Horreur Sympathique

[achildoftime]

The perfume of a hellbound soul, gleefully lost to iniquity: blood musk, golden honey, thick black wine, champagne grapes, tobacco flower, plum blossom, tonka bean, oakmoss, carnation, benzoin, opoponax, and sugar cane.

 

The strongest notes I get from this are the wine and the grapes. I get a lot of that purple, grapey feeling from this one. The sheer sweetness from these two notes and likely the sugar cane drowns out the rest. Sweet anything amps like crazy on me, so any subtleties are lost on me. It's really strong grape candy and that's not for me.

[Juushika]

A frimp from the Lab.

 

In vial: Bitter, sharp fruitiness.

 

On me: Wet this is a bitter, herbal resin over a dark, well-bodied fruitiness; ominous but surprisingly wearable. Dry, the wine comes out, slightly boozy, rich purple-red--but it's well balanced by benzoin/opoponax/oakmoss/tobacco flower, with a touch of beautiful blood musk. I get only a slight sweetness. This is a warm, deep wine against a multi-note resinous, almost-herbal, almost-bitter base that adds a productive complexity and darkness.

 

Verdict: I tested this right before I meant to shower because I expected it to be horrible or at least horrible on me; it's not! It fits the inspiration well, a dark, rich, ~evil~ wine; I appreciate that it's not a tart or sweet fruitness. This isn't remotely my style, so I don't expect to wear it again, but I'm pleasantly surprised.

[torischroeder9]

In the imp: Wine, grapes, and something that comes out like eucalyptus. I was already curious about some love notes and some iffy notes. I'm properly wary now. 

 

On my skin:

 

Wet, the eucalyptus smell definitely throws high and fast, with the early skin scent dominated by the wine. I can also get hints of what I think is the honey but could possibly be the sugar cane. As it dries, the wine fades -- and so does the eucalyptus -- and the honey becomes much more prominent, grounded by oakmoss and benzoin. In this phase, I can also pick out the feel of the blood musk, though it's not a distinct note to my nose. Once it has time to start to unfold on my skin, I get a note that's almost spicy, which I'm guessing is the carnation, hiding underneath the honey. 

 

Ultimately, however, not much comes from the carnation spice, and this scent remains very syrupy sweet. Honey lover that I am, it's still too sweet for me. 

[Mister Azure]

Hellish bliss of sheer delight. Completely enveloped in a sensual ball. 

 

From the wet stages to the later dry down, the scent remains ever pleasant with sweet wines and honey that are well mellowed out by the oakmoss and blood musk. It straddles the edge of being too floral and sweet but manages to pull back just enough to remain delicate and enticing. 

 

Several hours later I can still pick up the beautiful scents that give off a sensation of enjoying a masquerade party of refinement and devilish splendor. 

 

As dawn melds into dusk, lingering scents delightfully taunt me, enveloping me in sensations akin to the enjoyment of a dance of facades at the pinnacle of refinement and devilish splendor.

 

I want to drink from the chalice of wines and meads. Watch the crimson red juices flow & still beg for more in this scent. This is a fragrance that I will need more than an imp it enjoy.

[Rane.]

This one is a rare one for me to wear. The dryness of the champagne grapes combined with plum makes it a bit much for me. But some days this one hits my mood just right. Like now. It sings sweet, soft, & lingers in the air. A touch of honey that reminds me of Deadly Nightshade Honey. & the plum makes this scent a bit like Bette Noir.

 

I've had this full bottle for a year now. Aged nicely so far. I bought a full bottle after my Imp became syrupy, floral, & sweet. Oh goodness so so sweet. The bottle is slowly taking on those properties. I reserve this one for wearing in late Summer or early fall. Thanks BPAL for the little pleasures in life. 💕

Edited September 22, 2019 by Rane.
*added the line about Bette Noir

[doomsday_disco]

This is all about the fizzy champagne grape, plum, and wine on me. The grape is by far the most prominent note at first, backed by the plum, but over time, the plum and black wine notes increase in strength. I also get some spiced carnation and musk after it has been on the skin for a while.

 

Not for me, but this is worth a try for fans of the Lab's champagne grape and plum notes.

[RoseThornAndOak]

This was mostly bubbly champagne and honey on me! The champagne was a bit bubblier and brighter wet on skin, but the scent largely stayed the same start to finish. This didn't come across as fruity, just more about the fizzy aspect. I'll be keeping the imp! 

[fairybites]

Very sweet mix of honeyed wine and champagne with lots of plum. You would think it would smell dark with the blood musk, black wine, etc. but it really smells light and sugary. At times, it resembles Smarties almost? Not like Pruno did on me with the chalkiness, just a mix of fruity sugars.

 

While boozy, it doesn't smell too boozy. The grapes and plum are very strong. I like it, but it is a little faint. Pretty good!

[Missanneshirleyofgg]

Upon application, This blend isnt sweet on my skin. Its a dry champagne with lots of fizz. So dry that I looked up notes because I thought I was smelling pine and labdanum for a hot minute (This is a reminder of why Chaos blends frustrate me). But, as it rests on the flesh, it definitely becomes about the honey. And for me, that is where the sweetness is. I can definitely focus on the scent and find the plum here, but this is ultimately a honey champagne. At this phase (twenty minutes in) the scent becomes quite linear and when I awoke middle of the night, it was the same honey champagne from initial dry down. 

 

This would be a great girls night out scent! 

[roseus]

Beautiful honeyed wine with a light fizz. Wet the plum blossom really comes out, so breezy. As it dries it fades a bit and I get a little more spicy carnation. Fully dry I get the vanilla-adjacent aspects of tonka and benzoin rounding everything out. So pretty! 

[wenchie84]

This is my go-to scent. I used to have an imp that I would wear sparingly bc I only had an imp. Then it leaked and I ran out, so I got the 5ml bottle. It was so worth it. The sweet honey, grape, black currant just blends so well that it's delicious. I can't stop sniffing myself when I wear it!

Edited May 3, 2023 by wenchie84

[asoursweetsixteen]

~~frimp review~~

 

extreeemeeeely sweet out the imp. it smells like grape candy, like a skittle or something. once put on, it calms down suuper quick, I'm talking in a matter of like 2 minutes. i have to put my nose on my hand to smell. it retains the sweetness and becomes fizzy, similar to the champagne in Bon Vivant. now that I think about it, it's very much like BV, but grape rather than strawberry. it's not ~evil~ on my skin, but does have a slight dark edge to it from the wine and florals, but it is still very much sweet and fruity.

 

overall, it's a grape Bon Vivant bubbly fruity sweet champagne smell. great if you like fruit and carbonated drinks/perfumes. I don't know that I'll wear it often, but it's a nice change of pace. maybe I'll layer it with BV. pretty happy that the Frimp Gods chose well for me

[Cali]

Definately will have to agree with the bubbly fruit champagne mention above, first thing that popped in my head was 'currant champagne'. There's a strong sour/fizzy note in there that's almost similar to the one in Blue fire (though that one's definately more 'ALCOHOL', this is a more lower percentage-but-still-a-lovely-cocktail-scent). It gets a bit softer on the skin and ever so slightly plummier.