doomsday_disco

In the decant: I am getting the white sandalwood, cedar, and marjoram notes. On my skin, the dusty white sandalwood and majoram stand out to me, followed by the cedar. Then, the rosewood joins in after a few minutes, mingling with the dry sandalwood note. The majoram has a cool, meditative aspect to it, like breathing in a breath of fresh air, without actually being mentholic or minty. Sadly, it becomes powdery on me over time, which I think is mostly due to the white sandalwood note. The chamomile is present, but light, and I can only detect lavender if I stick my nose to my hand and inhale really deeply. Those looking for a herbal sandalwood scent should be happy with this one. As for me, I was here for the lavender, and alas, I didn't get much of it. But I did enjoy the marjoram and would be curious to try more scents with that note, preferably not accompanied by such a dry sandalwood.

Let it be known that I am an oakmoss amper. So while I got a nice hit of dirt once it was freshly applied, my skin quickly brought forth the fir needle and oakmoss, making me think of sniffing fir trees while standing on a bed of moss on a forest floor. The fir needle is so nice, but my skin just ends up amping the oakmoss to the point that it becomes like a fir-infused chypre, with the fir losing strength to the oakmoss over time. This smells pretty nice, but I wanted more dirt from this, and I wish I had gotten less oakmoss and more fir. I'm glad I got a chance to try it, but I think it would be much nicer on someone that does not amp oakmoss.

I was curious to see how this one compared to the Lace scents, since it appeared to share a few notes with them aside from the cognac. On me, Beauty, the Aggrieved is mostly a white rose and oakmoss party with some black lace (I think it may be the Indian musk from Black Lace?) and patchouli lingering in the background. The resins in this are very light on me. I am not getting any vanilla whatsoever, but that may just because I amp oakmoss so hard. In the end, the oakmoss remains the dominant note, with the sharp rose not far behind. This is too sharp on me, sadly. I wish I had gotten some vanilla to help mellow out the rose and oakmoss.

Spooky Action at a Distance is mostly a rose geranium and resin scent on me. It starts off heavy on the rose geranium and frankincense, with the rose-infused sandalwood joining the stage after that. The peppery, herbal aspect of the rose geranium becomes stronger with wear until it ends up becoming the dominant note. So it has that sharp rose-y geranium mingling with smooth resins, with the sandalwood being the more prominent resin in the end. I am not really a fan of floral resin combos, but I am happy that I got to try this one just because it is an OLLA scent. I'd recommend this one to someone seeking out a strong geranium scent, though.

Bright Goddess of the Skies is a very sophisticated, uplifting, mature rose scent that will make you feel like a goddess. This is the scent of a queen draped in a silk gown crushing rose petals beneath her feet, head held high, who absolutely knows her worth. And she wants you know yours, too. The Bulgarian rose is the star of the show here, and it is one of my favorite rose notes. If you've tried Love Lay Upon Her Eyes, it features that same rose, all TALed up. The jasmine isn't indolic, and the ylang ylang isn't screechy. The white champa flower adds a bit of an incense in the background, but refrains from taking over the scent. The honey and vanilla are pretty light on me. I don't really know how to properly describe this, but when I inhale this, I feel it in my heart. It's a lesson in self-love and confidence that really resonates with this double Taurus, and I am so happy to have a bottle.

Enchantment is a sweet and tart rose scent. It starts off with the honey, rose, and strawberry being the strongest notes on me, and there's this play between the sweet notes and the tart notes over time, with the tart rose winning out in the end. Sadly, it becomes somewhat powdery on me after a while, although I am still able to detect the rose, jasmine, and strawberry. I was curious about this to see how it compares to Bright Goddess of the Skies and Love. This is different than both of those scents. It is not as sweet as Love (which remains the only scent I adore with a strawberry note) and not as smooth as Bright Goddess of the Skies. Since Bright Goddess of the Skies resonates with me a lot more, I am going to let my decant of this one go. But it was nice to get to try this.

In the decant, I get the basmati rice and champaca, brightened by the lemon. On me, it's a basmati rice and champaca party. The rich, buttery basmati rice is the star of the show, but the incense-y champaca note isn't far behind. So... rice and incense. The lemon and green tea in this are very light, just adding a bit of freshness in the background, so if those notes are normally problematic for you, this may still be worth a shot if you're wanting a nice rice scent and like champaca. This scent is pretty unique and was fun to try, but I am not sure that I want to smell like incense-y rice. But if you do... this one is for you.

Milk Chocolate, Cacao Cream, Ceylon Cinnamon, and Coffee Absolute is mostly about the milk chocolate, coconut-y cacao cream, and cinnamon. The coffee note, which is light, but discernible when first applied, is quick to fade, leaving a creamy, coconut-y spiced milk chocolate scent behind. This makes me think of something like a Magic Bar if it were spiced, or maybe a chocolate coconut macaroon. The cinnamon has not taken over the scent or irritated my sensitive skin, which is a relief. Getting coconut from this was rather unexpected, though. I think this smells delicious, but I know I would not reach for this over El Dia de los Reyes with its coffee bean and brown sugar.

Full Moon Flakes is a chocolate cereal scent. It's a chocolate cereal with tiny cereal marshmallows and a cereal milk note that becomes more prominent on me over time. It's more creamy than chocolate-y because of the marshmallow and milk notes. It also stays close to the skin. I tested this one several times, because I wasn't sure how I felt about it. I am usually all over Fruit Loop and Fruity Pebble cereal scents, but I guess I don't love smelling like chocolate cereal. It was really nice to get a chance to try this one, though.

Disclaimer: I tried sprayed this on my hand and on a paper towel to test it, because I was not sure if this was the type of honey I'd want in my hair for two days in a row. Neko No Koi is honey like WHOA. It's a very sticky, rich sort of honey, somewhat reminiscent of the honey from of Lush's Honey I Washed the Kids. Sadly, I did not pick up any clove, amber, or tonka, and I am not sure if I would have gotten those notes if I had applied it to my hair, as I also wasn't getting them from the decant at all. I'm glad I got to try it, but this one is not for me. I prefer the varieties of honey found in Hair Loosened and Soiled in Mid-Orgies, The Sharing of the Cake Between the Lion and the Unicorn, and The White Bees Swarming to this one. I wish I had gotten some clove from this and could smell what other people are getting.

Disclaimer: I tested this on my hand as well as a paper towel, because I was sure I wouldn't want this in my hair for two days in a row. Someone sent me a tester of this in a swap. It was something I originally skipped over, since orris and I are enemies, and I do not gravitate towards coconut scents. Upon arrival, it was screechy in the imp, and a little funky. I think it may be the combination of the orris and the sugar cane doing that. It remains very high-pitched on the paper towel: perfume-y sugar and orris with cream soda-like vanilla. On my skin, it is much better, which is something I did not expect since orris and I are not friends. I get the cream soda-like Tahitian vanilla the strongest. There is only a hint of coconut. The sugar is present, but more more behaved. Even the powdery orris is behaving as it mingles with the dusty white sandalwood. It's kind of like Volcano in Springtime, but with orris instead of lotus, and a different vanilla note. You can tell it is a Shunga scent for sure. This is not something I need more of, as I already have and love Antique Lace HG and Boo HG and could not see myself reaching for this one over those, but it is worth a try for those searching for a creamy vanilla hair gloss.

This was on the website right when I discovered BPAL. And since I was a n00b, I did not think I would want to smell like tobacco at all, so I passed on it. ETERNAL REGRET. Fortunately, a kind soul sent me a tester of this, and I recognize this tobacco as the caramelized tobacco in my beloved Summer Lace. Quite possibly the best tobacco of the tobacco notes. It's sweet, rich, with that slightly astringent twang, and oh so gorgeous. If I could time travel back to 2013 and tell myself to get a bottle, I would.

The Language of Crows is all about that caramelized tobacco on me. I don't get the cardamom from this at all, but far behind the tobacco, I get a whiff of brown sugar and powdery amber. But mostly, TOBACCO. And I think it is the Lab's French tobacco, so I don't mind it being mostly tobacco at all. I will retest this to see if I get more nuance from this later on down the road, but at the moment, it is a lovely tobacco scent that I am glad that I got to try.

Various Penises goes on as burnt cocoa bean accompanied by that light, skin-musky bourbon vanilla, but it is later joined by the resins (the pink oudh isn't indolic whatsoever) and becomes this cocoa bean-infused incense on a bed of light vanilla. This is one of the lighter hair glosses. I can smell it in my hair whenever I hold it up to my nose, but I do not get wafts of it otherwise. I tried this in wet hair and dry, and as usual, the scent is more noticeable when it is applied to dry hair. If you are worried about this being too chocolate-y, don't be. While the burnt cocoa bean is a main player, it is not particularly gourmand or reminiscent of the Lab's other cocoa scents. I am not sure I need a full bottle, but I will definitely be hanging on to my decant.

It is always good to skin test a perfume and never judge it just from the scent of it in its bottle or vial. This is especially true of Resuscitation. Upon opening the vial, I was greeted with a sour scent, almost pickle-like in its sourness. But that sourness ends up dissipating shortly after application. It's resinous, with the frankincense being one of the stronger resins to my nose, but it is not heavy or dark. In fact, it's a lot lighter than I thought it would be based on the notes, and that is because the ambergris ends up being one of the main players on me and really lightens up the scent, making it is a smooth, slippery, musky incense. And it just keeps getting better with wear, as the ambergris gains strength, and the hay joins in and adds a nice warmth to the scent. Pretty sure I am going to need more of this. Thanks to the lovely BPALista that sent me some to try.

Me: I don't need to order a decant of this. I have enough green tea scents already. Me, upon seeing first review: ETERNAL REGRET. BOTTLE REQUIRED. If you love green tea scents, you will love Cooling Breeze. The juniper berry adds a sweetness to the scent and is definitely more of the berry than straight-up juniper, so if you are worried about this being too coniferous, fret not. It doesn't have a strong coniferous vibe. It's more spa-like. The sweet juniper berry and green tea are the stars of the show for a long time, with the bamboo and white sandalwood peeking out more with wear. As the juniper berry loses strength, the bamboo and sandalwood become more noticeable, infusing the green tea with a lovely incense. It is similar to Informal Tea HG from last year's Shungas, so if you liked that one, you will like this one, too. I am so glad that I have a bottle of this. It's one of my favorites from this year's Lupercalia update, and a new favorite green tea scent.

This wasn't initially on my radar at all, but all of the glowing reviews made me want to try it. Luckily, a good friend scent me a partial. A Vision of the Courtesan is going to be wildly popular. And that is because it has the same tobacco found in Hag Grey HG and Zorya P, mingling with the sheer rice milk. I am not getting much frankincense from this. It's mostly about that wonderful tobacco note on me. I am currently undecided if I need to obtain more of this because I already own the scents I mentioned above, but I'll give it a full day of wear before it departs before deciding. In any case, the partial is definitely a keeper.

A brief of splort of brandied apricot, and then, WHOOSH! A wave of dark musk hits so fast that it quickly becomes a predominantly dark musk and light hinoki on me with just a touch of the brandied apricot. I am getting zero vanilla from this, sadly. It was nice to get to try this, but I was really hoping for more apricot and vanilla.

Fancy-Free started off like lemon candy but then became more like a tart, realistic lemon after the initial spray. I could never pick out the ambrette -- it was all lemon, all of the time, for as long as it lasted (I could not smell it in my hair by the end of the day). It's a nice lemon scent that would indeed pair well with scents like Lemon-Scented Sticky Bat, and I am so glad I was gifted a decant! But I don't think I need to hunt down a bottle of it at the moment, as I love Cabbage White Caterpillar HG more with its lemon sugar.

Note: I tested this on my skin, not in the bath, since I use bath oils as after-shower moisturizers. Frenum is a nice, refreshing bath oil. I mainly get the cucumber and white tea notes from this, along with a bit of cherry blossom and a touch of the same lettuce note found in Rapunzel. I was a little concerned about which notes would come out on my skin after sniffing from the bottle, but it ended up being rather nice on my skin. I am not sure I need to upgrade to a bottle since I don't wear cucumber scents that often, but I will definitely be hanging on to my decant to pair this with Rendevous at the Bath and Squirting Cucumber during the warm months.

Daya was mostly a warm, bright resinous scent on me. I think I was getting some variety of amber along with some incense, and perhaps a touch of musk. I didn't get anything from fruity from this like other reviewers seem to have gotten. I'm glad it is not a love since it was a gift with purchase imp, but I do think it smells like a lovely resinous incense.

Karme is definitely a vegetal sort of scent, although it is not an in-your-face sort of vegetal scent like you would expect from the notes. I mainly get the leafy greens from this, which takes me back to the leafy greens in 13 December 2013. I can't pick out the onions, peppers, or radish. I could not see myself reaching for this one (I'd rather smell like a snack, not a salad ), but I am glad I got to try a scent with such unique notes!

Medea is predominantly a floral scent on me. I think the orchid is the strongest of the floral notes on me. The black currant ends up joining in later on so that it becomes a fruity floral scent, although it is more floral than fruit. The resins are not noticeable on me, and I can only sniff the cypress if I stick my nose to my wrist and inhale really deeply. This isn't a scent that I could see myself reaching for, but I am glad I got to try it in my quest to try the GC.

Oleander Honey is a sweet, creamy, floral honey. The oleander is somewhat sharp at first, but it ends up melding with the honey beautifully and creating this lovely floral honey scent. This is much nicer than I thought it would be. I think I will hang on to my imp!

Psalm 146:9 starts off with this lovely combo of cacao sweetened by the vanilla, but then the labdanum quickly bursts into the room and declares dominion over all. It ends up being a sweet cola-like labdanum backed by some bourbon vanilla. I don't get any vetiver from this at all. Unfortunately, it becomes cola-like powder on me after a few hours of wear. I liked this more than I thought I would based on the notes. I just wish it hadn't become powdery on me after a while.