monocainsheresy

Instantly conjures the image of a big, lush, thick-petaled, luxurious hibiscus. I didn't know what flor de maga was when I ordered this and upon first sniff I though lavender + magnolia. Has the same heady, round throw as jasmine, but the scent itself is definitely much more tactile and tropical than jasmine, with a more robust grace. A big flower with a big personality. Not something I'll reach for often but this could very easily become a comfort scent for me.

For me I get a sadly uncomplicated but still lovely soft vanilla-mint. Very little throw but lasts a decent length of time. Comparison: those little white mint christmas candies shaped like chocolate chips with the red and green sprinkles on the bottom.

This is like Dorian squared. When original Dorian is allowed to age for a while the astringency of the tea brings it a kind of greenness, and the cypress and grass in this seem to be the next logical step on that path. I've never been able to smell the clove, but I always get the afterthought of lavender, though it never goes far before it disappears. A lighthearted but sophisticated scent, not as sensual as the original. Good for summer.

Gooey green absinthe (exactly like the GC scent to my nose) underscored by ozone and the faintest hint of florals This really is rather a weird scent but it's gorgeous

My first Dead Leaves! Had to let this one sit for a month for the incense to come out. Starts very green and mossy which was worrisome, but thankfully on my skin the leaves powder a little and allow the vanilla incense to come out. The vanilla incense is more vanilla than incense. Overall the notes complement each other in a way I wouldnt have expected upon first sniff, but which I am nevertheless very pleased with.

In the bottle: i don't know how the notes aligned to produce this but it smells exactly like florida water - citrus and spice from the combo of db + peppercorn. reminds my of the "faded georgian cologne" note from Pale Student Of Unhallowed Arts Wet: mostly the peppercorn and musk - a hint of resins in the background Dry: I'm a massive dragon's blood snob and this is by far the best BPAL db that i've encountered. True, dusty, moody dragon's blood mellowed by warm amber underscored by red musk. Definitely masculine. This has immediately leapt to the top of not only my incense/resin list but my all-time favorites. Everything I've ever wanted and never gotten from the Ars Draconis scents. Pairs beautifully with Pale Student Of Unhallowed Arts.

Bright green! Not in an aggressive or gooey way - sweet like sap, sunny, airy - spring in a bottle. Like un-boozy Absinthe. Warning: this will attract bees

2018 version The same incense from Cathedral, balanced by slightly spiced vanilla cake. New favorite incense scent

Glowing, glittering apple buoyed by sugary milk. On the dry down my skin turns this into apple-y bubblegum! A very happy, carefree scent.

In the bottle: LAVENDER Wet: still a lot of lavender, and then suddenly its friend jasmine takes over the show. Thankfully it is a soft jasmine, not a stinky one. Dry: The coconut cream turns this into a smooshy lavender-jasmine pillow. Very gentle and comforting. Gives the impression of incredibly high-end marshmallows.

According to my mom this makes me smell "like an alcoholic Yankee candle" and I think that is an apt description. A booze-heavy foodie scent, coated in stereotypical-autumn-candle-smell

This is definitely leather + copal forward on me. There's a very definite smokiness, though not a tobacco smokiness, so I'm assuming it's the copal, and the intersection of the leather + copal is giving me big Dee vibes. There's a tiny bit of vanilla to keep it from being a Weird Smoke scent. The first thing that comes to mind when I smell this is: blacksmith. This smells just like the smithies at Williamsburg, without all the sweaty humans of course. Something about it just makes me think hot metal. Overall, this is super nostalgic and a definite boy smell. New favorite.

I ADORE THIS. Warm, sugary, boozy bourbon with the tiniest hint of mint. Simple, cozy, perfect.

This is my first encounter with Samhain. I've avoided for fear of it being too fruity, but I felt I had to go for this if only for the reason that it's from the year I was born. In the bottle: Crisp, juicy apple. Not quite the smell of a single note - there's a hint of something more complex under the surface. It glows. Wet: Still apple, with a bit of maybe incense or tobacco. You have to get really close to smell anything but the apple. I also detect dead leaves. Dry: Finally, the apple recedes and lets some of the other notes have their moment. It's delicately warm, a little fuzzy. It reminds me of a very gentle All Souls, though not as sweet or thick. Verdict: Like the dampened aroma of an incensed apple pie. EDIT: I have had an epiphany. That complexness I mentioned in the bottle, and the fuzziness when it's dry, is definitely mullein. I knew there was something I wasn't familiar with to identify upon first test, and I found it! Discovered while grinding dried mullein leaves in a mortar and pestle. New favorite note.

The aspirations of man, both in the material and spiritual worlds: clove, birch tar, red ginger root, and frankincense. I guess I'm up first! In the bottle: GINGER - antiseptic and tbh smells like the adhesive on really strong stickers if that makes sense? Fresh on the skin: still lots of ginger, with a bit of powdery frankincense. There's something gooey in the background - I think that's the clove; it's gentle. Could be the birch tar, but i don't know what that smells like so don't take my word for it. Overall it gives the impression of something just starting to catch fire, something smoldering but still cold (edit - this goes away ) Dry: This is definitely a familiar scent, almost like Christmas, but early Christmas when you're opening up all the boxes of decorations - it's the smell trapped in the box from last year's holiday cookies. This is much much gentler and more tame than i expected for something called "The Fiery Mountains". I wanted something a little more exciting. Almost plasticy, borderline mainstream, reminds me of a Yankee Candle (not in a bad way, it just has that kind of uniformity. Does smell a bit like a lit unscented candle). One could definitely get away with this an everyday scent. I'm hoping this ages well and warms up - I'll revisit it in a few months

To me this is an incense-y version of Lush's Twilight - I get a lot of tonka - with a little leather in the background. It's super calming.

Fresh out of the mail this was a bottle of pure fig. After a few days it settled to a figgy variant of Burial - lots of cypress coming forward. On the skin this was, again, mostly fig, but as it dried it took on an aquatic tone that I didn't like. Not my cup of tea. I'll be passing this along.

Huh. This is my first encounter with any Snake Oil scent (it is NEVER in stock when I do my big semi-annual orders) and... I'm underwhelmed. This just smells like honeyed Dragon's Milk, though I will say the DB in this smells more faithful. I literally cannot tell where the Snake Oil is. Next time the original stuff comes back in stock I'm going to have to jump on it and compare.

Ngl this smells like literal air conditioning - like air vents when you turn on the AC for the first time after the cold months, plus clean laundry. Edit: This can be duped with Ode On Melancholy, which I personally prefer.

I tend to stay away from scents with more than about half a dozen notes as a rule, but I'm soooo happy I went for a bottle of this. It would seem that my skin has amped only the things that I absolutely love - frankincense, light rose, and a blanket of sugary vanilla

In the decant this smelled like stereotypical, department store, richy rich perfume. A little worrying. On the skin, this is an ever-so-slightly-darker Aelopile - the same glowy amber. And then it morphed. Patchouli! Tobacco!! Maple syrup?? It smells delicious now, a bit like carnival food, but woody and ambery It's still got a bit of department store superficiality, but I'm not mad at it. Mmmm, I'm going to have to get a bottle.

Lemony butterscotch! Not my thing, but very bright and jubilant. I wish the patchouli was more present - it needs a little grounding.

Another viscous aquatic rears its ugly head This was a frimp. I've been very cautious around any and all aquatics since the Deep Ones incident of 2016. Unfortunately, as soon as I opened this the old, familiar smell of my enemy hit me: fresh, sickly, where-is-the-rotting-octopus BRINE. . . . This will never touch my skin.

Over the summer I went to Massachusetts and ate at a little café in Cape Ann. I ordered a piece of a cakey thing that strongly resembled blueberry boy bait, but without cinnamon sugar and some sort of red fruit instead of blueberries. The lab has precisely bottled its taste as a scent in the form of Alice.

I haven't touched this since i got a full bottle in December (occupied with other scents) and my lord has it aged beautifully. When i was little my mother would give flute recitals around Christmas in the ballroom of a Victorian mansion. The railings of the grand staircase were wrapped in cinnamon-scented garlands of glittery fabric leaves, candles were burning on the mantles of all the fireplaces, and in the dining room the museum staff would always set up an elaborate scene of mannequins with taxidermied deer heads having a lavish Christmas dinner while dressed in period clothing (don't ask me why). I would go off by myself and look at all the paintings and the ball gowns and the old books. Rumor has it that the original owner still haunts the second floor... That is exactly what this smells like - Victorian Christmas, frozen in time.