doomsday_disco

I tested this alongside an imp of the GC Delirium.

While the GC is all about the rose with a bit of apple and lemon peel, the champagne variant is mostly a dry champagne infused with apple and lemon, with more apple at first, then more lemon once it has been dry for a few hours, and no rose that I could detect (meanwhile, the GC scent was all rose in the throw). While I prefer the champagne variant to the original, I don't like this as much as other champagne scents in my collection. It's just drier than I'd like it to be.

This was originally going to be a blind bottle, but I have the Pink Grapefruit and Pomelo duet, so I decided grab a decant so I could deathmatch the two.

As soon as I applied this trio, and sniffed the bottle of the duet, I could tell that the deathmatch wasn't really necessary. Pomelo, Mandarin, and Pink Grapefruit is mostly about the mandarin on me throughout wear, backed by the other citrus fruits, but full disclosure: my bitch ass isn't super familiar with pomelo. This trio reads as more orange-y to me than grapefruit-y, so if you happen to have the duet, and you are like, ugh, can I really justify another grapefruit scent in my collection? The answer is yes, if you're like me and you're a citrus slut (so long as you can justify another orange scent). I'm really surprised how the addition of the mandarin makes this so different from the duet, although I suppose the ratio of the pomelo and grapefruit notes might be different here. Like Little Bird, there is a phase where the mandarin threatens to go slightly soapy on me after a few hours, which can happen to me when I wear a scent with a pith-y mandarin note, but I think the grapefruit and pomelo notes keep it in check so that it remains a juicy citrus scent that isn't allowed to veer into soap territory.

This is a win, and I'll have to grab more of it to slather on during the summer months.

Side note: All three of the trios I tried from this release were lovely. I don't think I've had this kind of success with trios from an update before. My wallet may be weeping if I get them all, but this one is a definite since it's such a great citrus and has huge throw.

The pine is most prominent when freshly applied, backed by the juniper berry, with the hemp in the background. But the pine quickly calms down, and the juniper berry and hemp come forward... with the hemp eventually becoming the dominant note on me. The juniper berry adds a fresh, clean aspect to the scent, while the hemp has this sort of sexy incense-y quality on me. I disliked the leather and hemp combo of Rogue, but love Revenant Rhythm, which I always thought was mostly about the black patch and than swoon-worthy vanilla, but maybe the hemp in it was adding to a lot of that swoon-worthiness, and I'm only just realizing it now.

Although I was hoping this would be more pine-forward, this was still a really pleasant surprise, and I'm debating whether a decant will be enough.

This is mostly about the sugared strawberries on me, backed by a twist of lime that's most noticeable during the wet phase of the scent. It reminds me of the sugared strawberry mixture you'd put on top of strawberry shortcake, with a sprinkling of lime juice. And it reminds me of summer.

I didn't get a ton of throw from this one. I tested this and two other duets from the same release in different areas, and this is one, I had to put my hand up to my nose almost every time I wanted to smell it, whereas I could smell Pomelo, Mandarin, and Pink Grapefruit and Juniper Berry, Pine Needle, and Hemp just from their throw.

I am going to have to deathmatch this with the most recent Strawberry Moon, but I really enjoy it and am considering a bottle. Maybe the throw will be better with a big slather!

Winter Apple and Lily of the Valley.

Yuzu and Blackcurrant.

Roasted Tea Leaf and Night-Blooming Jasmine.

Coconut and Icicles.

Apple Liqueur and Brandy.

A heady swish of black velvet patchouli, ambre noir, silken musk, and bourbon vanilla.

The season’s first snowdrop, stark white and spring green against a backdrop of black ink and myrrh resin.

Incandescent, glittering musks, pearls of sweet Florentine iris, and an indigo sigh of blue cypress, Italian bergamot, pink jasmine, cistus, white amber, mimosa, and black lilies.

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.

Red vegetal musk, tangerine rind, King mandarin, fossilized amber, and neroli.

“It is impossible to say how first the idea entered my brain; but once conceived, it haunted me day and night.”

Pulsating globs of red musk oozing through a hot, crusty strawberry, red currant, and black cherry tart.

This is so pretty! The lavender and amber are the standout notes during the first few hours of wear. The jasmine tea gains strength over time, but the jasmine in it is really well-behaved, and the nicotiana, which is a background player, doesn't smell like the tobacco flower used in the Lab's recent scents (which is good, because it lets the other notes have more of a chance to shine). The leather in this is subtle; I only noticed it after it had been dry for several hours of wear, and it's a smooth leather. There's a floral creaminess to this at the end of the day that I think may be due to the osmanthus, but that's not a floral note I'm particularly good at sussing out. There's a sparkling quality to this that appears in some of the Lab's more mainstream-esque perfumes, but I'm not sure what note is contributing to that... perhaps the dry amber, or maybe it's the nicotiana. This is great in all of its phases -- the wonderful lavender amber one, the jasmine tea-dominate one, and the creamy, sparkling floral and amber scent that you get after several hours of wear and can't stop huffing.

Honestly, I'm surprised this isn't more popular. I'll cherish my decant.

Thank you to the extremely kind soul who sent me a full decant of this beautiful scent!     

I tried this last year, but then forgot to review it. So I tested it again.

Mermaid just reads as an aquatic scent to me. I am not able to pick out the notes, which means that the orange blossom is well-behaved here, even though it typically tends to be a bully on me. No floral notes stood out to me in particular; the only note from the note list that stood out to me was the sea salt.  

I think it was fun to try this, but I'm not big on aquatics, and this one didn't really change my mind.

This is mostly about the red wine on me, which is infused with some cherry, but the cherry does not stick around in my hair for very long. The other notes weren't distinct in my hair, which made me sad, because aside from the cherry, I wanted that vanilla and clove!

I wore this a few times in wet hair and a few times in dry hair. I would say that the scent sticks around better in dry hair, but I never got wafts of it going about my day. I could only smell it whenever I lifted my hair to my nose. Weird, because I thought this would be a pretty strong hair gloss with its notes!

If you're looking for a wine-heavy hair gloss, this might be up your alley. I'll probably hang onto my decant to see how this ages... I hope the other notes will pop up with some age!

"Come not between the dragon, and his wrath: a rolling crack of Daemonorops draco and red peppercorn, billows of incense smoke, honeyed Cambodian oud, blackened oakmoss, flame-gold amber, a delicate membrane of leather, and a curved, sharp sandalwood claw."

"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.

Blackened lavender and sensual rivulets of labdanum with Oman frankincense and raw cacao.

Toffee-touched vanilla bourbon filigree, antiqued white rose petals, auburn musk, honey dust, and white silk.

Ambergris foam, twinkling white musk, lime rind, frosted lemon, Norway spruce, sour green apple, night-blooming jasmine, Icelandic moss, and yellow bergamot.