Lurid

[kelpsoda]

Shocking, horrific, fierce, savage, sensationalized, luminous and hazy: black currant, Bulgarian lavender and white musk with a dollop of thick resin and a voltaic charge of ozone notes.

Wet: at first I could only smell ozone. like, sharp, strong, straight ozone. Uh oh. . . .not my favorite scent. . .
dry: after 15 min, it calms down and the lavender comes out, with a bit of currant in the background.

overall, I'm not big on ozone, but once this calms down a bit, it's a rather nice blend. Not something I want more of right away, but one for the "test again later" pile Edited May 1, 2008 by kelp

[Suu4LC]

Hmm. I actually quite like this in the imp! Very unique. Hazy lavender and white musk. Very pleasant-not quite shocking, horrific, fierce or savage though! Of course, these things do change on the skin...

 

There is a bit of bite to the lavender on my skin, but not in a bad way. Wow, this is beautiful. Very swarthy and sexy lavender and musk to my nose. I was worried about the ozone, but it is behaving quite nicely in this. The currant helps round out the blend.

 

Added to the bottle wishlist

[SarahScent44]

In the imp, I get mostly currant - with ozone over it.

 

On my skin, it's still currant up front; the resins come out - and just a hint of the musk.

 

When it's dry, the currant is still the strongest note, with the lavender over it and the slightest hint of ozone. Really interesting and nice - not a keeper for me, but I can see this working really well for someone else.

[CrazyPretzel]

Lavender that's neither sharp nor sleep-inducing, but fresh, floral, and pretty. Before I looked at the note description I knew I was smelling some sort of fruit - it seemed a little citrus-y but not that sharp. Now that I know it's blackcurrant it's obvious!

 

After a few minutes the berries and ozone both become stronger. Fresh, a little tart, and juicy.

[savage_rose]

Lurid smells like nothing on me. Literally. Does that mean it's the most air-like blend I've tried, that I can smell nothing? A hint of something like baby powder, but not even really that. So disappointing.

[DARKBEAUTY28]

While wet the first sniff I get something light and sweet, then almost immediately the ozone kicks in. It is almost a foul smell, but then it becomes sweeter (must be the currant). It gets nicer and more 'perfume-y' (yet fruity-perfume-y) the longer it wears, but still remains very light. I like it!

Edited May 17, 2008 by DARKBEAUTY28

[galahad]

In The Bottle

Almost nothing except what seems to be black pepper catching at the back of my throat

 

On Application

A touch of currant joins the spicey black pepper note.

 

Dry Down

This is soft and powdery. There is a bit of a kick which is fleetingly obvious (the ozone?) Overall impression is of strongly scented baby powder. Pleasant but not me.

 

Rating (0-5)

2

[isisonearth]

In the imp it reminds me of deep dark water. The scent is lavender deepened with resin and darkened with currant...then the ozone just brings it menacingly to life.

 

On my skin the white musk comes rushing to the front which is unusual since my skin usually eats musk. A cloud of musky lavender is rising from my skin trailed by a wiff of ozone. I may have over applied this then throw is very strong.

 

Over time a slight fruitiness from the currants comes out and the musk becomes more gentle. It still reminds me of still water...a fathomless dark underground lake.

 

Very unisex. I could easily see this on on a guy.

[rayvn1]

This one is not quite what I'd expected. When I saw lavender in the notes I thought it would overwhelm everything else, but I don't really get much lavender at all other than a warm purple overtone. Currants and sweet fruitiness are the main body of this one one me. Surprising because in the imp all I smelled was 409 Yummy and nice, but not something I'll really wear.

[kjirstiben]

Shocking, horrific, fierce, savage, sensationalized, luminous and hazy ? That's not really how I would describe Lurid, except maybe the "luminous and hazy" part of it. On me, Lurid is a very light, somewhat fruity, somewhat fresh scent.

 

In the bottle, all I smelled was something incensey, but on me, this was quite perfumey, except for a certain sharp, salty smell that had to be the ozone. Over the next half hour, the "perfumey" quality of the oil went away and some sweet and fruity roundness came out.

 

At the one hour mark, the scent was soft, fading away, and after 2½ hours, it became a soft musk/resin that can only be smelled distinctly when my nose is touching my wrist... it's hard to characterize as a scent, except that you can still catch a little bit of that ozone "zing".

 

Several hours later, the light musk/resin scent has stayed with me at precisely the same level.

 

Overall, Lurid is a light, fresh, smooth scent with a nice little jolt from the ozone. Personally, while it's a nice break from some of the heavier scents I've been trying lately, this probably won't be one I'll be reaching for lots of the time. (Though it has fed a certain interest that I've had piqued lately about aquatics...)

[blacklacestatic]

Not what I was expecting!

 

In the imp, I smell mostly white musk and lavender. It has that pale, plain smell that I associate with both of those notes.

 

Wet: Out comes the black currant to give it a lil bit of a rich, vibrant, fruity twist. That's kind of what I was hoping for, but didn't expect to notice. It's also a bit sharp at the beginning, but that fades pretty quick. It's got a nice, lavish feel.

 

Drydown: Sweet, a bit powdery, but in a good way, kinda like the way amber dries down, although I don't detect amber here. The feel is just similar. I don't smell the lavender strongly as an individual note, but you can tell it's there, and that's ok. It mixes very nicely with the rest of it. This may be a little too "innocent" for everyday. Funny, cause with a name like Lurid you wouldn't expect an innocent smell right? It is very pretty though.

 

Overall: A pretty, lush blend that I can see wearing again in the future. Very clean and crisp. Would be good for bedtime as it's not very strong or heavy.

[voodoocatwoman]

I am swooning over Lurid. I have never sniffed anything so darkly and powerfully sexy in my entire life. I think I am amping the musk and resin because this fragrance is indeed fierce.

 

I am going to hug my Winter Switch Witch in two for sending me yet another blend that is now a favorite.

[kahmiel]

ok. i am reviewing this simply because i think there is something WRONG with my imp. I opened it up and it smelled NOTHING like black currants or bulgarian lavender. It wasnt even musky. It was sharp and like car oil and motors and i had no idea what was going on. I was too afraid to test it because it wasnt good smelling AT ALL so im just going to save this place in the reviews here. Maybe someone will reply with a similar experience? I dont want to give away or sell my imp if there's something wrong with it.

 

As it stands, ill probably test it properly later and post the results here.

 

EDIT:

 

So i tested it on the boy. Yeah, cause im a wimp and cant hack it like that. Besides, he sniffed it and liked it. So i snatched his wriste and put some on him. Sure enough, the Currant and Lavender came right out when it was wet. When it dried, and i quote, "it smells a little like grandma" which is the standard response for anything with lavender in the foreground, so i had a sniff myself. The softer dark floral, musk, and fruityness of it did remind me a bit of my grandmother, but it was comforting, so ill probably keep the imp around and put it in a locket for comforts sake, or use it as a room scent when im down. Its not wearable for me or him, but i like having it around.

Edited January 24, 2009 by kahmiel

[missrini]

This is sooooo subtle on me that I might as well not be wearing anything!! Where did it go?? I put a decent amount on and can faintly smell currants/musk and some sort of floral but it's like I used a shower gel scented with it and this is the very faded result after towelling off and getting dressed.

 

I like the scent enough, but it's just not throwing or staying enough for me. Very odd.

[KassiK]

This is such a distinct scent and I don't doubt that the Bulgarian Lavender plays a big role in this. It's very beckoning. It's a mid to low range scent but the ozone notes, perhaps even it out so that it's mellow rather than heady or too incense-y (at least for me). Upon dry-down, the ozones blend to create a more salty aquatic rather than high pitched, electric aquatic. Perhaps the musk is what pulls it down.

 

All I know is that for me, this is a great scent. It doesn't have too much throw, but it's not by any means a scent that doesn't create a throw at all.

 

Something about this seems soothing and nostalgic, too. And I don't mean that it reminds me specifically of my past, but more that it seems to encase within its scent a hidden past of good things.

 

I'd imagine it would be very good for wearing to go to bed, or in one of those pensive or creative moods.

[batsy]

In the vial: Lavender. Watery.

 

On the skin: Ozone-musky-lavender water. It's actually a pretty blend, especially if you like lavender. I could see this being something used for bed time to relax with.

[magikalbrownies]

smells so nice...sort of like my blue moon 07 but deeper...

 

i think the black currant gives it this sort of man smell...but i do smell LOADS of ozone.

 

overall --im not going crazy for it but my daughter might.

[ImperatrixMundi]

This is all white musk and currant on me, somehow the ozone and resin were swallowed by them. Now I like white musk but currant is a bit of a problem. It goes from fruity to sharp and acrid in a short time.

Very strong throw and also lasts a good while.

 

I was curious to try this but it is not really for me. For berries and musk I prefer Dayu.

[femmefatale]

So sad. I slathered this one on and I smell...just about nothing. Maybe a hint of the currants but otherwise....nothing.

 

WTH?

[Bluestocking]

In the imp: Well mixed and difficult to pick apart. I get some soft lavender and tangy-fresh ozone, over a sweeter backdrop that seems to be…amber? A twinge of fruit and some very light musk. It's a sweet and resinous yet somehow fresh scent—bizarre, but I think I like it.

On, wet: Hello, black currant! The fruit blooms hugely when it touches my skin, and it blends very nicely with the amber-smelling resin, which adds some richness. The lavender seems to have nearly disappeared, but the mixture of white musk and ozone gives this a clean, shimmery, almost sparkling quality. Again, it's strange—I don't think this smells anything like any other BPAL I've tried—but it smells fantastic. Not horrific at all, but definitely luminous and hazy. It makes me think of purple storm clouds gathering in the sky, somehow, sort of dark and powerful and filled with potential. (Yeah, I'm not sure what I'm talking about either, but that's what it makes me think of!)

On, dry: Round, deep and fruity, with the black currant above all, but it's blended with the ambery resin and gets some zing from the white musk and very light ozone. Very unique, very striking. Sweet, but not too sweet, and definitely the best black currant scent I've tried, by far. Exceptional throw, too.

Later: Basically unchanged, just a smoother and better blended black currant-amber scent. Less ozone, more amber, but essentially the same. Good staying power.

Overall: I've been putting off trying this one for quite some time, and I have no clue why. I got it as a frimp of indeterminate age from somebody else, so I wasn't expecting much from it, but WOW, this is actually quite stunning on me, and I'm now contemplating a bottle purchase. It's a deep mix of tart fruit, sweet amber and clean, refreshing ozone--not heavy, not too sweet. The black currant note is full of win here, the throw is excellent, it lasts for hours and hours, and it's truly unusual (and non-commercial) without being unapproachable.

 

 

[Seismogenic]

This was a Lab frimp, and now that I'm looking at the notes, it seems like a really good call on their part. I like a lot of the listed notes, and I'm hoping they work well together.

 

In the imp: Ozoney blackcurrant with a hint of lavender.

 

Wet on skin: This is starting to go rather soapy. It's a nice-smelling blackcurrant lavender soap, but soap nevertheless. Hopefully this will change.

 

Drydown: Freshly dry, it's not quite as soapy, but I'm still definitely getting that impression. The next strongest impression I get is of blackcurrant, with only a little bit of lavender back there. At one hour in, the whole scent is softer, but it is pretty much still blackcurrant lavender soap.

 

Five hours later: The soapiness finally went away between three and four hours, but it brought most of the other notes with it. At five hours, what's left is mostly white musk with maybe a bit of resin, all rather soft.

 

End of the day: Tiny bit of white musk.

 

Overall; If this actually were a bar of soap, it would be pretty awesome. Then, the soap smell would make sense and the other notes would inherently not be competing with the soap smell. As a perfume, however, I do not think there is a place for soap smell. I was pretty sad that it came up, since I like many of the listed notes, but I guess there's nothing I can do. I'll probably swap this...or look into figuring out how to actually put it in soap.

[angelicruin]

Inside the imp, strong resin and lavender.

 

Wet on the skin, resin, lavender, and ozone.

 

Musk emerges more as it dries on my skin, but I get no currant notes from this blend.

 

[mhickle]

I'm definitely not getting a shocking, horrific, fierce vibe off this one. On me, it's all light sweet berries, not unlike the pleasant smell of a small shop that sells candles. I get a hint of the lavender, but not much else. And it fades faaaaaast on me. So, if you haven't guessed already, I won't be holding onto this one.

[crebbsgirl]

This is COLD. That is the best way I can describe it. The lavender is biting here and the ozone just explodes on my skin. The black currant comes out on the drydown to sweeten the blend and take a little of the edge off. But it's definitely not comforting. The musk adds some depth here, but not enough to save this for me.

[impolight]

Wow! How incandescently assertive! JOOP! Is brought to mind with the very first whiff from the bottle. An impressed, "hmm!" is uttered here.

A bit is slathered on...

Look! The carnival has come to town! Lavender and resinous white-flowers of mystery dress up in their finery, hold hands and traipse about the fairgrounds; lavender sucking a raspberry candy lozenge while white flowers has a go at a grape one...

Or are those both black currant? After wearing this for a bit, all of the fragrances come roiling together and coalesce into this deranged, technicolor stormcloud. Ah... Ozone! It was YOU flitting hither and yon in the periphery, having a jolly good pout along with white musk!

Now this is all starting to make sense...

Lurid is a rich, velvety purple with a pinstripe halo of neon flamingo. It is a delicious sort of madness, a misfit superhero, the person across the room who has no right being as sexy as they are.

Edited January 20, 2010 by impolight