Grand Guignol

[summer]

...Our Grand Guignol perfume is a shot of sweet apricot brandy; just enough to settle your nerves after a ghoulish, gory brush with the macabre.

Mmm, sweet, candied apricots. I don't get the booze so much, although this definitely isn't a "fresh" fruity scent -- it's the scent of apricots that have been stewing in something delicious. It's incredibbly mouth-watering. It reminds me of Jack, in the sense that it's the sort of scent that is most often found in candles, but without the pumpkin. A great, fun, yummy, playful autumn scent.

[donsixgun]

THIS is what I wished March Hare could have been like! It’s a boozysweet apricot smell...not too extreme one way or another.

Edited September 24, 2005 by donsixgun

[starfire]

this scent is a bottle of vodka convincing a reluctant apricot to tag along for a night on the town. he promises a good time, but she's not so sure...

 

later, the vodka fades into the crowd and the apricot stands in the spotlight. she's not as sharp as before; the vodka has anchored her, and she's fruity yet warm. not achingly sweet, but somewhat reminiscent of peach jolly ranchers. she's come into her own, and is a star in her own right.

 

unlike other fruity blends, this scent lasts and lasts on me. after 8 hours, it's still detectable on my wrists. which is fabulous, because i'm a huge fruity scent lover and can't get enough of this! i've finally found a fruity bpal oil that lasts longer than 10 minutes, and isn't immediately turned to pure florals (thanks to my skin chemistry).

 

a big bottle, here i come.

Edited October 21, 2005 by starfire

[Kittyflop]

MMmmm... I get both the apricot and the brandy, and something else I can't quite put my finger on. I don't think I can add much to what others have said - I agree that it is fruit and without being sweet. Fruit leather maybe?

 

Both the throw and the staying power are light-to-medium. This will require frequent reapplication, so I'm not sure if I'll invest in a big bottle, but it is a beautiful scent so I might give in.

 

 

edited: I just figured out what that something else is - it's wax. It's now starting to smell very waxy, unfortunately for me. I think I'll see if March Hare agrees with me more

Edited August 17, 2005 by Kittyflop

[quikslvr]

That's apricot, all right, but it's not as sharp as I've found it in other blends. It's softened here, and is much more enchanting this way, to me. Darker, perhaps. Soft and subtle throughout its lifetime. Very pleasant. I don't get as much of the boozy feel others seem to, which makes this scent pretty work-safe for me. (I agree with the above review: fruit leather, but not the leathery leather in other blends, obviously)

[Atalanta Pendragonne]

Not much brandy here for me... What I'm getting is apricot, fresh, ripe and juicy the way they hardly ever really are. Hours later, I still want to bite my wrist.

[HoneyHoneyNY]

I've been on this kick with fruity scents. I've been trying as many as I can get my hands on. I got this in a swap.

 

In the imp it's sweet and candy-ish. Like a peach jolly rancher.

 

On my skin wet, it's boozy apricot. The smell is not so candylike, but more of what I think of as a sharp, fuzzy apricot smell. Not like fresh apricot though, unless it's overripe apricots. It's a sweet, tangy jammy smell, like freshly made apricot preserves very lightly spiked. The brandy note makes the apricot more complex, almost floral.

 

As it dries, it loses it's sweetness and brightens. It's juicy and fruity, but dry and smells to my nose like true apricot.

 

I must get a big bottle of this, it's so delicious. Not too complicated, but not a boring one note scent either.

[LiberAmoris]

Grand Guignol is all apricot on me and no brandy, but there's a sense of having drunk brandy, because the apricot is so warm and delicious and fuzzy around the edges.

 

I'm definitely keeping the imp for those days when I want apricot, pure and simple. Warmed on skin, it's most delicious.

[leahcat]

Grand Guignol

 

In the bottle: soft brandy, not too booze, soft fruit. Nice!

Wet: a bit stronger on the brandy but still very mellow without the boozy of some of the other’s I’ve tried. Has promise!

Drying/6 mins: a soft sweet brandy without much bite. Definitely uplifting without being too bright or strong of a scent.

Dry/15 mins: much the same as before, it definitely fades a bit but that’s fine. I don’t really want to walk around smelling like a brandy cordial, you know? So happy with this one!

[Northernminx]

Apricot and a shot of alchol, this was boozy, punchy, jubilant and sweet. This is the sort of scent that packs a punch and forces you to be happy because how could anything so fruity and alcohol laden be _bad_? A perfect antidote to a bad mood too!

[k00kaburra]

In bottle: Apricots with alcohol swirled together. (I'm sure it's brandy, but off-hand I'm not sure, especially since the chilly air is killing my sense of smell.) It's a very rousing liquor; it makes me want to get up and do something rather than sitting back and relaxing.

 

On me: Weird, it smells almost wooden. I think I'm going to have to re-review this later; my skin may just be wonky because it's that time of the month.

The apricot is very delicate; the liquor dominates. Quiet and subtle, and sweet.

[gangstaknitta]

In bottle: Yup, apricot brandy. The brandy keeps it from being so sweet.

 

Wet: like sweet, fruity booze. The liquor smell is very strong and smells a little antiseptic-y on me.

 

Dry: powdery and fruity, almost like peach gummy candies. A little too sweet for me.

[cuervosueno]

Hmmm....I wanted this one, but why? I'm not sure now. It smells exactly as described....apricot brandy. But more apricots than brandy. In fact it smells mostly like fuzzy sunwarmed apricots.

 

which is fine, except I don't like fruit scents.

 

Well, I tried it, but like I said, I'm not sure why I felt I needed to.

[aessedai]

Boozy peaches. I like the idea, but it just isn't a scent that I see myself wearing regularly.

[Serenity]

Maybe I just don't know what Brandy smells like, since I'm not smelling it.

 

Back when my husband and I lived in the UK, we used Apricot Loofah soap. This smells like that. Exactly. I LOVE it and I'll most likely be getting a 10ml with my next order.

[SevenSins]

After my horrid experience with Depraved, I had to try more apricot-y scents since I know it's not the patchouli that was horrid.

 

Well - I am happy to say it's not the apricot either! This is a yummy apricot - not too sweet, not too boozy, although the brandy is certainly there! Nice!

 

In the bottle: Tart,slightly boozy apricot - not sweet like Katharina or earthy like Depraved

 

Wet: Yummy! I don't like boozy scents much, and this one was just the right balance. Nice apricot with a touch of the booze. Fresh and adult - not syrupy or stale.

 

Drydown: A little waxiness come through, but not much.

 

After an hour: This is nice. The waxiness has disappeared and it's mellowed into a nice apricot brandy smell. Very nice.

 

Throw: Initially pretty strong, but it fades quickly. I would say overall the throw is less than average, although up close the scent is strong. No cloud following me though

[sarada]

I had been wanting to try this since it came out but never quite got around to it -- I like apricot a lot in Depraved and March Hare and while I don't like "boozy" it works if it's more like wine on me.

 

Well Grand Guignol turns out to be pale, light apricot -- pretty much straight apricot on me. I like that and it makes me want to use some of that apricot facial scrub stuff. As a perfume though it doesn't do a whole lot on my skin without the patchouli that I love in Depraved or the clove I like in March Hare. So it's nice and I think I'll keep the imp but I don't think there would be a whole lot of occasions on which I'd wear it.

 

If you have always wanted the apricot single note though this should come close to it!

[ladymissspyder]

I only get the booziness for the first 15 minutes, and then it fades to straight apricot. The kind of apricot that would squirt and run down your chin if you ate it.

 

It's a good scent, but I think I'm going to be layering it more than I wear it on its own.

 

It's AWESOME with Bliss, fwiw.

[Silverstrike]

I ordered an imp of this, along with Swank, because I liked the alcohol-y scent from Juke Joint but got an allergic reaction from that one. I don't get an allergic reaction from Grand Guignol.

 

Mainly it's apricot that comes out when I apply this; sweet, sweet apricot and really, no brandy, unless brandy smells like fruity syrup (and in my experience, it doesn't). On me, it's just about pure sweet apricot. That's not necessarily a bad thing, if you love apricots. I'm indifferent to them, but when applied lightly, this doesn't give me a headache, and in general, I like fruity smells, so this is all right. I don't love it, but I'll probably use up the imp or gift it to a friend I've been enabling.

[jewelbug]

Imp: Intensely fruity--like a bag full of dried apricots. I don't smell the boozy/brandy note, but my nose usually has trouble picking up on boozy notes, so that's not surprising.

 

Him (I warned him it was fruity, but he wanted to try it for the name):

Wet: Smells like this apricot cheese we had at a wedding last weekend. Weird. Its syrupy apricots and then a hint of salty cheese.

Dry (about 20 min): Yup, still incredibly fresh apricots with a hint of cheese. Makes me want fancy cheese, but my husband should NEVER smell like cheese. Hehe.

Overall Him: EW. Apricot Cheese. Interesting skin chemistry my hubby's got….

 

Me:

Wet: Apricots. And a bit of…wow, I can smell it…booze. There is a green leafiness to this too, which I was not expecting..

Dry: Pure dried apricots, no more leaves, no more booze. Its awesome that Beth caught this in an imp. This makes me crave tea and scones with apricot jam… This has a lot more staying power than I expected,and is going strong at 3 hrs.

Overall, Me: The accuracy of the apricot in this was astounding. As was the throw. I'm not a fruity kinda person when it comes to perfume choices, though, so I may pass this on to someone else. I'm just happy I had the chance to smell it!

 

On second thought, maybe I should try layering this with other stuff before swapping it off so quickly....hmmmm....

Edited November 20, 2005 by jewelbug

[Orodemniades]

Oh, more orange blossom, which I really just need to avoid at all costs as my skin makes it Bad, Very Bad. There's other stuff in here too, which reminds me of how clay tastes. Thankfully it all fades fairly quickly, but that orange blossom remains the primary, overwhelming scent.

 

Oro

[sideviewhotel]

Wow. This is pure apricots on me. But, it has the texture of the dried fruit, not the fresh fruit. This is gooddddd. Not a winter scent though, so I think I'll hang on to it until spring or summer.

 

Mmm

[Meg]

In the bottle: a very light apricot smell with a slightly boozy undertone.

 

Wet: the warm boozy smell becomes slightly stronger, making a nice balance with the apricot.

 

Drydown: the smell is really quite subtle - like a dewy apricot. There's a clean-linen scent to this as well, which I find very comforting, because of a slight greenness (my Mum sniffed it and went "eww, grass?!"). And somewhere at the back there's some spice, most probably cinnamon, which warms things up considerably.

 

Overall: Not what I expected, and certainly not boozy, but it is warming. It's an apricot smell, which is both spicy and slightly green. Not really a complex perfume, but very comforting on a cold day. It would make a great room scent, and it's just perfect if you happen to be an apricot fan. It has quite a throw, too.

[herongale]

pre-conceived notion: This one was a freebie from the Lab, and to be honest I doubt I would have sought out an imp on my own. That is one seriously offputting description of a fragrance, but maybe I just don't have the right kind of temperament for vaudville and carnival scenes. Also, I've always viewed apricot as the lesser cousin of peaches... smaller and less tasty. Add in brandy and that makes it sound more interesting however.

 

in the imp: Okay, this is pretty nice. It's sweet and friendly. This is not destroying me like Tamora did (oh god, Tamora...), but the brandy is noticable and adds a smooth richness that I quite like.

 

wet: Hmm. On my skin it turns almost instantly into cardboard. I still get the apricot but it's in a cage, boxed away from me by something dry and dusty and seriously unattractive.

 

drydown: no improvement. It's not like it's rotten or dead. It just has the scent of something that never was alive. Like a stone in the middle of a forest, untouched by rain or dirt or sunlight. Just a plain grey stone.

 

verdict: Not for me.

 

post-conceived notion: I'm a prejudiced little fuck sometimes, aren't I? But I really gave this one a shot, and it just doesn't play nice on my skin. In the bottle it's pretty, however, so I'll feel no shame in passing this along to one of you all.

[furygrrl]

In the Imp: Sweet, strong, fruity booze. Can't detect apricots right off the bat, but I am getting a definite whiff of brandy.

 

Wet: This blend is almost overwhelming at first. My nose is blasted by the intensity of the newly erupted apricot note, the warm shot of brandy, and, as some other reviewers have mentioned, a spike of something almost grassy or wood-like.

 

Drydown: The wood/grass note fades after a few minutes, leaving nothing but pure, sweet, DARK apricot syrup. It's deliciously warm, wonderfully rich, and the thought of how this would smell in my bath water is actually giving me goosebumps. The throw is average, the staying power is faboo - I put this on long before going to bed last night, and my wrists were still smelling good when I got up this morning - and, most importantly, the hubby was decidedly...approving.

 

Overall: I'm not usually a fan of fruit, but I make an exception for good apricot blends - and this is easily the best one I've *ever* tried. The apricot is totally realistic, it's sweet without being cloying, and best of all, the brandy note lends it an air of sophistication, keeping it from being a straight up fruit or kiddy fragrance. I'm not only in love, I'm in need of a big bottle.