LizziesLuck

Wet: Wow. This reminds me of the first time I smelled BPAL. It's so quintessentially BPAL, I can't even describe it. It smells like something else I have tried before, long long ago. It's much more than the sum of it parts - I almost smell musk. I'm enthralled by it. Suddenly I am back in my tiny little basement apartment, during university, discovering BPAL when I should have been studying. Makes me happy. Dry: Scherezade!! Somehow, crazily, this reminds me of Scherezade. It smells more like red musk than DB, then add in the spice...crazy! Now, I don`t have them side-by-side right now, it could just remind me of the MEMORY of Scherezade, but either way, that`s why this is so totally `BPAL` to me. I do like it a lot. Not sure if I need more, but I do really like it. Will have to test again (and against Scherezade to see if I`m crazy)

I'm so terrified of the orris, it never works on me, but I just could not pass up the grey musk and ambergris!! Wet: OMG wow, that's beautiful. The tea with the musk and ambergris....swoon. Hints of tuberose make this elegant and classic. So far orris hasn't appeared, but no doubt it will come along and stomp all over this, crushing all my grey musk and ambergris dreams. Dry: Wow. THAT AMBERGRIS. It's amazing, and I never would have thought it could be so good with tea. The musk is amazing, the tuberose just a hint. AND I CAN'T SMELL THE ORRIS!!!. I am really stoked about this. I need to test it again, to make sure the orris doesn't appear. But I imagine I will be getting a bottle of this. I kind of want to order one this second, actually. This is SO GOOD. If I try it again in a few days once it's settled and it doesn't work, I might cry.

Wet: Really strong coffee at first, and then a fruity musk comes through that wants to turn to plastic on me. Juuuust on the edge of plastic. Still lots of coffee too. Interesting. Not sure what to make of this yet. Getting no Myrrh or cassia so far. Dry: I will test this a second time, for sure, as it's fresh out of the mail today, but I really am not sure how I feel about it right now. The musk is not red musk. Or not typical red musk. It's a lot fruity, a little plasticy. Doesn't entirely work with the coffee on my skin (today, at least). All I am getting from the Myrrh is a vague dustiness. No cassia. Had potential, but I'll let it rest and give it another go.

I've avoided Elf, because violet, but I could not ignore the golden musk, honeycomb, and amber any longer. Hoping the violet is non-existent on me, so that I can enjoy this. Wet: Oh wow, not what I was expecting at all! This actually smells like a forest. It's a beautiful atmospheric sort of scent. I can imagine if I burned it as a room scent it would immediately make me happy. Feels like being outside. I don't actually enjoy wearing this kind of smell, for whatever reason, but I do really like it. So realistic! Dry: This goes pretty sour on me, once dry, the way pine does on my skin (acrid, like urine. Not nice). I can pick up the berry though, and I bet this would be lovely on the right chemistry.

Wow, this feels like a malicious Dwarf, to me. This is dark, earthy, rooty, dirty. Makes total sense. I actually kind of like it, though I could never wear it, and don't even know if I would like it on a man, or as a room scent....hard to describe, it's just really compelling. Totally on point. Before smelling this, I wouldn't have been able to tell you what a Dwarf should smell like, but now that I've smelled it, I'm like, YES - this is what Dwarves smell like.

Wet: A blast of the big bully Frank (he's a bully on my skin) but then the clove and tobacco come in and round things out a bit. I can smell Frank trying to reassert himself. Hoping tobacco and clove hold their own. Dry: FRANK. When am I going to accept that pretty much everything with Frankincense in it becomes a single note on me? GIVE IT UP, LIZ.

Wet: Wow, this is interesting. Cinnamon rolls? Something fizzy? Not getting any of the outdoors, this is all table scraps on me, but they're yummy table scraps. It does have a "clean" feel, somehow. Hard to describe, but I am liking it way more than I expected to! Dry: This gets a little soapy - I think a grass note that I don't really smell as grass, but does that sort of "clean green" thing. Still a bit spicy, bit fizzy. It's different, and I do enjoy it, but I can't imagine wearing it. I may use it as a room scent though (now that I have one of those cool mist thingies!)

Wow, this is great. I can pick out all of the notes. Cacao and coconut - yum, but the sandalwood and musk keep this from being chocolate macaroon. It's fantastic and I want to roll around in it. So glad I snagged one, thank you fairy!! Hoping this is OK in a few hours, chocolate sometimes does this weird stale cocoa puffs thing on me....

Gah, this so so pretty. Amber amps hugely on me, and it's hard to find amber blends that aren't pretty much single note on me. The labdanum in this holds its own though, and is lovely with the rich amber. I really like this, and need more! MOAR!!

Wet: oooh, this is the same ginger note as Vespertilio Proterus. The cream note is different though, this is much more buttery, and there's something about it that almost reminds me of movie theatre popcorn, but it's not bad. Different, and interesting. I like it so far, just not entirely sure whether I would wear it or not. Dry: Mostly that ginger note that I truly love. But there's still that hint of butter that I am not too fond of. Not sure exactly what I think of this! I don't dislike it, but I don't adore it like I thought I would, either.

Wet: Bananas. WTF? Just momentarily though. But I had to go back and sniff from the bottle, and I can smell banana there, too. The tobacco blooms once it's on my skin, and after a moment all traces of banana are gone, thank goodness! The sweet, stickiness remains though. Actually, maybe the memory of banana, if that makes any sense. I don't know how to describe it, other than - I can still smell the thing I thought smelled like banana, only it doesn't really smell like banana anymore, but my brain wants to THINK it smells like banana. Dry: All the other notes fade away (banana and not quite banana included) and this dries down to musk. It's like an interesting mix of a dark, murky musk, and a clean white musk. I think it's different than any other musk I have. Not sure I would wear it, and I don't really know why, I love musk. It might be good to layer though. I was expecting to be wowed by this a lot more, based on the notes. One my skin, it's just OK though.

Honestly, I am not sure why I got this, neither peach nor Frankincense are favourites of mine! Something about it just called to me. Sprayed on my sleeve - this is actually quite lovely. I find the peach almost jammy, yet with faint floral notes? It actually kind of smells like apricot more than peach. Yum. There's a faint tartness to it as well, that keeps it from being too sweet. I quite enjoy it! The Frank is pretty much non-existent though - maybe only adding to the golden quality of the scent. It's really nice. Actually, the more I sniff it, the more it sort of reminds me of White Peach and Incense, which thus far has been my favourite fruity gloss. Overall, I like this much more than I expected, and can see wearing it with both peach and apricot scents. A keeper!

Wet: Smells like O, and something spicy. It's trying to go just a wee bit plastic on me, but it may recover from that. I hope so, because it has potential to be lovely. It's sweet, and I think has more amber and less vanilla than the released. Not sure about the honey, as I say, it's sweet, but indiscriminately. Dry: This smells almost exactly like O once it's dry, on me at least. The throw especially smells just like O, but nose to skin I catch a faint difference, in that I think there is some sort of floral note in this that goes vaguely soapy, or clean smelling. Not unpleasant, but different from O. Enough that I like the released version better, and will likely rehome this. Glad I got to try it, though!

Irrelevant and Disturbing Surreal Crawdad Dream was essentially currant and blueberry tea on me - red currant, green tea, red musk, Hawaiian ginger, benzoin, vanilla, coriander, squash blossom, and blueberry.

These notes should sing on me, so super excited to try this! Wet: Mmm. It's creamy, sweet. Lots of hay, which I love. This is lovely. I don't really get the snow. Warm, woody, creamy, glowing are the words that come to mind when I sniff this. It's cozy, yet refined. I agree it's gender neutral. The faint undertones of tobacco are lovely. It's quite light though, and I keep wanting to slather on more and more. It's beautiful. Very unique. Dry: Sadly, this somehow dries down much more masculine on me, and stops working for me. Don't get me wrong, it's a fantastic scent, it's just really not me. I think I will have to rehome it. Glad I got to try it though, it truly is gorgeous and unique.

This is full of notes of win for me, so here's hoping! Wet: Hmmm! That's different. I think the patchouli and honey are what I am getting most, but it's a different, really woody patch. The spices are interesting. Really really different. Cardamom often fades right away on me, so I need to give this a while to dry before I make any final judgements. Dry: Sadly this isn't working for me. It dries down to all very woody, dry patchouli that I don't care for as much as some of the Lab's other patchouli notes. I don't know when I am going to find my perfect patchouli honey mix, but it's not this.

Wet: Hmmm. Chocolaty, for sure. But also really clean smelling, I think from the lemon blossom and skin musk? Makes for a weird combo - chocolate and laundry? It's also sugary and creamy. Not sure what to make of it, quite yet. Dry: Light skin musk (which seems to always be lemony on me, and I think I have finally determined it is the only musk I don't like!) and that's about it, the rest totally faded. It's not bad, just not stellar on me.

2016 Wet: You can absolutely smell the Snake Oil in this, which I like, I found a few of the snakes pits I couldn't even detect it. This smells like a sweeter snake oil, so far. So maybe the opposite issue, I can't smell the sandalwood or leather at all. Dry: This is glorious, but Snake Oil is glorious, and right now I am not sure how different the two are on me! I need to do a side by side. I will say this is a softer, more rounded Snake Oil, more like aged than fresh, and I am loving wearing it. I may pick up a bottle, even if they are really close - one can never have too much Snake Oil! ETA: When I tried this a second time, I could really pick up the differences - the sandalwood and Tonka really made an appearance. I need a bottle of this. It's gorgeous.

I avoided getting these, because Daisy sounds awesome, and Violet will be complete fail on me due to orange blossom.But a generous friend gave me testers, so I have to try them! Hoping I don't fall madly in love with Daisy and have to get both just to have her... Wet: Wow. That is sure soap on me! And....feces. Hmmm, maybe I don't like rosehips! Because I love tobacco and have never had issues with Oudh but this smells really terrible on me. Like jasmine when it does that cat-pee-and-feces thing. Blarg. Dry: I don't understand how the rosehips smell so much like jasmine?? I guess I need to research that. Either way, not good on me. Cat pee/feces.

Except for the orange blossom (which has worked on me 1 time out of all the scents I have tried with it) this sounds amazing. Wet: Mmm, that's shockingly not awful. The coconut note is GORGEOUS. The orange blossom is bitter, yes, but not OMG GET IT OFF ME bitter. It's not great though, and it is gradually drowning out that beautiful warm, husky coconut note (which, incidentally, might be my favourite coconut note I have EVER smelled from the Lab, and I have smelled pretty much all of them. *sigh*) This is gradually turning to orange scented cleaning product on my arm. Booooo. Dry: Omg the coconut note in this is TO DIE FOR. It came back and is so so good...but the orange blossom is just as strong and is just so bad on my skin. This scent is heartbreaking on me. I love coconut so much, and this is the best one I have smelled, but it doesn't make the orange blossom bearable. Sadness.

I've been looking for a patchouli rose combo that I love for ages now it seems! I don't really have high hopes this will be it, orris and I don't get along, but I am going to try. Wet: Blarg. I don't know what that is, but it's not good. Really astringent, with a side of bitter. I don't recognize any of the notes in it. Ick. Dry: OK, it dries down nicely into something recognizable, and probably quite lovely, if you either like or don't amp the shit out of orris. Unfortunately, I do. So I can smell the lovely rose, patchouli, frankincense - but then the orris does it's big old powdery thing and stomps all over them. Not for me!

Wet: Wow. Less absinthe than I expected, making this actually way better than I could have thought. This is good! Tobacco, general booziness, and hints of anise. Nice!! Dry: Lovely. Sweetness from the cognac and tobacco, hints of spicy anise. I like this way more than I expected to, and will now have to hunt down a bottle.

Buttery plastic. I actually think this oil has aged badly, or potentially gone off. I'm not going to review it fully, I think I will try another decant before I decide if it really smells like this, or if this one just didn't age well. Too bad! Was really looking forward to it.

I'm going to try to keep my recs to things you can get without too much difficulty But feel free to let me know if you want some hard to find recs too! If you like Stekk (and it looks like you also may like florals) try De Vos Unicorn - soft floral with a dry down of a very sugary marshmallowy creamy note. Lucille Sharpe - Nothing quite like her, but I think A Shadow In The Elevator has that same super dark plum note, and sinister feel, you might like that. Alan McMichael - Have you tried the Antikythera Mechanism? Or Tombstone? They both have that sweet woody vibe to them. Or if it's the rum in it you love, give Elegba a shot! Light of Men's Lives - I think you might like Engine No. 93. Or maybe O, if you haven't tried it yet? The Last Unicorn - hmmm, I barely remember that one, wasn't my thing. But if it's the lettuce you love, Rapunzel from the GC has it! Might be worth a shot. Happy sniffing!

Note: Limited release perfume oil; atmosphere spray review topic located here. A house as old as this one Becomes, in time, a living thing it may have timber for bones and windows for eyes and sitting here all alone it can go slowly mad. It starts holding on to things keeping them alive, when they shouldnt be inside its walls Some of them good, some are bad and some Some should never be spoken about again I finally got around to testing the generous tester a lovely forumite sent to me. I tested it in a bit of a hurry because Puddin had just put more on Etsy, and I needed to decide if I wanted a bottle! I decided against it, but only because I am not sure I would wear it as perfume, but it is a wonderful smell. So hard to put my finger on though! There are familiar things in here....but what are they? Wood (no clue what kind) and a murky musk. Maybe a bit of that spicy dirt/decay note. Other than that I can't say. When it was wet I thought it was a bit boozy, but I could be crazy. An interesting scent, and I am tempted to pick up the Atmo spray now.