Carnaval Diabolique

[stellans]

Straight from the twisted alleys of Dis, by way of the City of Angels: opium smoke, lemon flower, heliotrope, tuberose, black musk, vanilla, coconut, apricot flower.

The lemon flower is very much in evidence on first application, but it doesn’t amp up unbearably on me, as citrus (especially anything lemon) is apt to do. The musk vanilla and the various floral notes all combine nicely to make this a very bright and happy blend, and while I was hoping for a smoky or incense-y blend, this is nice on me. It smells like a Saturday one spends outside in the yard, or at the farmers market, or at a...carnival! The outside part, though, not any of the tent shows...

Good throw, medium stay...3 of 5 stars for this nice blend.

Edited July 10, 2011 by stellans

[kelpsoda]

Wet: Lemon! Not artificial, but basically lemon juice. I was afraid of this happening. . .

 

Dry: whew! lemon has backed off a lot. I get a bit of coconut and vanilla, with maybe some florals. A happy, lemony scent. I like it.

Edited May 24, 2009 by kelp

[Andrea912]

While this is definitely lemon, I'm lucky enough to have the coconut, vanilla, and black musk come out and take away that citrus bang of lemon; nice and summery soft.

[donnatron]

Imp: Lemon candies and opium.

 

Wet: Lemon drops! The martinis I refuse to drink because every time I am near one it inevitably winds up knocked over in my lap. Definitely a hint of booziness here.

 

Dry: Nice. Sharp, sweet, candied lemons over a darker, more sinister base. Still, it is very light and the lemon throws the most. I Can smell a sort of resinous base under the lemon but only if I'm diligently sniffing.

 

Throw: Mild.

 

Overall: This is a great oil to kick the carnival off with. It's light and fun with a really strange base. Sort of the first step in a very long and weird journey.

[crebbsgirl]

The lemon and coconut are at the forefront during the wet stages here. This is bright. As it settles, the heliotrope comes out and adds a golden floral vibe. The musk is very faint, but adds a bit of depth to the blend. Overall this is pretty sunny, with an edge.

[WidgetAlley]

Bottle: This is weirdly faint in the bottle to my nose. I definitely get a soft and sugary lemon, the utterly delectable licorice-and-vanilla scent of heliotrope, a tiny bit of coconut, and maybe the lightest curl of opium smoke way down there at the bottom. It smells really good, it's just very, very light.

 

Wet: The oil is a bright, bright yellow, which is super-cool. At first blast this is all lemon flower and vanilla, soft and fluttery and much like a lemon meringue, but after a minute a sweet and creamy coconut and the lovely heliotrope emerge. I get just a hint of apricots and no smoke, musk or tuberose at all. It is indeed sunny and cheerful, but I wish I got more of an edge from the smoke.... oh, there's the smoke and a bit of the musk. They give it a darkened feel, a little bit more sinister. It's making me hungry for pie still though!

 

Dry; This fades incredibly fast on me, which is really too bad. In just about half an hour, I get a lingering heliotrope-laced coconut-vanilla scent that I quite like, but which is very hard to smell. Admittedly it's a terribly time of the month to be testing scents... I am on the fence about this one. I think I will stick it back in my box, cellar it for a few weeks, and try it again at a more hormonally accommodating time. Right now it smells delicious, but just isn't grabbing me the way I'd hoped.

[Leopard403]

Oooooh. *shudders in delight*

This is sweet, smoky lemonade on my skin. Not a Pledge-y lemon, but so real and super-tart it makes me pucker. And how does the lab get its opium smoke note to smell so real?

The florals dance in the background and I don't get *any* vanilla, but oh baby, this works for me. Just lovely.

[AlarmAgent]

In Bottle - Lemon candy, very sweet and not at all floor cleaner-ish.

 

Wet on Skin, First Applied - Still lots of sweet lemon, a little bit of coconut...just the tiniest speck. Mostly smells like lemon candy though, very nice. At this point it smells quite a bit like Whitechapel to me, or maybe even the Great Sword of War.

 

Dry, on Skin - It really improves as time goes on, the musk and the opium smoke make an appearance and deepen the blend significantly, making it much less candy-sweet and a lot more like a musky lemon. Really, the musk becomes a bigger player than the lemon for me, and it's more a musk-with-a-citrus-zest. I really enjoy it at the end here, and it doesn't take too long to get to this point. The coconut is not very strong at all, but that is okay. I'd buy a bottle or a partial, that's for sure.

[Monster]

Ok, this was given to me in a recent forum purchase. I loved it so much I bought a bottle that day. I'm reviewing what's left of my imp

 

In the imp: Sweet lemons.

 

Wet: A BEAUTIFUL lemon note, slightly sweet, not at ALL like cleaning fluid...this one is very wearable! The tuberose blends with the lemon flower beautifuly and the opium smoke keeps everything from going too girly and pretty.

 

Dry: The coconut note comes out a bit more as this dries and the musk blends with the opium smoke creating a sort of lemon incense sort of smell.

 

Overall: THIS is how you do lemon. Everything in this blend is so so well-balanced. When I first sniffed this I knew it would rocket up to my top 5. A wonderful CD scent, not to be missed at all! I can see this one being popular with lots of different noses

 

[Tess]

In the bottle - Oh, this is glorious! A smooth lemon with musk and opium, with just a touch of the apricot flower. Smooth and just sweet enough, with a darkness lurking in the background. So lovely.

 

Wet - The opium has a bitter bite to it right now.

 

Drying - Just like in the bottle, only with a softer lemon. It's very, very faint, however. My skin is eating this right up.

 

Dry (2 hours) - It's so faint, but so GOOD. The coconut came out and mixed with the scent in beautiful ways. It still has that smooth lemon and the musk, although the opium has faded.

 

Overall - So NICE, but so FAINT. : /

[Ravenclaw79]

Wow, I got a weird read on this one... wet, it was very dry and a bit cologne-y. As it dried, it went to more of a wood smell, wood mixed with something herbal. Later, it still smelled like wood, but sweet wood, mixed with something dishsoap-y (lemon flower, I assume). Not for me, that's for sure.

[jennnina]

unfortunately, on me, this goes from ZOMG LEMON when wet, to ZOMG SMOKE when dry. with nothing in between. i was really hoping for some coconut.

Edited October 13, 2009 by jennnina

[emily2531]

This starts out with a zesty lemon flower, but that soon fades and what is left is a sensual velvety oriental-like scent. It reminds me a bit of Shalimar, but without the patchouli (which to me can smell very pungent and earthy). So this has a lighter softer feeling, but it still has some depth from the opium smoke and musk.

[cinderfallen]

This is coconut lemon verbena with the sweet tuberose rounding off any harsh edges without actually entering the scent itself. The smoke and incense is very subtle and tinges at the edge of the blend.

 

Specifically, the lemon flower is the lab's litsea cubeba, aka May Chang, so people who have problems with straight lemon might want to try this. Soledad is right--this smells very much like a velvet Oriental, with the bright lemon flower in contrast. It makes sense! The City of Angels is a very bright and sunny city, and the Carnaval shrouds it in a little opium and smoke.

[tajana]

Wet: Lemon and apricot flowers pop out immediately, along with a jumble of other stuff, including heliotrope. It's sweet, light, vaguely powdery. It smells a bit like Lolita, but with a hint of bitter opium smoke that makes it a little more grown up.

 

Dry: Lightly flowery and citrus-fruity with smoky and creamy undertones from the coconut and vanilla. No one note dominates, the end result is a cohesive perfume. It's well balanced, and problem notes like opium and black musk don't go off and dominate the scent like they're wont to do with me. It's a smooth, feminine smell, neither too tart nor too sweet. It's not very potent, though: not much throw to speak of, even though I slathered it on. It fades fairly quickly, too.

 

Overall: It smells pretty, but not that memorable. I was hoping for a more pronounced tuberose note, and for a touch more coconut. Maybe on someone else's skin it would be better. Opium is a bit bitter and black musk is powdery on me, so this scent would probably have even more personality and punch on someone whose skin does well with those notes.

 

[heathercaley]

Just gorgeous!

 

I love lemon on me, and this does not disappoint. When freshly applied, it's lemon that's touch smokey with a bit of coconut hiding behind it. The coconut isn't mounds coconut, it's just a little creamy. As it dries down though, the coconut kind of hides away and the opium stands out a bit more. There's also a bit of the floral note making an appearance. I'm scared of this floral note!! Go away! I want more lemon!!

 

It kind of goes back and forth a little bit between the lemony note and the floral note, but overall it's a beautiful lemon blend with just a touch of sexy opium and a dash of cream! Love it!

[CiaoBonefish]

I got it as a sniffie in one of my lovely bunny surprises and decided I wanted to wear something CD today. I took out sniffies of Carnaval Diabolique and Mme. Moriarty and smelled them both. Surprisingly enough I picked Carnaval Diabolique as it smelled more interesting to me.

 

In the decant it smelled like lemon, and not the dishwasher detergent lemon either, but something fresh that made my head go zing! I could smell something slightly deeper underneath as well.

 

On my skin the lemon is even more powerful! But I love it. It's so refreshing, and coming from someone who isn't really a huge citrus fan that really says something.

 

For the first five to ten minutes it remains that same glorious lemon BUT then it morphs. More than any other scent I have ever tried. I'm getting a lot more of the opium smoke and musk now along with creaminess that can only be coconut and vanilla. I can't really smell the flowers per se but I can tell they're mixed in. The lemon is pretty much gone I want to say. I don't know if my nose is playing tricks on me saying it is there or saying it isn't.

 

What a morpher! I must say I love it though. I'm going to pick up a fresh bottle and hopefully the lemon will last longer then because my sniffie was two years old I believe. Overall a surprisingly lovely lemon opium smoke musk vanilla coconut scent that is truly unique!

 

[damonkitty]

It seems that I usually like scents most when I first put them on and then start to dislike them as they wear for a while. This scent was the complete opposite for me. I was hit by a strong lemon or what I thought smelled more like lemongrass scent initially that was a little too astringent for me. I was worried I may have to wash it off, but I went on with my morning and when I got to work I started to get a lovely mix. I can't really explain it fully. It was not foodie or floral. It was a pleasant and clean scent with maybe a touch of spice or musk. It dries down beautifully so I am glad I kept it on to see how it evolved with my chemistry. It is a keeper .

Edited May 12, 2010 by damonkitty

[tailoredshirt]

Okay, something is going on with my skin today, because it has been eating every scent I've tried on. *sigh*

 

Anyway, I loved this scent while it lasted. It started off lemon with some sweetness in the background. Soon the lemon burns off a bit and becomes sweet lemon floral, then floral with something creamy-sweet underneath - the vanilla and the coconut. It's sweeter than I normally like, but it's nice!

 

But 1.5 hours later, the scent has faded a lot. I get some musk now, and it's contributing to the skin scent vibe. But I'm thinking this disappearing act is due more to my skin chemistry right now than the lasting power of this blend. I'll have to try it again sometime in the future because I might like to get a bottle.

[SophieCedar]

Wet: Mmm.. smoky, lemony, heliotrope, musk. I wish I got more coconut and vanilla, but this is probably working the background.

 

Drydown: sweeter, as the lemon has gotten juicier. I can smell a bit more vanilla and the opium smoke curls are delicious. I'd have to say... the whole CD collection has been knocking my socks off.

[pandorasmuse]

In the decant: Kind of woody, and darkly sweet.

 

Wet: Smoky and citrusy, with a hint of florals.

 

Drydown: Lemonheads all the way. Something in it seems to burn a bit, too. Maybe the smoke? I haven’t had trouble with any of the other notes. The burning sensation is not going away, so I think it’s best if I wash this off now…

 

All in all, this is blazing Lemonheads on my skin.

[grrrlennyl]

Carnaval Diabolique

 

On: Sweet, dirty, smoky musk with some flowers.

1 hour in: This smells like dirt and musk on me now.

2 hours in: Dirty and flowers.

3 hours in: A soft floral. Vaguely soapy.

Overall: This isn't very interesting on me.

[RhinestoneHousewife]

Smells very floral in the bottle and when first applied. Then it dries a bit and smells super lemony. After settling in the florals come back out, unfortunately I don't get much of the coconut. This isn't spectacular at all on me but I can definitely see how this would smell amazing on people who can wear white florals.

[mymymai]

ITB: It smells like a spicy man's cologne. I get the smoke and musk, and a bit of the heliotrope and lemon. I smelled this a few times before trying it on because I wasn't sure if it would be me.

 

Wet:Lemon, apricot, smoke, heliotrope, and vanilla bringing up the background. Much more feminine on my skin.

 

Dry: Refreshingly lemon apricot + vanilla and coconut. The flower scents are in the background, making it a slightly more sophisticated scent. Lovely!

[stellamaris]

This is a mystery to me, it starts out for me with the same lemon as Crib Girls, then promptly takes a hike and is so faint, I can barely smell anything.

Much better in the Zocket, as it's just the amazing lemony topnotes.