PlasticBlue Report post Posted October 22, 2008 Swarthy and vibrant! An elegant, full-bodied scent that ignites all the darkest passions. Bold red wine, mimosa, and a trickle of clove. In the imp: Sugary fruity sweetness, with a bit of spice underneath. I'm not getting any wine, funnily enough. To me, it doesn't quite smell like grape soda or cherry cough syrup, just heavily sugared red fruit.Freshly applied: CLOVECLOVECLOVE! Evidently I amp spices.Dry: The clove has calmed down, but it's still the strongest note. Now I can smell fruit wine, but of the low alcohol or de-alcoholized variety. It doesn't smell anything like the dry red I'm imbibing for comparison This doesn't remind me of Spain or Madrid very much... to me it smells more like a Christmas scent.After an hour: There's a definite dryness to it now, and I'm getting the faintest floral undertone. My mother gives her usual loquacious review of "nice." When pressed for details, she says "baby powder, with maybe something else?"Huh? I'm not getting any baby powder!Several hours later: Okay, NOW I'm getting the baby powder. It's not a bad baby powder smell, though, but one that's actually rather pleasant. This scent really has some staying power.Verdict: I like it, and will keep my imp. This would be especially good around the winter holidays, as it has that spicy/fruity smell that suits that time of year to my mind. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
FallDaze Report post Posted December 12, 2008 In the imp is smells like an adult cherry lollipop. Full, bold and very sweet. Not really spicy though. Wet the wine note becomes more pronounced. This is almost sickeningly sweet and cloying on me. Ack after a while this has turned into thicky cherry cough syrup. This makes me so sad! I had such high hopes for this! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
CynicalPink Report post Posted December 13, 2008 I have a lot of great memories of studying in Spain, so this is another one that I'm going to be charitable right off the bat Imp: Eh. Like Bordello but less sweet. Wet: Holy moly there's the spice! Definitely clove and not some unidentifiable spiciness. Red wine is there as well, but it's a very delicate red. Drydown: This has some awesome staying power and smells like mulled wine around Christmas. Really not sure I'm getting Spain, though. The cloves are nice and all and I can tell the other note is red wine, but I wish there was something else in here, like pepper to give it more bite. The wine is quite delicate too. Like a classy little Pinot rather than the punch in the face Rioja I was hoping for. Overall: Wow that paragraph makes it sound like I'm not a fan but I am. It's a great scent on its own though I'm not really getting the theme. It's very strong but pleasant. I'll maybe keep the imp, but I can't see getting a bottle. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kjirstiben Report post Posted February 27, 2009 Initially applied, Madrid is a smoky red wine scent. Deep fruitiness emerges in the drydown, merged well with the wine. This is, indeed, a delightful sangria! After a few hours, the wine mostly goes away and I have a smoky spice scent left behind, a slightly sweet, dark spicy scent. Oddly, in its last stage, this turns almost foody, like a gingerbread spice scent. It's all quite nice--a rich, dark scent. Recaplet: Smoky spicy dark wine--with a gingerbread ending. My rating: 4 of 5 (I really like this!) Color impression: Deep purple-red. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
binkin Report post Posted March 26, 2009 My skin turned this to straight up anesthetic cloves, which is really too bad, because in the imp it smells wonderful, spicy and rich. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
asciident Report post Posted March 28, 2009 Wet: Sour body odor; I'm soooo not putting this on. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ouch! Report post Posted April 9, 2009 This blend turns very quickly from boozy strong wine, to clove on my skin. I'm not sure I like it very much, the wine is very heady for the short time that it's actually there, then it's gone and I'm just left with a faint trace of clove. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ImperatrixMundi Report post Posted April 22, 2009 The wine notes always amp like crazy on me, which I dont find too thrilling. This one is very dark red, really rich and bold and rather tart and it overwhelms the poor mimosa. Maybe a hint of clove. Not my cup of wine in any case. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
femmefatale Report post Posted June 30, 2009 Sadly, this smells a bit sour and off on me. I'm not sure why, but I think the wine and clove aren't playing well together on my skin. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
revinn Report post Posted July 8, 2009 I'm terrified of this one. In the Imp: It's SO sweet. Def that wine note from Cockaigne. It's very cloying. Wet: Wow, that's wine alright. I don't know what cloves smell like, but this isn't spicy or anything..just very sticky sweet. Not in the way I like though. Dry: This MORPHED. I smell like my grandma now! I don't know what perfume she wears, but this is close! It's powdery and strange! How did that happen? I mean, I didn't like it before, but still. My mind is boggled. Out of 10: 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
fairnymph Report post Posted July 10, 2009 Sniffed: Light yellow oil. Sharp, bright, fruity-floral. Candy grape and fragrant mimosa over a base of sweet woody clove. Wet: Much harsher, chemically, sweet, and brash. The grape is cloying, the mimosa overly bold and a little bitter, while the clove is much stronger and spicier. If this scent where a person, I'd fear for my safety! Dry: CLOOOOOOOOOOOOVE, spicy and dark and intense and dangerous. The bitterness of the receded mimosa only underscores it, and the faded grape candy adds a slightly sickly note. Demonically insane throw. Summary: Evilly strong, sweet and spicy clove with lightly bitter mimosa and a wallop or sticky fake grape candy. Strong throw that does fade somewhat over time. Unisex - anyone evil could wear this (or should, as warning to the olfactorily sensitive). Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
zankoku_zen Report post Posted July 31, 2009 Honestly, I get more of a raisin blend than anything. The grape smells like a boozy raisin, the kind that you eat in a rum raisin ice cream. The clove just underscores the red wine aspect to it. Pass. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
cinderfallen Report post Posted October 4, 2009 Wow, this is some WINE. A really dark, woody red wine, the kind with lots of tannins is the first thing I smell when I apply, dirtied by something almost skin-like, plus a hint of clove. Drying down, the mimosa rises to the top, which is a very sweet, fresh-smelling thing that floats over the initial scent. Eventually, they all seem to be intermingle, but unfortunately, this specific combination (fresh topnote, rich clove base) is really reminding me of a candle. And not a very good one. Ah well, the intial scent was interesting enough to make up for it. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Coldfire Report post Posted November 12, 2009 imp: CLOVE! Clove and some red wine in the background Wet on Me: I love red wine but damn the Clove is just in yourface! Drying down: Still SUPER CLOVE! Dry: this smells like a clove pomander ball you hang in your closet. Nothing came out to play with me except the clove and it hogged all the toys inthe sandbox. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
undream Report post Posted April 16, 2010 i looove wine notes, but on me this was just a very sweet grape. and a very sweet, very juicy spice. the spice gave it a lovely, exotic spin, but after some time the spice slinks away &it's just me and grape. interesting and unique, but ultimately too sweet/grapey for me. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ofthegood Report post Posted October 22, 2010 Hello, Christmas potpourri! This oil makes me smell like I bathed in a candle shop during the holidays. Cloying, sickly sweet, slightly boozy. In the vial, it mostly hit me as spices - the cloves are very much there, but my nose thought it also found something else spicy, maybe a hint of nutmeg? I didn't smell much else until it dried, at which point all of the other boozy sweet notes came up and I regretted applying it so liberally. I'm getting a lot of throw as I move, even though my clothing, and it's not going away. It's softened a little, but I can't stop making these potpourri/candle references. It's exactly what it reminds me of, and I can't say that I'm a fan. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
cupcakegernade Report post Posted January 23, 2011 This is strait clove on me and it is very bold. I adore the smell of cloves, but I don't really want to smell like I rolled around in the spice jar. Perhaps if the other notes would come out, I would really enjoy this. Oh well, it was still fun to try this one out. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Phocion Report post Posted June 2, 2012 I love wine scents, and I love clove scents. This, however, on me is neither. It's pure bubblegum Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
sunlitgarden Report post Posted February 18, 2014 Discontinued since 2009, so I really don't know where this imp came from. Possibly the Trading Post, Puddin' is known to throw those imps in sometimes. (I also have Mantis, which I'm similarly unsure of where it came from, so perhaps he was digging in the M bin?) In the imp: Very fruity, grapey, kind of sickeningly sweet. On my skin: Very grapey-sweet still, with a bit of spice also. Kind of reminds me of DeLaurenti's, the Italian grocery store in the Pike Place Market here in Seattle. Wine notes have a tendency to just smell like grape candy on me, and it seems to be doing that here as well. Gets spicier over time, but for clove scents I prefer Spicebush Swallowtail and Upa Upa. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mystery213 Report post Posted August 22, 2014 (edited) While still in the vial, this has a gorgeous ripe cherry smell that just about sparkles. Once applied, it turns into a deep red wine, with the velvety cherry yumminess lurking in the background. Very soon though, this morphs into a powdery floral that is nothing like the smell when in the vial, though it does retain a touch of wine behind the powder, and a bit of the sparkle (from the mimosa?). It goes from bold and sultry when wet, to floral, and dare I say, almost grandmotherly upon drydown (with a touch of pizazz). Shucks. Edited August 22, 2014 by mystery213 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
woodenmango Report post Posted November 9, 2014 Out of the vial: Foody sweet a and maybe a little spicey? After a few more sniffs I get something floral which I assume is mimosa. Wet: still about the same with the clove kicking in more Dry: oh darn.It becomes exactly like red licorice with just a bit of clove. Not really my thing Off to swaps I think! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
LizziesLuck Report post Posted February 28, 2016 Wet: Mulled wine! The clove and the wine are an interesting combo. Wine tends to go really fake and plastic on me, and it's sort of doing that here. Dry: Actually, it recovers from being plasticy and settles into a spicy clove/wine combo. It's ok, but I don't feel compelled to seek out a bottle. I am happy to have an imp of it though! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Lucchesa Report post Posted May 26, 2018 Madrid is very pretty in the imp -- sweet wine with a bit of spice and exotic flowers. But my skin eats it up right away. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites