doomsday_disco

A brief of splort of brandied apricot, and then, WHOOSH! A wave of dark musk hits so fast that it quickly becomes a predominantly dark musk and light hinoki on me with just a touch of the brandied apricot. I am getting zero vanilla from this, sadly. It was nice to get to try this, but I was really hoping for more apricot and vanilla.

Fancy-Free started off like lemon candy but then became more like a tart, realistic lemon after the initial spray. I could never pick out the ambrette -- it was all lemon, all of the time, for as long as it lasted (I could not smell it in my hair by the end of the day). It's a nice lemon scent that would indeed pair well with scents like Lemon-Scented Sticky Bat, and I am so glad I was gifted a decant! But I don't think I need to hunt down a bottle of it at the moment, as I love Cabbage White Caterpillar HG more with its lemon sugar.

Note: I tested this on my skin, not in the bath, since I use bath oils as after-shower moisturizers. Frenum is a nice, refreshing bath oil. I mainly get the cucumber and white tea notes from this, along with a bit of cherry blossom and a touch of the same lettuce note found in Rapunzel. I was a little concerned about which notes would come out on my skin after sniffing from the bottle, but it ended up being rather nice on my skin. I am not sure I need to upgrade to a bottle since I don't wear cucumber scents that often, but I will definitely be hanging on to my decant to pair this with Rendevous at the Bath and Squirting Cucumber during the warm months.

Daya was mostly a warm, bright resinous scent on me. I think I was getting some variety of amber along with some incense, and perhaps a touch of musk. I didn't get anything from fruity from this like other reviewers seem to have gotten. I'm glad it is not a love since it was a gift with purchase imp, but I do think it smells like a lovely resinous incense.

Karme is definitely a vegetal sort of scent, although it is not an in-your-face sort of vegetal scent like you would expect from the notes. I mainly get the leafy greens from this, which takes me back to the leafy greens in 13 December 2013. I can't pick out the onions, peppers, or radish. I could not see myself reaching for this one (I'd rather smell like a snack, not a salad ), but I am glad I got to try a scent with such unique notes!

Medea is predominantly a floral scent on me. I think the orchid is the strongest of the floral notes on me. The black currant ends up joining in later on so that it becomes a fruity floral scent, although it is more floral than fruit. The resins are not noticeable on me, and I can only sniff the cypress if I stick my nose to my wrist and inhale really deeply. This isn't a scent that I could see myself reaching for, but I am glad I got to try it in my quest to try the GC.

Oleander Honey is a sweet, creamy, floral honey. The oleander is somewhat sharp at first, but it ends up melding with the honey beautifully and creating this lovely floral honey scent. This is much nicer than I thought it would be. I think I will hang on to my imp!

Psalm 146:9 starts off with this lovely combo of cacao sweetened by the vanilla, but then the labdanum quickly bursts into the room and declares dominion over all. It ends up being a sweet cola-like labdanum backed by some bourbon vanilla. I don't get any vetiver from this at all. Unfortunately, it becomes cola-like powder on me after a few hours of wear. I liked this more than I thought I would based on the notes. I just wish it hadn't become powdery on me after a while.

Baby wipes turn into baby powder. Seriously, this is all about that powdery baby smell. I get zero brimstone from this. So if this baby is diabolical, it is hiding it really well. I am not one that wants to smell like baby powder, so this decant is off to swaps.

This is mostly salt and honey on me for the longest time, with just a hint of bergamot. After a few hours, the dusty sandalwood ends up joining the salt and honey, but the salt is the strongest note. I am surprised that I am not getting any patch from this. This was an odd mix of salty sweet. Not bad, just not really something I could see myself reaching for.

At the Krampuslauf is all about that KINDERPUNSCH. I get zero leather from this. The Kinderpunsch dominates throughout, and it is somewhat reminiscent of Hawaiian Fruit Punch. It is backed by a slushy snow note that loses strength over time. If you want to smell like sweet fruit punch, this one is for you. Alas, it is far too fruity for me.

This is just what it says on the tin: pomegranate over a base of Snake Oil. It's not tart like I suspected it would be, but that may be because I am getting a fair amount of Snake Oil vanilla from this (perhaps because this is an aged decant). As other reviewers mentioned, the pom in this verges on candy-like. I'm not a fan of pomegranate and only tried this because I got it in a mystery pack of decants, but if you're looking for fruity Snake Oil, give this a whirl.

Gaudium is the strong scent of citrusy geranium. I couldn't pick out the lavender. The geranium is the star here throughout wear. If you're not a fan of its strong, herbal fragrance, then it would be best to skip this bath oil, because there is no escaping it. A little goes a long way. I like geranium, but it is something that I have to be in the mood for in order to wear. I will be holding on to my decant to pair with The Season of Ghosts, but I do not think I would reach for this enough to warrant a bottle purchase.

Me, and my boyfriend, sitting in our apartment yesterday: WHY DOES IT SMELL LIKE RICE????? It took me a few hours before I remembered that I had used Castitas as an after-shower moisturizer. I was the culprit! Castitas reminds me of a less foodie, less sweet cousin of My Baby and a Baby Goat, only, the rice flower is a much bigger player in this one. There is a butteriness to the rice flower and vanilla cream combo on me, but I agree with VetchVesper: it's more of a starchiness and not as rich as the Lab scents that contain basmati rice notes. If you only use a dab, it is pretty subtle, but obviously, if you slather your legs in the stuff, you might wonder why it suddenly smells like rice when you haven't made any recently. I will be keeping my decant to pair with scents like My Baby and a Baby Goat, but I am going to wait and see how often I reach for it before debating a bottle upgrade.

Nefertiti is all about the iris and herbs on me for several hours. Iris does not get along with my skin chemistry, so it is an herbal powder bomb on me with just a hint of the resins in the background. I am glad I got to try it in my quest to try the GC, but Nefertiti is not for me. The iris was just not well-behaved on my skin.

Lorraine Cross is a really nice, realistic red rose scent with velvety petals. I seem to be amping the rose, because I am not getting any resins from this whatsoever. After several hours of wear, it's still all rose, all of the time. But it's a lovely rose! It's not something I need to obtain more of, as I have plenty of rose scents already that I'd reach for before this one, but I am glad I got to try it.

Paduan Killer Swarm was mostly a creamy, coconut-y scent on me infused with some tonka, amber, and a bit of nettle, which I recognize from Snakes Slithering Through Stinging Nettle. I did not get tons of anise from this, and for that, I am really grateful, as it is not a note of which I am particularly fond. I also couldn't pick out any ginger or clove. And while I don't really gravitate toward coconut scents, I found this one to be pretty nice and kept getting this lovely waft from the back of my hand. This is probably one of the best creamy coconut scents I have ever tried.

Kyoto is all about the anise on me for the first few hours of wear. So much so, that I don't get any of the other notes until it calms down. Then it is mostly about the cherry blossom and dusty sandalwood with just a tinge of anise. This one is too strong on the anise for me, but I am glad I got to try it.

Magus starts off as a medicinal, spiced resin scent on me. I am not sure what high john essence smells like, but I think that's what is adding a medicinal, yet uplifting quality to this scent, while the galangal is contributing to the spice vibe. These notes are accompanied by the cedar and resins, with the cedar and frankincense being far stronger than the sandalwood. Together, they create this serene resinous scent, which ends up morphing into galangal-infused resins after a few hours of wear. I liked this a lot more than I was expecting to from the list of notes. I wish it remained the way it did during the early phases of the scent, but I liked the early stage of this so much that I am going to keep the imp.

Orange and clove! Neither of the notes are strong, but that may just be due to age. The orange is the dominant note in the beginning, but the clove ends up being more noticeable once it has been dry for a while. I love both of these notes, so I am really glad I got to try this one! I'm going to hang on to the imp, although I wish the scent were a little stronger on me.

Year of the Ox starts off with a blast of the black peppercorn and tobacco on me, with some cognac and hiba wood lurking behind those notes. After a bit, pepper calms down a little, and the brown musk adds a bit of a clean feel to the scent in the background. The tobacco and cognac grow stronger on me over time, however, and end up becoming the dominant notes. It actually makes me think of the Lace scent family, only without the lovely Lace vanilla. If you are looking for a Lace-like scent without any vanilla, Year of the Ox might be a good option for you. I'm glad I got to try it, but sniffing it just made me want to wear Summer Lace --- which has the tobacco and cognac, but they're accompanied by floral notes and vanilla.

This is the sixth 13 that I have tried, and it is by far my favorite. In the bottle and when first applied to the skin, it's a lemon-y sugar variety that stands out, like the kind from Sweets to the Sweet, but then it transforms into a melange of different sugars, and it manages to do that without being sickly sweet, like you think it might be because IT FEATURES 13 SUGARS. I can pick out the powdered sugar, but I am not able to pick out the others -- they all blend together so wonderfully. One of the reasons I leapt for a bottle was for the layering possibilities. I layered a dab of this with Sweet Pea SN on one arm, and I layered another dab with Wild Dandelion SN on the other. I am happy to report that Sweet Pea + 13 resulted in a sugary sweet pea that would make fans of blends like Serving Fish really happy, and it morphed into mostly sugar. On the other arm, Wild Dandelion + this 13 started off stronger on the dandelion and then melded so beautifully with the sugar that it was like smelling happiness, and it made me want to cry. I'll cherish my bottle.

When this first arrived a few days ago, all I got from the bottle was the honey. I let it settle for a few days, and it made a difference. The lavender and beeswax became more noticeable from the bottle sniff. On my skin, the honey remains the star, accompanied by a sweet lavender. It's a golden, syrup-y, sugary honey, like honey with little sugar crystals in it. I think it may be most reminiscent of the honey in Harlow's Lace, but I'd have to do a side-by-side comparison to be sure. The beeswax in this is not the type from The Light's of Men's Lives, and it doesn't really become noticeable on me until after several hours of wear. And even then, it is not a main player. But that may be because it melds so nicely with the honey? If you are looking for that kind of beeswax, you might be disappointed. But if you are looking for a really nice honeyed lavender, you will probably enjoy this. I like this a lot more than C%^T, which also features honey and lavender, but different varieties. A keeper for sure!

Scholar's Tower is primarily a resinous scent on me, not a book scent. It starts off with some sharp mahogany and frankincense trying to clamor over the warm cedar. It definitely does have a gleaming quality to it, and it settles down into a really lovely, powdery, golden amber scent. I never did get the beeswax, parchment, or ink, sadly. I think this is a nice amber scent, but I don't think I would reach for it over other amber scents I have, like Hesiod's Phoenix. I really wish my skin chemistry had brought out some of that parchment and beeswax.

An olfactory plushie; comfort in a bottle. Vanilla absolute, lavender buds and essential oil, red labdanum, ethically harvested white sandalwood essential oil, palo santo essential oil, patchouli essential oil, and jasmine sambac with red sandalwood bark and St. John’s Wort from the TAL garden. A lot is going on right now – A LOT – all over the world, and the upheaval is reflected in our personal lives. We’re coming out of 2018’s Tower’esque maelstrom, and many of us are still struggling to get our bearings. This small set of oils has been designed for ritual and can also be worn as perfumes because we could all use a helping hand right about now. Security Blanket was created, composed, and consecrated under the healing, calming auspices of Luna. As she wanes, may she remove the terrors and grief that clutch at your heart, and as she waxes, may she fill you with peace and tranquility.  Security Blanket really is comfort in a bottle. I have anxiety and insomnia, and this week has been a stressful one, so last night, I slathered some Security Blanket on my arms before bed, hoping it would help me have a restful slumber. And it did! It smells wonderful, too. The main notes that I got from this were lavender, palo santo, and what I believe may be the St. John's Wort (it was kind of medicinal). I couldn't evaluate it beyond that because I fell asleep before it had been dry for a while and didn't get to pick up on the other notes. But it was really, really relaxing. If you're a fan of lavender and palo santo, you need this. I'll update my review if I end up being able to evaluate the scent after several hours of wear (without dozing off). I am really happy to have this, and I wish it hadn't been limited to 50 bottles, because I would grab a back-up bottle if it were still available. I will cherish every last drop. Thank you so much, Beth!