RoseThornAndOak

Holy smokes this is sharp. Totally zingy, yet not like ozone usually is, there's a mentholic quality to it. I'm wearing it at the same time as Paisley Sheet Ghost, and the two are really opening my sinuses up. On left inner elbow, hella throw. Ye Mighty Triton Bearer would be proud. There is something icy and piercing about this. I believe the lavender note is the same as PSG. I'll have to revisit Stormclouds, but something in this reminds me more of the zingy mint top notes in Green Tree Viper, maybe like a lavender hued version of that. Interesting. I like the clearing effect which I needed. Probably won't grab a bottle. Urban Undine seemed to work a bit better. Glad I went the decant route, almost blind bottled LL and skipped UU had I gone the bottle route, I actually found UU to be a bit more ozonic than this one. tldr sharp minty lavender ozone.

Oo I really like the incense in this one. Soft and cuddly, kind of like how your skin and clothes smell after burning some earthy green incense. Sigh totally vibing. Had a chance to retry, this is a note in this similar to Blacker Than The Raven Wings of Midnight that is turning this sharp and mentholic + green earth. It's far lighter with no patchouli, so there's that. If you enjoyed the high notes in Raven Wings I think you will enjoy this!

Alright. Paisley Sheet Ghost deserves it's own playlist, lol. Please add to it: Deep Purple "Sweet Child in Time" Uriah Heep "Look at Yourself" Black Sabbath "Sweet Leaf" Coven "Black Sabbath" The Devil's Blood "The Thousandfold Epicentre" Pantera "Goddamn Electric" Adrenalin O.D. "Rock & Roll Gas Station" Acid Witch "Metal Movie Marijuana Massacre Meltdown" Dude this one is piercing, dank, sinus opening in the beginning. Definitely reefer, like reefer and clean sheets with maybe a lavender aromatherapy/high enhancer blend in the background. Very evocative. Almost skipped this one, but was vibing to some Deep Purple and Uriah Heep around the time of the release, so I went for it. It totally makes me think of toking in that one stoner metal dude's basement spinning some vinyl and really trying to cover up the smell and probably failing, lol. I really like this, it's bringing back fond memories lol ("yall wanna listen to some...Bllleckk Sebbeth?". Never living that one down, lol). I might actually spring for a bottle, so far I like it way better than Blacklight Reactive Poster, even though initially sharper, it's prettier? This plays on the skin better due to the lack of patchouli. This is kinda a brilliant blend.

In the beginning I get a nice light fougere and citrus vibe too, unfortunately this veers slightly into acrid territory, like oud or oil notes do although my nose might be picking up things that aren't there. Could be the hay note reading that way. This was a nice clean citrus fougere in the beginning though, so I think fans of Theodosius or Dorian might like this and should definitely give it a try. Theodosius behaves well on my skin so I will stick with that, but don't skip this one if fougeres are your jam. Dagnabbit, it's going a bit play-doh too, like some fougeres do. Kinda thought that would happen. Seems like violet, orris, and some fougeres go that route, just depends on the blend I guess. That being said, this does share some slight similarities to Lucy Westenra, which is pretty much straight play-doh. For fans of Dorian, Theodosius, Dancing Among The Tombs, etc, etc, etc.

2020 version. I thought for sure I reviewed this, the heck. Although hard to whiddle down, after being a fan for 15 years on and off, this is at least top 25. DiesMali's review of Gingerbread, Patchouli, Leather and Dark Musk pretty much sold me on Gingerbread and Leather: "This is something a large, intimidating, but also very handsome Viking-looking Scandinavian death metal band member might wear to a winter holiday celebration with their significant other." Where GPLDM goes a bit herbal, G&L is lebkuchen-like gingerbread with soft black leather, tobacco, and clove keeping this from being straight gourmand and adds a dark, badass, sexy, yet still cuddly edge. I actually forgot tobacco and clove were in this, they're so well blended. So where GPLDM is very handsome Viking-looking Scandinavian death metal band member that showed up to the party with his SO, GL is the very handsome Celebrimbor-looking Austrian black metal band member who you really hope came alone. It puts me in the same headspace as Deep Midnight's Black Throne (black opium, oriental white florals, teakwood, tonka, tea, vanilla, patchouli, rose), another nice badass unisex blend. I'm mostly revisiting to see if I want to grab 2021's iteration as a backup and most likely will. This truly deserves to stick around for years to come.

I get wafer patchouli, too! Then some of the most gorgeous creamy vanilla fluff. I also got the red fruit jam vibe labugsy and others mentioned, same experience, gone like a flash. The patch is there but it's not like gnarly patch, its like a light buttery wafer, spice kinda vibe. The mallow and cream combo is reminiscent of Poinsettia, definitely agree, a bit less cloying than that can go sometimes (I just underapply that one to be safe, still love it). The toasty wafer vibe kinda reads cardboard cereal on my skin, but patch and sometimes cinnamon can do that, definitely not most people's experience. sidenote, absolutely love Madam Mew's note on bourbon vanilla. I never knew why it was called bourbon vanilla, but did note that the bourbon vanilla in one of BPAL's previous Yule blends (name escapes me) was very similar to the Madagascar vanilla used in Deep Midnight's perfumes. It's a little different here, leading me to believe BPAL's bourbon vanilla note may vary from time to time. Although this ain't me, this is gonna be hekkin popular in the BPALverse.

It's awesome watching Lilith's personal style coming along! Lilith knows how already knows how to work with colors, shapes, and styles that work together, way better than many who are 3x older! Just gonna have to resign to the fact that most ouds/agarwood/guiacwoods hate my skin and just won't work. It's not as heavy and intense acridity as others, but if this is a problem note for you too, I'd maybe pass. However if you find oud works on you but is usually too intense, this might be a safe bet that will work for you. In the vial I do get a lovely, sophisticated, complex, creamy lavender blend. I feel like this would be a real winner on the right skin. I agree with groovyrooby, there's a mysterious quality. Not much leather on me. Does have some similarities with Philopannix so if you like one you may like the other!

This is like a fruit punch mixed drink they'd serve at the goth club. Reminds me of the Halloween vibe I get from Hexennacht's Tiger Tale (vanilla ice cream, orange sherbet, and black licorice swirl). This is like a darker more cranberry version minus licorice. Oddly, these blends make me think Halloween more than many pumpkin blends. Makes me think of a candy pail with orange tootsy pops and other goodies. The Lab cranberry starts to take over a bit more as it goes along and goes a bit sour on me, as most fruits do. D-rats. I really think the younger crowd could wear this but also anyone who wants to smell like trick-or-treating or goth fruit punch.

2021 Version! Something told me not to skip this one. Thanks, Something. Wow this is pretty. I haven't tried earlier versions. Bright clean floral, mainstream adjacent kinda sorta, but still BPAL. Very similar experience to marared, there's a bit of a powder vibe, like herbal pollen + lightly scented detergent but not in a bad way at all, just fresh, clean, floral, and pretty. 100% doesn't cross the line into ermehgherg powder, thankfully. Although not the same floral, this is reminiscent of Xmas in New Orleans by Possets. Just light, simple, elegant, vampire floral. WAIT. CHAMOMILE! There is most def chamomile in this. I was wondering what that herbal bit was! It's not realistic marigold (kinda glad?). It's more chamomile + mystery flower. Fey vampire hybrid? No idea why it make me think of vampires. Do they drink chamomile potion to sleep during the day? Or maybe the wear this to remind them of sunny days? No idea, lol Bottle worthy for sure. This is pretty light though, so maybe apply on a pulse point with better throw, like inner elbow. Great on it's own and would also layer gorgeously with some base notes to give it more oomph. tldr: gorgeous fresh chamomile vampire floral w/ low throw yet bottle worthy

Just an opinion, but I think this should've been named something like Rites of Ostara, Meadow Dance, Witches in Spring or something because this is #TheePerfectSpringFragrance. In the vial, whoa neroli, like a bright orange blossom incense in a metaphysical shop on a Spring day. Ooo, man. After a little while, there's a green slightly woody element, maybe the balsam. For a few minutes the floral bits and the powder of the resins edge slightly into toilet cake territory. This goes away quickly, and after a short while the resins deepen a bit but this remains a light, buoyant blend overall. The ultimate effect on drydown is a gorgeous spring floral incense. I'm not even the hugest fan of neroli, sometimes it's just too sharp and bright. It really works with the champaca here. I reckon if you layered neroli with nag champa you'd get something similar to this. It reminds me of hitting the Faerie Festivals with friends. This photo of Candace Night kinda represents what I picture in my head: The only scent this really reminds me of is Doom and Bloom by Sugar and Spite (orange blossoms, earl grey tea, and lemon cake pops), which is also great, especially in soap or oil form. This is like a more incensey, witchy version of that, bright and cheerful. Dude don't judge me but listening to old school Dolly Parton right now I just feel so damn happy, lol. I just wanna sit on the porch with friends in a cabin in the woods and forget literally everything then dance derpy in a meadow after. Although this would have been a great Spring release, this is perfect for today, like that dark shit's far far away somewhere. Almost didn't go for a decant of this but glad I did. Short list for a bottle.

Sunrise with Sea Monsters, I remember that one! Sunrise is a mighty fine aquatic and Urban Undine is a bit similar, but replacing the floral and fruit notes with herbal lavender. Covid nose in healing version, will hold on to this to try later: so far Urban Undine in the vial has an an almost Yvaine-like but slightly earthier lavender with crisp ozone bits supporting. On the skin I'm getting crisp ozone with not much lavender. Drydown reminds me of Deep Midnight Perfumes Into The Aether (earthy greenery, aquatic florals, ozone) a bit. This is more like what I want out of petrichor notes, without the grit or acrid quality those can have on the skin sometimes. This has more of the sharp, clean air vibe. Perfectly unisex. I reckon or hope this will age well and bring out the lavender more. Because the opening reminds me of Yvaine a bit I may grab a bottle and let it age. Very nice and will have to deathmatch with Lavender Lightning. For fans of the above but also Lullaby, Lilith's Feel Better Flowers, Lightning, Alkemia Mist Becoming Rain, and Lavanila Vanilla + Air. Maybe Boober fans could vibe with this, too.

COVID nose review so take this with a pinch of grass but: DUDE this is like 2017 Lilith Dancing Among The Tombs (Osmanthus and jasmine, Spanish moss and dandelion, Snake Oil and Dorian.) Honestly, this may even be better. DATT can go a little metallic and wonky, maybe the moss or just how the SO and Dorian play out. However, even though my nose isn't completely up to snuff (bad pun, sorry), this is a nice outdoor, spring time, buoyant, fae-like blend. In the vial I get bright, grassy dandelions and greenery, almost so green it's slightly mentholic. Not like toothpaste, just in a bright, green, herbal kind of way. Not much dirt, not in any major way with any grit, at least, but maybe the cleaner aspects of the dirt note. Barely there really. On the skin the dandelion and green notes really sing. It does kind of remind me of skating or skateboarding outside on a sunny day and bits of grass and things get stuck in your wheels when you go off-...roading? off-skating? It's fresh, clean, and with a bit of a dusty element to it, like air out in the country when the wind picks up dust from the driveway. Although this doesn't supplant Alkemia's Summer Dandelion on me, this is gorgeous in it's own right. Very glad I took a chance on this last minute and considering a bottle. For fans of Dancing Among The Tombs, Alkemia First Dandelion or Summer Dandelion.

Oh wow does this take me for a ride! In the vial is a soft, almost sugary sweet pink rose musk/amber. It doesn't really read as jasmine to me, which can be a good thing. The sweetness kind of reminds me of pixie sticks as opposed to cloying sugar, so that's good. Somewhere in the middle of wear, the myrrh threatens to sully this up, but it mostly behaves, just kinda turning the scent "meh" for a bit. Closer up, the creamy sandalwood is apparent. I think those two notes are making this go just a little wonky and unsettling. Not my favorite stage at all. Interestingly, myrrh and sandalwood serve more as mid notes here as opposed to base notes, which are more musky, which brings me to: the final drydown is *gorgeous*, soft, musky, and very very princessy. It reminds me a lot of the rose + musk blends Deep Midnight Perfumes does so well, namely the scents Rosabelle and Deep Midnight. Those will be incredibly hard to beat for me as I adore those so much, however that dryown is so gorgeous in this I might still spring for a full and try to dab off the murky midnotes or just wait them out. They're not altogether unpleasant, just kinda 'wahh?' for a while. Also, the beautiful fiinal drydown stayed on throughout the night and was highly comforting. Not that I needed it in this god awful insane world or anything, lol. Tempting, tempting, temptress is Vasilissa.

Sweet fluffy florals, like my brain right now, lol. Mallowy but fresh florals I guess but not cloying. A bit powdery with the rose, frank, violet and all but it's pleasant. I'm glad I have a sample but probably don't need more.

Trying two different rose-franks today: Cicuta and Hierophant & The Empress. To my nose, Empress is much sweeter and not highly comparable. Cicuta, in the imp and wet on the skin has a Rose Cross vibe but a touch sweeter, less of a sharp powdery rose, and more of a candle/ritual incense atmosphere. Drying down there is a note reminiscent of honey, possibly the saffron dancing with the rose. Also what the heck, I don't find cicuta that gnarly to look at. The least hot of the VILFs for sure but still cute in an undead sort of way, plus he smells good. I could see a vampire that creeps around in a musty old castle smelling like this. Crumbling walls, dusty antiques, incense from his travels. Timeless, like the dude hasn't changed his M.O. the past 2 thousand years: wake up, light candles, burn incense, bite necks, take rose bath, arooo at odd wolf, read, sleep. During drydown, I do get the metallic bit others mentioned. Maybe dude dropped the soap in the metal sink he installed 121 years ago, or his skin musk literally wafts that much blood and iron it seeps through his pores. There's a bad vampire and garlic joke in here somewhere but I'm too lazy to find it. There are prettier rose blends, but this is still a bottle contender. Try if you like Rose Cross, Eve, The Empty Coffin, or Deep Midnight Perfumes Ishtar Gate, Chartres Rose, or The Lost Lady. Try If dry, dusty, incensy rose w/ a bloodlike, metallic twang is appealing.

The Lab frottled this one in my most recent order and I was thrilled! Starts out with sweet florals, with a lavender similar to Yvaine's on top. Freakin Yvaine lavender yeahhhh boi! On the skin it is a slightly darkened lavender floral blend with depth but no other notes are really popping out at me. Little Bird is right, it does go a bit powdery as it goes, but in a pleasantly clean, soft, your skin but better way. I do like the opening better but this is nice. No cloying honey, just a soft fluffiness of powder around the edges, a brief whiff of play-doh but not enough to be an issue like orris or violet sometimes is wont to do. The carnation is there but I didn't recognize it as such, just flowers. No ginger or herbs really. I'm really liking this and would probably have never picked this up due to the honey. It really is soft, comforting, and sweet. Maybe pick up if you like Lullaby, Yvaine, or Ode on Melancholy but don't expect it to be a substitute or anything. I like those much better (It's gonna be really hard to top those lavenders!), but try it if soft, bedtime, floofy, powdery lavender floral sounds appealing. For reference honey usually goes weird and wonky but I'm really enjoying this and it's a definite keeper. ❤️ Lab, thank you thank you thank you for this one, the lanyard, frimps and spooky swag!

Fresh from the Lab I'm getting pretty much the same as @doomsday_disco. Rose is there but it's being stomped out by the sharp oakmoss mostly. There's maybe a tad of vanilla or lace in there, but I do pick up some patch with the moss, too. I'll keep it around but dang is it sharp. Shoulda respected the oakmoss in the description lol because I think I amp it, too. It's a hard note to mix with because it's so prominent in a blend. Tiny bit of tobacco in there. Kinda similar to O Spirit of Love, softer but still sharp.

Yes, very bright and clean. Fresh from the Lab the chypre ("family of frags built on a base consisting of bergamot, oakmoss, and labdanum") is pretty strong, mostly the mossy part. Chypre kinda reads like the mossy cousin to fougere (which is more fern). This reminds me a lot of the fancy fougere soap by Roger & Gallet, which I like quite a bit. This perfume has a stronger waft, of course, but it does have a fancy soap vibe. I definitely get more fougere soap than rose soap. There's maybe some vanilla back there, but it is almost discordant with the mossy soap vibe. I feel like my grandfather had a cologne that was similar to this because it reminds me of him. I can see a gentile type man wearing this or a forest maiden. Actually yeah! This kind of reminds me of Moss Maiden by Alkemia, but I like this better. I can't really think of a BPAL to compare it to, maybe Bayou? I 'unno. It feels like it transports you to a different day and age, almost like opening a vintage bottle of cologne but when it was fresh and brand new like 'ahh, so that's what it's supposed to smelled like'. You kinda have to love chypres or fougeres to enjoy this one. The bright soapy moss is strong throughout the wear. I think it will layer well with rose heavy blends, and I look forward to see how it ages. I was hoping for more vanilla and rose, so I'm hoping they will join the dance a little later.

Lemon balm (wat?), grass, rose, faint hints of soap and metal (again wat?). No pepper or anything sweet. It's just okay on me, might layer or age well. Smells like something a hedge witch would use to keep bugs away. Say, that's not a bad idea.

This reminds me of Blood Rose a little bit, juicy and sweet but maybe a bit softer. The pom is also slightly reminiscent of the cherry in Phantom Calliope, kind of that spooky red fruit vibe, but much less dark of course with no patch to ground it. It sours slightly on my skin as most fruit blends do, but not nearly as much as anticipated, and it doesn't go cat pee like red currant, so that's a plus. The rose isn't powdery. I don't find the pom to be too lifelike, nor is it like the Softsoap Juicy Pomegranate and Mango body wash (loved that shit in college). It's actually quite subdued, and this does read a bit more rose than pom, yet both are present. If someone asked me what fruit is in it, I wouldn't have guessed pom at all, maybe cranberry. Yes, yes! This kinda has a Christmas cranberry scented soap or candle vibe (not waxy or soapy, just the scent in general). I do agree there is a slight bitterness, but I get a bit more of a tartness from it. I think on the right skin this could be a badass scent but it's kinda just dudding out on me. I was so glad to try this just to get a feel for pom as a note, and it's not nearly as bad as I thought it would be, so I'm not completely ruling it out as a note in the future ( Madame Moriarty worked great for years until the cat pee note killed it). Possibly for fans of Blood Rose, Madame Moriarty, and wine notes.

@lookingglass absolutely nailed it on this blend. This is from an aged imp, back around the time it came out and it is still a gorgeous scent all these years later. In the vial, it is a sweet, glittery, almost gourmand coconut rose. It reminds me of the beach a little bit, but not in an overtly sunscreen or plastic way. The orris tempers the coconut so it is not too cloying, and thank goodness, I get no play-doh from this. It feels more high end, but not like a conventional perfume. If someone waved the drydown in front of me, I'd've guessed maybe Egyptian musk and rose. It is a light musky rose in the end, soft and demure. It is kind of like if Pink Snowballs had less balls, which is odd considering how soft Pink Snowballs reads but has surprising throw and staying power. This one is much more of a skin scent in the end, and airy. I love this. Not sure why I didn't upgrade to a full until now. I feel like this GC blend gets taken for granted, it is so sweet and unassuming, like the character. This blend deserves more accolades, imo. This is great for those moments you want to feel like you just walked out of a fairy tale. <3 If you are a fan of Pink Snowballs, Snow White, Katrina van Tassel, Poinsettia Gown, Cassia Aromatics' Rose Milk, and Solstice Scents Rose Mallow Cream, but maybe found these too loud or cloying and wanted something more similar to Asses Plus Long, go for a dance with Roses, Pearls, and Diamonds.

Fresh from the mail today and on the skin a couple hours. I get a softness with white floral and an ever so slight dusting of powder. I see where @fairybites gets an almost linen vibe. It doesn't go dryer sheets, but there is definitely a cuddly, clean thing going on. It also doesn't remind me of Snow-Flakes at all, and it doesn't lean tropical like gardenia, jasmine, or tuberose. The floral is more reminiscent of perfumes geared towards teen-20s crowds in the mid 90s, ala Curve, so there's a safe and conventional side to it, like Curve minus fruit. I feel people of any age could wear this, though. I wish I had a BPAL to compare it to, but this really is it's own boss and quite unique in the BPALverse, so I recommend if you are looking for a single note, 90s white floral sort of thing that may not look like other girls. Although I was hoping for more snow, I'm glad this didn't go pine, aquatic, play-doh, or quite like anything else in my collection. Very pretty, great for Spring, I'll keep the decant for sure, might upgrade for layering.

I'm not sure what it is, but I've noticed with many new perfumes, mostly conventional, turn to this acrid/burning smell on me. A scentcan smell great in the vial, then within minutes the blend gets hard to handle. I get it with a lot of oud/agarwood/guiacwood blends, so it could be that, or a component that is added to those. Only noticed it in recent years. It has happened.with a few BPALs, but mostly conventional perfumes released in the past few years. Very strange. It's odd because oud can also smell very beautiful, and it's not one.of the listed notes, possibly it is a component to one of the listed notes. It smelled great in the vial, too! We can rule out the dandelion note, however that could be causing an allergy, although I'd reckon the sage could be causing a reaction.

I'm reading Conan and The Manhunters by John Maddox Roberts right now, and just got to a part where they describe this evil temple with an ancient snake altar and red light that filters in like blood and these pillars of stone that are shaped like women in chains wincing in agony holding up the ceiling. Brootal. There's also a potential curse on the place. Pretty metal. So this scent makes me think of that, a really horrible place to die or get sacrified in. Actually let's just skip the ever needing to go inside part. Smells like ancient, dark incense with some grimacing vetiver wanting to chop my head off in a bit. tldr Brootal, badass evil temple incense with dark vetiver. Something clean and powdery resinous, too. Perfectly fits the mood.

I received a free sniffie bottle with a bit left to do a small test. The honey was nice and not cloying, but unmistakably golden, gooey honey. I didn't pick up bergamot so much as a light airy feel, with frankincense grounding. Very pleasant, even for someone who doesn't reach for honey often. It never went sour or overly sweet. I guess it is not so much honey itself, but more what it is blended with that will make it a winner or not on my skin. Honestly this and the lovely Good and Ghost Milk have me reconsidering the Lab's honey notes. Highly recommend if you like honey or not!