Carnaval Diabolique

[yeahbutnobut]

Carnaval Diabolique

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.

 

In the imp: lemon! A very pleasant lemon but with something darker underneath.

Wet on skin: mmm, lemon! This is lovely-it's not like lemon cleaner, but like lemon sherbet! It also reminds me of TAL Milk and Honey.

Dry on skin: oh, I really like this. I was expecting the smell of the blossom of the lemon tree (which smells similar to orange blossom) but I get a gorgeous, almost herbal lemon that to me smells like lemon balm! A smooth, slightly herbal, slightly creamy lemon, with a hint of coconut adding even more of a creamy softness. It reminds me of lemon curd! I can't smell the other components-the musk, vanilla, flowers, but I just love the creamy sweet lemon vibe I'm getting and…I think I can smell a little bit of opium filtering through the sunny lemon scent.

After a while: this sweetens and the lemon moves back gradually. The throw this has is quite amazing. It now smells like a creamy vanilla-coconut resting on a smoky opium musk with hints of the lemon still lingering. I don't smell tuberose or apricot but I think the heliotrope and vanilla have bonded to make that lovely sweetness. It's gorgeous and another opium scent that smells wonderful on me.

There are times when the coconut smells like those toasted coconut sweets or coconut ice, which is appropriate since that's a common fairground treat round these parts. In fact, I do get a feel of funfair food from here, different from Midway, but definitely foody and light, but with that opium musk darkening it all.

Verdict: this is a fantastic introductory/overall scent summing up the CD experience. It starts off bright and zingy, a soft creamy lemon note reminiscent of sherbet inviting you in. then, gradually, the scent starts to transform into a delicious mixture of sweet vanilla, toasted coconut, with hints of florals, all dimmed by the opium smoke and a creamy yet dark musk note. This smells like the sweets and treats you might get at the fair-coconut ice and hints of other sugared treats, some with a lemony flavour, but with that dry, deep, rich opium surrounding it all, and the musk adding a smooth base to the scent. It really is the fun, sweet smell of the carnival turned evil! And I love it. I now need a bottle or two!

Emoticon rating:

If you like this, try: Polyhymnia, Red Lantern

Edited September 28, 2006 by yeahbutnobut

[slave1]

In Bottle: Sweet lemon

 

On Skin: Instantly I smell lemon and sweet cream. Yum! It smells like a dessert, lemon and vanilla crème with a dash of apricot. I love how the apricot and lemon blend, yet you can still smell each distinctly. The coconut adds to the creamy note, oh my it’s delicious! The opium smoke and black musk are very light and don’t darken the scent, they just give it a deeper base that the light and bright fruity notes roll around on. The florals are present but overpowered by the fruits, to me this is a fruity dessert scent for sure. While it is tropical in obvious ways, the dominant feel to this scent is sweets and playtime. It seems slightly childlike and playful. I really like this scent but it isn’t for daily wear. I think I’d wear it for days where I want a pick me up or on my way to a fun adventure. Strong throw and average wearlength.

[Laurel the Woodfairy]

Whoa, Carnaval Diabolique happens all at once, like being thrown straight into the middle of the midway with your senses bombarded from all sides! Lemon and coconut and vanilla...what this really brings to mind is a gourmet version of the pie-toss (trying to hit Xanthe, maybe? ): coconut cream pie, lemon meringe pie, apricot tart and vanilla pudding all co-existing in yummy goodness! I was really wary of the heliotrope, but other than a general sense of a warm bouquet of flowers, I can't tell it's there. This is a fabulously lush gourmand / oriental scent, and Brian really likes it on me.

 

ETA: the heliotrope eventually does show up on the drydown, and that's just never a good thing for me. Well, it was fun while it lasted, but I'm ready to get off the ride now!

Edited September 12, 2006 by Laurel the Woodfairy

[Bagfish]

Carnaval Diabolique starts off as a very zingy lemony scent on me, which is pleasant enough. It then morphs into plastic coconut awfulness in the same way that Perversion and Obatala did. Oh well, I'm glad I got a decant rather than a bottle as I thought I would really like this one.....

[cindyrella]

Wow, this was a truly surprise to me.

Actually I didn't intend to buy this bottle, but I accidently ordered it instead of Candy Butcher, and I'm not regretting it.

 

I was a little scared of the opium smoke and lemon flower, and when I read the reviews saying this is very lemony, I thought I wouldn't like it, but this is beautiful!

 

Initially it smells of lemon, but not the lemon as in Embalming Fluid, June Gloom or Shanghai, this is a much softer and sweeter lemon. The lemon fades away very fast and leaves me with a soft smoky and sweet scent.

It reminds me of Perversion, that has that same sexy scent, I don't know why this has the same feel but it's really pretty.

 

It's so well blended that if I didn't know what was in it, I couldn't say what it smells like.

I think the vanilla and coconut probably makes this sweet, but there's no plastic or sticky sweet scent. The opiums smoke and black musk makes it bit more smoky and dark, but it's not heavy. It's really a complex scent.

 

Overall, this was not the scent I was expecting but it's a beautiful surprise. Sexy!

Edited September 14, 2006 by cindyrella

[Shannihilation]

In the bottle this actually smells like lime to me. Fresh lime. But I'm guessing it is actually the lemon flower. On my skin, the lime (lemon flower?) fades into the background and the opium smoke takes over blending with the vanilla and coconut. I really don't get any floral from this at all, which is fine with me. I like this alot more than I expected to! Definitely a keeper.

[Lorencita]

This is such a morpher! At first it is all lemony and smokey... not too keen on it. I let it settle down and it starts to soften, and becomes very sweet. After that stage it melds with some florals & becomes this incredible scent that needs to be sniffed. I dont really love the scent, but I cant stop sniffing & for some reason I feel this will really grow & become one of my favorites I am so impressed with the CD scents.

[Aredhel]

Rating (on skin): 4/5

Summarised in a word or two: Lemon-coconut!

 

Pre-review thoughts: The musk, vanilla, and coconut sound lovely, and could possibly be fantastic on me, but I know my skin, and lemon and opium are never good things on my skin...

 

In the bottle: Smokey... lime? This smells much closer to lime than to lemon.

 

On skin, wet: Very sweet and sugary, almost candyish. It kind of reminds me of Midway. It begins to change almost immediately, becoming much warmer, and very smooth.

 

On skin, dry: It takes a while (about twenty minutes), but the lemon dies down a touch, and it becomes a midly sweet lemon-coconut with a smooth, smokey musk base. It really is lovely; I just wish it got to this stage quicker.

 

Conclusion/Notes: I'm not a big fan until the drydown, as I don't really care for strong lemon notes. However, I'm quite the fan of it after it dries, so I might yet pick up a bottle of this soon. I'd just have to remember to apply it twenty or so minutes before I want to be smelled.

Edited September 20, 2006 by Aredhel

[LittleGreyKitten]

The lemon, as everyone else has mentioned, comes out most strongly. But where's my coconut? I love coconut, and instead, there's this sort of ultra sharp green scent beneath it, no matter how patiently I wait for it to emerge. Man, I wish it smelled creamy on me or even smokey. But no, there's this green ick happening. Bah. Frankly it smells like I smashed the freshest lemongrass I could find onto my wrist- not very sweet, not precisely lemon, slightly exotic, but very green. I like lemongrass in my Tom Kha soup but not on my wrist, I guess.

 

Not wearable for me- 2 out of 5. It's just annoying when something bloody well SHOULD work and it doesn't; this scent is one, in my opinion, as well as Gennivre.

[Dinah]

Carnaval Diabolique is sticking out its tongue at me.

 

It is a very simple-minded, slightly smokey-sweet lemon on me. None of the others notes come out to play, and that makes me sad.

[Blood onmy hands]

This has two of my ultimate migraine-inducing notes in it... opium and tuberose. All of the other notes are so promising though.

 

In the bottle... this smells like creamy lemons.

 

On me... creamy lemon-head candies, with some other unidentifiable fruit thrown in for good measure.

 

I kept waiting for this to drydown and develop into something more complex on my skin, but this is pretty much it, lol. Creamy lemon-head candies. Sweet and candy-like, with the unpleasant sharpness of lemon. At least I don't detect any opium or tuberose.

[smallvoice]

The first thing that strikes me about this blend is a very bitter orange zest scent. It's still there on my skin, in addition to the lemonhead candies. C'mon opium smoke!

 

And then all the sudden, tuberose attacks. In fact, tuberose and heliotrope team up on me! Ugh, it's making me want to wash it off, and fast. Then the lemon candy comes back and melts all over the flowers... sticky flowers.

 

Coconut, I'm waiting for you. I think the coconut and the opium smoke are hiding from the lemon candy. Either that or they got crushed by the florals.

 

This blend reacts badly to my skin chemistry and it smells just... unbalanced. I wish my chemistry could give me a break for this one. I wanted the coconut and apricot to be more prominent, with a dash of the opium smoke and soft lemony florals in the background, but none of the three even so much as made an appearance.

[korshka]

Quite lovely.

At first, it was very lemony, and I silently reminded myself of lemons ability to take over and hide everything else, but it didn't. On dry-down, the lemon falls back into the background and allows for a lovely, kinda tropical blend to come out. It is smoky, vanilla-y, coconuty, tropical. I think the tropical is the apricot blossom and the lemon flower intertwining.

 

I think I'll keep my decant, but I don't think I'll get a bottle. It's nice, but I don't think I'll wear it all that much.

[Emu Nymph]

I don't know why I didn't buy a blottle of this unsniffed. I got my decanted imp and fell in love with it. It passed the husband test too!

 

It's very fruity and not sticky sweet on me. It's lovely.

[Dinerdulcinea]

imp:spicy, peppery florals

 

wet: a little bubblegum, a little citrus, a little candy, a little floral.

 

dry: nice for while, then a lemon smell TAKES OVER and it becomes very sour for about an hour or 2...then it turns into this gorgeous, well-blended fruity floral. (????) Where did that come from after the lemon?

 

Verdict: The last stage is lovely, but i am not sure I can take the sour lemon stage. *ponders*

[midnight_aeval]

This blend has a few of the notes I love; Opium smoke, heliotrope, black musk, vanilla....

 

But Lemon Flower, tuberose, coconut? The reasons I didn't order a bottle unsniffed.

 

It looks like my brain can sometimes make the right decision! Wet this was all lemon and tuberose. The drydown was a little better, the vanilla came out and mellowed the tuberose which I'm really not fond of (the fresh ones, yes, as a perfume oil, no). No opium smoke, heliotrope or black musk boo on my skin chemistry.

[fairy]

You've arrived at the gateway to the Carnaval, your ticket in hand, the craziness of Los Angeles is fading behind you. As you walk through the turnstile a group of little kids, just fresh out of school, pass you by. They are still wearing their school uniforms and have a box of lemondrops they are sharing between themselves.

 

The lights are bright, almost too bright. You feel that whoever set up the carnaval really wanted it to be warm and inviting but it edges on the side of sinister without meaning to be. But this is the Carnaval, not Carnival, after all.

 

The air has a smoky, hazy, tart feel to it. At first it's dizzying, just like the rides swirling around you. And just when you think you've had enough a set of warm, inviting, peaceful arms reach around you from behind and squeeze you into a hug...one that you KNOW but can't place just yet. You suddenly feel at ease.

 

You get the sense that you need a ticket to exit. Will you be able to get one? At this point in time you don't care if you ever leave. You've felt these feelings before, smelled these smells before, seen these sights before, but where? They're familiar and you realize you were brought here on purpose. You *are* home. The Carnaval is your home.

 

That's when you look down and see the exit ticket in your hand, it's been there all along. An empty box of lemondrop candy is next to you on the ground. You kick it aside and drop the exit-ticket from your grasp, watching it float to the floor. You step forward disappearing into the hazy cloud of intoxicating smoke.

[QueenFae]

Ooooh la la, me likie some Carnaval Diabolique! This is a gorgeous scent, and the description reads like gold for my skin chemistry. Although I'm not usually big on lemony scents, this is predominanatly lemon on me. It's very complex though, and the vanilla and coconut really give this sweet wonderful undertone to the lemon note. It's sort of like Lemon Heads candy with a coconut hint. The opium smoke gives it a sexy, mysterious feel, and turns it from a little girl's scent to a woman's scent. I'm not sure if apricot flower smells at all like straight apricot, but there is a second fruity note in there somewhere. This is great! I love it!

[batsy]

In the bottle: CITRUS! Holy cow!

 

On the skin: Very lemony, floral. The heliotrope, tuberose and amazingly the apricot blossoms really pop on me. Sadly, so much floral gives me a headache. As it's dried down, it's gotten musky/smoky. Reminds me a bit of Nihil, oddly. CD isn't me, but it's a really vibrant scent!

[velvet]

i really want to slather this stuff... everywhere!

it smells like lemonhead candies on me for about 15mins....which isnt bad, i really like those but the dry down is to die for.

the notes are so well balanced it hard for me to pick them all out. certainly there is a hint of sweet coconut as well opium... everything else is hard to pick out.

it reminds me of belle epoque, which is one of my favorites. if i use up my imp i will need a 5ml for sure

[eggplant]

On my left wrist-strong overpowering musty drugstore perfume. Nasty.

 

On my right wrist-juicy candied apricot yum. Incredible.

[sarada]

Before the reviews started to come in, I was hoping this wouldn't be too much lemon and coconut -- but there's such a strange mixture of dark and light, sweet and smoky in this that I didn't know what to expect.

 

It is, indeed, lemon and coconut at first, but smoothed out a bit with the musk and smoky tones. What is it about anything lemony that just dominates a blend so much? Still, I'm enjoying the way that musk and smoke make it a dusky, dark lemon. This feels sophisticated but playful, in a strange way. It's like showing up to a kiddie carnival in a black leather bodysuit with a feathered mask.

 

It lasts much longer than I'd expect anything that lemony to last. I never get heliotrope, which is a scent I really like so that's a shame...or apricot flower either, really. But this could get some wear in the next month as it's festive, a little candy-like and catches the dark autumn air quite nicely.

[abejita]

It does start out with a strong lemon, but that fades very quickly on me. Opium comes out to the forefront and I'm instantly in love. Chrysanthemum Moon began my love affair with opium, now I have Carnaval Diabolique to entice me further. I'll have to second what another reviewer mentioned, this scent is a beautiful play of light and dark. The lemon (subdued, now) and other florals are bright and joyful, while the coconut, vanilla, opium, and musk give it a dark, velvety mystery.

 

I didn't expect to like this one so much, but I'm hooked. This is definitely on my big bottle list.

[Meg]

In the bottle: Lemon, florals and something warm and foody, possibly the vanilla.

 

Wet: Hm, this smells like orange blossom, a bit. It's quite tart and citrusy, but clearly floral. Then the foody vanilla and coconut come out very prominently.

 

Drydown: It becomes more citrusy, and it's delightful floral, really. I get some heliotrope, too, sweet and glittery, a bit resinous. I get mostly coconut, vanilla and heliotrope after a while, with some smokiness from the opium and a citrusy glow. The underlying musk doesn't work so well with the light top notes and something ends up smelling a bit like dirty nappies, eek.

 

Overall: It's a foody floral. The coconut and vanilla mingle with heliotrope and blossoms to make a warm, round, sweet blend. On me the heliotrope is the strongest, with the texture of coconut around it. A rather upbeat blend, light and warm. It's not unpleasant, but also not at all the kind of blend that I'd find myself wearing or reaching for.

[sookster]

Carnaval Diabolique

 

straight sniff from the bottle is very sweet and incensey fruit

 

once applied the sweetness darkens beautifully with the perfect amount of smoke mingling in the background...this turns very floral but in the most fantastic way possible

a modern woman's perfume, if you will...

i get wafts of the vanilla combining with the heliotrope and musk...very faint fruit...gorgeous!!

 

 

this is incredible and i am pleased as punch that i took the plunge on this

blend!!

Edited October 8, 2006 by Shollin