A Commentary

[stellamaris]

A COMMENTARY

Ripe apricots and neroli-tinged red musk with bergamot, bitter clove, and vetiver.

This is really delicious. The vetiver is sort of like an "earthy " or dirt note, but it's tamed by the red musk. The apricot is sharp in the best way. The clove is there but very tempered also. This is fascinating, very different from anything I have but I really like it. Very lush. Not foody.

happy to report the vetivert takes a hike pretty quickly, and the apricot remains with a gentle but present red musk. I love the drydown.

Edited February 28, 2015 by stellamaris

[zankoku_zen]

Red musk, clove and apricots. Unfortunately in this particular blend, the red musk is ultra aggressive and the rest notes let her bully them into the background. I get a fair bit of clove and vetiver on wet, which combined with the apricot, didn't make it smell all that pleasant. Thankfully vetiver sort of left the stage on the drydown, leaving a trail of smoke, and clove sort of calmed down and settled down to do its part. At which point the red musk took the opportunity to take center stage, despite this being a sort of ensemble play. Most other ingredients decided to decamp. Good throw, good wear length.

 

Actually, this made me think of Birdman. I'm not sure if the red musk is Edward Norton or Michael Keaton. I'm leaning toward Edward Norton. So, sexy in the overt red musky way.

[mermaidsdream]

 

In the Imp: sweet, resiny, with a hint of smoke underneath.

 

Wet, applied: same as in the imp. I'm getting a hint of red musk in this, but it's a fainter red musk than I'm used to.

 

Drydown: It fades fast (which I may attribute to it being winter, and my skin being much, MUCH dryer than usual), but leaves a lingering sweetness I really like. Even the next day, I'm still finding I really dig this one.

 

This scent didn't even cross my radar when I made my initial Lupercalia wish list, and it's the one bottle I ordered.

[Haltija]

This is a very to the point scent for me. Not overly complicated

 

Sweet, smoky, touch fruity and very delicious. The apricot is incredibly strong and the red musk makes it smell super deep. Like a sophisticated and more adult fruity scent. I hardly get any clove at all and I very faintly get vetiver except on the dry down mostly and that's what gives it the smoky feel. It does fade a little quickly on me as well but I still am kind of liking it.

Edited March 7, 2015 by Haltija

[Lorna Brigid]

Zee's review is spot on!

The red musk is always there in the background, stepping to the forefront now and then, with the vetiver going back and forth. It's a smoky, but not charred vetiver. I don't get much from the apricot. The clove is there too, but it's not annoying clove, it just melds with the vetiver into the red musk.

It was "Hoooo!" On wet, but on dry down it is reminding me of an old favorite: The Living Flame.

[astraelly]

Strange stuffiness/sweatiness on the skin, like the heavy sweetness of skin on a hot day, which is a little bit gross. Probably the musk in combination with the clove, the latter of which always reminds me of dentist offices and sadness. The apricot is there as a sweet (rather than tart) leaning, fleshy pit fruit, but it's overwhelmed by the aforementioned stuffiness. Don't get much bergamot or vetiver.

[CreamyJade]

In the bottle: Vetiver and the sweetness of apricots and red musk

Wet on skin: Vetiver, bergamot and neroli

Dry on skin: Vetiver, clove, sweetness from fruits and the red musk

Final thoughts: This bottle was a random find for me in the Shungas. I've been on a fruity kick lately (I've enjoyed some of the DC peaches and NYCC apple scents), so I wanted to try this one. The drydown is rich and sophisticated, but I'm a bit sad that it's not as red musky on my skin than I would've hoped.

Try, if you like: Lamia, Peach IV

[milo]

All apricots at first, and then its apricots and red musk. This is a fruity musk blend, like hollywood babylon et al. I would have liked this a few years ago, bit its just too sweet and fruity.

[Cali]

Ahh vetiver my good buddy, there you are again. Fantastic.
Anyway, the vetiver, apricot and bitter clove really rule this in the imp, but on drydown it goes a bit softer (don't get me wrong, the bitterness is still there). The red musk goes all types of crazy when dry. Headache-invoking for me, unfortunately, but I totally get how this fits well in the lupercalia section/concept, without even smelling any of the others.

[agirlnamedfury]

i don't get any apricot in this, unfortunately. This is quite a light musk, and on the whole this perfume smells mostly like dry, light wood to me -- quite nice. I was a bit nervous about the vetiver in here, but it's actually not ruining this for me for once.

[gloame]

5ml straight from the Lab. Beautiful apricots in the Shungas, and this one is also delightful in the bottle. It goes a bit bubblegum on me, unfortunately. I've let it age for almost two years and it's still not sitting well on my skin. This could be beautiful on others. Definitely worth a try if you come across a bottle.

[Aveya]

Source: Swap!! Yay

Preconception: Apricot? Loved depraved. Red Musk? F yes. Clove? My favorite. Vetiver? .... ... Well. We're not on speaking terms.

 

Vial: Basement! Dirty grass! How exciting.

Skin: Apricot bloooooms which is amazing. However vetiver's sort of grassy dirty basement thing plus apricot is a real curiosity of a scent. It's like, actual apricot. Picked it up off the ground, dusted off the dirt, took a bite, it's tart and maybe not quite ripe yet. The pit is astringent if you bite in too far.

Drydown: Red musk and Clove start to creep in and overtake. It's a very strange combination with the vetiver again. It becomes fruity sweet musk but with a violent cleave down the middle of a spiced earthy almost astringent blend.

 

Curious battle between sweet fruity red musk, and dark, tart, dirty, earthy vetiver and clove. Has a vibe similar to Depraved for me (in the sense of contrast) but in this scenario I'm not sure if it's working for me. Thing is - I'm not sure. I'm in love with it one moment, then despise it the next. And I keep coming back to examine it because that really fascinates me.

 

Verdict: Sweet fruity musk, spliced with bitter earthy spices. Medium throw and nice wear length.