Laudanum Lollipop

[zankoku_zen]

Type AB-, clove, laudanum accord, and cherry!

 

Bloody cherry and laudanum resin, with a whiff of clove. This smells like a cherry/clove resin. Good throw and wear length

[Soupy Twist]

HOOOOO CHERRY with a clove dusting in the bottle. Goes on as fuck, cherry, so much cherry.

 

But I have to remember that cherry, like almond, never ever lasts on my skin. And so the resin of the laudanum appears and mixes with the clove until it becomes dental anesthetic, and I’m done. Gotta add this to my list of “stop breaking your heart with this” notes.

[sprout]

Like soupytwist,  this started as cherry syrup for me.  I considered scrubbing but hung in out of pure curiosity.   It wasn't an unpleasant experience,  just something I don't necessarily want to smell like.  There's a metallic twang suggestive of blood too.  I think this one is for folks who are in it for the sport?

 

The cherry opening was dramatic and very quintessential BPAL , similar to the smell of general catalog Blood with less clove but the middle phase is just odd.  It's a bit tough to describe,  as I'm lacking in a frame of reference.  That's why I suppose antiseptic ointment comes to mind.  There's a hint of the blood metallic note,  a hint of cherry but it's more like that organic cherry cough syrup bark stuff I've purchased at Natural Grocers.  It's not cloying,  artificial,  or sweetened cherry.  It meshes with the cola vibe of the laudanum. My memory association here jumps between rockrose and antiseptic ointment.  Could there be a hint of saffron too, or is it just my imagination running away with me?

 

The late drydown was actually very nice,  resin syrup cola; similar to the single note Rose of Sharon, which I loved and bought a back up.  As with soupytwist, my skin eats the cherry note and I am left with just laudanum. The antiseptic association is absent also.  This was comforting but close to the skin. This was never heady,  perfume like, or euphoria inducing as many of the Lab opium scents become on my skin. 

 

I can understand why this was not a highly sought after decant but I'm glad to have tried it.  I rather like the base notes and I plan to retry this in a few months to see if it changes or if the scent development produces better sillage of the drydown phase as they have tendencies to do.  I'm chalking this one up to those experiential scents that folks enjoy with the Lab because they're unique.  I consider a bottle, but at this juncture,  I have to limit my collection to scents I love enough to wear frequently rather than when I'm of a mood.  I wouldn't be surprised if it grows in my mind and I end up getting more decants or a bottle, as I really liked the resinous drydown. 

 

For the curious,  my Google Fu revealed interesting history behind the recipe development for laudanum: The original recipe for the potent tincture is attributed to physician Thomas Sydenham, known as the father of clinical medicine. Sydenham’s tincture included two ounces of opium, one ounce of saffron, a drachm of cinnamon and of cloves, dissolved into a pint of Canary wine...

Edited December 6, 2018 by sprout
Added Rx

[doomsday_disco]

I was excited about this because I've been looking for a cherry scent to go with my Dragon Bouffant HG, and because I love clove. But I was also wary of this because of the laudanum accord.

Well, I was right to be wary, because my fear has come to pass.

This is the GC Laudanum (sassafras, poppy, nutmeg, and myrrh) with lots of cherry and some clove thrown in. It smells like clove-infused cherry soda at first, but then the poppy comes out and becomes pretty prominent on me. I am normally a fan of sassafras, but the way it combines with the poppy isn't very nice on me (I had that problem with the GC). Eventually, the cherry calms down and is almost just a memory, with the poppy, sassafras, and clove being the main players on my skin. The myrrh comes out after it has been dry for a few hours.

I wanted this to work, but sadly, this is not for me.