Janis
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This is delicious! A dark clove that dries down into an equally luscious vetiver, with sweet amber smoke threading through it all. Everything about this scent is chewy and rich. The vetiver is somewhat earthy, but not scary. I have trouble with several types of BPAL oud for being too indolic, but this is not one of those. All the good stuff, none of the bad. Over time I've come to accept that as much as I would like to be someone who wears super dark scents, my comfort zone is actually more of a medium-dark. Sinister Restlessness pushes the darker end of what I find wearable, but it's a really balanced and approachable take on the dark notes within.
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There's a very worn-in quality to this scent. It's the golden sandalwood, I think - with a squeeze of fresh green lavender on top. It feels more generally 'herbal' to me than specifically lavender. Veers soapy on drydown in a way that reinforces 'cozy laundry' rather than being pure soap. I agree this is soft masc. My brain doesn't really recognize this scent as something to be worn as perfume, but wearing it feels like putting on a vibe.
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Reminds me very much of Cathedral, but with a straight ashy drydown instead of sweet church incense. And quite a bit colder overall. If Cathedral is a cathedral that's in active use, Haggard is a cathedral that's been abandoned for a while (but is not yet a ruin). Love love love.
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Normally I am not much of a floral person. A floral hater, even. This is not something I would have ever picked myself. And yet, I like it. There's a gentle cool-toned jasmine and soft night blooms that remind me of my garden at night during the summer, all on a base of lightly tangy benzoin. Everything is soft and cool. This is a floral for the floral haters
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A soft, sweet frankincense with a mix of spicy herbs. Really well blended - I can't pick out individual notes. Patchouli and cinnamon take turns peeking around the edges, but never stealing attention from the whole. It's basically everything I'm hoping for in a frankincense scent that feels solemn, comforting, and ancient, without being church incense. Settles quickly to a soft skin scent after applying, and did not morph or fade further. Very low throw - the huff is gorgeous, though.
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It definitely has dried peach, but not particularly identifiable as incense. Instead I am getting what I can only describe as salty Indian food with dried peaches. Unexpected!
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Starts out as a very fresh berry+herb. On the drydown, the berry & herbs soften into sweet honeyed milk. I can pick out hints of mushroom and pepper at this point. The milk isn't sour or tart at all, unlike the other "goat" milks in the monster milk series. Soothing and fresh!
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This is spicyyy! There's a slightly fruity ye olde holiday spice blend going on, with a base of powdery balsam and amber. This gives me similar vibes to Knecht Ruprecht except with a spicy opening (that fades eventually) and a smoother amber finish.
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A really great fudgy brownie in the bottle that plays second fiddle to weed on the skin. This weed note is WAY stronger than the one in Magic Double Chunk Chocolate Chip Cookie. Stayed linear for the full duration of wear.
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Chocolate chip cookie indeed! The weed note is present but not overpowering and the cookies are crispy, right on the edge of becoming burnt. Bakery gourmands usually don't play nice with my skin but this one is perfectly realistic. Consider me impressed.
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The violet and rose combine into what my nose insists must be tart fig! So: an opening of tart fig, cold loam, and a drydown of sweet, powdery florals. Very interesting, and very unexpected.
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This is entirely musky brown fur and raw honey on me, with a bit of maple sugar on the edges. No berries at all!
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So I tried this twice on different days and got two completely different impressions-- both rested more than a week. First time in ~70 degree weather, I got the wonderful, 'BPAL incarnate' spicy rose and snake oil. Not much amber, just the way I like it! Faded really smoothly and I got the roses/spice all the way through. Second wear was a couple days later in 90 degree weather. It was amber. All amber. Antique amber, sure, but AMBER. I could barely detect any rose, and only the tiniest hint of SO. Based on the first wear, this upsize worthy - but the second wear has me scared. Temperature-sensitive, perhaps?
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Tea House opens with a gorgeous fresh blend of green tea and bamboo, and I love this stage. Unfortunately the drydown is powdery wood (mostly cypress) for the rest of wear. The plum wine is very pretty, but only really detectable if I huff my wrist directly.
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This starts with a banana top note that quickly develops into a wonderfully snuggly sweet wool. It really reminds me of You Are Not Alone, except without the lavender and less vanillic (though the wool is a sweet cashmere that more or less does the same thing that the aged paper note in YANA does.) It is kind of masculine, dry woods toeing the line of cologne, but the rich sweetness of banana keeps it in check. As a fan of slightly sweetened unisex scents, this is PERFECT. I adore YANA too and I'm delighted to have found another scent in the same family! This is "my sweater but better."
