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BPAL Madness!

doomsday_disco

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Everything posted by doomsday_disco

  1. doomsday_disco

    Idle Moon: Rice Milk and Mallow Hair Gloss

    Eh, I'm not really feeling this one. The sheer rice milk is more prominent than the mallow, and the mallow has an unexpected soft fruitiness to it and is not a floofy marshmallow scent. I wish I were getting the rice krispie treats that others were getting, but alas. There's a sweetness to it, but it's not as gourmand as I was expecting from the notes. I applied this to wet hair, dry hair, and a paper towel. Sadly, it did not last long in wet hair, but strangely, it also didn't have much throw or staying power when applied to dry hair (I have really long hair that's down to my ass and have tried to smell it in my hair by holding my hair to my nose throughout the day, but it is barely there). There's also a butteriness I get from the paper towel spray test by the end of the day that never appeared in my hair, probably because the scent just didn't stick around as long in my hair to get to that point. I'm glad I didn't go for a bottle of this and won't be keeping the decant.
  2. doomsday_disco

    Lace Lichen

    Everybody knows their state flower and state animal —but do you know what the official LICHEN of your state is? Ramalina menziesii—the lace or fishnet lichen—is an unusually sexy bundle of algae and fungi. Fashioned into elegant, delicate patterns up to a meter long, it is a nest-making material for birds, a vital food source for California’s deer, and is considered to have sorcerous properties that protect against the ravages of lightning. A pale green filigree: oakmoss, orris absolute, ylang ylang sap, green patchouli, ambergris accord, and sheer vanilla.
  3. White Tea and Red Ginger.
  4. doomsday_disco

    Troll Face Pine Cone

    Pine needles, licorice root, cypress, king mandarin, roasted chestnut, sage leaf, and bourbon cream.
  5. doomsday_disco

    Troll Face Pine Cone

    I apparently neglected to review this when it was available, so I tested it again last night to finally write a review for this. This starts off with a blast of the pine with a bit of roasted chestnut behind it, but then, the licorice root barrels in like the Kool-Aid Man and becomes the dominant note for a while, backed by the mandarin and evergreens. When it finally disappears, the bourbon cream becomes the dominant note, infused with the mandarin and a touch of the evergreens. The sage wasn't super noticeable to me, but maybe that's because I was too focused on the licorice root, which was indeed very medicinal and unpleasant. I bet I could have appreciate this if it had been licorice-free. If you're not a fan of licorice root, you probably aren't going to like this one.
  6. doomsday_disco

    Lace Lichen

    I missed out on two decant circles for the LA scents, and a kind forumite sent me a tester of this. Alas, I believe I had a similar experience to that BPALer -- Lace Lichen is very high-pitched on me, and mainly smells like powdery orris and hairspray on me for the first few hours of wear. I think it may be the ylang ylang sap giving off that vibe, but sharpness of the floral reminds me of iris. Over time, the moss starts peeking out and eventually becomes the dominant note, but the orris and the sharp floral note are still present, along with a wee bit of sheer vanilla that is more skin musk-y than sweet and some musky ambergris. I'm glad I got a chance to try this, but this just didn't work on me.
  7. doomsday_disco

    Penetralia

    The innermost or private parts. That heavenly spot where creamy, angel-pink hibiscus petals meet the pale, juicy-green pistil.
  8. doomsday_disco

    Benevento

    Witches cavort and the Devil stamps his cloven hoot the base of a venerable black walnut tree, the crackle of scorched wood and the fragrant profanation of dry vanilla bean heralds strange heresies.
  9. doomsday_disco

    The Serpent in the Lilacs

    Spring’s first lilac branches dunked in 3-year aged Snake Oil.
  10. doomsday_disco

    The Serpent in the Opium Poppies

    Snake Oil, opium tar, indigo poppy petals, plum cognac, and a dribble of laudanum.
  11. doomsday_disco

    White Flowers, Red Ink, Black Paper

    If this year’s Lupercalia fragrance collection was a book, it would be printed in blood-red ink rolled across the soft, stubborn bodies of dream-pale flowers, and stamped onto heavy black paper. We’d pass it around before the letters had a chance to dry, staining fingers with the turn of every page, marking the curious as aspiring erotes, as fellow Lupercalians. The sanguine contents of this text were made to be devoured by the eyes, the skin, the heart, and then the story continued by its readers, passed along to others. (As ever, please do not consume the perfumes internally or apply them to sensitive body parts. Don’t make us regret deploying such a fragrant metaphor, we’re trusting you to hang onto at least that much cognition.)
  12. doomsday_disco

    On Freedom

    At the city gate and by your fireside I have seen you prostrate yourself and worship your own freedom, Even as slaves humble themselves before a tyrant and praise him though he slays them. Ay, in the grove of the temple and in the shadow of the citadel I have seen the freest among you wear their freedom as a yoke and a handcuff. And my heart bled within me; for you can only be free when even the desire of seeking freedom becomes a harness to you, and when you cease to speak of freedom as a goal and a fulfilment. You shall be free indeed when your days are not without a care nor your nights without a want and a grief, But rather when these things girdle your life and yet you rise above them naked and unbound. And how shall you rise beyond your days and nights unless you break the chains which you at the dawn of your understanding have fastened around your noon hour? In truth that which you call freedom is the strongest of these chains, though its links glitter in the sun and dazzle your eyes. And what is it but fragments of your own self you would discard that you may become free? If it is an unjust law you would abolish, that law was written with your own hand upon your own forehead. You cannot erase it by burning your law books nor by washing the foreheads of your judges, though you pour the sea upon them. And if it is a despot you would dethrone, see first that his throne erected within you is destroyed. For how can a tyrant rule the free and the proud, but for a tyranny in their own freedom and a shame in their own pride? And if it is a care you would cast off, that cart has been chosen by you rather than imposed upon you. And if it is a fear you would dispel, the seat of that fear is in your heart and not in the hand of the feared. Verily all things move within your being in constant half embrace, the desired and the dreaded, the repugnant and the cherished, the pursued and that which you would escape. These things move within you as lights and shadows in pairs that cling. And when the shadow fades and is no more, the light that lingers becomes a shadow to another light. And thus your freedom when it loses its fetters becomes itself the fetter of a greater freedom. When the shadow fades and is no more, the light that lingers becomes a shadow to another light: frankincense and myrrh smoke, silver musk, ambergris accord, ti leaf, benzoin, and violet ash.
  13. doomsday_disco

    Beauty With Pink Veil

    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
  14. doomsday_disco

    Peach and Lemon Blossom Atmosphere Spray

    I got a decant of this last year and am only reviewing it now, but it's really great. Even my partner enjoys this one. It is mostly a juicy pink peach brightened up by the lemon blossom, which is not soapy whatsoever like the Fleur de Citronnier Hair Gloss. It's all about the peach in the throw, but I can smell the lemon blossom more if I spray it directly on something. I've also used this to scent wool dryer balls for laundry and love using it for that purpose. I love honeysuckle notes and don't really get that from this unless I spray it on a paper towel and inhale deeply, but I'm sure that hint of honeysuckle nectar is in the background, helping to make this smell more magical. I generally don't reach for the peach scents I have often enough, so I started making myself go the decant route with the Dragon Con peach offerings, but this is one where I wish I had just leapt for a bottle. If I ever see one on Etsy, I will have to try to snag it. ETA: Ended up buying a bottle from a forumite who offered me theirs!
  15. doomsday_disco

    Clown White

    Quoting my review of the original release (which was me reviewing a decant after it had some years of age on it). Since I didn't have a fresh decant of the 2015 version, I can't say how that version compares to the 2024 version when they were both fresh. But I can say that I think that, even with age, they are not the same scent. The oil of the original is a golden yellow, and the oil of the new version is clear. I don't get a marzipan-y vibe from the new one at all, and the new one reminds me of that pink cherry almond soap that's so prevalent in public restrooms and if like, maraschino cherry syrup were infused into some fondant and mixed with that. In its current state, it is nothing like the original -- that one has a lot of white notes, and this one features the unfortunate side of cherry/almond that even I, someone who usually enjoys those notes, can't really jive with. So I'm keeping my decant of the original and destashing my decant of the 2024 release.
  16. doomsday_disco

    Four and Twenty Blackbirds

    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.
  17. doomsday_disco

    Lavender Avocado Toast

    A toasted slice from the middle of a springy, oaty loaf blessed with a rich green schmear and sprinkled with lemon juice and lavender sea salt.
  18. doomsday_disco

    Pumpkin Nut Bread Atmosphere Spray

    File this in the Halloween atmos that I got a decant of, but should have just went for a bottle, because I ended up ordering one anyway. Pumpkin Nut Bread really does smell like a loaf of pumpkin bread studded with walnuts, fresh from the oven! The nuttiness of the walnut is on point, and the pumpkin bread itself is warm, sweet, toasty, buttery, pumpkin-y, and not a cinnabomb (seriously, there's no heavy spices here). It has some great throw, too. I sprayed this on a paper towel to officially review it while working yesterday (but time got away from me), but I could still smell it without even having to hold the paper towel up to my nose throughout the day. This smells delicious and is going to get a lot of use in the autumn.
  19. doomsday_disco

    Rose Milk Tea

    An impossibly sweet concoction of green tea and frothed almond milk poured over fresh rose petals and glistening tapioca pearls.
  20. doomsday_disco

    Thirteen (13): June 2025

    13 is significant, whether you consider it lucky, unlucky or just plain odd. Many believe it to be unfortunate… …because there were 13 present at the Last Supper. …Loki crashed a party of 12 at Valhalla, which ended in Baldur’s death. …Oinomaos killed 13 of Hippodamia’s suitors before Pelops finally, in his own shady way, defeated the jealous king. …In ancient Rome, Hecate’s witches gathered in groups of 12, the Goddess herself being the 13th in the coven. Concern over the number thirteen echoes back beyond the Christian era. Line 13 was omitted form the Code of Hammurabi. The shivers over Friday the 13th also have some interesting origins: …Christ was allegedly crucified on Friday the 13th. …On Friday, October 13, 1307, King Philip IV of France ordered the arrests of Jaques de Molay, Grand Master of the Knights Templar, and sixty of his senior knights. …In British custom, hangings were held on Fridays, and there were 13 steps on the gallows leading to the noose. To combat the superstition, Robert Ingersoll and the Thirteen Club held thirteen-men dinners during the 19th Century. Successful? Hardly. The number still invokes trepidation to this day. A recent whimsical little serial killer study showed that the following murderers all have names that total thirteen letters: Theodore Bundy Jeffrey Dahmer Albert De Salvo John Wayne Gacy And, with a little stretch of the imagination, you can also fit “Jack the Ripper” and “Charles Manson” into that equation. More current-era paranoia: modern schoolchildren stop their memorization of the multiplication tables at 12. There were 13 Plutonium slugs in the atomic bomb that was dropped on Nagasaki. Apollo 13 wasn’t exactly the most successful space mission. All of these are things that modern triskaidekaphobes point to when justifying their fears. For some, 13 is an extremely fortuitous and auspicious number… …In Jewish tradition, God has 13 Attributes of Mercy. Also, there were 13 tribes of Israel, 13 principles of Jewish faith, and 13 is considered the age of maturity. …The ancient Egyptians believed that there were 12 stages of spiritual achievement in this lifetime, and a 13th beyond death. …The word for thirteen, in Chinese, sounds much like the word which means “must be alive”. Thirteen, whether you love it or loathe it, is a pretty cool number all around. …In some theories of relativity, there are 13 dimensions. …It is a prime number, lucky number, star number, Wilson Prime, and Fibonacci number. …There are 13 Archimedean solids. AND… …There were 13 original colonies when the United States were founded. Says a lot about the US, doesn’t it? Thirteen notes of empowerment and good fortune soaked in bittersweet chocolate: red ginger, cardamom, star anise, cloves, coriander, fennel, black pepper, pink pepper, red chili, sweet aged patchouli, mallow root, ti leaf, and molasses.
  21. doomsday_disco

    On Laws

    You delight in laying down laws, Yet you delight more in breaking them. Like children playing by the ocean who build sand-towers with constancy and then destroy them with laughter. But while you build your sand-towers the ocean brings more sand to the shore, And when you destroy them the ocean laughs with you. Verily the ocean laughs always with the innocent. But what of those to whom life is not an ocean, and man-made laws are not sand-towers, But to whom life is a rock, and the law a chisel with which they would carve it in their own likeness? What of the cripple who hates dancers? What of the ox who loves his yoke and deems the elk and deer of the forest stray and vagrant things? What of the old serpent who cannot shed his skin, and calls all others naked and shameless? And of him who comes early to the wedding-feast, and when over-fed and tired goes his way saying that all feasts are violation and all feasters lawbreakers? What shall I say of these save that they too stand in the sunlight, but with their backs to the sun? They see only their shadows, and their shadows are their laws. And what is the sun to them but a caster of shadows? And what is it to acknowledge the laws but to stoop down and trace their shadows upon the earth? But you who walk facing the sun, what images drawn on the earth can hold you? You who travel with the wind, what weather-vane shall direct your course? What man’s law shall bind you if you break your yoke but upon no man’s prison door? What laws shall you fear if you dance but stumble against no man’s iron chains? And who is he that shall bring you to judgment if you tear off your garment yet leave it in no man’s path? People of Orphalese, you can muffle the drum, and you can loosen the strings of the lyre, but who shall command the skylark not to sing? Serpent scales in the sunlight: green leather, smoked oud, black cardamom, and osmanthus bathed in amber.
  22. doomsday_disco

    Brick Snek

    Never forget that our classic Snake Oil perfume blend — usually so soft and versatile — is prepared to strike with deadly force. This brickified variation is deeper, earthier, and hissing with rage: vintage patchouli and aged vanilla absolute conspiring with vegetal musks and dark spices to defy the “Three-Article Rule”, tip over a paddy wagon, and make out in the streets.
  23. doomsday_disco

    On Work

    You work that you may keep pace with the earth and the soul of the earth. For to be idle is to become a stranger unto the seasons, and to step out of life’s procession, that marches in majesty and proud submission towards the infinite. When you work you are a flute through whose heart the whispering of the hours turns to music. Which of you would be a reed, dumb and silent, when all else sings together in unison? Always you have been told that work is a curse and labour a misfortune. But I say to you that when you work you fulfil a part of earth’s furthest dream, assigned to you when that dream was born, And in keeping yourself with labour you are in truth loving life, And to love life through labour is to be intimate with life’s inmost secret. But if you in your pain call birth an affliction and the support of the flesh a curse written upon your brow, then I answer that naught but the sweat of your brow shall wash away that which is written. You have been told also that life is darkness, and in your weariness you echo what was said by the weary. And I say that life is indeed darkness ‘save when there is urge, And all urge is blind save when there is knowledge, And all knowledge is vain save when there is work, And all work is empty save when there is love; And when you work with love you bind yourself to yourself, and to one another, and to God. And what is it to work with love? It is to weave the cloth with threads drawn from your heart, even as if your beloved were to wear that cloth. It is to build a house with affection, even as if your beloved were to dwell in that house. It is to sow seeds with tenderness and reap the harvest with joy, even as if your beloved were to eat the fruit. It is to charge all things you fashion with a breath of your own spirit, And to know that all the blessed dead are standing about you and watching. Often have I heard you say, as if speaking in sleep, “He who works in marble, and finds the shape of his own soul in the stone, is nobler than he who ploughs the soil. And he who seizes the rainbow to lay it on a cloth in the likeness of man, is more than he who makes the sandals for our feet.” But I say, not in sleep but in the overwakefulness of noontide, that the wind speaks not more sweetly to the giant oaks than to the least of all the blades of grass; And he alone is great who turns the voice of the wind into a song made sweeter by his own loving. Work is love made visible. And if you cannot work with love but only with distaste, it is better that you should leave your work and sit at the gate of the temple and take alms of those who work with joy. For if you bake bread with indifference, you bake a bitter bread that feeds but half man’s hunger. And if you grudge the crushing of the grapes, your grudge distils a poison in the wine. And if you sing though as angels, and love not the singing, you muffle man’s ears to the voices of the day and the voices of the night. Work is love made visible, so let’s all chip in and do the work. White sandalwood, fig, bourbon vanilla, and angelica.
  24. Red Currant and Hay.
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