LavenderCoffee

In the bottle and freshly applied, this is all yummy almond nougat. Then we wait for that bossy almond to calm down and let literally anyone else be sniffed ...annnd there! Peachy coconut cream. I'm not picking out marshmallow but it's probably all cozied up with the nougat. A comforting peachy nougat confection.

This one is a bit confusing up front! Wet, it strikes me as a slightly floral cleaning solution. Is this the buzzy floral aldehyde of stainless steel dildo? Peach is off in the background somewhere. Once it settles on the skin, I am getting more of a metallic vibe. Peachy polished chrome. Do androids dream of metallic peaches? I have a mental image of a cross between James's Giant Peach and the giant mechanical spider of Wild Wild West and I am both deeply sorry and enormously pleased to share that here. 

Probably the least peachy of this years peaches to my nose, but delightfully unusual. 

Yep, this is a beauty. In the bottle I smell lemony minty booze. Freshly applied, I get a light, clean, minty peach. Lemon and booze have left the scene. At first the mint and peach obscure the anise, but as the oil warms and dries the anise really shines through. I was sad at first when I couldn't detect the anise at all, but it is definitely present and perfectly paired with the peach. Stunning!

I was hesitant to try this one because I could not get my head around how on earth mint would work with Snake Oil. But this is why I am not a perfumer! So I took the leap to trust the artist and I'm happy I did. Vanilla mint is a lovely combo. I'm a big fan of Alisz, but this blend has fangs instead of rosy cotton candy. I'm getting a minty bergamot bite gently softened by vanilla, with a slinky slithery snake oil backdrop. The bright green notes fade as the oil dries and Green Tree Viper becomes positively comfy. 

Dead leaves! Dead leaves. Sometimes they work for me and sometimes they don't. What else is there to say. This is a mellow variation (a mallow variation!). It's warm and soft and nutty, with a touch of sweetness and a dash of leaves. Really lovely scent.

Hnnng ...this is so sexy I'm breaking all the rules for it! Fresh out of the mail and it's my choice for SotD.

I know when we say we'll come back and update these first impression reviews that we don't always follow through, but my TODOs in case I do follow through: retest after some rest and also give it a proper comparison to the OG DADDY (OGD). I liked what I sniffed when I tested OGD briefly before, but I didn't have any strong feelings one way or another, and I have not yet given that one a proper wear and review. 

Amped-up peaches is a good place to start. A roll in the hay with a sexy demon peach? As mentioned on 15 Minutes of Fume, it's more of a fully realized fragrance than some of the other peaches this year. The bay rum is really vibing with the peach. Not getting much discernable incense, but this peach-kissed variant is so very sexy, like ridiculously so (with apologies to Ridiculously Sexy Peach). I don't think anyone would come up to you and tell you that you smell like peaches or fruit especially, but I will find out later when I see people. Very pleased with this one. 

The orchid in this is stunning when freshly applied, and the incense comes out with wear. The lush orchid scent doesn't last terribly long but it's so so good. Does go a bit powdery for me.

This is so very pretty. A gorgeous jasmine tea scent. I was hoping for a stronger presence from the honeycomb because I am a shameless sugar hog, but it is just the right amount: perfectly balanced and blended with the exact proportions of lemon peel and honeycomb to accentuate the jasmine tea rather than overwhelm it. I am trying to tell myself this isn't really my style of perfume, but I have such a soft spot for the duet and ménage à trois scents and I can't stop sniffing this... anyway I recommend it if you're a tea person. This is definitely a fitting Spring/Summer choice, but it's so calming and smooth you could wear it anytime you need a cuppa in scent form. 

Well hello bourbon! There's almost a woodiness to this from the clove - the spices are delectable and beautifully blended. As with other whiskey scents from the lab, the overall scent impression doesn't strike me as boozy even though it does smell exactly like bourbon. Glad I was able to snag some of this!

This is a lovely scent based on a striking painting. I thought it looked like a Blake but it turns out Fuseli influenced Blake. If I wasn't looking at the scent notes, I think the only thing I would have gotten straight away would have been the orange blossom, which is strongest when first applied. The white tea is much more subtle than I'm used to, but then again this imp could be old enough to learn how to drive. As it wears, there's a wonderfully sweet, almost nutty quality that compliments the floral. Not sure if this is from karakarounde or opoponax and benzoin playing with vetiver, or all of the above. Mahogany pops up and boosts the white tea a bit. I was not expecting such a complex journey but I have enjoyed it!

I get the most lavender from this in the wet phase, and then it settles into harmony with the other notes. I really enjoy this one because it's a warm herbal lavender - the rosewood in particular really takes the edge off the sharp/dry tendencies of lavender and white sandalwood, and complements the palo santo nicely. Very calming and peaceful.

Soft Reboot (TAL 2020) has the lavender, sandalwood and palo santo, but the additional notes there create a cooler, sweeter effect. 

Wulric is so so good. Up front I get cocoa and lavender, and then cardamom and vetiver and vanilla. I can tell there's some birch tar and musk but they don't dominate the scent. Vetiver does step up as it dries, along with with clary sage. Really striking and refreshing and cuddly - I'm not getting the mean streak!

I gotta make sure I'm constantly re-evaluating my scent note preferences to account for how the notes play off each other, because I would have been nervous about buying this one today. Balsam and dark musks would have given me pause even tho patch and cacao and sarsaparilla are all favs. I didn't hesitate when I snagged it off Etsy in 2020 and for that I am grateful!

In the bottle and freshly applied, this bat is all rich dark cacao. As it wears, the patchouli and mahogany and musk come forward to join in. I don't get a distinct sarsaparilla note, but it feels like that and the tonka are providing a bit of soft fuzz around the deep darkness of this bat. It is definitely not a sweet scent, but I find it quite comforting. 

Got a fresh bottle of this from the lab and HELLOOOO NURSE it is very strong and sexy right out of the gate. Dark, unisex, musk. I get different whiffs of notes depending on where I've applied it - vanilla sandalwood is really hanging in there from under my shirt but antique patchouli is in the lead from the crook of my elbow. If you want to oooooze seduction, this is the scent. Apply sparingly if you don't want to knock people over though, it's potent!

Edited to add: a year later I'm definitely getting a bit more of a how do you do from the vetiver when freshly applied, but it is well balanced among the other notes, and the experience of wearing it is still very much as I described above. 

2013 version: the "sharp, metallic slices of snow and freezing wind" is quite prominent when freshly applied, as detailed by other reviewers. becomes an interesting atmospheric scent as it dries down, but not much apple to my nose. 

This is my favorite of the Haunted House scents. Maybe a top ten, although my top ten has like 25 in it 😅

When you really get in and smell this, it smells like a pipe organ. It's impossible and perfect. I grin every time I open this bottle. I'm not sure someone walking past you at the store would get pipe organ, since there's more incense in the throw, but it is absolutely dark and dramatic. Leads with oud and pitch, vetiver and incense emerge with wear, and cacao only peeks out after drydown, but it is *very* dark and dry.

My best friend growing up lived in an older house with hardwood floors - I lived in a newer subdivision and we had carpets - and I thought her house was magical. Not sure if it was haunted, but this is definitely taking me back to hanging out in her living room and dining room, which was one large space in which there were usually plenty of people congregated. I know I am probably biased because of this scent memory, but the tea note with the wood is really something special, very cozy and lived-in.

I missed this the first time around because I'm a dingdong, but grabbed a bottle secondhand this year and it is everything I wanted. Freshly applied it is all leather on me - a lovely soft bookbinding leather. As it wears the woods and atmospheric awesomeness come forward, and I can almost hear the bookcase creaking open to reveal the dark creepy haunted passage. Doleful Pipe Organ is hands down my fav from this Haunted House collection, but Bookcase Passage is right up there too. 

Freshly applied, the fossilized amber strikes me as powdery, but that dissipates as it wears and I get some of the aforementioned aldehydes. I really like how this translates to the concept, and I find this easy to wear. 

Another slightly skin-tingling ginger. Bright throbbing orange is a very apt description for this blend. A triumphant major chord across two octaves, with the ginger/mandarin in the top range through the apricot/amber down to the patchouli and earthy yam. It's bright and warm with lovely balance, and stays close to the skin.

Yum, this is a good pumpkin-y pumpkin scent. I almost get honeycomb from this when freshly applied, and just a suggestion of something vanillic. Mandarin provides a juicy topnote, mango is missing in action. Red ginger caused a bit of a skin reaction for me but I like how it spices things up.

Hubba hubba, this is a great scent. Leads with a strong lavender but then it settles in with the rest of the notes. That rosewood! I love how this smells on me and I think I would be devastated to smell this on an attractive stranger. 

Snagged a bottle of Burial because it's so easy to wear. I don't usually seek out scents with juniper but it's just perfect here, blended with fresh earth and patchouli. I don't get much floral. A quiet, sacred place in a dense forest swirling with mist. 

I love anise and licorice root, and Black Annis certainly has a rooty, earthy feel. On my skin, it's primarily a warm musk accentuated by vetiver and anise. There is a nice hint of something cave-y and mossy if I lean in close. A very pleasant scent even though it's slightly feral. 

I was drawn to this scent because I randomly drew an association between the description (The thudding beat of powerful alabaster wings) and "The Sound of Her Wings" story from The Sandman. I have "You Get What Everyone Gets" but I find it difficult to wear (won't stop me trying!), so I decided in my head this could also be a Death scent. 

Freshly applied, Crane Moon is rich and soft with vanilla, blackened sandalwood, and cardamom. I don't get much distinguishable cacao on my skin, even though there is some in the bottle. Each time I test it, the notes seem to shimmer in an otherworldly way as the scent settles and dries, like it pivots in midair and changes course. Bourbon vanilla never seems to last very long for me, but I enjoy how it contributes to the morph in this blend. It becomes darker and woodier to my nose, the cedar increasing in prominence alongside ambergris, but with orris to prevent it from going too sharp. Some sandalwood also has a tendency to go musty on me after it has dried, but here there is a pleasant dry dirt/dusty quality that may be the sandalwood and orris joining forces, providing a nice balance to the perfume tendency of the cedar/ambergris. I'm glad I snagged some of this.