Brand: Nui Cobalt
Scent Description: A bold blend of Mahogany and Merlot with tart elderberry and a single long-stemmed rose. Wear this sumptuous scent to amplify your confidence and hone your skills. Anoint the tools of your trade to move you swiftly toward success.
Released: Gamers’ Collection
This review is for ▪️▪️Black Moon▪️▪️
Notes: dark incense, spiced fig preserves, saffron-poached plums, green mandarin and honey on the comb.
Oh I really like Black Moon. This oil really shows Forest’s skill with blending perfume notes. Black Moon is so much more than the sum of it’s parts. That seems to be my go to saying when I’m having a tough time putting a scent into words. Upon application I could pick out the fig preserves before I even knew what the notes were. The fig would pop here and there but the notes blended and settled into something completely different and I couldn’t pick out a thing. I’m getting a perfumed non-stinky jasmine on me. This is strange as there’s zero jasmine here. Stranger yet is I’m not really a jasmine fan as it tends to go rank on me, but I like it here. Very weird… it’s a candied jasmine smell weaving in and out as this wears. Maybe it’s the incense? Whatever it is, I’m liking the way it smells on my skin. This lasts around 5 hours on me, which isn’t bad at all with my scent eating skin. And after my slathering experience with BeeYouTiful and watery eyes, I applied conservatively. Most people will probably have better longevity.
This review is for 🔴BeeYouTiful🔴
Notes: honey-roasted pistachio and chestnut, pink magnolia and sweet apple blossom.
Wet I’m smelling something sweet and sort of vanillic. On my skin the apple blossom is there followed quickly by the pink magnolia. I had a magnolia tree in my old yard while growing up and the magnolia in BeeYouTiful is the real deal. I think I’m amping the florals here because the honey-roasted pistachio and chestnut never make an appearance on me. Note to my slathering self, apply sparingly as this is one of those florals that can make my eyes water. The magnolia in this was still going strong at the 6 hour mark. I fell asleep and it was gone the next morning. Maybe the nutty notes will develop as this oil ages? A nice true to life magnolia-forward perfume oil. So on me this starts out 60% apple blossom, 30% magnolia and 10% unidentifiable sweetness which must be the “honey” in the honey-roasted pistachio. As this settles, the apple blossom fades away and the magnolia becomes the prominent note. A non-foody sweet pink magnolia. Good stuff, but I’m disappointed that the nuts didn’t pop on my skin. I actually got this for the pistachio hoping the nuts would balance out the florals.
This review is for 🟣Purple People Eater🟣
Notes: candied violets, blackberry bramble, kudzu vine, vanilla bean, ginger, star anise and marshmallow fluff.
On my skin the candied violets pop right away. After 20 to 30 minutes the violet disappears and a “berry” smell comes to the forefront. The star anise keeps wafting in and out of the purple berry smell. When this settles into it’s final dry down it’s a dead ringer for Chambord liqueur. I thought Moonalisa’s Chateau de Chambord was accurate but Purple People Eater smells EXACTLY like Chambord. I don’t know if this was Intended but PPP is very well done.
Again, with age, the notes have really developed in Purple People Eater. I can pick out the greenness of the Kudzu, the violet is still there but the sweetness of the blackberry bramble is keeping the powdery essence of the violet in check. It smells way better than Chambord to me now. I’m purchasing my second 5 ml of this. One of few “berry” scents that don’t turn all artificial and plasticky on my skin. I can’t be bothered with scent lockets… it’s essential to me that a perfume oil jives with my skin chemistry and PPE does just that! Lasts around 5-6 hours on me.
This review is for 🟠Glitter Pumpkin🟠
Notes: fresh ginger root, pumpkin flesh, tangerine and apricot are mellowed by brown sugar, allspice, cardamom and clove.
Right away Glitter Pumpkin reminds me of my beloved Ginger Cat. I would say the fresh ginger root sets it apart. I LOVE spiced scents that don’t contain any cinnamon yet smell like they could. I’m getting that cinnamon undertone here in Glitter Pumpkin. I think it’s the allspice… whatever it is, it’s not aggravating my skin. Lasts around 4 hours on my skin but I can smell it on my sweater the following day. I paired this with Josie Maran’s Sugar Glazed Apricot whipped argan oil.
I let my bottle rest throughout the spring and summer months. When I cracked it open again in the fall, there was a distinct smoky and almost acrid note that has come about. No idea where this came from but, I’m not mad about it. I finished off my 5ml bottle at the beginning of November. I have my eye on Baby Pumpkin now.
This review is for 🟢Mad Scientist🟢
Notes: an acid green top note of Mexican and Persian limes. Spiked with piquant cardamom. Reveals the blackest vanilla and smooth salted caramel.
Limes and salted caramel? I wouldn’t have thought to put limes and caramel together. It seems crazy but it works. First I get the lime and a bitterness that I think is from the cardamom. Then as the citrus fades the caramel comes to the forefront. Think limes, then maybe caramel covered limes and finally a dry down to an all caramel base. Mad Scientist is a pretty wild scent journey.
This review is for 🟠Bountiful Harvest🟠
Notes: saffron, green cardamom, clove, maple sugar, dry chestnuts and woodsmoke.
On my skin this settles into mostly maple sugar, clove and woodsmoke. The saffron and green cardamom are there but they stay muted in the background while the rest of the notes dominate. I get a good 7 hours of wear from this. I can smell this the next day on my clothes.
This review is for 🟢Emerald Velvet🟢
Notes: Douglas fir, white sandalwood, heliotrope, pale amber, sweet oud, trace of brisk green cardamom.
I layered this over Haus of Gloi’s Spruce Tip Shortbread (buttery shortbread cookies, pistachios and spruce tips) pumpkin butter and it goes together so well. I feel like the notes in each both compliment and play off each other. Sadly, Emerald Velvet perfume oil doesn’t last very long on my scent eating skin. About 3 hours, if that. I just wish that this lasted longer because I’m a fan on this scent.
This review is for 🔴Blues Buster🔴
Notes: sun warmed honeycomb, red nasturtium, dark and light amber, orange peel, lemon balm, melted Shea butter, ylang and non-indolic pink jasmine.
Immediately after I apply this to my skin, something smells distinctly like urine. I’m afraid it’s the pink jasmine and my skin chemistry clashing. Jasmine tends to go either fecal or pissy on my skin. VERY few jasmines work on me. Thankfully the urine smell disappears within the first 10 minutes and now I’m just getting the impression of something floral. It’s strong enough on my wrists and inner elbows to make my eyes water. Whatever this floral smell is, be it a mix of the pink jasmine, ylang and the red nasturtium, it’s dominating. After looking back at the notes, if I really concentrate I can smell whiffs of the orange peel and the lemon balm but their faint compared to the floral aspect of this. This is coming across as a perfumed floral and the sauce is potent. I’m maybe 20 to 30 minutes in when I finally smell the Shea butter. It seems to be tempering the floral somewhat. When all is said and done, the final result of this on my skin is all jasmine.
This review is for 🔵Twinkling Fairy Lights🔵
Notes: golden copal and lemon sugar soften into cathedral incense and fluffy whipped honey nestled into dry vanilla bean and smooth white amber.
I really enjoy Twinkling Fairy Lights. On my skin it’s the perfect mix of copal and lemon sugar. I do wish that the cathedral incense and whipped honey were more dominant in this blend but that’s a personal preference. The dry vanilla bean shines in TFL. Strangely this doesn’t read as a gourmand but, there’s definitely a sugary sweetness. I think both the copal and incense keep this from going into straight foodie territory. Every single note in this bad boy is blended to perfection. There’s a cheerful brightness to Twinkling Fairy Lights…the name is very well suited to the perfume oil. To me, this is something that can be easily worn year round, be it the high heat of summer or the cold chill of winter. I get a good 7 hours or more of wear from TFL. That’s impressive for anything citrus related especially on my scent eating skin. I’m thinking I have the white amber to thank for that. In my opinion, this lemony potion beats out Poppycock for my favorite NCD lemon perfume oil. Speaking of Poppycock (lemon meringue pie with toasted crust) I noticed that the lemon note went a bit “Pledgy” (think furniture polish) with age. Part of me wonders if the lemon in Twinkling Fairy Lights will do the same. I don’t think this will be around to age. I have a feeling I’m going to fly through this bottle. My favorite lemon dominant scent from NCD for sure.
This review is for 🔴Argentine Tango🔴
Notes: scarlet musk, palo santo, sandalwood, crimson Malbec, caramel, tobacco and black cherry.
This is a good one yet I’m finding Argentine Tango very difficult to describe. This is very much a scent that is so much more than the sum of it’s parts. AT is extremely well blended and it’s hard for me to pick out the individual notes. I can definitely detect the notes of caramel, tobacco and the black cherry. This is on the sweet side but I really wouldn’t call this a gourmand per say because it’s so much more. AT has a scent profile that is reminding me of River Otter and Northern Cardinal. I get about 5 hours of wear on my skin before this pretty much disappears on my scent eating skin.
This review is for 🔵Cancan🔵
Notes: lavender lemon cupcakes, cognac, red satin, sugared absinthe and a wisp of fine tobacco.
This was an unexpected surprise for me. I expected Cancan to be gourmand from the lavender lemon cupcakes in the description. Amazingly this wasn’t all that sweet and leans to the masculine on my skin. Personally, I’ll wear anything that strikes my fancy regardless of who it’s marketed towards. I know a lot of folks don’t care for it when scents are labeled “feminine” or “masculine” but it’s the best way I know of to describe a scent to others. Cancan actually reminds me of a cologne or after shave that my Dad used to wear in the 80’s and 90’s…I wish I could recall the name. Even though it’s not listed I swear that I can smell some kind of musk. Maybe it’s just the way the notes are are meshing with my skin chemistry? Whatever the cause, I’m a big fan. I get about 3 and a half hours of wear out of Cancan before I need to reapply.
This review is for 🟠Belly Dance🟠
Notes: blue lotus, spiced date preserves, Egyptian musk, benzoin, dark myrrh and marjoram infusion.
I never would’ve thought that blue lotus and spiced date preserves would compliment each other but they do. Lotus can go soapy on me but the spiced date preserves along with the other notes keep it in check. Between the blue lotus and the Egyptian musk, Belly Dance still has an underlying edge that’s clean and soapy (at a tolerable level). This lasts around 3 hours on me and as the notes wear the dry down ends up smelling of blue lotus and Egyptian musk and nothing else. It’s alright but it’s not a favorite of mine. I have other lotus and Egyptian musk based scents that I prefer over Belly Dance. I’m not knocking this scent, I just have others with the same scent profile that I like better. If you’re a fan of blue lotus and or Egyptian musk then I think you’ll enjoy Belly Dance.
This review is for 🟢Pish-Tosh🟢
Notes: passion fruit tart…passion fruit, vanilla custard and a shortbread crust.
This was a blind buy for me so I had zero expectations…I really didn’t think that I’d end up liking Pish-Tosh as much as I do. The passion fruit note in this perfume oil is to die for. It’s very much a true to life scent and not artificial at all on my skin. I was concerned that the vanilla custard would go to plastic with my skin chemistry but the tang of the passion fruit beats back that plastic smell. The shortbread crust adds a toasted sweetness (I’m smelling something like brown sugar) and the entire thing just works. I don’t have anything like this in my collection of perfume oils. If you’re on the hunt for a good passion fruit note, Pish-Tosh is where it’s at. This perfume actually reminds me of a key lime pie variation that I had some years back at a birthday celebration. Just substitute passion fruit in place of the key lime and bang, I’m back eating this glorious desert. This one just keeps growing on me. Ever since the pandemic began it seems I’ve been really into gourmand/desert type scents. This one is dead on the description on my skin. The passion fruit fades out somewhere between the 3 to 4 hour mark. At this point I get a few more hours of the vanilla custard dominated by the sweet shortbread crust.
This review is for 💚Bryophilia: the love of moss.💚
Notes: green suede, rainforest fern, teakwood, river stone, oakmoss and mahogany.
Immediately after applying Bryophilia to my skin I’m assaulted by something sharp and almost fecal. I’m pretty sure it’s the green suede. Suede and leather notes can go haywire with my chemistry and now I’m nervous. After a few minutes the offensive smell disappears and I’m picking up on a beautiful greenness from the rainforest fern. In reference to how people describe perfume, I would say Bryophilia leans to the masculine side. I think it’s more unisex but I’ll wear/try out whatever scent tickles my fancy regardless of who it’s marketed towards. This is unisex in the way that I find Solstice Scents Gehenna or Monarch to be, minus the red musk notes. Bryophilia has that same woody kind of base. Where Monarch is coniferous, Bryophilia emits a unique greenness between the oakmoss and the rainforest fern. And I’m happy to find that I can hang with the green suede note. I’m glad I took a chance on this one. Teakwood is another note that can go screechy and overpower on my skin but it seems Forest has a gift for blending. The greenness in Bryophilia reminds me of Alkemia’s Absinthe and Laudanum in the Afternoon (minus the absinthe note). Keep in mind that none of the scents I mentioned in this review are identical. Bryophilia just has facets that remind me of some notes in these other scents. I don’t know if this is making sense to anybody but me. I think you would have to own or have tried the scents I’ve written about to get the comparisons. In the short n sweet, this is a green woody unisex scent that leans more to the masculine side.
This review is for 🌥Nephophilia 2.0 (reformulation): the love of clouds⛅️
Notes: cotton candy, ivory cashmere, silk tree blossoms, blush suede and steamed vanilla.
Let me get right to the point, I came for the cotton candy note. After an epic skin chemistry fail with Moonalisa’s Cotton Candy Cupcakes I’ve been on the hunt for a nice cotton candy scent. Nephophilia 2.0 wears much more perfumed versus gourmand on my skin. The cotton candy note is there but it stays in the background as does the steamed vanilla. The blush suede isn’t kicking my ass the way the tawny suede in Ophidiphilia or the suede note in Ailurophilia but it’s definitely making itself known. The ivory cashmere and the silk tree blossoms seem to beat back the harshness of the blush suede. I would call this a like and not a love for me, although that may change when I revisit this perfume oil after some months of aging. It’s just shy of 10 hours since I applied Nephophilia 2.0 and it’s still going strong. I usually slather my perfume oils (my skin gobbles up scent) but I’d suggest starting off applying with a light hand and give it a bit of time before deciding to apply more. Nui Cobalt gives a generous sample vial and I applied about half of it on my first go around. It was too much and I hardly ever say that. Again, something was sticking in the back of my throat (blush suede note?) for about the first 3 hours of wear. Nephophilia 2.0 is impressing the hell out of me with it’s longevity, too bad it’s a “like” and not a “love” for me but things may change. Time will tell!
This review is for 🐈Ailurophilia: the love of cats🐈
Notes: Egyptian musk, tonka, dulce de leche, cashmere, suede, sandalwood and copal smoke.
Once again the suede and my skin chemistry ruined this for me. It’s not as intense as it is in Ophidiphilia but I’m still amping the suede from the get go and throughout the 5 hours that it lasted on my skin. I have trouble with suede and leather scents across the board no matter the brand. I have a few perfume oils where those notes work but for the majority I amplify suede/leather and it takes over everything else. Such a shame as I think Forest is especially skilled in blending. Maybe things with Ailurophilia will improve with age. I’m curious to see what others say about Ailurophilia and wish I could’ve experienced the rest of the notes in this perfume oil.
This review is for 🐍Ophidiphilia: the love of snakes🐍
Notes: pink sandalwood, Saharan musk, copaiba balsam, Shea butter, dried fig, pale patchouli and soft tawny suede.
Wow, it’s been around 11 hours since I applied Ophidiphilia and it’s still going strong. The suede in this particular blend is too much for me. I’ve been amping that suede note hardcore all day. The rest of the notes have blended into something magical but that damn suede is upstaging everything. Skin chemistry is such a strange thing. For the first several hours of wear the suede fluctuates between motor oil and leather. It’s not necessarily a bad thing if it wasn’t so prominent. It’s to the point that it’s irritating my throat. Ever have a scent or note catch in the back of your throat? I don’t know how else to describe it but I’ve been clearing my throat all day. Finally around the ninth hour the Shea butter succeeded in tempering the suede. I’m going to age this oil and revisit it in the future but for now that suede is just too much for me.
This review is for 🍏Apple Picking🍏
Notes: barely ripe apples, green leaves, rain soaked soil, wicker baskets and golden hay.
*Let me start off by saying that I only let this bottle rest out of the mail for 2 days before I caved and tried it out on my skin. I think that this needs to rest a bit longer. So far, all of my Nui Cobalt oils have only gotten better as they age.*
Immediately out of the bottle and on my skin I smell crisp green apple. It’s not too sweet and it’s not too tart. I’m having flashbacks to the White Rain Green Apple shampoo and conditioner that I used to rock back in the 90’s. If you’ve smelled it then you’ll know the exact apple scent that I’m talking about. All of a sudden the other notes are doing their best to break through and I smell like rotten apples. Ugh, what’s going on? I’m hoping AP is just angry from the trip through the mail and with a bit more resting things will change for the better. I’m fighting the urge to scrub this off my skin but I usually try and muddle through testing scents unless I have a skin reaction. It takes a good 30 minutes of morphing (green apples to rotten apples to damp hay) before this settles into a lovely green apple forward scent with the accompanying notes lending an atmospheric edge to it all. I was sweating there for a minute on my blind buy but I’m pleased with the end result of this. I find that most apple notes have some kind of irritant in them that sticks in the back of my throat. I think the accompanying notes do a great job of balancing out the apple so it’s not too bracing. I can’t get more than 4 hours of wear on my skin from this perfume oil before it disappears completely. Apple Picking is a fresh, green atmospheric apple scent 🍏 that will hopefully only get better with age!
This review is for ▪️Siamese Cat▪️
(notes: strong black tea, tobacco flower, fuzzy peach skin, mimosa blossom and blush suede)
Something in this blend comes across very animalic on my skin and I’m NOT a fan of this. I wonder if it’s the blush suede? Sometimes teas can come across very sharp and tonic but I don’t think that’s the culprit in Siamese Cat. I can’t claim to know what a mimosa blossom smells like, I’ve only had the cocktail myself. I’m happy once the stank is gone but it’s a long journey to get there, a few hours. The end result is a lovely peach tinged fragrance. Kind of clean yet floral yet peachy all at the same time. I’m going to age my bottle and come back to this. I find NC oils really tend to grow on me with some aging. SC doesn’t reach a fragrance that I’m happy with until about the 4 hour mark. Fingers crossed this will change.
Siamese Cat has changed for the better with some aging. That sharp animalic note is still there but it’s much more subdued. I still think it’s the blush suede note that’s not agreeing with my skin chemistry but, minus one offender, the rest of the notes mesh into a beautiful smell. I’ve found that some perfume oils brands (Firebird, Hexennacht) don’t change much over time and others (Possets, Solstice Scents) seem to get better with resting and or aging. Nui Cobalt perfume oils REALLY do improve with age. In general I recommend aging a perfume oil before completely writing it off. I’ve changed my mind on numerous occasions revisiting oils after some aging.
This review is for ▪️Hekate Deichteira▪️
(notes: laurel, olive leaves, sage, rosemary, acacia wood, white lotus, moonflower, deep purple heliotrope, claret and black fig)
This one is hard to describe. I get the sage and hints of rosemary right away and some camphorated note that bites. At the same time I think the floral notes help to soften things up and take the sting out of the bite in HD. Besides the sage and rosemary, I can’t pick anything out. HD can be worn year round, it doesn’t really fit in to any particular season. I would never think to put all of these notes together. This wears very sage forward on me but it never veers into the medicinal. HD is hard to explain. It’s one of those scents I think you just need to experience and make your own decision. At 5 hours this has faded some but it’s still quite detectable when I put my nose to my inner elbow. NC perfume oils tend to have above average longevity on me. I think I’ll try this in my diffuser and see what pops.
This review is for ▪️Hekate Enodia▪️
(notes: incense of copal and myrrh, clove bud, star anise, tobacco, bitter almond, rosemary, Bosc pear, tonka bean and freshly turned earth)
Oh wow this starts out reminding me of the cloves/bidis I stupidly smoked in the 90’s. Gah, that smell takes me back! As this wears on my skin the incense develops and now it’s reminding me of Sen Sen’s. All of the women in my family were nuts for these little brown breath freshening squares. They were strong just like this oil is strong. I slathered (because it’s what I do) and my eyes are a bit watery from this wafting up from my décolletage. This passes after awhile and the rosemary in this blend is giving it a distinct herbal edge. I’m also getting church incense vibes from this once it settles down on me. I’m a fan of every single stage of this beautiful perfume oil. There’s nothing sweet in HE and it leans towards the masculine side but I feel like either a man or woman could wear this. I get a good 4+ hours out of this before it fades considerably on my scent eating skin.
I grabbed a random bottle today, Hekate Enodia (I couldn’t recall the notes) and I slathered it on. I smell like a Ricola cough drop with an incensey background. Is incensey a word or am I making it up? This is not a good one for warmer weather in my opinion. I could work with this in the fall. This will layer well with a lot of other perfume oils in my collection. From beginning to end, there is definitely a strong note of (unlit) tobacco. My skin amps tobacco and that’s happening with HE. When I get a chance to actually read what the notes are, I definitely get the tobacco, clove bud and star anise. I think the rosemary and the pear are meshing with the first three notes I just mentioned and the end result is…Ricola! Great, that’s all I can think about now. Once my brain makes that scent memory connection, it’s on a continual loop as long as I’m smelling HE. That smell + warm weather = no bueno on my skin. This will be better in the cooler weather. I see awesome layering potential with this.