doomsday_disco

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.

And the weaver said, Speak to us of Clothes. And he answered: Your clothes conceal much of your beauty, yet they hide not the unbeautiful. And though you seek in garments the freedom of privacy you may find in them a harness and a chain. Would that you could meet the sun and the wind with more of your skin and less of your raiment, For the breath of life is in the sunlight and the hand of life is in the wind. Some of you say, “It is the north wind who has woven the clothes we wear.” And I say, Ay, it was the north wind, But shame was his loom, and the softening of the sinews was his thread. And when his work was done he laughed in the forest. Forget not that modesty is for a shield against the eye of the unclean. And when the unclean shall be no more, what were modesty but a fetter and a fouling of the mind? And forget not that the earth delights to feel your bare feet and the winds long to play with your hair. Sunlight on skin: sweet amber, honey dust, golden sandalwood, and soft musk.

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

White Lilac and Moss.

Rice Milk and Mallow.

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.

Sing a song of sixpence, A pocket full of rye. Four and twenty blackbirds Baked in a pie. When the pie was opened, The birds began to sing. Wasn’t that a dainty dish To set before the king? A delicacy to be puffed and then passed, dainty as you please: rye puff pastry crust splitting apart to reveal a cacophony of musky wild blackberries stewed in kush-infused butter.

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.

Sheer white vanilla with strawberry cream, star jasmine, mallow blossom, vanilla sugar, pink lotus petals, lychee, rosehips, russet amber, and pink sandalwood. Alphonsine De Challié

Vanilla Husk and a Bundle of Twigs.

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.

Lady of the Black Cat skull: sweet innocence with a dark mystery, wrapped in black leather and lace, guided by dreams and succumbing to nightmares. Sugared amber, orchid petals, and vanilla chiffon spiced with smoked cardamom.

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.

I've tried this twice, and I don't really know what to say except for that it actually smells like blue raspberry candy? I wasn't sure about the 'wet' part of the scent when I got the decant, but there's nothing aquatic at play here. It's just a true blue raspberry candy scent. And it's better than the Blue Raspberry Cream Soda Slushie scent Nocturne Alchemy did one summer. While I don't feel the need to upgrade to a bottle (I'll probably test it again before it departs just to be sure), I think I'll keep the decant around for those times I want to be hit in the face with this nostalgic candy scent. This would fit right in with the Lilith collections of yore.