doomsday_disco

In the bottle, Lilith's lavender and Dorian are very prominent. On my skin, I get a blast of the most gorgeous lavender, Dorian, and a bright, chilly floral, which must be the snowdrops. After a few minutes, the vanilla begins to emerge as well, and the snowdrops note is becoming stronger. During the dry stage, the vanilla increases in strength. The vanilla, snowdrops, and Dorian's musk make me think of a lavender-infused Dorian and Snow White having a baby. Both scents are favorites of mine. The sweet lavender and vanilla aspect is also reminiscent of, but different from, TKO (which is another favorite of mine). So it's a good thing I saw the notes, knew it would be a love, and ordered three bottles while I was studying abroad in Germany. I'm in love.

Original impression from the SDCC Welcome Party: Criminal Glamour -- Leather, blackcurrant, and resins. This was more pleasant than I thought it would be. If you were hoping the blackcurrant would be a main player, you're in luck! At least, it was a dominant note on me. Officially reviewing the scent on its own a year later: In the bottle: Black patchouli is the most prominent note, followed by the black amber, leather, and blackcurrant. Wet: Black patchouli and resins, followed by leather. The leather note seems to be growing stronger, but it hasn't overtaken the patchouli yet. I can smell the blackcurrant note, but it's light. I hope it comes out more, because I think that really led to me grabbing a bottle in the first place. Dry: The patchouli and black amber are the main players, but the patchouli has calmed down significantly. After a while, the black amber ends up overtaking the patchouli, and the leather cozies up to them in the background. Sadly, I'm not getting much blackcurrant from this like I originally did when I tried it at SDCC. It's just adding a light sweetness to the scent. Verdict: I prefer the dry phase. The wet stage of the scent was a little too strong on the patchouli for me. Although I enjoy the dry phase, I'm not sure if it's worth enduring the wet phase to get there, and there are other scents with black amber that I like a lot more (looking at you, Thomas Sharpe and Mars Ultor).

I received an imp in a swap or forum purchase a few years ago, and I won a bottle a few years ago directly from the Lab on eBay. I'm not sure of the age on either of these. In the imp: The green apple note stands out the most to my nose, and I'm getting more vodka and lime from the imp than the bottle. The aquatic notes read as less watery and have more of a soapy vibe in the imp. Wet: Damn, this is far sharper than the bottle scent. The vodka note is really strong, and I'm also getting more of the lime from the imp than I did in the bottle version. Then the blurry aquatic notes emerge, along with some ambrette and iris, only for the scent to morph again and showcase the aquatic notes with the cool, white mint. Then it veers back into sharp, boozy territory and seems to mostly be vodka with warm ambrette with a bit of green thrown in. How very curious! Dry: This is a lot warmer than the bottle version. The ambrette ends up being the dominant note, and I think I'm getting some iris and some of the aquatic notes along with it. ----- In the bottle: Aquatic notes, green apple, and iris, with a bit of lime and hints of the vodka and white mint. Wet: A blast of green apple before the aquatic notes rise. Now I'm getting the blurry aquatic notes and the white mint with the green apple and lime not too far behind in the background. Then the ambrette note emerges, adding some warmth to the scent, and I'm starting to get some of the iris now as well. After only a few minutes, the aquatic notes and soft white mint reign, and the other notes are pushed further into the background. This one certainly morphs a lot! Dry: A very light aquatic scent, that oddly enough, didn't end up going soapy on me! I'm mainly getting the aquatic notes, soft mint, and a hint of the fruit notes. ----- Several hours later, both scents have gotten sweeter. They're more alike now (the wrist with the scent from the bottle has also become warmer from the ambrette), but still different. The scent from the imp is stronger. Verdict: As I said, I have no idea how old each of these are, but it was really interesting how different they smell! I know imps age differently since there's a much smaller amount of oil in there, but this was quite drastic, even though I could tell they shared the same notes. I wonder if the bottle will end up aging similarly or remain more aquatic in nature. Although most aquatic scents turn into soap on me, this one was a lot nicer, and I think having notes like the soft mint and apple contributed to that. I am glad that I have this scent and will definitely bring it out more on hot summer days!

How did I not review this? In the bottle: The pink musk note is the most prominent. I do get the sweet pea as well, but it isn't as strong as the musk. After a year of aging, I can smell more of the vanilla sugar than when the scent was fresh. Wet: Wow. This has aged magnificently. The musk note reigns, but I'm getting A LOT more vanilla sugar than I did when this was fresh. It smells very pink. The vanilla sugar reminds me of a cupcake adorned with vanilla sugar crystals. Dry: Musky, vanilla-sugary, sweet pea amazingness! The sweet pea note is stronger in this phase, but I'm still getting more of the musk and vanilla sugar. This still holds true several hours later. Verdict: As a huge fan of sugary florals, I knew I would love this one! I am so glad to have two bottles.

In the imp: Overripe bananas, trees that smell somewhat evergreen-like (must be the narra), and florals. Wet: Tree and banana. After a while, the florals emerge, but I am mainly getting the narra with some banana. Dry: The narra is even stronger now, especially the bark aspect of it. I'm still getting the banana, but it's softened significantly. Verdict: This was more pleasant than I thought it would be, but I'm glad that I don't need more of this since it's discontinued.

In the imp: Salt, wine, and foliage. Wet: The salty sea and wine notes are the most prominent at first, but it's not long before the palm and fern notes clamor for attention and try to overtake the wine, but the wine just asserts it's dominance. Dry: The wine reigns for a while, but several hours later, all that remains is the salty sea note with some warmth in the background. Verdict: Not bad, but not really 'me'.

In the imp: Predominantly aquatic, with the ocean mist and salty air jumping out to my nose first, with some sarsaparilla in the background. Wet: The aquatics are strongest at first, and the sarsaparilla is more noticeable than it was in the imp and just seems to be getting stronger. Root beer aquatic? Curiouser and curiouser! Then, the leather-tinged musk note makes an appearance. Dry: Ocean mist, salty air, and leather-tinged musk dominate, but the sarsaparilla is still there. I hadn't tried this before now because aquatics aren't really my jam, and I didn't really like the thought of an aquatic plus patchouli, but the patch doesn't seem to be a main player on me. I think it's just helping to add more warmth to the scent. Verdict: So this didn't end up being aquatic root beer, because the sarsaparilla, while present, never becomes strong enough to make it sufficiently root beer-y. This was better than I thought it would be, but I don't need a bottle.

In the imp: This is mostly a salty aquatic. I'm mostly getting the sea air and some cologne-y woods from the imp. Wet: Curiously enough, this isn't as sharp smelling as it was in the imp. The aquatic notes are currently the most prominent, as I'm getting the salty sea air, kelp, and a hint of woods. This actually does have a watery quality to it on me, which is surprising, because most aquatics just turn to soap once they hit my skin. Dry: The aquatic notes continue to reign, but I'm finally getting the plundered spices now! Aquatic with spice! I can also smell some of the musk and leather now, and the wood is lingering in the background. After few hours, I mainly get the aquatic notes and the musk. Verdict: This is better than I thought I'd be, but it's not really 'me'.

Instead of posting different reviews in the respective threads, I've decided to do a comparison type of review between the original and the 2015 version. [Original] In the bottle: Sugared incense and soft white florals, with the sugared incense note being more prominent. [2015 Version] In the bottle: This one is far more floral and blue musk than sugared incense in the bottle, and it has aged for almost two years. The sugared incense is still there, but it's not nearly as strong as the aforementioned notes. [Original] Wet: Sugared incense and a streak of ozone, followed by the night-blooming flowers. I'm pretty sure the sugared incense contains champaca. [2015 Version] Wet: This is very strong on the blue musk and night-blooming flowers. I suspect one of the flowers may be lotus. Then, the ozone and sugared incense announce their presence. [Original] Dry: The sugared aspect of the incense is more prominent in this phase. This is the note that still reigns, and I'm still getting some ozone. [2015 Version] Dry: The sugared incense note is more noticeable now than it was during the wet phase of this scent, so it's sweeter now, but the blue musk and night-blooming flowers are still more prominent than the incense note. I'm not getting much ozone from this one anymore. A few hours later, the sugared incense note does come out even more, at least on my wrist. It's still mostly blue musk and flowers in the crook of my elbow. Verdict: They're obviously similar, but I'm hoping that the 2015 version ages similarly to the original, as I adore the original, and I'd like to get more of the sugared incense with the florals than musky florals from the new version.

In the imp: Graaaaape. And patchouli. It smells more like grape juice than actual grapes to me. I can also smell the incense note. Wet: I do get a lot of grape, but the patchouli and nag champa notes are stronger on my skin than they were inside of the imp. Dry: The grape isn't as juicy anymore, but I'm still getting a fair amount of grape, earthy patchouli, and finally, the incense. Verdict: I'm not a fan of dark fruit scents and incense, so this isn't really my cup of tea.

In the imp: Ozone, a soapy aquatic note, and smoky vetiver. Vetiver and an aquatic. I must really hate myself. I am not looking forward to this. Wet: The smoky vetiver is even stronger on my skin than it was in the imp. Woe. The ozone is quite sharp, and the rain is just soap on me. I smell like a bar of soap that was left near a campfire that someone may have dropped a hot dog into... in addition to smelling like dryer sheets. Dry: Damn, this is strong. It's not giving me the impression that it did during the wet stage of the scent, but the smoky vetiver is even stronger now, making it a vetiver-heavy ozonic aquatic. Verdict: Never again.

In the imp: This one smells more like a fruity floral to me than an aquatic. I can't detect the aquatic notes in the imp at all. It's mostly pomegranate juice, peach blossom, and rose to my nose. That said, I'm not familiar with myrtle or melilot! Wet: Pomegranate and rose are the most prominent notes, followed by the peach blossom. I wasn't very fond of pomegranate and rose on my skin in Persephone, so I'm a little disappointed that these are the main notes on me in this one. Dry: Now I'm getting the aquatic note, which dominates the scent, though the combination of the aquatic with the rose note makes this somewhat soapy on my skin. Verdict: This one isn't for me.

In the imp: A fruity floral. I can smell the peach, musk rose, sweet pea, grape, and pear. Wet: I'm still getting all of the above notes. It's a sweet, juicy, fruity floral scent. The musk rose note seems to be coming out more after sitting on my skin for about a minute, but the fruit notes are still going strong. Dry: This smells almost melon-like to my nose. The sweet pea is the most prominent of the floral notes during this phase of the scent. Verdict: This smells really pretty. I don't think it's something I need more of, but I think it would be a lovely scent in the spring and rather refreshing on a hot summer day.

Bliss was one of the scents I tried pretty early in my discovery of BPAL, and for some reason, I never reviewed it! In the bottle: Brownies! Wet: It goes from warm brownies, fresh from the oven, to brownie batter. Browniiiies. Dry: It's creamy milk chocolate now, although there are still moments when I sniff it can only think BROWNIEEEEES, and other moments where I feel like I'm smelling cocoa powder before pouring it into some warm, creamy milk to make some hot chocolate. In any case, this scent is making me hungry. Verdict: I really enjoy Bliss! I always feel like I have too many chocolate scents that I don't reach for often enough, but I feel the need to keep some of this on hand anyway, because it's a very nice chocolate scent. I just wish it didn't make me feel like I need to eat ALL THE CHOCOLATE.

In the imp: Wooooood and sawdust. Wet: It's more pleasant on my skin than it was in the imp. I'm getting freshly chopped wood, sawdust, and some of the sap, and the sap note is what is making this better on my skin. Dry: Sharp, cologne-y wood. It loses its sharpness over time, and I think the sap has sweetened it up a bit. It's more pleasant than I thought it would be from the imp, but it's not something I can see myself reaching for. Verdict: This one is not my cup of tea.

In the bottle: The snow-dusted ti leaf and cherry blossom notes are the strongest. I can smell the ylang ylang, too, not far behind the others, and then there's the bit of cypress at the end when I inhale deeply. It's a snowy, floral forest! Wet: Same as in the bottle. Snow-dusted ti leaf and cherry blossom are the most prominent notes, followed by the ylang ylang, and finally, the cypress. The ylang ylang note increases in strength the longer this sits on my skin, but it never overtakes the ti leaf. Dry: The fresh, somewhat astringent snow-dusted ti leaf note continues to reign, and I am getting more ylang ylang now than I did during the wet phase of the scent. It's now stronger than the cherry blossom. It's mainly a snowy tea and floral scent on me. I'm not getting much cypress. The snowy ti leaf note softens with time, so that the florals end up taking over. Verdict: I kind of wish I had gotten more cypress from this and it would have been more snowy, floral forest than just snowy white tea and florals. I like it, but I don't love it. But since I adore the artwork, I want to give this another chance. I'll hold onto it and try it again in the winter.

I bought this one more for the cause than for the scent, but I'm interested in book scents and I have been trying to find more leather scents I might enjoy. I'm more wary about the chocolate in this than anything else, because I feel like I have too many chocolate scents already, so I hope it doesn't end up being too chocolate-y on me! The book I received with my bottle is Burning Road by Ann Benson. In the bottle: Leather (it's the chemically smelling variety), dark chocolate, and a bit of smoke, paper, and candle wax. But mostly, leather and dark chocolate. Wet: Leather, which smells kind of off on me at first, unless that's the yellowing paper doing that. It smells sour on my skin. The dark chocolate note isn't nearly as strong as it was in the bottle. Dry: After several hours of wear, the candle wax note has emerged, softening the leather note a bit and adding some sweetness to the scent. The aged aspect of the book is still present, but since the note has diminished in strength, it's not as sour. It is reminiscent of an old library. I'm not sure it's worth enduring the wet phase of the scent to get to this point, though. Verdict: I think I'll retest this one before letting it go, but I've already let it age for half a year before trying it, so I don't have high hopes that this one will end up working out on me. ETA: I just tried it on my upper arm a week later, and it's actually nice and not sour at all, and I'm getting more beeswax in that area. Well, I guess I'll be holding onto this one, then!

In the bottle: I can smell all of the notes! The buttery, vanilla shortbread cookie, the marshmallow cream, the fudge, and then the confectioner's sugar. It's very rich. Wet: Marshmallow cream and powdered sugar. Although the scent smelled like it could be really overpowering in the bottle, it's not like that on my skin. The marshmallow cream note is incredible. I'm still getting a fair amount of powdered sugar, and the warm vanilla shortbread note is beginning to emerge. The fudge note is currently hiding in the background. Dry: A dusting of powdered sugar, a smattering of marshmallow cream, and lots of vanilla shortbread cookies. The fudge note is still confined to a background role. After several hours of wear, it's marshmallow-cream-vanilla-powdered-sugar GLORIOUSNESS. There's no cookie to be found. Verdict: This one is full of win! I'm so happy that I grabbed a bottle.

In the bottle: The apple blossom note is the strongest. I can smell some of the watery musk, crushed grass, and pine needle, but they're nowhere near as strong as the apple blossom note. Wet: The apple blossom still reigns, but I can smell more of the musk and the crushed grass now that the scent is on my skin. Dry: The watery aspect of the musk is very evocative of the water it is meant to represent now. The apple blossom note is still pretty strong, and I can still smell the crushed green grass. I think the mint may be adding to the impression of a cool stream, and the pine needles just add an extra bit of green to the scent, like you're catching the scent of the pine trees on a breeze as opposed to getting slapped in the face with a branch of pine needles. The musk note ends up becoming more prominent after several hours of wear. Verdict: I bought this primarily because of the label art and the apple blossom note, and I'm glad that I did. This scent perfectly captures the artwork that inspired it!

In the bottle: Peppery orange SweeTarts. Sometimes I get more actual orange when I inhale deeply from the bottle, but usually, I open up the bottle and get that original impression. I'm kind of wary about trying this. Wet: Ha! The oil looks like I put orange juice on my skin. I'm getting candy orange, bitter lemon, and there's a kick from the pepper when I inhale deeply and a fizziness that kind of burns my nose! I was hoping to get more orange marshmallow cream than anything, and I really liked the description of a different kind of creamsicle scent mentioned in some reviews, but alas, it's not like that on me. It's this really strong children's vitamin scent with a bit of spice and fizz. Dry: The children's vitamin or chewable aspirin association just won't go away. At least it's not super peppery on me? The marshmallow cream note just adds more of a powdery, candy sweetness to the orange rather than making the scent smell marshmallow-y or even creamy enough to be creamsicle-like on my skin. Verdict: Covfefe is not for me and will be going to a new home (and hopefully onto someone whose skin chemistry provides a better Covfefe scent experience).

Note: I'm reviewing this as a moisturizer and not as a product used in the bath. In the bottle, it smells more like apple cider to me than the Apple Cider single note does, but with the addition of lemon. On my skin, it's definitely apple pie filling. I have sensitive skin, but the spices in this are mild and do not burn at all. The cinnamon in this is a sweet, soft cinnamon. After it has been dry for a while, I get a bit of crust, but for the most part, the filling reigns. Of all of the apple scents I've tried this year, this one is my favorite. I think that this is the best spiced apple scent since Lambs-Wool. I'm going to need APPLE PIE ALL THE THINGS, and a back-up bottle of the bath oil will be necessary.

In the bottle: The apple wine is the most prominent note. I get the distinct 'lace scent' with the tobacco, cognac, and vanilla, with the resins and smoke in the background. Wet: The smoke, tobacco, and resins are stronger on me than they were in the bottle. I am getting a lot of the apple wine, but not as much as I did in the bottle. After a few minutes, the apple wine has gotten stronger and overtaken the other notes, both on my wrists and in the crooks of my elbows. It is very sweet and almost candy-like, but boozy. I typically adore apple scents, but this apple wine note may be too candy-sweet for me. Dry: It takes a while for the apple wine to calm down, but when it does, it's a lovely scent. The vanilla really shines through on my wrists after a couple of hours, and it's definitely recognizable as one of the Lab's lace scents during this phase. I am getting more of the vanilla on my wrists, and more of the apple wine and smoke in the crooks of my elbows. Verdict: The dry phase of the scent on my wrists warrants keeping this bottle, although there is a point during the wet phase where the apple wine veers into too sweet territory for me. I am curious to see how this one ages!

In the bottle: Creamy mint frosting and chocolate cupcake. It smells delicious! Wet: I'm getting much more mint than cupcake. It's a lovely, sugary mint that's currently more mint than frosting on my skin. I'm not really getting any of the cake note. Dry: During the wet phase, it was all sugary mint, which developed into a creamier frosting after some time. Hours later, I can smell the chocolate cake note on my skin, but by this point, the scent stays really close to the skin. The mint is still present, but it is very faint now. Verdict: I am glad that I grabbed a bottle of this. I was hoping that it would be more sugary mint than chocolate cake on me, and it is! I just wish that it stuck around longer.

Thank you, Labbies, for putting this one on Etsy! I adore dandelion scents. I have always associated dandelions with hope and perseverance, and so they tend to be 'happy' scents for me (I have the Lab's Wild Dandelion SN, and Venus Verticordia is one of my favorite scents). I'm so glad that I was able to get my hands on a bottle and support this wonderful cause! In the bottle: A blast of dandelions, followed by the juniper and white musk. Wet: This is very green. I'm getting more white musk and juniper on my skin than I did in the bottle, but the dandelion note reigns. After a few minutes, the ambrette seed begins to emerge as well as the asphalt note, creating the warm asphalt impression, and the blackcurrant bud can be smelled faintly in the background, adding some sweetness to the scent. Dry: Although the juniper was a bit sharp and the scent was very green when first applied, it has softened a lot since then. The dandelion note dominates, and I'm reminded of dandelions on a warm summer day. The blackcurrant bud has become stronger than before and has sweetened up the scent significantly. It's so beautiful. Verdict: Smelling this makes me really happy. I'm ecstatic that I was able to obtain a bottle of this and may try to obtain a back-up bottle on Etsy while it's still available.

Note: I have never tried the original. In the bottle: Warm, sugary vanilla musk, the same found in Stekkjarstaur! INSTANT LOVE. Wet: Warm vanilla musk, and I'm not sure if it's the vanilla or something combining with that note, but I'm reminded of Pediophobia. I think it may be the dry linen note. I'm not getting anything that's noticeably floral at this time. Dry: Ah, now I'm getting the dry flowers! The vanilla musk still dominates. For some reason, I'm getting a breath of something reminiscent of Morocco – perhaps it's the warm musk, or maybe it's just my nose. Hours later, it's exactly like Stekkjarstaur minus the marshmallow root. Verdict: LOVE. I'm so glad that I was able to try this one and lucky enough to have gotten two bottles! I am sure it will become even more stunning with age.