doomsday_disco

I'm generally not a fan of berry-forward scents, but I decided to swap for this one just to try it and because of the green tea. This is blackberry wine dominant on me, which is backed by the red patchouli throughout wear. The patchouli isn't strong, but I still wish I were getting less of it. I'm not able to pick out the green tea, sadly. The fig is present, but it isn't nearly as strong as the blackberry wine on me. The amber and musk peek out later in the day, but they are not as strong as the blackberry wine or patch on me. While this isn't for me, anyone who loves blackberry and patch should check this out.

I've tried this several times, but I've neglected to review it each time. Time to change that. This decant of Shadow Self has deepened over the past few months, but it still is more of a bright scent than a shadowy one on me. The clary sage, green tea, and airy, non-bubblegum-y lotus are all main players on me. I get a whiff of lavender in the beginning, but I don't get the smoked aspect from it, and it quickly gets buried under the above notes on me. The frankincense has gotten more prominent as this has aged, and it is a really smooth variety. The myrrh in this is really smooth as well. I'm not able to pick out the opoponax, which usually reads as cola-like to me, and I'm not familiar enough with the balsam and herbal notes to be able to pick those out. I don't usually gravitate towards a lot of the Haute Macabre scents (Mummies of Mexico City and Esbat are my favorites), but I think this one is nice. That said, I know I won't reach for it over Venus Caelestis, which shares some similar notes (Blue lotus absolute, grey amber, white myrrh, frankincense, and sugared lemon peel), so I'm going to pass my decant on to someone who has been wanting to try this.

This starts off strongest on the berry slushie and blue lollipops on me. The blue lollipop note does remind me of Blue Lollipops from 2013, although it has been a long time since I've tried that one since I frimped my decant away long ago. The bubblegum in this peeks out more over time, but never becomes in-your-face bubblegum on me. But the berry slushie note dominates. It is somewhat tart and there's a frozen aspect to it. Since the bubblegum in this is pretty tame, I think I would have enjoyed this if it were a different, sweeter slushy note. So I don't think I'd reach for this one, but I am glad I got to try this Lilith scent!

I get a blast of lime and sour candy powder in the beginning, followed by the plum. The plum makes it smell somewhat medicinal and unpleasant on me. Over time, the plum calms down a lot and becomes more natural, so that it is mostly lime and sour candy powder with a little plum in the background that's more like the skin of a plum. The mint in this is very light on me, but that could be because there is only a tiny amount left in this bottle and the mint may have aged out. The plum makes this a no-go for me, but it was fun to get to try this.

Jack in the Green starts off with a ton of ivy and green musk on me, but it quickly becomes a green musk party. It's the same green musk used in scents like 51, Pollution, The Laughter of Loki, and Venus Murcia, so if that note is your jam, you should enjoy this one. Over time, the moss gains strength and overtakes the green musk in order to become the dominant note, leaving behind a green musk-infused moss by the end of the day. I was really hoping for some more tree from this, but if you're a fan of green musk and moss, this should be up your alley.

This starts off with lots of greenery (like the stems and leaves of the flowers) accompanied by a dry cake, lightly dusted with cardamom. I'm somewhat reminded of Queen of May from last year's Hexennacht scents, but this is much greener and without the floral sweetness at first. After a while, it really blooms and morphs from greenery and cake to a bouquet of lilies on top of a floral musk (which I think may contain some freesia -- there's a strong perfume-y quality to it) with some greenery and hints of cardamom. I think I am getting less cake than other reviewers once this veers out of the wet stage (come back, cake, and hang out with the lilies!). I really enjoy the lily note in this and will be keeping my decant, but I don't think this is something I need to hunt down more of (thankfully!).

This one starts off as a slightly smoky, musky scent that morphs into a more woody musk scent with wear. I think I'm getting a bit of pine in this, and maybe some oak and cedar? I'm getting some Yule Cat vibes, although this one is less wintery. I don't think this is a scent I would reach for, but I'm glad I was able to try it!

I've had this imp for years as part of collecting all of the Mad Tea Party scents in some amount, but I only just got around to trying it. The Unicorn is a pretty, clean white floral scent brushed with herbs. I can't isolate which floral notes I'm smelling along with the linden blossom (which I recognize from Boober), but none are indolic. I am also not able to decipher which herbs are cozying up to the florals (helpful, I know). It reminds me of a dainty white summer dress getting ruffled by a gentle summer breeze. It's not something I need to hunt down more of (phew!), but the imp is a keeper (well, it would be anyways just for Mad Tea Party collection purposes ).

Hyacinth, beeswax, wild roses, vanilla amber, lily of the valley, tiger lily, honeysuckle, carnation, and heliotrope.  I've tried this a few times, and each time, I've forgotten to review it! This is very floral, with the sweeter notes not really manifesting on me. The lily is the strongest to my nose at first, along with a little honeysuckle, and perhaps the hyacinth, but I'm not super familiar with that note. But the rose emerges more with wear and is the funky type that smells a little soup-like with my skin chemistry. I'm not sure if it's acting alone or if another note is contributing to that, though. The carnation also gains strength with wear but it's not as strong as it is usually is on me and is very lightly spiced. I get a touch of the amber and beeswax by the end of the day, but they are buried beneath the funk of the rose. I really wish my skin chemistry had done this one justice, as I love the poem! Alas.

This starts off kind of similar to Nothing Gold Can Stay on me. Which is to say... green, unripe banana? It must be the grass note combining with something else. Maybe the rum? I also get a lot of the black pepper with it. Over time, a soft sandalwood emerges and becomes one of the main players, and the spices gain strength with wear as well, so that it's a grass, rum, and spice-tinged (more clove and pepper than cardamom) musky sandalwood by the end of the day. I think this smells pleasant, but ultimately, isn't something for which I would reach.

Curiouser and curiouser. Milk and honey with rose, carnation and bergamot. I'm a huge fan of the Mad Tea Party collection. It was inspired by my favorite book, and I have more wins from that line than any other category of the general catalog. I'm also a huge fan of sugary floral scents. That said, I did not vote for Alice hair gloss in the Lunacy Poll, but only because it was up against TKO, which I love even more. So I was delighted when the goblins decided to make Alice hair gloss a thing as well. In the bottle, it is the spicy, creamy floral that I know and love. Once applied to the hair, it differs from the perfume oil in that there is a brief blast of rose before I get CARNATION LIKE WHOA. This is some seriously spicy carnation. I wonder if there is some cinnamon in that note that contributes to the spiciness, because when I applied it to my wet hair on Sunday, it felt really spicy and hot (especially when I would rest my head against my hand), and when I applied it to my dry hair on Monday and held my hair up to my nose, my lips burned a little when they encountered my hair. I find it interesting that the carnation note is so strong in hair gloss form. I guess I thought I would get less carnation in my hair than on my skin (since my skin has turned some scents featuring that note into what might as well be a carnation single note), but that wasn't the case. After several hours, the milk and honey note started to emerge more. The carnation has softened, allowing the rose to peek out once again, but it is still quite prominent. I prefer this stage of the scent, and it is so lovely to get a waft of that milk and honey note paired with the spicy carnation when walking in the wind. I plan on pairing this hair gloss with Alice, Alice in the Pumpkin Patch, and Queen Alice. But since I don't really wear two of those scents until autumn rolls around, and I already own a ridiculous amount of hair gloss, I think one bottle of this will suffice.

I am sure I tried the original, but never wrote a review? Or am I just imagining that I tried the original? Anyway, I swapped for this just because I hadn't tried it, even though violet, orris, and iris are historically bad on me. This starts off strong on the crisp, green, watery lettuce note, and then the iris joins in after a bit and is high-pitched and perfume-y on me, per usual. I think the violet leaf may also be adding some astringency to this on me. After a while, there's some powderiness from the dry, white sandalwood and orris swirling together, and I also get the moss. I'm not getting much of the sweet notes, sadly, although I'm sure they're helping to make this a little less sharp than it would be otherwise. I keep thinking the original was stronger on the white chocolate, but perhaps I'm confusing that with Lady Amalthea, which I definitely did try. This one isn't for me, since I was hoping for more of the white chocolate with these florals, but it was nice to get to try it.

A Gingerbread Dog starts off strong on the gingerbread (a non-cake-y variety) and clove on me, with some syrupy sweetness from the pecan. As it sits on the skin, the nutty sweetness from the pecan and the clove gain strength, so that it's like extra-clove-y gingerbread spices with some saffron and that super sweet pecan that just gets stronger with wear, like I slathered some pecan pie filling on top of this gingerbread. I agree that the sweetness verges on toffee-like. Strangely enough, I'm not picking up on the coconut in this one, although I wouldn't be surprised if it were boosting the pecan's syrupy sweetness. If you're looking for a sweet, nutty gingerbread scent, give this one a try. Sadly, I think it may be too sweet for me.

This starts off really lovely with a strong herbal lavender and juniper swirling together. As the scent sits on the skin, the powdery orris emerges and cozies up to the lavender, and the resins gain strength over time so that it ends up being lavender and orris backed by resins (with the lavender being weaker than it was initially). I really enjoyed this one in the beginning, but the orris prevents this from being a love for me.

Cherry blossom dryer sheets. The dryer sheets are thanks to the incense. This is how it remains throughout most of the day, with just touches of plum and tuberose in the background. The cherry blossom dryer sheets aren't bad, but I prefer other cherry blossom scents to this one.

This is a really pretty honeyed pink rose scent. The honey note does read like a poof of honey, yet somehow it also reminds me of the inside of a Cadbury Crunchie bar. There's a bit of creaminess from the beeswax, but not much. Orris, which is usually a nemesis of mine, is well-behaved here, only adding a bit of powderiness to the scent after it has been on the skin for a while without ever overtaking the honey or the rose. I'm not familiar enough with marigold or larkspur notes to pick those out, so hopefully other reviewers can isolate those. I have a lot of sugary rose scents already, so I'm not sure I need a full bottle of this one (especially since I just grabbed a partial of The Best Lies a few days ago), but the decant is a keeper.

This is really pretty. The mallow flower is present throughout wear, backed by the orris, osmanthus, and sandalwood. Orris is usually a powder bomb on me, but even though it has a powdery aspect here, it is well-behaved and kept in check by the mallow flower. The sandalwood is a dry, dusty variety, and the incense is subtle. The peonies and cream end up peeking out after a while and become more prominent by the end of the day, and the cream swirls together with the mallow flower so that it's not super buttery. I haven't deathmatched them, but I'd say if you were a fan of the special Black Friday imp In Omnibus Caritas (honey and mallow flower, sugar cane, white sandalwood, orris, and vanilla bean), this will likely be up your alley as well. I'll probably deathmatch the two and have to give this a full day's wear on its own to see if I need more of this, but the decant is definitely a keeper.

This is You Are Not Alone minus lavender and plus hay. (I agree that it is also the same wool note from Cafe au Lait and a Wool Blanket.) The hay plays a bigger role in this than the lavender in You Are Not Alone, at least on my skin, but in the end, the cologne-y wool note (which I think has touches of tobacco and musk) ends up being the dominant note by the end of the day. (The hay is still around... just not as strong as it was initially.) I was wondering if this would be like Two Sheep and Two Goats with hay instead of vetiver, but alas. I'm glad I went for a decant of this one instead of a bottle, as I don't love the scents I compared it to (heresy, I know, in the case of You Are Not Alone) and prefer Hay Moon 2020 and this year's Vanilla Husk, Nutmeg, & Hay Absolute for my hay fix.

I get a blast of cypress that has a mentholic quality to it at first, followed by the mud, and then the patchouli. The mud in this doesn't make me think of a wet mud, but like a dry, crackly lake mud, which I think is pretty neat. The patchouli in this is a red patch, and it gains strength with wear, enough to become the most prominent note in the throw (although there is still plenty of cypress and mud up close). I wish I got a little less of the patch from this one, but now I'm keeping an eye out for more of this mud note. 👀

The apple is the star on me here, and after a few days of rest and testing it on the skin, I think it may be a green apple that has a tartness as well as a sweetness to it (but becomes tarter over time). It's touched by the greenery of the white clover and the berry-touched elderflower note, but I think I'm getting more elderflower than clover on my skin. This is an apple for the spring and summer months. I have a ridiculous amount of apple scents already, and don't think I need a bottle of this one, but if you're looking for a non-autumnal, floral-touched apple scent, this should be up your alley.

I went for a bottle of this one, and I'm glad I did. I've tried this twice now. Each time, this starts off strongest on the lighter sugars and honey, but it becomes darker and more caramelized and some of the darker sugars gain strength (the molasses in particular is noticeable after a while, but I agree it isn't as heavy as it can be) and the smoked cacao creeps out. The cacao is very lightly smoked and is not a main player on me. It just swirls between the sugars in the background, so I'd say it's more of a sugar scent than a cacao scent. By the end of the day, the sugar has a caramelized quality that makes me think of baked sugar crystals on a pastry. Even though they both contain a lot of sugar, this is really different from the 13 March 2020 (which is more of a lighter, lemony sort of sugar), so if you're a fan of sugary scents, it is worth trying both. I'm excited to see how this one ages and how it layers with scents that could do with a spot of sugar.

Both jasmine and oudh are iffy notes on me, so this was an easy pass for me when this collection was live, but a kind BPALer sent me some to try, and I'm pleasantly surprised! The jasmine and oudh in this are smooth. The jasmine smells summery, but isn't super heady or indolic on me, and the oudh is deep and resinous without the farm-y funk that I get from some other oudh notes. Neither dominate the blend throughout most of the scent's wear (although I do get more oudh by the end of the day), and both notes complement each other perfectly. If Beth uses this oudh again, I hope future blends denote it as such, because I'd like to see this Indonesian oudh pop up again! I'm really glad I got a chance to try this Winter Travelogue scent, and I'll be keeping my decant!

Elixir: VII Safari starts off as an herbal lavender scent with some patchouli in the background that ends up gaining strength and becoming the dominant note by the end of the day. I think there might be a little citrus with the lavender in the beginning, but it doesn't stick around on me. I enjoy the wet phase of this scent and find it to be relaxing, but the patchouli ends up being too much for me after a few hours, alas.

This one is a resinous blend. I definitely smell some golden amber, and what I think is a dark myrrh? There may be a hint of citrus or herbs in there as well, but mostly, this one is about the resins on me. It was fun to get to try this, but as a fan of sweetened resins (like Hesiod's Phoenix), I know I wouldn't reach for it over other amber scents in my collection.

I let this age for half a year to see if it would change, but it is more peach than sugared orange slices on me. The orange slices don't remind me of the sugared orange slices candy, but actual orange slices. Sadly, they're under a lot of peach, though. Once the orange becomes more noticeable, the scent is pretty light on me. I'll stick with Pink Peach, Grapefruit, Yuzu, and Pink Musk and Peach XII for my peach and citrus fix.