doomsday_disco
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Everything posted by doomsday_disco
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I tried this on both wet hair and dry, as well as spraying it on a paper towel. It is a light hair gloss with no throw that primarily features a soft peach note to my nose that's lightly honeyed. I don't get much cake from this at all, especially not compared to the honey cake of The Sharing of the Cake Between the Lion and the Unicorn Hair Gloss. As far as peach hair glosses go, this is the lightest of the ones I've tried (Peach and White Incense, Peach Tea, White Musk, and Lychee, Peach Bellini, and Peach and Red Bean Paste). It smells good, but I really wish it were stronger and more cake-y. I'm glad that I got a decant of this instead of a full bottle.
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A tangle of witch-roots, smoothed over centuries by gentle hands. Damp soil and smoked vetiver, spikenard and raw leather, dried fig and galangal—all bound in an indigo silk ribbon of somnambulic opium tar.
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Softness is a ritual oil for the heart that resists hardening. This blend was crafted to keep the spirit supple, the gaze gentle, and the soul intact even as the world curdles into cruelty. It is not passive, it is not fragile; this is the might of mercy in the face of injustice. This is the quiet power of open hands in a closed-fist world. Defiance through peace, gentle but never yielding. Contains: Roman and German chamomile, rose otto, vanilla absolute, white sandalwood, orris root, hops, and myrrh.
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I'm reviewing the scent more than its intent, although I appreciate its intent. The stars of this blend are the rose otto, chamomile, and orris on me, with a light, sheer vanilla absolute note in the background that smooths over the edges of the rose. The orris isn't super powdery and the resins in this are subtle. The scent stays close to the skin, and the rose becomes the dominant note after a few hours of wear. I'll keep the decant around for its purpose, but I don't feel the urge to upgrade this one to a bottle.
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Helps you hold onto what you have. Contains: alfalfa, patchouli root, Irish moss, five finger grass, sassafras, cinnamon, bay laurel, bergamot, allspice, and thyme.
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I'm mostly reviewing the scent, but I grabbed it both for the scent and its purpose. Financial Stability is mostly about the sassafras, and I'm here for it. There's a bit of effervescence behind it, too, but I don't know what could possibly be contributing that aspect to the scent from the listed notes. I have no idea what alfalfa or five finger grass smell like, but honestly, I can't really pick out individual notes in this well aside from the sassafras. It's not particularly spicy or herbal, so if you just want to smell like root beer, rejoice! While testing this, my partner had asked if I had wanted to order some food, and I was the voice of reason that said we could just cook at home. My partner still wanted to get food, but I wonder if they would have wanted to be frivolous if they had been wearing this oil. I love root beer scents, so I upgraded my decant to a bottle, but I also plan to wear it for its intent during these uncertain times.
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A dear friend sent me her bottle so I could try this, and if it comes back into stock, I may have to get one of my own! Lethe isn't particularly boggy or aquatic at all, so don't let the river foam note scare you away from this. The black labdanum isn't one of the sweet cola-like varieties, and it's bolder than the labdanum found in most of the Lab's blends featuring lavender and labdanum as of late. It may have a touch of something oud-like to it, without being overly funky, but maybe that's secretly a hint of the river foam lurking behind it. The lavender and asphodel cozy up to it, making a great sleep scent. The asphodel does veer somewhat into bubblegum territory on me after a few hours, but since I would get this to use as a sleep scent, I'd probably doze off long before it reached that point. And although I enjoy cypress, it is not a main player on me in this scent. One of the reasons I was curious to try this is because it shares several notes with A Conscious Slumber (Lavender buds and cypress, sepulcher lilies, a sprig of rosemary, and a bouquet of asphodel), of which I regret only buying one bottle. They are not similar despite sharing some of the same notes, but I think both are relaxing enough to lull one to sleep. Of the lavender and labdanum scents that the Lab has released over the last few years, I enjoy this one the most.
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Idle Moon: Vanilla Husk and a Bundle of Twigs
doomsday_disco replied to doomsday_disco's topic in Duets & Menage A Trois
I'm really glad that I did not blind bottle this one. The twigs are indeed somewhat fresh and green, yet somehow sharp (my first instinct was oak, but then I started thinking about other sharp woods like mahogany and teak, and I didn't deatmatch it with any scents containing those notes since I had other scents on my arm already, so I can't say it's oak for sure). I don't get how they are both green but also smell lacquered, as lithie mentioned. Worst of all, the twigs are somewhat rubbery on me and smell awful. I thought I got a hint of root beer-esque French vanilla from this, but that was very fleeting, and the vanilla note that ends up draping itself over the twigs is a sheer, skin musk-y sort of vanilla. It's nothing like the vanilla husk in Vanilla Husk, Nutmeg, and Hay Absolute. This just did not work for me. -
Lilac cream, pressed violets, pink elemi, olive blossom, and crystalline musk. Max Švabinský
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Goose Moon: Nag Champa Smoke and White Gardenia
doomsday_disco posted a topic in Duets & Menage A Trois
Nag Champa Smoke and White Gardenia. -
Spiced Chestnut and Honey.
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Peonies and poppies are two of my favorite May flowers, and all the more so now that we’ve moved to Philadelphia, where you see them in countless gardens. Continuing with the theme of serpents making their way through urban landscapes, I’ve created something for myself that I want to share – a Snake Oil-infused bouquet of poppies, peonies, melancholy heartsease, and the last bruised winter hellebores dusted with sandalwood and bound with a vanilla-white silk ribbon.
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First, I have to say that I'm not familiar with heartsease or hellebore, so if those are conspicuously absent from my review, that's why. The poppies are the main feature of the bouquet throughout wear, backed by the peonies. I recognize the poppy note from The Serpent in the Opium Poppies, although I believe that one is much stronger on the opium tar than the poppy petals. I did not deathmatch the two, though. The peonies are not as strong as the poppies on my skin, but I can still smell them and can visualize the soft feel of the peony petals whenever I catch a whiff of that note beneath the poppies. I'm not getting much in the way of Snake Oil, sandalwood, or the vanilla silk, but the floral notes are so lovely together that I don't really mind. I wonder if this Snake Oil variant will stay like this and be like Cottonmouth (overtly floral with not much in the way of Snake Oil), or if the Snake Oil will emerge more with age. I am going to have to spend more time with this one, but I'm definitely keeping my decant, and further tests will decide if I need more before this goes away.
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This is lovely. It starts off with a burst of green -- I get more of the meadow grass and clover than any wildflowers -- with the Snake Oil as a backdrop. I feel like some of the grass smells like it has been crushed, but fortunately, there are no strong grass clippings to be found. Over time, it becomes less green as the Snake Oil gains strength and ends up being the dominant note after several hours. I get more of Snake Oil's spices and musks here than the other aspects of the Snake Oil (and it smells more like older Snake Oil than recent variants have to my nose). But this is definitely recognizable as a Snek variant (which Snake Bouquet, while also smelling lovely, doesn't have much of a Snake Oil aspect to it at the moment). I think I will end up needing to get more of this before it goes away. I think this Snek is idyllic and perfect for the spring and summer -- and I really appreciate it as someone who lives in the desert and misses seeing grass.
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Who doesn’t want a hot, buttery snake? Spiced buttered rum splooshed into Snake Oil with a bit of molasses and cream.
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Velvet Brick is mostly about the resins of Velvet (especially the sandalwood, which is indeed gentle) mixed with the warm clay of the brick and sweetened by the cocoa vanilla (although those notes play less of a role). This is nice, but I think just the decant will suffice.
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A glass raised to the celebratory spirit of Pride, in defiance of everything conspiring to our collective downfall. *clink* The convivial scent of a Tequila Sunrise (tequila, crème de cassis, lime juice, and sparkling soda water) splashed in the brick-lined gutter.
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My skin seems to have run away with the tequila. I get a smoky version of tequila with some of the effervescence of the soda water and the clay and sand of the brick note. The booze is the star of the show on me in this one, instead of the brick. I wish the fruity notes had showed up on me. Alas.
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Brick Snek is mostly about the warm, soft, clay-like brick note mingling with the aged vanilla absolute and musks of the Snake Oil. I actually don't get much in the way of Snake Oil's spices or patch in this one, so I don't really find this one to be earthier or hissing with rage as per the description. In my Brick Single Note review, I mentioned that I get some orange blossom or neroli in the brick accord, which reminds me of the sharp version of the dead leaves accord that I've encountered in some dead leaves scents, and I totally get that in Brick Snek, too, especially after the scent has been on for several hours of wear. Although I enjoyed this the most out of the Brick by Brick collection, I don't think I need a whole bottle of this one, but I'll keep the decant around to see how it ages.
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Limoncello-soaked blueberries nestled between layers of golden crepe, topped with a splort of lavender whipped cream and sprinkled with tiny curls of lemon zest.
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Both my partner and I didn't enjoy the smell of this in the decant; it reminded me of the dead leaves accord that either features neroli or orange blossom that's too sharp on me, and my partner described it as bitter. But on the skin, it immediately smooths over, which goes to show that you should always skin test things and not just judge by your first impression of a scent! This is mostly soft, smooth, warm, and clay-like. There's really only a hint of sand. I actually don't think this is very gritty at all. I wonder if there's some tonka in here, but I'm not great at picking out that note and can't say for sure. I just feel like there's some vanillic softness that's not quite due to vanilla. I still smell some of the sharp dead leaves accord in this, with some definite orange blossom or neroli that I detected in both this and Brick Snek, but the clay in this keeps that part of the scent in check so that it's not screechy and headache-inducing on me. So if you are a fan of the Lab's dead leaves scents, you should probably give this a try. I still have one more Brick scent to test, but I already think that Brick Snek is the winner as far as the brick blends go, because the vanilla and musk of the Snake Oil goes really well with the clay of the brick. While I don't think I need a whole bottle of this, I think I will keep the decant around to try different layering possibilities.
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Raspberry Punch with Cake Crumbs
doomsday_disco replied to doomsday_disco's topic in The Edward Gorey House
I can smell all of the notes in this, but the lemon is the lightest on me. It starts off being mostly about the raspberry punch (you can tell it's not straight-up raspberry and has been turned into a drink) and elderberry liqueur, accompanied by the Victoria sponge. The cake note isn't just the crumb: the creamy filling of the Victoria sponge is there as well. The gin note first emerges in the background but becomes stronger over time, eventually becoming the dominant note on me after several hours of wear. It's slightly effervescent and juniper-y and reminds me of 21, but with the addition of some fruitiness. The cake is but a memory by the end of the day. I'm going to hold onto my decant and see how this pairs with the new Framboise Hair Gloss. -
A soft ploop casting ripples in still water: linden blossom, pond moss, vetiver root, squished mushroom caps, damp soil, honeywort, purple flame iris petals, and creeping jenny.
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Black Pine and Incense Smoke.
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Black Pine and Incense Smoke Atmosphere Spray
doomsday_disco replied to doomsday_disco's topic in Atmosphere
Here's a quick review for anyone who is waffling on this before the Yules go down. I always go for bottles of foresty scents, and I really enjoy the pine in this, but the incense is of the champaca variety. While both notes are present, the champaca becomes the dominant note over time if you spray it on something and smell it later in the day. I like this, but I would have liked it more if it featured a different incense note (like a more resinous, church-y incense).