doomsday_disco

Me, passing over this scent when perusing the update: this is going to have that cucumber-y paper note that is used in scents like Crumpled Wrapping Paper Single Note, and I don't know how that would play with the other notes.

Me, getting a tester with my decant order and sniffing the vial: this has that cucumber-y paper note that is used in scents like Crumpled Wrapping Paper Single Note.

Me, testing it on my skin: this has that cucumber-y paper note that is used in scents like Crumpled Wrapping Paper Single Note... but it works with the other notes: 

So yeah, it has that cucumber-y paper note at first, which I think was also in Carved Wooden Post Office and The Last Syllable, but somehow, it's not jarring when paired with the other notes. At first, it's mostly the paper and the peony, but over time, the paper note calms down, and the black amber increases in strength, so that it's mostly peony and black amber. I'm generally not someone who wears resins paired with floral notes, but I think that these two smell lovely together. And the black amber in this is the good stuff and nothing like the black amber in Terrible Moon: Cardamom and Black Amber duet.

I feel fortunate to have been gifted a tester of this by my decanter! I am shocked that I managed to adequately envision the paper note, but not how these notes would meld together. I could not stop sniffing my wrist. I think I might end up needing more of this.

This one is mostly about the strawberry note on me, with a little black cherry cream lurking behind it. I didn't really get the halo halo ingredients on my skin, as the strawberry was in full-force, but maybe slathering this down my arms would help bring out more complexity in this scent.

I'll do that before it goes away, as I really like the black cherry cream in this and wish I were getting more of it.

This starts off with a blast of the cherry liqueur accompanied by some spice (which fortunately isn't heavy here), but the strawberry is quick to join the party and quickly becomes the dominant note, so that this mostly smells like a spice-swirled strawberry scent with a bit of cherry and amber lurking in the background.

I'm going to give this a slather test to see if that helps the cherry last longer on my skin. I do think this is nice, but I would definitely have preferred it without the strawberry, just because I seek out cherry scents, and I don't think we've seen the Lab use a black cherry liqueur note since Gothabilly?

I decided to try this mostly because of the German name, since plum isn't usually a note that is in my wheelhouse, and I thought maybe plum jam might work better for me than the Lab's other plum notes?

During the wet phase of the scent, and during the early dry phase, I was really enamored with this because the scent for some reason reminded me of Glühwein more than any actual Glühwein or spiced wine scent. It was seriously taking me back to the Christmas markets in Germany. But then, it ended up taking a turn for the worse, by no fault of the plum, for one of the spices reared its ugly head and stomped all over the Christmas market goodness I was enjoying. And that spice, fellow readers, was cumin.  

What did I do to deserve this fate?

This features a bitter orange peel note that smells just like neroli to my nose. At first, it's super loud and the ruby chocolate hides behind it, but then the ruby chocolate note asserts itself and beats that bitter orange peel note into the background. The creaminess of it really smooths over the edges of the orange peel note.

The wet phase of the scent was a little too much for me with the neroli or neroli-like note, so this isn't something I will be seeking out more of, but I am glad that I got a chance to try it! Curiously enough, I ended up getting more ruby chocolate from this one than the other two ruby chocolate scents I tried from this Box of Chocolates collection.

This one is all about the strawberry mochi on me, and the smell of the mochi texture is on point! I could smell a hint of the pink cherry sugar in the decant and when the scent was freshly applied, but it was quick to fade. Curiously enough, I am not getting much ruby chocolate from this one -- it's just a mochi party on me!

This is mostly about the Snake Oil on me (especially its musk) with some creamy ruby chocolate in the background. It has good throw and staying power, although I'm surprised the ruby chocolate isn't stronger on my skin!

I'm going to set this one aside and test it after it has had a few months to settle. At the moment, I like it, but was hoping for more of that ruby chocolate note from Millennial Pink with the Snake Oil.

Blueberry Chai Truffle features a ton of jammy blueberry that is the star of the show. I only get hints of the spices, chocolate, and milk in the background, with the chocolate and milk being most noticeable after the scent has been on the skin for several hours, but it is pretty light by that point. The milk note did not end up going wonky on my skin, fortunately.

This is the blueberry that I was hoping for from Fritsu, and although I'm not getting a lot of cardamom from this, I'm not disappointed. I will be hanging onto my decant, and I'll give this a full-day wear to determine whether or not I need more of this (at the moment, it is a bottle contender).

I decided to get a decant of this one just because some of the Lab's black tea notes have had a bit of an anise-like quality to them, so I wanted to confirm for myself if that was the case with this one.

Fortunately, this is mostly a tannic black tea scent, with only the barest hint of anise when freshly applied that lasts for like a split second. The tea note has a ton of throw, too, so if you're looking for a scent that's strong on the black tea, you may want to check this out.

Unfortunately, I really don't like the cacao in this. It doesn't smell chocolate-y at all to me, sadly. It's more like a cocoa butter or something like that to my nose because I was thinking it was more lotion-like than a gourmand cacao.  So this one is not a keeper for me.

This starts off like a cherry tootsie pop, but then it quickly changes more into the cherry brookie scent, and the brookie part makes me think of baked chocolate chips (even though this says batter). It just has that quality of a chocolate chip in a cookie that melted onto a cookie sheet with a slight burnt edge (but it doesn't smell burnt -- I don't know if I am describing this adequately... it's like if you rolled up a ball of cookie dough, but there was a chocolate chip or chunk of chocolate exposed at the bottom of the cookie that ends up oozing out of the cookie during baking). After that phase, it does end up smelling like brookie batter that's more brownie-like, accompanied by the cherry. The grass isn't distinct to my nose, so I wouldn't let the grass note scare you away from trying this.

I like this and will definitely be keeping my decant. But I need to give it a full-day slather to see if I need more of this because I have so many brownie scents already. 😅

This is lovely. When I smelled it in the decant, I wasn't sure how it would go on my skin because something in it made me think it might clash -- maybe it was the herbal quality of the chamomile? But I needn't have worried. I get some lots of lightly spiced cherry accompanied by a cup of chamomile tea. I don't really get a bread pudding scent from this, but that's fine with me. There is a bit of a syrupy quality to the scent after it has been on the skin for a while that I think is supposed to be evocative of a baked good, though. I really love the cherry in this and was pleasantly surprised by how well the chamomile complements it.

I've tested it a few times already and am pretty sure I'm going to need a bottle. Of the two cherry scents in the Puppy Love collection, this one is my favorite.  

2026 version.

I blind bottled this because I'm running low on my decant of the 2017 vintage. The only reason I didn't get a bottle back then was because I was studying in Germany at the time, so I hoarded by decant I was gifted in a swap and was thrilled at its return this year.

Since I didn't ever smell this when it was fresh, it's really not fair of me to compare the two. My decant was already aged when I first tried it.

At the moment, my fresh bottle does not smell like the decant, but I think that's really due to age and that it will eventually smell more like it.

The lavender, apple, and vanilla are all main players on my skin when I wear the decant, but the fresh bottle is more about the lavender, apple, and patchouli, with less vanilla. I was caught off guard by how much patchouli was in the throw! At one point, I got a lot of the cream part of the vanilla cream in the crook of my elbows that smelled a little funky like cream notes sometimes do, but fortunately, it was overtaken by the apple note, which smells more green to me than red like in my original review.

I'll be hanging onto my bottle and am looking forward to seeing how this ages. I'm hoping that the vanilla will gain some strength with age, as it does in most scents.

I decided to grab a decant of this because it shares some notes with Destructive Vagina of the Fox Spirit (vanilla orchid, black amber, coffee bean, labdanum, champaca, and oudh), of which there's probably less than a milliliter left in my bottle. I think that scent being discovered in my early BPAL days really helped cement it as one of my most beloved Shungas, but what I really appreciate about it is that a lot of the notes in it are not really in my wheelhouse at all, but they somehow all come together to create this really pretty scent that I imagine is like... the best indie coffee shop/bookstore.

So I deathmatched the two.

Record of Women’s Treasures of the Way of Elegance Day and Night does indeed share some similarities with Destructive Vagina, but oddly enough, Destructive Vagina is less destructive.  While that scent has a bit of an airy quality to it thanks to the vanilla orchid, Record of Women's Treasures doesn't contain any notes that lift the scent. This is mostly resins, incense, patchouli, and spices on me, with the black pepper being one of the most prominent spices (it made me sneeze at one point). The patchouli, champaca, and spices are very noticeable, especially during the first few hours of wear, and the coffee bean and resins lurk in the background during this time. Once those notes calm down, it settles into a soft resin scent that does smell like a cousin to Destructive Vagina of the Fox Spirit -- I'm guessing because of the labdanum (which is not cola-like in either blend). But Destructive Vagina ends up being the stronger scent by the end of the day.

I still prefer Destructive Vagina between the two, but I do enjoy this, and I plan on giving it a full-day slather to see if I need more of it. It's definitely a possibility, since it does share some similarities with that scent (and I doubt I'd be able to find more of that one).

This starts off with a powerhouse of a lily note that lasts for a few hours and hardly lets anything else through, but then it morphs into a dragon's blood-centric scent that lasts for many hours and hardly let's anything else through  , and the dragon's blood in this is the incense-y one and not the spicy floral one (huzzah)!. It ends up settling into mostly dragon's blood on a bed of Snake Oil's musk by the end of the night AND it's so strong that that is also what I smelled on my skin upon waking the next morning.

So yeah, it's not very Snake Oil-y right now, but perhaps that will change as it has more time to settle and age. It does have plenty of throw and lasting power, though! I am going to hang onto my decant and test this before the Lupers go down to see if the Snake Oil in it is more prominent.

This doesn't smell like crème brûlée to me, but I'm not mad, because it still smells GLORIOUS.

Freshly applied, it reminds me of if you took Vanilla Mandarin and replaced the mandarin with passionfruit and threw in some sugar. Then it morphs. the passionfruit disappears, and for some inexplicable reason, it reminds me of whatever is in the House of Mirrors Atmosphere Spray from Denver Comic Con 2015 that makes it so alluring (wuuuuuuuuuut). And then it morphs again and becomes the most wonderful toasted sugar scent backed by a bit of vanilla. I could not stop huffing my arm.

I'm most definitely upgrading my decant to a bottle (or maybe two).

This starts off strongest on the crushed grass, and I swear it's the same one from Emerald Lace, as the wet phase of the scent strongly reminds me of that one. Eventually, it ends up morphing, and the oolong tea becomes the dominant note. It's the one found in Ceaselessly By My Side the Demon Stirs, which has a tannic quality to it and something that reads like a touch of spice. I get touches of the white musk and moonflower with the tea note, but the green mandarin isn't distinct on me -- I'm not getting anything particularly citrus-y or fruity from this.

I preferred the wet phase of the scent when it was very green instead of tea-centric, so I don't need a bottle.

This reads as a candy-like blackberry scent to me, like a fruity taffy. Imagine there were a blackberry-flavored Mamba or Starburst. It would smell like that. It's not a fresh blackberry, nor is it the wonderful baked blackberry of Four and Twenty Blackbirds. I don't get any coconut from this on my skin, but I'm fine with that.

I like the scent and will keep my little sample pot and use it up, but I don't think I need a full bottle of this one since I don't really have a lot of scents that would go with this.

This one is strong on the honey. I only tried two scents from this year's Honey Pot, but I believe that this scent and Honey Milk Tea Boba contain the same honey note, which is thick, goopy, golden, and somewhat floral to my nose. This is backed by the tonka and vanilla, which combine with the honey to smell somewhat baby powder-y on me (woe). Eventually, I do get a nice vanilla in the background, but it takes several hours to get there, it's still buried beneath the honey, and the scent stays close to the skin by that point.

I am glad I restrained myself from ordering more Honey Pot decants this year, as I thought this would be a winner based on the notes!

This one is predominantly a honey scent on me. I do smell some tea in the background, which is most noticeable early on -- but the tea note is more like an iced tea note to me (because it reminds me of a summer tea wax melt I have). There's nothing creamy or milky about this to my nose, and sadly, I do not get any boba, which was the main draw of the scent for me.

I hope other folks have better luck with this one.

I grabbed a decant of this duet because of the lime, but it is the currant that is the main player on my skin. So I'm getting tart currant and a squeeze of fresh lime that is not candy-like at all. It's reminding me of the lime in Griotte, Lime, and White Musk, actually. 

I realized after trying this that pretty much every scent I have with currant as a main feature also contains some sort of sweet note. So this tart currant scent isn't really my thing, but I look forward to layering it with its moon to see how they play together.

The wild strawberries are the star of this duet. I think this features the same wild strawberry note as last year's Strawberry Moon: Wild Strawberries and Amber Hair Gloss (okay, it wasn't released last year, but two years ago -- what is time, wtf). The strawberry note is super ripe and sweet, but it's still a realistic strawberry that doesn't smell like strawberry candy. The inky musk plays a background role, and I was worried the fruit plus musk would be off-putting to me in the way that red musk is, but nope! I think it's just there to support the strawberry. I'm not sure exactly what type of musk this scent contains, but I usually don't do well with the darker musks, so if it is one of those, it is very well-behaved.

I need to spend more time with this one and layer it with its moon to see if I need more of it, but I enjoy it enough to keep my decant to pair with the aforementioned hair gloss.

This is one of my favorite hearses, if not my favorite of them all? (Don't make me choose.) I already had the atmo that was originally released and loved that (it's my most-used hearse atmo), but I wasn't sure how it would play on my skin as a perfume with notes like petitgrain and bay rum (which made me wary). Still, I knew I was blind bottling this anyway as the warmer months approached, and fortunately, the perfume version did not disappoint!

This behaves very similar to the atmo on my skin (huzzah)! The lime is the strongest note throughout wear on me, and it's sweeter than an actual lime rind is, but that's not a bad thing in my book. I think the citron lurks right behind it, and the white musk and bay rum help to ground the citrus notes so that they stick around. There's a hint of black pepper that's slightly more noticeable than it is in the atmo, and it combines with the bay rum to give this a bit more sophistication than a straight-up citrus scent. As for the petitgrain, it usually is bitter and neroli-like on my skin, but fortunately, I'm not getting anything like that from this, and for that, I am glad.

I definitely need at least one back-up bottle of this before it goes away next month... maybe two. This is definitely one for lime fans.  

The tart red currant stands out the most to my nose. It's backed by the strawberry (I'm not getting much of the cream part of the strawberry cream) and the pumpkin candyfloss, which is not overtly pumpkin-y -- it just adds a touch of spice that makes this have a baked good quality to it behind the fruity notes, even though the pumpkin is supposed to be in candyfloss form. It's kind of like if you took Red from the Fraggle Rock line with its red currant, made it more pink, and then added some warm spice for good measure. It somehow makes me think of fruit punch with a bit of pumpkin cake (sans frosting) nearby.

I do think this is nice, but I don't think it's a lotion I need a full size of... I'll happily use up my little sample pot, though!

I'm not able to pick this apart note-wise in the way that I usually do, but like its atmospheric spray counterpart, this is very pink! It smells like a really fruity and fizzy drink. There are moments when I can pick out the fruit notes -- like, oh, there's some grapefruit! Ah, there's the guava! Oh, now I get some strawberry and blackberry! But the note that is most discernible on my skin, sticking around throughout wear instead of popping in and out, is the champagne, which I feel like is the most accurate champagne note I've come across, as I can smell the champagne itself and not just its fizz.

I bought the atmo last year, and now I'm happy to have the perfume oil in my collection!

The French lavender is the star of the show throughout wear, backed by what I think must be the cherimoya. I've never had it or smelled it before, but it is bright, fruity, and somehow combining with the lavender note to make me think of A Conscious Slumber, even though the only note these two scents share is lavender.   (I'm not mad -- I should have grabbed a back-up bottle of A Conscious Slumber while it was available, as it is one my most effective sleep scents.) The coconut and ube aren't main players on me, but I think the coconut cozies up to the lavender after it has been on the skin for a while like it does in Daybreak, and the ube may be doing the same (since it often ends up being somewhat coconut-adjacent on me after a while).

I'm going to need at least one bottle of this to wear as a sleep scent, maybe more.