Carnivàle

[Rhowan]

Bright, intoxicating, hectic notes masking a twisted, corrupted core: sweet wild berry, spicy carnation and heliotrope layered over deep amber and musk.

In the bottle: Sweet sugar and nail polish remover- wtf?

Wet: this smells just like my skin except with a hint of nail polish remover.

Dry down: I am starting to get some "spicy" florals but I c an't get the smell of paint thinner out

Conclusion: After about 45mins. wearing this, I get a floral soapy smell. I would think that my nose is off but this is the 2nd time trying to wear this. I am really bummed Edited February 10, 2006 by Shollin

[cupide430]

Carnivale

 

Trying the 2004 version. This started off as candy sweet berries with a hint of something foody behind them. As it dries, the carnation seems to be coming out. I'm not sure why I waited so long to try this (I've had this imp for ages). I definitely like it a lot more than I thought I would. This is a candidate for wearing again. A pleasant surprise.

[knudbrox]

I really wanted to like Carnivàle. It was one of the few girly-sounding scents that started out well on me.

 

At first, it starts out really good -- kind of warm and spicy and a little sweet, with all the amber and musk coming out with just a hint of the carnation. It stays like that, too, for a few minutes. A little sweet but pleasantly non-girly.

 

But after less than ten or fifteen minutes, the sweet berry comes out, the carnation turns very floral, and the musk -- which was previously balancing the froofy aspect -- runs off and hides. All that remains is a sweet, sweet floral. Probably other people will love that, but it's to the swap box for me.

[Brianne]

I can't believe I forgot to review this! I tried it back when it was rereleased! I'm retrying it now for the sake of reviewing it because I obviously forgot to

 

In the bottle:

Very musky and heavy in an incense like way

 

On me:

After reading over the previous reviews it seems like most people got generally the same thing of spicy berries and carnation over a musky bed. And I WISH I got that. I really WANTED to get that. Alas, I am with the handful of people who seemed to get various odd reactions to this scent. My skin chemistry is clearly just not working with this one, even though it doesn't list any notes that I find to be a problem on my skin (except amber which tends to go powdery on me, but doesn't in this - I might actually prefer if it went powdery rather than what it's doing on me now).

 

It's a very HEAVY scent on me. Heavy in a perfumey/incensey kind of way. There is no bouyant berry or carnation in this for me. It's just a heavy generally perfumey smell. I *do* smell berries in there somewhere - they are there, I know they are there. But they seem so buried by this perfume smell that they don't come off as spicy, juicy, or fruity. It's kind of like when you smell an exspensive perfume that lists a fruit in it as one of it's notes. So you know it's in there. But when you put it on, you don't exactly smell it in there, it just kind of smells like perfume.

 

The berry that I am smelling is dark and surrounded by a cloying floral. Which in turn is surrounded by a heavy incense.

 

Final note:

It's too bad this didn't work on me, I love the notes - it's just in this they don't work on me for some reason. It's too heavy for my tastes, but if you wear this and get what *most* people are getting, I have no doubt it would actually be quite nice!

[slave1]

In Bottle: Berry candy

 

On Skin: Oh… I like this. At first it reminds me of the candies Smarties and Sweet-tarts. That has to be the heliotrope and berry notes. The berry is dry and powdery, not drippy and overripe. The carnation is also in the front, a note I generally don’t like, but here the other notes sweeten it so I can handle it. During the drydown, the amber and musk come forward and darken this girly candy coated scent. Very interesting and it fits the lab description so well. It’s all happiness, cute and sweet and then the dark corruption lies at the base. Personally, I liked it better before the darkness but it was also a more generic scent at that point. Now it has many more levels and intrigue, but it doesn’t quite go with my chemistry as well. The carnation also develops more, which is bad for me. Yes, loved it at first but I think the carnation has ruined it for me.

Edited February 22, 2006 by slave1

[Naamah_Darling]

Hmm. Oh, my! This is sweetly berry/floral without being cloying. It's slightly peppery – I can definitely smell the carnation. I like it! Quite refreshing! I can't really wear florals, though, so let's see if it's repulsive on.

 

Oh my goodness. The carnation comes leaping right out, and the amber is a rough blast of golden warmth. It eats the berries and worries at the heliotrope. This is nice, but very strong and almost harsh. And there's an aggressively powdery note to it that might be a dealbreaker if it persists. Yes, now it smells like makeup taken off with baby oil. That's . . . icky.

 

This is really beautiful at first, but then it just gets dirty, and not in a good way. On extreme drydown it's almost tolerable, and just becomes a sort of pleasant carnation scent. Sadly, this isn't what I'm looking for, so out it goes.

[filigree_shadow]

Musky and kind of spicy and green, but I don't get berries. The amber is nice, though.

 

This is an interesting scent, but I'm not sure how I feel about it yet. There's a bit more carnation than I was expecting, and it smells just a little bitter. It gets a little powdery after an hour or so.

 

I think I actually like this, it's just so different from what I was expecting that I'm a little thrown off balance.

[poisonapple]

I got this in a swap. This is one that I am not sure on. In the bottle to me..it smelled like cherry cough drops. My nose can't really pick out anything else in the bottle.

 

But I have to try it. Even If I can't stand it in the bottle I have to at least wear it once. It went on berry minus the cough drops, t hank the gods. Then after a few minutes it went berry musky. It is actually kind of nice. This is one that will ride the fence a bit.

 

I'll have to wear it a bit more to see if it is a keeper. I don't love it, but it is a really interesting scent. Kind of twisted. guess that is why it worked in the Noir set. It is like evil berry musk. 3/5 simply because I don't think I "get it"

[Ryvre]

In the imp: Very sweet and fruity. It smells like berries and lollipops.

 

On me: Why, oh why, must my skin amp carnation then make it smell like something rotten? It smells like carnation gone bad, with some nice berries underneath.

[bifemmefatale]

This is a "Christmasy" scent to me, red berries and spicey clove from the carnation, with the heliotrope giving it that bubblegummy softness. On the drydown, something becomes resinous and incensey-the interaction of carnation/musk/amber methinks--one of the dark musks tends to go resiny on me.

 

Verdict: Nice, smells as advertised, but not for me. I don't really fancy smelling like a Christmas candle that often. For heliotrope blends, I prefer Haunted Place and Eclipse so far.

[bites_the_sun]

In the vial: Bubblegum. The pink bubblegum in the blue and yellow wrapper that they used to sell at our corner shop in the 1970s, to be precise. Ooh, nostalgia.

 

Wet: Ooh, pie. Freshly baked, just out-of-the-oven fruit pie. And flowers of some description. With a hint of powder.

 

Dry down: H'ok, this is where it becomes interesting. The generic fruit pie has turned to berries tempered with a drop of something slightly warmer, spicier and resinous - the amber and carnations, I presume. It's bright and sweet without being tooth-achingly saccahrine, warm and resinous without being heavy or fierce. It's not Carnivale the HBO show, which I imagine as smelling rather bleak - dustbowl poverty overlaid with the scent of sequinned costumes drenched in cheap perfume and traces of old, exotic incense; but rather encapsulates the helter-skelter swirl of light and colour of the traditional fairground.

 

Damn, I wish this was still available. I'd snap up a bottle of it, no question.

[Diana]

In the bottle: berries. fruity something or other.

 

Wet: waxy smelling, berries. Like berry potpourri and berry scented candles. And berries. The heliotrope is kind of berry-smelling to me too.

 

Initial dry: Oddly enough, this starts to smell like ecclesiastical incense. But fruity. It's almost like a very dry frankincense infused by wild berries.

 

Later drydown: It still smells like berry candles + church incense, but it smells a little less like it may contain frankincense, but rather like it has a lot of dark resins. It has a dry spicyness to it, most likely the amber + carnation combination.

 

This is quite funky. It's not what I expected it to smell like, but it's nice. If you like dark scents with a twist, you should hunt some of this down & give it a try.

[13bodies]

I won this in the raffle.

 

I didn't order this when it was available because I was afraid it would be berry-licious. No worries, it isn't. In the bottle it's a light berry scent wafting over something spicy and something dark.

 

On, this is very spicy carnation with a hint of berry. Very nice. There is something dark underneath that keeps it from becoming too sweet.

 

After an hour or so it suddenly starts to smell bad. I can't really describe it; it's sort of dirty and stale. I suppose if you were rooting around behind the scenes of a carnival, it would smell like this. There's not much throw at this point.

 

After a couple of hours, it once again morphs and now smells sweet, and sweet it stays till it disappears by late afternoon.

 

So there's a simple little story here. You go to the carnival and from a distance it's bright and cheerful and fun, but once you get in, it isn't nearly as fun as you thought it would be. And someone steals your watch. And you throw up. And your hair and clothes are infused with cigarette smoke and carny funk. And you suspect that highly unpleasant things are going on in the shadows. Finally you go home and take a nice, long, hot shower with lots and lots of soap.

 

Sounds like every carnival I've ever attended.

 

Even though I don't like the bad part in the middle, I've worn it three times and will wear it again. I like the scents that morph a lot; they almost have a narrative structure.

Edited May 3, 2006 by 13bodies

[saralaughs]

Another bottle that I got today. Unfortunately for me, it was a 50/50 day.

 

In the bottle, this scared me. I smells to me exactly like an "old" perfume. Something to floral and way not me.

 

At first "wet" it seems there might be hope as the carnation brightens it and something else holds it steady but quickly it morphs into dirt. Dirt it stays.

 

This 5ml will be swapped. Fast.

[purplegirl]

Oh. My. Gosh.

 

I wore my newly acquired Carnivale today and all I can say is YOWZA!!!!

 

 

I'll go back a couple days though, to understand the reason for all the love!

 

When I got it on Monday, I cracked open the bottle and all I could smell was Underpants! Yep, strange but true, and this really bummed me out, as Underpants was a nightmare on me!! But I tried it on my wrist and I was pleasantly surprised! I was wearing Pink Phoenix that day, so I had a harder time really appreciating it. Today I knew it'd be a Carnivale day and it just shot up into my top 5!!

 

This is the perfect carnation scent. It's spicy but a touch powdery, which makes it cozy. The musk gives it a very 'lean in and inhale deeply' vibe and I felt a little saucy today, in my Carnivale cloud!!! The amber gave it a sweet, almost vanilla feel and I didn't get any berry, which was fine with me because I love carnation and wanted to really enjoy it without too much competition from rival scents!!!!

 

If you love carnation, find a bottle. Fast!!! Don't walk, RUN!!!

[KaliVerra]

Carnivale (2005 CN)

 

In the bottle: Holy schmokes! I’m being ambushed by bright pink powdery berries… they are attacking my nose and it hurts! Part of me wants to like the smell, but my nose is trying to start a rebellion!

 

On skin: Holy shite! I’m being ambushed by EVEN BRIGHTER, pinker, powdery berries… they are attacking my nose and my flesh… it hurts!

 

On drydown: The berries are getting powdery-er… baby powder-like. But the berries are still stinging my nose… and my flesh.

 

Conclusion: Painful, powdery, pink berries.

 

Rating (1-5, 5 being highest): 1.5

 

Buy again: My nose is typing now… she says no. As does flesh. They’ve ganged up and forbidden the possession of Carnivale in the household.

Edited June 9, 2006 by KaliVerra

[Melantha]

Oh, this is yet another fab creation from Beth!

 

As I try more scents, I'm finding that what I like is actually quite different from what I *thought* I like. I mean, we're all misled by the vast majority of department store perfumes out there. Before Beth, I never knew what I was missing.

 

The amber and myrrh give such a solid foundation to the berries and carnation. It's a sweet scent but far from overpowering, and the spice of the carnation gives it kick.

 

This is at least a 9 out of 10!

[HennaFairy]

bottle:

sweet, berry - hint of musk

 

wet:

very sweet and berry! Nice but could get nauseating if it stayed like this for hours

dry:

the berry mellows out into almost a cinnamon feel - a little spicy, not very sweet at all now - really nice! May tickle my throat…

 

overall:

nice, but almost too sweet/berry and may tickle my throat, try another time to be sure

 

 

rating: 7/10

[edenssixthday]

Carnivàle Revisited - On me, Carnivàle smells nothing like the above description. It's all spicy, and no berries or florals or ambers or musk. It's pure clove and pepper on my skin. It reminds me of BPAL's Port-au-Prince without the sweetness. This is not my kind of scent, and it's too bad it doesn't work on me because the description sounds just lovely, and berries usually work really well on me. It doesn't have much throw -- maybe 6" from my skin at most, and it fades fairly quickly. This scent is a huge disappointment. Oh well, there are 800+ other BPAL scents to keep me happy!

[angharad]

Carnivale Revisited: Berry! And carnation! And amber! How could I not love this?

 

Unfortunately, I can.

 

I can kinda smell the berries, but mainly this is pure baby powder. The instant it hits my skin -- baby powder. Half an hour later -- baby powder. Two hours later -- baby powder. No spice, no musk, nothing except baby powder. This one absolutely breaks my heart.

[moonarcana]

The cap comes off the bottle, drawing me in to it's clutches with sweet gooey berries and promises of a good time lurking in the background...

 

I pay for my ticket and go on through the gate.

 

On the skin the cacophonic rhythms of the evening fair take over, revolving around and around with bright sweetness and dark temptations. While Carnivale is still fresh upon my skin, it is like a ride on a big beautiful carousel spiked with the anticipation of going through the haunted funhouse next!

 

As it dries, the gorgeous deep spice of carnations begins to permeate the senses until it's the only note I notice at all. This is my favorite part and lasts a long time, but then after awhile, the flowers slowly fade as a familiar sassy spark emerges - yeah, that combo of amber and heliotrope that makes wearing Hollywood Babylon feel so naughty. I guess you could say this is the part where I sneak out the back gate to engage in a bit of (ahem) indiscretion with the intention of rejoining my friends for some more fun on the Midway later.

 

The whole ride lasts about 4 or 5 hours on me, but I'd gladly buy another ticket to let it roll well into the night.

 

Definitely 5/5

[Tess]

I'm having a love affair recently with berries, so here's one that's really got me interested. Let's hope that the amber is the type that I can wear.

 

In the vial - These are wild berries, not at all overly sweet. The musk is in there deep with just a hint of amber and spicey carnation.

 

Wet - Amber + berries = cherry Not exactly what I was looking for...

 

Drying - The berries are dying off FAST and the carnation is coming up full and spiced with amber and musk mixing in. It's lovely, despite the lack of berries, although the musk is a little darker than what I usually wear.

 

Dry (30 minutes) - Oh dear gods, ugh. The musk is just turning on my skin. It might be the combo of the amber, which is going powdery, with the dark musk, but it's just terrible. Even the nice spiced floral can't save it.

 

Overall - My skin did INSANE things with this one.

[Dinerdulcinea]

imp: fruit, sugar.

 

wet: some kind of sour flower is coming up from the bottom. I smell the musk (that may be making it a bit sour right now) and the spicey carnation.

 

dry:this has a lovely warm spiciness, but there is too much if a "perfume-y" note that I am guessing may be the particular musk being used here. After 2.5 hours it all gets play-dough-y and very light. meh.

[supremegoddessofall]

Revisited version:

 

This is very light, and fairly non-descript. I get mostly the amber and the berry, with a little carnation. Not getting the musk at all.

[sofiaviolet]

I smell berries in the imp. Berries sweet with decay. On my skin there's a definite tinge of plastic. Like a scented Barbie doll that is melting. Ew ew ew. I hate my skin chemistry sometimes.