Llanval
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Everything posted by Llanval
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Tea Leaves, Vanilla Bean, and Incense Smoke
Llanval replied to Seajewel's topic in Duets & Menage A Trois
This one is lovely, with an opening of fresh black tea leaves, a little fruity and tannic. The vanilla is present from the beginning, along with the incense smoke. I enjoy all the notes here, and none outshine the other. However, the incense smoke smells very similar to the one used in 2021's Inspecting the Lantern. I have a full bottle of that, and it is a more complex and long-lasting scent. If I didn't have Inspecting the Lantern, I'd pick this up. It's a great balance of notes, the smoke is light and pleasant and it last about 4ish hours on a gentle application. It's not terribly strong, so if it had a bit more throw or staying power I would have gone for the full size. This is a really nice, enjoyable tea scent! -
I think the cream note is turning a bit sour on me so this one is a pass. I can smell sweeter things under the sourness, but I'm not prepared to slather to see what happens. I'll let the slonk rest a bit longer and see if I get a better result.
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A bit like birch tree soda, then it becomes pine trees and the lab's snow note underpinned by a warm amber that really takes this out of the forest and into the idea of a forest. I enjoyed this a lot, but I find there's no 'forest floor' to anchor this pine scent enough for me to FS it. I really really love Theoi Nomioi and that is a whole forest in a bottle. When matched against Theoi, Zima falls short. The issue here is that it's too safe for me. This is a good pine scent for those afraid or wary of pine. If you want the whole forest, dark and deep (Black Forest), or cold and stony (Theoi), there are better options still up for grabs.
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I wasn't sure about this one, as I love juniper berry and white sage but found this to be more clove and peppercorn dominant. However, this is not a bad thing! The juniper berry is so so good in this, and the other notes really DO lend this a sharp, opinionated yet lazy vibe. And the clove-cola vibe is there, which I LOVE. This dries down to a scent memory of my grandfather outside working on construction projects at the cottage, so I think bygraveyardlight kinda nailed it. This is the scent of an artsy, odd sort of fellow (genderless) who goes for long hikes in the woods and who enjoys deliberately not telling you where they've been wandering. I ended up getting a half bottle from ajevie, so I'm excited for it to show up to compare it to my slonk.
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Mostly a buttery scent, not quite vanilla but not quite buttercream. I was hoping the tobacco and scorched oak would take the lead, but on me this is a straightforward sweet cream scent that lacks depth. This also reminds me of 2021's Famous Kabuki Actors in Imagined Scenes of Lovemaking, which I prefer. Also strongly reminded of Black Goat Eating a Pink Flower. There's nothing to complain about here, just not as complex or as scorched as I was hoping for. Will use up my slonk for sure.
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I really enjoyed this one, even though I am not a citrus fan, and have no full size citrus scents in my collection. I really enjoy the whirl of fruit and lime rind here, with a more complex undertone from the ti leaf, tobacco and ambrette seed, which gives it a more perfumey vibe. It really is a carousel of nose-numbing fruit and lavender and other delightful scents. It whirls and fades and then comes back. This one makes me smile. It doesn't always have good throw, which is my only hesitation. I'm going to keep using my decant and a bottle may end up in my cart before these come down.
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A very nice high-end lavender shampoo that vanishes within an hour of application. Very much reminds me of last year's The Garden of Shut-Eye Town, with an almost identical smelling lavender. Bummer. Still on the hunt for my perfect lavender scent.
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Tested from an ajevie slonk - this is DOMINATED by the rose cream but not in a way I find appealing. The rose cream does not read as 'cream' but more like those rose bath cubes you can get in gift sets during the holidays. It's a type of rose scent I do not have fond feelings for, as it reads like cheap rose potpourri. And hooboy does this rose only get louder and more insistent as time goes on. This is the energizer bunny of frilly rose scents. If you're here for rose then you'll have a good time. I do get a dusty, airy sort of sweetness that I interpret as the cotton candy floss, but the peonies and cognac struggle to make themselves known under the force of this very pink, very chipper rose. Not for me. I think I really will have to put all bpal rose note on the 'nope" list ☹️
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I had a lot of hope for this one because i love the notes in here A LOT. Tested from an ajevie slonk, I get good strong mentholated pine and a tinge of rubbery black ink. The pine stays mentholated and somewhat inky/fruity for several hours, but I never get a clear 'burnt' note and the terebinth resin doesn't shine like I would have preferred. The green tea is fresh and lovely, but I have a bottle of Cooling Breeze (the superior cooling scent tbh) so this isn't something I need. It also reminded me so so much of last year's The Snow Woman, and I still have my full imp of that so.....no FS for me *sigh*
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This one disappointed me. Tested from an ajevie slonk, I get beeswax and a thin dusting of what reads as brown sugar and then that's where the scent stays for the rest of the wear time. Like a "high-end" body lotion from Shoppers Drug mart 😔 Not much throw, and I can't comment on staying power because it became a faint skin scent that I caught whiffs of during the day but eventually lost around 4pm.
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Tested from an ajevie slonk! I find this is a muddle of pleasant beach impressions that doesn't unfold or expand once worn on the skin. The throw is light but the staying power isn't too bad. Nothing stood out in this blend to me. Nothing emerged as the note leader, and I found myself frustrated that the green parts of this scent seem to be very far down in the scent tree. It's not bad, but not the pine and beach rocks I was hoping to experience. If you do not enjoy aquatics, this one is only gently aquatic and wouldn't give you much trouble. I didn't find this to be too dryer-sheet like, but it is still there for those who avoid that note.
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Bought a full bottle off a forum member because of the two above reviews, lol. I really love the ho wood note, because I feel it's really outstanding in Under the Foot Warmer, but the white oud and costus made me nervous. This is exactly as supreme_cOrt describes: classy, elegant and expensive smelling. A very posh, refined and sophisticated blend here. Truly lovely, and like nothing else I have. Very much a Coco Chanel vibe here, wide brimmed black hat and white silk gloves et al. This perfume wears pearls only, and would never be caught dead leaving the house without a complete face of makeup and perfectly styled hair. A gauzy scent, rimmed in a cool floral ring. Warm woodiness underneath it all. Hard to pick out the notes, but this isn't a forest in a bottle, or even a barren tree. This is a unique expression of the art and I'm really glad I took a gamble on this one. I have been having a lot of troubles blind bottling in 2022, but this one is really lovely and I'm glad to have it. I have nothing else like it.
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Came here to agree with HerbGirl, lol. I have no idea what is in this bottle, but I have a tough time smelling anything other than a light whiff of what might be Snake Oil and a sweet musk. There is no extra patchouli in here. No snow. And if Snow White is in here, I can't smell it for the sweet musk and maybe Snake Oil. For the first half hour/hour, it smells more like a grape/candy scratch n sniff sticker from the 90s, or a toy box filled with sweet smelling old toys. After two hours, it smells more like A Place of Seeing than anything I would have called Snow Snake, so that's the only reason I'm not slapping this bottle on the sales page immediately. I really have to agree with HerbGirl here. I have had quite a few bottles this year simply not smell at all like the notes listed and it is getting really really hard to continue taking risks on bottles. Whether it's multiple under filled bottles in each order, mislabeled bottles or wonky notes, things haven't felt 'normal' since the beginning of 2022. I hope things even out soon.
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Fun and straightforward marshmallow and patchouli. Wish this had stronger throw and better lasting power. Right now, it isn't knocking my socks off, and I was hoping for a big swaggering fistful of dirty patch, benzoin and marshmallow, something to match the unearned clout cloud that trails Apartheid Clyde where ever he goes. But it feels like the benzoin is missing, and it's only the patch and marshmallows in here. The bottle arrived filled under the shoulder, basically kissing the label so not thrilled about that either. I've noticed a drop in fill levels since the Liliths went out. As a fan of consistently getting really decently filled bottles, this change is making me more and more hesitant to blind bottle, especially with the exchange rate right now.
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Perfect encapsulation of the label image, and a favourite in my collection. This doesn't morph much, but it's a blue scent, a little melancholy and bitter, but the apple blossom gives it enough sweetness to balance the bitter herbs. I love the gently bitter/ash-like herbs against old, dusty wood. I really love this one, and it's still going strong since I picked it up in 2019. Norn's Farmhouse is a really good atmospheric that lasts most of the work day on me, with medium throw and staying power.
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Seconding the Lab's Theoi Nomioi! This is my number 1 scent, both for the stone aspect and for the forest atop the stones. Theoi is really incredible and I've had my bottle since 2019. It is still one of my most favourite bpal experiences, because it is so realistic and perfectly captured. The stone note here is A+ and stays present for me for the wear time. Really really love the artistry behind this blend. I would also have recommended Brimstone, but that can read less stone-like to some as it has a strong-ish smokey note. I personally really enjoy Brimstone but it it out of stock at the moment. I do have a word of caution with An Enchanted Cellar with Animals, as both my friend and I have tested/worn her bottle - if your goal is to smell like stones and clay, this will not satisfy you at its current stage of ageing. The clay and stone is very low in the scent/almost absent and doesn't break through the fuzzy animal musk/feathers and the sage/frankincense combo. Enchanted Cellar leans towards a high-end sage shampoo/spa vibe. It is not a bad scent at all but the stone/clay is not the star here.
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I passed on this last year because the lab's leather notes and I usually don't get along. But everything else in this bottle is usually a hit for me so when deepquietvoice offered a swap for this bottle I decided to give it a shot. OH BOY SO HAPPY I DID. Apparently boot leather and leather are NOT the same. I love this scent, it's cold and forbidding and then soft, sweet, and woody. The tar is great, the patchouli really is just a shadow and the oud and oak work well together. I really love the lab's oak notes in all their forms, and it's beautiful in this scent too. Really love this! I wore this one two days in a row, which I never do. The lab's boot leather is really something else and I'm excited to explore this note more! Good throw and wear length. By the end of the day, it is a soft boot leather slipper rather than a loud stomp.
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Silkybat got all dressed up to take Honeysuckle out on an date to the local ice cream parlour! That's it, that's the review, lol. I was hoping for more prominent vanilla ice cream and cotton candy, but I'm not too sad about it. Ageing will likely bring different aspects of this scent out, as I've only had it about two weeks.
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This one ended up a bit disappointing, in comparison to my other Liliths. My fresh from the lab bottle was under-filled, already at the label, and I don't get any driftwood or candlewax. On me, this plays out as sharp lavender, sweet tonka and a perfumey amber. I think this would have been lovely if I'd gotten the driftwood or candlewax note to anchor the sharper floral notes. Still going to enjoy it, but I'm not willing to take a risk ordering another bottle to see if I get a different result. I'll tuck it away and see what 6 months does to it.
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I couldn't resist testing this one even though I wanted to wait a few weeks before cracking the bottle open! And of course it's beautiful. Perfect, even. A masterpiece, even, as MamaMoth says above. Fresh, crackly red leaf litter and ephemeral snake oil, lavender and a thin hint of bonfire smoke. Dorian is in here, but he's a supporting player to the lavender, not as forward as I was hoping for. But overall, this is an incredible, oddly nostalgic, wonderful expression of Halloween nights. Every so often, bpal sends something truly magical out into the world and this scent is it for me, for 2022. I really hope there's a restock at some point, lol!
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Tomato, Patchouli Root, and Cedar Bean
Llanval replied to Seajewel's topic in Duets & Menage A Trois
This is a really lovely trio that comes off as a very elevated cocktail of the notes (something you'd get at a super overpriced bar with ironic names for all the drinks). For me, the trio opens with a really strong showing for the tomato and cedar bean, with the patch leaning root-y and but not "dirty". I really liked this one a lot, it is classy and impressively refreshing. At about the four hour mark, it's all patchouli all the time on me, so I won't be full sizing, but of all the summer decants I chose, this one is my favourite. It's like stumbling into a perfectly maintained, sun-warmed tomato garden! -
I think apple notes and I simply do not get along. Prairie Witch opens with aggressive fall spices and apples laid over a rich, lovely bed of vetiver and dried grasses. After an hour, the vetiver and grass lose their brave fight against the apple and mulling spices and the scent wanders straight into candle territory on my skin. But if you love apples and mulling spices and don't dislike vetiver, I really recommend giving this a try. Prairie Witch is a banger autumnal scent that is very long lasting with a big, wild throw. You will absolutely leave a scent trail! If that sounds like your thing, don't pass this up.
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The fleur de lait and florals absolutely came for my neck in this scent and I did not survive, lol. This one turned into rose bath cubes soaked in weirdly cheese-y ice wine (specifically ice wine from Ontario, for those of you who might have had such an experience, lol). I almost scrubbed this one off, it was such an overwhelming rose and cheese/wine experience. URGH. I am still searching for my perfect rose blend, but I was so hopeful it was going to be this one. C'est la vie, I guess!
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Wisteria blossom soap, tragically. Stupid skin chem. The smoked bamboo reeds are a no-show and the rest gets trampled by the indigo musk. Sometimes my skin cooperates with BPAL's range of musk types, and sometimes it simply refuses. I'm sad about this one as I really love many of the other notes, especially lilac and oakmoss, which is usually really well behaved on my skin.
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I really, really wanted to like this one so much!! I love lilacs and to me personally their scent is the embodiment of a hot summer day in July or August. There is nothing better than catching ribbons of heady lilac alongside the scent of hot pavement and dry summer grass. So I'm still searching for my perfect summer lilac, but this one is a nice, straight forward beeswax and lilac scent. It's sweet, floral lilacs with a hint of beeswax that serve to tame the louder edges of the lilac and a bit of drier/dustier sweetness from the broom corn. But on my skin the whole scent reads a bit like a bath and body works lilac candle rather than fresh lilacs, unfortunately so it's a pass for me.