Fire for Thy Stepmother's Daughters

[strahlend]

Flaming coals, hellfire, and blackened bone.

 

In the imp this reminds me of a red fruit, maybe plum, and a hint of ginger.

Wet on my skin this does smell a lot like ginger to me. It has a sort of sharp, mineral, planty, bite to it.

After a very short time the ginger fades back and the fruity note, warm spice, and floral become the dominant notes. It's a little bit juicy sweet with spice, but still light in feeling.

After about 10 minutes this scent melds together and becomes smells like slightly woody, slightly fruity incense. All of the stages are nice, but this part is my favorite, luckily it's the one that lasts the longest.

A lovely scent for the transition from winter into spring. I wish this scent lasted longer on my skin, but it fades off in about an hour.

[ami226]

On the skin: This is kinda.... fruity! Not at all what I was expecting based on the description! Some sort of slightly charred fruit? Maybe plum? Not really sure.

 

Huh, after a bit it doesn't smell quite as fruity. I'd say it is more of a spicy, slightly floral woody scent. Really strange. Sounds like something I would normally love, but for some odd reason this blend is not sitting well on my skin. It is actually a fairly light scent.

 

Not for me at all.

[BoneBone24]

Wet: Gentle and neutral

 

Drydown: This is not a raging fire, but is more like the glow of an ember. An apricot-hued musk sprinkled with an earthy metallic note that must be the coal. Slightly sweet. There’s a clean element that is growing and subduing the coal note.

 

Dry: I would categorize this as an almost-aquatic. Pale woods and pale musk(s) with whatever that clean note is. A hint of ash and fruit - apricot or grapefruit, I think. Something earthy/woodsy is in there too, but it’s too subtle to pinpoint. Light, sweet, and clean with something brooding in the background.

 

 

 

 

6 out of 10 bones

Edited July 2, 2013 by BoneBone24

[mymymai]

ITI: This is much sweeter than I expected. The hellfire note must use dragon's blood resin, lotus, and something greenly floral. I get the tell-tale bubblegum lotus, but it seems to be nicely balanced with the resin and floral. I don't get much smokiness, though.

 

Wet: Again, bubblegum lotus, resin, green floral, and now a little smoke. It certainly is an interesting scent, but just a little sweet for me.

 

Dry: The scent picks up smoldering coals as it dries and something that reads as cat dental chews underneath the lotus bubblegum and resin. That's a nope for me. Edit: After several hours, it is sweetly powdery and floral - a much more pleasant scent.

[kajacana]

Received this one as a frimp and was pretty intimidated by the description! Any sort of smoke or burning thing is usually an automatic NOPE for me.

 

But this blend really just reminds me of a big basket full of fruit and flowers. It's actually really pleasant and sweet in the imp and wet on my skin. It dries down to a soft floral that's juuuust one tiny step away from becoming baby powder, so it's not my favorite, but even then it's not bad.

[lucycat]

This was a frimp from the Lab.

 

In the imp, it has a very specific medicinal smell that I’m going crazy trying to place. I thought it might be cherry Chloraseptic, and actually did a side-by-side sniff test, but that’s not it.

 

This doesn’t smell anything like the listed notes, which is fine, because they scared me a little.

 

When this oil dries, it’s a warm floral scent. It actually smells slightly different on each arm: the right is floral only, while the left has a faint smokiness over the floral.

 

After a couple of hours, it becomes floral soap.

 

Many hours later, it has morphed again, to a spicy floral. A couple of reviewers have mentioned clove, and if it’s in here, I’m not surprised, because that’s a note my skin amps.

[Ajila]

In the bottle - Coals yes, but surprisingly green and almost berryish, I'm almost inclined to say juniper

 

Wet on me - Ash and soot

 

Dry on me - Surprisingly cool, the last remnants of a fire

 

Overall - It does what it says on the tin I guess, but it's not really me

[radiantfracture]

This came as a frimp with a wonderful name...

 

In the imp: Smoke, sweetness, pungency

Wet: Heat and resin or pitch; something sharp in the nose, like cayenne (or black pepper, as has been suggested)

Drydown: Something floral and oily floats up through -- delicately heady. I'll call that the lotus. Then there's possibly amber? (I don't know dragon's blood as a note yet.)

Linger: Almost all the floral, which is pretty -- rich yet delicate -- but not something I would wear. A little of the sharp peppery sensation.

 

Not for me, though it made an interesting journey.

 

 

{rf}

[Ishtar]

A gentle floral blend with a hint of spice and a slight soapiness to it. Miles away from what I expected based on the description, which is probably a good thing as my skin chemistry usually does terrible things to smoky notes.

 

After complete drydown, the tiniest bit of smoke does appear, but it is extremely faint. On me, this ends up being a dry, rather thin scent that feels most appropriate for spring.

[White Raven]

Wet: Very herby, like the interior of a Chinese medicine shop.

 

Drydown: Faint smoke intertwined with a sweet and meloncholy floral, the kind you get from sniffing black tea bags. A trace of pepper revives it a little. Definitely a morpher.

[Veronica]

Very faint scent, much more pleasant than I expected. A faint, slightly smoky floral.

[LizziesLuck]

Wet: Was not expecting the sweetness or the floral notes that are in this. It's smoky, for sure, but also a bit fruity, and quite sweet. Something in it is going powdery on me.

 

 

Dry: This actually ends up smelling a lot like lotus on me. It's kind of fruity/floral/bubblegummy. Not at all what I expected. Interesting, but not something I would wear.

[Elspethdixon]

In the imp - I was expecting something vetiver-heavy and smokey, but instead it's fruity and sweet, with something hazy/clean that might be musk.

Wet/freshly applied - Fruity and sweet with hints of amber. For a few seconds here and there I can smell something hated and dry, the 'fire' of the description and title, but it never really emerges from beneath the fruity amber.

On the drydown - Still fruity and sweet amber, no smoke or flame or heat at all. I think I like it, though. It reminds me of a less cloying Tamora. By a half-hour or so in, sadly, my left arm has started to develop a 'clean'/'soapy' vibe, though my right is still slightly fruity amber. Noooo. Don't go dryer sheets. Don't go dryer sheets.

 

... but alas, my prayers are in vain and it does go dryer sheets. Close to my skin, it's lovely tart-fruity amber with a sort of haze of musk over it, just like the in-the-imp scent promised, but the throw is solid eau du dryer sheet for a good two hours until it fades into nonexistance.

[Casablanca]

The notes description has me brace for impact, but Fire surprises me with softness. It mostly smells like a glimmering coals concept scent, reminding me of Djinn and Demeter's Bonfire, but more cindering smoke, and this one is barely present on my skin.

 

And... it's gone in 10 minutes.

I like a lot of elemental scents, and I enjoy what I can smell of this, but I need it to stay awhile.

[Lunasariel]

In the imp: When my order first arrived, I couldn't resist taking an olfactory peek, and from this one, I got... bubble gum??? Inexplicable, but there it is. I had hoped that a good few days of settling would bring about a change, but nope. Five days later, and the only change is that the bubble gum is now a bit spicy. Without reading the notes, I would have said lotus with a touch of cinnamon or cassia, or maybe carnation.

 

Wet: Uh. I'm getting a brisk, fresh, fruity floral, with a delicate hint of cinnamon developing after a few minutes. If the amber that other people are smelling is lurking around here somewhere as well, I wouldn't be surprised. Unfortunately, the soapy note also starts to emerge after 15 minutes or so. It starts at skin-level, while leaving the scent intact further out, but it starts to creep out pretty rapidly, alas.

 

Dry: Wow, every stage is bringing something completely new and different. Now it's a soft musky amber with an edge that's most definitely frankincense - nothing else goes slightly sour on my skin like that. And it's still here, seven hours later. Huh! At first I was all ready to drop this one in the swaps box, but... this is actually really pleasant.

[Spaztic]

I like this one!

It's mainly wooden steam sauna with a little bit of campfire smoke and some sweetness (seems like a fruity floral mixture)

This is really comforting, and I'm noticing a bit of a trend...maybe that's a Leo thing, fire scents = comfort

Edited January 27, 2017 by Spaztic

[spikyfairy]

Lab frimp; the description was too intriguing not to give it a try.. I do tend to like smoky things.

In the imp: Sweet & medicinal. Don't think I'm going to like this.
Wet: Spicy floral, turning quickly to a sort of aquatic, but with clove? Halp. Almost certainly my nemesis dragon's blood in here too. This is a big nope so far.
Dry: Not as sweet as I expected from the scent in the imp, but it is going soapy & powdery. Definitely lotus or amber or both in here, along with dragon's blood: all problem notes on me. There is nothing resembling smoke for a long time, and when it finally emerges it smells more like poppy or opium to me. The base is now next-thing-to-baby-powder, so together it's pretty awful.

Nope from me. Weird powdery-poppy-fruity thing. It is quite light & pretty - I can see really liking this if you can pull off this sort of floral, but I cannot.

[whisperstilled]

As the other reviewers mentioned, I would never have bought this one based on the note description, but it's completely different than I was expecting. I was anticipating a cousin of Inferno, but this reminds me of some of my first BPAL experiences - strange, fruity, herbal, lots of notes I can't quite place. Not quite my cup of tea, a little sweet/spicy/smoky/medicinal. If you like your BPAL herbal, you might like this, but it's not working for me.

[tauntonlake]

About a hundred years ago, my husband and I both used to work in a Stop 'n Shop grocery after high school - he worked in the produce Dept., and I used to go in the back room and sit on the pallets, and talk, and watch him open wood crates of fruits and veggies. To me, this scent smells exactly like one of those lush-smelling wood crates of some tropical fruit or other, might have been mangos or papayas, or something like that ..but it brings me way back to those days in a hurry. The scent of the fruit just permeated the vicinity....

 

For this reason alone, I love this one!

[roseus]

In the imp: very light and sweet, not what I was expecting

 

Wet: Faint, but lightly smoky

 

Dry: Barely existent herbal soap. Not at all where I thought this was gonna go!

[achildoftime]

I'm one of the people that are in the fruity/flower camp with this one. It kind of reminds me of sweet, fruity cereal mixed with some kind of floral note. Maybe a waterlily or something that grows near a marsh. It's a little watery, but doesn't go full-on aquatic for me.

 

When it's dry, there is a slightly charred air it gives off. It's not heavy, but it is there. The fruitiness goes away and all that's left is the slightly burned floral. It's interesting to say the least, but I think someone else will enjoy this more than me.

[le-champignon]

I'm glad that I am not the only one who ended up smelling this as a floral.

 

It is an odd scent, and not for me, because of that floral quality.

[dementia_divine]

In the imp: Hmm. I do get some warmth and spice (probably cinnamon) that probably represent the flaming coals, but I think that's behind some sweet floral note. It is not as dark as I was expecting it to be.

 

Wet: The first note that jumps out on my skin is a sweet floral, with the cinnamon or cassia (or maybe cinnamon bark?) right behind it. I think the sweet floral note could be lotus, but not a variety reminiscent of bubblegum on my skin... I'm thinking black lotus.

 

Dry: The main notes on me are now what I believe to be black lotus and spicy red carnation. I tend to amp that carnation note, and that's what I'm getting here. The lotus note seems to be getting sweeter over time, while the carnation is determined to get spicier.

 

Verdict: Not what I would have guessed, given the description! This isn't a scent I'd elect to wear myself, but if you're looking for a sweet and spicy floral, you might enjoy this.

[Lucchesa]

This is a really oddball scent. I couldn't even put Brimstone on my skin -- I learned my lesson with Malediction -- and I expected this to be a vetiver-heavy smoke as well. Instead, as so many reviewers have commented, it's dark fruits and florals with a charred undertone. Maybe the coals are cherry-wood? No throw on me (that's normal) but it lasts well. Nicer than I expected from the notes.