doomsday_disco
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Everything posted by doomsday_disco
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A little bit of cocoa powder, a fuckton of buttercream. That is what I'm getting from this. The cocoa powder is most noticeable when this is first applied, and then it quickly becomes mostly about the buttercream, which is bright and has a slight tang to it. It doesn't smell particularly chocolate-y on me throughout the day, as the chocolate quickly retreated to the background on me and then isn't even detectable after a few hours. If you're looking for buttercream, you will be happy with this one. If you're looking for chocolate, it's not as in-your-face chocolate as some of the Lab's other (regularly available!) chocolate scents like Bliss, Chad, or The Other Hot Chocolate. I bet this would be great for layering, though.
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To me, this is not like the Lab's other bread scents. It's not rye or milk bread, it is truly a baguette! You can smell the crunchy crust and the soft inside of the baguette with dabs of sweet cream and honey. Over time, the cream gains strength and becomes more buttery, and the honey gets a little stronger as well, but it is still a light, pale honey that doesn't dominate the scent (for those who want to smell like a baguette but are afraid of honey!). By the end of the day, it smells like buttery cream and a light honey drizzled over the soft inside of a baguette. Now I want to go to Bouchon and eat one of those free baguettes that they give you with brunch. I really like this, but I am not sure how often I will want to smell like a baguette. I am going to keep my decant and ponder on whether or not I'll need a bottle. (The more I sniff it, the more I think I probably will.)
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This one was quite the scent experience. This goes on super harsh and industrial on me. It has tones of paint, latex, and petroleum, bringing to mind some of the atmospheric American Gods scents. And it stays that way for a few hours! But then! BUT THEN! It morphs into the most amazing vanilla touched with white tobacco, white amber, a very gentle cacao, and a much more subdued mineralic chalky rubble. By this point, it is stunning and a relative to scents like Pediophobia (especially with its porcelain) and Zorya P. I adore the end result of this, but the opening is so harsh that I'm not sure if it's worth it to brave through it for the final morph. I'm going to set my decant aside and try it again in a month or two after it has had some time to age and see if I have the same experience. I'm hoping the opening will be much smoother by then, because the final morph is so lovely!
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This is all white tea in the decant and goes on as white tea with a bit of honey on me. Then I think I may be picking up on some unlisted peony, because there's the tea and a floral quality to this that's reminiscent of The Dormouse. It stays that way throughout wear: floral-touched white tea with a dab of honey and perhaps some soft cashmere. I was not able to detect any tonka or cacao. I'm curious to read other reviews about this one to see if others are able to detect more of the notes on their skin. I don't need more of this as I prefer The Dormouse. But if you're sad that The Dormouse is out of stock, you should give this a whirl.
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Lemon blossom, cool spearmint, muguet, and magnolia are the first notes I get from this, followed by the amber musk and a bit of cedar. The muguet combined with either the amber musk or cedar is causing a little funk. The funk calms down after a bit and the lemon blossom and spearmint continue to take the lead, backed by the florals, but the amber musk seems to be gaining strength with time. After a while, the spearmint fades away, and the floral notes calm down, and it mostly becomes a sharp lemony bergamot amber scent on me. The initial phase of this scent is drastically different than the end result on me, but I wasn't particularly fond of either. The wet stage is a little funky, the middle one lacks the funk but is a little odd until the spearmint disappears, and then the final morph makes this such a sharp citrusy amber on me that I know I wouldn't chose this over the other two Shungas featuring lemon and amber that I tested today (Penis Bound with Gold Ribbon and Sunrise Kimono). I had to try this one because of the artwork, but alas, it's just not jiving with me.
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Golden apple, lemon, and mimosa are the first notes that leap out at me, followed by the grapefruit. This stage of the scent is really wonderful and uplifting. Then, the mimosa increases in strength, which is bright, and candy-like, with a slight effervescence and orange juice quality to it (even though it is the flower and not the drink). It ends up making me smell like SweeTarts for a while, and I thought it was going to stay that way, but then the yellow amber emerges. It ends up smelling like a somewhat creamy, citrus-touched (mostly lemon) amber and mimosa with some soft, possibly overripe golden apple. Something during this phase smells a little funky on me -- I think it is the yellow amber combining with that apple note, but I'm not sure. I really loved the wet stage of this scent, but I didn't love the the other phases of the scent nearly as much. I'll hold onto the decant to retest this in a few weeks after this has had more time to settle, and if that doesn't work, I may have to try the decant in a scent locket, because the initial application of this one is so lovely!
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The lemon cream scent in the decant makes me think of the lemon cream inside lemon cream cookies. Hype! On me, the lemon cream is there but it is very quickly taken out of cookie filling territory by the amber and musk. At first, this made me sad, as the lemon combined with the high-pitched quality of the sweet amber (the one from scents like Alleviate the Frenzy, My Wise Beauty, and Sweet Amber and Cherry Liqueur Hair Gloss) to create a furniture polish vibe on me. But then it veered out of that territory, and as the amber and golden musk increase in strength, I am strongly reminded of my beloved House of Mirrors Atmo from Denver Comic Con 2015. During that phase of the scent, I was seriously debating a bottle, but then the sweet amber becomes so strong and high-pitched on me that it really stomps on the musk and lemon cream, only leaving traces of them in the background. I will come back to this one and retest it before it goes away. I think the lemon cream in this is wonderful, and I adore the House of Mirrors atmo phase, but the perfume-y amber that this becomes after a day of wear ends up being too much for me.
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In the decant, this is all about the wet dead leaves. On me, they are the most prominent aspect of this scent as well (and you can definitely tell these leaves are wet), but I'm also getting the herbal mugwort and sage along with the leaves, as well as the mahogany. The sage ends up being stronger than the mugwort after a few minutes, and there's just the barest touch of mint here adding a light coolness to the scent. It ends up being mostly dead leaves in the throw for the longest time, but then it morphs and the sage comes to the forefront, backed by the now cologne-y leaves (my skin chemistry typically turns the Lab's dead leaves into either bell peppers or cologne), which are backed by the warm mahogany, and finally, a touch of coffee bean! The ambergris isn't distinct on me, and by the end of the day, the combination of the sage, dead leaves, mahogany, and mugwort put this thoroughly in cologne territory on my skin. But the bit of warm coffee bean is still there. I had to try this because of the ambergris and mugwort. I really hoped the dead leaves in this would be subdued, but they are not on me. While this isn't something I'd wear myself, I do think it would be nice to smell on someone else. It's like an herbal cologne with a little warmth added to it.
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Honey and Ylang Ylang starts off with a very heady ylang ylang note shouting over the honey, but over time, the light, golden honey note helps to smooth it over so that it is honeyed ylang ylang and not just ylang ylang with an afterthought of honey (and actually, the honey ends up being slightly stronger after several hours of wear!). This didn't wow me on its own, but knowing how much I loved the ylang ylang and vanilla in On Wednesday, I Promise You a Phantom, I decided to layer to drops of Antique Lace 2017 with one drop of Honey and Ylang Ylang, and damn, that is such an awesome vanilla and honeyed floral combo! I highly recommend layering the two if you happen to have both scents. I don't need a bottle of this because it's not something I'd slather or wear on its own, but I'm absolutely keeping my decant around to layer with Antique Lace 2017.
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At first, I get something somewhat grape-y when this is applied, and I think it is the plumeria or perhaps the plumeria combining with something else. That grape aspect goes away for the most part (I still get a tinge of it when sniffed up close), and then this scent becomes a plumeria party throughout wear. I can smell some rice paper and peony behind it (more rice paper at first and then more peony later in the day), and eventually, a little sweet pea, but it is so delicate and not nearly as strong as the bold plumeria. I wasn't able to pick out the pink pepper in this one, so this might still be worth a try to the pepper-averse. I was here for the sweet pea, but the plumeria stole the show and isn't really a floral note that I particularly like, so this one is not for me. Definitely one for fans of plumeria.
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This goes on as super salty sea spray and sweet pea. The salty sea spray is too salty on me for a really long time, but eventually the blue musk comes out to smooth over the edges and tame some of the salt. The moonflower is the strongest floral note by the time that happens, and I get more white musk than blue musk after several hours of wear, making this a salty, musky, floral-touched aquatic. I was here for the sweet pea, but the sweet pea didn't remain as a dominant note on me, and the salt was too strong for me in the beginning, so this one is probably not for me.
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Ooh, this is a very lovely candle smoke and beeswax scent swirled with some non-bubblegum-y lotus root and a touch of golden amber. The candle smoke and beeswax remind me of my beloved (Not So) Penitent (Mini) Magdalene, which is one of my favorite beeswax scents from the Lab. Silly me for not blind bottling this because a decant will not be enough.
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Triumphant Vulva is a very sweet vulva. It's strong on the almond blossom and lotus, which are sweet on their own, but the sweetness is amped up by the vanilla and cream notes. The amber and tea rose are present as well, with the latter becoming more noticeable over time and reminding me somewhat of Tea Roses and Lace. But the lotus and amber also bring to mind Blossoming Vulva -- only, this is much, much sweeter. The almond blossom has far more longevity than straight-up almond, the lotus isn't bubblegum-y, and tea rose doesn't always play nice on me, but it's being kind to me in this one. Sometimes I sniff this and love it, other times, I wonder if it might be too sweet. I'll probably deathmatch this with the new Almond Blossoms scent when I get it to be sure I need both, but it's definitely one for fans of creamy, sweet florals.
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I echo the above reviewers who have said this smells like a good ginger ale. It's mostly ginger accompanied by the Lab's fizzy champagne note, which is perfect for representing buzzing bees! Even though the honey is listed as the first note, it's a light variety (which, I, too, would totally put in my tea) and isn't as strong as the ginger or the fizz on me. The fizz ends up winning out on me after a few hours, backed by the ginger and light honey. I love smelling like sodas, because I like them but rarely drink them (usually preferring to opt for sugar from treats instead). Not only does this smell like ginger ale, but it's called SPURIOUS COOTER BEES??? Yeah, I'm going to need more of this in my life. 🐝
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Ohhh man. I did not expect to love this one so much. Of the four scents I tested today, this one has to be my favorite! Full disclosure: I don't even normally like weed scents, and I certainly don't enjoy the smell of the actual stuff. Yet, somehow, the weed is the dominant note here, and I think it may be the weed note from Pumpkin Doob? I did not dislike that scent, but it also wasn't a win for me. But somehow, that weed paired with this light, pale honey and the sunny floral and green qualities of the dandelion is making me swoon. Seriously, I just cannot stop sniffing the back of my hand. I don't tend to have bad luck with the Lab's honey notes aside from honey dust, but this is a nice, light honey that just adds a light sweetness for most of the wear (although I do get more of it with the dandelion by the end of the day). Bottle-worthy for sure.
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A Meal Interrupted is the Lab's more sophisticated take on a cucumber melon scent. The cucumber and melon are up front, backed by some watery lettuce and black pepper. There is the barest bit of green onion in the background, that along with the pepper, adds a slight kick to the scent. But you're not going to end up smelling like Shrek if you slather this on. I am getting zero cardamom and sesame seed from this. The green musk peeks out after a few hours of wear but is very tame here, just adding that touch of sophistication and ensuring it doesn't go full-on salad. The green musk is not as strong as it is in scents like 51, Pollution, The Laughter of Loki, and Venus Murcia. I feel bad for everyone who will miss out on this due to fear of it being too savory. This is a really nice, refreshing, green scent that will be great to wear in the warmer months. I recommend it to anyone who wants a cucumber melon scent but doesn't want to feel like they got transported back into the 90s by wearing one. I do not think my decant will be enough!
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I swapped for this, knowing it was very risky with the bonfire and dead leaf notes, but this is truly an epic fail on me and went wrong in a way that I did not imagine. I don't think this is just skin chemistry because it smells funky in the bottle, too, but I imagine my track record with the Lab's smoke and dead leaves notes just made it worse when it hit my skin. I'm sad to say that this made me smell like I rolled around in an ash tray with an apple peel in it, making it the worst scent experience I've had in a long time. The ashy bonfire smoke and mulchy dead leaves together are a force to be reckoned with, and the amber in this might be contributing to that, too, as I had a flashback to my experience with Mommy's Little MI6 Agent. There's some cinnamon in the mix as well that lasts with the bonfire smoke throughout wear -- those end up being the dominant notes after I braved through this for several hours. Sounds like starbrow and I had similar experiences. I'll probably pass on this bottle to someone who enjoys atmospheric, smoky, autumnal scents and hope they have better luck with it.
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This one opened up with a blast of greenery followed by an even stronger blast of dryer sheets that would tickle my nose whenever I sniffed it, always making me feel like I had to sneeze. The dryer sheet aspect of the scent ended up being so prominent on me that I was reminded of the smell of walking outside at night when a bunch of people in an apartment complex happen to be doing laundry at the same time. I haven't tried the original, but I wasn't able to detect anything from that list of notes in this one on my skin. It was fun to get to try it, though. I'll pass this decant along to someone else and hope they'll review their experience.
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61 Lambs Conduit Street Atmosphere Spray
doomsday_disco replied to VetchVesper's topic in Atmosphere
Ooh, this is so lovely! I sprayed this on a paper towel to test it. The beeswax is the strongest note when first sprayed and hours later. At first, it's beeswax with rosewater and a little bit of coolness from the ectoplasm note (but it's not minty). Then it's beeswax and oak (I believe it's the type from The Magician's Wand and Baby's First Ballista) with a little bit of rosewater for a while. But it ends up being beeswax, oak, and some smooth leather (like the type in The Mountebank). I still get a little bit of coolness from the ectoplasm at the end of a deep inhale. Needless to say, I'll be cherishing this half-decant, and if I ever see a bottle pop up on Etsy, I'll grab it. -
Ooh, this one is amazing! It really does smell like a Yule cookie or dessert. I get currants and well-behaved spices and a toasty, fresh out of the oven pastry note that smells delicious. If you're a fan of Drink Me, Knave of Hearts, or Yule gourmands, this proto is for you! I will be hanging onto this decant. Thank you to the kind BPALer that gifted this to me.
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This does smell like an artisan rye, dotted with some slightly anise-like caraway (but its not overwhelming here), rosemary, and salt. There's also some butteriness in the background, and I feel like I get more rosemary with wear. Of the other bread scents I've tried from the Lab, the bread note in the currently available Pandemic Vanitas is closest to this, although that one isn't as hearty and doesn't contain any herbs. To my nose, it does not smell like the milk bread in Unsubtle Euphanism at all. Loaf is probably the best luck I've had with a savory gourmand scent, although I'm undecided on whether or not I'd wear it.
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I concur that this is a super green scent (and the oil is a beautiful shade of green, too)! It goes on strong on the grass but then quickly becomes mostly about the green musk on me (and yes, it is indeed the same one from The Laughter of Loki, but in this, it's accompanied by patch instead of grass) with some added sweetness from the honey myrtle. I'm sending this decant to a friend so that they can try it. I like it, but the green musk ends up being so strong on me that I know it's not something I would gravitate towards. That said, if you're a fan of green musk scents like 51 or Pollution, or you are pining for a green musk scent that's not as hard to find as The Laughter of Loki, this should be up your alley!
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This goes on as a blast of red musk and orange blossom. Then the pink pepper joins in and adds a bit of a kick to the scent. Then it becomes about the red musk, orange blossom, and the dry sandalwood, before a phase where red musk declares dominion over all, only to revert back (I guess the red musk was missing its orange blossom and sandalwood friends). The skin musk is not a main player on me, although I suspect it may be softening the red musk a little so that the other notes can peek through. This one isn't in my wheelhouse, but I'm glad I got to try this since it is a Lilith scent.
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I get a tart berry and fig note as soon as this is applied, with the brown paper bag note in the background. Then the cream emerges, followed by a light leather. The fig ends up overtaking the berry note, and after that, it remains the dominant note throughout wear, backed by some cream and brown paper, with hints of the berry and leather in the background, plus a dash of cognac adding a zing to the scent. I couldn't see myself reaching for this, as I rarely enjoy scents in which fig are a main player, but I am glad I got to try this. It was neat to smell the brown paper bag note!
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I'm getting a very tart berry and something a bit sharp and clean like ozone or a storng white musk from this? After a while, an astringent white tea or lemony citrus joins the party. This one is too tart and sharp for me, but it was nice to get to try it.