radiantfracture

I'm looking for recommendations of really good stone / rock and dust scents. I'm interested in stone specifically -- not earth or dirt, which are also wonderful but different. Ideally the overall scent would not be predominantly floral or aquatic. I feel like BPAL does some great stone scents but I'm not sure which notes are the ones that come together to form the stone smell. (Patchouli? I feel like it's often patchouli?) Thank you so much!

Ah! Thank you! Those both sound great. I have added them to my shopping bag...

Well-rested test, two weeks out of the mail. In the bottle: sharp, smoky, almost stinging tea note with some of the bergamot behind; a touch of the toasted scent (at this point, the sharpness worried me) Wet: Tea still rules, bergamot’s citrussy note expands, sweet toastiness rises; the gradual unfolding of a sweeter scent, like cream slowly stirred into the tea Dry: Bright strong bergamot runs the show; hints of cream and toastiness In the end, it's like a vanilla Earl Grey tea -- the sharpish tea smell and the bergamot linger most, but sweetened. Normally I amp sweet scents and vanilla, so I expected the marshmallow and honey to take over. it's interesting to have a perfume stay with the drier, more herbal notes instead. ETA: I find the sharp tea note very "sticky" on me -- it lasts long after everything else has faded.

On me, this is a delicate foodie scent. In the bottle: sweet and creamy; a "pink sugar" smell with good throw -- maybe a little of the alcohol Wet: A flicker of the resins; more sweetness winding through; a little more alcohol adding a touch of intriguing sourness Drydown: creamy, almost waxen; sweet and delicately boozy; sometimes I think I catch the ink Dry: This gradually becomes a sweet but slightly drier scent, in which the woods come forward a bit - becomes a little powdery (the sandalwood maybe); I second the idea that there's something fruitlike here, though it doesn't take over. This maintains a sweet, almost fruity creaminess on my skin throughout, more candylike than I expected, with a ghostly dry resinous character hovering in the background. It's pleasant, though I was hoping for more from the other notes. In particular, I love the Lab's take on ink, so I was hoping that would come up stronger for me. This is a fairly new bottle; I might age it for a few months and see what happens when I return.

Hazelnut smoke and leather with dark musk, white cognac, caramelized vetiver, and a drop of honeyed whiskey. First review! Such responsibility. In the bottle and first on, this is a delicious sweet liqueur of smoky hazelnut and caramel (it smells like coffee liqueur to me, though that isn't listed in the notes). The leather makes an appearance, then a slightly powdery musk. The earthy vetiver fills in. At this point, it's a thick, rich scent, both foodie and substantial, like the smell of a shadowy lounge with leather-lined booths, whiskey and cognac glowing golden on the dark table. On me, the musk dominates over time, and then the scent fades back to a gentle hazelnut trace. This is delightful, though I wish it hung around more on me.

This is one of those wonderfully and mysteriously textural BPAL scents. In the bottle, I get chilly vanilla peppermint icing, with the feeling of that very sweet icing with the fine fine grains of sugar suspended in the cream. Just a faint undertone of chocolate cake. Wet on the wrist, the mint backs off, and I get moist chocolate cake. A delicate, not overwhelming smell of chocolate, but again, somehow wonderfully having the texture of cake. Dry, this becomes first a cool powdered-sugar mint so powerful it clears my sinuses. Later, the mint fades back, and I'm left, unfortunately, with mild traces of that cream note that on some unlucky people (like me) smells plasticky. I like the mint in this a lot -- I'll try aging it and see what happens. I am very fond of Mother Shub's Unmentionable Peppermint Creams, even though it has the same final effect on me. This is cooler and less vanilla-sweet than MSUPC -- there's a little distance in the scent, as though closely considering the idea of cupcakes at a thoughtful remove.

Sexy, smoky woods and patchouli. Wonderfully warm. The best hug from the guy with the best beard and the softest red plaid shirt infused with wood shavings and tung oil from his fine carpentry project for the microbrewery downstairs. The honey comes forth in the drydown. I agree to a vanilla echo. It's predominantly a patch party on me, but the other elements add complexity. I can't imagine anyone this wouldn't smell good on. Everyone should always wear this forever. Postscript I'd applied this and was huffing contentedly and taking notes every five seconds or so when I bumped the bottle with my sleeve. Today's meditation: rescuing spilled perfume oil with an eyedropper.

Hmm. Sometimes coffee is coffee on me, and sometimes it turns into something wholly other, as in The Two Old Men, and now with Socerophobia. My vetiver is green rather than earthy or very smoky. In the bottle and on my skin, this is a juicy green smell like an expensive florist's shop, or a very upscale line of botanical skin treatments. I get a faint peppery/smoky edge like chrysanthemum, and throughout there's a sense of rich, heavy floral / botanical oils. There might, in the bottle, be something that almost smells like cherry. There's an elusive peekaboo vanilla effect that sweetens the botanicals. This smells like a classic perfume to me, something worn by a woman with authority and taste. It's both heady and cool, just the emotional tenor you'd expect from the phobic scenario.

I've been hunting BPAL for the perfect caramel scent and the perfect salt scent and was delighted to find the possibility of the two together. In the bottle: Butterscotch! Delicious butterscotch candy. Very tasty, though definitely more butterscotch than the caramel note I've loved elsewhere. Still, no complaints. Wet: Butterscotch candy with an edge of salt, morphing towards pure salty butter. This stays close to the skin, but when I move, sweet butterscotch wafts through the air. Dry: Dry nuts, flour dust, and sweet salted butter. To me, it smells more like getting ready to bake than the finished product -- the ingredients set out in the kitchen. I like it, though I wish the butterscotch/caramel hung around longer.

Everything about this sounded so good -- I was only unsure about the rose, and it was well in to the list of notes, so I thought, eh, see what it does. In the bottle: strong white rose and honey and soured milk. I usually love the goat's milk accord, but it doesn't seem to be getting along with the rose. Hmm. On the skin: Oh dear. Strong powdery white rose and sour milk. The amber amps up, but it can't fix the sweet, fluttering, silky-white nightmare that is this scent on my skin. Like if you made chocolate milk but instead it was rose milk, and also evil. I bet this would be great on someone who doesn't turn white rose and goat's milk into poison.

I too, am seeking a cousin of Red Lantern. In the bottle, patch and fig -- a deep, wet earth scent, almost chocolatey -- with draughts of benzoin -- and maybe the bourbon of bourbon vanilla -- nothing strongly vanillic as such. More reminiscent of the boozy side of vanilla. Wet on skin, the fig dominates briefly, and then the benzoin, or anyway something resinous, with fig and patch around the edges. Normally, I amp vanilla, so I'm waiting for this to turn sweet, but that doesn't seem to happen. This stays pretty subtle on me, even with multiple applications. I've been searching through this year's Lupers looking for a caramel that will show up and stick around on my skin -- this is not that. I get no caramel at all. The fig is delicious, though, and very friendly with the patchouli. I think this is a win, with potential for aging.

This is a puzzling beast (or pair thereof). In the bottle, I get strong astringent-sweet leather and something almost citrus-like, reminiscent of orange but also of green stems. On my skin, the leather becomes sweeter, the citrus element flares, and then the nice oily teak smell expands through the other notes. Something sharp contrasts with the smooth wood. A peppery, slightly dusty smell rises. I'm not sure how BPAL's cacao contrasts with cocoa or chocolate notes, but on my skin I never smell anything like chocolate. There is something faintly spicy, in a dry way, that comes with the pepperiness and that I can just imagine is a kind of unsweetened spicy version of cacao. If the citrussy element is green coffee bean, that accounts for all of the listed notes - but wow, they came in forms I was not expecting. On me, this finishes as a peppery, astringent, dry and dusty wood with a trace of amber-like sweetness. It isn't remotely foodie -- the elements are considered in a completely different way. I do get flashes of the plasticky smell mentioned above, which sometimes happens on me with cream or almond notes (though those are not listed here). I'm not sure what I make of this. I'll be interested to read more reviews.

Frimp! These are always such great surprises. This starts out a bright, high-pitched scent, almost citrussy, with bright woods and a nice ashy note. There's a little powderiness from the amber. The whole midgame of this is great - woody and bright. However, I amp red musk and amber, and in drydown both of these fill in around the woods. The elements blend elegantly, but the result is too traditionally feminine and powdery to work for me. I'll look for a sandalwood blend without my death notes.

A frimp from the lab. Thanks lab! A deep orange oil that looked like iodine when I put it on. This is a dry resin and red musk scent on me. I haven't tried dragon's blood before. I don't get the fruity or floral elements of the resin -- I get something very dry and powdery, with maybe just a very faint hint of the cherry scent around the edges. I love black currant and I like fig, but neither of those surface. Wet, there were intimations of smoke and spice, but in drydown this goes from red musk tempered by black musk, to just sweet red musk, to a final state of metallic red musk, which doesn't work at all on me. My trouble is that I amp red musk, which, with my chemistry, makes me smell like a makeup counter. (Not a perfume counter, but the smell of lipstick and suchlike.) [Edited to correct my impatience to make final determinations before full unfolding of the scent.]

In the bottle, a fresh bright wintery mint with a tingling sensation. On the skin, a faint sort of gluey smell, then a head-clearing cool mist. A little bit of pepperiness. Dry, a big cool mint that forms a sort of chilly cloud around my arm. Close to the skin, I get that herbal element others talk about. I can see using this to refresh the mind after a long day of work. I like the foodier BPAL mints a little better than this herbal one, but this scent is invigorating and atmospheric and fun.

In the bottle: creamy sweetness, and something just a little sharper- sweet vanilla, but also a slightly chemical undertone that worries me. I smell a cream or milk note as well, and powdery sugar. Wet: The sweetness and that same sharp note. Then all the cloudy fluffy marshmallowy elements others have delighted in billow forth. Nicer than regular marshmallows. I'm reminded of the filling of an oreo cookie. Dry: This sits at a nice marshmallowy place for quite a while. Then the sweetness gradually dissipates until my skin smells like warm fabric - all wool with just a touch of the sweetness. This is pretty delightful -- I look forward to how it ages. Layered over Giljaguar, with which I think it shares some affinities, this sweetens the very strong cinnamon that G has on me, and makes a very tasty foodie combo.

Well, lots of affirmation of what other people have said, only heavier on the cinnamon. On first opening the bottle, I smell delicious sheep's milk, sweet and caramelly like the goat's milk note that I love (like others, I am reminded of My Baby and a Baby Goat); after the first sniff, I smell the cinnamon and something hard to describe -- a little metallic? A little sour, but not unpleasantly so. The coconut merges its creaminess with the milk. Wet on my skin, the first time, I smell butter rum and again that echo of metal, something coppery. This lingers for a long time and opens up a little -- becomes almost bready. During the first test, I didn't smell any cinnamon at this stage. The second time (after the bottle had rested a little) I immediately smelled the cinnamon (and maybe nutmeg? anyway, an aromatic cinnamon, not a simple candy-heart cinnamon - I agree that it's almost floral) much more clearly. In both tests, this dried down to a strong sweet cinnamon on me. The spice is supported by, but definitely dominates, the sweet and creamy notes. It's pleasing and foodie. I would have liked the creaminess to stick around more, but that may happen with aging.

in the bottle: mandarin and neroli with tropical florals, and a stemlike greenness Wet: The freesia, green and peppery; citrus; powdery musk Drydown: Mm! Very floral and citrussy, but with a tasty salty undertone, and a little funky woody-desert. Dry: Soapy citrus with a little melony fruitiness. Fresh and innocuous.

Purchased in a lab offsale via eBay. I'm not an apple-scent person, on the whole, but I couldn't resist the name. In the bottle: Apple peel. I can smell the skin. A coolness and freshness. Wet: Interesting! First a clean soapiness joins the apple -- maybe a faint high-pitched floral? A candy sweetness.Then there's a sharp smokiness. Between them - soap and smoke -- the two kind of dissolve the apple. Just a sweet ghost remains. I'm not converted to apple scents, but I think I'll keep this as my one apple scent with the awesome name and the witty construction.

In the vial: Honey and fir and cognac -- very promising -- a sweet forest. Touch of leaves. On the skin, wet: sweet plum leaves with fir; it's very like the sweet dusty smell of coniferous pollen with an additional complexity from the plum and cognac. Drydown: Hmm, just a moment of something plasticky, but then the maplewood takers over. I don't get the hazelnut, and just a trace of the patchouli, but I don't miss them. Dry: Voleuse, above, really captured my sense of this scent. This is pretty grand. A fresh bright fall day in a forest of mixed coniferous and deciduous trees. I love this.

(Imp from the lab, aged) In vitro: Sweet smoky aftershave, metal, and something almost caramel or (as above) syrupy Wet: Syrup, smoke, aftershave -- or specifically the round, billowy smell of shaving foam Smoke takes over. I can visualize the clouds others are talking about. Dry: Smoke fades back. Finally: Aftershave -- clean, soapy -- with a sweet metallic tang and a smoky undertone. This isn't for me, but it would be nicely wearable for someone who wants an inflected version of a traditional masculine scent -- on me, it's recognizable enough to be good for everyday, but has the interest and tang of smoke and other unusual notes.

(Imp direct from lab and aged about a year) In the bottle: delicious. Sexy and intriguing and indeed sinuous and tantalizing. A golden oil. Wet on skin: Oh, no. My skin seems to have eaten this. I get almost nothing except hickory smoke. Maybe black musk is one I can't smell? Drydown: This falls very close to the skin on me. Very smoky leather, vetiver, and a hint of beef jerky. Dammit. Hey. Some of what I liked in the bottle is coming back -- that sinuous snaky leathery smell. The smoke is still a little barbecue-y, but I have hope. Dry: Still more of the smoke than I'd like, but the leather is tasty. I'll see how this wears.

(2014 Version) In the bottle, wet, and dry, this is strongly consistent on me, rather than morphing dramatically as other BPALs do. It's so coherent it's almost like a word being spoken - or sung, low, for a long time. The bottle, sniffed, exudes an astringent smell I will call the hay and gunpowder -- a dry smell, mixed with greener plants. I don't get the smokiness -- just a sharp, stinging version of gunpowder. Wet and dry, these notes remain prominent. Long into drydown, there is a little sweetness from the patchouli and the wood warms in around the hay and herbs, merging with them. I agree with "sour resins", above. A haunting concept, executed beautifully. I don't quite know what to make of Tattie Bogle, but she is herself. A work of art.

A favorite from 2014's Weenies. In the bottle: pumpkin, spices, and burnt sugar. Wet: A whiff of sweet pastry, then gentle pumpkin, then strong ginger tea. The ginger hangs around. The cardamom warms in. This is not nearly so sweet on the drydown as in the bottle. Dry: I still smell like a cup of strong ginger tea, with other spices supporting. Invigorating

Oh, Rogue. You are the best. A long-time favorite. If I want to feel, you know, rogueish -- tough, sexy, devil-may-care -- all out of proportion to my actual life, I put on some of this, and everything is magic. This is the best leather note I've tried -- it stays true and smells amazing.