Salomé

[terrierhead]

A scent that is both coquettish and sinister. Exotic and lush, brimming with grace and viciousness: almond with star jasmine, oakmoss, red sandalwood and Egyptian musk.

I acquired an imp of Salome' from Kagami and started out not liking it much. In the imp, it seems like a rather strong, musk-based commercial perfume - think of the scents that were available in Walgreens in the mid-1980s. I was pleasantly surprised when I put Salome' on. The musk mellows, the jasmine fades a bit, and the almonds come out to play. The effect, after the first five minutes of wear, is luxurious and warm, perfect for winter weather. The throw is strong for about thirty minutes after application, then reduces to a six inch radius or so. I love, love, love this! It lasts long enough that I can still get waves of yummy sweet, warm almond off of my skin after a full work day. Delicious. I may need a large bottle of this. Edited December 9, 2005 by Shollin

[metaldog32]

Salome..frimp compliments of Lab..thank you!!!

 

Not one on my original list of oils to try..but heck, who am I to argue with the Lab's generosity???

 

 

____________________________________________________________________

 

Initial Sniff from imp:It has that same blast of almonds that I got from Bastet....and then a few seconds later as that scent is wafting in and around my nose..I get a faint whiff of floral..on the tail end..which I recognize as jasmine. Interesting combo..seems to work.

 

Now..I have never been a huge fan of jasmine. I just got reacquainted with said jasmine this September while in Spain..specifically Seville. My family and I stayed in a bed and breakfast..and right above the doorway outside was a huge planter of jasmine. I never really noticed it during the day of course..but in the late evening after drinking wine, eating tapas, and enjoying beautiful flamenco, my sister, mother and myself would walk down the narrow streets to our bed and breakfast in the still evening...and when we were almost upon our inn, we would be met with the most amazing fragrance..that of that wonderful night blooming jasmine. For those who run for the hills with jasmine...you gotta give it a chance when it is fresh..wow..

 

Sorry for the digression!!!

 

Applied wet on skin: It's still the almond blast that I have adored...and it stays like that for about hmmm...5 seconds or so....then the transition occurs. For now..the almond has moved out of the way and it's jasmine, jasmine, jasmine taking center stage. It's not a screaming harsh jasmine....but she is making her presence known..with the almond kind of peeking here and there. Not a combination I would have thought of..but I am not the genius here..Beth is and this does smell really nice.

 

Couple of minutes drying on skin: Jasmine and almond are still here..but again..we get some new faces/notes that show up at the party...namely..some sort of spice..maybe the sandalwood??? At this point, everyone is sort of making rooom for eachother on the dance floor..and it seems that this whole melange is actually pretty melodious as opposed to jarring. It's back to the amber and spice/sandalwood notes at the forefront with now the jasmine peeking through adding touches of it's dreamy floral interspersed with the spicy/sweet notes..

 

Drying on skin: Same players...but now the almond is kind of fading out a bit..and it's a bit more spice/sandalwood...with the jasmine....not overly sweet, not overly dry, not overly spicy..all of the notes on my skin work well as a group to evoke a very attractive melange...kind of like a relaxed invitation..

 

Drydown: It's spice and sandalwood...soft and close to the skin with the jasmine still weaving in and out.

 

Staying power is impressive...a good 6 hours..but throw is limited...it wasn't invisible..but then again Salome chose to stay close to me...as if the show decided to put on was for me..and me only. No matte..I enjoyed it nonetheless..

 

Bottom Line:Salome albeit is a good surprise. Never thought I would enjoy a scent with such an unlikely combo of jasmine, almond, spices and sandalwood...but I did. It's an intriguing scent...one that at first I thought I could live without..but yet..I can't quite shake it off. I am not convinced that I want a 5ml..but then again, I am not convinced I want to let go of my imp either.Salome word work well I think in early winter and perhaps go through straight to spring..it's the jasmine that keeps the scent a tad fresh..with the almond, sandalwood, and spices swirling with exotic intent....on the whole a very hard to fathom blend..at least for me...

Edited December 7, 2005 by metaldog32

[maewitch]

Oakmoss has moved up to Enemy #1.

 

It kills all the lovely notes in this with it's evil commercial-perfume-powderness.

 

I can almost catch the musk and the sandalwood, but my nose recoils and flees in terror.

[Rock Geisha]

In the bottle: Mmm, sweet! Strong almond and jasmine.

Wet: Jasmine is stronger and the musk comes forward. This smells exactly like bath oil beads I had when I was little.

Drydown: Powdery, spicy jasmine.

 

To be honest, I wouldn't have ordered this if I didn't share a name with it--those just aren't notes that would have called to me. But it turned out to be one of my favorites--the jasmine mellows out a lot as it dries and the sandalwood grounds it. Smells like yummy incense.

 

Would I buy it in a bottle?: Definitely.

[czuba]

I received a "frimp" of this with a recent order.

 

In the Imp - Almonds, pure almond reminds be of the extract used for baking

On my skin wet - Soapy almonds the jasmine starts to appear during the dry down

On my skin Dry - the jasmine is more to the fore now with untones of almond and something rose-ish. It is still soapy on my skin.

 

After 2 tries, Salome doesn't seem to like me; off to the swaps for you little imp.

[bifemmefatale]

Hurrah! Something my skin likes! Straight out of the bottle, the almond is obvious, that almost cherry-like almond extract scent, with the sandalwood and musk just in the background. On my skin, the almond fades back very quickly, and the star jasmine marches to the fore. I'm not really sure what oakmoss is supposed to smell like, but I never really detect any mossy notes. As it fades, the sandalwood and musk keep shifting back and forth, with the almond making a brief reappearance in a nuttier, more subtle incarnation about an hour after application before disappearing back into the sweet jasmine and musk. Absolutely feminine, rich, floral, and smelling like a warm, humid summer's evening, with a pretty strong "throw". Delicious. This may go on the big bottle list.

[Imptress]

On wet, ALMONDS! Which I like, thank goodness, but that quickly faded back, never to be heard from again. Jasmine made the next appearance, and I like that as well. For me, it stayed pretty much a nice jasmine fragrance with the oakmoss and sandalwood adding depth and a nice dryness. Every now and then the musk would drift in-- a lovely, low-key sweetness. I liked this and will try it again I think but hubby didn't care for it... said it smelled too "old ladyish" and heavy... and that was after I'd been wearing it all day and hadn't refreshed it at all. Ah well, what does he know??

[empi girl]

Musty, musky faded almonds. I like many musks, but I don't think I like Egyptian, and I like almonds, but this is not good on me at all. Going to swaps and hopefully will find a happy home.

[kettu]

scent on contact: ALMOND EXTRACT, which dries down to almond. Of course. And then there's the jasmine. Oh, jasmine, you evil thing you. You big scent bully. I am kettu of the jasmine hand.

 

wait! There's more!

 

...

 

jasmine and... urine? ladies and gentlemen, I have jasmine-soaked urinal scent on my hand. You should be so lucky.

 

{into the swaps}

[pickman's model]

I got this one as a frimp from the awesome Harlequin. It wasn't the sort of thing I'd pick myself, as I'm rather scared of florals.

 

In the imp: Almonds! Almonds and some musk in the back there. Maybe some florals. Not too frightening. I can face that.

 

Wet: The almonds fading fast, with jasmine and musk jumping into the foreground. Yikes?

 

Dry: This is actually working on me. The hell? The almonds settle into a comfy place at the sidelines, keeing the jasmine from acting up and angrily morphing into soap as vengeance for my dislike. The sandalwood amps, going nice and warm and mellowing the musk.

 

I smell like I always thought of sexy grown-up women as smelling. Hmm, This could do nicely for any occasion where I have to dres up, but not be on too perfect a behaviour. The things you learn when you try something new.

[jazlyn]

Salome is powerful almond extract and jasmine in the imp. On it's the same, but then the almond quickly starts to fade away, leaving me with a whole lot of jasmine... so much that it's headache inducing.

[storme]

In the bottle: jasmine, almond, and spicy muskiness.

 

On me: Almonds and jasmine aren't great on me, ever. Wet, this was sharp and made my eyes sting. Once dry, this smelled like very old, cheap commercial perfume that had gone to chemicals. The least pleasant scent I've ever tried from the lab.

[nancybridget]

Cherry....sometimes when there's no cherry, I still get cherry. Or maybe it's another fruit.

 

Anyway, jasmine here is ruining it for me. I love jasmine usually, but with the fruity note, it's turning rather sour on my skin.

 

I cannot find the almond here for the life of me, but sandalwood does make a brief appearance.

 

Not for me.

[brownbear]

At first it was spice with a hint of musk. Now its SANDALWOOD. I wish it didn't change so much on my skin. The jasmine never really came out. Usually jasmine changes into a weird chemical smell on me, so I'm happy that it wasn't really there. Overall it will probably be good for layering, but I'm not sure how much I'll really wear it.

[slave1]

In Bottle: Woody musk

 

On Skin: Very deep cherry and a woody musk. The almond gives the entire scent a cherry feel, very sweet. The red sandalwood gives a nice warm woody note while the Egyptian musk coats the scent with a soft velvety layer. The oakmoss is lightest but does allow for a nice fresh note that brightens the scent a bit. The almond fades the quickest allowing the sandalwood and jasmine to come forward more. Very nice and clean. The jasmine actually takes over as the dominant note, a sweet thick floral. This is so beautiful! I would wear this for sure, it feels so feminine, even with the darker notes. You have to like jasmine to wear this though because the jasmine trumps the entire scent, but luckily it has so many layers that it isn’t “just jasmine”.

[juniperus]

Bottle: almond, sweet almond.

Wet: hints of the moss (I hope they get no stronger, moss doesn't seem to like me), the sweet is clearly the edge of the jasmine (again, I hope it stays back) behind the almond.

Dry: the sandalwood is really broadening, not quite covering the initially heavy almond. the moss and jasmine haven't tried take-over yet, and the musk is subtle behind it all - that's the note I hope I get more of.

Later: ahh, there's the musk! the musk and sandalwood are neck-and-neck in front of the pack, followed by jasmine that, to my delight, hasn't completely taken hold of the blend as it usually does on me. Complex and exotic, warm and red-gold, lush is right-on. Beautiful!

[Concupiscentia]

The ingredient list sounded so good, and it doesnt smell bad on me. But not that great either, really a standard perfume smell. I cant even tell individual notes on my skin.

[miss_rynn]

Imp sniff: It’s all almond and jasmine and musk. I like this one, but I wonder if it will be too strong and head-ache inducing.

 

First on skin: It's very nice! Again, the almold seems to fade or get squashed into the backgorund fairly quickly, but the jasmine remains fairly strong. There is a woody, earthy tone to it... I can pick out the slivers of sandalwood, and the other damp earthy smell must be the oakmoss. I can pick out the hint of musk to it as well. Combined, the scent has an almost frankincense sharp sting to the sweetness of the jasmine. I am very impressed.

 

A little later: Very sandalwoody. Which is fine for me, because I like sandalwood. It *is* like wearing a sprig of jasmine in your hair, though - I can't smell the jasmine on my skin, but every now and then as I move I catch a little waft of it. It still has a very nice sweet-sharpness to it, with little smokey drifts of musk in the mix as well. Not much fading, but I did put a little more on of this oil than the last few I have tried. I have a feeling that once it mellows the almond will come through again, but the sandalwood is too strong for it right now. I am liking this very much so far.

 

An hour later: The sandalwood is still there, but the sharpness of it has faded. It is now a sweet, almost cloying scent... not as nice as it was half an hour ago, but still quite pleasant. But when you smell it closer there is a cleaness of sandalwood to it. The jasmine is barely a whisper form time to time, but it is still there. Musky and sweet, and still very woody. Quite nice.

 

Many hours later: Not really as nice as it started out as. That musky old-lady-perfume smell that make me cringe with All Saints is here. Not as strong as with All Saints, but it's there, and makes me fear a headache. I don't have one, and I don't think I'll get one, but the smell reminds me of the headache. It was so nice, but then the sharper notes (which I suspect I was really fond of) have faded away leaving a heavy, cloying sweetness. I'm pleased the scent didn't fade completely, but I wich the woody scen remained.

[goth_hobbit]

I decided to try this one after scaring one of the cats this afternoon with Brimstone.

 

In the bottle: Almond, with cherry blossoms. Not cough syrup cherry, cherry blossom. An interesting combination of the sweet with almond bitter.

 

Wet: Huh. The almond, jasmine, and oakmoss combine to create ...chocolate. Good, dark chocolate. Salomé is winning me over already.

 

Dry-down: Oh, yum. Once the musk comes into play, I get the lovely, incense and smoke combination that had me so intrigued by Brimstone, only without the intense "come any closer and I will kill you" sharp aggressive note that my skin was amping. It's a fire scent to me, but a smoky, small fire with fruitwoods and copal. Something you'd light in a brazier to chase the evening chill away. Warm and inviting, and just a touch dangerous; a femme fatale kind of scent.

 

Mature: The notes blend into a warm, earthy floral; smoothed out by the almond and anchored by the oakmoss. I could easily see myself wearing this one for a bellydance performance to help get me in the mood. Not a lot of throw, and good staying power. Roughly six hours after, and the fragrance is still lingering close to my skin.

 

Definitely a keeper, and a good candidate for at least a 5ml purchase.

[Diana]

Wet: sweet almonds & a bit of jasmine. i really like the wet stage.

 

Dry: The sweet almond fades quite a bit, and the jasmine becomes more prominent. Then it fades into a weak floral, but the sweetness and warmth of the musk & sandalwood remain.

 

I think I'd like this a lot more if it had better throw; this on me is a nose-to-wrist scent. I really really really like the musk, and wish it were stronger.

 

Overall, it's a nice, sweet, pretty blend. It reminds me a bit of Bastet, but a little softer and less "golden" smelling.

[ViolentKitten]

There’s not much I can say about this one except that it got me hot and bothered. Very much so.

 

Ok, I’ll try a bit harder, Salomé is an earthy jasmine incense with a hint of cherry almond. Lush and rich, the almond, oakmoss and jasmine make it feel all warm and loamy. And there’s something spicy, like very soft cinnamon bark and clove, but I’m not sure. Either way, it all amounts to very warm, spicy skin, which really tickles my fancy. After a half hour or so, a gorgeous musk starts to emerge, making it even tastier.

 

Despite the reaction I had to this, I don’t find myself wearing it all that often, but I love my Imp and definitely pull it out for a little wearing from time to time.

[BrightRedScream]

In the imp: Sandalwood, musk and a liiiiiittle bit of jasmine. It's VERY strong, and it almost smacks you upside the head when you sniff it.

 

Wet on the skin: All I get is sandalwood and musk..it is very exotic smelling, and it's really....strong. There is a slight mossy/green/earthy smell coming out as this dries down.

 

Dry: Very little jasmine in this one..on me all there is is moss, sandalwood and musk - mostly the moss and sandalwood combo though. This really isn't for me.

It's too intense, and I really don't like it.

[RavenVelith]

In the bottle: Woooooooooo almond! And floral! Floraly almond! With a bit of that woody smell!

 

Wet: All I smell is the jasmine and musk. Dunno if I like this. The almond has ceased to exist.

 

Dry: The musk is stronger now, but the jasmine is still pretty much dominating.

 

It hurts my head.

[edenssixthday]

Salomé smells incredibly sweet in the vial, and although I don’t normally care for almond, it smells too good to pass up. As soon as it touches my skin, the almond completely dissipates. The sandalwood scent overwhelms all of the other notes and is the one note that I notice for hours on end. This scent doesn’t have very much throw, which is unusual for sandalwood (on me, at least), but it does last for several hours. I don’t need another sandalwood scent, so this one will be going to a new home.

[sarahj]

frimp from the lab

 

in imp: ALMOND and jasmine

 

wet: JASMINE and almond

 

dry: jasmine, sandalwood, and musk

 

verdict: too heavy on the jasmine for me...this will be swapped or given away