groovyrooby

This has become a late-winter/early spring go-to for me, especially at bedtime. So calm and soothing! It starts out with something like the wood polish vibe in Rickety Staircase, almost lemony clean, but in the nicest way, since I am generally cursed with screaming-Pledge-wood-polish-smell from most lemon components. I like lemon, but usually have to come at it indirectly, and I appreciate the flowers doing it for me here. The sandalwood is the base for this scent with a papery, old books and dusty library feel. Over top, I would have guessed this has orange blossom - another favorite of mine - but it must be this combination of florals that's coming across so bright and citrusy. That is to say, this is a brisk floral, not terribly sweet or perfumey. The fog comes through feeling chilly and damp. I love it after my bedtime shower for a clean, enveloping white floral with sandalwood. Husband commented on how nice I smelled at bedtime. Promptly ordered a full bottle.

Another Shunga win! This reminds me of a red musk version of Womb Furie. It starts out *ugh* *drool* so sweet and rich and buttery. Then the red musk (LOVE) comes storming in and sexes up the whole thing. The final, lasting effect loses a bit of the sweetness and leans more on the patchouli and dry spice. Gorgeous. This was one I kept waving in front of my husband's nose going "Smell me! I smell GOOD!" BTW that was a dab. Excellent throw! This is a keeper, and I'm definitely gonna dab it like crazy, just to keep getting the full start-to-finish experience.

Completely agree with other viewers on what a puzzle this one is! I am loving it and it's a wonderful springtime scent I have been stuck on since the first test. But like the others, I keep going back to the webpage asking, "Now what was in this again??" First sniff, I was certain it had fruits! Peach or sweet orange... something a little juicy, very floral, and sweet-tart. Then the flowers came, and I worried for a minute that this was not for me. I love certain florals - wet, heady, damp, slightly spoiled or a little green - and I cannot with others - pretty, dried, delicate. This was coming in like precious white flowers for a minute and a dry, dull, lemony wood. But it subsided just about as soon as it came, and the fruity floral smell is back! And now I just keep wearing it! Wonderful today paired with the Pink Peach Blossoms and White Plum Flowers Hair Gloss. ... but then I look at the notes and -- huh?? No fruits? No flowers?? I think the honey and white tea are singing a whole new song in unison, and it's delightful. Must've been the cashmere wood peeking through through briefly. But I would almost put this in a camp with Defututa, Fae, or Aglaea, which are 3 of my favorite GCs! Floral honey and fruity tea. Love.

Just put this on an oh my goodness it’s a dead ringer for Beeswax, Amber, and Star Jasmine - which i looooove. Rich, honey sweet and heady floral. And I feel lucky for this find, because the trio was not easy to track down. I absolutely need more smells to tick this box. yes yes yes it is love. ?

I love the Lab's cocoa note and sometimes love oud, and this is just a beautiful marriage. The cocoa is what catches my nose most, and the oud addition makes it richer, slightly tart like a good dark chocolate with an almost-cherry vibe. And as @Sjofn mentioned, it has a faint floral feel, similar to Belgian Chocolate, Orange Blossom, Marshmallow, and Jasmine ❤️ but softer and less sweet. Just a beautiful, rich, really good chocolate. Perfect pair. ?

This was the least likely of the Blapimpsottles to work for me, but it is the biggest winner! I am getting primarily apple (a note I normally don't care for), sweet floral ylang ylang, and dark narcissus. No myrrh (another one I avoid). No red musk (would've been welcome here). And no caramel or funnel cake! I was afraid of the foodie aspects - they always break my heart with burnt plastic smell - NONE of them came through here! So, intentional or not, this is a victory for me. I get a fruity floral on me - sweet/tart and flirty and carefree. Really nice! And convincing me not to close myself off to apple.

Yes to curry! Which I kind of like. I always wanted a scent that came across like the smell of Chinese food. And I love The Jeweled Spider for its rich musky curry. However, unlike the latter, this is not sweet AT ALL on me (surprise!) - just savory, cuminy curry. Maybe even a little toasty, which makes my mind go to jasmine rice. And like @dancingchair I get the soapiness, too, which I SWEAR is cilantro! (now, I love cilantro, but I still get where that association comes from). I honestly think I liked this best of the 3, though it's not at ALL what I believe it sets out to be, on me.

I am so happy with how this turned out. I diligently keep trying delicious pastry scents though they tend to go burnt plastic on me. Fruity notes haven't been great on me either - mostly they remind me too much of a scented candle. But this! Is wonderful!! Like @LavenderCoffee said, the raspberry is the star here. Sweet and tart. The apricot (one of the only fruits that works well for me) warms it up and gives it that sticky-sweet jammy glow. The pasty is NOT like cookies and cakes (which right off the bat hit me smelling too toasty before they inevitably turn to plastic) but more bready. Altogether, it's yeasty, fruity, and dry, sugary doughy treat. Superb! I haven't dared touch another sufganiyot - in part because my track record with gourmands is terrible, but also in part because they are so precious (hard to find and expensive af) - but this has piqued my interest.

Finally! Success with a strawberry! Success with a confection! These notes have been so tough for me to make work, but I keep on trying, and this is a payoff! This is a syrupy sweet strawberry, like a daiquiri mix, or a delicious strawberry bubble gum. Many strawberries I've tried have that initial punch and then it disappears into whatever floral (usually) notes are at the base. But this gave me a good couple hours of sweet, sweet strawberry delight. Husband, the fruity candy expert, said it was more of a baked goods smell. I'll take it. Minimal trace of plastic if I really stick my nose down into it and try. But the waft is just candy sweet strawberry fun. YAY! * oh i see @splendidissima felt the daiquiri vibe, too! yep, something about this particular strawberry - i want to drink it.

Can't believe I haven't reviewed this yet! This was a big 2021 win for me. It starts out a grassy green violet and develops into a sweet floral. The final presentation is a sugary rose that lasts all day long. It’s a fun and lighthearted, very pink-feeling scent, with just the right amount of confidence. It has good throw and a lot to say. My decant quickly turned into a big bottle.

Well, I've never tried Troll, but I'm ordering an imp now! Got this as a swap for another Lilith that didn't work for me, and couldn't be happier with how this turned out! In the bottle, it smells like dry, bitter, woods. Authentic woods smell. Then a cinnamon bark vibe appears... probably the clove in combination with others. Now, I adore cinnamon, but it usually gives me itchy red splotches. Any time I can get that smell without the burning, I'm a happy camper. This is that. It's dark & earthy, but not a dirt note. Then the Dorian comes along and sweetens everything, makes it a little more carefree and a little less somber. It's wonderful. Wore it to lunch with my husband today. It feels very content, serene, and a little bit renegade. Love it.

I surprised myself liking this as one of my favorite Liliths this year. And it's a triumph overall for me! Most of these notes are loves, but leather is usually a deal-breaker. Not only is this a rare leather win, but this is also the tea note I have been searching for! The lavender and oakmoss combo is cool and herbal. I feel like the carnation addition makes this a spicy almost minty feel to start. The leather comes through up close, but it's earthy rather than tanned. The main throw for me is the tea, and it's just what I've always wanted - earthy, black tea, no lemon. I can wear this pretty much anywhere - to work, to lunch with my mom, running errands, to sit in a park with friends... it's strong enough that I'm clearly wearing fragrance, but there's nothing too outspoken about it. It's mysterious and cool, just enough of a scent to feel put together. I immediately upgraded to full size.

I haven't tried the original Pinched, but I thought this would be a nice opportunity to get acquainted with it. I love tobacco, cinnamon, coffee, woods, all of that! But I am a little leery of pumpkin spice, I admit. I definitely got the tobacco to start, and it's so chewy it comes across as boozy. But put all those notes together, and this was SO MUCH smells! Powerful stuff!! I feel like this was akin to me as a kid helping myself to the soft-serve ice cream machine at a buffet. I put ALL the sprinkles and chocolate chips and candy bits and butterscotch syrup and whipped cream on top... til I made myself sick. This was "too much holidays", as my husband said. Just a dab and I smelled like sample day at the Yankee Candle store. I get why this has such dedicated fans! But I think it's too rich for me (wow i don't think i've ever said that before).

I wish my experience had been as complex as others'. I primarily got a somber rose. It started as a bright lemony-rose smell, so much that I thought for sure this had citrus, maybe even grapefruit. Overall, it reminds me a bit of Night-Gaunt, really. Zesty to start and a faint, white floral to end. The citrus vibe lasts a bit longer for me here, but eventually dried rose overtakes it all. I think I missed the plum and eucalyptus entirely. I enjoy a lot of roses, but I like them headier than this. For those who prefer their florals on the more sedate side, this will do nicely. I like mine screaming, so this was not for me.

I've been on an orange kick lately and was very intrigued how it might work with lavender. But maybe I don't know ambrette seed very well. The orange was oddly sedate here, almost waxed over. This has a warm glowing feel to it, but almost watered down or smothered. Not orange juice but orange drink. And either the honey or the ambrette seed gave this a waxy feel. The overall effect was like the smell of a hot oil treatment. Polished and sophisticated, but not perfumey. A whiff of salon hair product.

This was a lucky blind bottle for me! I love sandalwood and Dragon's Blood. And I love black pepper, though I didn't know what to expect with the red pepper. Well... All the notes are present & nicely balanced. The sandalwood does the bone dry, swirl-of-dust thing. The blood musk has that hot, dry desert air spice to it, like Al-Azif or Dragon's Musk. And the red pepper is a cindery, cinnamony Red Hots (minus sugar) kind of spice, like Low Key Lyesmith or Hexentanz (both loves). It's right up my alley! It has a slight bitterness to it, in that palo santo/creosote kind of way. Husband said I smelled like cinnamon candy (BINGO!). We are both highly potpourri-averse, especially Christmas potpourri, and neither of us found that here. The bones and blood musk steer the cinnamon a different direction. I've doused myself in this for an evening out with friends and layered it with a dab of Endless Corridor, which turns out to be very close to Bloody Corridor (also LOVE). It's a delightful, dry red musk that is beautiful alone and fun to blend.

I"m a gourmand lover at heart, but they rarely love me back. I keep trying. But this was no exception. Toasty, nutty... burnt plastic. Wish I had my husband's nose - he said I smell like baked goods & sugar cane. ? Nice to know, but also heartbreaking. Stupid nose. Glad @BoneBone24 had better luck!!

This went through a lot of stages on me, and I loved them all. Started woody & spicy - like lavender & licorice, deep purple. Just a hint of floral. Then it mellowed into a soft, muffled wood, and while I was sad to lose that trace of floral, I was contented by the thought that I was making peace with myrrh. But oh gosh, the final dry down of this was sweet, sugary roses, much like The Hierophant and the The Empress. Not too dark, but maybe a little brooding. Unapologetically. It smells like part teen angst, part teen zeal, embraced and touted proudly. This is one of my favorite Liliths this year. I will probably go big on this one.

This is a fruity, blood-tangy, chilly mint. I was reaching for the flowery aspect of Dragon's Blood, but this is the zingy tang of blood note, like the metallic effect I get from Galvanic Goggles or Roll the Old Chariot.

This started as an unusually floral honey, like sniffing a flower pistil - vegetal, green honey. I'm guessing that's the vetiver effect? But the green first turned bitter smoky and then got mustier with time, closer to a dirt note or a Dead Leaves kind of bitter & brown. This was more bitter than I expected. I'm not a Dead Leaves fan. I think I'm a vetiver lover, but maybe it's the cocoa/vetiver combo richness that I love - this is the version I don't care for. I'm love/hate with honey, and the honey was lost here. If it had stayed where it started for me, I'd be into this. But that's clearly not what this was meant to be. I think Dead Leaves lovers would really enjoy this.

I wasn't sure what to expect with this, but it ended up on my shortlist of big bottle needs! Amber, tobacco, and balsam notes caught my attention. Fig, ambergris, and bay raised an eyebrow. Together they morph from heavy cologne vibes (guessing the bay leaf) to a sweet and warm, rich and herbal. Something here is suggesting orange - maybe the fruity tobacco flower. It has a glowing feel to it and decent length. This started much more masculine than it ended. Intriguing and complex and feels powerful without overpowering. I will probably wear this to work on days when I want to be a formidable presence but stop short of the intimidation factor.

This was a delicate, pale flower on me. Not in terms of power, but the quality of flowers. Reminds me of a the baby's breath & greenery in a corsage or boutonniere arrangement. The coins came through with a slight metallic vibe. Not rich like Coin Trick, but cold. Must be the glassy element.

I love most all the notes here, with the exception of myrrh. Their interplay is interesting. The lavender here was of the minty, cold, herbal variety. The combination of vetiver and cardamom came across as bitter, so the green cognac smells more like a liqueur, like a nocino. There's sugar in the booze, but it's driven by something bittersweet and woody, almost anise but more resinous. Soft and close to the skin.

Marshmallow is one of my favorite smells, but in BPAL it usually turns to plastic on me. By golly, I keep on trying, but it's here, too. Starts out spicy, almost like carnation. I'm guessing that's the lavender. It's a dry & herbal version. It blends nicely with the marshmallow to turn creamy and sweet, but didn't get much floral. Sadly, on me, the toasty-coconut-turns-plastic comes out and overtakes all. Just a heads up for any others suffering this curse.

Well, shoot. I was hoping the effect would be something like The Sky Quivered Red Lights Like Flames of Fire HG. I adore that smell and thought maybe the red musk + ginger would match the tangy spice. Not so. This hit all the wrong notes on me. The elements I really like - red hots cinnamon candy, hot desert spices - are there. Also there, unfortunately, is something soapy and something sour - not sure if that's the blackening or the ginger. The full effect was a powdery red musk with a sour tinge.