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Part one of three for Yule/Anniversary decants. I've been so slow to test, maybe because I had so many mild misses. Spoilers, but my probably-definitely (but-there-are-just-two) bottle orders will be First Lash and Eighth Lash. First Lash gets a free pass because I was also on the hunt for something frankincense-heavy, so it can effectively pull double duty, but I still wish it didn't morph! Eighth Last is so redundant in my collection, but I'd kick myself for letting "furry, feat. more fur" pass me by.
Redundancy in the Hearthflame and Incense & First Lash reviews just because these are ripped directly from BPAL.org.
HEARTHFLAME AND INCENSE (LE, Yule 2018)
Crackling almond wood and the deep sweet smoke of burgundy pitch, Austrian amber resin, black copal, and frankincense.
In vial: Dry wood, a hint of pine; a clean, outdoorsy scent.
On me: This starts out so beautiful—like the vial, but darker, smokier, more resinous. It reminds me of the woods in Samhain (damp woods, fir needle, and black patchouli with the gentlest touches of warm pumpkin, clove, nutmeg, allspice, sweet red apple and mullein) and, like Samhain, has a hint of pitchy/sappy sweetness. A sweet, woody campfire set deep in pine woods, outdoorsy, autumnal/wintery, rich and smokey and gorgeous. It's the bolder, darker cousin of the woodsmoke of First Last (Austrian black amber, woodsmoke, frankincense, and terebinth). But consistently at the 4 or 5 hour mark this goes sickly-sweet, that resinous sweetness amping to something single-note and cloying; it reminds me of a less fruity, more resinous take on the sweetness of The Gorobble (a scent redolent of the crusty exterior of burnt marshmallows).
On clothes: Lighter, less resinous, and sweeter than the skin scent, but doesn't do that 4-hour sweet morph—this amalgamates the total experience of the scent worn on skin. It's more stable, but weaker and less distinctive.
Verdict: If not for that sweet morph...! This is gorgeous; not at all Heartflame, very much Campfire; a cousin to Samhain in setting and vibe. But that strong sweet morph kills things for me.
FIRST LASH (LE, Yule 2018: Twelve Lashes from Krampus)
Austrian black amber, woodsmoke, frankincense, and terebinth.
In vial: Smokey, outdoorsy, a gentle touch of pine.
On me: The piney scent of the terebinth is outdoorsy, woody, resinous—not at all sharp, which is what normally scares me away from pine. It sits alongside a smooth woodsmoke which is very slightly sweet. It has a true bonfire vibe, a little more "burning wood while in the woods" than straight campfire/chimney smoke, but not complicated by a complete sketch of the surrounding forest. Compare to Hearthflame and Incense (crackling almond wood and the deep sweet smoke of burgundy pitch, Austrian amber resin, black copal, and frankincense), which is similar but stronger and darker, and which has a lingering note of resinous sweetness reminiscent of marshmallow char of The Gorobble (a scent redolent of the crusty exterior of burnt marshmallows); this is more true to life, less strong, a beautiful balance of woods to smoke. The longer it wears, the more I get the frankincense, almost but not quite a single note, with a touch of woodsmoke in the background. Throw is good; wearlength is 10+ hours.
Verdict: My favorite scent in the whole world is chimney smoke, smelled while walking in winter in the Pacific Northwest. This isn't exactly that—the fire is a little closer than my neighbor's chimney—but it's as close as I've gotten in a BPAL blend. The frankincense finisher is pretty, and I've also been looking for a frankincense-heavy blend, but I wish this kept its beautiful woodsmoke indefinitely. I'll still probably get a bottle.
EIGHTH LASH (LE, Yule 2018: Twelve Lashes from Krampus)
Matted fur, oakmoss, and clove
In vial: Woolly musk, a little musty; outdoorsy by way of oakmoss.
On me: I buy this as a fur scent—it's warm, slightly but not unpleasantly musty, earthy and animalic; definitely musk, but doesn't go sweet on me as musk often does. I usually read clove as prickly, but this is a subtle clove, normally only a background darkness, sometimes emerging to add a touch of spice. The oakmoss is herbal and outdoorsy, and has a scent-texture that blends beautifully with the fur. A stable, well-blended scent; decent throw and wear length. It left a sweet cola-like/resinous hint of scent on my clothes.
Verdict: This reminds me a lot of Ivanushka (soft, velvety fur and warm musk, brushed by forest woods and dusted by dry leaves), but where Ivanushka is a soft, downy, golden skin fur Eighth Lash is a thick, dirty fur—unwashed but not unpleasantly so; warm, embracing, like cuddling a huge beast outdoors. I'm not happy with the scent it left on my clothes, so I'll have to retest, but I'm leaning towards a bottle.
TWELFTH LASH (LE, Yule 2018: Twelve Lashes from Krampus)
Blackened patchouli, sweet vetiver, labdanum, and honey.
In vial: That sweet, caramelized feel from Zoe and the Goat (caramelized patchouli, cream, and thick golden honey), but the vetiver changes the base considerably.
On me: Zoe and the Goat comparisons are apt, mostly for the caramelization—the bases differ but the caramelization takes center stage. Bizarrely, but I get something almost cola-like from the caramel + labdanum—it's a sort of sweet/dark/resinous vibe which distinguishes this blend from ZatG. Not too strong, not too sweet, a little more nuanced than ZatG.
Verdict: Not for me. ZatG didn't work on me either, my skin amps the caramel and that caramel isn't to my taste. But it's the weird cola that kills this for me—I don't want to smell like that!
SCHIACHPERCHTEN (LE, Yule 2018: Perchtenläufe)
The Brutal Ones: dark chocolate, black pepper, and green cardamom.
In vial: Sweet, powdery, herbal/minty chocolate.
On me: Powdery, mildly sweet cocoa, peppered and herbal, with a grassy, minty topnote, without anything mentholated or sharp. I'd believe you if you told me this was a Thirteen—it has that same "complicated, herbal chocolate," if not as complex. (I'm probably comparing it most to 7.05 and 4.07 Thirteens.) The pepper brings a pleasant warmth. In one test, this went headachey on me; either way, it's potent stuff.
Verdict: Next time, google "green cardamon" in particular (spoiler: it's grassy and herbal! not the cardamon I was expecting.) This is pleasant but powdery, but I'm not big on mint. I would be interested to see it age; I wonder if the chocolate will go darker or the pepper stronger, if it'll become more "brutal."
Redundancy in the Hearthflame and Incense & First Lash reviews just because these are ripped directly from BPAL.org.
HEARTHFLAME AND INCENSE (LE, Yule 2018)
Crackling almond wood and the deep sweet smoke of burgundy pitch, Austrian amber resin, black copal, and frankincense.
In vial: Dry wood, a hint of pine; a clean, outdoorsy scent.
On me: This starts out so beautiful—like the vial, but darker, smokier, more resinous. It reminds me of the woods in Samhain (damp woods, fir needle, and black patchouli with the gentlest touches of warm pumpkin, clove, nutmeg, allspice, sweet red apple and mullein) and, like Samhain, has a hint of pitchy/sappy sweetness. A sweet, woody campfire set deep in pine woods, outdoorsy, autumnal/wintery, rich and smokey and gorgeous. It's the bolder, darker cousin of the woodsmoke of First Last (Austrian black amber, woodsmoke, frankincense, and terebinth). But consistently at the 4 or 5 hour mark this goes sickly-sweet, that resinous sweetness amping to something single-note and cloying; it reminds me of a less fruity, more resinous take on the sweetness of The Gorobble (a scent redolent of the crusty exterior of burnt marshmallows).
On clothes: Lighter, less resinous, and sweeter than the skin scent, but doesn't do that 4-hour sweet morph—this amalgamates the total experience of the scent worn on skin. It's more stable, but weaker and less distinctive.
Verdict: If not for that sweet morph...! This is gorgeous; not at all Heartflame, very much Campfire; a cousin to Samhain in setting and vibe. But that strong sweet morph kills things for me.
FIRST LASH (LE, Yule 2018: Twelve Lashes from Krampus)
Austrian black amber, woodsmoke, frankincense, and terebinth.
In vial: Smokey, outdoorsy, a gentle touch of pine.
On me: The piney scent of the terebinth is outdoorsy, woody, resinous—not at all sharp, which is what normally scares me away from pine. It sits alongside a smooth woodsmoke which is very slightly sweet. It has a true bonfire vibe, a little more "burning wood while in the woods" than straight campfire/chimney smoke, but not complicated by a complete sketch of the surrounding forest. Compare to Hearthflame and Incense (crackling almond wood and the deep sweet smoke of burgundy pitch, Austrian amber resin, black copal, and frankincense), which is similar but stronger and darker, and which has a lingering note of resinous sweetness reminiscent of marshmallow char of The Gorobble (a scent redolent of the crusty exterior of burnt marshmallows); this is more true to life, less strong, a beautiful balance of woods to smoke. The longer it wears, the more I get the frankincense, almost but not quite a single note, with a touch of woodsmoke in the background. Throw is good; wearlength is 10+ hours.
Verdict: My favorite scent in the whole world is chimney smoke, smelled while walking in winter in the Pacific Northwest. This isn't exactly that—the fire is a little closer than my neighbor's chimney—but it's as close as I've gotten in a BPAL blend. The frankincense finisher is pretty, and I've also been looking for a frankincense-heavy blend, but I wish this kept its beautiful woodsmoke indefinitely. I'll still probably get a bottle.
EIGHTH LASH (LE, Yule 2018: Twelve Lashes from Krampus)
Matted fur, oakmoss, and clove
In vial: Woolly musk, a little musty; outdoorsy by way of oakmoss.
On me: I buy this as a fur scent—it's warm, slightly but not unpleasantly musty, earthy and animalic; definitely musk, but doesn't go sweet on me as musk often does. I usually read clove as prickly, but this is a subtle clove, normally only a background darkness, sometimes emerging to add a touch of spice. The oakmoss is herbal and outdoorsy, and has a scent-texture that blends beautifully with the fur. A stable, well-blended scent; decent throw and wear length. It left a sweet cola-like/resinous hint of scent on my clothes.
Verdict: This reminds me a lot of Ivanushka (soft, velvety fur and warm musk, brushed by forest woods and dusted by dry leaves), but where Ivanushka is a soft, downy, golden skin fur Eighth Lash is a thick, dirty fur—unwashed but not unpleasantly so; warm, embracing, like cuddling a huge beast outdoors. I'm not happy with the scent it left on my clothes, so I'll have to retest, but I'm leaning towards a bottle.
TWELFTH LASH (LE, Yule 2018: Twelve Lashes from Krampus)
Blackened patchouli, sweet vetiver, labdanum, and honey.
In vial: That sweet, caramelized feel from Zoe and the Goat (caramelized patchouli, cream, and thick golden honey), but the vetiver changes the base considerably.
On me: Zoe and the Goat comparisons are apt, mostly for the caramelization—the bases differ but the caramelization takes center stage. Bizarrely, but I get something almost cola-like from the caramel + labdanum—it's a sort of sweet/dark/resinous vibe which distinguishes this blend from ZatG. Not too strong, not too sweet, a little more nuanced than ZatG.
Verdict: Not for me. ZatG didn't work on me either, my skin amps the caramel and that caramel isn't to my taste. But it's the weird cola that kills this for me—I don't want to smell like that!
SCHIACHPERCHTEN (LE, Yule 2018: Perchtenläufe)
The Brutal Ones: dark chocolate, black pepper, and green cardamom.
In vial: Sweet, powdery, herbal/minty chocolate.
On me: Powdery, mildly sweet cocoa, peppered and herbal, with a grassy, minty topnote, without anything mentholated or sharp. I'd believe you if you told me this was a Thirteen—it has that same "complicated, herbal chocolate," if not as complex. (I'm probably comparing it most to 7.05 and 4.07 Thirteens.) The pepper brings a pleasant warmth. In one test, this went headachey on me; either way, it's potent stuff.
Verdict: Next time, google "green cardamon" in particular (spoiler: it's grassy and herbal! not the cardamon I was expecting.) This is pleasant but powdery, but I'm not big on mint. I would be interested to see it age; I wonder if the chocolate will go darker or the pepper stronger, if it'll become more "brutal."
