doomsday_disco

Ecstasy and heresy on the Heath of the He-Goat: molten labdanum drips like blood onto bare skin, red musk thrums with carnal hunger, and gleaming red amber smolders against the writhing curve of the body.

Then a mason came forth and said, Speak to us of Houses. And he answered and said: Build of your imaginings a bower in the wilderness ere you build a house within the city walls. For even as you have home-comings in your twilight, so has the wanderer in you, the ever distant and alone. Your house is your larger body. It grows in the sun and sleeps in the stillness of the night; and it is not dreamless. Does not your house dream? and dreaming, leave the city for a grove or hill-top? Would that I could gather your houses into my hand, and like a sower scatter them in forest and meadow. Would the valleys were your streets, and the green paths your alleys, that you might seek one another through vineyards, and come with the fragrance of the earth in your garments. But these things are not yet to be. In their fear your forefathers gathered you too near together. And that fear shall endure a little longer. A little longer shall your city walls separate your hearths from your fields. And tell me, people of Orphalese, what have you in these houses? And what is it you guard with fastened doors? Have you peace, the quiet urge that reveals your power? Have you rememberances, the glimmering arches that span the summits of the mind? Have you beauty, that leads the heart from things fashioned of wood and stone to the holy mountain? Tell me, have you these in your houses? Or have you only comfort, and the lust for comfort, that stealthy thing that enters the house a guest, and then becomes a host, and then a master? Ay, and it becomes a tamer, and with hook and scourge makes puppets of your larger desires. Though its hands are silken, its heart is of iron. It lulls you to sleep only to stand by your bed and jeer at the dignity of the flesh. It makes mock of your sound senses, and lays them in thistledown like fragile vessels. Verily the lust for comfort murders the passion of the soul, and then walks grinning in the funeral. But you, children of space, you restless in rest, you shall not be trapped nor tamed. Your house shall be not an anchor but a mast. It shall not be a glistening film that covers a wound, but an eyelid that guards the eye. You shall not fold your wings that you may pass through doors, nor bend your heads that they strike not against a ceiling, nor fear to breathe lest walls should crack and fall down. You shall not dwell in tombs made by the dead for the living. And though of magnificence and splendour, your house shall not hold your secret nor shelter your longing. For that which is boundless in you abides in the mansion of the sky, whose door is the morning mist, and whose windows are the songs and the silences of night. Morning mist and the songs and the silences of night: a soft, hazy nocturne of moonflower, dew-touched lavender buds, rose hips, and night-blooming jasmine.

It is when your spirit goes wandering upon the wind, That you, alone and unguarded, commit a wrong unto others and therefore unto yourself. And for that wrong committed must you knock and wait a while unheeded at the gate of the blessed. Like the ocean is your god-self; It remains for ever undefiled. And like the ether it lifts but the winged. Even like the sun is your god-self; It knows not the ways of the mole nor seeks it the holes of the serpent. But your god-self dwells not alone in your being. Much in you is still man, and much in you is not yet man, But a shapeless pigmy that walks asleep in the mist searching for its own awakening. And of the man in you would I now speak. For it is he and not your god-self nor the pigmy in the mist, that knows crime and the punishment of crime. Oftentimes have I heard you speak of one who commits a wrong as though he were not one of you, but a stranger unto you and an intruder upon your world. But I say that even as the holy and the righteous cannot rise beyond the highest which is in each one of you, So the wicked and the weak cannot fall lower than the lowest which is in you also. And as a single leaf turns not yellow but with the silent knowledge of the whole tree, So the wrong-doer cannot do wrong without the hidden will of you all. Like a procession you walk together towards your god-self. You are the way and the wayfarers. And when one of you falls down he falls for those behind him, a caution against the stumbling stone. Ay, and he falls for those ahead of him, who though faster and surer of foot, yet removed not the stumbling stone. And this also, though the word lie heavy upon your hearts: The murdered is not unaccountable for his own murder, And the robbed is not blameless in being robbed. The righteous is not innocent of the deeds of the wicked, And the white-handed is not clean in the doings of the felon. Yea, the guilty is oftentimes the victim of the injured, And still more often the condemned is the burden bearer for the guiltless and unblamed. You cannot separate the just from the unjust and the good from the wicked; For they stand together before the face of the sun even as the black thread and the white are woven together. And when the black thread breaks, the weaver shall look into the whole cloth, and he shall examine the loom also. If any of you would bring to judgment the unfaithful wife, Let him also weigh the heart of her husband in scales, and measure his soul with measurements. And let him who would lash the offender look unto the spirit of the offended. And if any of you would punish in the name of righteousness and lay the ax unto the evil tree, let him see to its roots; And verily he will find the roots of the good and the bad, the fruitful and the fruitless, all entwined together in the silent heart of the earth. And you judges who would be just, What judgment pronounce you upon him who though honest in the flesh yet is a thief in spirit? What penalty lay you upon him who slays in the flesh yet is himself slain in the spirit? And how prosecute you him who in action is a deceiver and an oppressor, Yet who also is aggrieved and outraged? And how shall you punish those whose remorse is already greater than their misdeeds? Is not remorse the justice which is administered by that very law which you would fain serve? Yet you cannot lay remorse upon the innocent nor lift it from the heart of the guilty. Unbidden shall it call in the night, that men may wake and gaze upon themselves. And you who would understand justice, how shall you unless you look upon all deeds in the fullness of light? Only then shall you know that the erect and the fallen are but one man standing in twilight between the night of his pigmy-self and the day of his god-self, And that the corner-stone of the temple is not higher than the lowest stone in its foundation. Unbidden shall it call in the night, that men may wake and gaze upon themselves: Oman frankincense, Peru balsam, cardamom, and smoked amber. The sales from February, March, and May’s scents from the Prophet series (On Giving, On Eating & Drinking, On Work, On Joy & Sorrow, On Buying and Selling, and On Crime and Punishment) benefit the ACLU because we are in desperate need of civil rights protections right now. The Take Action area of their website presents handy opportunities for speaking out against current and ongoing injustices, even if you only have a few minutes to spare.

Rosenkuchen, coffee, and steamed milk with a burst of celestial amber musk. Paul Klee

Black Currant and Black Violet.

I've worn this a few times, and I've also sprayed it on a paper towel. I still can't pick out any specific notes in this scent, so I'm not sure how helpful this review will be. It is not an overtly floral scent, nor is it particularly forest-y. I also thought it smelled creamy and a little fruity when I sprayed it on a paper towel, but whenever I've sprayed this into my hair, both wet and dry, I get something that reminds me of a glassy musk... which I think would make sense for the 'glam' part of the name. I've paired this with Galerie des Glaces and thought they went together well, and I also think I wore it with some honeydew scents just because I wanted to wear it again to do a review. The hair gloss doesn't have much throw, so you could probably get away with pairing it with a lot of different scents without it clashing with them. I'll be hanging onto my decant, but I don't feel like I need a bottle just yet. I still need to do a proper, non-paper towel test of Celestial Aura HG, but at the moment, I feel like Elven Glam is the new RPG HG that I enjoy the most.

Regal grace and bittersweet beauty, this is a scent woven from wildflowers and court secrets. A verdant morning, sun-drenched and dew-laden, amber-glowing petals hide the tender unrest of violets and myrrh. The perfume of hidden sorrows, the ache of longing, and the weight of duty: white pear, hawthorn, damask rose, ambergris accord, golden amber, white leather, bruised violets, soft myrrh, spring wildflowers, and crushed green grass. John Collier

Electricity, which is an atmospheric emanation from God, and which is moved by his will, is that substance out of which all worlds and their splendid appendages were made. Hence, it will be perceived, that electricity contains all the original properties of all the various substances in being. All the varieties of the universe around us – all the beauties and glories of creation upon which we look with so many thrilling emotions of delight, were produced from electricity, which is the inexhaustible fountain of primal matter. By the living energies of the Divine Mind, electricity was condensed into globes ; not instantly, but gradually. The heaviest particle took the lowest point, or common centre, of our globe, and so on, step by step, lighter and lighter, till we reach the surface, which is a regular mould. On this we find water, a substance still lighter than earth ; next air, which is lighter than water, and so on till we reach the sun, which is the highest point in relation to our system, because it is the common centre. The sun is, therefore, pure electricity. Hence, the twenty-nine globes, belonging to our system, are electrically, geologically, and magnetically made. They are but twenty-nine magnets revolving around our sun as a centre. The sun being pure electricity or primal matter, is but an emanation from the Deity. It is consequently in a positive state. Hence, electricity is continually passing from the sun, as a common centre to the twenty-nine surrounding worlds : on the same principle that it passes from a positive to a negative cloud. Having done its duty in giving light, heat, and vegetation, as well as magnetic power to the globes, it is returned by reaction to the sun, and these two motions from the vertices that roll worlds around him. It is impossible that there can be any inherent attraction or repulsion in matter. Attraction and repulsion are but different dispositions of electricity. The best magnets are now made for the galvanic battery. Hence, electricity, galvanism and magnetism, are but in substance one and the same fluid, and the Eternal Mind, so that all the powers of attraction and repulsion originated in Deity. His will comes in contact with electricity, and through that subtle agent he moves the whole immeasurable universe in accordance with nature’s law. All worlds are in motion. They roll rapid as the lightning’s blaze, and in the most apparent confusion ; yet all is calm, regular, and harmonious. God is, therefore, connected with his universe, and superintends all its multifarious operations. Tho’ he is thus intimately united with inert matter, yet is he distinct from the whole. Thou apart, Above, beyond ; O tell me, mighty Mind, Where art thou? Shall I dive into the deep: Call to the sun? or ask the roaring winds For their Creator! Shall I question loud The thunder, if in that the Almighty dwells! Or holds he furious storms in straitened reins, And bids fierce whirlwinds wheel his rapid car! The Pittsburgh Post, 9 August 1847 The divine spark from which all things emanate; the perfume of the profound, unseen forces that connect us to the cosmos: the cold brilliance of metallic aldehydes, lemon pith, ambergris accord, and white lavender tethered to terrestrial patchouli, violet leaf, and a mineralic musk.

It is rare for me to enjoy scents containing wisteria, because the note is often very high-pitched on me. I own exactly two BPAL bottles of the scent featuring the note: Hanami (which I prefer layered with a sweet scent like Antique Lace Res. to soften the harsher edges of the florals) and On Wednesday, I Will Promise You a Phantom (although that is much heavier on my favorite note, lavender, and happens to contain vanilla). I decided to grab a decant of this to pair with scents like those, and I'm enjoying it more than I thought I would. I am not sure if I'm just coming around to wisteria now, or if it's this particular combination that I'm enjoying (I noticed, while searching through forum reviews, that most of the Lab's wisteria scents contain lilac, which isn't a note that I love... but I also didn't enjoy Honeysuckle and Wisteria based on my review, and honeysuckle is one of my favorite floral notes, so who knows). I tested this in several ways: sprayed on a paper towel, sprayed on the back of my hand, in wet hair, and in dry hair. The scent on the paper towel when I'd fan it in front of my nose was really nice. Both the wisteria and white musk are in full force, but the wisteria, while it still reads as somewhat high-pitched to me, smells better than it smelled on my skin. When I sprayed it on the back of my hand, I still got a lot of both notes, but my skin chemistry made the wisteria note sharper than it was on the paper towel. In wet hair, I didn't really notice it after application. In dry hair, it doesn't have a lot of throw (at least, not in an office environment -- maybe that will change when I step out into the 102 degree heat in 20 minutes). That said, I could still smell it in my hair throughout most of the day whenever I held my hair up to my nose. I have long, straight hair down to my ass, and I feel like the hair gloss was more noticeable for at least six hours of my work day, but it is pretty faint now. I only used two sprays, so maybe it would be stronger if I had used more. I can smell both notes in my hair, but the wisteria in my hair is much smoother than it was on my skin or on the paper towel. I believe the white musk is the same one paired with scents like La Joconde and Griotte, Lime, and White Musk. It's the white musk Beth sometimes pairs with citrus notes. It's not powdery at all, and I agree that it smells fancy. I'm currently debating whether or not I need to upgrade my decant to a bottle, since this is supposed to come down at the end of the week, which means any time now. On the one hand, I'm telling myself I only have two scents featuring wisteria and don't need a whole bottle of a hair gloss to pair with two scents. On the other hand, I'm telling myself that it could be paired with some of the Lab's more mainstream-esque scents, too, like Butterflies, Flowers, and Jewels Attending and Tomie, and if I do end up getting low on my decant, I'm unlikely to find more (unless it pops up on Etsy), as it doesn't seem like it was very popular. So I'll probably end up grabbing a bottle just in case, because what if this is my wisteria loving arc that I never knew would come to pass and I end up with more wisteria scents?! Well, I think this somehow ended up being my longest review ever. I hope my waffling over this wisteria hair gloss has helped someone else make a decision on it. ETA: Just wanted to update and say that I did end up ordering a bottle.

An intangible vapor, an obfuscating mist: grey iris, ambergris, mallow blossom, white tea blossoms, and scorched milk. Alfred Stieglitz

A splendid shock of crushed lapis, vibrant and beatific: lilac resinoid, dried blueberries and blackcurrant, Oman frankincense, and Styrax tonkinensis.

This one starts off with a burst of the fruity notes, especially the dried blueberries, which definitely aren't as juicy and seem more concentrated than fresh blueberries, but the fruit notes quickly make way for the lilac to come through. The lilac then becomes the dominant note on me throughout wear, backed by the dried blueberries and blackcurrant notes, and over time, the scent gradually becomes more resinous, so that it settles into a lilac and resin scent brushed with the fruits. I'd love to see this blueberry note featured in another scent where it can be the star (I just haven't really been feeling lilac lately). But if you're a lilac fan and are looking for a lilac scent that's darker and not as spring-like, give this one a try.

This is a weed-tinged blackberry pie scent. The blackberry note is the star of the show throughout wear. The weed note is not skunky and is the same one featured in Honeyed Weed and Dandelions. It's most prevalent during the wet phase of the scent, but it's not a main player on me. This is the pie scent with the most noticeable pie crust note that I've tried from the Lab. Most of the Lab's pies, while I love them and look forward to more of them, tend to be more about the filling than the crust, so I'm happy both pie components are present here! The crust starts off more like a freshly baked, warm, buttery crust, but then I get more rye from it after a while. The decant is definitely a keeper. I'm going to need to a full day slather to see if I need more of this. I might need to get more just for that pie crust note.

This is a dewy floral blend throughout wear, with the rose hips being the strongest of the floral notes on me. The jasmine isn't indolic or heady, and while I wanted waaaaay more lavender from this, it's definitely there -- just not a dominant note like I was hoping it would be. I bet the moonflower is there, contributing to this misty nighttime floral vibe, but I can't isolate it (maybe because my skin really seems to want to showcase the rose hips). I'm going to have to spend more time with this one to see if I need more of it, and I think I'll start by trying this as a sleep scent soon to see how that goes.

I received a tester of this in a decant order. The toffee-like honey dust note is the dominant note on me throughout wear. I get more sandalwood than amber lurking in the background, on a bed of musk. It's not a soft scent at all on me, but that's probably because I tend to amp the Lab's honey dust note. I'm not big on the Lab's honey dust note and prefer other honey notes from the Lab, but if you are a fan of honey dust note, this scent has it in spades.

I mostly wanted to try this because of the linden blossom and the art. This isn't as earthy as one might expect based off the notes. It starts off being a mostly green scent (probably thanks to the moss and the creeping jenny) and then becomes more of a floral scent after several hours of wear. The vetiver in this lends a light smokiness to the scent that's most noticeable during the scent's green phase, but it's pretty subdued for vetiver. I'm not getting the soil note, nor the delicate mushroom note (I was looking for it after trying the hair gloss). The honeywort isn't something I would have been able to pick out were it not for the duet, but that adds a touch of something akin to a lemony cough drop when the scent is morphing from the green phase to the floral one. I do get the linden blossom I was here for after a few hours, but it is also accompanied by iris, which is high-pitched on me. While this isn't something I feel the need to upgrade to a bottle of, I do think that this scent befits our sad frog friend from the art, and I'm glad that it isn't wet/swampy in any way.

We won’t go until we get some! Dense and chewy, lively with spices and sticky with figs boiled in wine, decorated with pomegranate seeds and dried lavender petals.

Mushrooms and Moss.

I received a tester of this in a regular decant vial and tested it on my skin instead of in my hair. So think of this more of an impression than a review? I get both notes, but the moss is stronger on my skin (I tend to amp the note, so maybe it would be more evenly balanced in the hair?). The mushroom note doesn't really smell super earthy and has a sweet, but pleasant powderiness to it that I also get from Death Cap. I don't need a bottle of this, but it was fun to get to try it! I actually enjoyed it more than Frog Moon itself.

I've tried this three times (a test, a full-day slather, and then another test in which I deathmatched it with a few other scents containing vanilla, amber, and cardamom notes). Dahlia is stunning. This weekend, I deathmatched her with Aasimar from the RPG line and Nocturne Alchemy's Sky Amber. To me, Dahlia is the clear winner. Each scent featured a different amber, but I like Dahlia's amber most of all, since it is sugared and deeper. Each scent contains cardamom, but it is far prominent and sticks around in Dahlia. This cardamom has a bite to it. The cardamom in the other two scents is much lighter and quick to fade away. Each scent contains vanilla, and both Dahlia and NAVA's Sky Amber feature a floofy, billowy vanilla (in the same vein as Antique Lace 2017's vanilla and Nocturne Alchemy's Moonstone, for those who would like a non-BPAL frame of reference). That said, the amber and vanilla are more balanced in Dahlia, while Sky Amber ends up becoming more about the vanilla than amber on me. And Dahlia has decent throw and longevity, too. Dahlia is worth the hype! I've already used up over half of my decant, so a bottle will be in my future.

Lady of the Unicorn skull – queens escape to majestic mountain air, lace parasol and riding gloves in hand, corseted and bustled, heart filled with longing. An early 19th-century Italian perfume dabbed on black satin and lace – magnolia blossoms, lilac, orris root, and ambergris accord.

I received a tester of this with a decant circle and finally got around to trying it the other day. This is predominantly a lilac scent on me, with it almost being a lilac single note, except there's a bit of powdery orris lingering in the background. That said, I'm not that familiar with the scent of magnolia, and I don't think I've isolated it in the few scents I've tried that feature it, so it's possible that it's there, but not registering to me. The lilac is so very loud on me, though, that I would recommend this to lilac lovers. Since I don't seem to love lilac lately, this isn't for me, but if you enjoy the note, you should give this one a try.

This one is a fruity floral scent on me that morphs into a mostly floral scent touched by strawberry at the end of the day. I believe the strawberry (not really getting the cream on my skin, which I don't mind) and star jasmine are the dominant notes on me throughout wear, although the star jasmine wins out by the end of the day and is somewhat high-pitched, but it isn't heady or indolic like actual jasmine. I sadly don't get any of the mallow blossom or vanilla sugar on my skin, although perhaps those would be more prominent with rest/age. The pink sandalwood might also be contributing to the high-pitched quality this has on my skin (as I think it's the same one from Easter Egging, but there's no white chocolate in this one to smooth it over). I didn't deathmatch the two, but I believe Vasilissa, which also contains star jasmine and sandalwood notes (albeit a different sandalwood), is smoother. I'd also say this could be a cousin to some of the Pink Moon scents... not the strawberry milk one, but the ones that are full of floral notes with a smattering of strawberry. Only, this one starts off stronger on the strawberry than most of those, and the floral notes in Pink Moon 2019 seem to jive better with my skin chemistry. This is definitely a very pink that goes perfectly with the art, but I think I'll stick with Pink Moon 2019 and 2023.

I've tried this like three times and have neglected to review it because I've been trying to pinpoint what the unlisted citrus note is in this one, but alas. I still don't feel confident enough to say which one this contains. I would say that this is mostly an aquatic musky floral scent with a touch of citrus. I'm not sure if the citrus note is secretly the blue spruce (I know I've at least definitely tried a fir scent that has an orange-y aspect to it) or if there is a stealth citrus in here. My initial inclination was that it is grapefruit, but other sniffs, I thought maybe its orange, but there's definitely a citrusy element at play. As usual, the eucalyptus blossom adds a coolness without being bracing like straight-up eucalyptus would, and the white mint note also lends a coolness without being bracing like peppermint. The unexpected citrus and cool notes mingle with the aquatic notes, lotus, and blue musk, but the scent quickly gives way to the aquatic notes, blue musk, and lotus, and settles into a soft scent comprised of those notes by the end of the day. This was almost a blind bottle for me, but I decided to go the decant route first since aquatics are tricky for me. This is pretty tame for an aquatic: its not super salty, and there's no soap of doom. But I would have appreciated it more if the blue spruce had been a main player (I love the Lab's coniferous notes) and if the eucalpytus and mint had stuck around longer. So I don't need a bottle of this one, but I do think it is pretty and would recommend it to someone looking for a musky, aquatic floral scent that has been smoothed out around the edges.

A big, wet blue raspberry blown to the idea that asexual people never get off, don’t enjoy relationships, or are generally anti-sex.