Lurid

[gangstaknitta]

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.

Lurid is really interesting. At first I smell the lavender, with a dark undertone. This is a very dark yet clean blend, so it's not too heavy. It was a little too clean smelling for me and it definitely struck me as a masculine scent. Dry, the current tempers the lavender but it's still just a little too clean for me. Edited January 25, 2006 by Shollin

[Miss Lynx]

Hmmm, interesting. I wasn't entirely sure what I'd think of this -- black currant, white musk and resins sounded good, lavender is iffy, and ozone I have major doubts about, so it seemed like about even odds of working or not working on me. (The whole idea of there being such a thing as an "ozone" scent seems weird to me, since AFAIK real ozone doesn't smell like anything much. Then again, we have scents that purport to smell like snow and water, so obviously there's a certain amount of creative licence involved in these things.)

 

Anyway, the lavender is thankfully subtle -- I don't mind it as a background element in scents; I just don't like it when it takes over, which fortunately it doesn't here. At the beginning, there was also a sort of clean, vaguely synthetic-smelling edge to it that made it seem more like a conventional perfume when first applied. I suppose that would be the ozone. Some people have likened BPAL's ozone note to dryer sheets, and it was a bit like that. But that note seems to have mostly gone inside of ten minutes, and what's left seems quite nice.

 

Once that note faded, we were down to nice currant/musk/incense blend, and that is a very happy-making combination. That sort of fruit + musk + incense or spice combo seems to be at the heart of a lot of my favourite scents (Bewitched, Lampades, Imp, Aglaea...) and this was definitely in the same ballpark. More like Lampades than anything else, I think, though certainly not identical.

 

I definitely don't get anything shocking or horrific from it, though I suppose I could see luminous and hazy. It's a very pretty scent, though not in a conventional girly-girl sort of way. It's sweet, but not overly so -- I didn't get anything like the candy-ish or soapy impressions some people did.

 

The drydown was quite lovely, though not as long-lasting as I might have liked, but I'd only put it on my wrists, and scents don't last as long there as they do elsewhere, so I suspect I'll have better luck once I get more creative with where I apply it. Anyway -- definitely a keeper, despite the ozone.

 

Grade: B+

[enderfem]

In the bottle: Um. Maybe. Probably not. There's something too....loud about this. I'm guessing its the ozone note.

 

Wet: Hm. Still really sharp and loud and bothering me, but I already have a headache. Should I maybe wash it off? Nah, I'll give it a chance

 

 

Drydown: Ooookay, this is growing on me. As someone else said, you start out being unsure, and end up liking it. It has softened somewhat, and is a clean, bright scent on me. I think the currant and the musk have come out to play, and toned down the ozone.

 

End of Day: Still smell it faintly. Mostly just the lavender. Ok, I'm in. I like it.

 

 

But, I am wondering if it will do that everytime? Feel like too much of...something towards the beginning

Edited January 26, 2006 by enderfem

[Lizzie]

In The Bottle Boozy and medicininal and yucky!!

 

Wet On Skin Floral and aquatic, not what I was expecting at ALL.

 

Dry It does smell like Lush's Sugar Plum/It's A Date as I'd hoped, but like a Sugar Plum that's in the water...there's still that aquatic note, I think from the ozone. Very lovely. I'll have to try it again at a different time of the month and see if my skin still amps up that ozone note. I like it a lot though. Yum.

 

 

ETA: The longer I wear this the more beautiful it gets! It REALLY smells like Sugar Plum now, and I love it! The acquatic/ozone smell finally disappeared and I think I'm in heaven! I need a bottle of this.

Edited February 1, 2006 by Lizzie

[allidavie]

Yup, I smell Sex and Candy! I'm in total agreement with everyone who thinks this smells like Lush's It's a Date/Sugar Plum Fairy/Plum Duff line. The notes in here are all some of my favorites individually, so I guess it's not a big shock that I love this too! Most of the fruity/sweet BPAL's amplify on me so much that I can't wear them, but this one is just perfect. Can't recommend it highly enough... this is one of the scents like Dorian that I imagine almost everyone would like.

[sestina]

Lurid is probably something I never would have chosen for myself. I read ozone and think no freakin way. But a fantastic swapper sent me this imp and it's one of the first BPALs I've had. I've worn this on three different days trying to figure out how to review it and

 

the bottom line: i love this scent so much it's ridiculous.

 

my first impression was: somewhat generic, slightly herbal, -nice- but not really a standout.

 

a few hours later: is this the same scent i put on? it's got a deep warm, dark thing going on with a clean, sweet, soapy delicious sprinkling of currant and herbs. wow.

 

the next day, i reapply: i can't get my nose off my arm.

 

a few hours later: reminiscent of the first drydown, this scent is -magical- in the way it develops. i'm not good at picking out individual notes so i have to just say that in this imp, i can understand COMPLETELY the BPAL madness. totally.

 

the third day: wearing this on both wrists and behind my neck, and it's indescribably beautiful. so unique - very subtle and perhaps somewhat insidious. it will definitely be a bottle i will purchase.

[Wench457]

Lurid ITB: incensy and masculine.

 

On: getting sweeter - still incense and cedar?

 

Dry: Sweeter still and fruity, like apricots, although I know that must be the currant. Just a hair too far on the masculine side for me. I think the combination of lavender, musk and ozone is what is making it smell masculine to me.

[rhubarbbear]

is it really odd that i don't get any lavender from this? i get some musk, some resin and SOME kind of floral...but nothing that i recognize as lavender. kinda reminds me of a LUSH store. it's nice, but not overwhelming.

[malanna]

Lurid starts out with slightly humid lavender and ozone. While it's drying, there's a kick of currant that comes out. It's lightly sweet and is slightly tart, but not too much so. It's a purple scent, with the memory of lavender in the background. Even though the lavender is very, very light, I just keep having the scent memory of lavender, which sort of ruins Lurid for me. After a few hours, there's musk and a hint of the resins. It almost makes Lurid a dry scent. It smells like the dry feeling you get when you sniff a spicy scent that's been on your skin for more than eight hours and has melded into your skin.

[jazlyn]

Whoa there! In the imp Lurid is reallly potent, kind of like rubbing alcohol. On... this seems sort of masculine and clean; I get the ozone and lavender, but also some pine with a bit of sweetness. Oh geez this reminds me of Snow Bunny and/or Snow Moon. Not for me.

[arabella]

First Impression: A faint, delicate floral tinged with citrus and berry.

 

Dries down to: This one doesn't change much.

 

Additional Comments: I was quite surprised by the notes in this one. On me it's much more "enticing" than "lurid". I think it's the black currant that gives this its heart and transforms the lavender. It's rich and creamy but not at all heavy. Yet another lovely and unique creation.

 

Lasted: 3-4 hours.

 

Rating: 3.5 out of 5

[AlaskaSnows]

For me this is very faint with no throw. It smells an awful lot like lavender based men's cologne with resin and alcohol notes. It smells like... I dunno... Armani? Don't hold me to that. very nice though.

[wyldeflower]

I have to admit, I never would have chosen this based on the description. I read some people's reviews that said it smells like Sugar Plum Fairy/Plum Duff so I had to investigate.

 

When I first applied Lurid, I could detect a similarity but didn't think it came close enough. I decided to leave it on to see where it went and it's right on! This smells exactly like it. I'll certainly be ordering a 5mL!

[Caltha]

Lurid

Well I can't do berries. Lurid starts out spicy, warm, foody, herbal, fruity, citrusy and fresh but it dries to sweet fake berries, like most fruit and berry scents do on my skin. Sweet fake berries with a hint of cleaning agent and a hint of warm cosiness.

[gingersnapp]

This is sweet and resinous, almost like an incense with a fruity base. I happened to wear this after using Lush's Twas The Night Before soap this morning, and the black currant and lavendar are really accentuated. I don't get a whole lot of ozone out of this, but the musk is light and playful in the background.

[damuddymeg]

I've had a frimp from the lab of Lurid kicking around for about a month. I love currant, lavender AND white musk, so I can't believe I didn't slather at first sight. This morning, however, was the morning to try it out. (I need a little soothing--getting my taxes done tonight!)

 

In the imp: Soft herbal notes, and berry, which must be the currant. Normally I can pick currant out immediately, but in the imp, this smells a bit raspberry-ish.

 

Wet: A touch of ozone, but predominantly currant and lavender.

 

Dry: As this dries, the musk begins to warm up and give a slightly smoky note to this, making it deeper and more complex. The lavender is a gentle wisp, never absent but never hopping around waving its arms like it's wont to do. I get just the faintest touches of resin and ozone from time to time. But the currant is sweet and dark and shiny, and ever-present. Absolutely beautiful.

 

This has been moved up to the top of my 5ml list, and I'll be putting this in with my order of Enraged Bunny Musk and the Lunacy next week.

[Shollin]

First sniff: White musk, berry and some kind of minty ozoney something.

 

Wearing: The fruit is just barely there; it’s mostly white musk and lightning. It really grew on me over the course of the evening. I like white musk a lot, and Lurid is awful nice.

[QueenFae]

Scrumptious. Absolutely lovely, this is one of those scents that was love at first sniff for me. The black currant draws me in, and then the richness of the lavendar rears its head. There is an utterly perfect balance between the white musk and the currant; it's an enchanting combination. The ozone notes are there, but just barely enough to give the blend a certain "lightness" or even tangy refreshingness. I really love this one, and this is the first regular catalogue I've sniffed in months that I definitely need a 5 ml of!

[hologhost]

In the bottle: Currents and musk. There's a spicy undertone

 

On me: rapidly vanishing grape candy.

 

Oh, well.

[cameroncrazed]

Thank you Lab, for this frimp.

 

In the imp: nice, but I have no clue at all what it is.

 

Wet: Again, wonderful blend but I absolutely can't pick any notes out. Yes, I'm new at this, but I've been able to at least guess at notes in other imps. I'm baffled.

 

Dry: Spicy lavender with ??? Still baffled by this lovely blend.

 

Overall: 8/10. Slightly sweet, slightly spicy. Not dominated by a single note. Light enough that coworkers won't complain about it. Even though I can't figure out what it is, I like it. In the end, that's all that matters.

[desu]

In the imp: Musky, a bit sweet, certainly all up in my face.

 

On my skin: The black currant comes through in this mostly with just a hint of lavender lurking in the shadows.

 

Later on: More lavender now than currant. It's pleasant but not really for me.

[AliBabble]

this was a frimp from the lab, which i appreciate greatly, and it's one i was interested to try. not sure it's gonna work out on me though....i love currant, and berries in general, but the ozone's kinda messing things up for me; it's probably just too soapy overall. it sweetens, softens, and gets fruitier the longer i wear it - this is a good thing. but the ozone/lavendar combo still gives it a sharpish, slightly sneeze-inducing identity, and it doesn't seem to mesh with my chemistry that well.

[eviltemptressdq]

this was a generous frimp from when I went to the NJ/NYC Meet N Sniff

 

Lurid smells DIVINE in the bottle! lemon-y, to me... a spicy citrus? Unfortunately, i missed the fact that LAVENDAR (my arch nemesis) is in this blend, and it went a little sour... still, I didn't DISLIKE the scent! Just was a little disappointed by my skin's chemistry with lavendar

[juniperus]

Bottle: lavender, ozone, and a hint of musk. very interesting, light but not transparent.

Wet: the currant is making its presence known, I can barely smell the musk, now.

Dry: much currant, hints of lavender. the musk is gone, and I'm not catching the ozone, either.

Later: amping the currant, the resin and lavender barely hints in the background. white musk never does seem to have a lot of volume on me...but this clinches it - another note I amp. Niiiice.

[Meg]

In the bottle: Ozone, lavender and blackcurrant. Zingy.

 

Wet: Very thick musk and fresh lavender, with touches of ozone. Makes me think of a "marine" kind of shower gel. I also get sweet resins.

 

Drydown: The sweet resins turn into sweet resinous blackcurrants, while the lavender fades to the background and only becomes a sort of tangy afternote with the ozone. The blend a bit like the Body Shop's "White Musk" line, actually, but with a tart and sweet blackcurrant vibe.

 

Overall: Blackcurrant aftershave with a zing. It's a desperately masculine scent, with thick white musk, lavender and an ozone tang along with the blackcurrant. A pleasant energetic scent, but absolutely not me, specially as it goes quite soapy - it's quite masculine, I think. It has great staying power too.