splendidissima

2024 version! Ooh, I love this! It's a fluffy white cake with buttercream frosting, plus a warm spiced (not spicy like chili, but like pie spice) apple note - I want to just eat my arm! I agree that it's not very boozy and I don't really get the whiskey, but that's fine with me. Goodness, this is tasty - like you baked a big cake with layers upon layers of buttercream and spiced apple pie filling inside. If you like those things, you will want this one!

Oh, gosh, first! Let's see... I do really like this one! But I like the Lab's cider note and also buttery notes - and this has both, at least on me! It's the same cider that's in the other NYCC oils: bright apples, soft spices, a whisper of sweetness. (I've always loved the Lab's cider note, back in the Fearful Pleasure days, and such...) Here, it's also joined by the same butter / cream note that's in scents like White Larry - warm, rich, something I can only describe as "melted butter-y"! It actually goes very nicely with the cider - adding a slightly savory, buttery, richness to the bright cider. If you like those things, you will probably like this, and if you don't, then you likely won't! (For an odd fleeting moment about half an hour after putting it on, I got something...vaguely reminiscent of BPAL's Jack? I'm not sure what prompted that scent association, but I definitely thought, "oh, this kind of reminds me of Jack! ...but, wait, why? but it made me have that scent memory!" That seems to've faded now.) Oddly, this one fades the fastest on me out of all the NYCC cider scents - maybe something about the butter note and skin chemistry?

Fizzy, yes! Mostly ginger ale - which I'm not mad at; I like it! - and a swirl of caramel to add sweetness and cut the sharpness of the ginger. I don't get much apple - maybe it's in there as it dries? or maybe I just want it to be in there, so I think it's there? Either way, it's still a fun scent, especially if you like effervescent ginger.

Mostly lovely apple cider, bright apple + spices! A little extra booze - the brandy note is noticeable but not dominant. Not as sweet as, say, the Apple Cider Donut, but still mostly apple cider, which I like!

Delicious! Pure apple cider, apples + spices + that BPAL cider note, over a murmur of warm pastry. I'd say it is more cider than donut, but the donut is there, in the background, like you bought it to eat with your cider and the scent of it is wafting up. I love this one!

Frottle from the Lab, 2024 (so probably aged quite a bit) ...metal, men's cologne, spices (clove, ginger, pepper), in that order. Not really a me scent, but I have a friend who likes those things, so I'll pass along the bottle! Glad I got to try it, as an anniversary scent. 🙂

Frottle! And, yep, sharp citrus. I like citrus, but I generally like it on the sweeter side; this has a bite. I wonder if it would layer okay with some sweeter notes - something with marshmallow or vanilla, maybe...

More earthy than I was expecting! Clay, earth, dry cacao, spice. I don't get a ton of fruit - I admit I was hoping for more of a balance! It's not sweet at all; it does have an impression of...warm dry redness or ocher colors, perhaps? Like chili spices in the sun next to a sun-baked historic adobe building, perhaps. Which isn't bad - in fact it's interesting! - but I might try it in a diffuser or oil warmer, as a house scent, versus on me.

Mostly a delicious apple cider, not much marshmallow, but I'm not mad at it - I like apple cider! I've been wearing this one a lot. 🙂 I will add, the last time I wore this to campus, I was chatting with a colleague in the hall, and she said, "do you smell something like...incense? or, like...cinnamon sticks?" and I said, "oh, I think that's my hair gloss!" So...there's that, if that helps anyone!

Sweet honeyed dandelion wine - like summer in a bottle! I actually really like this; I dug out my old partial bottle to test, and liked it more than I remembered!

Cozy and warm! Hearty oatmeal, with cream and brown sugar. I'm not sure I get a fruit note, but I do get a sweetness - I think that + some smokiness is reading as brown sugar or dark caramel, that kind of toasty dark sugar. I really like this!

Oddly soapy! This is my least favorite of the Blow Molds - I normally like cherry and amber, but there's something, maybe that ozone note, that just isn't playing nicely on me and is doing so very loudly. It's not dreadful - I don't hate it; it's just cherry soap, inoffensive and pink - but I might try layering it or adding a lotion, to try to tone down the soap.

I've liked all the Blow Molds, and I like this one too! It's mint-forward on me - a creamy sort of mint, like the inside of a peppermint patty, not like icy slush - and then there's a slightly dry semi-dark cocoa, like maybe you've bought some dark chocolate cocoa powder (which really isn't all THAT dark - not milk, but not too far past that, either) for baking. I'm not sure I get the amber as much as just an overall warmth, so it's not a cold scent - actually very cozy! Sort of like you've just got out and opened up the ingredients for baking chocolate-mint cookies, but you haven't baked them yet, while you've also got a fire or a candle glowing in the background.

I've really liked all the Blow Molds, honestly! This one's so intriguing - creamy white chocolate, bright green tea, warm cozy amber. I would absolutely eat this!

Oh, I never reviewed this! I love this one. It's a gorgeous sweet creamy amber - like a vanilla creme dessert + a hint of lemony amber. Beautiful!