The Devil's Pet Baits

[Mergekat]

"It's a bonny thing," said he. "Just see how it glints and sparkles. Of course it is a nucleus and focus of crime. Every good stone is. They are the devil's pet baits. In the larger and older jewels every facet may stand for a bloody deed. This stone is not yet twenty years old. It was found in the banks of the Amoy River in southern China and is remarkable in having every characteristic of the carbuncle, save that it is blue in shade instead of ruby red. In spite of its youth, it has already a sinister history. There have been two murders, a vitriol-throwing, a suicide, and several robberies brought about for the sake of this forty-grain weight of crystallised charcoal. Who would think that so pretty a toy would be a purveyor to the gallows and the prison? I'll lock it up in my strong box now and drop a line to the Countess to say that we have it."

The madness of avarice: rich patchouli-infused golden amber, leather, black oudh, and almond.

It's strangely giving me Inferno plus Tombstone vibes, but minus the cinnamon or sassafras of those. The amber and patchouli has the feel of woodiness similar to a cedar note. It's a nice dry scent with good throw.

[Ordo_ad_Chao]

I bought a bottle blind, and I'm so glad I did!

 

Wet, this is a sibling to Haute Macabre with patch, leather, and sweet almond. Also reminiscent of Badgers.

 

On dry down, the almond faded away and I was left with a soft, earthy leather that clung close to my skin. Low throw, and crosses that magical line from "that smells good" to "you smell good".

 

30 hours later, hot shower water hit the application points, and what wafted up then had faded on any identifiable notes, softly mineral ... The same kind of mineral note I got from black opal with a lighter touch and kinnabari with a lot more of it. I had actually forgotten about applying this until I figured out what that amazing scent was from. Yes, I stayed in the shower as long as I could for the smell!

 

Definitely a morpher on me, and every stage was glorious. I'm going to need more.

[oakandloam]

Wet, all I get is almond, which was the main reason I didn't just buy a bottle straight up. It's medicinal and sharp and not yummy at all. Fortunately the patchouli comes out quickly but I'm still getting a gross medicinal cookie feeling from this.

 

Okay here's the resinous leather I was hoping for. It's honestly surprisingly faint given the notes, and it's kind of soapy and unpleasant, which is tragic because I love leather notes to death. And that gross almond is just lingering and unfortunate. I'm not going to like this if the almond stays arohnd, and none of the notes I like are strong enough to get through it properly. There is so just promise here, but alas...

[LizziesLuck]

This was ALMOST a blind bottle for me, but I have difficulty with some of the Lab's leather notes, and not knowing which one this is, I ultimately decided on a decant instead.

 

Wet: Creamy almond and a hint of really gnarly patchouli. Sweet, rich. Enjoyable so far, but not something I want to smell like. We'll see what the dry down is like!

 

 

Dry: This ends up being much too woody for my tastes. It's fairly masculine on me. It's pleasant and warm and rich, just not something I personally want to wear.

[zankoku_zen]

This to me is a more masculine version of Badgers. Patchouli and soft brown suede. The leather note in this reminded me to Quincy Morris but more sophisticated. Good throw, good wearlength.

[velvet]

a bit distracted through the wet stage, but in the bottle it smelled sensual and delicious.

as it's drying it smells exactly like cedar on me with a spicy undertone. Sadly, I don't care for cedar.

edit: the cedar like note is getting amped up by my skin. it smells dry and sickly.

Edited February 21, 2016 by velvet

[Ryan Hemphill]

Wet, I get a bit of a sweet almond and leather scent.

 

Dry, it's a woody, smoky leather with smooth patchouli.

 

It's a somewhat masculine scent with nice throw (but not too strong). Kind of a darker, more manly Banshee Beat in a way.

 

I really like this one!

Edited February 23, 2016 by girlryan

[theseagrows]

this starts off with something that smells like red musk and cherryish almond, so like marzipan, sweet! the almond doesn't seem to last too long though and next i get leather, patchouli and amber, and the patchouli (thankfully) fades off some. this is pretty sexy. i think of it as unisex-masculine, but i like leather/oudh scents. the amber in this is quite beautiful...i think i may need a bottle of this for when i want to reach for a leather scent.

[Pyretta]

Finally getting around to reviewing my decant!

 

Bottle: Heavy on the almond, but not a sweet or foodie kind - I think the patchouli keeps it from going there. Amber is also peeking out. Sidenote: how gorgeous is this bottle art?!?

 

Wet: The almond fades a little, settling into the patchouli and amber while giving it a brighter quality.

 

Dry: Leather! Yay! It's that more musky kind that stays close to the skin. The almond and amber get harder to identify individually as this dries down, but they still lend the scent that oriental tone. The blend of leather and patchouli is delicious. I agree with a review above that this reminds me of Banshee Beat... not more masculine necessarily, but definitely more commanding. After around 30 minutes it goes slightly smoky, and the almond is pretty much gone.

 

Verdict: I don't think that I'd reach for this enough to buy a full bottle, but I'm more than happy to hold on to my decant! I'll be breaking this out for sure when I want to feel sophisticated and in control.

[roseus]

In the bottle and on wet this is all cherry-like almond. As it dries down the almond fades and it's mostly rich leather and patchouli. Dry it's a strong heart of leather and patchouli with amber sweetening things, and a rich woodiness from the oudh.

[Blood onmy hands]

I love sweetened leather and sweetened patchouli scents, so this is right in my wheelhouse. I hate almond when it is the variety that smells like cherries, but it smells like cherries and golden, nutty, almost honeyed sweetness here, and I like it just fine paired with the leather and patch anyhow. The golden amber goes a little baby powdery on me, but paired with the leather, it gives off the impression of warm, soft suede. The patchouli adds a grounding hint of soft earthiness in the drydown. Warm amber-suede and soft patchouli sweetened with a hint of cherry and honeyed almond. I'm sad I didn't get a bottle of this, but the decant is definitely a keeper.

[Lucchesa]

This is an unusual combination. It's all almond extract at first, but once the almond fades, which on me is always pretty quickly, it's not the least bit foody. I agree with velvet that the something about the woodiness resembles cedar early on, and almond-cedar is novel to me. It ends up faint leather with really well-behaved oudh and woody patchouli. I don't find it too masculine, but I dig a lot of unisex scents.