bheansidhe

Some scents must resent being bottled up, like pinioned djinn, because BTMEN came boiling up out of the vial like an olfactory trainwreck. This smelled so horrible I was afraid to test it, but I couldn't stop waving it in front of my nose. Something like dirty public toilets plus violet plus ?orris plus ?dragon's blood, or maybe even civet, that being the only note I know that goes this offensive. When I screwed up the courage to dab some on a finger, it settled into this meek little violet-scented powder. I am neither fooled nor lulled. Off it goes.

The floral notes read as orchid, lotus, mimosa, and lily. The lotus is dominant for a while, in its pink-bubblegummy kind of way. The base has something like tobacco or opopponax; smoky, acrid. Wet, I get the same whiff of burning cigarettes that I found in Giallo - in fact this blend has a very similar feel to Giallo overall; womanly, heady, slightly seedy. Now it's got the warm spicy prickle of Black Lily over that murmur of lotus and ashtray. In fact, it's reminding me of a cross between Black Lily and Giallo at the moment. A hint of hawaiian white florals in the drydown, like white ginger; something clean and low to the skin under the dirty, smoky orchid. Very interesting.

Heavy black or red musk, patchouli, and something that smells like rain-wet woods. It goes pretty woody, but with the fruity red musk layered on top.

I get zippo coconut. I get a strong blast of red musk, red ginger, and "spiced cranberry compote" spices (nutmeg, allspice, cassia, cinnamon). There's a foody note similar to a dry cocoa-dusted cookie that pops up and down, but it never quite resolves into a "foody" blend, and there's also a weird root-beer phase. The cinnamon is amping to overwhelm everything. It's actually pretty reminiscent of Saw-Scaled Viper at this point on my skin. It goes thick and musty on drydown, so I'm pretty sure there's myrrh as well, since that what it does to me. Not a bad blend, just not a friend of the chemistry. ETA: Okay, a couple of hours into drydown, this blend is more woody, and I discern a note that could be black coconut - not a fruity girl-drink coconut, but true coconut rind and bark.

Lemon verbena pow. This reads as a lemon starkist candy plus a faint hint of (I swear) barbeque buffalo wings. There might be a touch of anise in here, but only because I'm looking for it. Cloying lemon perfume note over dusty-woodsy base. It backs off and sulks at me from a distance after a while. Finally the lemon gets tired and lies down, and I can smell the vanilla and licorice behind it. Sad for me, because I love lemon (this may be lemongrass at this point), but the Lab's version never plays nice with my skin.

I like this better than the released Absinthe or Absinthe v7. I get lots of true licorice, which is sweeter and more reminiscent of a black vanilla bean than licorice-flavored candy would lead one to believe. There's a touch of woodsy bitterness from wormwood, and a mild anise-and-hyssop tinge, and a gentle true lemon in the background. Not a ton of throw, but it wears well, and stays sweet without devolving into candy.

Lots of leather, and the same kind of spice medley as Velvet Bandito. And tobacco. Acrid tobacco smoke, rather than wet tobacco leaf. Very realistic leather drydown. This is actually making me a little queasy; there's a kind of grassy musk in the middle that isn't behaving on me. It's not you, BPAL; it's me. Off to wash.

Imagine those Ricola herbal honey throat drops, plus tons of minty wintergreen. My sinuses cleared when I sniffed the vial. On my skin, it swapped ends several times (MINT! Dirt! Leather! Bright hot honey! Something orange! MINT!). I definitely got honey, but the note wasn't behaving at all like the lab's honey notes usually do. Meanwhile, I could feel the minty astringency working through my tearducts, but it's not a green herbal mint; I see how people guessed eucalyptus - I'm going with camphor. That warm orange-honey note kept baffling me, though - and then it dawned: smells like the cubeb in Crib Girls! So. Cubeb, camphor, and herbal throat drops. I don't get dragon's blood, but I don't try it that often, so I may have forgotten what it smells like.

I get all of the above - hard cherry candy, watermelon jolly ranchers - plus LIQUID SMOKE. Maybe because this tester has had a while to oxidize? But there's a faint but discernible note of bright, acrid campfire with the sweet fruity candy. (This sounds weirder than it smells.) The smoke edges away as it wears, and I get a low but definite peppery floral with the fruit candy. Not carnation, but a similar note - stock, or sweet pea? It's reminding me of Mania or...Eris! This is Eris bellied up to the Tiki Bar, swilling mimosas and grinning while things randomly catch fire in the background. Never reads as bubblegum to me. ETA: I just tried my Luna Moth decant, and this is VERY similar to the lime sugar and pear notes in that blend.

My initial impression was "wood candy with a big glass of limeade!" What would wood-flavored candy smell like? Like XCDW5! This isn't a masculine lime-and-woods blend; it's a bouncy, fizzy, sweet lime soda and sweet woods. There could be a touch of red musk, or... red currant? I'm getting something that's also in Frivolous Wheeled Footwear. Very sweet and summery, but with depth to it. The longer it's on, the more I like it.

Red wine and cherry cough syrup. Maybe grape cough syrup, but smells redder than grapes to me.

Wet, this is the kind of scent my SO brands "a whore's handbag;" a strong, spicy floral with a heady solvent note. This has the feel of a Conjure Bag blend, like the older sister of Follow Me Boy. Dries to a black floral bouquet. Orris, jasmine, soap, possibly gardenia, with a dash of black pepper. Lush and blowsy, but still sophisticated. I just can't work any of these notes.

Sour lime, fizzy gin, yuzu. Adds a white tropical floral as the initial sour-lime fizzes down. Smells like the same gin base as Swank and several Tiki Bar blends.

OMG, I remember those! Wet, I get that comparison. Agreed on the floral, but there's a pollen note in here that I think is stargazer lily along with violets and jasmine. The jasmine has that nutty tinge that makes me think it's night-blooming or jasmine sambac. I also get sharp, fresh lavender. Not me, but not as awful as I was afeared of after reading the reviews.

Wet, I get a big hit of boozy cherry liquor and vanilla extract over vintage Antique Lace. Are those Miss Mary's babas au rhum I smell hiding behind the cooking vanilla? The boozy overnote fades fast, and the hint of cherry evolves into a distinct carnation or stock note. This turns straight carnation single-note for a minute, in fact. It dries into a light, elegant vanilla musk over carnation powder and sweet pea-type florals. The end result is too pink and powdery for me (just as Antique Lace was), but I see how this would be a big hit for AL junkies.

Lush, but not overpowering. Wet dirt and cool green florals and moss and dried rose. This is almost a dead ringer for Zombi from the vial, but with the addition of that green note. Could very well be bamboo in there, and maybe a brush of oude. This dries into a light, fresh dirt note, sweetened with bamboo, with ambiguous dried florals background. The overall feel is very much Ars Morendi.

Wet: a big blast up the nose. Minty and astringent, but not a green mint; this is camphor, sharp fresh birch oil, or pine turpenoids, plus unidentifiable spices. I also get a hay or chamomile middle note. Maybe a very green sandalwood or benzoin as well? Maybe some clove waaay back there. As the medicinal note wears down, I get a very herbal bottom note. You know... the dried version is reminding me of Vipralabda (benzoin, Greek sage, hay, melaleuca ericifolia, oakmoss, and blue chamomile). Eeenteresting.

I'm testing a quarter-imp that's been through dozens of hands by now, so it's safe to say we've got some aging and oxidizing going on here. This is a gorgeous foodie scent from the vial. Oddly, my first thought was "Crumpet Rebellion!" I got the butter, the pastry, and a red-berry filling like raspberry. There was a boozy depth to the background that resolved into a chocolatey Nutella note. There's none of the bitter or dust that I associate with several of the Lab's cocoa notes, but rather a smooth, pure milk chocolate cream. Unlike Bliss, this chocolate element doesn't go plastic on me. This does morph into an oddly peanut-butter like note, as Myth noted, but it's not unpleasant. Verdict: heavy on the cream, the milk chocolate, and the pastry. Light on a sticky raspberry jelly note, and a final hint of hazelnuts.

It's much drier and resin-y when sniffed than when worn. My impressions are a lot like fairnymph's, except that I'm getting yuzu, lime, and bay - though my nose can't decide between sweet bay and bay rum. I don't get the green of balsams; I think that's the bay. As it wears, I also get hints of sea salt. A very sophisticated masculine cologne that could be gender-neutral as well. I like this MUCH better than Nepthys v2, and would love to see this blend released. I'd buy a bottle for the man-thing-in-residence.

Wet: burnt French roast, black cacao nibs, salt, and Yorkshire pudding (the savory gravy kind, not a sweet kind). This is the office breakroom on the weekend, with coffee scorched on the burner and the vague hint of burnt popcorn and leftovers wafting from the microwave. I would love to peel that black coffee bean note and the bitter chocolate and put them in another oil, because this is trying to be amazing on my skin. It really is. And the salt and bready bits aren't.. actively offensive. Just odd.

Buh...what? It's the Chicken Legged Snack Hut! This is the saltiest roast turkey gravy you have ever smelled. It's going to pucker the hell out of your mouth, it's that salty. If you dare to skin test it, it actually wears down to a salty, yeasty note that's vaguely like the bread note in Drink Me. It's not.. horribly offensive, but I'm not a fan of the savory perfume concept. And I totally get how people smell burned popcorn.

Dorian plus... cream, light soap, and coconut? I don't smell any bergamot or tea. This is Dorian in drag as Snow White. As it dries I begin to get whiffs of the lavender fougere; actually, I detect a background similar to the released TKO blend (which is a favorite). The soap wears away, but it stays a white-cream-and-coconut blend over a very faint grassy lavender and marshmallow. No tea, no, sir. Not wild about it. If I hold my arm sideways and give a long glancing sniff I get the released Dorian under coconut body lotion. I can see how the soft white creaminess would appeal to a lot of people, but it isn't me. Okay. I applied a second time and really slathered, rather than dabbing like I did at first. That got me a blast of lemony bergamot/Earl Grey tea and lavender, with a stronger lavender in the background. Again, it quickly collapsed into a billowing poof of coconut-lavender milk body lotion. Lovely and feminine and delicate, but really Not Me.

Starts a very realistic green grass-sap note, like broken dandelion stems. It stays herbal, but as it dries I get whiffs of fresh-mown hay, angelica, hyssop, and chamomile.

Tobacco (both wet leaf and smoke), a hint of sweet sandalwood, a light woodsy balsam, black pepper, and dusty dusty dirt. It develops an oddly orange-blossom note as it ages that is possibly cypress.

Almost dead-on sweet, buttered kettle corn and pastry crust, though I should note I'm testing a quarter imp that's been shipped around a bit by now. I see the hints of eggnog and apple pie spice. Zero jelly - guess the zombies sucked it out before it got to me.