doomsday_disco

A few weeks ago, I spilled half of my decant of this on my leg, hated how it smelled, and had to go shower to wash it off. Yet, I still made myself do a proper test of this scent... which I immediately regretted soon after applying it. In the decant, it's all honeyed, dark oudh, no vanilla to be found. On my skin, I think I finally got the poo-dh experience that everyone talks about. I totally got the diaper thing. It was not only me that was repulsed by the scent: my boyfriend said I smelled like baby wipes. I tried to scrub it off. It would not budge and ended up just smelling like a dark, dirty (that kind of oudh that gives me a dirty patchouli vibe like in Half-Elf), oudh. This one is not for me.

In the decant, I get ozonic incense. In my hair, it’s lemon-y ozonic incense. I was worried that there would be plum in this after the plum wine sky description, but fortunately, if there is plum in this, it is not a main player. The ozone note seems to fare better in my hair than it does on my skin. It’s clean but does not go into soap or dryer sheet territory. I agree that this is like a nice-scented hair product. After several hours, I wonder if there is a bit of plum in the incense smoke. There’s definitely a purple feel to it. It’s not a hair gloss that I need a bottle of, but I think I will hold on to my decant until I can track down a decant of Stormclouds on the Midway and try those scents together.

I am afraid of this one. Leaf notes can either smell like bell peppers on me or give me a headache, I am not a fan of anise or civet, and vetiver and I are usually not friends. In the imp: Anise, moss, and vetiver. I am afraid. Wet: The anise note takes the center stage. I can also smell the vetiver and moss. Then, I get the musky civet. Dry: The moss has decided to come out more, which I think tends to happen with moss notes on me. It’s muskier now, thanks to the civet, a little smoky from the vetiver, and I’m still getting lots of anise, but it’s smoother during this stage of the scent. After a while, it ends up being mostly musky moss, leaf, and grassy vetiver on me. Verdict: Black Annis was not nearly as menacing as I thought it would be. It’s not something I’d wear, but I feel like the description was more intimidating than the perfume oil itself.

In the bottle: Orange blossom or neroli (definitely a bitter citrus-y note) and jasmine are what I get from the bottle. Wet: Whoa, the oil is bright! It looks like I have orange juice on my arm! I am getting jasmine and an orange-y note that isn’t straight-up orange. The more it sits on my skin, the more I keep thinking orange blossom. Dry: The oil has left a huge yellow area on my skin! It ends up being a citrus-y (like freshly peeled orange) white floral scent with a dash of (I'm thinking white) pepper. The citrus aspect ends up becoming less prominent over time. Verdict: It was really nice to get to try this prototype, but ultimately, it’s just not something I would reach for, so I will have to see if I can find it a new home.

In the bottle: In the bottle, I only get the snow note, and it’s an ozonic, slushy snow. Wet: The slushy snow note is also the most prominent feature on my skin, but now, I am also getting some orange. Then, I get the sandalwood, and a little clove. I hope the clove ends up coming out more, as I’m hoping for orange + clove-y snow. There’s something weird smelling in this on me -- I am not sure if is the combo of the snow, orange, and sandalwood or if there’s actually a metallic note in this for the iron descriptor? I am thinking there has to be. This… smells like slushy snow Spaghettio sauce on me. o.0 Dry: Yeah, for some reason, the slush-y snow, orange, and metal (and perhaps the chalkiness?) combine and smell like slush-y snow tomato sauce. This… was very unexpected. Verdict: Since my skin is doing weird things with this one, I think I will try this in an oil burner and see if I can enjoy it that way.

Blood rising through an ocean wave. In the imp: I do get the blood (I get a sharp metallic note and a little spice), but the soapy aquatic note is by far the most prominent aspect of the scent in the imp. Aquatics are often soapy on me, so I do not have high hopes for this one. Wet: This is SUPER SOAP on me. And now that I’ve written that, I can’t help but envisioning a bar of soap in a red cape, thinking it has come to save the day, when really, it is ruining it. Behind the mountain of soap suds, I detect the blood, which is not making me think of dragon’s blood at the moment (dragon’s blood can be wonky on me and often stomps on other notes), but maybe that’s because I have wandered into the SOAP KINGDOM. Dry: The blood note, which reads as incense-y to me (and may be the one found in Mithras) has come out more and seems to be getting stronger over time, but there’s still some aquatic soapiness in the background. There is a floral aspect to the scent, but if there’s dragon’s blood in here, it’s not being problematic like it usually is on me. Verdict: As far as blood notes go, this one is okay -- but the aquatic note is far too soapy on me.

In the imp: The lemon peel in this is actually a lot softer than expected, but it’s one of the main notes I’m getting from the imp, along with the white sage. Behind those notes, I can smell some frankincense and fougere. Wet: This is kind of medicinal, in a cough drop way. The lemon peel and white sage still stand out to me the most, but I’m also getting more of the lavender fougere on my skin than I did in the imp. Then, a light frankincense emerges, along with a pale sandalwood. Dry: The lavender fougere and resins are the main players. I am still getting the sage, but the lemon peel is very light now. The resins are a little heavier(the labdanum has probably joined in, and the frankincense has gotten stronger). There’s no smoky vetiver here -- it’s the herbal bourbon vetiver variety that I can handle. Verdict: This is light and airy and more pleasant than I thought it would be. I think it would be great on a guy, but I don’t think I’d reach for this one myself, even though it is nice.

In the decant: I can pick out the coconut, vanilla, smoky cacao, whiskey, coffee bean, and some spice. Wet: There is a lot going on in this one, so there’s no way I am going to be able to pick everything out, but I am getting the smoky cacao (it’s stronger on me than it was in the vial), coconut, vanilla, and spices. Then, I get a little coffee bean and some whiskey, but I wouldn’t say this is a boozy scent. As it sits on my skin, the vanilla and spices become more prominent. The orris butter comes out as the scent begins to dry, and I hope it doesn’t take over everything, as orris typically loves stomping on everything else and making a scent a powdery mess with my skin chemistry. Dry: While I do get the orris butter, it hasn’t succeeded in declaring dominion over the other notes and ruining the scent thus far. And I can smell the truffle note now! It’s a spiced, slightly smoky cacao on me now with some truffle and vanilla, as well as some carnation. After a few hours, the carnation ends up becoming one of the main players -- I’m not surprised, as I tend to amp carnation -- along with the spices and cacao. Verdict: This is a really interesting, complex 13. It’s not one I need to hunt down more of, but I think I will hold on to my imp and maybe reach for it when the next 13 rolls around (since I don’t really wear 13s except on that day).

In the decant: Sweet Snow White snow piled on top of chocolate-y Bliss. Wet: The sweet snow note from Snow White is the most prominent part of the scent, but Bliss’ brownie-like chocolate-y self is getting stronger as the oil sits on my skin (although it hasn’t managed to overtake the snow note). Dry: The snow note ended up reasserting itself, so this is sweet snow-covered Bliss. But after several hours of wear, what remains is mostly the Snow White snow… the chocolate note is very faint. Verdict: I am glad that I got to try this one, because I love the sweet snow note, and I enjoy gourmands, but I am also glad that I did not leap for a bottle of this when it was live since it mostly ended up being the Snow White snow on me, and I already have multiple bottles of Snow White.

In the decant: Hot cocoa with tiny marshmallows! Wet: It smells just like a cup of hot cocoa made from a packet with little marshmallows included! The marshmallow is more prominent on me than it was in the decant. There’s a fuzzy warmth to it that must be the felt. Dry: Okay, now I do get the glue note, and it is very realistic. It’s marshmallows and glue on a fuzzy cocoa blanket. The glue ends up being somewhat sharp on me and stronger than I would like it to be in the end, but this was great when it had less of a presence. Eventually, the cocoa reasserts itself so that it’s mostly cocoa, felt, and a little bit of glue after several hours of wear. Verdict: I really liked this at first, but then the glue got to be too much for me, but after a while, it became more cocoa-y again? I have a lot of chocolate scents, so I will probably let go of this decant because I can’t see myself reaching for this over those, but I will say that I love that this isn’t just a straight-up gourmand and that, while the glue note wasn’t for me, I appreciate how realistic it smelled! This was definitely a scent experience.

2009 release. In the bottle: Lightly spiced boozy goat’s milk egg nog with some soft coffee in the background. Wet: This smells like creamy egg nog. It was boozier in the bottle than it is on me, although I do get some booze after a few minutes as well as the soft coffee liqueur. Dry: It’s boozier now than it was before, and the spices have now come out to play, but they are soft and aren’t overpowering. I really enjoy how creamy this one is, but I wish I got a little less booze during this phase of the scent. The coffee liqueur is fainter than before, but I can still smell it in the background if I inhale deeply. Sadly, this one is pretty soft and doesn’t have any throw. I wonder if slathering would help? Verdict: This is a nice, creamy egg nog scent. I think I will hold on to the bottle and see how much I reach for it once the holiday season rolls around.

I received some imps of the original in my Trading Post orders over the last few years, and to me, it’s similar to Plunder, but with some incense. I am now going to test the Resurrected version on one hand and the original on the other to see how they compare. In the bottle: This is a lot heavier on the cinnamon than the original. I am not sure if that’s because the original is aged, though. It still reminds me of Plunder (they both have cinnamon and tea). Wet: The cinnamon is a lot stronger in the Resurrected version. The original is softer and smoother, but again, maybe that is due to age. You can tell that they’re the same scent, but I’m able to get more notes from the original because the cinnamon is a lot calmer. Even though this is very cinnamon-forward, it’s a softer cinnamon variety that isn’t burning my sensitive skin. Dry: This is still mostly about the soft cinnamon, while the original has the cinnamon, tea, incense, and other spices. The incense in this is very light and the original is smokier, so I am thinking that that’s probably the main difference between the two. Verdict: If you are a fan of Plunder or that scent family, there’s a good chance you will like this one as well. This is nice, but I already have a few cinnamon-dominant scents in my collection that I don’t reach for often enough, so I will likely end up gifting this to a friend that adores cinnamon scents.

In the decant: Cinnamon and greenery stand out to me the most. The moss is present, and there’s a touch of ozone, some resins, and what I believe is the same papyrus note found in Funerary Papyri. Wet: There is a lot going on here. I do not think I’ll be able to pick out all of the notes, but the cinnamon, greenery, and moss are the first notes I detect. Then I get a resin, a little bit of soapy ozone, and some fresh, green, and slightly citrus-y papyrus. There are also some florals at play here, but I am unable to pinpoint which ones they are. There’s something slightly sweet in here (not the honey) that I am not feeling, but I am not sure what it is (maybe the styrax?). As it begins to dry, the moss, grass, cinnamon are still the notes that jump out to me the most, with a resin not far behind. Even though the cinnamon in this is described as heady, this is not a scent heavy on the cinnamon (and I’m glad, since I have sensitive skin). Dry: The moss is now the dominant note on me, followed by the amber. I also get a bit of honey. It’s somewhat soapy on me now, but I’m not sure if it is because of the moss and the ozone, or because there are just so many notes in this one. I think it’s probably the moss and ozone, though. After a while, the moss and ozone do give it an after-rain feel, but the honey has become more prominent by this time, so it’s part after-rain scent and part honeyed resin. How curious! Verdict: It’s okay, but there is too much going on in this one for me. Oddly enough, the phase of the scent I enjoyed the most was the one I got after the scent had been on my skin for a few hours.

In the decant: Lots of almond (the kind I can’t help associating with cherry) and rose. I only get a trace of leather in the background if I inhale really deeply. Wet: The almond note is very strong, and I can’t help but thinking of cherry when I smell it. The red rose is also pretty potent. I wonder if that is also contributing to the cherry association, or if the leather is, as I can smell it now, and I’ve had some leathers do that on me before. Unfortunately, this smells really medicinal on me at the moment. I hope that changes. Dry: The leather is more prominent than it was before, and I still get the red rose, but alas, that medicinal vibe hasn’t gone away. Verdict: The almond in this one just didn’t work on my skin, sadly. I prefer Whip.

In the decant: Skin musk, bourbon vanilla, sweet yet dry Mysore sandalwood, and frankincense. Wet: Bourbon vanilla and skin musk are the first notes that leap out at me, followed by the sandalwood and frankincense. I have been trying to skip scents with bourbon vanilla listed lately because it was barely there in the last several scents I tried with the note. This is more like what I was hoping for with Drag is for Everyone. I think the frankincense used here is the same one found in Venus Caelestis, because this shares a similarity to that scent, and I think the costus is playing a factor in reminding me of that scent as well, since it had a light, sweet floral accompanied by light resins. This is a lot sweeter and feminine than I thought it would be, and I cannot stop sniffing my wrist! Dry: On me, this is vanilla-infused sandalwood and light frankincense accompanied by a sweet, candy-like floral on a bed of skin musk. The costus makes me think of blue lotus instead of the animalic description I got when I looked up what costus is supposed to smell like. Verdict: I can’t believe I was originally going to skip trying this one. I am so glad that I decided to try it, because this is amazing! The wet phase in particular really reminds me of Venus Caelestis, which I regret not getting a bottle of, minus the sugared lemon. I need a bottle of this, stat.

In the decant: Lots of almond and hazelnut, with some fig behind those notes. Wet: The almond and hazelnut stand out to me the most. It makes me think of a glazed pastry. I am now regretting my decision of not eating some of the almond kringle I bought from Trader Joe’s for breakfast. Then, I get the fig behind those notes, as well as some rose-y Turkish delight. The blast of almond that I got before has already calmed down within a few minutes, and now the hazelnuts and rose-y rahat lokum are the main players, but the fig is not far behind. Dry: This ends up being strong on the hazelnut, fig, and rahat lokum for a while before settling down into a warm hazelnut and Turkish delight scent that’s less rose-y than before with a calmer fig note. Verdict: I wish the almond had decided to stick around longer, but it doesn’t normally last very long on me, so I am not surprised. In the end, this is nice, but the fig ends up being stronger on me than I would like it to be. It was really nice to be able to try this one, though!

In the decant: I get a pale honey drizzled over dry flowers, and behind that, I get a metallic note. I hope the metallic note cooperates on my skin. Wet: This is a cold, honeyed floral scent, but the metallic note adds a cologne-like quality to it. The honey is definitely a pale variety, and the flowers are dry… they remind me of something, but I cannot pinpoint what they remind me of at this time. Dry: Alas, this has gone into powder territory on me. It’s slightly honeyed, floral powder. I am guessing that my skin has decided to make this mostly about the dust and dead flowers. After a while, it’s a cool, musky floral scent with a really light honey. Verdict: I was interested in this one because of the honeyed floral aspect of the scent, but alas, it ended up being really powdery on me at one point, so it’s not something I’d reach for. On a positive note, the metallic note in this is kinder than those notes usually are on me.

In the decant: I am getting lots of jasmine and some vanilla orchid with just a tinge of the spices in the background. Wet: The jasmine is the main player here, but I am getting more clove than I was expecting from the other reviews… I do think I tend to amp the note, though. I am fine with this, as I thought it would be all white florals and no spice! Dry: The jasmine still reigns, but I can smell some of the moonflower and vanilla orchid behind it now if I inhale deeply. The clove bud and cardamom just add a little bit of spice. After a few hours, I do get more clove and cardamom (yaaaas), but they’re not as strong as the floral notes. Verdict: I was curious to try this because of the combination of the florals and the spices. This is nice, spice-tinged white floral scent (with a kind variety of jasmine!), but I wish the clove and cardamom played more of a role in this one. No bottle for me, but I am glad I decided to try it. I think I’ll keep my decant.

In the decant: The gardenia and tuberose are the strongest notes, followed by the ambergris and vanilla musk. I get a bit of the amber incense in the background. Wet: Gardenia and tuberose are the stars here, but I am also getting a fair amount of ambergris and vanilla musk as well. It’s heady and also sparkling. This is the scent of a queen that knows and gets what she wants. As it begins to dry, the amber incense begins to emerge. Dry: Not much morphing going on here! The gardenia and tuberose are still the main players, but I am getting more of the ambergris and vanilla musk now. The amber incense continues to play a background role. After a few hours, I get even more of the ambergris, vanilla musk, and bourbon vanilla accompanying the heady floral notes. Verdict: This is a glittering, heady floral scent that makes me think of scents like Butterflies, Flowers, and Jewels Attending and Ava, although this isn’t as innocent as the former, and it’s not as vanilla-ed as the latter. I like it, but I don’t feel the need to grab a bottle, as I already own a few bottles of Ava and prefer that scent. But if that scent family is your jam, you should definitely look into trying this one!

In the decant: I grew up in an area with lots of mountains and trees, and now that I live in a place where it is rare to see grass and trees, I am more curious about forest scents than ever. This is the scent of an evergreen forest that isn’t covered in snow. I get lots of fir, some spruce, and some cedar. It smells very realistic. Wet: The bright, silver fir note is the most prominent note on me. Behind it, I smell the blue spruce and the red cedar. The combination of the silver fir and blue spruce give it a cool, wintery vibe even though this is a forest without snow, but the cedar adds this warmth to the scent. When I close my eyes and smell this, it really feels as if I am standing in the middle of a forest. Dry: The scent is sweeter now. One of the coniferous notes has a sweet, almost jammy quality to it. I can also smell the dry oak now, and the cedar is more prominent than it was before, so the forest is warmer and less intense on the tree needles. The jammy quality I got ends up going away, and it ends up being a lightly sweet evergreen scent with the warmth of the cedar and oak in the background. Verdict: I absolutely adored the wet stage of this scent. I do not love the dry phase as much, but that’s because it’s not as intensely coniferous. I plan on doing a full-day test of this before this goes down and may end up getting a bottle of this depending on how hard the Lilith update hits me. But if I don’t end up upgrading to a bottle, I will definitely be keeping my decant! ETA: This ended up being my favorite forest scent that Beth has done, and I regret not getting a back-up bottle.

In the decant: I can smell the clary sage, pine needles, moss, what I believe is the same mandrake note from Anesthesia, and some burgundy pitch. Wet: The pine needles really stand out to me, but the scent is warmer and more mellow than I expected on my skin. I am also getting the clary sage and moss. Dry: This is more of a mix of green and brown notes now, as the pine needles and clary sage have calmed down a little, and I am getting some warm hay now. After a while, I get the vetiver, but it is a grassy, slightly smoky variety, not a super smoky one, more moss, and some patchouli. The clary sage remains a main player on me. Eventually, the vetiver ends up becoming the strongest note, followed by the clary sage, and the patchouli is more prominent as well. Verdict: I was curious about this because it was a forest scent, but this one ended up being too masculine for me in the end. I vastly prefer The Forest of the Empress.

In the decant: It’s a bouquet of pale floral notes! I am here for the daffodil, which actually does stand out to me in the vial. I hope that is also the case on my skin. Wet: I’d still describe this as a bouquet of golden and white flowers, some of which are sweet, and I can smell the nectar on these flowers. It’s hard to pick out the different floral notes. The daffodil is there, but I don’t feel like it is as strong as it is in Lakeside atmo, and there’s also an aquatic-floral quality to this that I think could be the tulips, because Amsterdam has that same quality to it. After a few minutes, I get a touch of amber, giving the impression of sun-warmed flowers, but I wouldn’t describe this as a floral and resin scent. The floral notes are veering into soap territory as the scent dries… I hope they’re able to veer back out of it! Dry: The floral notes calm down enough so that it does smell less soapy now, although it still smells slightly soapy on me. I am getting more of a soft, golden amber during this stage, making it have even more of a sun-warmed flower vibe. Verdict: I was really looking forward to this one since daffodil isn’t a note that I see pop up very often. It’s nice, but it is not the daffodil scent that I was hoping for, since there are so many floral notes at play here. I won’t be needing more of this, but if you’re looking for the scent of sun-warmed flowers, give this one a try.

In the decant: Soft amber, slightly darkened by the oudh, with lots of citrus. The combination of the amber and mandarin rind make me think of the amber and blood orange combo from The Geisha and the Samurai HG that works really well. Wet: Soft amber accompanied by lots of citrus. I get more mandarin rind than bergamot, but it does not have the perfume-y quality that one might expect from an orange rind note (at least, not at the moment). There’s almost a creamy quality to the amber combined with the citrus, which I also get from The Geisha and the Samurai HG. I am really enjoying this thus far. Dry: The citrus has calmed down somewhat, so the amber and oudh are more prominent now. The combination of these two notes makes me think of Hesiod’s Phoenix with citrus instead of vanilla. After a while, the citrus becomes very faint, and this ends up being a golden amber and sweet oudh scent similar to scents like Hesiod’s Phoenix and Implacable Beautiful Tyrant hair gloss with just a tinge of citrus. Verdict: This is lovely. I just wish the citrus had decided to stick around longer! I am not sure if I need a full bottle of it since I already own Hesiod’s Phoenix (I’ll give it a full-day test just to be sure), but I am definitely going to hang on to my decant!

In the imp: Musky myrrh and ylang ylang accompanied by red rose. Wet: Dark musk, dark yet powdery myrrh, and sharp ylang ylang stand out to me the most. The red rose is soft and smooth. The ylang ylang has calmed down after a few minutes, and the rose is becoming more prominent. Dry: This ends up being really lovely after it has been on the skin for a while. It’s a sweet, powdery myrrh, darkened by the musk, and sweetened by the ylang ylang. I thought there might be some honey in this for a minute, and there’s definitely a creaminess to the scent now. I can still smell the rose, but it is not as strong as it was during the wet phase. Verdict: This is actually really pleasant. I like it more than I thought I would for a musky resin + floral scent (since resins and florals combined are usually not my thing). I do not need a bottle of it, but I think I’ll hang on to the imp and see if I reach for it at all. That said, Sed Non Satiata shares some notes with this one, and I like that scent more.

In the imp: I’m getting lots of orange blossom, followed by carnation. Wet: The orange blossom is by far the most prominent note on my skin, but there’s some spicy carnation behind it. After a few minutes, I get a little patchouli. Dry: I was sure the orange blossom was going to reign forever, but the patchouli is actually the strongest note after a while, with the orange blossom and carnation right behind it. Sadly, the ambergris in this is not a main player on me (I was hoping for more of it), but I can actually tell it is present during this phase of the scent, at least. Verdict: Masquerade is not for me, as I am not fond of orange blossom, and there’s a lot of it here.