doomsday_disco

Are you a famous, gruff, all-powerful sage shacked up in a quaint local village, dispensing advice to adventurers? Have you sent any hobbits on quests? Died battling epic demons, only to rise again? Are you the wisest, most venerable wizard in town? Well, you don’t have to be – but you can fake it with our Supahwizard Beard Oil! Frankincense, sweet pipe tobacco, and the well-worn leather and parchment of ancient tomes.

This smells like a melange of fruity candies. I get cherry, lime, watermelon, orange, and strawberry candy. I haven't tried it in the bath... only as an after-shower moisturizer. But it smells great and it is perfect for the summer. There's a bit of a powdery note by the end of the day, but not like baby powder or amber powder or anything like that... it's more like a powdery coating on the some of the hard candies, as if they were just unwrapped. I'll be keeping this bottle!

Some consider December’s full moon to be Snow Moon, but the cold, bleak white silence of February also bears the name. Snowfall is at its heaviest, food is scarce, the past year’s harvest has been exhausted, and driving winds, sleet, and bitter cold make hunting near-impossible. It is a desolate time, a solitary time, a time of conservation and introspection; in February, we are confronted with loneliness and want, and are challenged to find strength in the darkness. Snow, endless snow, and a glimmer of hope illuminated by the reflection of Brigid’s flame. Snowdrops pushing through a pale white blanket of crystalline musk, pale white frozen apples, white tea leaf, yuzu, and angelica root.

I wasn't planning on getting a decant of this, since I have a bottle of the 2019 version, which features the same notes. But it was cheaper to get a full set of Snow Moon decants, so I got to try this and deathmatch it with the 2019 version. I don't normally think there's that big of a difference between releases featuring the same notes, and they both are mostly yuzu, frozen apple, and white tea on me, but the 2024 version is much smoother. There's a bitterness to the 2019 version that I didn't realize was there until I deathmatched it with the 2024 version, so I think I'll destash my bottle of the 2019 release and keep the decant of this year's release. Since I had the full set of Snow Moon decants, I did layer each one with Snow Moon as Beth intended. Here are my layering results: Snow Moon + Apple Liqueur and Brandy - Makes for a more apple-y experience, of course! Snow Moon + Coconut and Icicles - The apple and yuzu of Snow Moon still was the most prominent feature, but the frozen aspect was amped up, with some coconut on top. Snow Moon + Roasted Tea Leaf and Night-Blooming Jasmine - This was my favorite of the duets, so it's not surprising that it was my also my favorite of the layering combos. It was mostly Snow Moon plus the toasty green tea note, with a bit of airy, non-indolic jasmine floating over that. Snow Moon + Yuzu and Blackcurrant - So the earthiness of the duet is still present during the layering combo... I think it must be something in the blackcurrant? The yuzu was amped up by layering the two, and I love yuzu, but I just don't dig the earthiness of the duet, which just isn't tamed by layering, sadly.

Note: I only tested this on my arm, so I'll update this once I've actually worn it in my hair. I agree with Numanoid's review. This is a deep chocolate with a cocoa-y feel to it, and it's not milk chocolate nor dark chocolate, but more of a bittersweet one with a cocoa-y quality to it. I think it smells great, but since I already have bottles of El Dia de los Reyes HG, Peppermint Cocoa HG, and a decant of Cacao & Kola Nut HG, I'll be contenting myself with just the decant for now.

Note: I tested this on the back of my hand, but I'll update this when I wear it in my hair for two days. This is not the same scent as the Lab's Bourbon Vanilla Bath Oil from some years ago, which contained bourbon vanilla and benzoin and was more resinous. BUT it is the same vanilla note from that bath oil and the recent Worm Moon: Bourbon Vanilla and Teakwood duet. I don't believe there's any actual bourbon in this -- that's just designating the vanilla variety used. The Lab's bourbon vanilla often hides on my skin in most of the blends that it is in, so it's nice to be able to try a single note where it can shine. This particular vanilla is not foodie, it is not floofy, and I feel like it is a bit skin musk-y? For those into NAVA vanillas, it is not like their bourbon vanilla, which is sweeter and goes somewhat plastic-y on me. I agree that it would pair well with many scents, but as far as vanilla hair glosses go, it does not dethrone Boo, and I also prefer the Antique Lace over it. But I'll hang onto my decant for those times I'm looking for a different vanilla to pair with scents.

Note: I tested this on the back of my hand and not in my hair. I'll update once I do a two day hair wear applied to both wet and dry hair. This is a berry-centric hair gloss for sure, but the tea is definitely there. The combo of the berries with the sugar reminds me a bit of a berry scone without the foodie pastry, although this is a tarter, dark berry. I think this would pair perfectly with scents like Witches' Tea and Beautiful Death. The decant I ordered came in the original bottle, and I am keeping it!

I was really excited about this one because I'm a slut for cherry, and there's no fig in this Christmas puddin'! Sadly, although this is very cherry, it goes waxy on me during one phase of the scent, in a cherry chapstick sort of way, but the cherry is darker and there's a little spice from the pudding. I don't get the vanilla-drizzled amaretto from this. Wahh.

I'm also getting apple blossom and rose, and maybe a bit of lemon, but emphasis on the apple blossom. I do not believe this contains the honey or ylang ylang of the official release. While it was fun to try to parse out the notes, this isn't something I could see myself wearing.

Black Musk and Nutmeg.

Official website release date: July 4th, 2024. Blood, rust, and hope, dim with the patina of pain and struggle: cast iron, copper, gold, and steel with a cluster of French perfume and American wildflowers, a fleck of dried blood, and a sliver of saddle leather.

A scent dedicated, not to a book, but to the ancient and enigmatic amulet known as the SATOR square. Night-black musk and scorched wood polished with ambrette, suffused with sweet flag, olibanum, vetiver, styrax, and red labdanum.

With a hint of patchouli root.

Even the undead need to look sharp. Crypt moss and coffin wood, incense smoke and shards of bone.

This starts off with the raspberry being the strongest note on me, but then the candy-like strawberry overtakes it for a few hours, before the raspberry overtakes it by the end of the day. But by that point, it plays more of a background role, as the french vanilla (the same one from the single note and from Love's Philosophy) ends up being the dominant note after several hours of wear. I'm not sure that these berries go very well with this particular vanilla note. I'm kind of wishing for a different (floofy!) vanilla note and that the vanilla had cozied up to the berries from the get go. I don't dislike this, but I can't see myself reaching for this over other Lab scents featuring strawberry or raspberry notes.

I tried this a few times, because I kept trying it and then not having time to review it. This is mostly about the Japanese incense on me. I do get touches of all of the other notes intertwined with it, with things like the rice wine and lilac jumping out at me with it at first, but then it quickly becomes difficult to pick apart the notes in this aside from the incense. While I don't feel the need to hunt down more of this, I'll be keeping the decant that a dear friend shared with me. This is a pretty Japanese blend and I love the art that inspired it!

So... all of the reviews mentioned smokiness worried me, and indeed, my decant smelled hella smoke-y, so I never tried this in my hair and only sprayed it on my skin yesterday after it sat in my to-test pile for months. I don't really get pumpkin from this, or buttercream, but a sweet smokiness. It reminds me of the smoke note from Hexennacht's All Souls' Night if it were toned down by a different source of sugary sweetness. Like dancingchair said, it's as if the pumpkin was roasted over a bonfire... but then they only incorporated the charred bits into the not-very-buttercream-y buttercream. I don't hate this, but I can see myself getting easily overwhelmed by it due to the smoke, so I'm glad I did not apply this to my hair. I'd recommend this to fans of smoky scents who don't mind a backdrop of gourmand sweetness.

This smells like creamy, sweet butter to me. I don't get any frankincense from this. It starts off more sweet but gets more buttery over time, but fortunately isn't particularly salty on my skin. It's not something I need more of, but the scent is perfect for the artwork!

Capturing the essence of another Pseudo-Albertine book Egyptian Secrets. A title intended to evoke exotic origins, Egyptian Secrets collects remedies for fevers and burns, alongside protective magics against witchcraft, dog bites, and thieves. Myrrh resin, green cardamom, golden saffron, and honeyed fig.

A perfume devoted to John George Hohman's Der lange verborgene Freund or Long Hidden (Lost) Friend, a work published in 1820 which collects a selection of spoken prayer and written charms such as the SATOR square. Hohman's work draws upon earlier works such as Egyptian Secrets of Albertus Magnus and also offers practical remedies for everyday concerns. Mulberry, pumpkin molasses, and sweet clove dashed with sonnen-werbel to ensure that people speak to you with pleasant words and a sprinkle of caraway to keep you safe from frights and fantasies.

Inspired by the fantastical collection of botanical, animal, and mineral lore spuriously attributed to Albertus Magnus which was widely popular throughout Europe and the Americas throughout the Middle Ages. Date palm, luminous fossilized amber resin, bay laurel, and frankincense.

Bulgarian rose absolute, rose otto, sandalwood, 3-year aged patchouli, orris absolute, rosemary, and rose hips. Soft and seductive, like a lover's kiss.

"RITUAL SPIRIT is inspired by the collections and ghosts that gather in the corners of the studio. All the stories in the walls, that come together to make us feel less alone during this ceremony, of remembering, honoring and holding this life that can feel so monstrous, and so beautiful. The healing that comes with the winds and waters as seasons change. That we want for ourselves, and we want for others." Amber beeswax, champaca absolute, and 7-year aged black patchouli dribbling over Victorian oak panels and web-dusted bones. A perfumed meditation for your body, and your personal altar space- that which might be as simple as smell, a calming moment, the stillness of the woods or standing in a window -- whatever it is, it is enough.

I'm sorry this review won't be very helpful. This is mostly about the floral aldehyde throughout wear on my skin. The burst of lavender with the musk and aldehyde made me think of Skyborn on initial application (but I no longer have the decant around to compare). Aside from those notes, I noticed the violet leaf and muguet later on in the day, but they were beneath the floral aldehyde. Although vanilla is listed as a note, I wasn't able to pick up on it, so it's not an ethereal vanilla musk and lavender type of scent like I was hoping for... but those who would like a classic, sparkling floral musk may find this is up their alley.

2018 version. I once tried this at Drag Con and loved the vanilla musk in it. I thought it was like Morocco with a ton of vanilla musk and had planned on buying a bottle for years, but kept putting it off. I bought a bottle secondhand through a decanter and just tested it yesterday. Sadly, I don't get get any vanilla musk from it at all. It smells like the musk from Morocco with the same sandalwood and carnation, but less spice and with some cedar. I don't find it to be as alluring as Morocco. Maybe the bottle I tried at the convention was magical because it was aged. I don't dislike this, but I'm not sure that it is worth keeping around since I like Morocco more and am not sure how long it would take for aging to bring the vanilla out.