doomsday_disco

This starts off with a lovely combo of spruce and pine backed by some pencil-like cedar. The birch emerges more over time, sweetening the scent somewhat. But it ends up settling down into smelling like pine-scented shaving cream on me... I was wondering why it suddenly smelled like shaving cream and then realized that this was the culprit. It's not bad, but it is not what I was hoping for (Christmas tree).

This one was the one Luper I blind bottled from the update. But I should have gone the decant route. I thought that this would be a win for me because Volcano in Springtime has lotus root (which didn't turn to bubblegum on me) and Venus Caelestis works for me with its blue lotus. But I guess the two together result in TOO MUCH LOTUS for me. It's pink and dainty, and not quite bubblegum, but it is still very sweet. It's backed by the vanilla cream, with the mallow really blooming after several hours of wear and making this a floofy pink scent. I'm reminded of Mavis' outfit from Fairy Tail, but if it had more frills. The white amber is not a main player here, but I think it helps ground the other notes and add a perfume-y quality to the scent to keep it from becoming too cloying. I don't dislike this, and maybe it will be a winner with more rest, but for now, I keep thinking I'd rather bypass the lotus and get straight to the vanilla cream and mallow... which means I should just wear Stekkjarstaur.

This one is a scent experience. It goes on smelling sterile. My first thought was "HOSPITAL." Then I realized it was latex, which quickly became something like BURNING LATEX. Later on, it becomes less harsh, and something like a bright green lime candy type of note joins in. So... lime and latex? It is rather sharp and loud. Curiouser and curiouser. These Periodic Table scents are so fun that I wish they were released so more people could try them and post reviews.

Hydrogen reminds me of a citrus-infused version of one of the Lab's ice or slushy snow notes. I feel like this has something in common with something like Snow Bunny but without the pine or spruce. This is pretty nice.

Helium starts off smelling like a peach drink! So it's a light sweet peach that ends up being overtaken by a strong lemon-lime gummy candy-like note over time, with a bit of effervescence in the background. I preferred the peach drink phase, but this one is a lot of fun.

Beryllium smells like mineral water! It's effervescent without any sweetness (no fizzy citrus soda or champagne note) with a mineralic note that is kind of stone-like and becomes more prominent with wear. This one is really neat.

This was an obligatory 'you're buying the shirt, so you must at least try the scent' decant, but I have to say, I like this scent way more than I thought I would based off of the notes! I mostly get a sweet citrus-infused ice note throughout wear. Amazingly, the eucalyptus and menthol are really tame in this scent and aren't bracing at all. I suspect they're just adding to the icy quality. I get touches of ozone, white sandalwood (that note is a little more discernable after several hours), white amber, and oakmoss (how did it not take over!?), but everything is so well-blended that it isn't really a blend that is easy to pick apart by notes. The citrusy ice is so refreshing and will be great to wear during the summer. I will be holding onto my decant and may end up getting more before this one goes away.

The milk bread in this scent is so realistic. It smells buttery and with a browned crust and is SO, SO GOOD. At first, it's accompanied by a bit of cardamom, but that is fleeting, and then there's a hint of anise with it, but it amazingly didn't take over like anise usually likes to do on me and was light enough to be inoffensive to my licorice and its relatives hating self. By the end of the day, it's mostly the bread accompanied by the buttery cream note, making it even more buttery than it was before. I'm going to have to slather this and wear it on its own for a day to see if my experience is the same outside of just testing it out. If I end up with the same result, I may have to get a bottle.

Peach Vulva is definitely mostly about the peach and apricot. They remain the dominant notes throughout wear, although I do get the rice milk (which ends up being somewhat buttery on me by the end of the day) and some light resins beneath the fruits. The peach has a peach nectar sort of vibe and smells like the type of peach you'd want to drink. I think this is lovely, but I have so many peach scents in my collection already that I don't think I need a bottle of this one, too, but I'll probably retest this before it goes away (and after it had some time to age) just to be sure.

Cherry Blossom Vulva starts out being honeysuckle forward on me, but then it calms down and becomes a melange of floral notes, with the plum blossom and gardenia sometimes popping out more than the other notes, before settling down as a plum blossom and white floral scent by the end of the day. It's a lovely springtime floral blend, with just a little bit of the cream in the background on me. This is pretty, but it is not as cherry blossom forward as I hoped it would be. I might keep the decant, but I don't think I need a whole bottle of this one.

Fracas with Eleven Kabuki Actors starts off with a wonderful sweet almond note, and that's all I get for a while. Then the warm hay and sweet, almost candy-like mimosa joins in, along with the bourbon cream (more bourbon than cream) and sandalwood. It then becomes a warmer scent, with the almond never fading (like it usually does) as it cozies up to the hay. I was curious if this would be like a warmer version of Comparison of Comparison Beauties (vanilla cream, mimosa, and almond blossom). In a way, it is, but this one is less creamy and not as sweet, since the mimosa isn't as strong as it is in that scent. So they are different enough to warrant trying both. Although I really enjoy the almond in this, I think the bourbon in this is adding more astringency than I'd like, so I don't think I need more of this one.

Discarded Sandal starts off strongest on the pine and hinoki wood, but then the lily quickly joins the party. It's a little confusing to me, the foresty notes combining with the lily, with a light beeswax sweetness beneath them. But then. BUT THEN. It ends up settling into a scent that reminds me of sucking honeysuckle nectar from the blossoms in my grandmother's backyard when I was little... which is wonderful, but unexpected. I'll have to retest this one again and see if I get the same experience, because I really wasn't expecting that result! I'll update my review if it changes.

Flowering Peonies is a pleasant fruity floral, with the tuberose being much stronger than the peony at first, and the flowers being more lychee-tinged than completely doused in lychee (sadly). The peony gains strength over time and becomes one of the dominant notes by the end of the day, and I get more tea at this point, as well as a hint of bergamot, but neither of those are main players. I'm kind of reminded of how Caressing the Gilded Lily was predominantly floral but tinged with melon. This is somewhat like that, but tinged with lychee, and on a bed of green tea. I was hoping for more lychee from this one, but I'm going to have my mom try it and see what she thinks of it. I think it might be something she would enjoy.

Erotic Sake Bowl starts off heavy on the pink grapefruit and sugared yuzu, and it is GLORIOUS. I have several grapefruit scents, and a few that contain yuzu as well as grapefruit, but even so, the combo of those two notes is so good that I was determined to add a bottle to my cart even though I probably don't need more of those notes in my collection. But then the other fruits emerged more over time, and the raspberry (the note I was most concerned about) ends up being one of the main players on me after a few hours, so that it is a berry and citrus scent grounded by the plum blossom musk (which is also more noticeable by the end of the day and isn't overly plum-tinged, fortunately). I loved this for the first few hours, and less so as time went on, but I'm going to test it again before ruling it out. It may be worth getting a bottle and wearing it in a scent locket just experience that grapefruit and sugared yuzu in all of its glory.

This is a sophisticated white rose scent. It never stops being the dominant note on me, but over time, the orchid rises to join it and is almost as strong as the rose itself. (The vanilla flower is orchid -- this contains no vanilla note.) The benzoin resides in the background, adding a light powderiness to the scent. I was hoping the caramelized benzoin would add a nice sweetness, but this is a refined rose scent. If that's what you're looking for, give this one a try. But if you're hoping for a sweeter rose, go with Cacao and Sugared Roses.

Cacao and Sugared Roses smells exactly as described: like sugared rose petals dusted with cacao. The cacao manages to keep up with the sugared rose for several hours before the sugared rose wins out. The sugared rose in this reminds me of the highly sought-after Love from The Pickman Gallery: A Tremulous Song Lilith artwork collection from 2013, so if you're looking for a sweet rose scent like that one and aren't averse to cacao, definitely make sure you give this one a try. I think this is lovely, but I may have too many rose/sugared rose scents to warrant grabbing a bottle. Still, I am tempted and will have to do some death matching just to be sure!

This is beautiful. I believe it is the same golden honey and wildflowers from Venus Verticordia, accompanied by a breeze note instead of dandelion. The amber breeze isn't as strong as the honeyed wildflowers on me, so while it threatens to go dryer sheet, it never manages to achieve it. If I didn't already have two bottles of Venus Verticordia, I would be all over this one. I'll deathmatch the two just to be sure, but I think they may be too similar to warrant owning both. But if you wish you could get your hands on Venus Verticordia, grab this one, stat. ETA: Deathmatched It's All I Have to Bring Today vs. Venus Verticordia today. It's All I Have to Bring Today starts off with honeyed wildflowers accompanied by a gentle, clean breeze note, while Venus Verticordia starts off with a burst of dandelion. The honey in It's All I Have to Bring Today is sweeter and reminds me of the honey in The White Bees Swarming Hair Gloss, which I feel may have a bit of Snow White's sweet snow note in it. Once dry, they smell very, very similar because the wildflower note is the same and ends up being the dominant note after several hours.

This is glorious. The light (non-burny, non-cinnabomb) cinnamon and yam notes are the stars on me for the first three hours of wear, and to me, it's even better than Sweet Potato Musk. I agree with HerbGirl's description of this having a pastry vibe. Amazingly, the oakmoss doesn't take over on me like it normally does and just resides in the background, grounding the scent. After several hours, the russet amber starts to emerge and ends up becoming the dominant note backed by what remains of the cinnamon and yam. It's a creamy, musky amber that I believe may be the same one from the amazing The Geisha and the Samurai HG. Swoon. I'm going to need a bottle.

This goes on as honey and tuberose. It's the same thick, brown, toffee-like Lush Honey I Washed the Kids type honey that I got from Harlow's Lace and Boop. This honey note is so strong on me that it manages to overwhelm the tuberose. The tuberose doesn't completely fade away, but it just adds a perfume-y floral quality beneath the pool of honey. Sadly, I never get the vanilla sugar because this honey note can't stop, won't stop until it declares dominion over all. I was really hoping the tuberose and vanilla sugar would be paired with a different honey note. Alas.

This was one of the scents I was most looking forward to from the Luper update, but sadly, it did not work on me. Honey Marzipan is all about the honey note on me. It's the same thick, brown, toffee-like Lush Honey I Washed the Kids type honey that I got from Harlow's Lace and Boop. It declares dominion over all, never allowing the marzipan to shine through. I'm glad I went the decant route instead of blind bottling this like I originally considered doing.

This one features the oceanic sea salt aspect of Lavender, Sea Salt, and Rain accompanied by the perfume-y pink amber from Pink Amber and Peony. It's strongest on the salt note on me at first, but over time, it becomes more aquatic as the Lab's rain note comes forward, but it also becomes sharper and more perfume-y thanks to the pink amber. I'm glad I got to try this -- it didn't turn to soap on me like most aquatics do -- but it is a little sharper on me than I would like it to be.

This starts off really strong on the lemon peel, and it doesn't let the green tea show up until much later. It's a nice, refreshing, clean scent, and I enjoy the end result, but I know I wouldn't reach for this over GCs with green tea and lemon like Shanghai or Embalming Fluid, just because the lemon in this is so much more in-your-face at first than the lemon notes in those blends.

I recently received a tester of the original Antique Lace from a very generous forumite, and I tested it against the 2017 version (I had the OG on one hand and 2017 on the other). And I realize I'm about to commit BPAL heresy when I say this, but... I prefer the 2017 version to the original. The original is far more complex. It starts off with this candy-sweet, almost too cloying for me floral note (maybe mimosa? but I am not sure) and some powderiness that I think is due to the dust and dry flowers (I think baby's breath is among these dried flowers). Over time, the vanilla cuddles up to the musk and really starts to bloom, so that it ends up being a gorgeous dusty vanilla musk infused with some dry flowers after a day of wear. It's beautiful, but the cloying floral note during the wet phase makes me enjoy the 2017 version more, even though it is just straight up vanilla musk without the original's complexity. I'm thrilled I got to try the original version of Antique Lace, and I understand why it is so sought after! But I'm also glad that I dodged a rare bullet by being basic enough to prefer the 2017 version.

I think I got a smear of white chocolate and some marzipan when I first applied this. The marzipan aspect is there for a while, but the marzipan sweetness becomes more of a light marshmallow-y one over time, even though it smells more paste-like as the day goes on. But it's really nice, actually. Way nicer than I had expected! This decant is a keeper! Thanks to the wonderful BPALista that frimped it to me.

This started off as cinnamon and pine air freshener on me with the tiniest hint of chocolate in the background. I'm not getting any motor oil, but I wonder if the spice I am getting is part of the exhaust note? By the end of the day, it smells like a toned down version of red hots and pine air freshener, though. This was fun to try, but I wish I had gotten the realistic motor oil and exhaust experience others had described instead of the mysterious cinnamon experience I wound up with!