dancingchair

I can't overstate how good this one is. The lavender melds into globs of the thickest and richest coconut custard you've ever smelled. The lavender isn't very herbal or astringent, it's a sweet cloud of purple. It's a lot like the lavender in Lavender and White Chocolate Madeleines, which is another favorite of mine. It's a comforting blanket that you want snuggle in and eat. Note that this is not the same as the Yule with the same name. Really wish it was, though. This perfume is an all-timer if you like coconut and lavender.

I sympathize because I was devastated when I bought a bottle of Lavender Coconut Cream Pie and discovered it was not the same perfume as the freebie. 🥲 I would say that the coconut in Cat Sleeping on an Armchair is, unfortunately, different. The Lavender Coconut Cream Pie imp has a rich custard quality to it that is not present in Cat Sleeping on an Armchair. To me, Cat Sleeping on an Armchair is closer to the Coconut Tree single note, if you had a chance to try that. It makes me think of fresh coconut finely shredded into a fluffy cloud instead of the best coconut cream pie you've ever eaten in a diner. Doing some quick skin tests, I think Snakes in the Coconut Cake is closer if you can find a decant of that to try. It is probably 50/50 Snake Oil and yummy coconut custard cake if that matters to you. Edit: Retested this morning and I do think Snakes in the Coconut Cake is pretty close. It's not an exact match for the yummy coconut, to be clear. But it does hit that lovely gourmand coconut note instead of fresh coconut meat.

The Snake Oil vanilla takes a backseat in this. It's all about the incense notes and spices. The jammy berries are the loudest note here. It's hard to pick out an individual berry. It really is a blueberry/raspberry/strawberry mash boiled on the stove and glopped into a pie crust. I'm not sure that I really get vanilla ice cream. It has long since melted and mixed into the gooey berries. The molasses note is the most intriguing to me. It's heavy and dark, almost tobacco-like in this blend. I love it with the curls of incense smoke from the Snake Oil. Overall, this has fantastic staying power and throw. Definitely a winner if you like berries and the Snake Oil incense notes.

I also get something like cool, wet dirt from this. It almost has a cloud of menthol hanging around it, but I wouldn't exactly call it minty by any means. More like a touch of eucalyptus or pine. The golden tobacco is buttery-rich and sweet. It's very slightly smoky, rather like the cherry-red heat of a glowing pipe. The beeswax isn't as strong as in other blends, but it's definitely present. It's creamy and smooth, but it has a little bit of honeyed musky funk. If I didn't know the notes, I'd probably actually guess that it was waxed leather. Maybe it's the earthiness or the smokiness in this duet, but something about it reads like worn brown leather to me. It's not what I was expecting, but I love it all the same.

This has a similar Snake Oil component to the Serpents in the Roses. To my nose, that SO has a lot of musky patchouli and less of the rich vanilla. Wet, I do get a noseful of peppery carnation mixed with the musky patchouli, but as it dries the clove and allspice take over more. I think the clove and allspice balance the musky patchouli really well. In the dry stage, the carnation disappears and I'm left with a clove-studded snake. I like this a lot more than the Serpent in the Roses, partially because that was too floral and musky for me. The clove is nice in this one and I like how it pairs with the muskier Snake Oil.

Like the other reviewers, I get lots of raspberry. It's not exactly like milk or dark chocolate, since it's missing the bitter cacao note, but it somehow keeps the same texture. The marshmallow note is sugary sweet fluff and it pairs really nicely with the rose. This rose is not the slightest bit vegetal or green. It's like a bit of rosewater mixed into melted marshmallow fluff. I've been wearing this as a bedtime scent because it's basically a cloud of sweet floral goodness.

Freshly applied, this smells almost woody to me, like sandalwood. The vanilla is clean and maybe the slightest bit floral. It doesn't smell like laundry but it makes me think of clean linen. It's a little lemony, too, but this is not a foody vanilla. BPAL hair glosses last forever on me and this one is no exception. I think I like it even more the next day because it deepens and becomes richer. This vanilla reminds me of the vanilla in Lights, Camera, Something and Cognac-Stained Sheet Ghost. Seems like it would go with a lot of perfumes and it is lovely on its own.

Wet, I get a realistic approximation of the experience of peeling open a mandarin orange. There's even the same halo of bright citrus and bitter orange peel spritz if I smell my wrist up close. As it dries, this smells strongly like that sugared orange gummy candy. The sugar crystal note sometimes veers into powder territory, but never quite gets there. It's more like a sweet cloud of sugar. This is pretty straightforward, but it's what I was hoping for from this duet.

Wet, this is strawberry candy and strong, earthy patchouli. As it dries, the strawberry settles and becomes less candy-sweet. I swear there's a green element to the strawberry, like you got a big bite with the stem and leaves. The patchouli is great, although I think it blends well with the strawberry as it dries. During the wet stage, it reminds me of the peppery patchouli in Schrödinger's Checkmark, but the strawberry softens this patchouli much more than the marshmallow in that perfume. Honestly, I like this a lot. I think it stands out among my patchouli perfumes because of how the patch plays with the strawberry note.

This is simple but very nice. The teakwood is dry, almost like sandalwood. Sandalwood is often high-pitched and sharp on me, but this is a mellow wood. It almost smells a bit aquatic somehow, but this is not an aquatic perfume by any means. The vanilla is gorgeous. It's not foody, but it's clean and maybe almost the slightest bit floral. I feel like this one would be very fun to layer because I feel like this duo is a component I'd love in so many things. It's not complex, but it doesn't really need to be because both notes are fabulous.

Wet, this is a big bouquet of petrichor and indolic florals. As it dries, the gossamer vanilla takes over. It is a sweet vanilla, but it's not rich enough to become gourmand to me. It's almost got a sugared note to it, but almost like a lace doily spun out of delicate strands of sugar. There is a definite fabric note to this, but it doesn't turn into a clean laundry perfume at any point. The florals stick around into the dry phase, but they become a faint ghost of their loud presence during the wet stage. The indoles also calm down significantly, which I like because I'm particularly sensitive to that quality in a floral. The petrichor is still present during the dry stage, but it's more like the smell of rain drifting in through the cracked window of a dusty attic rather than the full blast during the wet stage. I don't get a ton of moss from this one, generally. It's more of a background player. I know I compared it to a dusty attic earlier, but there is definitely a sunny, golden quality to this perfume. Maybe it's the unlisted sugar note I get mixing with the petrichor or the golden silk note, but there's something almost fruity and juicy in here. In a weird way, it reminds me of I'm Close from the 2023 Lupers. If you were curious about that one but scared by watermelon, this might be interesting to try? Or maybe my nose is broken. 😆 If you like fabric notes and vanilla, this is probably a safe bet. I don't think it goes too aquatic or mossy, but I am a person who enjoys aquatics so maybe grab a decant if you're super sensitive to them.

Wet and in the bottle, this is a fruity floral explosion. As it dries, the plum settles considerably and it becomes a peony-forward floral. Lurking beneath the soft peony note is the white rose petal note.It is definitely rose petal and not the whole flower. It's not full and floral enough for the entire bloom and it's not green enough to include the stem. It is a supporting floral, so it really just adds velvety depth to the peony. The snow-laden cherry trees aren't as strong as the florals, but they're ever-present in this perfume. The snow note leans aquatic to me, like melted slush weighing down the boughs of the tree. The wood note is grounding, but more of a supporting note to the florals. I can't tell if there's cherry blossom here. I think it gets eaten a bit by the peony and plum notes if it is. The plum note is truly just the juice, staining the petals of the early spring peony. It is sweet and sometimes I swear it's sugared. I don't think it darkens this perfume much at all, which I would describe as a white/pink floral. I think this is a little soapy on me, but I don't think it's a bad thing. It's clean and pleasant, perfect for a warm spring day. It's not screechy or harsh, but it does have good throw so a little goes a long way.

My impression is the same as the other reviews: straightforward coconut and a cold slushy note. I'm not sure whether the coconut goes powdery on me. It's almost a little creamy. The icicle note isn't floral, which is what I was a bit wary of. It is watery somehow. Not really aquatic, but like hard packed snow melting slightly on a sunny day. It's pretty straightforward so I think it would be fun to layer with other perfumes.

2024 version Wet, I get quite a bit of bitter moss (from the chypre, maybe?) but that fades significantly as this settles on my skin. It's definitely salty and maybe a bit aquatic, which I was hoping for, but it doesn't ever veer into soapy or ocean potpourri territory. The rum sweetens the whole thing up without being too boozy. The dark woods make a swoon-worthy base for the other notes. It adds the sense that Frederic is hiding something beneath a happy-go-lucky demeanor. The amber musk is resinous, but not too loud. There is a smokiness in here, but it's smoky in the way that tobacco or incense notes can sometime be smoky. I don't really get much tea rose, which is the note I was most nervous about. I also don't get much red currant, but the rum might be absorbing it? I love this. I was hesitant because a few of the notes can be iffy for me, but I'm glad I took the risk.

Like doomsday_disco, I mostly get a lot of fizzy aldehyde. There is a resinous amber beneath it that blends nicely with a powdery vanilla note. The patchouli is woody and soft like crushed velvet. I think I would like this quite a bit if not for the fizz, which is a nonstarter for me. I would describe it as the experience of someone spilling lemon-lime soda on your favorite black velvet dress while you're out at the opera.