Leopard403

So I just found (found! like a shiny nickel!) a bottle of TKO atmo in my guest room. Didn’t know I had it, can’t remember buying it, don’t order atmosphere sprays as a general rule. I’m convinced it’s supernatural. And really, holy crap, supernatural is the right word to describe the scent. I tried TKO perfume oil many years back and found it too sharp. While I am aware that my nose, my brain, and my tastes have changed over time, I’m convinced that because the medium here is different and it’s clearly aged a bit, this is just a better version of the scent. I arrived to BPAL convinced I didn’t like lavender and that scents containing that note all ended up the same. Clearly, I’ve learned something. With this bottle of TKO, sure, there’s that herbal punch, slightly astringent, but it’s not medicinal. There is something that helps it stay sweeter than that... almost like—dare I say it?—there is poofy marshmallow in there! Say whaaaaaaaat? It’s a strong scent, with a lot of throw—one spritz to my blanket filled up the room!—but this means I only need a little and so it will last. Also, it lingers: When I came home from work the next day, I could still smell it in the room. Who knew I had it? And who knew I would love it so??

Something is very grassy-green at first, but this quickly turns into a honeysuckle cream.

I’m having a very different experience with Hope. It’s a surprisingly fusty scent, like sniffing a long-lost box of cigars.

I didn’t know tulips had a scent until grad school, when I worked at a Wicks N Sticks in my spare time. Our biggest seller was Yankee Candles, and there was a tulip blend that was shockingly fragrant for such a simple little flower. Unfortunately that stuck with me, and while I love the smell I have to be wary of it because it often eats everything else. And yeah, it kinda does that here too. Hmph.

It’s funny what the mind clings to. This blend goes on beautifully...and the there are several minutes of something unpleasant.* Things mellow out again into something very nice but I really suffered there for a bit. Bummer. *The something unpleasant:

Oh dang. I like this. At first it’s all green grass on my skin, but then there is coconut that isn’t suntan lotion-y in the least but is probably made overt by that vanilla and amber base. I get maybe one quick whiff of sweet fig if I reeeeeally hunt for it, and at least to my nose any delicate orange blossom is eaten up by the rest. The name is perfect and precisely evocative. Might need to get more of this one.

Looking at so many floral notes, I was shocked at how juicy this blend turned out to be when it hit my skin. Sadly, that gardenia and white amber quickly take over and this turns into soap. Finely milled expensive French soap, but still. I’ll keep wearing it until my decant is gone, but I don’t need a bottle. Update: OMG this is a morpher. I had to come back and edit because after a while the juicy note (the strawberry, I guess) comes back. Whaaaaaat? And now, several hours later, what is lingering smells like SJP Lovely, (which I once tramped all over NYC to find only to realize it wasn’t considered high market enough to be in any of the super-fancy stores and I ended up purchasing it in the Orlando airport. Also, a warning: Lovely and Elon Karanishiki do not appear to have ANYTHING in common note-wise, so don’t try to make sense of that, mmmkay?). So it has enough nostalgia to it that I might buy more after all.

The cherry fades. The rose stays. - A poem by Leopard403

Holy crap, more people need to be talking about this. I was wary of the bergamot because it can be so overwhelming on my skin, and when I first applied this scent that’s all I got. But then a few minutes later I got the most gorgeous, juicy, fruity whiff of that unexpected blackberry. UMPFFFFF. SO GOOD. There’s something a bit creamy and wistful that helps center the berry, but oh yeah, those berries are the star. Great wear length on me, as well. Bottleworthy!

Around here, people seem to feel very strongly about fig, and that’s the reason I bought this. Just to see... And now I get it. Give me ALL FIG ALL THE TIME. *swoon* There’s a whiff of cherry here when the scent is wet, but it’s gone quickly and I’m left with Deep Fig Perfection (new band name, I called it!).

This is so pretty when I sniff it straight from the decant: All notes are right there. Sadly, that cream gets me every time and turns salty on my skin. I plan to try this in a scent locket next...

Oh, this is lovely. The sweetness balances that herbal astringency so that this blend feels spoon-thick, like a lavender honeycomb pudding. Yaaasssssss.

Lots of cinnamon spice potpourri.

Surprisingly perfumey on me; I don’t get the creamy notes others are mentioning and there is no warmth to it, rather this is all high-pitched on my skin.

Partly, I wasn't paying attention. But also, everywhere I can see (including here in this review thread as well as on the BPAL main site), this is just listed as Sour Gummi. NOT Sour Gummi Snake Oil. Yes, on the main site it is in the section with the other SO Weenie varieties... but I kinda got overly excited and missed that. The others are clearly Blood Squib Snake Oil or Popcorn Ball Snake Oil or Red Hot Snake Oil. So somewhere along the line my brain seized on the lack of SO in the name and got fixated on Sour Gummi. JUST Sour Gummi. So sadly, I was quite disappointed when I sniffed this and realized the sad, sad truth. I mean, in the end, yeah, I like it quite a lot actually, and I do think it will get even better with age, but it is not at all what I was expecting and my brain can't get over that hump. Phooey.

This is such a weird, wonderful scent. Sniffing my wrist up close there was something almost bitter about it and I thought I’d have to sell my decant. But I kept getting whiffs of something lovely. But no, close up it’s off-putting... but from a bit of distance it’s lovely. WTAF here? So I’ve decided I’m buying a bottle and I just won’t smell it up close. I mean, who does that, right? *looks around at everyone else here who also does that* LOL Anyway: Yes, there is something sparkling and a bit dainty about this. Very sophisticated. No overt identifiable notes but rather an ethereal blend. And the test patch lasted through a shower, so dang.

Yah, I came here to write the same thing. It’s nice and I’m glad I got to try it, but dang, I wish there were more of that real, fresh lime.

I’m surprised this is “yellow carnation” because it has that super duper carnation spice I know and love. This really reminds me of old-school, before-they-were-cool Lush scents, like when the OG Potion Lotion was available in small quantities. It’s happy nostalgia in that way; simpler times.

Blackberry and sugared fig meat. Purple Window HG is very nice, surprisingly similar to Blackberry Sufganiyot if a little less sweet. It really captures “purple”! Moderate to strong throw, and great lasting power.

WOW LEAVES. I mean, whoa, I find this to be more dead leaves that any Dead Leaves blend I’ve tried so far!!!

Wet on my skin that “Day-Glo green lime” is EVERYTHING. As it dries down, however, this scent morphs first into a surprisingly soft floral, and then into something aquatic. Super strange, and not what I wanted.

At first this is all bright herbal lavender, then it becomes All Snake Oil. An ever-slightly sweeter SO than plain SO, but mainly SO nonetheless. I like it, but I don’t need a bottle.

I love this and hope it gets some more attention! That lemongrass top note is the first thing I get upon application, but then a buttery Obatala-like coconut emerges underneath and it’s glorious. Amber can be pretty aversive on me, and I’m not getting it here; it might be giving it a little warmth in the background. No overt lavender, either. Just a tiny tropical party that whispers rather than screams.

It seems like the Lab has released quite a few scents with goat’s milk in recent years, and I love that smell so I want to try them all! It’s creamy dreamy milky buttery goodness. What I’m finding, however, is that the goat’s milk note itself pretty consistently washes out any other notes that might be in the blend, so when these scents settle on my skin they all end up smelling the same. Humph. I do get a hint of lavender and sweet ‘mallow musk here, but only when I sniff closely, and not enough to make me need a bottle.

*Sigh* Doritos. That’s what I smell when I sniff straight from the imp. And sadly, my damn brain latched onto that so the lovely bread note everyone else is smelling continues to smell like DORITOS to me. Ugh. That fades very fast and I’m left smelling like Lush’s Honey I Washed the Kids soap, which isn’t a bad thing, but not what I wanted here.