You May House Their Bodies But Not Their Souls

[Seajewel]

You may give them your love but not your thoughts,
For they have their own thoughts.
You may house their bodies but not their souls,
For their souls dwell in the house of tomorrow, which you cannot visit, not even in your dreams.
You may strive to be like them, but seek not to make them like you.
For life goes not backward nor tarries with yesterday.
You are the bows from which your children as living arrows are sent forth.
The archer sees the mark upon the path of the infinite, and He bends you with His might that His arrows may go swift and far.
Let your bending in the archer’s hand be for gladness;
For even as He loves the arrow that flies, so He loves also the bow that is stable.

 

A woody, deep patchouli with bourbon vanilla, rich amber, and soft golden skin musk.

Edited March 4, 2022 by Seajewel

[doomsday_disco]

This features a deep, black patchouli, but it's softened so much by the skin musk that those hoping for a bold patchouli instead of a cuddly one might be disappointed. The amber is next in prominence. Sometimes the Lab's bourbon vanilla doesn't show up on me. Here, it's present, but it is very light. So I would not describe this as a patch and vanilla blend, and since almost all blends containing patch and vanilla are compared to Revenant Rhythm, no, this does not smell like that. The vanilla is not as prominent and it is not as sweet. This one is more about the patch, skin musk, and amber, like you were just given a hug by someone wearing some patchouli that still lingered on their skin from the day before.

 

I think this will be popular with those seeking out a cuddly patchouli, as long as they aren't expecting a lot of sweetness from the vanilla. I'm going to let my bottle settle for a few weeks before coming back to it, though, because I was hoping for a little more vanilla!

[marared]

The skin musk and amber dominate here. The patchouli is very light and the vanilla ... is not nonexistent, but it takes a while to show up and it it takes quite a back seat to the musk and amber. If you want something cozy that doesn't depend on fur or wool, or radiant golden warmth without anything floral, this is a good one to try. I imagine this will warm up and become quite sensual with some body heat.

[Madame Mew]

I’m going there and am saying this is the patch from RR. Is it RR? No. But, it’s a less sweet, more commercial leaning (not that it is) patchouli blend. The amber and musk make this a different thing altogether. Still, fans of RR Ask the Nearest Hippie, and non gourmand patchouli lovers will love this. I LOVE THIS. 

 

Beautifully blended, beautiful cause. 🖤

[zipegs]

I got less vanilla and patchouli from this than I was hoping—the amber shines pretty strong to my nose—but it's still a lovely scent! Been having some bad luck with ambers recently, but I'm enjoying it in this one. It's mellowed by the skin musk and is a nice rounded but bright scent on my skin.

[Happicuppa]

This comes out of the bottle swinging, but tames down very fast. Swings with patch, but it calms down quickly. I think the skin musk makes it go from loud to skin-hugging. The amber isn't powdery on me at all, it just adds a gentle resiny note to me. As for the vanilla, I am not finding it in anything but a sweetness that rounds this out. But I'm okay with that! 

 

It is golden and skin musky and warm and I like it a lot. Will age it and see how it goes!

[Teamama]

Different than I had expected. The notes are all winners for me, so I imagined this might be a blend I'd end up buying more than one bottle of.

In the bottle, the resins are forward, in a medicinal, linament kind of way. That was also the case when wet. That passed, & it became a complex amber skin scent. The amber in this blend is a lot more sap/vegetal than I usually experience from BPAL. The vanilla, musk & patch are all subordinate to that amber. Think of the siberian fir needles in Fae Forest atmo spray, & imagine amber from that tree's sap.

Dry, the blend is warm, dry, balanced, & wearable by people of any gender expression. It's gorgeous, but more to my daughter's taste than mine. I'm glad I bought it. I think this will be a favorite for a lot of people.

[theshapeshifter]

A very cozy scent, and much softer than expected. This is a 'you can wear this to work' patchouli!

[starbrow]

Fantastic.

 

I'll lead with the fact that I do not enjoy Revenant Rhythm/Banshee Beat, as there is something too heavy and thick about its combo that turns me away rather than draws me in. Still, I wanted to give this one a try, between its fantastic cause and its incredible list of notes.

 

I can confidently say that You May House is in a league of its own. What strikes me every time I wear this one is - okay yes laugh - Renaissance Festival. The patchouli is a beautiful sweet woody vanilla incense that wafts over from the various shops, with I'm sure plenty of natural skin musk all around, and amber sunlight in the Florida spring. If this vibe sounds good to you at all, you probably need this blend. I can't get over the woody incense. It's just gorgeous. It's not quite like any other patchouli I've smelled from the Lab. Neither rooty nor thick, it has a wonderfully dry, wooden quality that gives it a touch of elegance along with the essential earthiness of its back-to-medieval-times vibes.

 

Smelling this blindly, I would have guessed golden amber + a beautiful dry cedar. Vanilla sits comfortably in that mix. To that extent, I can recommend this to fans and/or seekers of the Smoked Vanilla and Cedarwood duet from days of yore. But I would also just in general recommend this to fans of BPAL, because this is just our wheelhouse, y'all. 

 

One of the best of 2022 so far!

[Andalei]

As others have said, this does not smell like Banshee Beat/Revenant Rhythm, but it immediately became my second favourite vanilla patchouli blend. Smelling this reminds me of wearing your favourite super soft, slightly worn out old sweater that has a hint of a patchoul/incense perfume you wore in the past lingering on it. It's soft cozy resins with a lot of warmth and just a tiny bit of powder from the amber (which I LOVE). Absolutely divine. My only complaint is that it doesn't seem to last on my skin, hopefully aging improves that.

[LavenderCoffee]

oh. OH. Wow. I just got this decant in the mail yesterday and I already put a bottle in my cart. 

 

I can't compare it to other storied patch scents, but this patch. This patch! This is my jam. And it is, as others are saying, primarily a warm woody patchouli scent, embraced by vanilla, amber and musk. Becomes more golden as it dries and settles in. Seems like it's nicely balanced enough for regular wear - assuming you are a patchouli person. Not a loud paisley shirt patch, but not disappearing into the background either.   

[MamaMoth]

this is just a heartbreakingly beautiful perfume

 

initially out front is a rich and somewhat buttery vanilla.  it almost feels like it could skew the blend gourmand at one point early on, but then it entertwines with the blooming amber and they hold each other perfectly in check.  the patchouli is a supporting player here: an earthy, woodsy foundation on which to set the stage.  it doesn't disappear, i can clearly smell the patchouli, but it never becomes patchouli-forward to me.  the golden musk, like it always does for me, overlays it all with a warm, sheer, gossamer perfume-iness. 

 

with all these rich and bold elements, this could very easily have become a heavy, overly rich blend, but it has a sheerness and restraint.  the throw is good, but light-handed enough to remain tantalizing.  it lasts a good long while, and eventually it drifts into becoming a musky, resinous vanilla skin scent. very beautiful. 

 

these are all favorite notes for me, and i tend to amp them all, so i was curious to see which would dominate.  the answer is:  none of them.  it's a symphony. 

 

it was very hard to put this one into words, and my review seems like a somewhat clinical analysis of a perfume that feels deeply nourishing to me. 

 

standing ovation. 

 

eta:  while it doesn't resemble banshee beat, i think i may prefer it for my vanilla/patch needs.  yeah, i said it. 

Edited May 5, 2022 by MamaMoth

[Casablanca]

From the reviews above, there seems to be quite a variety of experiences with this one... which I love. 

 

For my part, I get a rich black patch as the main player, smoothed with vanilla, made a bit perfumey with musk. There's also something dry and hemp-like coming through for me... combined with the vanilla patch, it does bring Revenant Rhythm to mind. Yet this veers much more musky and sweet (almost sugared) on my skin than RR.

 

Well-balanced and lovely, though a little too musky-perfumey for me.

[Lucchesa]

These notes couldn’t go wrong on me, but they go so right. You Can House Their Bodies has vaulted right into my pantheon of top BPAL patch scents. It’s a big round patchouli softened and sweetened by a non-foodie vanilla, with warm amber and just a trace of musk around the edges. Beautiful warm embrace of a scent.  There is nowhere and no season I wouldn’t wear this.  I cannot wait to pair it with Hedonism bath oil when it returns to stock. It lasted four or five hours, not all day, but that’s quite good for my skin chemistry.  I will need more than one bottle. 

[HerbGirl]

This amber-patchouli-vanilla is very well blended and takes a while to bloom on my skin. The amber waft is truly incredible. Gorgeous.

[tinyvulture]

Just beautiful. A sweet, cozy patchouli blend. The patchouli has like a cola vibe and the amber is so glowing and warming. The vanilla is very present and very sweet on my skin. Going to need a bottle, it’s like a second skin, love it.

[milo]

Ugh this is mostly a non descript amber on me.  I’ll hang on a bit, but I was hoping for more of the other notes to shine.  *pouts*. I’ll hang on to it and see where this goes over the next few months.

Edited May 22, 2022 by milo

[ka hulu]

This is one of my favorite poems even before becoming a parent; it’s been a favorite since I was a child. I love how it is represented here, for the activism and in the color scent note text. Like, thank you so much for You May House.

 

In bottle, to me this is almost a smoky sacramental wine. Sacred.

 

Wet, it’s strong vanilla amber patch, almost boozy, or maybe just rich with the wild innocence or purity of children’s expressed joy.

 

Dry and still hours after application, for me it’s something like cola blended with labdanum, woody in the sense of a living tree, deeply sweet, strong, and alive. I don’t get patchouli even a little at this stage, but if you’re a patch enthusiast, don’t let that stop you — this is a beautiful blend and I think really different, special. It’s suitably earthy and sweet, and has a zing to it that conjures images or sensation of yes, the arrow leaving the bow and flying fast, hitting the mark, then being briefly retrieved to let fly again. Some “air” element that isn’t quite explained in the notes.

 

For me, worthy of a second bottle. I don’t usually plan to age scents, but this one I can see being both a daily wear and also ever more glorious and softly, deeply rich over time. 10/10; ardent loves for this one. 

[Juliamon]

This is absolutely gorgeous in the bottle, like a vanilla Coke (I get that same cola vibe from the patch that tinyvulture does) but wearable instead of "I spilled soda all over my arm." On my skin it's a bit less lovely, having a 'flat' sort of feeling that I often get from amber-patchouli blends that aren't quite balanced, and the vanilla and musk are barely there. It also only lasts an hour or two, which is unusual for these notes on me (especially the vanilla, which in other blends can last 12+ hours). I think this is one that's going to need to sit in the aging box for awhile before it's wearable, but I can smell the promise in it and it has me looking forward to what it may age into!

[elissamay]

Is this the patch from Anne Bonny, because my goodness, I adore that scent, and this has that woody effect that I love from AB. I thought it was the sandalwood all this time. Can't wait to slather this one.

Edited June 6, 2022 by elissamay
Wording

[roseus]

A beautiful smooth, but slightly dirty patch made golden and slightly sweet by the amber, vanilla, and musk. It gets smoother and a bit less earthy as it dries, and even more snuggly and comforting. Strong and safe. 

[zankoku_zen]

Patchouli, musk, and a touch of amber. Medium throw and wear length. 

[Ennikar]

One of the early reviews talks about "cuddly patchouli" and I would agree. This patch smells warm and "fuzzy", and stands in contrast to the other patchoulis I've tried, which have tended towards either gnarly atmospherics or very "sugared" and slightly floral blends. The other notes are here and add to the warm-fuzzy vibe, but to me this is "about" the patchouli. It's very comfy and I'm happy to have it - might try layering it, especially with spicier scents, just for fun.

Other opinions: one of my betas, who has stated that he doesn't care for patchouli, described it as "very pleasant in the bottle" - though for the record I've long suspected that his thing is less not liking patchouli and more having had a bad experience with certain flavors thereof. 

Edited February 18 by Ennikar