Begonia

In the bottle: Strong black leather, which makes me nervous, and equally strong lavender bud, which I find very pleasant. On skin: This starts out with black leather, which worried me because I've found that leather can be a little too strong for me. Thankfully it calms down after a few seconds. Right alongside it is a strong note of lavender bud and apparently lavender makes leather amazing. It's hard to tell with notes I'm not sure how to identify, but I think I can smell... oakmoss? Tobacco leaf? Something that might be cashmere musk? Maybe a hint of the spice of carnation? A bit of black tea? They're all blended together to make a shadowy scent with a smoky impression. Overall it's dark and musky and not too harsh and I really like it. And then there are the notes that define this perfume for me. Black orchid and agarwood! A combination I know and love from Shadow Embrace Bath Oil, an LE shunga from a few years ago that I had for a season and have not had again since. This is basically a darker, more complex version of that. Black orchid is the overarching floral here and what keeps this perfume recognizable to me. The sweet oud is indeed sweet and comes through to balance out the harsher aspects of the other notes. It doesn't strike me as being vintage or a department store perfume, but that may be because my strongest association is another bpal. It's comforting! Drydown: Dark and sweet and smoky. It's the scent that lingered on my skin after bathing with Shadow Embrace and I have missed it so much. The black orchid and sweet oud have become more defined while the other notes gradually recede but remain wonderful enhancements. It feels like being wrapped in an actual shadow embrace. I only realized this was going to be beloved right after the 2021 Liliths were taken down, so this is the blend that drove me to finally work out how to do sales and swaps. That's how much I love this.

In the bottle: A fairly dark blend of opium. Something sharp/sour but in a good way and berry-ish. A little bit wild, definitely not a domesticated fruit. On skin: Honeyed opium with bourbon vanilla adding something to it in the background, and a surprisingly delightful note of sour, poisonous berries threaded throughout. I wasn't sure what "poisonous berries" could possibly be, but it turns out that poisonous berries is exactly what the note brings to mind: wonderfully tart, sour smelling berries you find in the woods that look perfect and tempting but you definitely should not eat. I was apprehensive about the plum and berry notes, since I don't really like wearing perfumes that remind me of food, but they don't take over. This could maybe be interpreted as being gourmand, but like, poisonous gourmand. Gourmand you do not eat. I'm still not sure what plum is exactly but whatever fruit note is in here is acceptable. Overall, this is a darkly sweet scent due to the prevalence of the opium blended with all the other sweeter notes. "Sugared venom, dark and sweet" is a pretty apt description. Drydown: I am sssoooo poisssonoussssss! The opium and berries have gotten a little bit more distinct while still remaining sweetened by honey and bourbon vanilla. It's strong enough to linger but not overwhelmingly so. This is a delight!

In the bottle: Sharp pine and juniper. It has the quality of those scents you use to clear your nose, like eucalyptus. On skin: ...hmm. Mostly pine and juniper still. Aquatic. Something sweet appeared briefly but didn't stay long. Kind of harsh on me. Drydown: Okay, this is pretty much one of those men's products that advertises with words like "arctic", "ice", and the like. It's pretty strongly that and nothing else. I have no idea where everyone is getting the feeling of a mossy stone pool filled with water. This is not nearly calming enough for that to even cross my mind. Words like "serene", "gentle", and "lovely" are not the words I'd use to describe this at all. It's not bad, and if I had to choose a men's arctic scent this is nicer than whatever they sell in general stores, but it's really not my style. Strange, since I love pine. After an attempt at scrubbing it off: It has not left, much to my chagrin. It's still not for me, but I find it more tolerable now that it's fainter. I can pick up on the bergamot, which adds something to the typical piney men's scent. I think that was the sweetness from earlier. I doubt I'll ever like this, but if you're looking for a kind of rugged, masculine, outdoors scent this would be a good choice.

In the bottle: Mostly pine. It has a spicy quality. On skin: Right after application, this is clear, sharp pine with only a hint of sweetness. I don't recognize any other notes that might be there, except maybe juniper? Drydown: As this dries, the black pine fades into the background and the beeswax takes over. Now rather than being pine wood sweetened by beeswax, it has morphed into beeswax coated over and completely covering pine wood. I think the other notes, I'm guessing hinoki wood and balsam, are blended in. It's a sweet scent but not overwhelmingly so. The pine wood is very faint but still detectable, and occasionally seems to reach out and stab me.

In the bottle: Florals and a sharper green note like all the stems of them were cut. Presumably that is green tea. On skin: This turns into a soft, somewhat dark floral and woods scent. What I assume is the cypress becomes stronger and blends with the green tea and... jasmine? I am not familiar enough with the floral notes to pick them out individually but this undoubtedly remains a primarily floral perfume. The green note has smoothed out into something more shadowy and soothing. The whole thing is sort of like the scent outside during the full of summer when you've moved into a shaded area of trees and it's rained just enough that not all the dampness has yet left and you can smell every plant you're surrounded by. Drydown: The cypress has died down, but has not completely faded. It remains a gentle, floral green tea, full summer day perfume.