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BPAL Reviews: Flor de Muerto, Pumpkin Latte, Pomegranate V, Lawn Gnome, Philologus
FLOR DE MUERTO (LE, Halloween 2010)
The orange marigold, or zempasúchitl.
In the vial: Slightly earthy, slightly fruity, slightly tropical/fleshy, orange floral.
On me: That tropical fleshiness fades during drydown, thank goodness; the scent also grows a bit earthier, a little more like that dense spicy floral I expect from marigold. But once it's settled the scent is a little bit powdery, not too earthy, and quite faint; it's a sweetish golden floral, more of a suggestion of a marigold's color and shape than a precise recreation of its scent. Sometimes it feels a bit too powdery, and it's subtle and short-lived. Scent-color is pale golden orange; wearlength and throw are both very low.
Verdict: I want so much to like this, but it isn't all that I had hoped for. Perhaps it's just me and my experience with marigolds, but I had expected a spicier, earthier, different sort of floral—something more like a golden carnation than an autumnal orangeblossom. What I got instead is pleasant, but not quite satisfying, and so faint and brief as to hardly matter. I'll hold on to my bottle to see how it ages, but honestly I'm a bit disappointed.
PUMPKIN LATTE (LE, Halloween 2010)
Espresso, pumpkin syrup, smoky vanilla bean, milk, raw sugar, and a dash of cinnamon and nutmeg.
In the vial: Coffee, mild without being milky or sweet; I'm not sure if I'm smelling pumpkin or just projecting it, but there is a distant warmth to the scent.
On me: Goes on strong coffee, but this was a lesson to me to let bottles rest after shipping: fresh from the mailbox the drydown was all harsh espresso, but after a few days that settled into a much smoother, gentler coffee. Warms up into, well, a pumpkin latte: golden, smooth, warm, comforting, pumpkin and coffee—the milk and vanilla do more to give a sense of smoothness than a distinct scent, and the spices bring out and warm up the pumpkin. Again, fresh from the mail this was too powdery, but within a few days that died down to just some texture to the spice. The major drawback (for me) with Pumpkin Patch V '09 was its powderiness; Pumpkin Latte is admittedly a very similar scent, but it does away with the cocoa and with the strange texture that came with it, and what remains is the warm, comforting, golden scent of a pumpkin latte at Starbucks—although perhaps not quite as good as the real thing. Scent-color is creamy burnt orange; throw and wearlength are both moderate.
Verdict: All told, I'm pleased. Pumpkin Latte isn't precisely perfect—perhaps it's too faint, perhaps just the pumpkin is—but it is beautiful, comforting, and pretty much what it says on the tin, in the best possible way. I look forward to seeing how my bottle ages.
POMEGRANATE V (LE, Halloween 2010: The Pomegranate Patch)
Pomegranate, carnation, amber, cardamom, neroli, vetiver, black pepper, and opium tar.
In the vial: There's some darkness and depth in the background, but mostly this is just a fruity red, slightly tart pomegranate.
On me: A complex, shadowed, stunning pomegranate. Breaking down the notes in this is hard—they are so smoothly blended. Mostly I get opium and vetiver, a smooth and slightly smoky scent that adds substantial darkness; there's not much bite or spice, but the other notes (spices and carnation, mostly) add substantial nuance. Pomegranate stars above it all, and it makes for a jewel of a scent, pigmented but not too bright; the other notes provide so much shade and character, and ground the pomegranate so it doesn't go candy-like or grow too strong. The tartness and boldness of the pomegranate grows during wear, and I think the neroli contributes to give it some sharpness; the throw sometimes verges on candy-red. On the whole, though, the darkness keeps the scent well grounded, and I suspect aging will help preserve that. Scent-color is a deep, dark red; throw is moderate/strong dying down to moderate/low, and wearlength is moderate.
Verdict: Pomegranate V reminds me of the dark fruit/carnation combination of Bathsheba (although pom works much better on me than plum) and even more of the dark, subtle fruits in Queen of Clubs. It's a rich indulgent scent, shadowed and secretive but never shy, warm and red, and so beautiful. It's subtlety in boldness, and, well, I'm impressed. Every now and then the pomegranate gets a little out of hand, which is my only compliant—and I think aging will temper it. All in all, I'm thrilled to have a bottle. This is beautiful.
LAWN GNOME (LE, Summer Garden Miniseries)
Red currant, molasses, vanilla cream, moss, and patchouli.
In the vial: A warm, red, thick, dark, slightly spicy scent, not quite foody—I warrant all the notes are here, but beyond the currant I mostly get impressions rather than precise notes.
On me: Have I ever taken such copious notes for a BPAL review? I think not. The primary constant with Lawn Gnome was change—that, and the list of notes. They're all there: vibrant red currant, sometimes dark and rich, sometimes tart and candied; cream and molasses, smooth and thick and slightly sweet in a warm, not-entirely-foody way; earthy, dirty, slightly spicy moss and patchouli. But the balance between them is constantly changing. Sometimes it's a rich red scent, pigmented as berries but smooth as cream, with a surprisingly spicy kick. Sometimes it's a red sticky candy with some earthiness to balance it out. Sometimes it's smooth and sweet, tinted with currant and grounded by moss but mostly a vanillic cream. The scent that stuck around on my shirt cuffs was a bright candy currant with plenty of smoothness and character, but on the skin I got something different from Lawn Gnome every twenty minutes or so—a master morpher, without ever dropping or picking up a new note. Scent-color is red; throw is medium to strong and wearlength is long.
Verdict: The candy red moments of Lawn Gnome were just a little too sharp and strongly currant for me, but on the whole the various remixes of this scent were enjoyable—unique, vibrant, and pleasant to the nose. But the lack of stability irked me. I like to know what I'm getting out of a scent. Morphers are fine if I know their strange and wild paths, but this skipped all over the place and never settled down. I want to like it, and sometimes do, but I don't think this is one that I'll often reach for.
PHILOLOGUS (LE, Vampires Don't Sleep Alone)
Ancient books, crackled parchment, faded incense, and candle wax.
In the vial: Parchment, maybe wax, but mostly a familiar, thick mustiness that I can't quite name. It's ... not that pleasant, actually.
On me: This musty scent is so familiar—but I still can't pin it down. I think I got the same sort of impression from the early stages of Chaos Theory VI: Amber 100, so maybe that's it—but it's hardly a useful comparison.There's dust, must, wax, and maybe some leather here; much of that unpleasant mustiness fades during drydown but not all, and what remains is smoky candles in an old library: warm beeswax, dusty parchment, a touch of smoke, but an undercurrent of a fuggy unaired back room. It made the room I was in smell quietly fantastic, bookish and beautiful, but on my skin the mustiness never fades away quite enough. Throw and wearlength are moderate to low.
Verdict: I want to like this so badly, and it has some aspects which I could love—but again, that mustiness kills it. I don't get the cologne that others report, and it is pretty similar to the notes and inspiration, but it goes a little bit wrong and I don't know if I can get past that. I'll hold on to my bottle for now, and retest later.
ETA: A year has tamed this scent somewhat: it remains musty in its early stages, but that fades after drydown. What it leaves behind is a sheaf of parchment, a wide and mellow creamy scent, dark but not particularly complex, Lurid Library's broader cousin. I love Lurid Library, but I also like its delicacy, its sense of individual pages being turned; Philologus is similar enough to be redundant, but not as nice. I'll finally trade it away.
The orange marigold, or zempasúchitl.
In the vial: Slightly earthy, slightly fruity, slightly tropical/fleshy, orange floral.
On me: That tropical fleshiness fades during drydown, thank goodness; the scent also grows a bit earthier, a little more like that dense spicy floral I expect from marigold. But once it's settled the scent is a little bit powdery, not too earthy, and quite faint; it's a sweetish golden floral, more of a suggestion of a marigold's color and shape than a precise recreation of its scent. Sometimes it feels a bit too powdery, and it's subtle and short-lived. Scent-color is pale golden orange; wearlength and throw are both very low.
Verdict: I want so much to like this, but it isn't all that I had hoped for. Perhaps it's just me and my experience with marigolds, but I had expected a spicier, earthier, different sort of floral—something more like a golden carnation than an autumnal orangeblossom. What I got instead is pleasant, but not quite satisfying, and so faint and brief as to hardly matter. I'll hold on to my bottle to see how it ages, but honestly I'm a bit disappointed.
PUMPKIN LATTE (LE, Halloween 2010)
Espresso, pumpkin syrup, smoky vanilla bean, milk, raw sugar, and a dash of cinnamon and nutmeg.
In the vial: Coffee, mild without being milky or sweet; I'm not sure if I'm smelling pumpkin or just projecting it, but there is a distant warmth to the scent.
On me: Goes on strong coffee, but this was a lesson to me to let bottles rest after shipping: fresh from the mailbox the drydown was all harsh espresso, but after a few days that settled into a much smoother, gentler coffee. Warms up into, well, a pumpkin latte: golden, smooth, warm, comforting, pumpkin and coffee—the milk and vanilla do more to give a sense of smoothness than a distinct scent, and the spices bring out and warm up the pumpkin. Again, fresh from the mail this was too powdery, but within a few days that died down to just some texture to the spice. The major drawback (for me) with Pumpkin Patch V '09 was its powderiness; Pumpkin Latte is admittedly a very similar scent, but it does away with the cocoa and with the strange texture that came with it, and what remains is the warm, comforting, golden scent of a pumpkin latte at Starbucks—although perhaps not quite as good as the real thing. Scent-color is creamy burnt orange; throw and wearlength are both moderate.
Verdict: All told, I'm pleased. Pumpkin Latte isn't precisely perfect—perhaps it's too faint, perhaps just the pumpkin is—but it is beautiful, comforting, and pretty much what it says on the tin, in the best possible way. I look forward to seeing how my bottle ages.
POMEGRANATE V (LE, Halloween 2010: The Pomegranate Patch)
Pomegranate, carnation, amber, cardamom, neroli, vetiver, black pepper, and opium tar.
In the vial: There's some darkness and depth in the background, but mostly this is just a fruity red, slightly tart pomegranate.
On me: A complex, shadowed, stunning pomegranate. Breaking down the notes in this is hard—they are so smoothly blended. Mostly I get opium and vetiver, a smooth and slightly smoky scent that adds substantial darkness; there's not much bite or spice, but the other notes (spices and carnation, mostly) add substantial nuance. Pomegranate stars above it all, and it makes for a jewel of a scent, pigmented but not too bright; the other notes provide so much shade and character, and ground the pomegranate so it doesn't go candy-like or grow too strong. The tartness and boldness of the pomegranate grows during wear, and I think the neroli contributes to give it some sharpness; the throw sometimes verges on candy-red. On the whole, though, the darkness keeps the scent well grounded, and I suspect aging will help preserve that. Scent-color is a deep, dark red; throw is moderate/strong dying down to moderate/low, and wearlength is moderate.
Verdict: Pomegranate V reminds me of the dark fruit/carnation combination of Bathsheba (although pom works much better on me than plum) and even more of the dark, subtle fruits in Queen of Clubs. It's a rich indulgent scent, shadowed and secretive but never shy, warm and red, and so beautiful. It's subtlety in boldness, and, well, I'm impressed. Every now and then the pomegranate gets a little out of hand, which is my only compliant—and I think aging will temper it. All in all, I'm thrilled to have a bottle. This is beautiful.
LAWN GNOME (LE, Summer Garden Miniseries)
Red currant, molasses, vanilla cream, moss, and patchouli.
In the vial: A warm, red, thick, dark, slightly spicy scent, not quite foody—I warrant all the notes are here, but beyond the currant I mostly get impressions rather than precise notes.
On me: Have I ever taken such copious notes for a BPAL review? I think not. The primary constant with Lawn Gnome was change—that, and the list of notes. They're all there: vibrant red currant, sometimes dark and rich, sometimes tart and candied; cream and molasses, smooth and thick and slightly sweet in a warm, not-entirely-foody way; earthy, dirty, slightly spicy moss and patchouli. But the balance between them is constantly changing. Sometimes it's a rich red scent, pigmented as berries but smooth as cream, with a surprisingly spicy kick. Sometimes it's a red sticky candy with some earthiness to balance it out. Sometimes it's smooth and sweet, tinted with currant and grounded by moss but mostly a vanillic cream. The scent that stuck around on my shirt cuffs was a bright candy currant with plenty of smoothness and character, but on the skin I got something different from Lawn Gnome every twenty minutes or so—a master morpher, without ever dropping or picking up a new note. Scent-color is red; throw is medium to strong and wearlength is long.
Verdict: The candy red moments of Lawn Gnome were just a little too sharp and strongly currant for me, but on the whole the various remixes of this scent were enjoyable—unique, vibrant, and pleasant to the nose. But the lack of stability irked me. I like to know what I'm getting out of a scent. Morphers are fine if I know their strange and wild paths, but this skipped all over the place and never settled down. I want to like it, and sometimes do, but I don't think this is one that I'll often reach for.
PHILOLOGUS (LE, Vampires Don't Sleep Alone)
Ancient books, crackled parchment, faded incense, and candle wax.
In the vial: Parchment, maybe wax, but mostly a familiar, thick mustiness that I can't quite name. It's ... not that pleasant, actually.
On me: This musty scent is so familiar—but I still can't pin it down. I think I got the same sort of impression from the early stages of Chaos Theory VI: Amber 100, so maybe that's it—but it's hardly a useful comparison.There's dust, must, wax, and maybe some leather here; much of that unpleasant mustiness fades during drydown but not all, and what remains is smoky candles in an old library: warm beeswax, dusty parchment, a touch of smoke, but an undercurrent of a fuggy unaired back room. It made the room I was in smell quietly fantastic, bookish and beautiful, but on my skin the mustiness never fades away quite enough. Throw and wearlength are moderate to low.
Verdict: I want to like this so badly, and it has some aspects which I could love—but again, that mustiness kills it. I don't get the cologne that others report, and it is pretty similar to the notes and inspiration, but it goes a little bit wrong and I don't know if I can get past that. I'll hold on to my bottle for now, and retest later.
ETA: A year has tamed this scent somewhat: it remains musty in its early stages, but that fades after drydown. What it leaves behind is a sheaf of parchment, a wide and mellow creamy scent, dark but not particularly complex, Lurid Library's broader cousin. I love Lurid Library, but I also like its delicacy, its sense of individual pages being turned; Philologus is similar enough to be redundant, but not as nice. I'll finally trade it away.