The Isles of Demons

[sarada]

Twin islands near Newfoundland, now lost, that were believed to be gateways to Hell. The scent is of wet, dark greenery, carnivorous flowers, volcanic gas, and the hot black musk of the demons and wild beasts that populated the islands.

Love the name of this one!

Yes, the idea of "volcanic gas" was a little alarming in this but it's not scary at all in the imp. It is a thick, dark, damp floral -- I don't specifically smell the musk at first but I know it's in there, sort of amplifying everything. Damp and musky at the same time, but overall very much like walking into a tropical greenhouse.

There is a hint of something smoky snaking through, like a ritual fire sending out a beacon of smoke from afar. As it wears, the musk definitely takes form and emerges from the green gloom.

You know what this is?? The perfect scent to wear when you're watching "Lost"! Something dark moves in the lush damp jungle, something with dark and sparkling eyes dissipates into a column of black smoke. I don't know that I'd want to smell like this normally since the thick tropical blooms are a bit heady for me, but I just love the imagery it evokes! Edited September 15, 2007 by Shollin

[sarahmarie]

This one wears a bit too soapy on me, so I probably won't be keeping the imp. However, it could be really awesome with the right skin chemistry! It's green and sort of succulent, if that makes sense. But on my skin, it turns all pretty and then all soapy, not exactly what I was hoping from from something called Isles of the Demons. Where is my volcanic gas, dammit?

[LiberAmoris]

I am enamored of the name Isles of Demons, so had to give this one a try. It's definitely like a lush island---tropical flowers, a tiny touch of coconut perhaps, dark musk, and something green. I'm with sarada, this would be a great blend to wear when I watch Lost!

 

This is going to sound nutty, but the musk here kind of reminds me of the musk in Devil's Night. It's yummy. And I'm not getting a lot of volcanic gas either, although maybe I'm ok with that, since I think volcanic gas smells like sulphur.

 

I'll definitely be keeping my imp for the next Lost season! I used to wear Eden, but I think this is much more appropriate.

[filigree_shadow]

I was soooo hoping this would work on me, and it does! It reminds me a lot of Cobra Lily at first, but with a wonderful muskiness underneath it. It smells brighter and greener than I thought it would -- it's lush. As it dries down it becomes darker, without as much of a green edge, but it still smells pretty lush. It starts to become more humid-smelling, more like what I imagine a jungle might smell like.

 

This is very well done, and I like it a lot!

[slave1]

In Bottle: Sweet darkness

 

On Skin: This is so wonderful! I expected dark scary smokiness. Instead it is sweet, deep and quite alive. It is lush, dark green and quite exciting. While it is dark, it isn’t pitch dark, there is light shining in little patches, here and there. When you make your way through the jungle, the greenery traps you inside, but the sun finds you every once in a while. After about 15 minutes it starts getting an ozone feel, probably from some of the florals. This is very much a jungle… I smell the sweet sap from tropocal trees and flowers, the planty and earthy notes from the floor, and the slight ozone of the nearby beach. The musk is also present which gives the scent it’s distinct darkess, it is very velvety and makes the perfect base for this scent. A very light throw and short wearlength.

[sookster]

hellz yes...straight sniff from imp is very green and wet with the naughtiest

touch of smoke

 

once applied.....

ewwww....hugely floral; no musk at all...hugely frightful...i do not like this at all...

a shame...i love the concept and the name.....boohooooodles....

[forspecial_plate]

This one is hard to pin down...mostly it reminds me of Dragon's Blood, although when I compared them side by side, they're pretty different. It is mostly sweet and floral but there is more going on here than meets the nose so to speak. I would say humid and tropical are good descriptive words here. For whatever reason, I don't get a 'green' feeling from this, more of a 'red' feeling. Maybe it's just because I'm associating it with Dragon's Blood. Oddly when I put my nose right up to my skin I can smell something almost like sulphur. And it does have a soapy aspect to me. It is a nice scent overall but I'm honestly not sure if I'll keep it. I will give it a couple more chances I think.

 

edit: After an hour or two a lot of the sweetness has faded. I like it even more now, with some of the ozone creeping in. It seems to be getting earthier too. I will most likely keep the imp for a while but not seek a bottle.

Edited September 15, 2006 by Forspecial Plate

[birdiefu]

In the imp- Don't smell much of anything other than a little sharpness.

 

Wet- Sweet floral smoke. I didn't know demons liked flowers this much, and there it is...a dreaded white flower which I think is ylang-ylang dominating over everything else.

 

Dry- Oh yes, the demons crushed the pretty white flower under their feet! I get a deep dark amber and musk, something sweet and almost honey-like and just a touch of something sulfuric. The floral is still there but just barely, and the darkness envelops it nicely. This smells like a tropical volcanic island and you are trapped deep within the rainforest with unknown monsters chasing you.

 

Overall the flowers scared me very much until they dried down and the magic of the Isles of Demons came to life. I love it!

[edenssixthday]

The Isles of Demons - My first impression is that this is a strongly masculine and earthy scent. It’s a dark, thick, almost damp floral and there’s a smoky note that reminds me of Brimstone, without being quite as sulfuric. Underneath the flowers and smoke is a heavy, dark musk that is really the foundation of the entire scent, although it takes a few minutes of warming up on my skin before it really begins to become strongly evident and blend well with the other notes. This scent has taken me by total and complete surprise: when I read the scent description, I didn't think it would appeal to me at all, and even when I wear it, and smell how thick and heavy and damp it is, I’m still surprised I like it, but I do. It’s incredibly unique, very dark, very sexy, and while I thought at first it was masculine, it's not. It’s the scent of a very, very strong woman. With this scent a little goes a very long way, as the throw is extremely strong and it lasts and lasts. I will definitely be wearing this one again and again. I may have to put it on my list of bottles to consider. I also think that people who are often afraid of wearing florals may be surprised by this one. It’s definitely floral, but very different from the traditional floral blend. I still can't get over how beautiful this is, when I didn’t expect anything good from it at all!

[Little Bird]

I'm not exactly sure why I bought a 10 ml of this one unsniffed. So many of the new Wanderlust descriptions just sounded like awesome places that I'd like to visit... the whole unspoiled rainforest idea appeals to my sense of wanderlust so strongly. And I liked the thought of smelling "wet, dark greenery."

 

In the bottle... this reminds me of Two Monsters. All masculine, chilling black musk.

 

On me... black musk. It's a cold, dark, almost crystalline sort of musk on me. I also get a hint of something funky and BO smelling at first. After a few minutes, a sweet and lovely floral note begins to twist its way through the black musk. There's also a very damp feel to this, like flowers in the dark depths of the jungle, smothered in thick droplets of condensation.

 

I was kind of enjoying this one and then, 15 minutes or so into this, it becomes so sharp and perfumey that it's making my eyes water . The floral is now reminding me of sharp opium poppy, and the musk has taken a violent turn. Is this that volcanic gas note? If so, I hate it.

 

In the drydown, this blend quite literally stings my eyes and becomes painfully sharp on me. I had to wash it off. It is not the dark greenery that I was hoping for

[theseagrows]

like others have said, this reminds me of the show LOST, smelling it while reading the description, anyway. it's heady, damp flowers with musk and a touch of smoke. it's tropical but not in a cloying, fruity way, and reminds me of dark green, more like an island at night. very pretty.

[supremegoddessofall]

Pretty. Herbs and florals in a sandalwood base. I can't pick out anything specific, but I like it.

[Meg]

In the bottle: It smells of... cleanness. Like sweet, wet sheets.

 

Wet: Wet flowers, a bit like freesias, and then... a strange smoky stony scent that reminds me of the volcanic gas in the description, and possibly some skin musk.

 

Drydown: Still this stony smoke and light green florals, slightly sweet, but with a clear herby quality to it. There's a luscious nectar scent in there, from the carnivorous flowers maybe. It generally has a slightly aquatic clean scent to it. It dries down to powder, pure baby talc, with hints of something ambery around the edges.

 

Overall: Um... rather interesting at first, it smells like a hot version of Niflheim. Dry, though, it's a very faint blend, and it doesn't really end up well: talcum powder really isn't that interesting. It really doesn't get better than that on me, a very faint soapish powdery scent. It's a pity, it seemed promising.

[sporadicity]

In the bottle it smells very green and lush smelling. On skin, it stays the same, still very lush and green with a hint of floral. A few minutes pass and now it smells wet. I can picture a jungle now, green, damp, with exotic flowers. This ends up smelling very "clean" on me. I don't get a "volcanic" smell from it. I got this imp because the description and name sounded interesting and this is one of my favourite scents that I reach for again and again. I would buy this again and possibly a bottle depending on how quickly I go through the imp.

[PurringPulsar]

The Isles of Demons

 

In the imp: juniper and pine! This smells a bit like Black Forest, actually.

Wet on skin: deep green and evergreen scents with a sweet black musk.

Dry: interesting. This is a mix of evergreens and traditional winter forest notes, pine and juniper and fir, with some other greenery which seems a little more damp and deep and almost jungle like but not quite. Maybe it shouldn’t surprise me that the scent isn’t as tropical as I thought it would be-these isles are in Newfoundland after all. It’s a lot cooler than I expected as well, misty and damp but cool. There’s a weird scent in the background that’s not sulphurous but it is almost burnt and smoky and weird, could be ‘volcanic gas’, and it’s unlike any smoke note I’m used to…I’m not sure I’m keen on it as it smells almost chemical/medicinal/antiseptic on me. This scent even reminds me slightly of Vinland. The black musk is barely detectable now.

After a while: huh? Where have the green plants and evergreens gone? In just 10 minutes of wear, the unusual complexity fades leaving on my skin the scent of…plastic toys. Yes. Not the scented dolls that smell of strawberries or whatever, but plain plastic. It smells like something I used to play with in childhood but I can’t remember what. Possibly a doll of some kind. It’s a smell that also reminds me of some kind of glue, and also the smell of certain clean offices, possibly the type of cleaning products used to clean offices mingled with the smell of photocopier. There’s a bare hint of freshness and sweetness lingering. But it pretty much smells just of plastic toys, and I’m not keen on that.

The plastic still lingers after a couple of hours but I do get a soft, light musk coming through. It’s not dark black musk, though it does remind me of Mad Hatter’s musk a bit, but it smells light and smooth. After a few hours, I’m torn…because the musk is so pretty from a distance, I’m getting a lovely white musk throw but the plastic scent lingers close to the wrist. And then who should pop up just before the scent departs? It’s our good friend vetiver! Except that doesn’t seem to improve things, it just means the scent will stick to my wrist for days.

Verdict: out of the three ‘unusual, conceptual Phantom Isles’ (the other two being Jezirat and Kumari-they seem to fit into this strange little threesome, in my head), this is my least favourite. After a glorious start of fresh evergreens, damp leaves and black musk, it then turns to plastic on me-smelling just like plastic dolls. It reminds me of some kind of doll I had when I was little, and sure such a scent is a good childhood memory but plastic isn’t something I want to smell like, especially in a scent that should smell like a prehistoric island. There’s a pretty musk scent that pops up but the plastic doesn’t budge. A shame really. This could be a locket scent but for now I’m swapping it.

Emoticon rating:

Is it a keeper? No.

If you like this, try: Kumari Kandam, Jezirat Al Tennyn, Vinland, Black Forest

[storme]

In the imp: very musky-floral-perfumey.

 

On me, wet: dark evergreens and lush flowers and maybe a hint of damp misty air.

 

On me, dry: I think my skin is amping the 'volcanic gas' - lots of damp and slightly sulphuric air, lots of dark green wet vegetation, and a trace of musky perfume.

 

Verdict: I like this - it's like wearing Nihil in Iceland. A surprise hit!

[lanablade]

I second the Dragon's Blood reference.

 

In the imp and wet, I was certain there was Dragon's Blood in here, which is bad, cause Dragon's Blood is a big no-no for me. It got really strong for a minute and I was starting to become afraid, but it must just be something that smells similar, because within a minute or two, it almost disappears.

 

Dry: There's a fruit smell that I associate with Urd in here, and definately musk and flowers. I think it's the musk/flower/fruit combo that was making me think Dragon's Blood. It still smells too close for comfort, but it's really a very lovely scent for the many people who love the Ars Draconis line.

 

ETA: As it dries more, I can smell the green bits poking through. It's really very lovely, and if it wasn't giving me a headache, I'd probably adore it.

Edited December 13, 2006 by Lana Blade

[The_Witching_Hour]

In the bottle: masculine and earthy, smells oddly of volcanic rocks.

 

On my skin: a wet floral note emerges. There's a mix of green and musk rounding this out.

 

Drydown: WHOA! This morphed 180 degrees! I would have given this to my man just by sniffing the bottle but he would have never forgiven me for having him smell like a tropical jungle! Whatever floral note arose out of this one to mix with the greenery and musk......is another flower I can obviously wear. What a wonderful surprise this blend is!!

[Voleuse]

This is a little eucalyptus-like to me, on first sniff. Not eucalyptus, but that sort of open, take-a-deep-breath sort of smell. Vaporous, but nice. As it dries, the notes of the blend emerge more. There's a heavy, sweet greenness to this blend, with hints of tropical flowers. The faux-eucalyptus note never goes away, though--it lurks behind the jungle, appearing at will. This is a neat scent, verdant and clean. I like it.

[maribouquet]

This smells rich and deep in the imp, a little masculine, but wet on my skin it is a sweet flower (frangipanni? passion flower?) overlaid with with intriguing hints of mineral and salt...I love it. The drydown is equally spectacular: a soft, dark floral with a touch of musk.

 

This is going on my bottle list. It's divine: deep, humid and hidden. Hot like the back of a sleeping dragon.

 

[Em-]

Mmm...sweet smoky lungle musk. I would have sworn up and down that there was Dragon's Blood in here, and maybe that is part of what is giving this the firey/volcanic scent, but whatever it is, this is a surprisingly heady and delightful blend.

 

I am not one to go running into the warm embrace of tropical blooms, but this is really a wonderfully seductive scent.

[femmefatale]

I think I really like this. It starts out a bit cologney at first, but as it dries it's a beautiful blend of warm musk and tropical flowers and greens. Not the soft tropical scent like in Pele, but something much richer and darker and deeper, like a jungle as opposed to island breeze.

I think this would work well for both a man or woman. I'm going to try this a couple more times, but I think it might end up on my bottle list.

 

ADDED 1/6/09:

 

hmmmm....this is much sweeter than I expected. No volcano, vo smoke, no gates of hell. But what it is is very pretty. It's all sweet, lush tropical flowers. It more feminine than I expected, but I really like this.

I'll try my imp a few more times, but I might have to get a bottle for the summer. I'm tempted to layer this with Moai to get the volcano I was looking for.

[outofrhyme]

In the bottle:

Wet, dark and tropical. I think it would be very difficult for me to describe it with a greater level of detail.

 

Wet:

Surprisingly, this smells really good. Cool and spicy. It smells carbonated, somehow, with a hint of greenery and florals. It's not a bright tropical - definitely a very dark smell, except maybe for the carbonation.

 

Dry down:

Having read some of the forum reviews, I'm going to hash them up: it's carbonated sandalwood burning in a ritual fire in dark, green woods next to a beach. At night. Several reviewers said that this scent reminds them of LOST. I half agree - the florals are a little bit too sweet, but otherwise, it's pretty close. The musk and volcanic gas combine into smoky carbonated sandalwood, and the rest is tropical blooms. It's a floral, and yet it's definitely not a floral... and you can flip back and forth which clause refers to "scent" and which to "ingredients."

 

Final thoughts:

Hrm. I like it too much as a concept to part with it just yet, but I doubt that I'll really ever wear it, unless I feel like smelling particularly exotic and dangerous. It's actually a little sexy in that way.

[juniperus]

Bottle: I can't pinpoint a note - this is dark green - if dark green, almost black, had a scent, this would be it

Wet: same, but expanding...I can just catch hints of the musk separate from the greenness.

Dry: the flowers are sweet over the green and...I don't know, must be the volcanic gas...I'm not quite identifying something here.

Later: I'm not quite sure what's not working, but something here isn't working on me. It's just getting..er..weird. Unreal. Hm.

[kraken]

In the Imp: Smoky, green and wet.

 

Initial Wet: An overpowering green & floral. The throw initially hit me like those heady perfume counters at the mall. After a few minute, it calms down to sage and flowers.

 

Initial Dry: The smoky note begins to come out along with a faint sweetness like vanilla. The greenness fades a bit leaving the florals more prominent.

 

Drier Dry: Ah, now the smokiness turns to black musk and goes sour on me until it fades out taking most of the rest of the blend with it. When it's light and soft, it's goes back to a green and floral until it fades away.

 

I'd been considering trying this because of the description and was delighted when I got it frimped from the Lab. I wasn't sure what to expect. The scent certainly doesn't disappoint from the description. I wish black musk worked out better on me. I'd love to smell this on someone else.