Akuma

[yakiguri]

Devilish temptation, as sweet as sin: blood orange, neroli, and raspberry.

I don't know which fruit it is--the blood orange or the raspberry, possibly both--but it's dragging down the lovely neroli and turning this blend into sweet tarts and public restroom air freshener. Urgh.

[brittanywut]

In the vial: Dark, gritty orange.

 

Wet on the skin: Sweet oranges and raspberries, so much more cheery compared to how it is in the vial.

 

Dry: It's sweet and heavy on the raspberry with a touch of orange, but it's dark at the same time. I love berry scents so this is right up my alley, and I can't detach my nose from my wrist right now.

[ReallyZeb]

In the imp: Strong mixed fruit but mostly neroli

 

Wet on my skin: Woah! Like being hit around the back of the head with a neroli soaked baseball bat! I do like neroli but this is waaaay too strong.

 

Dry: Once it dries I still get too much neroli for the first half hour, but after that it finally morphs into rich real fresh raspberries doused in orange juice, which is lovely. I'm just not entirely sure I want to go through all that neroli to get here

[icarus suraki]

I got a frimp of this with my last order and I was quite excited to try it. It wasn't even on my radar, but the description sounded interesting. So I tried it...

 

Only to find that, on me, it smelled like candy (sugary, sugary, sugary hard fruit-flavored candy, like the red/orange/purple Starlight hard candies) when it was wet...

 

...and like grape-flavored children's Tylenol when it was dry (that or Oxyclean gel, which also smells like artificial grape). I mean, it was nothing but artificial grape flavoring on me. It was so distinctive I couldn't stop laughing, smelling like children's Tylenol. First candy and then medicine. Quite devilish and tempting, oh yes.

 

My skin chemistry hates me, apparently. Lesson learned.

[donkehpoo]

Wet: Orange and neroli.

 

Dry: Almost non-existant on my skin. I was really hoping to be able to smell an orangey-raspberry tango, but all I can detect now is a hint of neroli.

 

 

1/5

[bellumed]

I like all of these notes, so Akuma was pretty disappointing to me. Very faint, even after I slathered it on. Just the vague scent orange, pleasant enough but far too mild.

[Deliciousness]

In the imp: Blood orange and neroli ... oh my, its beautiful!
Wet on skin: This is very sweet. I can still smell the orange, but the neroli is being overwhelmed by a fruit punch smell (must be the raspberry)
Dry on skin: Very sweet orangey fruit punch

At first I really liked this, but am finding it a little too sickly sweet on my skin
Very sad because I do love me some sweet scents, but this one isn't "the one". Maybe I'll try it out again on a different day and see what this does.

[BoneBone24]

Wet: Bonne bell lip balm.

 

Drydown/Dry: Fruity, but not overly sweet or intense in any way. It smells a bit like Starbursts candy, but softer and somehow sophisticated. I have been actively avoiding scents with raspberry (shudder-inducing memories of middle school when everything smelled like BBW’s sun-kissed raspberry all the time), but I’m pleasantly surprised that BPAL’s raspberry doesn’t smell anything like that. It smells a bit like strawberries, only a touch less sweet. For an all-fruit scent this actually quite pleasant and soft. Fluffy, bright, and happy.

[MtMoonKitty]

In the imp and wet on my skin it smells a little like orange cleaning product. It's not horrible but not awesome either. On dry down it takes on a orange sweet tart scent with a hint of what I think is neroli. It's nice but not me. I think it might layer well with something spicy. It doesn't have much throw either.

[Sidhechaos]

I had a suspicion when I read this one it was not going to work well for me I'm not real big on fruity type scents and for some reason raspberry always turns to you funky powdery candy on my skin, such a shame because I liked the name but this one is off to the swap or give away a pile.

[boomtownrat]

Akuma is simple but so perfect for a day in spring or summer... or any day when I need a mood boost. It's a cousin to Mania, at least to my nose, but with no musk. Neroli was one of the first essential oils I ever discovered (thanks to Brian Eno) and it's still one of my favourites. Blood orange and raspberry are also delicious on my skin. I smell like sexy Froot Loops!

[RunnerInPink]

Oh, why hello citrus!

 

Wet: Fruit-tastic. More citrus than anything but can definitely smell the neroli undertone

 

Drydown: A little more neroli a little less fruit. Still pretty fantastic. Not my normal smell but I'm liking it.

[Saffrin]

Imp: Reminds me of orange skin, without the juice smell, with soft raspberry along for the ride. Doesn't smell overly sweet to me, nor tangy. Just... real smelling fruit.

 

 

Wet: Much the same as in the imp, except the orange smells tangy now. After a few minutes, the raspberry falls off.

 

 

Dry: The raspberry hits the nose first, without being too sharp or tangy. The orange has moved away from true juicy, and is smelling a bit candyish now. Kinda wanna nom my own wrist.

It is bright, and happy, without being too fake.

 

 

I have another orange-raspberry scent, from another company, and this one is definitely the winner, being so nice and smooth.

[psychocygnet]

In the bottle: FRUIT.

 

On me: Very, very sweet fruity candy, with a hint of powdery sweetness underneath. I'd love to eat this if it were a sweet and not a scent, but I'm not enjoying it too much on my skin- it reminds me of things that are too sickly-sugary for me to stand, like Dr. Pepper and baklava. Mellows to something reminiscent of fruit-flavored gum.

 

I can see why people would like this- it's sweet, and very bright- but it's really not me.

[theredshoes]

Frimp from the lab.

 

 

In the imp: Bubblegum, candy.

 

Wet: A blast of raspberries soaked in orange juice. Can't smell the neroli, so I think my skin, which amps citrus, is cranking the orange to eleven and drowning it out completely.

 

Drydown: Turns into fake sharply-sweet candy -- Sweet Tarts is about right. I don't know why someone would want to smell like this, really. It also fades insanely quickly on me -- within about half an hour it was almost impossible to smell.

 

Verdict: Glad it was a frimp.

[Teaker]

Single note neroli, no sign of fruit at all. So sad! Lasts about 10 minutes on skin.

[Serena Reverberi]

oh, Akuma is a good one. It’s a very “straightforward” scent, and exactly what it says on the tin: sniffed wet you smell nothing but orange, but within a minute the neroli comes forward and covers it up.Give it another five minutes and all you can smell is the raspberry.

At the end, the raspberry recedes and it settles into a very floral smell backed slightly by the tanginess of the orange.

What I love about this perfume is that, after the initial phase, it stays consistent. It doesn’t morph into the usual base notes (amber, musk) which my skin and my nose don’t like. It is very very floral, however, and it’s not often that I’m in the mood for floral perfumes.

Still, a very good one.

[unxolve]

Without knowing what was in this, I splashed some on my wrist. At first I got a dark, bitter, maybe rotten orange. Not as nice as the citrus from Azathoth, which was a warm mulled spiced tangerine.

 

Then...I couldn't believe it. It changed to perfume-soaked cigarettes. Like if your grandmother smoked and wore chemically perfume and had a big flower-patterned couch, and you sat on that couch. That's what it smelled like. I was disappointed because I was like, if this is the lab's tobacco/smoke note we are not going to be friends.

 

Imagine my surprise when I looked at the notes list!

 

I can see the grape-flavored tylenol a smidge, it's turned a little more fresh/fruity, sort of, but still that perfume-cigarette note hanging out beside it and smothering it.

 

I'll wear it to the bitter end but this was not my jam.

[hammy]

In the imp - A little bit dusty. There’s a green bitterness to it as well.

 

Wet - This is more of the orange peel instead of the actual orange. I think that’s where the bitterness was coming from. There is zero berry, and I’m disappointed.

 

Drydown - Unfortunately, there is no fruit punch in here for me. Not even a berry. It’s a slightly bitter orange peel.

 

Verdict - I really thought this would be a win for me, but I’ve got to pass.

[quickdrawkiddo]

Fruity notes are always iffy on me, but berries seem to work better than peach or apple so I thought it might be worth a try. At first this was a very intense raspberry with a hint of orange thrown in - kind of like I was back in high school and had just slathered myself with B&BW Sun-Ripened Raspberry Which is definitely not an unpleasant way to smell, just not exactly what I'm going for as a supposedly-adult lady.

 

HOWEVER! On the drydown the neroli warms up and blossoms, and it becomes really lovely and balanced. I never did get much of the orange, but that's OK -- the tartness of the raspberry goes so well with the floral neroli that it works great as is. This was a surprise hit on me and it lasted ALL DAY -- I applied it in the morning before work and I could still smell it in the evening when I was sitting on the couch watching a movie!

[Veronica]

This starts off a little sharp and herbal from the neroli, but that burns off quickly leaving behind a light, fruity clean scent. I don't know why but something in this smells like laundry soap to me (in a good way). Very pretty and unexpected based on the name, but not something I love.

[DiesMali]

Blind tested this one, at least at first.

 

In the imp: Fruit, I think?

 

Wet on my skin: Oh crap, that's orange, isn't it?

 

Dry: I've discovered the hard way that while lemon and lime smell amazing on my skin, orange and grapefruit make me smell like detergent and/or Costco's orange-scented cleaning wipes. I can't get much of the raspberry or neroli from this, because all I smell is orange-scented dish soap. Alas, this one is a miss on me.

[lucycat]

This was a frimp from the Lab.

 

In the imp, this is pure neroli.

 

It stays that way on my arm: not quite bitter, very traditionally perfumey. Only on the back of my hand do the fruit notes round it out and add some sweetness.

Neroli lovers, this one’s for you.

[Soupy Twist]

All I'm getting is a faint, plasticky, powdery, artificial orange blossom note, very hard to smell unless I'm right up against my wrist. I had to put it on twice just to make sure there was anything there. Five minutes and it's gone.

[LizziesLuck]

Wet: Soap. Powdery orange. Kind of like what Carnal turned to on me. I'm starting to think maybe orange is no good. I'm not a fan of neroli either, but I'm not detecting it in this.

 

This is very similar to Carnal on me. Powdery orange. Darn skin chemistry!