that sneezy mega-aquatic way. It's nice, clean, simple. Not terribly evil, imo. I like it, but I don't love it. Where I'd wear it: Hiking to one of those jungle waterfalls you see on travel bloggers' Instagrams

Honestly I love this so much. I wasn't getting the cloves cigarettes at first, but when I took a really focused sniff, yep, there it was: that burning leaf smell of a clove roll, the spark of fire against the herbs. It smells good. Better than smoking cloves ever did, but still reminiscent of it. Ahh, youth. LOVE. Wear I'd wear this: a concert in December, when I'm tryna be edgy

I picked this up at a BPAL event after a single sniff, then have basically been pouring it on my husband since then. He loves it, fortunately. This smells so freaking good and sexy. It's light and sophisticated but definitely has an 'Would you care to tear my clothes off, miss?' vibe to it. None of the listed notes overpower; it's all quiet confidence. The man who wears this has nothing to prove, but he knows he smells good anyway. Where to wear this: When you're hoping the lady will undress you with her eyes

I'm a sucker for Jasmine and the 'smell of Easter' in general + goddesses, but this one is not my favorite Jasmine blend ever. And I wish it was because that would have been so poetic. Peitho and Love Me still top for Jasmines. That being said, this is still a beautiful Jasmine. The main difference here that takes a little of my love from it is the very green note under the Jasmine. I can't appreciate it as much because it's almost too sour-green for me. Still, I'm not giving up on my beautiful Ostara goddess, so I'm going to age for a few months and see if it mellows. Where I'd wear this: A pagan festival at Ostara

Soft, pretty, tea. I'm learning that I really like tea, but I never would've expected that. Too bad it's discontinued now and I've only got a half-filled imp left. Where I'd wear this: Tea with Narcissa Malfoy

Cardinal Earth: the essence of ambition. This is the scent of careful calculations, implacable determination, meticulous planning, authority, and reputation. Distinguished and profound, relentless and cunning, this perfume enables you to find a use for all things: ivy twining around Haitian vetiver, red poppy, sinuous oudh, black sandalwood, and smoky patchouli. Well, as a diehard Capricorn, I knew I HAD to have this blend since I missed the 2007 one. EVEN THOUGH... I suspected it would be a green/aquatic blend and I usually hate those. Priorities. In the bottle: Yes. Green AND aquatic. Of course. The vetiver is heavy-handed and the Capricorn in me is quietly perturbed. Skin: Really hoping the sandalwood comes out here. As a Capricorn, I feel compelled to say that (generalizing) Capricorns are moody, ambitious, dry-witted, and not particularly green or fresh. I feel like this blend deserves a bit more sandalwood and oud, for the sake of all Capricorns. It's more aquatic than earthy, and we're an Earth sign. Seagoats should have more earth to go with their water. ;D Drydown: Oh thank fish. With drydown, a bit of resin comes out. I don't know what poppy smells like (guess I should go to England to find out!) so I don't know if that's showing up or not. But I'm not smelling anything I can't identify so... It's still too aquatic for me, but the sandalwood, patchouli, and oud are warming it up a bit after 10-15 minutes. I think I'll pack it away and see how it does in 6 months or so. Maybe it will be a bit earthier by then.

Beautiful warm, dry scent. Like California in drought season. Wet, it’s very sweet and innocent naive, but when it dries down, it becomes so confusedly sensual that I want to rub my nose over the skin it’s on, a decidedly sexual act. I am very fond of warm, woody scents. This is a beautiful example of one, without the sharp spice that other warm woody scents often give due to the incense notes. There's an undercurrent of bubblegum. Teenagers figuring sex out, with all the jubilance, hesitance, and false bravado that comes with it. A little bit of pretending to be cooler than you really are, a little bit of actually being that cool and not even realizing it. Where I'd wear this: To the gates of Coachella at 17, in the drought

I love this. It reminds me of Dr. Pepper chapstick that I used to have when I was a tween. At first, anyway. Lovely, fat cherries in a thick syrup. Deep, dry resin. Laughter at a brothel. Aged bourbon, without the boozy vibe. Slutty and confident in the best way. Where I'd wear this: To a dancing girls show, in the 18th century, Paris.

First sniff: warm, dry chocolate. Chocolate fudge brownies, fresh from the oven. I love trying out all the variations on 13. This one I'm just now trying for the first time, 5 years later, so I don't know what it was like right from the lab. But now: brownies. Many many brownies. Very hard to low carb right now. All the 13s are chocolate forward but this one seems to be THE MOST chocolate forward of all. Where I'd wear it: Baking Sunday with granny, and licking the spoon clean

I was so desperate to love this because I once had a cat named Saffron and oudh is always goudh. Plus sandalwood makes everything better. I love where this is going, but I don't love where it ends up. It's just a bit too dry, sorry red sandalwood. Where I'd wear this: To a bordello in Amsterdam