Nui Cobalt: Planets 2 Review

This is the second part of the NCD Planets' collection. Another gracious thank you to Josh and Forest at Nui Cobalt for sending these press samples through!  Click here for part 1! 

Gemini - Crystallized ginger, lavender, fenugreek, moringa, forget-me-not, eyebright, and garden-fresh herbs.  

Despite the name, this is a relatively straightforward blend without too many twists and turns, but it does have a lovely duality to it that I appreciate. The opening profile of this is all fresh lemons and laundry soap, before drying down to softer earthy lemon myrtle, on a crisp green base. The combination of the sharp tart citrus here with the greenery reminds me a lot of Wasp (NCD), with its crisp and dry Chardonnay paired with the clean laundry and clean cut hedges. I think the brightness of this is gorgeous, with the balance of the zingy citrus, the fresh greenness, and the touch of laundry powder 'cleanness' that this gives, it's a very, get your life together kind of scent. 

Cancer - Cotton flower, steamed rice, soft sandalwood, vanilla orchid, coconut milk, and pearl musk.  

For fans of the 'laundry scent', this is hands down one of the comfiest, clean sheet laundry scents. I absolutely love NCD's steamed rice note (which I again, desperately need a solinote of please), but with the blending of the rest of these notes, this just elevates a normal clean laundry scent to the stratosphere. The cotton flower gives most of the comfy laundry sheets and powder note, but the small nuances of nuttiness from the rice, paired with the warm muskiness and a hint of sweetness from the floral vanilla, the lactonic edge of the coconut and just the barest hint of the earthy sandalwood just peeks around every corner, giving it a lot of depth. It eventually wears into my skin as more of a 'my skin but better scent' with just a little bit more kick of sweetness but honestly, I really love how this reads as a sleep time/comfort scent. 

Leo - Honey bourbon, heliotrope, golden copal, galangal, yellow mandarin, and maple wood.

NCD's maple sweetness is always a rich and comforting note to me, and this scent is no different. For me, the maple note here is an elevated, rich, dark, woody event, an almost sap like, viscous textured to the honey, with a slight smokiness that lurks in the background. I can't quite pick out the rest of the notes because of just how indulgently dense and rich the smoky maple profile is here, but it's very unapologetically strong in its presentation - very aptly named if you ask me. 

Pisces - Honeydew melon, garden mint, fresh basil, cucumber, elderflower, lemon myrtle, and ylang.  

Mmm. Refreshing. Those who are familiar with Gone Gnome (Stereoplasm) might find this a lovely match - they both have gorgeous green notes of cucumber and the sweetness of melon. I love the melon accord here straight from the bottle, and NCD's watermelon/melon note is absolutely to die for. It dries to soft green scent, slices of cold cucumber and wet grass, with the barest touch of elderflower syrup and crushed honeydew.  The basil and mint here aren't very dominant, so there's no searing peppermint or savoury basil, which I'm appreciative of. Overall, this is a very photorealistic scent, it's giving very green smoothie cleansing juice vibes, and I think it's really fun. 

Disclaimer: These were sent as press samples for review.