doomsday_disco
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Everything posted by doomsday_disco
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Banana Gingerbread goes on as candy-like banana, but it is quickly overtaken by the gingerbread note, which then proclaims dominion over its companion for most of the wear. The gingerbread note is the same as the gingerbread found in Gingerbread and Hot Cocoa and Gingerbread Milk, to my nose (which is chewy, not crispy, but heavy on the ginger and cinnamon on me). By the time that the banana is able to peek out again, it is super faint, like a smidge of banana... accompanied by a smattering of spiced crumbs. I don't dislike this, but I wish that it was more balanced on the banana and the gingerbread. It seems the two didn't really want to coexist on me!
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This smells like a bold coffee, swirled with dark chocolate, and a bit of vanilla. The pudding aspect of the scent isn't distinct to my nose. But the coffee and dark chocolate combo are lovely together, although somewhat bitter, especially smelled up close. But the scent has some great throw on me, and it smelled much better in the throw than when I stuck my nose close to my skin (where it smelled more bitter, but not unpleasantly so). I'm going to have to spend more time with this one, but I may end up needing more of this before it goes away.
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Ahh, this is amazing. I deathmatched this with Vintage Frankenstein Blow Mold, and my partner and I agreed, while they were still in the wet phase, that Grasshopper Pie was the superior mint and chocolate scent. And that continued to be the case into the drydown, where Vintage Frankenstein Blow Mold becomes more about the chocolate and the plastic, and less about the mint. Grasshopper Pie is stronger on the mint from the beginning, and it retains that lovely creme de menthe note longer than the Frankenstein scent retains its mint. The creme de cacao tags along right behind it, as well as the chocolate graham cracker crust, which reminds me of one of those Oreo crusts. Eventually, the marshmallow note pops up and the mint starts to fade. The marshmallow fluff becomes the dominant note by the end of the day, swirled with bits of creamy cacao and chocolate crust. It smells delicious. My favorite phase of the scent was when the mint was strongest, but there isn't a bad phase of this scent at all. I'm going to need more of this in my life!
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This is actually more lemony than I expected. The dominant note throughout wear on me is not the apple or the rose, but a lemony glaze that reminds me of lemon pound cake, accompanied by some rosewater-splashed apple. Both the rose and the apple are pretty subdued here, at least, on my skin. I also don't get much cinnamon from this. I tried this twice, and the first time, I thought I smelled the pastry, but the second time, it was more about that lemony glaze. I like this, but at the moment, I don't feel like I need more than my decant... which I'll be keeping to wear when I make Chef John's Puff Pastry Apple Roses this year. I'll probably retest it before it goes away to make sure that just the decant will suffice. I like the creamy lemon here, but I was just expecting this to be much stronger on the apple.
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In the other scents I've tried from this year's Gingerbread Cotillion, the gingerbread has been the star of the show. But Gingerbread Milk is an exception. The gingerbread is only the star during the wet phase of the scent, but even then, the milk is still noticeable. It doesn't take long for the milk to overtake the gingerbread, and then it becomes the dominant note throughout wear, and smells like a warm milk to me, first, accompanied with gingerbread spices, and then eventually, all that remains is the milk. This milk is not like the Lab's goat milk note, and the gingerbread here is mostly about the ginger and some strong cinnamon (that doesn't burn). To my nose, Banana Gingerbread, Gingerbread Hot Cocoa, and this scent all share the same gingerbread note. I was hoping that there would be more gingerbread with this milk, but the milk in this is too strong for me. This is definitely a scent for someone who enjoys milk notes.
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Oh hai, Snake Charmer Res. Seriously, whenever I sniffed this, I would think of that scent. I believe they feature the same plum note. Now, I am not a plum lover, and only decided to try this in my quest to try the whole Lavender Kitchen, but the plum in Snake Charmer Resurrected was the only scent I enjoyed containing a plum note (I destashed that bottle to someone who loved it more). I get lots of lavender over some salted caramel at first, but then that plum note joins in, and once it becomes the dominant note, I just can't help but think of Snake Charmer. Obviously, the two scents don't share any other notes, but if you're down for a lavender-infused, foodie version of that plum, you should be delighted with this. I'm really surprised by how much I enjoyed this when testing it yesterday and will have to spend more time with it before it goes away to see if a decant will suffice.
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The blackberry jelly is the star here, with the apple being a background player, most noticeable during the wet phase of the scent. I don't always get the pastry part of the sufganiyot scents, but I can smell plenty of it in this one, and I love the powdered sugar note that is sprinkled over it. I don't much spice from this, so if you were afraid of this being a cinnabomb due to the spiced apple note, don't be. I'm going to have to spend more time with this one, but I already think that I'll need more than just the decant of this suf. ETA: I slathered this on as a scent of the day a few weeks ago and had to upgrade to a bottle of this jelly doughnut goodness.
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Gingerbread and Hot Cocoa. That is the ratio of gingerbread to hot cocoa in this, in the vial, and on my skin. 😭 So the gingerbread in this starts off as a fierce ginger, and it has a chewy gingerbread sort of vibe to it... it doesn't have the gingernsnap sort of gingerbread that some of the gingerbread scents feature. Then the cinnamon joins in. And damn, is it loud. It gets so intense on me that it ends up reminding me of Red Hots, but fortunately, it doesn't burn. As for the hot cocoa, I don't get much of anything chocolate-y to this at all, although there is a moment, after applying this scent, that I smell a texture that reminded me of Lilith the Explorer, which features snacks and 'backpack chocolate residue', so maybe that chocolate note is in this, but fleeting. It's mostly about the cinnamon and the ginger, backed by a very light creaminess. I tested this twice yesterday; once during the day, alongside several other scents, and then after showering during the evening, when I put this on my wrists. The first time, I thought I could smell skin musk after it had been on for several hours; but the second time, maybe it just didn't get that far, because it was all about those gingerbread spices on me. I was really excited about this not being a gingersnap-y sort of gingerbread at first, before this went on to cinnabomb me for some time. Yet it did not burn and leave welts like some cinnamon scents will do (I have sensitive skin), so that's a plus. I'm going to retest this before it goes away and see if the hot cocoa emerges with age. As it is, I don't think I'll need more of this unless the hot cocoa becomes more prominent -- I really wanted this to smell like a gingerbread cookie dunked in hot cocoa, but at the moment, I'd have better results layering Marranitos with The Other Hot Chocolate or Chad.
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Dead Leaves, Black Cherry & Incense Tar
doomsday_disco replied to zankoku_zen's topic in Halloweenie
This goes on as the sharp variety of dead leaves, which I think may feature some bitter neroli in the accord, backed by a bold black cherry note. The black cherry quickly asserts itself, and the incense emerges, so that it mostly smells like a dark cherry incense for a few hours, before the leaves join in again, demanding to be noticed. The cherry and incense tar make me think that this is in the same family as Moon When the Cherries Turn Black, but with MOAR cherry, and this, of course, being far more simplistic than that blend. I feel like the incense is this is darker and more resinous than the incense in Dried Cherry Incense and Spun Sugar, which was more of a sugared champa-infused incense stick to me... and I'd much rather have this cherry and this incense... but without the leaves. I'm just not a dead leaves fan and was sad when the leaves had a resurgence, as I had hoped that the black cherry had beaten them back for good. I don't find this to be unpleasant for a dead leaves scent, but there's still too much dead leaves here for me. I just want the cherry! -
Dead Laves, Shortbread & Crystallized Ginger
doomsday_disco replied to zankoku_zen's topic in Halloweenie
The dead leaves in this are the sharp, cologne-y variety that I swear has some neroli in the accord, mixed with some ginger and some syrup-y shortbread. The shortbread doesn't make me think of the shortbread note from Shortbread Diamonds; it is not powdery, or buttery, but more brown sugar-y, in the vein of the Box of Sugar Cookies from 2021. The fresh ginger is most noticeable during the wet phase of this scent, and there's a time when the ginger and the shortbread overtake the dead leaves, but it actually ends up being more about the syrupy shortbread backed by the dead leaves for most of the wear, before morphing and becoming strongest on the dead leaves again, coated with a dusting of the shortbread's brown sugar. It reminds me of Dead Leaves and Donuts Atmo, actually, but with a different source for the sugar component. I am not a fan of most dead leaves scents, and this one is not an exception; it's because of the sharpness of the dead leaves note in this particular blend, as this scent did not go the bell pepper route on me. Unlike last year's Dead Leaves, Vanilla Bean, Pink Fig, and Brandied Dates, where the dead leaves were MIA, the dead leaves are very present in this one, so I'd only recommend this to someone who wants the dead leaves, and would enjoy them paired with something sugary. -
I tested this with this on my left hand, and Snake Skin (2018) on the other. I'm not digging the leather in this. It has a farm-y quality to it that I'm not enjoying, but Snake Skin has a hint of that, just much smoother, so maybe it will be less farm-y and smooth over with age? Once the leather calms down, it becomes a lighter Snake Oil... but like, the Snake Oil I haven't found in most variants lately. This one is NOT a musk bomb, has the patch and spices, and even lets the vanilla come out to play after a few hours on the skin, which is something I've really missed from a lot of snek variants over the past few years. The leather in this does not last as long as it does in Snake Skin, but that's fine with me, because what's good about this variant is the fact that the vanilla shows up. I could do without the leather. I'm going to let this one age some more and retest it before it goes away. I really like vanilla in this and think it could age into something wonderful, but maybe I should just buy a new bottle of straight-up Snake Oil to age instead of holding out hope that I'll like the leather eventually...
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This has nothing on the original Perversion. I deathmatched it with the original (this on my left hand, the original on my right). Of course, the original was aged, but this isn't even as glorious as it when it was fresh. The wine is a main player, but it is quieter than it is in the original scent, but the tobacco is not as loud or as rich, and the leather note is also rather quiet; this is mostly wine with tobacco and musk on me, and the musk makes it smell somewhat soapy, whereas the original Perversion features this amazing, chewy tobacco that throws for hours, splashed with lots of wine, and some sweetness from the tonka. The original is much stronger and much sweeter on me. Curiously, I didn't get much rum, and I was missing the tonka in this one. While it was nice to be able to try this variant, I'm sticking with the original (and the pumpkin spice version, which is mostly just the original with a breath of pumpkin spice).
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I was trying to let someone else be the first review, but since it has been a few days and this review thread hasn't gotten any replies, here goes. The year was 2020. I had visited the Deutsches Spionagemuseum in December 2019 and thought it would be a good idea to try Mommy's Little MI6 Agent, which was a Winter Travelogue scent inspired by the Barrials' visit to that museum. Sadly, the perfume ended up being one of the biggest fails I've ever experienced. I thought that the fossilized amber was the primary note to blame. While Honeyed Pear Tart is not on the same level of awful on me as that scent was, it definitely made me flashback to the funk of that scent, and now I know for sure that pear and I are enemies. The pear note starts off as squishy, but with a fake candy vibe that somehow makes me think of banana for a bit, as if there's some stealth banana mixed in with the pear. Then it just goes all kinds of awful from there. Like the pear just got squishier and had that pear-from-a-can-of-fruit-cocktail-vibes, but rotting, and slightly honeyed. What did I do to deserve this fate? Maybe it's because I don't really even like pears unless they're used in like, a fancy brie grilled cheese or something. Perhaps this is their revenge. Maybe someone who enjoys pears won't have this pear-centric scent revolt against them.
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Deep Fried Blueberry Cheesecake
doomsday_disco replied to Jenjin's topic in Gifts with Donation or Purchase
I wish I had more than one imp of this! It is an amazing, creamy blueberry scent, and I can actually smell the graham cracker crust here (sometimes I don't get any actual crust from pie scents, to my dismay). It does not have a strong deep-fried component to it, IMO, and is nothing like the funnel cake scents or Deep Fried Gingerbread (which I think shared the same fried component as the Please Scream Inside scents). It's also the most cheesecake-y scent that I've come across from the Lab, and the blueberry pairs perfectly with it. I really enjoy the graham cracker crust, too. I'll be on the lookout for more imps. 👀 -
Vintage Frankenstein Blow Mold goes on as mint chocolate chip on me, stronger on the mint than the chocolate. The mint is creamy, like the mint component of mint chocolate chip ice cream, and unlike other reviewers, I don't think this chocolate is a dark variety. Over time, the chocolate gains strength, and the plastic joins in, so that it kind of smells like a cheap milk chocolate, with the mint fading over time. But maybe it's the milky plastic giving it a cheap milk chocolate vibe to my nose. If you've tried Moonalisa's Snuggler, which is supposed to smell like dark hot chocolate infused with peppermint schnapps, but smells like peppermint schnapps splashed onto a Hershey's bar, just know that I dislike that scent, but think that the chocolate in this one, even though it doesn't smell like quality chocolate, is still better than the chocolate in that. For some reason, I didn't get much amber from this on my skin either time I tested it. I enjoy the creamy mint chocolate chip ice cream from the wet phase of this scent and think that this blow mold scent is pretty enjoyable overall, but I'm waiting to deathmatch it with Grasshopper Pie from the Yules to see which mint chocolate appeals to me more.
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I got a decant of this, and the cacao in the oil separates, so this oil needs lots of rolling before being applied. I get cacao mixed with lots of green mandarin, amber, and musk during the wet phase of the scent. Over time, the mandarin calms down, the cacao becomes pretty faint, and the musk gains strength, so that it is mostly a musky amber on me, with hints of the mandarin and cacao that remain. I can't pick out the coconut husk in this, and I've tried it twice, a few weeks apart. This is another cat scent that is sadly too musky for me, but it was fun to get to try it.
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The first time I tried it, it was much stronger on the milk, so milky lavender with a smattering of soil, and then the powdery bone dust note that rises up and ends up dominating the scent. The second time I tried it, I got more dirt with the lavender, and less milk, but the milk was still there, and it's still not a lot of dirt. (Don't go into this expecting Zombi levels of dirt.) Yet again, the bone dust, which I think is a dry, white sandalwood, with maybe a bit of a white floral note, kind of made this somewhat baby powder-y on me. I enjoy the wet phase of this scent, but whatever is comprising the bone dust just doesn't jive with me. I think I'll stick with Are You Digging on My Grave, another milky scent with a bit of soil, that I think is more comforting.
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The first time I tried this, I thought I was smelling a light, plastic-infused candy corn that smelled somewhat like buttercream, backed by a lemony amber. The second time I tried this, I got lightly burning plastic swirled with candy corn that smells somewhat like buttercream. I am not getting that wonderful lemony aspect that I got from this scent when I first tried it, so I'm not sure if that were a fluke, or it just happened to be replaced with lightly burning plastic this time. So I can't definitely say 'this is ___ amber note,' but I can at least say it's not the same as Vintage Witch Blow Mold, which features a strong white amber. Despite me describing this as lightly burned buttercream-infused plastic, it's actually more pleasant than my description makes it sound. Of the blow mold scents that I've tried (all of the Halloween ones and just one of the Yule ones thus far), I'd say that this and the Dracula blow mold are the strongest on the plastic, yet the plastic isn't off-putting in either of them. I'm going to spend more time with this one and try to pay more attention to the amber. But at the moment, I feel like the scent doesn't have enough throw on me to warrant needing a bottle.
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This mostly smells like lime and cherry candy. To me, it's stronger on the lime, but my partner got more cherry when smelling it on me once it was dry. That said, it does have a stronger cherry note than Vintage Dracula Blow Mold, and I think this is better than Griotte, Lime, and White Musk from the last Lupercalia update, because it is sweeter, and the cherry lasts longer. If you liked the lime candy in Go Slow, you will probably enjoy this as well. I only get a little bit of marshmallow after the scent has been dry for a few hours, but I love cherry and lime, so I'm not mad. I'm also pleased to report that this is nothing like Fairy Lobster Foam, which had some unexpected funky dairy. I feared this would be that plus lime candy, but fortunately, it's not! I'll probably end up upgrading this to a bottle before the Weenies go down. Both my partner and I would wear it, and I could see it being very nice to slather during the summer months.
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I like this a lot more than I thought I would. I'm not typically big on berry scents, but the blackberry in this has a pleasant tartness to it, as well as a sweetness that does not verge on candy-like, and isn't overly juicy. The tea note has a tannic, yet herbal quality to it, but fortunately, does not have anything reminiscent of anise about it (which I sometimes I get from some of the Lab's scents containing a black tea note). I'm not sure exactly what that is behind the blackberry note, but I do think it pairs perfectly with it, and that it is what makes the scent alluring. I'm going to have to spend more time with this and see if I need more than my decant before this goes away, but the decant is a keeper for sure!
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I think I enjoyed this more the first time I tried it, soon after the decant had arrived, a few weeks ago. Then, it was more fruity-foodie. Now, I'm getting more of the rosewater than I did after a few weeks of this getting to settle. Full disclosure: I have no idea what gooseberry smells like. But I do get lots of red currant and rosewater from this, topped with icing, and just a hint of the gingerbread crumble. There isn't much spice to this, and it doesn't really smell like cake to me, as there's not enough crumb here for that, so the icing (I do feel it is more like a drizzle of icing than just a dusting of powdered sugar) is the foodiest element to me about this. The rosewater is not nearly as strong as the currant and does not overpower the scent on my skin, but it does read as more fruity-floral than fruity-gourmand to me. I like this, but I don't think I need a bottle of it. I wanted more gingerbread, and more cake! Maybe it's just me amping currant, though, because it seems other reviewers got more gingerbread from this.
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This is mostly about the vodka on me, which isn't really boozy, and has some fizziness to it. It's infused with a bit of cranberry, but the pumpkin spice is not particularly noticeable on me (I've tried it twice to see if I'd get more of it after a few weeks of settling). It adds a warmth to the scent, but fortunately, does not smell like a spice rack was poured into the booze. So this isn't nearly as weird as it sounds, but it's also not something I could see myself wearing. The decant may still be a keeper, though, as my partner really likes cranberry notes and enjoyed the fizziness of the vodka in this.
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Pumpkin Gas Can goes on as a blast of petrol, backed by a sweet, syrup-y pumpkin note that is not heavily spiced. The pumpkin becomes more prominent over time, until eventually, it dominates the scents after a few hours of wear. I actually enjoyed the petrol note in this, but I'm not really a fan of the syrupy sweet pumpkin that was paired with it. But at least it didn't smell scorched?
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Tomie is a cousin to Ava. Who knew? Seriously, I'm getting strong Ava vibes from this, although this features different floral notes, Ava is brighter with its mandarin, and the only notes they have in common are vanilla and almond. Tomie has the same perfume-y, mainstream quality to it. I'd also compare it to Lady Death, Savage, but I think the jasmine in this is smoother than the jasmine is in that one. The rose is not a main player here; I agree that this is just rose-tinted, and the jasmine in this is not an indolic variety. But overall, it is pretty hard to parse out the notes. I wasn't expecting something with a horror-theme to be so accessible! While I don't feel the need to upgrade to a bottle, because I already have plenty of Ava and prefer that scent, I will absolutely be telling my mom about this, because she has bought and gone through so many bottles of Ava, it's ridiculous. I'm sure she would love this.
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This is strongest on the sugared incense on me. It's backed by a bit of leather at first, but it's definitely not double the leather of Snooty Bat, whose leather was way too intense on me. No, this leather is actually much softer. While the sugared incense remains the dominant aspect of this scent throughout wear, I get more musk along with it than leather by the end of the day. There's a phase where the musk and the incense threaten to veer into soap territory, but fortunately, it never goes completely there. I enjoy this more than Snooty Bat, but I'm basic and would prefer just the sugared incense without any of the leather or the musk, so no bottle for me. 😅