doomsday_disco

Sour Moon features lemon and kumquat infused with a whole lot of white musk on me. I'm getting more white musk from this than I get from Eleven Pipers Piping Hair Gloss, which also features kumquat, lemon, and musk (Piping out drooping phantoms of kumquat, lime rind, icy lemon peel, and green-white musk). I like that hair gloss more than this scent (probably because my hair doesn't amp the musk in that light my skin is doing here), but the two would go well together. The lemon in this isn't acrid, and I think this features the same kumquat note as that hair gloss (just not as bold on my skin). I think my skin brings out a slightly incense-y aspect to the white musk after a while, though, and I'm not sure why? I so wanted this to be an unadulterated citrus bomb, but it went a little weird on me after a few hours. 

I was wondering how this might compare to Schönperchten (snow-spattered lavender, bourbon vanilla, white mint, and white amber). Well, even though they both feature snow notes and white amber, this one is very different. I believe I am smelling at least two snow notes in this scent. One is a mentholated icy snow note, and the other one is the sweet, evergreen-infused Snow Bunny one. The melange of snow reigns for quite some time, but the amber is there, slowly adding a light warmth to the scent and eventually becoming the dominant note by the end of the day, backed by what flurries remain. I don't like this as much as Schönperchten, but I do think this scent fits its name (it's definitely wintery)!

I almost blind bottled this, but I was like, what if the lime candy is like lime gummy worms? I shuddered at the thought, so I went with a decant. Well, my bitch ass could have just blind bottled it. I am happy to report that there's no gummy worms here. It's more like lime hard candy and fizzy gin. And it's so fizzy! The lime is most noticeable during the wet phase of the scent, but it never completely disappears, although the gin really amps up its fizz with wear, and I feel like the lime becomes less candy-like over time? I love this, but now, I am trying to tell myself, you already have Geek.Goth, do you really need another lime and fizz scent? But the effervescence in this is definitely different from the soda fizz of Geek.Goth, and that's more lemon lime than straight up lime. Plus, this smells refreshing as hell and will be wonderful during the summer months. So I'll probably end up with a bottle. You know, the one I should have just bought in the first place.

This started off kind of like cherry Starburst hit by a wave of salty ocean water, but then it just became all about the salt as the cherry did a disappearing act on me. Come back, cherry! ?

This smelled so amazing when it arrived that I was sure that I'd want more of it. But once I tested it after letting it settle for a few days, it was mostly clove and patch on me backed by cacao, but not as much cacao as I was hoping for (and not the blast of it I got from the decant when it initially arrived). The cardamom was very fleeting on me, but I feel like sometimes I amp clove, so that may be why (I'm fine with this, as I love clove). I'll keep the decant around for layering possibilities, but it's not something I need more of since I was hoping for more cacao with the spices and patch on my skin.

This is more cereal than white chocolate on me, though it is a very berry cereal on me and more like Cap'n Crunch Berries with just the berries. The white chocolate lingers in the background, but it is surprisingly light on me compared to the berry cereal component of this scent. I had debated blind bottling this scent, but decided to hold off since I already have several cereal scents. I'm glad I did that, as I don't love this one as much as those, but I am glad I decided to try it.

This one ended up being mostly about the Mysore sandalwood on me, lightly sweetened by the white chocolate, and given some lift from that hint of lemon peel. I find it to be very comforting and plan to use it as a sleep scent. The decant is a keeper, but I have to see how much I reach for it before deciding whether or not I need more of this. I do think it is very nice, though!

This is great! It smells like someone infused a marshmallow with a cocoa puff, and I'm here for it. I'm debating a bottle, even though I have plenty of chocolate scents and plenty of marshmallow ones. This is not as bold as a lot of chocolate scents, though. Definitely a fudge marshmallow, not a chocolate-covered one!

This starts off with a wonderful, bold black cherry, backed by the amber, tobacco, and oakmoss, but over time, the cherry gets overtaken by those notes, and it becomes a tobacco and amber-infused mossy scent by the end of the day. The tobacco in this is different than other tobaccos I have come across from the Lab. There was a point during wear where this went a little funky on me, but I'm not sure which note was the culprit (or if it was a combination of a few). It was a short-lived wonky phase, though. I wondered if this would be in the same vein as Moon When the Cherries Turn Black. Well, I like that one a lot more. Even though both scents share cherry, tobacco, and amber notes, the tobacco and amber in that one are more up my alley than the tobacco and amber in this one, and there's no moss trying to take over on me in that scent. If only that initial blast of cherry had lasted throughout wear. That was absolutely swoon-worthy.

This features a bold black cherry note at first that quickly gives way to the fizzy elderflower seltzer. Then it's all about the elderflower seltzer in the throw, but I can still smell the cherry up close, and it somehow has a bit of a resurgence with the elderflower fizz by the end of the day. I wish the cherry had remained as strong as it was initially, but I'm glad it didn't completely disappear and think this will be really refreshing during the summer months. I'm debating a bottle. This is my favorite cherry from this year's cherry bomb collection.

This features a very bold cherry note floating over some red wine, so it's kind of like a boozed up cherry lozenge (but not in the same way as Spiced Cherry Bourbon -- I feel like this one is better than that one, as I didn't get liquid cough medicine vibes). It becomes less cherry-dominant and more wine-heavy over time. It's not something I feel the need to grab more of, but I'm glad I decided to try it!

I was really curious about this and almost blind bottled it, but I decided to go with a decant since I wasn't sure what kind of incense this would contain. It goes on as mostly dried cherry and incense on me (the cherry is not as intense as some other cherries). I feel like the incense may have a tiny bit of champaca to it, but isn't nag champa and may be more like a previously lit, but recently blown out stick of incense. Over time, the cherry fades, the incense sticks around, and the spun sugar comes forward, so that it's mostly a lightly sugared incense on me. I really wish the cherry had stuck around, but I am glad that the incense wasn't nag champa. I'm going to retest this before it goes away to see if I can get some more longevity from the cherry, but at the moment, it's not my favorite from this year's cherry bomb collection.

A new year’s blessing! Peony, China’s national flower, with bamboo for flexibility, plum blossom for perseverance, courage, and hope, tangerine for wealth, orange for happiness, lychee for household peace, pine resin for constancy, golden kumquat and pomelo for prosperity, narcissus and King mandarin for good fortune, cypress for longevity, sticky rice cakes for abundance and hopes for a rich, sweet life, and a splash of blazing red of dragon’s blood… to help you scare away the rampaging Nian. Thanks to ladymeag for the decant! In the decant: I honestly thought that I wouldn't like this one due to the fact that it contains so many notes, but it actually smells really nice in the decant! The rice cake note reminds me of Hungry Ghost Moon 2013 (the only Lunacy that has actually worked for me thus far). I'm mainly getting citrus and that rice cake note in the decant. It kind of reminds me of Froot Loops (which is the same thing I thought about Hungry Ghost Moon... the combination of the rice cake note and the fruity notes must be what is giving me that impression). Wet: Froot Loops! I am just getting the sticky rice cakes and the citrus at the moment. The rice cake note was really strong at first, but the fruity notes are becoming stronger. It still reminds me of fruity cereal, though. Dry: It pretty much stayed that way the whole time, but with more fruit (and perhaps a hint of a floral and a resin in the background). I'm sorry I can't be more specific in my review, but it is hard to identify specific notes as there are so many notes in this blend. Verdict: This one was actually better than I had expected it to be (after initially dismissing it due to the amount of notes it contains). While I don't feel like I need a bottle of this, I'm glad that I was able to try it!

This smells AMAZING. It's like cocoa puffs plus some creamy eggnog. I've never jived with the Lab's actual Eggnog scent (it's usually more booze than creaminess on me), and I wish that they'd release an eggnog scent that's in this vein, because this is bomb. I'm so happy I was able to grab a bottle off of the secondhand market. Hoarding.

Pontia starts off as lavender backed by bergamot, but over time, the bergamot overtakes it and becomes the main player, with the lavender in the background. It really reminds me of Anesthesia from the Neverwhere line, if the mint were taken out of it. In fact, the bergamot-heavy phase after several hours made me realize how prominent the bergamot is in the other scent. I like this and will definitely be hanging onto my decant, but I don't need to hunt down more of it since I prefer Anesthesia with its mint.

Whoa! I got a decant of this one and had bottled the Teahouse HG, but I think I may like this one even more??? It's very much about the juicy mango, backed by the mandarin. AND IT IS GLORIOUS. Oddly enough, I don't get the honeyed patchouli or ambrette, nor do I smell any cream, but that's fine by me. It's so juicy and summery, and I love it! The only downside is that it is short-lived, both on wet hair and dry hair. I am debating a bottle, but I really wish this had better longevity and throw!

I tested this on dry hair one day and did not love it. It was fizzy plastic-y candy-like strawberry on me. Some strawberry notes just smell plastic-y on me and do not work out, and this is one of them.

I'd describe Agape as a fruit-tinged floral as opposed to a fruity floral, but perhaps that's because I tend to amp carnation. The spicy carnation reigns on my skin throughout wear, but I can smell the apple and passionfruit when freshly applied, as well as a nice dose of sugar. After that, it becomes so well-blended that it becomes hard to pick out any of the notes aside from the carnation, which continues to be sweetened by the other notes (I was not able to detect the sweet pea or vanilla, but it at least makes sense not to get the sweet pea when it's so delicate and I'm amping the carnation). I think this is nice, and may be one of the best non-Mad Tea Party carnation scents, but I don't need to hunt down more of this.

Full disclosure: I have never had proper fruitcake. The only fruitcake I've tried was an awful store-bought one that my aunt insisted we try one New Year's Eve and it was gross. But this smells nice! It smells like a cherry-studded, slightly buttery baked good with some dusty spices. The only downside is that it stays close to the skin. Now I want to try a cherry fruitcake that doesn't contain any raisins.

I tested this on Monday and decided to give it the full-slather scent of the day treatment today. I think To Lallie is one of the standout rose scents from this year's Lupercalia update. It's a sugared rose, although I wouldn't have been able to tell you that it's honey or vanilla doing the sweetening (although I do get the creaminess from the coconut milk after the scent leaves the wet stage -- however, it is no way overtly coconut-y). I agree with the comparisons to Katrina van Tassel. While I did not deathmatch the two side by side, I did retest Katrina van Tassel yesterday and noticed the similarity, although I'd say this one is sweeter and even better. Slathered, I do get some slightly salty, musky ambergris by the end of the day, but when I tested it on Monday (no slather), I didn't pick up on it. The resins do not stand out to me, and I'm thankful for that as rose + resins aren't really my jam. This is really lovely and I'm debating grabbing more of it, although I already have plenty of rose scents in my collection.

This one didn't jive with me, and I think that was mainly due to the honey (although wildflower honey is usually a safe honey for me). It was mostly wildflower honey, slightly lemony white tea, and ginger on me at first, but then it became a wildflower honey party on me. There's some sandalwood and ginger in the background by the end of the day, but I'm not getting much vanilla despite it being the first note... that could just be because the floral honey is so strong on me, though. I'm not sure if the honey itself, the florals within the honey, or the honey and ginger were combining to create a slight funk on me, which is sad, because I was here for a vanilla-infused chamomile tea scent!

This is a honeyed (but not overly honeyed!) amber-like scent on me accompanied by some sheer bourbon vanilla, although there's a slight medicinal undertone beneath the resinous scent, and I'm not sure if that's just my sniffer or if that's part of the bushman's candle absolute or what. It sadly never lost that undertone on me, although it did get slightly more powdery and amber-y with wear. Oddly enough, the pink pepper didn't stand out to me, nor did the labdanum (or if that's where the amberiness is coming from, it wasn't like the sour or cola-like varieties of labdanum that I've experienced). I don't need more of this one, but I'm glad I gave it a try! ETA: After more settling, the labdanum became much more noticeable, and I think that is what wasn't jiving with me.

This was almost a blind bottle for me, but I held off because of the incense, and I'm glad I did. Because the incense is sadly what I get most of out of this, although it's a light one. It's a light champaca-infused incense on me throughout wear backed by a little milk. Alas, I was not able to detect any almond, which is really weird, as that's usually a powerhouse when a scent is freshly applied. I did get the amber with the incense by the end of the day, but there was just not enough sweetness (wherefore art thou, almond, vanilla, and honey!?) on me to make me love it. And I was so hoping I would love it because of the name! ?

This, like recent snek variants, is strongest on the musk on me, and the dark musk seems to be infused with some red musk, unless that's my sniffer playing tricks on me because of the red rose mingling with it so well (the rose is not as dark as I was expecting from the description). It has some serious throw and stays that way for hours and hours, although it did morph into Snake Oil by the next day (I guess I got it on the sleeve I tested this near), albeit the lighter, newer version (not as strong on the spice or vanilla on me). I like this and agree that it's definitely BPAL, but there are other rose scents that I enjoy more from this update. I'm going to hang onto my decant and retest it before it goes away, though. I'd really love it if the vanilla showed up on me after getting a few more months of rest!

This may be the scent with the strongest gasoline scent that I've tried from the Lab (and I've had the fortune to try Wasteland World). It goes on as rose and broken green stems doused with gasoline, but then it becomes mostly about the gasoline and asphalt on me, with the rose and greenery in the background. I think the asphalt note may contain a resin, and I think it may be the same one found in There's Water Here from the OLLA collection. It has some serious throw, too. So if you're longing for an atmospheric industrial scent, this is absolutely worth a try, provided you aren't anti-rose. I really enjoy this and am debating a bottle, but this was strong enough on me that slathering might be a bad idea, so I'll have to give it a full day wear to see if I need more of this. It is definitely a highlight from this year's Luper update, though!