Different smells/colors, same perfume

[Lady_Fire]

Nope, will go try that. I had read in a different thread you arent supposed to shake. Guess I have nothing to lose though cause I will not wear it as is.

[Lorelai1945]

Lady_Fire- It's interesting that you've brought this up, because Lyonesse has always been a mystery to me. I have 3 different lab-labeled imps of it, and none of them smell remotely the same. I've always wondered if maybe some mislabeling happened at some point. One of mine smells very aquatic with a kind of, sort of hint of vanilla. Another is pretty much identical to Eat Me. The third is a rich, golden scent. To this day I have no idea which one is right! Although....I'm thinking the first one. I don't think I've ever come across a scent with such variation before. Regardless, though, none of them ended up being vanilla-y enough for me, so I guess it's moot. Just wanted to empathize!

[Haadiyah]

Lady_Fire- It's interesting that you've brought this up, because Lyonesse has always been a mystery to me. I have 3 different lab-labeled imps of it, and none of them smell remotely the same. I've always wondered if maybe some mislabeling happened at some point. One of mine smells very aquatic with a kind of, sort of hint of vanilla. Another is pretty much identical to Eat Me. The third is a rich, golden scent. To this day I have no idea which one is right! Although....I'm thinking the first one. I don't think I've ever come across a scent with such variation before. Regardless, though, none of them ended up being vanilla-y enough for me, so I guess it's moot. Just wanted to empathize!

 

My imp smells like "a rich golden scent" with a hint of aquatic and pretty noticeable vanilla and lily.

 

 

I've shaken a lot of my bottles and no harm has come from it. All that happens is the heavy oils on the bottom get nicely mixed in with the lighter oils again. Why do others say not to? (mind you I do have some that smell better without shaking; but I expect my feelings will change when I get down to the bottom and have nothing but the heavy oils!).

[Lady_Fire]

I shook it to no avail. I layered it with vanilla and its still wrong. I think one of them is mislabeled and I think its the big bottle. I am trying so hard to figure out what it reminds me of and what comes to mind is a perfumed body powder my great grandma used. I so wish I was capable of picking out scent notes so I could describe what I'm smelling I should just send it to someone with a refined nose to sniff! lol

[chinkee21]

I am x-posting this in another thread in hopes that I will hear of anyone's experience:

 

Anyone have any experience with aged Perversion? I have 2 imps from the lab, ages unknown, 1 imp is golden yellow in color and the other a dark orangey, they smell different too, one of them definitely smells strongly of Tobacco & Rum, the other one I can barely smell those top 2 notes....

[chinkee21]

Wow, this thread has been a real eye opener for me, I kind of want to open every single favorite blend that I have and compare them with each other, those I have backups of I mean, I am ashamed to say that when buying backups, I don't even open them to smell/test! I never knew there was such big variation issue, maybe cuz I never really finished a full bottle (other than Morocco) of anything and then moved on to a second one! At the same time, I kind of don't want to test them all for fear that my heart will be broken if I discover something does not smell the way they are suppose to!

[Little Bird]

I am x-posting this in another thread in hopes that I will hear of anyone's experience:

 

Anyone have any experience with aged Perversion? I have 2 imps from the lab, ages unknown, 1 imp is golden yellow in color and the other a dark orangey, they smell different too, one of them definitely smells strongly of Tobacco & Rum, the other one I can barely smell those top 2 notes....

 

This is my old review of Perversion, which talks about the variations I personally had with that scent:

"To date, I've gotten three different 'versions' of this scent.

My favorite smells like it has lots of creamy, cool coconut in it with a silky, boozy side and smooth leather. Sweet, silky, boozy, and with an edge of darkness. It's coconut without smelling like beaches and suntan lotion. Sexy, watery and cool.

My least favorite version of this is very smoky tobacco and sour, SOUR booze with sharp leather. It's pretty much unwearable for me and reminds me of getting thrown up on in a smoky bar. Not sexy, not good.

And in the middle, I have a bottle that's like a mix of those two. I don't get the coconut from it, but it has a sweet, silky booze note with smoky leather and a touch of sour. I'm swapping the two latter bottles and keeping my 10ml of the coconutty version. This isn't one that I'd repurchase, just based on the huge batch variations, though I do really like it when it's smooth and not sour..."

[elka_knits]

Wow, this thread has been a real eye opener for me, I kind of want to open every single favorite blend that I have and compare them with each other, those I have backups of I mean, I am ashamed to say that when buying backups, I don't even open them to smell/test! I never knew there was such big variation issue, maybe cuz I never really finished a full bottle (other than Morocco) of anything and then moved on to a second one! At the same time, I kind of don't want to test them all for fear that my heart will be broken if I discover something does not smell the way they are suppose to!

 

 

yeah it is kinda sad sometimes when I get a back up and it smells nothing like my bottle or imp. Well it smells like but just not as awesome. I did recently take a old bottle of Dragon's Milk that is almost empty and a fresher bottle to show a friend the massive difference aging makes. My older bottle {from '07} is thick and gloppy and deep deep red and rich and lovely and smooth but my new bottle from '13 is relatively fluid and not nearly as blackened red and is raw smelling compared to the old. I know that dragons milk smells kinda raw on me when I first put it on and dries down to the creamy smooth resins and my old bottle starts off with the dry down smell and stays there whereas the new requires wearing for an hour or so to get close to it. I will be crying when my last few drops of the precious aged bottle is finished. Aging accounts for a lot of variance as well.

[chinkee21]

I just tested my bottles of Hesiod's Phoenix, while they don't smell alcohol-y, they stay close to the skin, no throw whatsoever on me, but they all smell pretty close to each other, 1 bottle ordered on Nov 20, the other 2 on Dec. 20th. It's a simple but gorgeous blend, this will age beautifully, but I am not sure if the throw will get stronger in time? I hope so, cuz I would hate to sell/swap these out

 

ETA: I am bummed, I recently acquired 3 bottles of Okayaki, this is another blend to add in the list we have that has variances, 2 bottles are missing that lovely creamy note that I love about Okayaki, instead it smells sharp and green in the bottle, the dry down is similar to the 2 other bottles that I love though....

Edited April 28, 2014 by chinkee21

[miamaslegi]

In late 2012/early 2013, I got an imp of Aizen-Myoo and I loved it! It was mostly sweet pink cherry blossom and black tea with just a hint of sweet citrus. Needless to say, I put a bottle on my to-buy list immediately! Finally this past April, I got around to ordering a 5ml of it and was sorely disappointed. My bottle smells entirely of bitter grapefruit. At first I thought it might need to settle and age for a bit, but then I remembered that the imp of Aizen-Myoo smelled sweet and lovely from the get-go. Still, I thought maybe some "accelerated aging" could help it and so I tied a bit of coffee filter over the mouth of the bottle and left it sitting, open, on top of my bookshelf for a week. Nope, still bitter grapefruit. I'm going to be testing them side-by-side today to see exactly how they differ on my skin when dry, but man . . . I want a bottle that's all sweet cherry blossom and tea!

[Wwindy]

ETA: I am bummed, I recently acquired 3 bottles of Okayaki, this is another blend to add in the list we have that has variances, 2 bottles are missing that lovely creamy note that I love about Okayaki, instead it smells sharp and green in the bottle, the dry down is similar to the 2 other bottles that I love though....

 

I had a problem with Okayaki too -- my decant was all cool and elegant and greyish-green with a bit of creaminess, the overall scent registering like a very soothing upscale spa aroma, and then the bottle I wound up with smelled like powdery orange Pez. Ugh!

[TorchedEarth]

I have an imp of croquet that smells of cinnamon. I'm wondering if it might be mislabeled since there's no cinnamon in the scent description.

I want more of it whatever it is.

[Monday]

I have an imp of croquet that smells of cinnamon. I'm wondering if it might be mislabeled since there's no cinnamon in the scent description.

I want more of it whatever it is.

Is it a warm cinnamon? It might just be a mislabeled imp of Chimera (-The fiery, volatile scent of cinnamon, thickened by myrrh, honeysuckle, and copal.) instead.

[miamaslegi]

I remember folks talking about the variations in Gnome a while back - an older, lighter, fizzy-ginger oil and a newer, darker, woody oil. I just wanted to say that I got a frimp of Gnome in with an order yesterday and it's just how I remember my old imp of Gnome from a year, year and a half ago - a light, almost clear oil that's most definitely fizzy ginger (I've not run across any of the darker, woody version). Maybe now's the time to buy a bottle? ETA or a handful of imps, anyway!

 

EATA: I'm sorting my imps at the moment and I discovered that I have an imp of Gnome that I received from the lab on 27 September - it's light-colored, fizzy ginger, too. I'd love a bottle of it, but I don't think I'd order one if folks are still getting the dark, woody version. Hmmm . . .

Edited December 15, 2014 by miamaslegi

[sunqist]

I remember folks talking about the variations in Gnome a while back - an older, lighter, fizzy-ginger oil and a newer, darker, woody oil. I just wanted to say that I got a frimp of Gnome in with an order yesterday and it's just how I remember my old imp of Gnome from a year, year and a half ago - a light, almost clear oil that's most definitely fizzy ginger (I've not run across any of the darker, woody version). Maybe now's the time to buy a bottle? ETA or a handful of imps, anyway!

I had the same thing happen, but in the review thread it looks like people who have been ordering imps are getting the new formulation, so I suspect they've tossed all the leftover old formula imps into the frimp bin. I would absolutely buy this if I got the version I was frimped, but I'm not gonna take the chance. I'm just going to cherish the one I have and hope it happens again!

[keileya]

 

 

Sometimes I get two different batches when decanting.

 

I don't remember for absolute certain which one of the Ligeias this is, but comparing the # of decants in the pile to my signups sheet, it's probably Blacker Than The Raven Wings of Midnight. It was two bottles of the light yellow, and one bottle of the dark red. I triple-checked that I hadn't gotten a mislabelled bottle, but they did smell the same!

[Hazy]

keileya, I've been frimped Malice a few times (which must be a sign, since I didn't care for it at first) and noticed that the oil comes in two colors, both almost identical to what's shown in your picture. They all smell the same to me, though.

 

On the other hand, I have three Edens and they all smell different. One secondhand imp that looks relatively lab-fresh, one older imp, and one (cobalt, old style label) bottle. I fortunately love them all, but aging seems to take out the greenness and tone down/blend in the sweetness quite a lot.

 

Can anyone who has experience with how oils age suggest whether I should buy a new bottle for when I want the green effect? I'd really like it, but I don't know how quickly it will age, or whether the scent of my newer imp might just have been a batch variation.

[maija]

This is the only batch variation I've encountered:

 

I got two imps of Black Pearl that I got fresh from the lab. Other smells quite floral and lotiony and pretty much how I imagined it would after reading reviews. The other has this sort of toasted smell straight out of imp, quite similar to Eden. It did have the same florals at the background but it is like they had all different coconut in them. But maybe it has something to do with age? I don't remember if there was color differences and I was about to check but I think I've given the other one away since I can't find it anymore. The toasted coconut -one seems a lot smoother now (although it still reminds of Eden).

 

And speaking of Eden..

 

keileya, I've been frimped Malice a few times (which must be a sign, since I didn't care for it at first) and noticed that the oil comes in two colors, both almost identical to what's shown in your picture. They all smell the same to me, though.

 

On the other hand, I have three Edens and they all smell different. One secondhand imp that looks relatively lab-fresh, one older imp, and one (cobalt, old style label) bottle. I fortunately love them all, but aging seems to take out the greenness and tone down/blend in the sweetness quite a lot.

 

Can anyone who has experience with how oils age suggest whether I should buy a new bottle for when I want the green effect? I'd really like it, but I don't know how quickly it will age, or whether the scent of my newer imp might just have been a batch variation.

 

How much different to they smell? I'm also curious if there are big batch variations.

 

I only have one about year old imp of it and I love the greenness. I've been planning to buy a bottle and I would be quite saddened if it would be anything like the imp.

 

But I must add that luckily I have never been disappointed with bottles I bought because I liked the imps. Only noticeable differences (to my untrained nose) have been ones caused by aging.

Edited February 1, 2015 by maija

[Hazy]

Maija - Sorry for the late reply, I've been away from the forums for a few days!

 

I'm retesting them all again right now. The newest-looking imp is very strong and sugary-sweet with a lot of fresh greenness and a strong "toasted" smell, and the rather old bottle is more mild and gently sweet, with the fig itself easier to pick out and the green a little harder. I am at least finding the green this time though, maybe something was up with my skin chemistry before. There's a good amount of difference, but they're the same scent at heart.

 

Keep in mind that my bottle could possibly be more than ten years old! I would assume that a new bottle will smell closer to your imp than my old bottle does.

[Klepz]

So, Celeste batch differences. I've had two bottles that are clear/see-through and three that are opaque and a deep amber color on the skin. I'm about to skin test these side by side, but from a bottle sniff, the clear version is more beautiful. They're very similar, but there's something a little strange about the darker one; maybe saffron? It's almost a little woodsy to me.

Edited February 9, 2015 by Klepz

[maija]

Maija - Sorry for the late reply, I've been away from the forums for a few days!

 

I'm retesting them all again right now. The newest-looking imp is very strong and sugary-sweet with a lot of fresh greenness and a strong "toasted" smell, and the rather old bottle is more mild and gently sweet, with the fig itself easier to pick out and the green a little harder. I am at least finding the green this time though, maybe something was up with my skin chemistry before. There's a good amount of difference, but they're the same scent at heart.

 

Keep in mind that my bottle could possibly be more than ten years old! I would assume that a new bottle will smell closer to your imp than my old bottle does.

 

Thank you for your reply I'm happy to hear that the differences are more likely to be caused by aging than batch variation. I'm still quite a newbie and I haven't owned any bottles for more than two years so I don't have much first hand experience in how they will change over time. I like the fig note in Eden, so it would actually be really nice if it comes more forward with aging.

[MCS4096]

So, Celeste batch differences. I've had two bottles that are clear/see-through and three that are opaque and a deep amber color on the skin. I'm about to skin test these side by side, but from a bottle sniff, the clear version is more beautiful. They're very similar, but there's something a little strange about the darker one; maybe saffron? It's almost a little woodsy to me.

 

I pulled out my two bottles-- one I bought from the post and a back up I purchased recently off the board. They are both an amber color, but the backup is more clear, while my original bottle is more opaque. When I first sniffed them side by side I thought I could smell a slight difference.. but once I got them on my skin I dont think I can distinguish them. I think it smells a little funky in the bottle, to be honest, but blooms on the skin.. so maybe I'm amping a certain note that's cancelling out whatever might be different between them?

[Hattress]

There might be a little bit of batch variation with my Boo hair glosses. The first bottle I bought was lovely and just what I wanted-linen, sugar, and cream. A second bottle I have has a much more sugary smell to it and almost no linen. A little odd, but not unpleasant. I do wish it had the same balance that my first bottle had, though.

Edited February 12, 2015 by Hattress

[Klepz]

 

So, Celeste batch differences. I've had two bottles that are clear/see-through and three that are opaque and a deep amber color on the skin. I'm about to skin test these side by side, but from a bottle sniff, the clear version is more beautiful. They're very similar, but there's something a little strange about the darker one; maybe saffron? It's almost a little woodsy to me.

 

I pulled out my two bottles-- one I bought from the post and a back up I purchased recently off the board. They are both an amber color, but the backup is more clear, while my original bottle is more opaque. When I first sniffed them side by side I thought I could smell a slight difference.. but once I got them on my skin I dont think I can distinguish them. I think it smells a little funky in the bottle, to be honest, but blooms on the skin.. so maybe I'm amping a certain note that's cancelling out whatever might be different between them?

 

 

Yes, the darker bottle was also funky to me but evened out on my skin so that they both smelled exactly the same. Ahh, Celeste

[TorchedEarth]

 

I have an imp of croquet that smells of cinnamon. I'm wondering if it might be mislabeled since there's no cinnamon in the scent description.

I want more of it whatever it is.

 

Is it a warm cinnamon? It might just be a mislabeled imp of Chimera (-The fiery, volatile scent of cinnamon, thickened by myrrh, honeysuckle, and copal.) instead.

Sorry for replying so late. I just saw this. Thank you for your reply!!!

I never got any myrrh or copal, but my imp has now lost the cinnamon. It now smells just like my bottle. In 2 months I guess the imp caught up with the bottle.

 

Another example of how aging changes our precious smellies, I suppose.