donkehpoo

Wet: This stage screams "crystalline vanilla" to me. Even though it's not a note listed, there's something that smells like white tobacco in here. Definitely reminds me a little of Zorya P. (Maybe not exactly a sister scent, but like cousins at this point.)

 

Dry: The red benzoin has come out swingin', and it definitely smells different than Zorya P. now. Prominent red benzoin, with some of the crystalline vanilla scent in the background.

 

While I like this scent, I don't love it, but I think with aging this will smell fantastic.

Wet: For some reason, I've always had a hard time picking out the pink pepper note in scents. Here, however, I KNOW I'm getting a blast of pink pepper! It's almost a little smokey smelling. Definitely some cotton candy in the background as well, but the pink pepper is dominating.

 

Dry: I've seen a lot of people comparing this to a creamsicle, but I'm not getting that all! This is still prominently pink pepper on me with a hint of sweetness now.

 

(Side note: for a creamsicle scent, I love Fortuna Liberum.)

 

I'll hold on to this for a while to see if it ages, but I'm not really in love right now.

(Side note: can't remember what the original smelled like, so I can't compare to that.)

 

Wet: Whoa! Hit right off the bat with lots of citrus from the mandarin and bergamot. On second sniff I'm getting a small bit of a musky rose. It's a lot nicer than I anticipated!

 

Dry: The citrus has stuck around and is still going strong, and some amber has popped out. The rose is much more prominent on the dry-down, but it's a liiiiittle soapy now.

 

 

Rose doesn't usually play well on my skin, so I'm not too surprised about the soapy bit. If rose works for you though, I think this is something a lot of people would enjoy!

(Side note: never tried the original, so I can't compare to that.)

 

Wet: Dark berries, with jasmine and something "green". Even though it's not a note listed, this comes off a little ozone-y to me.

I'm trying to figure out the berry scent, but I can't put my finger on it. It doesn't smell like raspberry, strawberry, blackcurrant, redcurrant, cranberry, OR blueberry. It's almost like a blackberry, but minus the tartness?

 

Dry: Powdery, sweet jasmine, with a smidgen of lime and the berry scent from earlier. Low throw on me.

 

I was worried about the jasmine, and while it did turn powdery on me, dare I say I actually kind of like it? I'll definitely hold on to my imp, but not sure if I need a big bottle.

(Side note: I haven't tried the original, so I can't really do a comparison.)

Wet: Sweet, warm musk, and hint of sage. This is very light on the skin; I had to do multiple swipes with the imp wand to get a good sniff.

Dry: I don't think I would describe this as a "warm" musk anymore; it's very clean smelling. It's mostly musk, and sage on me. Sweet pea is a note I really enjoy, but I'm not getting any from this. I'm not sure where the tonka is hiding, either. (This is still incredibly light on the skin, btw.)

I'll set this aside to re-test in a few weeks, but it's not really working for me right now.

(Side note: can't remember what the original version smells like, so I can't do a comparison.)

Wet: First hit with LOTS of amber! It's a very fresh, "green" amber, as odd as that may sound.
Pretty strong throw, I almost knocked myself out sniffing my wrist!

Dry: Very, very similar to the wet stage. Still a fresh, "green" amber scent. There's a light floral background note, but it's not strong enough for me to figure out. Kind of reminds me of a lily, but don't take my word on that! Not getting any citrus, unfortunately. The throw has calmed down to what I would call average.

I'm glad I tried this out, but I won't need to upgrade to a big bottle.

 

Wet: Blackcurrant jelly! Very tart.

 

Dry: Getting a dough note now, but this is still mostly blackcurrant jelly! Definitely a deeper scent than Raspberry Suf(I haven't tried the strawberry version to compare them).

 

edit: after trying the Strawberry Suf scent as well, I still agree. Blackcurrant Suf is a deep, dark berry scented suf. It's not the same type of sweetness of Raspberry or Strawberry Suf.

ETA: this is the old teal label version.

 

Wet: Cognac, incense, and tobacco. There's a small bit of sweetness here as well.

 

Dry: Much sweeter than the wet stage. This is a sweet musky-tobacco-incense, with maybe the smallest trace of vanilla. There's something slightly "clean" about this scent as well.

 

Lots of different layers to this scent, and I really enjoy them all.

Wet: Lots and lots of almond, with something almost boozy-smelling in the background.

 

Dry: Mostly almond still, with a warm pastry note and a little caramel.

 

Yum!

Wet: Dorian, but extra sweet.

 

Dry: Hm, I'm not really getting cotton candy from this, but I AM getting a lot of sweetness. Like an extra sweet Dorian.

The cotton candy note in Midway I can definitely smell, but I don't think this is the same.

 

This might need to rest a little longer for the cotton candy to come out, as stated by previous reviewers; I'll try it again in a week or so and update this if it's different!

Wet: Warm, musky berries, with a touch of green maybe?

 

Dry: Still warm, musky berries! Almost like berries that have been sitting out in the sun for a while. It's nice!

Wet: Cinnamon and cheesecake. Where you hiding, apple?

 

Dry: More cinnamon than cheesecake, and still no apple. To be fair, my skin amps the crap out of cinnamon at times, so you may have better luck!

Wet: Peach hard candy!

 

Dry: Peach -and- strawberry hard candy! There's really no cheesecake that's appeared in this blend, but I'm actually not too disappointed by that. I like sticky-sweet candy scents, and this is really nice.

Wet: Lots of acai berry and neroli! This is very bright, fresh, and a little "green" smelling. Not getting any Snake Oil yet.

 

Dry: Welcome to the party, Snake Oil! Snake Oil, with a little bit of acai berry and a little bit of smokey something. (Not really reading as smoked vanilla to me, but something in it DOES seem smokey.)

 

While I think it's nice, it's not one of my favorite SO blends, and it's probably time to let this go to a better home.

I can't believe I never got around to doing these.. whoops!

 

Original AL

 

Wet: Warm vanilla, and a kind of clean linen smell.

 

Dry: Borderline-buttery vanilla, the faintest whiff of flowers, and a little bit of that clean linen smell. It is.. so stunning.

 

This was one of my first 5ml purchases from the lab, and I'll be so sad when it's gone; I'm down to half a bottle!

 

 

2017 AL

 

Wet: Much fainter than the original version. This is more like a vanilla musk.

 

Dry: Very faint vanilla musk, and a touch of clean linens.

 

I probably won't wear this again until my original bottle is all gone, and hopefully by then, it'll have aged into something stunning.

Wet: This scent reminds me of something.. but I have NO idea what. This is mainly sugared apples.

 

Dry: The vanilla cream has come out, and is the prominent scent! The sugared apples are in the background, but still hanging around enough to KNOW that they're there. Yum!

 

I need to do some comparisons with scents I already have; the wet stage reminds me of another scent, but the dry-down does not.

Wet: Sticky-sweet dragon's blood.

 

Dry: Sugary sweet dragon's blood. The sweetness isn't necessarily reading as "strawberry" to me, but I definitely agree that this is what a dragon's blood lollipop would smell like. Right up my alley!

The hops were the first thing I smelled when I sprayed this. Once I sniffed my hair, it was a sweet, hoppy lavender-vanilla cloud. Very pretty.

Wet: Pink musk. It's almost like a candied musk, it's very sweet(thanks to the vanilla sugar).

 

Dry: Pink, candied musk, and sweet pea. It's like Mouse's Long and Sad Tale's super girly cousin... who also eats a lot of sugar. Very happy I was able to snag this one!

Wet: Very white, clean-smelling florals. Similar to other reviews; I'm not getting any tobacco, bourbon vanilla, or tonka.

 

Dry: Count me in as another person with still no tobacco, bourbon vanilla, or tonka appearing on the skin. I was hoping those notes would ground the floral notes, but no such luck. Still all flowers, all the time; almost identical to the wet version, which is rare!

 

I was hoping the moonflower would be more prominent (my favorite floral note!), but I can't seem to pick it out either. However, if you're a floral lover, I don't think you'd be disappointed by this! Just not a scent for me.

Wet: Amped up pie filling(everything but the crust), with a touch of rum! This is warm, buttery, spicy, and delicious.

 

Dry: Something has turned that delicious pie filling stage into plastic. :| Basically it's a hint of pie filling now, heavy spices, and plastic.

 

Can I blame the vanilla cream? ... Because I blame the vanilla cream. Curse you!

Wet: In order of strongest to least; tuberose, violet, lilac. It's reminding me of Daddy-O Shampoo by Lush. (Disclaimer: it's been several years since I smelled it.)

 

Dry: This is practically a violet single note on me now; I'm not sure where the tuberose or the lilac went. Apparently violet kicked their butts and ran them out of town. There is a faint powderyness that may be from the tuberose in the background, but otherwise.. violets on top of violets on top of violets.

Wet: Minty frankincense; very strong on the mint!

 

Dry: The mint has finally chilled out. This smells like a mint-flavored marshmallow, with just a liiiittle frankincense in the background to add some depth.

 

It's surprisingly nice! I think my decant will be enough, though.

Wet: Musky vanilla tuberose. A bit strong on the rose for me.

 

Dry: Oohhhhh... okay... now I'm understanding the love for this.

 

The tuberose has calmed down a bit; it's still there, but it's no longer the dominant note. It's a lot of warm musky vanilla, with a touch of rose. I can't identify the almond or the mandarin, but they may just be adding to the sweetness of this blend.

 

I like this much more than I thought I would. If you're afraid of anything rose-related the way I am, I would still recommend hunting down a decant of this; you may be surprised!

Wet: Lots of toasted coconut, and some creaminess from the honeyed almond milk.

 

Dry: The toasted coconut overthrew all the other notes, basically. There's definitely still a sweetness to the blend, but I would say this is 95% toasted coconut, 4% honeyed almond milk, and 1% plastic on me. Disappointed the fig never made an appearance!

 

If you like coconut, you should grab this. It's definitely registering as more of a foodie coconut on my skin, like what I'd smell on a German chocolate cake. (Just, you know, minus the chocolate. ... Though if you want that, you could probably layer with Bliss!)