Llanval
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Everything posted by Llanval
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Classic vintage glam; a 1930's starlet that collapses into a heart of powdery purple candy above a sharp, musky base. Not what I was expecting, hoped for or needed. The patchouli runs away and I'm left with what I consider a classic musk and a powdery heart (a distant distant cousin to Coriandre). My chic, always fashion-conscious grandmother would have bought this from the Simpson's (Sears Roebuck) perfume counter in 1955. That's not a bad thing, but it's not a thing I need to add to my collection. I would SLAY to smell the original, as clearly this isn't it.
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So bummed about this one. I get Glad plug-in, and I am not sure what's to blame for this. There's something fresh under the sweet honey dust note that reads as glade's "air" accord that sits like a band between what smells a bit like hay/lighter honey and the heavier champaca and sandalwood that just does not work on my skin, sadly. On the right person, this would be a lovely, odd atmospheric. On me it's a bathroom deodorizer (womp womp). I agree with Brianna Gemini's review so maybe it's the heliotrope that's making this wonky.
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So soft and ethereal it really was a ghostly encounter for me. Truly a "not really there" scent. What I could smell throughout the wear time (6 hrs) I got mostly a pleasant berry, bright, sweet, and uncomplicated - with a hint of woody palo santo and patchouli but that might be my imagination. This is mostly a quiet berry scent on me, and not at all what I was expecting or hoping for. I wouldn't even call the berries juniper berries, just berries. I love juniper in all forms and this did not give me that juniper hit at all. I will do another full test and see if anything improves otherwise this one is a pass.
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Very sweet, but not the kind of sweet I enjoy. Unfortunately, this rose scent on my skin flirts too close to a cheap, dollar store bath cube for it to be wearable for me. For those who love sugared, candied rose there is nothing wrong about this scent it'll get you where you want to go (to Sugaroseville obvs), but this one's too rosey for me.
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Perfect fantasy pine forest. I agree with the scent description: this is pine brocade shining, and threaded with gold. I don't get florals, just a wonderful, rough, hard to pin down fantasy pine scent. Since I really enjoy these types of pine heavy scents this is likely going to be my only Shunga full size so far. Strong-ish, long lasting, and good projection too.
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I also felt this one went on like an odd version of bpal's dead leaves note, but it must be the chypre interacting with the cherry blossoms to give it an almost spicy, torn green plant vibe for about 15 minutes before it nosedives into that vintage makeup/lipstick accord. This stage domineers the scent for me, turning it into a makeup scent that sticks close to the skin but lingers well. I agree with hivesofbees and am not sure I need a whole bottle, but it is fun, odd and a little unique. If you're looking for a quirky, different little experience, give this a shot. But you must like makeup and beeswax.
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Soap and ashes. Bummer. 😭
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Beautiful. Stunning. Perfect. If you're a lavender ho like I am, just buy this. It's great, it lasts all day, the throw is a lovely purple cloud of lavender/ambergris that never quits, and never gets boring. Good for sleep. Good for work. Brilliant. Lovely. A wonderful slightly chilly, purple and white scent that sparkles with little flakes of salty ambergris. If it's this good now, can't wait to see what it will be like in the future. 💕 I get the love this blend receives and I will absolutely be upgrading my decant to an FS!
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I agree with Little Bird, but my decant still hasn't developed the aged notes of Antique Lace and I still get a strong, sweet buttercream that collapses into doll's head vanilla and a really excellent caramel musk. No leather, no flowers. Just vanilla and caramel. I enjoy it, it's tooth-achingly sweet and yes, a little romantic - but without the flowers and the aged feel, this feels like something teenage me would like and then grow out of, so no bottle for me.
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Creamy, musky grapefruit. A little blue. A little gold. Strange and enticing. Very very close to just the literal pith of a grapefruit, and while that scent reigns, I really enjoy this one. After a few hours it becomes more blue, with the musk turning the pith into a luxurious cream. If I was to spring for one citrus scent, it would be this one. This one is the best I've tried all year and is quite the show stopper if evil grapefruit is what you are looking for. I was hoping for the grapefruit to stay fresh, sharp and pithy as that would have been an FS for me. I love my decant and will keep wearing it until the Weenies come down. If my mind changes, this may be a full bottle after all.
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An absolute banger of a scent. Manly, sweet, warm, leafy, and kissed by cologne. But the waft, the waft!! On me, to my nose, I get buffalo wing sauce and cheese. Spicy buffalo wing sauce and cheese. Like, wtf nose?!? WHY?! I love this but I smell buffalo wing sauce and cheese lurking under all the beautiful leaves and cologne for HOURS 😭
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Blackberry attack! Lovely if you love the blackberry note, but I was hoping for the cypress, mandrake and black thorn to win out over the blackberry resin. I keep trying berry scents and never enjoy them as much as I hope. If you love blackberries, this is a really lovely example. Not too fake, not too sweet, but richly purple and juicy.
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Something that might have once been a fire and the taste of minty envelope glue?! IDK, I am blaming skin chem. This was a fail on me.
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For the first 30 minutes, this scent is insane. Wild. Literally rusty keys, dust and nightmares. Evil. Perfect. Then it turns into a lovely skin scent dressed up in dried coconut husks, a bit of sweet cold cream and something else ephemeral. Incredible atmospheric, a success by any measure. Evocative of the art and the idea. If the nightmare scent had stuck around, rather than collapsing into the lovely skin scent, I would have bottled this just for the wild ride. If you are looking for serious atmospheric, don't sleep on this. This is a story in a bottle. Perfect.
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I really really wanted to love this one. And I do enjoy it very much, because it is beautiful. However, I added this one to my Weenie decants at the last minute for the orris and greenery and while those notes were prominent in the wet stage, the scent really becomes more of a sugar bomb on me than a green plant bomb. The green notes get swamped under by a really pretty almost brown sugar sweetness that strangles all the dusty, odd plant bits I loved. I never lose track of the scent, but it becomes a simple, linear 'green-ish' brown sugar, rather than the odd bog I was hoping for. But this is very very pretty and if any of the above reviews speak to you, you should jump on this one. This is similar to a Bath and Body Works scent, but it outclasses anything Bath and Body Works could produce.
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Pert Plus from the mid-1990s. I don't know what to say other than this.
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Starts out with bell pepper dead leaves and a very nice pine and sweet-grass lifting up the leaves. After an hour of wear, the leaves fall out of the tree and I'm left with the grass and a very gentle pine that doesn't distinguish itself. I was hoping this would be like a walk in the woods under pine tree but it turns softer and more simply green than I had hoped for. Very nice if you're not looking to be punched in the face by pine and dead leaves. I, however, DO want to be punched in the face by pine and dead leaves, so this is a pass for me.
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I agree with HerbGirl, but I don't find A Doll's Doll dries down into something pretty enough to jump for a full size. Definitely fruitier than I was expecting, with a strong snowberry start, with a little smudge of soot, and a waft of something cool enough to maybe be porcelain but it's very much buried under the other notes. I get no carnations and it reads very much as a snowberry and evergreen scent, with a hint of sweeter sugar after an hour of nothing but SNOWBERRIES and snow/evergreen. Was hoping this would be stronger on the porcelain and soot, because for the first hour it feels like the scent is going to morph into a magical attic filled with little yuletide treasures but alas, that's not how it plays out on me. Bummer.
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A perfect match for the lollipop on the label, smells exactly like that candy. But for me, I got no grit, no rain, and nothing green, maaaybe a little touch of something airy and spring-like for 30 min, but the sugary lollipop won pretty much immediately. A simple, sweet experience that is mostly lollipop, but far away from blue cotton candy, which is what I showed up for. With no rain, no dirt and no strong cotton candy, this is a pass for me. If you're looking for a good, sugar sweet lollipop, this will fit you just fine.
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I really enjoy this one, reminds me of the perfume section at Sephora! I wish the pine was more present, because that's what I came here for, lol. Despite the too-subtle pine, this a soft, high-end, commercial leaning scent that would offend no one. Everything behaves, nothing loud. The oakmoss is an excellent supporter of the other notes, and brings out the classy, high-end vibes here. I agree with sea turtle that this is a young, charming cozy amber fragrance. Because this reads as generic perfume counter, it won't be an FS for me, but it is lovely and will surely make someone quite happy!
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Soft, delicate, pretty vaguely green apple scent that is not candy-like at all. i don't get any leaves or mint, or ti-leaf from this, which is a bummer. I was hoping for a better version of my beloved eternally OOS Ladon, but alas, this is not Ladon. I don't often like apple scents, I usually avoid them, but despite all the years, I still do hope for a notification from the Lab so I can purchase more again! I do very much enjoy this, but it is whisper quiet within 30 min of application on my skin, and tragically reminds me of a B&BW soap I can't recall the name of right now. This is not to say that it's soapy, it is NOT. It just reminds me of the scents itself. Beautiful, basically does what it says on the tin. Just not for me.
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A less intense, less bold Believe. Very enjoyable dirt, leather and myrrh notes that all work really harmoniously with each other for that forlorn, lost feeling. If Believe is the act of rising, of becoming, then Library is Haunted is the midnight twin. Soft, pallid, sweet, a little gritty with the leather, but overall incredibly wearable and well blended. The cypress adds a bit of fresh air zing in the opening hour or so, but I don't get much paper. I don't need a full size because Believe takes care of me for that insane dirt/wood combo, but if Believe is not your thing or is OOS, this is a wonderful, gentle alternative. You could wear this at work!
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This is a very pretty scent, if somewhat linear. It's mostly soft, downy orris root without any of the usual overwhelming powder I'm used to, and a gentle breath of pine that melds with the amber and sandalwood without issue. I wouldn't say the pine is astringent, it's more like that rounder, fruitier pine in Christmas candles. Not bad, just not as PINE as I prefer. The mosses really struggle to make it out from under the orris. If the pine needles and mosses had shone through more, this would have been an easy FS. Good wear time, but not much throw. Would not offend anyone in the office.
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I was on the hunt for this scent and rspades answered my ISO!! My first impression is immediate love!! Love love love this. Smells like idealized green and growing plants, and over top the green is a bright, sunny, milky dandelion that really makes me smile. The juniper makes this sharper and brighter than expected but in a really lovely way. I don't get much ambrette or black currant bud but that's okay. If they're in here still, they only add to the complex greenery of the scent. The hot concrete comes out as it wears, but it isn't a strong note on me. I was hoping for a bit more concrete but I do smell it in here and it makes this bottle a keeper. It does smell like the idea of dandelions growing through concrete warmed by a summer sun. The only drawback is the very low wear time, about 2hr until it fades into a close skin scent, but for this one I don't mind reapplying to enjoy that incredible opening again! Really, really glad I was able to pick up a bottle of this, it is basically exactly what I was hoping for, and scratches the itch for my white whale, Tennis Match, lol!
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I'm having the same experience as doomsday up thread, tragically. The slightly bitter purslane leads and dandelions never really bloom, giving this a generic, commercial spa vibe. The peritrichor is dusty and too understated for me, with just an okay rain note that goes slightly shampoo-ish, which I'm inclined to blame the purslane for causing lol. I'll retest in a month to see if I get a better result. I was really hoping this would be an instant FS, because I want to smell like dandelions so so bad 😭
