LiberAmoris

I got a Goblin Squirt of The Fainting Couch in my last Post order, and I'm so glad I got to try this! I get, in order of prominence: tea rose, rose water, orris, black tea, and a bit of orange. It's very Victorian, for sure. I love the Lab and Post's roses, so this is right up my alley. This definitely smells like indoor roses, cultivated blooms arranged in a vase at the end of a polished table. It's really pretty and I can see why it's so popular. I think I might still prefer the wild roses—the ones blurred with musk, incense, or greens. But my office smells so good after spritzing this, and if I decide I need a more buttoned-up rose, I wouldn't hesitate to drop this in my cart.

This atmo really is strong! It's just what it claims to be: whiskey, candlesmoke, and musk. One spray is enough to scent my entire front hallway for days, and it does remind me a bit of a great bar lit by votives, when you're standing close to someone who smells...really good. I had a bizarre scent memory when I first sprayed it, as it smells just like one room at Sleep No More, the open theatre production here in NYC. This is not a bad association at all, and imbues this atmo with a bit of mystery and sex appeal. My husband has been given stewardship over this bottle, because he liked it so much that he struck his claim on it.

The Place Wherein Love Grew is a worthy vehicle for the lovely Bulgarian rose note and orange blossom. There's something in this one that skews a bit powdery, but not in an unpleasant way. I can pick out the white fig and honey notes, but neither dominate. The dark musk is a nice warm base, although I wouldn't call this a dark scent. This strikes me as a very classic scent, and would make a great Mother's Day gift!

Burning the Blue Dark Round Their Moons is like moonlight—beautiful, ephemeral, and tough to pin down. I catch the blue musk, the chamomile, and the iced honey at times, but this is so well-blended that it smells more like pale blue light than the result of any note list. It's very faint when I spray the air, but when I spray my clothes I can definitely smell it and it lingers for hours. I'm really tempted to pick up a backup of this one!

Aspen-Leaves and Fears hair gloss really is a bit like Infernal Lover! I can also see the comparisons to nag champa, and it's true, this is awesomely incensey. The honey and red musk are so good together, and then the touch of saffron gives it a spicy/dusty floral edge. I really like this, and it's great for layering with red musk and honey perfumes.

Lush red rose, sweet red wine, and dragon's blood—I love Blood Rose. And it's so nice to have in a bath oil! I've been using this as an after-shower moisturizer and I can smell Blood Rose all day after using...the scent strength is perfect.

Oy, Honeyed Golden Musk, Rosewater, and Red Sandalwood indeed. Three beautiful notes. Together, they're a blurry, gorgeous stretch of fabric slipping between the fingers...a red and gold silk and taffeta dress sliding off at the end of the night. Opulent and sexy!

If Blood Rose had a little sister, it would be Rose Petals and Champa hair gloss! This smells like pink roses to me, if they twined around the smell of wine incense. Yet even with the champa resinoid, myrrh, kyphi, and frankincense...this is so fresh and light, almost juicy. Another fantastic rose hair gloss from the Post.

My only regret with Terra Vigoris is that I didn't get two bottles! I picked this up because Hungry Ghost Moon is one of my favorites, and the notes reminded me of the sunny, citrusy brightness of that scent. And in fact, there is a resemblance between the two, which absolutely delights me. Terra Vigoris is a sheer, lovely orange color, and even just dabbing it on my wrist feels a bit like applying a transdermal hit of happiness. Then it's blood orange and apricot and peach and bergamot, so real it smells like the juice is running down my arm. I've never tasted langsat, but it might account for the mild grapefruit note amongst the other fruits. The geranium and cardamom give depth and temper the bright fruits. The white sandalwood crests below, providing a nice dry base. So beautiful, so fresh—and yes, so cheerful! I absolutely love this.

Fairy Thorn really is a little like being lured away from a sensible world. It's a tumult of notes that signal abundance, sweetness, and the apex of bloom. The tuberose, apple petals, and plum nectar stand out the most on my skin. The vanilla musk and moss provide a soft bed for the florals, and the vanilla musk comes forward as the florals start to burn off. It's a fruity-floral, but with a strong emphasis on the floral. It's pretty and I think I'd reach for it on days when I want a mellow floral.

Yes, The First Love Fades Too is gorgeous. That blackened vanilla note isn't too sweet; the sandalwood is nice and dry; the crushed lavender lacks the astringent quality that can sometimes pitch a scent distractingly high; and the oudh is...good. This feels like the atmo companion to Black Cardamom and Vanilla hair gloss, as it shares notes of black vanilla and oudh. This is great sprayed on my sheets, and I agree that this feels like it's in the same family as TKO. It's very relaxing and works well as a sleep spray. But I think my favorite application so far is on my bathrobe, as the scent is wonderful but the sillage isn't as strong as with some other atmos. I think it would be equally good on the inside of a jacket. I'd wear a perfume that smells like this in a heart beat!

Some of my good experiences with vetiver in the last year encouraged me to try Joyful Romp, and I'm so glad I did! This is a gorgeous, purple-y, plummy blend. Definitely a fruity-floral, but not too sweet on me. The sandalwood does a great job of toning everything down. The tuberose is fab with the other notes—it can be a little much sometimes, but here it's perfect. Reminds me a bit of Wicked Matriarch...it has the same floral, purple feel, even though this goes in its own unique direction. I'll enjoy every drop of this bottle!

Scattered Flower-Smells is like spring in a bottle. Lots of flowers, with just a hint of something underneath pinning everything together. The cedar and tobacco are very light in my hair—just the barest hint. This is really all about the cascade of flowers. It's perfect for work...smells clean and lovely but doesn't overwhelm even in small rooms. I've already made a small dent in my bottle!

Riding in the Palanquin really does smell like silk and lacquered wood! It starts off with the bracingly green tang of bamboo, fresh jasmine, and what I think must be the ho leaf. The silk and mother of pearl accords give everything a sheen that's backed up the lacquered wood...they give 'slip' and luxuriousness to the bamboo and jasmine that feels very refined. I don't get a lot of sillage with this one, it wears close to the skin. Definitely delicate and sophisticated.

Dream has only gotten better with aging. The lavender has pulled back a bit and the bottom notes really sing now. In some ways, this reminds me a bit of BPTP's White Rose, but it's even more incensy and soporific. The kush, oudh, opium poppy, and shamama attar are really gorgeous together—like some super-exotic base for the florals to float over. I've been wearing this to bed lately and it's calming, beautiful stuff that helps me relax after a long day at work.

Startled Toad also has my vote for the best Shunga art to date. There's just so much going on there, a girl hardly knows where to look. When reading the notes I was like yes, yes, yes...lemongrass? ::record scratch:: And the first few times I tested it, the lemongrass felt a little too bright next to everything else going on. I don't know if my bottle has settled, or if the lemongrass has mellowed—or maybe my chemistry has changed since last testing—but I wore this again last night, and somehow things clicked into place. The lemongrass is still a really citrusy, grassy, citronella-esque high note at the beginning, but it falls back quickly and then I get the amber and coconut and frankincense. The carnation, vanilla, and patchouli trail the other notes on my skin. I'm still not sure this one is quite right for me, but I'll definitely hang on to it and see if it mellows a little more with some aging.

YUM. Chocolate and oude, so damn good. Layers well with Boomslang, Bliss, and Velvet, just to name a few! I'm so glad I have a backup of this, because it might be my new Sunday after-shower moisturizer.

Creeper Dragon is so much fun. I've tested this five times, and even though I'm not sure if this is really 'me', I keep coming back to it and testing it again! I can pick out the dragon's blood note—that's very clear. And I do get something green, but it's very faint on the leather. The red musk, honey, and cream are somehow transformed into something I barely recognize. All these notes, which could be familiar to me, in this particular combination really smell like something totally new. Even if I was capable of passing on the art/title combo here (which I was not), I'm really glad I got to try this because it's so unique.

2015 version: Liaison really does capture love in the dark. The black musk here is no joke, like a heavy drape of sky in which there's no light. Pushing through that, I can smell the frankincense and clove, and something sweet/floral, which must be the honeycomb and jonquil. The black sandalwood comes out on the drydown, and provides another dark sweep of scent. I'm left with an incense-driven dark floral that seems like Morocco's nighttime counterpart. I like this, especially once it's fully dry.

Venus Verticordia really does smell like springtime, which is pretty much the best scent to have in a bottle in late March. It's dandelion in the foreground, surrounded by a meadow's worth of spring wildflowers, and the sweet smell of honey stitching everything together. Sunny florals aren't even usually my BPAL sweet spot (and maybe it's just the long winter talking), but I'm really enjoying this.

Peachy champaca! The Wet Nurse and the Old Monk is very fruity-floral on me, with peach as the strongest note. The sweetness of that combo is cut by the white tea, and the red sandalwood grounds everything. Even so, somehow this is just a little sweeter on me that I'd like, and at times it smells a bit bubblegummy. It might just need a little aging to bring down those top notes a bit. The peach and red sandalwood together are really wonderful!

Bourbon Vanilla bath oil (which I use as after-shower moisturizer) is great to have on hand because it layers well with so many perfumes. The scent is relatively light, but I can smell an almost floral vanilla...almost like a combo of vanilla and honey from wildflower-loving bees. I'm glad I picked this up, and I wish I could wear it in my hair like some people can!

Mars Rigonemetis is my favorite of all the Mars blends so far. The musk here reminds me of the black musk in Haunted—dark and a little sweet. There's a strong pine note when wet that I really love, and with the birch and the ivy...woodsy, green, musky goodness. The black cedar is present, but it's not overpowering in any way, and the black pepper adds just a little kick at the end. It dries down to a woods and ivy musk scent that stays close to the skin. LOVE.

Mars Loucetius is a really beautiful twist on a white tea scent. Wet, it's a classic white tea cologne, but as it begins to dry, the rockrose and champaca add sweetness and a floral layer that's subtle but dimensional. The sandalwood provides a contemplative, incensey, woody base. It's really elegant and wearable, and I can't wait to test this on my own personal Mars because I think it will smell amazing on him.

Mars Ultor is a smoky, ambered floral on me, with a hint of nutmeg and tobacco. On my husband, it smells like dark amber and vanilla and tobacco, in almost equal proportions. I agree that this will age well!