Debauchery

[Shollin]

A sinful, licentious scent: self-indulgent and luxurious. Mingled heady civet and red Egyptian musk, thickened with opium.

First sniff: The first breath, the beginning of the sniff, is glorious red musk, and there's a glimmer of hope... but the civet comes snarling to the surface just after with its thick black animal smell.

Wearing: It's the same way on my skin. The red musk glows happily at me and invites me to sniff closer... "c'mon, lean in, you know how well we get along..." and then the civet punches me in the nose and laughs HA-ha as I try to get the scent/taste out of the back of my throat. And that first breath was so very promising...

[k00kaburra]

In bottle: Civet and musk. I think I have smelled another perfume, a commercial blend, with opium in it recently, because this scent is making me think of the fragrance counter at Macy's.

On me: This is a very thick, very musky fragrance. It smells a bit tired to me, like an aged whore going out on her night rounds. It's rough and a little bit dirty; I wouldn't call this a scent of sophistication. It's gritty and earthy. There's definitely something sexy in here, but it isn't a sort of me-sexy.

[Ailine]

When I first put this on, I got a big whiff of the opium, which I love, especially in Belle Epoque. Then I got whacked with the civet.

 

Oh my.

 

This oil makes me want to tell people, "Really! I'm not That Kind of Girl! I promise!" It's dirty raunchy sex in a bottle. Unlike Snake Oil and Le Petit Mort, which strike me as a more...refined sexuality, what with the seduction and the teasing, Debauchery is like wearing a giant flashing sign advertising the fact that you're horny and could care less who takes care of that problem for you.

 

After ten or so minutes, the civet stops attacking, but I'm still left feeling deeply uncomfortable. It's just so animalistic, and the opium, which in Belle Epoque feels indulgent and elegant, here just amps up the rough animal sex aspect.

 

Into the swap heap it goes, but I did enjoy trying it, even if it did freak me out a bit!

[hologhost]

On me, this smelled like ferret. Musky and kind of stinky. Not really an attractive scent. Must be my biochemistry.

 

Going to wash my arm now.

[Abbie]

In the bottle: A very rich, heavy, languid scent. Heavy on the musk. Sort of a classic musky women's cologne: reminds me of all those heavy perfumes all the girls used to wear back in the eighth grade. Underneath, a strong rosy floral.

 

First on: Musk. That's pretty much it. This definitely meets up to its name. You can't imagine a virtuous type smelling like this. I still get the roses but they are very subtle and smoothly blended in. You do not notice them unless you actually think about picking apart the notes.

 

Dry: Develops kind of a weird chemical odor after a while. It's a shame, too, because I was liking it up until this point.

 

Overall, probably not a keeper.

[OriginalWacky]

Bottle (Imp): Hmmm, perhaps civet?

 

Just On: I'm thinking civet.

 

An hour or two later: Ew. My skin wrecks this one.

 

Around 6 hours: Blargh, this one is obviously a total no go for me.

 

12 hours: It's mostly gone, but that faint yuckiness is there.

 

Overall: Not a keeper at all for me.

 

After reading other reviews: BLAMO civet. This is obviously a civet that does not work well on me (some do, some don't it's strange). Can't say that I'll keep this one around.

[Lilithlefay]

I have been wearing this one alot lately because I love it so!!! I am so glad that I can get away with wearing civet because it smells so incredibly wonderful on me. Once this scent settles in it is very sexy, and musky. Everytime I wear this to work one of my coworkers has to repeatedly sniff my arm because it smells so good. Not to mention the loads of compliments I get!!

[joseybird]

Blantently sexual and heady, Debauchery isn't as bad as I thought it would be, but the civet is still in evidence (although not the dominant note--more like a sidekick). If I could stand civet, I'd love this scent

[parrot_suspect]

Debauchery reminds me of other rich, heavy, musky BPAL scents. It's along the same lines as Sin, Scherezade, Vixen, etc. If you like those, you will probably like Debauchery.

 

This is definitely a cold weather scent, and an attention-getter as well. Sexy and deep. I can definitely detect the musk and the civet. The opium note seems to come out more in the drydown, and it eventually grows a bit soapy (in a musky way). I don't really get anything floral with this.

 

I like this, but I'm not sure whether I'll get a bottle, as it's so similar to Sin and Scherezade, both of which I already have.

 

UPDATE 05/09: I finally decided to get a bottle, and I'm glad I did. Ladies (and gentlemen), I have four words for you: Don't fear the civet. The civet is what gives this blend its unusual depth and sexiness. Give it an hour or two to develop, and you will be surrounded by a musky, sexy aura. To compare it to other "dark" blends I enjoy: I've decided it's not that similar to Sin after all, because it's not spicy. And it's not as soapy as Scherezade, nor as incensey as Event Horizon. There's no vanilla, so it's not like Snake Oil. The closest thing this comes to, in my mind, is Tarot:Judgment. Debauchery probably won't be one of my top scents for summer, but I'll let it age until fall. I'm sure it will be perfect come October.

[Little Bird]

Debauchery is actually *painful* for me to wear. It gives me a pounding headache in such a short while.

 

Unlike most people, though, I actually like civet. It works well on my skin. It smells wild, untamed, dark and just good to me. It's the Egytian Musk that ruins this for me, and it's the only note I can pick out of this blend. A sharp, bitter, perfumey, powdery musk. Very cheap and headshoppy.

Edited April 3, 2013 by Little Bird

[Wench457]

In the bottle: Civet - yikes! I probably wouldn't even have tried this one on, except that when I opened the imp I got a drop on my fingertip. So I put it on the inside of my elbow.

 

On: Civet + me = well, in an effort to keep this family-friendly, I'll just say Something Very Unpleasant.

 

Dry: This blooms into an absolutely gorgeous spicy floral - along with Something Very Unpleasant. Take out the civet, and I would adore this perfume. As it is, not only is this imp headed for swaps, but its in solitary confinement in a film canister until then.

[em_h]

Okay, so this is seriously not the perfume to wear to a Libraries and Lifelong Learning event way out in the suburbs, but it happened to come up in my testing list, so I went with it.

 

Wet: Way sharp and astringent, with musk behind it. Hard to tell where this one might go on me.

 

Drying: Um, okay, so far it's going towards plastic and kerosene, which is not a really desirable direction.

 

Dry: It smells like burnt plastic and it leaves a horrible taste in my mouth. It's fun on so many levels!

 

Luckily, though, it does fade quite fast. The very last shreds of drydown are actually quite pleasant -- the musk, I think -- but clearly civet and opium are not excellent notes for me.

 

The next day there was a very nice, very faint spicey smell on my wrists, but that's really not much use.

[Fefferbella]

Debauchery is one of those scents I like to wear to the Goth clubs...

 

The rich musk and opium notes are dark and sexual. I'm not a fan of civet, but it quickly fades on me leaving STRONG opium and sweet notes.

 

Debauchery is deffinately not a scent for everyone, but if you can pull it off, more power to you. Everytime I wear this scent, the guys LOVE it. I get told how sexy I smell *evil grin*

 

Debauchery truly is dirty, raunchy, throw-me-down-and-fuck-me sex in a bottle.

[SeaMonkey]

This was just strong and erm, not really pleasant to smell.......and I really like black annis, so thats saying a lot.

 

Maybe its the Civet, but it gave me an awful headache

[Freyja Lux]

Very thick, very heavy, very sexy! Right now it hurts my nose a bit, but I've been driving around all day in dust and dirt and may just be sensitive in general. The musk is divine, and I don't know what opium smells like (ah, innocence!) but whatever it is, it can't be too bad since Debauchery is a great blend. Almost reminds me of black cherry for some reason...

It lasts a lot longer than some other blends. I like it, but not really a "me" scent.

[Eros]

In the imp, heavy & sweet w/a bit of an alcohol smell...maybe *slightly* boozy but more like rubbing alcohol. On skin the alcohol fades & the sweetness comes out a bit more accompanied by a hint of powder, which gets stronger the longer it's on. The musk is lovely but that powdery thing...hmm...There's also a bit of that stale bathroom/civet thing going on, but too much and it fades.

 

Overall, not bad. I'll definitely keep the imp

[theshapeshifter]

I was glad I got to try this at the Toronto meet-n-sniff today, because I was too leery of civet to ever order it - but I've always been tempted by the name.

 

In the imp: Heady, dark and sexy. Definitely animal, but none of the 'scary' smells that some people seem to get from civet. Cautiously dabbed just the tiniest, tiniest bit on wrist.

 

Wet: Oh. OH. Very intriguing. I get the opium and musk, and as far as I can tell the civet is just making it all more raunchy and edgy, in a good way.

 

Drydown: Yep, it's the opium that I love so much in Darkness, but much more frankly sexual due to the civet. This is STRONG - one tiny barely-touch-the-skin of the imp wand to the wrist was still detectable (just) a couple of hours later.

 

I like this. A lot. Strong potential for love. Thanks to the generosity of em_h, the imp came home with me from the meet-n-sniff. In short: this smells like sex. Like wanting to grab the nearest willing specimen and... well, you get the idea. VERY aptly named.

[LiberAmoris]

The reviews for Debauchery are hilarious. I thought I'd reviewed this one, but apparently not. I do recall testing it a while back, but for the purposes of science I'm testing it again.

 

Debauchery reminds me of the film Caligula. Enough said.

 

I get loads of Egyptian Musk but the civet definitely adds a, shall we say, biological odor? On me the civet seems to vascillate between being a little too much/oh dear what is that smell and primitively sensual. This is definitely a blend with no holds barred, as the saying goes. I'm still not sure it's for me, but it's quite a spectacle.

[Charitie]

Bought an imp of this from the swaps, so I could try it before my 5ml got here....oh man am I SO glad I did...

 

Wet/in bottle -- Sharp, astringent scent, with a deep muskiness underneath, very slight tinge of sweetness floating in the background…smells kinda interesting.

 

Drying -- Heavily opium-scented….slight "edgy" tone under it I assume is the civet? So far….no nastiness to this. Smells rich, and dark, and exotic

 

Dry -- Love love love love love this scent on me….Just sniffing my arm makes me think of candlelight, silk scarves, a blindfold, and fun fun fun *evil grin* This stuff is DEFINITELY something I will be possessive of, and wear very sparingly though. It isn't something the office would appreciate

 

Edit -- Woops....so 'cited I can't spell

Edited December 24, 2005 by BranwynCharities

[Diana]

This is one I keep meaning to try propery, and I have nothing to do today except wrap gifts and play video games, so if I stink, who cares?

 

In the vial, it's earthy. Dirty. I'd think there was patchouli in here if I didn't already look at the notes.

 

Putting it on: Whoa momma! Opium. Ow. Opium doesn't do anything bad on me per se, but it's STRONG. It is almost headache-inducing; very sharp & perfumey. (FWIW, I can't stand CK Obsession or YSL Opium, which both smells similar to this, IMHO).

 

Drying: Still strong opium notes. The civet & musk peek out timidly every once in a while. I wish the musk note were more prominent, because it's sweeter and less heady & sharp. The civet? Actually I don't mind it. I was always afraid of it, but it is neither cat pee or poop or B.O. on me. It adds some depth to the musk & opium.

 

A bit later... the opium is finally starting to settle down. The civet & red musk are pretty ok. Probably not something I'd wear often, especially considering the overpowering, perfumey opium, though.

 

Hah. I'm a mutant. Everyone else hates it because of the civet, I am not super fond of it because of the perfume associations.

[aedes]

Wow, civet is like musk times ten, isn't it? This has a seriously heady perfume smell as well as a very animalistic one. Way too gritty and "stinky" for me, but I can imagine it would work well on a woman with a lot of... chutzpah.

[Inanna9]

Dark musk hates me. Red musk loooves me. Looking forward to this.

 

In the vial: Sweet and thick. No trace of civet.

 

Wet on skin: There's the civet. I don't mind it so much; at this stage it combines with the musk and opium nicely. Sweet and dark--sophisticated and raunchy at the same time.

 

Drydown: Here's where I get mixed feelings. Every so often the civet dominates, and then I see what people who don't like it are talking about. There is a sour, animal note to this. But combined with my favorite red musk, it's hard not to like it anyway. However, I have so many red musk blends I adore already (Dragan's Heart comes immediately to mind) that I can probably live without this. But "Debauchery" is the perfect name. Bravo, Beth!

 

Edited 3/03/08 for a revisit via the Civet Evangelism sniffing circle:

 

Okay, so this time around the opium is dominating. I'm hardly getting any red musk. Opium is another note that can really go wonky on me, but this is quite nice so far. I'm catching the sour civet note here and there just like last time. But not much red musk. Interesting. I like this much better this time around. It's even more languid and sexual with the opium and civet playing a bigger role. It's like the "afterglow" part of a debauched evening.

Edited March 4, 2008 by Inanna9

[Miss Lynx]

I tried this one against my better judgement, and was expecting to hate it, but it's not as bad as I expected it to be. I know, sounds like damning with faint praise...

 

I could smell the civet in it when it first hit my skin, and while I know some people (including my partner Kettu Keiju) can wear civet with no ill effects, it doesn't work so well on me. It doesn't actually smell like poo on me the way some people have said it does on them, but it's not very nice, at least not until it's settled in for a few hours.

 

But interestingly, once it had been on long for only 5-20 minutes, the civet seemed to settle nicely into the mix and not stand out so much. And the opium, which I was also worried about since it tends to be a pretty strong and floral-ish scent, was being counterbalanced by the musk and civet nicely so that it didn't amp up too much on my skin. It was showing signs of being a possibly promising floral-musk sort of blend of the kind that occasionally work on me (Gypsy Queen being probably the best example).

 

However, as it's settled on further, I'm not so sure. The opium's fading down and the civet is starting to come out more, and while it's not as skanky as it's been in some blends I've tried, it's a little heavy and animalistic for my liking. Definitely a sexual scent, but not my kind of sexual.

 

All in all, better than I expected but not really my thing. I can see why some people would love it, though. Me, I think I'll stick with Scherezade and Gypsy Queen for my sexy-musk moods.

 

 

Grade: B-

[try_infrared]

I try to find something positive to say about every BPAL I try, and for this one all I can say is this: It's name is very appropriate. Debauchery definitely smells like someplace where something really dirty is going on. I literally smell 3 things: cigarettes, pee, and the cheap soap you find in public restrooms.

 

For those of you who can tame this scent and find some egyptian musk and warmth in it (god knows I looked but the egyptian musk I wanted was NOT in here!), kudos to you!! This is the first BPAL that I've tried that I could not even FATHOM wearing. Upon first sniff of the imp, vapours directly entered my brain through my nose and my head started throbbing. Every time I go back for a sniff, I almost gag.

 

I'm assuming my problem with this scent is the civet, I know it is notorious and I've never smelled it before.

 

NOT FOR ME EVER!!!!

[mayhap]

Hoo boy. My chemistry is actually rocking out with this scent -- a very heady, thick, animalistic musk with no cat piss in sight, thank goodness -- but there is simply no way I'm going to live up to what it's promising. I am simply insufficiently debauched. I imagine I'll be sticking with Scherezade, which, on me at least, is very similar.