The Language of Crows

[LiberAmoris]

Terebinth resin crackling with amber and coarse black tobacco, a drop of cardamom husk, caramelized brown sugar, and smoky birch tar.

The Language of Crows is sweetness in tension with smoky resins and tobacco. On the one hand, this blend highlights the warmth of amber and caramelized brown sugar. On the other, it highlights the rootsy, gently camphorous terebinth resin and smoky birch tar. The cardamom husk moderates, in a restrained role. On, the sweetness and tobacco reminds me of my beloved Bulgarian Tobacco SN. But this is (obviously) more complex. I would recommend this to those who love tobacco when it's paired with something sweet, and for those who love the brown sugar note but don't mind smoky resins cresting underneath.

[zankoku_zen]

Piney tobacco and smoky resins. I get hints of pine, birch tar, and sugar. Underneath the tobacco, I get hints of amber. This one is a complex tobacco blend - with plenty of pine and resins, as an FYI. Good throw and wear length. To my nose, this codes as masculine. I'll give this to mr. zee_zee to test out.

[lizardskin]

At first, very sweet and spicy, from the cardamom. The resin/sugar combination smells a lot like maple syrup to me, but after a while it settles down into sweet resins. I've had issues with tobacco being too overpowering for me in the past, but here it takes on a subtle, background role. I can pick it out if I pay attention, but otherwise it's very well blended in with the rest of the notes. I didn't get much pine, just a brief moment during drydown.

I'm actually surprised by how much I like this one--normally I don't go in for scents that are too sweet, but I've worn it several days in a row already! I think I'm going to need a full bottle.

[Elspethdixon]

The moment I saw brown sugar + birch tar, I knew I needed to try this. Wulric from the Carnival has birch tar and is one of my cozy bedtime faves.

 

In imp/wet - brown sugar, wood, and smoke. I like it already.

Freshly applied - warm, slightly-smokey tobacco/wood, with hints of sweet brown sugar. Like a lighter/less smokey sibling of Smokestack. Very close to the skin and snuggly.

Ten-fifteen minutes in - snuggly wood/skin musk/hint of smoke skin scent, all warm resin-y tobacco and coziness. Like Smokestack and Buffalo Man had a baby.

Two hours in - This is pretty much a non-morpher and stays a cozy warm tobacco/resin skin scent with a hint of smoke through its wear time. This is tied with Measurement of the Soul as my fave Yule so far. It's almost gone by the two hour mark unless I put my nose directly to my skin, but that just means I'll have to buy a bottle and slather it.

[VetchVesper]

Really interesting. This smells very "baked goods" to me even though it doesn't use any of the usual cake notes. It makes me think of gingerbread or molasses. The tobacco is in the forefront and is wet, sticky, and sweet smelling, and I definitely get the brown sugar/caramel thing going on. I don't really get any of the pine notes or wood, though I do get the smoky aspect. If you are a fan of semi foodie blends, caramel, or dark, sticky tobacco, this is worth checking out.

[hem246]

This is way more foodie than I was expecting! The tobacco is really dark and smooth, and together with the caramelized sugar creates a sticky-sweet molasses-like aroma. It's medium-low throw means that I get constant whiffs throughout the day, but no one around me is overpowered by the sweetness. As a fan of sweet tobacco blends, this hits it out of the park for me!

[LizziesLuck]

Wet: Mmmmmmm, gorgeous sweet chewy tobacco with sugar and woods. Lovely.

 

 

Dry: Another GORGEOUS tobacco scent. I have so many tobacco scents! Yet I always seem to find room for more....I am strongly considering getting a bottle. Or several. I love how sweet this is, and how rich.

[lookingglass]

THIS smells like Christmas feels to me: the house warm and filled with people wearing vintage, ambery perfume, smoking pipes, baking spiced sweets, the tree set up, and bringing in logs for the fire.

[AraliaShine]

Decadent and comforting, this blend hits so many of my sweet spots, I hardly know where to begin.

 

What I keep coming back to is an intoxicating richness that Lizzie mentioned, almost buttery in effect. I suspect it's the smokiness of the birch tar

in concert with the terebinth resin and amber. It hits me as bottomless golden depths and I can't huff enough! Throw in that gorgeous tobacco

note and delicious bubbling brown sugar, and you've got nearly all the cozy goodness I'm craving on bleak, chill winter days.

 

Occasional hints of warm spice and drips of piney sap lend a crispness that keep it from becoming too sweet or leaning too gourmand, but for me

it's all about basking in that (oh so rich!) glow of a well-stoked wood stove, relaxing and enjoying fine yet simple things.

 

It's pretty linear and long lasting on my skin and while only the caramel sweetness reads feminine, I'd love to smell this on anyone, anywhere! Seconding the bedtime fave vibe, and adding that this is one I'm wanting to snuggle up to/ with. Of course, if I'm going to be sharing,

a backup merits serious consideration.

[Trix]

Very foody, almost reminds me of Cockaigne (...pancakes?), but something warm and cozy to it. Kind of sad that my decant wasn't full, because I would like to wear this more (would also like to save it for winter-proper), but I don't know if I want it enough to buy a whole bottle.

[saint_gawain]

Ohhhh this is....I think this is the most 'me' scent I've picked up yet. Smoky and sweet, deep and dark and comforting. There's an astringency to it that I think will wear off with age, but oh lordy this smells so perfect.

[Lucchesa]

Oh I wish I had tried this before Yules went down! Instead, I tested it last night, a couple of hours before bedtime, and the Language of Crows is marvelous. Caramel, tobacco, dark woody resins, and a hint of cardamom, check! Warm, comforting, an excellent end-of-day scent, like a warm blanket and a crackling fire. Love!

[MischiefofRats]

So I have a ton of tobacco blends. I love them a lot. That said, I deathmatched about four of them that were coming across too similar to me, and this one won--HANDILY. The richness of the birch tar and resins makes this just exquisite. An absolute favorite.

[torikitty]

Sweet tobacco, you're my only friend. This is smoking a pipe with sweet tobacco in the middle of the woods. I love that the woodsy part isn't overpowering, and really let's the tobacco shine through. It's fairly simple, and I would almost caution people who don't enjoy smoke away from it. BUT, I'd say it's worth trying first!

[t_for_tau]

This *should* work wonders on me, from the notes, yet it smells like generic pumpkin spice?? Alas.

[Pinewoodtea]

This scent makes me think of:

It's late, just past midnight, and you're hard at work in the smoky kitchen of your village. You wanted to make something new, something different, so you left a petition and a few coins at the edge of the woods yesterday morning. You woke up just a bit ago with ideas cramming themselves into your mind, compelling you to dip into your stashes of sugar and the richest creams. You could swear the floor beneath your feet is actually pine needles and loam, your metal tools are all warm in your palm without being near a fire. It's surreal and you should be worried but you're too caught up in how good everything smells.

You don't think you're making this just for yourself anymore, but you're enjoying yourself too much to worry tonight.

[doomsday_disco]

The Language of Crows is all about that caramelized tobacco on me. I don't get the cardamom from this at all, but far behind the tobacco, I get a whiff of brown sugar and powdery amber. But mostly, TOBACCO. And I think it is the Lab's French tobacco, so I don't mind it being mostly tobacco at all.  

 

I will retest this to see if I get more nuance from this later on down the road, but at the moment, it is a lovely tobacco scent that I am glad that I got to try.  

Edited April 14, 2020 by doomsday_disco