Chimera

[Shollin]

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

First sniff: Loud cinnamon and sweet almond.

Wearing: Mmm. Delicious sweet almond and slightly less-loud cinnamon. Ooh, this smells edible. I like. Very much.

[fragrantgrasse]

Chimera on me: yum!

 

I thought I had reviewed this much earlier because this was one of my first imps & one of my favorite scents.

I adore what the notes do on my skin: creamy, rich, sweet, light cinnamon. I get absolutely no irritation from this cinnamon, maybe the honeysuckle or copal softens the effect but it evolves into something so warm and comforting and not at all foody.

 

Chimera is a scent I reach for daily and I have a bottle on order since my imp is almost gone. It also blends well with Bpal perfumes....I like it with Sloth for instance....and especially any blend with vetiver in it.

 

[quinctia]

Wow, wet and dry, I smell the cinnamon, mostly. After it's dried, especially, I feel like I smell like a Big Red gum wrapper. Which isn't actually too bad to me, it's nostalgic almost. I chewed nothing but Big Red gum from Junior High through High School, and it'd generally be a stick in the morning and one after lunch.

 

I obviously like cinnamon.

[wickedgoddess]

Wet - Cinnamon, more red-hot than brown.

 

As it dries it becomes a lovely honey cinnamon, still red-hot but sweet. I get the occasional whiffs of copal but it doesn't linger around. I really don't notice the myrrh either. This is a lovely scent, and I will hang on to the imp, but it is too close to Sin to buy a big bottle of it.

 

On the wickedgoddess scale of 1 to 5, with 5 being best, this rates a 3.

[JazzieCazzie]

Ordered an imp based on the notes ... immediately ordered a 5 ML which should be forthcoming soon ...

 

This is just amazing, and happily despite the heavy cinnamon, I didn't have any problems with red marks (though even if I had, I would have sucked it up just for the sheer delight of this one).

 

After the initial hit of cinnamon fades a bit it turns to sweet cream soda, maybe a vanilla ice cream soda? Fizzy and delicious ...

 

Very strong throw from this one all day which only makes it even better. I think this would also make a great lotion!

 

On a scale of 1-5, a definite 5. Can't wait to get the big bottle!!!

 

REVISITED AND RE-REVIEWED MAY 2013:

 

Purchased a bunch of imps and bottles, some new to me, others ones I no longer had but had liked in the past. This review comes from one of those Lab imps.

 

IN THE IMP: Almonds. Sweet, hot (heated, not spicy-hot) cinnamon-covered almonds, like the ones they sell at the fair.

 

Dabbed on wrist and in crook of arm.

 

WET: Yes, I get the cinnamon but I get foody-cinnamon, not spicy cinnamon. And, still, for me the prevalent note is almonds, even though they're not apparently IN this blend. It reminds me a lot of Eclipse and Salome. I am guessing it could be the myrrh and eve the honeysuckle that provides that creamy candylike sweetness.

 

DRYDOWN: This is a blend that, to me, is identical from the first sniff of the imp to the scent when first applied, all the way through every stage of the drydown. Almonds, rolled in sweet hot cinnamon.

 

OVERALL: This is a divine scent but it confuses me, because no matter how much my brain and eyes tell me that it's not an almond blend, that's still what I get. Not that there's anything wrong with that! I am no longer getting a "cream soda" vibe, no fizziness to it, no lightness. Just a strong, sweet, marzipan-almond deliciousness. I think it's really a cold-weather scent, for me. And very nom nom nom.

 

On a scale of 1-5, a 4.2.

Edited May 8, 2013 by JazzieCazzie

[rainbow]

This smelled of cinnamon, sugar and milk on me. So, it was a sweet and creamy cinnamon scent- like a cinnamon latte, with lots of cream and sugar (but without the coffee, if this is making any sense at all). Though this is certainly a cinnamon scent, it definitely has a sweet, rather than spicey feel to it, and great for anyone who likes foody scents.

 

So, the redux is sweet and creamy. The cinnamon keeps things interesting.

[yeahbutnobut]

Chimera

 

In the imp: cinnamon! Me likes cinnamon very much! There's also a resinous, slightly sweet background.

Wet on skin: ooh, this is interesting…it's quite soft, in fact. The cinnamon isn't very strong here, but, it's lovely and like the real ground spice. There's a dark depth here, thanks to the resins.

Dry on skin: mmm, lovely. It doesn't have much throw on me but there's a slight sweet honey like floral scent-must be the honeysuckle. I can also smell the myrrh there, adding it's thick, deep, sweet scent. The only problem is that it is really faint on me…

After a while: oh yeah, that's more like it. The scent has warmed up, the throw's improved greatly, and the smell is wonderful-a warm, gorgeous cinnamon myrrh scent, with a golden resinous touch-I'm not familiar with copal but I'm assuming that's what it is.

The cinnamon fades over time and the scent then turns almost Snake Oil like! Mmm!

Verdict: this is another lovely BPAL cinnamon blend. At first I was worried my skin ate it up, but no, it then warmed up nicely to make a mysterious spicy-incense scent. this smells delicious and sweet, with a dark side. The resins back up the cinnamon nicely. I'm not sure if I'll get a bottle yet as there are loads of other cinnamon BPALs which I love and this scent is slightly reminiscent of Eclipse and Snake Oil, but I will consider getting more Chimera another time because it's wonderful.

Edited June 28, 2005 by yeahbutnobut

[OriginalWacky]

Bottle (Imp): Sweet with a little spice.

 

Just On: Oh yummy, sweet cinnamon candy scent. I am loving this.

 

An hour or two later: Oh, this is a lovely sweet cinnamon spicy beautiful scent. Even if it were to turn rancid now, I think I'd buy 10 ML just because it's so freaking wonderful.

 

Around 6 hours: Drying down to an even more beautiful sweet bit of spice.

 

12 hours: Barely there sweet beautiful goodness.

 

Overall: I'm loving this scent. Cinnamon, sweet, some spice, it's perfect. Hit the high bottle list almost immediately, and stayed there.

 

After reading other reviews: Hmmm, so the honeysuckle is what sweetened this up so much? I did get a hint of redness in the cleavage, but I slathered this on right out of the shower, so duh. I was in a hurry, getting ready for an interview, or I would never have put it on directly after getting out of shower or bath, I *know* better, especially with my ultra sensitive skin. But I'm still getting more of this one!

[Ajila]

Wet this was pure yumminess, cinnamon and creamy buttery vanilla. When it dried the vanilla changed to sweet almonds . I have to admit that this is what I imagine layering Dana O'Shee and my Dragonfly Blue Sugar & Spice would result it. There were moments of play-doh, but I didn't care this was so good. This is the first imp I've tried that from the moment I put it on to the moment it disappeared I've loved it and it's been an absolutely must buy more now blend.

[Aredhel]

Rating (on skin): 5/5

Summarised in one word: Cinnamony

 

In the imp: Sweet, very sexy cinnamon!

 

On skin, wet: If I didn't need this wrist, I would be devouring it by now. This is absolutely gorgeous. Cinnamon is the dominant note, of course, but the honeysuckle sweetens it just a bit more. Something is keeping it just this side of foody, which is great.

 

On skin, dry: If I sniff my wrist any harder, I'll sniff off skin.

 

Throw/strength: This has a strong throw, but only lasts about three hours.

 

Conclusion: A creamy, sweet cinnamom? Yes, this is love.

Edited December 15, 2005 by Aredhel

[komakino]

Initial Impression: Right after application, it smells of cinnamon and cookie dough. Very sugary and lovely.

 

After Wearing It: Still sugar and cinnamon, it hasn’t changed much from the initial smell. With time, it mellows out and becomes a bit warmer and more complete but cinnamon and sugar continues to be the main theme.

 

Final Impression: It’s a very nice and warm smell, perfect if you like cinnamon and the smell of freshly-made cookie dough. I love it, it makes me think about being warm and cozy and eating apple pie warm out of the oven.

[korshka]

I'm not real happy with this one. All I can say is while in the bottle it was sweet and spicy, once on my skin it was all cinnamon. It was overpowering of red hots.

[emzebel]

Chimera is an absolutely luscious, playful, sexy combination of cinnamon, raw honey, and vanilla. In the vial I just want to lap it up...

 

I have had mixed luck with cinnamon scents, so I was a little nervous about Chimera, and applied sparingly the first time...I needn't have bothered. It did not turn candy on me as I feared, but stayed a light sharp spice note mixed with the honeysuckle (which may just have become my favorite floral note) and the other notes...

 

I want to try it out a few more times before deciding on whether to get a bottle, but I think an imp will need to be a constant companion...

[Tess]

Let's go firey scents! Need a pick-me-up right now. =B

 

In the vial - Oh, I like this! Sweet cinnamin and... something. I can smell the honey and I THINK that's the copal peaking out. NICE.

 

Wet - Yeah, that's the copal. Super yummy and sweet.

 

Drying - The cinnamin's coming out stronger, although the honey and copal are still the strongest notes. This is like candy on me!

 

Dry (1 hour later) - I can see why people say this is like Big Red gum, although I happen to really like it. It's a spicy cinnamin with just that hint of sweetness in the background.

 

Overall - I really do like this one, although I'm not sure if I like it enough to get a bottle of it. I'll at least keep my imp to use up and see how others react to it. It helps that the honey and copal rather clung to my skin after the cinnamin wore off. =B

[~AmusedMuse~]

My Impression: This is a cookie dough with almonds, kind of the play dough thing going here on me...Seems to have staying power. Nice enough but I believe it needs a home where it can be better appreciated.

[Caltha]

Chimera

 

Chimera is one of my BPAL favourites so far. I love cinnamon and I love edible smells, and Chimera is definitely an edible, spicysweet, yummy smell. The cinnamon turns a little bitter on me and reminds me of bitter almond, which gives it a sort of marzipan touch. Speaking of food, it smells like gingerbread dough, apple pie and spicy, juicy cake. Makes my mouth water...

Edited September 6, 2005 by Caltha

[QueenFae]

Oh my goodness, I never thought that I would be able to replace Sugar Cookie with anything, but Chimera just might be the ticket. It's Sugar Cookie's little sister; lovely, sugary cinnamon with a milky, honeyed base. Absolutely divine. Maybe even a little better than Sugar Cookie because it's not so overpowering. It's softer, creamier. What a beauty, cinnamon lovers, here ya go!

[Miss Lynx]

I first tried this one at the Meet'n'Sniff, and had the most unexpected experience of it disappearing on me completely within about two minutes. I'd read about people's skins seeming to just drink up a particular scent before, but never had it happen to me. And it was too bad, because I liked what I smelled for those first few moments. At the suggestion of the person who wanted to swap it, I tried it again, putting on more this time in hopes that it would last longer, and it did, long enough that I decided that yes, it needed to come home with me. I did find, that time, that as it dried down it smelled like cookies, which was odd given that it doesn't have any foody ingredients in it apart from the cinnamon, but I'd also smelled so many different things that day that my nose might have been confused.

 

So today was my first time trying to out in a more serious way, and remembering its disappearing tendency, I put it on fairly heavily, as I need to with The Lion, which it's actually fairly similar to. At first sniff it was cinnamon overkill -- a lot like those candy cinnamon hearts. But that began to subside as it settled in a bit, and soon a lovely, glorious, resinous depth began to come out... Copal! Oh, copal, how I love thee. As I've mentioned elsewhere, that's one of my all time favourite scents, and it melds beautifully with the cinnamon. No cookies this time, just warm spicy incensey goodness.

 

Unfortunately, while that was a lovely development, it wasn't all that was happening. My usual tendency with perfume oils is to dab them in the crook of each arm, and then rub each spot with the wrist of the opposite arm. This usually works pretty well -- both the crook of the arm and the wrist are pulse points, and the scent lasts longer that way than if I just put it on my wrists, because it doesn't get washed off when I wash my hands. And within a few minutes, that inner-arm spot where the scent had been applied was burning. Everywhere the oil had touched was red, and while if I kept my arms straight it wasn't too bad, if I bent them enough for the skin to touch itself, it felt like I was on fire. Yay cinnamon oil. :/ If I hadn't liked the scent so much I'd have washed it off, but as it was it sort of like "It burns! But it smells so good! But it burns! But I don't want to stop smelling like this! But...!" Self-preservation warring with nosegasm.

 

However, I am pleased to say the redness and burning has mostly subsided now, about 20 minutes later. I can even bend my arms again. And the scent is still lovely... Warm, firey, spicy, resinous, rich and deep. It is a bit like The Lion, but I think I actually like it better. The amber in The Lion was a bit too light and powdery, and I wanted it to have more depth and substance to it - this one has that. It's what I wanted The Lion to be. I'm not really getting any honeysuckle from it -- that note scared me off initially in the description, as I was worried it would be too sweet, but the floral note is barely there. I smell mainly just the cinnamon and the resins.

 

So, Chimera is very definitely a keeper for me, and quite possibly a big-bottle prospect. But by all that's holy, I am going to be more careful about applying it to areas of delicate/sensitive skin in the future!

[Freyja Lux]

Sweet, spicy... I'd sip if it weren't for the floral aspect. Absolutely delicious, and *perfectly balanced*. The cinnamon doesn't seem too strong, but really adds that kick to the whole formula.

 

This perfume is genius... a big, sexy, genius!

Edited August 20, 2005 by Freyja Lux

[greywind]

In the vial: light, sweet cinnamon.

 

Wet: The cinnamon is there, but very light. I'd actually like more spice. This scent is very sweet, all milk and honey, but for once I don't mind the sweetness. I may actually grow to like this. I've never had a sweet scent that didn't become cloying on me, but this stays put in a very pleasant fashion instead of swelling to gagging proportions.

 

Drydown: This certainly lasts, since I can smell it the next morning after having bathed. The initial drydown was very pleasant, sweet and spicy with a lovely play of resinous notes in the background. Unfortunately the resin didn't stay, and this scent is reminiscent of oatmeal cookie dough on me. It's certainly pleasant, but not my style. I'm very grateful for the opportunity to try this blend, because I've never encountered a sweet scent I could tolerate for very long before. My scent horizons have been broadened by Chimera, even though I won't keep it.

[sihaya09]

Mmm. The similarities to Dana O'Shee are striking. There's the same honey-creaminess that's so soothing and comforting, but amped up with a dose of cinnamon. This isn't as firey as the description would have you believe-- instead, it's a lovely, foody autumn blend.

[Brianne]

In the bottle:

Sweet and warm like vanilla!

 

On me:

I agree with Effluvia! This is Dana O'Shee with more kick! I like Dana O'Shee myself, but found it to be too light for me. Chimera solves that problem. It's got a nice kick of cinnamon but cinnamon isn't the main note on me, and that works out really well in this. The honeysuckle comes off warm and sweet, not as sweet as just plain honey, and I don't find it foody sweet. It's creamy and smooth though, and these two notes mix together to make a sexy, slinky scent. I definitely love this one.

 

Final note:

Bottle for me. No doubt about it.

[imaginepageant]

In the vial: Bubblegum with a tiny sprinkle of cinnamon. It's Double Bubble, but softer.

 

Wet: A tad bit more cinnamon, but still extremely bubblegum. More like the original flavor of Bubble Tape now.

 

Dry: The cinnamon is getting stronger on the drydown, but this is still nowhere near the hot, fiery cinnamon I was expecting, and hoping for. It's far too sweet and candylike.

 

An hour later: A lot more cinnamon has come out, but still... I'm getting an overall feel of bubblegum. It's also strangely reminding me of Snake Oil for some reason.

 

Overall: I don't hate it, but I don't like it, either. I don't like the taste or smell of bubblegum very much, and there just isn't enough cinnamon in Chimera to save it. It's already been swapped.

[voodoobaby]

In the bottle: Snickerdoodles! Very sweet and cinnamon-y. The cinnamon is sharp, but works well with the sweetness. The myrrh is the only thing keeping it from smelling totally like a dessert.

 

Wearing: Mmm. I never thought I would like something so foody, but this is incredibly yummy. It's not just foody, it's sexy-foody, with the spiciness still tempering the sweetness. If I were a guy, I would be all over a girl wearing this. Definitely one of those "skin scents".

 

Later: Doesn't seem to change much. Still delicious. I smile whenever I catch a whiff of myself.

 

Overall: I think this is going on my top 10. Not my top 5, but the top 10, nonetheless. Also, while it lasts about an average amount, it stays really strong throughout the whole time, which is what I've been looking for in a scent. Wonderful!

[Muppetk]

I swear, this is exactly Dragon's Milk Lite. The same gorgeous sweet resinousness (I guess Myrhh + copal = dragon's blood to my nose) mixed with Sugar Cookie, only not as rich and pervasive. This might be a good thing. I find the scent of Dragon's Milk is so strong it interferes with eating. (Though really, if I want to force myself to stop eating, that one is good for it.)

 

Overall: I like it!!