doomsday_disco

In the decant: Tons of strawberry, with a drop of motor oil in the background if you inhale really deeply. On my skin: Deceitfuldescender is right: the strawberry in this smells like strawberry juice. In the background, I do get some motor oil and a hint of the cream. The tea rose note ends up emerging later, adding a tart quality to the scent to cut the sweetness of the strawberry without managing to overtake it. It ends up being mostly strawberry and tea rose with a little bit of cream after a few hours of wear. Strawberry perfumes are not my thing, but I wanted to try this to see if it was like Unreleased Scent 15 (another Firefly prototype that I thought might be a Kaylee perfume), and I was curious about the motor oil. It is not like Unreleased Scent 15, and the motor oil is not a main player here. This is definitely one for the strawberry lovers. It was nice to get a chance to try it, though!

I get sugary store-bought frosting (those ones in the small, plastic tubs in the baking aisle): not buttercream frosting, and not cream cheese frosting. I also get a floral undertone to this, but not any actual cake note. Unlike the previous poster, I don't get much throw from this. (But I live in a super dry climate.) Not bad, but also, definitely not Birthday Cake. There are other frosting and cake scents that I enjoy and would reach for more than this, so while it is nice (the best of the protos I have tried so far), I don't think I can justify holding onto it when it doesn't produce a "OMG THIS IS SO AMAZING" reaction in me.

Me before smelling Captain: It's probably going to be like a cross between Outlaw and Tombstone but not as sweet! Me upon smelling Captain: HOLY HECK THAT IS SOME LEATHER. Captain is very strong on the leather, backed by the white cedar note, which is a different kind of cedar than the one found in Tombstone. I sadly never end up getting any sassafras or vanilla from this, and I was really hoping for some root beer-y goodness. The leather in this is far too strong for me, with not enough sweetness to tame it, so I will be passing this on to a friend who adores Firefly and is curious about this scent.

I am not sure what year this tester is, but I think it's the 2019 version. I never would have tried Bright Red Dildo if a very kind BPALista hadn't sent it to me. My experience with The Red Rider made me think this would be that horribly strong you-just-walked-into-a-leather-store kind of leather with a stank-y honey, but actually, it's not like that all. Bright Red Dildo is a musky, honeyed leather scent. The red leather in this softened by the honey note. The scent isn't soft by any means: it's just a lot smoother than I was expecting. Over time, the musky, honeyed leather scent ends up almost having an incense-y quality to it. It is pretty sexy. I didn't upgrade to a bottle of this, because I just can't see myself reaching for this enough to warrant one, but it was a pleasant surprise. I am thankful that I got a chance to try it, and I will be keeping my decant.

Osmanthus, Damascus rose, violet, delphinium, white mint, palmarosa and white sandalwood. In the decant: I am getting a mint-tinged floral scent, backed by some sandalwood. On my skin: This is a predominantly mint-infused floral blend on a bed of sandalwood. After a few minutes, I start to amp the violet, which my skin chemistry is wont to do. It ends up being a strong violet with some osmanthus and an oddly herbal floral scent accompanied by a dusty sandalwood after a few hours of wear. Verdict: My violet-hating skin chemistry never stood a chance, but it was nice to get a chance to try it.

In the decant: I can smell the juniper, sandalwood, and orchid. On my skin: The sandalwood and juniper are the first notes to jump out at me, followed by the orchid, and a bit of bergamot. After a few minutes, the rosewood joins in, and then the lilac joins the party a few minutes after that. After a few hours, it is mostly about the warmth of the red musk-infused woods backed by a smooth orchid on me. Verdict: Whoa, the red musk didn't stomp all over everything for once! I'm glad I got to try it, but this is not something I could see myself reaching for.

In the bottle, I, too, get this caramel/toffee-like vibe, likely due to the combination of the honey, warm musk, and perhaps the tobacco. On my skin, this immediately made me think of Lush's Honey I Washed the Kids soap, but there's some effervescence beneath the sweet layer, which I think is probably the labdanum at play (the sweet variety is always cola-like on me). It stays that way on me throughout several hours of wear: the honey and warm musk hold the center stage, but the fizzy quality in the background ends up fading over time. I can see this being popular among those who love sweet scents. It's like a honeyed hug in a bottle.

At first, I was sitting there thinking that this reminded me of something, and I thought it might be the mimosa and cream from Comparison of Celebrated Beauties, but I went to sniff my bottle, and that wasn't it. I think this is actually reminding me of is Lush's Daddy-O shampoo. It's like this strong candied violet plus cream. I tend to amp violet and its relatives, so either it or one of them is in here. I also get the cucumber-melon vibe that other reviews have mentioned. This was... unexpected, given the list of notes. I did not get the amber part of the cream or the mahogany on my skin. I'm glad I got to try it, but I will have to pass it on to someone else who might love it, as the secret violet or orris note is super strong on me.

I had a chance to swap for this decant, and I did it so that a friend of mine could try it, because I remembered her being interested in this last Halloween and not getting to try it. She loves smoky scents, and I do not, and she had decided to pass over it due to the jasmine that's listed as the first note. But I think she'd like this. Midnight Bonfire starts off with some heavy pine smoke backed by the smoldering leaves. It's pretty intense at first, until the jasmine shows up and lightens up the scent a little, giving the scent its midnight vibe, as if you're attending a bonfire at midnight during the full moon. I'm actually glad that the jasmine is here, because otherwise there would be nothing to help tame the smoke on me. It's still too smoky for me, but I do think it's evocative of its name. I am going to pass it on to my friend and see what she thinks of it.

This starts off strong on the green apple pulp and apple blossom on me, backed by a field of green grass. It gradually darkens with wear, as the green musk and opoponax slink through the scent, but after several hours, it ends up being an apple blossom-infused musk on me. It's pleasant, but I already have Bestiare du Moyen Age (which I prefer) for that.

The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch reminds me strongly of A Silhouette without the lilac note at first. It's got that same brightness to it that is almost effervescent at first, accompanied by some herbs (which I'm unable to identify, try as I might) and the warm, sweet tonka of the paper, a bit of gunpowder, and as zee_zee said, just a whiff of a very light brown leather note. Over time, the scent becomes sweeter, as the page note ends up being the dominant note on my skin. I think this is really nice. I'm always wanting a book scent that I get more pages from than leather, and here it is. I'll be hanging on to my decant and consider upgrading to a bottle depending upon how often I reach for it.

The reason this is so bright and lemony is because it has an unlisted bright green tea note that's much stronger than the chamomile, backed by the cashmere, a bit of patchouli, and a hint of leather. The patchouli note gains strength on me over time, so that after a few hours, it ends up smelling like chamomile green tea, patchouli, and smooth leather, accompanied by some of the coziness of the cashmere. It is, unexpectedly, a dirtied-up green tea scent on me. Imagine Informal Tea HG with some patchouli, cashmere, and leather thrown in, and you'd get this. It's not really my cup of tea, but I had to try it because of the name!

Beelzebub is strong on the pepper and clove. It's very spicy and warms the skin, but it doesn't burn at all, fortunately. The "bloody" part of the musk is not red musk, so if that note is worrisome, you need not worry about it here. The spices are the star of the show throughout wear on me, but the musk does become more noticeable with time. Beelzebub is a lot more pleasant than I thought it would be (I mainly wanted to try it because of the clove note, but I was afraid of the peppers and the possibility of red musk). I don't see myself reaching for this one, though, as I rarely reach for spice-heavy scents (it's too hot most of the year!), but if you are a spice lover, you should definitely give this one a try.

I'm always intrigued by thunderstorm scents, but most aquatics go to Soaptown on me, sadly, this one is not an exception. Beneath the strong soap/dryer sheet cloud, I get some of the things Little Bird mentioned in their review: a twang of earthiness (I thought vetiver), cold rain, and concrete. And I really enjoy the cold rain and concrete aspects of the scent. But the ozone is really strong, and well, SOAPY on me. It softens somewhat after a few hours, it's still a main player on me (although the rain note has gained strength by this point). In the background, there's a touch of warm amber, but it's waaaay behind the cloud of ozone and rain. This is a nice, clean aquatic scent for those whose skin chemistry does better with aquatics (and ozone in particular).

I tested this one over a week ago, and by tested, I mean accidentally spilled almost the entire decant all over my arm and the couch. So I was so engulfed by this scent that I don't really want to try it again, but like tinyvulture, I was curious about the smoked lavender, and what I ended up getting was a sea of red musk (thanks to the fact that I spilled the decant and my tendency to amp red musk). I also got some leather and plum, and only a little lavender and amber. But mostly, the red musk was out in full force. Even the boy mentioned how strong the scent was. This is definitely one for red musk fans.

I had to try this because of the lavender, but sadly, this one just did not work out for me. The lavender and the violet leaf are the strongest notes on my skin, backed by the red labdanum and sweet hops. There's lots of violet in this violet leaf, which makes this really powdery on me. I was hoping the violet leaf in this would be more herbal and behave, but this one just does not agree with my skin chemistry.

The first time I tested this, I thought, "Snake Oil Root Beer!?", which, while that was something I was down for, I knew that probably wasn't right. So I decided to hold off on reviewing it until I got to retest it. Western Diamondback smells like a lovely aged tonka-infused Snake Oil in the decant (which says it's from 2018). It goes on that way, too, but my skin chemistry seems to amp the sage for a while, so that it's very sage-y Snake Oil until the leather joins the party. The leather in this is a smooth, well-worn variety that complements the sage very nicely, and I am really enjoying the sweetness that the tonka brings to the scent. I have so many Snake Oil variants in my collection already, and since I already own a bottle of Snake Skin, I probably don't need to rush off and buy a bottle of this just yet, but it is really lovely, and I am so glad that I was able to try it. The decant is a keeper for sure. Thank you to the lovely forumite that gifted this one to me.

Anathema Device features a strong, juicy blackcurrant note that remains the star of the show on me after several hours of wear, with a little dusty sandalwood and warm amber lingering in the background. I get more white sandalwood than amber from this. The vanilla is not a main player on me. This one is definitely one for the berry fans. I think it's pleasant, but I know it's something I wouldn't reach for, since berry-dominant scents aren't really my thing.

Sister Mary Loquacious starts off with this really lovely lemon vanilla incense. There's a burst of lemon peel, making me think of lemon candy, but it quickly calms down, as the white musk and bergamot join in and smooth things over. It ends up being a light vanilla incense infused with white musk and touches of bergamot and lemon. This one had a lot of promise in the beginning, and while it's nice, I wish the citrus notes lasted longer and that the scent as a whole were stronger on me.

They Shut Me Up in Prose is kind of like Volcano in Springtime and Ivory Vulva had a baby. I get the vanilla, mallow flower, dusty sandalwood, and what I believe is a touch of Ivory Vulva's macadamia, although that's not listed as a note. The osmanthus adds a light floral quality to the scent, but it is not a main player here. The mallow flower just seems to bloom more after the scent has been on the skin for several hours. It's definitely in the same scent family as Volcano in Springtime, but this is smoother and far more subtle. It's very pretty and I am glad I bought it to support the cause!

Fiery cherry sugar whirled into guava cotton candy. In the bottle, this makes me think of cherry Starburst! I sprayed a few sprays into my wet hair, and at first, it’s a blast of cherry. The cherry isn’t the type that’s medicinal and makes one think of cough syrup. It’s definitely a deep cherry (but not dark like black cherry) sugar that makes me think of cherry candy (I can’t help but thinking of Starburst). Once the cherry calms down somewhat, I can smell the guava cotton candy in the background. It definitely does have a fuzzy, spun sugar feel, so you can tell it is guava cotton candy and not straight up guava. This does not have an intense guava note like Drag on a Slime or Xanthe, the Weeping Clown. I get more cherry than guava from this. For those that are wondering about the fiery descriptor, the cherry in this is not spiced, but I do feel like it tickles the nose a bit if I hold my hair up to my nose to smell it (but only after freshly applied). Applied to wet hair, it becomes really faint after a few hours, with just a trace of cherry. Applied to dry hair, I can still smell the hair gloss hours later, and the guava cotton candy is more noticeable. The cherry sugar is still the most prominent note to me, though. I was tempted by three of this year’s Dragon Con hair glosses, but I only let myself get this one, and I am happy with my choice. I was worried it might be too sweet, but it is actually not that sweet for having fruity sugar and cotton candy notes. (Last year's Mlerm was too sweet for me.) And the boy thinks this smells nice! Now I just need to find some perfumes to pair this one with, because I don’t have any cherry perfumes in my collection!

Resident lavender lover, reporting for duty. No Coward Soul is Mine is a gorgeous lavender blend. It's like the lavender from Lilith's HG and Daybreak mixed with a dusty white sandalwood, which becomes stronger over time, and some rockrose, which emerges after a few hours of wear. It can be used as a daytime or nighttime lavender scent. It kind of makes me think of Aziraphale's woods in a field of lavender. I just wish the lavender were as strong throughout the day as it was initially. I am so happy to have a bottle of this in my collection!

In the decant and when this is initially applied, I get a blast of pine needles. Then they calm down, and the wildflowers and cotton candy peek out. They become more prominent over time until it becomes a sugared wildflower scent. I think the wildflowers in this may be the same as the ones found in Venus Verticordia, but it also kind of reminds me of Butterfly Nectar Bath Oil. This is a nice sugary floral scent if you can get through the initial blast of pine.

In the bottle: Dirt, moss, and what I think may be some oak. Very earthy. On me: Hot, spicy dirt and vetiver. But it's a softer vetiver, not the smoky campfire kind. I also get patch, and I agree that there is some kind of asphalt or gravel note at play here as well. It ends up cooling down after a while. The vetiver is the main player, but I also get something like petrichor and fur from this. It's definitely an interesting scent experience, and I am glad to have tried it, but I just cannot see myself reaching for an earthy vetiver scent.

I apparently never reviewed this. This was the one hair gloss that I upgraded to a bottle from this year's Luper update. It's got that clean, perfume-y green tea note from scents like Shanghai and Embalming Fluid, but it's backed by some white sandalwood and white amber (I get more of the sandalwood from it). It pairs wonderfully with other green tea scents and scents with pale resins (it goes well with Galerie des Glaces), but you could probably pair it with just about anything. It's simple, inoffensive, and work-friendly. I had been wanting a green tea hair gloss for a while, and since Shanghai HG is not a thing, I decided to grab a bottle of this one (because violet and I are not friends, which ruled out the other green tea HG for me). The little sprayer I had of this just wasn't going to be enough, and I am glad that I grabbed a bottle before it left the website. If you love the green tea note from the scents I mentioned above, this won't disappoint!