Eclipse

[angelfish323]

All the glory, warmth and majesty of the sun – darkened. A delicious blend of bitter almond, vanilla, frankincense and heliotrope, with a drop of cinnamon.

I can't believe I have waited so long to try this . . .

First applied, this is marzipan. Delicious, sweet, sugary, almond paste. Yum, yum, and . . . yum.

As it dries, the vanilla and cinnamon come out to play.

So far, I am very glad that the frankincense is hiding, as I'm not usually a fan.

The cinnamon avoids overpowering the other notes, which is greatly appreciated. This becomes a very pleasant bakery type scent on me - almond, vanilla, and cinnamon. Mellow and warm, definitely not overwhelming. A comforting foody blend. Not too sweet at all. The initial sweet and sugary almond paste has subsided.

Makes me think of snickerdoodle cookies. Subtle and unassuming, but yummy just the same.

ETA: It acquires a not unpleasant powdery flour note after awhile. Which only makes the bakery association stronger . . . Edited February 20, 2008 by Shollin

[twilighteyes]

In the Imp:

Pure almond. The kind of almond that smells like synthetic cherry. The kind I was hoping it would not be.

 

Wet on Skin:

Still pure almond.

 

Dry on Skin:

Either my nose was beaten into submission (hey, I'm the TOP!) or the almond is disappearing. No cinnamon. Actually I can't smell anything on that wrist now. Maybe a faint vanilla whisper.

[InvinciChicken]

Mm... Sounded quite yummy in the description and the name was perfect, so I had to try it.

 

In the bottle: I think it's almonds. For a moment I thought it smelled almost minty, but that was probably the cinnamon being devilish

 

Wet on skin: Ahh... almonds! It smells like almond jelly. It's reminiscent of this almond soap that I used once that smelled very nice, but it also smells kind of boring right now. If I wanted to smell like almond soap, I would use almond soap.

 

Dry: This is still almonds, but I'm getting some vanilla and cinnamon. I have no idea what the heliotrope and frankincense is supposed to smell like, though. For some reason I think of this as an airy, cool scent, not a warm, golden one. The cinnamon doesn't feel HOT, it feels minty, kinda like chewing gum. Now that that thought is stuck in my head, I can't help but sniff Big Red and Juicy Fruit gum in this perfume.

 

Several hours later: The scent, IT IS FADING! I can smell the body wash I used under this perfume. That makes me sad. Other than that, it hasn't changed much.

 

Verdict: It's nice, but forgettable. It makes me think of clouds and wind and an overall feeling of delicateness. That's not really what I was expecting: I was expecting a rich, warm scent with almonds and vanilla and cinnamonny goodness with a foody tinge. This is a very pretty, soft scent, but it's not me. And it fades too fast. Meh.

[Honeygirl]

Bottle: Almond and cinnamon

 

Wet: Sweet almond, vanilla and cinnamon are all vying for my attention, the cinnamon is winning. I don't exactly get frankincense, more of an impression.

 

Drydown: The cinnamon is almost all I can smell right now, but it's very sweet. I like it.

3.0 outta 5

[Rovylern]

In the imp: Almond, and it's strong.

 

Wet: Almond, a bit of sweetness from the vanilla. I'm not getting any cinnamon, and so far no skin reaction from it either.

 

Drydown: The cinnamon never came forward, and this wound up turning into slightly almondy baby powder. Not unpleasant, but not what I was looking for or expecting. I think it would make a nice room scent, and it might work in a scent locket, but this isn't something I'll be reaching for to wear.

[Nightroad103]

Imp: Almond, mostly, but I can pick up on the vanilla.

 

Wet on me: It's still almond, but the cinnamon is huge now. I can sort-of smell the vanilla.

 

Dry on me: It's almond and vanilla and cinnamon, a nice combination. It doesn't smell foody on me.

 

However, after a few hours... frankincense makes an appearance and turns it powdery. It's not powdery like Faustus turned into on me, but it's still powdery. I'll try it again before it goes into the swaps pile.

 

 

[05/23] Second try! Really almond-y on me, wet, with some vanilla and a lot of cinnamon. The heliotrope starts coming out a little as it dries, and now it's quite a pleasant scent -- a great blend of heliotrope, bitter almond, and vanilla, with a twist of cinnamon. The frankincense hasn't made it powdery yet, but we'll keep an eye on that over the next hour or two.

Edited May 23, 2008 by Nightroad103

[djsiberia]

in the imp : almonds and a slight touch of cinnamon

wet: smells like almonds, sour almonds...

slightly dry, it's reminding me black phoenix

 

i really loved this scent in the imp. i wish the bitter almond scent wouldn't turn sour on me

[akiko]

I want to love you so, but you're gone already!

 

Imp: Wow, sweet. A hint of cherry? with cinnamon. Reminds me of what I wanted Wrath to smell like.

 

Wet: More cinnamon here, still sweet - all the vanilla & heliotrope being nice

 

Dry: gone? If I sniff really hard, I can catch some cinnamon. A scent locket or room freshener, perhaps.

[but6682]

In the bottle: Vanilla smoothed out with something I can't really pick out

Wet on my skin: pretty much the same

Dry on my skin: It's smokey and almondy I like it a lot, but I don't know if it's good enough for me to buy a full bottle

[ElinaMakropulos]

I wasn't expecting anything other than almond extract, based on the scent wafting out of the imp, but on my skin it quickly morphs into a lovely almond/vanilla/cinnamon scent...I'm in love! And I'm not normally one for foody scents, but this smells like the most scrumptious cinnamon cookie. I wish it didn't itch though

[Brighid]

Imp: Cyanide.

 

Wet: still has a sort of cyanide-ish bitter almond/cherry thing going on, but warms up and gets a hit of vanilla

 

Dry: vanilla & warm almond, with a bit of honey on the side. I *really* like this one.

[donnatron]

Imp: Sweet, warm almond and vanilla.

 

Wet: The almond decides that it would rather be marzipan. This scent has an intensely sweet phase, that appears to be a little meet and greet between the vanilla, almond and heliotrope. The honey behaves itself.

 

Dry: Amazing. There's a subtle cinnamon spice on this one, combined with a gorgeous, soft almond-vanilla-heliotrope trio, warmed with the most delicious honey. It's a really comfortable, warm scent, but it's not overpowering or overwhelmingly a cold weather scent.

 

Throw: Good.

 

Overall: Man oh man. This is good stuff. It smells... like a delicious amaretti cookie without being ridiculously foody. It's absolutely wonderful and definitely going into the "Do I need a big bottle?" pile.

[emzebel]

This is a dark musky almond - not sweet and creamy, although the vanilla does smooth its edges a bit. I don't get much sweet or foody out of this at all, which is just fine with me.

 

Now my only question is why it didn't make it onto my bottle list sooner.

[Lamia]

This started out very almondy, both in the bottle and wet. OOoooooh, another Queen of Sheba, perhaps??

 

Within about 20 minutes, it became a bit flowery. After an hour, it smelled dusty and wet, like damp orchid roots. Hours later, my left wrist has no scent left, and the right wrist has a mildly floral dust on it. Trade Bag, someone will give it a good home.

[ClareN]

When freshly applied, Eclipse is so good it makes me swoon. I'm a sucker for almond, and this is the almondiest of almond: strong, sharp, rich and piercingly sweet, just like I like 'em. There's a slight hint of vanilla and cinnamon, but it's not overly foody, which is good. The cinnamon isn't strong enough to burn my skin, which is also good.

 

Unfortunately, it goes all wrong on me as the almond note fades. I'm not sure if it's heliotrope or frankincense - probably heliotrope - but something turns this scent flat and semi-powdery. More than anything, it smells like...baby wipes? Maybe some sort of hand wash or lotion, familiar and institutional. Not unpleasant, almost comforting really, but not something I'd want to wear as perfume.

 

I don't think this review will really be helpful to anyone. If you like almond, you know you need to try this - it's gloriously almondy, and with any luck your chemistry will be more sympathetic than mine. If you're not an almond fan, you already know to stay away.

[alicia_stardust]

I love the bite of bitter almond in this; it's almost cherry-like and it has a nice warmth and richness. However, this doesn't come across as foody. It's very tempered by the cinnamon and vanilla and has a very calming and comforting quality to it. Something about the almond also has a bit of a glow to it, so it brings to mind the vibe of an actual eclipse.

[brsis]

Initial thoughts: Frankincense, heliotrope, cinnamon? I'm tentative on the vanilla (Sometimes it works, sometimes it dont) and unsure on the almond, but I think I may be onto something with this.

 

In the imp: Woahmygawd almond.

 

On the wrist, wet: Tasty almond pastries. That'll be the vanilla and cinnamon trying to make themselves known.

 

Twenty minutes later: This is a teensy bit irritating... don't know if it's the cinnamon or the almond, or a combination of the two, but my skin is crawling. I don't have a fully fledged allergy to either, but those who do might want to avoid it.

 

Scent wise, this is like a sunshine flavoured pastry. I can't really describe it better than that - it's light, and slightly sweet, and golden, and slightly foody. I really like this.

 

Verdict: Keeper... I may even end up with a bottle of this!

 

Tl;Dr: Powerful almond fades to golden vanilla and sunshine heliotrope.

[mgrazulis]

In the imp: almonds, vanilla, cherry

 

Wet on the skin: incense emerges warming the vanilla and almond, a bit of smokiness, while the almond sinks back. The cinnamon not there for me, but there is a spiciness.

 

Drydown: I'm not familiar with the heliotrope flower (which means "turn to the sun"), but there is a happy butterfly flower aroma. The incense and vanilla mellows down dark and warm.

 

Verdict: Captures the stages of an eclipse. Initially bright, warm and golden, then the incense lays over it, becoming dark and smoky. Finally, it becomes softer and gentler. An interesting scent! There is an artistry to this one that is remarkable.

 

I'm glad I got to try this one. Very unusual.

 

[Allumina]

Eau de girl. Starts out all almondly, then the heliotrope/frankencense makes it perfumed and girlish. The vanilla eventually comes in- warm and girly, no cinnamon anywhere. It smells nice, but is not for me.

[OhioSky]

I absolutely adore Eclipse! It smells wonderfully fruity and sweet. However, it disappears within 5 minutes on me for some reason.

[Saya]

In the Bottle

Yum! The way the almond and the vanilla play off one another it smells like marzipan cake.

 

On My Skin

The almond is taking the lead in this blend, the vanilla is there and there’s just a hint of frankincense in the background. The vanilla is making the almond almost creamy. I really like foody blends so this is a winner so far.

 

After a Bit

The almond is starting to share the spotlight with the vanilla. Heliotrope is adding a sweet/floral note and the cinnamon is adding just enough kick to keep this from being boring. I’m not getting any frankincense, but that’s okay this blend is just about perfect just as it is.

Rating 1-5 (5 being the best)

Scent – 4.5 Throw – 2 Longevity – 2

Over all – 4.5

Final Thoughts

I love the way this scent works on me. It makes me feel sexy and confident. The throw is pretty mild which means I could probably get away with wearing this one at work. Staying power isn’t the greatest, after about 3 hours it’s faded a great deal, I can still smell it, but very faintly. Despite the throw and longevity issues I think I need a bottle of this. It’s just that good.

[honeydrop]

My first review!

 

As soon as I open the bottle and wet on my skin I get Mr Kipling's Cherry Bakewells. Loud almond and cherry. But within seconds the almond has gone and morphed into dusty flowers, which I guess must be the heliotrope.

 

Dry, I'm still getting dusty, faded flowers. There's a whisper of cinnamon in there and a shadow of the cherry but I don't get any frankincense at all. Not unpleasant but.....maybe it'll be a grower. I wish the almond would hang around a bit longer. Doesn't last long on my skin and no throw whatsover. I have to sniff my nose right up to my wrist to write this.

 

This didn't burn me at all and I've had some pretty colourful reactions to other cinnamon blends.

[suki]

in the imp: whoa- ALMOND!

 

wet on skin: same. a sweet, strong commanding almond.

 

dry down: the almond tones down considerably, which i'm a bit sad about. however a very warm note that to my mind is amber but i think is actually heliotrope has entered the fray and it's quite nice.

 

in all: a warm "sunny" scent, this is something for the coldest and greyest winter days to remind you of the eventual return of the sun god.

 

 

 

 

[angelicruin]

Inside imp, I smell mainly almond.

 

Wet: Almond and heliotrope

 

Dry Down: Cinnamon finally emerges

 

Very yummy scent.

[lioness]

I got this as a sample scent in my first ever order from the lab:

 

In the imp: Almond with a hint of spice in the background. OMG this smells amazing!

 

Wet on skin: Stilll Almonds but the spice in the background is a bit more pronounced, and oh wait, there's the vanilla coming through.

 

Dry down: Almond is sent to the background with the vanilla as they accent the frankincense and cinnamon.

 

In all I love this scent and will eventually have to get a bottle of it! :3

 

(Edited for repeditiveness)

Edited October 1, 2008 by lioness