astarinel

Cherry/apple pie with spices. This has a very strong pastry note to my nose, similar to the one in Knave of Hearts. The filling here is mostly apple, though, I think, with a little cherry, with fairly strong warm spices. As it dries, the spices get even stronger and the fruit notes fade a little. Good throw and lasting power.

Boozy, spicy black currant. This is very dark, purple fruity wine with some gentle spices, fairly sweet but not cloying. I absolutely want to drink this; I'm not sure I want to wear it. Good throw, and doesn't change much on the drydown.

Strong, sugary, jammy blueberry. I'm always excited for blueberry scents, and this one actually reminds me a little of the Blue Phoenix prototype I love (although that one has more vanilla and less blueberry, to my nose). I LOVE Strawberry Sufganiyot, and this definitely has a similar feel, although the balance of the notes is different for me. Blueberry is stronger on the fruit/jam, while Strawberry is a bit heavier on the pastry note. The blueberry is very thick and sweet and definitely the star of the show here. Doesn't change much as it dries, which is fine by me. Good throw and lasting power, too!

Almond, cherry, and spiced red musk. My skin tends to amp red musk, but the other notes are keeping it in check here. It reminds me a bit of Kabuki, but with almond and spice instead of anise. As it dries, the almond fades and the spiced carnation comes a bit more to the forefront. Other than the cherry blast at first, this isn't overly fruity on my skin, it's more about the carnation + tonka + musk.

Primarily sweet, green grass, with a touch of vanilla. I'm allergic to grass and this is so realistic it's twigging my allergy; I keep expecting to break into a sneezing fit at any moment. As it dries, the grass fades a little and the vanilla comes out more. Very fresh and springlike!

The honey musk is really beautiful in this! I'm only familiar with it from Lady Una, which is a long time favorite of mine. This also has a dry, golden amber note very prominent, with delicious juicy sweet peach. The peach is one of the strongest notes wet, but it backs off as it dries and it settles into amber + honey musk with soft peachy fruitiness. I never really get much almond, but that's fine.

Heavy, heavy champaca. This is a thick, sweet floral that I find a little overwhelming, and I don't really get any of the other notes. I was kind of hoping for more of a spiced floral green tea scent, because I really love all the other listed notes, but this is all champaca all the time on my skin.

Salty, honeyed patch. Overall, this is a very well-blended skin scent, and I don't think I'd identify any specific notes other than honey. This is actually sweeter and rounder than I was expecting, and less rough and dirty. I always expect patchouli scents to have that dirty edge, and this one doesn't. Notably, this scent has pretty strong throw -- this scent overpowered the other test patches on my skin.

Mmm juicy grapefruit and citrus! This is really bright, really tart citrus, not at all candied or sugary. Unfortunately, as citrus scents tend to do, the citrus notes fade fairly quickly leaving behind a soft, clean, slightly-soapy white musk with hints of citrus. It's so hard to get citrus scents to last, and if this one could stay as it is at first, that amazing juicy blast of citrus, it'd definitely be a keeper. As other people have said, I'd really love a soap or lotion scented with this.

I tend to prefer to drink gin rather than smelling like it, but I liked this one more than I expected to. My first impression is of a forest-y gimlet. It definitely goes on with a bit of that fizzy feel some of the cocktail scents have, but that disappears as it dries. The lime is very present in the bottle and when wet, but fades fairly quickly. Dries down to gin + pine, with the gin in the forefront. A very fresh and bright gin scent, definitely one for the gin perfume lovers.

Sweet apples, backed by wood notes with a touch of green. The apple is strongest while wet, and it fades a bit when it dries to soft vanillic woods.

Fruity honeyed goat's milk. Definitely has a foodie/buttery/baked sort of vibe, like shortbread cookies with fruity jam on top. Very warm, sweet, and almost thick.

Bright, fizzy, fruity-floral champagne. I love the Lab's champagne note, and it's definitely the most prominent note in this blend. The orange blossom is similar to the orange blossom note in Katherina, and the floral-citrus scent keeps the champagne note relatively dry and not overly sweet. This one reminds me a little of Harlequin, but with a strong fizzy champagne note rather than the champagne grape. I like this, but since I have a bottle of Harlequin I'm not sure I need more of it. Good throw and decent lasting power, but once the fizzy champagne fades it settles into a soft orange blossom scent primarily.

Very tart juicy red fruit. This is primarily raspberry to my nose, but it does have a touch of something else that makes me think "perfume" rather than just fruit. I have terrible luck with cream/milk scents, although the goats' milk variants tend to be better, and this one fortunately doesn't go weird on my skin. Good throw, fairly long-lasting, but it ends up a little simple when I was hoping for more cream! I've got other raspberry scents that end up more than just SN: Raspberry on my skin.

I'm not sure I get any rose, which is surprising because I am a rose-amper and it's killed many blends for me! On my skin, this one skews fairly unisex. It's mostly a musky fougere to my nose, with a little bite of lime and a soft dusting of powder. This is a very soft, polished sort of scent, and it wears fairly close to the skin. I expected it to be a little sharper, but there's barely a hint of lime and the lavender I was expecting in the fougere is very well-blended. Soft, powdery, unisex, inoffensive.