Nui Cobalt Designs: April Fool's 2021 Review

It's my favorite release of the year - another addition to Nui Cobalt's fantastic April Fool's collection. Check out this post for 2020's collection, and part 1 and 2 of 2019. 

As always, if you'd like to pick these up - NCD offers 1ml samples for their scents - 1mls are $4.25 USD each, and the 5ml bottles for $19 USD each (breaks down to $3.8 for 1ml). You can pick these up from https://nuicobaltdesigns.com/!

This collection was kindly sent to me for review - and I also created some lovely illustrations to match each scent. This collection truly means something special to me being the first release I've ever picked up every scent from - so I hope you enjoy these little doodles and stickers I created for the scents as well! Some of the stickers were kindly released as a limited edition free sticker sheet for Nui Cobalt with orders, so for those who did receive the stickers, I hope you enjoyed them! 

Pish-Tosh: Passionfruit Custard Tart - A bright, tropical tang complements smooth vanilla custard cradled in classical shortbread crust.  

This is a lovely rich scent, with the tart tang of lemon curd layered on top of rich creamy custard and a buttery flakey crust. The citrus is a bright contrast against the warm lactonic custard -  and the dry down is really nice where both the cream and citrus provide this gorgeous balance of scents and flavors - and there's this gorgeous sticky maple sweetness as well. I only wish that the passionfruit was a bit more sharp as the passionfruit note here is a little more reminiscent of blood oranges and lemons for me. 

Overall - this one is a keeper! I love this one a lot. 

Preposterous! Strawberry Shortcake - Sun-ripened strawberries are sliced fresh over soft vanilla cake and topped with a scant teaspoon of whipped cream.  

Although I typically really love Nui Cobalt's fruit notes (Balderdash, Flim Flam, Poppycock are all fantastic), this strawberry note leans a little on the candied, medicinal syrupy side. It's definitely a sickly sweet scent and reminds me a little of Pink Bunny (Luminous Star Perfumes). With this scent, I don't quite get soft vanilla cake at all, but I get this really rich, salty buttery crust that peeks through. It has an almost hay like savouriness to the scent, while the strawberry drifts on top. I didn't quite get strawberry shortcake from this scent, but it reminded me a little more of balsamic vinegar drizzled on strawberries paired with a side of salted crisps.  

Canard: Fresh Lime Sorbet - Gorgeous Persian limes plucked straight from the tree and blended with ice, vanilla simple syrup, and grated stem ginger. It is served in a fine crystal compote garnished with fresh mint, a slice of cucumber, and a slender sprig of rosemary.  

This is a gorgeous, rich tangy blend. I love my citrus scents and this really just works so well. Opening up with a punch of bright lime and lemon juice, spiked with a dab of ginger, it's so beautiful, and complimented by the sticky maple syrup sweetness just threaded through this blend, I just want to lick this off my hand. I don't quite get mint or cucumber, but rosemary is lurking around in this blend just to give it the slightest kick of herbal groundedness. This scent, despite being based on a sorbet, is a scent that holds a lot of richness and warmth throughout it - and is rich and decadent, just like sipping the syrup drizzled on grated ice sweets, but skipping the ice bit. 

Overall - probably my favorite of the bunch!  

Kazzate: Tiramisu - The beloved Italian classic: golden vanilla lady-fingers infused with espresso and Marsala wine, then layered with sweet mascarpone, and finished with a fine dusting of cocoa.  

I like this - the opening is so gorgeous, a blast of Bailey's and Marsala wine on top of a burst of cocoa powder and a shot of espresso. This is definitely the essence of a tiramisu, with all the creaminess of the mascarpone, the indulgent spike of alcohol (I make mine with Bailey's and Frangelico!), with the espresso soaked sponges and the decadent layer of cocoa powder to finish - although Kazzate has a distinctly nutty sweetness to it as well. Unfortunately, my skin chemistry absolutely hates alcohol and soaks all of this one up (I am reminded of Postprandial from Solstice Scents, an amazing Irish Cream note except it vanishes on me instantly), and as much as I wish I could keep that gorgeous blast of boozy indulgent, I'm left with the more modest, sober take of creamed coffee and chocolate. That said, it's still a fantastic treat - this one is absolutely gorgeous. A contender against Canard for my favorite. 

Hokum: Blueberry Cobbler - The welcome simplicity of garden-grown blueberries baked under oatmeal cinnamon streusel.  

This scent could effectively be described as the cinnamon challenge for me - a sharp, red hot explosion of cinnamon (as I huff this, I can feel cinnamon burning the back of my throat). Complimented by the same maple sweetness, there's the softest hint of blueberries buried underneath the pile of cinnamon, and a soft nutty buttery pastry base as well. Although this blueberry note is thankfully tame (Grey Cat's blueberry note went absolutely feral on me), this feels far more like a guilty midnight snack of powdered cinnamon and maple syrup on toast. It's lovely if you're looking for a cinnamon delight - and I'm talking about real grated cinnamon, not that weak cinnamon toast crunch / cinnamon sugar on donuts type thing. 

Disclaimer: These scents were sent for review. I was not sponsored for this review or affiliated with this brand, and all opinions are my own, and do not reflect the brand's opinions or interests.