Chimera

[Delirium1009]

The fiery, volatile scent of cinnamon, thickened by myrrh, honeysuckle, and copal.

In bottle/imp: Sweet, creamy, resinous cinnamon.

Immediately on skin: This is very spicy cinnamon, but it’s not a dry blend at all; it’s sweet and almost creamy with a thick, resinous quality. It smells like cinnamon cookie dough or taffy… something gooey and spicy.

After a little while: This develops into a scent almost exactly like that of Shub-Niggurath, except where that scent has more ginger, this has more cinnamon. It’s a sweet (but not overly so) slightly baked cookie-ish cinnamon spice scent. There’s a resinous sweetness, and a slightly creamy undertone.

Overall Impressions: I have a lot of issues with some of the lab’s foody scents: several of them (Gingerbread Poppet, Beaver Moon 05, Pumpkin Cheesecake, MB: Bloody Mary, and Fruitcake to name a few) develop this nutty bread-like note that I don’t enjoy. Chimera, like Shub-Niggurath, lacks that annoying note (thank goodness!). This scent smells like spicy cinnamon cookie dough. It’s sweet and rich, without being overly foody. Now I just have to decide if I like Shub or Chimera more! Edited February 22, 2008 by Delirium1009

[agnusdei]

Oh yum, Chimera smells like a cinnamon confection to me. It comes on thick and sticky sweet with a warm dose of spice, a fantastically creamy and rounded scent. I’d swear there was vanilla or honey in this if I didn’t have the description handy; it has that same rich foamy vanilla cream note as Love’s Philosophy, only dusted with cinnamon and with just a touch of incense for added depth. It’s simultaneously comforting, uplifting, and a little decadent… I can see this becoming a favorite of mine for sure.

 

eta: So after having Chimera on for a few hours I've made a surprising and delicious discovery! Faded Chimera smells remarkably similar to faded Hod on my skin. There's a slight difference, of course, but they both have the same gently spicy + warm & creamy vibe. Now I'm even more excited that I have a 5ml of Chimera on the way!

Edited March 4, 2008 by agnusdei

[Dracoo9]

I am soooooo glad the lab gave me this one because I would have never thought to try it.

 

I dont really get cinnamon but on the edges of the scent while I can pick out all of the other scents. Somehow on me it becomes strangly close to Dragon's Milk but not powdery or as baby-powdery with a bit of velvet's myrrh to it and it becomes this creemy perfection of honeysuckle and myrrh. I love it! Bottle worthy 5/5

 

If you liked this try: Velvet, Dragons Milk, Port Royal, or Upa Upa (has a cinnamon note to it)

Edited April 8, 2008 by Dracoo9

[Mamacat]

My first Chimera experience was with an imp. Creamy, cinnamon buns. Really!

I ordered a bottle right away and when it came it didn't have that same foody quality. It actually smelled quite a bit like Hod but with light cinnamon instead of carnation. When I wear it my husband says he smells almonds and he doesn't like it. I think I can smell a bit of the almond smell, too.

 

I'm hoping age will make it a little more foody. I still like it the way it is but I'd rather have the cinnamon buns.

[suki]

in the imp: oh YEAH- luscious, sweet, resinous and spicy

 

wet on skin: a creamy note mixes in making it even better

 

dry down: like a spiced hot whip cream drink.

 

in all: yep. getting me a big ole bottle of THIS!

 

 

 

[TulaMontage]

Bottle: Sweet geeky cinnamon... it's not got that snap of dry cinnamon.

 

Wet: Snapadoodledo! The cinnamon has matured into a firey red she devil with the power to my my senses melt. Sensual honey gently reins back that wild fire, making my skin smell good enough to lick in the knowledge I won't get burnt.

 

Dry: Woa... I have simply melted into this scent. It's sexy, snappy, firey yet it keeps it's innocence.

 

Unfortunatley my skin absolutly soaks up cinnamon after about an hour leaving a teasing hint of that fire I lust after. There is a little cinny she devil on my shoulder begging me to reapply and I will most deffinatley obey her.

Edited April 12, 2008 by TulaMontage

[donnatron]

Imp: Sweet, honeyed cinnamon. For the longest time I thought there was vanilla in this.

 

Wet: Chimera goes sweet and sticky, like a cinnamon bun. It's almost overwhelming for the first few minutes.

 

Dry: But the sweetness tempers out, leaving a soft, creamy honeysuckle-cinnamon scent in its place. This is a really beautiful scent and it has a soft, skin-like quality to it that makes me smell less like I'm wearing a gorgeous perfume, but more like I just naturally smell like this. It's really beautiful.

 

Throw: Quite strong. I'll put it on in the morning and smell wafts of it all day.

 

Overall: This is a great scent. It's warm and creamy and transitions well from winter to spring. A definite must have for me.

[greenranger]

In the imp, cinnamon!

 

 

Wet, very sweet cinnamon. I hope the sweetness pulls back some.

 

 

Dry, it is still a sweet cinnamon. It isn't foody to me at all. It does seem like a warm scent, though mostly it is a warm environment rather than a fiery aura.

 

-------

 

Coming back to this with more experience with the scent notes, This almost smells like there's vanilla in it. I suspect that what I am smelling is the myrrh combined with the cinnamon and honeysuckle, though I can't pick out any honeysuckle or any floral in this at all. It is still a sweeter cinnamon than I care for; I prefer the dryer cinnamon that I get in Plunder or Tanin'iver.

Edited June 15, 2008 by Aerinha

[akuaa]

a frimp in a decant circle! incredible consistency. thick red syrup. it might just be older, but doesn't matter. it's still potent! a friend suggested this as a good cinnamon scent after i mentioned that inferno wasn't doing it for me. strangely it's so close to saw-scaled viper that this ends up meh for me. i want the extra bits that saw-scaled viper has. it's cinnamon with vanilla/cream (though upon reading the description, there's none of that... except for the cinnamon of course -- though it seems i'm not alone in smelling the cream!). makes me want to omnomnom but i know that's a bad idea. i prefer saw-scaled viper to this.

 

it's interesting that others have mentioned layering snake oil with chimera, but no mention of saw-scaled viper!

[evanescence]

So many people love this, but I can't get past the cinnamon and it's not going sweet on me at all. Throw is huge, and I'm hoping with age it will mellow, or maybe I can layer it with something to soften it. Right now, too much cinnamon for me!

[FandF]

Snickerdoodles!!!!!

 

I don't get a huge amount of cinammon from this. I'm in the almond category or vanilla cookies with nuts. It's foodie and delicious!

[fairnymph]

Light peachy-orange oil. Sweet, rich and foody. Buttery, creamy sweetness, lots of dripping honey, some lovely intense honeysuckle, and warm spicy cinnamon. Not as fiery or as incensey as I anticipated - really foody!

 

More cinnamon, so spicier, but it's not quite red hots. Still extremely sweet and foody. Definitely some tonka and vanilla in this. The honeysuckle note here is gorgeous and true without any hint of soap or powder, and is devoid of any typically negative floral characteristics. It's like it's a foody floral not. I get a little hint of smoky/dusty myrrh, though its bitterness is totally smothered by the sweetness of this blend, and moreso some spicy-smoky copal.

 

This is not morphing much, and most surprisingly, the cinnamon isn't amping into super spicy red hots and taking over the blend. This is still really foody and sweet and rich, in a definite baked goods type of way - and I am getting a little hint of the odd musty powdery effect I get in the later drydown of many baked good scents - even though this is still very wet.

 

I don't think this oil will ever dry, but it's evolving as if it were drying anyway, with that musty/powdery baked goods effect growing. The creamy sweetness and cinnamon - and the way this cinnamon note behaves so nicely - makes this blend remind me a lot of the prototype St.Lucia. This isn't anything I'd consider floral at this point, either, and is more about sugar than honey. And the copal is very light and the myrrh only a tiny bit of sort of soot - not an incensey blend despite the notes.

 

Still not dry, but it not longer seems to be changing. It has settled fairly quickly into a sightly musty very foody blend full of vanilla and tonka to impart that sweet, creaminess to some sort of baked good, maybe a custard tart, with some warm cinnamon sprinkled on top - in fact the cinnamon even becomes a little LESS spicy-hot and more just warm and sweet, with a little bit of honey syrup (reminds me a bit of Baklava, and there's a nuttiness here too), and some extra warmth but no real spice from the copal, and the myrrh's gone. Good throw and longevity.

Edited March 1, 2010 by fairnymph

[Nimthiriel]

Initial impression:

In the vial, it's actually mainly honeysuckle – sweet and thick, with a hint of myrrh.

 

First on:

Wet, it's still mainly honeysuckle and myrrh, thick and sweet.

 

Dry:

After about 10 mins, it's almost an almondy scent – bu there's hardly any hint of cinnamon, which disappoints me a bit.

 

Another 20 mins later, it's still very almondy – don't get me wrong, I'm a big fan of almond, but I got this imp in the hopes of getting cinnamon... Alas, my skin doesn't seem to find this notion acceptable.

 

Finally:

I'm sad to say it, but I think I'll have to pass this one on. What a shame.

[miri]

OMG! *love* wet, it's almost chocolate-coated liebkuchen dipped in cherry jam! As it dries, the cinnamon comes out to play and the chocolate goes away. The honeysuckle sweetens and rounds this off in a non-obtrusive way. Dry, at first, it flickers between a true cinnamon and a gingerbread cookie. I like. Then, later, the chocolate comes back (it's the chocolate note from Gluttony). The cinnamon doesn't leave, and they work soooo well together.

 

I have also discovered that it dissolves the red dye in carrier bags, should anybody ever want to do that ;-) (I had a bag on my desk and rested my wrist on it).

 

I think I'm going to need a bottle of this.

[Stephanie]

Second only to Snake Charmer--Chimera is my absolute favorite!! I love its creamy, resinous cinammon-y goodness. The sweetness is tempered by (what I believe) is the myrrh which gives it a slightly smoky bitter edge--very mysterious! The copal gives it richness. I'm not sure what honeysuckle smells like--but something pretty sweetens it up a bit and maybe that's it.

 

It's hard for me to describe my favorite blends--it's hard to adequately express why I feel this blend is so beautiful--I'd rather not say anything at all than to sell it short.

 

But in any case...this is very rich, spicy and thick. It's delicious! It seems bright and dark at the same time. It's like how Shub-Niggurath is to ginger, Chimera is to cinnamon!

 

And it just gets better with age! My 2004 bottle was to die for!

[brsis]

Initial thoughts: If I can stop thinking of Full Metal Alchemist long enough, I'll take a look at the notes.

 

I know what I'm hoping for from this - a less fruity, darker version of Bakeneko. A beast for the days the kitteh doesn't quite suit my needs. It's that honeysuckle, though... lord only knows how it's going to behave itself... and what if I get the hot sweet cinnamon from Wrath instead of the yummy Christmas spice I associate with Bakeneko?

 

Not to be disuaded, in the imp: Aw yeah. The right cinnamon. Ooh, and with some body underneath - this is a much more confident, sombre animal than Bakeneko, without the kitteh's playful ambivilence. It's got swagger.

 

On the wrist, wet: I just managed to scrape out a drop or two to test, and boy am I glad. That cinnamon isn't behaving itself quite so well on my skin - in the wet stage at least, it's combining with the honeysuckle to give me something sweet and a tad overpowering - but this is sweet, and the myrrh and the copal - is that a kind of amber? (WIKIFU AHOY: No, but it IS tree resin and thus in the same ballpark) - is giving it some maturity and swagger. I think I like this.

 

Fifteen minutes later: Mmm... okay, it IS noticably the same cinnamon from Bakeneko, but instead of being backed up by other spices to form a Christmas mix, it's melding with the honeysuckle to give me a sweeter, but not sugary, note. I'd still say it's closer to Bakeneko than Wrath, although admittedly I've only experienced Wrath at a Meet'n'Sniff (LOL that sounded wrong...) and the myrrh and copal is giving it quite a solid base to work from. The myrrh is very low key and the copal is like amber-lite without any of the powdery/musty/muggy atributes you sometimes get from amber. I only stuck like, half a drop of this on the back of my hand, and it's got really good throw. It's very sensual without being especially sexy, very comfortable and at ease - very cat-like in fact. It's like a big, tough, adorable tomcat all stretched out and snoozing on your bed. It is, in fact, exactly what I'd hoped for.

 

Verdict: BOTTLE ME!

 

Tl;Dr: Myrrh and copal form a low-key and solid base for luxuriantly laid back cinnamon and honeysuckle.

 

EDIT: BUT WHY IS THE CINNAMON GONE???

 

I don't know what happened - one minute, yummy spice, and now... undetectable. It's just myrrh and copal with a hint of sweetness (Sweetness that makes the middle of my tongue burn, hot-spice style, but blame that on the synesthesia). I'd be willing to try another imp and give this another try, but unless it gives out more cinnamon next time, it's not going to be a keeper.

Edited June 7, 2008 by GentlemanCaller

[Scanmike]

I like this one. It reminds me a bit of Port-A-Prince but with lasting power. It has just the right amount of cinnamon and then the amber-like scent comes in. I don't smell any honeysuckle, but maybe that adds the sweetness. After 2 hours the cinnamon seems to go away and a creamy amber scent remains. Not sure if it's bottle worthy since I liked the beginning notes of cinnamon better than the end.

[Esatres]

In the imp: Cinnamon EXPLOSION

 

Wet on skin: Really warm cinnamon, with myrrh lingering in the back, providing a bit of smokiness. Very reminiscent of cinnamon buns, as many have already mentioned. So far, no hint of copal.

 

Drying: Absolutely gorgeous cinnamon. Not dry or sharp. Very full and warm, which can probably be attributed to the myrrh and copal in the back. Honeysuckle drifts in and out, but the focus is definitely the warmed cinnamon. So far, copal is doing okay on my skin. If it is indeed similar to amber, then when dry, I can expect epic failure.

 

1 hour later, dry: Play-Doh. This pretty much proves that anything with amber, copal, or any related resin goes to play-doh on my skin.

 

I can't wear it, but if your skin handles resins, this might be the perfect cinnamon blend.

[stillalive]

Yum! Kind of a sweet, woody smell, but almost foodish. Like the white chocolate raspberry white mousse body stuff, if you've ever seen that... Like a body wash designed to smell like food. Sweet smelling, like dessert, but also a scent that lets you know it's not for eating.

[goblinshark]

Natural cinnamon and something that smells to me like vanilla. I normally HATE AND DETEST vanilla with the power of a thousand fiery suns; however this vanilla is actually really, really nice. It's not cloying or too foody; it smells like a vanilla bean as opposed to some unholy victoria's secret creation. I am surprised to find that I really love this and have added it to the growing list of scents I intend to purchase a 5ml of!

[whimsitini]

Really strange reaction. All those reviews of what a wonderfully strong spicy sweet smell this is made me really excited for Chimera. The reality?

 

In the imp: faint cinnamon

 

On the wand: faint cinnamon

 

On me: *deep inhale* cinnamon?

 

 

Oh well. Have to stick with GP for my spicy sweet.

[OhioSky]

This is one of my favorite BPALs so far!!

 

It smells really heavy and incense-y in the imp, as many of them do to me, but after applying it immediately turns into a sweet but sexy honey and incense with a bit of connamon smell. I adore it! And it's also the longest lasting one I've found.

[vikitty]

Unfortunately, Chimera didn't work any better than The Dodo on me -- my wrist turned pink and itchy.

[jehrichardson]

In the Imp: Faint cinnamon and woods... like cinnamon sticks in a wooden box.

 

On the Skin: Faint candy cinnamon.

 

After While: Faint candy cinnamon, but the woods are back.

 

Verdict: Nah. I don't like cinnamon much. Felt honour-bound to try it as it was a generous frimp (thanks!!). I'll give it another go in a few weeks. Perhaps the situation will improve.

[gnl]

In the bottle: Dead ringer for chai tea.

Wet: Very spicy, more spicy than in the bottle in the first few minutes - it's strong red-hots. But then it calms down to a sorta-creamy cinnamon.

Dry: Same sorta-creamy cinnamon.

Verdict: Expected to like this more than I did. Don't get me wrong, I like it well enough, but there's other cinnamon scents I like a whole lot more and I don't see myself reaching for this over them. I do like it in the bottle, though, so maybe it'll go in a locket.

 

3/5

Edited October 18, 2008 by gnl