Lilah Ladybug

Musky... Rosey... resinous and slightly herbal, lifted by the geranium and blackcurrant. its so many things at once... swirling and whirling. It’s absolutely magical. whiffs of deep golden amber and myrrh followed by the brightness and juiciness of something fruity though It’s kept darker by the resins and olibanum. Then suddenly floral and herbal from the rose and lavender buds. And around and around it goes. Constantly moving and evolving as each element reaches over the other begging to be savoured. I adore 💕

At first a very clean hippie. The patchouli isn’t dirty. It’s kind of wispy and ethereal. It’s clean and light rather than dirty and heavy. The ‘peasant blouse’ note is breezy, like a soft breeze flowing through lace curtains. I feel the ‘suede boots’ offers a soft, fuzziness with a possible soft soft soft leather. The smoke is very soft as well. Like the scent of smoke settled onto those lace curtains along with patchouli incense. And the soft breeze wafts it through the room. Evocative and light. Conjuring up the idea of a ghost floating by. It’s definitely not a dirty hippie, rather she smells of love and light. Peace. After some time the scent does seem to dirty up a bit... I’m even getting a faint tinge of B.O 🙃 which I actually love in this because of the name and it makes me smile.

Bringing some joy to my days of isolation by reviewing my hoard of oils. This is day 19: Liz Holy smokes! This is Smokey 🔥 To be more specific it’s actually very much like the smell of a burnt out fire. The embers are cold. But that more acrid smoke smell lingers around the fire pit. Amazing... Once it dries it softens to a more warmer smokiness, like wood that’s just been blown out. The vanilla and florals are very much sitting in the background. This is definitely Liz at her most ferocious, letting her fire dominate, but not completely take over, so there is the hint of the sweet girl anchoring her from loosing control. .... Ok so this scent awoke something within me. I was having a pretty disconnected and low day. Scattered and sad. All of a sudden I felt powerful and reborn. Like a Phoenix rising from ashes... and now I feel empowered and alive... It’s not for the faint of heart. This is a powerful scent that perhaps others may find intimidating... Wild and fierce yet sensual and alluring 🔥 I also visited the guy I’m seeing later in the evening and he commented on how sexy I smelt 🙃

Bringing joy to my days of isolation by reviewing my hoard of oils. this is day 18: dark chocolate, black tobacco and vetiver... Smokey, rich chocolatey tobacco. I almost want to munch on my own wrists. I would hate to think what would happen to a guy if he was wearing this around me 😏 Deep.... broody.... mysterious... sensual.... warm... sexy as hell. Ooooh like a rugged pirate sensually feeding you the richest of chocolate from his latest plundering haul... 🙃 After a few hours this has softened and settled into a sweet, cosy soft vetiver. Very reminiscent of my ultimate fave comfort scent Two Sheep and Two Goats. So to sum up. This one is absolutely incredibly beautiful 💕💕💕

Adding joy to my days of isolation by reviewing my hoard of oils... This is day 17: Spinning on Graves Fresh on, its.... well fresh 😏 Freshly cut grass with a very soft and sweet lavender background. The Dorian blossoms and it’s absolutely gorgeous.... Sweet vanilla and lavender tea enjoyed sitting on freshly cut grass underneath a gentle warm sun with a cool breeze. It’s sophisticated yet soft. Fresh yet cosy. After an hour or so, the musk and vanilla tea comes out more, with lavender gently in the background and the fresh grass has mostly faded away. It’s ethereal and sophisticated. Absolutely gorgeous 💕

Adding joy to my days of self isolation by reviewing my hoard of oils... This is Day 16: l’intention fait valoir les bagatelles I was gifted about 1/4 of a bottle of this. And like all my partials I’ve been hesitant to try them, lest I fall in love with something I don’t have much of.... This first starts as a slightly astringent herbal lavender. The back tea sits in the background, keeping it grounded. Once settled the overly herbal lavender calms down into something softer, it sweetens and the bergamot lifts everything into a very cheerful and delicious scent. The back tea note isn’t something I can pick out individually but I do get the sense of sniffing a jar of softened early grey tea with lavender. It’s an absolutely beautiful scent and I wish wish wish I had more of it. YUM

Bringing joy to days of isolation by reviewing my hoard of oils... This is Day 15: Litha 2009 I was gifted about a 1/4 bottle of this from a generous forumite and have longingly sniffed only from the bottle at this point... too scared to fall in love once it hit my skin... But today I couldn’t resist any longer! In the bottle it’s very sweet honey... honey suckle... floral and a little fresh greenery... On the skin, like walking down a warm sunlit path that is blossoming with all kinds of flowers, there has been a recent light rain so everything is fresh. You happen upon a honeysuckle bush and the bees buzz around collecting pollen for their honey. Their hive can’t be too far away as the sun has warmed their home and you can smell the beeswax and honey in the air as well. It does get quite heady, perhaps a touch cloying but I find this reminiscent of when flower’s scents are amplified by the hot sun... it soon settles down into a gentle, warm floral. Sweetened by honey... After some time the resins start to become more noticeable. By this time, the majority of the heady floral aspect is gone and it’s a soft, sweet, resinous floral but the throw is very low. I’ve been wearing it for around 2 hours and I have to get right into my wrist to smell.

Adding joy to my days of self isolation by reviewing my hoard of oils... This is day 14: The Arabian dance Wet, this starts off as a sweet nutty liqueur. The hazelnut pops out straight away... The leather is the next thing to open, it’s not as overpowering as most leather scents I have tried. It has the slight sharpness of the leather note while still feeling soft, sexy and feminine. Just as I’m getting my head around it, the scent opens more, becoming deep and complex. Out come the tobacco and spices. If I huff deeply I can catch a whiff of what smells to me like spiced Turkish coffee, but the coffee itself isn’t a stand out. the spices are so well blended but I’m sure there is saffron and cardamom starting here. It’s absolutely divine 🙌🏼 This. Is. GORGEOUS! Mmmm it is very, very sexy and exotic. Sweet, intoxicating and alluring... it’s also amazing to me as I make my way through my collection that some of these oils are up to 10 years old (as this one is) and still they have stayed true and are utterly beautiful. Such works of magic 💕

Bringing joy to the days of isolation by reviewing my hoard of oils. This is Day 13: Zenobia There is a oily/greasy smell... like clove and orris infused olive oil or something... I keep waiting for the scent to open but it seems like it’s stuck in this greasy quicksand... it’s gluggy and mostly unpleasant. This oily suffocation does finally give way some hours later and I’m left with a very soft powdery orris/violet scent. Which I like, but not quite enough to enjoy the scent as a whole... * this could be due to the ageing process (11 years) perhaps it hasn’t faired well...

Bringing some joy to my days by reviewing my hoard of oils during isolation... Day 12: moon of small spirits First on: fresh with a citrusy sweetness underneath (probably the juniper)... there is a hint of berry... Dry and settled: herbaceous greenery with berry. The lab’s slushy snow note is there making things slightly aquatic/wet. I think I would have loved this without the berry aspect, but it dominates on me and I prefer more interesting, complex scents.

Bringing joy to my days by reviewing my hoard of oils during social isolation... this is Day 11: Haunted Houses Wet: a very traditional ‘perfume’ with a soapy quality... aaaand then it’s just soap. Probably the lily soap that the others speak of. On me that’s where it begins and ends. No gossamer musk... no wood... just an obnoxious floral soap... 😖 Huge shame 😭😭😭

Keeping myself entertained during isolation by reviewing my hoard of scents. Day 9: The Gatekeeper Hello vetiver, my old friend 💕(that’s my guess anyway) Starting off sharp, dry and powerful, it does settle down into something dusty softer and leathery. Perhaps sandalwood and other resins come into play. It is brittle and yellow. To me this is a beautiful vetiver based scent... Yes it is reminiscent of old books, long forgotten in a stale and warm room. The dust catches in the sun rays and the scent of warmed leather bound books has engulfed the room for a very long time. I have ‘The Book’ from the Paranorman series. To compare I would say that gatekeeper is definitely captures something more ancient and with the added element of the bones it gives it more depth and a dry quality. I adore ‘book’ scents and this is no exception.

Keeping myself entertained during the social isolation of 2020 by reviewing my hoard of oils... this is Day 7: A demonstration of affectionate excitement First on it’s quite zesty, fresh and woody. As it settles I’m starting to think it would definitely be better on a man... however... once it warms up and the base notes come out it turns into something glorious. Sweet and creamy, resinous and woody. Absolutely glorious 🙌🏼 and a beautiful morph.

I’m adding joy to my days of social isolation by reviewing my hoard of oils... this is day 6: Kelly Pool Starts off very old fashioned and soft, almost powdery... Like the smell of a dusty and old wooden box with velvet lining used to hold a soft rose incense... The rose blooms a bit more in the middle but it doesn’t morph much more than this. I absolutely love it. It’s soft, comforting and romantic. Gorgeous.

Adding some joy to my days of isolation during this global pandemic by reviewing my hoard of scents. this is day 5: Mr Prenderghast Wet: smells like some kind of liquor that’s been kept for a little too long... and although it’s not listed, I’m getting a lot of clove. It’s quite... sharp and strong... a little off putting actually. I guess it’s a lot like the Character, at first your very unsure. It’s a little unpleasant almost. But it eventually settles and warms up to something... a little more friendly. Once it’s does, it’s an old sweet cigar with in the pocket of a dusty woolen jacket with a vanilla/musky type backdrop - But it’s lost all its ‘oomph’... one minute it’s too powerful, the next it’s hard to catch it. I love the lab’s wool note and it does come out in its comforting hug eventually, but I’d hoped it would have carried this scent and kept it cosy the whole time. I’m thinking it would work well layered with some vanilla from the start to soften that harsh beginning. And I’m betting a dude could pull this off better than I can....