doomsday_disco

I have used up one bottle of the original hair gloss and have less than half left of my second bottle of it.

I actually tested the hair gloss on the back of my hand when the Lab hinted that the Our Lady of Pain line might be returning. The hair gloss is mostly about the resins on me, like a cousin to Hesiod's Phoenix (I think they may share the same golden amber and oudh notes). I figured I'd blind bottle the perfume before it leaves the website, to wear with the hair gloss and try layering it with other scents. So I didn't order a decant... but I lucked out and the universe gave me one anyway!

Now... I know that a scent may not be the same in a different medium, but I'm surprised just how light this is compared to the hair gloss. And it does not smell the same. I mainly got some faint white ginger, and when that disappeared, some barely there resins... that were so soft that sometimes I'd smell that spot on my arm and not be able to smell anything unless I did a really deep inhale.

I am going to set this decant aside and retest it in a few months. I hope that it gains some oomph if it has had more time to settle. But if it stays as it is, it will not be a bottle upgrade like I had originally planned. 

Note: I never tried the original version, and the notes in this did not speak to me, but I decided to grab a decant due to the glowing reviews of the original. And I have no idea what lobelia smells like and didn't even know it was a flower until I looked it up. I just see that word and can't help but to think of the "Lobeliiiiiaaaa!" scenes from Ouran High School Host Club. 😅

Anyways. This has a GC feel to me. At first, I only get the musk, which is much lighter than I was expecting, but then the rose joins in, and it ends up being a predominantly musky floral scent throughout wear, mixed with some coconut (which is more noticeable later on in wear) and magnolia. Curiously enough, the cinnamon and tobacco did not show up on me, which is unexpected, as those are notes that are generally forces to be reckoned with. 😅

This really isn't in my wheelhouse, as there's not enough sweetness with the rose for me, but I'm glad I got to try this resurrected scent!

Note: I never tried the original version.

The Shrine Where Sin is a Prayer is mostly about the wine on me, which is very purple and grape-y, so it's very different than the Lab's usual wine note. And I believe the violet in the violet leaf just adds to the intense purple-ness of this scent. I can smell the hyssop during the wet phase of the scent, cozying up to the wine -- and I believe it is the same note featured in Against Idleness and Mischief. Then it gets more goth: the clove and myrrh smoke overtake the hyssop and mingle with the wine as well as the violet leaf. I'm not familiar with the scent of calamus, and the other notes are not distinct on me. The clove is much calmer by the end of the day, when I'm left with mostly wine, resinous smoke, and violet leaf, with a hint of clove. It is still very purple and very goth.

I'm glad I got to try this, but this particular sort of wine note is too grape-y and heavy for me.

I still have a handful of Luper/Shunga decant to test, but of all of the scents I've tried thus far from this year's update, this is the only one that is a for sure bottle upgrade for me.

Melon Cream Cake features a true honeydew melon note on a bed of fluffy sponge cake and whipped cream. There's a Japanese bakery I go to that has a dessert that's like that, but with mango instead of melon right now. The melon note is on point, and I really love this particular cake note, and hope to see it used in future blends.

If you're looking for a honeydew scent, look no further. This is the best scent featuring honeydew that I've ever tried from the Lab.

Note: I have never tried the original.

The teak is the star of the show on me throughout wear, backed by the amber, with just hints of cream and lotus. I swear I also get a hint of red patchouli here, and I don't know if it is part of the teak or amber note, or if it's just an impression I'm getting from the way the two mingle with each other. This is surprisingly darker on me than I had expected... it's not even a cousin to Blossoming Vulva (which also features amber and lotus, but different kinds -- and I feel the amber in this is a darker variety and not the golden amber from that scent). It has great throw, too: I applied this to the back of my hand and it lasted all day, and I didn't even have to get super close to smell it.

I'm going to have to give this a full day of wear to really see how I feel about it. I enjoy it, but I was also hoping for some more sweetness from the lotus, and some more creaminess from the cream. But this was very strongly woody/resinous on me, with a hint of red patchouli. So I have to do a full-day slather and see how that goes before deciding whether or not I need more of this.

I like all of these notes, but I had no idea how they would smell together, so I opted for a decant.

I'm glad I did, because something in this went wonky on me. I'm not sure which note or combination of notes was doing it, but I got the dreaded tomato soup that I get from some scents. 😭 Before that happened, this was a bracing peppermint, lime, and yuzu scent on me. The cherry was not distinct on me, but the scent is very green, which matches its inspiration.

I wish I had gotten more cherry from this and that my skin chemistry didn't do weird things with this! Alas.

Well, I just had some ambrosia for Easter. (Apparently, my partner and I said that we really like ambrosia to someone at a family gathering, and they remember it, even though we don't recall raving about it. So now they always bring ambrosia and I always have to eat it, even though I would rather eat cake and cookies and four-layer surprise than ambrosia. 😅)

This really does smell like ambrosia. The pineapple is the strongest of the fruits on me, backed by the mandarin, and I also get the coconut, all slathered in whipped cream. The marshmallow isn't distinct on me, but I bet it is lending some sweetness/creaminess to the scent. As for the pistachio, I must have gotten a bit during the wet phase when I thought there might be cherry in this, before I looked at the notes and realized there was no cherry. So cherry-esque pistachio, but it is short-lived on me. 

If you want to smell like ambrosia, you won't be disappointed! This smells more like ambrosia than Solstice Scents' Cherry Vanilla Ambrosia, IMO.

I don't think there's a bottle for me in the future, but I may keep the decant and maybe wear it to those extended family gatherings where I have to eat ambrosia.  

This starts off strongest on the blueberry on me, followed by the lavender and rose. The rose quickly overtakes the lavender, and eventually, the blueberry, so that it is mainly a rose-dominant scent backed by a bit of sweetness from the coconut and agave, and the hint of blueberry that remains, on a bed of musk.

I really enjoyed the wet phase of this when the lavender and blueberry were stronger than the rose. I'll likely retest this before it goes away to see if it has changed at all/if my feelings have changed on it, but at the moment, I'm thinking the decant is a keeper, but I don't need a full bottle.

This one is really fruit roll-up-y. I had tried the original hair gloss, but wondered if this would be different in perfume form.

Well, I don't really remember exactly what the hair gloss smelled like, aside from it smelling like fruity candy. According to my review, it was mostly sugary strawberry, backed by some cherry and pink pepper. I still get mostly get a sugary strawberry candy scent from this, but backed by the pink pepper during the wet phase of the scent. Sadly, the cherry never pops up on me in the perfume... and that's why I was here. 😭

I so wanted that cherry!

This is a very floral lychee scent that is lighter than I expected it to be (I have a few of Astrid's lychee scents, and her lychee note is a lot stronger.) This starts off as mostly lychee and rose on me, but the rose quickly overtakes the lychee. I'm not familiar enough with angelica to be able to pick it out, and the peony and ylang ylang are not as strong as the rose.

If you're looking for florals with a little lychee, this will be up your alley. But if you were looking for mostly lychee with a hint of florals, like me, you might be disappointed.

This one is definitely one for rhubarb fans! So if you're wanting rhubarb sans strawberry, rejoice!

The rhubarb is the star of the show throughout wear, with some sugar and crumbs surrounding it at first, making it sweeter, but then it becomes more tart after a while and is a tart rhubarb by the end of the day. It is not super muffin-y or custard-y on me, but I'm not mad, because rhubarb.

If it stayed how it was during the wet phase, this would be a bottle upgrade for me. I prefer the sweet rhubarb to the tart one. So I am going to have to give this another test to see if I need more than just the decant.

If you're a fan of opium tar, this will be your jam.

The perfume-y opium tar is the star of the show throughout wear on me. It's the same opium tar from Sugar, Poppy Tar, and Red Currant, which is a trio that I really enjoy. I also agree with the See Thyself, Devil! comparison, although I prefer that trio and this Luper to that scent. (I'm not sure why, since that one has lavender and no plum, and I'm not big on plum.) I don't get a ton of lavender (it's most noticeable in the beginning, but can't hold a candle to the opium tar), and the plum does go wonky on me at one point, but it ends up correcting course (phew!). By the end of the day, it's mostly sugared opium tar backed by some plum and the softly resinous benzoin note.

I'm going to have to give this a full day of wear (instead of just a test that involved three other scents on different parts of my arms) to determine whether or not I need more than a decant. I have to see if that plum goes wonky again! But the decant is a keeper.

I had the atmo when it was released, but I used it up long ago. I'm not generally a fan of neroli or champaca, but that atmo was such a gorgeous shimmering vanilla amber swirled with the most tame champaca ever. The neroli was not prominent in the atmo.

In the perfume, that's another story. It's a neroli party out of the gate, and it is a force to be reckoned with! By the time it calms down, I'm left with a very light amber swirled with some champaca and a little vanilla. I am honestly surprised how light/how close to the skin it is on me. I recall the atmos having some alcohol in their base, so it makes sense that the atmo would be louder than the perfume, but I really wasn't expecting this to be as light as it is after the neroli fades!

Although it's exciting that this was re-released in this new medium, I prefer this scent as an atmo. If that were resurrected again, I would scoop it up without a doubt. But I don't need a bottle of the perfume oil.

This gives me Banshee Beat/Revenant Rhythm vibes at first with its black patchouli and vanilla, but the honey and the amber gain more strength over time, so that it's mostly honeyed black patchouli on me backed by some amber and a hint of vanilla.

I don't think I need to upgrade to a bottle, as I have a few bottles of BB/RR and no other patchouli/vanilla combo has beat that one for me, but if you're looking for a strong honeyed patchouli combo, this will likely be up your alley.

There is an unlisted honey note in this. I wonder if it is what makes the lotus candied?

Anyway, this is mostly honeyed chrysanthemum on me. It reminds me of the chrysanthemum tea you can get in some traditional Chinese restaurants. I don't smell any bubblegum-y lotus here, and the black tea isn't distinct to me as the honeyed floral aspect of this scent is so strong... but perhaps it is contributing to the honeyed chrystanthemum tea vibe.

I'm not sure that this is something that I need more of, but I think I'll end up keeping my decant.

Dreams dreamt in a chthonic womb, a subterranean winter reverie, a blessed darkness. Ancient, nourishing roots of patchouli, mandrake, gnarled oak, and galangal thrusting through ancient soil, embracing a bed of thick moss and suffused with myrrh tears, black labdanum, and fossilized amber.

With a hint of patchouli root.

Assam and Darjeeling tea, milk, and jaggery with a blend of cardamom, ginger, cinnamon, star anise, pepper, and fennel seed.

The more pity, that fools may not speak wisely what wise men do foolishly: fig milk, white cedar, white pear, vanilla cream, bourbon sandalwood, clove, honey cake, and sweet musk.

Not a cell phone in sight. Just people living in the moment. A strangely serene scent: French lavender bud, woodmoss, cypress, amyris, white cedar, labdanum, and bergamot.

Ignorance isn’t always bliss: dried apricot, russet amber, blackened tea leaf, wild fig, and rum oud.

An icon of Poland’s history and culture, Stańczyk was King Sigismund I the Old’s court jester at the height of the Rebirth and his wit, intelligence, and eloquence is venerated to this day. His fame and influence – and the mysteries surrounding his life – are such that some consider him a myth. Jan Matejko’s depiction of Stańczyk is lush and shadowed, rife with despair and ill-omen, and so is our perfume: scarlet silk, spiced rose petals, well-worn red leather, Oman frankincense, labdanum, dried cherries, and blackberry wine.