saralaughs
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Everything posted by saralaughs
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Straight on it is very floral. Tagetes I am guessing. Very Flor de Muerto to me, only there is an underlying grayness. Instead of fresh and shining as in Flor, this is very dusky. Still very fresh and clean smelling but definitely floral.
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Vanilla Bean, Pistachio, and Cacao
saralaughs replied to Silvertree's topic in Duets & Menage A Trois
This is a beautiful trio; and a huge boon for vanilla bean lovers. First applied, the cacao and pistachio are there; and a pistachio that is nutty and warm. The cacao and nut recedes fast, with a warm vanilla bean replacing them as front and center. The three meld beautifully into a vanilla bean that is rich and full bodied. The cacao seems to settle into a cocoa butter but this isn't buttery. It just adds a depth to the vanilla bean. The pistachio gives just a very slight nuttiness that also adds depth the vanilla bean alone wouldn't have. I'm definitely grabbing a bottle. -
This starts with a sweet cheery musk. The cherry is a bit candy like, but that cherry doesn't stick around very long. Pretty soon, the ylang and honey are both noticable. It's a darker honey that feels almost caramelized. Unfortunately, this ends up not being a good thing for me, as ylang ylang can go quite powdery on me. Between that and the orris root, it leads to a sweet, powdery musk with a floofy floral floating on top and a dry, woody sharp sandalwood beneath. If ylang ylang is your thing, this is a warm incense sweetened by honey that blends nicely with that note. Not for me.
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First applied, I get a blast of lavender and wisteria but soon after, I can pick out most of the notes, but everything melds so well, it's just a beautiful whole of a scent. This is a beautiful sweetened floral that lays on a backdrop of silken floof. It's very soothing and does feel purple; but more of a hazy, cooling lavender rather than a deep violet or orchid.
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Deep, earthy fig surrounded by saffron. The saffron in this spices it just a bit and lends a bitterness that deepens the earthiness. Amber lends a bit of a powdery perfume to back it all up. You know the powder incense that you tap into symbols to burn? That is the drydown. Powdered incense just lit. It's hazy and soft and very lightly lending a scented smoke into your area.
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An Aroused Prostitute From Maruyama Yukatu and a Merchant From Qing
saralaughs replied to Seajewel's topic in Lupercalia
This is so weird. First applied, I'm getting nuts. It's nut meat. Then it's toasted. Maybe toasted rice? Because soon after, there is a milky creaminess that reminds me of rice milk. It stays that on that track for quite a while. A creamy, yet toasted, rice milk. It's not sweet at all, just creamy. I do not get any peach and if there is amber, it's there just to support. -
Beautiful, realistic pear. It's creamy and sweetened by the honey. The honey isn't HONEY, but it gives the blend a needed sweetness. The orris is only slightly present, grounding the scent. Honestly, this reminds me of a more delicate, sophisticated Perilous Parlor.
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If you've ever been to a laundromat in your life, you've smelled the opening of this blend. It's not the smell of the inside of the mat, but the back, where the dryers empty their hot air. Initial application leads to warm, clean laundry. The aroma is so dead on nostalgic, that I know I've smelled it before. I just can't pinpoint what brand of softener it is. The 'clean, yet heady (jasmine, issit you?)' laundry fades to the background and I'm left with a soft honeyed, vanillic amber floating over top of this clean floral dryer sheet. It kinda does scream horny housewife in the cleanest way possible. Glad to have a bottle as this works for me.
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I agree heartily with the above review. This is a gorgeous blend. The sandalwood is smoooooooth with a bit of a lemon edge (or is that the vanilla husk?) with the vanilla husk providing warmth and a round creaminess. The tobacco smoke isn't too forward and comes around later, providing just the right amount of haze. This reads as an oriental blend to me and just continues to deepen as it wears. It's definitely a keeper. And I may get another bottle.
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Highest Quality Vagina is a very soft, pillowy scent. Right away I get the amber and honey, with the vanilla milk joining shortly. The amber is definitely golden but a bit floofy as well. It creates a nimbus of glow around the milky creaminess while the honey adds a bit of sweetness that isn't overwhelming nor cloying. I'm not getting any nuttiness from the almond and if the incense is frankincense, then I feel like it's joined by some nag champa as well as there is a definite floral aspect to it. A very glowy blend that reads to me as spa like without being green or overtly fresh, if that makes sense.
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From a well rested bottle; Wet: waxy spice. The pepper here isn't bubblegum-ish at all. The labdanum is slinky and resinous; I don't get cola, just a warm background that helps blend the pepper, which calms down fairly quickly but doesn't disappear. The honey isn't a star for me, but it's definitely present. It's a deep, clover like syrup that coats the blend in stickiness, but that's not bad. I feel it's a counterpoint to the kick of the pepper. There is a smooth, warm, amber like resinous backdrop that moves forward. It's slightly woody and creamy. I'm supposing this is the bushman's. It's glorious and I love it. All together, this blend is a very creamy, sweet, woody with a bit of wax lending a stable background, holding it together. Hours later, I'm left with something reminiscent of beeswax, but not as rich and deep. It's a clean yet golden and warm wax. I'm in love.
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From a well rested bottle: Wet: A white rose dripping in an almost colorless honey. This honey is sweet but not cloying. This stays the main player, but is warmed considerably for quite a bit. The amber, vanilla bean, and ambergris combine in the background to bring this gorgeously golden and warm feeling to the honeyed rose. Like a previous reviewer, I am reminded of Katrina Van Tassel. Unlike them though, I'm not getting any saltish vibes. The coconut milk isn't noticable at this point. The white rose and honey both calm and combine with the other background players as it dries and becomes beautifully blended coziness. Way later in the drydown, the rose all but disappears and leaves a warmth of a scent that is golden, creamy, sweet and resinous. A warm, golden, and yes, frothy concoction that is creamy, a bit sweet and fresh. Words do this no justice. This is the more sophisticated, older sister to Katrina Van Tassel, IMO. This is multiple bottle worthy.
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Sweet ambery cream, warm and sorta snuggly yet very clean. The almond blossom is that clean vibe; it's not high pitched at all, more like a soothing white floral. The tea rose combining with the lotus root (I really don't get bubblegum here at all, and normally don't with the root) gives it a depth and pink feeling. That adds to the fresh and clean vibe I'm getting. Dries down to a clean and creamy blend, with nuances of tea rose backed by lotus. Very spring like in feel.
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Snowy coconut, hazelnut, cocoa powder, and spun sugar. First applied, this is dry cocoa and coconut. Hazelnut adds to the nutty, dry cocoa. And then there's citrus. It reads as lemongrass to me as there is a green aspect to it that lemon doesn't have. It's not overwhelming but it's there, in the background. This ends up being a nutty sugar with a bit of dry cocoa with a coconut/lemongrass in the back to liven it up. It reads as a clean cocoa.
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First applied, a blast of herbal lavender. There's a smooth pillowy wisp going on behind it. There's a hint of frankincense and soon the champaca joins, while the lavendar is still present. Into drydown, the lavender is way in the background with the champaca being its floofy self, grounded by this lovely meld of frankincense, labdanum, and tobacco. The patchouli sneaks in later in drydown, keeping the floral elements from running amok. This is slightly resinous, a bit syrupy and chewy and wispy at the same time with a spotlight on a lovely champaca/patch in the drydown. If you like champaca, this is a must try.
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At first application, this is astringent lemon with sugar. And I don't mean tart; I mean almost lemon cleaner astringent. Lemon does tend to do this on me, so YMMV. This does calm down more as it wears and the sugarcane lends this sweet layer, so that as it warms, it's reading more like a lemon slice dipped in sugar. I'm not getting any honeycomb at this moment. After 15-20 minutes, the honeycomb settles in and creates this beautiful, sweetly lemon blend that feels like a simple dessert that ends up being more than the sum of its parts. Glad I have a bottle; hoping that the start calms a bit with some aging.
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This is a sweet champagne scent, with a supportimg absinthe note. The absinthe lends a warm, almost herby vibe and makes the champagne closer to wearable for me.
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Blueberry, Tobacco, and Pink Pepper
saralaughs replied to Silvertree's topic in Duets & Menage A Trois
My word. This is utterly lovely. First applied, bright blueberry jumps up and throws big. Almost immediately, is nestles into this sweet blueberry jam. It's smells sugary and thick. The pepper is zingy and if sniffed close, with an almost sweet clove/cinnamon characteristic. The throw isn't as pungent and adds an almost bubblegum feel to the blueberry (still jammy). After a few minutes, the strength of the pepper calms and melds with a chewy tobacco adding depth to the ever present jammy blueberry. The three play really well together all the way into drydown and this ends up as a gourmand tobacco featuring a bit of blueberry jam. This is gonna age gloriously. -
Shimmery blue musk featuring a calm lavender supported by a bouquet of mostly white feeling flowers. The orris root lends a soft, pillow like cushion to a mostly gauzy feeling cologne. This is very well blended and gives the impression of a lofty, vintage fougère.
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First applied, the lilac is very prominent on me. I love lilac, absolutely one of the most nostalgic florals for me. I even have a lilac bush in my yard. But on me, it tend to be high pitched and sour. And that holds true here, in the beginning. As this warms though, the sour note burns off, and transitions to a breezy lilac enveloped in a creamy yet airy resinous haze. Further into the drydown, the lilac is not high pitched and becomes a background player on me. This is akin, to my nose, to a Lace. Almost like a mix of Antique and Black Lace, with just a bit of a mellowing lilac and round, floof sandalwood adding to the mix with an airy feel to it from the ambergris. Laces are hit or miss on me (it's the congac), so with that replaced with ambergris, this works for me. It's a beautiful blend. Deciding on if I need a bottle or not.
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This patch. This is one of my favorite patchouli notes from the Lab. Chewy thick patchouli with a buttery, sticky marshmallow with a vanilla kick. I can't believe I'm saying this but if the hemp was a problem for you in Banshee Beat, etc, and you're looking for a sweeter little sister, don't pass this by.
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A beautiful mash up of two gorgeous blends. First applied, Snow Lion is very much a Snow White blend. Into the dry down, a warmth slowly inserts itself. The slightly spiced amber is definitely 'shimmering under' the Snow White, but it does magical things to this normally cool feeling blend. The sweet, vanillic, slightly floral tinged Snow White is remade with a warm, resinous amber support. Warm, snuggly, and a bit sexy. I think I'll need a backup.
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Immediately on: menthol. This dissipates quickly and is replaced by a clove soaked in red musk and resins. I can see the pop references but I'd go a bit further; it smells like someone chewing clove gum, drinking a cola and then breathing in your face.
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First applied, I get hairspray. After a bit, that dies down a bit and individual notes start to emerge. I get soft white (almost pink) musk, a soft powdery (not death by powder though, it's just ...soft) background that is sweet and a bit floral. This isn't an in your face floral at all and reminds me a bit of tulips. There is a creaminess that holds it altogether. Behind it all though, I'm still getting a hairspray vibe. It's not OMG AQUA NET but it's still hairspray. This is where it stays for me. A creamy, powdery pinkish floral with a bit of hairspray.
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Candied strawberries warmed by beeswax. Later in the dry down I can see the red musk-ish call out. It ends up reminding me of strawberry wine; but not the farm one. It's more a sweet red with no spice.