Love's Torments

[ljaylh]

White sandalwood, neroli, and vetiver.

Well.. not much more to add here that hasn't already been said - this sure is a strong blend, especially on initial application - very dark, smoky and musky/spice.. pretty much what you'd expect from this blend of notes. For the first few minutes on my skin it was a bit overpowering, but then the lovely sandalwood triumphs over the neroli and vetiver and there's a beautifully warm golden glow thing going on.

I'm not sure I could wear this very often - it would be perfect for a night out in an opium den somewhere in Kathmandu, but just lately I don't seem to be getting many invitations for that sort of event.

If you love those dark, strong, spicy incense-y blends then I would definitely recommend trying this one out.. just be patient and wait for that initial KAPOW to dry down

[femmefatale]

This is mostly vetiver, esp. at first. After a while the sandalwood comes out and tames the vetiver a bit. I'm not getting much of the neroli.

It's very nice, though not exactly me. I might have hubby try it out since I have a feeling it might work better for him.

[Apple]

This ended up smelling like a hybrid of Hurricane and The Music of Erich Zahn on me, which is to say that it smelled like charred wood with a citrusy edge, Play-Doh, and baby powder. It was... not so good.

 

As always with any blend containing vetiver, the charred wood smell came roaring out first and foremost (I will forever be grateful to blood type thread for explaining why this happens to me - why yes, yes I do have Type A blood), although it stayed in the background on my husband. The citrus note (neroli) was present on both of us. The sandalwood smelled light and clean on him, but began turning powdery on me almost immediately, like someone was trying to put out a campfire with baby powder. Underneath it all, I could smell a weird Play-Doh note on both of us. Eventually the vetiver died down, and the scent became sort of a powdery clean one, but rather strong.

 

I tried this right before bed, and the next day the scent was entirely different but still quite strong. It was much more fresh and dryer sheet-like. I found this stage more pleasant, but not so engaging that I'd be willing to wait through several hours of charred powder. It was much more successful on my husband, but I didn't love it on him either.

[mhickle]

When I first put this one, it smells as if I have locked myself away in a cedar chest. This is not bad, just....cedary. Is that what vetiver smells like? I'm not really familiar with it as a note on its own...anyway.... After only a couple of hours, it's more or less faded completely away, with a vague smokiness left behind.

[WidgetAlley]

Imp: Smells like... charred wood, which I know is that heavy, smoky vetiver that usually calms down and becomes much more manageable on my skin, and... grains? Seriously? Why does this smell like the sweet, nutty malts my dad uses to brew beer? Holy crap, it DOES smell like Dad's brewing something! Exactly! That's so weird! And cool. It makes me a little homesick, to be honest.

 

Wet: The same at first! The smoky smell of the vetiver is combining with the sweetness of the orange blossom and the dry, toasted sandalwood and making this smell exactly like grain malt. After a minute, the orange blossom comes forward more, and the sandalwood and the vetiver die back, leaving a smell like burnt flowers. It's actually kind of nice-- a tremendously grounded floral with an earthy edge.

 

Dry: A fairly nice, sweetened-and-incensey vetiver. I'm not at all sure how much I would wear it, but it's certainly much more pleasant than I thought it would be.

[ghoulie]

Love's Torments is delightful on me. I did not find the vetiver to be overpowering at all. On my skin, the sandalwood and neroli interplay nicely, with just a faint whisper of vetiver. I would not describe it as woodsy, grassy, or smoky, as some others have. It's just warm and sensual on me. I think I have a new favorite.

 

Also, it has amazing staying power. I can still smell it on my wrists, and I can't tell you how many times I washed my hands today.

[angelicruin]

Sniffing the imp, it's all vetiver.

 

Wet on skin, it's still mostly vetiver and a little neroli. I'm not getting any sandalwood here.

 

Dries down to mostly neroli with vetiver in the background.

 

Very dark, sinister scent.

[hkhm]

imp: vetiver.

 

wet: nice, the neroli jumps out and blends very nicely with the sandalwood. the vetiver is definitely in the background here. much nicer than i expected.

 

dry: this is neroli and vertiver once dry, an unusual combination to be sure. strangely interesting.

[donnatron]

Imp: Sandalwood and neroli. No vetiver.

 

Wet: Uh... peachy? Like peach skin? Sort of dusty and sweet and with a distinct and weird peachy hit.

 

Dry: Oh vetiver, why you gotta be like that? I like vetiver but the vetiver in this is more of the grassy, dry, almost sour vetiver than pops up in some of the labs blends. I get some vetiver sourness and... nothing. Maybe a bit of the neroli. Actually, I can smell the neroli and the sandalwood but overall it's just a faint, faint blend where things are amping in weird ways.

 

Throw: Mild.

 

Overall: Eh. It's not repulsive or anything but it's really not even close to the sum of its parts on my skin chemistry.

[Eucatastrophe]

In the imp: Vetiver.

 

Wet: Vetiver.

 

Dry: The Vetiver party continues.

 

Vetiver always overwhelms anything other notes on me and this is no exception. Sadly, I can't even smell a hint of anything other than vetiver.

[rayvn1]

Vetiver, Veeeetiverrrrrr....it's surprisingly playful for a serious vetiver scent. I like the dusty vibe the sandalwood gives it. I tend to like vetiver blends, although I can't see myself wearing this.

[Ankica]

If this is how vetiver smells, than I don't like vetiver.

And I usually do.

One me... just like someone said: Dark green. Herbs. Like unloved tea.

[Usagi]

I did not really get any of the listed notes the way they usually smell on me. This one was very strange, and something in it is unpleasantly similar to what happened in Chant d'Automne.

 

Imp: smokey wood, and citrus

Wet: Beef Jerky?! yep, teriyaki beef jerky...

Dry: I'm being tormented by sticky smoked wood reminiscent of bacos/beef jerky. So weird.

 

I don't know what went wrong here, but I think this is the third scent I've had go trail ration on me, so it's time to check notes to see if there is any correlation. Meanwhile, I while try to find this a more loving home. Sadly, I'm now craving beef jerky...

[jamethiel]

In the imp: Vetiver

 

Wet. Vetiver.

 

After five minutes: ... dude, it DID NOT SAY that lemon was one of the notes. This is weird: it's quite a harsh lemon note. Bergamot or lemon rind. I can still smell the vetiver.

 

After 10 minutes: The white sandalwood is coming out. White sandalwood is kind of a sexy note on me. This is good. Still vetiver having a party underneath. The lemon is floating over the top.

After 20 minutes: The lemon is turning slightly sweet :/ Dammit. I like lemon a lot, but I tend to turn it sweet, so finding a lemon I could wear would be great.

 

The drydown. This is sexy as. I think I have to get a bottle of this. Sandalwood and Vetiver, with lemon floating over the top.

 

 

[ralenth]

Imp: Smoky vetiver. Mmm...

 

Wet: Vetiver with a hint of sweetness... orange blossoms?

 

Drydown: A sharp sour citrus takes the stage (it's kind of lemony for me too). The vetiver still does its sexy thing underneath, but I'm predominantly getting the citrus note. After a few minutes, the white sandalwood peeps in.

 

Dry: Candied lemon drops with teensy whisps of the sandalwood and minimal vetiver. Occasionally, I think I catch some smoky goodness, but this is predominantly a citrus now.

 

Overall: Love's Torments is far more playful than I was expecting. I was hoping for misery and vetiverliciousness, but alas, Love's Torments knew just how to torture me. I'll think I'll have to retest this in the hope of better results after some aging.

[Beckiemort]

Wet: HOLY Vetiver. That’s all I get from this blend.

 

Dry Down: Same thing, and I don't particularly like Vetiver. Not the scent for me.

[melrose]

First on: All vetiver, all the time. I amp it to high heaven.

 

Near drydown: Oooh, much nicer. The vetiver is playing nicely with the other notes.

 

Far drydown: Wonderful sandalwood mostly. The neroli is faint but there. The vetiver grounds the scent.

 

Probably not bottle-worthy because of the first stage.

[MamaMoth]

Vetiver and I don't always get along, but it's quite nice here.

 

This is somewhat simple. Woodsy, slightly cedary sandalwood, topped by lovely earthy non-icky vetiver, topped by citrussy neroli. It's a little sharp when wet, but it dries much smoother on me. I like it, as I always like citrus and woods/earth blends.

 

Love's Torment reminds me very much of one of my dad's colognes, only better. If I were ever going to try to enable my pops, (never in a million years) this would be the one I'd use. It strikes me as somewhat masculine scent, probably because of that association. If I had a boy handy, I'd want to smear it all over him. But wait, then he'd smell like my dad. -.-

[FathomBelow]

This freebie is dominated by something vaguely familiar - something pungent and a bit rank...which I think is the neroli. The smoky vetiver comes in second place, with the sandalwood a sad third.

 

I feel like the neroli (if that's what it is) is assaulting my nose - urgh. But at least now I know to avoid neroli!

[DeltaCat]

Vetiver and neroli on me here do not play along well. This smells like BBQ sauce that has dripped down onto the charcoals in the grill and is burning.

[aquazoo]

Dirty. Still dirty. Still dirty. I'm feeling tormented. Did I need to shake this or something? The dirt eventually tones down and I get a little bit of something else.

[fiddledragon]

In imp: Hello vetiver, yes I'm very glad to see you, now kindly stop hogging the stage.

 

On me: There is a momentary whiff of something like rubbing alcohol, then the most beautiful vetiver I have ever smelled. The three notes are perfectly balanced, with the vetiver as base, the sweet sandalwood filling out the middle, and the neroli at the back as a faint, tart top note. It's just at the border of medicinal on me, but I might keep this around to age and see if it mellows a bit. I might also try layering it with something a bit warmer and sweeter, maybe O.

[septima_pica]

Scary in the bottle, but when applied, rather nice. An initial pulse of very smokey (á la Agnes Nutter) vetiver, which subsides quickly, leaving the high notes to dominate. I'd agree with whoever said there's a lemon or lemon balm note in here. The sandalwood is in there somewhere, but gives just a general impression of Chinese-temple ambience; perhaps it's coming off as a fake sandalwood for some reason?

 

Very tea-like, somehow. Weak lapsang souchong with lemon balm in it, outside a temple that uses cheap sandalwood incense. Not a combination I'd think of, but it's not unpleasant. I think I'll stick it in the aging box to try later, though, once the notes have melded a bit more.

[Lethran]

In bottle: Vetiver, vetiver, vetiver. I see no point in trying to skin test this as it’s not going to go well.

[sparkleyturtle]

Following along with the trend here - it starts and stays with the smoky smell of vetiver. A LOT of vetiver. If you are a fan of vetiver, then this might be for you. I don't think I am as much of a fan.