Teamama

Narr isn't foody on me. The fig is almost floral, it's so sweet and fragrant. Milk stays in the background (good!) Almond is almost undetectable (very good!) Honey & ambrette are subtle & warm, almost amber-y. Poor Monkey is my other fig favorite; the fig notes seem similar.

Amber, almond kitty musk with a hint of sweet golden lotus on me. A favorite. My skin renders the myrrh so soft that it's almost subliminal. The saffron is pretty soft, too. Cardamom is shy and doesn't show up until well into the dry down. Wet, the almond-amber-lotus combo is pretty overwhelming. The first 3 minutes are a maraschino cherry amaretto musk. The dry down swiftly changes the blend to something wonderful. I agree that Bastet is related to Morocco. It's also a cousin to Coyote. If you love either of those, give Bastet a whirl.

I love Goblin. It's in my GC top 10 for sure. Over the last 3 years, my skin's relationship with patchouli has changed. I used to be able to wear all but the most armpitty patch scents with no problem. Now, almost all of my patch blends go straight to funky town within minutes of applying. Goblin, despite saying "gnarly" in the description, is smooth & seductive. I think the coconut & benzoin must protect the patch from my skin's skunk powers. It goes on smooth & sweet, very sexy in a unisex way. Medium throw. Not long-lasting, but worth reapplying.

Frankincense & rose & vanilla, in that order. Wet, the frank is the one that starts a little sharp on my skin. I haven't been reaching for Sept often, as it takes around 20 min. for the sharpness to diffuse. Once that stage had passed, it's very light on me. Airy & bright, not a lot of throw. Maybe the frank will mellow with age. For now, it's cheerful, but not especially memorable. 2019 edit: Yes, the frank has mellowed with age. The vanilla is also more prominent. I like Sept a lot more in 2019. A good balance of sweet, floral, & resinous. 2021 edit: 3 years later, Sept is two different scents on my skin vs. in a locket. On me, the rose/vanilla leads, with a dry frankincense dry-down. In a locket, the dry frankincense has more longevity and throw.

This is very similar to my beloved The Little Wooden Doll. Amber is replaced by hay & vanilla orchid, neither of which jump out at me. Rose & sandalwood is my forever jam, so I love my decant. If I had a gigantic Lupers budget, I would have gotten a bottle.

Light honey & beeswax, with a hint of pink pepper. Related to the honey in Against Idleness and Mischief, Door, & Honey HG from the Post. I agree that it's a skin scent. I slathered my decant, & it's surprisingly present on the back of my forearms after 7 hours. On my wrists it's pretty much gone.

Sweet & complicated. I agree that it's related to Sugar Skull. Predominantly a sweet sugared fruit & curried vanilla on me. Don’t knock it till you try it. Smoke & coffee stay very far in the background on my skin. I get curry with just a smidge of goat--I know this curry, it has golden raisins in it. I keep wearing my decant, & thinking about getting a bottle, but it's so close to Sugar Skull that I can't quite justify it. We'll see what happens when the decant is all used up.

Frank & rose are great. I forgot to put Sept on my list. A new fra nk + rose delight :-).

Necrobump! I'm wearing This World's Joy today. I love the Lab's frankincense. TWJ is dry, white frank, supported by violet & a hint of rose. Frank faves of mine: This World's Joy Anne Bonny Cleric In Templum Dei No. 93 Engine Seraphim Tzadikim Nistarim All Saints It Sifts From Leaden Sieves Day of Skulls Yours?

2010 version, from a forum swap. Oh yessssss! Frankincense & rose & a lot more, but c'mon, FRANKINCENSE & ROSE! I love this blend. On wet, it's frankincense forward. The myrrh is pretty subtle. Rose & lily are present, & move forward as the frankincense becomes less prominent. The rose is rich and fruity, my favorite kind. Lily stays in the background. 2022 update: with age, the 2010 version has gotten drier. More resinous, less floral. Still beautiful, but I may start layering it with a rose blend.

Rose & sandalwood & musk is 100% my jam. If you are a fan of sandalwood & musk, be sure to check this out. It does not disappoint. The rose & benzoin are pretty reserved on my skin, not very forward. If you like The Little Wooden Doll, the amount of rose in the mix is similar. Edited to add: not a lot of throw, but lasts a long time. Very good, happy I got a decant, may need a full bottle.

This is like Fig & White Sandalwood for me. I put it on, & think "Why do I ever wear anything else?" The rose & sandalwood are excellent. I also find this to be on the light side. I wish it lasted longer because it's such a great fragrance.

Amber, heliotrope, golden sandalwood, peach blossom and vanilla bean. Wet: Peachy amber. Dry: Sweet amber, vanilla & sandalwood. The heliotrope is there, but super-subtle. A real GC treasure. Edited to add: Layers beautifully with Samhain. Super long-lasting in a silver scent locket. Also, Tamora (like Snake Oil, Samhain, Love's Philosophy, & a few other blends,) stings the thin skin on my neck when wet.

Eisheth Zenunim is not at all what I expected, based on the notes. Neroli & patchouli usually take off like rockets on my skin. Not so in this blend. Wet: Chocolate & peach. Dry-down: Delicate peach, light honey, a hint of ambergris, & the most subtle, dry patchouli in all the world. Low throw, lasts around 4 hours. Nice.

I just realized I have never reviewed Fallen, which I adore. It is gorgeous, & for lack of a better word, "stately." All of the BPAL violet blends that work on me so far seen to be at least a little formal. I don't yet have a violet that goes with, say, heading out for thrift shopping & banh mi sammiches. Wet: sweet, violet-forward, taller & more slender than me. Slowly the amber, musk & vetiver emerge. Perfectly-groomed, but not fussy. The sandalwood is very reserved, I don't notice it much. Fallen shops vintage, not thrift. On dry-down, the violet is still the most prominent note, over a rich, sweet but dry base of amber, light vetiver, & musk. Fallen got her masters degree. Fallen volunteers more, & donates to worthy causes more than I do. Fallen has sex more frequently than me. Fallen intimidates & seduces me.

I got my bottle via Etsy. I love the color & quality. It's rich, lots of depth of color & coverage. I applied 3 thin coats & a top coat on Sunday, it still looks great on Friday.

Spirit Board: A wonderful surprise. I didn't get a decant because bois de rose is risky on me. Sometimes my skin just turns that note to varnish. I was gifted a bottle by a lovely forumite, and it is turning out to be a winner. In the bottle: Syrupy wood, almost lemony. Flowers? Tea? Undetectable. Wet: Rich, not as woody as I had imagined it would be. Lilac & dried rose are present and accounted for. Tea, maybe. Kind of dry, a little bit soapy. Still hoping for wood. Dry: Finally, some wood! Sweet woody floral, with a hint of tea. Very nice. Fortunately, the redwood, flowers & black tea keep the bois de rose in balance.

Oh my, this is lovely! In the bottle: It smells like what you wish the center of chocolate covered cherries tasted like. The best combination of candied cherries & cream, with a wee smidge of bourbon. Wet on skin: The first minute was a whole lotta the most realistic bourbon scent I've ever encountered. That dissipated pretty quickly, leaving a heady rose-cherry-cream booziness. I couldn't find the orris. Dry: Excellent sugary rose, with a little powder from the orris & the memory of cherry. Maybe a smidge of vanilla? I feel lucky to have gotten to test VL. It's a standout in the family of BPAL's sugared florals (like Hope & Faith, or Love,) that are super-wearable for me. I will hunt for a bottle of my own.

^^ What Wench457 said. This was a sleeper hit for me, as in gobsmacked. Neither Dorian (fresh,) nor Antique Lace '17 are magic on my skin (hair is another matter.) Wet: lavender tea with vanilla, with a keen edge from the pink pepper to keep it from edging into the territory of a soft-focus Victoria magazine feature on bone china from 1990. Dry: Everything that is excellent about Dorian & Antique Lace. Plus they smell as good on my skin as they do in my hair this time. Plus pink pepper. 100% fantastic. Nice throw, plus great longevity. I bought some, & swapped away my AL '17 to get more.

I am officially jealous of everybody that can wear Cotton Phoenix well. It smells magical in the decant, exactly like the description. Once applied to my skin, the magic is thrown into disarray. My skin amps the almond milk so it's all marzipan, with a faint side of Snake Oil. The almond starts to ease up after about 15 minutes, which reveals that my skin chemistry has turned the cotton blossom musk to soap. Net result: Snake Oil dryer sheets. Phooey! No bottle for me.

Forum purchase. Fantastic! Lady Cecily's musky fur is very similar to the musk in Reapers Gonna Reap. Strong florals blend beautifully with the musk. Strong throw at first. I may have to look for another bottle.

This is one of the complex BPAL blends that reveals the individual notes slowly, like an unfolding flower. In the bottle: indolic apples. And I mean "barnsmell" indolic. Wet: something like camphor, sweet jasmine, musk, myrrh, apples & citrus. As it dries, I can pick out thyme. I can't pick out sandalwood yet. The jasmine diffuses, letting the other notes expand. The musk & myrrh take center stage. Powerful throw for the first 10 minutes, then it settles down to a medium throw for a couple of hours. Not long lasting, by the 3 hour mark it's mostly gone. Sweet, complicated, warm. I'm glad I got a bottle.

My favorite of all the new AG blends. Similar to The Cat, but without the honey. Cuddly for sure. Cardamom, cedar, vanilla musk. Heaven. Long wear, stays close to the skin.

The tobacco is a minor player on me, but of course ymmv. I have only experienced 2017 Day of Skulls. The florals are strongly present at first for me.

Day of Skulls is my new fave Beeswax blend. It's a complex blend, with a lot going on, but the beeswax note is a standout. It hits this beekeeper's daughter right in the scent-memory zone. Specifically, the heady smell of a box of sheets of beeswax foundation, ready to put into frames. Don't miss this waxy treat!