doomsday_disco

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.

I've tested this at least three times now, because each time, I've neglected to leave a review. So I'm changing that today. This is a non-indolic snowy white floral scent. The snow has a bit of effervescence to it, which I thought might be a touch of champagne when it first arrived, but now, I think is from a bright musk and perhaps a hint of herbal green or evergreen that gets a little slushy with wear. It does not remind me of The First Soft Snow, which is another snowy white floral (that one has the sweeter evergreen-swirled Snow Bunny snow note). After it has been on the skin for a while, I feel like I get a little nectar from one of the floral notes. If you're looking for a snowy white floral that isn't super heady, this one might be up your alley. The jasmine in this is not a bully! I can't see myself reaching for this over other snowy florals in my collection, but I'm glad I decided to try it.

Kimi Ga Dai Wa is strongest on the sweet amber note on me, which is a dry, perfume-y amber to my nose. I get some saffron behind it. The sandalwood is quiet at first, but comes out more with wear and adds to the dryness of this scent. The combination of the dry sandalwood with the amber read as somewhat papery to me. Curiously enough, I get some unlisted moss after it has been on the skin for a while? But none of the other reviewers seem to have gotten moss from this. But I do think the moss is lending a cologne-like vibe to the scent. I'm glad I got a chance to try this, but there are other amber and sandalwood scents that I enjoy more.

Zarita starts off strongest on the orange blossom on me, with touches of cream and berry to soften the orange blossom's edges. It remains that way for a while, until the iris becomes the dominant note. The cream isn't strong enough to tame the high-pitched iris, though, so it ends up being more floral than flormand on me in the end. I am less familiar with white carnation than the pink and red varieties, but there was nothing in this that screamed carnation at me. As a flormand fan, I wish the cream had been stronger on me!

I get a blast of ink at first, along with some clay and a metal note. The clay ends up winning out, and I'm getting both Crimson Peak and OLLA vibes from it. It think there may be some sweet, dry, Mysore sandalwood and/or some powdery benzoin mixed in with it, but it's definitely clay-like. By the end of the day, the clay note and resins are still present, but there's also a plastic note from the groceries. It's wild how realistic the ink and clay notes are in this one! It's a very interesting scent experience, and more wearable than it sounds, but I wish the plastic note hadn't shown up on me!

This goes on as soil with perhaps some mushrooms poking through? I get a slightly powdery sweetness with the soil that I think I also got from Death Cap, buuut I haven't worn that in a while, so I'd have to deathmatch them to be sure. But a grassy vetiver note emerges after a while and gains strength over time, making this a very grassy vetiver backed by some soil on me. I did deathmatch this with Graveyard Dirt Redux, and this scent has more throw and staying power than Graveyard Dirt does on me, but I think I like Graveyard Dirt more because it doesn't become a vetiver bomb on me (but at least the vetiver isn't a smoky variety!). I know I wouldn't reach for this over my other dirt scents, but if you're looking for dirt and vetiver, look no further!

On me, Snake Milk is a buttery milk swirled with some fresh Snake Oil that's very strong on the musk. Although the milk is buttery, it's not, say, White Larry levels of buttery. And it gets less buttery over time and adds a slightly caramelized dairy tang to the scent, which I'm really enjoying. I think I need more than a decant in my life. I have a feeling that this is going to age fabulously.

Noisy Goose Moon goes on as a short-lived blast of banana and booze from the rum on me, but those notes are quickly overtaken by the white frankincense, which I believe is the same frankincense from Venus Caelestis. The sugar cane ends up joining in next and cozying up to the frankincense, giving me even more Venus Caelestis vibes, but with hints of banana. But the banana does not stick around, and it is a frankincense and sugar cane party on me, with some vanilla marshmallow adding some floof to the scent after several hours of wear. I would not say this is a banana scent. The banana is just for the beak that honks, but it does not represent the whole goose! Although I wish the banana stuck around longer, this is a really lovely scent. I'll have to deathmatch it with Venus Caelestis (which has lemon peel instead of banana) to see if I need more of this, but I think I might.

Blacklight Reactive Wolf Poster starts off with a blast of pine, backed by the non-dank greenery of the weed note. It's not smoky, but the same weed note from Honeyed Weed and Dandelions. After a while, a brown musk note emerges and makes the scent a little more cuddly and cleaner, but the forest notes remain present throughout wear. I think there may be some moss in this, too, but the predominant forest note in this is pine on me. I was really enjoying this when it was straight-up forest, but I enjoyed it a little less once the brown musk became a main player. But the forest-y notes with the weed smell magical together. I'll be keeping my decant and retesting it before this goes away to see if I need more of it in my life.

Blacklight Reactive Clown Poster is mostly about the strawberry and the candyfloss on me. The rose in this is so subtle that I wouldn't have guessed there was rose in this, so if you are afraid of rose, this may still be worth a try. The weed note is not dank, but its a light, pleasant bit of green that lingers behind the strawberry and candyfloss notes. I don't know what greasepaint smells like, but I'm not detecting any make-up like note or anything in the vein of Clown White. Strawberry is an iffy note for me, but it's pleasant and non-plastic-y on me in this scent and smells really nice with the candyfloss. I just wish that the weed note had stuck around more in this one, or that I had gotten a little bit of an oddness from the greasepaint. At the moment, I'm not sure I need more than my decant, but the decant is a keeper!

I tested this on a paper towel, in wet hair, and in dry hair. In all cases, it was mostly like a watered down orange blossom on me, with the harsher elements of the orange blossom softened by the citrus fruits (more tangerine than blood orange to my nose) and musk. There's a burst of white tea with the orange blossom when initially sprayed, but it doesn't end up being a main player on me. This is a softer hair gloss. It could not compete with my Moona Orange Cream Soda shampoo and conditioner on the day I tried it on wet hair, and I did not get wafts of it on the dry hair day and could only sniff it when I held my hair up to my nose. I'm not big on orange blossom, and this is nicer than I'd expect a scent with that as a dominant note to be. However, for me, it doesn't even come close to the juicy blood orange and creamy amber wonder that is The Geisha and the Samurai HG, so I don't need a bottle.