Inspecting the Lantern

[zankoku_zen]

Incense smoke, green cardamom pod, white tuberose, orris root, cedarwood, beeswax, white chamomile, tea leaves, and moss.

[mganz42]

On me, it starts off primarily a waxy tuberose with some vague cardamom and tea and moss and dark incense behind it, very inter-blended with nothing too recognizable. Unisex in feel. The cardamom, cedar and beeswax get stronger over time, but there's still a floral sweetness there from the tuberose and chamomile. I didn't like it at first as it read as a very heavy plastic, but it just needed a chance to settle on my skin.

[Casablanca]

Inspecting the Lantern leads with big poofs of the lovely incense smoke from Klosterruine from the 2020 Yules. 

 

I find whiffs of chamomile and cedar, and later, the fullness of tuberose; otherwise, the background on this one remains complex and inscrutable to me. 

 

I'm a lover of smoke notes, and this incense smoke in particular. But I already picked up a bottle of Klosterruine for it, and can't swing a second. 

[zankoku_zen]

Incensey white florals, chamomile, notes of cedar, and moss. This is a complex and sophisticated blend. It's like a sexy smoke blend. Medium throw, average wear length.

[trinitysite]

This starts as a smoky chamomile but dries down into a honeyed floral. I love tuberose, but I was hoping that the cedar, moss and cardamom would ground it into something darker and spicier - which didn't happen. Ultimately, it's just not as interesting as I thought it could be.

 

However: chamomile! Such an interesting note! I'm going to look for more of it elsewhere.

[rivetted]

 i actually really like this one.

i just keep wishing it were stronger, as it seems to be in the "too faint to be noticed much on my skin chemistry" category for me

maybe it will age to be a bit stronger!

[Meirion]

Wet I get that initial plastic note along with cardamom and a touch of incense, and it hits me with a sense memory of a Syrian grocery in Brooklyn with big plastic bins of bulk spices and a rack of stick incense. The plastic disappears quickly, leaving cardamom and soft incense, dry and quiet. The cardamom is definitely cardamom pods, leaning green and herbal, not a warm pumpkin spice cardamom. I like this stage and wish it stuck around, but after about an hour everything fades into a cozy but unexciting beeswax. I'm hoping some of the notes will strengthen with age. 

[VetchVesper]

I really loved this year's green perfumes, and this one ended up being a bottle buy for me.  It's got a camphorous thing going on at first that's a little off-putting, I think from a mix of the cedar and cardamom, but after a few minutes, this begins to settle down, and something tart starts to creep into the mix, along with a hint of sweetness from the tuberose.  This is not a floral, but I think the florals add a lot of complexity to the overall scent, even as they lurk, barely noticeable, under the moss.  There's also a good bit of smoky incense going on.  There's just a lovely, smoky, scratchy sort of texture going on that I really love.  I'd say this one's is pretty gender neutral, and is a fun and unusual green incense sort of smell, overall.  Complex and unusual.

Edited July 26, 2021 by VetchVesper

[lilyluxe]

This is almost a juicy sweet floral on me- in the bottle it seems  bit more complex. I can smell the incense and the other notes comingling, but when I put it on it becomes a really strong tuberose to me. I think it might just be my brain because I rarely wear florals!

I do like it, though I am glad I bought a half bottle because I don't think I will see myself wearing it a ton. It is an extremely feminine leaning scent, and I definitely wish I was getting more of the cardamom and beeswax.

 

Overall, I think it would probably be a particularly good find for someone who likes florals with a bit of a smoky/spiced tinge.

[Estamets]

Wet: florals + sharp greenness from the cardamom pod. Redolence, like walking through a hot house during flower season, with lots of moist potting moss. 
 

dry: mossy white florals. I can’t pick out the beeswax or orris, but something is smoothing out the florals enough that I don’t completely hate them. 
 

I wish I got some smoke or cedar, but I’m amping the florals here, to the detriment of every other note. 

[Llanval]

I'm glad I got a full imp of this one to test. I was very hopeful for this one.

 

Right away, I got a whiff of plastic and dry green cardamom on the wand that immediately became a soft, sweet green blanket with puffs of really lovely incense smoke on my skin. The incense smoke turns this into such a soothing but oddly scratchy blend. I don't mean itchy, but the smell equivalent of touching tomato leaves. The white tea and florals aren't shouty at all.

 

This is such a calming, comforting scent. I love it, but I wish the cedar and beeswax and even the smoke were a little stronger. Normally, I'd pass on this because of the low throw and the somewhat chalky turn the sweet florals take.  But I want to age a bottle, I like it so much. I want to wear this to sleep every night!

[doomsday_disco]

This one did not work on me at all. It remained a really strong, farm-y, oudh-y incense for many hours, and when that finally subsided, what was left was a ton of powdery orris. I so wish I had gotten to experience the cardamom, beeswax, and chamomile!

[Cali]

Could've sworn i tried this before, but here we are. In the opening i'm getting a big 'ole lovely waft of incense, the same as in midnight on the midway. A soft green cardamom starts adding some grit and depth. Then, the white florals add some kind of midnight-magic to this, while the tea, chamomile, moss and beeswax become the spotty sky full of stars. Very pretty, very evocative.

[DiZZysTARdust]

i really expected to love this. i’m a huge fan of tuberose, beeswax, cardamom, cedar, incense… the whole thing sounded like a win. in the bottle it was surprisingly more aquatic than i expected. on the skin, this is mostly about the tuberose, but it’s more like tuberose cologne than the heady floral i expected. it’s very light and sheer, i don’t get much beeswax, cardamom, or cedar on their own. it’s definitely a beautiful scent although on me cologne tends to veer toward soapy. this isn’t pure dove soap but definitely smells like an expensive soap in a fancy bathroom