Carnaval Diabolique

[diamondstars]

Straight from the twisted alleys of Dis, by way of the City of Angels: opium smoke, lemon flower, heliotrope, tuberose, black musk, vanilla, coconut, apricot flower.

Lemon meringue pie!! I like this; most lemony scents are too artificial-smelling but this one's lovely.

[djsiberia]

wet: lemon & heliotrope, lemon, lemon, lemon sweet lemon.

 

dry: light florals, lemon, sweet lemon...

 

much much later: powdery florals with a touch of lemon.

 

this really reminds me of lolita - a lot only with apricot and lots of lemon.

 

i can't really pick out any other notes too well since lemon is dominating everything.

 

its not bad, but it's not screaming must own bottle. though it does make a nice light scent in hot & humid weather.

[Stephanie]

Straight from the bottle: Lemon-y goodness...and some flowers?

 

Freshly applied on skin: More lemon-y goodness. Very fresh and sweet. I think I can detect some apricot.

 

Drydown: Not much change. The citrus is predominant. Maybe some dry powderiness from the black musk--but other than that, there's not much "darkness" to be found.

 

My bottle is over a year and a half old, I think. And it's been stored properly--in a cool dark place--with my other bottles. So I think it's aging very well.

 

If you like lemons, then you will like this.

 

(Luckily, I them)

 

 

eta: Actually, the more I sniff this, the more something about it reminds me of Chrysanthemum Moon--it must be the opium smoke. It's a light-hearted, lemon-fresh CM.

Edited July 23, 2008 by Stephanie

[Heeroluva]

In the bottle it's a smokey lemon, with some sweetness. Wet the lemon becomes a bit more powerful. But as it dries the coconut comes out a long with a bit more smoke. It's very pleasant.

[twilighteyes]

This one is very lemony on me. I was hoping for the coconut!

[Lyrical]

In the vial: a soft, sweet lemon, with opium, heliotrope, coconut and vanilla. Nice!

 

Wet on skin: oh so pretty! I can smell lemon and apricot mingling with opium, creamy heliotrope, coconut and vanilla.

 

Dry on skin: creamy and lemony-fruity, but not at all foody. I really like this one, although probably not quite enough to buy a bottle.

[milo]

I thought I'd like this one, as I'm a big citrus fan, but alas, it is not to be. In the bottle, the lemon is there, as well as the incense and I'm not sure if I really like that combination. On their own, I love lemon, and incense goes great with some florals, as in MoM, but here it is not working for me. After 15 minutes or so, the florals come out to play and totally take over, even worse as it is the heady floral scent that I really dislike. Off to swaps.

Edited August 14, 2008 by milo

[brsis]

Initial thoughts: There are some good notes in there for me - heliotrope, vanilla, coconut - but the lemon flower and opium smoke is putting me off.

 

In the bottle: It's a smoky lemon for me.

 

On the wrist, wet: Darker, more complex now, but still principally the lemon. I'm not great with citrus.

 

Drydown: After a while, the coconut comes forward, which means I now have lemon scented suntan lotion. This isn't a great success for me.

[jewelbug]

Imp: Very citrus-y in the imp. Citrus with an undercurrent of resins and a slight powdery note.

 

Wet: Still citrus-y—lemon verbena maybe? There is a creamy floral type scent as well—maybe a lily (cheating and looking at notes: ah, heliotrope, maybe in combo with the coconut or ‘nilla)? I’m also getting some earthier, grittier notes down underneath the brighter sweet florals and citrus—fitting for a dark carnival!

 

Dry: The citrus is still there, but not nearly as bright as it was. It combines in a lovely manner with the creamy florals, ‘nilla and gritty musk. The whole scent is very golden to my nose. Its sweet and creamy, with warm citrus tones and a gritty undercurrent. It has great throw, and smells just plain amazing! Lasts for 9+hrs--yay!

 

Overall: I think I need a bottle of this. One little decant simply will not cut it. Reminds me in feel to antonino—must be the citrus, coconut, musk combo.

Edited October 1, 2008 by jewelbug

[icecreamcone]

Very strong lemon scent which turned soft powdery lemon on me. I actually liked the dry down but not enough to fs it.

 

Edited December 26, 2022 by icecreamcone

[zankoku_zen]

This one was a sweet coconut smoky blend. And it has dried to a lemony powder. Interesting. But not for me.

[rayvn1]

This is mouthwatering! I love the rich opium smoke and the lemon adds a hint of sweet citrus. This deserves a bottle.

[angelicruin]

In the bottle, lemony and citrusy....

 

 

Wet on my skin, I am amping the lemon note. It's overpowering everything else.

 

As it dries down, there's more of creamy quality to the lemon.

 

Dry, it's a powdery lemon scent.

[blacklacestatic]

So I was really nervous about this one. When I read the description from the lab I thought, "This could be really nice", and ordered a bottle. Then I read all the reviews. All I saw was lemon, lemon, lemon, which is a problem because I don't particularly like lemon. Then I got the bottle and tried it, and am so happy I trusted my intutition.

 

In the bottle: It's a little tart, but not strong "lemon juice" lemon. It's like a light, soft, creamy hint of ghost citrus.

 

Wet: Whoa, so not what I was expecting! It's a dark, smoky, sweet floral with a hint of lemon cookie. It's a creamy type floral, not in your face lemon as I expected. I think any time a scent has a note which i'm wary about, and there's black musk, I'm in the clear. The musk always gives it a sexy, dark quality. It adds a hint of mystery. The feeling I get from this is one of bright lights against a dark, shadowy atmosphere. Seductive and exciting, but not overpowering.

 

Drydown: Here's where the vanilla and coconut decide to come out and play. It's very subtle, the dance they do with the other notes, but it smooths everything out into one creamy fluency. This has excellent throw, and lasts too. I wore it to bed and still had it on after 8 hours of sleep.

 

Overall: I am so glad I trusted myself on this one, it would have been such a shame if I overlooked it. Incredible. this is the first of the carnaval scents i'm trying, and I can't wait for the others!

[Schmoozy]

Stunning! Lemon, vanilla and coconut with soft florals and musk. This is fun, playful and

yet the opium smoke gives it just a hint of darkness and perhaps a touch of evil.

The lemon at the beginning is tart and bold but fades after awhile and the barest of citrus

notes linger while vanilla florals and musk dominate.

[Lamia]

Coconut tanning oil and lemon candy, but deep. It's actually surprisingly pleasant, and I am surprised that it is so nice. I think that is the musk and vanilla sneaking around behind the scenes and being fabulous.

[femmefatale]

I can't believe I waited so long to try this one!

It's a beautiful tropical scent. It's also very well balanced, not too floral or fruity. The opium adds a smokiness that keeps this from being too sweet and there is a touch of black musk that lends a subtle sexiness. The coconut is there, but it's not foody and also isn't too suntan oil smelling. It almost strikes me more of a black coconut scent (perhaps it's the coconut and black musk together?).

 

I just love this and will definitely need a backup bottle.

[aviva]

this is pure lemon pledge on me. i am not loving it at all.

 

will probably have to sell or swap.

 

[Saya]

In the Imp

This is a creamy lemon blends with some flowers in the background. It smells wonderful in the imp.

 

On My Skin

This is a light, sweet lemon with some florals in the background the vanilla is just barely there making this a smooth scent. I’m not getting any black musk or opium smoke. So far I really like this blend.

 

After a Bit

The lemon is a light, sweet, smooth lemon rather than a tart, sour smell. The vanilla and coconut are barely detectable and seem to add a creamy element to the blend making a lemon custard type of scent. The florals in this blend are light and add complexity to the scent without becoming cloying or overpowering. I'm not getting any opium smoke or black musk from this.

 

Rating 1-5 (5 being best)

Scent - 3.8 Throw - 3 Longevity - 2.5

Overall (not an average) - 3.4

 

Final Thoughts

In the end I'm left with a sweet, creamy lemon custard scent with a touch of light florals. This is a very fresh scent that I think I'd wear frequently in the spring or summer time. I think I need to get a bottle.

[harpie17]

So you are sitting at home one morning, and you hear a knock on the door. Naturally, you open it, and find a massive Lemon standing on your doorstep, wearing combat boots and shoving a huge bouquet of heliotrope in your face.

 

You stand back in awe, and he shoves his way into the house, settles on your couch, stuffs the heliotrope into the couch cushions, and sets up a hookah. He offers you some lemon drops (you take them and pop one in your mouth out because he has stunned you into obedience--they are surprisingly good), and before you know it you are sitting beside him smoking away and chattering about this crazy Carnaval he just escaped from.

 

This is what your house smells like after he has been there for 7 hours.

Edited January 27, 2009 by harpie17

[msbcozad]

Carnaval Diabolique

 

Mmm... sweet lemon and coconut. Who knew that these two could meld so beautifully? I get faint whiffs of the smoke and the occassional hint of vanilla, plus some floral softness in the background but it's mostly coconut and sweet lemon. I this!

 

I may need to grab a second bottle or three before the Carnaval leaves town.

[asciident]

Wet: Musky, resinous, floral. I would have expected it to be a little more smoky than resinous.

 

First on: Very sweet musk.

 

Dry: Same. It smells pretty good, but I doubt I'd wear it much.

[jencallisto]

In the imp: Bright, sweet lemon-coconut, with an underlying complexity, maybe the florals.

Fresh on the skin: Oh, oh, creamy vanilla-lemon-coconut, bright and almost clean, quite pretty! It reminds me of Lush bath bombs, that one with the lemongrass. Mmmmm.

10 minutes later: Seriously, a Lush bath bomb -- sweet, powdery, not-quite-soap, not-quite-perfume. I have a feeling black musk agrees with me (my skin loves Lilith, and it liked Pumpkin II '08, too).

20 minutes later: Say, maybe this is the coconut I've been waiting for. The one that's sweet and bright and slinky, but not at all like suntan lotion. I'm not sure what's making this so sexy, but oh, it is.

1 hour later: The longer I wear this, the more I'm subtly disturbed by it. When I think about it, really concentrate, I still think I like it, all that dark lemon coconut. But when I just catch it casually, it kind of makes me stomach turn. Weird. Maybe it's a sense memory from how terrible Shoggoth was on me. But even though this has a similar citrus-coconut base (but lemon instead of lime), I like it much more.

1.5 hours later: Ah, we're powdering down to vanilla, and fading fast. Wow, quick burn.

2 hours later: Faint-to-gone.

5 hours later: Tiny tiny tiny amount of laundry.

 

Verdict: I like this, but I don't love it. It fades fast. I'll have to try it again to really confirm my opinion.

 

One phrase: lemongrass Lush bath bomb.

[Gwydion]

In bottle: Lots of lemon flowers and heliotrope. The coconut is next strongest. Wet: On me, mostly lemon and coconut. My skin amps citrus enormously and mildly amps coconut, so there’s no surprise here. Given time, rose, which I also amp joins them. I think I nose a touch of opium and musk in there, but honestly the lemon is so overwhelming with my skin chemistry, there is no chance of this balancing. Dry; The subsumed elements come out a little. The vanilla/heliotrope/apricot combo might have been interesting on it’s own, but is still rather burried under the amped lemon and coconut. Again, I suspect this would be fine on someone else, but my skin chemistry is causing serious imbalance of the elements.

[Gin]

Carnaval Diabolique

 

I put this one off for a long time. I had a preconceived notion of what this would smell like, and I knew I wouldn't like it. (*smashes head with trout*) I ended up getting some anyway (after reading the 'smoky lemon' reviews) and let it sit untested for a few weeks. In retrospect, I can't believe I was such an idiot. This is lovely. Instead of a dark, black musk + smoky smoke scent, it's slightly incensy lemon with hints of heliotrope and coconut.