Lilith

[surf-tormented]

Mother of Demons, Vengeful Fury, Darkest Seductress, Queen of the Djinn, Goddess of the Gate. Red wine, myrrh, black musk, and attar of rose.

Ah, I love the mythology of Lilith. When I think of her, I think of something very dark and foreboding. This isn't it. I was hoping for something almost borderline masculine. Even in her handmaiden to Inanna form. Something feral and free.

What I got was a very syrupy application. I was trying to figure out what it reminded me of and a kind reviewer here gave me the word--- syrup. That is probably why I don't like Jack or All Saint's Day either because once put on, they have a very strong buttery syrup scent, which doesn't appeal to me in the slightest. I didn't even smell any wine or grape, just strong butter/sugar scent.

Lilith calms down after a while, but I wanted a vile serpentine like oil that got stronger and overbearing, like Lilith herself. She is a demon who eats children, for God's sake! She needs something a little more out there than sweets and powder.

The floral does kick in a little, taking out that rancid syrup smell in the beginning, but it is a little too late for me. A few hours later, it goes into honey drive like La Petit Mort did to me. Powdered honey. Not very dark at all.

I imagine my version of Lilith would be nighttime air, civet, moss, shadows, blood, child's breath and night blooming flowers. Now, how to get that into a bottle?

[closedacct]

Lilith

 

In the bottle it smells tangy and sweet.

 

The first thing I smell when I swipe it on my arm is very sweet fruit. It gradually got spicier and kinda reminds me of Masabakes. Probably the currant/wine.

 

I think this may be a bit sweet/fruity for me. I really love the spiciness though.

Hmmmmm. Not as dark smelling as I had hoped.

[sarada]

I want to roll around in this scent. I want to tilt my head back and pour an imp right up my nose so I don't have to stop smelling it! I seem to really love the red wine scents because I had the same feeling about Nosferatu -- perfumes that I positively want to drink. Funny, because I don't drink wine -- maybe I should start! The scent in the bottle is carbonated berries -- currant, really, which is another thing that I can't get enough of. It's really quite strong, and an overwhelmingly "red" scent. Might be a little too berry-rific if you're not into that kind of thing. But the wine and myrrh make it sinuous, and sultry, and sexy, alluring and hypnotizing. I'm completely entranced.

 

On my skin, it just does the most marvellous things. The carbonated currant wine electrifies and comes to life, and this just lasts and lasts. The rose scents start to emerge, after awhile, and transforms the experience even further. I love the really, really pure rose scents that they get at the lab. This lasts and lasts on me. Whereas light fruit and floral scents tend to dissipate immediately for me (or maybe I just have a weak sense of smell in that department), this really clings. I was lucky enough to get it in my hair when I applied it behind the ears, and that really carried it beautifully. Yet another one I want to pour into a glass and drink.

[diabolique]

ladylatemar gifted me with this imp! i've been eyeing you, lilith.

 

in the vial, it isn't quite what i expected. i get sharp, sweet wine and.. egg nog? where is that creamy egg nog scent coming from? my sniffer is off. on my skin, it retains that sharp sweetness that the wine gives, and it reminds me a bit of tum from the stations of the sun set. the lovely red wine is tempered by a sexy powdery smell, which is what black musk and myrrh always do on my skin. i love this so much. i don't know if it's bottle material like i was hoping, but i'm definitely going to give it a few more tries. the jury is still out.

[Northernminx]

This dried down into rose fairly quickly for me, but a sort of sick, sweet, sticky rose that I couldn’t quite stomach. Something in this just hated me, and the whole combination was a cloying, smokey, almost gagging concoction. I tend to be wary of black musk as it can get really heavy on me but I was hoping the myrrh and rose would soften it up.

I KNOW it’s not the blend itself since it was GORGEOUS in the bottle but on me, oh dear my skin does NOT like.

[Ishtar]

What made me curious about Lilith is that reviews are all over the place about this one. It visibly is one of these scents that are highly dependant on one's skin chemistry. Let's see what mines makes of it!

 

When I hear the name Lilith, it is always the evil temptress side of her that I think of. In the bottle, her scent was certainly evil but not exactly tempting; rather sharp and foreboding.

 

On, this starts off very sweet and floral, also fairly strong. I think my nose has gone mad, because all I can think of during the wet stage is my favourite Middle Eastern dessert, an orange blossom flavoured custard topped with syrup. Delicious, but unexpected!

 

After a while, the blend mellows without losing its intensity and it starts making a little more sense to my confused nose. I can now clearly smell the myrrh and rose. That powderiness, that must be the musk... and the wine must be responsible for that relentless sweetness. This is much more seductive now, much closer to my idea of Lilith.

 

This is a very bold, womanly scent that might be a little overbearing for me to wear on a regular basis, but I quite enjoyed it after I got over the initial "evil dessert" stage.

[Julilla Regina]

The reviews on this are all over the place, and I just have to marvel again at the Lab's creations. When I first sniffed this, I thought "Oh no! What is that sharp smelly bad thing I smell?" However, I know now how much scents change, so I swiped some on anyway.

 

Now there is not a hint of whatever sharp, green thing I smelled before. It went down into a fruity sweetness for awhile. Then it decided to play with the myrrh and roses and has now turned into a very feminine musky floral. This is another shape shifter. Lab...how do you do it?

[TheDarkMother]

In the Bottle: Red wine, thick and cloying. Very seductive.

 

On Me: Off of the wrist, I smell the red wine, but on the wrist its very peppery with a hint of rose. Already Lilith is very deceptive, enticing you into her web with the promise of sweetness, while underneath she's spicy as can be. Its a brilliant plan, wholly sexy and seductive.

 

I'm totally into this one. I must have a big bottle of this!

[tempete]

I've resigned myself to the fact that I cannot wear red wine. Wet, Lilith smells like grape juice with a dash of pepper thrown in. As it dries, the grape juice scent disappears thankfully, although it leaves a trace of its sweetness behind, but the pepper note gains in strength. Since I don't fancy smelling like pepper (as much as I love it on my food), my imp of Lilith is headed to the swap pile.

[Dinah]

In the vial, it does smell slightly sour to me, but I put it on nonetheless to see where it'd go.

 

Well, the sourness disappears, and I get a very fruity scent that is sweet and almost cloying. There's something dark underneath (the musk) and a slightly floral note. Sadly, I don't get the myrrh at all.

 

Something about this scent is soapy - it reminds me of something, I'm not sure what (edit: I got it! Something about the smell reminds me of henna. Now that's strange.) That's all that stays behind when it has dried - a hint of soapy rose and sometimes a whiff of fruit that hides again immediately.

 

I'm not really sure yet whether I like this scent enough to keep the imp or not.

Edited February 12, 2005 by Dinah

[bexone]

Wet: this is a blast of sour, sour roses on me. Eeeaugh! Only pure, unadulterated laziness kept me from washing this off right away.

 

Drydown: the roses were still there for several hours, although that initial sour note did eventually fade, so by noon I wasn't flinching every time I brought my wrists near my face. Now (7-ish hours later -- Lilith sticks around!) the myrrh has come out, with a hint of the musk underneath it. I like this, but getting to it means dealing with that initial, horrible sourness.

 

I've tried other things that started off badly -- Anne Bonny, and Shalimar back when I wore commercial perfumes -- but neither of those take so damn long to turn into something I like. This is the second time Lilith has done exactly this, so she's headed for my swap pile.

 

 

 

Edited to say: Not only does Lilith not like me on first application, something about her seemed to make yesterday "invade my personal space" day. The entire time I was running my errands I had skeevy men hovering *far* too close for comfort. No thanks!

Edited March 16, 2005 by bexone

[Sheila]

Note: I got an imp in a swap, and I think it's a very old imp--it has dark-colored sediment on the sides of the vial.

 

Lilith starts out very sweet--I didn't know the notes when I put it on so my first thought was, "Oh no--LOTUS!" But then it calmed down into a sweet wine and myrrh scent. After it dried, it became dust and roses, with something sinister and dark in the background. I like it, but it's a bit dry on me--I usually wear warmer scents. I think I'll keep the imp around for when I'm feeling darker.

[UltraViolet]

~Lilith~

 

In the bottle

Something foody, vanillery and spicy. Yummy.

 

On

I smell caramel, musk, underlying fruit, floral, something pungent.

The black musk gives this almost a burnt sugar or caramel scent.

The wine isn't that strong like in some blends, it lends aciditity and fruitiness.

The rose is not strong at all, and thank goodness I say.

The myrrh is also not strong at all either, which is a surprise. You can tell it's there but it's not easily identifiable at first.

Oh man, now the floral (rose I guess) is just beating the s**t out of my nose. The rose is now smelling like it does in Lush's "Ginger" line. I think that's not a good thing.

 

30 minutes

Floral with a coffee-ish scent underneath.

 

Throw:

Medium

 

Scent category:

Spicy/Floral/Foody

 

Summary

It has staying power.

There is way too much going on here though. If they were all subtle notes that might make for a lively or interesting blend. As it is, these notes are all strong ones and while they don't necessarily clash, they are all too big or bold. Someone has to take the backseat here.

 

Purchase again?

No

 

1-5 rating, 5 being best.

2

[Penance]

Origin:

 

Lagniappe from the Lab.

 

First sniff:

 

Huh, that's weird...this reminds me of F54, which must be because of the combination of alcohol, rose and musk. They're more like cousins than sisters, but it's still noticeable. I smell the wine and myrrh most prominently, but the musk and rose are lurking in the not-so-far background.

 

Wet on skin:

 

I swear, this is like poor man's F54. I never would have imagined the two would be similar in any way, shape or form, but Lilith definitely is similar. It's not as rich or expensive smelling as F54 is, but that's why it's the poor man's version.

 

Dry down:

 

This has a much sweeter dry down than F54 does, but they're still variations on the same theme. This is like F54 plus sweet myrrh, only lighter and less dramatic smelling. I really didn't expect to like this since I don't like roses and black musk is finicky on my skin, but I do like this!

 

The bottom line:

 

For me, this is poor man's Formula 54. I doubt I'll ever run out of my precious F54 stockpile, but if I do Lilith will be the replacement.

[lady_pandora]

In bottle: cough syrup.

 

Wet: cough syrup at first, fading to a generally boozy note, with the roses and myrrh starting to appear.

 

Drydown: The rose and myrrh continue to play off each other beautifully, the myrrh keeping the rose from becoming sweet, and the rose keeping the myrrh from mustiness. About 30 minutes later, the musk begins to rise up, and the scent begins to "throw". The throw is mainly musk on me. If I put my wrist to my nose, I smell myrrh and rose and booze. If I put my hands at my sides and just let it waft up, I smell musk.

 

This is a beautiful blend, a little complex, with all the notes working perfectly together, and is a great testimonial to Beth's genius.

 

But I don't think it's for me. Oddly, I just don't feel somehow *old* enough to wear this. Lilith is quite heavy and wants to be on a middle-aged seductress. I'd need to be Mrs. Robinson--or at least Stifler's Mom--to pull this one off. Instead I just feel like a little girl playing dress-up in a grown woman's perfume. And I'm pushing thirty.

 

I was also hoping this would be a good going-out-dancing scent. But I think it's too languid for that. This one isn't for dancing; it's for reclining on your red velvet chaise longue while hunky slave-boys feed you grapes.

 

ETA: icon.

 

ETA2: This is now one of my favorites. I gave away my first imp and a few months later started longing for it--so I bought more, and have been going through it like it was going out of style. I guess my nose must have changed, because this is now one of my all-purpose sexy scents.

 

Edited January 10, 2007 by lady_pandora

[shelldoo]

:faint: faints dead away. omgwtbbqwtf!!!!! squuueeeeee.

 

on me this is f54's sister, i have searched and searched for anything even 1/2 way similiar, and altho this is a bit darker it is similar enough that i can stop bemoaning abt f54.

 

wet it is that juicy wine scent i have only found in f54, as it dries the myrhh comes out which makes it deeper then f54 but still is incredible, and the bonus is i love myrhh.

 

 

toddles off to order abt 10 10mls

[slave1]

In Bottle: Sweet thick wine.

 

On Skin: The wine note is syrupy sweet and thick. I think the myrrh is adding to that. The musk gives a nice darker note and makes the scent a bit more evil. The rose gives it a feminine feel and is actually pretty and faint. I really like this scent… it is heavy at first but fades to a more tolerable sweetness.

[FireInCairo]

I cannot say that I'm a fan of this. It smells like cough syrup on my skin. Robitussin with maybe some more alcohol thrown in. This was a generous imp given to me by the lab. It might work well with other body chemistries..

[quikslvr]

Very sinister start. The myrrh/musk combo takes over. Then it's a hint of the wine--dark red currant wine, but mostly myrrh. Not work appropriate for me, but fascinating scent. A bit smoky. Reminds me of Black Phoenix after awhile. Softens a lot--I can barely smell it after an hour or so.

[13bodies]

In the imp this has a berry scent with a hint of spice.

 

Wet: wild and spicy! I could love this--makes me feel dangerous.

 

Dry: once again my wonky body chemisty turns a perfectly good scent into baby powder.

[bodegaselkie]

I could have sworn that in the bottle Lilith smelled like acrid spices, and I was looking forward to trying it on, but then it turned out to be all red wine. I swapped away my imp of Kali because, even with all the other notes in there, the red wine note just jumped out (and, in Kali's case, gave me a massive headache). I don't like how the wine note smells on me anyway, so having it dominate all the others (especially when I LIKE myrrh, musk and attar of rose) just isn't making me happy. It's all sweet and fruity -- TOO sweet and too fruity, and not at all for me.

 

And it doesn't really fit with my impressions of Lilith, either.

[Abbie]

In the imp: Burnt sugar, like that bubble-gum flavored toothpaste they use to clean your teeth at the dentist's.

 

First on: Boy, I just can't wear fruit fragrances. I shouldn't have bought so many, I guess. They're just too sugary for my taste. The myrrh is coming out really strong... this fragrance has a lot of throw: I don't apply much but I can smell the stuff on my wrists from arm's length.

 

Dry: This is more musky and spicy than sugary at this point, but it's just too old-ladyish for me

[k00kaburra]

In bottle: Red wine - the grapiness is so strong it's almost like cold medicine. The musk and myrrh definitely darken this - it's much thicker and heavier than the red wine in Lady Macbeth. The rose lends a bit of floral to the blend, but it isn't particularly strong.

On me: Rich and fruity, but with incense and smoke. The rose grows stronger as the oil dries, and blends beautifully with the red wine. It's a very grown-up scent, the sort that a laughing woman at a glamourous party wears as she raises up her glass.

[helarctos]

Very sadly, on me Lilith is a sickly mixture of maple syrup and cherry cough syrup.

[Miss Lynx]

This was one of the first batch of four oils I received, from a forum purchase. And I almost didn't try it at all, because it smelled so scary in the bottle, but I'm really glad I did. I have never had a perfume change so much on me when I applied it. Like someone commented earlier in this thread, it's a real shapeshifter.

 

When I first sniffed it in the bottle, it smelled horrifically sweet, like grape candy. But as soon as I put it on, the sweetness seemed to drop away almost immediately. Within a few minutes, it was down to smelling more like real grapes, and then more like the wine it was supposed to be, with all the other notes starting to assert themselves too, though not yet blending together. At that stage, it reminded me of a lot of the ritual/devotional oils I've used from my local occult shop, which are blended more for their spiritual/magical properties than their scent. I could smell all the individual components, but they just weren't coming together. But the cloying sweetness was completely gone, and I found myself compulsively sniffing my wrist every few minutes to see what strange new transformation the scent had undergone.

 

But then as it settled into my skin, they did come together, into a rich, complex, resinous scent that I began to really like, and from that point on I was sniffing myself just to enjoy it. I still don't know if it suits me enough to order a full bottle of, but the imp is definitely a keeper.

 

 

Edit: after trying it a couple more times, I ended up deciding to swap it away after all, thought not without a few regrets. It is a really interesting scent, but somehow it's just... not quite me.

Edited July 22, 2005 by Miss Lynx