WoolyBee

Wow! This is so good! I was worried it would be too gourmand for me, but it’s the perfect amount. On me it’s straight up Dorian, with a lil hug of pastry. I wasn’t sure how my fave, Dorian, would smell after it was sufganiyot-ified, but what a delight! Not much else to say, except I love it!

Fascinating! I initially passed this one up, because the candy corn scared me. After reading some reviews, I took the plunge and purchased a bottle. First it’s super sweet smelling, a candied vanilla (which makes sense with the candy corn note). And as it dries down I get a beautiful vanilla amber, with a hint of something clean. It’s almost like a bright linen or cotton note. And I think that’s actually the “plastic”. It doesn’t smell plasticky at all. Not in the traditional sense. I guess “milky-white plastic” in this blend makes me associate it with something clean, but not freshly laundered. Almost skin-like. Haha as I was writing that, I just looked back on my Vintage Dracula Blow Mold review and I also associated the plastic note with a skin-like quality. The funny thing is that they are totally different close-to-skin scents. This one is fresher and clean, with the vanilla and amber to round it out and give it some body/umpfh. But VinDrac is more skin-musk. At least to my unqualified nose. Overall, this is a really beautiful sweet vanilla amber, with clean overtones. This one surprised me for sure. I was worried it would be too gourmand and too sweet, but I’m so glad I listened to the reviews.

I was really curious about Blizzard. All notes that I like, but almost identical to Cat at the Table. Full disclosure, this test is done only a few hours after I received them in the mail, so I’ll be curious to see how it settles after mailshock. At first application (one on each hand), these smell almost identical. My nose seriously didn’t know what to do. Although after some time and some sniff to sniff comparisons, they show their differences. To my nose, Cat is brighter and the roasted white tea is the dominant note, with the other notes present to give it some body. Blizzard really highlights the oud, ash, sandalwood, and amber. Holy hell. The “ash” of the vanilla ash almost smells like the faint whiff of a snuffed out candle. But it’s subtle, almost like someone blew out a candle in the next room and then they walked away and gave you a hug. It’s not what I would consider a typical smokey note, but I think the oud and ash are the culprits to giving me that vibe. I know oud is sometimes scary, but I love it. I think it’s really well blended in Blizzard and quite tame compared to some oud-dominant blends. Ugh wow divine. It’s dare I say… sexy?! The two smell completely different to me. Granted, it could be that because I’m doing a side-by-side sniff test, the similar notes are cancelling each other out. Only time will tell. But good god y’all, this is amazing. Slight Update: I wore this the day after I got it and it is beautiful! The oud is woody and deep, without feeling like a forest. It’s so well blended and is a VIBE. I feel cozy and sexy all at the same time - think sexy without trying. Effortless, if you will. This is a standout. It’s the first of this year’s Yules that I’ve tried so far, but I can see this one becoming a regular part of my rotation.

VinDracBloMo is a journey. Right off the bat I get a soapy note that disappears almost immediately, on the skin. What comes next is a juicy, candied maraschino cherry. It’s not medicinal at all, despite the syrupy and sweet nature that maraschino brings. The cherry first punches you right in the face, but soon after the amber is there to cradle your fall. As it dries down, I’m getting a the glow of lightbulb-warmed plastic. But don’t be alarmed. I didn’t think I’d like a plasticky note, but this is subtle and nostalgic. I guess what I’m trying to say is the “plastic” wears so close to the skin it’s almost a skin musk. Or a second skin. Skin, amplified? All in all, this is a fragrance that had me coming back for another sniff over and over again. The cherry is punchy at first, but the amber illuminates from within, leaving you with the full glow of molded skin... I mean plastic… I don’t mean for this to sound off putting in any way! The more I wear it, the more I want to wear it. The more I sniff it, the more I want to sniff it. And so on, and so on.

I’ve had this for a while and am finally getting around to write a review. I love this! It’s one of my favorites from all of 2023! It’s so unbelievable wearable (which I suppose was the whole point!) It’s just a beautiful and soft vanilla that’s deepened by frank and sweetened by sugar. There’s a slight lemony note that often comes along with frank, as well as a nice and subtly pepper bite. The skin musk is either super well blended, to where I can’t pinpoint it on my skin. OR I need to reacquaint myself with the skin musk note. Both are totally plausible. I don’t layer scents often, but I have with DIFE a few times and it plays nice with others! On top of all that, almost every time I wear it, I get complimented on how nice it smells. Couldn’t recommend it enough!

I didn’t think I’d like this upon first sniff. Right outta the bottle it smelled like Mr Bubble bubble bath and lipsmackers chapstick. Not bad or repulsive, by any means, just not my thing. However I just applied it and it doesn’t smell like bubble bath at all. It almost smells juicy. I get a fruity floral first and foremost. I still kinda get a lipsmacker vibe from it, but it’s not distracting. As it dries the spicier drier notes come through. I get opium, violet, and I think sandalwood in the dry down. Fascinating! Just goes to show that skin chemistry can change everything. The longer I wear it, the drier it gets. And oddly, the more I like it! Although it’s not my favorite, I’m intrigued enough by it to keep testing it out!

Headless smells so freaking good! From the bottle I get spicy peppercorns and smokey or charred… without smelling like a barbecue or a campfire. The leather is there, but not overpowering. And I’m guessing the amber will come through once applied, on the dry down. But that’s just a guess. After application the leather makes it way to the forefront and is a pretty dominant note on the skin. Although after it dries down the amber beautifully makes an appearance. I layered this with Sugared Lace to soften it up and it is absolutely gorgeous.

Right outta the bottle I get a sharp lemon peel note, it’s not sweet, not bitter, and doesn’t smell like cleaner. I get a hint of those bergamot notes too, which makes it more dimensional than just lemon. I’m not really getting the pomegranate rind, but I don’t know if I could identify that note to begin with. After a slight dry down, the sharpness is fading and the bergamot is more forward. The musk is hanging out in the background. Upon further dry down the musk comes through beautifully. It’s so good! If you like lemon/bergamot notes and white musk, this one’s for you!

Sniffing from the bottle: incensy, plumy, and sure, maybe a hint of hairspray. Surprisingly, the clove isn’t as prominent as I was expecting. Skin test: Incense heavy for sure. A little plumy. Then hairspray. And maybe sort of a smokey feeling, rather than a strong note. A wisp. I’m not getting an actual clove note, I think the smoke is definitely emphasized, rather than clove itself. It’s really everything I hoped it would be from the description.

This is so freaking good. It’s like a creamy grapefruit with a musky base. And when I say “creamy” I don’t mean any cream or milk notes. What I mean is it’s smooth, not super sharp or super tart. There’s a leafy greeness to this as well. Unfortunately, I don’t know enough about poppy leaf, mimosa, orris butter, or benzoin to be able to articulate if those notes make an appearance, or if they are/aren’t prominent. I thought orris was an immediate “no” note for me, but this is changing everything. Even as I type this, the musk and more perfumey notes are making their way closer and closer to the forefront. I reeeally like this one!

Wow! This is a special one y’all. I’ve had this for 2 days and typically I would wait much longer to write a review in order for all the notes to settle and to form a proper opinion, but wow… Okay so first of all, if you haven’t already, I’d recommend watching Tom’s review on the bpal Instagram. They do such a beautiful way of explaining the things I was feeling when I smelled this. Upon first sniff, I was surprised at the delicate nature of this perfume. My very first thoughts were that it was sexy, but soft. The more I wear it, the more desperate I become about smelling it again. Tom described it as having an almost “hungry” quality, and that’s so true. This is so beautifully blended. I’m trying to pick out the individual notes, but nothing is jumping out like crazy to me. If I really try, I get a sandalwood floral note with a base of something darker. The more I smell it the darkness is unveiled and adds to the complexity. It’s also somewhat familiar to me. Not necessarily lace adjacent, but almost. It’s not mineralic, and yet I get the vibe of crushed bones. Addicting. After applying all I do is want to consume more. To be fully transparent, I bought the manga the day I received the perfume (2 days ago). And I’m already about halfway through the book. But if you know the general story, this perfume does such a wonderful job at conveying Tomie’s power and allure. I am fully seduced. I have no clue if this review is helpful at all, since it’s such a hodgepodge of babble. But to wrap things up, Tomie is wonderfully blended and is evocative in feeling, rather than identifiable in individual scent notes. The sandalwood is maybe the most dominant note for me, or maybe the most identifiable with how gorgeously it’s blended. While it is floral, it wasn’t the first descriptor that jumped out at me. It’s not rose or jasmine dominant. I love jasmine and enjoy rose, and yet I think this blend would be good for those who don’t particularly enjoy either. If I had to, I would say the almond blossom is the most detectable floral within this blend. It’s perfumey without being predictable or obnoxious. And dark without being domineering. It’s addictive and seductive and sexy. I’ll try to update my review if anything changes as time passes! I just know a ton of people are looking for reviews, so I thought I’d offer up my two cents!

I’m just going to echo everyone else. It’s gorgeous and sexy. The vanilla husk is extremely reminiscent of the vanilla husk/hay trio, but the sandalwood/tobacco reeeeallly works wonders to set it apart. I love this one, it’s super wearable and I always always get compliments when I wear it out.

I f*cking love this one!! This starts off as a beautiful, light floral. I’m not well versed enough in my floras to know if it’s peony, hyacinth, or tulip, but it’s really light and beautiful. The musk really grounds the florals. As it dries down, the vanilla really makes its presence known. It’s really stunning and quite ethereal. I agree that the vanilla is NOT the dominant note, but I think I may be getting it more than some of the other reviewers. I suspect it would pair beautifully with Zorya P to amplify the vanilla a bit more.

The tea combined with vanilla bean reminds me of grape salad. Ya know? The one from the Midwest that has marshmallow fluff mixed in. But all that to say, it’s actually really nice. Smelling this makes me realize I can definitely tell the difference between vanilla husk and vanilla bean. I’m not getting incense smoke at all really, but we’ll see how it is when it dries down even more. It’s much fruitier than I thought it would be (wasn’t expecting fruit). But I think overall I like it. Ope. As it dries down I’m definitely getting the incense, it just took a while.

If Haunted is amber dominant with a touch of black musk, By Day She Made Herself Into a Cat is definitely the opposite. I get a very rich, intense, dark, spicy black musk that blends seamlessly into amber.

This smells of red, icy roses. The ice notes are kind of like a minty fresh gum, but without the mint. I had no clue what a chilled rose would smell like, but it smells exactly like this. It’s nice, but I don’t think it’s my thing. I am just now starting to experiment with rose notes and I think I like mine deepened with darker notes like patch or incense or wood. Or amped with other florals. Orrrr paired with something green and fresh. But that’s just a personal preference. I’m glad I finally tried rose red, after all these years.

I’m getting the almond first, with the allspice and cedar/oak notes in the background. The almond fades quickly and the ambrette and tonka move forward. I’m not getting much bergamot. And the vanilla isn’t really identifiable, but I like knowing it’s there. Overall, this is a really warm scent. I don’t think this is too gourmand for non-foodie perfume wearers, like myself. Although I do understand the chai, or spiced cake comparison. It has all the warmth and spice but none of the cakey notes that a lot of gourmand scents have. It’s very wearable. I think the tonka is the overall shining star in this one, a keeper for sure.

I love this one! I’ve worn it fairly consistently since I first got it. It smells of warm, cozy, clean fleece with the ever so slightest, sweet floral note. It doesn’t smell detergenty or of dryer sheets, just a good clean scent. It’s not a sterile sort of clean, but that of a still warm from the dryer fleece onesie. I love wearing this before bed. It’s super comforting.

This one starts off potent! Like bam, in your face, somethingggg I can’t put my finger on. I think it’s the gilded part of the gilded rosewood, actually. It doesn’t quite smell metallic, but like a sharp gold note. I can definitely smell the neroli peaking out. The rest of the fruity notes blend together as one. And once again the rose musk is ground everything. I’m not getting a whole lot of incense notes. This one packs a pinch upon first application, but settles down quite fast. It’s pretty, but I think it’s slightly too candied for my tastes.

This will be a fairly simplistic first impression… smells like a root beer float with cedar! Haha okay to be honest, I did not get any mint notes at first. Reviewers kept saying mint, and I had no clue where that was coming from. Buuuut then my brain did a shift. It’s wintergreen, not peppermint. I don’t know if I’m going to ruin someone’s day, but in the US wintergreen is one of the dominant flavors used to create root beer. In present day, at least. (Seriously, think of this the next time you have it and you won’t be able to “un-taste” it). So after my brain shift, there was no denying the wintergreen note. Wintergreen, root beer, creaminess with a sturdy backdrop of cedar. I am kind of surprised that I enjoy this one. Foodie is not a place I normally gravitate towards for perfume. But the cedar notes bring it out of being too sweet. It’s not my favorite, but I definitely like it more than I thought I would!

The first standout notes are definitely rose and labdanum. To me, the labdanum and the patchouli kind of blend together as one. It has a peppery note to it, but I don’t know if pepperberry actually has pepper notes?! I’m not really getting any vanilla. Just rose and labdanum with a peppery patchouli floating somewhere in the back. If anyone has smelled Labdanum 18 by le labo, it has those vibes mixed with a strong rose.

I have a couple cherry forward scents from bpal, and this is by far the sweetest. Sugary sweet cherry with a background note of musk. The bright maraschino cherry note is the first to fade on my skin, but it is definitely front and center upon first application. What’s left is generalized sugar cherry with musk. The sugar plus musk combo is slightly reminiscent of Smut, but in an extremely toned down way, and obviously with cherry.

Spicy. Definitely getting the cardamom and clovey notes to start. With a nice, grounding backdrop of oud. The oud is more prominent as the scent dries down. This is a deep, spicy, warm perfume with hints of sweetness.

This one evokes a feeling more than anything. I mean, don’t get me wrong, the florals really shine through as the dominant note. But dang.. I feel like I’m instantly transported. It’s summer, a swelteringly hot day followed by a warm summer night. For me, the jasmine is more prominent than the peony. But that could be because I’m much more familiar with the jasmine note. The lavender is present, but not overpowering. And there’s a background umpf to it that has to be the blue musk. I’m not getting much vanilla tea. I admittedly haven’t worn this one much, but it’s going to be absolutely divine in the summer. It’s really heartbreakingly beautiful.

This is a clean scent, to me. I wear this a lot before bed because it’s clean, comforting, and not too abrasive for bedtime. I’ve never smelled Snow White before, but I have smelled White Rabbit. The notes that I’m getting for this blend are clean linen, cool snow, honey, and an unidentifiable floral. I normally can’t do honey scents, but it’s very well blended and isn’t too in your face. I don’t necessarily get coconut from it, but I can understand where that note is coming from (if that makes any sense). Overall, it’s clean and comforting and I think like it more than the originally White Rabbit.