Antonino, The Carny Talker

[Casablanca]

White musk, wild plum, vetiver, black coconut, verbena, fig, and lavender.

 

2015

In my mind, before smelling this, the horror of Antonino isn't his creepy mask or fiery pole, but the verbena lurking in his brew, just waiting to take over and maul the blend with its imposing lemony self. Over time, I think I put Antonino in my cart and removed it four times before finally pulling the trigger; eventually the other notes and the general Carnie lure won me over.

The liquid comes out on my arm lemony yellow. Is it a sign? I'm thinking this when the smell hits me.

Right up front, Antonino is a burst of lemon, like a heavy yellow curtain thrown down from the flyspace to hide all the cool stuff onstage. Despite the obfuscation, I get hints of the plum behind it, trying hard, and almost in vain, to make itself known. When I hunt for anything else, I find a little coconut. That's about it for the wet phase.

Dried, and after an hour at least, the verbena finally steps back but remains a presence. The coconut is gone, but I get a lovely blend of plum and fig with a hint of vetiver. The lavender still hasn't shown up.

 

At two hours, the verbena is gone. I just smell a little residual plum-fig, with a soft, well-mannered vetiver and an eensy weensy tint of lavender. The scent is nearly gone from my skin by now, though.

Edited July 12, 2016 by Casablanca

[torikitty]

Wet: I think the verbena, fig, and white musk work together to smell pretty lemony to me. Overall, it ends up reminding me of Pledge wood cleaner.

 

Drydown: The coconut comes out a bit more. The sharpness from the lemon verbena calms down. The plum rounds out the flavor. It takes on a darker tone.

 

Dry: The vetiver shows up to dry things out. The black coconut and lavender and playing in the background.

[Cali]

Delicious, but also slightly air-freshener-y citrus from the vile.

It's very sweet, and the citrus notes calm down a bit as it's drying; the notes, on me, are easy to pick apart. Glorious sweet fig and plum. Smooth musk, the other notes giving it an attention seeking thrill, but not to the point where it's annoying. Only the slightest touch of vetiver.

 

I like it, I think it reminds me of a LUSH bath bomb. Could it be intergalactic? The blue one with the vetiver in it.
I certainly like it, but unfortunately it's as smooth as a bath bomb in a bath would be, on me. I was hoping for something 'louder'.
Still great though!

Edited January 10, 2018 by Cali