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It being late, and me being stressed, and it being easier to click on a BPAL tag in my LJ than to go digging up past reviews on the forums, I have been taken by a fit of useless organization and stuck reviews for the Carnaval Diabolique scents I've tried to date on my LJ. Because, you know, I might lose them otherwise. Or something.
There's nothing but BPAL under the cut. I promise. If you're not interested, I highly highly recommend you skip it.
Theodosius, the Legerdemain
Carnaval Diabolique - Act II
Earl Grey tea leaves, a white fougere, jasmine leaf, pearlescent white musk, & vanilla bean.
Alcohol-y in bottle, and something sharp (is that oakmoss from the fougere? or maybe the jasmine leaf? It smells almost like Embalming Fluid...) on my skin.
In about half an hour, the sharpness faded, and what I've got is the musk with a hint of vanilla. The tea isn't really coming out... maybe a hint of it somewhere in the back at most. (For the record: very much a fan of the vanilla musk.)
3 hours: musk and a hint of tea.
Gennivre, l'Artiste du Diable
Carnaval Diabolique – Act II
Hyson tea leaf, pale mint, sugar cane, orange blossom, lemongrass, & honey.
In decant: lemon candy! (With a bit of bite from the fact that it's lemongrass.)
On my skin, the orange blossom comes out fast and really thick, and then proceeds to kick the ass of any and all other scents for three solid hours. There's a little lemongrass in the background throughout, but not much.
About an hour in, I start getting these unpleasant plastic overtones--think plastic flowers sprayed with orange blossom perfume. A hint of honey shows up just under two hours in.
It's a shame, because all the other notes--tea and sugar and lemongrass and honey, and even mint-that-never-sticks-around--are ones I love and will wear for hours. But the orange blossom just pounded them all into the dirt.
Priala the Human Phoenix
Carnaval Diabolique – Act III
Three deep, dark myrrhs, smoke, and cinnamon bark.
On skin: Barky! Also smoke-y--if you ran a finger through this scent, it would come away covered with tiny black flakes of cinnamon ash.
25 min: myrrh with a notable amount of cinnamon in there (call it a 2:1 myrrh: cinnamon ratio?), enough that I'm actually hoping it will stick around.
3 hours: very faded, still faintly smells of warm myrrh. Need to try again when I'm not out running around.
Kataniya, the Clockwork Woman
Carnaval Diabolique – Act III
Gentle flowers over hot metal, shocked to life with electricity.
Starts as a very crisp floral--smells almost like Tempest, but without any identifiable grapefruit. On my skin, there's a definite electric (ozone) undertone showing up, but it's still mostly floral.
~25 min: flowers have faded to taking up perhaps half the scent, and something I can't quite smell has taken their place. It does smell like hot metal, but it's a very hard smell to pick up--like looking at a painting where you can't see half the colours. I like it; it's very subtle.
1 hr, 1:30: Flowers getting stronger, but still that faint hot metal space.
Snake Pit: Green Tree Viper
Carnaval Diabolique – Act III
Snake Oil w/four mints, bergamot, & green tea.
I swear this smells like chocolate mint without the chocolate.
5 min: slightly tangier and drier.
20 min: rich and sweet, not floral but an overall sense of something green and growing. So good. I'm guessing this is the Snake Oil (oils and sweet vanilla) coming out; I hope I don't loose the green.
45 min: the green is very faint; there's still a hint of freshness in the scent, but not much.
1 hr: faint hints of something green and dry over the oils and vanilla--it's probably just the bergamot and green tea, as the mint seems to have packed its bags and fled for parts unknown. Dammit. Oh well, I suppose I will be stuck with a generically lovely scent, rather than a mintily lovely scent.
Snake Pit: Habu
Carnaval Diabolique – Act III
Snake Oil w/ho wood, teak, black musk, & bamboo.
In my decant--rich, soft, and sharp. Snake Oil with black musk and the juciness of bamboo. On my skin, the sweetness of the Snake Oil and the wood and teak notes start coming out.
Unfortunately, the wood doesn't stick around; I get increasingly faint flickers of it for about half an hour or forty-five minutes, and then it's gone. Less than five minutes in, this is basically that pale packed sweet smell of the oils in Snake Oil. Even the vanilla doesn't stick around for longer than about twenty minutes, which is weird for me.
A very faint bit of musk shows up briefly around ten minutes in and hangs around for half an hour, and then drops by again an hour later.
Tried this one twice, in the hopes that the first time was a fluke, but I am getting no love.
The Wild Men of Jezirat al Tennyn
Carnaval Diabolique – Act III
Fiery, primal, & precociously diabolical: red amber, Spanish moss, Indonesian patchouli, ambergris, red pepper, two cloves, & vanilla flower.
It's peppery-sweet when it hits my skin, and turns into something peppery and refreshing without being cool; Spanish moss and patchouli along with the spice of pepper and clove. Ten minutes in, it's mostly pepper and Spanish moss, with hints of vanilla and clove. It's turning out very well.
It spends about an hour as Spanish moss and vanilla with red pepper (cool and sweet and spicy; definitely need more of this), and then the pepper fades back and leaves the moss and vanilla. Three hours in, the moss is mostly gone, too. (Note: must ask sister how long regular perfume usually lasts.)
The vanilla sticks around for at least five hours, though. Good god, you want something that lasts...
There's nothing but BPAL under the cut. I promise. If you're not interested, I highly highly recommend you skip it.
Theodosius, the Legerdemain
Carnaval Diabolique - Act II
Earl Grey tea leaves, a white fougere, jasmine leaf, pearlescent white musk, & vanilla bean.
Alcohol-y in bottle, and something sharp (is that oakmoss from the fougere? or maybe the jasmine leaf? It smells almost like Embalming Fluid...) on my skin.
In about half an hour, the sharpness faded, and what I've got is the musk with a hint of vanilla. The tea isn't really coming out... maybe a hint of it somewhere in the back at most. (For the record: very much a fan of the vanilla musk.)
3 hours: musk and a hint of tea.
Gennivre, l'Artiste du Diable
Carnaval Diabolique – Act II
Hyson tea leaf, pale mint, sugar cane, orange blossom, lemongrass, & honey.
In decant: lemon candy! (With a bit of bite from the fact that it's lemongrass.)
On my skin, the orange blossom comes out fast and really thick, and then proceeds to kick the ass of any and all other scents for three solid hours. There's a little lemongrass in the background throughout, but not much.
About an hour in, I start getting these unpleasant plastic overtones--think plastic flowers sprayed with orange blossom perfume. A hint of honey shows up just under two hours in.
It's a shame, because all the other notes--tea and sugar and lemongrass and honey, and even mint-that-never-sticks-around--are ones I love and will wear for hours. But the orange blossom just pounded them all into the dirt.
Priala the Human Phoenix
Carnaval Diabolique – Act III
Three deep, dark myrrhs, smoke, and cinnamon bark.
On skin: Barky! Also smoke-y--if you ran a finger through this scent, it would come away covered with tiny black flakes of cinnamon ash.
25 min: myrrh with a notable amount of cinnamon in there (call it a 2:1 myrrh: cinnamon ratio?), enough that I'm actually hoping it will stick around.
3 hours: very faded, still faintly smells of warm myrrh. Need to try again when I'm not out running around.
Kataniya, the Clockwork Woman
Carnaval Diabolique – Act III
Gentle flowers over hot metal, shocked to life with electricity.
Starts as a very crisp floral--smells almost like Tempest, but without any identifiable grapefruit. On my skin, there's a definite electric (ozone) undertone showing up, but it's still mostly floral.
~25 min: flowers have faded to taking up perhaps half the scent, and something I can't quite smell has taken their place. It does smell like hot metal, but it's a very hard smell to pick up--like looking at a painting where you can't see half the colours. I like it; it's very subtle.
1 hr, 1:30: Flowers getting stronger, but still that faint hot metal space.
Snake Pit: Green Tree Viper
Carnaval Diabolique – Act III
Snake Oil w/four mints, bergamot, & green tea.
I swear this smells like chocolate mint without the chocolate.
5 min: slightly tangier and drier.
20 min: rich and sweet, not floral but an overall sense of something green and growing. So good. I'm guessing this is the Snake Oil (oils and sweet vanilla) coming out; I hope I don't loose the green.
45 min: the green is very faint; there's still a hint of freshness in the scent, but not much.
1 hr: faint hints of something green and dry over the oils and vanilla--it's probably just the bergamot and green tea, as the mint seems to have packed its bags and fled for parts unknown. Dammit. Oh well, I suppose I will be stuck with a generically lovely scent, rather than a mintily lovely scent.
Snake Pit: Habu
Carnaval Diabolique – Act III
Snake Oil w/ho wood, teak, black musk, & bamboo.
In my decant--rich, soft, and sharp. Snake Oil with black musk and the juciness of bamboo. On my skin, the sweetness of the Snake Oil and the wood and teak notes start coming out.
Unfortunately, the wood doesn't stick around; I get increasingly faint flickers of it for about half an hour or forty-five minutes, and then it's gone. Less than five minutes in, this is basically that pale packed sweet smell of the oils in Snake Oil. Even the vanilla doesn't stick around for longer than about twenty minutes, which is weird for me.
A very faint bit of musk shows up briefly around ten minutes in and hangs around for half an hour, and then drops by again an hour later.
Tried this one twice, in the hopes that the first time was a fluke, but I am getting no love.
The Wild Men of Jezirat al Tennyn
Carnaval Diabolique – Act III
Fiery, primal, & precociously diabolical: red amber, Spanish moss, Indonesian patchouli, ambergris, red pepper, two cloves, & vanilla flower.
It's peppery-sweet when it hits my skin, and turns into something peppery and refreshing without being cool; Spanish moss and patchouli along with the spice of pepper and clove. Ten minutes in, it's mostly pepper and Spanish moss, with hints of vanilla and clove. It's turning out very well.
It spends about an hour as Spanish moss and vanilla with red pepper (cool and sweet and spicy; definitely need more of this), and then the pepper fades back and leaves the moss and vanilla. Three hours in, the moss is mostly gone, too. (Note: must ask sister how long regular perfume usually lasts.)
The vanilla sticks around for at least five hours, though. Good god, you want something that lasts...
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