Chimera

[juniperus]

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

Bottle: very sweet cinnamon..the sweet of the honeysuckle without the floral aspect.
Wet: more of a floral feel, but still primarily food-y. hints of the myrrh beneath.
Dry: still reminds me of those roasted cinnamon almonds I occasionally indulge in when I take the kids to a ren fest. with a hint of myrrh.
Later: food. and a slight soapy edge to the honeysuckle behind the cinnamon, disturbingly enough. Not for me. Thanks to the lab for the chance to try it on them, however.

[sestina]

heavy dose of cinnamon - so much so that my initial impression was "whoa, yankee candle factory explosion!" but as soon as I thought that, I got a whiff of something soft and sweet underneath. over the next two hours Chimera developed progressively into cinnamon ice cream. and it smells even better on my husband. a yummy spicy cinnamony confection, probably best for the autumn/winter months.

[Dandelion]

Mmmmmmcinnamon. The cinnamon in this blend is good enough to eat - I'm sitting here trying to contain myself and avoid licking my wrist.

 

Very foody. Not for those who don't like foody. I feel like a cookie, or a candle, or the perfect grandmother's kitchen. You know, lots of cookies in the oven, and maybe a cake, and she's going to let you eat as much as you want.

 

Still, I don't want to go around smelling like baking all the time. I think this one may be a room scent.

[gravedigger]

Chimera is delicious. Cinnamon is really the only note I get, but it smells different from regular cinnamon straight out of the jar. It's a lot sweeter - presumably, that's the honeysuckle.

 

When my friend smelled this on me, she said, "You know, I don't think fearsome monsters are supposed to smell like cinnamon cookies. The lady that runs that perfume company has it all wrong."

Personally, I like cinnamon, and I like cookies. The aptness of the name makes no difference.

[Musamea]

In the imp: thick cinnamon and honeysuckle -- warmed by copal

 

Wet: cinnamon, but not of the sharp, burning, Red Hots variety -- the honeysuckle subtly adds sweetness to the blend, and the myrrh and copal warms it up nicely -- you can definitely pick out the individual scents in this blend, but overall it's just a lovely, warm combination… I bet this scent would be amazing layered with the Lab's London

 

Dry: this scent dries down to a sweet vanilla… very like the final stages of Snake Oil, but without the in-your-face sharp phase that the latter passes through… this scent is actually very soothing to me, which I hadn't expected, considering its ingredients and name.

 

Overall: I'd say it's Snake Oil's softer, more feminine cousin. It's a big hit with the gentlemen, too; strangers have stopped me in the street on more than one occasion to tell me that I "smell good, really, really good." *g* There's definitely a big bottle of this in store for me when I place my next order.

[Trish]

First test:

 

In the imp: Sweet cinnamon with a tiny touch of floral

 

Wet: Sweet sticky honeyed cinnamon syrup. I don't like sweet foody scents as a rule, but I also love cinnamon so this is the exception to that rule.

 

Drydown: The honeysuckle fades and the myrrh pops it's head up briefly. Still very yummy.

 

1 hour: Not quite as foody now, but still oh so delicious. Sugared cinnamon (I had to go make some cinnamon toast!) with a warm golden almost buttery almost vanilla underneath it. Is this copal? I like it! The myrrh has gone.

 

1 1/2 hours: The cinnamon is starting to fade now, and while that would usually mean much disappointment it doesn't this time. It's a warm slightly spicy golden soft vanilla type scent. And by vanilla I mean vanilla but better, this is just adding wonderful warmth and smoothness instead of taking over. I must go check out other blends with copal in it. This is what I had hoped the amber in The Lion would be like. In fact this reminds me a little of it right before it went powdery on me. I really love this stage.

 

From there it doesn't change, just gradually fading until it disappears after about 4 hours.

 

I love this. I was always fairly confident I would, but I didn't realise I would love it this much! It would make an amazing room scent too I'm sure.

 

I don't know if I'll get a bottle yet, as much as I love it I'm not sure how often I'd actually wear it. That super sweet syrupy stage could be a little much on a regular basis. But I plan to always have an imp of it at the least.

 

 

 

Second Test:

 

Too sweet. Way way too sweet. It went through the exact same stages but obviously I wasn't in the mood for anything quite so sweet this time. Yes it dies down after a while, but by that time I just wanted it off me.

Edited August 27, 2006 by Trishek

[buzz23666]

wet - vanilla bubble gum - if there is such a thing.

 

Dry - this still stays vanilla but now with a slight hint of cinnamon. I think it's the myrrh that I am amping so bad here. My chemistry seems to turn myrrh into creme brulee. What's up with that.

 

Oddly enough I find this to be almost a "comfort" scent and I am surprized that I like it as much as I do eventhough it is quite food-y.

 

I will have to try it again.

[arachne]

Wow, I love this! I bought it based on nothing but the great reviews on makeupalley. It's everything I hoped it would be - spicy, warm and extremely sexy.

 

Thankfully the cinnamon behaves itself. Cinnamon can sometimes start to smell waxy or like plastic on me, but not Chimera. Oh no, this is sweet, smooth and soft. It's gorgeous on me from first dab, until hours later. I'm so glad I bought me a full bottle of this!

[RaeiNarcissus]

Chimera is a very interesting scent. It starts out very cinnamon smelling, and then slowly, over the space of a few hours, the cinnamon slowly fades and the honeysuckle starts coming in. I've had this on for 5 hours and the honeysuckle now is the dominant note, with the cinnamon just faintly still showing on my skin.

 

Thank you BPAL! I finally have something of yours that is cinnamon that I can actually wear!

Edited September 16, 2006 by RaeiNarcissus

[Precis]

Oh my gosh, this is my very favorite cinnamon oil to date! It doesn't smell too foody or too craft-store-y or have notes that distract instead of compliment (the honeysuckle really works with it). From the imp to drydown, the cinnamon is progressively less in your face and the complexity of the scent really unfolds as time passes.

 

BPAL Cinnamon perfection!

[Ohmaude]

This is my new fave, I'm getting a bottle with my next order.

 

It starts out as strong beautiful cinnamon (not big red gum, but a real natural woodsy cinnamon), and fades to spicy honeysuckle grounded in cinnamon. It is warm, comforting and sexy. I felt very rosy and joyous wearing it.

 

I went to the brewpub with the bf after applying and got smiles from every guy I walked by, and our waitress kept calling me "Sugar" and gave me the eye when my bf's back was turned! This is not a usual night at this brew pub.

 

I'm not familiar with copal and myrrh, and I couldn't make them out, but they blend wonderfully in this case. Yum. Yum.

[SmileCat]

In the imp this smells delicious. Thickly sweet and spicy it's like those honey sticks you can buy from honey venders and old candy shops which are basically plastic straws of flavored honey.

 

Wet it starts to lose that mellow sweetness and becomes more like cinnamon candies. High-pitched, nose-tingling cinnamon.

 

Dry, I have no idea what this smells like because it hadn't been on long enough to even partly dry before my skin started to tingle. Danger, Will Robinson, danger! I wiped it off immediately. Chalk up one more cinnamon sensitives.

 

Shame as it smells so yummy in the bottle.

[Moribund]

Somewhat to my disappointment, I get almost no cinnamon from this scent. In the imp there's a hint of spice, well tempered by the honeysuckle.

On my skin, what touch of cinnamon there is vanishes quickly, leaving the sweet honeysuckle that gets somewhat grounded by the myrrh. Not sure what the copal smells like, though I'm guessing it's the piece that wafts in and out of scent, adding a nice layer of complexity. Not what I was really hoping for from this scent, but pleasant nevertheless.

 

Most scents seem to wear long on my skin (for which I'm glad), and hours later the sweetness of the honeysuckle has almost died away leaving it smelling mostly of myrrh. Still no cinnamon, I guess I'll have to stick to Al-Shairan (sp?) for that.

[supremegoddessofall]

Oh, this is good on me! Honey amps on me, and combined with the cinnamon, this is absolutely fantastic. The copal is adding a darker note, and the myrrh is a nice spice compliment to the cinnamon. Very Christmas-y smelling, but in a warm way, like a mug of cider in front of a fire.

[euterpe414]

Chimera, where have you been all my life?

 

Man, am I glad I got this as a frimp from the lab, I had not really actively sought to try this, but I should have, because this is like my ultimate comfort scent. It smells warm, syrupy, cinnamonny and sweet. Perfect for when I need a big hug, scent wise (like today! hehe) This has amazing throw, as well, and a long wear length. It's strange, how this blend feels a touch foody to me although there are no foody elements really (well honey, but still). Sometimes I get a waft and I think "doughnuts". Weird, but great! I wish the 10mls were still available because I would order one pronto.

 

Yum-licious!

[Analise]

I love the cinnamon at first, and in fact, I bought this because I wanted to try it for the cinnamon, but as it dries on me, I don't get either the cinnamon or the honeysuckle but something that smells a lot like baby powder. Disappointing.

[Iceblink]

Several of BPAL's cinnamons have gone candle-y on me, but Chimera is remaining a nice warm cinnamon cookie, with the honeysuckle peeking out after a couple of hours. Delicious, and also one of the least irritating cinnamon blends on my skin. Myrrh is becoming one of my favorite notes, too--I love how it adds depth and complexity to the simplest of blends!

[Ilex]

Wet, Chimera was really ripe smelling, very rich. It was really good for about 30 seconds... then that went poof. Suddenly it became a cheap, drugstore vanilla candle scent. I'm starting to think that the cinnamon of BPAL isn't going work for me. This had a huge throw, and strong staying power. It also gave me a very bad head ache, unfortunately.

[harmonyfb]

In the imp, I smell...vanilla. Is there supposed to be vanilla in this? It's sweet and thick-scented.

 

On my skin, I'm slapped upside the head with BIG CINNAMON. The throw is enormous - the way it amps on my skin, people across town can probably smell me.

 

After I scrubbed myself down a bit, I'm left with a sweetish scent of cinnamon-incense and vanilla. I don't know how often I'll wear it, but I quite like it.

[stardroptea]

Oh, this i s the first scent I've tried from my first lab order. Also, the first scent I knew I had to have. I bought 5mls unsniffed, I was that sure.

 

In the bottle: cinnamon and myrrh in a large and in charge sort of way.

 

Wet on skin: I started out a little worried, the cinnamon blended with the copal in a way that made me think, I smell like candle wax.

 

Drydown: The candle bit went away! It's spicy and the honeysuckle is a little sharp, but I like it.

 

Dry later: Oh god, it smells like cookies! It smells like cinnamon cookies! It just makes me feel warm and sort of sassy.

 

I love it. I LOVE IT! I have a choir rehersal for It's A Wonderful Life tonight, and I'm wearing it, because it makes me feel like festive.

[The_Merf]

In the imp: This bodes well...a nice warm cinnamon, with honeysuckle in the background, providing a feminine depth

 

Wet: Very sweet cinnamon...but just short of the Big Red phenomenon. It comes off as a very festive scent, and the copal warms the honeysuckle up to give it a bit of an edge.

 

Drydown and wear: The cinnamon dominates this blend and remains very rich throughout. This is a great fall/winter scent. Perhaps I'll try layering this with Hemlock to the get the wintery scent that Tintagel could have been, had it not given me welts.

[SeaLady]

I get a flowery scent in the imp, but not on my skin. Cinnamon! Warm and sweet incense. I like this a lot.

ETA: And vanilla!!! Yum!

Edited November 22, 2006 by SeaLady

[klavierbarrette]

imp: cinnamon/honeysuckle.

skin: the cinnamon comes out more. i don't really like cinnamon. hrmm. time to send it to a friend. too bad, love honeysuckle. but it was a frimp so yeah.

[fiddledragon]

I'd gotten this for my boyfriend, since cinnamon usually stomps all over anything else in a blend on me with its huge feet of harsh spicy doom. But while it is in fact really sexy and cuddly on him, it works on me, too! Wet, it's a kind of foody sweet cinnamon with the myrrh and copal adding tons of depth and warmth. As it dries some of the syrupyness wears off, leaving a beautiful sweet incensy spice. It reminds me strongly of some wonderful comforting food I've had at some point, but it doesn't make me *smell like food*. I don't like the Hello, I Am a Cookie scents, so this is perfect!

 

It reminds me strongly of Chuparosa, but so much better. Chuparosa on me was delicate sweet honeysuckle, which was then tied up and stamped upon by very strong cinnamon. This has the two playing nicely together, with myrrh and copal to add their resiny wonderfulness to the mix.

[myoubi]

WET/ON SKIN: Cinnamon. blasts of cinnamon.

DRY:...and copal. and a touch of honeysuckle. this smells sweet and slightly food-like without being foody, if that makes sense. it's warm and alluring, but in a weird way a little dangerous. This is my I'm-feeling-badass scent

 

a keeper. and maybe, maybe a big bottle purchase. I'll definately refresh the imp.

 

ETA: I've refreshed this three times in the last 18 hours. And not because it was gone, just because I wanted to smell it more. This is definately going to be a bottle. I really didn't expect to like this, but mmmmm.

Edited December 14, 2006 by myoubi