O

[veronicafranco]

The scent of sexual obsession, slavery to sensual pleasure, and the undercurrent of innocence defiled utterly. Amber and honey with a touch of vanilla.

mmmm, honey! sweet floral honey. vanilla and amber are singing backup, along with a hint of dirty that comes and goes, but overall, this is a luscious honey on me.

i asked my friend to smell my arm, and did she like it, and she said, "oh, yes, it's pretty - smells like baby powder."

note to self - vanilla can, in fact, be your friend. it's vanilla plus sandalwood that gives the headachey candle-store effect for me. Edited June 27, 2008 by Shollin

[HeavilyArmedPixie]

I got an IMP of O in. I let my boyfriend smell it, put the little wand under his nose. He sniffed. He pondered.

 

THEN he exclaims, "IT SMELLS LIKE A BATHROOM!"

 

I'm like...what? He explained, and apparently he thinks O smells like a urinal cake.

 

 

I shall try it on later, we'll see how he feels about it when it mixes with my body chemistry.

Edited June 17, 2008 by HeavilyArmedPixie

[milo]

Mmm, a dirty honey, if that makes sense, with a touch of floral. I like this scent, but it does not suit me, or maybe I need to be in the right mood for it? Kind of reminds me of Lush's "B Never to Busy to be Beautiful" shower gel, but with an extra "kick" to it..

[Kabooki]

When I first put this one I am hit with a strong honey scent, with a touch of floral in the background.

 

As it starts to dry the honey starts to mellow and it starts to get sweeter, but for the most part it doesn’t change from when I first put it on, only what I think is the amber (it reminds me a lot of one of the notes in Mouse’s Long and Sad Tale) comes out to play a little.

 

Overall though this is a lovely scent and if you like honey then this one if for you.

[Andrea912]

In Bottle: nice; subtle; definitely smell the honey and vanilla

 

Wet: amber is more predominant; nice blend; very soft

 

Dry: Amber went powdery on me...bad.

 

Verdict: I want to like it. I do; I'll try again.

 

ADDED April 20:

 

At first I didn't love this...it was OK; yes, I do smell amber honey and vanilla...

 

But after the drydown I became a true believer. The honey is really peering through and is becoming the overarching note; I do love this;sexy and sultry and kind of skin musky; I liken it to Glowing Vulva or Agrat Bat Malahat.

[sprocket21]

In the imp: Sweet amber

 

I've tried O several times; in theory I should like it a lot. I love vanilla and honey, and I like amber well enough. But it's akin to baby powder on me, and I just am not a fan. I want the sexy honey-drenched scent that other people get!

[kjirstiben]

I tried O the first time and got mainly "sweet, sweet, sweet!" out of it, with a powdered honey-amber finish...

 

So I decided to wear it out this weekend to the movies with a group of friends... and I was, frankly, embarrassed to smell so very decidedly... well, we'll just say it's named "O" for a reason.

 

Something about the honey and amber together were giving a sweet, salty-skin vibe... definitely not G-rated!

 

It's more presentable after a few hours, but I think I'll choose my venues carefully for wearing this scent!

[brsis]

Initial thoughts: The name of this one made me a bit iffy - I dread the day I have to tell someone what I'm wearing - but the notes sound like gold plated win. Amber, honey and vanilla are all top ten notes for me (Possibly even top fives). I'm hoping for a snuggly, sexy scent for when the incense blends are too heavy.

 

In the imp: Black vanilla pods and expensive, dark French honey - the kind that looks like treacle and barely counts as sweet. Mwah. I like. This is dark and smoooooth and sultry.

 

On the wrist, wet: The vanilla is coming forward a lot more strongly in the wet stage - a little more strongly than I'd like, actually. It's sweeter and lighter on the skin but still quite dark.

 

Twenty minutes later: Hmmm... the vanilla is still a little strong and a little-too-bottled-vanilla-extract, but the amber and the honey are dark and smoky and goooood. I can imagine this being a good sleep scent. I've heard it compared to Harikata, which I personally don't see (Smell?) - if anything, this is more like a dark and sultry Tokyo Stomp. The vanillas do the same thing. This is definately something that could come in handy but I'll have to wear it again sometime to see in what capacity.

 

Verdict: Keeping the imp for certain.

 

Tl;Dr: Dark, sultry honey and amber, with a potent vanilla topnote that dominates.

[innocent]

I've recently learned that I really like Beth's honey note so I was really excited when one of my friends ordered a 5ml of O - I'd been wanting to try it but was worried it was going to be too sweet. When it arrived I asked the friend (who had ordered it unsniffed) what it was like...

 

"Sex," she said, "Bottled sex."

 

Hmm. I don't really want to smell like sex... but I tried it anyway. "O" doesn't actually smell like sex to me. In fact, it smells exactly like the listed notes: honey, amber, vanilla. It's on the verge of being too sweet, but isn't quite. It's yummy, yummy, yummy. I agree with other reviewers: this is a good scent for layering. I tried it with my Shub and it was delicious (though too foody for my tastes). I might get a 5ml of "O" once I run out of Mead Moon, but for the moment I like Mead Moon's complexity a bit better when I need a honey fix (though who knows - I might find that perfect scent to layer with "O").

[fairnymph]

In the bottle: Nearly colourless extremely pale yellow. Honey, vanilla, and a touch of warm powder that I presume is amber. Quite sweet and verging on creamy. Feminine.

 

Wet: SUPER sweet. The vanilla jumps out on my skin, it's like French vanilla, and almost has a caramelized sugar quality, but also seems a bit fake. Honey and powdery amber are barely detectable with the overwhelming, cloying VANILLA onslaught.

 

Dry: Dries slowly. The vanilla is still horribly strong, but the amber has amped up a little and is quite powdery indeed. The honey here is faint as a note, but adds sweetness to an already far too sweet blend.

 

Summary: Super strong, fake, cloying, sickly sweet and somewhat boozy vanilla, with warm, quite powdery amber, and only a hint of honey. Unbearably sweet. Good throw, and impossible to remove. Egads.

 

I hate vanilla and I hate amber and I didn't think I could possibly like this, and well, I was right. And the honey barely registers, wah - and I ADORE honey.

 

ETA: The next day, after TWO showers, I can STILL smell remnants on my hand, but they are mostly honey-beeswax and only mild fake vanilla and ambery powder. Bizarre! Still, even the hint of fake vanilla revolts me utterly. This just doesn't work at all on my skin.

[Greensleeves]

This scent was not on my list of things to try, but my friend wanted to test some out on me while we were testing out scents so I figured it would be a chance to broaden my horizons.

 

Because I don't actually own this imp I wasn't able to create as thorough a review as I might have, but this is one I'm content not to own, though I'm glad I had an opportunity to try it.

 

Wet: baby powder on a clean, freshly washed crotch

 

Dry: hints of powdery lilac and amber, baby powder, more crotchy goodness

 

I honestly see why this is called O, but it doesn't make me O.

[Delirium1009]

In bottle/imp: Faint cocoa powder (?) and honey.

 

Immediately on skin: I will start this review off by saying that I’ve learned that the lab’s mainly honey blends don’t work on me and some of the lab’s vanilla turns to plastic on my skin. That said, this is a smooth but powdery plastic scent on me with some interesting sweet warmth. This smells of honey powder over plastic doll heads (you know… the ones that are supposed to smell of vanilla or something?) and an undertone of pretty ok amber. So not good right now…

 

After a little while: Ew. Ew. Ew. This is so powdery and plastic-y on my skin. It has a very cool, caked vanilla baby powder scent that I can’t get over. Yuck.

Overall Impressions: This is my second time trying O, and it’s still a disaster on me. It goes powdery and turns to plastic on my skin. Not for me.

[AthenaRose]

Uh O....

 

I really wanted to love this. Vanilla and honey seem to be good on me in the other blends that i've tried.

 

But on me, O goes sour. It's a sour sweet smell that eventualy fades into a sour sweet powder smell.

 

I have a feeling that amber might not like my skin. I'm not sure if i've tried any other BPAL's with amber in them, but i don't think i have. I might need to stay away from it.

 

My fiancé didn't think it was great either.

 

2/5

[Catmint]

WET: Creamy vanilla and honey, really warm and yummy and quite sexy. It's foody, but not in the "I-smell-like-a-cookie way," more like sitting naked in front of an open fridge while someone dribbles whipped cream and honey all over you.

 

DRY: So far so good...vanilla and honey with a slightly sharp, almost minty thing happening underneath

 

10 MINUTES LATER: Arghhhhhh....plastic/baby powder vanilla death

 

soooo sad

[charshark]

In the imp: Honeyed amber

 

Wet: Nice honey with some soft vanilla and a hint of amber.

 

Dry: Honey with warm amber. A little powdery.

 

Overall: I wish it stayed the way it was when it was wet because it does get a little powdery on me. I do like it overall, though.

[NixieCakes]

Baby powder. Just baby powder. I still wear it though. When I do, there is always someone saying, I smell baby powder! I really thought amber and vanilla were my friends. hm.

[OhioSky]

This smell is to die for! It has notes of honey, creamy vanilla, a deep but light amber, and it is all blended together so very well. It's similar to Snake Oil on me, and I love them both, but Snake Oil lasts a bit longer.

[crebbsgirl]

I truly adore this scent. The honey, vanilla and amber combine to make a thoroughly enjoyable blend. On the skin it's almost a little powdery, but it never quite gets there. It reminds me of warm skin, mussed sheets, and sunshine. It's almost impossible to keep your wrists away from your nose.

[anguissette]

I'm going to try aging my imps. When I tried it it smelled like I'd taken a jar of honey and rubbed it on my skin. It was overwhelming and cloying. I'm hoping the honey mellows and the scents blend over time. I still have hope for O.

[hlinspjalda]

In the vial: Very sweet floral with amber backdrop. Something citrusy but baked about it, like an orange cake. Smells good enough to eat.

 

Wet: An unsettled strong floral comes up first, backed by vanilla-citrus. Amber barely noticeable. Am sure that will change in 10 minutes.

 

Forty-five minutes: It really does smell like a very flowery honey now, with the vanilla beneath it. Yet there's a hint of something spicy and very sensual too. Could this finally be the amber blend I've been looking for, the one where the amber isn't vying for first place?

 

Two hours: I think I have it. This one reminds me very much of an idealized version of the old Kiss My Face soap, the green olive oil bar that was flavored with honey. There's the same sweetness, the same bite, the same lingering impression of something very, very carnal; the only thing that's particularly different is the tinge of vanilla here. I hated having to give up that soap, because I loved the scent it left on me. But it dried my skin too much in the winter, and didn't get it clean enough in the summer. It'd be great to be able to dab a scent like that from a bottle, though!

[Citrongirl]

In the imp: Sweet sweet honey with a hint of amber

 

Wet: Slightly less sweet honey but i can definitely smell the vanilla now.

 

Dry: Honey and Vanilla soften and the amber peeks through a bit more. It reminds me a lot of TBS's vanilla oil.

 

Overall this is a bit too sweet for me but i can understand how ppl would go nuts for it. Didnt help that my bf said it reminded him of his Nanna's Bathroom

 

* after having this on for a bit longer the powdery amber is what i am getting the most. I think the vanilla and honey are hiding from me now...

Edited August 30, 2008 by DancingUpAMoonbeam

[krysaia]

In the vial: Honeyed amber, with just a hint of vanilla

 

Wet: This starts off as mostly very sweet honey, with the amber and vanilla lurking beneath. Amber steps up to the plate rather quickly, though, and balances out the honey within ten minutes.

 

Dry: A warm, mellow honey with a vaguely spicy note underneath. I can't clearly pick out the amber or vanilla anymore, but thankfully there's something rounding the honey out and keeping it from being too cloying. O has decent throw and about average staying power on me, but this actually isn't saying much (my skin often sucks up scents within a couple of hours).

 

Verdict: I wanted to like this more than I do. I don't actually hate it - it IS fairly pretty - but I definitely don't love it, either. And it's not at all remarkable on me. I'll probably keep the imp, but I won't bother with a bottle.

[smokey188]

I really thought i would love this but something in this just doesn't love me. As soon as i put this on it smelt like baby puke fortunately it faded pretty quickly but i couldn't stop sneezing after putting this on.

[inurbanus]

In the imp, this was the same waxy honey smell that grossed me out in Skuld and Mead Moon. Luckily, most of the waxy effect goes away when I put it on -- it becomes a lot sweeter, and I was immediately reminded of Lush's Snowcake soap. However, there's still a hint of "public restroom" that's keeping me from really enjoying this one. I can see why others would, though.

 

3/5

[Vampire Sass]

In the Bottle: Sharp overwhelmingly sweet honey.

 

Wet: Very strong warm honey/musk.

 

Dry: It is very warm, but the honey mellowed out a little bit. The amber comes across more like musk, and the whole scent wass very warm.

 

Overall: Once it dried, the scent was very unchanging and lasted at least 12 hours. I liked this a lot, but I don't think I'd wear it on a warm day, I think it would be overwhelming. It's perfect for a cold fall/winter day though. Unfortunately not as sexy as I'd hoped for. But a great scent overall.

 

I'm really bummed that it isn't the bottled sex that everyone describes, but it is a very nice scent and I'll definitely wear it again.