Grand Guignol

[hellomoonglow]

... Our Grand Guignol perfume is a shot of sweet apricot brandy; just enough to settle your nerves after a ghoulish, gory brush with the macabre.

This smells just like one of those cheap candles you see at convenience stores. The souvenier kind. Right beside the jumper cables and Mentos. Ick. Me no likeys.

[windbourne]

I love the Lab's apricot note, and I'm pretty fond of boozy notes, and brandy is a nice charming sort of booze, so this one is basically a winner for me, but for the fact that it completely disappears within minutes. Like March Hare, if I don't reapply this scent every fifteen minutes or so, I might as well not be wearing perfume.

 

I like this one, but I like March Hare more -- I find them extremely comparable. MH is spicier and this one is quite alcoholic in nature, but both are quite fruity and lush, with a true apricot sweetness to them that reminds me of summer.

 

The down point here is that they have no strength to them at all on me, and so I will bid this one a longing adieu and hope it will find a more loving home.

[savage_rose]

The apricot in this is so strong that I sniffed up close and it was like a blast of fruitiness aimed at my nose. But as it dries, it mellows to a dried apricot scent with an undercurrent of spices. Nice!

[Honeygirl]

Bottle: Apricot Brandy!

 

Wet: Hey, it's apricot brandy, and she's apparently the life of the party! I like it!

 

Drydown: There's a slight floral note that I'm not fond of, but I'm gonna keep this imp and try it again.

2.5 outta 5

[donnatron]

Imp: A delicious, sweet apricot.

 

Wet: Goes a bit musty on application. The apricot was initially the scent of apricot flesh--now it smells like an apricot skin.

 

Dry: The brandy went dusty on my skin. I smell like apricots and chalk dust. It's almost a nice scent in a dusting powder sort of way, but ultimately it's just sort of... chalky.

 

Throw: Pretty close to the skin.

 

Overall: If your chemistry can handle brandy, go for it. The apricot is to die for.

[zankoku_zen]

I really do get a gimundo shot of apricot brandy. The apricot is peachy and sweet and it's boozy to the max. As it dries down, it becomes less sweet and almost... woodsy. It's like drinking the alcohol - sweet at the beginning, followed by a fiery sort of end.

[ErinZ]

In imp: boozy fruit

 

Wet on skin: fruit, booze, and... woody flowers?

 

Drydown: woody, soapy fruit...

 

Two hours later: soapy, woody bubblegum

 

I'm so disappointed. The description was so promising, and I liked it in the imp, but my skin turned it

 

2 hrs later: After a little longer wear and a futile attempt to wash it off my arms in the restroom at work, it has lost some of the soapy bubblegum smell and smells more like a true fruity booze. I like the smell much better now, but don't think it's quite "me"... and the search continues...

 

(edited to add 2 hours later update)

Edited May 20, 2008 by ErinZ

[Suu4LC]

Mmmm, this is super yummy in the imp! A nice strong shot of syrupy sweet apricot with a touch of booze to keep it from being saccharine.

 

Hmm, I'm not sure how I feel about this on my skin...it's smells a bit odd and I'm not sure what it is...I'm going to give this time to fully drydown and see how it settles.

 

Okay, gave this a full wear-through and the verdict is...I like it! This is a very good sweet apricot scent. The brandy makes it a heavier as opposed to a light fruity scent, but the booziness is not overwhelming the apricot. A good cold weather fruit scent. I'm not going to rush out for a bottle of this, but it will get added to the list of bottles to seek out eventually. Exellent blend!

[Kabooki]

This is such a wonderful summer scent. This is something to wear when you are out and about and the sun is shining and all is good in the world, or for just laying in the yard watching the sunset and the clouds go by. On me this is all about the apricot, a nice sweet apricot (with maybe even a touch of floral like back scent), this stays strong for hours. The longer I wear this the more I love it

[sprocket21]

In the imp: Slightly powdery apricots

 

On me: Wow! It smells EXACTLY like a true apricot. Not syrup, not candy, but the smell you get when you bite into one, skin and all. I'm not getting any booze at all, it's pretty much Apricot SN on me. Fascinating!

[jade_starlight]

In the bottle, this one is mostly fruity booze. On my skin, however, the booze takes a backseat to the apricot which is juicy and sweet and absolutely delicious smelling. I've been looking for some more fruity scents, and this one definitely fits the bill.

[goblinshark]

Oh my goodness. When I opened this imp to sniff it I thought 'oh noooooooooooooo, Lolita part deaux!!!' It smelled sickeningly of some vaguely orangush candy.

 

Somehow, on me, it really does smell like a true, soft apricot. Amazing!! I swear I can smell some leaves and a stem in there, even.

 

Unfortunately I am not really into smelling like fruit, so swap pile it is, but I can see someone who is more into fruity scents loving this.

[caffinatedangel]

I got this simply for the mention of Apricot. I ran across BPAL's apricot first in Depraved, and simply fell in love so I set out to try it in other blends. This was not a disappointment.

 

I have yet to try March Hare (I've been surviving on trades, and hadn't seen it in trades when I had some to offer) - but I'm pleased to hear from a review or two that it's similar. It means more scents out there can appease my apricot want.

 

This is really lovely for me, and it isn't that short lived on my skin for some reason. It's potent, and has a decent throw on me. It's boozy, but not repugnant with it. The apricot is perfect, although I had feared it would be a more diluted apricot because it's brandy, not solid apricot.

 

It also has a chilling, darker side to it somehow. I don't quite know what notes do it, or if I imagine it, but I like it quite a bit. Keeping this one.

[juniperus]

bottle: sweet! holy apricot over the noggin, Batman!

wet: same, possibly more apricot-y

dry: boozy - more brandy-like and less like apricot syrup

later: very boozy, the apricotness (is that a word?) much less pronounced. alas, boozy notes usually don't work on me - and neither does this.

[femmefatale]

I didn't think I liked apricot. I always associated it with funky potpourri or candles.

 

This though is delicious. At first it is straight wonderful fresh apricots. As it dries something (perhaps the booze?) comes out to balance the sweetness. It doesn't strike me as a boozey scent though and is surprisingly wearable.

It's very pretty and would make a great spring/summer scent. I doubt I would buy a bottle, but I am definitely keeping the frimp and I'm so happy to got to try it!

[stillalive]

Just smell the apricots... what does brandy smell like? Lol. Maybe I'm just immune to alcohol scents.

[hereunto]

In the imp: Just like apricot brandy. Ooh, this could be good.

 

Wet: EW. The apricot has gone and all I'm left with now is the paint-peeling smell of alcohol. Apricot, I hope you come back!

 

Drydown: No change. Still the nasty smelling alcohol, almost vodka-ish, the cheap kind, and ugh. I think I'm gonna have to wash this off. I cringe every time I catch a whiff of it. Not good.

 

Overall: Had to wash it off. I'm so disappointed. It smelled great in the imp and I was excited to try it but the apricot refused to return and I was stuck smelling like a distillery. Good thing this was a frimp. Off it goes to swaps!

Edited December 10, 2008 by hereunto

[blacklacestatic]

This was a frimp from the lab and I'm so excited about it.

 

In the imp: Sweet apricot with a naughty twist.

 

Wet on skin: The same scent from the imp is now loving my skin. I love the smell of apricots, this is so perfect. There is definitely something there that is making it slightly darker, but it's not strong and it certainly lets the apricot take the starring role here.

 

Drydown: Still the same but a little bit softer and sweeter. I'm in love!

 

Overall: A very true apricot oil with a hint of darkness. Which is exactly what I was hoping it would be.

[mangaddict]

In the imp: Straight up apricots. Sugared ones.Wet: A bit of Brandy yet mostly apricots, apricots, apricots! And maybe a floral scent underneath...Dry: Holy crap! Apricot is still there but the floral has overpowered it completely! Not lily.. nor rose... nor baby powder... but a scent reminiscent of them. Must wash off wrist! Apparently this one doesn't play well with my skin. But since it was a frimp I'm not gonna complain. ;)In the imp: Straight up apricots. Sugared ones.Wet: A bit of Brandy yet mostly apricots, apricots, apricots! And maybe a floral scent underneath...Dry: Holy crap! Apricot is still there but the floral has overpowered it completely! Not lily.. nor rose... nor baby powder... but a scent reminiscent of them. Must wash off wrist! Apparently this one doesn't play well with my skin. But since it was a frimp I'm not gonna complain.

[kjirstiben]

Yeah, that's apricot! And the brandy is STRONG at first. When it touches my skin, though, this scent ceases to be as sweet as it smelled in the bottle and takes on an almost… soapy?... character.

 

Yes, there's definite soapiness here -- over time the fruit fades almost completely away and I am left with a remaining distinctly soapy smell.

 

After a certain point (not a very long time), this becomes very, very faint, almost as though I had washed with a peach-scented handsoap recently, and nearly disappears.

 

It's an interesting notion but as usual, fruit misbehaves upon interaction with my skin chemistry. I'd like to try this in a scent locket but I don't want to smell as though I was dipped in peach schnapps all day, either. This may have to be a weekend scent.

[rayvn1]

I was worried this would be apricot-fest 2009 - (well what did I expect with that scent description?!?). Sadly, that's all this was on me. Lots and lots of apricot.

[kohaisama]

In the imp: smells like a dead ringer for Blockhead

 

Wet: very quiet apricot that morphs into freshly cut rose stems, minus the rose and very soft

 

Dry: apricots so faint that even smooshing my nose up against my arm, I can barely smell

 

I really had high hopes for this one.

[isisonearth]

Very faint on me. I get a tiny bit of sweet apricot but nothing of the booze. Pretty but too close to the skin for my taste.

[Monster]

Ok, I wrote this down in my little BPAL journal before I knew what the notes were. This is what I wrote....

 

A sweet, boozy scent on the skin. There's something almost balmy and floral in the background. To me, this is boring and forgettable. This sort of smells like the bottom of a dirty purse after you pick sweet gum, throat drops, old perfume vials, pennies and pocket lint off of the bottom....makes me want to wash my hands.

 

Oh well. I guess they all can't be winners!

[TheOneTheyCallLuna]

This was a frimp that I just got. It smells good, and I think it smells just like apricot brandy!