Grooming Scene in a Brothel

[theseagrows]

Vanilla saffron, carnation absolute, bois de rose, myrrh, and sandalwood incense.

right off i get sandalwood incense, and then myrrh and bois de rose after a minute or two on the skin. i get a bit of spiciness from the carnation later on, but can't really detect the vanilla strongly on my skin. this is a very pretty incense scent, it's not nag-champa like at all, more like a soft japenese incense. Edited April 25, 2016 by theseagrows

[Antoinette]

I'm kinda obsessed with this blend. It's one of those where the notes are fairly easily identified on their own but blend together so beautifully to create an elegant and atmospheric scent.

 

On my skin the spiciness of the carnation stands out with the vanilla saffron close behind. These are so pretty together. The sandalwood incense wafts around through the whole scent, the myrrh and bois de rose are like a softness rounding it all out. This scent is complex in a way, as I inhale deeply I can pick each note out. The overall effect is lovely, like walking into a room with multiple lovely smelling things in it. Flowers and incense and vanilla. Love it.

[bitterstar]

Love's Philosophy with a whisper of dry, pale sandalwood smoke -- precisely what Love's Philosophy needed to keep from going too sweet. Lovely.

[LizziesLuck]

Wet: Lots of Myrrh, some woodiness from the bois de rose, and sandalwood incense, which is going a bit powdery/soap on me. I am not getting any of the carnation or vanilla saffron at all, currently, and there's no similarity to Love's Philosophy (one of my all-time faves) on me.

 

Dry: I was not expecting this to be a straight-up incense blend on me, as I generally amp carnation, but that's what it is. A really nice incense blend. I don't get the carnation or the vanilla saffron, just the sandalwood incense and Myrrh. It's a really nice incense blend, but I have others I like much more. This was only out of the mail a few days, so I will let it sit a few weeks and try again, but it may have to go into the swap pile.

[Ryan Hemphill]

A while back I had a bottle of Love's Philosophy and while I thought it was nice, it was too faint and just not enough oomph for me. I ended up selling it after a few tests.

 

I decided to give Grooming Scene in a Brothel a try- hoping it would be the part of Love's Philosophy that I liked, with an added edge to it that would work better and last longer on me.

 

But, Grooming Scene is even weaker on me than Love's Philosophy. It disappeared so fast on my skin.

 

Ahh, skin chemistry. We can't win them all!

[Franny]

This is one of the most gorgeous BPALs I have ever smelled. I have trouble picking out the notes from each other.. I get the vanilla saffron, carnation, sandlewood incense, but it all blends together so wonderfully. I am in love. The bottle is still pretty fresh, I can only imagine how wonderful it will be when it has had a chance to age.

[yakiguri]

This smells exactly like Satya Super Hit incense (the black box) on my skin: SUPER-strong nag champa with dashes of rose and sandalwood. As it dries it gets a bit of a plasticky note which I recognize as fresh carnation. Though rose ultimately comes to the fore as the blend dries, there's no denying that it overwhelmingly smells like Super Hit.

 

I like Super Hit and have a box of it, but I'm not sure if I want to smell of it. I could get that from lighting it in a small room. I'll revisit in a couple months and see if the blend calms down a bit more.

[roseus]

Oh my goodness. Saffron, carnation, and sandalwood are at the front for me. This is smoky, spicy, and lightly sweet. To me this is really sexy, but in a coy way. Not in a sweaty or intensely carnal. It's heated, like the anticipation building.

[Blood onmy hands]

Light, slightly powdery sandalwood incense with a hint of rose that's turning a little soapy on my skin. The drydown is a little bit smoky and delicately sweet, like burning sandalwood-vanilla incense, with a bit of sharp spiciness from the carnation. Fades quickly to a faint, powdery incense after about an hour.

[Dark Alice]

The saffron in this upsets my stomach something fierce. UGH. I can't even bear to try it out.

[LiberAmoris]

I tried Grooming Scene in a Brothel a couple of times, and it seemed nice but wasn't knocking my socks off. I let the bottle rest and returned to it last night and it totally knocked my socks off.

 

The sandalwood incense is no joke, and it's fantastic. The vanilla saffron and carnation absolute and bois de rose come in after the sandalwood mellows out a bit, and I can smell the myrrh and it's all very smooth, wrapped up in the sandalwood. The closest comp I can think of is Morocco, but this is more incensey, and the sandalwood note is far stronger. It smells a bit like a Mysore sandalwood soap from India that I buy by the case.

 

This would make a wonderful meditation perfume, and I might use it that way, or I might just apply to feel my blood pressure drop after I get home from work. A real stunner from my Lupercalia order, and a testament to letting a perfume rest a bit before making a final decision.

[AmyO'Shields]

I came here to write a review but LiberAmoris already wrote a better version of what I had to say.

 

I tested this when I first got the decant and was underwhelmed. I tested again last night and just now and yup, knocking my socks off. I love it.

 

ETA: This is aging beautifully. Now it is all about the saffron and rosewood...gorgeous.

Edited April 16, 2016 by Herb Girl

[DiesMali]

In the bottle: Sharp, slightly sour and unpleasant rosey incense.

 

Wet on my skin: SAAAAAAAAAAAFFRON. HI. I'M SAFFRON. SAFFROOOOON. After the saffron has finished loudly announcing itself, it's joined by its buddies sandalwood incense and carnation. And then vanilla! Beautiful.

 

Dry: This is a very beautiful, Oriental-feeling blend, and I adore it already. The vanilla saffron, sandalwood, and carnation are prominent for the first hour or so of this scent, making it a spicy, warm incense blend. After a bit, the spiciness tones down and sweet rose and myrrh come in more fully. At this point, it softens into a soft, powdered rose-carnation incense, though never goes into baby powder territory. This is such a beautiful blend, and not at all similar to Love's Philosophy despite the similarity in notes. It starts out strongly gold and rose in colour, then fades more to a soft rose with light golden touches here and there. Sexy, but in a light and feminine manner rather than dark and vampy.

[zankoku_zen]

Saffron, carnation, sandalwood with a touch of rose. This one is a very heavy Oriental. It's sexy, sophisticated, and dark. Honestly, this reminds me a little of Dior's Poison, in that sort of heavy sophisticated/timeless classic category. Beautiful. Medium throw and wear length.

[Bassmastadroog]

This has a lot of beautiful notes...I just wish they came together differently on me. If there was more of a vanilla to detect in this I don't think the Rose would go that soapy on me. It's a tad soapy in the bottle. On my skin it is initially a blast of soapy/peppery saffron/carnation/rose. I can smell the wood. I think this would be more beautiful on someone who likes rose. I've tried it new...and I tried it aged a few months. I don't want to give it up just yet, but I can't see wearing it if it stays this soapy.