Io

[Heavenlyrabbit]

IO
Red musk, pomegranate, cranberry, blackberry, mango, purple sage, thyme, and angelica root.

A delicate fruity perfume. A light, yet surprisingly sexy vibe. I think the sexy is the Red Musk. The light and refreshing is the herbal overtones to the fruit.

This is very beautiful and doesn't come off as a fruit dessert or fruit alcoholic drink so it should be popular for warm weather, IMHO.

[toku]

This one is very light on me. I get a sense of fruitiness, but nothing I can pinpoint, except for a bit of pomegranate every so often. I don't get anything specifically herby, and I would guess that the herbs are sitting in the background keeping the fruit from getting cloying as they usually do on me. It's a kind of sweet with the barest hint of tartness. I've only had this on for a couple of hours, but given how light it is and how much it has already faded I'm willing to bet that it doesn't last out the work day. Ah, well. It's still lovely!

 

ETA trying again. It's SO PRETTY. A little thick at first application, but it's just LOVELY later. Sadly it still doesn't last very long - very faint after an hour and a half. I hope the weather is mostly to blame for that, because I've decided I want to hold onto this one.

Edited July 5, 2011 by toku

[Invidiana]

At first this is fruity and candylike, almost like Pez, but as it dries down it becomes a lot more adult. It's not particularly heavy on the red musk but some definitely comes through and gives it a hazy veil of sensuality. There is also a tropical quality to this scent coming from the mango and possibly also the way the mango combines with the other fruits; when I sniffed this wet I almost thought there was pineapple in it till I reread the notes. I don't particularly pick out any herbs but there is something drier the background balancing out all the fruity elements. This is a really pretty summer scent that is sweet and musky without being cloying.

Edited June 28, 2011 by Invidiana

[filigree_shadow]

Squishy, fruity, summery fun. I don't really smell the herbs very much, but the pomegranate and mango appear to be front and center. Just a wee hint of red musk -- I amp red musk like crazy and it doesn't overwhelm in this blend at all.

 

Smells delicious. Now I'm hungry for fruit salad.

[stellans]

I didn't buy decants of this year's Metamorphosis update, and there were really only two which called to me: Io and Purple Spotted Swallowtail.

 

I ordered Io first, and must say I'm happy to have it. This is a light, happy scent - all fruit with very little musk or herbs at first sniff. On, the light happiness of fruit continues but as it dries, I can smell a little red musk, and even some sage and thyme. This isn't a very long-lasting blend, maybe 2 hours at the most on my skin and another couple of hours from my scent locket. I really like this blend very, very much but it's not going to last long if I have to slather all day just to keep smelling it. Two of 5 stars.

[Mellifluous]

Out of the bottle, I get sweet fruits and a slight lingering of Red Musk.

Once applied, the sweet fruits go into overdrive, and it smells like tropical pixie sticks, with a tiny waft of red musk in the background. Maybe its just my skin or nose, but it seems like more than a couple scents in this collection have a powdery or dusty scent to them.

Once dry for about 1-2 hours, the powdered sugar candy sticks part of the scent finally lightens up a bit, and I get more of the red musk that I love. It still is a light red musk, like others have said, and I can see this being great for warm weather. .. However, even in the final dry-down, the fruity notes are still just a little too powdered-sugar sweet for my liking.

 

Although I would categorize this as a "light" scent, it does have a decent throw. And as long as you dont mind powdery sweet fruits and a light red musk, you'll be golden with this bottle. I think I would have liked to try this without the mango, cause as much as i like the fruit, it always seem to make scents smell artificial.

[Iceblink]

This is DELICIOUS. Red musk and fruit, fruit, fruit! The blend of sweet fruits (mango, pomegranate) and tart ones (cranberry!) is terrifically balanced. And although I don't get the herbs too much, they are there, lightly, and keep this from smelling like fruit salad. This reminds me a LOT of Shango (which I love!). Wish I could eat it! This has great throw, too. A winner!

[invisible iris]

In the vial: Ridiculously fruity, mango pomegranate bubblegum with red musk in the background.

 

On skin: Mango pomegranate bubblegum with a hint of blackberry, the red musk has disappeared for now.

 

Dry: Gummy bear fruit salad with red musk sweetness. Like a bag of Haribo Goldbären. The main fruit for me is the mango note, which dominates on my skin and becomes candy-like whenever it's present. If I get any herbs, they're faint, not interfering for a second with the comical fruity blast of the overall scent. The candy sweetness burns off after about an hour, leaving red musky mango, but the whole scent doesn’t last much longer than 2.. I agree that this is reminiscent of Ushi, for people who enjoyed that blend.

 

Verdict: So not for me! But fun and sweet nonetheless. I’m glad I got a chance to try it.

[cfrancesca]

I get juicy, very fruity light red musk, with hints of sage and herbs. This reminds me of Ushi without the tomato leaf. It faded pretty quickly on me.

[sqwook]

This is so great on me! Starts out zingy and bright, like berries plus the zing / tartness of grapefruit, which is a scent I have been looking for in BPAL just FOREVER and nothing has even come close. And then a sweet almost-vanilla rounds everything out underneath, while the berries mingle together, and the red musk just makes it like a perfume and not a food. I just love it. Not too foody, not too saccharine/sugary, not too red-musky. Just perfect. And the drydown is so pretty on me, even 12 hours later - more a berries-and-vanilla-spice at this stage.

 

There aren't many berry-heavy scents I can wear - Fruit of Paradise is another - but this is just great. May need a bottle.

Edited July 12, 2011 by sqwook

[SophieCedar]

If anyone is lamenting the loss of the luau lounge, you might want to get in on this one. It's a mostly virgin fruity cocktail with a splash of liqueur (but not.. it's the herbs and musk.. no booze). Very nice for midnight summer heat parties. The fruit kinda sneaks around while the red musk pervades the general 10 ft area around me. I think this is a perfect rich fruit and herb blend. Good balance with the red musk and all work independently without bashing into or eclipsing each other.

Edited July 13, 2011 by SophieCedar

[Blood onmy hands]

Io smells exactly like sweet tarts candies on me, even with their slightly powdery edge. It's a very tart, dry, candied fruitiness where I can't really pick out any one note. I hated it for the first fifteen minutes, but it does start to soften after a while (not enough to be really wearable for me, but better). It dries down like sweet tarts plus a very creamy mango... like sweet tarts and mango ice cream. But the artificial fruitiness still gives me a headache, unfortunately.

[saralaughs]

Mango, mango, mango. It's seriously the Marsha of this blend. A little green, a little tart, a little sweet, with a round fruitiness that is *almost* realistic to me. Reads a little artifical on my skin and that makes me think plastic fruit (which is why most fruit blends do not work on me).

[Diva Urd]

In the vial: WHOA SUPER FRUITY! I get a lot of pomegranate and mango. Pom sadly often goes to sweatsocks on me, and this seems very sweet... but hey, won't know until I try.

 

On: Pomegranate and mango. Still very sweet. The fruit don't smell artificial or anything, but... this may be a bit too fruity for me. I can wear SOME fruits without feeling uncomfortable, but pomegranate doesn't tend to be one of them even if it doesn't turn on me. Red fruit in general tend to be a bit iffy.

 

Later: Pomegranate and musk. Not terrible, but still a bit fruity-red in nature to appeal to me. For someone who loves red fruit in general and poms in particular, check this one out. I'll keep my tester around since it does actually smell decent on me (maybe I can train myself out of this hangup!), but I don't need more for now.

[astarinel]

Juicy mango and tart pomegranate dominate this one for me.

 

I was worried about the red musk here, which can amp and take over a blend on my skin and has killed fruity blends before for me (Semiramis, I'm looking at you), but it's very light. The mango note is definitely the star here, fruity and delicious, with the pomegranate keeping it from being too overly sweet. It definitely sort of reminds me of a fruity cocktail, without a heavy booze note.

 

I rather like this, and I'm going to have to give it more testing. With the Lupers this year, I tried Mango Buttercream and discovered that I really like the lab's mango note, and that's definitely what this blend is all about. I find it fruity and bright without being syrupy or overwhelming.

[yeahbutnobut]

Io

 

In the imp: fizzy pomegranate juice with crisp cranberry. It’s rather acidic.

Wet on skin: still fizzy pom & cran, but now I smell blackberry. Please, please, please don’t do the cat pee thing on me…

Dry on skin: this isn’t too bad. I’m not too crazy about the fizzy sherbet note that pervades the whole scent, it smells really sharp and artificial, reminds me of sour fruit pastilles. But the fruit notes underneath are nice. The pomegranate is almost like the one in Swank or Pomegranate II (the citrus one) rather the deeper spicy one, and its tartness is enhanced by cranberry. The blackberry is there, but-miraculously-it’s not turning to cat pee. Unfortunately I don’t smell any of the herbs or the red musk, which I hoped would stop this from smelling too much like a soft drink.

After a while: after a short, fleeting moment when this turns into a fruity red musk and mango scent along similar lines to Spawn of the She Demon (but lighter) or Corazon, this then morphs back into fizzy pomegranate and sour sweets, but then swings back to mango again, though the mango has that sharp sherbet background to it.

Verdict: I was looking forward to this one but I was a bit let down. It reminds me strongly of something from the Atomic Luau, but without booze. It also smells like sour sweets, with that artificial sherbet-like effervescent sourness to it. The pomegranate isn’t the rich crimson scent from Fruit of Paradise or Red Lace, but the synthetic smell from Swank, and the cranberry made it even more tart. Thankfully the blackberry never turns bad, but the red musk and herbs don’t do much to redeem the scent either, I was hoping for more of those notes.

Is it a keeper? probably not.

If you like this, try: The Dodo, Spawn of the She Demon, Pomegranate II, Swank, any of the Atomic Luau cocktail scents, Corazon (rare)

[midnight_aeval]

I get mostly mango from this one from the vial/wet stage. The drydown has more of the pomegranate and just an afterthought of red musk. This blend is similar to the Atomic Luau scents... tropical & fruity.

[DrKate]

This is very fruity on me, lots of juicy berries. It doesn't morph either, it stays very true. Staying power is pretty good though it's not a very strong scent. I like it anyway but I was hoping for more red musk. I'm tempted to buy a bottle anyway to see how it ages. Does anyone know if the red musk is likely to come out more with age? (Sorry if this isn't the right place to ask this ).

[calivianya]

Io is a lot stronger than I expected. Right after I put it on my arm, though I am testing five scents Io is the only one I can smell. I just smell the berries when wet. The red musk comes out a bit as it dries, and it stays a berries and red musk combo. Even through the far drydown this scent does not morph any more. Very pretty, and berry lovers should at least pick up a decant.

[Balame]

In the Imp: Taking a risk with this one. I'm not a huge red musk fan, and while I love fruits, they're generally hit and miss since I like them realistic and not candy/plastic. From the decant I get a very nice and juicy cranberry/pomegranite mix.

 

Wet: Wow, the red fruits are definitely jumping to the foreground. Very tart and yes, a little bit Bath & Body Works lotion.

 

Dry: This is trying hard not to be as goofy as the Atomic Luau scents, but it's just managing. Mostly thanks to the herbal notes chilling on the edges of the scent. Not getting much red musk, which actually would've turned this more mature if it had made an appearance.

 

Overall: Tart and dry, but still super sweet. Not quite fruit candy, but a sugar-laden fruit juice, sure. Sadly too much for me.

[milo]

Wet, red musk and fruits. Dry, juicy fruit gum, and the red musk has all but disappeared on me. This is really uncanny, I can't believe how exact this is to the gum. This is too uber fruity for me, and I wish the red musk had stayed.

[zankoku_zen]

Cranberry, blackberry and mango.

 

UFFF. This is fruity sexy delicious.

[angelamaria]

In decant: oooh. Pomegrante! Red, crisp, tart berries! Yum. This is almost like juice; very, very fruity. And oh, hello mango, I almost didn't see you.

 

Wet on skin: erm. Almost artificial-smelling to my nose :/ It's nice, but...hmm. Smack dab on the fence about this. I'm getting the mango, pomegranate, and berries. I'll say this, though--I expected a heavy, cloyingly fruity smell from this, the type to make my head hurt, but this is light and almost crisp. Nice for the summer, although I think I would prefer something less sweet.

 

Dry: the red musk is coming up and giving it a bit of depth, but it's just too...fruity for me. It's almost raucous--maybe a bit of aging will smooth out this blend considerably? Harrumph. I wish I could say it was also a sexy fruity blend for me, but it's either it's too confusing for me to properly get into a "sexy" mindset with this blend, or it's just plain not sexy at all for me.

 

Verdict: I'm beginning to wonder if I actually don't like fruity scents as much as I thought I did, because most scents that are almost all fruits, I'm not really interested in as much as vanilla/florals. Oh well!

[Gin]

Oh, boo. Io is a tease. At first, it's a yummy red fruity scent with just a hint of red musk. Over time, the red musk amplifies and makes it just slightly too musky for my taste. It probably would have been perfect on me if the red musk were cut by about 50%.

[thekittenkat]

In the decant: Red musk and fruits.

 

Wet: Still lot of fruits and the red musk, but with an herbal quality from the sage, thyme, and the angelica root.

 

The dry-down: The angelica root is starting to overpower even the red musk, alas. I got a decant because of the various fruit note, esp. the blackberry, but I never could pick out the fruit notes as individual one. A nice scent, except for the angelica root.