Abalone Vulva

[zankoku_zen]

Pearlescent orris root, cream accord, three radiant ambers, driftwood, lotus root, and sheer pink musk.
 

[avilion]

My bottle just arrived and I am in love. This is indeed radiant - sweet, soft and alluring with just a tiny hint of the sea eddying in the middle, but it's not an aquatic by any stretch. If Janelle Monae's "Pynk" was a perfume this would be it.

[feyofthefellwood]

The above description of "a tiny hint of the sea eddying in the middle" is spot on! This starts out bubblegummy because of the lotus, but that quickly fades into a balanced, well-blended scent. It's creamy, light, and very pretty without being overly sweet. It's a gentle sweetness, and there is a definite watery vibe to it that is probably what gentles down the sweeter elements. For having three ambers in the blend, this doesn't scream amber to me, but it's also not exactly aquatic. It's like . . . iridescent pink mermaid musk, or something. Very pretty, elegant, and understated.

[ellocentipede]

Ooooh I love this. I agree that it smells like iridescent pink mermaid musk. I think the pink musk is grapefruit-based. Sugared, sparkling, mermaid-esque grapefruit musk to my nose. It's clean, sweet, elegant, and mood-lifting. 

[Casablanca]

Pink mermaid musk, yes!

 

This is another one of the more delicate Lupers this year, where there are many light touches of notes forming a cohesive whole. Abalone is a soft, creamy pinkness with tones of pearls in an iridescent sea, a fleeting grapefruit, a pale orris root, a gentle musk, and an innocent lotus. The ambers are also in light use, just suffusing the blend with warmth. 

 

Abalone has the compassion of Poor Monkey (pink lotus root, fig milk, ylang ylang, bourbon vanilla, soft myrrh, fir, khus, sandalwood incense) and the creamy warmth of Alabaster Vulva (white amber, sheer vanilla, orris butter, Italian bergamot, narcissus). This is their love child.

 

[VetchVesper]

Creamy, sweet, a wee bit salty.  There's a fresh milkiness and a touch of muskiness to the scent.  Though it doesn't specifically list "ablone" as a note, I recognize the smell from other fragrances, such as Riding in the Palanquin's "mother of pearl" and this year's Awake, and Clinochlore.  Abalone Vulva smells pink, shimmery, gentle, and very feminine. Perfect for spring.  And yeah... I'll jump on the mermaid musk band wagon.    I get the Poor Monkey comparisons too, though I think this one's a little more unique b/c of the salty vibe.  

Edited March 31, 2020 by VetchVesper

[zankoku_zen]

Lotus, orris, shimmering cream and a whiff of musk. This is a super pearly scent on me. It's got shimmer and creaminess like a pearl. Pretty much take a pearl, turn it into perfume. Perfect for mermaid lovers. Low throw, average wear length.

[RoseThornAndOak]

I like this better in the bottle than what my skin did with it. It starts out a very beautiful light aquatic similar in feel to Sunrise with Sea Monsters or Moana, a bit more of that, I kinda wanna say earthy, less soapy aquatic that is mellower than most. The pearlescent note smells expensive, light, and sophisticated. The orris and driftwood lend more of a dryness than an in-your-face powder, which I appreciate. I don't get much musk, but the pink read like a very light, inoffensive grapefruit. It just kinda, dudded out on the skin and was fleeting, unfortunately. However, I can tell this has potential for greatness, so maybe it will do better with some aging and it will certainly work its magical mermaid shimmer in a locket.

 

Oh, in the bottle, it's fresh, juicy grapefruit, with swirls of aquatic notes, dry woods, sophisticated high-end, nonpowdery light ambers, and beautiful, dewy, soft lotus petal. Yep pink shimmery mermaid!

 

Edit* okay yes, much better on clothes! Love, keep.

Wait hold everything. Later, this turned into a sweet sugared dewy lotus in a pond of cool water type of skin scent. It is almost as if it was a lotus version of Hope and Faith. Very, very faint, but pleasant and pretty. 

Edited April 12, 2020 by RoseThornAndOak

[donkehpoo]

Wet: A sweet, creamy, golden, musky aquatic. Too many adjectives? It's fascinating, and has something addictive about it. (Thankfully, the lotus here isn't going bubblegum-y.. yet.)

 

Dry: This doesn't morph on me much once it dries. If anything, the amber is a little stronger; otherwise, everything has remained the same!

 

I agree with everyone who said "pink mermaid musk". Totally get it. 

[Rayleigh]

Everyone has already nailed the description of this: pink mermaid musk.

 

The bubblegum from the lotus only lasts briefly. Despite the three ambers, this doesn't register as much of an "amber perfume" type of blend. This is creamy and shimmery, with sugared pink grapefruit musk and a trickle of sea salt. Smooth, pearly pink in liquid form, but it's more understated and refined than that description probably sounds. A perfect scent for lounging in a hammock near the waterfront.

[galahad]

In the Bottle:
Cream, amber and lotus.  Definitely a cool pink

 

On the Skin:
Creamy pink.  Sweet and a little musky.  All of the vulvas I have tried work on me and they all have the same vibe.  This one is just as elegant and refined but is a little more playful.

 

On the Drydown:
This dries down to a sparkly, powdery pink.  The ambers give depth and lasting power.  This is really special.

[theseagrows]

i definitely get a lot of orris and lotus root in the beginning. it really evokes cool water, though it's not a typical aquatic scent at all. after a few minutes i get a hint of amber and musk, and still later some of the cream but it remains mostly a watery orris scent on me. 

 

[abejita]

This scent is more than the sum of its parts. I almost passed on trying it at all. Orris is okay, but not something that draws me in. Lotus is often just straight up bubblegum. But I read the reviews, and I remembered how much I like Beth's pink musk and how she interprets "pink" in general.

 

It's pearlescent, delicate, exquisite. Something about this one has texture. Usually, a fragrance that feels so strongly textured is velvety or heavy, but this one is hummingbird feathers and dewy flower petals. It's fresh without being soapy or ozone-y. It's one of Beth's lovely spring-in-a-bottle scents without being a field of wildflowers. It's floral but not floral. 

 

I'm getting a bottle.

[CharB]

I actually sold my bottle, it just wasnt for me. Out of the bottle and tested on my wrist, it smelled the same. It was creamy and sweet, yes, even pearly, but there lurked a note that was stinky to me. I tried this specifically because the notes were different and lighter sounding than Id normally go for, just to branch out a little. Im not very familiar with pink musk, so maybe my nose just isnt a fan? I didnt detect driftwood either, which was part of the reason I bought it. But perhaps actually it was the interpretation of driftwood that I found unappealing? Too salt watery perhaps, and not enough wood.. 🤷🏻‍♀️

[Betula]

This is such a pretty perfume. I think it's one of the prettiest perfumes I've tried from BPAL. It's fresh and sweet, with top notes of sugar and grapefruit. The salt note really is a 'trickle', as described in a review above. I don't get any bubblegum from the lotus, just a glowing freshness. The pink musk is very upbeat. I've always been bad at picking up wood notes, but I think it's in there keeping it all from flying off the rails into too sweet territory. On the dry-down, this has a musk note that is IDENTICAL to the musk in Faith (I haven't tried Hope, but I presume it's the same one). Honestly, this is one of the most 'commercial' BPAL's I've tried, but not in a bad way! Sometimes, accessible perfumes are popular for a reason. I always feel so pretty when I wear this. I think I may get through a whole bottle (which is rare for me!) 

[Jenjin]

Pink, pearly beachy aquatic without going soapy! I could see this in the GC sitting right next to The Sea Foams Milk and Y'ha-Nthlei. They would be the coolest mermaids. I do get a tiny bit of bubblegum just after slathering it on that fades away. The pink musk is very gentle, smooth without being overly sweet, a strong crystalline water note jumps forward on me after it's completely dry. This is uplifting, fresh and makes me feel like i'm on an exotic vacation, sitting by pink oceans illuminated by the amber setting sun. An experience to wear and the perfect 'tropical' for me. 

[starbrow]

Pink mermaid musk is absolutely dead on. Sparkling and twinkling, absolutely the kind of scent I would recommend to a girly-girl, tween or otherwise. It's all so dang likable. Nothing discordant or 'off'. Sweet, cute, pink.

 

I would even go so far as to say this is Mermaid Barbie Musk. It is so very, very pink. I'm getting Pink Amber and Peony vibes. Perhaps it shares some notes? This is the younger sister of Awake, the sweet and naive cousin of Alleviate the Frenzy. If any of those scents appealed to you, I'd highly recommend you pick up some Abalone Vulva. It didn't suit my personality, but on the right person this will be money.

[doomsday_disco]

In the decant: I am getting orris, grapefruit, and lotus.

 

On me: Grapefruit and lotus root are the first notes that jump out at me, amazingly, not orris. I also get some driftwood in the mix. But the orris does pop up after a few minutes. It becomes one of the main players along with the grapefruit musk and lotus root, and surprisingly, it doesn't make me smell as if I fell into a vat of baby powder (which is my typical experience with orris). While some lotus notes smell bubblegum-like, that is not the case here. These remain the dominant notes on me throughout several hours of wear, with the driftwood just adding a bit of salt. I can smell some amber in the background (I think starbow may be right about the Pink Amber and Peony vibes -- maybe there's pink amber at play here), especially much later in the day, but I am not getting much cream from this one.

 

Verdict: I get why people are describing this one as mermaid musk. I'm pleasantly surprised how this one went on me, as orris is usually my nemesis. I don't think I need to upgrade to a bottle, as I don't think I'd reach for it often enough, or over Blossoming Vulva, but I do think it's pretty, and I am glad I got to try it.  

[paperflowers]

This smells like after a shower taken on a hot summer night.  Warm, moist, humid skin.

[momopeche]

Creamy amber made more youthful and light with the pop of lotus. And strange to say, it really smells like the briny freshness of oysters even though I am not the biggest fan of eating oysters - more like the brightness of the shell rather than of the oyster flesh. I"m a big fan of Zoologist's Squid and this is like its younger sister. Really unlike anything I've smelled before. Super unique.

[stainedglass_siren]

in the bottle, it smells like pink heaven to me. it’s JUICY. better than i couldve expected, and blended sooo seamlessly - none of the notes are overpowering eachother. 

 

i reeeally wanted to enjoy this on my skin but as it dries, it loses all the juiciness and something unpleasant appears unexpectedly, a very stale and ashy smelling something. could this be the three ambers amping on my skin? it certainly doesn’t smell like amber, whatever it is😢

 

EDIT: It was the orris root!! I tried Belonging to the Darkness 2 which has a vintage amber and detected no such staleness.

Edited January 27, 2022 by stainedglass_siren

[vanilla_fiend]

This is one of my top-3 of all time. The 'abalone' note is hard to describe-- I have heard people say that the first note that hits is 'bubblegum', but I don't smell that at all. I'm not actually sure what that first note is, but that's the one I consider abalone. The 'vulva' title is apt to me; this smells musky and watery, but not in the traditional bpal aquatic sense. For me this feels "low/deep" rather than sharp or high-pitched, with maybe a very very subtle high-pitched element playing softly in the background. This seems quite polarizing to me; if someone is easily grossed out by biological scents, I can see them not liking it, though I also do smell an ambery, perfumey smell as well. Gosh, this is hard to describe, I was hoping to do better! You only need a small amount.