astarinel

Sweet, juicy red apples. This is an incredibly realistic, fresh apple -- like biting into a ripe, bright red apple. The sugar is a bit in the background here, but comes out more as it dries, and I wouldn't call this an overly-sweet or cloying scent at any stage (although I have a pretty high tolerance for sweet tooth scents). Probably my favorite apple scent from this year's batch! Good throw while wet, but fairly short duration.

Butterscotch-dipped apples. Very thick, rich, and sweet, with just a touch of spice. The butterscotch is much stronger than the apple, and overall the scent is pretty delicious and extremely gourmand.

Spicy candy, both very spicy and very sweet! I agree with all the previous reviews saying cinnamon candy, because that was my immediate association as well. It's very sugary to my nose, and definitely gives a strong candy vibe. As it dries, it stays sweet, but the cinnamon/red hots smell turns a bit more clove with warm woody spices.

Foodie, chewy, spicy molasses cookies. I don't really get any orange, and this reminds me a lot of Gingerbread Poppet. Very delicious, but since I have a bottle of Poppet, I probably don't need another delicious spiced baked goods scent.

This one reminds me of some of the softer, more sugary Lick Its. A very sweet, creamy mint from wet to drydown. I don't get any apple at all, much less any sourness from green apple. I've got a Lick It so I think I'm good; I like mint so I like the way this smells, I was just hoping for some strong apple!

When you need a change of pace from Strip Twister: lemon candies, orange suckers, and strawberry sugar. Super tart citrus candies. In the decant, the lemon has a little bit of a lemon-cleaner aspect that concerns me, but that fortunately disappears when I put it on my skin. This reminds me a lot of Lemon-Scented Sticky Bat, crossed with Bitches Love Unicorns. Immediately, it's sticky tart lemon candy with some other candy flavors. I'm not sure I'd say orange or strawberry, but it's definitely not just straight-up lemon. It has a very melting-hard-candies sort of feel, with the sharp tartness that lemon candies have despite being very sugary. It's a little too similar to Sticky Bat (which I have a bottle of) for me to want more of it, but it's more of a sharper, mixed-flavor candy scent. Sticky Bat has sort of a powdery-sugared aspect that this scent doesn't, although it does soften as it dries and the strawberry candy gets a little stronger. It has pretty good lasting power for a citrus scent and decent throw. In the long drydown, it's almost indistinguishable from Sticky Bat on my skin, as the other candy flavors stay mostly in the background.

Cherry/apple pie with spices. This has a very strong pastry note to my nose, similar to the one in Knave of Hearts. The filling here is mostly apple, though, I think, with a little cherry, with fairly strong warm spices. As it dries, the spices get even stronger and the fruit notes fade a little. Good throw and lasting power.

Boozy, spicy black currant. This is very dark, purple fruity wine with some gentle spices, fairly sweet but not cloying. I absolutely want to drink this; I'm not sure I want to wear it. Good throw, and doesn't change much on the drydown.

Strong, sugary, jammy blueberry. I'm always excited for blueberry scents, and this one actually reminds me a little of the Blue Phoenix prototype I love (although that one has more vanilla and less blueberry, to my nose). I LOVE Strawberry Sufganiyot, and this definitely has a similar feel, although the balance of the notes is different for me. Blueberry is stronger on the fruit/jam, while Strawberry is a bit heavier on the pastry note. The blueberry is very thick and sweet and definitely the star of the show here. Doesn't change much as it dries, which is fine by me. Good throw and lasting power, too!

Almond, cherry, and spiced red musk. My skin tends to amp red musk, but the other notes are keeping it in check here. It reminds me a bit of Kabuki, but with almond and spice instead of anise. As it dries, the almond fades and the spiced carnation comes a bit more to the forefront. Other than the cherry blast at first, this isn't overly fruity on my skin, it's more about the carnation + tonka + musk.

Primarily sweet, green grass, with a touch of vanilla. I'm allergic to grass and this is so realistic it's twigging my allergy; I keep expecting to break into a sneezing fit at any moment. As it dries, the grass fades a little and the vanilla comes out more. Very fresh and springlike!

The honey musk is really beautiful in this! I'm only familiar with it from Lady Una, which is a long time favorite of mine. This also has a dry, golden amber note very prominent, with delicious juicy sweet peach. The peach is one of the strongest notes wet, but it backs off as it dries and it settles into amber + honey musk with soft peachy fruitiness. I never really get much almond, but that's fine.

Heavy, heavy champaca. This is a thick, sweet floral that I find a little overwhelming, and I don't really get any of the other notes. I was kind of hoping for more of a spiced floral green tea scent, because I really love all the other listed notes, but this is all champaca all the time on my skin.

Salty, honeyed patch. Overall, this is a very well-blended skin scent, and I don't think I'd identify any specific notes other than honey. This is actually sweeter and rounder than I was expecting, and less rough and dirty. I always expect patchouli scents to have that dirty edge, and this one doesn't. Notably, this scent has pretty strong throw -- this scent overpowered the other test patches on my skin.

Mmm juicy grapefruit and citrus! This is really bright, really tart citrus, not at all candied or sugary. Unfortunately, as citrus scents tend to do, the citrus notes fade fairly quickly leaving behind a soft, clean, slightly-soapy white musk with hints of citrus. It's so hard to get citrus scents to last, and if this one could stay as it is at first, that amazing juicy blast of citrus, it'd definitely be a keeper. As other people have said, I'd really love a soap or lotion scented with this.

I tend to prefer to drink gin rather than smelling like it, but I liked this one more than I expected to. My first impression is of a forest-y gimlet. It definitely goes on with a bit of that fizzy feel some of the cocktail scents have, but that disappears as it dries. The lime is very present in the bottle and when wet, but fades fairly quickly. Dries down to gin + pine, with the gin in the forefront. A very fresh and bright gin scent, definitely one for the gin perfume lovers.

Sweet apples, backed by wood notes with a touch of green. The apple is strongest while wet, and it fades a bit when it dries to soft vanillic woods.

Fruity honeyed goat's milk. Definitely has a foodie/buttery/baked sort of vibe, like shortbread cookies with fruity jam on top. Very warm, sweet, and almost thick.

Bright, fizzy, fruity-floral champagne. I love the Lab's champagne note, and it's definitely the most prominent note in this blend. The orange blossom is similar to the orange blossom note in Katherina, and the floral-citrus scent keeps the champagne note relatively dry and not overly sweet. This one reminds me a little of Harlequin, but with a strong fizzy champagne note rather than the champagne grape. I like this, but since I have a bottle of Harlequin I'm not sure I need more of it. Good throw and decent lasting power, but once the fizzy champagne fades it settles into a soft orange blossom scent primarily.

Very tart juicy red fruit. This is primarily raspberry to my nose, but it does have a touch of something else that makes me think "perfume" rather than just fruit. I have terrible luck with cream/milk scents, although the goats' milk variants tend to be better, and this one fortunately doesn't go weird on my skin. Good throw, fairly long-lasting, but it ends up a little simple when I was hoping for more cream! I've got other raspberry scents that end up more than just SN: Raspberry on my skin.

I'm not sure I get any rose, which is surprising because I am a rose-amper and it's killed many blends for me! On my skin, this one skews fairly unisex. It's mostly a musky fougere to my nose, with a little bite of lime and a soft dusting of powder. This is a very soft, polished sort of scent, and it wears fairly close to the skin. I expected it to be a little sharper, but there's barely a hint of lime and the lavender I was expecting in the fougere is very well-blended. Soft, powdery, unisex, inoffensive.

Fizzy cola. This is very sweet, and reminds me that I can't even drink regular coke because it's way too sweet for me. I love sugary scents, though, and this is close to too much even for me! It's almost more like a coke float with a bit of a creamy/vanillic aspect to it, which I guess is the "hint of marshmallow." SN: Cola. If that appeals to you, you will probably like this scent. I think I'm happy with just my decant, because I can't see myself reaching for this one often. However, it definitely fills a unique niche because I've never really had a realistic straight-up cola scent like this one before!

A "warrior worth a thousand, ready to confront a demon or a god, mounted or on foot." Tomoe Gozen was a fierce, noble, and courageous samurai, first captain, as well as a renowned beauty. She was an excellent swordswoman, famed for her riding ability and her skill at archery. She fought for Minamoto no Yoshinaka at Battle of Awazu, and her forces were defeated. Legend says she was seen holding the severed head of one of her foes on the battlefield, and vanished, never to be seen again. Red currant and honey. In the bottle: Precisely what it says: red currant and honey. The tartness of the currant cuts through the honey, which is sweet but not as thick or sticky as it sometimes can be. Rubbed on skin: The currant softens up a bit and blends with the honey. It's much subtler once it hits my skin, and the currant is much quieter and less tart. This sinks in quite well and smells really delicious in a not-quite-edible way. I have the bath oil on one hand and the perfume on the other, and they really go together very well. The perfume has the addition of blackberries and pink pepper, and so stays a bit more juicy-tart with a touch of spice, while the bath oil is now an aura of subtle, honeyed currants. I really love how these two oils smell layered next to each other -- the currant and honey in the bath oil make those notes in the perfume stand out a little more.

I agree: waffles. On and wet, it's very much brown sugar + waffles + maple syrup. I love frosting scents, so I was hoping for some of that here, but this is mostly just breakfast. The sugar has that crunchy/crystalline aspect to it, and it smells delicious, but it's very straightforwardly breakfast. Pretty strong throw, good lasting power.

I like this wet, as there's a good balance between rose and cookie, but unfortunately as it dries my rose-amping skin turns it into all rose and it ends up smelling like most other rose scents do on me: like ROSE. I really wish the cookie scent hung around longer, as it started to remind me of Knave of Hearts (which I love!), but the fruits in Knave balance out the rose better on my skin.