doomsday_disco

Honey Babka is very much about the honey, which is a floral, yet somewhat musky honey to my nose. I get some breadiness far in the background, but mostly, it's a honey party on my skin, and the honey in this doesn't really make me think of food. I've never had honey babka, so I can't compare this to the real thing, but I really wish I got more babka from this! This is definitely one for honey fans. ETA: I tried this months later and the scent is more bready now, although the honey, while not being super floral like before, went powdery on me. I could smell the sugar syrup note with age, though!

This starts off smelling like marzipan coated with dark chocolate on me and gets less chocolate-y over time. The almond paste loses some intensity as time goes on, too, and eventually, it settles into a very light almond scent with a bit of chocolate breadiness. I have never had any kind of babka (heresy, I know! I need to rectify this), so I can't compare this to the real thing. I do think it is nice, but I wish it were stronger on me.

At first, I get some patchouli, green apple, and blackcurrant, swirled with cacao. Then the pink pepper adds a kick to the scent, and the lemon brightens it up a little. I thought this might morph a lot with so many different ingredients, but the patchouli quickly makes its way to the center stage and doesn't really let the other notes have a chance to shine. It settles into a black patchouli accompanied by some blackcurrant and apple on me, and the faintest whiff of cacao. I wish the patchouli in this weren't so strong on me. I would have really loved to be able to smell that matcha!

The red jelly and sugary white ooze remind me of the inside of a cherry cordial, only, it's not just cherry here. I feel like there's a (plastic-y, on me -- it smells delicious in the vial) strawberry in the jelly and that the jelly is a mix of red fruits. I'm not getting the brown sugar or caramel vibes that some other reviewers have mentioned, nor do I get doughnuts. The cordial-y plastic is just too much for me, but I'm glad I got a chance to try this one.

In the decant, I smell fresh ginger, moss, cypress, and a bit of mud. On my skin, the ginger is still the dominant note to my nose. Maybe it's part of the swamp creature hooch, or perhaps the tupelo (no idea what that is). The moss is the strongest note behind it. It stays this way for a while, until the moss becomes the dominant note (as it is wont to do on me), with touches of cypress, a very tame jasmine, a much lighter ginger, and a faint hint of mud. I really enjoyed the wet phase of this when it was heavy on the ginger and wish the ginger had remained as strong as it was initially! I do think this is a nice, well-behaved, swampy, floral-tinged aquatic scent, but the decant will be enough.

Strawberry and amber are the first notes that leap out at me, then the hay and lavender join in, and after that, the spicy carnation. The amber is going somewhat powdery on me here with the hay. Then it goes into this odd phase where it smells a little burnt on me, and maybe that's what my skin is doing with the strawberry candyfloss combining with another note? Or my skin not liking the strawberry? But that odd phase goes away, and it settles down into a powdery amber and hay tinged with a bit of spicy carnation and strawberry. This scent ended up being too powdery on me, but it was nice to get to try it.

This is a nice, tame, slightly salty aquatic with a lovely, pale amber and perhaps a touch of greenery and the barest hint of fruit? It is indeed gentle, and the amber with the aquatic notes really do give the impression of fog. I don't usually have great luck with aquatics, but this is nice. I don't think it's something I need more of, but I'll hang onto the decant!

This arrived on Thursday, and I tested it today. Green cognac and opium tar are the strongest notes on wet, backed by the tobacco and patchouli. The green cognac in this is so lovely -- I believe it is the same one from my beloved Summer Lace (which is my favorite Lace). The bright cognac and sweet opium tar make the scent sweeter than expected, but I am here for it! Over time, the tobacco, patchouli, and resins gain strength, while the cognac calms down, making it a lightly smoky resinous tobacco and patch scent smeared with sweet opium tar. The smoked part of the smoked amber is not acrid, but the amber note itself is one of the more dry, perfume-y varieties. And tobacco here does have a little spice to it. I really love the blast of green cognac and opium tar in the beginning. I think the final morph is pleasant, too, but I don't love it as much as when it was initially applied. This may be a candidate for a scent locket.

This arrived on Thursday, but I tested it today. In the bottle, I get sugar and champaca. On me, the champaca in the bottle I was getting somehow quickly gave way to the coconut husk. It's not bubblegum on me, but it is kind of plastic-y and wonky at first. Then the champaca and sugar gain strength and beat the coconut husk back. The champaca here is more incense-y than floral to my nose and is reminding me of a lighter version of the champaca in Orgy With Nine Women. And the sugar here is not reading as super lemony to my nose, for those who are afraid of this going that route. It ends up being a light sugared champaca on me. It does not have the billow-y vanilla that some Lace scents have since the Lab's bourbon vanilla is a sheer vanilla, not a floofy one. I get some tobacco beneath the sugar and champaca, but it is also pretty light on me compared to several other scents I have with that note. I only get the cognac if I have my nose right up to my wrist. I'm going to set this aside for a month to see what it settles into and retest it again. I like the sugar, but I wish this scent had more oomph. It's surprisingly light on me for a Lace. If the wet stage with the initial coconut stays the same, though, it won't be a keeper. (Side note that I wish I didn't have to say, but will, with the frenzy over Laces lately: I have already promised this to someone if this doesn't end up settling into something I love within a month.)

On me, the pink carnation is the star of the show throughout wear, backed by some candlesmoke (slightly tinged with beeswax, but more smoke than beeswax, and the smoke here is not acrid in the slightest), and peony, with just a little bit of rose and sandalwood. But if I did not know to go looking for them, I wouldn't even notice that rose and sandalwood were in this scent! I think this may share the same pink carnation found in High-Strung Daisies, but here, it's accompanied by notes that make this a far more grown-up blend. This is NOT a beeswax scent for those who saw candlesmoke and thought it might veer into beeswaxy floral territory. It is very much a floral scent with far more pink carnation than anything else! This is very pretty, and definitely one for fans of pink carnation! I really like this and will be keeping my decant to pair with High-Strung Daisies HG.

This one is so neat! It starts off as a jammy red and pink rose, reminding me somewhat of Love from The Pickman Gallery: A Tremulous Song collection back in 2013. The rose is backed by the peony and just a bit of amber and sandalwood, and there's some sweetness that is either from the fleur de lait or the broom absolute. Over time, the fleur de lait gains strength and makes me smell like a cream cheese danish topped with caramelized sugar, and I am here for it! It's like having a tea party in a garden where the cream cheese danish manages to be stronger than the rose, peony, and incense wafting about. I could see the fleur de lait being a too funky on some people -- sometimes, I think it may be a little too cheesy, but most times, I enjoy my cream cheese danish fate. Imose-Yama wasn't initially on my radar, but I'm glad that reviews convinced me to get a leftover decant, because this one is a win!

This is a very musky red rose on me with tons of throw. The black pepper is there when I sniff up close, but the throw is black musk and a smooth red rose with velvety rose petals that could probably last for days. (It's even stronger than Stainless Steel Dildo, which I have on the other arm and has strong throw itself.) The throw on this one may actually be too much for me, as I'm not typically a fan of black musk and it is really strong here and adding even more strength to the rose, but it was nice to get to try it. I'd recommend this one to someone who wants a very bold rose scent.

I wasn't originally going to try this one, but I heard this wasn't a traditional metallic scent, so my interested was piqued. And it is different than the Lab's other metallic scents! In the decant, I get strong, sparkling aldehyde and some eucalyptus as well as some kind of floral note and some musk. It actually smells promising in the decant! On me, it's all powdery floral musk with a little fizzy, slightly citrusy aldehyde and some metallic sharpness in the background, but the sharpness is really smoothed over by the musk. I wish it weren't so powdery on me. I don't know why my skin chemistry had to run away with the floral note and the musk, but it did. And the throw is huge. It was nice to be able to try this, but I'll stick with Spurious Cooter Bees for a fizzy scent.

This is my first experience with a broomcorn note, but I have to say, I'm really enjoying it! The lilac and sweet broomcorn are the most prominent notes on me at first, followed by the beeswax. The beeswax increases in strength over time, as does the broomcorn, and it ends up settling into this gorgeous, sweet, creamy beeswax and broomcorn swirled with lilac, which with the other notes, has an almost honeysuckle-like sweetness to it. Before trying this, I was thinking the bone note might be a dry sandalwood, as that has been used to represent bone notes before, but I'm not getting any of that in this scent. I wonder if it might be a mineralic vanilla? Because I keep thinking I smell some vanilla mingling with the beeswax. Here I was hoping to dodge wanting another beeswax scent from the Lab. Well, I have failed, because this is the best lilac scent I have ever smelled since there's the perfect amount of sweetness here to smooth it over. I think I need a bottle.

This is a very nice, cool apple blend. The apples really are bittersweet and the ice in this doesn't read as minty, but there might be a touch of light mint infused in a pretty tame ozone and/or musk. I've tried Snow Glass Apples, Snow Glass Apples v4, Snow Moon 2019, and Morana, and of those, I agree that this is more in the vein of Snow Moon 2019, although that one is far more citrusy with its yuzu and white tea. But I think this is different enough from all of those to give it a try if snowy apple scents are your jam. I'm not going to leap for a bottle yet, because I have so many apple scents already, but this is really lovely. I'll be slathering it on during the summer months and may end up upgrading to a bottle once my decant is running low.

This is strongest on the rain-covered mosses on me (possibly because I have a tendency to amp moss notes), but the supporting players change a lot in this one. At first, it's rain-covered moss and pine with a bit of jasmine. Then the pine is quick to disappear, and the jasmine becomes more noticeable, without being heady. Then the mint joins the fray, but these are soft mints and are more like a some mint leaves in a tea than some bracing mint. Then the chestnut appears, and it adds a lovely nutty warmth to the scent in contrast with the rained on moss and subtle mint. Finally, the sweet labdanum joins the party, adding a slight cola-like sweetness to the scent that doesn't end up dominating the scent on me like it usually does (huzzah!). I never was able to detect any cardamom or matcha in this, and aside from the pine, the other notes haven't disappeared -- they've just shifted around from time to time, allowing each one to have their time to shine. By the end of the day, I get the sweet cola-like labdanum and warm chestnut over a bed of rained on moss with some soft jasmine and the tiniest bit of mint. This one is a morpher! I really enjoyed the scent experience, but I think just the decant will be enough.

Oh, this one is so pretty! I get the silvered sage most prominently on my skin, backed by the ambergris. I'm glad the ambergris is there from the beginning, as it usually takes a few hours to show up on me in most scents. The 'silvered' part of the sage does not read as metallic to me. I think it's a silvery musk. And the sage is a green sage, and I think it may be one of the sages found in Eve With Sage F*** Up (probably the Dalmatian sage?). There's a phase where I thought I was getting a bit of vanilla in the musk, but it did not stick around. The white cognac becomes more noticeable a few hours in and adds a wistful vibe to the scent, while the slightly citrusy and pine-y elemi brightens up the scent a bit. I have a half-bottle of this from a decant circle that I got to prevent it from getting cut, and I'm really happy to have it!

This is all kinds of wrong on me. Even in the vial, I just smell cumin... cumin and orange or citrus. I don't know if the secret cumin is what's supposed to be the cardamom or if it is the bronze part of the bronze musk. I think the metallic part of the scent is contributing the citrus aspect I'm getting with it. I stuck through this for four and a half hours and yep, just cumin and sharp citrus-tinged metal, with some powdery oakmoss behind those notes, but no patch, amber, or tonka on me, sadly.

I got a decant of this one, despite it having several iffy notes, just to fill the last slot in a decant circle and see how it would go. It sounded like it would be too heavy and musky for me, but actually, I'm pleasantly surprised! It goes on as musky cardamom sugar and jasmine -- a tame, non-indolic jasmine that's smoothed over by the vanilla -- and stays that way for a while. Then I get a cinnamon-vibe from it after a few hours, and am not sure if there's some secret cinnamon in this, or if that's just what the cardamom (which WAS definitely cardamom on application) settled into, but it's not cinnabomb on me by any means. (On that note, it's also not a red musk bomb. Red musk usually declares dominion over all when it hits my skin, and that's not happening here.) The vetiver emerges after a few hours and is a grassy type as opposed to a smoky one (for those who also avoid the smoky type!). It ends up being a spice-infused musk with grassy vetiver, that smooth jasmine and vanilla, and a light, chewy patch after four hours. I'm getting something reminding me of Snake Oil here, and it's probably the musk, spices, and patch that are bringing it to mind, even though it does not smell like Snake Oil. But I'd put it as a floral cousin in that family. I am going to keep this decant and see how it ages. I really liked this before the vetiver became a main player, but I still think it is really nice and am surprised it's working so well on me.

At first, this is all about the apricot. Then the white tea and clary sage emerge, and some tobacco joins in after a while. It stays like this for a long time, until the coconut milk shows up several hours later. It is not super coconut-y (unlike the coconut cream in White Chocolate, Pink Carnation, Coconut Cream, and Clove!) or tropical on me. The apricot remains the dominant note throughout wear, but it's not as strong as it was during the first few hours, and the supporting notes are stronger than before. The white tea in this is pretty tame and not the powerhouse it can be in some other scents, but I think it's probably preventing this from reading as creamier with its cream and coconut milk notes. I think this is nice, but I don't think I need more of it when its so apricot-centric on me, and I already have Aristocratic Couple and March Hare for my apricot fix. I'll probably retest it before it goes away just to be sure, though!

This goes on as a blast of juicy, fresh peach, but the blood orange quickly joins in. The blood orange ends up being the strongest up close, but it's all about the peach in the throw. It stays like this for several hours, until eventually the resins emerge in the background, but they're content with their smaller role. I'm getting more sandalwood than labdanum (woo!), and the labdanum is not the sour variety, nor is it turning everything into cola. By the end of the day, the peach nectar is the dominant note, and it does smell nectar-y and not as juicy as it was initially. I was hoping for more blood orange than peach from this, but this is nice! I'll be keeping my decant, but I don't think I need a bottle of this one because I have so many peach scents already.

The myrrh and dragon's blood notes jump out at me first, and then the strawberry and lavender follow behind. It ends up being resin and lavender dominant on me for a while, although the strawberry definitely gains strength with wear and manages not to go plastic on me. Dragon's blood is also an iffy note on me, but it is pretty well-behaved here and is more like an incense-y variety than a spicy fruity floral one. It ends up being a dark myrrh and dragon's blood in a bowl of squished strawberries on me by the end of the day, with some sprigs of lavender thrown on top. The lavender and dragon's blood combo in this reminds me of Third Eye Extraction, only here, they're accompanied by myrrh and strawberry instead of mugwort and musk. While I prefer Third Eye Extraction, I'm pleasantly surprised to like this too and will certainly use up my decant. I don't think it's something I need to hunt down a bottle of, though!

Honey dust, strawberries, blueberries, and lavender are the first notes I get from this, followed by some soft lotus root. Then the honey dust quickly starts declaring dominion over the other notes, which it is wont to do on me. The honey dust is thick and toffee-like like Lush's Honey I Washed the Kids and is the same honey note from Boop and Harlow's Lace. It remains the dominant note throughout wear, backed by the little bit of blueberry, strawberry, and lotus that can get through. It ends up smelling soft and candy-like after several hours. I wanted to love this one, because of the artwork and it sounding like a lovely flormand, and I would have ended up loving it, too, if it weren't for that pesky honey dust!

The black pepper is the strongest note out of the gate, followed by the oudh, which is a soft, smooth, non-poudh variety. The bourbon vanilla in this is very light but acting more like a skin musk further softening the oudh than it being noticeably vanilla. Strangely enough, I'm not getting any honey from this, although there is a toasty aspect to the scent that might be the honey's doing, but I'm not getting any sweetness. This ends up being a soft peppered oudh with some sheer, skin-musky bourbon vanilla that stays close to the skin on me. If you're looking for a gentle oudh, give this one a shot. Sadly, this one is too soft for me.

I was in love with the wet phase and initial drydown of this one. I got woods and resins (mostly oak) sweetened by the vanilla bean and almond blossom, with the oak and/or vanilla bean combo having a slight root beer quality to them on me, just like in Baby's First Ballista. It's brighter than you'd expect it to be, given the notes. During this phase, there is only a touch of mushroom adding a nice earthy, but not funky quality to the scent. Over time, however, it loses its sweetness and becomes more like a cologne on me. I'm thinking it's the lacquered bamboo combining with the oak and a bit of the smoke from the vanilla that's doing this, and possibly the amber (although this type was well-behaved on me in Adventuresome Encounters!). I'm going to set this one aside and retest it before it goes away to see how it has aged. I really wish the sweet notes hadn't decided to disappear on me, because this was so nice when they were around!