![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
Entry tags:
BPAL Review: Lovers with Rutting Cats, White Chocolate and Sugared Violets, Lovers in a Ricefield
LOVERS WITH RUTTING CATS (LE, Lupercalia 2009: Novel Ideas for Secret Amusements II)
Vanilla, red ginger, oakmoss, palm date, and oud.
In the vial: A touch of purple fruit and spices against thick, warm, creamy vanilla (like Antique Lace, but without the florals). The fruit and spice give it warmth and color, and all I can say is "god this is good."
On me: For the first half hour, the date amps up to a sticky sweet rich fruit teetering on the line of artifical. But after that half hour, it fades considerably. Red ginger and a touch of oud are the star, a warm, slightly smoky spice that grounds the sweet fruit. The vanilla remains through it all (the oud's smoke conceals it slightly, but only when sniffed up close)—it's rich, smooth, and almost liquid, but not too sweet. Scent-color is red gold; throw is high drying down to medium-low.
Verdict: When I sniff my skin directly, the oud is a little too smoky-dry for me. But from a distance, floating around me in a whispered haze of scent, Rutting Cats is simply lovely. The vanilla is rich and creamy, colored and spiced by the red ginger and just a touch of date, and it's a beautiful balance of smoothness and spice. I wish I could bury my nose in the scent, but instead I'll be content to enjoy the waves of it that surround me. I'll keep my decant, but don't need a bottle.
WHITE CHOCOLATE AND SUGARED VIOLETS (LE, Luperalia 2009: Box of Chocolates)
In the vial: Hello herbal. There's a hit of sugar too, but mostly I'm getting a dark wet herbal, not at all thin light violets I was expecting but instead something rather reminiscent of the catnip in 13 April 07.
On me: I'd never smelled violets in perfume, and so I didn't know what to expect—but I certainly didn't expect this. The white chocolate is present, sweet and pale and smooth, but it's far secondary to the herbal violets. On drydown they lose their wetness, resolving to a dry and almost powdery herbal, dark green and deep. They die off a bit with wear, but remain the dominant aspect of the blend, and still remind me strongly of 13 April 07. Scent-color is powdery deep green. Throw is moderate to low.
Verdict: I wish the white chocolate were a bit more present, but even if it were I doubt a sugary herbal would delight be. I'll retest this in a few more days, to see if the scent is still settling after shipping, but as it is this is just too herbal, too light on the chocolate, and all-around too odd for me. I'll trade away my imp.
ETA: As it wears, the stark herbal nature of the violets continues to dry down. Within an hour this becomes much more pleasant, a soft powdery herbal against a more noticeable sweet white chocolate. However, it never quite reaches the point where I enjoy it. While it improves as it wears, I'll still pass along my imp.
LOVERS IN A RICEFIELD (LE, Lupercalia 2009: Novel Ideas for Secret Amusements II)
Plum blossom, vanilla sandalwood, nutmeg, and wild rice.
In the vial: Plum, fruity, juicy, and slightly bitter; along with it something that I can't pin down, white and starchy and so probably the rice.
On me: The plum loses its bitterness as it is smoothed out by creamy vanilla. The gently-sweetened plum has a bit of a candle-like quality to it, which might be toned down by the sandalwood or nutmeg were I getting any of either; however, the candle-like quality isn't offputting. There's perhaps a touch of paleness from the rice, but mostly this is just plum and vanilla. Scent-color is a waxy pale purple. Throw is moderate to low.
Verdict: Lovers in a Ricefield is pleasant but a bit flat. It's just plum and vanilla for me, which is nice enough but lacks dimension—there's no warmth and texture from the spices, barely any starch from the rice, or whatever else I was supposed to find here. I don't know yet if I'll keep my decant, but I certainly don't need a bottle.
Vanilla, red ginger, oakmoss, palm date, and oud.
In the vial: A touch of purple fruit and spices against thick, warm, creamy vanilla (like Antique Lace, but without the florals). The fruit and spice give it warmth and color, and all I can say is "god this is good."
On me: For the first half hour, the date amps up to a sticky sweet rich fruit teetering on the line of artifical. But after that half hour, it fades considerably. Red ginger and a touch of oud are the star, a warm, slightly smoky spice that grounds the sweet fruit. The vanilla remains through it all (the oud's smoke conceals it slightly, but only when sniffed up close)—it's rich, smooth, and almost liquid, but not too sweet. Scent-color is red gold; throw is high drying down to medium-low.
Verdict: When I sniff my skin directly, the oud is a little too smoky-dry for me. But from a distance, floating around me in a whispered haze of scent, Rutting Cats is simply lovely. The vanilla is rich and creamy, colored and spiced by the red ginger and just a touch of date, and it's a beautiful balance of smoothness and spice. I wish I could bury my nose in the scent, but instead I'll be content to enjoy the waves of it that surround me. I'll keep my decant, but don't need a bottle.
WHITE CHOCOLATE AND SUGARED VIOLETS (LE, Luperalia 2009: Box of Chocolates)
In the vial: Hello herbal. There's a hit of sugar too, but mostly I'm getting a dark wet herbal, not at all thin light violets I was expecting but instead something rather reminiscent of the catnip in 13 April 07.
On me: I'd never smelled violets in perfume, and so I didn't know what to expect—but I certainly didn't expect this. The white chocolate is present, sweet and pale and smooth, but it's far secondary to the herbal violets. On drydown they lose their wetness, resolving to a dry and almost powdery herbal, dark green and deep. They die off a bit with wear, but remain the dominant aspect of the blend, and still remind me strongly of 13 April 07. Scent-color is powdery deep green. Throw is moderate to low.
Verdict: I wish the white chocolate were a bit more present, but even if it were I doubt a sugary herbal would delight be. I'll retest this in a few more days, to see if the scent is still settling after shipping, but as it is this is just too herbal, too light on the chocolate, and all-around too odd for me. I'll trade away my imp.
ETA: As it wears, the stark herbal nature of the violets continues to dry down. Within an hour this becomes much more pleasant, a soft powdery herbal against a more noticeable sweet white chocolate. However, it never quite reaches the point where I enjoy it. While it improves as it wears, I'll still pass along my imp.
LOVERS IN A RICEFIELD (LE, Lupercalia 2009: Novel Ideas for Secret Amusements II)
Plum blossom, vanilla sandalwood, nutmeg, and wild rice.
In the vial: Plum, fruity, juicy, and slightly bitter; along with it something that I can't pin down, white and starchy and so probably the rice.
On me: The plum loses its bitterness as it is smoothed out by creamy vanilla. The gently-sweetened plum has a bit of a candle-like quality to it, which might be toned down by the sandalwood or nutmeg were I getting any of either; however, the candle-like quality isn't offputting. There's perhaps a touch of paleness from the rice, but mostly this is just plum and vanilla. Scent-color is a waxy pale purple. Throw is moderate to low.
Verdict: Lovers in a Ricefield is pleasant but a bit flat. It's just plum and vanilla for me, which is nice enough but lacks dimension—there's no warmth and texture from the spices, barely any starch from the rice, or whatever else I was supposed to find here. I don't know yet if I'll keep my decant, but I certainly don't need a bottle.