VetchVesper

Initially, a bold, candied, fruity rose I've smelled in several of the labs recent offerings, including Rose Moon 23. I'm not too keen on it. Reminds me of Rapture Pig's rose. I'm hoping for more complexity on the skin. Sniffing my wrist, this is still very much about the rose, but it's softening - smoothing out into something more natural, but still very pink. Dare I say, this is Barbie's rose? Coconut emerges, and now it's Barbie at the beach, in her checkered swimsuit. I'm not getting much more than that, pink rose and coconut. Simple, but entirely pleasant. It's very reminiscent of Roses, Diamonds, and Pearls, but has more of a satin finish, if that makes sense. It's not really blowing me away, but I'm not an avid rose collector. We'll see if To Lallie blossoms into something more unique after a few months.

Without looking at the notes, I got almond blossom and something almost herbal/minty, with a bit of light fizziness(the amber). It's a little bit hairspray, but not in a terrible way. Then an airy incense note starts to emerge. It smells very spring appropriate (for gently warm weather) and it's reminding me a lot of a more tepid Cat Chasing Butterflies. Not getting any honey or milk. Incense is becoming the predominate note as it warms up and the fizziness is gone, as is my CCB impression. I'm not impressed yet, but I just got it in the mail, so perhaps it will gain a bit more personality after it sits. I will return and report if it does. PS @Jenjin Skimming the reviews, the first words my eyes alighted on were, "the poop was beaten gold..." T'was a weird and amusing moment.

I'm not usually a fan of straight up dessert scents like this, but I do like dark chocolate, pistachios, and cherry mixed with florals and resins - just not all together maybe? ? Anywho, I thought this one might actually work for me. What I get is a lot of roasted, salty pistachio, backed by a boozy/cough syrupy cherry, and a hint of bitter chocolate. It's not really working for me, nor is it smelling like something I'd really wanna eat. It's almost savory? Might have to just be happy eating the real thing

@Luk Gooped Familiar is a cinnamon candy sort of scent from this year's weenies and features a black cat on the label. Cheshire Cat and Schrodienger's Cat are both general catalog scents you can get samples of. The label won't have a cat, but they're both fun, bright scents I think would work nicely for a tween or kiddo. The above suggestions are all really good too. ?

Have you tried "Please Scream Inside Your Snake Oil?" Maybe a similar vibe but extra foody. "Sin in the Pumpkin Patch" is pretty great if you can find it. The sexy resins have just a touch of foodiness and I think the cinnamon is amped up a touch from the pumpkin spice. Lastly, I'll draw your attention to "The Obsequies of an Egyptian Cat," - Sweet myrrh, saffron, red labdanum, ambrette seed, terebinth resin, Damascus rose, honey, cardamom, and cacao-infused patchouli. No cinnamon, but with the cardamom, myrrh, patchouli, and honey, there's a really gorgeous, slinky golden spiced vibe you might really dig. You're making me want to go wear cinnamon now. ? I like the note, it just tends to really drown out everything else. I find Ceylon cinnamon works a lot better for me though. Do you register any difference between cassia and Ceylon?

This one is...odd. I don't really get a tea vibe per se. What I DO get is a dark, dry jasmine with a bitter edge. The blood musk is giving this a sugared quality, while also lending to the bitterness. There's something almost soapy or minty lurking faintly in the back. Perhaps whisps of anise from a black tea note? If so, that's the only clue I'm getting that it's here. I don't know what the "yellow" part of the amber means, but the amber just seems to be grounding this. It's an interesting melange to be sure, and the discordant notes seem to be coming together as it dries down. It has an oddly Victorian goth vibe to me, like something someone would wear in one of Poe's stories. ETA: Ok, upon comparing this to two other yellow amber scents - "Sunrise Kimono" and "Leave Marks" - I CAN detect a fair bit of the note here. I think it's actually responsible for the sugariness as it comes across as a powdery, sugary, light amber, not warm or rich, but slightly more complex, and less high pitched, than white amber. I'm kinda digg'n it.

I can't usually do cinnamon, (amp it to high heaven) but the few I've found that I adore are Defutata, Hatta, I Wish I Were Your Mirror, Behind the Veils, and Adventuresome Encounters. Dead Leaves & Cinnamon Buns, Dark Chocolate Pumpkin Pie, The Carousel and Sara, Mother Bear are also really nice.

I don't really get corn, which I'm %100 okay with. I get more of a husky, musk, cream of wheat smell, loaded with lots of butter and sugar, sitting next to a vase of fresh peonies. Ceres reminds me a bit of a foodier "In Omnibus Caritas," but the peony and amber are quite present and keep this from being just a straight up gourmand. I feel like a sexy Miss Muffet would wear this. I think I can resist getting a bottle, but I'm very happy to keep my imp, and highly recommend anyone who likes these kinds of creamy grains scents to check this one out. It's very nice. P.S. I would slather the heck out of this if it was a lotion. Mmmmmm....

Huzzah! I've been wanting to get my hands on this for a while. It's not what I expected (not sure what I expected, really) but I DO like it. At first sniff and application, it has a strong herbal, almost aquatic, cologne vibe. Much of this is from the strong sage, but I think the patch is actually adding to this vibe. This isn't a warm, earthy patch; it's a sophisticated, debonair, and heartless kind of patch. As the perfume warms on my skin, I can better differentiate the notes. The mate's mintiness mingles with the sage, keeping that cool, herbal vibe floating on top. Below those notes, I can detect the opium and narcissus, which is honestly, very reminiscent of the CG Darkness. This also reminds me of Indulgence, one of my top 10 favs, from the CP line. BSSG has a similar cold chill floating over that dark, glossy patchouli and deep, resinous base, but it lacks the incense I so love. This is much more herbal and reads as masculine to my nose. Christian Grey might smell like this, but I'm not sure I want to.

Sniffing this in hindsight, this is similar to Penis Bound w/Gold Ribbon, just a little sweeter and a little less musky. This smells like good lemon pound cake, drizzled with wildflower honey. It's quite foody, and quite hard not to like, but I think I do prefer PBw/GR's hint of musky sourness that just seems a little more unusual. If I had to eat one though, I'd definitely go with Amor.

The Grey Columns and Ice Age Baton have a similar stone dust vibe - like something I would expect to smell in a marble sculptor's workshop. Columns of the Temple of Neptune at Paestum supposedly is a really good stone and baked earth scent, but I haven't sniffed it personally. It is still on the forum but will be coming down soon. ... Oh yes! And as someone mentioned, Cathedral of Notre Dame is really nice too. More complex, with smoke and lavender also playing a big role with the stone.

Hmmm...Bitches Love Unicorns might be perfect, but good luck finding it. ? I'd also suggest the GC's Megaera, which smells like pixie stix to me, and Carnal, which smells like candy fruit slices. Orris often gives fragrances a powdery sweetness, to my nose, that can give a powder or powdery candy vibe when mixed with other notes. Tamora smells a bit like vanilla play doh to me. ?

If you like Cathedral, you might try getting a sniff of Midnight Mass. It's a classic, returning Yule scent. I don't think it was available this year, but it probably wouldn't be too hard to find a decant from past years.

Enjoying a sniffie from a past decant circle. I get a chilly white musk with a hint of ozone, which comes across as the lab's shiny metal or chrome note. It's fairly unisex, maybe leaning a bit masculine. It's nice, but not really me, and does teeter on the brink of being soapy. It never quite falls over the line though. More than metal though, it makes me think of a ghostly blue-white Marley.

Hmmm... I haven't had this on very long, but my initial impressions are surprisingly kinda - meh. The oud is actually the strongest note on me. It's a nice oud, well-behaved and woody. It gives me sort of a genteel cedar vibe. The patch is present, but actually a little low key for my tastes. Sadly, I'm not getting a drop of honey. This reminds me a LOT of Entertaining the Heian Court Maiden. Similar notes, and a similar, unexpected chemistry fail. Ah well. Smooth, woody oud and patch.

Ooooooo... this one is right in my wheelhouse. Sultry, thick, resinous and woody red musk. The oil is dark and syrupy. The ginger and clove at a nice fiery bite in the opening, and the red musk has almost a fruity quality - like rich port. The Amber becomes more obvious as this dries down and calms a bit, and the woods and patchouli just add a dark luxurious backdrop. This is a lot, and very sexy. I am here for it. I might have to get a bottle even though I already have way too many of these kinds of fragrances. If you like the lab's "bloody" fragrances, ala Bloodlust, The Deluge of Blood, and Marianne, this is one to try.

So I absolutely love fragrances that smell like incense. Unfortunately, this one doesn't do that for me. Nor do I get any maple syrup vibes, as others have mentioned. Something in this reminds me of Oblivion, and I suspect there might be dark musk in this, and/or myrrh, because I'm a bit nose blind to those two fragrances. I can detect them more as a presence or feel in the perfume, a sort of emptiness, versus an actual smell. It's very weird, and I don't get it. ?‍♀️ Someone mentioned almond. I could see that maybe, but I'm also thinking that could be myrrh, lending sort of a golden sweetness. There might well be some amber. This is very subdued and raspy and texture. It smells sandy, vacant, dry - it almost has a parchment vibe. It's a skin scent on me. I poured half an imp on myself and still only smell it when my nose is directly on my skin. So, not enough punch to be something I need more of. I wish I was getting the maple and incense so many others are, because, far from sinister, that sounds heavenly.

@crimson_vampireOoo.. I'd love to know how you liked Mme. Moriarty. And yes, I was eyeing Sugar Plum Snake Oil pretty hard, but resisted because of the Bordello references. I like my plums darker. ?

This smells like delicious berry yogurt, but the ylang ylang and lavender manage to keep it from being strait up food and give it some class. Very creamy though, with threads of honeyed sweetness coming through. I don't get obvious vanilla. I wish this was a body butter; I would slather it on shamelessly. It reminds me a little of The Small Harem with creamy blueberry added. Tasty.

Super strong cherry up front with mint. It smells kind of medicinal to me. The cherry fades quickly, (It usually does on me.) leaving me with a soft, minty almond smell. It's rather subdued and more herbal than gourmand. I don't really care for this, although I usually love mint chocolate combos. I don't think my chemistry is doing it justice. Off to swaps!

Without reading the notes I'm getting ginger, white musk, and maybe sake? It's got a bit of air/fresh watery feel. Huh. Looking at the notes, I guess I'm reading the Lansium domesticum as gingerish. And yay! Sake! This does smell very fresh, though it's not quite green. It's reminiscent of lighter cucumber scents, but has its own unique vibe too. I think the mint is becoming more obvious in dry down, but that might be just because I know it's a listed note now. This is really nice. Very understated, cool, and refreshing. I'd love to have more of this for summer, or maybe as a bath oil. Thanks to the lovely decanter who sent me a sniffie. ❤️

Ooo. Don't forget Houses at the Back - Frost Morning. It's VERY lilacy, but les green than the lilac woods. And Wisteria Blossoms is GORGEOUS. Not lilac centric, but it's in there, and very worth checking out if you like Figure on Bridge. Vigil's really pretty too, and something about the mix of beeswax makes me think lilac marshmallows. Lots of lilac lately from the lab, and I am NOT complaining.

Nothing has been added to this in a while, so I just wanted to update, just in case anyone's looking for this somewhat uncommon note. Wisteria Blossoms from the 2022 Shungas is gorgeous. Night Snow at Kambara is a 2016 Yule that was lovely and featured a creamy wisteria. The Witch Bride is a Weenie that has appeared multiple years and features a prominent wisteria note.

I bought this bottle second hand, and if not for Zii's review, I would have supposed it had spoiled. Funnily enough, it smelled nice to me when it first arrived in the mail, but months later, when I got around to giving it a good test, the smell from the bottle was positively rank. I've never refused to skin test one of BPAL's oils, but I came close this time. It just smelled like rot and fermentation and all sorts of very not good things. Less like poo, and more like something that had been stewing in a plastic container in the sun too long. This did NOT go away on my skin, as I'd expected it to, until I'd had it on for nearly an hour. Then it became a semi-pleasant floral with the taint lurking beneath, and then sort of a non-descript, inoffensive, hair-sprayish floral. Since my initial horror, I have retested with varying results and asked others what they think. Out of half a dozen or so friends, none have experienced the revolting aroma I have, nor do I always experience quite the degree of petrification as I did that one fateful day. I suspect the indoles in the white florals, mixing with the unusual caraway note and hitting my nostrils just right (or wrong), are what birth this monstrous aroma. But sometimes, sniffing the bottle produces pleasant results. And, as I write this, a dab of Vain Sorceress is wafting from the back of my hand and is quite alluring: sultry, plush, feminine - something I would wear happily. However, it did take about 5 mins of unpleasant, quazi-rot smell to get here. It brings to mind all those evil queens and stepmothers who trapped their unsuspecting fairy-tale mates before revealing their more unpleasant natures. ? Vain Sorceress is certainly a scent experience: a fickle mistress of extremes. I haven't quite decided if I want to put up with her or not for her better moods.

Lol. So... I actually like this one. BUT my mom, who loves florals, said it smelled like dirty panties. ? I think the indoles are to blame for the funk, which I do sometimes get a whiff of from the bottle, but on my skin, I never get that impression. It's a musky, sensual, white floral (mostly magnolia) with a husky depth from a well-behaved cedar and a hint of floral lemon. Interestingly, my friend got funk in the bottle but thought it smelled fine on her skin. However, when I smelled her wrist, I got more funk than I got from the bottle. Tricksy! I've had several male friends smell it and say it's fine. So... I got no idea. Wear at your own risk, I guess. I'll keep my decant as I think it smells nice on me. But it does smell a bit raunchy, sexy, animalic. I'm guessing this one is going to depend a lot on personal taste and probably isn't work appropriate. ?