The Temptation

[Ceasg]

An expression of love, adoration, and desire, of beauty that transcends mortal desire and piques the interest of hell itself: attar of rose, calla lily, palmarosa, peach blossom, wisteria, rice flower, and black musk.

Even though the rice flower interests me and is such a rarely-used scent, I never would have picked this out for myself.

In the imp it almost has an astringent quality. Not bad, just very herbal.

Wet, it starts out as the same. So strange.. almost smells like Noxzema. I think I smell the attar of rose and perhaps the black musk. Acrid.

Dried, it's a very pretty and subtle scent up close, but my skin apparently likes the calla lily and so I have a lovely, billowing aura of calla and peach blossom around me for several hours. The rice flower makes it go slightly powdery, but not in an unpleasant way. Despite the first notes, it's a gentle smell, one that I might equate with my mother or grandmother.

Since this has similar qualities as Cottonmouth for me, I don't know if I'll buy a big bottle, but I'll keep the imp.

[The_Merf]

In the imp: This smells like cherry cough syrup--like the rose attar mixed with some sort of booze-tinged note. I have no idea what it could be.

 

Wet: I now get the peach that a lot of people have been talking about, and it is in combination with the rose. After just a few minutes, there's some lily too.

 

Drydown and wear: This does go soft very quickly, and dries down to an herbal peach. It's very different from what I smelled in the imp; I don't get any of the rose/cherry notes at all.

[hushmesilent]

Straight up nectarines. Mike called this one 'sexy', but to me it's more of a relaxing, feminine scent. (Mike says: Which is sexy...) It makes me feel very calm. On the skin, the musk comes out and a few florals appear.

 

If this was a color, it would be white and orange and cream.

[sedona]

This was a frimp from the lab

 

First sniff from the imp this is a sweet floral. On application the first note I get is rose with a classic softness behind. After about half an hour the peach surfaces and remains the strongest note and doesn't change until this fades.

 

The lab's peach can be cloying on me or go to air freshener glares at Fae but this one I'm keeping even though it fades fairly quickly.

[CrazyPretzel]

In the imp: peach, very sweet.

 

Wet on me: mild peach; I can't smell too much else...something sort of starchy.

 

After a few minutes: Gentle musk, and just a little bit of peach.

 

Drydown: A very pretty, soft, musky peach.

 

There doesn't really seem to be a lot going on with this, but it is pretty. It seems to be fading now, though; whether I keep it or swap it depends on how much longer it sticks around.

[Severuslovesme]

The Temptation is a lovely floral. Wet it didn't seem like anything special, but once it dried the peach notes really came out and created a lovely scent.

[dcmo]

Pretty much only get the Peach Blossoms, with a soft musk scent underneath..which surprises me because normally I really amp rose and lily. It's soft, gentle, creamy but does have throw. I can smell it wafting up from my arms as I sit here. This is a very feminine, pretty scent which goes well with the end of summer day today. I really like it, and can see the comparisons to Tamora and Fae.

[fireflower]

This is really a very delicate and pretty fruity floral. Thankfully I don't smell the attar of rose very much, but every other note is present. The black musk is underneath it and keeping the oil something I would want to wear on my skin rather than something I would rather burn, like The Hanging Gardens turned out to be. This doesn't turn to a commercial shampoo smell like some of the other florals I've tried, either. I like it and would probably steal my mom's bottle for formal occasions.

[Shollin]

First sniff: Appropriately, I find I cannot say which note is sweetest there. It’s a swirl of soft fruity musky florals.

 

Wearing: Warm peach fuzz and gentle musk. Very soft and sensuous.

[heathercaley]

I got a frimp from a swap and wow.. this is very very lovely!! Super soft and fruity with a floral base. Very very light. I will have to slather this one.. it is so light and sticks very close to the skin but it is so pretty... Peaches and rose.

 

Mmmm.. lovely...

[hkhm]

imp: peach blossoms! this reminds me of a slightly fruitier version of aglaea.

 

wet: peach and wisteria and musk. now this reminds me more of the cup of death.

 

dry: this dries mostly peach but there are hints of the other florals and the musk. adding a bottle to my next order.

[starwild]

Got this as a lab frimp. It's a soft, lovely floral with a hint of fruitiness and something almost like grain underneath. The peach is not overpowering, and it's not too sweet on me--and I amp sweet fruit, so that's saying something. It's a seductive scent, but in an innocent and unselfconscious way.

 

Luscious and yummy

[Reaver]

The Temptation

Ars Amatoria

 

A while ago, I went to France. For once, further into the country than just Calais to pick up cheap bottles of Jaegermeister. This blend reminds me of that holiday. Walks in the country through the white flowers and light grasses, eating ridiculously fresh peaches from the local town market and getting sticky peach-goop all down my front. It’s slightly more fragrant than peaches, pulling me more towards peach chupa chups lollies. Peaches and cream. Sweet, sugary and floral. Clean and fresh. Innocent and girly.

 

Conclusion: While it doesn’t suit me at ALL, it’s a really excellent blend, and beautiful.

 

7/10. I hope I can find someone to give this imp to that will love this honest, trusting oil like it deserves.

[sadtomato]

I love this!

Swapped for a partial bottle without ever having smelled it before and was somewhat iffy about the peach because i'm not usually a fruity scent kind of person, but i'm glad i took a chance on this one, it's so lovely.

in the bottle it's very soft and subdued, i was kind of worried it wouldn't have much smell at all and i'd have to really drench myself in it to get anything, but such was not the case.

it wears well and has lasted long.

on my this is a lovely, light floral that doesn't make me sneeze and isn't overwhelming and has a faint, juicy peach undertone i don't find too fruity or overwhelming at all.

the florals and fruit blend perfectly into a very feminine and sophisticated perfume.

a keeper i am sure i will be wanting more of when the bottle runs out!

[Laurel the Woodfairy]

The notes here sound really lovely and have piqued my interest as well as hell's. Mmm, a light, pretty peach note comes out first--reminds of a gentler Katharina. This is a light scent that requires some slathering. On next slather, I can detect the wisteria and the barest hint of rose. The peach is still the most noticeable note. This is a very pretty, light spring scent, and I will use up the imp, but it doesn't have enough throw for me to buy a bottle.

[fairnymph]

In the bottle: Sweet, woody-dry, floral.

 

Wet: A tiny bit less sweet and more floral. But I don't like the floral notes in this much. The only notes I'm picking out that don't turn me off are the rose, lily, and black musk. The other florals I'm finding heady and cloying.

 

Dry: Oh, it's much nicer. Softer and less cloying - instead it's now warm and comforting. Those notes I do like, especially the musk, have taken over for the most part and this has settled into a well-blended scent.

 

Summary: Light, softly-vanilla sweet musk. Truly amazing how this has morphed! Low throw, weakish lasting power.

 

Good if you like vanilla - sadly I don't.

[savage_rose]

Beautiful floral, but after a few moments it has faded away. Sigh.

[suki]

in the imp: a sweet fruit-floral blend.

 

wet on skin: i'm getting some gardenia, maybe a tiny bit of lemon flower.

 

dry down: good lord- my skin ATE it!

 

in all: a *very* light spring and early summer blend, good for warm days and hand holding. if you have my kind of skin chemistry, (whatever THAT is) carry the bottle around with you or SLATHER it on to hold it for more than 3 minutes at a time...

 

 

 

 

[greenranger]

I'm reviewing this because I tested the imp, and I feel like I ought to write something...I don't have anything interesting to say about this one, though.

 

This was a frimp. It wasn't something that I would have picked for myself, especially since I usually amp rose.

 

I actually didn't amp the rose in this one, but, it didn't help much. On my skin, this is a muddle. A muddy muddle. I can't pick anything out, but, the scent doesn't strike me as anything interesting the way my skin is presenting it.

 

Swap pile. Hopefully it will tempt someone else.

[dluszcz]

Before reading the description, I thought this must be full of apple blossom. I'm guessing that it's the peach blossom I'm detecting, and not much else. Sweet and fruity with a lingering sweetness, but not a lot of throw, and not very long lasting.

[Indigo78]

I had this as a bottle at first, which I swapped away without reviewing a couple of months ago. I just discovered an imp in my collection, and want to give it the review it deserves.

 

In the imp: Deluge of peachy-floral sweetness with undertones of lily. Green ones. In fact, it has this blrgh-detergent-get-me-outta-the-cleaning-products-aisle horrificness when I first apply it, and if it weren't for a shy whidper of that creamy-floral quality I've grown to love in other Lab creations, I'd be a'scrubbin this one off.

 

Then it "sets". After 5 minutes of burnoff time, all is well.

 

The peach turns realistically tart and juicy, and the florals are an afterthought that neatly balance and ground this in an unexpected way.

 

My only qualm here is the wear length: An hour and that's it. Show's over.

 

Despite the hyper dry down, I really do like The Temptation. The imagery of its namesake is gorgeous, and Beth's execution of it is striking.

 

*Edited to revise my early impressions. My nose knows more than it used to.

Edited November 18, 2010 by Indig0

[Iceblink]

So faint I can barely smell it, but it's a light peachy scent on me. Aglaea is what I'd compare it to. The wisteria isn't making it go powdery on me, which is a nice change.

[LauraB]

Blimey! How did I miss this one? I've had the imp for ages and I don't remember testing it at all - I'd have thought I'd remember something as gorgeous as this!

 

This is a sophisticated perfumy scent in which a fruity peach note is prominent but it is so much more than that. Black musk is an iffy note but here it behaves very well - there is musk in this but it stays close to the skin and doesn't dominate. I love this and will add it to my favourites list.

[gingiemay]

Wet in imp - Roses, lilies, peach blossom and musk.

 

Wet on skin - Lilies and peach blossom, very faint roses and musk. This smells very floral and pleasant.

 

Dry on skin - Just lillies and peach blossom, almost no roses. Very faint musk. Sweet and floral.

[mylogicsaysburnsendmeaway]

This was a beautiful, ultra feminine floral scent that's just not me.