Inez

[ImperatrixMundi]

Golden amber, vanilla musk, myrrh, cedar, carnation, and red sandalwood.

Yeah, well, if it is popular it is bound to be an utter failure on me (though there are a few exceptions to even this rule, fortunately!).

A sweet golden scent but unfortunately faint and powdery-soapy Carnation, cedar and myrrh dont like me much, so I blame them.

[crazyredhead17]

Yeah, well, if it is popular it is bound to be an utter failure on me (though there are a few exceptions to even this rule, fortunately!).

 

That sounds like me.. except Inez was a generic perfume on me.

 

At least it wasn't sandalwood hell, but it wasn't anything special on me.

[Saya]

In the Bottle

In the imp this smells pretty good. I’m getting a bit of vanilla, musk, a touch of floral and just a touch of cedar. Cedar always smells horrible with my skin chemistry, but I’m going to give this a try.

 

On My Skin

Even though I have a bit of a stuffy nose I can still smells the individual notes in this pretty well. The amber and vanilla are dominant with the carnation/sandalwood in the background. So far the cedar is staying under control and I haven’t amped it like crazy. This is a pretty good scent so I hope it stays away, I’d hate to have cedar ruin wonderful perfume oil!

 

After a Bit

Two hours later and this is still going strong. The vanilla, musk and floral blends are still present and smell divine. Fortunately the cedar has vanished leaving behind a wonderful scent.

 

Rating 1-5

Scent - 4 Throw - 5 Longevity – 4.5

Overall (not an average) – 4.3

 

Final thoughts

This BPAL is the most traditional ‘perfume’ smelling oil that I’ve tried. It has a touch of powder in the scent but it’s quite nice. A tiny bit goes a long way seeing as how the throw is huge and the scent lasts forever. I’m so glad I have a bottle of this.

[Avery]

Smelled nice at first. Wet I got the spiciness (I thought I smelled nutmeg and cardamom) over a blanket of warm and cuddly softness (must be the vanilla). However, it faded fast into a non-descript powder smell. Huh. I´ll retest in hopes of a better result soon... *crosses fingers* I really want to like Inez. Not too surprised, unfortunately, as amber tends towards powder on me. May keep the imp, no way on a bottle at this rate.

Edited December 11, 2008 by Avery

[jewelbug]

Bottle: Sweet golden amber, with a slightly fruity vanilla note.

 

Wet: Woodsy, creamy, golden amber, with a hint of spice from the carnation.

 

Drying: Huh. Furniture polish? I think the woods and the still-fumey resins are creating that impression. Under the furniture polish I get a creamy musky amber (i think its the same vanilla musk from la fee verte).

 

Dry: This is pretty--a lightly vanilla'd golden, resinous amber. It reminds me strongly of Jacobs Ladder. Early on, this is like JL with a woodsy (almost pirate ship-like wood, slightly masculine) note, and in the late dry down they are almost identical.

 

Overall: Nice on dry down, but I don't enjoy the furniture polish phase, and I think I have a more skin-chemistry-appropriate super amber blend in Jacob's Ladder. I'll pass this along.

[clementlau]

I'm in love with Inez... IN LOVE with her. Totally and utterly obsessed. Not only that, but I sorta look like the Grindhouse Girl on the artwork! At first bottle-sniff, this smelled very much like butterscotch, and I was a little wary it was going to be a little too candy/foodie, even for someone who tends to go for those gourmande-type scents. HOWEVER... as soon as I put it on, it morphed suddenly and softly to one of the sexiest, closest-to-the-skin, WARM scents I've ever tried. And I've tried a lot of BPAL.

 

Inez is a teaser, it's a scent that pulls one ever closer, and I can't stop sniffing myself. There is the enticing cuddliness of the vanilla, the radiance of the amber, and the subtle spiciness of the carnation, amber and cedar that combine to make this smell like skin warmed by sex and deliciousness. This is a scent that for me, doesn't give too much throw, but absolutely demands closeness. Case in point, my boyfriend BIT me when he smelled this on me... which is a good review, for him. ; )

 

I want bottles and bottles of this.

[isisonearth]

Imp: Strong and heady vanilla musk with a halo of amber.

 

Wet: This has to be the most gorgeous vanilla I have ever smelled. Creamy and rich spiced with resins then made even better with my favorite floral, carnation, in all its glory.

 

Dry: As it the cedar comes out but it doesn't overwhelm the scent but mingles with the sandalwood. The scent is dryer and less sweet after a time but still gorgeous.

 

Overall: Inez is a beauty.

[MisterShrapnel]

Inez kinda snuck up on me... when I first tried her I didn't have any particular thoughts for some reason, but I've definitely become more attached to her lately. In fact I think she's becoming a favorite! Maybe because she's not particularly "WOAH _[particular note]_" in scent, so my inexperienced/clumsy nose didn't know how to appreciate the notes? D:

Not that I'd be a whole lot better now anyway, but...

Mostly golden musky vanilla, reminiscent of cookies somehow (especially in the beginning). Something a tad powdery and perfumey about it, which works very well for the overall impression IMHO... myrrh and amber, maybe? A little spicy from the carnation. The cedar and sandalwood add a nice dusty woodiness (in that same blonde/gold color), and while they're not hard to discern, those notes never get overwhelming (i.e. no wood shavings). Warm, inviting, and pretty.

Very easy to wear in any setting, I think, and it's probably the most refined (traditional?), natural, and lady-like thing I've taken an extreme liking to yet. Lasted all day for me, and seems to have good throw.

Love!

 

[odalisque]

In the vial: golden, soft toasty, not quite sweet, slightly foodlike. Amber and something pale-woody.

 

On the skin: The toasty scent blooms, along with a pale muskiness (not white musk, but similar to skin musk). There's something here I can't quite put my finger on and I'm going to kick myself when I go back and check the description. The foody smell melts away and it becomes more golden and melds with the skin, kicking back, getting low-key.

 

Dry: Something like a skin musk with pale woods and the very slightest floral wisp. No vanilla, but a smoothness I associate with vanilla. It's dryer. A skin scent, which means it's really sexy, and much more well-melded, smooth and beautiful than I expected. This should be great for layering and it's really different.

 

Three hours later: straight amber. Argh! ETA: OK, I take it back, I tried Inez on one wrist and Brisingamen on the other by way of ambery comparison. Brisingamen is much stronger on the amber on me, but still probably not straight amber, so it's easy to see that Inez dries down to vanilla, skin musk, THEN amber and maybe the tiniest hint of myrrh.

 

Still, Inez is a lot like like Brisingamen's sweet blonde cousin.

Edited January 13, 2009 by odalisque

[ami226]

Sadly, Inez just isn't for me...

 

In the bottle: Woody caramel

 

On the skin: Begins smelling like caramel popcorn. Not bad, just strange. Then it suddenly morphed into a ceder vanilla caramel smell. Very interesting, but not quite my style.

[Fury]

In the imp and fresh on my skin, Inez is warm, sweet, slightly nutty with a hint of some red, almost berry like quality. This is a similar reaction I share with Smut, and it reminds me of that warm, sweet berry that some form of musk must create on my skin.

 

Unfortunately once drying it becomes a very unpleasant floral, polish, wood pulp sort of scent, which very strangely reminds me of an elderly woman. I so very dearly wanted to love Inez, and am very happy I only procured an imp of her.

[marared]

Hm. This one morphs a little bit. It started out fruity and powdery amber - where the fruit came from, I don't know, might be the carnation. Either way, it smells kind of like old chewing gum to start. After ten or fifteen minutes, though, the fruit impression evaporates, the vanilla musk comes out, and the powder hangs in the background. It's nice, but it's not anything I need to have in a bottle.

[kjirstiben]

Initially applied, this scent is almost buttery, with a heavy-duty amber as the most prominent feature. On my skin, however, it sweetens up immediately, to a warm, spiced amber--oh, that's the carnation!

 

Cedar is an undertone in this scent, an almost-there note that doesn't try to take over.

 

Vanilla emerges after a while in perfect concert with the amber--truly delightful.

 

This a long-wearing sweet, spiced amber. Delightful.

 

Recaplet: Sweet and spicy amber that sticks with you.

My rating: 5 of 5 (I LOVE IT!!!)

Color Impression: Light golden-brown.

[Dracoo9]

This is deffinently a golden amber blend with a faintness of vanilla and myrrh. I was kinda worried initially because of the ceder note and sandalwood together because to much wood-esq notes tend to gain up on the other notes on me. But this is pure bliss. Inez is a sexy, darker blend then what I usually go for but I cant stop sniffing Inez is unisex, to me at least. This one deffenently became bottle worthy for me with a 5/5

[TheOneTheyCallLuna]

This scent reminds me of a lighter, girlier Minotaur. It has that same undercurrent of smooth, syrupy resin. In the imp, this smelled kinda yucky - like most of my favorite BPALs!! First on the skin, I get a weird waft of cocoa that quickly gives way to a golden, honeyed, Minotaur-esque fragrance. Yum!

 

Minotaur was almost true love for me, but not for the fact that it always seemed just a tad too dominant and...fancy for daily wear. Like I would wear it with an immensely expensive dress suit and heels to a business power-lunch at an upscale restaurant if I were a top-rate lawyer (ETA: call me crazy here, I thought I was for a long time, but I swear the first time my boyfriend smelled Minotaur he said, "that smells like something you should wear a suit with," which is what I always thought. Maybe it was my skin being weird?) and, er, not a scruffy lil goth punk girl in black skinny jeans and chuck-t's on my way to the tattoo shop. So, yeah, while I absolutely adore it, there just weren't exactly a lot of great opportunities for wear and I ended up passing dear Minotaur on to a much happier home. Inez is Minotaur that I can wear everyday, out to a romantic dinner with the boy in a pretty dress, or to a punk show or the co-op in jeans and a tee. This blend smells like it would be suitable for any season or occasion year round.

 

Oh, and did I mention that it smells heavenly? Golden and glowing, softly spicy and resinous, feminine without being remotely cloying...I am absolutely going to require a big bottle before the carnaval departs. This is destined to be a new LE favorite of mine! To my nose, it shares notes in common with both Minotaur, and Mama-Ji. Resiny, spicy, radiant amber!

 

Edited February 8, 2009 by TheOneTheyCallLuna

[LizzyLies]

In the bottle:

My mind immediately shoots off to 'buttery something.' I think I'm getting the vanilla and amber, but my mind's too busy declaring the bottle to be buttery to notice it much.

 

On the skin:

This one, is a morpher on me. It started off as buttered popcorn and evolved--after ten minutes--into a rich, warm, inviting, golden sort of scent. All the scent notes are getting along famously and if I concentrate, I can pull them all out. Mainly though, I'm getting carnation, cedar, and vanilla along with the amber.

 

Overall:

I'm happy I have a bottle, once it gets past its buttery stage it's a gorgeous scent, a bit too foody for everyday for me, but definitely something I'll reach for from time to time.

[Ajila]

In the bottle – vanilla musk, carnation and just a touch of cedar

 

Wet on me – Sweet and light and airy and just a tiny bit soapy

 

Dry on me – Oh joy! Warm sweet – almost honeyed vanilla with a soft, sexy musk undertone

 

Overall – I expected to love this and wasn’t disappointed. Warm, inviting and sensuous, but still a wearable every day ‘work safe’ blend

 

[Monster]

Out of the vial: An almost milky smelling amber.

 

On my skin: A soft, airy amber mixed with musk. I think the milky smell I'm picking up must be the vanilla portion of the musk. This has a very soft, powdery feel to it. I'm not getting any cedar at all (so for those of you who were afrid this was going to smell like pencil shavings, it doesn't at all.) As this dries it pretty much stays the same on my skin, just a bit more mellow. I thought the carnation would peek out a bit more but I'm not getting any of that either. This is almost all amber and vanilla musk on me.

 

Drydown: This has a clean, classic powdery feel to it. I imagine it being the scent of old Hollywood stars. I bet Ginger Rogers would've liked to wear this one This is ultra femenine (strong, sexy, powerful femenine...not sweet, pretty, and playful.)

 

Overall: I'm not sure this one is for me (a bit too powdery) but I can see why so many people like it. This has a very decadent, "classic" perfume feel to it. Despite all the resin notes in this, it doesn't smell like a hippie or incense at all (if it did I think maybe I would've liked it more ). Everything works well together to create a really "Who IS that girl?!" kind of smell. Very pretty, I can appreciate it but just not my style.

[eoifemacbeth]

OH GOD WHAT IS THAT IT BURNS GET IT OFFFFFFFF

 

Do not want, most definitely. Which is sad, because the enticing amber-vanilla-sandalwood waft from the bottle made me think I'd like it. God, what IS that smell I can't get off my arm? I bet you it's myrrh.

[caitilarkin]

In the imp: Musky vanilla, backed by sandalwood with amber very faint in the distance

 

Wet on skin: Slightly muskier and woodier, but still predominantly a sweet, mellow vanilla

 

Dry on skin: Gorgeous and very well-blended vanilla-based scent, backed by smooth wood notes...this lasts forever and doesn't morph much through its 8+ hour life on my skin. No carnation, though.

 

I've been wearing this a LOT since I got the imp because it's perfect for any environment and situation. There will be a bottle purchase in the near future.

[milica]

This is one of the my favourite bpal scents that is close to skin. Mostly amber and very soft musky vanila, with sandalwood and a bit of cedar. My bottle is 6 months old and amber and sandalwood age pretty good.

 

Soft, warm, feminine, lasts for ages!!! Subtle and sexy at the same time, I love it!!!

[iamblackbird]

I will sneak into someone's room and steal more bottles of this.

 

By all accounts, this should be terrible on me. Cedar, musk, amber, and any florals generally turn into muck on me. For some reason, this worked magnificently on me! The vanilla warms the carnation, and the amber behaves itself.

[Obscura]

A lot of people have pretty much summed up how I feel about Inez, but I'll put my 2 cents in anyway.

 

When I first got the bottle, sometime in fall 2008, I opened it and WHAM, some sort of nut smell hit me right in the nose. I could smell wonderful notes under that, but it was just too nutty. I tried it on anyway, and after a while the nuttiness fell away just enough to let in the amber, myrrh and sandalwood peak their heads up. I couldn't smell the cedar at all, and barely the vanilla.

 

There was something about her that made me keep the bottle. I just tried her again this morning and wow, yum. The nutty smell is still there a bit when I sniffed the bottle, but after 5 min of having this on, it was smooth, warm amber and vanilla with a touch of incensey smoke. It lasts a pretty long time (about 6 hours before a touch up for me), close to the skin but enough throw for someone to notice how awesome you smell. I still don't completely smell the cedar, but there is a slight sharpness to this after it dries, so perhaps that's it.

 

My advice: let it age for at least 4 months, if not 6 before wearing it. I'm definitely going to be buying a back up bottle.

[lothien]

I have no idea how I have not reviewed this one yet!

I got an imp of Inez a couple of months ago and fell for it immediately. I have since discovered that it has a few things that are always BPAL magic on me - vanilla musk, red sandalwood and carnation. Really, there's nothing in this one that should miss, as long as the cedar isn't prominent, and indeed, it's just gorgeous, and one of my favorites.

 

I get a distinct butter rum lifesavers smell from the bottle that my imp sure didn't have, but it's gone almost as soon as it hits the skin. It's one of those oils that blends so well that I have looked at the components a dozen times trying to remember what all is in it. I love that after the initial sweetness burns off, it really doesn't morph much, just gets closer and closer to the skin as time goes by. Though I swear there should be lily in this and there's no lily. ^^

I catch the same warm, lovely edge of the sandalwood from time to time, the same as with Morocco. It's yummy but not foody, spicy but not incensey, and always seems to perk up my mood when I wear it. The woods and myrrh are the perfect balance to the sweetness of the combination of the vanilla/amber/carnation. The musk is less apparent at first, then becomes more delicious as everything settles.(Sometimes in the mornings the sweetness will make me second-guess my choice, but then 45 minutes later I'm giddy with the wonderfulness that is Inez.)

When I first wore it, it was one of those blends where partway through the day I would forget I'd put it on, then catch a marvelous whiff and realise "Oh, that's me!" and that just adds up to a bottle, dunnit?

Maybe moar. A kiddie pool's worth or so.

 

[fairnymph]

Sniffed in imp: Light amber coloured oil. Sweet, spicy, incensey. Amber is strong, as are vanilla and musk. Very much a spicy carnation. Warm, woody, a bit dry. Rich and luxurious. Edited March 17, 2009 by fairnymph