Leopard403

I only get apple when this is freshly applied, then it's caramel and butterscotch. (It makes me excited for Autumn!) It also lasts freaking forever, and the first time I had it in second-day hair, I wandered around muttering "Why does it smell like pancakes in here?" for at least three hours.

I was nervous about Razors in a Doll's House (ha, what a weird sentence!) but am so glad I took a chance! It's amazing. Ah. Maze. Ing. But I don't know how to describe it, man!

 

My first thought was that it reminded me of Atrocious Attic, and I could (and still can) see why that may be the case, but then I realized I was actually remembering my favorite seasonal scrub scent from a company I no longer order from. It was a fall blend meant to evoke funereal marble and lace, and half-wilted flowers, and GAWD that is exactly what I get here.

 

In Lab-speak, I hesitate to say the L-word in case I disappoint people, but given that I've tried Black Lace, Summer Lace, and others, I could see how this would make a good addition to that Lace line... even, perhaps, if Antique Lace collided with rose water. Is that too much of a crazy leap?!? SO GOOD.

Wow, yep, Joy Buzzer is straight-up-the-nose champagne bubbles. (How does Beth do that?!?) This type of note fades rather fast on me, sadly (and I don't get any honey here) but I'm happy to slather on the contents of my imp while it lasts. It definitely makes me smile.

With Squirting Boutonniere, I get mostly the high, white note of lilies. No "Hey, that smells like cucumber!" which I was glad about, but no real crisp green scent either. And absolutely no rose. Sadly, lilies this loud are seriously headache-inducing, so I had to wash this off rather quickly. Bummer.

Alas, I lament.

 

Why, why, why can't I get a cherry note to stick around on my skin? Let me tell you, Chattering Teeth broke my heart. Wet on skin it is perfection, like a sweet cherry slushie experienced by the nose rather than the tastebuds. Not a sign of the dreaded cherry cough syrup in sight.

 

But then, in a split second, it's all vanilla mint. VANILLA MINT, Y'ALL. Cherry, though hast forsaken me.

I tried The Poem of the Pillow several different ways, and while it is delightful in its own way, I'm glad I only got a decant.

 

In the bath, poured into water: Coconut comes out swinging but is gone in an instant. Vague citrus hands around.

 

In the bath, applied to skin: Again, coconut doesn't stick around long, but at least the bergamot is identifiable for what it is and it lingers.

 

As a moisturizer after a bath: The best moments of this BO are in application to warm, damp skin. It smells like expensive tanning oil, very much like cracked coconut with a kiss of citrus. But then the coconut wears away, and this just smells like old oranges.

Diligent Instruction is a nice scent. Yep, there's strawberry, sugar, and mallow, just as expected. But it smells like a big-chain blend that was slapped together so tweens would snap it up in body spray form. In the end, I'm just sort of bored with it.

I am terrified of green tea scents in anything because of an unfortunate Elizabeth Arden issue I had in high school *shudders* Damn you Liz. Also, lotus? Would this be too aquatic? (And why, lord, do aquatic scents always smell like the wrong side of the Bay at low tide to me?!)

 

But the "blueberry musk" in Jinbari won over my curiosity and I thought, what the hell, lets try a decant. I'm so glad, because I just adore this. Wet in the imp and on skin it is all, well, blueberry musk. (Is that even a thing? And if so, how is this scent so right on??) It's not straight up blueberry fruit, and nowhere near blueberry pie. Rather, this is like a corner of an aged but beloved farmyard, stacked high with blueberries in the corner that is just now moving into cool shade. It's a warm blueberry haze on a still day. I think the lotus and green tea must temper this a bit, keeping the blueberries from going over where they would become too jammy and gourmand.

 

This is delicate and sits close to the skin. It doesn't shout, it whispers, and in those whispers there are secrets.

Similar to Mistletoe & Red Berries HG, though this has the soft-mint-and-pine scent that often shows up as "snow." It's a nice scent, though not really springlike at all; much more festive for cold weather.

All three listed notes are pretty glorious on my skin, so I am puzzled about Kitten's actual performance. Once this has settled on my skin, it blends seamlessly and is quite nice. But to get there, I have to make it through the wet stage and the initial drydown, and in that sense there is something, well, off about this. It's the same kind of undertone I get when a bottle of carrier oil has just started to turn rancid. In this case, the pear note in particular seems to be, well, not quite spoiled, but just on the wrong side of over-ripe.

My nose is all intermingled with my brain with this one! I ordered it hoping it would be somewhat reminiscent of monoi, and it has that same kind of creamy high-floral vibe. But it also smells just like the night-blooming jasmine my mom planted outside my childhood window. So there is something definitively green in there, and I think this makes it more wearable. The hint of vanilla makes it lean toward the soapy side on the drydown, but in this case that isn't a bad thing. So how on earth do I reconcile all of that? I don't; I just wear it and smile.

I was excited about the cranberry in this scent and it did not disappoint! This is lots of tart red fruits with a "soft" green background (i.e. not overly Christmas-y), and it lasts FOREVER in my hair.

This is a really lovely scent. I don't get much mint, and I definitely don't get "Christmas tree." Rather, I get notes that seem more like eucalyptus than anything else, with a combination of something really green. Very nice.

This was a blind-bottle purchase for me and I'm happy I took the risk. This is beautifully blended, equal parts fruity red jam and mild gingerbread. It made me wonder if there was a fruitier version of Red Hots candy: Here the cinnamon is replaced with gingerbread but you still smell the "spice" and the "red." Maybe the jam has a sort of cooling effect...

 

Ye gads that is a horrible description!!!

 

I'm sorry I can't be more evocative, because I really do like this scent and would recommend it to others. I put some on yesterday before work and 12 hours later it was still lingering, but it was never too in your face. And while it is definitely a cold weather scent, it is not identifiably Christmassy, which I like.

 

It's also worth noting that I have very reactive skin, and there was no redness or stinging with this blend.

I think I like this better than last year's Strawberry version. Here, I get the same sort of glazed sweetness note but the raspberry is a perfect counterbalance, the kind of tart that makes your teeth ache and I LOVE it.

I am so moved by the story behind this scent. I have been a bibliophile my whole life, with a love of both reading and having books. I love the idea of the Christmas Book Flood, and I love that some of the proceeds from my purchase will be passed on to help others. Just lovely.

The scent itself is incredible. Sniffing straight from the bottle I was worried it may be too chocolatey, but on my skin it literally smells like someone's Victorian-era home library. Other Lab book scents have turned bitter on me, but this is just perfect. I get a hint of candles burning above an old leather bound book, with, yes just a fleck of milk chocolate, as if the reader has just eaten a chocolate candy and set the wrappings beside his book. I am so pleased with my purchase!

The book that accompanied the bottle was a tiny paperback of Rudyard Kipling short stories. Such a charming little thing!

His Own Heart Laughed is an interesting scent. I was hoping it would smell like a cherry slushie, and I was both right and wrong.

 

In the bottle: Smells like a mixture of Snow White and bright red cherries. If only it stayed this way!

 

On dry skin as a moisturizer: There's a more medicinal hint to the blend, as often happens with cherry scents.

 

In the bath: Surprisingly green! It's like the red cherries were attached to holly boughs!

 

After the bath: It doesn't last very long on my skin at all. There's just a vague fruitiness left behind if I smell very closely.

This is hard for me to describe, because in my brain I just see it not as "pink pumpkin candyfloss" but rather as "pinkpumpkincandy floss." (Eh, I know, but it makes sense to me!) The spices in pumpkin blends can often overwhelm everything, but not here. I get that initial burst of typical fall spices, but on the skin I really amp the slightly buttery gourd note with lots of strawberry and cream on top. Surprisingly, the scent stays true to that and it lingers ALL DAY on my skin. I'm really glad I picked up a bottle.

I ordered Pumpkin Orange mostly because I didn't have a pumpkin HG in my arsenal, but I was pleasantly surprised to see how complex this turned out to be! Sometimes, "pumpkin" really means "a blend of fall spices" (looking at you, Pumpkin Spice Latte!!!), and that is often how it shows up on my skin. But here, you really get a blast of the other notes too.

 

I mean, it smells orange!!!

 

In particular, that blood orange musk is to die for and that really seems to be the focus of the blend: It comes out swinging, and the pulpy raw pumpkin and hint of mango really help the scent to mellow out. This is a HG that could be used all year round!

I took a chance on a decant because of Beth's description. Two out of four listed notes tend to be awful on me, but I just had to test it anyway.

 

And wow.

 

I think this is my favorite Snake Oil blend ever. I was worried that the bubblegum note would make this just a little too twee for my general tastes, but I don't get any strong notes of bubblegum at all. And while lavender tends to totally take over and go all herbal nightmare on my skin, in this blend it is soft (but not powdery), with the relaxing effect I always want but never get.

 

These notes shouldn't work together, but they do. Oh how they do! The overall effect smells sort of like berry Snake Oil, but there is just something about the way Motherhood makes you FEEL. It is really evocative, all of these scents together, and it makes me happy because Beth and Lilith are both in there, identifiably. It smells great on my skin, but it also makes my heart swell a little.

Wet, I get the dreaded plastic-y fake-strawberry note of a Strawberry Shortcake doll. As this dries on my skin, however, it mellows out into a nice strawberry cream, with a dollop of chunky sugar that must be the cotton candy. It's a soft scent that sticks close to the skin.

^Those reviews are so thoughtful and detailed. They make me embarrassed to say that Texare, on me, pretty much smells like Sour Patch Kids. There's a nice base of mallow if I reeeeeally huff for it, and I think that keeps the scent from burning off right away because this thing sticks around!

Gawd I love the Lab's leather notes.

 

As a preteen, I had a soft brown suede bomber jacket and I was too cool for school. Outlaw smells like a root beer float wrapped inside that jacket. Just that simple. It leans slightly masculine--I would ravage a man who sidled up wearing this--but who cares, I'm gonna wear it, too. Maybe ravage myself sometime.

You know those huge sugar-crusted pumpkin roll cakes that abound at bakeries this time of year? Pumpkin Sugar is like a big slab of that on a plate. I wanted straight up sugary, ever-so-slightly spiced pumpkin, and that's exactly what I got. Love.

[No additional description given.]

 

Dead Leaves & Blackberries was a blind bottle purchase for me, and I rarely do that. So glad that I did, because this is lovely! The lab's dead leaves scent is so evocative of fall, though it can turn a little too masculine/cologne-y depending on what else is in the blend. Here, when you add a fresh (read: juicy and just barely candy-ish) blackberry scent (no green stem there, just Berry), it is just perfect. It really is dead leaves and blackberries! This will be nice in cold AND warm weather!