Carnaval Diabolique

[Joyleaf_]

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.

 

2006 Version

 

I was gifted this bottle by a good friend who thought Id enjoy it much mire than her and she was right! The opium smoke and dark musk have a languid feel and the bright citrus and coconut notes are (thankfully) mostly hidden. They only add a hint of sweetness. I can also get a slight floral which Im expecting to be the tuberose. Its a lovely fragrance and my only sadness is that it does not last longer on my skin

[roseus]

So I have realized that if there is more than five or six notes listed my brain gets confused and I have no idea what something will smell like. I think because opium smoke is listed first I thought this would be dark and incense-y. In the decant and on wet it's all pale lemon, almost candy-like at first. After awhile I get a touch of tuberose and other flowers underneath. Then coconut comes out too as well as the vanilla. I get just a whiff of opium. This is really summery and whimsical in a subdued way. Way brighter and softer than I had imagined.

Edited June 26, 2016 by roseus

[tinyvulture]

I never tried this the first time around, but it ended up being one of my favorites and I had to get a bottle. It's a soft, powdery lemon scent. Like Lemon Scented Sticky Bat's gentle, sleepy little cousin. Soft hints of coconut, black musk, and incense mingle charmingly with the lemon. It seems to morph as I wear it, subtly alternating between sweet and sexy. I'm tremendously picky about citrus blends, but I adore this.

[MonkeysInk]

Tinyvulture, I wore this for the first time today and have been planning all day to write how much this reminds me of Lemon Scented Sticky Bat...then I see you had the same thought!

 

The opium smoke scared me, but I ordered it because 1) it's the title figure in this LE and 2) coconut and lemon are my favorites. The opium smoke seemed to take away the sharp freshness of the citrus and the florals, and transformed it into something deeply, softly sexy. It doesn't smell smoky or gritty in the least.

 

I'm going to wear this a few more times before I decide I need a bottle, but I suspect I will. This is a lovely, light summer scent.

[ziggystardust13]

Carnaval Diabolique....

 

Funny story. When the Carnaval returned, this was on of my blind bottle orders. The notes seemed amazing and I couldn't resist. Got my package in, barely gave this beauty a chance, and swapped it. At first sniff - woah lemon. Not really me. Some time passes and I come across the scent description again. I began obsessing a little bit and decided I needed to revisit the Carnaval. So I purchased a bottle off the forum. This go round, totally different story....

 

Carnaval is amazing! I'd put it in my top 5 easy. Wet, its a rush of lemon and opium contending for the spot light. As it begins to dry, all of the other beautiful notes come out to play. The scent turns a little muskier, a little deeper. Wafts of incense emanate from my wrists. The longer it dances on my skin, the more the vanilla and apricot flower come forward. Its sweet, sexy, and always makes me feel happy. What I'm left with is a scent that is evocative of sweet olive, which happens to be one of my favorite scents in the world. Southern gals, you know what I'm talking about

 

I'm so glad I gave this one another chance. This proves to me that a little aging and not being so quick to judge a scent fresh out of the mail box is so important!

Edited October 29, 2016 by ziggystardust13

[joopjoop]

This is such a beautiful scent.

 

It is a soft sexy lemony-citrus blend with just a touch of sweetness from the vanilla and coconut on the one hand and a touch of sultriness from the opium and black musk on the other. I'm not really sure how to describe it - all the notes are clearly present but it is superbly blended and hard to pick them apart once it starts to dry down.

 

The lemon and opium come on strong wet, but then they are joined by the other notes and everything settles down into a fresh, feminine yet very modern citrus floral that is very suitable for wearing all day. The throw on CD is particularly nice - every now I get a waft and think 'what smells so good - oh yeah, me!'

 

I've blind-bottled three of the Carnaval scents and all three have been complex, beautiful masterpieces. I'm planning on ordering more and can't wait for the next act to come out.

Edited February 27, 2017 by joopjoop

[rachelos]

Oh my Gd! I am so glad I came back to BPAL after my hiatus! I don't have words for this right now. It's just beautiful and complex and slightly magical.. There's a menthol-ish spike to it that's maybe the opium lemon combo, and it get's a little buttery from the coconut and musk I think. I'm just floored.

Edited July 27, 2017 by rachelos

[Rouge]

The first note i pure opium, heady and smoky and ominous. There are strong flowers in the background too, like a floral tribute on a grave. The cocunut is more like evil sun cream than tropical deliciousness - the smell of a crowd on a wild night out in summer in a that could erupt into violence at any point.

 

Despite the sinister opening, the bend soon lightens as the lemon flower becomes more prominent. Later it settles back into smoke and musk. A fascinating blend!

[Bassmastadroog]

Going on lemony, but slightly creamy and vanillic (no sour tang) this scent nicely blends into an opium coconut. It's rather sophisticated. Someone earlier said its like a 'naughty Dorian.' It definitely has that vibe, what sets it apart from Dorian is that musky opium. I find that testing from imps (even if I dip the top of the tube on my arm) doesn't give me enough scent experience so I may actually try to look for a large bottle.

[Safyr Drathmir]

I was asked to start posting our CD reviews here, so I'm modifying our format from my original reviews for here, so let's see if it works.

In the bottle: Sweetened Lemon zest with a heavy musk(I almost didnt try it when I smelled the musk, because it rarely works with my chemistry), and a bare whisper of a spicy, floral scent.

 

On me: Sweet Lemon curd with some Vanilla custard and Coconut cream stirred in. On the dry down, the musk and spiced florals combine to get this thick incense blending with the sweet scents.

So pretty much Lemon Curd and Incense. This is probably my favourite so far(as I've gone through twelve bottles and headed for 12+1).

 

On My Son: He got a huge spicy blast of Opium that nearly overwhelmed him, but I asked him to wait a few minutes if he could. He soon got Lemon Curd, and a smoky incense-like vibe. He said it was too much for him, and went to soak his wrist.