Carnivàle

[theseagrows]

Bright, intoxicating, hectic notes masking a twisted, corrupted core: sweet wild berry, spicy carnation and heliotrope layered over deep amber and musk.

i got this basically because it has carnation in it and i <3 carnation. i was wary of the berries, as i well should be, as they are hit or miss on me depending on the blend.

carnivale is pretty much a miss. it doesn't smell horrible on me, but not that great either. at first it is musty berry-musk with baby powder added. an hour later it smells like cheap berry candles.

[azhure]

In the vial: Peach.

 

Wet: Bright is a good word to describe this scent. It feels like I'm inhaling colours - mainly oranges and yellows. It's intoxicating. I actually can't pick out the individual notes, they blend together into a gorgeous melange of scent.

 

Drydown: My skin eats this a bit - I can't smell much except for faint amber and musk close to my skin. But I get these incredible whiffs of that golden peachy scent.

[alliekat13]

In the bottle sweet cloying berries and musk. On the skin spicy carnation and berries. After a while it fades down to a powdery carnation and ambery musk. I think it makes me smell like a candle shop, or an arts and crafts store, but one guy told me he liked the way I smelled.....

[Sashan]

I received a partial frimp from this machine!

 

Imp: Sweet juicy berries. Smells a little like pink bubblegum.

 

Wet: Musky berries but as it drys it becomes a little spicy and the amber starts to come through.

 

Dry: The berries have mostly faded leaving a spicy warm amber musk. Not a sweet as I was hoping for but still lovely. Now and then I still get a whiff of berries.

 

Nice but probably not for me. I don't think I'll be hunting down a bottle.

[Jenesis]

Bottle: All I get from this is "cheap cologne".

 

Wet: Very sweet, sticky berry, rather like candyfloss. I feel like my nose will become stuck to my wrist if I get too close!

 

Drydown: Still the sweet berry, but with an undertone of florals. I must admit I was scared by the carnation in the description (flowers hate me), but it seems to be working out so far.

 

Dry: As always on me, the musk appears. No spices, but the florals are behaving, and that's all I ask! The sweet fruity note is still top of the heap, and the whole thing definitely reminds me of a carnival or fair. Or a sweet shop. Not exactly an everyday scent, but definitely one for Hallow's Eve, Christmas or other Winter festival! (Or just for when I'm feeling indulgent )

 

Final verdict: Rich, sensual and sweet, this is truly a decadent scent.

 

Rating: 4/5

Edited May 30, 2007 by Jenesis

[Limelight]

Ahhh, yes, it's alcoholic bananas, and I do enjoy them so! This scent promised all that bright frivolity on top, and it never gives way to anything darker, just a compelling fruity musk that keeps drawing me back, like the last couple of guests at the party saying, "Just one more drink..." I love this scent and it loves me.

 

The Lab's carnation doesn't hurt either, not in the slightest

[Thaleia]

I've recently fallen hard for Beth's carnation note, so I reached into my box o' 5ml love and gave this a try again after a few months. It came as no surprise, then, that I just about died when I tried it just now, and I can't really remember what it was that left my poor bottle unnoticed for so long. I've always been a fan of wild berry, and I have loved the amber note since I figured out what the note smelled like. Musk works for me in most blends, but there's the odd blend where I prefer it weren't there. Anyway, carnation comes out on top, followed by wild berry, and warmed by amber on the drydown. The musk is hardly noticeable at all, though I get whiffs of it now and again. I know the carnation is listed as 'spicy' here, as in Frumious Bandersnatch (which is another scent I've got to re-try, possibly tomorrow), but it's not, really. Whatever spiciness the carnation is supposed to have is tempered by the sweetness of the wild berries (and, I'd imagine, the musk that's hiding) and the warm amber.

 

LOVE. I so don't know why I haven't used this more.

[hackess]

Imp: Sharp berry - seems a bit astringent. Not a hint of spice or anything primal.

Wet: Carnation's spice is dulled by amber and heliotrope. Color me disappointed.

Dry: All musk and that plasticky tone that heliotrope likes to take on me. I expected more from this circus.

15 minutes later: Hey, the carnation's back!

[PinkoCommie]

Yargh.

 

I got a half-bottle of this because apparently I have no idea what I like, even after all this time.

 

I thought I liked amber. I was pretty sure carnations are my friend. Certain musks don't hate me. Berries are happy, right?

 

So then why did I smell like something crawled up my arm and died?

 

This, sadly, is SO not for me.

[usamimi]

Even though I thought it smelled sweet and spicy in the imp, this is turning out smelling like candy on me. :/ I'm assuming it's the carnation. Bah. Too bad.

[Torrain]

In decant: bitingly sweet berry. On my skin: the carnation and amber come out, making it a much richer softer scent.

 

5 min: Carnation, amber, and a little musk; rich soft smell with a little twinge of spice at the edge.

 

10 min: sweet, soft, and a weird impression of heat. Maybe one of the spices was cinnamon? Picking up a little berry over amber, musk and the flowers.

 

15 min: amber and musk, and something sweet and hot—I definitely think it's cinnamon, and I guess the sweetness is heliotrope. Bright and warm, like a street party on a summer night with strings of lights draping through the air.

 

30 min: sweet berries and musk over amber. Hint of spice wafting overtop (I think the fact that the oil's actually warm on my skin my have had me overestimating how much it smelt like cinnamon). Not a really complex scent, and it seems to be cooling a bit, but pleasant enough. I'm getting a hint of wax out of somewhere, though.

 

45 min: sweet berries, wax, and musky amber. Smells like the aforementioned street party, lit with candles on tables rather than strings of lights. Still a warm scent, though not as bright as before, and the musk combined with the impression of darkness is giving it a rather creepily intimate overtone.

 

1 hr: berry-scented wax with musky amber. I really really like the musky amber, but the wax element is kind of off-putting. I don't mind the berries—they add a lovely dark red spicy note to the whole thing—but they don't combine well with the wax.

 

S'yeah. It's a perfectly good warm dark sexy smell if you can just get past the mental image of heavily scented candles.

 

1:40: sweet, warm, and sexy; berries and amber and musk. I've lost the wax note, and am happy for it. It's gone from evoking the lit party on the street outside to the dimly candlelit room inside a quiet building, with just you and one other person whose face (whose mask?) you can't quite make out in the dim light.

 

Continues that way into the 2-hour mark. Why oh why do I hardly ever fall this hard for a scent that's currently in the Lab's general catalogue?

 

Love and coffee,

Frances

[heysunshine]

At first whiff this is vibrant wild berries - purple and blue - although I get the slightest hint of strawberry for just a second. As it dries I get the dreaded powder but that fades back into all berry. Finally the spicy carnation comes through and it's a carnation very similar to Lush's Potion. If I breathe in deep there is a general musky scent but not overpowering and not amping in the least like musk is wont to do on my skin. As much as I love berries they are almost too candyish at first, but the drydown of Lush Potion+berries is lovely.

[heathercaley]

Pure Love.

 

 

Musky carnation and amber.. a tiny bit of sweetness from the berries, but otherwise it's just a beautiful smoky muskcarnamber with a dash of sugar. This is an old bottle too.. so its aged beautifully!!

[VioletChaos]

in the bottle: sweet musky amber-tinged goodness.

 

wet on skin: the golden-scented heliotrope is coming out, and i'm also getting some of the spiciness of the carnation.

 

dry down: sweet, almost-but not quite-powdery. the 'not quite' is what saves it! :whew!:

 

in all: reminding me more than a little bit of Pink Moon, with a dash of Sportive Sun tossed in for good measure, this is a warm, golden scent that i will likely use in the dea of winter when i feel the chill and the grey all the way to the core of my bones.

 

 

 

 

[Champagne]

Wet on the skin, for some seconds the dreaded cologne vibe appears, to go away soon and leave space to sweet berries and sharp carnations, slightely tinted by the musk. It`s delicious, dark and deep at the start and deep sweet in the drydown, it lives its name completely.

[asciident]

Wet: Fruity carnation.

 

First on: Unchanged.

 

Dry: A bit muskier on drydown. It's nice enough, but nothing's really pulling for it to make me keep it.

[spoilsofwar]

In the bottle: Mmm. Sweet enough to eat. I won't, but I want to for some reason. Mouth-watering peaches or something other juicy sort of fruit like that. Not citrus though.

 

Wet: More of the same, but now I can smell the carnation. I never thought I liked the smell of carnations that much, but I'm finding more and more that I DO. Pretty much everything I've tried that has carnation in it, I've loved. Hmm. Something to ponder. And now it smells a little like... you know how at carnivals and fairs, you can get shaved ice? And the scent of all the flavouring? It's like that, only less sugared. Mmm.

 

Dry: It's mellowed quite a bit, but it still reminds me of shaved ice in the best possible way. Definitely among my faves.

[tragedy]

Dirty smutty sweet bubblegum???

 

My body does wierd things to scents... But I like this alot.

 

*adds to my happy scent pile*

[fairnymph]

Sniffed: Deep golden oil. It smells exactly how it sounds. Sweet berries I can't quite place, spicy carnation and bright slightly almost citrusy heliotrope with some perfumey amber and the suggestion of musk.

 

Wet: It's a really gorgeous carnation - actually, it reminds me very much of the carnation note in Maiden v2, rich and velvety and spicy. The berry smells a little like raspberry to me, ripe and juicy, a little tart. The heliotrope is a clear soft floral shining on top of the other notes. The amber and musk are sort of melded at this stage on the bottom.

 

Dry: The amber is amping and turning the tiniest bit powdery, but still not in a problematic way. Carnation, too, is really amping, and wow it's such a pretty note here! At this stage, the blend reminds me a whole lot of Maiden v2 overall. Very similar in feel, though this is a little darker and more complex, a little older and more sophisticated. The raspberry isn't going plastic!

 

Later: Hmmmm this carnation is veering into 'clove' territory for me - which was the problem with the released version of Maiden, as well as some other carnation-heavy scents. It never becomes quite TOO spicy and the amber stays true - this is amber at its best, I must say - the creamy warmth of L'Estate with a powdery edge but no more, and the musk ties everything together.

 

Summary: Spicy, rich CARNATION over warm deep amber and sexy musk with light raspberry and a lovely heliotrope note that keeps this from ever becoming too heavy. It's not traditionally the sort of scent I'd like...but I think I'd enjoy a bottle of this. The notes are all divine and go very well together. It also has fabulous throw & longevity!

 

Edited July 7, 2009 by fairnymph

[donnatron]

Bottle: Honey musk? This definitely reminds me of other honey musk blends I have encountered. I get the bright berries and a touch of the carnation. Thankfully it's a calmed down carnation and it doesn't have that sweet tart edge that I sometimes get from carnation. It's not my favourite scent in the world--there's almost a hint of decay like the berries are at the brink of rotting.

 

Wet: This reminds me a lot of Freak Show. A little more calmed down and lot more adult but definitely in the same family. It amps to almost ungodly degrees but is pretty. The carnation is going a bit creamy.

 

Dry: This dries down to just a beautiful, soft carnation touched with berries and musk. Still getting a honey vibe and the amber isn't so much present as it's just anchoring the scent to my skin. The carnation is absolutely drop dead beautiful in this.

 

Throw: Mild.

 

Overall: This is a gorgeous summer blend. It's warm and sultry and makes me a little sad that I'll probably never see another bottle after I power through this one. It's feminine and sexy and just completely fun and funky. Unusual, beautiful, and a truly lovely carnation blend.

[rayvn1]

This is a very light scent on me. I had to test it twice just to get a good handle on it. Powdery amber with a primary note of berry and a bit of incense spice swirling around in it. Nice, but not something I need to hold onto.

[devilot]

Carnivàle

 

In the Vial: Chemical fruit?!

 

Wet: Bubblegum. Ick. I didn't think anything could be worse than bubblegum, but boy was I wrong-- it's shifting quickly into smoky bubblegum.

 

Drydown: Carnation fleeted by and didn't last more than 2 full seconds. Major bummer as I'd love to get some more carnation action. And I love my musks, but it just doesn't seem right here. It's finally starting to show up, but it's not playing well with the residual bubblegum.

 

Verdict: I'm terribly sad this doesn't work better on me, but I guess it saves me the trouble of acquiring a bottle, right? Though, I love the labels for the Carnaval Noir. Sigh. Alas, if I become Oprah-rich, then I can just ignore the blends and buy whatever I'd like for whatever reason, no? But 'til then, Carnivàle will be for others to enjoy.

[stellans]

This blend is why I always give anything containing amber a chance. Though amber is not kind to my skin chemistry in most cases, scents like Carnivale are the exception I always hope for but so rarely get.

 

The sweetness of the berry note is held nicely in check by the spicy carnation, and the amber is there too, but doesn't turn into powder on me (for a change). Musk underlies the whole thing, but doesn't overwhelm me. This is a very balanced blend (on me) and delights my nose. It has moderate throw and medium stay (3 hours before I needed to refresh it). 3 of 5 stars!

Edited December 2, 2010 by stellans

[kikithepirate]

I pretty much agree with fairnymph's review, word for word. I amp carnation as a rule, and this is no exception -- it gets so strong, it definitely reminded me of cloves. The amber is pure and creamy (probably helped along by the oil's age) and those two scents really maintain dominance over everything else. I like it, but when it comes to scents like this, I think I like my bottles of Inez and Alice more.I pretty much agree with fairnymph's review, word for word. I amp carnation as a rule, and this is no exception -- it gets so strong, it definitely reminded me of cloves. The amber is pure and creamy (probably helped along by the oil's age) and those two scents really maintain dominance over everything else. I like it, but when it comes to scents like this, I think I like my bottles of Inez and Alice more.

[Venneh]

In the decant, I'm getting berry, musk, and a bit of carnation, I think. On my skin, this is amber, carnation, and heliotrope, and a touch funky. We'll see what this does. Yeah, the carnation and amber and musk and heliotrope are making this go funky, sadly.

Edited July 10, 2010 by Venneh