MamaMoth

this opens with what feels like a bright red apple. you know that mealy, sweet, idealized apple. fresh and sweet, not tart at all. i also get a strong floral note that unfortunately tries to drown out everything else, but i am pretty sensitive (and averse) to most florals so take that as you will. it's not unusual for me to find fresh smut a little floral at times, but it seems much more prominent in this variation. the smutty musk is quite subdued, and i can't seem to find the booziness at all. so this is a faintly musky, floral, red delicious apple. dies down close pretty quickly, and eventually all i'm left with is a ghostly trace of musk and sugar.... pg-13 smut, if you will. fresh smut really isn't my jam anyway, so i am going to tuck this away in the hopes that old smutty magic will transmute it into something i will enjoy by next halloween.

this is splendid! creamy, sweet, and nutty on one side of the seesaw, perfectly balanced by incensey resins, woods, and a bit of sharp booziness on the other. sometimes i sniff and think its a sweet rich gourmand propped up by deep resin. then with the next sniff, i decide that it's actually sandalwood and resins sweetened and rounded by rich, nutty cream. i absolutely love that i can't pin it down. the more i smell it, the more convinced i become that there's a dark fruit component to that tattoo ink. maaaaybe black currant?

that kitty got gooped alright, with a big dollop of black musk! black musk dominates the opening, and black musk is so hit or miss for me... it's either wonderful or awful. happy to say that this is a good one: sweet and dry and somewhat powdery. just behind the musk but loud and clear are a lovely dry cedar and sweet dry hay. i'm reading the catnip as dry, green, and herbaceous. it's subtle, but it's definitely there and it gives the whole thing some herbal lift. it's a really nice touch. the spices are there, but not aggressive. the hay, cedar, amber, and spice give this a very labors-of-the-month, hay moon kinda vibe underneath all that musk. settles in as musky, cedary hay, which bears a strong family resemblance to bpal cats past (the cat, small brown cat) and does evoke clean, warm fur. overall this one is dry, sweet, a touch herbaceous, and musky. i had wondered beforehand if the musk or hay might throw a lemony note, but i'm getting nothing of the sort. i like it very muchly!

these are indeed baked, spiced apples atop what reads very clearly as 2022 snake oil. the vanilla and musk are especially prominent, as is the spice. this is like snake oil apple pie, minus a crust element. yes, it's just as delicious as it sounds. i wish i could fast-forward time to smell this in a couple of years. (but i'll be dipping into it plenty in the interim, have no doubt.)

i was lured here by the siren call of sugared amber and honeyed woods, but i should have payed more heed to the budding herbs. this is dominated by some clean herby floral that goes very soapy on me. alas! i only received this yesterday, so i will give it some time to mesh, and update if anything changes.

2022 this starts off as a big blast of creamy, buttery pumpkin, with a touch of spice to it, and a woodsy patch backer. almost immediately on me, those elements start to flip-flop. the pumpkin starts receding, while a woodsy incensey patchouli comes forward. i am a bit leather-shy, but it doesn't really show itself on me until later in the game, and at that point it's soft, gentle, and thoroughly meshed with the background punkin. a base of dark, leathery pumpkin, with a woodsy patchouli incense wafting over the top. just a touch smoky, perhaps? the agarwood, i think, is just adding to the impression woods and incence, and i can't detect anything that i'd identify as oudhy. i never tracked any pom to speak of up close, though occasionally i think i might catch vague hints of something fruity/sweet in the throw, when i wave my arm around. i feel fairly certain that it's in there working unseen to keep this blend from going too heavy, dark, and rich. i wouldn't call this an overly sweet perfume, but in general i do like sweeter elements to be present, so i'm probably less sensitive to it than some. this is wonderfully spooky, dark, and evocative of the weenie season. i have no doubt that i will get a lot of mileage out of it every year when a chill touches the air and i start craving all things halloween. the rest of the year? maybe not as much, unless that pumpkin mellows out a bit.

this one is hard describe, because everything really meshes quickly to evoke a mood. balsam, most definitely, and it does have a medicinal slant that i love. red oud is a player, and sandalwood peeks out later on. is that a hint of spice? this is warm, deep, rich. slightly cologney, the way balsam can be. i tucked it away for a while when i got it because it feels a bit heavy, but perfect for this 30-degree morning. i feel warmed from within.

goes on as a very tart green apple and a light, ultra-sweet caramel. there is a hint of a deeper, vanilla-leaning underpinning, but i'd never have pegged it as snake oil. at this point i expected the snake oil to start gaining some traction, because that's just what it does in a blend. instead, the whole lot just... fades away. within two hours, there's only a wisp of sweetness left on the skin to hint that it was ever even there. these are elements that i amp, and that usually stick around for days, so i'm puzzled and saddened. this seemed like a no-brainer for me. i adore snake oil, caramel, and apple, and the combination sounded like a match made in heaven. but i'm left wanting, so wanting.

this is right on the cusp of being something i could love, jumping out of the gate with oodles of glorious patchouli drowning in sweetness. i can't differentiate ice cream or cotton candy, but it starts off with a kick of almost-lemony brightness that i clock as sugarcane. there's amber here too, though it is just lurking in the back and giving it a perfume vibe. i'm grooving with ALL that. but let's talk about that honeysuckle. oof. i'm not really a floral person in general, so it's no surprise that i find it fairly off-putting here. i was hoping for a whisper of honeysuckle sweetness, but it's a loud, heady floral. it dominates the early stages, and to my sensibilities really clashes with everything else in this. i hoped it might die back on the skin, but no such luck. she's here to stay it seems. i am uncertain if aging will mellow this out any, but i will give it some time. really i just wish i could reach in and pluck out the honeysuckle. ETA: i woke up having kind of a WELL DUH! moment. of course the honeysuckle clashes, because it is the sunbeam assaulting the spoopy kid! 10/10 for execution of concept!

i figured this might be my favorite of this year's liliths, and so far i was spot on! initially, the main note i get is ambered driftwood... which registers to me as a gently dry, salty-ish wood with a perfumey amber tone. just behind that is earthy patchouli, and a honey sweetness that reads as dry, not sticky. as it warms up, it gets so smooth and sweet, with just a little vanilla (tonka? candlewax?) to smooth it out... everything is just so cohesive and nice! something about the salt and honey dust (i think) makes this feel hella sexy, in a very sophisticated way. i'm not an aquatics person, so the driftwood worried me a little before trying it, but it really is quite lovely. i never caught any lavender at all, which i am ok with.

this is a lovely and uncomplicated mix of lemon-scented sticky bat and snake oil. starts as gooey sugary lemon-scented sticky bat, then slowly morphs into (mostly) snake oil with just a whisker of sweet lemony freshness. it's a whole journey, and i love every minute of it! (my favorite part is when they cross over 50/50. the vanilla-lemon-patchouli-musk is so nice!) i've long contemplated a bottle of lssb, because it's so fun and joyful. but lemon dies pretty quickly on my skin, so i always talked myself out of it. this is BETTER, because you have snake oil to enjoy when the lemon bat flits away. very happy to have this in my collection!

starts off with a lot off sweet, almost effervescent labdanum. soft and yes, cola-like. but the woods rise up and then overtake the labdanum in short order. gentle dry sandalwood and palo santo, but no cedar to speak of. the woods have a smooth, light, almost papery character. the blend is sweetened by the labdanum, but it has a very light presence. this is whispy, gentle, and meditative.

starts with a blast of lavender, quite herbal and to my nose cologne-like. as the lavender dies down, the licorice root twines up around it. it's definitely a rooty, herbal licorice, my favorite kind. it sweetens up the lavender a bit, while bolstering the herbal feel. as this gets all settled in, the resins finally come out to play, but quietly. that big bold lavender is now merely a whisper, and the licorice is mia. soft and herbal, with murky resins whispering underneath, a touch of powdery. this ends uo surprisingly low throw on me, riding close to the skin. i don't dislike it, but i don't love it. i was hoping for a bit more sweetness, i think. this feels like a sleeping potion, something applied with intent rather than worn for pleasure.

popcorn? cereal in milk? but also perfume? this is so hard to pin down. foodie, but not. sweet, but savory. very unique and interesting! i had to try this out of sheer curiosity, and i'm really glad i did! i can't say it's my scent vibe, so i'd probably never wear it out. but it's oddly comforting, so i will hang on to my decant for when i want something soft and pretty and weird to wear at home.

in the imp, i get woodsy dry cinnamon. but once it warms up on the skin, that amber really bobs to the surface. and.... what's this? my favorite amber in a gc blend?? gasp! i was not expecting that! it's sweet and resinous and (to my woefully uneducated nose) smells a bit like labdanum. the patchouli is a very light touch in this one, with it and the sandalwood just providing a stage for a mildly spiced amber to sing her heart out. this is gorgeous, and i'm so mad at myself for never having tried it before now.

the pistachio pulls a bit cherryish to start, but that fades pretty quickly. then it's melted pistachio ice cream! creamy, sweet, and nutty.

i was very curious about what charcoal would bring to the table. to me, the note smells like soft, sweet ash. combined with the champa resin, this very much smells like the ashes leftover from many a burnt stick of nag champa. powdery, incensy, and sweet. oftentimes i say "incensy" to mean resinous, but this smells truly like incense. a little lick of smoke would complete the perfect picture. the tobacco is quite shy. i don't catch much until an hour or so in, when the champa starts to dial back and an earthy sweetness starts emanating from underneath. the opening stage is a fascinating atmospheric, but this is where i really started enjoying it. i could swear i catch phantom whiffs of sandalwood sometimes, too.

i haven't been able to try it yet, but i was just reading the reviews for zonked in paris, which seems like it might fit the bill. "Coffee, coffee, and more coffee for the grownups, and vanilla ice cream to en’sugar the kiddo out from her stupor."

i was wary of several of these notes, so i skipped this one on the initial release. cherry can skew a bit artificial to me, black musk can sometimes be unpleasantly oily or lemony, and black currant can smell like acetone at times. so there are a lot of ways this could have gone wrong! but when reviews started trickling in, i started feeling some deep pangs of remorse. i am SO glad that i was able to pounce on it during a brief restock. my only regret now is that i didn't double down. not gonna lie, this starts out as cough syrup. but persevere! because soon an inky black ambery muskiness starts sending out tendrils to envelop a diminishing breath of cherry. what you end up with is dark fruity sweetness riding on a tide of of black velvet. i really can't pick out any notes besides the cherry, which eventually meshes pretty solidly with the currant. but the way that deep, sweet, and slightly tart fruit plays against the rich darker notes is heartbreakingly gorgeous. gothic, romantic, with a touch of playfulness. i keep picturing a black velvet and lace confection of a lolita gothic frock, with a bit of red silk peeping out in the skirts. due to the limited stock available for this release, i hope it returns one day. anyone who loves dark fruits with resins/musk should try this.

definitely a sweet and spicy cardamom note hiding in here, which comes on strongish initially. it reminds me of the sugared cardamom from wild nights, wild nights! there's just a drop of patchouli, enough for a good grounded base. butternut squash, where are you? if i squint, there's maybe something a little pumpkin-lite to it. a bit of a creamy vegetal something-or-other that i can tease out because i know it's there. as it wears, the patchouli peeps out just a bit more. the spice backs off, and a little of that chewy fig sweetness develops. i'm enjoying this as a weenie teaser trailer, it's SO autumny. ultimately i don't know if i'd reach for it much as a perfume, but i bet it'd make a killer atmo.

no notes listed, time to quiz the old sniffer! starts off a bit like the lemony hay note that i love, but extra lemony. no complaints. as it dries, that lemony something gets more herbal-lemon, and the hay gets deeper and earthier, drier. it develops a baby powder undercurrent that never quite breaks through, but it's present to varying degrees throughout. this feels clean and fresh, but earthy. zesty but grounded. that powdery note might keep me from wearing it as a perfume, but i might actually use this with some intent... it feels true to purpose. looking up traditional recipes now, ingredients sometimes include lemon verbena, lemongrass, citronella, vetiver, palmarosa. no idea about palmarosa, but everything else sounds on point.

is my nose broken? so weird, i don't get anything remotely grassy or green. what i do get is soft comfy leather, dry dusty vanilla, and a kind of wood-pulp-papery note. dusty, leathery, vanillic, surprisingly sweet, a little musty in a dry way. as my skin chemistry takes over, the vanilla shuffles to the front of the pack. no complaints here, because i LOVE this.

i recently unearthed a decant of this scent from when it was first released, and it did not age well unfortunately. smells like melted crayons. 😕 i noticed this phenomenon with another scent containing vanilla cream, (the vine) so i will refrain from backup - bottling anything with this note in the future.

in the bottle, it's a butterbomb. first applied, it's straight up kettlecorn. salty, sweet, buttery. absolutely delicious, but do i wanna smell like kettlecorn? MAYHAPS. the question is moot though, because a wonderful alchemy happens as it sits on my skin. a lovely perfumey ambery woodsiness takes over. that sweet/salty/butteriness is still there, giving it texture. keeping it sweet and rich. i'm getting a little more salty nuttiness. but it's now definitely a perfume and not a foodstuffs. it's sitting right on that line between edible and perfume, which is a place i enjoy very much. it's just delightful. mouse circus > midway. I SAID WHAT I SAID.

buttery round hazelnut and a dry warm sandalwood, with amber singing in the chorus but not popping out recognizably for me. as it settles is, everything just meshes nicely into a rich, warm, sweet, autumnal-feeling blend. there's something resin-spicy happening down in the depths that i can't pinpoint. it's very cozy, and i've been favoring it for evenings curled into the couch binging netflix. a bottle may just low-key sneak into my next order.