The Diamond’s Gong

[angelamaria]

A celestial hymn, singing to Earth from fifty light years away: ten billion-trillion-trillion-carats of glittering white musk, with cognac, tagetes, white champaca, Gum Arabic, and davana.

In bottle: this is a super white blend for me -- one sniff without looking up the notes (it's been a while) and I knew there was white musk. I can get the cognac feel, and davana. I'm hopeful, but I wouldn't be surprised if this turns a bit on me...it has a bit of an old-timey, oily scent. We'll see.

Wet on skin: Lightens up considerably, I think this would be the tagetes I'm smelling. It's definitely celestial, white, starry. It's getting slightly powdery as it dries down, but it remains fairly celestial and bright. I am liking this very much, but wary about that powder. I'm also trying to figure out where it fits in my bottles...

Dry: dry, that oily white musk drydown is just nagging at me, behind the beautiful sweet white floral notes and starriness of the whole blend, though it's more subdued and soft in this stage. The powder remains in check, and does give that soft tone which is fairly pleasing and almost snuggly.

Verdict: I think, if I didn't have enough white florals in my collection, and I was new at this whole thing, I might go for this blend. I do love how both soft and starry it is, but it doesn't make as much sense to keep it with the rest of my collection.

[doomsday_disco]

2018 release.

 

In the decant: I’m getting lots of champaca and some cognac. The cognac is indeed reminiscent of Lush’s Snowshowers, only this scent is far more incense-y thanks to the champaca.

 

Wet: The white champaca and cognac notes are the notes that jump out to me the most. It really is like Lush’s Snowshowers infused with champaca, at least at first, but then the champaca note becomes stronger and the white musk asserts itself, so that association goes away.This reads as a clean, incense-y scent to my nose.

 

Dry: The champaca and white musk reign, with some floral notes in the background, and some very light cognac behind them. It’s more floral and less clean than before. It does have a glittering quality to it.

 

Verdict: I was really looking forward to this one, and it was really promising when first applied, but the champaca note, while nice, ends up taking over and making this a little too one-dimensional on me. I am glad that I got to try it, though!

[Velvet Lilly]

I didn't buy this for years, thinking all I could smell was Champaca.

But ON, she's a different story.
Wet: Sweet, softly glimmering starlight through space.... it blooms so beautifully on skin and the rest of the story comes into play. 

 

Dry down: Simple Champaca, yet a bit more rounded and serene.... softened by the musk and elevated by the Davana. 

I love to pair it with Broadway to soften that one, or with Trois to brighten that one  up. 

Celestial hippy is me. 

[avilion]

This is almost a nag champa single note with a hint of something floral. It smells like the witchy shop near me that has some weird culturally appropriative stuff but I go in anyway because I like their enamel pins.

 

I might test again but it looks like this might be my first OLLA in the swap pile. I'm surprised, considering how well Diamond Star worked on me!

Edited October 1, 2020 by avilion
adding something

[windbourne]

After the initial white musk & pale champaca blast, like a brilliant white KABOOM on my wrist, it subsides into a mild, twinkling, almost-soapy-but-make-it-incense scent. I'm neither a fan of nor do I dislike white musk, and likewise with champaca, so this is fine for me, but just fine, and not exceptional in either direction. I have some tagetes SN, and I think here it's giving the fragrance a little more body rather than being a primary note -- tagetes is remarkably bitter, and this skews sweeter on me -- but there is a hint of it that comes out periodically. It never feels specifically fruity to me, but it has a fruitiness to it that comes and goes. The scent as a whole is scintillating on my skin, in that I can smell it very strongly one moment and then it seems to vanish almost completely the next, and which note seems strongest varies wildly as well. Throw is variable, and longevity is fairly strong in that it continues the peekaboo act for several hours before it decides it's done.

[QueenProserpina]

My fourth BPAL purchase, June of 2023. Sweet, light, and lovely, this one is built around the same core of incense as Blood Popsicle and Funnel of Love. I enjoyed it very much, but I wish this one had more throw and staying power, as it was barely perceptible halfway into the day.

Update about three weeks later: I'm disappointed to report that when I have a stuffy nose, this fragrance is extremely faint even right after I put it on. It is akin to the incense core of Blood Popsicle, Quintessence of Dust, Funnel of Love, or Blood hanging on into the next day.

Update in late December: the fragrance is finally beginning to strengthen and bloom, and I’m determining that a more generous application is needed. Still a light and delicate fragrance, primarily a very sweet, soft, and twinkling incense, but it’s coming into its own after several months of aging. As of February 12, a shimmering, boozy note of cognac is starting to come through above the powdery incense, and different notes are more prominent on fabric vs. on skin.

Edited June 1 by QueenProserpina
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