doomsday_disco

Psionicist is a eucalyptus-y, mint-y scent on a bed of powdery musk and pale frankincense. It's a refreshing, clean scent that isn't bracing: eucalyptus leaf isn't as strong as straight-up eucalyptus, and white mint is one of the softer varieties. This would pair well with Screeching Revenant or Juniper Mint HG (but especially the former). I don't need a bottle, but I will be hanging on to my imp for RPG layering purposes and for the days that I feel I need a refreshing, clean sort of scent.

Marshmallow mint and a drop of lemon sugar. In the bottle and when initially sprayed, Cabbage White Caterpillar HG smells like Trix cereal. But that quickly changes. I get a blast of lemon sugar at first, more lemon sugar than I was expecting from the description, that made me think this would be good to pair with scents like Lemon-Scented Sticky Bat. But the lemon sugar calms down over time, and the marshmallow ends up being the main feature of this scent. The mint is a soft mint. Whenever I randomly got a whiff of my hair, I always got the lemon sugar or the marshmallow (especially the marshmallow) from this one, not the mint. I had to hold my hair up to my nose and search for the mint, so it is not nearly as minty as I thought it would be. Because of that, I would be more likely to pair this with marshmallow or lemon sugar scents than mint ones. I paired this with Dragon Smooch perfume oil yesterday because they both have mint and marshmallow listed in the notes, and I got a lot more mint from Dragon Smooch than I did from this hair gloss. After several hours of wear, this becomes all about the marshmallow, and I can still smell it in my hair the next day. I am really happy that I grabbed a bottle of Cabbage White Caterpillar HG.

Winter Stars features a sweet patchouli note, lavender, amber, and musk backed by the bright citrus notes and cypress. The patchouli is the star of the show on me throughout wear, and the scent is a bit sharp in the early phase due to the citrus and cypress. They end up calming down over time, but I don't think I could use this as a sleep scent due to that aspect of the scent. To my nose, it is more of a perfume-y sort of scent than a cuddly one. I do think Winter Stars fits its inspiration, but I am not sure how often I would reach for this over other lavender and patchouli scents in my collection. (I vastly prefer A Moment in Time and My Tiger.) I'll let this settle some more and retest before deciding whether or not I should keep it.

2018 version. Yule Cat is much better than I expected! The clubmoss in here is the same as the one in The Forest of the Empress (note: clubmoss is not actually moss). It gives the scent an evergreen vibe, so that it is like evergreen on a bed of sweet, dark musk. There is a brief phase where the civet threatens to funk the scent up, but it ends up being kept in check by the other notes. The vetiver here isn't the BBQ variety, either. The scent definitely befits the a musky forest cat on the prowl, looking for some people to eat. I am not sure if I would reach for it over other forest-y scents in my collection, but Yule Cat was a pleasant surprise!

The Pale Snowman features the sugared pine/fir snow note from scents like Snow Bunny, NYC Snowball Fight, and Marshmallow Snow Bath Oil with just a tinge of vetiver in the background. I didn't get any vanilla incense from this, sadly. It seems I will always amp this snow note whenever it is present in a scent. It's not bad, but I plan on passing on my decant. I have other scents that I enjoy more that feature this snow note.

I originally passed on this one when it was announced, but I was tempted to buy a partial once I read the glowing reviews. Alas, I should have just stuck to my original instinct. The white tea leaf amps on me just as I expected, and the bourbon tobacco and cognac add to the sharpness of the scent. I get the juniper as well, but for the most part, it is a bright, sharp Lace. The vanilla is fleeting on me, and once the sharp aspects of the scent come down, it's all powder on my skin. Boo. I bet the white musk is a factor there. I'll be passing this one on to a friend.

Lump of Coal smells delicious! It starts off exactly like the description, rich, fudgy, gooey brownies. OM NOM NOM. However, it becomes less-brownie like and more like a creamy cocoa scent over time. I have too many chocolate scents in my collection, but I'll be hanging on to my partial. Of the four scents I tried on my arm yesterday, this one was the winner.

In Frostbitten Knave of Hearts, the Knave is buried under a ton of bright, citrusy snow (more of the slushy sort of snow than the sugary pine/fir snow, Snow White's sweet snow note, or the mentholic one). I get some blackcurrant at first, but then it becomes mostly all about that snow note on me with just a bit of buttery pastry behind it. After a few hours of wear, the rose emerges, so that it's the bright snow note plus a tart rose. I was originally going to blind bottle this one since it is a Mad Tea Party variant, decided to hold off and see if I could find a decant or partial since the reviews said it was so snow-heavy, and ended up having to grab a bottle anyways since I couldn't find anyone parting with any. Maybe I should have held out a little longer. I'm going to hold onto this for a bit, retest it in a month, and see how it goes. It's not bad, and I am glad that I seem to have gotten more of the pastry than most reviewers seemed to, but I would appreciate this one more if it featured less snow or a different snow note. At the moment, I have to say that I prefer the original Knave.

Solitary and Abhorred is mainly white tea and black patchouli on me. It's the brightness of the white tea over a dark patchouli that ends up becoming more prominent with wear. This isn't for me, as I always need some sort of sweetness present in order to appreciate patchouli scents, but I am glad that I got to try this Frankenstein scent.

V'al Hanissim is predominantly a honeyed beeswax scent on me. It's definitely in the same family as The Lights of Men's Lives, and it resembles it enough that I don't think it would be necessary to own both. But it is lovely. No bottle for me, since I didn't get enough amber from this to differentiate it from other beeswax scents, but if you love beeswax and need beeswax ALL THE THINGS, you will probably love this.

I love lavender and amber and the fact that this is a Gaiman scent, so I went for it. But alas, it does not work on me. I have tested it twice, and both times, the oudh ruined the party. The glorious lavender is accompanied by a strong, stinky variety of oudh. My boyfriend said it smelled like "funky butt" and recoiled whenever he got a whiff of it. So if oudh is problematic for you, you may want to try and see if you can hunt down a decant of this before committing to a bottle. Sadly, I'm going to have to destash this.

Frostbitten Alice is like Alice and Snow White had a baby. It's the honeyed carnation of Alice with Snow White's sweet snow note. In other words, it's a beauty. I get more Alice than Snow White snow on me, but that may be because I tend to amp carnation. That said, the snow note does gain strength with wear. A keeper, for sure, and one of the highlights of the Yule update for me. If you love Alice, and you love Snow White, don't skip this.

This is really lovely. The bush nut is the most prominent note on me. It rests on a bed of moss and dry grass with touches of the cinnamon and lemon myrtle. It's warm, nutty, and comforting. The cinnamon myrtle isn't straight-up cinnamon, so there's no cinnabomb here, and the lemon myrtle is like a ray of sunshine, adding a happy, hopeful quality to the scent instead of a blast of lemon. I wasn't sure how this would work with its list of notes, but The Kangaroo is such a pleasant surprise. If you're looking for a nice, warm, nutty scent, look no further. I'm glad I bought a bottle.

I took a chance on Berlin Girls because I was interested in the book and was curious about another Berlin-inspired perfume, even though the notes didn't really resonate with me. (Gleaming black leather sounded like it could be the chemical-y variety, smoky vetiver isn't really my thing...) Well, the perfume is a pleasant surprise. I'm not generally a fan of fruity scents, but the star of the show is the sweet blackcurrant, and it is one of the varieties in Eat Me. Beneath it is the bright pink pepper note. The scent goes through a sharp phase, but eventually mellows out. I get touches of the vetiver and patchouli, but no strong, chemical-y leather here. Berlin Girls is Eat Me's flirty, fun-loving, convention-defying sister. I'll be keeping her around and pairing her with Eat Me hair gloss.

I can't compare this to the scent of clove cigarettes, but I will say that it is a clove-dominant scent with a bit of a cool aspect in the background, and it is goth af. There is no sweet or dank tobacco note here... it's more like a clove incense. I tested this against Sweet Clove SN, and the latter was warmer and stronger than this scent. Since it didn't have lots of throw when I tested it, I decided to do a full day wear test by slathering it along the length of both of my forearms. Even then, I could not smell it over my boyfriend's Jareth (and he only used three dabs). So it's definitely one that needs to be slathered (at least in a dry climate) and absorbed into some clothes. If you love clove, you need this. My decant will not be enough.

Did the Lab's atmos used to have an alcohol base? Because that's what I get from the decant when it is first sprayed. But then that goes away and it becomes a really nice, warm, nutty scent that just gets better over time. The hazelnuts are the star of the show, but the chestnuts become more noticeable after a while, making the scent sweeter. I really enjoy this and think it would be wonderful to spray around during the colder months.

I was gifted a decant of this one and had the same experience as the above reviewer. I once had Samhain Atmo, which I ended up destashing because the scent was so strong that it was overwhelming to me. This doesn't smell like Samhain to me at all, although it is also overwhelming. It's very sour, and there's also a leaf-y scent beneath the sourness. I get no Samhain, cinnamon sugar, or candy from this whatsoever, sadly. I sprayed this on a paper towel to test this and ended up having to throw the paper towel away because the scent was so bothersome. It seems like there may be a batch variation with this one according to the reviews?

If you missed The Mountebank but wish you could have tried it, try this. This is the same lavender and brown leather from that scent sweetened by tonka. It starts off as mostly being a sweet lavender scent with a hint of leather, but the leather ends up becoming more prominent with wear until it is one of the main players. This is really lovely, and if I didn't already have a bottle of The Mountebank, I would grab a bottle of this.

This one did not work on me. Right out of the gate, I am hit with a blast of vinegar, which is either the labdanum or woodsmoke being acrid on me. I suspect it is the labdanum, which appears to be a sour variety here, but I have had some smoky scents turn acrid on me, too. It does mellow out over time, with the fuzzy brown musk becoming more noticeable with wear, making this a warm, musky, resin scent with a wisp of smoke. The beginning is far too sour on me, though.

Fuzzy brown musk, sunny bergamot, and a whiff of grass is what I get from Bub. I think there may be some spiced amber at play, too? It's a happy, cozy scent that becomes more fuzzy and musky over time. I think it's nice, but I prefer the wet phase when the bergamot and grass are more noticeable, before the musky amber almost completely takes over.

Note: I have never tried Devil's Night. I feel like the above reviews are pretty spot on. Devil's Night in the Pumpkin Patch is the 'cool guy' scent in this year's pumpkin patch. The dark musk is the star here, backed by some light spice, a bit of booze, and the suggestion of a leather jacket. There's no buttery pumpkin or syrup-y pumpkin spice here. It's nice, but I also know I am not likely to reach for such a musk-heavy scent, so I don't think it's a keeper for me. Definitely one of the highlights of the pumpkin patch this blends I tried this year, though.

On me, this is mostly about the chilly, slushy snow. After a while, it goes through a bit of an odd phase. I think one of the lunar oils is a citrus-y note that doesn't play well with the snow note on me? But mostly, I get the slushy snow note. I decided to try this one because I always feel like I should try the scent that goes with the shirt I buy, but this scent isn't one I could really see myself reaching for... I prefer other scents with the slushy snow note more.

The Poinsettia Gown would be right at home in the Lupercalia update. I get more jasmine than rose from this one, and it's a softer variety of jasmine, not a super heady, indolic one. Both floral notes are accompanied by an exquisite cream that takes this into flormand territory, kind of like if you had some floral-infused scones with cream nearby. I thought this might be too similar to Allegory of Chastity, but I think I may like this one more? It's creamier and less rose-y. I am not sure I need a full bottle of this, as I do not reach for scents starring jasmine that often, but I do think this is a really lovely flormand, and I'll definitely be hanging on to my decant.

This is a really strong scent. It smelled so strong without the vial being open that I had to put it in a tin and place that tin several feet away so that I couldn't smell it anymore. I got myself to test it last night, and while I can smell both notes in the vial, the gardenia is the star of the show, and it's SUPER LOUD on me. I do not get much vanilla cream on my skin, sadly, although I know it must be hiding in the background, afraid to join the gardenia on the center stage. If you love gardenia, you'll probably love this. But the vanilla is not strong enough on me to make me love it like many flormands.

This is mostly about the hearthsmoke. The chestnut note isn't the dessert-y, Mont Blanc sort of chestnut that I adore; rather, it is more like chestnuts being warmed on some cast iron at a Christmas market, whose hard shells need to be pulled away to reveal the curiously fuzzy interior that surrounds the nut. So.... more like the smoke and the outer shells than the edible part. Not bad, but not a scent I could see myself reaching for.