Incubus

[Lyzz13]

As if, with beasts' eyes, angels led
The way, I slip back to your bed,
Quiet as a hooded light,
Hushed by the shadows of the night.

And then, my dark one, you shall soon
Embrace the cold beams of the moon,
Around a fresh grave, the chilling hiss
Of serpent coiled shall be my kiss.

When morning shows his livid face
Your bed shall feel my empty place,
As cold as death, till fall of night.

Others take tenderness to wife:
Dread gives away your youth and life
To me, to be bride of fright.

Spectral white musk and the heart-stopping chill of sheared mint, fanned by caramel-touched body heat, and the diabolical sensuality of black musk, nicotiana, and sage.

Am I really first? Eeep.

In the imp: An almost numbing mint is the first thing to hit, followed by a backer of caramel.

On, wet: Very, very mint still, but much more sweet.

15 minutes in: Mint has mostly disappeared. This now smells mostly like sweet pipe tobacco, and well, I guess the best way to describe it is MAN. A very, very sexy man. The sage is there but very subtle.

It doesn't change much from there.

Verdict: While not something I'd ever wear, I plan on attacking the boy with this later. It's a very masculine scent, and I'm more on the girly side. However, I would LOVE my boy to smell like this. And he will. Even if I have to hold him down to do it, he will.

[Dekejis]

Woot! My first review ever!

 

In the imp, I think I'm picking up a bit of the mint alongside a nice warm, sweet caramel.

 

On, the nicotiana starts picking up and this becomes a sweet tobacco, backed by the caramel and a hint of mint. The mint is definitely cool and blends perfectly with the warmer notes in this blend. I'm a bit of a cigar afficionado, and Beth's tobacco notes are to die for. This is definitely one to check out if you liked Hearth, which is one of my all-time favorites. Both scents are worldly and masculine, but where Hearth is warm and cozy, Incubus is more outright sensual and mysterious. This would be a fantastic scent on a man, and to me, it just exudes raw, heady sexuality; mysterious, seductive and a bit dark. Yum. Now I just need a really hot guy to slather it all over.

 

As it dries, the notes begin to blend together, with the tobacco toning down a bit to melt into the other scents. If I sniff my wrist I don't pick it up nearly as strongly, but I'm still getting whiffs of it as I move around. I may have to pick up a bottle of this, masculine or not. It's delicious.

[grifyn_whiffs]

While Schrodinger's Cat was a "I must have that" blend, Incubus was tempting, but black musk has been horrible on me in the past. With the other notes listed, though, I had to get an imp. The Labbies sent me a very FULL imp, and now I have it all over my arm. Good thing I like it!

 

I get the caramel and black musk right away, with only a hint of mint. The mint and "caramel-scented body heat" mingle in an interesting way, though I wouldn't have believed it if I hadn't smelled it myself.

 

Drying down: This is sensual with some sweetness in the background. BPAL rocks the tobacco notes, always. The one here is unbelievably sexy. After a few minutes on, this scent seems to merge with my skin, and smells like someone who is posh, sophisticated, refined... and inarguably bad news. You should meet this scent in a well-lit, public area.

 

The throw on this is low, on the "lean in close" side. Little, seductive whiffs of it seem to float up like a sexy vapor. It smells like it would lend itself well to aging too. I now regret not buying a bottle.

[Emu Nymph]

You think I would have learned by now! Anything with the word caramel in it makes me smell like maple syrup. High quality maple syrup. But still all I get is maple syrup.

[khiseer]

There was no question of buying a bottle of this unsniffed.

 

First of all the mint note is gorgeous! like fresh picked mint! but there is something 'dark' smelling underneath which would be the black musk and i think nicotiana. I was worried about the caramel and sage in this but they are so faint and wispy that this is just so delicious. Definatley a warm scent despite the mint. My nose is playing up a bit atm so i will add to this review as i get better and after it gets tested on my male I can't wait to smell this on man chemistry.

[tamburlaine]

I just had to get an imp of this, no question. I had wondered what was taking so long for a blend called "Incubus" to show up at BPAL -- the concept seems so in tune with the other beasts and mysteries that get their own scented blends.

 

In the imp: Immediately I get warmth. Very seductive warmth that isn't necessarily feminine nor masculine. That would be the caramel, but it's mixed with something herbal -- marijuana? No, that's the sage. Sage can often mistakenly give off the scent of burning pot. Oh, how sexy. My ideal man... or is he? Bwahaha!

 

On my skin: The mint pops out. It's a clear mint, and gives a white glow to the caramel heat that dominated before. It is a "heart-stopping chill" indeed, because the sensuality of before seems to have given way to something ominous and chilly. The musk only lingers in the background, and my skin gives no hint of a tobacco note until the ultimate dry-down. Along with this faint tobacco note, the caramel reprises its role and the mint vanishes.

 

Yeah, this is a "morpher," appropriately, and I wish it had more throw than it does. I'm seriously considering blending it with some perfumer's alcohol and turning it into an EDT. I want everyone to smell this glorious thing.

 

But oh YES I am so pleased with this blend. It's exactly what I expected. I want to buy a bottle straightaway but I'll have to wait until my imp is gone, for alas, I am mad po'.

 

As far as recommendations go, caramel/mint pairing is not far off from vanilla/mint blends, for those of you partial to the buttermints smell.

Edited September 19, 2007 by tamburlaine

[slave1]

INCUBUS

 

In Bottle: Herbs and caramel

 

On Skin: Very interesting scent… wow. The caramel amps on me right away. But the mint and sage cut through it with a nice herbal edge, preventing it from being sickly sweet. What a nice contrast! The black musk truly is sexy yet soft forming the perfect base. The scent does feel slightly more masculine to me… or maybe I just want to smell it on a man. The nicotiana offers a tobacco note that is sweet and compliments the scent well, also adding a masculine vibe. It is so sexy! And since I adore foody blends that works well here, but the other notes keep it from being a truly foody blend so don’t be scared. I am making my hubby try this one for sure. Pure deliciousness! Moderate throw and average wearlength.

[Heavenlyrabbit]

There's the caramel attended by the mint.

 

But this is not foody- at all.

 

Something like tobacco does come along very quickly and changes the entire complexion.

 

Definately sexy.

[Lionesse]

I think my nose must be from another planet. All I can smell from Incubus is celery?? WTH? Wheres the mint, and tobacco? I don't wanna smell like celery

[edenssixthday]

Incubus – when I applied this, the very first note I smelled was caramel, which is a note I don’t care for much at all. Right behind it was the scent of white musk and sage and they blend with the caramel in way that makes it actually smell good to me. It’s a really fascinated scent – crisp and clean and clear on one hand and warm and gooey/foody on the other. I don’t smell the mint in this blend at all. It’s a strange combination of scents and due to the caramel in it, it’s not one I would be inclined to wear again, but I’m happy to find that caramel doesn’t smell horrific on me when blended with the right other notes. The scent has a moderate level of throw and staying power.

[Blood onmy hands]

I like Incubus at first. I get a sticky-sweet, warm, gooey caramel beaten down by a chill of mint and a hint of an herbal sage note. The other notes cut the sweetness of the caramel very well. I normally hate the smell of sage, but it's a pleasant addition to the caramel and mint here. Then this dries down to exactly what I was afraid of, a scent dominated by tobacco. The tobacco just smells dirty to me, not like something I would want to personally smell like. Mix tobacco with the caramel and I get an overpowering, sickly sweet, caramelized, dirty tobacco smell. It reminds me of the chewing tobacco my father used to have laying around constantly. The black musk pops out in the drydown as well and strengthens over time, giving off that chilly, smoky, men's cologne musk that I'm not fond of either.

 

I think that Incubus could be really sexy on the right guy. It has potential to be a great gourmand, masculine blend. My boy doesn't like the tobacco smell either though, so I'll be swapping this one.

[OpheliasVengeance]

In the bottle: I get an herbal, caramel scent.

 

On the skin: This morphs so beautifully on me. For the first ten minutes, the herbal and caramel notes are fighting for dominance. After about half an hour, this dries down to a gorgeous scent on me. The sage, white musk, and mint are softly balanced by the smallest hint of caramel with a kiss of tobacco and dark musk to anchor it down. It's a soft, sexy scent on me. I'm quite surprised as my skin amps sweet notes to the point where they usually overthrow all other notes. Thankfully, this blend cooperates with my skin.

[angelfish323]

As I expected, this is dead sexy.

 

Right after applying, I got a strong caramel note, but also a strong musk/tobacco note. Which made for an interesting juxtaposition. Then the mint made it cool, while it remained warmed by the caramel and tobacco notes. I love the opposites.

 

After it had a few minutes, the notes blended a bit better. It's beautiful. I was so curious how this would turn out, but somehow it all works. The mint fades into the background. I don't really get mint, I just get something a bit cool and a bit green underneathe it all. (Suppose that could be the sage as well.) It's the caramel and tobacco that are dominant on me. Sweet and smokey. Yum.

 

Oddly, it's sort of a masculine scent, and not something I'd expect I'd want to wear. But I do. I may not need a bottle, but the imp is staying on hand for days I want or need to feel sexy.

 

And while my last attempt to attack the boy with BPAL (it was Spider) failed somewhat miserably (he promptly washed it off ) I plan to try again soon with Incubus.

[Bagfish]

This is a strange sharp heady caramel when first applied (no, I don't know how caramel can be sharp either ), and dries down to a masculine cologne crossed with the smell of a hair gel that an ex-boyfriend used to wear and curry leaves in a similar way that Mr Nancy was curry leaves on me. The nicotiana pokes through, but not enough to save this blend on me. I don't know what is making the scent sharp and curry-like, but his really isn't for me.

[sookster]

straight sniff from imp is minty caramel

 

once applied the notes come

soaring through: sage, musk and minty caramel are surprizingly a beautious

combination...fabulously unique i will cherish this little imp

[filigree_shadow]

A little bit of caramel, but mostly seems like an herby scent. I think I can smell the white musk and maybe a wee bit of mint.

 

Not bad as herby scents go (sage really isn't my favorite note). I like the softness that caramel gives it, and the mint gets stronger as it dries.

[moontess]

I think my nose must be from another planet. All I can smell from Incubus is celery?? WTH? Wheres the mint, and tobacco? I don't wanna smell like celery

 

No, I get that too.

 

It was only in the middle though. Wet it was minty caramel, on my skin it morphed slowly into celery (I think this is actually the sage, mint and tabacco making trouble. I tested it against my husband's nose who HATES celery and he didn't smell it at all). The dry down started mellowing, so I'm going to age it and see if it settles...

[supremegoddessofall]

Caramel with a touch of tobacco. Not very musky. Not really getting mint or sage at all.

 

Score: 4

[grashopper8]

The caramel really takes center stage in this perfume, and I've discovered I'm not that into caramel (well, I learned that when I hated caramel candy as a kid, I guess). So, my review will be biased against Incubus because I don't like caramel. And I am dumb for trying it yet again....

 

Anyways, in the imp, this presented itself as incredibly accurate to its namesake; sweet but out to Getcha at the same time. It's just plain hot and cold all at once, hot from the caramel and tobacco and cold from the icy mint.

 

On my skin, the mint was gone within seconds (as it often is) and after that, all I could smell was yicky sickly sweet caramel. It completely took over my nose, and I left it on for over 2 hours, but I couldn't sift through the scent to find anything else.

 

I blame whatever repressed childhood event which led me to hating caramel so much. (Really, who hates caramel? Blah)

 

(Kill-Devil did the same thing on me. It could be my chemistry, too.)

 

Whatever the reason, not for me. Off to a better home!

[ACVail24]

Incubus

 

In the Bottle:

Is this a caramel single note?

seriously, I don't smell anything else

 

On my Skin, Wet:

Oh my! LOTS of caramel!

yum, yum, yum!

with a teeny tiny hint of mint and a subdued presence of musk

 

On my Skin, Dry:

3/4 caramel, 1/4 minty musk

the throw has diluted quite a bit - so it's more of an aura than a scent now.

 

Verdict:

I think I'll try this one in the Phoenix locket!

I REALLY want to try it on the BF....mmmmm, caramel scented boy!!

Quite a wonderful scent - it's not quite me, but it could be!

8 of 10 rating

[smallvoice]

I got this as a gift from a lovely, lovely forumite.

 

Huh. I wasn't sure about this, because of the nicotania and black musk, but I didn't review the notes when I first put it on, and here's my initial response:

Creamy and nutty. That's odd. VERY smooth.

Then I went and checked the notes. Creaminess and smoothness must be the carmel. The nicotania must be doing the nut part, I guess. I never, ever got ANY mint out of it, and the sage was very mild. It's an intriguing scent. I'll have to be brave and see how it wears over the course of a day.

 

I'm glad I'm not the only one without mint!

[theseagrows]

wow, this one is really good. at first sniff of the imp, i wasn't so sure because i got a foody note and i am not to keen on foody notes. i guess that was the caramel. however, on my skin, the caramel is faint enough to add just a nice warmth in the back. i definitely get the musk, nicotiana and sage, but i can't seem to detect the mint. this scent is very warm and sensual...reminds me of a more masculine version of thirteen, but isn't super-duper masculine, and i love it

Edited October 22, 2007 by theseagrows

[Lavada]

Imp: Curry. Uh huh. You heard me.

 

Wet: Celery. I didn't even come to this board before trying it on.

 

Dry (#1): OMG EW DIRTY CARAMEL. SMELLS LIKE VOMIT.

 

Dry (#2): DIRTY HOBO MAN WITH VOMIT.

 

Verdict?

 

Do. Not. Want.

 

Why doesn't the incubus want me?

Edited November 6, 2007 by Lavada

[ergo_emm]

So I think I have a new favorite GC scent... I've been wearing only Incubus for the past 4 days

 

In the imp Incubus is almost straight caramel, but there's something that keeps it from being overpoweringly sweet.

 

On me, mostly caramel, but the nicotiana, sage, and musk give it a slightly spicy, tabacco-y undertone. There's a tiny, tiny hint of cool from the mint if I get really close, but it's almost unnoticeable. This doesn't really morph on me and lasts for hours and hours.

 

Additionally, I think this one might get even more awesome as it ages

[Eemia]

This is completely foody on me. Strangely it is not a sweet foody scent, which I sort of expected it to be based on the description. I am not a huge fan of foody scents but I don't hate them either. Certain ones I really love. This might have worked on me but it almost seems like a musky, stale cake smell. Cake that has been sitting around and lost it's sugary smell. Something just wasn't working right with my chemistry. None of the other notes were shining through to temper that overall stale food scent.

 

I only tried a few small dabs of this from my imp, but it stayed on me all night and my pajamas smelled like it this morning when I woke up. So it does have longevity. But it never morphed into something different on my skin, even when it dried.

 

So I'm sending this one along to someone who will enjoy it more than me.