LiberAmoris

I also love the teak in Manhattan: Sexuality, power, confidence. A meeting of modern, sleek elegance and rich, passionate history: sheer amber, black leather, white mint, lemon peel, white tea, grapefruit, kush, teakwood and orchid.

Red Rose is an achingly gorgeous blend of rose, amber, clove, Indian musk, and fir—with tonka and tobacco subtly supporting. I'm down to a few drops from my bottle and I'll be so sad when it's gone! It's a great incensey, meditative rose. Whenever I wear it, I feel focused and alert, but also very relaxed. I would love, love, love to see this come back at some point, in any form.

Another Dorian lover here. Sweet vanilla tea, musk, and fougere—there's a reason it's a classic. Dorian the hair gloss smells just like the perfume oil (heavenly), and allows me to layer the scent while bringing shine to my hair. I find I reach for this one when I'm feeling a bit tired or under the weather, as it's not heavy or overly assertive. That said, it really lasts! A few sprays and I can still smell it the next day. I'm so glad this one is GC.

Red musk-dominant blends like The Infernal Lover only reinforce my belief that if there's red musk in a blend, I should always try it. The Infernal Lover smells like a whole lot of red musk, a dollop of honey, and a drop of cream. Totally uncluttered, totally wonderful. It feels red and gold on the skin and has a sort of sensual, Art Deco extravagance to it that I love. If this ever came back I'd pick up another bottle in a heartbeat.

In Templum Dei is gorgeous...heavenly church incense! I love Cathedral, Midnight Mass, and Jacob's Ladder, but In Templum Dei might take the divine cake (communion wafer?). The frankincense is so good—it's taken me years and years to properly appreciate frankincense in perfume, but I think I'm there. The labdanum, white sandalwood, and liquidambar round this out with resin and woods, for a smooth, frank-forward and incensey mix. Relaxing and meditative.

I'm so glad the Post released Tricksy hair gloss so I can layer with Tricksy perfume oil! This is just like the perfume on me: woods, patchouli, honey. The honey seems stronger in the hair gloss than it is in the perfume oil, which isn't a problem for me since I'm bananas about the Manuka honey note. This is a 'lighter' hair gloss on me, and I can get away with spraying more than I can with other glosses—without weighing my hair down or broadcasting scent too widely.

Tricksy is such a great combination of woods, patchouli, and honey! This also feels BPAL-classic to me and I'm so glad I snagged a bottle when it released. The honey is especially good here—Manuka honey is very distinctive, and maybe a bit of an acquired taste. It doesn't taste as sweet as other honeys to me somehow, and has a slightly herbaceous/astringent facet to it. But I've really grown to love it, so having it in Tricksy makes me very happy.

Serpents with Glittering Eyes and Forky Tongues is so green! The lemon and lime in this make it predominantly citrusy on me, but the green musk, green herbs, and red currant keep it from being too astringent or straightforward. It may just be my imagination, but after a while it smells a bit like green apple as well. Very refreshing and yes, serpentine!

Shiny Furball is woodsy, furry happiness. The cedar, lavender, fir, and juniper berry give it a woodsy and herbal base...and the vanilla musk, black clove, and honeyed coconut sweeten and temper it. The coconut is kind of genius here—I would never think that coconut and cedar would go well together, but they do. It does smell a bit like fur, like something pure that's run through the woods. This hair gloss is total aromatherapy for me. I wear it, and I feel relaxed. Paired with Sylvia, it's even more wonderful.

Hair Loosened and Soiled in Mid Orgies is happy honey musk. Like others have said, it's reminiscent of O but muskier, like O with a drop shadow. Great to wear on it's own, and fantastic with Womb Furie and Crib Girls.

I picked up a bottle of Hesiod's Phoenix in 2013 and have been enjoying it ever since, but never reviewed it. I concur with my colleagues, this is SO good. Amber, vanilla, and oudh—it's honestly tough to go wrong with that slate. On my skin, when I take in a deep breath it's like a dreamy, caramelized, vanilla-soaked wood. In the air, it smells a bit like a toasted marshmallow. One of the best amber scents in my collection.

Vintage 2010: I can't believe I've never reviewed Womb Furie! This is definitely like O meets Snake Oil on me, and it's aged well (just like Snake Oil, go figure!). It's not something I reach for often, but when I want a sexy, snuggly scent...this is great. Wearing it is like walking around in a personal, incensey cloud of honey, resins, patchouli, and vanilla. Not bad at all.

One Pale Woman smells pink and white to me. At first the apple, pink pepper, orange blossom, and jasmine are a little much together—it's so sweet, like fruit candy. But as it dries down, it mellows out. I can smell the vanilla and champaca and tobacco flower, and the mint. It ends as a sweet incensey mix of flowers, framed with a bit of apple and mint. The champaca is especially nice here. Definitely smells like spring!

Little Maggie is one of the scents I only wear every once in a while, because I'll be so sad when I run out! Wet, it's all vanilla and light flowers and chocolate on me, then, as it dries, the white sandalwood and honeyed patchouli come forward. The patchouli here is very subtle and golden. Fully dry, it's an almost dusty sandalwood (with something just a touch smoky), vanilla, honey, and light patchouli. I can definitely see the comparison to Velvet, and it does layer incredibly well with Silkybat hair gloss.

Splendid Summer Days atmo really is like an amazing florist shop. It's straight-up rose, carnation, and a touch of honey and sunlight. The carnation is in the lead here, so if you love carnation...you might not want to miss this. It's like 19 degrees outside right now but in my apartment it smells like spring.

Red velvet cupcakes with cream cheese frosting against a backdrop of Snake Oil, Dorian, and Doc Constantine! Cake Smash is one of those scents that I wear when I really need a foody, dessert-y hit. It's absolutely red velvet cake and cream cheese frosting, against a subtle backdrop of what feels like the BPAL supernote: Dorian + Snake Oil + Doc C. It reminds me a lot of the original Beaver Moon, which I also love. I'm not in the mood for this often, but when I am, it's great. Sometimes I layer with a drop of Snake Oil or Dorian, if I want the sweets to take a back seat.

Chorion hair gloss is truly delicate, and sticks close to me when I wear it. It opens with iris and white musk, tinged with vanilla. The white patchouli and mimosa blossom are very faint, to my nose. After blow-drying, it becomes mostly iris and vanilla, with very light patchouli and white musk. It's really pretty and another gloss that I feel more than comfortable wearing to work. It layers beautifully with White Peacock and Yucca Giant-Skipper.

I'm unable to resist anything with 'animalic ambergris accord', full stop. Black Silk starts off as bourbon vanilla and that fanged ambergris accord, with white flowers swimming in the background. There's something very dark here—the patchouli and tobacco pull down the shades on everything. As it dries, the tobacco comes forward along with the immortelle and it starts to feel more grey. An hour or so after application, it feels dove grey, like a curl of light vanilla pipe smoke wrapped around my wrist. I agree that this will age magnificently!

I'm nearing the end of my bottle of Implacable Beautiful Tyrant, and can't believe I haven't reviewed this one yet! It's absolutely beautiful. A scent that I would happily also buy in perfume oil form—the frankincense and white ginger here seem to meld to create some kind of supernote that's just stunning with the amber and oude. Lovely on its own, or great with Snake Oil, Morocco, Lyonesse, or any amber or ambergris blend that I have on tap. This leans in the sexy direction, but I wear it to work all the time where I regularly receive compliments on it.

I got my Lady Fleming's Gingerbread atmo spray late-ish in the Yule season last year, and put it away so I'd have a spray to use this year while waiting for my Yule order. This proved to be a good plan, and I'm so glad I picked this one! It smells just like gingerbread, and definitely put me in the right seasonal spirit, especially since I didn't do any holiday baking this year. When I wanted a hit of baked goods, I just spritzed as needed. I've also layered this atmo with other Yule sprays in order to achieve maximum holiday goodness...it goes well with Sugar Plum and Vanilla Bean!

I travel a lot for work, and when I do, I try to pack light. So I only take one hair gloss with me, and that hair gloss is always Morocco. Morocco is perfect for every situation—not too overpowering for work, outgoing enough for going out after work, and relaxing at night when I'm trying to unwind. The musk, carnation, and sandalwood together are so gorgeous, and then there's just a touch of cassia there to add a bit of spice without being overwhelming. With so many great LE hair glosses, I feel like my love for this one doesn't get enough ink—but it's become a true staple for me and part of my away-from-home hair care routine.

Yep, The Phoenix, Having Burst Her Shell is good. The orange and tangerine are a great pairing with the patchouli and amber. The tobacco note isn't strong on me, and the white musk is hard for me to even detect, although there's something smooth and soft mellowing out the brightness of the citrus, so maybe that's it. It's like if Sin (minus the cinnamon) and Eastern Comma had a baby!

Yellow Metal With Mingled Purple Blushes is such a great capture of the inspiration. Smells like bright yellow amber and a touch of metal, plus just the barest hint of wild plum and blackcurrant. This smells very upscale and elegant somehow, and is the kind of blend I could wear anywhere...it smells warm and clean with just a touch of fruit. This smells better the longer it's on, ending as a soft amber with something fretful and complex at the very, very back of it. Another keeper from this year's Phoenixes!

I've tried A Rosy Colour Paints Her Claws With Honor a few times now, and each time I dab it on, I get that hit of musky rose and it's so nice. This is a rose-forward blend—that rose tint comes down like a pale red wash over everything it touches. It smells like a straight split between red rose, red musk, bourbon geranium, and vanilla. Bourbon geranium smells like rose with a citronellol edge—think a rosy citronella candle (better than it sounds). It's like rose if it were in the citrus family. Here it's also a bit herbaceous and it gives this phoenix some claws. A few hours into wear, this is a nuzzle-soft rose with vanilla and musk and a twang of something citrusy. Very nice.

Snow White hair gloss is so lovely! I also adore Snow White and being able to wear this in my hair when I wear the perfume makes for a fantastic layered scent experience. From my review of Snow White, the perfume oil, about 10 years ago: ...Trying to describe Snow White is like trying to describe a winter flower from a fairytale---there’s just nothing to compare it to...I pick up on the buttery floral, the gentle tropical vibe, and the pastry/almondy/coconutty edge. And yet, it seems to me one of the most elusive BPAL blends I’ve tried, changing so many times on my skin that in the end I can only imagine an expansive field of untrammeled snow, broken only by pale yellow anemones. When fairies dance in the winter, this is the smell of the flower that springs up at their feet. It's still tough to describe this scent, and it still smells like a winter flower from a fairytale. In my hair it's a gentle scent, the kind of hair gloss that sticks close. After 8 hours, it's faint but present. I get wafts of vanilla from time to time when I turn my head. So glad to have this in my glossy arsenal.