zankoku_zen

On wet, I get the coconut the most, but it's really light, and then it dries down to a dead leaf and champaca blend. So it's a slightly smoky white floral and dead leaves. More of the traditional perfume type than I expected. Great throw, good wear length.

I mainly get violet candy. Honestly, this to me is just a stronger violet candy with a bed of ivy underneath, which is an odd way for dead leaves to code for my nose, but there you have it. Violet candy, and ivy stems. Good throw and wear length.

This one is a more dead-leaf plum oudh. It's mainly a plummy oudh, with just a smidge of dead leaves and clove. Very fall-like. Very plummy. If you like either, give this a whirl. Medium throw and wear length.

From the bottle, the loudest note is surprisingly the bourbon. This one smells boozy. On wet, I get a boozy black cherry/orange blend with just a smidge of orange. It dries down to a dead leaf with a whiff of orange and bourbon. Honestly, this is more of a bourbon blend than anything else. It's like if Don Draper decided to go jump in a pile of leaves instead of another Manhattan. Medium throw and wear length.

I get mainly black currant, slightly floweriness and some slinky clove. UGH. This is so good. Love it.

Red apple, ylang ylang, opoponax, and myrrh. Red apple and myrrh. For me this was a darker red apple, with tinges of resinous myrrh and just a whiff of darker white florals. Dark, seductive, apple. Medium throw and low wear length on me though.

Oudh, amber, bergamot and a whiff of honey, saffron, and yew. This one is a complex dark oudh blend. It flitters between a dark, ombre sort of perfume and just straight up smokey darkness. Good throw and wear length.

Super sexy pumpkin spice. I get tinges of pumpkin spice, rum, tobacco, and just a whiff of leather. UGH. This actually smells really good. I was not expecting to like this and I am. This will require more testing. Good throw and wear length.

Rum and yellow cake. This one is a coconutty sugary drink on the beach rum. So I end up with a very tropical Caribbean cake. Medium throw and wear length.

Red musk, orris, and a touch of what smells like coconutty vetiver. I really do get a good deal of Blood Pearl from this. Good throw and wear length.

Sugary lemon balm with a touch of orange. Medium throw and wear length.

Violets and lavender on wet, and it dries down and more of the orris and iris come out, making it more of a powdery violet blend. This is like a light lilac colored purple. It's light and ephemeral, and just a tad crazy. Good throw and wear length.

Mint, chilly pom, and a bed of musk. This one is a minty pom blend with enough musk to keep it interesting. Very weird, and complex, and fruity-tangy without being all pomegranate in your face.

Labdanum, patchouli and musk. This is a dark, inky, musky blend. Touch of saffron. If you're into dark, resinous blends, give this a whirl. Medium throw and wear length.

Smooth cologney mahogany with myrrh. This one is gender neutral to masculine, but smells expensive and ancient. Like grand stairs. Medium throw and wear length.

Iris, whiffs of lavender and chamomile and a slightly myrrh base. This is probably one of the best iris blends I've ever tried. The lavender and chamomile prevent it from being all iris or powder, and its just delicate, green, and haunting. It reminds me to the smell of the thin thread of sanity. When you're hanging on, but just barely. Low throw and wear length.

Coconut milk and iris. Yup, I get a milky delicate coconut milk and powdery iris. Pretty, delicate, milky. Good throw and wear length.

Moonflower, opium poppies, and a touch of pine. This one is ghostly, opium poppies. I am oddly enjoying this blend. Medium throw and wear length.

Orange blossom/citrus, touch of clove, and both patchouli and opoponax. It's got some very light top notes, but as you inhale deeper, you get the darker notes. There's a whiff of almost cedar-like smokiness to the patchouli and I think that the vetiver curling about. It's also the dawning realization that this is not the blend you may have expected. Yes, there's those light citrus notes but something darker lurks in the heart of it all. Medium throw and wear length.

I get mainly chypre on wet, and as it dries, the pumpkin spices develop. It ends up as a cologney-pumpkin spice. After about an hour, I get a slight musk undertone. I am definitely amping up the chypre end of the entire thing and my guess is that this blend will vary greatly depending on whether you amp up either the pumpkin spice or the chypre. Definitely one of the more interesting Halloween blends that the Lab has put out this year. Good throw and wear length.

Chai and buttercream cupcakes. This smells like milky creamy chai and whiffs of buttery confections. Medium throw and wear length.

Grey amber and tobacco. If you love either, I can see why you would love this. It smells like old rich Victorian smoking jacket. It's very gorgeous. ... and I'm not sure I love it as much as I thought I would. I can see why others would go bananas, and its absolutely smashing, and yet.... Love is a funny thing. Good throw and wear length.

Aquatic with laudanum, which adds a very resinous note, and then you get the moss. This smells like dark, depressive seas. Resin lovers, if you were ever tempted by aquatics, give this a whirl. Aquatics, if you ever wanted to try a resin, I'd give this a whirl. It's an odd Venn diagram of both combined. Medium throw and wear length.

White apple, cucumber, muguet, cherry blossom, and honeysuckle. This one was a very white apple blend - I got apples, cucumbers, cherry blossom and honeysuckle. The apple almost smelled like a crisp pear, and I think that is muguet. It's what I would consider an apple version of Belle Epoque. Very ornate, glittering, and definitely a floral apple. For lovers of juicy fruity blossoms, I'd check this out. Good throw, medium wear length.

Pumpkin spice, dash of cocoa, and buttery pumpkin. This smells more like a chocolate pumpkin pie than pumpkin brownies. But hey, more pumpkin? Medium throw and wear length.