doomsday_disco

A shock in a jock: the perfect drag king cologne. Black leather and a snap of ozone. I tested this one twice at Drag Con. This one is strong on the black leather at first, backed by the ozone. After it has settled for a while, it becomes an ozone-y, leather-y cologne. I enjoyed that phase of the scent the most, when the leather wasn't as intense. I did not end up grabbing a bottle of this one, because I tend to prefer my leather with something sweet (like vanilla or tonka), but I think fans of the Lab's leather scents will not be disappointed.

Whoa, that is some strawberry candy! The blue cotton candy and marshmallow just add more sweetness (and a bit of creaminess, in the case with the marshmallow). Sadly, something in this is somewhat plastic-y on me. Not sure if it is the strawberry or the sprinkles. I also get what Deceitfuldescender says about this having a blue raspberry blow pop vibe. I'm not big on strawberry, but those that are into that note and candy scents should check this one out. Alas, it is not for me, but it was fun to get to try it.

When I spray this, I get fig, sweet oak, and a touch of silk. But on the paper towel I sprayed this on for a test, I also get a lot of the silk and a nice vanilla along with it. The bamboo adds a green quality to the scent. Sophisticated, indeed! I'm not big on fig scents, but this one is quite nice.

Lilith has several blankies that mean the world to her, and this is one of them. She’s had it since she was a baby, and she still sleeps with it every night. This blankie has been all over the US, has been to innumerable conventions, and has visited Paris, London, Stratford-Upon-Avon, Salzburg, and Berlin. This blankie has been a comfort in sorrow and a companion in joy. It has been clutched in laughter and has been succor in illness. This blanket has seen thousands upon thousands of dreams. May it always keep you warm, safe, and happy, Lilith. French lavender, skin musk, and a drop of rose water. I retrieved this from the mailbox around 1 PM and am testing it 9 hours later. I normally give a scent at least an entire day to settle before testing it, if not more, so I will amend my review if my experience is different when I try this tomorrow. In the bottle, Blue Blankie is a blast of strong French lavender. I can smell the rose water in the background, and then the skin musk. I bought this to use as a sleep scent, and just from the bottle, I have to say that I can’t imagine using it for another purpose. This is no daytime lavender. Wet: The French lavender dominates, but I am getting a lot more of the rose water and skin musk on my skin than I did from the bottle. The rose water is fresh and tart and makes me think of pink roses. It’s becoming stronger as it sits on my skin. It’s like Lilith’s lavender + TAL Nocturne, only not as strong on the rose. Dry: I was worried that the rose water would take over at one point (it definitely feels like more than a drop on me), but this ends up being pretty even on the lavender and rose water once dry. The skin musk comes out more over time, so that after a few hours, it ends up being a skin musk infused with rose water and what remains of the lavender. It’s cozy and comforting. Verdict: I leapt for a bottle of this one because I adore lavender and thought it would make a nice sleep scent. I will be keeping my bottle and using it for that purpose, but I don’t think that a back-up bottle will be necessary.

This one is all about the carnation chypre on me. I'm not surprised, since I amp carnation and oakmoss. The ylang ylang cozies up to the carnation chypre for a while. The scent has massive throw during this stage and makes me think of more classic perfumes. Eventually, the oakmoss in the chypre becomes the dominant note, swirled with the carnation and a bit of benzoin. I was here for the pink vanilla, but alas, I didn't get any of that on my skin. If carnation chypre sounds good to you, though, you should be pleased with this.

This smells like a honeycrisp apple backed by some smooth cedar. I never got any honeycomb. I think I caught a whiff of the jasmine at the end of the day, but it was so faint by that point that I couldn't be sure. The cedar becomes more prominent with wear, but it never manages to overtake the crisp apple. The apple in this is really nice, but I wish the other notes had shown up on me!

This starts off as rose and clove before becoming rose, rose, rose. This does not feature any of the sweet roses found in Two, Five and Seven, and the red rose notes in this aren't as bold as the rose in Peacock Queen. I feel like my skin is bringing forth more of the tea rose and white rose than the other rose notes. At the end of the day, I can smell some tobacco mingling with the rose notes, but there is no more clove to be found. I'll be hanging on to my decant because this is Mad Tea Party-adjacent, but I wish I were getting more clove from this one (I really liked that clove blast when it was first applied). I'm going to try layering it with Sweet Clove SN and see how that goes.

Fir, leather, and cedar are the standout notes on me at first, before the leather overtakes the tree notes. It reigns for some time, and at one point becomes a little too much for me with the sharp steel note, but eventually, it calms down, leaving behind one of the glorious golden ambers from Pa-Pow Hair Gloss. I agree with those that have said that this would be right at home in the RPG collection. I really enjoyed the beginning and final phases of this scent, but I'm a little iffy on the leather/steel phase. I'm going to have to retest this one and see if I'm able to avoid the leather and steel phase after it has had more time to settle (and hopefully get some of the rosin)!

This one is... way more buttery than I thought it would be. It's all about the buttery cream and caramel. It kind of reminds me of the buttermilk in White Larry, actually. The sandalwood is confined to a background role throughout wear, unable to compete with the buttery cream note. I can only smell it if I inhale really deeply and look for it -- otherwise, I would not know it was there. This is too buttery for me, sadly.

Baby's First Ballista is giving me strong Antikythera Mechanism vibes (only, it is much nicer than Antikythera is on me since there is no teak). It also makes me think of Arana and The Magician's Wand. It features a really strong oak note. I could have sworn there might have been some tobacco mingling with it, but perhaps that's just from associating it with the oak in Antikythera. The cookies aren't distinct on me, but it the oak is smoothed over by the vanilla bean. After several hours of wear, I get a slight root beerish quality to the oak. Not sure if my nose is drunk or if it is just my skin chemistry bringing that out, but I am here for it. The decant is a keeper, but I am thinking I may need a bottle of this before it goes away.

Flan! Custardy, somewhat buttery flan on a bed of vanilla (I think the vanilla note is reminding me of the vanilla in Truth Will Prevail, which I wore recently, but I haven't tested the two side by side to be sure). I like this. It's not overly buttery or sweet like I thought it might be. I'm not sure I need a whole bottle of it, but I'm definitely hanging on to the decant.

In the decant: I'm getting a super buttery waffle infused with pumpkin and gingerbread spices, backed by some coffee and chocolate. On me, the buttery, spice-infused waffle reigns. I was afraid the spices in this would be overwhelming, since There Arose Such a Clatter also featured pumpkin and gingerbread, and it was a spice bomb on me. But that is not the case here. I was also afraid of how buttery it was from the decant sniff. It is pretty buttery on me (like a butter-slathered Eggo waffle, if it contained pumpkin and gingerbread spices -- more gingerbread than pumpkin), but not overwhelmingly so. The coffee and hot cocoa are confined to background roles throughout wear, although there's a moment when the waffle dough and chocolate kind of make me think that this is a much more buttery cousin to Weihnachtsmärkte. I'll have to wear this on its own for a full day to determine whether or not I need more of this, but the decant is definitely a keeper.

Between Classes is a clean scent, but it's not like like walking through the laundry aisle like Apocalypse Box, and it is much softer. There's a soft, clean cotton note and lots of sweet, non-spicy pink carnation (I think it's the same one from High-Strung Daisies). The lavender mist, while present, isn't nearly as strong as the carnation on me. I agree that there may be some other floral notes at play here, too. This is a nice, clean, floral sleep scent. I will probably end up upgrading my decant to a bottle before the Lilith update comes down.

Oak twigs like whoa. This one smells like green leaves and oak branches sweetened by the manuka honey. The oak twigs with their strong green leaves dominate on me throughout wear. The honey is stronger on me than it was in the vial, but calms down over time. I get some lavender with the oak twigs and honey at first, but it is fleeting. After a while, the moss notes gain some strength on me, but they aren't able to overtake the oak twigs. I couldn't detect the pine needles or mushrooms. This is a tree scent, all right. The green leaves and sharp oak are a little too much for me, though.

The lavender, rosewater, and lemon are the dominant notes at first, backed by the dry sandalwood. The lavender and rosewater combo are reminiscent of Blue Blankie, only this is a brighter scent, thanks to the lemon. It is evocative of the "unconvincingly sad face" in the description, with the lavender and rosewater combo being somewhat melancholy, and the lemon making the scent more playful. Over time, the sandalwood gains strength, and the scent becomes somewhat powdery on me. It ends up smelling like lemon squeezed over some dry, white sandalwood that's mingling with some rosewater after a day of wear. I prefer this during the early phases of the scent, when the sandalwood isn't as prominent. It's not going to be a bottle purchase for me, as the lemon makes it too bright to be an effective sleep scent, and the powderiness I get from the sandalwood later in the day is a dealbreaker. I'm still going to keep the decant, though.

Harlow's Lace, is that you? This features the same dark, thick, caramel/toffee-like honey note from Harlow's Lace (that is reminiscent of Lush's Honey I Washed the Kids). It is the only note I get from this for hours. When it finally calms down, I can smell a bit of lavender cream, and a touch of the white patchouli, which adds a little sophistication to the scent (it's the same one from Butterflies, Flowers, and Jewels Attending). This won't be a bottle upgrade for me since the honey dominated so much on me, and I was here for the lavender cream. But it is sweet and comforting.

This is all about the raspberry note on me. I get zero cherry from this. It smells like a squished raspberry with a bit of sugar, and it's more realistic at first, but then it becomes more candy-like over time (but also kind of makes me think of that raspberry Crystal Light drink mix that was popular in the 90s). I was really hoping to get some cherry from this. Alas. If you want to smell like raspberry, though, give this a whirl.

The pinkish cherry note dominates at first, and then the bergamot and moss from the chypre joins it. It's somewhat odd and herbal for some time, but then it settles into smelling exactly what Pa-Pow Hair Gloss smells like in my hair. A candied cherry and amber scent (but with a bit of moss in the background). Swoon. If you love Pa-Pow Hair Gloss, you need this in your life, because this is like the perfume version of that.

Perfectly Normal Childhood starts off heavy on the cardamom (the best kind of cardamom!) backed by some vanilla before becoming a predominantly marshmallow scent. The marshmallow smells realistic, like it is powdery on the outside. Behind that, I can smell some cake batter -- but I'm not getting any cotton candy. I haven't deathmatched this with Pink Lovebird yet, but I will say these two are different enough to warrant having both if you already have Pink Lovebird, although I think I prefer this one! The decant is a keeper for sure, and this may be bottle-worthy (I've got to deathmatch it with some other cardamom scents in my collection before deciding as I think I have too many cardamom scents, though!). ETA: I have now deathmatched this against Pink Lovebird, and I have to say that they are two very different scents. This one is far stronger on the cardamom, and Pink Lovebird smells very pink, with a much more subdued cardamom note. If I had to choose between the two, I'd choose this over Pink Lovebird for sure.

Banana Bread is a blast of banana teetering on the edge of being Laffy Taffy-like in the vial, but once applied to the skin, it does smell like a squishy, overripe banana before it turns into a buttery, nutty bread scent on me. The banana ends up being pretty faint on me and isn't as strong as the buttery bread and walnut notes. I wish the banana lasted as long as the other notes on me, but perhaps this just needs a few more days to settle. It definitely smells delicious, though.

This one really overwhelmed me. I am also a wine amper, so I got lots of grape and plum-infused wine that was super strong on me to the point that I was starting to feel somewhat nauseated from smelling it and didn't want to smell any more new-to-me perfumes today. There are touches of fir and smoke that end up being more noticeable after several hours of wear, once the wine and fruit notes have finally stopped screaming for attention. The good news is that I have a friend that loves all of these things, so I'll pass this on to her so that she can try it.

In the decant: I'm getting the sweet mimosa backed by some linden blossom (the same one found in Boober). Those are the two standout notes on me as well, with just a hint of the resins in the background. Then it morphs so that that a honey-heavy beeswax reigns for some time, with the sweet mimosa note cozying up to it. It's almost cloyingly sweet on me. The honey/beeswax calms ends up calming down somewhat, but the almost fruity mimosa is quick to reclaim its clown. It settles down as a mimosa-dominant scent after several hours of wear, backed by some honey, linden blossom, and just a touch of smoky resins. The mimosa in this is too heady and sweet for me. But if you're looking for a mimosa-heavy scent, you should try this one.

I'm getting a nice brown patchouli, rose thorns, herbs, branches, and a bit of berry. The rose thorns become more prominent on me over time end up being the dominant note on me after a while. This differs from the first time I tried the scent, a day or so after it arrived -- I got more patchouli from it then. It ends up being an herbal rose and patch scent on me after a day of wear with a swirl of smoke. I get a bit of sharpness from the ivy, but that tends to be my experience with that note. The berry in this is only a touch, so if you're not fond of berry notes, you need not worry about it here. The 'edge of the woods' part of this is very fitting. It's not something I can see myself reaching for, but I appreciate the imagery the scent evokes.

I tested this one one hand and put some Cedarwood and Smoked Vanilla on the other to deathmatch the two. Even though they may sound similar, they're two really different scents. Cedarwood, Vanilla Absolute, and Tolu Balsam is much stronger on the cedar, but it is a soft cedar, and if you like the variety found in Tombstone, you should be pleased with the cedar in this. The vanilla never showed up on me, and the balsam was pretty light in the background. This is more warm and woody, while Cedarwood and Smoked Vanilla is stronger on the vanilla and has a more sophisticated feel to it. I think this is nice, but I know I wouldn't reach for it over Tombstone with its root beer and more prominent vanilla.

Both celebratory and cozy, this is the scent of a warm mug of muscatel, dry red wine, brandy, akvavit, and bitters steeped with orange peel, cloves, fresh ginger, cinnamon, sugar, star anise, dried apricot, Luxardo Maraschino cherries, and cardamom embraced by a thick shawl of myrrh and red benzoin. This scent was an exclusive in the Sihaya and Company The Art of Hygge winter box, which I received yesterday! I believe there were only 50 bottles of this made. I am not familiar with some of the booze notes in here, so if I don't mention them, that's why! I tend to amp wine and spices, so that's another thing to keep in mind as well. The oil in my bottle is cloudy, and I noticed that something in it separated, so this one should be rolled before application. In the bottle, the cherry leaps out at me, along with the red wine, apricot, orange peel, and spices, with the resins in the background. Even though this is a mulled wine scent, the spices are rather subdued. On my skin, I get the cherry as soon as this is applied, followed by apricot, wine, and BOOZE. Whoa, that is some booze. Then I get the orange peel, and after that, the clove, ginger, and cinnamon begin to emerge. The orange peel in this smells incredibly realistic, and I feel like this smells more like a true mulled wine than the Glühwein perfume oil, which is too honeyed to remind me of the actual thing. I can tell there is some sugar at play here, and the resins just add more warmth in the background. This scent is STRONG and has lots of throw on me. The spices aren't overwhelming (they are stronger during the wet phase of the scent, but calm down), the cherry hasn't turned to cough syrup, and the anise (which I do pick up on after a while) hasn't turned turned this into licoriceville. I have never tried any Black Cherry Apricot Gløgg, but I imagine that this is what it would smell like! This is mostly a mulled wine scent that's heavy on the black cherry. (Not for those averse to cherry!) This is far stronger on the gløgg than the sweet incense, and I am not sure I would have picked it out if I didn't know to go looking for it. I am happy to have this, but I am going to have to avoid my slathering tendencies with this one just because it's so strong.