Lacus Bonitatis

[lady_pandora]

The Lake of Goodness. A perfume that inspires philanthropy while fostering kindness, affection, and compassion: sweet amber with rose geranium, lavender, amyris, motherwort, orange blossom, honey, apple peel, and angelica root.

I was a little worried about what the herbal notes in Lacus Bonitatis would do, but I needn't have worried--I don't get them at all. This scent, on me, is dominated by the amber, orange blossom, and an orangey fruit note that I think may be a combination of the orange blossom and rose geranium.

This orangey note is the most prominent note in the early going. It's a sweet, bright impression of orange or maybe of neroli, definitely the fruit and not the flower. Next to this is the amber, which is vanillic here, and the overall impression is kind of creamsicle-ish. The orange blossom is slightly perceptible underneath these other two notes. So it's a slightly floral creamsicle.

It does this for a few hours, and then the fruit note fades out in the drydown, leaving a blend of the vanillic amber, the orange blossom, and I think some of the honey. There are some blends where these notes are kind of smutty; not here. Lacus Bonitatis has an innocent air about it.

This is sweet, cheerful, and definitely hot-weather-worthy. I don't regret pouncing on this one.

[persianmouse]

In the bottle, I smell mostly amber, lavender, orange blossom. On my skin, the orange blossom and the amber/amyris (light sweet-smokey scent) comes out, the lavender is present, but not overwhelming (total backing vocals). I can also smell what I think is the angelica root (which is supposed to smell like juniper+musk), because there's an unusual note I can't quite place.

 

It smells like something softly sweet, and outside (not floral, woody, herby, or green, but some distinct smell of outsideness).

[rinster]

Right now this is a very soft skin scent, but it is directly out of the mailbox. I have to snoof the back of my hand from way up close. The first thing I identify is the pretty rose geranium from my TAL bottle F2. This lasts for about 20 minutes, then the orange blossom comes forward. I love both notes, so this is happiness. I'm hoping after it settles it develops a little more sillage.

[Missy_killer]

In the bottle: Fresh and cool. Apples that smell crisp and green and very closely joined by a pink rose. I get the feeling of dawn and springtime, everything is light and airy. The rose smells like the same kind from Love, but not as sugary and young. This is like the mature and grown up-version of it. I also think I smell a bit of mint, which really suits this blend perfectly (and I love mint)!

If I keep sniffing the bottle there's definitely some orange and a herbal kick from the lavender. It smells absolutely great in the bottle!

 

On: huh... This smells just like the brand of mosquito repellent roll-on stick that we've used in my family since I was a kid. It might sound horrible to some, but I've always loved the smell of it and gone to sniff the stick when I can. It reminds me of warm summer nights of my childhood, late night barbecue by the lakeside and eating strawberry pie out on the balcony while watching "Midsomer Murders" during summer holidays. This scent really evoked strong memories with me, and I'm sooo happy about it!

But enough about my childhood, the rose comes out stronger and stays the most dominant note for about 2 hours. After that the apples come out to play and they rule side by side, pink and green for another two hours before it softens. The last hour of Lacus Bonitatis consists of a gentle dusting of honey powder (by powder I mean that the honey is dry and not liquid and sticky) laced with vanilla.

 

I wasn't sure that this was going to work for me, and I tend to skip most lunacies that are released. This was a complete win for me, both because it helped me remember good times in my life and that it's a rose that I can wear without feeling like an old lady or a fancy soap. For me it's closely related to Love, but a more mature version with less sugar.

[Tal Shachar]

I had no real idea what this one was going to smell like, and right out of the mailbox this one was reeeally rough sharp geranium. That note isn't so great on my skin, but trying it a couple of days later this smells sophisticated and pretty. It's well-blended, in that I can tell apple and honey are in there but otherwise it all plays like a single chord of scent. Sweet, fresh, clean, not at all a sloppy honey or a sugary apple scent. Nothing dominates. Conveys the concept well: it's a nice scent to represent goodness while still being unique and interesting, without cliche. I'm glad I gave this one a second testing and didn't put it in swaps right away because I'm really digging this.

[dottie_doom]

I loved the way this smells in the decant but sadly after application it just smells like medicinal lavender on me I was hoping maybe it would change a little after applying but still remained strongly lavender. This one just isn't for me I guess.

[zankoku_zen]

Sweet amber, hints of lavender, honey, orange and apple. It toggles between a sweet herbally amber blend and a herbally lavender blend. Oddly enough, I find this even more like a TAL blend, along the lines of the Blue Moon July 2015 vibewise.

 

Sweet, cheerful, kind.

[annemathematics]

multiple notes of mischief in the description made this an instant pass for me

then I smelled and tested it at loved to death, and ended up with a bottle I adore.

 

a bright, sweet, beautiful amber scent with floral and fruit elements. very happy making. lake of goodness indeed!

[Little Bird]

This is a spring scent to me. Herbal geranium and lavender with hints of floral honey, tart apple and powdery amber. Sort of a bright, herbal, tart fruity-floral. Leans towards being clean smelling on me, but not soapy.