Paris

[Anita]

Sensual, decadent, and enigmatic. Lavender, softly underscored by lotus and spice.

 

Beautiful at first, I open the imp and smell a lovely combo of Lavendar and lotus and I think, oooo this is going to be good.

 

After I apply the flowers are waltzing together on a dance floor made of spice. It's lovely and I cant stop sniffing.

 

Then as it dries... Spice. SPice. SPIce. SPICE. the dancers have left the floor and the cleanup crew has dumped cinnamon everywhere.

 

It's official, I now smell like a retirement home's bus trip to Niagara Falls- Tiger balm, anyone?

 

Boo. That makes me sad.

[LizziesLuck]

Paris smells just like I expected. Like beautiful rolling fields of Lavender...lovely. Very sweet, I think from the lotus.

[lady_pandora]

Smells like someone poured lavender oil into my bottle of Undertow. I get lavender, lotus, and I think some mint. It feels very "cooling" and refreshing. A bit medicinal. Gradually, the mint fades out some, and some other green herb comes in--maybe thyme? This is a little more herby than what I prefer in my perfumes, but I think this would be a smashing sleep scent for hot nights. This imp is staying with me.

[joopjoop]

I wanted to like this, but the first thing I smelled in the imp was sweet tarts, or as others have said, gum - juicy fruit gum.

 

When I put it on wet the lavender takes over (mercifully) and it is a beautiful clear lavender. But with the dry down the lotus/gum smell undercuts it and makes it overly sweet. It quickly becomes cloying and starts to give me a headache. I get no spice at all.

A little later - still sickly sweet. I have to wash it off.

 

verdict: not for me!

[roseus]

Definitely captures Paris for me. Normally I don't like lavender unless it's a sleep scent. The lavender is dry and womanly, and the lotus brings a sweet youthfulness to the table. The cloves add intrigue. Not something I would wear regularly, but I do rather like it for a lavender blend.

[BlueShadowM]

I don't know how to feel about this. Very mixed feelings. It wasn't at all what I expected but it smells of christmas which is kinda nice. I don't get any lavender at all, just spices.

Since I don't really know how to describe it I found two gifs to illustrate my feelings.

 

This is what I expected:

 

 

And this is what I got:

 

 

Don't get me wrong. A dog in a santa costume is very cute and nice, but when you were expecting an elegant woman dancing in the night you're still gonna be a bit disappointed.

[Lambent]

Testing from a frimp.

 

A sharp lavender with a floral note (the lotus, I'm assuming). I don't know if I get any spice, really. It's just alright, for me. I feel it would be a good oil to use with a diffuser.

[littlesparrow]

Lavender candy

[achildoftime]

Bubblegum lotus and medicinal lavender is weird. It's not entirely unpleasant, but I can't wrap my head around it. The lavender does take a step back as it dries, but that pretty much leaves the super sweet lotus. It also kind of smells like peach rings? Bubblegum peach rings in my final verdict. I'm mildly confused testing this out, but seeing as I'm not a fan of it I'm just going to step back and not think about it.

[alyelle]

Another lab freebie with my order this month, and another one I'm testing purely out of curiosity - I learned long ago that if the description says "spice" and the forum thinks it smells of cinnamon, it's not for me.

 

In the imp: lavender, lotus, and I do get the bubblegum flavour others have mentioned. No spice yet.

 

Wet: lotus, the barest hint of lavender, a faint talc scent. I'm not sure what the spices are, but they emerge predominantly as sweetness, tempering the aquatic notes of the lotus. I might actually try this out as a proper wear; so far, there's no hint of burning and I'm not convinced that any of the notes I'm smelling are cinnamon. It's more like gentle star anise and nutmeg.

 

ETA - I did actually wear this for a proper test. There is definitely no cinnamon in here, wrists and neck are welt free

 

Dry: lotus, mostly, and incredibly long-lived. This is one of the few lavender scents I've tried where the lavender doesn't amp, and I like it. I was going to give the imp to a friend to try, and I may still, but I'll definitely keep it in my list of imps to repurchase in the future.

 

Stars: ★★★★

Edited May 10, 2018 by alyelle

[Lunasariel]

In the imp: An initial whiff of rather soft, lovely lavender is almost immediately subsumed by a big ol' blast of bubblegum-y lotus. That's about all there is to it right now.

 

Wet: Ah, there's the lavender! It starts out about 80% lotus and 20% lavender, but dials down to about 60-40 after a minute or so. That's... interesting. It's very WYSIWYG, and I'll never be a lotus lover, but the combination of dusty, cloying sweetness with dry, medicinal sharpness is certainly a sensory experience.

 

Dry: Lotus all the way down, with the lavender making a surprise reappearance at the very end, about five hours in.

[semuelle77]

Nope. I don't know if it is the lotus, because lavender usually smells okay on me, but this was a complete miss. I applied only a swipe and was overwhelmed by the fruity bubblegum scent others have mentioned. It was so off putting that I had to go wash it off after only five minutes. I know it should morph with drydown, but I just couldn't wait it out.

 

It is a rare bpal that I react that strongly to, in a negative way. I so wish it had worked on me. Off to the swap pile...

[torischroeder9]

In the imp: Lavender first, with an undercurrent of lotus. 

 

On my skin:

 

Wet, I would call this lavender surrounded by lotus. Lavender is the sharpest scent I get, but the lotus is still very much present. As it dries, the lotus fades, and the lavender becomes the most prominent note. I can believe there's spice here, but on me at this stage, it's serving to highlight the lavender's sharpness rather than becoming a main player itself. 

 

Edit: At some point well after application, this settles into a scent that is basically lavender over just a hint of body odor. (The lotus disappears.) But... I don't hate it? I don't think I'm going to be in the mood for this very often -- and I'm also not sure there are enough places I could wear this to justify keeping the imp -- but it's strangely interesting. 

Edited February 27, 2019 by torischroeder9

[FebruaryOwen]

Just got an imp in a swap! Lavender tends to do well-ish on me, so fingers crossed!

In bottle: slightly spicy lavender.

On skin: this is STRONG on me.  The spices go so well with the lavender.  

After a few hours: smells almost candy-like? I'm smelling a bit of bubblegum.  

Unfortunately this lavender isn't one that I think I like.  Will maybe swap the imp away, but not sure as of now!

[freyasfae]

I was pretty excited about this one, but it is not what I expected at all. It's like lavender with dragon's blood and fades very fast. I don't think it likes me.

[RoseThornAndOak]

I'm trying to figure out what the heckedy heck lotus smells like. I get a blast of lavender in the opening, very nice, drying down to something spicy. What spice is this? No idea. Posh Spice. Sophisticated chill spice. I think I get the bubblegum others get from lotus, it's not overt, but reminds me of the sugar dusting on bubblegum, soft and sweet. I like it! Fades after a few hours, but pleasant and classy.

[Laughing Seagull]

This one really should've been a no-brainer for me from the get-go.  I like lavender.  I like lotus.  I like spices (sometimes).

 

And, to the surprise of absolutely nobody, I like Paris.  It's exactly what you'd expect: herbal lavender, bubblegummy lotus, and I think primarily cardamom.

 

That said, I do prefer Black Lotus and Bastet as lotus scents because I feel like they're more balanced.  Lavender never really stood a chance in this blend.  It lasts a very long time on my skin, as all lotus scents do.

[Greensleeves]

In the bottle: Fruitiness with a hint of lavender.

 

Wet: Lavender and some sort of bitter, artificial, fruity medicine I can almost taste on my tongue.

 

Dry: Lavender, overwhelmed by some other, cloying floral. Must be the lotus.

 

After a few minutes: LOTUS, so much lotus.

 

After first hour: Given some time it's rather nice, but I don't think I want to wait that long.

 

After two and a half hours: A hint of fruity lotus.

 

After 5 hours: Faint floral.

 

Final verdict: This is alright, but I don't want to keep it.

 

[skyturtles]

Imp of unknown age. This starts off deliciously fresh and clean. However, as it dries, it gets sickly and I just don't like it anymore. I don't find this entirely surprising, since I don't like lavender. Passing this along to someone else.