Lucchesa

Envy captures the terrific SWS brilliantly. Dusty orris and dry sandalwood stand in for marble, and the faintly oceanic smell of ambergris reinforces the feeling of tears. (Poor carrot seed, always doleful.) I get only the lightest breath of rose, as if Galatea is still barely human. This is dryer and dustier than my tastes run, but a beautiful picture in scent.

Aside from a couple of weeks each spring, I don't really wear florals, and they have to be dirty florals to interest me. Wisteria Blossoms interests me. It's built around the wisteria and lilac notes, but there's a lot else going on. Bamboo can be high-pitched on me, but this smoked variety is calmer and darker. There's a fruitiness that may be the red musk along with hints of darker musk and some earthiness from moss and indigo. As VetchVesper says, it's floral and purple without being stuffy. In fact it's kind of floral, sexy and mysterious. I'm hanging onto my decant. And this is a much belated apology to @Poenari for casting olfactory aspersions against women of a certain age -- like the age my daughter would probably consider me, though I'm not ready to embrace it just yet. I've edited out the reference and will be more careful in the future. Thank you for calling me on it!

It took all my will not to scrub off Masked Vulvas as soon as I applied it. Mandarin and pear combined to form that awful industrial faux-citrus deodorizer. Urinal cake, in other words. I know pear can go fake on me, but this was ridiculous. I went for a walk, still not good. Then I went to my desk to prep for and give a lecture, and when I was done, roughly four and a half hours after application, it has devolved into a barely-there light fruity incense. I’ll be passing this one on.

Prairie Witch is a very classic Weenie-type scent, a little heavier on the apple than my usual autumn tastes, but undeniably lovely. It's got the BPAL buttery pumpkin note with a boozy spiced cider and a little vetiver for that whiff of bonfire. When I tested it I was seeing out of town relatives who commented on how good I smelled; one even came in for a second hug so he could get another sniff. So people like it! and that was a few hours after application.

I'm pretty sure Lucy's Kiss is tea rose because tea rose is generally a disaster on my skin. If rose works for you, I imagine this is delightful.

I love love love the BPAL beeswax note, and Shouutsushi Aioi Genji delivers. I was worried that bubblegummy lotus would take this into cloying territory, but this is almost entirely a beeswax and amber scent on me, with the lotus contributing a creamy sweetness that doesn't overwhelm. Unlike other reviewers, I get almost no smoke from this and I'm hoping that note will develop with a little more aging. Definitely in the family of V'al Hanissim, Lights of Men's Lives and Endless Corridors. In other words, lovely.

The Red Ribbon is an extremely wearable red musk blend, sweetened and softened by the vanilla and amber. The wood notes are secondary; it's a subtle not a gnarly patchouli if that's keeping any red musk lovers from trying this. The goat milk might as well be oat milk on me, creamy but with none of that barnyard twang. Yes, the red musk dominates, giving this good throw and wear length, but it lets the other notes sing as well. Just lovely!

No, but my dear friend Teamama loves it!

These notes couldn’t go wrong on me, but they go so right. You Can House Their Bodies has vaulted right into my pantheon of top BPAL patch scents. It’s a big round patchouli softened and sweetened by a non-foodie vanilla, with warm amber and just a trace of musk around the edges. Beautiful warm embrace of a scent. There is nowhere and no season I wouldn’t wear this. I cannot wait to pair it with Hedonism bath oil when it returns to stock. It lasted four or five hours, not all day, but that’s quite good for my skin chemistry. I will need more than one bottle.

Several of the scents in support of Ukraine are based on baked goods, if not exactly cake. I’m particularly looking forward to Chocolate Babke. There’s Hildegard’s Cakes of Joy and Mari Lwyd from the most recent winter line and Amor To Show That He Was Pleased from the current Lupers. The Lilith scents usually include a full on cake with frosting but they’re not currently available. Good luck! It sounds like so much fun!

I am out of Eusapia (Pale lilacs, white tea, and candle wax) and the lilacs near my house are blooming. Enter Vigil for the Harvest Suitors! I had forgotten this was a lilac scent -- I don't associate lilac with harvest time. But Vigil is all about the lilac and beswax. I am not sure what broomcorn smells like, and I'm not getting anything I associate with bone, but I am getting lots of gorgeous sweet lilac and beeswax, and that is exactly what I was hoping for. If you're mourning the fact that Eusapia didn't return with this year's crop of spirits, you need Vigil for the Harvest Suitors in your life. Plus the label art is amazing.

I'm going to have to use Foco purely for ritual because it doesn't mesh well with my skin chemistry (red ginger is always a problematic note on me). Dry and harsh at first, with none of the sometimes cloying sweetness I usually expect from dragon's blood, Foco eventually mellows down into an herbal blend in which the ginger and chamomile are uppermost. I would happily drink this as a tea!

I quite like Robotic Scarab. It's never strong on me, a skin scent, but it lasts a long time at that level. I don't get a lot of anise (which I love) or frank from this, or really distinct impressions of any of the notes besides the machine oil, but it's a melange that reminds me of the men of my childhood. Comforting.

This is amazing. I feel like if you missed out on the TAL Rose Tinted Mirror, this would have much the same effect. Better for me as it’s lavender instead of violet, though as usual the lovely lavender doesn’t last long on my skin. Soft sugary pink rose, marshmallow vanilla, just a cloud of lifted spirits.

I have no problem with cologne-type blends, but El Dorado isn’t that interesting on my skin. It’s dry and starts out a little higher pitched than I expected before mellowing down into dusty incense. There’s nothing wrong with it, I just don’t love it.

Violet and champaca are Notes I Avoid so I wouldn't have tried this if it hadn't been frimped to me. It's actually surprisingly lovely. The violets are more bright than powdery, and while the violet and rose combo is definitely old fashioned, it's not old lady. In fact it's kind of a curious blend of classic floral perfume and headshop incense. LavenderCoffee's description nails the drydown for me: soft violet champaca musk over patch and dark dramatic roses. Which is not my thing, so I'll be passing this decant on, but I can appreciate its beauty!

Vaginal Tales is such a luper. Soft, sweet, creamy, with poofy mallow and bubble-gummy lotus. Pink pink pink! OK, maybe there are some other pastel tones here too. It toys with the edge of cloyingly sweet but never teeters over. Pillowy pink powderpuff of a fragrance; wear with a frilly skirt and fluffy kitten-heel slippers.

Signum Crucis starts out overwhelmingly rose on me. This is disappointing because I don't believe rose hips actually smell like roses. I was hoping for the tart tang of rosehip with three notes I love. The leather and mushroom did peek out eventually, but they didn't stand a chance against the roses. I never got much in the way of ambrette. This is definitely intended for rose lovers who want something less overtly femme. It makes me want to go out and cut into a rose hip and see if I smell rose.

Snekhellden is sweet fruity Snake Oil on me. Hellfire disappears within minutes on my skin, so I'm not surprised that it barely shows up for me here. Nor am I getting Maiden's prominent and beloved carnation. (Is there a carnation snake oil of any description? Why not???) I'm jealous that others are getting leather; I get cherry. This reminds me most of Blood Squib Snake Oil.

I slathered Thunder Moon on this morning without checking notes. It was obvious it was fruity; the overall vibe seemed like a plummy Event Horizon on me. My friend thought I smelled like incense in a metaphysical shop — she kept saying how good I smelled. The violet was quiet, fortunately, though so were the patchouli and vetiver. It had good throw and wear length, which are rare on my skin

This was my favorite entry in the Lux Brumalis collection. (OK, I also loved Winter Night Figure on the Bridge, but this one is more "me.") I love the roasted chestnut note, and the other notes form a woody, snuggly backdrop for it. Cozy, nutty, sweet, outdoorsy.

Leaf Moon starts out harsh on me, mostly woodsmoke and the dead leaves note and a green leaf note as well. After about an hour it softens considerably, and the dry down is beautiful, sweet patchouli and gentle smoke, with the leaves having transmuted into something perfume-like. I’m really not getting any distinct red musk. On initial application I thought this was headed straight for swaps, but I will keep it around because I love the dry down and think it might age brilliantly.

This starts out strong with lavender and motor oil. Lavender never lasts on me, and sure enough it's mostly gone within half an hour or so, while the black leather takes its place. There also seems to be a green note here, but it's mainly motor oil and leather with a little woods, very unisex. It wears close to the skin but for a long time.

Cool snow and smoky incense. I'm not getting any frankincense specifically. Ice, stone, smoke. It's really evocative and perfect for the painting, but for me would be better as an atmo than a perfume.

A Chocolate Cat is very sweet on me, with honeyed cacao as its most prominent component. It sits at the cusp between gourmand and dark resins, or as if traditional perfume notes have been gourmandized -- toasted amber, carmelized musk. This is a territory I quite like, and the honey gives this great staying power on me. The one disappointment here is the vetiver, which is too well-behaved for my liking. I think this may age into a 2S&2G type drydown where the sweet vetiver dominates, but for now it's overpowered by the honey. 8/13 update: My first slonk of A Chocolate Cat flew out of my hands and I couldn't figure out where it had gone until I found it resting upside down in the folds of my scarf. My scarf still smells amazing. Fortunately, @Teamama gifted me another one, which is not nearly so sweet - the vetiver is indeed coming into its own, the honey is more flavoring than sweetness. This is aging beautifully.