Lampades

[Fefferbella]

... Their scent is the crisp, inviting bittersweet tang of cranberry with smoky dark lilies, heady, sensual musk, a tingle of ginger and a brush of Mediterranean spices.

This smells like Cranberries and applesauce on my skin! There is a hint of incense in the background that makes this slightly more complex and sophisticated... but still, mostly fruit.

I really like this, but apples don't like my skin chemistry. Within mintues, Lampades turns into a apple-candy smell that is sickeningly sweet.

Off to the swap pile. Edited December 30, 2005 by Shollin

[Meg]

In the bottle: Oh dear, this smells like a mix of Lady Macbeth and Hell's Belle. Red berries and musk. I'm afraid, now...

 

Wet: a surprisingly realistic cranberry and a slightly earthy scent... like rock dust? Strange. There's also smoke, I think. It smells like being in a tunnel under a mountain, if that makes any sense. It's tart like cranberry and bitter like stone. I find it weirdly appealing.

 

Drydown: the musc is coming out and making things even dryer, and I can smell a whiff of ginger and other spices now and then. It started out quite discrete, but the musk becomes stronger and stronger, and really gives this dark grotto feel to it. There is a vague scent of smoke, but the lily hasn't reared its head at all.

 

Overall: I think this works very well for what it's meant to be, underworld nymphs. There's this berry scent that gives a feminine touch to it - but it could certainly work on a man too - and it stays clean and tart all along, just like... well, rock. I keep coming back to this image of smoke-and-spiced-incense blackened tunnels. Interesting. And big bonus, the musk hasn't gone to soap, nor has it gone sickly sweet. I don't think it's quite me, but it's enjoyable.

[moon_lemming]

Beautiful fruity scent that I couldn't quite place until I reread the description: definitely cranberries. It has a bit of a smoky scent, too, once it's on. I don't really like it on me -- it's a little too fruity for perfume, and the smoky bit bothers me a little bit -- but it would be gorgeous as a room scent.

[Imptress]

Holy berries, Batman! So berry-ish, in fact, that when I first put this on yesterday morning my husband accused me of smelling like strawberries. To my nose, this is very sweet and fruity, but the ginger and spices definitely give it "tingle" and earthy smokiness. This reminded me somewhat of my beloved Urd so I swiped one on each wrist today to compare. Lampades is *definitely* more strongly fruity with an undercurrent of earthiness, while Urd is far more earthy with fruit as the undercurrent. By the way, last night hubby sniffed me again and said it was much nicer after drydown, not quite so sweet. I really like this and will probably finish the imp, and may have to consider a big bottle .

[Neely]

In the bottle: Incensy, sweet, like a "head shop." Hmmmm..

 

Wet: sweet cranberry incense, like the incense that guys used to sell college students in my college days. It is nice, but so far, not me.

 

Dry down: still cranberry incense.

 

30 minutes: cranberry candle. This actually would be very good in a candle.

 

Conclusion: not for me. I really wanted to like this one, stupid chemistry! Off to the swaps

 

On a scale of 1-5, this is a 2 with my chemistry

Edited January 8, 2006 by atropos

[sarada]

I love the dark red color of this oil -- it makes me want to drink it. I'm craving cranberry juice now.

 

Being from a town that has a cranberry festival every year, this was kind of interesting to me -- and I like a lot of berry scents when they have an incensy or earthy feeling to them.

 

This is a very pungent, sweet-sour cranberry cocktail. Actually it does smell like a candle -- even down to being a little waxy. I don't smell lilies at any stage but it does make me think of some of the holiday cranberry candles that I sniffed this year. It would definitely smell great at the end of the year as a room scent.

 

I'm not sure if I'd wear it though -- I do like the slight burst of power that the musk gives it, which is probably why this doesn't become candy on me. Ultimately, it makes me thirsty...and I smell a bit like a candle. Not a bad thing but probably not something I'd wear again. If you're looking for a cranberry scent, or a room scent that would be something like a cranberry candle, this is definitely the way to go!

[Fleurdelys]

This is a spectacular scent. It's beautifully balanced between fruit and darker notes of spice and musk. Anyone who is a fan of cranberry/spice blends or candles will love this.

 

That said, it's just a bit too foody for me - so I'll swap it off to someone who can give this scent all the love and affection it deserves.

[arabella]

First Impression: Very cherry cough syrup.

 

Dries down to: The sweetness tones down greatly and a wisp of incense appears along with a hint of carbonation. The final result is fruit punch.

 

Additional Comments: The notes in this one really surprised me. I'm always fascinated how individual notes vary greatly depending on their proportion and what they're teamed with. I definitely get cherry instead of cranberry and would never have pinpointed any of the other notes. The incense is probably the musk combined with the spices and the lily is what's probably causing the other notes to morph. I'm going to try this as a room oil to see if I can get cranberry out of it that way.

 

Lasted: Several hours.

 

Rating: 2.5 out of 5

[Mary Mayhem]

I think my nose may be broken. I was supposed to smell grape in Wanda, which instead smelled feral, and this is supposed to smell like cranberries, but smells like a big hunk of that shredded grape chewing gum that comes in that "chewing tobacco" type bags.

 

Not that that's a bad thing, I do like my grape with a nice purple shirt with green accents.

 

 

Oh well, all is good. I have a grape scent that doesn't smell of cat butt now.

 

Adds to list of bottle buys.

Edited February 4, 2006 by Mary Mayhem

[Wench457]

Lampades ITB: sweet berries.

 

On: a hint of sandalwood - perhaps the musk morphing on my skin?

 

Dry: sweet and berrylike, but rather a one note samba on me.

[loves_requiem]

mmm....dark, tangy cranberry with incensy notes....like, dark blood red cranberry, not ocean spray juice. this is seductive as hell.

[batsy]

In the bottle: cranberry juice?

 

On the skin: Cranberry incense musk. That's a combo. I can detect a hint of ginger... and it's thankfully not a heavy musk. The tart sweetness of the cranberries is way at the forefront and actually really good smelling.

 

Another keeper! Wow... I'm winning with this batch of imps.

[Caltha]

Lampades

I get the curse of the candy sweet berries, but with a certain ginger bite. It's so warm and sweet it's almost boozy, sort of musty, not just "flat" plastic berries like most of them.

[harmonyfb]

In the imp, it was super-sweet cranberries.

 

Wet, I can smell a rush of dry spices (is that patchouli?) that fade into the background as it dries.

 

Dry, it smells of sweet-tart cranberries and a bit of ginger. No lilies anywhere to be smelled, and no musk as of yet. Hmm. Not sure if it's really for me, though it is a highly unusual blend.

[kylni]

I put this on shortly before going out, so my impressions were on-the-fly.

 

On me, this is pure cranberry, and strong - I put some on my wrist and could smell it while walking. It's nice, but I'm not really a fan of cranberry, so I was a bit confused - why did I think this scent was a good idea again?

 

Reading the note description, I can see why - musk? Ginger? Spices? All some of my favorites. And I'm not against fruity smells in general, so if the cranberry was less prominent, I could see myself liking this. Unfortunately, I really couldn't identify anything but cranberry.

 

The imp has gone to the good cause of enabling my friend who loves cranberries.

[redlisse]

This can't be right. I sniffed this in the bottle and on my skin and every phase in between, and never got even a whiff of cranberry. No ginger or lilies or spices, either.

 

In fact, in every stage, this is a dead ringer for Dragon's Heart, which went all heavy and cloying and thick on me. I'll try again in a few days and update, but...right now I'm wondering if there was some sort of mixup, because this doesn't smell anything like the description.

 

And it's very disappointing, too. I love cranberries.

[Aredhel]

Rating (on skin): 2/5

Summarised in a word or two: Cranberry incense.

 

Preconceived notions: I heard tell in some thread that Lampades is a wee bit similar to my much-beloved King of Spades, so here's hoping it is.

 

In the imp: Cranberry, ginger, spices and musk. KoS or not, this is good.

 

On skin, wet: Cranberry! But also, unfortunately, incense. A very bland thing, this, so far, and very flat.

 

On skin, dry: Much spicier now, and the cranberry's returned! At times the incense seems to linger about the fringes and stay mostly out-of-the-way, and others, it stomps into the middle of everything and makes its presence clearly and painfully known.

 

Conclusion: Cranberry incense, nothing more and nothing less. I can't believe I'm saying this, but I wish it were a bit fruitier — stronger on the cranberry, to be precise. I say this, really, only because I'd hoped this would be at least similar to KoS (and sans incense, it sort've is). Another to try in the scent locket.

[Medici]

In the imp: Cranberries and musk. It sort of reminds me of Smut, actually - the same sweet, tanginess.

 

Wet: Cranberries underscored by herby greens and... TOMATO PLANTS! That's how I remember this blend. I've had the imp sitting around for ages, and for ages I've been convinced it smelled like tomatoes still on the vine with a little dusting of dirt. I'm glad it still turns that way on the drydown.

 

Drydown: Florals come out: a fistful of dark, tangy blossoms that... ok, well it says "dark lillies" but I don't smell lillies. They're not cold, in any case. It's a warm and sweet floral that gets amped by the musk. There's a wee little bit of a spicy snap to it, but its understated. I don't smell any ginger at all.

 

Verdict: Awesomeness in an imp.

 

3.5/5 on Medici's Scale o' Lurrrve

[Nance]

In the imp: Musk, musk, and just a very faint hint of cranberry.

 

On, wet: o_O It smells just like Smut! Holy crap! From the variety of notes I'd never had expected such a similarity.

 

Dry: Wow! Smutsmutsmut! On me the cranberry is barely there...it's all delicious Smutty musk, but less dirty and just a bit sweeter for the cranberries. When it dries there's an unidentifiable something that comes out and warms it just a bit, making it a wee bit less smutty, but still very close to my nose.

 

I may have to get a bottle of this, in the event my stock of Smut runs out!

[gwyllgi]

Cranberries are a huge industry in Wisconsin, and I'm fortunate enough to not be terribly far from a number of cranberry marshes. One of those marshes also supports a gift store which features, among other things, hand-made cranberry soaps. I've been using these almost exclusively since switching from my beloved LUSH's Figs and Leaves. As such, a cranberry-based perfume oil sounded ideal.

 

When I first put this on, the cranberries are in the background, and the combination of the other notes make it smell like black cherry. As it dries, the cranberries come forward, tempered with a hint of smoke and musk. After about fifteen minutes, it loses some of the cranberry and sweetens, with more smoke coming out. It never quite becomes cranberry juice, which is nice as the scent of that is rather repellant to me, and the sweet, smoky cranberries I end up with is an absolutely perfect match for my soap.

 

It's certainly a lovely scent, but one that I think suits late autumn, rather than spring or summer. It's a warm, comfortable scent, perfect for settling in with a cozy quilt and a fuzzy sweater.

[sookster]

initial sniff from imp this has a component similar to something in spellbound...

 

hmmmm...cranberry is the top note ... lovely

 

ok this smells "exactly" like my fav soap sold in my beloved provincetown...it is a cranberry soap with some spice and perhaps incense mixed in....love it!!!!!

 

may need a big whopping 10 ml of this one and i can only imagine that it must age gorgeously!!!!

[GemmaCat]

First thing I detect is a smokiness, very womanly and with the merest hint of lily, and then it's ALL cranberry. Not the juicy cranberries like in Swank, but dark almost fermenting ones, like if you were making cranberry wine or cordial.

 

This is such a dark, unusual scent, maybe even a little intoxicating, but it's not something I'd ever wear. To the swap pile!

[cameroncrazed]

In the imp: spicy cranberries

 

Wet on skin: mostly sweet-spicy cranberry

 

Dry on skin: the longer I have it on, the less obvious the cranberry is - the lilies really kick in (I've noticed that lily is one of the scents that my skin really amps, so it'll probably stay berryish longer on other people or in a scent locket)

 

Overall: 8/10. If I had to pick one word for this blend, it would be "dark". Lampades will either be an autumn scent for me or a clubbing scent (seductive dark berry/floral). Either way, it's great

[filigree_shadow]

This oils smells wonderful. The cranberry doesn't smell like a candle like I was worried it would, it smells lovely and round. I'm a sucker for musk and spices, and they blend fabulously with the cranberry. Over time it gets pretty fruity, but it stays a dark delicious fruit.

 

Lampades is one of my favorites -- it does seem like a winter scent, but I'm wearing it in June and loving it.

[eviltemptressdq]

on me, this is a spicy grape cough medicine scent Must be the cranberry? It is a very "dark" scent, and smells sour.

 

the scent DOES last long, which is good for people that like it... for me, though, that is a curse. hehe.