doomsday_disco

In the decant: I get tons of sweet butter rum cookies, which makes me worried with how strong and sweet the rum note is… when this first arrived, I could smell the patchouli in the vial, but I don’t smell it any more now that it has had several days to settle. Wet: Butter rum like whoa. More butter rum than cookie. I get a bit of a powdered sugar-covered funnel cake behind it, and some warmth from the hay. But mostly, BUTTER RUM. The patchouli starts to peek out after a few minutes, but it resides in the background with the other notes. Dry: Once the butter rum calms down, this ends up being a wonderful sweet patchouli scent! It’s a nice patchouli sweetened by the rum cookies and powdered sugar-covered bits of funnel cake. I love the powdered sugar note so much! The hay continues to add warmth to the scent in the background. Verdict: Undecided. I do not like the intense butter rum, but once that calms down, I am all about the sweet patchouli scent that remains. I will probably end up keeping the decant but passing on a bottle, but I’ll retest it in a few weeks just to be sure.

In the decant: Clove and warm hay! I am not familiar with the scent of wheat stalks. Wet: This is cooler than I expected it to be on my skin after smelling the spicy clove and warm hay in the vial. It has a breezy feel to it, and I agree with annemathematic’s description of a spiced breeze in an autumn field. But the clove isn’t as spicy as some other varieties -- it is not the cinnamon-like clove from the Indonesian Clove SN. Dry: This is a light scent that stays close to the skin. It’s clove being carried on a cool breeze. After a few hours, the hay does become more prominent, making the scent warmer. Verdict: I like this, but I don’t love it, even though I adore clove. I think I’d appreciate it more if it were stronger on me.

I wasn’t interested in this one initially, but reviews made me intrigued, and I haven’t tried anything with palo santo listed in the description before. In the decant: Cola and resins! Wet: This smells like a flat cola on me. I am not sure if that is the palo santo or the sweet labdanum (I think I’m only familiar with sour labdanum). Behind it, I get a light sandalwood note. The cedar is not a main player here. I think it just adds some warmth in the background. I agree that there is an airy, uplifting quality to this scent. Dry: I still get a predominant cola-like scent from this, although it’s softer than it was during the wet phase of the scent. The white sandalwood is stronger now, so now I am getting cola! Now with some extra sandalwood and a bit of spice! And the airy aspect of this scent has only become stronger over time. Verdict: Suffragium is nice, but ultimately, not a scent that I need more of. I think I’d rather smell like Absurd Origin Story, since that is actually intended to be a cola scent and has the fizz to go along with it. I think I’ll try it on the boy and see what he thinks before deciding, but at the moment, I feel like I’ll be okay with just the decant.

This wasn’t originally on my radar, but the reviews for this one have been so good that I decided to pick up a leftover decant. In the decant: This is a very dry forest. I get lots of juniper, cypress, sage, and dry grass. It’s much drier (and stronger on the sage) than Rocky Mountain Goats HG. Wet: The juniper, cypress, and sage are the first notes that leap out at me, and then I get the dry grasses. I am not familiar with California lilac, which I see is not related to actual lilacs, but I am not really getting any floral vibe from this at the moment. The sage is increasing in strength as this sits on my skin. Dry: The sage is now in the lead, but I am still getting lots of juniper and cypress as well. It smells much drier than before thanks to the prominence of the sage. The dry grass gains strength after a while, too! And now I do smell the California lilac in the background! Verdict: The sage in this is a little too strong for me, but it is a realistic, summer-y, dry outdoors scent, and I think fans of sage would really enjoy this one!

I did not vote for the hair gloss, and I debated on whether or not I really needed a bottle since I already have Dorian HG and Lilith’s HG to pair with The Serpentine, but I ended up buying a bottle, thinking I could use it as both a hair gloss and as a linen spray. Well, it smelled so wonderful on my pillow that I knew I needed it in atmo form so it would be stronger on my linens. When this is freshly applied, Dorian’s tea is the first thing I get. Then the lavender and snowdrops show up, and the vanilla note emerges after a bit but never ends up being a main player in my hair. This is not one of the stronger hair glosses. I could still smell it in my hair faintly after a full day of wear, but it didn’t put me in a Serpentine cloud, not even when I took a shower and washed it out of my hair after having worn it two days in a row. (Some scents, like Boo HG and Eat Me, will engulf you once your hair gets near the steam and hot water.) I am happy to have it, as I love The Serpentine and am happy to have it in ALL THE THINGS, but I have to say that the bath oil is my favorite of the Serpentine lunacy poll offerings.

In the decant: Sweet milk infused with vanilla pod and cardamom! Wet: That’s what I get on my skin as well. The sweet milk is the first note to emerge, followed by the vanilla pod and spices. The sweet milk and cardamom end up being the main players on me. It smells like a warm chai latte with a layer of frothy foam on top! Dry: It gets sweeter on me as it sits on my skin, and the cardamom calms down after a while, so that it’s a sweet milk and vanilla pod scent accompanied by some light nutmeg and cardamom. Verdict: I really enjoy this and wish I had gotten a bottle of this instead of a decant. It’s so nice and comforting! Since the scent was taken off of the website early, I bet bottles will be hard to find, so I will cherish my decant and wear it whenever I need some comfort. ETA: I ended up cobbling enough decants together to make a partial in the original bottle.

So… I forgot to order a decant of this in my original batch of Lilith decants. Fortunately, there were some leftover, so I was able to grab one later on along with some other Lilith decant leftovers of scents that didn’t interest me until reviews started coming in. In the decant: Exactly as described: Snake Oil and bubblegum! But more bubblegum than Snake Oil. I’m reminded of pink bubblegum tape or bubblegum squares with the white powder on it. The oil is also lighter than most Snake Oil variants that I’ve tried! Wet: Bubblegum-y Snake Oil! It’s like a spicy pink bubblegum! The Snake Oil aspect is a lot stronger on me than it was in the decant, which is fine with me, as I am not really a fan of bubblegum and was mostly curious about this just because it’s a Snake Oil variant. Dry: It’s Snake Oil dominant (especially Snake Oil’s spices) with the sweetness of the bubblegum behind it when it dries, but eventually, the Snake Oil becomes so strong that it’s pretty much just straight up Snake Oil on me with just a hint of bubblegum in the background if I go looking for it. Verdict: This was much better than I was expecting, since I am not a bubblegum fan, but this Snake Oil variant didn’t wow me, either. I am going to pass my decant on to a friend who is curious about this scent.

This is what I voted for in the poll! I used this as an after-shower moisturizer and haven't tried it in the bath. My skin is super dry right now, so I slathered it on my arms! Dorian’s tea is strong at first, but when that aspect calms down, it’s all about that wonderful, billowy, soft vanilla. UNF. I get hints of the lavender, snowdrops, and Dorian behind it, but they’re really just hints. The vanilla is the star here. I would have ordered more than one bottle of this if bath oils didn’t go off after a few years. (I store mine away from heat and light in a dark closet, but the base becomes more prominent after a few years.) Even so, I am still tempted to order a back-up bottle, even though I told myself no bath oil back-ups, because this is absolutely stunning! I love this even more than the hair gloss, and I definitely get far more vanilla from this than the perfume! If you're debating this one, stop debating it and grab a bottle before it goes away! You will not be disappointed!

I’m not sure of the year on this one. In the decant: The Snake Oil is prominent in this one. I also get the sugar cane and hyssop. Behind that, I get the resins. Wet: This has got to be one of the most Snake Oil-heavy scents in the Snake Pit (which I’ve tried most, but not all of). The Snake Oil and sugar cane are the main players on my skin at the moment. But then the frankincense quickly rushes onto the stage and joins them, followed by the sweet, herbal hyssop. Dry: More sweetly herbal than resinous on me. The sugar cane, hyssop, and Snake Oil are what I mostly get from this scent. There’s this almost grape-like quality to the scent that I am not really digging. After conducting a search through the reviews, I see that I am not the only one getting a grape vipe from this. I do not like anything grape-scented or grape-flavored aside from grapes themselves, so this snake is probably not for me. After a few hours, Snake Oil’s vanilla becomes more prominent, but the grape aspect to the scent hasn’t gone away. Verdict: I’m glad I got to test this one properly, outside of a con setting! I am not feeling the grape-y note that I am getting from this, so this is one snake that I do not need in my collection.

So… I got into BPAL during the 2013 Lupercalia update, and being the noob that I was, did not consider getting this scent because it had patchouli in it. I thought I hated the stuff, since I had been a Lush addict and was only familiar with their patchouli products. Naturally, after seeing the raves for this scent and realizing, thanks to the Lab, that there are some patchouli notes I appreciate, I have kicked myself for dismissing Our Lady of Pain ever since (especially after I wrote a paper for a Victorian Poetry class that featured the poem heavily: it was called A Study in Sable: Sexual Love in the Poetry of Swinburne (Sponsored by the Sluts for Swinburne Society) ). I really thought I would never get a chance to try it, but an extremely generous BPALista frimped me a decant of this, and I am eternally grateful! In the decant: This is really strong on the red patchouli. The lavender is next in prominence, followed by the opium and orchid. I am not really getting the blood musk from the vial. Wet: The patchouli and lavender are the first notes that appear, backed by the opium and orchid (I get more opium, though). The blood musk is present, but this doesn’t appear to be red musk, which is a relief for me, since that note usually stomps all over other notes on my skin. It has a tinge of spice in it and reminds me of the blood in Midian Unmade. Dry: This is still very patchouli and lavender forward on me, although I definitely get a lot more opium than I did before, which gives it more of an incense-y vibe. I feel like I am getting more patchouli from this than most reviewers, and I wonder if it is from aging or just my skin chemistry. But eventually, it does manage to calm down, and it’s an oddly alluring spicy, woody, and somehow dirt-like patchouli and musk intertwining with wisps of lavender, incense-y opium tar, and orchid. It’s unlike anything else I own. Verdict: I will cherish this forever. Thank you to the lovely BPALista that graciously bestowed a frimp of Our Lady of Pain upon me!

I adore the sentiment behind this scent, and I love lavender scents, so I was really excited about this one. I decided to test it on its own three times before attempting a review: once on the back of a hand, and twice along the length of my forearm before bed (slathering it before sleep). Although I tried to give it the attention it deserves, I still feel like my review is too analytical. Perhaps those that write more poetic reviews could describe it in a way that does it justice. In the bottle: Sweet lavender and cotton. The only scent I can think of comparing it to is the Century Guild scent Who in the World Am I?. Wet: A sweet lavender dominates, and it is lovely. It might be sugared, but this is no TKO lavender. It’s Lilith’s lavender. <3 The cotton note emerges after a few minutes and becomes more prominent as the scent sits on my skin. Then, I get a candy-like note that I am not able to identify as the scent begins to dry. Dry: The lavender is a lot calmer now, the cotton has a bigger presence, and there’s still that underlying sweetness to the scent, which I believe may just be sugar. There was one point when it made me think of sugared cotton. I could envision the texture of cotton candy and thought that it was like that… if cotton candy were made of actual sugared cotton. But I also had a moment, shortly before it faded, where I thought of powdered sugar, which could also represent the fluffiness or sweetness Lilith’s treasured Puppet Kitty. But I can’t really evaluate it beyond that, because Puppet Kitty fades in less than two hours on me, sadly. This is a lavender scent that you could wear during the day or before bed, but I would recommend the latter just because it doesn’t have much staying power (at least, not on me). Verdict: This is one of the scents I was most looking forward to in my order, and I am glad that I ordered a bottle. I adore Lilith’s lavender scents, and of the lavender scents released in this year’s Lilith and Fatherhood updates, this is the standout for me. I am not sure if I need to grab a back-up bottle. I am trying to get away from doing that since there’s a beautiful, new lavender scent to look forward to every year. But Puppet Kitty is really lovely, and if you can only get one lavender scent between the two updates, I recommend this one. *edit* Forgot to mention that I do get skin musk from this as well, but the lavender and cotton are more prominent on me.

In the bottle: It’s exactly as described! A cherry lollipop with a base of Dorian! The cherry in this is a deep cherry that doesn’t make me think of cough medicine at all, and the Dorian is more prominent after a few days of settling than it was when it first arrived. Wet: Lots of deep cherry (I’m reminded of those cherry tootsie pops or cherry Starburst -- but mostly, a cherry tootsie pop)! If you’re a fan of the cherry in Dragon Bouffant HG, you’ll be a fan of this cherry as well. The Dorian lingers in the background, allowing the cherry to be the star of the show. But as the scent begins to dry, the Dorian comes out more and mingles with the cherry lollipop. This is even better than I imagined this would be! Dry: The cherry is not as strong as it was initially, but the cherry lollipop continues to dominate, even though the Dorian mingling with the lollipop is stronger now. Verdict: I almost didn’t order a blind bottle of this, because I wasn’t sure how the cherry would behave on me, but I was at Drag Con this year and got to see Lilith dressed up as Lil Poundcake, so how could I not?! I really enjoy this and will love pairing it Dragon Bouffant HG!

In the bottle: This smells like Christmas! It definitely smelled pinker and heavier on the cotton candy when it first arrived, though. Now, after a few days of settling, I get lots of the cinnamon from the cookies, white chocolate, and some spun sugar. The tinsel note is not metallic, so if you’re wary of metal notes like I am, you need not worry! Wet: The cinnamon is very strong on me. I am not surprised, as I tend to amp spices. The white chocolate is next in prominence. The cinnamon does take on more of a cinnamon cookie smell instead of being just straight up cinnamon after a few minutes have passed. I swear I get the tinsel when I smell this, too, but maybe that’s just because of the strong Christmas association? Dry: It’s all white chocolate and cinnamon cookies for a long time on me, but the cinnamon does end up calming down, and the cotton candy becomes noticeable after a few hours of wear. I get more white chocolate than anything else, though. I still feel like I get the tinsel, too, but I am not sure if it is one of those ‘how does Beth do that!?’ things or the strong association with Christmas. Verdict: I’m glad that the cinnamon didn’t burn or reign forever. I can’t stop thinking that this smells like Christmas, and I will enjoy wearing it around the holidays!

In the bottle: Sugary Dorian and Snake Oil! The Snake Oil was a lot stronger when this first arrived, but it seems to have calmed down somewhat after having a few days to settle. Wet: The Slime Queen component is the strongest on my skin, and like donkehpoo, I feel like it is more like sugary Dorian than cotton candy, but now I am actually going back to a thought I had when testing Slime Queen that I’m getting more of here -- maybe it’s lime cotton candy in Slime Queen, or perhaps that’s just the prominence of the lemon-y white tea of Dorian mixing with the sugar. It’s most likely the latter. It becomes more sugary as it sits on my skin, and I feel like I am getting more sugar from this than Slime Queen, which I am happy about (but maybe it has become sweeter with age.) The Snake Oil was originally lingering in the background, but it seems to be growing stronger as the scent begins to dry. Dry: A lot of Slime Queen’s sugar has dissipated, so now it mostly smells like a Snake Oil and Dorian hybrid with just a touch of Slime Queen’s sugar. It regains some sweetness after a few hours of wear thanks to the vanillas and sugars in these scents, and it’s just a perfect mix of Snake Oil, Dorian, and Slime Queen (in that order). Verdict: I am a fan of this now, and I know that it will only get better with age. I almost didn’t blind bottle this because I was like, do I really need more variants of these scents? And the answer is yes, absolutely.

Tombstone is one of my favorites, so I am really excited to try this Tombstone variant! In the bottle: I do get the Tombstone from this, but the red licorice and musk are more prominent in the bottle. The licorice note reads as cherry to me and smelled somewhat medicinal with the musk, but I know not to trust the bottle sniff! Wet: Ohhh, good. The Tombstone is the most prominent aspect of the scent on my skin, with its sassafras, vanilla, and cedar. After a minute, the red licorice note emerges, and yes, it’s definitely the cherry variety. It quickly gains strength, and sometimes I smell more licorice, and sometimes, more Tombstone. There are times when I wonder if the red velvet musk is red musk, because I do get that vibe from this at times, but other times, I think it’s just the cherry of the licorice blending with the musk. I guess I will know for sure once it dries, because I tend to amp red musk. Dry: Yeah, it’s red musk. I was hoping red velvet musk would be red velvet CAKE musk, but alas. There's nothing cake-y about this. But the Tombstone seems to ground it and keep in check so it can’t stomp all over everything on me like it usually does. So it’s red musk and cherry licorice on a bed of Tombstone (which I’m mostly getting the cedar from now). After several hours of wear, I mostly get Tombstone's cedar, a velvety musk, and the memory of cherry licorice. Verdict: I love Tombstone, and I love it even more once it ages (everyone talks about aging Dorian and Snake Oil, but I think Tombstone is one that really benefits from lots of aging as well -- the vanilla in it really shines after years of aging). I am not sure how I feel about the licorice and musk, so I don’t love this like I love Tombstone, but I am going to give this more time to settle and age because it’s a Tombstone variant.

In the bottle: Slushy snow note! Aww, I was hoping it would be the sweet snow note with that coconut snow descriptor. Wet: I’m greeted with a blast of bright, slushy snow. So that means it’s citrus-y (perhaps due to an astringent white tea note) and pine-y, and I’m not really getting any lavender or rose at this point, and I don’t get the mint that the other reviewers are getting. Dry: The slushy snow continues to reign. I get some lavender now, but it is buried beneath the slushy snowdrift. The lavender does have a wooly feel to it. After about two hours, I get a hint of the coconut, but still no rose. The scent does have a warm glow to it, but it feels like a light resin is creating that vibe -- I keep thinking sandalwood. I prefer this phase of the scent, as it isn’t just Slushy Snow SN on me. Verdict: This is not what I was expecting from the description (I was hoping for Pink Snowballs with lavender), and while it is pleasant, I feel like I have too many scents with this snow note that I don’t reach for often enough. So I may have to let this settle some more and maybe do a deathmatch to see which snow scent gets to stay in my collection. Maybe the snow will calm down as it has more time to settle.

In the decant: I’m getting well-worn leather, a dark musk, and a green vibe that must be due to the amber. Wet: On my skin, the musk is the first note that pops up, with the well-worn leather note behind it. Then, I get the green amber behind those notes, just adding a bit of a green quality to the scent. Dry: This is actually kind of cozy and sweet despite its name. The musk is still going strong, the leather still reads and soft and well-worn, and the amber is adding a powdery, resinous feel to the scent (and is stronger than before). It’s mostly a musky, powdery leather scent on me. Verdict: This is pleasant, but it’s not wowing me. It’s a little too powdery on my skin, alas. I am not sure I will keep this one -- I just can’t see myself reaching for it over other leather scents.

In the decant: I’m mostly getting the orange of the Florida Water and the sandalwood incense from this now with some of the vanilla-laced frankincense behind it. A few days ago, the white rose was one of the first things I could smell from the vial, but it doesn’t stand out to me anymore! Wet: The orange of the Florida Water is the strongest note on me, followed by the vanilla-infused frankincense and sandalwood incense. It’s like a resinous creamsicle at the moment. After a few minutes, I can smell the salt. Dry: It remains that way for some time: the strong orange, backed by the resins and vanilla, but the resins and salt are stronger now, and the wax has also joined in. I get some of the white rose after it has been on the skin for a while. After a few hours, this ends up staying close to the skin. Verdict: This is really nice… I just wish it were a little stronger on me! I’m going to keep my decant, and I’ll give it a full day test before it goes away to see if I need more of it. Definitely a contender for a bottle purchase.

In the decant: Scorched marshmallow and chocolate. Wet: I’m getting lots of smokiness and chocolate still, but there’s more smoke than chocolate on me. It makes me think of a marshmallow that was deliberately burnt before its charred exterior is removed to reveal the creamy marshmallow within. But I’m not getting any creamy marshmallow at this point, although I can smell the graham cracker note after a few minutes have passed. Dry: I wish I had the experience that others are getting. On me, the smoke just takes over. The chocolate and graham cracker in the background eventually fade away, and there’s a hint of sweetness from the marshmallow after a few hours, but even that is quickly beaten back by the smoke. I am not sure if it is vetiver or a woodsmoke note, but I am not enjoying it. It’s fitting for a burnt marshmallow scent, though! Verdict: These marshmallows are far too scorched for me.

In the decant: Lots and lots of buttercream and sprinkles! I am getting the red velvet cupcake beneath it, but this is definitely one of those cupcakes that has a thicker layer of frosting than cake. Wet: The buttercream frosting and sprinkles are pretty strong, but I’m also getting more of the red velvet cake on me than I did in the decant. This is sprinkles, buttercream, and then cake on me. Dry: This is mostly super sweet sprinkle-covered buttercream on me. There’s some cake underneath it, but I am getting less of it now than I did before. I feel like there’s just some cake crumbs mixed in with the frosting and sprinkles until a few hours later, when I get a little more cake. I prefer this phase of the scent. Verdict: I’m glad that this didn’t turn on me like Sprinklecake did. It’s a nice cake scent, but it’s one that I do not believe that I need more of, because there’s just so much buttercream (and so many sprinkles!) at play on me, and I was hoping for a little more red velvet.

In the decant: I smell the buttery popcorn, fried ice cream, and creamy pumpkin (which I could see being pumpkin cream soda, except for there’s not much of a fizzy soda vibe here). Wet: The buttery popcorn note is the first note to jump out at me, followed by the fried vanilla ice cream and pumpkin cream soda. I, too, see this as being in the same family as Mouse Circus. Dry: It remains that way for a while, but eventually, the pumpkin cream soda comes out more (and I am getting that fizzy soda aspect to it now) and the ice cream calms down, so that it’s more of a fizzy cream soda and buttered popcorn scent backed by the fried ice cream. Verdict: I enjoy this, but I am not sure that I need more of it, since I already don’t reach for my bottle of Mouse Circus very often, and I wish I were getting a little less popcorn from this. I’ll test it again before the Liliths go away just to be sure, though. In any case, it smells delicious, and I’m definitely going to keep the decant!

In the decant: Fizzy cola! Wet: Same! But I’m getting more of the actual cola now than I did in the decant, which had more fizz. It smells very realistic, too! I am not getting any marshmallow at the moment. Dry: This remains a fizzy cola scent. I am still not detecting any marshmallow from this, but it is a really nice soda scent. Verdict: This is super realistic cola! I will be keeping my decant for sure. I will give it a full day test before the Liliths disappear to see if I get any marshmallow after it has had a chance to age a bit and to see if I need more before this goes away.

In the decant: I’m mostly getting the red currant and honeyed fig. Wet: The red currant is the most prominent note on me, followed by the honeyed fig (I get more honey than fig). Dry: The red currant and honeyed fig continue to reign, with the fig being more prominent now. I am not getting any of the patchouli or amber oudh, but there’s a whiff of vanilla cream in the background. Verdict: I have never tried Nasty Woman. I thought it wouldn’t really be my thing after deciding I didn’t want a strong patchouli and fig scent like To His Mistress Going to Bed. But I wanted to try this one since the notes are lighter and sweeter. For some reason, I am mostly just getting the fruits and honey from this, and none of the darker notes. It has had several days to settle -- maybe it needs more in order for those notes to come out? I may retest this in a few weeks, but at the moment, I feel like this is too fruity for me.

In the decant: Honey, a soft patchouli, and some cinnamon sugar (more cinnamon than sugar). Wet: On my skin, the honey and cinnamon sugar notes stand out the most, backed by a soft patchouli. The cinnamon sugar is reminiscent of the kind you’d put on toast, and it’s stronger on me than it was in the decant, but that may be because I tend to amp spices. The patchouli in this is a red variety that’s becoming more prominent as the scent begins to dry. Dry: The red patchouli is now the dominant note. It’s soft and does give the impression of “yesterday’s patchouli” like in the description. It’s backed by the honey note. The cinnamon sugar is faint now -- there really is just a dusting of it in the background. Verdict: I’m always looking for more sweet patchouli scents since I thought I didn’t like the stuff until I tried Banshee Beat. This is nice, but it didn’t wow me, so it’s not something I need more of. I will probably keep my decant, though!

In the decant: I get a ton of dandelion sap, which is just what I’m here for! Huzzah! There’s just a tinge of the blackcurrant bud. It’s mostly dandelion sap on a bed of white musk. Wet: The dandelion sap is the star of the show on my skin. I get a little more blackcurrant bud on me than I did in the decant, but it isn’t making the scent fruity, which makes me glad. The white musk is definitely present, adding a clean, fresh air feel to the scent. Dry: The dandelion sap is no longer king. The blackcurrant bud has stolen the show, so the scent is fruitier now, but you can tell that it is the bud and not straight up blackcurrant (although the fruit is definitely a part of that note). I can still smell the dandelion sap, but it is not nearly as strong as it was before. Verdict: I really enjoyed the wet phase of this, but the blackcurrant bud is a little too strong for my liking once the scent has dried. It’s a pleasant blackcurrant bud and milky dandelion scent, but not something I need a bottle of -- I can’t see myself reaching for this over other dandelion scents in my collection.