LavenderCoffee

In the bottle, the boot leather is most prominent to me, but as stated, it's a quiver and not a kick. 

After applying to my wrist, the oak and tar notes, as well as the leather are evident, but each quickly fade as the oil dries. All these typically big, bold notes blend and settle to create a quiet, ghostly effect. Absolutely appropriate for "An Evening with the Spirits," but I'm thoroughly impressed by the composition and excited to see if it changes with age. There is just a suggestion of patchouli once it's completely dry, and I'm always looking for more patch.

For comparison, I find the Scorched Oak and Tobacco duet to be a much warmer oak blend (duh, it was on fire!), while this is cool and dark. I also dabbed a bit of You're a Daisy for that boot leather note, and while that smells like a whole leather goods store, this blend suggests someone wearing boots was just passing through - or maybe passed on. 👻

In the bottle there is definitely a nice scorchy smell, which smells more like burnt wood after applying to my skin. There's a higher pitch to the note when it's wet.

As it dries, more of the tobacco is evident, and I can tell it is a "blonde" or lighter note than the lab's tobacco absolute.

For me, this scent becomes very soft and beautiful, which was unexpected but welcome. I do recall that it was much louder when I got it six months ago, and now it has less throw, but I find it very easy to wear and it has decent longevity. 

In the bottle and while wet, this oil smells purple (even though the oil itself is a stunning dark gold). It's rich, sweet, smoky, dark purple velvet. If you asked me to name the scent notes, I would swear there is incense in this, but I suppose the labdanum, smoked rose petals, and blackened aspect of the blackened vanilla are all contributing to that.

Can all rose petals be smoked please? I have so much trouble with other rose petals 😅

The drydown is just as gorgeous, and not much changes for me except the dark fruits and tobacco become a bit more prominent. The sweet smoky incense goes on and on. I honestly can't pick out the individual notes very clearly. I can't believe there is patchouli in this! It is art.

This is an enormous scent with tremendous staying power, and one of my personal favorites.

Goblin: Black coconut, gnarly patchouli, and sweet benzoin.

Wet and in the bottle this is all about the sugar plum note, with a nice whiff of coconut.

Coconut persists through the drydown, but without taking over everything. There's only a faint hint of patchouli - certainly nothing I would call gnarly. Was curious to see how the patch would work with this, might set it aside and try it again later. 

Piquant and gooey is 100% correct. This raspberry and apricot combination is heavenly: tart, fruity, and just sweet enough.

In the bottle and when wet, I don't get any baked goods or fried dough from this. Just decadent jammy awesomeness, which is wonderful.

As it dries, some of the powdered sugar and fried dough comes out, but the raspberry is the boss of this operation. It has excellent wear length for me as well.

In the bottle I get more blackberry than burnination. Sweet and dark and delicious.

I get the burnt sugar note after applying to my skin, and the scent becomes richer and jammier. The burnt sugar note is perfection with the dark berry!

This is such a tremendous comfort smell. It reminds me of making berry pie filling. 🥧 This also works quite well in a scent locket!

In the decant and wet on my skin, I get a bright, fresh lilac.

As the oil dries however, the lilac becomes more subdued, and the beeswax/champaca combo that emerges alongside it is positively *Lovely.*

I'm not usually big into floral, but this one I will consider for a bottle upgrade. 

First impressions of a Winter 2021 decant, recd yesterday. Will update!

When wet, there is a curious contrast between a bright, herbal lavender up front, and some comforting foodie smells hanging out in the background. The lavender does calm down as the oil dries, and I get more cakes than ale at that point, and I do suspect there is a berry or two in the cake.

Seems like this is very much in line with previous years.

In the bottle I'm not getting as much peach as expected. It's there, but behind the sage and vetiver.

Wet on my wrist, the peach is much more pronounced, but in a bright, fresh way - as though you have just picked it, and then you sniff the very top of the fruit where it came off the tree. The sage and vetiver help green things up, and I assume the oakmoss brings it all together into a perfume scent. Elegant is a great word for it.

The drydown brings out more of the vetiver. It is a tremendously wearable scent.

In the bottle, I get the cardamom and nutmeg first, then a warm furry effect, and a trace of oud.

Applied to my skin, the grass, clove and sandalwood come out. I don't get much of anything caramelized, but there is a bit of sweetness to the blend. Vanilla and patchouli seem to be happily lurking in the long grass with the spices and sandalwood, neither standing out especially. Oud is way off in the background, providing a darker base note.

Drying down, there is a hint of a floral note, but I would not necessarily recognize gardenia if it wasn't listed. The cardamom has been continuous throughout, and that in combination with the grass gives a light green contrast to the furry brown - "speckled fur" is an apt description. It feels tricky and lovely and warm.

In the bottle, this oil packs a wallop of earthy wet wood. Like when you turn over a fallen tree limb that has started to decompose - I'm not getting mud, but there is a slight kick from the tobacco. 

Wet on my skin, the bourbon cream and cacao produce a rich, sugarless sweetness, rendered slightly sticky by the tobacco. The woody earthiness is warmer now, and less forest floor. It lends a pleasingly organic but decidedly inedible note.

As this dries, it becomes creamier, favoring the bourbon and tobacco, with a faint lingering sweetness. The cacao is least prominent, but still present, settling in with the wood. It is so warm and enveloping, like wearing a hug. On me, this also has decent throw and wear time. 

In the bottle and on the wand, I can smell mostly cypress and opoponax.

When applied to my skin, the narcissus starts to sing out, as it normally does for me, but I can also detect sweetness from labdanum and murky ambergris mingled with cypress.

As it dries down, I get more of the opoponax coming through, but the other notes that were evident in the wet phase are still very present.

This scent is big UNF for me. Gonna be sniffing myself all day 😅

In the bottle, I get spicy mandarin on a bed of red musk - spicy in the sense of wow, multiple spices are happening. If I only sniff the wand, I can detect a bit of cocoa.

Wet on my skin, I still can't really pick anything out specifically besides mandarin, red musk, and spice cabinet. It's all about the spice blend, but I wouldn't call this foodie.

As it dries, the mandarin becomes less juicy and prominent for me, but still provides a bright contrast to the darker, herbal note that carves out a spot for itself amid the spices - maybe the black tea and tobacco leaf? I love the intensity and sophistication of this blend. It kinda gives an "I choose violence" vibe. 😅

Received a decant as a bonus in a swap, late 2021 ✨

When I first tested this, I got a distinct and lasting rain scent on my skin, which almost never happens. Was not able to reproduce that today.

In the bottle, the wet/rain/ozone is most prominent - I don't get salt or ocean from this. No evidence of celestial fire, unless that is intended to mean lightning. 

Wet on my skin, I smell the fields and rain - there are flowers in the fields, but not sure what kind. I would guess lilies?

As this dries, there is a short semi-soapy phase, but then the rain/ozone vanishes and I get a very fresh, slightly sweet floral field with hay. This part is stunning.

Hours later, only a suggestion of warmth remains - maybe amber? 

I imagine this will have aged fairly differently in a bottle vs. the imp I have.

In the bottle, the rose water is surprisingly potent and sharp, practically leaping out to greet me.

Wet on my skin, rose water remains loudest as the classic perfume opens up. These two scents remain most prominent to me through the drydown, but the leather is quite sneaky and pokes its head out from time to time. I really like the hints of rose water and leather as a combo. Wonder what those would smell like together sans perfume. 

I don't get much of an impression of tobacco or smoke. Overall effect is that of a bold, femme perfume scent, with a touch of powder and decent throw. 

Several years on! Received this in 2021. 

In the bottle, the "sea-kissed" patchouli stands out the most, but there is a distinct sweetness from the black rose/rosewood combo, and an odd suggestion of hazelnut.

My association for aquatics isn't for this kind of scent, but there's definitely a bit of ocean in this bottle, so my brain is struggling with this one! I'm not getting any salt, though. 

Wet on my skin, I get more of the oudh and smoke, and the effect is gorgeous. The oceanic note seems to slip away. 

As this oil dries the smoke goes away as well, and I end up with a stunning dark rose perfume.

The first time I tried this on, I put "goth rose" in my testing notes, and it still is that, but it's also a lot more than that.

I don't often reach for rose or perfume-y smells, so I had this on my swap list, but it is so pretty!

Review for the 2013 version, received in 2021.

I will start by saying I am not super into "cold" scents, and have been hesitant to try many. 

In the bottle, this really does kinda smell like Play-doh. It's not strong like fresh Play-doh, but now that I've smelled it I can't un-smell.

I'm not getting anything reminiscent of snow or cold or flurries. No flowers really either. 

Wet on my skin it is similar, but there could be a coconut or a flower in here somewhere. Maybe balsam or almond? But if so, very faint. 

This almost disappears on me as it dries. Nose to wrist there is a suggestion of soft powder. This Snow White has gone back to sleep!

I am going to assume my skin chemistry has done something odd with this one.

Received a frottle of this with an order at the end of 2021.

In the bottle it smells like wet soil and green plants.

Wet on my skin, there is a slightly spicy note, like a single tomato leaf, blended in with other wet green earthy smells. (Not nearly as prominent of a tomato leaf as in the 2020 ménage blend of Tomato Leaf, Black Pepper, and Hay Absolute.) Smells exactly like leaning your face close to the ground in the middle of a spring garden. 

As it dries, a gentle floral note emerges and blends with the overall garden smell - very soft and fresh. This scent stays close to the skin for me.

I got a 2007 version of Dia de los Muertos from the lab's etsy at the end of 2020. 

In the bottle it smells like sharp dried leaves (not quite like Dead Leaves ™️) and higher pitched florals. 

The oil is a dark amber color when applied, and all the sharpness goes away once it's on my skin.

This is a heady, intense floral with a healthy dose of tobacco and a dash of chocolate. If I get in real close to the skin I can smell some incense smoke and candy, but mainly this has a rich, sticky sort of resinous quality beneath the bouquet. I don't usually go in for heavy florals, but somehow I find this both celebratory and comforting. It's incredible.

I purchased the 2006 version of Sol Invictus from the lab's etsy at the end of 2020. Revisiting the scent as part of the Different BPAL Every Day Challenge for Jan 2022. 

Wet in the bottle, there is a bright burst of tangerine, but wet on my skin, this disappears and the orange/citron are loudest.

As it dries, the citrus notes fade almost entirely away, and the remaining notes create a warm, golden effect. I'm not great at picking out florals, but I'm pretty sure I'm getting the orange blossom, saffron, and frankincense over the amber base. There's a faintly smoky sweetness and it's absolutely gorgeous.

This scent stays close to the skin and doesn't have much staying power, but I like it for a comforting scent on a gloomy day, when I can bury my nose in my wrist and/or reapply as needed. 

This is an incredible scent!

On wet, the indolic oudh is most prominent, but the amount of oil I applied dried down in about 20 minutes.

As it dries, the blackened champaca and myrrh bloom into a cloud of smoky, dusty incense, which has more throw than the oudh note, although the oudh remains pungent when smelling closer to the skin for a time.

Once it dries completely, a faintly sweet, resinous wood remains in the soft, scented dust, but that description doesn't seem to do it justice. It smells strange, and comforting, and wonderful.

Maybe a silly analogy, but the experience is not unlike what is often depicted in movies, when someone breaks a seal in a tomb. At first there is an ominous moment when you feel the weight of death and time - but then the ancient spirit released turns out to be a benevolent guide instead of a monster.

In the imp I got potent coffee liqueur, but on my skin it has practically vanished.

The scent of fried dough seems to hover an inch or two in the air, lifting the cinnamon with it for a dizzying experience.

Leaning in closer to the skin I can detect more cocoa and powdered sugar. Without the cinnamon this would be close to fried oreo territory!

A delightful, smile inducing novelty. 🥰

This oil is unexpectedly gorgeous and comforting, given the ritual applications described.

Wet in the bottle, the hyssop dominates, with a potent, medicinal smell, which likely delayed my testing of this.

Wet on the skin, however, the tobacco moves to the foreground - but does not overpower. The hyssop becomes much softer and mingles with a light, fresh floral for a pleasing top note, and there is a subtle resinous sweetness as well, I assume from the balm of gilead. I can't pick out the hemlock, patchouli or vetiver specifically, but this phase is giving a lush, finely crafted perfume with a decent amount of throw.

After a full drydown, the scent clings close to the skin. The tobacco note recedes, and a grassy and ever so slightly musty/vegetal scent emerges alongside the faded floral. The mysteries and passage of time, indeed!

No bones or other bits apparent in the vial I received, but many thanks to the goat for their contribution ♥️🐐

ETA: I had a completely different experience of this blend yesterday, where it was absolutely creating an earthy, herbal patchouli aroma. It's not a funky patchouli, and in conjunction with the tobacco notes it has a great deal of throw. Very grounding and pleasantly matter-of-fact.

I am hit and miss with vanilla, but was inspired by the 15 mins review to take the leap. Ultimately not for me, but I thought I would share my notes:

This is really lovely in the bottle. The cognac is present but not boozy, and there's a nice balance of sweetness and depth.

Once applied, the cognac goes all the way to the back and vanilla remains at the forefront for me. It has a crackling, dry quality - an almost toasty vanilla, which is an impressive interpretation of the label image. 

When I first tested this, the tulip was stronger than expected and I put it aside to revisit. 

Now as I come back to it, the wet scent still leads floral, but dries and settles into something truly evocative of a worn leather book cover on my skin - something well handled and smooth. The sweet beeswax stays in the background with a calmer floral standing in between the book and candle.

Applied lightly it remains very close to the skin, but not sure it would have much throw anyway. Comforting and subtle.