The Infernal Lover

[theandorran]

A creamy, sensual, honeyed red musk.

So, usually I don't really understand what people are getting at when they say that a scent makes you feel sexy. I've tried a lot of the standard 'sexy' blends and have just been like, well that smells nice. But I don't feel sexy.

Infernal Lover makes me feel like a walking sex bomb. It's a woozy, creamy scent, reminding you of the way that you feel when you walk up to someone whose clothes you just want to rip off, and just smell them. It doesn't smell like anyone in particular, but the feeling it gives -- light-headed and feral at the same time -- is the same.

I definitely get the creaminess more than the honey in this blend, especially dry. It's slightly sweet, but doesn't make me think 'honey.' Something about the blend is just smooth. And the red musk? Mmm. It's definitely there, and it's strong on me. I probably wouldn't wear too much of this.

[cometgirl21]

Somehow, I almost missed this scent. When I went through the Weenies seeing what I would want, I passed this one right by. Luckily, I saw the reviews and snagged a bottle. This is the perfect scent for me. I LOVE red musk and honey. I was so excited to try this.

 

In the bottle: Sweet red musk with a hint of honey.

 

On me: I am SO glad I found this. I get the red musk, but it's smooth and sweet and warm. It sticks close to my skin and is just all around perfect. It does remind me of a smoother, sweeter, less boozy Smut. Smut is the lover who throws you down and has his dirty way with you. The Infernal Lover isn't as loud, but does he deliver. He's slower and smoother, but keeps you wanting more.

 

I NEED back-ups of this, I have a feeling I will be wearing this a lot.

[Mountaingrrl00]

I'm sad this one didn't work for me. It smells surprisingly food-like to me -- like melted vanilla ice cream and waffle cones, or maybe malted milk balls without the chocolate coating. I love the honey in Mead Moon and I love the musks in Smut, so in theory I should love The Infernal Lover, but the creaminess seems to override everything else.

[CitizenBree]

So good! Like Paduan Killer Swarm with Mme Moriarty mixed in. If you liked either of those, or Tombeur, or maybe Snake Charmer, then you can probably get a bottle of this unsniffed.

[Ajila]

In the bottle - Red musk, unsurprisingly

 

Wet on me - The musk is still dominant and quite agressive

 

Dry on me - The musk softens and the honey appears a little

 

Overall - I don't know, I'm not as excited by this as I thought I would be, but people seem to be saying the musk calms down, so I'll hold on to it and give it another go

[mejuxtaposed]

Unfortunately, I have two different batches of this. I loved my decant I received in a circle, but when I purchased two bottles (from NYCC) they smell completely different.

Wet:

Decant: Red musk. Standard, a little creaminess hinting at the edges, but mostly red musk. I love red musk, so while this was good, I was hoping for something for interesting.

Bottle: The creaminess is sort of a coconut scent I'm getting. It's not bad, just different.

 

Drydown:

Decant: ZOMG. This is gorgeous. It's somewhat perfumey, but in such an interesting way, and it doesn't turn too head or aldehyde-y. I've never smelt anything like this before. It's amazing. GAH.

Bottle: This is not at all like the decant. This is all cream, no pretty red muskiness to be found.

 

Such a difference between the two. I would love to find more of the red musk based one, but would rather not take another chance since I have two bottles of ones that I probably won't wear.

 

Alas.

[deviant kitten]

This smells EXACTLY like SOBO on me.....and I love it!!!

[Sabir]

So there are two versions of this blend. I'll review both here.

 

Red Musk blend (redish colour):

Very simple, as a lot of people have noted. I don't get much creaminess from this, just a soft kind of red musk, maybe a wisp of honey. I can't help but associate red musk with old, worn wood. It's a very warm, comforting kind of smell to me. It's not quite as sexy as I was hoping for.

 

No Musk blend (clear or light gold colour):

This smells absolutely divine in the bottle! I like to just open it an sniff it. It's this mouthwatering creamy, honey goodness! It's very sweet, but not sugary. This is fast becoming my go to "sexy" scent.

 

Overall, I like both, but I think I actually like the no-musk version better. If you're wondering which one you have, it's easy to identify them by the oil colour and the smell (or absence) of the red musk.

 

ETA: I think these oils have needed to sit for a bit before the awesome honey/sweet note really comes into it's own.

Edited February 12, 2011 by Sabir

[calivianya]

Oh wow, I love this scent! I wasn't entirely sure what red musk smelled like before, but now I know that it smells just like my own skin if I rolled around in some beautiful spices beforehand. I LOVE red musk.

 

This scent is very demure and quiet on me, because it really does smell like my own skin. It really doesn't smell like I'm wearing perfume, just that my natural body odor is amazing. I bought a bottle unsniffed and I'm very glad that I did, but now I'm toying with the idea of getting a second one just to make sure I don't run out anytime soon.

[crebbsgirl]

Well, this is exactly red musk and honey. It does smell similar to SOBO on my skin once I read that description above. Warm, and dead sexy. I quite like this, but I don't know if it's different enough to warrant a bottle. I'll definitely use the decant.

[filigree_shadow]

I don't really get any creaminess or honey from this, just red musk. I like red musk, but it's so strong on me that I like a little bit blended with other notes. This one is almost like a red musk single note on me. Not very soft, just very musky.

 

ETA: OH. Oops. My decant has been sitting there for a few weeks, and I decided to try swirling it around a bunch before trying it again, and now it smells a lot different. Beautiful and very soft and creamy. WOW, I'm really glad I did that because now I realized I like it a lot. Seriously, it smells a LOT different. Goodness. Had to check and make sure it was the same decant. This smells awesome.

Edited November 8, 2010 by filigree_shadow

[Electric Maenad]

Phwooooargh. Damn, that's some red musk. And in blends where it isn't the dominant note, it's lovely. By itself though, there's a weird fruity element to it that I don't care for. It's the same reason I can't wear Scherezade by itself (although it layers nicely with spice blends). Not getting the honey at all, unfortunately.

[aquazoo]

Honey that's a little bit fruity. It's got a twinge of cocoa to it. Soft, not much body to it.

[yeahbutnobut]

The Infernal Lover

 

In the imp: hubba hubba! Now THAT’S red musk! Not the nag champa-ish red musk that has appeared in some recent scents, but a proper red musk!

Wet on skin: turns a little Smutty on me, but stops short of smelling rubbery/boozy.

Dry on skin: red musk of the sexiest, sultriest type. This is the kind of musk I love. It reminds me of Smut, but this is nicer, because it has all the sexiness but doesn’t smell like rubber and heavy booze. It does smell sweet though, like a vanilla bean has been languishing in the musk for some time. This is not a dry, peppery-incense type musk like some of the recent blends, this reminds me of the Red Musk SN, and it’s an incredibly dark, deep, sweetish, slightly feral and raunchy scent. This could almost be a Lupercalia scent. I don’t smell any honey.

After a while: this then transforms quite dramatically. It turns from the smutty sexy dark red musk into something I think is even nicer…a sweet red Egyptian musk! Yes! It reminds me of the Egyptian Dragon soaps by Darkswan, it has a sweet powdery dusty/sandy scent to it that reminds me a bit of cocoa at times and of sandalwood at other times.

Verdict: to me, this is a return to form for red musk. Some of the recent red musk scents seemed to have a dry, nag champa-ish feel to them, and I liked them, but I preferred the sweet, spicy, almost creamy and fruity red musk used in things like Blood Lotus, Spellbound etc, and this is definitely one of those sorts of musks. The honey adds a subtle sweetness but otherwise this is all about the musk. Calling it ‘Smut-lite’ seems almost disrespectful as though this is a lighter Smut, not as heavy and boozy and thankfully lacking that rubbery note, this is just as sexy! I especially love the drydown, when it loses that intensely raunchy scent and turns into a more sophisticated red Egyptian musk, sweeter and drier and with a pinch of honey dust. Gorgeous, and I can only imagine what sort of glorious thing it will turn into with age…

Emoticon rating:

Is it a keeper? Most definitely.

If you like this, try: Womb Furie, Smut, Lust, Spellbound, Anactoria, Now Winter Nights Enlarge, Spawn of the She Demon, Bien Loin D’Ici

Edited November 11, 2010 by yeahbutnobut

[sunlitgarden]

The Infernal Lover

 

Sweet red musk. The honey goes a bit powdery on me, but I still like it. I think it will improve with age.

[edenssixthday]

The Infernal Lover - This is predominantly a red musk on me. I don't smell much of the honey, just enough to sweeten the musk a bit. It's pretty, but when I want red musk, Hollywood Babylon still does me just fine.

[Icekitten]

Wet: All Musk

Dry: very faint on my skin and i only smell musk, not really more to add.

 

6+ hour later: now i really smell a musky sweetness! honey?

Guessing that aging this baby will make it only better!

 

Overal a lovely scent!!

[yakiguri]

Though typically a red musk fiend, all I get from the decant is that, red musk, and I was hoping for some of the creamy sexiness others got. It's spicy and almost peppery on my skin, and disappeared within an hour. Almost no throw, very faint--I had to apply nose to wrist to even get a whiff of it.

 

I'll keep the decant, but won't be needing a bottle.

[pandorasmuse]

I loved The Monk. I read it on my own first, then in a Gothic Lit class in college.

 

In the decant: Sharp, aggressive, musky sweetness.

 

Wet: Less sharp. A distinct afterscent of crayons, oddly enough.

 

Drydown: Isn’t red musk nice? I find this scent oddly comforting.

 

Later: This is nice, but I can’t see myself wearing it very often, so I don’t think I’ll need a bottle. I’ll hold on to my decant, though. I think this suits me better than Smut does.

Edited November 19, 2010 by pandorasmuse

[thekittenkat]

In the imp: Pretty much SN Red Musk.

 

Wet: Now the honey comes out some. This is a very dark oil, btw.

 

The dry-down: The honey and the red musk blend well together. The creaminess is for my nose what's helping the two to blend. I suspect that I would like a bottle of TIL that had more honey in it. I'm thinking that red musk may be something that my skin amps. The blend does have a powerful throw and lasts a long time.

[Esmeria]

Jesus Christ, Shepherd of Judea!

 

This is gorgeous!

 

In the bottle, it smells quite faint and vaguely musky so I wasn't expecting to fall in love with it.

 

I put it on, and it's like POW! Musky McMusk is here to make you salivate.

 

After an hour or so, it's still really strong but Honey is home. It's so beautiful, heavy musk but a kick of honey is right there.

 

I'll just go eat my wrist now...

[thebirdofhermes]

Ah, where to begin, where to begin. Properly, I ought to begin with my initial thought of what this blend might smell like: namely, sweetened red musk. Sounded nice enough, but to be entirely honest, I really am most fond of Scherezade for my red musk needs. So I did not get a decant.

 

Then the reviews came rolling in. They spoke of this most amazing scent, with creamy red musk. Oh, how lovely was the honey note and how beautifully did it mingle with the musk. Truly this scent, though simple, was most inspired and amazing. It was quite possibly the love child of O and Red Musk SN.

 

At which point, I should have stopped right there and ran screaming. Unfortunately, I didn't. No, no. I knew better, you see. I went, "Surely it's just because it's honey and cream, and those notes are in O, that make people compare this blend thusly. Yes, that must be it, because it sounds divine and therefore it must be liquid awesome on me. Verily."

 

So, spurred onwards, I ordered a bottle blindly with my Yule decants. Again, really, I shouldn't have. I should have saved the money. Maybe upgraded that half bottle of The Soldier to a full bottle. Picked up a GC. Except I didn't. I had to have this one, the one that everyone was talking about.

 

Oh, she started off gorgeous. A pure, sweet red musk, reminiscent of Smut but not quite so boozy. Absolutely delicious in the bottle. Positively drinkable except for the fact that one should not ever drink perfume. I needed it on me. So, I slathered generously, because if it was anything like Smut and Scherezade? Oh yes, it would be love.

 

For the first minute or so, all was right in the world. Creamy, smooth red musk. Soft. Pretty. Me, only way better than I actually smell sans perfume. I was about to regret ordering only one bottle.

 

And then IT appeared.

 

IT didn't just subtly waft in on the edges of the scent. No. IT reached out and grabbed my nose, hard. IT smacked me upside the nostrils, laying a heavy beating on my sinuses. There was no escaping IT. IT consumed the scent. IT was... baby powder.

 

Lo, a great cry rose up from my breast, and indeed there was wailing and gnashing of teeth, for my ancient foe had reared IT's powdery head. Yea verily, I should have listened to the cries of "O and Red Musk!" for, in sooth, it was the honey of O indeed. O, being a great villain of my skin, turning instantly no matter the age into Eau de Johnson&Johnson. Alas, mourn for me, for I did not listen. I did not listen!

 

And now, alone, I weep silent tears, for it is seriously like eight hours, some scrubbing, a lot of washing, and more rubbing alcohol than I care to think of later... and it's. still. on. me. GAH. FRIGGIN' O.

 

(For those of you who prefer less flowery reviews...

Bottle: Sweetened red musk

Wet: Yep, nice, sweet red musk. Creamy and smooth.

Dry: ...Baby powder. And maybe a touch of red musk. Definitely the same honey from O, because that honey note dominates as Johnson&Johnson SN on my skin.)

[rayvn1]

Oh my! Creamy, honeyed red musk. Absolutely freakin gorgeous! Amps well and is just what I was hoping for with War and Ifrit from the Gaiman series. Super sexy. Keeper, keeper, keeper.

[Penance]

Red musk version:

 

Origin:

 

5mL from lamenteuse.

 

Preconceived notions:

 

I passed on this one when it was live on the site, thinking I didn't need it and wouldn't like it. Honey is, more often than not, bad on me. It's either sickly sweet or weirdly sour...or both, in the case of O. Red musk I liked, but didn't love with a fiery passion. Until the Halloweenies came down...and I suddenly developed a raging love for red musk and suddenly had to have The Infernal Lover. Go figure. So I'm hoping this one's a winner because I've been coveting it like mad ever since I suddenly developed a love for all things red musk-based. I'm just hoping the honey works for me.

 

First sniff:

 

Mmm, now this is honey I can get on board with. The Infernal Lover is definitely heavy on the red musk in the bottle, but it's also heavy on the honey. And it's a sweet, true honey scent, not the cloying, weirdly sour strangeness that is O (which I was concerned about, seeing that people have compared O to the honey in this one). This smells almost like a fifty-fifty mix of honey and red musk at this point and I'm liking it.

 

Wet on skin:

 

More honey than red musk, but the honey is still behaving itself. It's sweet and sultry and just a tiny bit powdery. Not like baby powder, but like an edible honey-flavored body powder that I owned at one point. The red musk is there, though, giving it a rich, musky sultriness, so it's not too one-dimensional or too sweet.

 

Dry down:

 

Still more honey than musk. I'd prefer if it were just a little more balanced, but I really like this on me. It's a very sensual, womanly scent that oozes sex appeal. It's sweet and appealing, but also a little ranchy. Just a little, though, not like Lust v7 or one of the other super-intense red musk blends BPAL does so well. It doesn't have a lot of throw for me, but that just means it's better appreciated up close, which is appropriate for a sensual scent like this.

 

The bottom line:

 

The Infernal Lover is a simple scent, but still alluring. I feel sophisticated wearing it, but not too mature or unapproachable. It's a real "come hither" scent and very different than pretty much any other blend in my collection (not because it's complex or unexpected, but because it's not like anything I normally wear). I'm glad I ended up with a bottle of this one.

 

ETA: Another couple of weeks in and I swear the red musk is gathering momentum and is going to to stage a coup and overthrow its honey overlord here very soon. And I'm loving every minute of it.

 

Don't get me wrong. It's still very clearly a honey and red musk scent, but the red musk has started to really show its true colors, as it's wont to do with a little aging. And it's delicious.

 

ETA again: I now have two bottles of the red musk version and they're different. One is very heavy on the red musk (virtually a single note with just a touch of honey; very strong) and the other (reviewed above) is much stronger on the honey and seems to fall in between the no musk and "super musk" (as I'm calling it) versions.

 

I don't know which is the intended version of The Infernal Lover, but luckily I love red musk, so the super musk version is a winner, whether it's supposed to be that way or not.

 

-----

 

ETA again: Tracked down a second bottle that was supposed to be the red musk version, but I ended up with the no red musk version instead.

 

No red musk version:

 

Origin:

 

5mL bought on LJ.

 

First sniff:

 

This is the most realistic honey scent I've come across from the Lab. It doesn't have that strange, cloying sweetness that so many of the honey blends do. It's just like sticking your nose in a jar of fresh honey, but with a touch of added vanilla cream.

 

Wet on skin:

 

It's easy to tell that the base is the same for both versions of The Infernal Lover. This is just like the red musk version, but without the red musk. I'm sure that should be obvious, though. Sweet, alluring and rich. I don't get much vanilla cream at this point. This is almost pure honey, but it's definitely not a single note. There's a creamy muskiness going on in the background that I can't really identify. Maybe it's just a particularly multi-dimensional honey, I don't know.

 

Dry down:

 

The no red musk version is the more innocent and virginal sister of the red musk version. They both ooze sex appeal, but the no red musk version doesn't have the raunchiness that it's red musk sister does.

 

I have to say I really like this. It's almost what I wanted Love's Philosophy to be, oddly enough (since there's no honey in Love's Philosophy). Sweet honey and a rich vanilla cream. I smell like a really high class dessert, but it's not really a foody scent, exactly. I know that doesn't make much sense, but it's hard to explain. It's a rich, sweet scent that smells decadent and edible, but not like a bakery. Maybe I should say it smells like something you would want to lick off your lover's body than something you'd indulge in as dessert.

 

The bottom line:

 

Surprisingly nice! I wasn't really interested in the no red musk version of this one (since my original attraction to The Infernal Lover was the result of the musk and I'm not usually fond of honey scents), but, like so many other surprise winners, it found me and we hit it off. I feel incredibly sexy wearing this. In fact, it makes me think of the District line. This version of The Infernal Lover would feel right at home with the other crib girls.

Edited March 5, 2011 by Penance

[Mellifluous]

Just got my bottle. I bought it untested cause it was such a good deal. I got the red musk version. And that is pretty much what it is. This reminds me of red lace.. but much less sweet. Its pure red musk, with only a bit of honey. Its really nice on my skin. Not too heady or musky, but definitely not tame. For the first hour it has decent throw, but after that, its pretty much just a skin scent. Which is fine by me. I really like this. Its a very simple perfume, but still very nice.