Succubus

[Naamah_Darling]

Bat-winged, flame-eyed, and possessed of an unearthly, perfect beauty: the Daughters of Lilith, the Succubi, invade the dreams of men and lie with them in rapturous, unholy sexual union. The scent of their skin is bittersweet, dusky and terminally seductive. Mimosa, orange blossom, neroli and bergamot with a drop of sweet clove.

Disclaimer: I hate reviewing smells I hate, because I inevitably lay on the snark and sometimes people get offended that I dissed their favorite scent. I'm not saying this is a bad scent. I've yet to smell a "bad" BPAL blend. I will say this did NOT work on me at all.

Now, I have to try this because of the close relation of my namesake to Lilith. I have to try it, but I don't have to like it.

This smells really rank. On my skin, it's orangey, floral, and obnoxious, its high-pitched whine the scent equivalent of a squealing fan belt. It lingers somewhere between soap and dog shampoo, which is a profoundly unflattering thing to say. That does not make it any less true. If this scent were a person it would be Julia Roberts: smug, self-congratulatory, shrill, obnoxious, not nearly as sexy as everyone thinks, and profoundly irritating. I would want to punch it. Don't think "succubus." Think "harpy."

Now, the throw of it is very nice, and smells like fresh, clean laundry with just a faint pick-up of fresh tampon. Up close it's just a sinus-stabbing cacaphony of loud topnotes. As it dies back a floral note of some kind starts trying to make itself known, but the bergamot is slapping it all over the place. Normally I like bergamot, but here it's had too much caffeine and is being a hyperactive ass.

Augh! The longer it's on the more floral it gets, and that isn't much of an improvement. It's like a scent meant to arouse males of a different freaking species.

I can see this being lovely on someone else. Yes, I am willing to bet that there are some women who can wear this without smelling like a Rigelian space hooker, but I am not one of them. As I am not a ramp nancy, I am going to pass this scent along to someone who does well with clean, citrus scents and who isn't engaged in a long-standing cold war with floral notes.

Wearing a perfume whose ingredients don't like you can really make you about as miserable as a wet cat.

[Caltha]

Succubus

I'm very grateful BPAL tossed this in as a freebie, as it is nothing I'd have tried by myself, unless for the name only (but where's the Incubus? I want to try the Incubus!) I've learned to regard orange blossom as an enemy, and this has two kinds of it and no great notes to make up for it, except maybe the sweet clove, which works better on me than ordinary clove. The reviews are not very favourable either and even those who like it say it's a clean and fresh scent, which I don't find appealing.

Still, miraculously, I love it. The orange blossom (by which I mean the neroli as well, or one of them, I don't know which) behaves very well. I was actually glad to recognize the note and thought "mmm, sultry, oriental, heady, incensey..." I could have sworn there was patchouli or myrrh or some kind of incense note in this, but I guess it's just the bittersweet orange blossom that gives me those associations. (The funny thing is, I don't normally like incensey or headshoppy notes either)

Am I the only one who actually do find this blend sultry and sexy and dark? It may be interpreted as "clean" if you by "clean" mean "soapy", not "fresh and light". It does remind me of an oriental orange blossom soap, but a very dark and dirty and decadent soap. The succubus is bathing tonight and the scent of her orange blossom soap is lingering on her skin strongly enough to make you dizzy, mixing with her naughtier odours...

[TrailerTrashPrincess]

sniffed from the impstick: mimosa blossoms!

 

on skin, wet: bergamot, or the inside of a box of Fruit Loops cereal.

 

on skin, dry: orangey, vaguely flowery soap and fabric softener. like orange detergent and floral fabric softener on laundry day, as all the scents mix together.

 

smells good, but nothing i ever think i'd reach for.

[CelestialNM]

In the Imp: Ahh! So very strong. Menacing is right. But in a citrus way. I'm scared.

 

Wet: I smell like lemony laundry detergent.

 

Dry: I smell like citrus Joy dishwashing soap. It smells bright, but in a blinding type of way, very in-your-face. It doesn't do anything for me. Swap!

[Miseraya]

In the imp: Very bitter. Must be the neroli?

 

On the wrist, wet: Morphing very quickly into violets.

 

On the wrist, dry: Definitely a violet scent.

 

Final Analysis: Starts off very pointy, ends violetly. (Haha) I like it, but I have Morgause for violets. So the Succubus is going to have to wing it's way to the swaps.

[dierne]

In the Imp - Can definitely smell neroli with a sharpness that has to be the bergamot. I love orange blossom, neroli and bergamot. We shall have to see if this loves me ...

 

Wet on skin - softly green, I'm guessing the mimosa, going slightly woody with a faint undernote of honey. Not at all what I expected.

 

Dry on skin - Defintely a kind of honeyed wood with the faintest whisper of neroli. Odd, so very not what I expected. Very, very delicate.

 

Later - Still mostly the same only warmer.I like this one. ( gone all soapy )

Edited August 9, 2006 by dierne

[blackfelicula]

I purchased Succubus secondhand, so this imp is likely aged.

 

In the bottle: A scent like China musk hits me in force. This is a good thing. I have a China musk single-note from elsewhere that I wear often enough. It reminds me of childhood in the sweltering summers of Baltimore. My mom had a body splash in a scent called "mandarin orange" that she kept in the fridge. When it was too hot to sleep she'd rub my back with it to help. Comfort in a bottle, that stuff was. Now that I look back at the lab description, that must be the mimosa, orange blossom, and neroli.

 

Wet: There's something that tickles this pervert's brain about reviewing a wet Succubus... Anyhow. For me the dominant note is definitely the China musk. There's something sweeter and something spicy underlying it, but I can't make them out.

 

Drying down: This has a lot of throw. It has a sharp edge, pushing soapy but not quite falling into it. I think that might be the bergamot. Bergamot is so much more pungent in Earl Grey tea. Here it plays more of a supporting role. I think I can just catch the edge of some clove hiding under there too.

 

Dry: This still reminds me vividly of China musk, but with a supporting complexity.

 

On the other hand, I have a big bottle of a China musk here too. I probably won't seek out a bottle of this until that one is gone.

[maijasu]

This scent starts out light, sharp, and crisp, but it turns a bit sour on my skin. I'm not sure which note is the culprit, but mimosa and orange blossom are ones I might suspect. Alas, my imp will have to find a new home.

[buzz23666]

wet - this is a flowery orange peel with clean wet grass

 

Dry - strangely this turns to honeysuckle and wet grass - go figure.

 

I'll keep the imp and try this again later since the orange didn't completely put me off like it usually does.

[grifyn_whiffs]

IN THE BOTTLE: Orange. YAY. The orange is why I went for it, and the bergamot and drop of sweet clove just seemed like bonuses.

 

WET: Bergamot? What happened to the bergamot? I smell the orange, and something

I don't recognize – maybe mimosa or neroli? Not sure of either note, so I couldn't say which. There's the clove, though! Not bad.

 

30 MINUTES LATER: Hmmm. Something weird is happening. What… what IS that? Someone get me some pure notes of neroli and mimosa so I can figure out which one is doing this weird-ass thing. It's gotten edgy and weird -- usually GOOD things -- but this particular edgy and weird makes me think something has "turned" in the bottle.

 

ONE HOUR LATER: Powdery. Something went flat, powdery and plastic on my skin. YIKES almighty. What the HELL happened? It smells like something between the tang of chewable Vitamin C supplements and, I hate to say it, something like the scented crap they put on vomit until someone can get rid of it.

 

NEEDED TO BE REFRESHED: Gack – no. It makes me smell like Smarties, or Sweet Tarts.

 

Comments: The citrus note was so promising. I haven't given up on it (the note itself) entirely, but this particular blend did NOT work on me.

 

PURCHASING: Nuh-uh. BUT, I'm interested in layering potential for this one with something that will counter-act that powdery, saccharine quality, so I'm keeping the imp for now.

[sofiaviolet]

Pure neroli and bergamot. I don't get any clove at all, just really biting and citrusy notes. The mimosa comes through after a moment on my skin. There's still a rotten herbal-citrus smell about the whole thing, though. I think it's the neroli and bergamot. Mostly bergamot, if I had to guess.

[flyingpizza]

I don't really know how it's possible, since they share no notes in common, but this smells exactly like Aeval on my skin. And ick, I really hated Aeval. Perhpas mimosa is in the same family as sweet pea? Because it's the same sickly sweet I got from the sweet pea in Aeval and Mouse's Long and Sad Tale. Not for me.

[birdiefu]

Wet, this was spice and florals. Cloves over bitter neroli, with some other light florals floating around. Very soft florals and the spiciness made it a scent that I thought I could like. Until it dried and then smelled like the tiny soap bars you get in cheap motels.

[aquazoo]

I really like the name - how can you not?

 

Right out of the bottle, OH WOW DO ME RIGHT NOW THIS IS SO INCREDIBLE!!!! I'm testing scents with a co-worker and we managed to control ourselves.

 

 

Fades down fairly quickly. Bored now. Well, maybe it’s coming back… Really subtle now...

 

 

But it's no match for the Voodoo on the other wrist, which keeps arrtacting my nose like a magnet.

 

 

Now it’s laundromat. I suppose some people may have laundromat fantasies (usually involving the spin cycle), but it reminds me of being bored, dry heat, and wishing that the dryer was more interesting to stare at.

 

Well, poo.

[theseagrows]

i love neroli and orange blossom, so i figured this'd be right up my alley. i find bpal's orange blossom to be sweeter than most i've tried, but still nice. this scent starts off very citrussy- all orange blossom and neroli, then it fades and becomes very powdery, almost how violet can do, but there's none in this blend. so i am not sure what's doing it here. after awhile the powder dies down and it's a soft, beautiful orange blossom scent. i wish it had a bit more throw, but other than that i really like it.

[The_Merf]

Thanks to the lovely pkwench for the frimp!

 

In the imp: This is a strong citrus, all right! I can't really pick up on anything besides the orange blossom

 

Wet: The orange blossom is not nearly as dominant on my skin as I thought it would be, given its strength in the imp (my skin does not usually make the note vanish either). The neroli is also prominent.

 

Drydown and wear: Again, this scent continues to surprise. Now I can pick up on the bergamot (I've been on a streak of scents with bergamot as a note, and I'm pretty sure that my skin amps it) and the citrus becomes very light. The oil as a whole is light, citrusy from the orange and bergamot, but also with the neroli. A very interesting composition.

[steffanina]

Succubus-

 

In Bottle: Ooh, a very musty-dusty orange scent. Hope it's prettier on the skin.

 

Wet: Musty-fussy orangey scent.

 

Dry: Oh, this gets MUCH nicer once it's on! It's bright and pretty and sweet-fruity; it doesn't smell so much like orange as something exotic. I would not have expected this from the bottle smell! I don't think it's going to be one of my top favorites but it is very nice and I will try it again.

 

Overall: Nice! A dry-down surprise!

[PilotKitten]

Bittersweet citrus. Spicy hint of clove. Somewhat reminiscent of christmas-time pomanders.... but drier and lighter. Okay scent, just not for me.

[UberAlice]

I was so excited for this imp, and based on the name alone I really wanted it to work on me. Alas, it did not.

 

Wet: very bright, juicy orange and mimosa. It has two of my favorite scents in the world, clove and bergamot, which I cannot smell but hope for them to come up in the background.

 

Dry: And again, there's the damn WINDSONG. Which is funny because it has only one note in common, bergamot, which I know works on my skin. It's slightly sweeter and has a distinct orange middle note. I think it's the neroli going crazy on my skin because The Caterpillar did the same thing on me and it's a common note.

 

So sad, but now it needs to be rehomed.

[supremegoddessofall]

All neroli and orange. Ugh. Swap pile.

[BrightRedScream]

As soon as I open this I get clove and neroli with a little bit of bergamot..very interesting.

 

Wet on the skin it gets a candy like sweetness with a hint of floral citrus...The mimosa, orange blossom and neroli are really really taking the forefront here. It's quite pretty...sweet but bitter at the same time.

 

I can't really say that I like this smell a whole lot on the dry down...it smells like a bitter fruit loop and I don't really go for that.

 

I can't see myself wearing this..I don't want to smell like a bitter orange peel.

[mtlaise]

I thought I liked this one at first, but as it dried, I began to wonder whether I would ever wear it... It began as a mild bergamot smell with a hint of orange. As it dried, the other notes began to supercede the orange. The bergamot was still present, but either the neroli or mimosa mixed with it seemed really bitter. Although I quite like this one wet, and would love it on someone else, it just doesn't work with my chemistry.

[Christine Daae]

Frimp from the lab! <3

 

In the bottle: Mmmm, the same orange blossom note as it is in Lolita (which is one of my favourites, and one of only two big bottles I got before they stopped making them). Promising!

 

Wet: Still very candyish and orangey, bright and juicy with just a hint of spice. I was sort of afraid that this was going to smell like a pomander...

 

Drydown: Shaper, less juicy, but still orange-blossomy. As it dries, it gets less orange!orange blossomy, and more blossom!orange blossomy. "Blossomy" is still not a word. The spice is in the background, very much so - not a huge presence on my skin. This is vaguely "perfume-y" on me, if you know what I mean?

 

Verdict: This is very pretty, sort of a more grown-up Lolita with some spice. This does not at all smell like a pomander, but is still sweetly spicy orange. I like this a lot, and will be keeping the imp!

[Voleuse]

Bitter and sweet, with a round note that reminds me of almonds. After a moment, I can smell the sweet tart citrus, and something a little soapy in the background.

 

Over time, the blend gets lighter, more floral, and more soapy. That bitter tinge stays in the background, keeping this from becoming too generic, but it's nothing remarkable on me. Pretty, though. Clean.

[harmonyfb]

In the imp, it smelled sharp but pleasant, but on my skin? ::shudder::

 

It turned at once to the most bitter, vile potion, rising like a poisonous stink from my skin. I couldn't bear to let it dry, and ran at once to scrub the hideous stench from my flesh.

 

I didn't like it. It didn't like me.