VioletChaos

In The Bottle: I don't pick out any particular notes, but there's a verrrry strong sensation of walking around outside on a wet, chilly autumn day. I have NO objections to this synesthesiac experience! Wet On Skin: The scent starts to reveal its components a bit, and I'm able to get glimpses of the plum cognac and a slight rind of that vetiver, though not the usual smokiness. Dry Down: This shows...promise. But with the density of the notes involved, I'm not surprised it's just not there yet. I suspect strongly that when I retest in a month or two I will be in love. For now, it's a nice "like", and will be a delight in autumn. Editing To Add: Okay, so it's a number of hours later and while much of the above remains true, I am also now *quite* excited about this scent in the present. It took an unusually long time to really bloom, but the payoff is SO worth it. The Turkish Rose and I think the Labdanum notes are combining to be beautifully reminiscent of OLLA Eve, which is one of my favorite all-time scents. So if that's true for you as well, run -don't walk- to snag some of this beautiful scent!

In The Bottle: A strangely acrid note I can't identify, followed by the lychee bringing up the rear. 🤷‍♀️ Wet On Skin: A slightly mellowed version of the above. I know opium tar is the other listed note, but I've tried plenty of opium scents and none were ever acrid on me, so I'm very hesitant to state that's the cause just yet. Dry Down: This is...not what I'd hoped given the success of these notes for me in other blends. I've had a similar "wet cardboard" situation happen before, unfortunately, but never with either of these elements. I so wish this had turned out differently. Alas, it's off to the swap pile for me.

In The Bottle: Sweet, plummy, floral. Wet On Skin: Plum (fruit and flower) plus a verrrry delicate, sweet, light honey. Dry Down: A sweet, delicate floral with a hint of spice in the background. I don't know that this is *my* particular jam, but it's very well-blended and very pretty for those that are into springtime florals for sure.

In The Bottle: Incense. Not any specific incense, more of a general "headshop" vibe. Wet On Skin: The incense starts to reveal itself as being orris and jasmine-based. The jasmine for me is the yellow Indian jasmine variety as opposed to the fleshy tiny white flower variety, which might be what distinguishes it as "sambac", in case that's important to you. At this stage, it's alot of powdery, super-dry notes. It's not bad, but I'm unsure exactly what's up. Dry Down: Oh. Holy. Cats. This has morphed from a head-scratcher into something really ridiculously beautiful. It took a good 10-15 minutes to settle into itself but WHAT a payoff. The labdanum is leading the charge, but all the notes are combining to make this an incredibly well-blended, deep, gorgeously resinous scent. I grabbed a bottle specifically because I'm such a fan of violet-forward scents and although the violet is just a part of the chorus and not the stand-out I'd initially been hoping for, I'm in no way mad about it. In All: Solid medium throw. The notes combine in such a way that this is beautiful right now but I promise aging will turn this into an all-time great. ❤️

In The Bottle: Straight-up Almond Joy! Wet On Skin: Much the same, with the yummy milk chocolate and toasted coconut both performing their duties. If anything has shifted, I'd say that the benzoin *might* be bringing a little of that toasty quality...but not much. Not at this point. Dry Down: The benzoin comes to the fore now and the chocolate has taken a major step back, alas In All: A perfectly lovely blend of coconut and benzoin, nary a drop of patchouli in sight, and the chocolate is pretty subtle. I like what it's become, though for me, I will likely layer this with a dollop of Bliss frequently when I wear it, because that Almond Joy situation is too good to pass up in the future!

In The Bottle: Oh wow. This is *heady*. It's got my old beloved cassia note right off the top, the one I came to adore in Monsterbait: Underbed all those years ago. But the lipstick note I became vaguely acquainted with last year is definitely here immediately, too. And then there's...something else. I imagine it must be some combination of the cinnamon and an additional item, but for me, it's simply bringing up a host of long-forgotten associations from my own uproarious youth that involved heavy and sweet perfumes, heavy and sweet goth pancake makeup and also witchy rites around Halloween. 🤯I Wet On Skin: This intrigue persists, though there's a mellowing that is in process as it warms up on my skin. I will say if myrrh is in this mix, it's in the deep, blended background on me, which is a relief, as it's a note that -sadly- often goes totally haywire for me. But so far, it's very well behaved here Drydown: This has continued to mellow and shift, but for me it's not a full morphing experience, which I'm glad about, because those notes that originally presented are all ones that I welcome. In All: a low-medium throw, I would caution against slathering even if it remains at this level for you because there's a delicacy that feels necessary with this combination of notes: to force it to go beyond a low skin scent would be to run the risk of going from alluring to cloying, and a beautiful part of this scent's appeal is that there's a mystery inherent here- and why mess with that charm? Because there are so many rich notes here, I fully anticipate this aging beautifully. What a gorgeous find!

In The Bottle, I mostly get fresh, crispy apple slices and not really anything else. Wet On Skin: Still mostly apple but with a nice addition of the labdanum starting to make things interesting. Dry Down: Still an apple-forward scent, though it's mellowed from being a fresh crunchy apple to a spicy apple compote, cooked long with yummy spices, and, most tantalizingly, that burnished rosewood bringing a gorgeous finish. In All: I'm usually not big on apple scents, but the other notes in this scent have lent themselves to become something more extraordinary. Based on this, I'm anticipating that some aging is going to make this scent go from "intriguing" to "stupefying" over the next six months or so- just in time to slather for autumn!

In The Bottle, I mostly get the smoke-and-wax notes I found delightful in last Weenie's Guttering Candle. Wet On Skin: Upon contact, the lemon starts to emerge, which I'm relieved about, as it was this note that made me want to get this scent to begin with! Unlike the sharp-fresh lemon of Spirit Board: Yes and Happy Baby In A Long Dress or the candy-sweet lemon of Lemon Scented Sticky Bat, this is a heavy, blunted lemon that is befitting of its identification as a lemon *cream*, though I'd hesitate to say I detect much cream here, at least at this stage. Dry Down: If you lit some low-key nondescript incense, then extinguished it and then also blew out a lemon cream candle and walked out of the room only to re-enter a minute later, you would have this scent. This belongs to the pantheon of Beth's "How does she DO that?!?!" scents, where her artistry come shining through in not just interpreting a time or space or feeling but in somehow, impossibly, REPLICATING it. An absolute delight! 💛 🍋

In The Bottle: A supremely delicate waft of whispering strawberry milk. Wet On Skin: Same...but with something that smells delightfully like fresh watermelon that I am assuming is the lotus. It's also as delicate and whisper-y as the strawberry milk. Dry Down: A teeeeeny bit of spice, which I definitely attribute to the carnation has joined the duo to make a lovely trio! Later: The iris has finally, finally revealed itself, and has added a bit of a candy-sweetness to the proceedings, actually 😮 In All: I cannot overemphasize how delicate, quiet and low-throw this scent is. Although the combo of notes consists mostly of gourmand items, I would not call this a "foodie" scent by any means, though I find this scent fits into a larger theme that spans the Shungas over many years- a lovely combination of florals and foods that create singular affections (*not* CONfections!) that speak to the beauty of the artworks and this transitional time of year from late winter into early spring ❤️ 💮

This review is for the 2025 Lupercalia iteration. So, I was very excited to get this, because the Lab's Carnation note has been a favorite of mine since the release of Spanish Red Carnation SN back in 2012, and here it again does not disappoint! Of the new crop of Luper Floral/Snake pairings, this one is the most floral-forward (at least for now- I'm well aware that aged Snake Oil plays by its own rules, but that could literally be a few *years* down the road, so I'm not worried about it ). Of the 3, this also has the longest wear, staying the course and keeping that Carnation Note pure literally hours after application. The SO seems especially shy for the moment, but since I adore carnation so intensely, I will totally enjoy wearing this scent as it is right now, AND I'm sure it'll age beautifully and gain depth as the days and months roll by. This has a medium-high throw, so dab gently until you see how your skin will react. I think because of the spice of the floral here, this is a good daytime/nighttime transition scent- respectable enough to wear to work, and spicy/sultry enough to wear out on date night!

I love the Lab's lilac note, but it's also very much its own, singular thing, and so I wasn't sure what to expect in how it would play with Snake Oil. But I needn't have feared. In the bottle and through to initial drydown, the two elements blend and support each other without much in the way of morphing. I am a little shocked and how well-balanced this is through the whole application process, actually, because florals can be quite high-pitched and SO is very deep, but there's something symbiotic about this blend where the strength is greater than the individual components. It's *so* well-blended, that I almost immediately cannot pull apart the individual notes, which is its own special pleasure for me and my (overly?) discerning nose. In all, the scent could be a good gateway for both those that sometimes find florals too intense or Snake Oil too intense, as the notes help tamp each other down. It has a solidly medium throw, so test lightly before you see how much you'll amp it. I am very enthused about this scent and it's only a matter of just how many extra bottles I'll need!

Of the three new Luper floral-themed Snake Oils, this was the one I was least sure about, because I have the least experience with the opium and poppy notes. However, I was pretty quickly won over. In the bottle and at first application, the opium and poppy dominate, so much so that I would not even peg this a Snake blend if I was sniffing it blind. Once the scent has a chance to warm up and bloom, those notes continue to be at the forefront, but even with only a day of rest, the Snake Oil is there to lend a depth that keeps this scent from just being a nice floral and the sexiness is undeniable. I tested all three of these as I mentioned before, and this one fades fastest, which I think is about those floral notes but also I concur with patina's comments about how Snake Oil needs its own time to deepen and become its full self (for reference, when I wear pure SO, it's a vintage from 2006, so that should tell you something). In All, a medium throw, at least for now, and a high-class perfume-finish. I will retest this in a week and again in a month, but I am likely going to need a backup!

Years ago, there was a soft release of a scent, Rose Milk V.1, which I was obsessed with for about a year. I'm not a regular fan of florals, and I'm especially picky when it comes to rose, but that combination was a winner for me. And here it's come 'round again, in a slightly different form, and I'm SO pleased! In the bottle, and when first applied, the milk note is slightly more at the fore than the rose (I agree with the above poster's assessment that the milk read more as 'condensed' than as 'almond', fwiw). Once it fully dries down there's a shift, with the rose becoming more prominent, the milk receding significantly, and the emergence of the green tea note. I get no tapioca, but this trio does just fine without its presence on me. This scent has a low-medium throw, but I could see it being too overwhelming if it was slathered, so start sparingly and see how it goes with your skin chemistry. In All: a delightful spring floral, Rose Milk Tea is exactly what I love about many Lupercalia scents in that it makes a great transition out of late winter and through the blooming season we've just entered. ❤️ 🌹

In The Bottle: Co-cosigning above statements above regarding the floofy marshmallow vibes of this scent immediately! The grapefruit is definitely present at first sniff but also concur with division of labor as 70% Marshmallow and 30% Grapefruit at this stage. Wet On Skin: As it warms on my skin, I am immediately reminded of my beloved -and deeply missed!- Cheshire Moon, for its gentle sweetness and also for that scent's grapefruit note. I hope this continues, because I am very onboard with what's unfolding here! Dry Down: If you cross-pollinated the 2009 version of Boo and Cheshire Moon, then made the scent closer to the skin, you'd get the beautiful confection that is this La Dame. This is for marshmallow lovers, yes. But also those of us that like a good citrus that isn't always the same old orange configuration. It's a great combination. In All: Very low throw, for starters. In my completely not scientific assessment, I am stating that all three of the currently released Gorey House scents share the trait of being described as "delicate", and I mean it in the best ways for all three. Given the delicate nature of Gorey's illustrations, it would be wrong to have a bunch of heavy, bold scents- as usual, Beth's artistic genius lays partly in the interpretation of Vibes, and a mainstay Gorey vibe would be that delicacy- even, or maybe especially when he deals in the macabre. And this delicate balancing act is precisely what Beth and the Lab are bringing here. Furthermore, I would reckon, having now tested all members of this trio that not only does that delicacy offer diverse application for daytime use, but I'd also say these scents open up possibilities for layering, both with each other and also experimenting with other fragrances offered by the Lab (and, you know, the fact that Beth has been creating scents specifically for layering for some time now means you likely already have a few to play around with in your collection!) It's official, 3/3, I will need backups of all the Gorey scents (and goddess help me for future collaboration releases!!!)

In The Bottle: That very-dear-to-me dirt note that I so adore from the Lab wafts up first and foremost. There is a verrrrry slight sweet undertone, but it's so faint in the bottle that I would not be able to absolutely name it as the vanilla, even though there's nothing else it could be. Wet On Skin: The ethanol aspect starts to peek out, making a somewhat disconcerting mix with the earth note. Sweetness has retreated. Dry Down: Vanilla has returned! I agree with the previous review that the scent is quite faint. But since the delicacy was also a primary feature of the other Gorey scent I've now reviewed (Raspberry Punch with Cake Crumbs) I do wonder if perhaps Beth engineered the Gorey House scents to be this way intentionally? Once I review La Dame I might say more definitively, but regardless, I don't see this as a drawback of either scent, but as a lovely quality for both. In the case of The Dregs, the vanilla pod and earth notes have mixed in a way that is tantalizing, and a little sexy and not at all foodie. The mud makes the vanilla pod complex, and the vanilla softens the edges of the earthiness. In All: As a HUGE fan of the Lab's earth/dirt notes, I am ecstatic to add this unusual new specimen to my collection as it's SO different from others of the genre. For those unsure of earthy notes, this could be a good entry point for you, as it's not overpowering with that aspect in any way. As for myself, a backup bottle might be required! 😘