Convallaria

2017 version: The opening smells of burnt sugar, brandy and rum mix, and cream. After a while it settles down into a bit too generic sugar with a pinch of spice and a whiff of liquor. The overall effect is sweet and smoky. Drydown is fluffy sweet cream, very low in intensity.

Opening is sweet beeswax, a bit too sweet for my taste. When dust creeps through, it feels more like soil than dry dust you’d expect from the concept. The result is rotten-sweet blend that’s really not my thing. Drydown goes back to beeswax, now slightly less cloying, and chalk. This is also the first time it starts feeling like occult. I really like the final phase but I’m not sure I can deal with the previous ones to get there.

Opening is clean musk with a hint of gardenia. After that mild tea takes over, eventually settling into sweet white floral and tea blend.

Another hair gel that is sweeter on me than I expected. There's a refreshing swirl of vetiver and leather at the opening, but after that amber gradually takes over.

I was expecting something along the lines of Tabula Smaragdina, but this one is primarily a very sweet rose scent on me, with little "darkness" to it. Incense is the strongest at the opening, then it settles into roses sweetened with clove, but after that it's mostly just plain sweet rose.

This is kind of...edible evergreen forest on me. Not too sugary, but it's definitely there. Likewise, the forest isn't too cologney.

On me, this is a wine spill with a pinch of poppy from start to finish. It makes me think more of wino than wine itself. Rather intense and long-lasting - hard to wash off too.

Testing on wrist because my hair is not long enough to sniff. Starts with a blast of sweetness, settles into a bit more spicy, but still sweet overall. Like others noted, white tobacco note is mild and not ashtray-like at all. The drydown is back to sweet ambergris. It lasted long on the wrist but I can't make any judgement about hair - I'm picky about hair scents and I won't be going for this one. (Personal preference - it's a nice scent.)

Testing on wrist because my hair is not long enough to sniff. The opening was unpleasant on me as well. But soon after the blueberry comes through and stays in the lead all the way until the drydown.

Fellow forumites from Japan, what do you label the oils as when shipping swap/sale items internationally? "Essential oils" seems to be iffy based on my research. I'm afraid general "cosmetics" might bounce back if scanned.

The opening is surprisingly green. Flowery notes, primarily violets, gradually rise to the front, sweet and a little powdery (orris?). The drydown is sweet (more subdued than middle stage), powdery in that classical perfume way and lasts relatively long. Full bottle candidate for me - this is the kind of sweetness that works for me and it's well-blended without being too blended.

For me, the opening was mostly pomegranate - nicely juicy, not too sweet. Later on, it gets more depth with juniper and the pomegranate gets blended in as the time goes on. Mint doesn't really stand out, and it's of the mild, herbal tea variety. In fact, the whole concoction is like a thick pomegranate-scented herbal tea. Drydown loses depth and is mostly all about the pomegranate again. My first attempt at Lab's pomegranate (me being vary of fruit scents) and it's really nice - latter phase is kind of meh, but the pomegranate note works for me.

Musky almond, more bitter at the opening, mellows down soon after. I got this for the black pepper note, but I barely feel any - only if I press my nose to the skin and take a deep sniff, and even then I doubt I would have spotted it if I hadn't known it was there. Lab pepper tends to be a no-show on me, I only really got it in Old Demons of the First Class' spice mix and a whiff or two in Ifrit. This actually reminds me of Old Demons of the First Class, but less aggressive and "masculine" perfume-like (though I'd say it's still very much unisex), with the sweetness of almond tempering the spices. The drydown is sweet, slightly spicy, musk. Long-lasting.

For a "Bordello", it's surprisingly wholesome. Grape/red berry mix juice, all the way. (Not the wine note.) Intense and lasts rather long. Not for me, but I'll probably keep the frimp to see how it changes with age.

Well, I heard that tobacco is well-behaved in this one, but I didn't expect it to go so well! I can see why it's everyone's favorite, it's so smooth and balanced and well-blended. A true classic. I agree with "androgynous" assessment - it's a true middle-of-the-road, not a masculine you could steal. I was worried that woods would be amped, but it's not a case for me - tobacco is the star of the show. This reminds me of a whole dried leaf rather than a cigarette. In the drydown, the vanilla comes out, though the tobacco still doesn't disappear.