doomsday_disco

This is mostly neroli and mandarin with the white part of the orange on me. I didn't get the pink pepper or rum, and the bitter and floral qualities of the scent mean it is not the kind of orange scent that I appreciate (I'm not a neroli fan, and this mandarin is the type that smells somewhat soapy on me after a while). Surly Dragon is for neroli fans.

This starts off as amber and moss with a metallic tinge, but the metallic note becomes more prominent with wear, and some leather joins in after a few hours, so that it is mostly cologne-y metal with some red leather (like the kind in Red Rider) by the end of the day. It's not for me, but it was fun to get to try it and try to decipher the notes!

This starts off as a super dragon's blood-y Snake Oil musk and spices on me, but it becomes sweeter over time as the honey joins the party. The extra patch isn't super noticeable because it is very smooth, but it smells like one honeyed, incense-y snake (more dragon's blood than honey, though). The dragon's blood was a little much for me at first, but it settled down into something more enjoyable as the honey and Snake Oil's vanilla gained strength with wear. I'm glad I got a chance to try it, but I'll stick with Womb Furie for my honeyed Snake and just skip the dragon's blood. I can see a lot of dragon's blood fans loving this, though, and I appreciate it more than... well, any other scent with a dragon's blood note in it.

This starts off as strawberry and champaca on me and then quickly becomes a sharp tea rose on me. I get some tobacco, and a bit of vanilla after several hours of wear, but it is mostly about the tea rose and a tinge of strawberry, and there's not enough sweetness here to tame it for me. I'm glad I got a chance to try this Lace, but I'd choose Love (Pickman Gallery: A Tremulous Song) over this one for a sweeter, more balanced rose + strawberry experience, or Tea Roses and Lace for a rose-y lace with more vanilla.

This starts off as an oakmoss-tinged dark myrrh and stays that way for most of the day. But by the end of the day, it is mostly a powdery oakmoss backed by some bright juniper and what remains of that bold myrrh note. I'm surprised that it took so long for the juniper to show up and that the patchouli in here seems to be very shy. It was nice to get to try Omen, but the myrrh in this is too bold and sharp for my liking.

This smells like a cherry lozenge in the imp and goes on that way at first, but it ends up being a sour, bright sort of cherry backed by a light, golden honey that increases with strength over wear, but never buries the cherry. There's also a bit of woodiness to it after several hours. I am glad I got to try this one, but I'd never reach for this sour type of cherry over a black cherry or a cherry candy scent.

I usually have really bad luck with the Lab's smoke notes. Most of the ones I've experienced are either more incense-y or more of a charred BBQ acrid vetiver type of smoke. But the woodsmoke here doesn't fall into either of those categories. It dominates the blend, backed by the dark chocolate, but it is really smooth and nice. I can't think of another BPAL blend to compare it to, but it reminds me of the smoke note I enjoy in Hex's All Soul's Night or the one in Black Baccara's Chocolate Cauldron. I never thought I would have liked this one, but I'm glad to have gotten to try it, and I'll definitely be hanging onto my decant. Thanks to the lovely BPALer that sent some of this my way.

I tested a drop from an empty bottle that a friend kindly sent to me to try. Although I got some cacao specks from that drop, it was mostly a very loud black patchouli on me, with the cedar and tobacco thrumming in the background (more cedar than tobacco on me). I suspect that if I had more to test, I would have had more cacao in my experience, but it wasn't like... Wulric levels of cacao on me because the patch was so loud. But even if I had gotten more cacao, I'm not sure it would be sweet enough for me. I'd recommend this one to those who love dousing themselves in patchouli, though!

This kind of reminds me of a honeyed version of Villain, but with lilac fougere instead of a lavender variety. It's lilac fougere with a twist of lime that becomes more honeyed with wear. It's more honeyed fougere than honeyed lilac or lime. I think it smells nice, but it did go through a phase that made me sneeze, so the decant isn't a keeper for me. But I liked the end result and think fougere lovers should try this.

I deathmatched an aged original imp of this from the Lab with a decant of the new version. I have to say... I prefer the new one! It's not really a fair comparison, since the original imp is aged, but the lilac in the original version isn't as strong as it is in the new one, and the green leaves of the trees in the original are far more prominent (and slightly peppery) on me. The new version is a lot stronger on the lilac and is way more purple to me. I don't get the greenery that I do from the original version, and I'm unable to pick out any note representing shadows or fireflies. Of course, the new one might end up being more like the original with age, and imps age differently than bottles, but I don't think anyone wanting a strong lilac perfume can go wrong with this one. I think I'll hang onto my decant of the new version, but I don't need a bottle since I don't wear lilac scents very often.

I tested this against the bottle of The Butterfly I bought from the Lab when the released a bunch of The Last Unicorn scents on Etsy in 2020. The original Butterfly (non-aged) starts off really strong on the sharp, neroli-like petitgrain, but over time, that calms down, and it ends up being a cuddly golden amber scent sweetened by the tonka and tinged with the citrusy bergamot and petitgrain. I'm not particularly fond of that blast of petitgrain during the wet stage of the scent, so I prefer this version of The Butterfly aged (I have an aged decant, but I didn't think it would be fair to test this new one against that), as the aged version is much smoother and less citrusy. The new Butterfly (now with nutmeg!) is love at first sniff. There's no harsh phase from the petitgrain. It's sweeter from the get go, with warm, fuzzy amber, tonka, citrus, which is smooth and not harsh in this version at all. There's almost a syrupiness to it -- not like maple syrup, but perhaps like the nectar from a flower, as was mentioned in 15 Minutes of Fume? I also get an effervescent quality from this. It teeters on smelling like orange soda, but after a few hours, when the nutmeg has gained strength and the citrus isn't as prominent, the nutmeg brings out this cola quality that nuzzles up to the golden amber that I really enjoy. By the end of the day, it smells closer to the original -- mostly golden amber tinged with citrus. So you can tell the scents are related, but I prefer the new, sweeter, more sparkly Butterfly to the old nutmeg-less version and will definitely be upgrading my decant to a bottle.

I'm getting cool rice milk with a touch of ripe, non-candy like mango. It's the same rice milk from Rendezvous with Her Love Behind the Rice Straws, but with mango instead of hay. I think this smells nice, but I wish it weren't as soft on me and that I got more mango along with the rice milk. I'll keep the decant, but I don't need to upgrade to a bottle of this one.

This starts off strong on the wildflower honey, and it reigns for several hours, although the black patchouli is right up there with it by the end of the day. I believe this is the same honey note found in C%^T, so if you would like to try something like that, but without the lavender and plumeria, this would be a good bet. I think this is a nice floral honey, but I know I wouldn't reach for it over other honeys in my collection.

This one is strong on the blackberry-infused red musk throughout wear on me. The sweet labdanum and opoponax cozy up to it, adding a slight cola-like resinous quality, and the rose petals are lightly smoked. I think the dried black cherries are helping to deepen the scent, while the really well-behaved patchouli and tobacco darken things up alongside the resins. It really is evocative of crushed velvet and wine. I'm not able to pick out the blackened vanilla bean, but I bet it would come out more with age. This is not really in my wheelhouse, but I can see why this one has so many fans, and I'm glad I got a chance to try it! It's not something I need more of, but if you want a dark, fruit-infused red musk scent, this should be up your alley.

My first thought after applying this one was Vicks' Vapor Rub. I got some camphor and/or eucalyptus, pine, and wood at the beginning, and was really surprised by the camphor, as I thought this would be a warm scent. Over time, it becomes woodier and ashier, and there's a soft, clean, non-acrid type of smoke mingling with those notes. By the end of the day, it is mostly (somewhat sharp and bold) wood with a touch of pine on a bed of ash, with some smoke soft smoke swirling around and a much softer coolness representing a fire that was extinguished some time ago. This one was fun to try, but I don't think it is something I would wear.

This starts off more like super lightly spiced, creamy pumpkin filling swirled with cocoa at first, but it becomes more brownie-like over time, and the tanginess of the sour cream frosting ends up being a main player by the end of the day. There are light caramel swirls with the pumpkin ones, but it is not an overly caramel-y scent. This isn't one I need to grab more of, as I have plenty of chocolate scents and pumpkin scents, but I think I'll hold onto the decant. It will be nice to be able to reach for a foodie pumpkin scent that isn't a spice bomb once autumn hits.

Bones Trombone starts off super lemon-y on me, and it is a tart lemon instead of a sugary lemon note, but the marshmallow (which is lightly tinged with blueberry) and meringue are quick to join in, making this a really lovely, creamy lemony marshmallow scent with just a bit of blueberry and a slight herbal element from the hemlock! By the end of the day, the marshmallow note reigns over all, with just touches of the other notes. I'll be holding onto this decant to pair with Cabbage White Caterpillar Hair Gloss.

This is mostly about the berry-filled chocolates on me. It reminds me of cherry cordials, but with berries (blueberries? or maybe a purple berry) instead of cherry. After a while, the cream and musk emerge, making the scent less chocolate-y (although the berries have stuck around). The tea and cake are MIA on me. I'm glad I got a chance to try this, but I really wish I had gotten the tea and cake!

This starts off as mostly bubblegum and lime gummy worms on me mingling with the Snake Oil. It's more bubblegummy at first, but the lime gummies hold their own and still are there after several hours of wear, once the Snake Oil is most prominent. The bubblegum is still present at the end of the day, too -- it's just not as strong as it was initially. I never got any lavender from this, sadly, but it is still a really nice Snake Oil + candy variant, and this is coming from someone that isn't a fan of bubblegum (in perfume or otherwise)! I don't need to hunt down more of this, but I'll happily hold onto my decant.

Snake Oil, nettle leaf, dandelion sap, mullein, and tea blossom. I bought this spring snek because of the dandelion sap and I was curious about the nettle leaf note, even though I am not familiar with nettle aside from once having gotten some nettle gouda from a cheese shop. I am also not sure what mullein smells like, so this may not be the most useful review. Snakes Slithering Through Stinging Nettle is an herbal, green, somewhat peppery snake. I am thinking the nettle leaf is what I am smelling the most. The Snake Oil spices are present in the background, but the herbal additions are what stand out the most to me. Once it is dry, I am getting something that's almost reminiscent of minty sarsaparilla. I mean, this is by no means root beer Snake Oil. If it were, I would be buying multiple bottles. But it does have something like that kind of vibe for some time before it goes back to being mostly green, peppery herbs on a bed of Snake Oil spices (which have grown stronger after several hours of wear). I am not sure how I feel about this yet (I was hoping for lots of dandelion sap), but it is unique. I let this settle for a day before testing it, but I am going to set it aside, come back to it in a few weeks, and see what I think of it then. But if herbal Snake Oil sounds intriguing to you, definitely give this one a try.

First, I get THE LÖÖPS. This also happened to me with Hungry Ghost Moon 2013, which shares a few notes with this blend, although it's more understandable that that one went that way. I think there is a lemony herb combining with some sort of grain note giving that cereal vibe. Then it morphs into fur musk and buttered popcorn. (I'm guessing Jenjin also had this experience with that gif review above. ) It stays that way for several hours, but at the end of the day, I do get hints of ambery moss cozying up to the musk. This one wasn't what I was expecting, but I did get a few of the listed notes and I'm relieved to have not gotten the baby vomit experience of some of the reviewers in this thread. I won't be hanging onto my decant, though, because I prefer my intentional LÖÖP and popcorn scents more.

This one is not for me. I don't think it is the smoke that doesn't jive with me -- the smoke is light and non-acrid -- but there's something farm-y about it that for a while that I just don't like before it becomes like a lighter French Tobacco mingling with some slightly grassy smoke. The end result is nice, but I don't like the farm-y phase that kind of reminds me of khus.

This is blackberry dominant throughout, but the baked sugar crystals are sprinkled over it, sweetening it up. It's kind of like the baked sugar on a scone or maybe some blackberry cobbler without any strudel, pie, or pastry notes. It's nice on its own, but I want to try to layer it with some lavender and see how that goes! I can't imagine a blackberry fan not enjoying this one.

I didn't grab this one when it was available, probably due to the lack of notes and other Yules calling to me more, but I was curious about it and even joined the campaign to turn it into a hair gloss to be released on Etsy due to the glowing reviews. (It never was turned into a hair gloss, but maybe one day!) Fast forward to 2021. A friend sent me a decant in the original bottle to try, and I'm so glad to have some of this! It is so lovely. I get the same incense from Cathedrale Notre-Dame de Paris with a light sweetness from the beeswax candles. It's far more resinous than waxy to my nose, but I'd recommend it to those who are team incense and team beeswax. I kept getting wafts of this throughout the day and found the scent to be really comforting. Thank you so much for sharing this one with me, @Missanneshirleyofgg!

I'm not a big fan of dragon's blood or red musk, so this one isn't really for me. I get strong dragon's blood and menthol immediately after spraying this, but the dragon's blood is the main note I get, with perhaps some red musk and some velvety dark amber mingling with it that makes me think of curtains or old tapestries. The mix of warm and cold is interesting, but sadly, the menthol part didn't stick around very long. It is evocative of what it was aiming to capture, though.