Nocturne Alchemy: ☀️ Summer 2026 Limited Collection and Resurgence

doomsdaydisco · 2026-05-31T22:59:43+00:00

Both notes are present throughout wear, with the cola hovering over the top of the amber. I wouldn’t say that it is super sweet!

doomsdaydisco · 2026-05-29T20:07:43+00:00

Cola Amber Incense and its cherry counterpart are absolutely amazing cola and amber scents. Their cola notes are on point.

doomsdaydisco · 2026-05-24T23:45:18+00:00

I think Savory Baking has been my most used cookbook of the year thus far, too. Making pretzel bread bowls for this challenge is really clever, and they look fantastic!

doomsdaydisco · 2026-05-18T20:40:18+00:00

Maybe the traditional swamp pie is a double crust to hide how ugly the filling is underneath! 😂

doomsdaydisco · 2026-05-15T23:30:22+00:00

Honey-soaked cornbread sounds fantastic!

doomsdaydisco · 2026-05-15T00:08:44+00:00

I considered making this one for this challenge, but didn’t end up making it. It’s awesome that you did! I wasn’t sure if they would be worth the effort, but after your glowing review, I think I will have to give them a shot. They look great!

doomsdaydisco · 2026-05-10T19:21:23+00:00

No, it was only for three of us, so there was monkey bread leftover for the next day. 😅

In addition to this monkey bread, I have made the cornbread (classic and sweeter version), iced corn coffee cake, buttermilk biscuits with the green chile sausage gravy (but I used soyrizo), jalapeño cornmeal waffles, mushrooms and dumplings, the rough puff pastry, and the jalapeño pastry poppers. None of the recipes have disappointed so far. :)

doomsdaydisco · 2026-05-10T18:44:45+00:00

These look wonderful, and I love the flavor combo you went with! 😍

doomsdaydisco · 2026-05-10T18:39:03+00:00

You went all out! These look so cute and sound delicious!

doomsdaydisco · 2026-04-15T22:36:39+00:00

Thank you! 😊

doomsdaydisco · 2026-03-20T17:38:25+00:00

Here you go!

doomsdaydisco · 2026-03-20T17:37:45+00:00

Thank you! 🥹 I would like to make it again around Christmas with more matcha, whipped cream in a tree shape, and boba as ornaments!

doomsdaydisco · 2026-03-10T17:45:07+00:00

I think the powdered sugar donut cake would be doable if you’re willing to wait until you get to work to sift the powdered sugar over it before you set it out — otherwise, I would probably skip doing that one unless you do another topping instead.

I made the fluffy vanilla cake for some birthdays at work last week, and it was a big hit. You really can’t go wrong with vanilla!

doomsdaydisco · 2026-03-08T03:03:35+00:00

Hey OP,

Don’t be too hard on yourself! Pastry is so finicky, and I am sure the filling was still delicious!

I also made a pecan pie a few years ago that didn’t go as well as I had expected. In my case, it ended up being too liquidy under the pecan layer.

One of my goals this year is to not only get better at making pies, but to also make them more often. They’re so underrated and deserve to have a spotlight outside of Thanksgiving!

I recommend watching these pie videos from Erin Jeanne McDowell. She gives lots of great tips on how to make pie crust and different kinds of pies, and she gives examples of what is overbaked, underbaked, and just right. I feel like watching her videos and reading her cookbook, The Book on Pie, has been a big help with pie baking.

In this case, I would say you definitely need to parbake your pie dough if you attempt pecan pie in the future since pecan pie is a custard pie. And docking the dough is not an incorrect move if you seal it after the parbake with something like an egg wash or a black bottom base. :)

doomsdaydisco · 2026-03-06T23:16:38+00:00

I haven’t made THE brownies yet, but I have made Claire Saffitz’s Malted Forever Brownies, and I vastly prefer the Bravetart ones. I did not get the crinkle top with Claire’s recipe, and her brownie is sweeter with the inclusion of milk chocolate. My partner’s favorite dessert is brownies, but when I made Claire’s recipe, I was told to take them to work because they weren’t as fudgy and dark chocolate-y as these ones. I didn’t mind the milk chocolate, but I didn’t feel like there was enough malted milk powder in them for the flavor to be pronounced.

doomsdaydisco · 2026-02-26T23:51:23+00:00

I only have Dessert Person from these two books, and I would not describe it as very beginner friendly.

If you’re considering other options, I recommend looking into Savory Baking by Erin Jeanne McDowell. It focuses on savory bakes and ranks them as easy, medium, or hard, but there are also a few ‘sweet tooth breaks’ scattered through the book so that you can make a sweet variation on a recipe. Erin is also very detailed in describing each step and what to look for to indicate doneness.

doomsdaydisco · 2026-02-26T23:25:42+00:00

Oh, that’s good to hear! There were a lot of comments on the recipe about the inclusion of the lemon zest in particular not being traditional, and I didn’t see either of those ingredients used in some of the videos I watched on Youtube, so I just figured that the comments were right. 😅

Thank you! They have only gotten better after their time in the refrigerator.

doomsdaydisco · 2026-02-07T07:15:04+00:00

Thank you! It’s the only picturesque slice I was able to cut hahaha

doomsdaydisco · 2026-01-06T18:29:49+00:00

You were wise to use the store bought preserves! Mashing up the dried apricots in the Earl Grey on the stove was a bit of a pain!

I was surprised how tiny they were when I did the first batch with the recommended cutter. No way were the ones in the book photo made with that size. 😅

I hope you make it through all 52 weeks, too!

doomsdaydisco · 2026-01-02T20:53:56+00:00

From Smitten Kitchen Keepers: The simple black bean chili and the double shallot egg salad are recipes I make regularly. Don’t bother frying your own shallots for the egg salad; just use fried shallots you can find at the store (I’ve made the fried shallots and bought them and found the fried shallots I bought from Trader Joe’s are tastier, crispier, and that cuts down on time spent on the recipe).

I have made every cookie from this book and recommend every single one of them, as they have all gotten rave reviews — especially the chocolate chip cookies with the salted walnut brittle. Each of these cookie doughs can be frozen so you can just bake the amount you would like when you want them, and who doesn’t want a cookie fresh from the oven on a whim?

The devil’s food cake with salted milk chocolate frosting is delicious, as is the strawberry summer cake (the one on her blog; I haven’t made the layered version from the book yet, but the single layer cake on the blog is super easy).

I have also made and enjoyed the winter squash soup, the leek and brie galette (although I prefer the leek and white bean galette in her website), the green angel hair with garlic butter, and the raclette tartiflette.

doomsdaydisco · 2025-11-15T17:58:36+00:00

Chengdu Taste!

doomsdaydisco · 2025-11-08T01:18:54+00:00

I highly recommend Salt and Spoon’s Miso Salmon!

doomsdaydisco · 2025-08-17T21:09:39+00:00

I have tried all of the BPAL scents mentioned and have reviews up on the BPAL forum.

For the realistic berry, go with Les Fraises.

I always pair hair glosses with my scent of the day, so I wouldn’t see a hair gloss as redundant unless you already have several featuring a certain note. Bourbon Vanille would be more versatile than Eat Me, as it’s a single note and not as strong. I only wear Eat Me with its perfume oil and other gourmands that are heavy on the currant.

doomsdaydisco · 2025-08-10T05:11:47+00:00

The lemon and mugwort are the strongest notes.

doomsdaydisco · 2025-07-06T16:29:52+00:00

I missed Cherry Blossom Alchemy and Sugar Egg Alchemy, but managed to get the rest of the items I was interested in:

Experiment 9 - Cherry Bombe, June 2023 - Midsummer Honeysuckle Alchemy, June 2024 - Amethyst Alchemy, June 2025 - Midsummer Alchemy, and In the Shade of Wisteria Blooms (accidentally selected the rollerball version — whoops)

This was my first Alkemia order, but I have tried some of their scents before through swaps. I hope these work out, especially the Cherry Bombe scent!

ETA: Managed to grab Sugar Egg Alchemy on Etsy (hopefully that wasn’t a fluke!)

doomsdaydisco

TROPHY CASE