Lunasariel

2024 version! In the imp: ...Wine??? No, seriously, I don't get any rose at all, just straight-up red wine. My father is a winemaker, and this smells exactly like sticking your nose into the bung hole of a French oak wine barrel full of cabernet sauvignon that's almost ready for bottling. It's not unpleasant, just... what??? Wet: What the Sam Hill is going on with this perfume? Again, not rose, but something kind of acidic and spicy and chemical-y - way too much cinnamon or allspice? Camphor? I have no clue what's going on here. Dry: Whew, finally! A recognizable rose note finally develops, first most noticeable in the sillage, but eventually at skin-level as well. It is quite a camphorous rose, at least at first, but after a little while it becomes lovely and fresh-smelling.

2024 version! In the imp: It smells white and fluffy! Something akin to the "starry" note from, say, Canis Major or The Flame of the Bear, but less crystalline. It's quite a sweet scent, the way night air is sometimes sweet. And maybe a little bit floral? Wet: White and chilly, what can I say! Now with a distinctly sharper, chillier, more night air-y edge. Still very sweet - if I was smelling this blind I would assume some sort of ineffable florals, or maybe vanilla? Dry: Fairly linear. Always fairly soft, and getting softer over time, but it loses that sharp, chilly edge. I do want to say that it's coming across as mainly vanilla-ish, with maybe some florals as well.

In the imp: That buttery pie crust note that BPAL does so well hits me first, then sort of omnidirectional baking spices, and then a surprisingly soft and unobtrusive lemon. I'm getting more of a lemon snickerdoodle feeling than lemon chiffon pumpkin pie, but whatever it is, I'm here for it! Wet: Close to the skin, it's much more distinctly pumpkin pie spices with a hint of lemon, and still with that delicious buttery pie crust note. The throw is much more general baked goods. Weirdly enough, the lemon is *much* more noticeable on one wrist than the other. Huh! Dry: Lemony, spiced-but-not-spicy baked goods - not distinctly pumpkin pie, but not distinctly snickerdoodle, either. Predictably, the lemon burns off after an hour or so, leaving pure baking-spices-and-pie-crust goodness.

In the imp: A fresh, clean herbal scent, predominantly lavender and lemon in that order. And maybe a little woodsy? Wet: Lemon (or at least citrus), herbal and just a little sweet, with the tangerine also coming out after a few minutes. Not as floral as I had expected. Dry: The citrus burns off, leaving the ylang ylang and sandalwood to come forward. It's a mild, creamy, floral-woodsy sort of scent. Cooling the nerves and inspiring serenity indeed!

In the imp: Sweet lavender, and lots of it! And maybe some patch or lavender to provide ballast? A sweet, well-rounded lavender, anyway - kinda reminds me of the Liliths, or certain Lupercalias. Wet: Ahhhh, this is exactly what I was hoping for when I read the description! Sage is one of my all-time favorite notes, and this is a wonderful example - soft green, herbal, and alive. It's rounded out by rich, complex bourbon vanilla, and still a hint of sweet lavender. The patchouli also comes out to play after a few minutes, especially further from the skin. Dry: After a brief but worrying soapy phase, it settles into a glorious honeyed patch and bourbon vanilla, lovely and warm, rounded out with notable sage and less-notable but still present lavender.

2024 version! In the bottle: "Starchy" is the main note I'm getting here, like rice or flour (or rice flour!) - kind of musty, but leaning in a foodie direction. But it's also a bit creamy and a bit sweet (although I can't identify the sweetness as either fig, ylang ylang, or vanilla at this point). This is a very soft pink-and-white scent. Wet: Huh, there's a change-up! The starchiness is still there, but instead of balancing against creaminess and sweetness, it's balancing against sandalwood and fir. There's maybe a hint of creaminess still rounding things out, but now it's primarily a woodsy scent, with sandalwood being predominant. It still feels very soft, and wears very close to the skin. Dry: The starchiness eventually fades away entirely, leaving woodsiness (again, mainly sandalwood) and fruity-creamy sweetness. It does smell very cozy, comforting, and compassionate!

2024 version! In the bottle: Pretty, pretty, pretty! I can pick up the roses, the jasmine, the amber, the vanilla, and the mallow, but the overall impression is pretty, elegant, omnidirectional daintiness. A vintage Christmas gown indeed! Wet: The roses and mallow come on strongest at first, with the amber keeping everything grounded. Jasmine starts to creep in as well after a few minutes. At skin level, it's very floral-forward, but the throw is much more sweet cream/mallow and amber, with some very soft rose around the edges. Dry: Unsurprisingly, the amber and vanilla(/mallow?) prove the most tenacious, but the rose also hangs around longer than I thought it would. This is a gorgeous, dainty, elegant scent. The gown to go with this would be a stunner!

2024 version! In the imp: Evergreen-y, but not overwhelmingly so. The fir is balanced out with something berry-sweet and herbal, and a "starry" note that I also noticed, and loved, in Canis Major. Wet: The berry-sweetness and effervescent "starry" note take a big step back, and the myrrh and oak (I think?) take a big step forward. I've never smelled an oak note this pure before - it's woodsy and vegetal and a little musty, but in a good way, very much like breaking open a damp fallen oak branch. It's a dark, damp, woodsy, winter scent; very appropriate that I'm testing it on the winter solstice! Dry: More traditionally woodsy and resinous, or maybe incense-y? It's definitely a lot drier; mainly oak (or fir, from reading other review?) and some myrrh. The myrrh also is fairly dry, but becomes more resinous and less incense-y towards the very end (around 10 hours on me, which is about average), bringing back a bit of the sweetness I noted ITI. It's a quiet, inward-looking, meditative sort of scent.

In the imp: My brother walked by while I was uncapping this and said it smells like "old folks' homes and death." Thanks buddy! But really, it is a very strong, perfumey rose, with the narcissus coming across as kind of wet, green, and aldehydic or alcohol-y. Wet: Yup, that's rose! Still very aldehydic and traditionally perfumey. And it packs a HELLUVA punch. Dry: Gets less aldehydic and wet/green over time. The throw also decreases to something much more manageable. It settles down into a fairly straightforward rose SN, and stays there for the next 10-12 hours, which is about average length for me.

In the imp: A very soft, perfumey (but not sweet) lavender. The astringent edge that lavender sometimes has is blunted by tonka and/or amber. Subtle and lovely! Wet: Ah, damn. I haven't tried a fougere for years after they drastically failed to work on my skin, and it looks like things haven't improved. Soapy, plasticky lavender, alas. At least it's balanced out by a surprisingly nice rosewood! Dry: Once the lavender fougere burns off (after an hour or so), it actually dries down to a really lovely amber-rosewood scent, with more rosewood closer to the skin and the throw having more amber. Well, that was a nice surprise!

In the imp: I'm getting a lot of pumpkin spices (particularly nutmeg) and honey, but this is a surprisingly non-foodie scent for me. Probably because the more gourmand-y elements are balanced by a nice fur-ruffling musk, a very smooth patch, amber, and maybe just a hint of bergamot around the edges? Wet: Very incense- and pumpkin spice-forward (more pumpkin spice up close, but more incense from afar), but grounded and made cuddly by tonka and amber. The bergamot also becomes much more apparent after a minute or two. It brings to mind the colors orange and brown, and feels like a fuzzy, well-worn knitted jumper. Dry: This is such a gorgeous fall scent. Less sweet than you might think from the pumpkin spice/honeyed chestnut/amber, but just a lovely, mellow golden-brown scent. The honeyed chestnut really comes into its own on the drydown, and it eventually settles into mainly tonka, patchouli, and amber, although the pumpkin spice incense and honey(ed chestunt) are also evident. The tonka, patch, and honey last the longest, although the amber and incense also hang around for a long time.

In the imp: A spicy-woodsy scent, fairly dry, with pine prominent but not conquering all it sees the way it sometimes does. I also thought I got a sort of musky, animalic note, but there's nothing listed that matches it. Maybe some unlisted musk, or maybe some combination of amber, mosses, and woods? It's a wonderful sort of fur-ruffling scent, whatever it is. Wet: If I had to describe this scent in one word, it would be "organic." This is the scent of a damp forest floor, complete with leaf mast and decaying wood. It's very weirdly cozy, but not homey, if that makes any kind of sense - it's not a "fuzzy sweaters and baking bread" kind of scent, which is what usually makes me think "cozy," but it kind of wraps its arms around you and sinks into your skin. Maybe this is the hazelnut and/or amber talking? I had no idea what nooka is, so I looked it up, and according to Fragrantica, "Nootka, or Alaska cypress, is a cypress tree native to the coastal Northwest. The oil has a strong woody aromatic smell with hints of grapefruit and blackcurrant." While I'm definitely getting plenty of aromatic woods, I'm not getting any grapefruit or blackcurrant (which is a little odd, since blackcurrant is a listed note in its own right). Maybe they'll come out on the drydown? Dry: The scent moves up from the forest floor, going from damp leaf mast and gently decaying wood to living tree trunks, complete with moss and lichen, and bars of sunlight slanting through the canopy. It's a beautiful gold-green-brown scent. After eight hours or so, it does a particularly graceful fade into a sort of musky amber, with that "organic" feeling still going strong.

In the imp: Spicy-herbal and resinous, with the lavender very prominent and medicinal-smelling. There's something sweet stopping the whole thing from smelling too sharp, but it's buried under all the other, pushier notes. I think it might be the blood orange and/or the dragon's blood, which has always read strongly cherry-vanilla to my nose, but I can't tell which. Wet: A big flash of woozy-sweet lavender, like The Dream or Good Morning, London, quickly gives way to an absolutely glorious blood orange and amber, with more than a whiff of incense. I wish I was getting more of the cacao, though. Dry: The blood orange burns off after an hour or two, leaving mainly amber and omnidirectional incense/resins with maybe just a hint of cherry-vanilla dragon's blood.

In the imp: That's a nice well-worn leather! I'm also getting some very deep resins - I almost want to say something fruity and/or floral? And maybe a flash of metal and/or ozone. Wet: Huh, this is interesting! From afar, I still get that lovely well-worn leather and fruity-floral resins, but the closer to the skin I get, the more I pick up on a deeply unfortunate soapy/cleaning note. So as I'm sitting at my computer typing, I'm doing so in a cloud of "sexy but dangerous assassin," but as soon as I lift my wrist for a closer sniff, the assassin is replaced by a hospital janitor. Dry: Thankfully, the unfortunate soapiness fades after an hour or two, leaving darkly fruity resins and that lovely well-worn leather note. It's a darkly, quietly elegant scent, and I love it!