Grand Guignol

[angharad]

... 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.

Ooooooh. Got this in a swap (whee!), and I it. It does remind me of peach schnapps, although I'm not sure why since I can definitely pick out the apricot with the alcohol -- maybe I need to find some apricot schnapps and compare? Anyway, this is a very boozy, apricot-y filled scent. It lasts much longer on me than other apricot scents have so far, and it's got better throw. Scent-wise, I do prefer Katharina, but I'll keep this for when I'm in a long-lasting boozy mood. Edited September 29, 2007 by Shollin

[tinyvulture]

Sweet (but not too sweet) apricot. This is not a bold and in-your-face fruit scent. It’s subtle, restrained. I don’t notice any “boozy” notes, just pure apricot. After it dries, it’s soft and gentle yet ever so slightly tart.

[batsy]

In the vial: apricot booze! Yes!

 

On the skin: Now this is a sophisticated clubbing scent! Oh yeah baby! I don't know why I passed this over before -- considering I love Swank and Juke Joint, you'd think I'd be all over the booze ones... this is, like I said, sophisticated. The upper crust cousin of Swank. It's sweet but dark, sensual. Oh yeah, this is a keeper!

[themerrybaker]

It smells wonderful out of the imp, but disappears on my skin almost immediately. The concept of "short dramatic sketch" is no joke, could have used a one-act play!

[Shollin]

First sniff: Fuzzy juicy apricot, with a bit of an edge. This isn’t the pure, joyful scent of the single-note; there’s something more serious to it. And it doesn’t smell boozey, thankfully.

 

Wearing: Very rich and warm. It’s more of a chewy dried apricot now, with maybe a wee sprinkle of vanilla. And yet it somehow manages to be not-very-foody.

[blanket]

ok i just put this on and i am in love

 

in the imp: apricot brandy, it really does smell like that

 

on the skin: at first it was really boozy, this is fading a little now and the apricot is deepening, there's a scent underneath i can't put my finger on, but it saves this from being too foody and leaves it sophisticated and sensual instead

 

ETA:

after an hour: i can still smell this, it's still deepening. i'm absolutely in love with this scent, i'll definately buy a bottle

Edited April 24, 2006 by blanket

[malanna]

I'm not sure I really get brandy from this. I think I get slightly dried apricots. I'm finding I don't like apricot scents, which always end up smelling rancid to me, and this one just smells like (not used) baby diapers. Ah well, I'm glad to have learned something.

[Spastik_Kitty]

(Frimp from Graycat)

 

In the bottle: Rehydrated dried apricots in a simple syrup.

 

First on: I'm not getting boozy, just very sweet, juicy, rehydrated apricots (I say rehydrated apricots because it doesn't smell like fresh apricots, more the dried kind, but is still very juicy).

 

After a bit: I really have to stick my nose against my arm for this one. The same as above but less juicy, now it's more like dried apricots.

 

This scent is very pale in power, I think I'm going to have to review it again on it's own when I haven't been sniffing at anything else.

[cybra111]

Grand Guginol

 

In the bottle: Apricot

 

On me: It becomes sour. Too bad, I was looking forward to this one. I am coming to realize that apricot doesn't work well on me. Even thought I thought I would like to smell fresh and fruity!

[edenssixthday]

Grand Guignol - This is a very strong apricot blend. The scent description says “apricot brandy”, but I don’t smell the brandy part. I smell something that reminds me of paint thinner, which means this smells like Apricot Paint Thinner. As much as I love apricot, this one’s not going to work for me. Great throw, but poor staying power. It evaporates off my skin within 30 minutes.

[cranberry]

In the imp, this smells sweet and fruity. A bit like peaches. Once on, I can smell the apricots. It smells a little musty behind the brightness of the fruit. As it wears, the apricots looses some of it’s fresh fruit smells and comes a bit candy-like. I don’t get any of the brandy in this scent. I usually like boozy scents but apricot usually kills it for me; it’s done it again. I’m glad that I got to try this but I won’t be looking for another imp.

[indicolite]

I have drunk about 10 grams of brandy in my life, and it was not apricot, so I did not have much to compare it with. On me this is a very lovely scent (I never figured I would like booze notes ) It is fruity but it is clear, and it does make me think of orange colour and some kind of bubbly drink (but brandy is not bubbly).

 

I think I would put this on at the end of days when I need to forget my woes (ETA: Does that imply that my daily grind is a ghoulish, ghostly brush with the macabre?). A dab of Beth's oil is better for my liver than a shot of brandy!

Edited July 13, 2006 by indicolite

[TrailerTrashPrincess]

i've had me some apricot brandy... but not from this imp.

 

this is dried apricots and a little bit of peach nectar (or Fuzzy Peach oil from the Body Shop if you have any left)

 

too froufy and fruity on me and before long it starts... turning. mentions of rancid gummy bears and silly putty from before both ring true...although i get more generic-crayon-wax. fanciers of freshly-opened-crayon-box smell might like this.

[ajcj213499]

this is dried apricots and a little bit of peach nectar

 

Exactly. I can almost taste the chewy dried apricots from this! I'm not getting any brandy though, which is unfortunate...

[Babylon]

It does smell like dried apricots on me too, and is making me thirsty/crave fruit. When it was wet and freshly applied, Grand Guignol smelled like peaches and cream. Now, dry, it's dried apricots and fizzy champagne!

[filigree_shadow]

Yay, Grand Guignol! I like it a lot! It smells to me a bit like an apricot tart. It reminds me a bit of peach cobbler, one of my very favorite desserts of all time. The brandy really warms up when the perfume oil is on my skin, too. I like this one mostly because the fruit note doesn't smell artificial on me (as fruit notes sometimes do), and it's also not overpowering. It's almost a delicate scent... which is how I like fruity blends. I don't want to walk around smelling like a giant piece of fruit, I just want to have a vaguely sweet and pleasant aura.

[Voleuse]

This is boozy and candy-sweet on first application. The apricot is sugar-coated and thick in the back of my throat. Yikes! It is a bright scent, and as it dries, the sweetness settles down. Unfortunately, the scent then turns a bit cardboard on me. Off to swaps this goes!

[melrose]

First on, wet: This is a dead ringer for my grandmother's homemade sweet pickles. Those suckers were strong! I don't want to smell like strong vinegar and sweet pickles!

 

Near drydown: Oh, dear, the pickle scent is still there, along with . . I don't know how to say this politely . . vomit.

 

Far drydown: It smells lovely now, but extremely faint. That fact, coupled with the first 2 stages, means no more for me.

[aestien]

Bottle: apricots

Wet: apricots, candle smoke, wood

Dry: apricots, smoke, dusty wood, a litte sharpness that may be the brandy note

 

I wasn't expecting to like this one, but I received this as a frimp, and was pleasantly surprised. This turned out on my skin to be smoky and interesting. I was reminded a bit of apricot candles and the scent of the wood of the stage and the bar. I'm not certain what brandy smells like, but I felt like this scent fit the description really well.

[fairy]

It's sweet, it's tart and I love it! What an unusual blend!! Sometimes I smell pure sweet goodness, sometimes it morphs to a little flirty tartness...and both work wonderfully. Great scent! Very bright and cheery with just enough zing to keep it from going overboard

Edited August 9, 2006 by maddi

[crazyredhead17]

I got this as a frimp with my last order. For whatever reason, I hadn't noticed this on the site before, and I'm usually all over everything foodie.

 

In the imp, it was brandy and apricots. Which I guess would be apricot brandy.

 

Wet, it's very strong (but very yummy) apricot brandy. It's dried down and stayed very pure. This is such a nice but flirty scent. Definitely a keeper.

[strangemusic]

It is what it is, yo. Juicy, wet, fruity, boozy, aromatic, fine quality apricot brandy, with, to my nose, a hint of ripe peaches. First, I smelled like a swallow of perfectly warmed apricot-peach cognac; second, I smelled like a peach Jolly Rancher™; at the end, I smelled just like waxy, plastic-y, scented little-kid "cosmetics" from the mondo toy store.

 

C&P from my LJ

[starrykitten]

Yep. Nice, sticky, jammy apricots. It lasts much longer than I'd expect a fruity scent to, but it's never overpowering.

[porcelain72]

In the bottle: sweet, sticky apricots, not much in the way of brandy.

 

Initial application: the sweetness is just short of being overpowering, but something is holding it back, likely the brandy, though that's still not overtly making its presence known.

 

Drydown: I was hoping there'd be a slightly boozier edge to this, but so far I haven't gotten much. However, the apricot has gotten softer, subtle and more pleasant. I'm not overwhelmed with joy for it, but it's nice.

[steffanina]

Grand Guignol-

 

In Bottle: Mm, yes, I can identify the apricot, but it's a good thing I was told what it is! And that little boozy note is there too.

 

Wet: Ooh, there's an immediate bloom of a hot musty-dusty smell on my skin. Don't like it; let's see if it goes away.

 

Dry: That musty-dusty does fade, but so does the scent itself. Pity, it seemed interesting in the bottle!

 

Overall: Fades quickly but I'll try again.