Lips of Flame and Heart of Stone

[absinthetics]

Red musk and red apple with bourbon vanilla, tobacco absolute, Indonesian red patchouli, black clove, and khus.

A gorgeous scent that really begins and ends in the notes that are listed. There is not much surprise in what you would imagine this scent to be, and that to me was excellent! The red musk is there, tinged with apple. The vanilla softens and sweetens along with the robust quality of the sweet tobacco. The patchouli is sweet and not overpowering. While the clove gives it just a bit of punch. This is GORGEOUS.

[suki]

In The Bottle: Tobacco, followed by a bit of apple and some dirty patchouli bringing up the rear.

 

Wet On Skin: The apple is gaining some footing now, and the smokiness of the khus is peeping it's head in.

 

Dry Down: Mostly this has become apple and tobacco in even portions. I get no red musk (which is odd as usually in any blend that note dominates on me), nor do I get any vanilla or clove. The khus *is* still a presence, but it's like a whisper, holding the others down behind the scenes.

 

In All: Of the NYCC scents I've tried this year, this one plays closest to the skin. Because of the strength of the notes, I wouldn't pour it on, but don't be surprised if you want a little extra dab once it settles on your skin. I am not writing off the other notes, since those earthy-resiny notes sometimes take a while to age and blend more fully into the scent. It's lovely now and will be exciting to re-test in a few months.

[sarandipitee]

I wish I had gotten this one after passing it up (had a horrid cold when I tested it on Thursday and it sold out before I was feeling better when I went back to the booth on Sunday). The apple and red musk combo really is pleasant together but the patch ran everything over so I moved on. 3 hours later I'm in line for a panel huffing my arm because it smelled fantastic after the patchouli settled.

 

I think everyone who got it will dig it - but I agree, definitely retest and age for a while before you swap. This is going to be sought after.

[OctoberGwen]

I have to say, I wish I'd grabbed this, too - I fairied a bottle and I bet the buyer is going to love it. Turns out red musk and apple are a match made in heaven - they smell wonderful together, and the patchouli and khus give it a nice edge. I got no clove at all. This is beautifully blended and is the only scent with apple in it that I've ever liked on my skin.

[GlowJob]

I can see this one being a big holy grail for some, especially red musk lovers. The red musk is most prominent but is backed by the juiciness of the apple. The tobacco and patchouli ground this a bit, making it more sultry and grown-up rather than just feminine and fun. But it is a bit of both of those categories. It has a fairly strong throw but doesn't last super long. I would say it was about 3-4 hours on my skin before it just disappeared.

 

It's lovely over all but there is one huge reason why this is just a straight-up no for me: when I was younger, my aunt used to (excessively) wear this one very expensive perfume that came in a gold bottle. I can't recall the name after all these years but the smell of it on her and her sweaters was very distinctive. Lips of Flame is a more mellow doppleganger of said perfume. It isn't that there's anything wrong with the scent itself but, well, my aunt and I no longer speak due to a terrible family situation in which her and my uncle stole large sums of money from my dying great aunt. Needless to say, the scent association makes this an instant pass for me. It's looks like I've already found a loving home for this beauty though! Run, don't walk.

[zankoku_zen]

Oh man, this one is mainly a red musk-patchouli, tobacco, a ton of khus, and maybe a whiff of apple and vanilla.

 

Take the Gas Lamp Flare and make it darker, smokier, and in general less than an illuminating light, and more of a muted glow in the shadows and that's what you have with Lips of Flame. This one is dominated by the patch and khus on me.

 

Dark, shadowy, musky, patch.

[Monster]

When first applied, this is my beloved red musk with juicy red apple. Sadly, the red musk and the apple compete with each other and don't seem to work. I love a red musk/strawberry combo but there's just something off-putting about red musk/apple, it's almost sickly sweet. As it dries, the khus comes out a bit more taming the sweetness (and a beautiful papery khus it is!). In the final dry stage, I amp clove giving the apple an almost mulled quality. Unfortunately, even with the khus and clove coming into to play, the apple still clashes with the red musk on my skin.

 

So sad! This was full of win notes yet it just doesn't work on me.

[Diana Rect]

Interesting, wet in the bottle I smell cherries - like cherry cordial. Wet on the skin I get the fruit note, with a bit of powdery floral, and then after dry down I smell chocolate-y caramel, the fruit note is all gone, and the patchouli/musk/tobacco keep this from being an overly foodie scent. I'm very happy with it.

[milo]

Given the notes, I thought I would love this one. Alas, it is not to be:( I'm getting a whole lot of fruit and red musk, translating to Hollywood Babylon, a scent I REALLY don't like. Yes, there's apple here, totally uber fruity and rather unpleasant. Not for me.

[Coldfire]

Bottle: deep and heady in the best possible ways.

Wet On Me: Rich and lush with a touch of sweetness

Drying Down: Sweet, almost deep creamy musky tobacco. Almost resinous

Dry: still this sweet lush resinous scent that just makes me smile when I huff the back of my hand.

[Roogna]

wow. very nice

better than I expected too

it's almost sweet - the red musk - which blends nicely with the apple. hints of clove, tobacco, vanilla, but mainly it's red musk and apple (and it's the second apple scent that I REALLY like, the other being the black apple of saturn, which is a completely different apple lol)

[Blood onmy hands]

I don't get apple anymore, now that my decant has aged. It's all red, deep, wine-like red musk with a little vanilla creaminess and a dark, murky quality that I think is from the tobacco. Red patchouli smells funky/sweaty on me, but the red musk completely overpowers everything else in this scent, especially now that it's aged.