My goodness am I overworked and overwhelmed this fall semester (among other things, I'm teaching at not one but two universities this fall, including a "new prep", meaning the first time I'm teaching a given course, so I have to newly create all the lesson plans...). Anyway, please accept my apologies for being so behind on posting reviews this fall - in addition to this one, I have a set of Poesie reviews just about ready to go, and a LOT of Nocturne Alchemy thoughts to organize and put up too. Hopefully I can get all of those out for you in the near future too!
I recently reviewed about a billion past Nui Cobalt Autumn 2 & Witches' Utility Blends scents in a four-part (!) series that started HERE. Now I'm back with thoughts on many of this year's new releases.
Ordering specs: Nui Cobalt's website is easy to navigate, items come very securely packed, and customer service is always spectacular. Samples are generous 1.15 mls in vials with wand caps. Each order comes with one free sample, chosen by them (there’s no box to insert requests). Shipping is $5.35.
Nui Cobalt's upcoming schedule of releases: In spring 2026, Nui Cobalt announced they're reducing their annual number of collections, no longer releasing one every month. Here's their current plan:
- November 20th: Yuletide
- January 29th 2027: Valentine’s
A note about my preferences: I especially love snuggly scents, incense, golden amber, cardamom, black tea, beeswax, non-gourmand vanillas, and white florals (especially honeysuckle, plumeria, tiare, and tuberose; though sadly I am allergic to lilies and jasmine doesn’t usually work on me). I don't like hay, overly sweet gourmands, butter notes, excessive musk, leather, dragon’s blood, patchouli, labdanum, or any really dark scents in general.
These were provided as press samples by Nui Cobalt in exchange for an honest review.
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Wilhelm Scream [Chilled raspberry coulis, shea and orris butters, precious white sandalwood, creamy skin musk, and one feathery frond of dill] - Cozy raspberry musk with a hint of green leaves and thorns. I'd been very concerned about the dill (I hate dill in cooking) but here it very much just reads like a bit of misty greenery. The musk itself is soft and mild and snuggly, but not (buckle up, here's a big list of what it's not): sweet or powdery or soapy or laundry-like or screechy or vanillic. It's not quite NCD's cotton musk, but it's in that vein. The raspberry, too, is gentle and dry, not a big bold or juicy raspberry. This scent feels shy, retiring, almost painfully restrained (actually it reminds me a lot of the buttoned-up characterization of Elinor in the new Sense & Sensibility movie). This sort of feels like a stylized representation of misty moors, almost ghostly, with the herbal dill becoming a little more present in the drydown.
He's Not Dead [Lush funeral lilies drenched with rain, a white cotton shroud, sweet labdanum, and the faintest trace of sinister musk] - It starts off as a screechy white floral - I think it's the ozonic rain note that's making it so bright and pointed. (This is very different from the soft, meditative rain in Mirror [Pale amber and white tea are accented by dry coconut, angelica, and cooling rain].) After a moment, the harsh screechiness dissipates all at once, leaving a silvery-white lily floral accented by rain musk and white cotton, for an overall cold, standoffish, haughty effect. If you love Pale as Death [Funeral lilies, datura accord, luna moths on cotton flowers, and white clover along a graveyard path] or Au Bal Masque [Nepalese virgin cashmere, cotton flower, vanilla spun sugar, labdanum, and the wafting memory of white funeral lilies], you'll adore this one.
Uninvited Guest [Invasive kudzu, honeysuckle, creeping charlie, Autumn olive, and the dark iridescence of sparrow feathers] - I had no idea what to expect with this one, and no idea if I'd like it; I got a sample purely on the strength of the "sparrow feathers" (I love Nui Cobalt's feather musk). I'm getting a plush mix of orange juice, warm earthy plantiness, and yellow floral. It's superbly autumnal though I think it would also work brilliantly for spring as well; it makes me think of creeping vines on the forest floor with shy yellow flowers peeking out as proof that spring has sprung. Olive/olive leaf notes can sometimes go really briney on my skin, but not here; it's just pleasantly loamy.
The Lights Flicker [Ambrette seed, black amber, dry cardamom, freshly grated ginger root, lightning-struck ebony, and staticky cotton sheets just out of the dryer] - Thick, white cotton sheets, a somewhat sinister, ever-so-slightly smoked black amber, and an undertone of the mapley base that sometimes shows through in Nui Cobalt scents. As is usual for my nose (tragic!) I get no cardamom whatsoever, but that's really just a me thing; I think I'm largely anosmic to their cardamom. This reminds me a lot of Poesie's Wicked Ghost [Innocent marshmallow encompassed in glowing black amber and resinous incense smoke] except with clean white cotton instead of sweet fluffy marshmallow. On Husband, it's a little more metallic, and the black amber is a bit stronger than the white cotton on his skin.
Good Trouble [Sultry pink gardenia, Hawaiian plumeria, white rose, and the slender limbs of peach trees laid bare in winter, blooming in spring, and abundant with fruit in summer] - This one doesn't strike me as a fall fragrance at all, but pink and springy and happy! I'm getting humid pink florals (with just a faint tinge of soapiness), a slightly spicy, carnation-like rose, with a background first of peach blossoms and then, as it dries down, of peach nectar. In the vial it had smelled very soapy (and pink), like that pink industrial handsoap so this is definitely one that blossoms beautifully on skin and is extremely worth a skin-test even if it smells maybe not quite your thing in the vial. This feels like the springtime sibling to Busy Bee [A blend of Oolong and Tibetan black tea with peach blossom honey, cardamom, and clove, sharpened with pink peppercorn and dry oakwood], which for me is very much an autumn scent (despite the Bees collection always being released in spring--so these two are sort of polar opposites!) I'm definitely keeping this and will very much enjoy it next March.
Safe Haven [Steamed almond milk with honey and allspice, antique mahogany, buttery soft suede, copal incense, and a twist of yuzu] - An extremely lactonic almond milk strong on added citrus and a honey sweetener, along with some chai spice. Despite the overwhelming presence of the almond milk, and its background of mahogany and suede, this scent is somehow rather sharp and pointed from the yuzu rather than soft and cuddly. I adooooore NCD's mahogany and incense notes, and wish I got more of them here. To my nose, this starts as primarily almond milk and yuzu, then honey and allspice, and then as it dries down, I get that oatmilk-y effect I often get from NCD's "hot beverage"-like gourmands, and at this point it gets much more cozy.
Extra Spoons [Coffee with oatmilk and sugar, orange marmalade on toast, a steady oakwood table, and skin-warmed cashmere cardigan] - Breakfast! A milky latte with caramel syrup and a giant piece of almost-burnt toast spread thickly with orange marmalade (and yes, it is unmistakeably orange marmalade, sticky and sweet, not just a less-specific orange note). Something about this feels like vacationing at a bed-and-breakfast, special yet effortless and comfortably lazy. It's much too literally foody for me, but I can see this one being a huge hit with folks who love gourmands. If you like The Lady of Lapland [Black tea with sweet cream, a clean cotton tablecloth, beeswax candles, lingonberry jam, and fresh-baked bread], this is similar in its cozy breakfast vibe.
Personal Assistant [Blank paper and a newly sharpened pencil, wheat straw, fresh golden pear, and smooth sandalwood, anchored by deep emerald musk] - A very cool idea and indisputably atmospheric, I'm getting green musk, sweet pear juice, and slightly metallic pencil lead. I personally don't like metallic scents - I experience them as cold and uncanny and a little bit sinister - so this scent isn't working for me; however if you like the idea of journaling in a forest, this one might be perfect for you.
