The Future Ball

[Lycanthrope]

THE FUTURE BALL
One day, Lilith digs up one of my old crystal balls and asks me what it does. I tell her that some people read the future in crystal balls, so she asks me to tell her what's going to happen tomorrow.

"I see a little girl waking up and asking for spaghetti for breakfast."
"I see a yellow building and a yellow toy bus."
"I see a big brown dog. The dog is trying to steal a little girl's dinner."
"I see a little girl surrounded by stuffed animals. Her mother is trying to get her to go to sleep, but the little girl keeps asking for more stories."

This went on every day for weeks. She'd pull out the ball, and ask (demand) that I tell her what was going to happen to her tomorrow. Fun stuff, motherhood!

Crystalline white musk, Somalian olibanum, smoky benzoin, Damascus rose, dark myrrh, sacred sandalwood, life everlasting, rock rose, and gummy bear fingerprint residue.

A very complicated scent.

Wet on my skin this goes directly to 'smoky resin' and does not pass go. I'm getting much of the sandalwood, myrrh, with an overarching golden resin note that must be the rockrose/costus. The immortelle doesn't add too much sharpness to this. I can hardly detect any white musk at all, and for some reason these gummy bears must be in some kind of resin-drenched cult (or made of frankincense) because I do not detect the fruity note that I would expect from BEARS OF GUM.

Over time there is a transition towards smoky, spicy rose, a beautiful fragrance chord that Beth does very well. It remains on the skin a very ecclesiastical, church like aroma. It is magnificent. Like a slightly updated Penitence.

My imp should last me, but otherwise if you like churchy resins and angels made of BEARS OF GUM, do try this.

[ObliqueRed]

This one's a morpher; it starts out very resiny but then after an hour or so turns into a spicy rose with a little bit of sweet fruitiness underneath.

[Xue_Bai]

ITI: Musk and sandalwood, with hints of florals and resins.

 

Wet: Smoky resin and rose, initially with a fruity aspect underneath (the gummy bears maybe?), before the sandalwood takes its place.

 

Dry: Smoky myrrh and rose, with light hints of musk and sandalwood. It's very much like a PG version of Obsidian Widow, subsituting the booze for fruit punch and leaving out the dirty patchouli and jasmine. If that makes any sense to anyone...

 

Later: Wow, morphing! Spicy smoky floral with hints of fruits, specifically citrus.

 

Verdict: Ugh! I was waffling on upgrading my Obsidian Widow to a full bottle and now this, which is friendlier to wear because it's not as boozy and because of the hints of citrus later wil wear better in warmer weather. Well, I have a month to decide what to do...hmmm....

[puck_nc]

Origin: Decant circle.

 

Initial Thoughts: This was mostly a what-the-heck-one-more-decant choice. The dark myrrh is usually very bad on me and sandalwood is iffy. But there were gummy bears...

 

In the Vial: Spicy sandalwood.

 

Wet: Sandalwood and myrrh, amping it up as they do on my skin.

 

Drydown: Hm. Something has begun to itch like there was cardamon or really strong cinnamon. But I'm still getting 100% sandalwood/myrrh, totally smothering the other notes.

 

Verdict: If sandalwood/myrrh behave on you, consider trying it. But my skin chemistry will not play nicely.

[OctoberGwen]

This is exactly the sort of scent I love: spicy, slightly musky, with a hint of rose. I am so glad I'm not a rose amper, because it is so very beautiful in blends like this. I only get a very faint (almost subliminal) suggestion of gummy bear residue if I smush my nose to my wrist...which is perfect. Sugary candy scents do not work on my skin at all.

I am thrilled to finally have a Lilith scent that is so very wearable. It is gorgeous, and something I will definitely reach for on a regular basis. Of course, the label is adorable, too.

[amandette]

I'm getting rosy sandalwood incense. And I love it. It's soft and woodsy and resiny, not sharp or sour at all. Great for a cold day.

[Zii]

There is an artificial strawberry sweetness running through this, which I can only assume is the gummy bears. It's also rather powdery and heavy, which is probably a combination of all the incense notes blending with the rose. It's going to my head a little bit, which also often happens with incense heavy blends. Going to let it breathe from travel before rending final judgement, but it looks like I'm passing on this one.

 

--edit--

Goodness is the drydown on this stunning! The artificial note dies back and the incense goes delightfully smokey. Definitely going to retest and keep this imp.

Edited October 17, 2013 by Zii

[dementia_divine]

In the decant: Rose and resins? I think my nose is starting to die after sniffing so many scents today! I wish I could be more descriptive!

 

Wet: The rose note and the resins seem to be battling for center stage, and I think the rose is going to win. I am beginning to wonder if I amp rose notes. At the moment, I am mainly getting rose, frankincense, and something sweet? Is that the gummy bear finger print residue, or the fact that I am eating a cupcake as I am reviewing this?

 

I am actually really enjoying this thus far. It is far more promising than it seemed to be in the decant. I am surprised that the myrrh and the sandalwood seem to be behaving! Although Little Pythia also had rose and frankincense, I like this blend more... I think it is because I prefer the rose note in this one to the rose champaca in the other one.

 

Dry: This is very similar to what the blend was like in the wet stage, only softer, somewhat smokier, and sweeter.

 

Verdict: I really like this! This is probably my favorite of this year's Lilith blends from the Lab (Capax Infiniti is my favorite overall and now one of my favorite scents in general), which is a surprise, as I didn't think that it would be! I am definitely going to keep my decant, and I am debating ordering a bottle.

 

*edit* Due to the lack of staying power this blend has on my skin, I have decided against getting a bottle.

Edited November 5, 2013 by dementia_divine

[zankoku_zen]

Rose, musk, sandalwood.

 

This is actually a deeply feminine blend on me, because I amp up ROSES like no one's business.

 

Deep, pink, roses.

[mistressfizz]

Warm, woodsy, spicy, all sorts of goodness in this blend! It starts out an earthy incense, which becomes lighter, more floral and dusty as it dries. The rose is soft and slightly sweet. There's a constant undercurrent of spice which balances the woods and rose well. It dries to a pleasantly dusty sandalwood and rose. I find it's a lighter, more gentle, slightly foodie version of Rakshasa. Not as deep or refined as the GC blend, but with a softer, brighter touch.

[Magycmyste]

In the imp: Very complex. Sweetness and benzoin - possibly a bit of sandalwood and myrrh and olibanum(frankincense). Honestly, I have a hard time differentiating between myrrh and frankincense. There is also a bit of a floral note in there, but it's hidden beneath the rest of the notes. (Also, in looking up life everlasting, it seems there's two flowers it could be: I think it's this, but it could also be what's known as edelweiss? There's at least a mention of the term in that entry.) This kind of reminds me of thirtham water at the temple (sacred water) - it's a little like water and chai spices (but without the tea leaves).

 

Wet on skin: Myrrh, almost purely (or olibanum, or both). Basically, incense or camphor. I can kind of pick out the sandalwood if I really try.

 

Dried down: Dust, wood and incense. I'm a little surprised I'm not getting the rose at ALL. I think I've figured out I amp myrrh, which I like, but it's hiding everything else.

 

Throw: Every once in awhile, I catch a whiff of sweetness in the throw - probably the gummy bears peeking their head out. It's almost like beeswax. But every time I try to sniff harder, and get more, it disappears into myrrh and frankincense. The elusiveness is intriguing.

 

Verdict: **** I like this. I really do. I am totally undecided on whether or not I want a bottle, though. I have incense and myrrh scents, and that's mostly what this is on me. Unless some of the other notes come out to play a little more, I don't see this standing out in my collection. But it is pretty. I may hold out for seeing if I can find a partial bottle online later.

[JazzieCazzie]

Received this imp in a small swap so that I could try it out before buying -- one of the two Lilith birthday scents that really called to me.

 

IN THE IMP: Beautifully clean and medicinal, with the benzoin and sandalwood predominant prior to application.

 

Dabbed on wrist and in crook of arm.

 

WET: Resiny, clean and woody. Sharp in a good way . This is, to me, a very complex scent that would fit well in the resiny/incense imps ear pack that the Lab features on the awesome new site (I know that LEs don't go in there, just saying I could see this as very complementary to that assortment). The gummy bear residue adds just the teeniest bit of sweetness when wet.

 

DRYDOWN: The myrrh, as myrrh is wont to do on my more often than not, goes funky-sweaty in the crook of my arm (though not to a dealbreaking degree) but the scent on my wrist is still lovely and woody-sweet.

 

OVERALL: I really like this a lot, and that little hint of gummy gear residue makes it huffworthy, but in the end, I just have a lot of other scents in the complex resiny woody incense category that I like more and so, in the end, though this rates highly for me objectively, I suspect I will put it onto the swap list for another person to enjoy.

 

On a scale of 1-5, a 3.9.

[milo]

I'm getting rosy incense, quite lovely. The rose becomes more muted as time goes on. This is quite similar to Rose Cross to me, only a gentler version. A little bit powdery, which incense and rose blends often do on me, but I don't mind and often enjoy powdery blends. I likey, but probably wouldn't wear this too much. Midnight on the Midway and Witch Dance are probably my favourite incense blends.

[Ajila]

In the bottle - Smoke, sandalwood and a hint of sweetness

 

Wet on me - A soft vanilla and a lost of almost peppery sandalwood

 

Dry on me - A light, sweet, musky scent with hints of resinous depth beneath

 

Overall - I'm not certain on the wet stages, but the dry down is amazing

[mymymai]

ITB: Interesting. I get olibanum, sandalwood, , something oddly sweet, and life everlasting.

 

Wet: Sweet sandalwood paired with musk and rose is simply brilliant. I get a little bit of the myrrh in there as well, which makes me happy as I love resins, myrrh in particular.

 

Dry: After about 10 hours, the scent is lightly sweet from the gummy bear and musk notes, slightly powdery in a good way from the sandalwood and still beautifully resinous. This is very much a keeper.

[quickdrawkiddo]

I would never have picked this one out on my own because white musk is iffy at best on me. But a generous forumite frimped me a decant, and I'm so glad because I am *shocked* by how much I like this! The white musk is definitely there but it's balanced out by the resins and the sandalwood. Not much throw, although I didn't slather since the white musk had me spooked. There is a very slight sweetness as well but it's still quite unisex to my nose. I'm just relieved that white musk doesn't always have to be a note o' death on me! This is extremely wearable and I look forward to using up my decant.

[porcelina]

this is all gorgeous, sweet resins on me- churchy incense, like midnight mass. i do not get any hint of smoke despite the "smoky benzoin" and for once in my life the white musk is not freaking out at me. i don't really get any fruity/sugary gummy bear scent; if anything, this note just adds to the general sweetness of the resins. i LOVE sweet incense/resin blends so i'm really happy that i have a bottle of this!

[BuxomM]

started off smoky, settled into a powdery rose.

[Monster]

This is exactly the sort of scent I love: ... [snipped]

 

 

YES! The Future Ball is the exact type of scent I like to wear. It's the Lab's perfect church incense with a kiss of rose. I amp rose to high heaven (heh), as this dries, it blossoms on my skin turning Future Ball into a smoldering rose incense.

 

If you like Midnight Mass, Rose Cross or All Souls you'll love this one.

[cherrycherry]

Finally managed to track this little baby down and oh! We have love at first sniff!

 

On me, this is a smoky sandalwood at first but as soon as we're at drydown we have rose-scented gummi bears. I know that probably sounds bizarre, but that's what I have here and I am very happy too! About ten minutes later, we get incense and white musk too.

 

Gosh, this really is divine.

[Blood onmy hands]

I don't get any gummy bears from this, sadly. I get a sharp rose, powdery sandalwood, and incense smoke. Like burning a stick of rose-sandalwood incense.