Slay!

[zankoku_zen]

The consummate host: she can fill oceans of time on the mic and still leave the crowd hypnotized.

Polished black patchouli and blood-red vegetal musk, bakhoor oudh, tobacco absolute, fossilized amber resin, and bittersweet cacao.

Red musk, oudh, tobacco, and whiff of cacao. The musk has traces of patchouli, which really make it more of a dark red musk to my mind. This one is musky, tobacco-y, oudh with some cacao in it. If you're into either musk or tobacco, this should be for you. It's very much in the red musk vein of blends. Sexy, dark, unapologetic. Medium throw and wear length.

[Aveya]

Source: Decant! Note - This is a thiiiick blend that's trying to separate even in my vial. Make sure you roll your bottles.

Preconception: MOST excited for this scent. This has every love ticked for me.

 

Vial: Deeeeep red. Rich. Patch and musk. Cocoa sticks out.

Skin: I'm in Heaven. deep red musk. Gently sweet. I'd say red musk forward, patch and tobacco are there but are united with the supporting characters. Making one delicious dark smooth blend I could bathe in.

Drydown: Wood-notes come out later game and tame the red musk more. As Red musk is tamed, I feel like the other notes can come forward a little more. Stage one for me was decidedly womanly sexy smut. Stage two is leaning more masculine Stage one is fifteen bottles backup, stage two is maybe one.

 

I'll be trying again once I've let this vial sit a tad longer from mailshock. I just couldn't wait any longer.

 

Verdict: Beautiful, red, dark, smooth, woody. Late-game masculine.

Edited May 24, 2018 by Aveya

[VetchVesper]

This is my fresh out of the mailbox review, so take it with a grain of salt.

I got a bit of the dreaded "manure" oudh when I opened this, but happily, it seems to have settled down quickly, so I'm going to guess it was our 90 degree weather causing the problem. I get a crimson musk vibe, some patch, and a tootsie roll sort of chocolate when I sniff this and first put it on. The notes seem evenly balanced, and I'm normally a fan of all 3, but this just doesn't seem to be coming together for me. As I wear it, what little sweetness Slay has is receding and I'm getting all woody patch and a tobacco that makes me think this drag queen is a heavy smoker. It's quite masculine on my skin, and while I actually like wearing some masculine blends, this one's not doing it for me. :/ It's more gritty, woody, and dark on me rather than the sexy pseudo gourmand I was hoping for. Maybe some aging will make this one more agreeable.

[donkehpoo]

Wet: Hm. A very, very dark scent(and I'm not just talking about the oil color). Lots of patchouli. I'm also getting some woods here, which I'm guessing is the oudh. It reminds me of cedar a bit. I'm hoping I get some cacao on the drydown.

 

Dry: Errrrrr no. The oudh amped on my skin enough to drown out just about every other note in this blend. The throw on this is pretty average, but still enough for me to want to wash this off immediately. (Not a fan of anything woodsy!)

Edited June 16, 2018 by donkehpoo

[LiberAmoris]

Slay is amazing and intense. The black patch, red musk, and tobacco start off as a triad of balanced players, with the oudh, amber, and cacao following closely behind. The oudh is definitely present, but at least on me, stays in check due to the strength and saturation of the other notes. This is not for the faint of heart—there would be no blending into the woodwork with this on. The amber comes forward on the drydown and makes this even more wearable. Musky and sexy. Not an everyday scent for me, but so good!

[torikitty]

On me, it takes quite a while for the oudh to calm down. If VetchVesper hadn't mentioned it, too, I would have washed it off immediately. When it does finally calm down after 30 mins., I can smell the tobacco. It surprisingly single note on me. I suppose the patchouli makes it a little more intense and darker, but I ended up feeling like I have so many other good tobacco blends, I don't need to keep this.

[roseus]

Rich chewy patchouli stands out here, and it doesn't go flat on me! Something about this reminds me of black leather scents, but without the chemical sharpness they tend to have on me. It might be partly due to the tobacco which smells like the drier, woodier kind to me. If I really search I get some warm traces of cacao that soften the edges a bit.

[Lucchesa]

Slay may be a bit too much for me. In the bottle I can smell the cacao -- all the notes, really, and it's so beautiful in the bottle -- but when it hits my skin it is all oudh and red musk. There are two notes that amp in such a way as to make me self-conscious about wearing perfume: yep, oudh and red musk. Blood musk is usually good on me, though, and I was hoping blood-red vegetal musk might behave itself. No such luck. But the oudh is a bigger problem for me here. It's that skanky oudh. And it blocks out everything but the red musk for the first half hour or so.

 

By an hour or so in, I was able to appreciate the other notes, the patch and tobacco, a hint of amber and bittersweet cacao. But the oudh was still note 1, and the red musk note 2. When I compare Slay worn to Slay in the bottle, I just don't think my skin chemistry is doing this blend any favors. If I were to wear this, I would have to apply it at least 30 minutes before leaving the house. And I'm still not sure I have the chutzpah to carry it off. I'm going to let it cellar for a while and try again, because I suspect aging is going to improve this one a lot.