Read 10:42 PM

[Seajewel]

A reflection on the selfie as a form of introspection and communication: ylang ylang and blackberries with sweet aged patchouli, vanilla absolute, cade, and labdanum.

 

 

 

 

[marared]

The first time I tried this, I couldn't smell the blackberries at all. I smell them now in the bottle, loud and fruity as they are in the summer BPALs. On my skin, the blackberry vanishes right away and leaves a vaguely nail polish funk that I think is the cade plus the ylang ylang. I am not familiar with cade, but is described as being phenolic. It's not as frightening as oud can sometimes be, but you do have to ride it out for a little while. The patchouli is in there , the vanilla and labdanum not so much. I think this is a blend that will really benefit from aging, give everything a chance to settle and meld for 6-12 months.

[LavenderCoffee]

In the bottle and freshly applied, I am also getting a crush of blackberry, but it recedes into the background. There is definitely something creating a sharper, medicinal type of smell as the oil dries, but that fades as well. It settles into an herbal patchouli with a murky, almost velvety fruit backdrop - there's the labdanum. It's like a darker, murkier version of Blackberry Moon '22 and I'm here for it.

[HerbGirl]

I really like this and have been wearing it the past few days. Mild blackberry meshed with cade (not a huge fan but it isn't a deal breaker here) and just barely a hint of ylang ylang and possibly patchouli (if I really try). Not sure why it is soooo light though. The scent is amazing, if only it was a bit stronger. Waft is non existent, I have to sniff my hand/wrist if I want to smell it. 

 

Eta: my decant is stronger than my bottle...hmm, ok. Still the same - blackberry and cade, and a tiny bit of ylang and possibly patchouli.

Edited January 6, 2023 by HerbGirl

[zankoku_zen]

Sweet blackberry musk. Medium throw and wear length. 

[Little Bird]

This reminds me of Trick #2 at first (notes of pomegranate, tobacco, patchouli, wild berries, pine pitch, oak, vanilla, and pink pepper).  The patchouli and amber are dry, earthy, and resinous, the cade gives off a whiff of smoky evergreen, the dark berries and vanilla lend a pleasant sweetness, and the ylang ylang adds a warm, powdery, classic feeling floral perfume.  As it dries down, it's actually a little too powdery on my skin and, as much as I love patchouli, the dry quality of this patchouli mixed with the powder isn't really working for me.  The lingering hint of berries and vanilla is my favorite part.

[MadameGorgon]

Since recovering from Covid, I sometimes have trouble with blackberry notes, but when they’re right, they’re oh so right.

 

I put this one aside for quite some time, but it jumped into my hand tonight, so I dabbed it on.

 

Top note of ghostly, ethereal ylang ylang over middle notes of thick, syrupy blackberry wine, with an undercurrent of dirty patchouli, a tangled thread of distant cedar smoke, and something blacker than black hiding in the shadows.  The notes don’t blend so much as float over one another in murky layers. 
 

Distinctly eerie.  A child lost in the woods at night.  A disembodied face peering through a dark window.  A pale blue butterfly delicately sipping tears from the sightless eyes of a corpse.

 

Moody.  Dangerously dark.  A little sadistic.  Terribly vain. 

Edited September 25, 2023 by MadameGorgon