Faustus

[slave1]

An infusion of incalculable power and irresistible temptation. Truly an exercise in megalomania and self-gratification: frankincense and cinnamon, darkened by violet.

In Bottle: Incense and floral.

On Skin: The frankincense leads this scent with a powerful powdery note. The cinnamon gives a warm spice and the violet actually sweetens it up a bit. The incense is too strong for me though, and it is also a very masculine scent, so it’s not for me. This is a dark spicy scent, very sinister and brooding.

[Scarlettfish]

The first thing I thought of when I smelt this was 'it smells like a hotel room'. You know that smell you get when you first open the door on a hotel room? It smelt like that. I have no idea why.

 

Anyway, it is all bitter frankincense on me...I wish I could smell cinnamon or violet, but I can't. It is very heavy and kinda overwhelming. Not my style - if only the violet would show up to play!

[The_Merf]

In the imp: Nothing is jumping out at me--I just smell a bit of frankincense, and what I'm going to assume is a hint of violet.

 

Wet: Yes, the frankincense remains, but my goodness, there come the violets! They are very dusty, much like the roses in Rose Cross.

 

Drydown and wear: The dusty violets are the strongest part of this blend, though the frankincense does not disappear like it does with RC. This is an extremely unusual fragrance, and I'm still not sure how I feel about it. It could become one of my favorites, or I might just use the imp and not reorder. I will have to try it one or two more times to form a real opinion. I do know that when I woke up this morning, I smelled something very nice, and I think it was the remains of Faustus. It has staying power, and it makes a statement, which are two things that I like.

[urraca]

I'm trying this from a perfume spray frimp, so I may not be getting what others get from this.

 

First off I get a very nutty scent, almost like toasted hazelnuts. This must be the cinnamon. What is left once that fades is both green smelling and perfumey. I don't get any violet to speak of (too bad). The green scent is a little dank, like rotting vegetation. I'm glad to be able to try it, but it is not for me --- off to pay it forward!

[Lori]

Sniffing the imp: Oh…beautiful frankincense!

 

Wet on wrist: The frankincense, which smells very earthy, almost like cedar, and now the cinnamon is coming through!

 

Drier: The cinnamon is becoming most prominent! Like those little red hot candies. I can almost taste them on my tongue! This is getting hot!!

 

Dry: This has sweetened up. It is still earthy and dark and spicy, but the frankincense smells sweeter and there is dark, sweet flowers growing in the black of the night.

[Orodemniades]

Wet: Eee! What...in this, I don't like? There's the same note tht's in Shanghai, tea-like scent that's kind of musty-dusty...hmm, that icky lemonish scent from Shadow is showing up here, too! Hmmmm.

 

Drydown: quite smokey...um...frankincense is just not my friend. Oh well...

 

Oro

[foxroses]

Blegh!

 

I got this as a frimp and all I smell is VIOLET. violet violet violet overwhelmingly gross yucky bathroom soap violet. it smells like violet in the bottle, and it smells like violet on my boyfriend. after about 15 minutes it faded down a bit, so it's not as strong, and a HINT of spicy/cinnamon, but mostly we both smell sickening violet. i'm not incredibly familiar with the scent of frankincense, but i definitely don't smell incensy, or cinnamon, or anything. definitely not liking this one.

[yeahbutnobut]

Faustus

 

In the imp: mmm, spicy frankincense!

Wet on skin: this is really good stuff-frankincense, cinnamon, a bit of violet.

Dry on skin: whoa, the combination of cinnamon and frankincense in here is very delicious indeed. The golden resin note warmed by sweet spice with a dusting of violet on top. The violet isn't obvious, but it's there alright. It's the resin that's dominant here. This is a warm, strong scent with a lot of oomph!

After a while: it's very consistent and balanced now. This is a very powerful scent, it smells like it means business! Though the violet does soften it up and adds a slight floral twist.

Verdict: this is a great combination-cinnamon, frankincense and violet make for a lovely scent. this scent is warm, and yet it is potent, almost dominating. It has a real presence to it and you can't ignore it. this is certainly a unisex scent, and will be nice in the winter months. And it's quite strong so a little bit goes a long way. This one's a keeper.

[atthis_uk]

Vial: Doesn't smell very strong, maybe a hint of spice. There's also a slight musty smell that reminds me of the old books section in my university library.

 

Wet: Earthy, spicy. This might be the frankincense, but I'm not sure as I've never smelt frankincense before. Can't detect any cinnamon.

 

Dry: Still spicy, but becoming more woody.

After a bit, though, it suddenly started smelling like stale lavender. I don't know whether that was the violet reacting weirdly with something or what, but I had to wash it off.

[jewelbug]

Imp: I smell cinnamon and incense but also a hint of what smells like dill. Weird. Hubby says there's an Italian herb garden in there somewhere.

 

Him:

Wet: Musty woodsy resins with only a hint of cinnamon. Still a hint of dill, but much less so than in the imp.

Drying: This has an almost green smell on him, over the deep resin incense smell. I guess that's from the violet. The violet makes it kinda flowery, and not really as manly as we were hoping.

20 min: Yeah, he definitely gets much more of the green violet type smell than I do. Its still resinous and spicy, but has a touch of vegetable and flower that we're not too fond of.

1:30 min: This goes green bitter, and not as woodsy spicy on him (like it is on me). His skin ruins this one, cuz on me its lovely!!!!!

 

Me:

Wet: First on, this has a dark musty basement kinda of smell, then a kick of sweet spice. If I had to guess the spices I'd say cardamom, cinnamon and anise. Very cool. I don't really smell violet or anything green.

Drying: Ooh, this is great cinnamon/spice cuz it manages not to smell like potpourri or big red. Great fall/Christmas smell. There is still an undercurrent of musty darkness, but I actually enjoy it.

Late Dry: I get no violet (which in my book is great, since I'm not all that fond of it). I keep getting wafts of warm frankincense and cinnamon Christmas. Its fun and beautiful, but maybe not something I want to smell like all the time--its definitely a bit masculine for me.

 

Overall: This has great throw and great staying power. I love this, but it doesn't work on hubby, and it’s a little masculine for me to wear straight up.

 

Update: I mixed this with velvet to food it up a bit. And WOW. Mmmm. Christmas chocolate spice cake and holiday decorations. I'm so keeping Faustus just for blending. It will help me seasonalize my other scents!

Edited January 1, 2006 by jewelbug

[em_h]

Wet: Gah! It smells like chlorine, of all things. Damp humid chlorine, like the shower room of a public swimming pool. There may be a tiny hint of cinnamon behind the gross chlorine smell, but it's pretty faint. If this is what violet does on my skin, I'm really going to have to avoid it strenuously.

 

Drying: This is not getting any better. It's still swimming pool shower room. I think I may have to wash this off, because it's making me kind of sick.

 

Dry: Scrubbing with dish soap was only partially effective, so I'm getting ongoing wafts of chlorine. That just makes my day. Oh well, we all have the occasional total disaster. At least I didn't actually wear it around strangers, or ayone I wanted to impress, unlike my last disaster with Debauchery.

[malabar]

Out of the bottle, a bit offputting: the frankincense was like a slap in the nose, almost rotten. It improved very quickly, though, with the cinnamon establishing its usual rapport with my skin. I like this one, and I'm glad I'm ending up with two imps of it.

[ShadowAngel]

In the bottle: Slightly spicy and very floral

 

Wet on Skin: Damn, this is masculine! I really hope that it mellows out some. I can really smell the frankinsense, and quite a bit of the violet. The cinnamon isn't very apparent, however, which is too bad, because I love spicy scents.

 

Drydown: Blech! Cloying!

 

Final Analysis: This went entirely soapy on me. I like it in the bottle, but it does not mingle well with my chemistry at all. No sign of cinnamon, either. Maybe I'll try it on my SO.

[sarahj]

Faustus

 

freebie from the lab

 

in vial: spicy violet...not too bad as far as violets go

 

wet: powdery violet

 

dry: powdery violet

 

verdict: not for me...off to swaps

[merebrillante]

In the vial: Sweet and green.

 

On the wrist: Oh, the pine. It reminds me of Christmas wreaths. So fresh and clean, I love it already. I don't get any cinnamon at all. After a half hour, the violet rises to the surface and blends nicely with the frankincense.

 

Later: The frankincense has faded completely away, leaving only a powdery violet. What a shame. After three and a half hours, it's almost completely gone. Alas. I think this would make a lovely room scent, though.

[feline.by.design]

Faustus when wet: "*sniff* Hunh? What the hell smells like pickles?"

 

This is the second oil I've tried recently that gave me that pickley smell. At least, the pickle fragrance died down, leaving me with a lightly-powdered herb scent that... doesn't particularly impress. This is a good unisex fragrance, but the violet on me has overrun pretty much most of the notes.

 

Violet isn't necessarily a deal-breaker with me, as I did like Numb, but this particular oil smells like spent deodorant on my arm. Must be my chemistry or the combination of oils or something. It just doesn't work on me, but I'm glad to have the opportunity to try it all the same.

 

-doreen

Edited January 2, 2006 by feline.by.design

[spidersinmyhair]

At first faustus is like frankinscense in your face,this is wet of course.I didn't want to like it.

After it dries the violet softens it dramatically.I don't really smell any cinnamon.

Usually violets make me think of old ladies and grandmothers,this scent does not.I can relate to the description,I want to keep smelling myself,I smell good.

[grrrlennyl]

at first: salt.

on: very odd. salty and incensy.

1 hour later: soapy.

2 hours later: woodsy and salty.

overall: this just isn't for me.

[spidersinmyhair]

In the bottle I smell prdominately frankincense.

Wet,still frankincense,but the violet comes out,I don't smell cinnamon.

Dry,this is a nice combination of frankincense and violet,I never notice the cinnamon.

[wanderingredhead]

hmm. I think that my skin does not like frankincense.

I get nothing but Johnson's Baby Shampoo.

Very pleasant bathtime sense memories, but not really what I'd choose to smell like. Another one for the swap pile.

[Miss Lynx]

Hmmm... I get mainly violet from this, though the frankincense and cinnamon do tone down the sweetness a little, and give it some warmth and a slightly incensey edge. I can see what some people who've reviewed it mean about it being warm and cold at the same time -- violet's a very cold floral, but it's contrasted with this sunny warmth which makes for an interesting contrast.

 

It's not a bad scent, but it does come across as predominantly floral on me, and I am really not a floral sort of person. It would probably be nice on someone who liked violet more, or at least whose skin didn't amp it the way mine does.

 

Grade: C+

[LiberAmoris]

Faustus was in-my-face frankincense for the first half hour, so intense that I was tempted to scrub it off. I enjoy frankincense, but usually like it more when it's a supporting role rather than a lead in a blend. The cinnamon was very subtle, as was the violet note.

 

After a bit, the violet showed its face, but the frankincense was still too strong for my liking. I think I'll be putting my imp in the boy's pile of things to try. I have a feeling this would be quite nice on him.

[Heretic]

In the Vial: Frankincense and violet poking through.

 

On my wrist, wet: Sharp and warm. The cinnamon adds spice to the mix without smelling like cinnamon, per se, which I appreciate because cinnamon amps on me and I don't care for the smell. The violet and frankincense are playing a lovely duet.

 

After 20 minutes: Well, this is nice, and the cinnamon is behaving. We'll see how that note develops. The frankincense and violet are blended perfectly. Doesn't seem to have much of a throw at all, which is not necessarily a bad thing. This is turning out to be much better than I anticipated.

 

After an hour: I like this a lot. I like violet and I like frankincense. I detest cinnamon. Faustus is the perfect blend of these, with the cinnamon lurking very low in the background. It is definitely a masculine scent, but one I feel comfortable wearing. I'll try this a couple more times before I deem it bottle-worthy, but I certainly seem to be leaning in that direction.

Edited January 28, 2006 by Heretic

[Aredhel]

Rating (on skin): 2/5

Summarised in a word or two: Violet.

 

In the imp: Dark and earthy violet. No sign of cinnamon.

 

On skin, wet: Ah, there's the cinnamon! Cinnamony violets. Interesting, but I'm not sure I really care for it.

 

On skin, dry: Very sweet cinnamon. Kind of like sugared-violet candy sprinkled with cinnamon powder, but earthier..

 

Conclusion: If the violet was a bit softer, I may fall for it. As it is, it's too flowery for me, even though I really do like the cinnamon in it.

[kettu]

In the vial, this smelled so lovely.

 

On my skin, the frankincense made it all bad: yucky incense powder. No violet; no cinnamon. All powder. Very disappointing.

 

I tried this and Penitence on the same day and thus realised that my skin does not like frankincense. Argh. I do! Why does my skin need to be so contrary?! Poo.