A Peculiar Spirit

[HerbGirl]

A PECULIAR SPIRIT

Tobacco absolute with neroli, oudh, benzoin, and black tea leaf.

Black tea leaf = Licorice/anise.
I sniffed the decant and knew it would go wrong because it always does. Interesting that black tea doesn't smell a bit like any black tea i've ever smelled. :-/
I had to atleast sniff it though, since the other notes sounded like a nice combo.

[joyfulgirl]

wow, this - to me - smells EXACTLY like shining dimple of love (Vanilla orchid, vanilla absolute, and black tea leaf) from 2014 lupercalia. aka: DELICIOUS! sweet, deep, rich, vanilla-y tea. the tobacco adds a darker, more luxurious dimension than dimple, but i suspect that these will layer GLORIOUSLY!

 

it definitely reads as anise in the bottle, but on my skin it warms and opens and becomes something truly magical. i'll definitely be snagging a few bottles before this goes away!

[zankoku_zen]

To me the black tea and benzoin combined end up smelling like anise/licorice, and not just the black tea by itself. So, anise with a whiff of black tea, tobacco and neroli.

 

I sort of seriously wish I had joyfulgirl's skin chemistry because a shining dimple of love perfume oil would have been amazing. Sadly this is a sweet anise blend.

 

PASS.

[Haltija]

This is straight up tobacco and black tea on me from start to finish and you know what, I like it. I love anise type notes in my fragrances lately and I am a sucker for all things tobacco. I am not quite sure it needs to be upgraded to a big bottle but I will enjoy my decant.

[Lunasariel]

In the imp: Neroli and tea are the most dominant notes, but the oudh and benzoin are also making themselves known. Surprisingly little tobacco so far (or, at least, tobacco as I've experienced it).

 

Wet: At first I thought it was going to head towards a lovely neroli-tobacco area, but, nope, when I asked my BF to sniff it, the immediate reaction was licorice. XP Oh, well, at least there's an undertone of oudh keeping things from going straight-up candy, but it's a small victory if that.

 

Dry: Up close, I'm still getting whiffs of neroli, but from afar, it's still pretty much straight licorice. Eeeeehhhhh, maybe this one will age well.

[LiberAmoris]

A Peculiar Spirit has a good dollop of the black tea note that I really like and that seems to smell like licorice on some people...here, it has a licorice-y edge even on my skin, but I don't mind it. I get a lot of tobacco, and a bright spark of neroli, with the oudh and benzoin trailing. It doesn't surpass Furo or Blacker than the Raven Wings of Midnight as my favorite black tea perfume, but I like it and think the tobacco is particularly good here. I moved this one over to my husband's BPAL drawer, because it smells really good on him, like a smoky, woody, black tea.

[vthesiren]

I definitely saw the anise comparisons, but if I focused I could pick out the black tea note backed by the tobacco. On my skin, the neroli comes out just a teensy bit... and then poof, it's all gone. Didn't even last 15 minutes after application. D: WTF.

[poofie]

I'm testing this through a cold, so I might not be getting everything, but to me this is a nice, light tea-and-neroli scent. It's fresh and lovely and I can't wait to retest when my nose if fully functional.

[Gwydion]

In bottle: I would swear this has anise in it. This smells like a rich black tea with licorice. Apparently my brain thinks if you combine neroli, oudh, and benzoin with tea you get licorice tea. Who knew? The tobacco makes it a little dirty. I like this. Wet: Ah, the neroli, benzoin, and oudh separate out and become dominate as a group. On my skin the neroli is mildly dominant. It still has a hint of the licorice black tea, only now with lemon, since my skin turns tea accord into lemon tea generally. This is gorgeous if you are wanting a resiny, floral tea scent. Dry: A bit high end shampoo.

[theseagrows]

i think i am getting primarily black tea, oudh and benzoin from this. i do see the slight anise-thing going on, but it's not that strong. the tobacco smells like dried tobacco, like an unlit cigarette, different than i recall some other tobacco in bpal blends. there is a touch of neroil that adds a slight sweetness and i feel it uplifts the scent a bit. after awhile the tea sweetens up quite a bit, and it's at this point that i can sort of see the comparison to shining dimple of love, which is one of my absolute favorite (if not favorite) bath oil, however, that one is definitely a little more gourmand due to the vanilla orchid. it's the same black tea though, and it is the closest scent i've smelled to that BO. i think this may be bottle worthy...

Edited April 21, 2015 by theseagrows

[milo]

Mint and anise. The combination is rather odd, bit it settles into something quite pretty that is nice for warmer weather.

[kattalog]

Wet: White flowers.

Dry: White flowers but now with a bit of dry wood, without being incense-y. Quite light and has almost something salty underneath.
At an hour its a powdery neroli, with comfortable benzoin. The black tea isnt noticeable.

Its the neroli thats the clearest of the notes. Its light without being etheral. The dry, almost salty scent of the tobacco and oudh grounds it, reminding me of warm bark. A very ”smooth” scent.

Makes me think of: White flowers in a greenhouse. Spring turning into summer. Benzoin comfort.

Lasting: 4.5 hours