doomsday_disco

This starts off peach forward, with some bay rum and patchouli peeking through. The bay rum and patch increase with strength over time, although the peach is still there, just playing a lesser role. It's not something I could see myself reaching for, but I did enjoy this more than straight up Daddy by Effy.

This starts off with a burst of lemon peel that is like lemon candy, but not as sweet, but the white musk and peach are quick to join in. While the lemon is strongest during the wet phase, the white peach and white musk are strongest while dry, and sadly, the peach goes waxy in a chapstick-like way on me. The lemon isn't missing once dry... it's just not as strong as it was initially. I liked this best during the wet phase when it was more about the lemon. Alas, this peach doesn't seem to agree with my skin chemistry.

I've tested this twice and slathered it on my partner a few times, too. I think Vintage Dracula Blow Mold may contain ozone. It would explain that 'soap' smell I got from the bottle when it first arrived, and the bright, clean scent that emerges with the cherry upon application. Specifically, it made me think of the ozone in Lavender Lightning, but I did not try them side by side to know for sure. The cherry in this is not a loud cherry -- it's strongest during the wet phase, and hangs around throughout wear, but not obtrusively -- I agree with Failmingo's description of this fading from red to a pale pink. I get the plastic aspect from this blow mold scent more than from the other one I've tried (the witch one -- I am waiting on decants of the first two, but when my brain saw a cherry blow mold scent, my brain said "what the hell!?" and it fell into my cart), but I still wouldn't let that scare you away from trying this. It's not offensive and overwhelming like some of the industrial scents containing plastic from the American Gods line. The plastic, with what I think is ozone or maybe a slightly effervescent note (but NOT champagne), just perfectly fits the idea of an illuminated blow mold being transformed into scent. As for the amber in this... I do not believe it is the same amber featured in Vintage Witch Blow Mold (which is a white amber, from scents like Schönperchten or Hohensalzburg Fortress). It's a darker, but much quieter amber (only because less of it was probably used), that lurks in the background, never overtaking the bright notes, but I, too, swear there may be some frankincense and/or myrrh in it? Although I was hoping to be bludgeoned over the head with cherry, I do think this is nice. It's weird how alluring it is with its plastic note.

Sleepy Bat lands with a burst of lavender and hops, along with a huge blast of leather. The leather in this is not well-worn and is a really loud black leather, and sadly, it's not a variety I love. It eventually overwhelms the soporific lavender and hops and is the dominant note for a long time, until the chamomile and hay-infused musky ambrette fur emerges and eventually takes over, leaving behind only a hint of leather. I'm not sure if there's brown musk here along with the ambrette, but it does settle into a warm, brown scent by the end of the day. I'm going to let this settle for a few weeks and come back to it. I really enjoy the lavender and hops in the opening, but that leather is a little too much for me -- and while the musky final drydown of the scent is comforting, I really wish the lavender had decided to stick around.

I am mostly getting the re-released Antique Lace (that doesn't have the floral qualities of the original, and that my basic ass self likes more than the original -- heresy, I know) with some caramel-infused musk hovering around the edges. I don't love caramel in perfumes, but bought this because it's a bat-themed Lace, and fortunately, the caramel musk in this isn't overwhelming whatsoever. It has good throw, too. However, I didn't detect any leather.... I wonder if it will peek out with age? I like this, but at this point, I have so many perfumes featuring this vanilla that I feel like I may have to let at least one of them go in order to let this one stay in my collection. I'll have to spend more time with this one to know for sure, but I'm thinking that it's probably a keeper, and that wouldn't even be a question if I didn't have so many scents featuring this vanilla.

This goes on as white chocolate and white amber, and I believe it is the same white amber from Schönperchten from some Yules ago. The white amber ends up being the star on me, with the green tea being much more subdued than usual, but lending a brightness to the scent. (I can smell it more 3 hours after the initial application than I did originally, but it never overtakes the other notes.) It's not the same as White Chocolate, Mysore Sandalwood, and Lemon Peel from this year's Luper update, but I'd say it's a cousin to it, with a soft blanket of white amber instead of the Mysore sandalwood, and with green tea lifting it up instead of lemon peel. I'd also recommend trying this if you liked Hohensalzburg Fortress from the Winter Travelogue update, as this has that white amber, but with white chocolate instead of milk chocolate. There's nothing super plasticy about this, so I wouldn't let that bit of the description scare you away. I get a light hint of it when I sniff up close, but maybe it's just the power of suggestion from the name. I was kind of hoping for more green tea from this, but I'm not mad. This actually smells really comforting, and I could see myself using it as a sleep scent.

This got to settle for a day before I tested it. If you're looking for a 13 that is more about the other notes than the cacao, this is for you. It's the least chocolate-y 13 that I've tried (keep in mind that I've tried lots of 13s since 2013, but not any of the ones prior to that). In the bottle, the cacao, sandalwood, and tobacco stood out to me the most. On my skin, it's immediately a sandalwood party, and even though it's red sandalwood and the sandalwood in Kit's description says Mysore, it is giving me Kit (OLLA) vibes. (I also get Morocco vibes, which makes sense since it features a red sandalwood note.) I smell some cardamom and pumpkin along with it, and then some cedar and a bit of pine, all swirled with a light cacao, but when the tobacco and fig emerge, they are a force to be reckoned with.... and then the blend becomes sharper on me as the cognac and oakmoss join those two notes. The sandalwood is still there, but it's behind those notes. And this particular tobacco is too sharp for me. I'm going to let this settle for a few weeks and come back to it, but I think it won't be for me because I wanted more CACAO with woods and pine. The sandalwood in this is really nice, though. I just hope the tobacco calms down!

This is definitely one for licorice fans. It is strong on the licorice root, which has an effervescent quality to it. So slightly fizzy licorice. It's so strong on me that the resins can't even compete with it and are confined to a background role throughout wear. I think it being the root is what is lending the sparkling quality to this scent. I am not a licorice fan, so this is not for me, but if that is your jam, you should give this a whirl.

Swiftfoot is very much about the grass notes at first, but then the stone emerges and becomes more prominent over time, and it's a resinous sort of stone note. The floral note in this remains in a background role throughout wear. This was the scent I was most curious about from this Spiritus Arcanum release, and I'm glad I got to try it! But I know I wouldn't reach for it over other grass or stone scents. Unexpectedly, Cinderpaw is my favorite scent from this Walpurgisnacht drop!

This one is a charred resin infused red musk on me. The resins are more prominent before the musk takes over, and I do get the labdanum more than the others. The vetiver is present, but doesn't take over, and the rosemary is very fleeting, only a poof in the wet phase with the initial blast of charred sandalwood. This is too musk-heavy for me, but it was nice to get to test it.

So this is nothing like A Sorceress, even though they both share 'serpent scale accord' as notes. This is actually really leathery on me. I get some ink with it at first, but then it's a leather party. The resins can't compete with it, and the red fruits are nowhere to be found on my skin. It's not for me, but it was fun to get to try it.

This one is a very high-pitched green scent on me. It's more about the cologne-y lichen and oakmoss, amped up by the perfume-y green musk, than the dirt or oudh on me. And the oudh is not funky. I do think it fits its name, but this would be better suited for those who don't amp up moss notes.

I am getting a floral-forward blue musk from this (or at least, that's what the scent made me think of, although it's not mentioned as a note... maybe it's one of the floral notes mixed with something else?), swirled with some herbs. The florentine iris is the most prominent of the floral notes on me. I'm not able to pick out any mugwort and lavender, two notes I love, but I do smell the juniper and sage amongst the florals. Iris is not my jam, although this is not a sharp variety, so this isn't for me, but it definitely is evocative of its inspiration.

Rose and resins/incense isn't really in my wheelhouse, but my decanter kindly frimped me a tester of this, and I have to say... it's much better than I would have expected based off of the notes. I get a really jammy red rose (it is probably jammed up from the wine) with lots of incense. I thought that the amontillado would be the same grape scent from Drops of Amontillado (an exclusive imp from a few years back), but there's no blast of grape here (woot). Dragon's blood can be problematic on me, but it's not going wonky here. Oddly enough, I'm not really getting much clove, tobacco, or myrrh, but that could be because it's a tester (I did have a good amount to apply, though). It's still not something I need a bottle of, but I'm really glad I got a chance to try it. While it's not something I would gravitate towards wearing, I do think it's one of the nicest rose + incense blends I have tried.

Golden apples are my favorite type of apple, and I hadn't really found a scent that I've really loved with that variety of apple (Sjöfn was too sweet for me; the original discontinued Hesperides scent was more like green apple candy to my nose than any golden apple). But this? This is true, sweet, realistic golden apples. They smell so refreshing and perfect for late summer, and I'm reminded of picking apples as a kid. There are touches of wildflowers and honey, but it's really hard to pick out any other notes, as it all just blends into the most wonderful golden apple scent. I have been wearing a lot of apple scents as of late, and none have been as swoon-worthy as this one. I'm going to spend more time with my decant to see if the scent changes at all, but I'm likely to pick up a bottle of this before it goes away. If you're an apple fan, you really need to try this one! ETA: This has become greener with a few weeks of rest, but I'm still not able to pick out notes like leaves and mint.