Different smells/colors, same perfume

[yeahbutnobut]

My bottle of Bastet has a stronger cardamom note than my imp of it. Which is all good, because I love cardamom!

[olympia301]

Here's another who had a surprise with Hamadryad. The imp was very similar (though not identical) to Aglaea, but the 5ml is quite different and (from the review descriptions) much more like Hamadryad. The imp was not floral but very apple and wood, the bottle was floral with some wood and, though delightful, fugitive.

 

The imp was a variation on a woody theme, the bottle was its own sweet tune. Thanks for bringing this up, I am going to root around for a sample (or bottle) of The Hesperides. Special thanks to Brianna for solving The Mystery of the Hamadryad. Now I can (I hope) enjoy Hamadryad and The Hesperides!

[Brianne]

yay I'm so glad I could help!

 

And I'm really glad Hamadryad ended up being exactly what I was expecting with that earthy cinnamon! <3

[Monster]

I have 3 imps here of Baghdad. 2 are fresh from the lab from 2 separate, recent orders. The other one is something I received in a swap (this one also looks fresh..the label is in pristine condition)

 

The colors of the oils are exactly the same (light, golden yellow), however the two imps from the lab smell COMPLETLEY different than the one I received from a swap. When I read through the reviews od Baghdad, it seems as though the one I got from the swap is the correct one...but I'm still unsure.

 

The two from the lab have a strong, cinnamon/nutmeg spice scent to it, and only a hint of musk. The one I received from a swap smells more musky, rosey and well...exactly like the descrition.

 

Could this be a case of mislabeled imps? Or is the imp I received from the swap just an aged version?

 

I really love the labs, fresh version, but I'm afraid it may be something else. This one to me smells like Christmas spices while the other one smells like musky rose.

[Thorne]

Baghdad does seem to be a bit of a morpher, as far as scent goes - one week it will smell very much like bergamot and the next very much like roses. Then spicy wood! So it could just be that you got imps from different batches or from a bottle that was not well mixed, or different imps from differently aged bottles.

 

I have a bottle of Baghdad fresh from the lab (well, maybe a month or so old), and I could decant a fourth or a half an imp to send you for comparison purposes, if you want. PM me if you are interested!

[Duck Mountain]

Now the proud owner of an imp and a bottle of Arkham Revisited, I've noticed that the bottle smells much sweeter and brighter than my imp, which is mellow and not as almost-fruity as the 5mL.

 

Is it possible the bottle was aged slightly less, or exposed to different conditions? I love what's in the imp; the bottle's scent is lovely, but I don't adore it nearly as much.

[weaver]

I think I have a problem with 2 bottles from my recent order . Morocco and Dragon’s Milk bottles smell considerably weaker than the respective imps I have from my previous orders. In fact they are so faint that I can barely detect the scent from the bottles, even when I hold them open right underneath my nose. Are the oils defective? Are they too "fresh", and need to mature? What is the Lab’s policy on exchanges? Do they replace the defective bottles, if they are indeed defective?

 

Grant you that I am quite a newbie, and it could very well be that I don't know what I am doing. But still, I paid my money, and I want my scents. How does this work?

[pranashakti]

Have you tried them on your skin yet or just sniffed from the bottles? Most bottle sniffs smell radically different to me than a skin application.

[weaver]

Yes, I tried them on my skin with the same results - practically no smell at all. I tried several times, last time using a very large amount. Still very faint...

 

Thank you for bringing up this point, pranashakti!

[clover]

It's a matter of aging - most of the oils smell considerably weaker when they are brand new. There's a whole thread on the subject here.

 

What I generally do is pick a safe place and leave my fresh bottles open, without the lid on, for 2 or 3 days after I receive them. It seems to make a world of difference. Just make sure to pick a safe place!

 

Those are two bottles that are definitely going to get better with time! I have a bottle of Dragon's Milk that's about a year and a half old, and it's just heavenly.

[ChupaChup]

I'm really sorry to hear that about the weak oils Clover. I haven't had that experience with the bottles I've ordered, thank goodness, but if it's a known problem, I'm kind of worried about ordering big bottles in the future. I'd be afraid to "age" them the way you do, everything I've heard about essential oils says that oxygen destroys them, they might smell good faster but they would also end up going bad sooner too.

[clover]

I think you misunderstood me.

 

I didn't say the oils are weak when they're new, I said that they may not seem as strong as imps that may have been around for a while and have had a chance to age. I certainly would never be afraid to order bottles straight from the Lab, I clearly do it all the time. It's definitely not a "known problem".

 

You can choose to age them the way I do or not, don't do it if it makes you uncomfortable. It's not a Lab sanctioned practice, just something that I do and have found that works for me. I've never had a bottle from the Lab go bad, and I have several that are around two years old.

[yeahbutnobut]

I hope this is not too odd a question but, were there ever batch differences with Antique Lace, affecting it's scent?

 

You see, I got a decant of someone, and it smells very different to a Lab imp of AL that I have. The lab imp smells like that wonderful vanilla musk that I adore, and it smells just like what the AL I tried out when I met Fallow Deer smelt like. The decant also has a similar light musk, but it's more floral...and whilst that is very nice, I'm not sure if it's the real AL, or maybe some AL tampered with another scent, or something completely different? However, it does match the official scent description well...but does anyone else get light florals from AL?

[coulrophobe]

I don't get light florals from Antique Lace, but I do have one bottle that smells different from my other four - it has a carmel-like smell to it. It's still vanilla musk, but with something warmer, sweeter, and more foody added in. It's still lovely, but I don't like it quite as much as the non-carmelly version.

[yeahbutnobut]

I don't get light florals from Antique Lace, but I do have one bottle that smells different from my other four - it has a carmel-like smell to it. It's still vanilla musk, but with something warmer, sweeter, and more foody added in. It's still lovely, but I don't like it quite as much as the non-carmelly version.

 

 

Funny you should say that because I do get something vaguely caramel or honey like from the decant too.

[yeahbutnobut]

I love the idea of nose-educating kits! Especially for, as Olympia suggested, the more lesser known notes or ones that are harder to tell apart.

 

back to Antique Lace and possible batch differences...I was sniffing some oils in my box to see what my decant of AL smelt like and then I realised it smelt a bit like Bearded Lady! And there have been a few comparisons on the reviews between the two scents, so maybe this decant is the real deal?

[meyerlemon]

I just received a 5 ml of the first scent I fell in love with, Bordello.

 

What I love about my imp of Bordello is the sweet/sour plumminess, with the teensy hint of almondy chocolateness underneath it-- just rounding out the corners.

 

Sadly, the 5 ml is a noticeably different smell. A half-sister, or cousin of the imp: the layers are reversed, with the dominant note being a fairly bitter almond, then a chocolateyness, and only then a faint plumminess. It's actually, and I hate to say this, slightly icky on my skin, and although it dries down to something less bitter and more pleasant, it's not what I was hoping for.

 

I'm not well-versed in how particular notes age-- is it possible that this will become more like my imp, or am I stuck? As much as I *adore* my imp, I'm not wild about the 5 ml, and if I'd smelled it as an imp, wouldn't have ordered it. *cry*

 

Are there things to bear in mind when deciding which imps translate fairly consistently to bottles (ie, are there some notes that are more likely to smell the same in each batch, and others that are more likely to be a wild card?), or is it a bit of a gamble each time? I fully recognize that the oils vary across batches, and must be hand-blended, but I'm a bit leery of purchasing a bottle of something that may or may not resemble the fragrance I like.

 

Thank you!

[Xiabelle]

Meyerlemon, I have the exact same issue with my bottle of Dorian.

 

I absolutely adore the imp of Dorian I got from the lab. It's such gorgeous lemony black tea vanilla goodness -- really has a gorgeous spiciness to it, and the lemon is so glowing. I want to bathe in it.

 

So I ordered a bottle... and even on my skin, they don't smell alike. My bottle is sweet sugary vanilla with the faintest hint of tea. I'm SO disappointed. I wanted the tea! And there's absolutely no lemon that I can pick up at all. My imp is sexy as all hell, but the bottle... Sigh.

 

I admit, I really don't know if it's just an imp versus bottle thing or not, as this is the first GC bottle I've bought after smelling an imp. My Bearded Lady decant and bottle were the same, though.

[Ina Garten Davita]

Some of it may have to do with aging. My older Dorian is much richer with more tea than the fresher oil. Also, an imp of an oil that came from a swap rather than fresh from the lab may have been exposed to different conditions (ie another person's skin chemistry and/or light and heat/cold) that can alter its characteristics. Just something to keep in mind when testing things out.

[Xiabelle]

Oh, if the tea is coming out with age, I'll keep hoping and tuck it away for a while. It's just so vividly different that when I had the boy smell my arm with the imp then the one with the bottle, he didn't believe me when I told him it was the same thing. I was expecting more vanilla to develop.

 

Both came fresh from the lab, and the imp always smelled much much different though. Could be a batch variation though... maybe I'll get myself another imp to play with while waiting on the bottle, though, since I'm going to use my current one up quickly.

[hologhost]

My first (traded) imp of Cathedral has a reall strong frankincense smell. Subsequent ones - including my fresh from the lab bottle - have a more woody smell. Is it aging that makes the difference? I really love the first one.

 

(The other are nice too, but not as nice.)

Edited January 17, 2006 by hologhost

[mmcfa2]

Anyone gotten a fresh wanda lately? Is it different from older imps bottles you have smelled? I'm dealing with a big scent change on this one and wondering if this is characteristic of Wanda to age change dramatically or If this is just the end of our love affair?

[blu°]

I have a 5ml of Wanda, that I received with a lab order on december 19th and that smells weird to me.

 

From the imp I really liked the scent, but I had only ever tried it once or twice. It was a rich, slightly bitter, slightly sharpish, smokey wine note that I enjoyed a lot.

 

From since I got the bottle, I never wore it much, but when I tried the other day, I got this really vinegar-y, herbal, pungent smell from it, that was just awful. I had to wash it off.

 

I then thought that this might be a hormone/time of the month issue, especially as there is myrtle involved and I remembered to have read something around that topic about myrtle. But anytime I open the bottle, I get the same vinegar-y smell from it.

I haven't tried it again yet, as just sniffing the bottle I feel repulsed by the strong vinegar-ness of it.

 

What's changed about your Wanda? If you get the vinegar scent as well, maybe there is something wrong with recent batches. (?) The wine note going sour or something.(???)

 

ETA: I'm just testing this again. I applied very sparingly from the rim on my left wrist. First it's all old vinegar again, like a salad bowl you leave dirty for some days because you're too lazy to do the washing up straight away. Old balsamico.

Somehow I can see how this perception is due to the wine and leather intemingling. Once it settles, the scent widens, like the components gaining space to seperate from each other and develop into their true selves. I still get a hint of vinegar, if I think of it. Some clever person on the forums some time said something along the lines of this before. Like, if once you think that scent x smells like y, you'll stick to this association subconsciously and won't perceive anything else but y.

So, now that the spot of Wanda on my wrist has dried, if I try not to think "vinegar", I can smell the wine note which is rich and deep and the leather which is airy and high, and the flowers raising above that.

The throw is delicious, floral and fruity without being cloying. I really get the florals in the throw of it. If sniffing my wrist like two centimetres above skin, I get the wine and leather and a little bit of floral, something sweet. If I stick my nose right to my wrist it's vinegar again.

In the end I think that the difference might be between imp and bottle. Not sure why that should be though. Maybe because there's more perfume, it'll smell more intense to the point of inrecognizability (is this English?).

 

mmcfa2, did you have a bottle of Wanda before? My imp had been fresh from the lab I received it on 1st of October 2005.

Edited February 11, 2006 by blu°

[blu°]

Just noticed my two bottles of Devil's Night do differ quite a lot, too.

 

I bought both of them from forumites and think it's really weird how they aren't quite the same. One is pretty exactly like what my decant smelled like, spicy, smokey booze notes (cognac, whiskey or the like) and musks. The other one seems to most prominently feature a cider/wine note. It resembles Día de los Muertos or even Wanda. The notes in this are more detached from each other, they don't seem to be blended so well. It's sugary, but more in a Día de los Muertos way. There is a bourbon or something underneath but that's a bit far away from the rest of the scent. I get something tart, that especially reminds me of Día. I always thought those were cereus notes. This version doesn't seem to have a lot of musk in it, neither.

 

???

 

It's hard to believe that with LE's there are such extreme differences in different batches from the lab. Are there different batches for LE's at all, apart from the ones that are revived each year?

 

Not sure, but it might be that the different scents from my imp and the other bottle to this weird bottle are due to the imp and first bottle having aged a little. The bottle with the "good" scent hadn't been as full as the one with the weird scent, so it had been tested, opened. The decanted imp, too, had by process of decanting been exposed to air and light and all. I'd have to check that second bottle again later to see if aging changes the scent.

 

I do remember that there have been reviews of DN that mentioned cider as a note and that I was baffled as I didn't get that at all from my decant, so it might well be a "normal" variation. It's weird though.

 

Editing to say that the "weird" bottle doesn't smell all that bad in the end. It is a pleasant smell by itself, just really different to the other one. A lot less masculine to me with less musk and smoke, and more tart, fruit notes.

 

Editing again: Just thought, that second bottle does smell like Samhain. I know, I'm changing my mind for the n-th time now, but scent perception is such a tricky kitty, you all know that.

 

I only have a decant of the 04 version of Samhain around, so maybe this bottle is a mislabeled 05 version of Samhain. The weird DN is a lot more similar to the Samhain 04 than to the other DN bottle.

 

I think this is the best explanation. Anybody else got bottles of DN that were really close to Samhain?

Edited February 11, 2006 by blu°

[sookster]

this previous post reminds me of what happened with

all saint's 2005.....

i bought one from the lab and it is one of my top tens....so insanely incensey

and gorgeous....

well, i decided after that, needed to get my hands on more bottles since it

was such a love affair....

 

i bought a bottle from a forumite and it was udderly and completely different!!!

more yellow in color vs. the beautiful amber of mine

and

this one was all roses...with a whisp of incense...absolutely nothing at all like

my original beloved bottle

 

funny, cuz i went back to read the reviews and a vast majority of them were

saying how they got a lot of rose......then i remembered a question i had asked

sara......

 

"All of our oils are organic, and come from natural sources. In nature, there are variations in the scents of plants; a red rose you buy today will not necessarily smell identical to a red rose you buy tomorrow. In addition, we acquire our base oils from many home based businesses, co-ops, and other small growers. Plants coming from different regions and hybrid plants sometimes differ in scent. The only way for us to reproduce our scents flawlessly and exactly each time would be to use chemically synthesized products which we refuse to do. We do our best to keep things as consistent as possible, but due to the nature of our product sometimes nature can not be controlled. If you need anything else please let me know."