Earth Ox
BPAL description: A new year's blessing! Peony, China's national flower, with bamboo for flexibility, plum blossom for perseverance, courage, and hope, tangerine for wealth, orange for happiness, lychee for household peace, pine resin for constancy, golden kumquat and quince for prosperity, narcissus and King mandarin for good fortune, peach blossom for longevity, oakmoss, plum, and tobacco for stability, and a splash of blazing red of dragon's blood... to help you scare away the rampaging Nian.
In the bottle: Very bright and fruity, with a strong melon topnote. It reminds me greatly of a cantelope version of Earth Rat (which is honeydew, on me). Lychee is strong too, and then there's this earthiness I've not smelled in either of the former two years - the hint of oakmoss, and darker, slightly astringent tobacco.
Wet: Tarter/less-sweet, the citrus and that quince coming through strongly. Also, this is the first time I've been able to pick up pine resin in a NY's blend; much more piney than usual. The lychee is still strong, but melon much fainter. Florals distant, other than some sharp/fresh narcissus.
Dry: Florals, a little soapy and quite strong, start amping up very quickly as this dries equally rapidly. I'm not getting the blossoms distinctly, but the narcisuss and peony are prominent. The citrus is fading fast, but that's revealing more of that melon note, and a little plum, which adds a dark feel to the blend.
Later: Definitely a bit soapy, but not unbearably. The oakmoss has majorly come out, but the tobaccco is still light. The florals have settled more, so everything's pretty much showing evenly. Pine has settled to resin.
Summary: Oakmoss, musk, dark tobacco and earthy pine resin dominate over the long haul. This is MUCH earthier than the previous two years. The plum is the only fruit I can still pick out of the general fruitiness, and the florals are a distant hazy bouquet. Very strong throw but fades a fair bit.
Happy with my bottle, but one bottle will be enough. Earth Rat is still the best IMO.
In the bottle: Very bright and fruity, with a strong melon topnote. It reminds me greatly of a cantelope version of Earth Rat (which is honeydew, on me). Lychee is strong too, and then there's this earthiness I've not smelled in either of the former two years - the hint of oakmoss, and darker, slightly astringent tobacco.
Wet: Tarter/less-sweet, the citrus and that quince coming through strongly. Also, this is the first time I've been able to pick up pine resin in a NY's blend; much more piney than usual. The lychee is still strong, but melon much fainter. Florals distant, other than some sharp/fresh narcissus.
Dry: Florals, a little soapy and quite strong, start amping up very quickly as this dries equally rapidly. I'm not getting the blossoms distinctly, but the narcisuss and peony are prominent. The citrus is fading fast, but that's revealing more of that melon note, and a little plum, which adds a dark feel to the blend.
Later: Definitely a bit soapy, but not unbearably. The oakmoss has majorly come out, but the tobaccco is still light. The florals have settled more, so everything's pretty much showing evenly. Pine has settled to resin.
Summary: Oakmoss, musk, dark tobacco and earthy pine resin dominate over the long haul. This is MUCH earthier than the previous two years. The plum is the only fruit I can still pick out of the general fruitiness, and the florals are a distant hazy bouquet. Very strong throw but fades a fair bit.
Happy with my bottle, but one bottle will be enough. Earth Rat is still the best IMO.