doomsday_disco

In the imp: Juniper, the sharp metal from the axe, musky leather. On me: I'm getting the above notes, but it smells sharper on me since my skin chemistry doesn't handle metallic notes very well. Over time, the leather and fur notes come out more and become the dominant notes, backed by the cologne-y metal from the axe. The foresty notes, which were present at first, are barely there after several hours of wear. This scent is unisex to masculine. Verdict: Berzerker is not a scent I would elect to wear on its own, but I'll hang on to the imp to test it out with other RPG scents.

In the imp: I'm getting the pitch, sharp daggers, a bit of leather. On me: Pitch, tart berries accompanied by a metallic note, followed by a non-chemically black leather note. There's a touch of smokiness to this. It has been a while since I've worn it, but I think the berries in this may be the same belladonna berry note featured in Beautiful Death. It doesn't take long for the sharpness to fade away, and it eventually settles into a lightly spiced, berry-tinged leather with a much lighter metallic note. Verdict: I wasn't sure how the metallic dagger note would play on me, and there was a phase when it was a little too perfume-y and sharp for my liking, but I do enjoy where the scent ended up after a few hours of wear. It's not something I feel the need to grab a bottle of, but I'll definitely be hanging on to my imp for RPG layering purposes.

In the decant: The incense and the cypress-tinged white musk stand out to me the most. On me: The cypress-infused white musk is the first thing that jumps out at me, backed by the incense and some leather. There's a touch of cinnamon, but it does not burn or dominate the scent. There's a juxtaposition of cool and warm from these notes, but eventually, that subsides, and the incense wins out. There's some champaca in the incense, but the incense becomes more resinous over time, so that it smells like resinous incense and a light leather backed by white musk after several hours of wear. I only get a touch of cardamom because it is a listed note -- otherwise, I would not know it was in here. Verdict: This was pleasant, but not something I'm likely to reach for... mainly because I was hoping the cypress would stick around longer than it did. I'm going to pass the sample on to a friend that was curious about it when it was live and never got to try it.

Artificier features a light eucalyptus note, perhaps eucalyptus leaf or blossom (which has been in a few Lab blends relatively recently), as well as some cologne-y metallic component. The eucalyptus starts off stronger, but ends up calming down over time without fading, while the metallic note gains strength over time, smelling sharp but not intolerably so. A glassy note emerges later in wear, which I believe is a musk. This went better on me than I had anticipated. Although I am unlikely to reach for something predominantly metallic, I will probably hang on to my imp for trying out various RPG layering combos.

I'm surprised I never reviewed this? I love Son of a biggerCritter. It's such a lovely summery lime scent, with the lime being the star on me throughout wear. I think the lemon balm just serves to add some oomph to the lime, and there's some creaminess in the background, but I don't get much coconut. Which is great, because I'm not typically fond of coconut-heavy scents. It's not as creamy as Key Lime Pie perfume oil, so if you're looking for more creaminess than lime, you might want to check out that one. But I love them both! I'm on my back-up bottle of Son of a biggerCritter, and I'll revel in its summery lime glory while it lasts.

Oops. I see I never reviewed this. I typically love the Lilith lavender blends, and I remember this being an herbal sort of lavender scent. I don't recall getting any vanilla from it, and I don't get the TKO comparisons. I ended up giving my bottle away, because even though the scent itself was pleasant, I had worn it to bed during a troubling time in my life, which led to me associating the scent with nightmares whenever I smelled it. This is probably the only scent that was ruined for me by negative association, but fortunately, Beth continues to make a lovely lavender scents to look forward to every year.

In the decant: Salty driftwood and kelp. On me: I don't have good luck with the Lab's aquatics, and this starts off really salty and soapy on me. The soap eventually gives way to the Lab's rain note, but the salt remains strong. Those end up being the main notes on me, backed by a bit of driftwood and a touch of light patchouli. Verdict: I like the rain note, but there's too much salt in this one for me. I'm going to pass this on to a friend who enjoys aquatics and see how this fares on her.

In the decant: Red musk, salt-crusted mahogany, a bit of smooth leather. On me: Salt! Followed by some beeswax tinged with red musk. It doesn't take long for the salt to calm down to allow the smooth leather to appear. But the red musk amps with wear, as it is wont to do on me, so that it is mostly red musk-splashed beeswax with hints of salt, leather, mahogany, parchment, and moss in the background. Verdict: I'm going to retest this one in a few weeks and see how it fares. I amp red musk and wish I got less of it here, but I also tend to amp salt and moss, and those notes were pretty well-behaved. Aside from the red musk, I'm really enjoying the prominence of the bookish notes that I was hoping for, and I appreciate the scent journey of beeswax out at sea.

In the decant, I smell cocoa-tinged champaca, but on me, it's a champaca party. It takes over an hour for me to get any cocoa or tea, but by then it is mostly cocoa-dusted champaca with just a bit of tea. I was hoping for a more resinous incense from this one. This is just too much champaca for me.

This started off so light on me that I thought my skin ate it. It's a light sage and dry sandalwood at first, but then after a while, I smell the same perfume-y vanilla musk found in Ava!?!?!?! Wasn't expecting that. It's backed by the dry sandalwood and a bit of sage. I'm surprised this ended up smelling like a commerical perfume on me. Maybe my nose or my skin chemistry is drunk, since none of the other reviewers seem to have had this experience. This isn't a scent I need more of, but it was nice to be able to try it.

Thank you to the lovely zee_zee for sending these my way and giving me an opportunity to try some of Beth's experimental blends! Beth's Experimental Cinnamon Snake Oil: So... I don't own Saw-Scaled Viper or Red Hot Snake Oil, but I've tried them, and the spiciest Snake Oil variants I own are probably Snakes in the Pumpkin Patch and Pumpkin Spice Snake Oil. That said, and I know this is aged... but this is smoother on the spice than any of those. This is a subdued cinnamon, more like the spice itself and not candy-like at all, accompanied by wonderfully aged Snake Oil. A winner, for sure. Beth's Experimental Blend (no description): So at first, this strongly reminded me of Anesthesia from the Neverwhere collection. Maybe it's the mandrake root? Over time, it ends up smelling more herbal with a dry grass. Beth's Experimental Blend (orange blossom): You know how aged Vixen smells like Snake Oil? This is probably the closest thing to those two having a baby. Orange blossom is a problematic note for me, but it is tamed by this exquisitely aged Snake Oil. It's so smooth and lovely.

In the decant: Heady florals (the tuberose stands out the most) and moss. On me: Heady, sweet florals backed by some moss and slightly softened by a bit of vanilla. Once dry, the florals calm down significantly as the musky ambrette and vanilla help to tame them. This doesn't reminds me of the vanilla musk in Ava. The vanilla here is much creamier than that vanilla note. The moss increases in strength with wear, as it is wont to do on me, so that the scent ends up being like a mossy floral scent draped in a sheet of vanilla musk. The moss and vanilla are giving me chypre vibes like in Le Coucher de la Mariee Hair Gloss, but of course, this is definitely more floral. I'm also getting serious Butterflies, Flowers, and Jewels Attending vibes thanks to the tuberose and white patchouli. Verdict: I became interested in this one due to some of the scents it was compared to in the reviews (and I wanted to see if this would be something my mom would like -- her holy grail scent is Ava). This is more of a classy sort of floral scent, more elegant than flirtatious (like Ava) or youthful (like Butterflies). It's quite pretty after several hours, but I am not sure I'd want to get through that initial blast of heady florals to get to this point. I still think this may be something that would appeal to my mom, or anyone that is after a more traditional type of perfume, so I can't wait to pass this decant on to her and hear what she thinks.

Got a tester of this rare from zee_zee, who offered it as part of a PIF. Thank you so much, zee_zee! Smurf Essence is all about blueberry. It features a candy-like blueberry note. I no longer have these scents to sniff, but I think it's more in line with the blueberry in Blue Lollipops and Blueberry Cream Pie, and not like the sun-warmed blueberry in Blueberry Picking. The blueberry reigns supreme through several hours of wear, and it is less candy-like and more juicy during this phase of the scent. I am also curious if there's another berry note in the mix, perhaps black currant as suggested above. By this point, I also get something dusty in the background -- I do not believe it is violet, because I tend to amp that note and feel like this would be very powdery on me if that were the case. Maybe it is just straight-up dust or a powdery touch of vanilla? But it's not strong and it remains in the background. Verdict: Very blue. Very fitting for a Smurf. Definitely one for blueberry fans.

For those that are curious as to how to pronounce this, I tried to do the best approximation I could via text: Dee-zuh doomp-fen faff-en-krist-en. In the decant: Fir and pinecones backed by some red musk. On me: The fir and pinecone notes are the first to leap out at me, backed by the red musk and petitgrain. Unfortunately for me, those bold notes do not retain their background roles for long, and soon enough, they become main players. The brimstone incense joins in after some time, making this a petitgrain-infused red musk dirtied with smoky brimstone incense and patchouli. The fir and pinecone notes, which started off strong, are now reduced to lesser roles. After several hours, it smells pretty smoky on me, so that must be my skin chemistry running away with the brimstone incense. Behind it is some black leather and cologne-y metal. Behind those notes, there's some earthy patchouli, and musk. Verdict: I enjoyed the fir and pinecone in the beginning, but every phase after that wasn't really my cup of tea (the red musk/petitgrain stage or the really dark, smoky, musky leather and metal one). This is the darkest scent in the Die Erste Walpurgisnacht collection, so if you want to smell diabolical, this one should do the trick.

For those that are curious as to how to pronounce this, I tried to do the best approximation I could via text: Koennt ear zo fer-vay-gen hahn-deln. In the decant: Orange blossom, blackcurrant, salt. On me: The bitter orange blossom takes the center stage, followed by the salt. The blackcurrant lingers in the background at first, but ends up gaining strength over time, adding a welcome bit of sweetness to the scent. The salt manages to calm down and mingles with the rose, so that the scent ends up being a much softer salty rose and orange blossom slightly sweetened and smoothed over by the blackcurrant. I do not get any labdanum from this. It does smell bittersweet. Verdict: This isn't something I'd reach for, but it is more pleasant than I thought it would be on me given the list of notes, and I think that's thanks to the blackcurrant.

For those that are curious as to how to pronounce this, I tried to do the best approximation I could via text: Hilf, ahk, hilf meer, kreegs-guh-zell-uh. In the decant: Orange blossom and orange peel. On me: The orange blossom and peel are the most prominent notes on me. The honey and beeswax add a light sweetness in the background, and behind those notes, there's a titch of white patchouli. In an amazing feat, the honey and beeswax rise to the forefront to help tame the bitter orange blossom and peel notes, and it stays that way for a while, until the grassy khus (vetiver) emerges and becomes one of the dominant notes on me. The ti leaf just adds to its astringency. Once the scent reaches this point, it does not morph anymore. It's mostly grassy khus, backed by the astringent white tea and a touch of honeyed beeswax. Verdict: I am surprised that only the khus was problematic for me, and not the orange blossom. I'm not a fan of khus and preferred this when the honey and beeswax were much stronger. Those that enjoy grassy vetiver may like this, though.

For those that are curious as to how to pronounce this, I tried to do the best approximation I could via text: Es lahkt dair my. Es Lacht der Mai features the Lab's sugared pine or fir snow note accompanied by some sunshine-y citrus (I am thinking orange or bergamot). It really is evocative of sunbeams gracing the caps of snow-covered mountains. It remains this way for a really long time, but after a few hours, the snow melts, leaving behind a nice, cuddly, golden amber. This is really lovely. I am not sure I need a bottle, just because I already have a few bottles that feature this snow note, but I do really like the orange and the amber in this one, so I'm going to retest it to decide whether or not I need more. This is definitely one of my favorites from the Die Erste Walpurgisnacht collection, though.

I tested this in dry hair. On the initial spray, I got a blast of black cherry that kept making me think of cherry lozenges. But it wasn't long before the astringent white tea note emerged to help tame the cherry. Then I ended up smelling the white tea first. But the cherry, although softer, didn't pull a disappearing act like cherry tends to do. Sadly, I couldn't shake the lozenge association whenever I sniffed my hair, so this one is not for me. I can't comment on how long it lasts aside from at least four hours... that's when I washed it out and doused myself in Cabbage White Caterpillar. But it was still going strong by that point, and I feel like most cherry notes fade in the hair long before then. I guess I prefer sweeter cherry scents, but if you are looking to try a cherry hair gloss that doesn't go almond or isn't fleeting, this is worth a shot. I'm going to stick with Dragon Bouffant for a sugary cherry fix, though.

For those that are curious as to how to pronounce this, I tried to do the best approximation I could via text: Dee flah-muh rine-ihgt sihsh fahm rowwk. BONFIRE SMOKE LIKE WHOA. It actually smells like ash is floating through the air. I also smell some smoky, meaty chestnuts (this is not the sweet, dessert-y type). The bonfire smoke reigns supreme on me throughout wear. The bonfire and cedar combo make this smell somewhat charred and meaty to me at first, but it smooths out over time, and after several hours of wear, it's a much softer bonfire covered with ash, backed by a bit of nuttiness, cola-like labdanum, and just a touch of vanilla. I'm not really a fan of smoky scents, and this is too smoky for me, but if you want to smell like a bonfire, check this out.

In the decant: Lemony honey musk. On me: Oof. The lemon blossom is combining with the sharp leaves to make me smell like lemon cleaner mixed with some honey musk. It's sharp, and I actually feel pain behind my eyes when I smell it. Then it becomes even sharper and veers into bug spray territory. Leaf notes are problematic on me, sometimes becoming so sharp that they induce headaches, and that's what's happening here. It doesn't smell like a distinct leaf note on me. It's just high-pitched and adding that bug spray factor. The honey musk and beeswax soften it a bit after a while, but they are not able to salvage this. Verdict:

For those that are curious as to how to pronounce this, I tried to do the best approximation I could via text: Vair Ohp-fer hoit tsoo bringen shoit. In the decant: I'm getting crushed grass and nuts. On me: The crushed grass dominates the scent, and it is on point. Behind it, I smell some warm bark. This smells like a bunch of witches were dancing on some grass with some trees nearby. The sap adds a touch of sweetness to the grass, while the hazelnut contributes a light nuttiness to the scent, but it isn't a main player on me. Unfortunately, after several hours, I smell something sharp, which I think is the oak (leaves can be problematic note on me, but there are no dead leaves here). By this point, I get a much softer grass note paired with the sharp oak. Verdict: I get more grass and greenery here than trees. These witches are doing their ritual near the forest, not in the forest. I was hoping for more hazelnut from this, but if you're looking for a witchy green scent, give this one a try.

For those that are curious as to how to pronounce this, I tried to do the best approximation I could via text: Fer-tile-t oish, vah-kruh mehn-nuh, here. In the decant: A mugwort and moss strewn forest. On me: Cypress, pine sap, and white cedar are the first notes that jump out to me, followed by the herbal mugwort. I was hoping to be able to pinpoint yarrow in this, which is not a note I am very familiar with (I think I only have tried in OLLA Eve), but alas. It doesn't take long for the moss to assert itself and make this moss central on me. I agree that this is like the scent of a forest floor, but like... a very mossy forest floor, with so much moss you can bounce on it. After several hours of wear, I can only smell moss. Woe! Verdict: I love trying Beth's forest scents, but unfortunately, my moss-amping skin chemistry made this much less complex on me. I was so hoping my skin chemistry would allow the trees and herbs to shine through more. If you don't amp moss, you may have better luck with this than I did.

For those that are curious as to how to pronounce this, I tried to do the best approximation I could via text: Zo vite geh-brahkt, dahss veer by nahkt. In the decant: Smooth resins sweetened with a bit of vanilla. The frankincense and vanilla combo have me wondering if I could use this to replace my bottle of Hope and Fear Set Free (which is almost gone). On me: The resins are the star of the show, with the red sandalwood and frankincense (olibanum) being the most prominent of them on me, although I can smell the white cedar and myrrh as well. The myrrh in this is a soft variety, not a bold one. After about an hour, I start getting serious Meditation Buddy vibes from this, including a light orange-like note that I attributed to Meditation Buddy's Florida Water, but I am wondering if that's an aspect of the frankincense? Since making that connection, all I can think of is the similarity to Meditation Buddy every time I sniff this. They both contain sandalwood, frankincense, and vanilla, so I can see why they're similar, although the citrus in this was unexpected. Maybe it's the palmarosa adding that aspect to the scent? I only get the tiniest hint of cardamom if I go searching for it and inhale really deeply. The notes may make this sound like this would be darker, but it's actually a summery sort of resin scent. Verdict: I think this smells lovely, but alas, it is too similar to Meditation Buddy to warrant getting a bottle. (Or maybe I should get one for when my bottle of Meditation Buddy inevitably runs out? Hmm....)

For those that are curious as to how to pronounce this, I tried to do the best approximation I could via text: Kohmmt mitt tsacken oond mitt gah-beln. In the decant: When this first arrived, all I smelled was a cool sort of sage. Now I smell some sage and some orange? On me: Yep, sage and orange. The sage note smells cool (it's not warm like some sage notes tend to be?), fuzzy, and realistic, like a torn sage leaf. I can smell a bit of amber and bay in the background, but they are not nearly as strong as the sage and orange notes. It's an uplifting scent. The furry musk and amber notes gain strength with wear and make the scent warmer, while the tobacco leaf dirties up the fur-like musk a bit. I get a bit of pepperiness at the end, and I am wondering if that is due to the angelica root? Verdict: I really enjoyed this during the first few hours of wear, before the musk became a main player, because I found the sage and orange to be so uplifting. I am not as big of a fan of this after several hours, when it has become more musky and peppery (although the sage is still pretty prominent, and the orange hasn't completely faded away). So I don't think this is one I need a full bottle of, but I do think it is nice.

This is a sour, sharp scent on me. I definitely get some kind of berry note (I am thinking blackberry), some sour herbs, and maybe a high-pitched floral note. There's also a dusty aspect to this. I can't help but wondering if there's a resin involved, but like, a sour one, like the sour labdanum in Hastur? But I am not sure. Unfortunately, this one starts to give me a headache whenever I sniff it, so it is not for me, but I enjoyed getting to try it and compare it to the other reviews.