Witches Lace 2022

[Seajewel]

Deep, spicy chestnut bundles of tobacco leaf, sleek red benzoin, smoked amber, tatters of green cognac, opium tar smears, withered mephitic petals, and globs of thick, sweet aged patchouli.

[LavenderCoffee]

This is unapologetically bold when wet, and sweeter than I expected, but not in an unpleasant way. The bottle has only rested 24 hours, so it might need to settle longer, but it's been consistent during that time.

 

The opium and cognac, along with whatever mephitic bits, hang out in the top range, while benzoin, amber and patch surround the tobacco base. It's decadent. There's almost a suggestion of banana here? Maduros? Idk.

Nothing acrid or bitter, just richness and a swirl of pleasantly intoxicating fumes.

 

I didn't get anything spicy or smoked at first, but after 20-30 minutes, the tobacco seems to have dried with the oil, and I definitely get a touch of spice and some smoke. It's soft and warm and resinous, and the fumes have decreased in strength but still seem to give everything a bit of shimmer - a diaphanous tobacco dream.

It hangs out here through the hour mark, close to the skin. So much quieter than where it started, but so good! And *very* different from the previous Witches' Lace.

[doomsday_disco]

This arrived on Thursday, and I tested it today.

 

Green cognac and opium tar are the strongest notes on wet, backed by the tobacco and patchouli. The green cognac in this is so lovely -- I believe it is the same one from my beloved Summer Lace (which is my favorite Lace). The bright cognac and sweet opium tar make the scent sweeter than expected, but I am here for it! Over time, the tobacco, patchouli, and resins gain strength, while the cognac calms down, making it a lightly smoky resinous tobacco and patch scent smeared with sweet opium tar. The smoked part of the smoked amber is not acrid, but the amber note itself is one of the more dry, perfume-y varieties. And tobacco here does have a little spice to it.

 

I really love the blast of green cognac and opium tar in the beginning. I think the final morph is pleasant, too, but I don't love it as much as when it was initially applied. This may be a candidate for a scent locket.

[Marina Napoli]

Okay. I'm obsessed.

 

I received my bottle a week ago and tested it today. 

 

In the bottle: this smells... happy? I know that's a weird way to describe it. But it just makes me feel happy. No specific notes stand out. It's bright and slightly creamy.

 

Wet: why am I getting apple? There's no apple in this. But I'm getting vanilla and apple skin and some kind of spice. Definitely getting that boozy cognac now, which makes me happy because it's stupid beautiful. It reminds me a lot of Emerald Lace or Summer Lace. 

 

Dry: alright, the tobacco and patchouli have come out to play now. It's settled into something rich, creamy, and sophisticated. The tobacco and cognac combo is intoxicating. I can't believe I only bought one bottle. Stupid of me. 

[VioletChaos]

Oh. My. Goddess.

started out by doing a timid test and about 30 minutes in went for a full slather because it just wasn't enough. Wet, I concur it's quite bold and rather cologne-y, though not in an unpleasant dude-bro-wearing-Axe kinda way. 

It quickly settles out of that phase upon dry-down and becomes this gorgeous beast that, in all my vast years of BPAL collecting, is frankly unlike any other scent I've ever experienced. It's deep and spicy without being especially resinous. Based on the notes I was expecting resins and a shot of heady patchouli but it's not any of those things. This is essentially one of those scents that makes one realize just how much of a genius Beth is when it comes to the sheer artistry of perfumery. The blend on this is exceptional, and I find it hard to pick out individual notes as it all just comes together in one fine piece of music.
It truly lives up to its name, as this is some serious witchcraft in a bottle.

I am grateful to hav had the fore site to purchase two bottles as I will want this on hand for the rest of my days. ❤️ 

[Tamarinda]

In the Bottle: Fresh, crisp apples?

 

Wet: Fresh apples macerating in booze and tobacco!

 

Dry: The apple part has, not faded away, but melded into the euphony of notes that make up this perfume. This is a seriously impressive olfactory interpretation of lace. It is gauzy and autumnal. The throw is moderate, but the scent lasts a good eight hours at least.

 

I'm so happy I bought this. I was worried about the patchouli, since I tend to amp it to 1990s Hot Topic proportions. Thankfully that's not happening here. This is a stunning perfume and interestingly enough, more "wearable" on me than Sugared Lace. And by "wearable," I mean, "will not knock a passerby unconscious." Sugared Lace is the best thing I've ever smelled but I amp it to bajeezuz.

[MamaMoth]

i'm finding my thoughts on this one a bit difficult to articulate.  i've had this review half-finished for weeks now, and i keep pecking at it.

 

when first applied, the opium tar comes on very strong. i'm not intimately familiar with that note, but it reads as a heavy, dark, almost sticky floral and that sounds about right.  i can smell the cognac, and it's boozy and toothsome.  i'm not the biggest floral fan, so this opening stage isn't my favorite, though this dark soporific type floral is more palatable to me than most. i can tell there's some dark complicated stuff going on in the background, but i can't pin it down while the opium demands the spotlight.

 

as it dries, the opium tar fades back, and becomes more tar, less opium.  and this is where it starts to get good.  like really, REALLY good.  but this is also where i have a hard time articulating, because it becomes one of those blends where everything is so meshed and complicated, it's impossible for me to break it apart. it's deep and rich, a little spicy, a lot resinous.  it's dark and smooth, and sweet from the resins/tobacco. it's a little cologney, but in the best possible way.  

 

fully dry, i can finally see it as a lace.  the tobacco and cognac are doing their lace thing, and i even feel like i can sense a little vanilla in there, which i guess is probably the benzoin?

 

this one is a real morpher.  it's a little rocky for me at first, but the payoff is spectacular and totally worth riding it out for.

 

dark, mysterious, intoxicating, a little dangerous, and spot-on witchy.  this is 100% the kind of perfume i signed up for.

[starbrow]

A witch's ride for sure. Wet, this is oddly floral with a slight hint of apple. The floral is reminding me a lot of broom flower (from Hexennacht) which would make a lot of sense for a Witches Lace! It's not a flower I personally enjoy smelling on myself, as it's quite heavy and loud in a green sort of way. Noxious (mephitic) petals indeed! But once that element begins to fade, the other layers do emerge.

 

The gorgeous cognac and dreamy tobacco are at the heart of this lace. They are old-fashioned indulgences, soaked deep into the lace, with a suggestion of narcotic opium. The smokiness is just the right kind, light and swirling. In spite of all the dark notes, this does not end up being a very dark or gnarly perfume. Quite the opposite, it has an herbal dreamy atmosphere tinged with a hint of vanilla, a dab of patchouli, a lot of restraint in other words! 

 

If I could change anything, it would be to remove the broom flower or lower the ratio of it in the blend so that I could enjoy the wet stage as much as the drydown. I don't think this is something that will age out, either. However, the drydown is so beautiful, I am happy to hang on to my bottle and see where it goes.

[bunnicula]

This scent screams REDDD to me. A deep, rich, and poisonous red. The chestnut bundles and tobacco leaf add this warm "spiced" feeling, almost makes my nose think there is a tiny bit of cinnamon in here. Smells a bit like spiced licorice-y apples and cognac were added into a large cauldron where a witch is stirring her brewing potion. Inside the cauldron all the ingredients melded into a sticky tar-like consistency and it's globbing up thick noxious bubbles! The wisps of smoke swirl through her cottage kitchen, picking up the scent of all her hanging herbs, spices, tobacco leaf bundles, before trailing out the window.

And if I was walking through the woods near that cottage and smelled this in the air, I would be immediately enamored!! Such a unique scent that makes me feel powerful and mysterious lol, this one worked for me a lot more than Sugared Lace. It doesn't feel too floral to my nose, it also doesn't feel too dark. Very witchy, aptly named, and I am excited to wear this more in the fall - even though I've been wearing it throughout this summer too! Also excited to see how it ages, perhaps that aged patchouli will come out to play??

[HerbGirl]

I love this so much and wish I had bought 2 bottles instead of one, but I'm so happy to have this. I smell something akin to apple as a few folks have mentioned, but it is most likely the petals (?), opium and cognac doing something wonderful. Zero patchouli. I bought this immediately and have been wearing it since May '22 and still zero patchouli. I'm ok with that because I feel patchouli would not fit in here. This is one of the most addictive perfumes I have ever worn. It smells like May to me, can't explain, but definitely not an Autumn scent. Enchanting, for sure.

 

Eta: And after wearing it in May and early June '24 it does smell like Autumn 🙂 One of my greatest loves.

Edited June 7 by HerbGirl

[zankoku_zen]

Apple, tobacco, resinous patchouli. Medium throw and wear length.