doomsday_disco
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Everything posted by doomsday_disco
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Dead Laves, Shortbread & Crystallized Ginger
doomsday_disco replied to zankoku_zen's topic in Halloweenie
The dead leaves in this are the sharp, cologne-y variety that I swear has some neroli in the accord, mixed with some ginger and some syrup-y shortbread. The shortbread doesn't make me think of the shortbread note from Shortbread Diamonds; it is not powdery, or buttery, but more brown sugar-y, in the vein of the Box of Sugar Cookies from 2021. The fresh ginger is most noticeable during the wet phase of this scent, and there's a time when the ginger and the shortbread overtake the dead leaves, but it actually ends up being more about the syrupy shortbread backed by the dead leaves for most of the wear, before morphing and becoming strongest on the dead leaves again, coated with a dusting of the shortbread's brown sugar. It reminds me of Dead Leaves and Donuts Atmo, actually, but with a different source for the sugar component. I am not a fan of most dead leaves scents, and this one is not an exception; it's because of the sharpness of the dead leaves note in this particular blend, as this scent did not go the bell pepper route on me. Unlike last year's Dead Leaves, Vanilla Bean, Pink Fig, and Brandied Dates, where the dead leaves were MIA, the dead leaves are very present in this one, so I'd only recommend this to someone who wants the dead leaves, and would enjoy them paired with something sugary. -
I tested this with this on my left hand, and Snake Skin (2018) on the other. I'm not digging the leather in this. It has a farm-y quality to it that I'm not enjoying, but Snake Skin has a hint of that, just much smoother, so maybe it will be less farm-y and smooth over with age? Once the leather calms down, it becomes a lighter Snake Oil... but like, the Snake Oil I haven't found in most variants lately. This one is NOT a musk bomb, has the patch and spices, and even lets the vanilla come out to play after a few hours on the skin, which is something I've really missed from a lot of snek variants over the past few years. The leather in this does not last as long as it does in Snake Skin, but that's fine with me, because what's good about this variant is the fact that the vanilla shows up. I could do without the leather. I'm going to let this one age some more and retest it before it goes away. I really like vanilla in this and think it could age into something wonderful, but maybe I should just buy a new bottle of straight-up Snake Oil to age instead of holding out hope that I'll like the leather eventually...
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This has nothing on the original Perversion. I deathmatched it with the original (this on my left hand, the original on my right). Of course, the original was aged, but this isn't even as glorious as it when it was fresh. The wine is a main player, but it is quieter than it is in the original scent, but the tobacco is not as loud or as rich, and the leather note is also rather quiet; this is mostly wine with tobacco and musk on me, and the musk makes it smell somewhat soapy, whereas the original Perversion features this amazing, chewy tobacco that throws for hours, splashed with lots of wine, and some sweetness from the tonka. The original is much stronger and much sweeter on me. Curiously, I didn't get much rum, and I was missing the tonka in this one. While it was nice to be able to try this variant, I'm sticking with the original (and the pumpkin spice version, which is mostly just the original with a breath of pumpkin spice).
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I was trying to let someone else be the first review, but since it has been a few days and this review thread hasn't gotten any replies, here goes. The year was 2020. I had visited the Deutsches Spionagemuseum in December 2019 and thought it would be a good idea to try Mommy's Little MI6 Agent, which was a Winter Travelogue scent inspired by the Barrials' visit to that museum. Sadly, the perfume ended up being one of the biggest fails I've ever experienced. I thought that the fossilized amber was the primary note to blame. While Honeyed Pear Tart is not on the same level of awful on me as that scent was, it definitely made me flashback to the funk of that scent, and now I know for sure that pear and I are enemies. The pear note starts off as squishy, but with a fake candy vibe that somehow makes me think of banana for a bit, as if there's some stealth banana mixed in with the pear. Then it just goes all kinds of awful from there. Like the pear just got squishier and had that pear-from-a-can-of-fruit-cocktail-vibes, but rotting, and slightly honeyed. What did I do to deserve this fate? Maybe it's because I don't really even like pears unless they're used in like, a fancy brie grilled cheese or something. Perhaps this is their revenge. Maybe someone who enjoys pears won't have this pear-centric scent revolt against them.
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Deep Fried Blueberry Cheesecake
doomsday_disco replied to Jenjin's topic in Gifts with Donation or Purchase
I wish I had more than one imp of this! It is an amazing, creamy blueberry scent, and I can actually smell the graham cracker crust here (sometimes I don't get any actual crust from pie scents, to my dismay). It does not have a strong deep-fried component to it, IMO, and is nothing like the funnel cake scents or Deep Fried Gingerbread (which I think shared the same fried component as the Please Scream Inside scents). It's also the most cheesecake-y scent that I've come across from the Lab, and the blueberry pairs perfectly with it. I really enjoy the graham cracker crust, too. I'll be on the lookout for more imps. 👀 -
Vintage Frankenstein Blow Mold goes on as mint chocolate chip on me, stronger on the mint than the chocolate. The mint is creamy, like the mint component of mint chocolate chip ice cream, and unlike other reviewers, I don't think this chocolate is a dark variety. Over time, the chocolate gains strength, and the plastic joins in, so that it kind of smells like a cheap milk chocolate, with the mint fading over time. But maybe it's the milky plastic giving it a cheap milk chocolate vibe to my nose. If you've tried Moonalisa's Snuggler, which is supposed to smell like dark hot chocolate infused with peppermint schnapps, but smells like peppermint schnapps splashed onto a Hershey's bar, just know that I dislike that scent, but think that the chocolate in this one, even though it doesn't smell like quality chocolate, is still better than the chocolate in that. For some reason, I didn't get much amber from this on my skin either time I tested it. I enjoy the creamy mint chocolate chip ice cream from the wet phase of this scent and think that this blow mold scent is pretty enjoyable overall, but I'm waiting to deathmatch it with Grasshopper Pie from the Yules to see which mint chocolate appeals to me more.
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I got a decant of this, and the cacao in the oil separates, so this oil needs lots of rolling before being applied. I get cacao mixed with lots of green mandarin, amber, and musk during the wet phase of the scent. Over time, the mandarin calms down, the cacao becomes pretty faint, and the musk gains strength, so that it is mostly a musky amber on me, with hints of the mandarin and cacao that remain. I can't pick out the coconut husk in this, and I've tried it twice, a few weeks apart. This is another cat scent that is sadly too musky for me, but it was fun to get to try it.
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The first time I tried it, it was much stronger on the milk, so milky lavender with a smattering of soil, and then the powdery bone dust note that rises up and ends up dominating the scent. The second time I tried it, I got more dirt with the lavender, and less milk, but the milk was still there, and it's still not a lot of dirt. (Don't go into this expecting Zombi levels of dirt.) Yet again, the bone dust, which I think is a dry, white sandalwood, with maybe a bit of a white floral note, kind of made this somewhat baby powder-y on me. I enjoy the wet phase of this scent, but whatever is comprising the bone dust just doesn't jive with me. I think I'll stick with Are You Digging on My Grave, another milky scent with a bit of soil, that I think is more comforting.
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The first time I tried this, I thought I was smelling a light, plastic-infused candy corn that smelled somewhat like buttercream, backed by a lemony amber. The second time I tried this, I got lightly burning plastic swirled with candy corn that smells somewhat like buttercream. I am not getting that wonderful lemony aspect that I got from this scent when I first tried it, so I'm not sure if that were a fluke, or it just happened to be replaced with lightly burning plastic this time. So I can't definitely say 'this is ___ amber note,' but I can at least say it's not the same as Vintage Witch Blow Mold, which features a strong white amber. Despite me describing this as lightly burned buttercream-infused plastic, it's actually more pleasant than my description makes it sound. Of the blow mold scents that I've tried (all of the Halloween ones and just one of the Yule ones thus far), I'd say that this and the Dracula blow mold are the strongest on the plastic, yet the plastic isn't off-putting in either of them. I'm going to spend more time with this one and try to pay more attention to the amber. But at the moment, I feel like the scent doesn't have enough throw on me to warrant needing a bottle.
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This mostly smells like lime and cherry candy. To me, it's stronger on the lime, but my partner got more cherry when smelling it on me once it was dry. That said, it does have a stronger cherry note than Vintage Dracula Blow Mold, and I think this is better than Griotte, Lime, and White Musk from the last Lupercalia update, because it is sweeter, and the cherry lasts longer. If you liked the lime candy in Go Slow, you will probably enjoy this as well. I only get a little bit of marshmallow after the scent has been dry for a few hours, but I love cherry and lime, so I'm not mad. I'm also pleased to report that this is nothing like Fairy Lobster Foam, which had some unexpected funky dairy. I feared this would be that plus lime candy, but fortunately, it's not! I'll probably end up upgrading this to a bottle before the Weenies go down. Both my partner and I would wear it, and I could see it being very nice to slather during the summer months.
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I like this a lot more than I thought I would. I'm not typically big on berry scents, but the blackberry in this has a pleasant tartness to it, as well as a sweetness that does not verge on candy-like, and isn't overly juicy. The tea note has a tannic, yet herbal quality to it, but fortunately, does not have anything reminiscent of anise about it (which I sometimes I get from some of the Lab's scents containing a black tea note). I'm not sure exactly what that is behind the blackberry note, but I do think it pairs perfectly with it, and that it is what makes the scent alluring. I'm going to have to spend more time with this and see if I need more than my decant before this goes away, but the decant is a keeper for sure!
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I think I enjoyed this more the first time I tried it, soon after the decant had arrived, a few weeks ago. Then, it was more fruity-foodie. Now, I'm getting more of the rosewater than I did after a few weeks of this getting to settle. Full disclosure: I have no idea what gooseberry smells like. But I do get lots of red currant and rosewater from this, topped with icing, and just a hint of the gingerbread crumble. There isn't much spice to this, and it doesn't really smell like cake to me, as there's not enough crumb here for that, so the icing (I do feel it is more like a drizzle of icing than just a dusting of powdered sugar) is the foodiest element to me about this. The rosewater is not nearly as strong as the currant and does not overpower the scent on my skin, but it does read as more fruity-floral than fruity-gourmand to me. I like this, but I don't think I need a bottle of it. I wanted more gingerbread, and more cake! Maybe it's just me amping currant, though, because it seems other reviewers got more gingerbread from this.
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This is mostly about the vodka on me, which isn't really boozy, and has some fizziness to it. It's infused with a bit of cranberry, but the pumpkin spice is not particularly noticeable on me (I've tried it twice to see if I'd get more of it after a few weeks of settling). It adds a warmth to the scent, but fortunately, does not smell like a spice rack was poured into the booze. So this isn't nearly as weird as it sounds, but it's also not something I could see myself wearing. The decant may still be a keeper, though, as my partner really likes cranberry notes and enjoyed the fizziness of the vodka in this.
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Pumpkin Gas Can goes on as a blast of petrol, backed by a sweet, syrup-y pumpkin note that is not heavily spiced. The pumpkin becomes more prominent over time, until eventually, it dominates the scents after a few hours of wear. I actually enjoyed the petrol note in this, but I'm not really a fan of the syrupy sweet pumpkin that was paired with it. But at least it didn't smell scorched?
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Tomie is a cousin to Ava. Who knew? Seriously, I'm getting strong Ava vibes from this, although this features different floral notes, Ava is brighter with its mandarin, and the only notes they have in common are vanilla and almond. Tomie has the same perfume-y, mainstream quality to it. I'd also compare it to Lady Death, Savage, but I think the jasmine in this is smoother than the jasmine is in that one. The rose is not a main player here; I agree that this is just rose-tinted, and the jasmine in this is not an indolic variety. But overall, it is pretty hard to parse out the notes. I wasn't expecting something with a horror-theme to be so accessible! While I don't feel the need to upgrade to a bottle, because I already have plenty of Ava and prefer that scent, I will absolutely be telling my mom about this, because she has bought and gone through so many bottles of Ava, it's ridiculous. I'm sure she would love this.
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This is strongest on the sugared incense on me. It's backed by a bit of leather at first, but it's definitely not double the leather of Snooty Bat, whose leather was way too intense on me. No, this leather is actually much softer. While the sugared incense remains the dominant aspect of this scent throughout wear, I get more musk along with it than leather by the end of the day. There's a phase where the musk and the incense threaten to veer into soap territory, but fortunately, it never goes completely there. I enjoy this more than Snooty Bat, but I'm basic and would prefer just the sugared incense without any of the leather or the musk, so no bottle for me. 😅
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This one is really unique! It goes on with the foodie notes taking the lead; I get lots of the apple pulp, which has a Lambs-Wool-esque apple vibe, paired with the cornmeal, which is oddly alluring! And I think the honey stout might be contributing to those Lambs-Wool vibes as well. There is only a little bit of soil, so I wouldn't let that put you off trying this one. Over time, it gets less foodie and veers more into cologne territory: I still get the cornmeal, but you can tell it is part of a fougere, and I also get the patchouli, clove, and the hay with it, along with that tiny bit of soil. I enjoy it less during this phase, but that's mostly because I was enjoying the apple and cornmeal combo so much. I'm not sure I need a bottle of this, but the decant is a keeper because this is so unique! I really hope Beth uses that cornmeal note again in the future.
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Lavender Lemon Bar goes on as a blast of lavender, backed by some tart lemon. It stays that way for the first few hours of wear, before the lemon gets sweeter, as if this lavender lemon bar were dusted with powdered sugar. On me, the lavender dominates throughout wear, although the lemon does gain strength over time. I have now tried five of the Lavender Kitchen scents (Lavender Brownie, Lavender Coconut Cream Pie, Lavender Earl Grey Cookies, Lavender Honey Cake, and now this one), and I believe they all feature the same, dreamy, almost floofy lavender. (I also have two decants of the other two lavender scents in this collection on their way to me, so I'll be reviewing the whole collection.) Right now, I'm wearing Boozy Lemon Bars, and I would say that overall, the lemon in Boozy Lemon Bars is sweeter than the lemon in Lavender Lemon Bar. And the lavender in Lavender Lemon Bar really makes it different than that scent, so yes, you can justify owning both lemon bar scents. If you're wondering how Lavender Lemon Bar compares to Happy Baby in a Long Dress, I'd say that you'd probably be happy with this one if you enjoyed that one, but the lavender in this is stronger, and the lemon part of this lemon bar definitely has that lemon curd-like quality that makes it quite different from Happy Baby in a Long Dress' lemon sugar. I'm happy to have a bottle of this one and can see myself reaching for it a lot during the summer months.
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This starts off with a dreamy lavender and then morphs more into a creamy coconut scent with just a hint of lavender over time. It is not the same lavender as Daybreak, and it is more coconut-heavy than that one, but if you're a fan of the lavender Lilith scents, and you enjoy coconut, you will be happy with this one. I could totally see this being a Lilith and pooch scent, like what I had thought True Love would be from the description, before Beth disclosed it also contained jasmine (to differentiate it from Daybreak). Even though this ends up being coconut-heavy on me, it never ends up being super foodie, and I don't smell any pie crust whatsoever. So if you're hoping for PIE, you might be disappointed. But I enjoy this, despite not being a coconut lover, and will probably end up grabbing a bottle before it goes away to use as a bedtime scent, just for that initial, dreamy, floofy lavender and coconut cream cloud.
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This features a jammy red rose, coated in sugar, and backed by a tiny amount of oatmeal, which becomes more noticeable later on in wear, but never overtakes the other notes. The rose is sweetest during the wet phase and becomes less sugary over time on me. Oatmeal is not a note that is ever a main player on me in perfumes (with the exception of Halfling), but I like the hint of it I get in this one. I have a lot of rose scents, and I'm not sure I need a whole bottle of this one, but I do think it is nice, and I'd recommend it to those looking for a sugary rose scent more than someone looking for a scent with a focus on oatmeal.
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I usually don't wear a scent as a scent of the day without testing it for at least four hours before showering that day. But today, I decided I was slathering this on before work, consequences be damned. Fortunately, this did not go wonky on me, because I can still smell the results of that slather seven hours later. I even put some of the new Dorian on one hand and this on the other to compare the two while working in the office... but right after I did that, something fell out of a cabinet, and I promptly forgot which one was which. I don't get much pastry from this. If anything, it is a possibly more sugary and lemony version of the new Dorian (I agree with Little Bird that the reformulated Dorian doesn't smell like the OG)? I smell a sugary musky lemoniness swirled with vanilla. I'm not that surprised by the pastry being MIA on me since that has happened to me with a lot of the sufs. The lemony tea, vanilla, and sugar give it a lemon glaze type of feel, but of course, it is not strictly gourmand due to the musk. I'm keeping this for sure, but I'm curious if I'll get any more pastry from this as it ages.
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On me, this is mostly about the spruce throughout wear, although it is strongest during the first few hours of wear, before the amber and plastic notes join it, but then are beaten back by a frost note, which ends up being the dominant note by the end of the day, overlaying the spruce. I think the amber in this may be a sparkling variety, and the plastic, while present, is not as strong as the plastic in Vintage Dracula Blow Mold. The frosted part of the blue spruce seems to be something like the snow note from NYC/Snow Bunny/Marshmallow Snow, which is to say that it is a sugared, sparkling, evergreen-infused snow, that's chilly, but not minty, yet it's different because the evergreen component is already a part of the scent. This does go through a phase when the amber and plastic try to gain strength and battle with the spruce, which makes it veer into a somewhat sour evergreen scent on me, but fortunately, the spruce wins out, and the frost smooths things over so that it's pleasant again. Although I'm not very fond of that wonky phase of the scent, I really enjoy the spruce in this, so I'll keep it around for a while and see how it ages. I agree with HerbGirl that this would be even better as an atmosphere spray.
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This is a very sweet lollipop, made dirty with incense and some petrichor. I get more incense with it during the first few hours of wear, and I do believe it is a classic nag champa-esque incense. After about 2.5 hours, it becomes less about the candy and incense and more about the petrichor, which in this case smells like the Lab's rain note (and there's no aquatic salt here) mixed with a little bit of candy. At this point, it is very faint and stays close to the skin, though. I am not getting a dirt note from the petrichor. I'm going to have to retest this in a few weeks and see how I feel about it. I'm kind of sad that it became really faint by the time the petrichor played more of a role on me. But I do enjoy it more than last year's Pink and Blue Candy Canes.
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This is more lavender on me than brownie, but the brownie is there throughout wear, just never overtaking the lavender on my skin. The brownie does smell brownie-like instead of like cocoa powder (which can happen with some chocolate scents), and it is strongest during the wet phase of the scent. The lavender keeps this from smelling strictly foodie, but as someone who enjoys lavender baked goods, I don't know why I've never thought to make lavender brownies? Now I'm going to have to make them sometime. (Not any time soon, though... I just got done making 16 different cookies/treats during the week of Christmas and I'm sick of baking now. ) During the late drydown of the scent, several hours later, I smell something that's not lavender or brownie. It reminded me of a slightly tannic iced tea note, actually. I don't know where that is coming from. I'll have to slather it next time I wear it and see if it happens again. I'm happy to have this and may have to grab a back-up bottle before it goes away. This could be a day or nighttime lavender, but I can see myself slathering it before bedtime.
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Take Carry Me from several Lilith updates ago (Vanilla cookies and a splash of lavender fougere) and swirl it with Earl Grey, and you have Lavender Earl Grey Cookies. I get the vanilla cookies strewn with lavender buds and some really wonderful smelling Earl Grey that doesn't end up being too perfume-y (like it was on me in Dad! Let Me Do Your Makeup!) or too bergamot-heavy on me (like it is in Gingerbread London Fog). The cookies themselves are the type that have a vanilla frosting, but it doesn't smell like buttercream, so it doesn't smell like a lavender and Earl Grey version of a Lofthouse cookie, but it also doesn't smell like the cookie was just rolled in sugar. I made the Earl Grey Cookie recipe from NYT Cooking while testing this perfume, which actually contains ground up Earl Grey tea leaves infused into the butter, and it smelled so amazing. Then I rolled the balls of dough in lavender sugar and thought that smelled amazing. But the end result was not a cookie that smelled like this scent. It didn't end up tasting like lavender or Earl Grey, because the Earl Grey's bergamot and the orange zest in the dough made the cookies taste like Fruit Loops. But I like Fruit Loops, so I'm not mad. I applied this at 1 PM on Saturday and could still smell it by 1 AM, but by then it was lavender vanilla floof with no more Earl Grey. If you're looking for something similar to Carry Me, or you can't resist a lavender vanilla scent like me, you won't be disappointed. This one is back-up worthy.