Lurid

[whitsunweddings]

Shocking, horrific, fierce, savage, sensationalized, luminous and hazy: black currant, Bulgarian lavender and white musk with a dollop of thick resin and a voltaic charge of ozone notes.

A bit odd, this one.
In the imp: Blackcurrant, lavender and ozone.
Wet: The same. The blackcurrant seems quite sweet, while the ozone and lavender are quite biting.
Dry: It was like this perfume split itself into two parts: the harsh lavender and ozone (which I liked), and then a rather sweet blackcurrant musk, which I didn't really care for. Weird.

[SadariEvenstar]

Pure dish soap and dryer sheets, eye wateringly pungent. I'm sad, based on the notes I thought this would be great.

[Kuba]

It was a strange little journey with this one.

WHen I first got it over a year ago it was a high pitched citrusy scent with velvet-like undertone, or something smooth similar to Black Opal. I didn't like it at all and immediately dismissed it.

 

Now, after a year I was just sitting with my Imp box, going through various scents trying to decide what to wear when I pulled Lurid out of my stash. I decided to give it another go since I know how oils can age.

And wow, this is a completely different scent now. I can definitely smell the lavender. I have a little pouch filled with dried lavender from Provence and the note in Lurid is pretty much the same. There is something beneath it that grounds the whole blend but it's very subtle so I'm guessing it's the thick resins.

Black currant was present only in the wet stage, now it's mostly gone leaving a little bit of juiciness and what gives Lurid that high-pitched quality is the ozone note but it's not something sharp and artificial like in Lightning.

White musk smooths everything out with that light, powdery smell.

 

Overall it's a nice, chic fragrance but unfortunately it has a very weak throw. I can barely smell it unless I sniff my wrist and because it has ozone and black currant it might have a tendency to go soapy/sour on some people.

Edited July 30, 2012 by Kuba

[Lethran]

In bottle: The currant and musk are strongest. It’s a surprise to the nose, but a pleasant one. Rich, slightly sharp resin gives strong support, with the touch of lavender and ozone blending beautifully with the other elements. Wet: The musk is strongest with the currant falling back to dance with the resin. The lavender is a bit more noticeable while the ozone stays an accent rather than standing alone. This is very sexy and a bit decadent. Dry: This is long lasting and ends up mostly musk and resin with a touch of lavender. It’s a bit heavy for me, but would be sexy on someone with less natural musk.

[Caper]

I bought this unsniffed when I was on a lavender kick and I am so glad! This is slightly sweet and fruity, slightly herbal, and warmed and rounded out by the musk and resin.

 

My dh said that it smelled like fresh linen,and I agree, but really nice linen that has been sun-dried and then folded with lavender sachets. And, um, maybe someone is eating black current sorbet in bed? The ozone is definitely clean, but luckily it doesn't smell like CK1 which is how ozone/clean usually translates.

 

This is easily one of my top fifteen, probably even top ten right now.

[JazzieCazzie]

Received an imp of this as lagniappe in a swap and am sooooooooooooo grateful. I don't believe I've ever tried it (I definitely didn't review it) and I'm thinking if I did ever receive it, it would have been as a frimp because the black currant and ozone notes would have scared me away.

 

Before I review it, I want to give major props to the review by LoraJC which kicked off this thread. It is so very very very on target for what I would have said as well ... I write up my notes before I come to the board, and then I look over the thread to be sure I hadn't already written a review, and I just sat there reading hers (and others) and nodding like a bobblehead doll.

 

IN THE IMP: I really expected to be hit in the face with fruit and have to battle just to test-drive it, since I have vowed to apply ever single scent I have -- new, old, imp, bottle. Yet oddly enough my first thought was "medicinal" (a word used a lot on this board and one which, for me, is a very positive note even though I still haven't figured out what it is -- often for me it's amber but there is no amber here). I get the fruity RIGHT after that but it's a resiny fruit and one which pulls me in instead of repelling me.

 

I was encouraged enough by that first impression that I actually applied it pretty generously to me wrist AND crook of my arm (the place where notes go to amp).

 

WET: This is an absolutely fascinating, unusual and complex blend on me. The resin is high up in the mix, as is the musk. The lavender and black currant kind of battle away behind those two. It is not what I think of as "fruity-bad" at all, but the sweetness of deep dark fruit is there. The scent this reminds me of the most is Nemesis -- not so much that the two scents are similar in notes as much as the complexity and balance of the notes it contains.

 

DRYDOWN: The ozone, which is NOT a good note for me, rises up on the drydown and for a few minutes I fear I'll lose my love for this, but in reality it only lasts for a short time, after which the long-term drydown is a fascinating combination of medicinal, resin, lavender, woods, musk, floral and dark tangy fruit.

 

OVERALL: I am amazed by how much I really love this scent. It is an absolute work of art from Beth.

 

On a scale of 1-5, this comes damned close to a 5. Maybe a 4.9?

[Atrous]

This is one of those scents that could have gone either way for me. Ozone, currants, and resin all work with my chemistry. White musk tends to get wonky. I feel iffy about the lavender since floral notes go sickly sweet.

 

Unfortunately, this went the wrong way

 

This smells like cheap cologne, ugh. The notes my skin adores are nonexistent. All I smell is nauseatingly sweet powder and I need to scrub my wrists.

[Magycmyste]

In the imp: Kind of sweet? I'm not getting much scent out of the imp even, this is so light.

 

Wet on skin: So fairly light still, but it has a sharp bitter herbal scent to it. I think that's the ozone with the white musk softening it, since I'm not getting anything I would identify with lavender or currant.

 

Dried down: Hmmmm, now I think the lavender's coming out a bit, but it's still hiding behind the white musk. And I'm still not getting blackcurrant at all. I don't really mind, because I like white musk, but I never thought I'd see it in a blend where it was drowning out everything else. It's so light and airy - how can it block something else out?

 

Throw: Faint white musk.

 

Verdict: *** 1/* This is pretty, but I think I've already got something for white musk. If not, I'll come back to this.

[sprout]

Lurid:

source (well aged imp) found it rolling around in my imp box

 

in vitro: Lavendah! herbal lavender, not floral, not too medicinal, somewhat green and calming

wet on wrist: soft floral lavender note, woody resin (just a hint) and soil note ( pure speculation on my part, I think the resin here was likely balm of Gilead or something similar, it smelled like fresh evergreen boughs and soil)

drying: musky notes, herbal lavender, starting to go slightly soapy, the ozone is missing here, perhaps it has aged out of my ancient imp, a sweet currant note that is just a hint of berry or fruit (I had to look at the notes to see it was currant, I would have guessed berry, but it is faint)

late drydown: musk and herbal lavender--no floral notes, no ozone, no haze

 

verdict: I like this imp and want to see if testing other imps gives a different variety. it may well be that the aging process has mellowed out the ozone notes and the fruit (currant). the throw was slight and it did not last long. this will be in my retest group. I don't want to count it out, but it did not wow me. I find the lavender very comforting and this would be a good skin scent to fall asleep whilst sniffing.

 

Edit: since I wrote this review, Lurid has become a favorite of mine. This oil is quite different depending on the age. Whether or not you'll like it probably depends on how you feel about the Lab's white musk. Fresh, I find Lurid too soapy. Very aged, it loses its berry sweet black currant component somewhat. About 12 to 24 months old, Lurid hits a sweet spot and comes together. Lavender and currant combine for a berry sweet lavender herbal heart with flashes of white musk, trust me it isn't as soapy when aged, it's soft and snugly. The ozone mellows out. The resin becomes softer and less evergreen. I've purchased three bottles of this from the forum, as I like it so much.

Edited March 3, 2016 by sprout

[d0gbones]

In the vial, I get the "family bathroom after the family have left" feeling someone mentioned earlier.

 

On, I'm not getting lavender or ozone, just berry sweetness which goes a bit soapy/powdery the longer it's on. I'm assuming the lavender is what keeps it from being too sweet. It's pleasant enough, it's just not a very "me" scent, I've given it to my mother and it smells lovely on her.

[Malaena]

Wet: I keep getting whiffs of medicine.

 

Drying: Lavender appears with a whiff of currant here and there.

 

Dry: Lavender and currant. It reminds me of Bath & Body Works Lavender Vanilla. I also detect something vaguely like coconut.It smells nice but it's not something I would wear.

[marilyn eyre]

Weird. Kind of a fizzy blackcurrant with a ton of lavender. The white musk appears in flashes. I think I like it, but I'd have to figure out where to wear it.

Edited February 25, 2016 by marilyn eyre

[dementia_divine]

In the imp: Lavender, black currant, and lots of ozone.

 

Wet: Ozone and black currant take the center of the stage. I can detect the resin now, as well as the musk. The lavender, while present, isn't as prominent as I had hoped.

 

Dry: Mostly ozone and white musk. It registers as a very clean scent to my nose, but sadly, it is one that is strongly reminiscent of soap. After a while, the resin appears again and joins the ozone and white musk notes. It smells very masculine during this phase.

 

Verdict: I was looking forward to this one thanks to the lavender and black currant combo, but alas, the lavender wasn't a main player on my skin, and the black currant note was non-existent in the dry phase thanks to the ozone and musk stomping all over the other notes. Since I don't want to smell like a bar of soap, this one will be going to the swap pile.

Edited September 5, 2015 by dementia_divine

[LizziesLuck]

I so desperately want to love Lurid. I have tested it numerous times. Unfortunately, every time it goes to powder within minutes. Sickly-sweet powder.

[agirlnamedfury]

Far too much lavender in this blend for it to be wearable for me, unfortunately. Like PURE lavender, I'm barely getting any of the other notes.

[Cali]

A very subtle lavender, surrounded by something dark. It's definately a purple smell to me. It's not really a lavender-field lavender or a grandma's-little-scented-pillow lavender to me (two of which I actually like, yo) but hazy is definately a good way to describe it. Hell, if you told me it had lavender in it before I read what's in it I probably wouldn't have guessed. Then again, I know nothing. So yeah.

 

It goes a bit sweeter later on, and I'm not really sure what to do with it.

[Mermaid-on-Land]

This smells good right out of the vial. I get mostly the lavender and black current, and a twist of ozone. The musk, I think, is rounding out the scent in the background, and I really don't get much of the resins, I think they are sweetening things a bit in the background. After a few minutes I get the impression of clean laundry with lavender sachets that someone mentioned in another review but it doesn't stay like that too long on me. Eventually the scent separates into a distinct throw and skin scent. I like the black current that I get in the sillage, it's tart and pretty. Every time I try to sniff my wrist to get more of it I end up with all lavender powder though haha. I like both of them but I like the currant part from the throw more. The lavender is herbal, planty, sweet, and powdery, more so than freshly floral. I think the lavender is what gives it the "hazy" aspect from the description. I like this one, it's somehow fresh, tart, and soft and the same time. The sillage is pretty great, I was able to smell it just moving around for hours and it stayed quite strong. The colors to me are deep amethyst purple accented with hazy white.

[Casablanca]

Wet on skin: Woo hoo, black currant. The lavender is lighter and soft, without its harsh aromatic part, reminding me a little of heather. The white musk is present, but it or something nearby is going powdery on my skin. Maybe that's supposed to be the electricity? But on me the would-be sparks, if that's what they are, read as powder. A snootful of black currant-lavender baby powder.

Dry: The powder partly settles and partly turns almost... fizzy. Yes, I suppose this was meant to be the voltaic charge. Mostly, the blend now returns to being lavender-tinged currants. No resins.

I'll sniff again later, but I'm not enthused for Lurid at the moment.

[sarandipitee]

I LOVE every note but the ozone.

 

Here's hoping it works, cause it sounds amazing.

 

This is goooodd. Mainly currant and sweet resins with herbal lavender in the background. The barest hint of ozone, thankfully. No white musk, which is surprising.

 

I think this is a bottle upgrade. I'll try it one more time to make sure, but dry down is lovely so far.

[asksdifficultquestions]

In the bottle: A very heady bouquet of sweetness harmonizing with tartness, a light floral lavender, and then the hit of clarifying, dizzying electricity??? This is the BPAL scent which I think smells the best in the imp. So good!

 

A few hours later: The scent is pink with a bit of purple and creamy and glowing with white light! The current is sweet, sweet, sweet and a light musk spiciness comes out. I cannot pick out the resin, but I'm sure it contributes to the glowing sweetness. A white amber???

 

A lovely, ethereal scent. Evocative of love and comfort. A kiss from a guardian angel? The mere mention of currents makes me nostalgic for my mother's Moroccan chicken. I don't wear it out of the house as much, but I especially appreciate it before bed.

[Lucchesa]

The only shocking thing about Lurid is how much nicer it is than I was expecting. There are some problem notes here for me: white musk and ozone. And black currant can go overly fruity and sweet on me. But Lurid works surprisingly well as a light summery scent, fruity but not cloying. I'm not really getting much white musk; it's almost a sweet-tart candy, like what a black currant Jolly Rancher might taste like, with lavender and a little kick of ozone. This isn't a me kind of scent, but I'm surprised by how exceptionally pleasant it is.