Greed

[thecaitycat]

Base and earthy, yet glittering with golden notes: patchouli, heliotrope, copal and oakmoss.

In the bottle: Wood and patchouli. I can't smell anything else. At all.

Wet on skin: Still wood and patchouli. This is a bit disappointing, but my skin chemistry really amps up anything patchouli so I guess I shouldn't be too surprised.

Dry on skin: I let it sit for a while hoping that the copal and heliotrope would show up more, but no dice. This is pure patchouli and wood.

Verdict: Disappointing. On someone else's skin, this has the potential to be gorgeous. On me, it's just patchouli and wood. I need something softer to go with it. It's going into my swaps.

[TrailerTrashPrincess]

this was frimped to me in a swap, and on my wishlist. awwww.

 

impsniff: patchouli and cedar

skinsniff, wet: patchouli, oakmoss and copal

skinsniff, dry: patchouli, oakmoss and old money. as in very old, tattered low-value bills. bizarre but true.

 

now i need something coppery-blood-smelling to be the coins smell..........

maybe Blood Kiss?

Edited September 26, 2006 by TrailerTrashPrincess

[supremegoddessofall]

I don't know how they managed to make this smell like money, but it does. Very rich, metallic tinge. The patchouli is definitely in there - the others I don't know individually. Has some incense feel to it, too. Pretty good.

 

Score: 4 out of 5

[fiddledragon]

This is waaaay too much patchouli on me. Between the patchouli and the oakmoss it ends up smelling very dirt-like, but not in a way that works for me. I prefer the vetiver-based dirt blends to the ones that are more predominantly patchouli. I'm not detecting any copal, which is probably a good thing as I'm pretty sure that's what's going cold on me in Sheol. Luckilly, I'm also getting no cedar. If I were in a really dirty-hippy-ish mood, this would be appropriate, but that just doesn't happen often enough. Off to swaps!

[blackrosepassion]

Iniatal impression: Woody/earthy, warm, pine forest. Dads workshed, It brings back memorys of bushwalks and camping.

 

While wearing: The scent of wood with patchouli behind it.

 

Conclusion: I really like this one as a warmer heavier scent compared to the lighter ones I usualy wear. It is more of a Masculine scent and something I think would smell better on the boyfriend then on me. It is named well as the scent reminds me of rich people, of having money and not being afraid to use it and of the rich people who know how to use it. For days when I want to be reminded of the outdoors this one is great.

 

Blackrosepassion

[ND¢]

Hmmm... the expected patchouli dominance, with the tang of oakmoss and a sweeter, lighter, barely-there scarf (heliotrope and copal I assume.) Complex, pleasing. Reminds me of my Redwood SN, but less straightforward. I'ma keepin' this imp.

[walkingundine]

In the imp: Patchouli is the first note I get. It's strong and woody and unusually bright... Not so much a hippie who hasn't bathed in a week. More a wealthy hippy who just got back from a super-intense yoga retreat, and is lying out in the sun.

 

Wet, on skin: Oh there's the copal. That's where the gold note is coming from, I think. Because it's resinous, my skin amps it way up. It doesn't quite drown out the patchouli, but it gives it a run for its money.

 

Drydown: All of these bright, red-brown-gold notes are duking it out at about equal strengths. It's a little overwhelming, and I'm glad I didn't try more than a tiny drop.

 

Duration: Many many hours of smelling like a really awesome hippie. An awesome rich hippy, did I mention that?

 

Throw: On me, significant. The resins, you know, they love to travel.

 

In sum: I have two imps of this. I think I really only need one. It's nice for some things- Gods know it's grounding- but I so rarely want to be grounded that I think I'll be rehoming one of the imps this holiday season.

[Jishin]

I've been round and round about this scent and I just can't figure out what I think.

 

It's rich and beautiful and smells fantastic -- dark and glittery, like folks say. It doesn't quite smell like old money to me, but I can see where it would on some peoples' skin. My eventual association with it turned out to be ... "Well, Pawnbroker Fang would wear this ... no, he would wear something LIKE this, but cheaper .... " (And you want to read that book if you haven't already, trust me.)

 

Then I realized that obviously, the scent was dead-on.

 

But it is very masculine. Maybe even too masculine for me, and that's saying something, because I tend to prefer more-masculine scents.

 

I think I will try wearing it a little more lightly the next time I use it, and see how it goes.

[Voleuse]

The patchouli is earthy and sweet on first sniff, though a bit lighter than I expected. I'm not very experienced with the other notes, but there is a sweeter, woodsier scent behind the patchouli. This is a confident scent, but not a brash one. I like it.

[Elemcee]

Greed, in the bottle, and, at first, on my skin is almost pure patchouli. And that makes me think of anything but riches.

As it dries, though, it becomes less 'dirty', and far more lavish. There is still dust, but it's gold dust.

 

This is money belonging to someone who knows how to use it.

 

This is soft, subtle, yet spicy and luxurious.

[Bangles]

Dark and honey-sweet and earthy and just slightly metallic, I like this. And when I say earthy, I mean it: it smells like I've been out digging in the herb garden and struck gold along the way. The heliotrope ties everything together, I can't stop sniffing my wrist!

[filigree_shadow]

I thought I'd love this for sure -- the oil is dark, and that's always a good sign for me. Plus I know that I love heliotrope and patchouli, and copal is usually good too. The only wildcard is oakmoss, which can be okay or just plain bad.

 

The first time I tried this scent, I thought it smelled like a men's deodorant scent because it was kind of powdery and masculine at the same time. I'm trying it again now, and unfortunately I can't get that men's deodorant comparison out of my head, so once again I'm thinking that's what it smells like. The oakmoss makes this overwhelmingly masculine in my opinion. So much so that I wouldn't feel comfortable wearing this.

 

It's actually a good scent, and I don't think there's anything wrong with it... but it's too masculine for me, and my husband doesn't like it on him. So this one won't be hanging around at our house.

[Lit Chick]

I like patchouli? Really?

Man. Years of thinking I hated it... and then Greed comes along. It smells smokey, rich skin. VERY masculine. Love it on the DH, and he got compliments on it. He thinks it's only so-so... but I have a feeling with me wearing Red Devil and him wearing this, we could get into some good trouble.

[Kimocean]

As many before me have said...

 

This is strong sharp patchouli with some brightness over top. Very masculine...but sometimes I like that. I'm curious as to how it will age as some of my favorite patchouli blends start off too masculine for me but with a few months of aging mellow into something I absolutely adore.

[stellans]

I had a wonderful day smelling the wafts of Greed; I really love patchouli, especially when blended with a sweet note like the heliotrope, and with the deepening power of the copal and oakmoss. I'm so happy I was able to swap for a bottle of this! Is that greedy of me?

 

In the imp: definitely the earthy patchouli making its presence known with first sniff. There is a mellowness in the imp, like maybe some amber or vanilla slipped in, but neither is listed in the description. Maybe it's the copal? I don't know enough about scent notes other than a few main ones like rose, lavender, patchouli... but I'm learning, thanks to BPAL.

 

Wet on skin: the sweetness is more pronounced on my skin than in the imp, but I don't mind at all because it still plays 2nd fiddle to the patchouli, my love. The oakmoss and copal are there too,

 

Dry: wow, all the notes mix so well on the drydown. I'm not sure how this lovely scent represents Greed as a sin, unless it's because smelling it makes me greedy for more.

 

Verdict: Oh, it's a keeper. Oh yes.

Edited May 2, 2008 by stellans

[modernsaints]

In the bottle: It's... patchouli. Yay.

 

Wet: Oh hey what do you know it's patchouli again! There's something else going on but I don't know what it is, and it's kinda weird.

 

Drydown: Yeah ten bucks says you can't guess what it still is. And I like patchouli in small doses, but it goes weird and powdery on me, in that way where I keep sniffing it because I can detect the heliotrope (and I like it!) but all I end up getting is a snootful of hippie. ): The mother doesn't like hippie either, so this one shall be off to the swaps!

[bulletslc]

Took this to work last night with a few others and a male co-worker I've been indoctrinating into bpal picked this as one of his three favs of the 8 I had with me. Which is actually really funny because he's said to me in the past that he HATES patchouli! So I talked him into trying some on (he talked me into trying Les Bijoux....because he really liked it in the imp and is thinking about getting some for his girlfriend.)

 

This was fabulous on him! Wow! I kept grabbing his wrist and sniffing him throughout the morning! I even made some of our other co-workers sniff him...LOL! It was wonderful on him! I could definitly smell patchouli, but it was a warm, yummy, golden patchouli...not an overly woody, bitter smell.

 

Funny thing is.....I caught him furtively sniffing his OWN wrist!!! Yeah.....he wants a bottle now!! (and he kept sniffing ME and has decided he must have Les Bijoux for his girlfriend as well!......I'm an evil enabler, I am!)

[waternight]

In the imp: Patchouli and something sweet – the heliotrope? A hint of resin too. Really delicious.

Wet/Drydown: First strongly patchouli, now something very green and earthy, which I’m guessing is the oakmoss. I’m not really getting any heliotrope – there is nothing floral or sweet about this blend. I’m not quite sure what copal smells like, so can’t really speak to that note. This is a very dry, earthy blend – a soft patchouli underlying what I can only guess is the oakmoss. It’s a gentle scent, green and gold, like sunlight filtering through a deciduous forest canopy and gently dappling the forest floor. A bit dryer – ah, now I’m getting a hint of resin, and it’s sweetening up the musty/earthiness just a tiny tiny bit. This reminds me of Aureus, which I adore, but Greed is softer and gentler. I have to say, this blend does not evoke “greed” to me at all. It’s a very naturalistic, outdoorsy type of scent.

Dry: The oakmoss is sharing the stage more equally with the patchouli now, and the resin is stronger. Overall, this is quite similar to Aureus, but I prefer the former.

 

Overall, I think I'll stick with Aureus, but Greed is nice.

[Browneyes]

Imp: Woody patchouli, mainly

Wet: This warms up and I can definately see the resemblance to Luperci only this is woodier, the patchouli is stronger I think, and there is no honey/beeswax element, although it is sweet because of the oakmoss, heliotrope and copal

Dry: I really love this. I'm so happy I got to try it! Thank you to whoever it was that frimped me! It's gritty, earthy and sweet. Very natural smelling. And I find it to be a really good GC replacement for Luperci

[Trish]

In the imp: Patchouli, but with something far sweeter and smoother over the top of it. Rich, resiny and deep.

 

Wet: The patchouli instantly becomes stronger.

 

Drydown: Heliotrope breaks looses and bashes the patchouli into submission - copal and oakmoss don't even stand a chance! At this stage I do not like this at all, even though I've tried heliotrope in a few other scents recently and never had a problem with it. It's a lot stronger in this one though.

 

Dry: Thankfully the heliotrope has backed off a bit, allowing the copal and the patchouli to come through. It's also going powdery which is surprising because none of the listed notes have ever done that to me before.

 

Not for me.

[wikkidraven]

what i got is a very aged imp of greed, that i believe was decanted from a corked imp into a plastic wand vial. i could smell the empty original vial when i opened the baggie it was in, the scent was that strong. greed is even stronger on the skin, almost instantly headache inducing patchouli. i smell the oakmoss, and amazingly as it dries, the sweetness of the heliotrope is peeking out.

 

this is very masculine, and very earthy. not for me, but i'm amazed at the quality of blending.

[Carmencita]

In the vial: Dry dirt, wood moss

 

On my skin: dirt and clay

 

later: patchouli and dirt. I don't get even a hint of the other notes.

 

Meh.

[The_Merf]

In the imp: Patchouli and oakmoss.

 

Wet: Patchouli is by far the strongest note, but the oakmoss is not as noticeable here, and I can pick up on the copal

 

Drydown and wear: This does dry into a nice--if not a bit piney--wood/patchouli scent. The patchouli is a very clean one that reminds me of the type found in Geek. This is a very evocative scent, as it immediately calls my Crowley Ace of Disks card to mind (not that the meaning is 'Greed,' but this reminds me of the tree in the center of that card). The resin becomes much stronger as the scent dries down, and this one is actually a surprising morpher. I did not think I was going to hold the imp for further testing when I first tried it on, but now I think I will.

[Nimthiriel]

In the vial (initial impression):

Indeed, it smells - golden! Gold and dirt, but in a very pleasant mix. I'm intrigued.

 

Initially on (wet):

Woah, dirt! How bizarre. There's a really strong smell of - dirt, earth, mud. Slowly something else makes an entrance, something sweeter.

 

Wearing it (dry):

10-20 mins after application, it's still rich and earthy, but also very warm and spicy - it's wonderous! I can swear I smell cinnamon in this. Gods, I love cinnamon!

 

20-30 mins after application, it's still very rich and spicy - cinnamon, patchouli, wonderous earth. I absolutely adore its warmth and richness!

 

An hour later, the blend of different ingredients comes through a bit more, and I get a hint of the oakmoss for example. It's still a favourite!

 

6 hours later, the perfume is a warm, earthy, spicy mix that makes my heart melt. It's great.

 

Finally:

Keeper. So a keeper! (This ended up becoming my signature scent. My friend Emma assures me I smell like her grandmother's old couch, but I love this scent too much to care!)

[n3m3sis42]

This was sent to me in a mystery imp pack by one of our lovely forumites.

 

In the imp:

This sort of has that "standard commercial perfume sample" smell in the imp, only without that headachy feel those give me. And with a woody undertone. Sorry, my nose is probably ignorant.

 

Wet:

This definitely has whatever note it was in Mandrake that made it smell strongly of pencil shavings. However, with Mandrake that's ALL it was on me, whereas this one has some very interesting herbal accents to it. After about 5 minutes, it's interesting because if I press my nose to my wrist, I smell mostly wood (which is smelling less like pencil shavings as time progresses), but the throw from this is very aftershave-y, like Old Spice or Aqua Velva (not sure which, but something my dad or grandpa used to use). Like one of those, only without the alcohol odor. This is not a bad thing.

 

Dry:

I'm not sure that the drydown is entirely finished, but this is the first oil I've tried so far where the throw is *drastically* different from what I smell when I sniff my wrist. The throw is sweet and herbal, still reminiscent of aftershave but definitely not JUST LIKE IT. I have a feeling that if I were less ignorant of the particular notes or had actually smelled commercial aftershave in the last decade it wouldn't really remind me of it, it just must have a similar note that gives me the same feeling. Because I think those aftershaves have heavy astringents, and that's not what I smell here at all. But I don't know what the common notes are, so aftershave it is. Oh, but anyway (sorry, it's early) if I sniff my wrist it's still basically ALL WOOD, ALL THE TIME. So weird, but I actually think I really like this one.

 

This is not one I would have expected to like, and I really only had it on my wishlist because wearing a perfume called "Greed" tickled my fancy and I wanted to test the theory that I really do like patchouli even though I thought I hated it all these years. I will totally wear this again. Thumbs up!

 

Edited to add:

The more this dries down, the better this smells. Beth, did you put crack in this?

Edited July 21, 2007 by n3m3sis42