Lucchesa

Second review in a row where I find myself in lockstep with @starbrow. This is a stunner from the get-go. Rich dark red musk. Rich dark red fruits. A backdrop of my favorite resins, patch and tobacco. I generally avoid rose but this blackened version is stunning. Terrific throw — I could smell it while masked. Pouting lips painted darkest red, a big velvety red wine, gorgeous in its complexity. Just yes.

Skin chemistry fail. Levitating Phallic God was one of the lupers I was looking forward to most. I am friends with all but the harshest vetiver, and licorice and I are BFFs. This hit my skin like a plastic bag hitting a hot stove. Not just smoky but chemical. Very dry, no licorice, tea or lemon. I didn’t scrub it off as I was headed out. Over the next hour or so it faded significantly into quite a pleasant skin scent. Soft vetiver, with a hint of sweetness that is still not recognizably licorice on me. This I would wear, though it’s faint. But the opening ruins this for me.

I got a testable empty of this from my fab decanter who must have known I would enjoy it. I usually avoid olive blossom as it goes straight to soap on me, but this is lovely. It’s one of those scents that are like how skin would smell in paradise. Lightly honeyed, sheer, effortlessly sexy. Staying power is only average — Judgmental Longhorn on the other wrist far outlasted it. But the low throw and sunny vibe would make it a perfect work scent. No one else needs to know you’re channeling your inner Eve.

CItrus! So much citrus! Blood orange and sweeter tangerine dominate the opening. I never got clove from this one. Or myrrh, that I could tell, which is a shame because I wanted to know what red myrrh smells like. Just lots of citrus on a backdrop of snowy evergreens, with amber coming out in the later drydown. This didn't last particularly long on me. It's very pleasant while it lasts, though.

A Moonlit Winter Landscape is very much a soil scent on me. Gritty and earthy at first, almost a Graveyard Dirt feel on me. Then the florals came through, especially the iris, and it was an evocative musky graveyard with scattered flowers, lovely and haunting. No amber or benzoin until very late drydown. If you like the GC blends VetchVesper mentions, or Graveyard Dirt, this is a must.

Wet, I'm getting a lot of cypress, definitely cool and outdoorsy. I am ever in search of a blackberry scent that doesn't go straight to berry candy on me, and while the descriptor "candied blackberry" worried me, the opening hour or so was very promising, with just a hint of sweet, dark fruit against the musky greenery. Eventually the blackberry does take over, with a candied sweetness that the musk and green notes can't quite hold back. I couldn't smell any tobacco until a couple of hours in, and I think it blends beautifully with these notes. Much more successful than most blackberry scents on me!

Beeswax, Amber, and Star Jasmine is super lovely if jasmine is your thing. I avoid scrupulously avoid jasmine, but star jasmine is usually rather nice on me, and I love beeswax and amber, so this seemed worth a shot. It is all about the jasmine, though. It's not indolic on me, but it is heady, and while there might be a faint sweetening from the beeswax, the amber is drowned out entirely. It has great throw, as jasmine tends to do on me. If you adore jasmine, don't miss this.

I was worried about this one going aquatic — I mean, icebergs — but I do not get soap or dryer sheets. What I get is peach with a bit of apricot. It dries down into an ambered, musky peach, quite reminiscent of the dry down of Fae on me. I was hoping for more of the evergreen notes, but they never really developed, nor did the rose. But if you love peach, this is a must. Good wear length, too.

Wheatstacks on me is peach, hay and rooibos, with some cool white musk balancing out the bright hay. I’m not getting any carnation, sadly, and the wear length on me is not impressive — The Icebergs outlasted it handily. Nice but not a standout on me.

I put on Bensiabel yesterday because of the lilac. I had forgotten how much I enjoy it! It's not really a lilac blend on me; the lilac is there at the beginning but doesn't really stick around. Instead it's soft leather and plum and maybe some hyssop. Plum and leather are a surprisinly good combination. It's never overly sweet but has a kind of rugged comfort vibe to it, totally unisex. A purple witchy leather blend. I've put myself on the waiting list hoping for it to come back into stock.

Apparently I never reveiewed Ashlultum, even though it's on my list of things I'd love to have more of. I'm wearing her today because the lilacs are just starting to come into bloom. The lilac isn't strong in Ashlultum but does persist all the way through. The coconut and tonka are the main notes on me (but my skin always devours tea notes) with a little chewy warm tobacco. Not really getting the hyssop. Anyway, this is lovely and snuggly. The coconut and vanilla make it vaguely tropical, but the tobacco keeps it out of sunscreen territory. I don't enjoy wearing flowery scents, but here the lilac -- one of the few florals I really dig -- is the perfect light accent note. Just lovely.

My favorite gingerbread blends are the exact three @DiesMali just cited: Gingerbread, Black Clove and Vetiver; Gingerbread Tobacco; and Gingerbread Patch Leather and Dark Musk. This ranks right up there, I would say. Gingerbread with extra clove against a base of soft leather, threaded through with sticky tobacco. Spicy and sexy with good throw and wear length, though I did slather.

MB: Bloody Mary is a nice creamy cherry blend, but on my skin the other red fruits create a generic red candy effect, as I often get with berry notes. The wear length is somewhat less than I would desire, and the throw is very low. There are newer and less rare cherry scents that work better on me.

Mmm. Honeyed lavender and fruity red musk to start out, making this kind of like a lavender Smut. Has there ever been a lavender Smut? Lavender usually disappears on me, but this one lasts longer than most. Eventually I get the warm ambrette and maybe some cognac, though I never really smell the balsam or mate. A lovely spring red musk blend, though. I'm so glad I have this -- thanks to a generous circular swapper!

I was gifted this bottle by an extremely generous forumite, and I have worn it several times, with varying results. I hadn't ordered a bottle because although I love the salt note, I was afraid that the name might imply an unlisted aquatic note, and nearly everything aquatic goes to cleaning product on me. When I applied this straight from the mailbox because patience is not one of my more notable virtues, I got, basically, plum dryer sheets. The second time I wore it, I got plum when wet and that toothsome salt note I love, and it mellowed down into opium-plum-salt loveliness, dark and velvety, exactly what I was hoping for. The third time I wore it, it was more like dark opium plum with a bit of dryer sheets. And so on. I am pretty confident, though, that this is going to age magnificently, and that each time I wear it the aquatic tinge is going to fade farther into the background. If you are fan of scents purple, you need to give this a go.

I bought a bottle of Youth's Disengagement last fall and didn't even skin-test it -- I was too wrapped up in the dark autumnal scents. Well, the sun is shining in the Pacific Northwest, and I'm so happy with my purchase. YD does not smell like cake to me (Eat Me was a disaster on me). It smells like one of Beth's gorgeous creamy florals without the flowers, and as someone who loves that category but is not a big fan of floral, that is high praise. There's the pillowy sweetness of marshmallow root and vanilla cream with the delicacy of rainier cherries against a lovely pale incense-y sandalwood. I'm not actually getting the anise (which I had hoped for) or the ginger (which I had not). Currants? Maybe. Sweetness and light? Definitely.

HerbGirl said it first, but this is very much in the vein of #occupywallstreet. Another filthy frigging patchouli, in the best possible way. Big patch, globs of cocoa, drier and woodier than #occupy because of the cedar replacing the vanilla. Thus, an outdoor scent for the patch lover, with good throw initially, though it dials back in drydown. If patchouli is your jam, this is the jammiest thing the Lab has given us in a while. Rejoice!

I'm still trying to get a read on Good Ship Venus, having tested it more than once now. Wet it's almost camphorous, and I'm not sure where it's coming from -- there are big patchouli notes that are almost camphorous, but here I'm getting only the camphor, not the patch. I'm not getting the chewy salt note from Asleep in the Deep but more of a saltwater note. There is only the faintest whisper of spices on my skin. The patchouli never arrives, although the tonka shows up after an hour or so, but by that time the whole thing is awfully faint. I was expecting Good Ship Venus to be my favorite of the shanties, but it just isn't coming together for me.

This is the third time today I've reapplied Hanging Johnny, but I'm happy to do it. It's a lot of hemp, with cedar and a cedary sandalwood, and the overall effect is outdoorsy and light-hearted. I wish it lasted longer -- it would be easily bottle-worthy. A different kind of unisex evergreen scent, with a prominent hemp note -- if Rogue has too much rosin or Ask the Nearest Hippie too much pot and patchouli, Hanging Johnny is your man.

Wolf Moon 2021 is gorgeous! Lots of green grass on a structure of sandalwood and balsam with just a touch of sweetness from the beeswax. After a little while the warm furry muskiness and the ambrette nuttiness move in. I'm not getting much juniper, which is good because it's a troublesome note on me. Green scents hardly ever work on me, but this one is a keeper.

Tobacco and Pine Needle starts out as sharp pine and a little sharp tobacco. Generally, pine sweetens and softens on my skin; that doesn't exactly happen here. It does transform into a cologne-y tobacco, as the previous reviewers also experienced, with a pine backdrop. I happen to enjoy the more masculine spectrum of scents, so this isn't a problem for me. It's not a sweet, chewy tobacco; it's a drier one. It doesn't last as long as I would like, but I am going to hang onto the decant because I suspect it will mature into something really worthwhile.

I get just a breath of cardamom and a lot of warm, long-lasting amber. I wish the cardamom were a little more prominent on me, but it is still a cozy skin scent that I can derive comfort from for hours.

Cucidati is a very wearable foodie. It started out marzipan with some bright citrus and spice, then over 20 minutes or so it gradually warmed into a sticky, boozy fig and date. I gave my decant to my sister who actually makes cucidati, but I will be on the lookout for another one as it's as mood-lifting as a tray of holiday cookies.

Gingerbread Witch could easily be a Weenie. Pumpkin and apple and mulling/gingerbread spices. I didn't get any rosemary, which bummed me out. Nice, but not remarkable on me.

Maybe This Is Your Wilderness? Honeyed patchouli with cypress, black pine, and tobacco absolute