Chimera

[summer]

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

This is absolutely dizzyingly wonderful streight out of the bottle. Rich, warm cinnamon and drool-worthy wet sweetness. It reminded me a bit of Snake Oil, but more red, and the sweetness was not really of the vanilla variety.

As it dried, however, the wet, sweet cinnamon smell faded and the spicy undertone that emerged reminded me very much of Old Morroco. It has that same almost animal-like pheromone scent that I detect in Old Morroco. The cinnamon is still there, but overall it's a more thick, warm, body-heat type of spicy scent.

Very nice and definitely sniff-your-wrist-constantly-throughout-the-day worthy, but, like Old Morocco, I find that it's a tad overbearing -- something about that rich spice just doesn't compliment me very well (even though I adore Snake Oil and can't live without it).

[OdetteOdile]

Oh, this is so wonderful. Cinnamon sweet and milky. It could have been called bliss. So desserty-yummy.

 

I ordered a bottle.

[lixolux]

its late october, we just built a firepit and are about to light a bonfire outside, the stars are out finally after days of clouds and storm....chimera matches tonight so perfectly crisp cinnamony and resiny - nighttime chai bonfire time! i love it!

[minilux]

Wow! This smells so freakin' good, I don't even know what else to say about it. And I have the lab to thank for it, because I would never have ordered it since I'm allergic to cinnamon. It's amazingly delicious without crossing the line into extreme foody sweetness (if that makes any sense). I think I'm going to have to get a bottle of this, and venture onward into the realm of cinnamon scents.

[any_old_actress]

FIRST SNIFF: soo yummy!!!

 

WEARING IT: smooth, rich cinnamon & honeysuckle. this scent is so warm and inviting and cozy!!! i'm in love! it's not overly foody and it has such a regality to it. almost has a vanilla quality to it that is so appealing.

 

VERDICT: i'll be ordering a larger bottle!

[Scylla]

In the vial: Sweet, sweet cinnamon. How I love cinnamon fragrances!

 

Wet, on my skin: Drat! The cinnamon fades away INSTANTLY and all that is left is a honey-like sweetness.

 

On drydown: Pretty much the same as wet. Very sticky sweet, although not exactly foody, if that makes any sense! I guess I was expecting the "oomph" of Three Witches paired with the sweetness of, say, Dragon's Milk. The sweetness is there--just not the oomph!

 

I think I'll keep my imp, but will probably layer it with Three Witches for the oomph factor!

[Splendid Molerat]

Ah, crème brulée...

 

Specifically, Chimera reminds me of the mango-ginger crème brulée I had several years ago. It was so good I wanted to roll in a shallow pool of it.

 

This also has some of the albumin/fresh sex quality of O. I need to mull over getting a bottle of Chimera.

[Ishtar]

Ooh, Chimera, where have you been my whole life? Why did I wait until today to try you? Will you marry me?

 

I have little to add to the very well-written reviews already posted, but I just needed to say that I am completely, utterly in love with Chimera!

 

It is interesting to see how people compared it to several other blends, as on me it smells exactly like Dragon's Milk with a dusting of cinammon. Which to me means my absolute favourite BPAL of all times, only better. I am in awe

 

I'll have a few gallons of this, please

[wolfie13]

Chimera smells amazing in the bottle - I had high hopes!

 

But my body chemistry amps up honey (as I've mentioned in other posts), and all I end up with

is the honey sweetness. No cinnamon, etc. It's not as horribly cloying as O is on me, but still not

right for me.

 

 

I actually love the smell of honey and still hope to find the bpal blend that has the right (small) amount for me!

[FireInCairo]

Oh my God... Chimera is lovely. Cinnamony...creamy.... YUM! This reminds me of a big tray of Cinnabuns...but better.

[Northernminx]

Sweetly spiced in the bottle, lots of cinnamon, but not spicey cinnamon. Rather this was sweet, almost gingerbread and molasses at first with a touch of spice. It dries down into a warm buttery, sweet scent and lastly the honeysuckle peeps through. Lovely, warm, foody, and one of the cinnamon oils I DIDN'T have a reaction too thankfully.

[glampyre]

Chimera

 

is absolutely divine! It's a deep, dark, spicy scent, slightly lightened up by the light-sweet of the honeysuckle.

 

I love Old Morocco (Wear it all the time!) and can now rotate this in on days I'd like to smell just a little sweeter.

 

This will fit nicely into my collection as a big bottle.

[Falathwen]

I was hoping this cinnamon blend would not make my skin burn - it did not.

For the first minute or so after applying Chimera, the delicious cinnamon cookie scent pops out. Almost too quickly, the incense notes blend in along with a sweet floral in the background which I would not have guessed to be honeysuckle without reading the notes.

It takes a little while to figure out how I feel about this blend, but I keep smelling my wrists and feeling warm and content. This scent is smoulderingly sweet rather than fiery…it is making me hungry for spice cake or cookies yet manages to be rather sexual as well.

It grows sweeter and sweeter as it fades and I could have sworn I detected amber, but Hypothermia’s post above about Copal solved that mystery. The end note is like O, but spicier. It last several hours.

[luxuria]

Wow. SOOOOO glad I ordered a 5ml of this unsniffed.

 

It smells very much like my single note Vanilla Bean wet and in the bottle, oddly enough, though with a slightly spiced edge.

 

It loses the vanilla smell but maintains the same creamy, smooth "vibe" if you know what I mean. Comparisons to Dana O'Shee seem crazy but actually fit- I got a Dana "vibe" from my Vanilla Bean the first time I tried it, so it makes sense. I definitely wouldn't call it light, however, while Dana definitely qualifies as a light fragrance. This is very cinnamony but not a spicey, fiery sort of cinnamon. A soft one but still maintains some depth. I really, really, REALLY love this.

[Macha]

I ordered this imp with the greatest of expectations. I've done pretty good with my orders so far. I hear tales of people ordering eighteen imps and only liking one, maybe two. I've been pretty lucky, or maybe I just have a better understanding of what I do and don't like. I was pretty certain Chimera would be a hit. I love cinnamon. I love honeysuckle. I love myrrh. I love copal. What could possibly be bad about this fragrance?

 

In the bottle: This smells like cinnamon, but not a particular sharp or spicy cinnamon. The myrrh softens the edge a bit. It's sweeter than I expected. Much sweeter. It's not a desert sweetness either, but a floral sweetness. I don't smell the copal at all.

 

Wet, on skin: Remember that scene from Auntie Mame (the movie) where Mame (Rosalind Russell) is visiting the future in-laws of her nephew Dennis? They serve her rum daiquiris made with loads of honey, and when she takes a sip she scrunches up her face and tries to say something nice: "It's so....sweet." That's how I feel about this. I honestly hadn't expected it to be anywhere near this cloying. This is the first fragrance I've tried with honeysuckle, and I'm starting to suspect my skin LOVES honeysuckle.

 

Dry, on skin: It would not be accurate to say that my skin has amplified the honeysuckle scent and left cinnamon, myrrh and copal behind. Rather, this scent has become a true chimera, neither goat, snake or lion, but a bizarre combination of all. I can at least acknowledge the artistry of the blend, for while I can recognize the influences, I can't really say it smells like cinnamon anymore than I can say it smells like honeysuckle. It smells like chimera.

 

Conclusion: I may try this again one day, but I didn't really care for it. I never thought I'd say that about a cinnamon scent, but there it is. I think I'll blame my body chemistry, because empirically it is still sound like a a beautiful combination of scent notes.

[Andromedii]

Oooooooooooo...I'm so in with CHIMERA right now it isn't funny!!! It smells so utterly lovely on me!!!!

 

I didn't think this combination would work on me, but WOWZERS!! A beautiful, magical, light, sweet, happy, fluffy....I don't exactly know where to place it to give you guys an idea, but it reminds me of an innocent young girl at a fairground full of lights, nibbling on cinnamony cotton candy, skipping along to the next ride, a carousel of pink and yellow ponies...

 

In the imp, the oil just smells sweet, no cinnamon or other scents.

 

On me, the honeysuckle flowers are full of fresh, rich, sweet nectar, but not too sweet, with a bare edge of a citrus that shine clearly through, and on top of that, a bare hint of cinnamon. I'm not sure what copal is or what it smells like, but it complements the other scents very well. I think of it as a pale pink-yellow scent.

 

I have to get a 10 ml of this one. No question.

[requieminblack]

First sniff out of the bottle- Spicy bubblegum!

 

After 10 minutes- Oh wait, that's not bugglegum...maybe that is the Myrrh and Copal I am smelling? The cinnamon scent dominates with touches of Myrrh and Copal. It's like Mexican Catholic church incense that someone dumped a load of cinnamon sticks into.

 

After 30 minutes- Seeing that I almost like anything with cinnamon in it, I am loving this. The spice has settled down and now the resins are really coming out. Sweet pure incense resin. I don't really detect any of the honeysuckle in this but maybe it is what is keeping the resins so light and ethereal.

 

Summery-Yummy. Chimera is a Midnight Mass in Mexico followed by a big feast of Chicken Mole Tamales.

[rhubarbbear]

i almost ordered chimera months ago, but didn't for some reason. in the interim i found out that my skin plays up even non-existant cinnamon, so i figured it was for the best. but i couldn't resist swapping for some chimera after i read the reviews!

 

oddly, my skin does NOT take the cinnamon and run here. instead, there's something VERY sweet and floral (honeysuckle?) that my skin apparently likes even better. unfortunatly, it kind of gives me a headache. i think i just can't do super sweet

[shelldoo]

wow i didn't get cinnamon at all...i love cinnamon,

 

anyway it is a rich heavy scent i get alot of honey smell, and some myrrh no honeysuckle and cinnamon. it has a similar feel as o to me, unsure why. but anyway i love it it is a beautiful rich thick scent

[Gin]

Dear me, this is delicious. Cinnamon with a dash of milk and honey. This, to me, is very much like Dragon's Milk, but with cinnamon instead of cherry. Absolutely delightful.

[Penance]

First sniff:

 

This smells somewhat similar to Sugar Cookie (and I do mean somewhat) for me...very cinnamon sugar sweet. I definitely get cinnamon and a honeysuckle note that's very heavy on the honey sweetness, but there's also a light touch of myrrh in the background. I can tell now that this is going to be too sweet for me because smelling it on an empty stomach is making me queasy, the same way sweet foods do when I'm really hungry, but I'll try it anyway just in case it pulls a quick change on me.

 

Wet on skin:

 

Something in this is just wrong on my skin and, as much as I hate to say it, I'm 99.9% sure it's the honeysuckle. For some reason, on me it smells like plastic and it's making me nauseous. I don't normally have a problem with honeysuckle, but there's a first time for everything.

 

Dry down:

 

The cinnamon has really intensified, which is nice, but not enough to save Chimera for me. I can still smell the plastic note in the background and, combined with the sweetness of this blend, it's really turning my stomach. It's most likely my skin chemsitry that's to blame, which is a shame because I wanted to like this.

 

The bottom line:

 

Something in Chimera hates me and it's made itself known in the form of a pounding headache and an upset stomach, so this is going to have to find a new home.

[kmasden]

Sooo funny. When I first started bpal I thought I couldn't do cinnamon. Felt it overpowered, but now I love it in everything (as opposed to cloves, which don't like me!). This is great. I'm not a huge fan of O, Snake Oil, and Dana O'Shee...they all share a common scent for me, which Chimera also shares, but is saved by the cinnamon. I think this is a beautiful, sexy, powdery scent with a hint of cinnamon sweetness on me. I might add that it has incredible throw. Not one I can apply any closer than an hour or two to worktime because people smell me down the halls!

[velvet]

this is very spicy while wet on me and i like it

a lot of the sweetness fades out and im left with a very nice subtle cinnamon.

i was really suprised to like this one

[Sheila]

This was a giftimp from the lab. Thanks--I'm glad I got to try it!

 

I love myrrh and copal, but I don't like cinnamon. This started off as pure cinnamon, but the sweet, slightly-floral drydown was lovely. If you like cinnamon I think you'll like this.

 

It's not for me though; off to swaps.

Edited November 2, 2005 by Shollin

[autumnviolet]

wet: cherry and formaldehyde. Let's try again-ok, cinnamon, but real cinnamon-I smell cinnamon bark with a bitter note and myrrh and sweet.

on me/dry down: wow. Cinnamon an caramel.

later: actually gets stronger on me as it goes on. Warm, interesting sweet caramel and cinnamon.