doomsday_disco

I purchased a small decant of this when it was available and didn't try it on my hair until this weekend... mainly because I had sprayed it on something and got more honey from it than guava. That was also the experience I had wearing this in my hair. It starts off as a nice guava-infused honey, but the guava quickly gives way to the honey and nectar. The honey in this reminded me of the one in C%^T after a few hours in my hair. My boyfriend thinks this smells good. He says, "It smells like Germany." We went back to Germany for two weeks in November/December last year, and I packed Luvmilk's Kitsune Royalty shampoo and conditioner for the trip. That scent features the same honey note as this one, and he associates that honey scent with that trip. While I kind of wish the guava had remained as strong as it was on the initial blast, I'll be keeping my small decant because of that happy scent association, and to pair with Drag on a Slime!

VENUS VERTICORDIA Venus the Changer of Hearts Fickle dandelion florets dancing through honey-drenched wildflowers. I love the Lab's Wild Dandelion single note like whoa. It's one of my 'happy' scents. I associate the scent with hope and innocent days gone by. I also adore sugary floral scents. Needless to say, I was really looking forward to this one. It did not disappoint. In the bottle: It smells exactly like the description. The green dandelion note is the strongest, followed by the honeyed wildflowers. Wet: On my skin, the honey note is stronger than it was in the bottle, but the florals still reign (with the dandelion note being the most prominent). I can't identify which flowers comprise the wildflower note, but I will say that this really does make me think of being in a meadow in the spring, and smelling it brought tears to my eyes. Dry: Sweet dandelions and wildflowers. Verdict: I am so happy that I have a bottle of this. I will need a second bottle of this one before it goes away.

Kumari Kandam features the Lab's slushy snow note, and it is the main player on me. The incense and clay emerge are the first notes to join it, and the incense gets stronger with wear. After several hours, I can smell some stone, and there's a bit of dry, red patchouli in the incense note. There's really just a touch of florals, nothing heady. At the end of the day, it mostly smells like cool water and incense (not champaca!) with a hint of dirt. I think this is nice (it was neat to smell that clay note!), but there are other blends featuring this snow note that I am more likely to wear. I'll probably retest this just to be sure, but I may end up gifting the bottle to a friend of mine that has been curious about this scent and loves all of the Lab's snow blends.

I am getting orange blossom backed by some almond, white sage, and a bit of cool eucalyptus. The almond quickly burns off, leaving the scent without any sweetness. The other notes are no match for the orange blossom, which dominates the scent throughout wear, although the sage is more prominent in the background after a few hours. I agree with other reviews about this being a high-end sort of scent. It's not really my thing, but it was nice to get to try it.

This is pumpkin and coffee when first applied, but it quickly gives way to spiced pumpkin central. The spice pumpkin never stops. It has declared dominion over all. It's the same pumpkin note from the original GC in the pumpkin patch scents. I'm glad I got a chance to try this one, but alas, my skin chemistry really ran away with that spiced pumpkin. I was so hoping to be able to experience the other notes!

Mead Moon has an effervescent quality to it on me, which I think is a result of the ginger root. So it smells like some fizzy honey with some fruit (the blackberries are most noticeable to my nose) and possibly some herbs (the original scent copy for this said gruit, and as forspecial_plate noted in another thread, that's an herb mixture used in beer making). The spices in this are very light, which I wasn't expecting, since I usually amp them. And there's really just a squeeze of citrus. The golden honey is really nice, but the mead aspect becomes more apparent after several hours of wear, as the scent takes on a yeast-y quality. I had to try this one because I bought the shirt and felt like I needed to try the scent that matched it. While this is a mead I certainly would drink, it's not something I'd probably choose to smell like. I am glad I decided to try it, though.

I had a bowl of Cap'n Crunch Berries this morning, Fruity Pebble cookies this afternoon, and I currently have the scent of Fruity Pebbles going in one of my wax warmers. I came prepared for this review! This is definitely the scent of fruity cereal with some strawberries tossed in to the bowl. It could be the strawberry swaying me, but I feel like this smells more like Cap'n Crunch Berries than the LÖÖPS, which is the other cereal I had in mind at times when smelling this. Definitely no Fruity Pebbles or Trix here, though. The cereal scent stays true for several hours (an amazing feat, since I feel like most perfume oils that smell like cereal smell like that in the vial but quickly just turn into the smell of citrus and berries once they touch my skin) before turning into the scent of cereal milk. Which is also good. I think I would like this even more without the strawberries, but I am still enjoying this even though I typically avoid that note. I am really glad I was gifted a sniffie of this, but I think I may have to get some more. More LÖÖPS, brøether?

This is pretty much tobacco central on me, backed by some frankincense, with the tonka being MIA. The tobacco has the astringency of French Tobacco, but it's amped up thanks to the bourbon. I feel like a man lounging about at a gentleman's club would wear this. This was too tobacco-heavy for me, with not enough sweetness, but it was nice to be able to try it.

Note: I am only reviewing the scent, not its purpose. Isychia is reminiscent of a citronella candle and smells that way throughout several hours of wear. It does get considerably more herbal with wear, as the chamomile becomes more prominent, but I still can't shake that vibe whenever I smell it. While it does smell somewhat calming, there are other TALs that I graviate towards more on the anti-anxiety front.

[No additional description provided. Scent description for Dorian is here.] In the bottle: Slightly chilled Dorian. The musk and fougere of Dorian mingled with the chilly sweetness of Snow White. Wet: On my skin, I'm getting powdery snow and Dorian. The snow note is not ozone-y or extremely minty, nor is it citrus-y or of the slushy variety. Although I do get a sufficient amount of the cold component and Dorian, the frostbite note is more prominent on me. As it begins to dry down, the chilly part of this particular snow note ends up increasing in strength. Dry: It's a lot sweeter now, thanks to the sweetness from the snow note and the sugared vanilla tea from the Dorian (which always ends up being a dominant note once dry on me). I applied Go to Sleep, Darlings on my upper arm for reference (which features the snow note from Snow White without the floral notes). At first, Frostbitten Dorian isn't as sweet, but the scent becomes sweeter over time. It is a blustery day in the hundred acre desert, and as I was walking around outside, I kept getting hit with the same magical chilly sweetness that I get from Snow White. Verdict: Hoard-worthy.

This one is mostly about the sugared strawberry, backed by the cherry and just a touch of the pink pepper. I tested this in dry hair and on a paper towel, and I got the fruit roll-up vibe mentioned in the description on both. And the scent was going strong all day, too! If you want to your hair to smell like fruity candy, this one is for you.

In the decant: I get the bay rum, a bit of hay, and incense. On me: Bay rum dominates throughout wear, backed by some hay and incense. There's only a hint of fougere on me. I love Beth's fougeres, and if the description hadn't mentioned it so that I would know to go looking for it, I probably wouldn't know it was there. I also tried this on the boy, who had a similar experience, although he was picking up more of the incense on him. Verdict: You must enjoy bay rum (the cologne, not the booze, as supreme_c0rt mentioned) in order to appreciate this one. I'm not a big bay rum fan, so this is not for me, and the boy wasn't really drawn to this, either, but it was fun to get to try it.

In the decant: Patchouli backed by some smoky labdanum. On me: Patch and labdanum, with the labdanum being stronger on me than it was in the decant. I'm not a fan of smoky scents, and there's only a touch of smokiness here. The dry white sandalwood joins in behind these notes, and then the sweet, somewhat powdery benzoin. Unfortunately, the benzoin amps on me with wear, and it ends up being a very powdery resinous patch blend on me. Verdict: I'm so glad I got a chance to try this one, because who doesn't want to try a scent with a name like Dalliance with an Amorous Bat Demon!? Alas, it became too powdery on me for it to be something I would reach for.

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.