The Red Ribbon

[Seajewel]

Red silken musk, sweet patchouli, ho wood, amber velvet, parchment, bourbon vanilla, and goat’s milk accord. 

[Little Bird]

I smudged the smallest amount of this on my wrist and my partner was complaining for hours that it was too strong, so it has great throw and longevity on me. 😂

I really love the opening of The Red Ribbon where it's sweet, warm, sultry red musk and a thick, honeyed cream scent.  It starts off very gourmand, but that stage fades quick on me (about 5 minutes) and then it becomes more of a muddied, brown scent with a much heavier, slightly powdery amber and hints of dry wood and patchouli.  The amber has the quality of a traditional perfume and feels very fall-like to me (reminds me of wearing Shalimar and walking through crunchy dead leaves).

After an hour, The Red Ribbon settles into a sweet red musk and dry, heavy amber that's very dark and deep in feel with an edge of powdery sophistication (not baby powder, more an edge of dusty, powdered incense).  The musk and amber blend together so seamlessly, like a chunk of amber that's glowing red.  Bpal's ambers are usually baby powdery on my skin, but this one isn't, and it feels very full bodied and complex.

So.  Yeah.  I love this too.
 

[starbrow]

This is one sexpot of a scent.

 

I am getting big Midwarkust vibes from The Red Ribbon! The red musk is raunchy yet cute, bright and sweet in a flavored candy lip gloss way, and just as naughty in mood. Like, *bite me!* A black cherry vanilla flavored gloss. The sweetness of it is a HUGE mood. I think the creaminess of the goat's milk is amplifying that effect, like when you heavily sugar your coffee and it makes the cream taste extra creamy. Fortunately, this was clearly a goat who was not around a boy goat, because her milk does not smell goaty. It's the thick but not too lactic kind of richness of an amazing recipe that uses goat's cheese. It doesn't go heavy or sickeningly rich on the skin. Somehow it stays quite light and wearable, even on my sweet-amping skin.

 

I do enjoy when the manic sweetness starts to burn off and the deeper notes emerge. The amber velvet is almost like - red velvet cake without the cake, with a more spicy vanilla. Speaking of spices - maybe cinnamon? A bit of heat? There's a nice patchouli at The Red Ribbon's core, kind of like The Elephant is Slow to Mate's patchouli sweetness and sophisticated woods. I wouldn't have guessed parchment from a blind smell or anything, but I think that's part of the sophistication I get on the back end, a crackle of something a bit papery/wood pulpy. It's a nice contrast to the blast of young sweet candy temptation at the beginning.

 

This reminds me a bit of a red musky take on Atsui-Mono or Humorous Copulation, two of my favorite 2019 Shungas. I will happily keep my bottle and see where it ends up by next year!

[HerbGirl]

What a red musk dream! It reminds me of Awake, but much heavier. Somehow, this is a really complex scent journey, all of the notes playing out over time but that creamy red musk remains the entire time and this lasts a long time. Big throw. Big love.

Edited April 17, 2022 by HerbGirl

[dancingchair]

I'm honestly not usually a huge fan of red musk, it smells too indolic for me. I was really intrigued by the goat milk note, though, so I took a chance on a decant. I'm glad I did, though, because this perfume is a really nice and unique blend! The red musk and patchouli are both reined in by sweeter cream notes. The cream is so good in this, it almost smells like a honeyed cream. It's a very seductive combination with the red musk. The ho wood adds a dimension to the whole perfume that really makes it feel like a Shunga.

 

Longevity is good! I was able to easily smell this one on myself for a solid 8+ hours. I dunno if I'll be getting a bottle, but I will be enjoying my decant.

[groovyrooby]

Another Shunga win! This reminds me of a red musk version of Womb Furie. It starts out *ugh* *drool* so sweet and rich and buttery. Then the red musk (LOVE) comes storming in and sexes up the whole thing. The final, lasting effect loses a bit of the sweetness and leans more on the patchouli and dry spice. Gorgeous. This was one I kept waving in front of my husband's nose going "Smell me! I smell GOOD!" 

BTW that was a dab. Excellent throw! This is a keeper, and I'm definitely gonna dab it like crazy, just to keep getting the full start-to-finish experience. 

[LavenderCoffee]

This reads like Elephant is Slow to Mate Lite on my skin, which is not a bad thing. Lighter on resins, and softly creamy. There's almost something slightly sparkly about it, but I can't explain that at all, it's just nice. Not getting much throw. 

[Lucchesa]

The Red Ribbon is an extremely wearable red musk blend, sweetened and softened by the vanilla and amber.  The wood notes are secondary; it's a subtle not a gnarly patchouli if that's keeping any red musk lovers from trying this.  The goat milk might as well be oat milk on me, creamy but with none of that barnyard twang.  Yes, the red musk dominates, giving this good throw and wear length, but it lets the other notes sing as well.  Just lovely!

[Llanval]

I also get black cherry vanilla from The Red Ribbon. A shiny, bright black cherry lollipop or lip gloss is exactly the vibe of this scent....which is tragic because that's not what I was hoping for.  I was hoping for something a little similar to last year's Famous Kabuki Actors In Imagined Scenes of Lovemaking with the really good goat milk note, but everything is being trampled by the very fruity red musk.  I haven't had red musk go fruity on me before, but that may be because I have no other scents with so much red musk.  I'm glad I have two decants just in case all the other notes I was hoping for start to sing louder than they do now, so I think I'll put these decants in perfume jail and see what happens just before the Shunga come down. 

 

Throw is only medium on me, but it has decent staying power.

[Casablanca]

I could see this one being a consistent love of red musk devotees.

 

Spicy red musk and lightly sweet vanilla goat's milk are the most potent notes on my skin. Besides its spice, this red musk carries a cherry-like fruitiness that doesn't manifest in the published notes list; I think for me, it adds to this blend's appeal. The vanilla goat's milk is rich and also adds a lot of draw for me.

 

I notice a sweet amber and a general woods impression in drydown. But mostly, this is a fruity red musk and sweet vanilla goat's milk.

[Poenari]

I love red musk and have many many BPAL blends that are red musk dominant. The Red Ribbon does not disappoint! 

 

Smooth sweet red musk, and the vanilla and goat's milk combine to make this just perfect for me. Dare I say it - this reminds me a lot of The Infernal Lover! I never had the version of TIF that somehow went out lacking the red musk, so obviously that would differ. 

 

Definitely upgrading my decant to a bottle (or two!)

 

Long lasting and good throw, too! 

[MamaMoth]

seriously loving this perfume.

goes on with a LOT of sugary red musk with a hint of jasmine to it.  there's some spiciness... i don't *think* it's cinnamon, but i can't really pinpoint it.  a creamy milk note starts to envelop it, and the vegetal nature of the musk burns off early on.  there's no twang to the goats milk at all.  it's really just reading as a creamy vanilla.

as it dries,  a fuzzy amber note emerges,  giving it a slightly powdery, perfumey richness.   i'm totally getting the parchment too, something smooth and dry and... lightly woody ?  maybe a little hint of a cloth-type note?  it's hard to describe.

the patchouli is a little shy, but not hidden. in the beginning it's just providing support structure, but it begins to show its face more and more.   it's sweet and earthy, rich, thoroughly entwined with the musk and vanilla milk.

completely dry, this is just phenomenal.  sweet and musky, earthy, creamy, rich, just a tad spicy.  that sounds like a lot, but everything is tempered by that elusive parchment note, which just seems to smooth it all over.  it's not busy, or muddled, everything is just very well-blended. 

the throw on this is fantastic.  it's not aggressive, but i feel like i'm just exuding it as an aura. it subtly morphs over time, but it's like a journey you go on... enjoying every stop along the way.

[pommelo]

ok i'm going to be that one naysayer here. 

 i have a ton of red musk scents and really didn't need another one, but here goes. 

 

i love how it starts off, a creamy vanilla red musk, very gourmand yet grounded by the red musk. it's a sexy, eat-me-now! kind of vibe. 

BUT the drydown though.. after an hour ish the vanilla cream completely fades and i'm left with this very musty red musk + amber????? it kinda smells like an old attic with a lot of expired makeup. 

[Karaline08]

In the bottle: this scent smells like a creamy, spicy fall scented candle.

 

First applied: I think there's something animalic(?), powdery(?), it reminds me of a bathroom. There is a lot going on and it's also very strong, it's too much for me. It's like someone set up a new age shop in a public restroom.

 

After 30 minutes: it chills out a little and the red musk becomes recognizable. It has this musky + fruity + creamy + spicy thing happening and it is going SO WRONG on my skin. WHY. I can tell that it has potential, it's rich and creamy and sweet (kinda reminds me of Snake Oil) BUT the bathroom is lurking at the edges, I can't escape it.

 

After an hour: it's no longer bathroom, and it feels similar to the Pumpkin Snake Latte scent from the weenies this year (which also has something that initially goes wrong on my skin, I suspect cream/milk + red musk is not for me). It's nice at this point. Red musk and something rich and slightly spicy.

 

Ultimately, I am not sure if this is worth holding onto, if it takes a whole hour to become pleasant. I really wanted to like this ;_; but realistically I have other things in my collection with similar vibes and way more pleasant openings that I would reach for over this.

 

[zankoku_zen]

Creamy red musk with a touch of amber and parchment. Medium throw, great wear length.

[NeonER]

This one has changed for me! It was very sweet and gourmand with a musky backdrop when I first got it. A year on out, the muskiness has gotten much more amplified.  
I still like it, but it’s for sure different after sitting. 

[amoray]

This smells like honeyed Heartshow. Whoa. A blast of cherried red musk. The goat's milk and honey give it a creamy funk. Mmmmmmm. This is stronk.