Madrid

[Em-]

Swarthy and vibrant! An elegant, full-bodied scent that ignites all the darkest passions. Bold red wine, mimosa, and a trickle of clove.

This was part of my very first imp order from the Lab and was one I was extremely excited to try. I love Spain and was really hoping for a scent filled with notes I love and evocative of sangria and languid Spanish evenings.

In the vial, it smelled quite strong, but quite yummy. It was sweet and familiar and fruity - in retrospect, kind of grape Kool-Aid-y, but deeper, spicier. I really liked it and couldn't wait to try it on.

On my skin the fruity/wine note faded quicky and the clove exploded. We are not talking clove, we are talking CLOVE!!!!!!!, which is not a bad thing per se, as I like clove.

What is a bad thing is when the sides of my head start thumping and my vision starts to blur. That's when I need to go scrub down my wrists, because my brain has objections that it has not learned how to express in socially acceptable ways.

Ah well. Come to think of it, Madrid is also where I was told that I have the eyes of the devil, so perhaps this was just channeling the wrong Spanish train of thought...

[magdalene]

Wow, this is incredibly sweet. It must be the mimosa. And so very red wine-y. Almost sangria. It has an almost candy-like scent, that I kept catching whiffs of through out the day. No sight of any clove, however, much to my disappointment. It didn't change much from bottle to wet to dry on skin, so I haven't split the review up into those sections.

 

Great staying power, I must also mention. I could smell it on me all day.

[pensive]

Imp: Interesting... sweet, though.

On me, wet: grapey.

On me, dry: holy bubblelicious

Verdict: Swap, swap, swaaaap.

[Dark Seraphim]

The second scent I disliked. Egh.

 

Bottle: Had a grape/bubblegum scent that reminded me of Hollywood Babylon only this one had a more 'classic' scent.

 

Worn: Honestly? My first impression was "OH! It smells like PEEPEE!" Then, it had a 'stony' scent. A little awhile later, I realized that it had a scent that I nearly always hate: CLOVE. AAAAGH.

 

So, overall, this is a scent that I wanted to like, but couldn't. I ended selling this one to someone who seemed to like it just fine.

 

 

1/10.

[Shollin]

First sniff: WINE wine wine wine wine wine wine. Did I mention wine? Madrid is superboozy.

 

Wearing: Bright, boozy, fruity WINE… though it doesn’t smell like any red wine I’ve ever tasted – it’s way too bright. Actually, if I could find a red wine that tastes like Madrid smells, I’d probably like red wine a lot more – it’s usually too dark and dry.

[OdetteOdile]

Madrid

This is really interesting. It opens with a very assertive fruity wine scent, but then abruptly turns into something something else. I think I must be picking up the clove, but smells to me exactly like carnation. A seriously spicy fruity floral.

 

1/2 hour later - the fruit and spice seem to at war with each other on my arm (OK, a minor skirmish) - and my arm smells like some sort of Christmas fruit punch (alcoholic) that's just been mixed and hasn't had a chance to settle & blend. The clove is much stronger now, not as carnation-ish. And there's a bit of a stale wine note emerging.

This would make a great "atmosphere" scent - fun to wear when I was alone & reading a book that went well with cloves and sangria (book suggestions anyone?), but I might not be inclined to wear it outside.

Edited July 12, 2005 by OdetteOdile

[aidenraine]

This was one of those "Oh my god, get it off!" scents for me.

It was like peaches and medicine and children's chewable vitamins all at once.

 

The latter make me nauseated when I smell them so this was not good. It's the iron in them! Ugh! I used to spit those things out secretly when I was a kid.

 

 

I really can't even catch a fleeting sniff of this- makes my stomach turn.

 

*queasy*

 

[malanna]

Madrid is just red and musky on me. I pick up on the wine and the mimosa, but not so much clove. I think the red wine is stronger than the mimosa, which contributes to the muskiness of this. The first part of the scent, when it was sweeter and juicier, did make me think of Madrid, but over time, it just got musky and the association faded.

[spring]

In the bottle: Grape bubblegum

 

Wet: The clove makes a strong appearance the second it hits my skin. The fruitiness is still there hanging in the background, but for the most part it's all cloves.

 

Dry: The clove remains distinct but is mellower and sweetened up a bit. The scent is more citrus and floral.

[dubh_ceol]

In the imp-very sweet and sugary. Smells like a cross between conversation hearts and bubblegum.

 

On-wet: Still very sweet, but the clove is starting to come out.

 

On-dry. Oh, yum. Very clovey and sweet, with a bit of grape.

 

Later-There is something a bit plasticy coming through. It’s not bad, just different. I like this, and I’ll definitely be using up my imp.

Edited August 11, 2005 by dubh_ceol

[violetblue]

Ohh, this one is a possible 5ml purchase! I love the sweetness and grapiness of it - a juicier, deeper grape then I smell in Urd. It has a touch of floral and bubble gum sweetness to it, and instantly put me in a great mood!

[Rusalka]

This one -- a very generous freebie from the lab (who seem to have noticed my love for the Wanderlust scents) -- was very strange indeed.

 

 

In the bottle: Someone mentioned cat pee. This doesn't smell like urine... it smells worse, truly and indescribably horrid. If Cthulhu had a smell, this would be it.

 

Wet: Cthulhu has left the building. Contrary to all reason, I am smelling warm, damp violets instead. Violets with bubblegum around the edges.

 

Drydown: Over the following hour or so it's drifted back and forth between violets and gum. It's only right near the end that the cloves begin to assert themselves, and even then the sweetness is still overwhelming. If it weren't for that, and the odd initial scent, this might've made a lovely gift for our teenaged babysitter.

 

But unfortunately, it's just not for me. The end scent is interesting, but not very appealing, and it takes a long time to get there. Sorry, but this one's going up for swap.

[Ajila]

Wet on me this was heavy bitter cloves, with a bit of bubble gum in the background. As it dries the cloves fade and the bubble gum becomes more prominant. Dry on me the bubble gum is the dominant scent, but the wine has become apparent in the background. It's a dark red wine that is almost bruisingly heavy, I know if I drunk this wine I would have an instant headache, but as a scent I like it, although I'm less sure about the sweet and sour combination of the bubble gum and wine.

[Little Bird]

Madrid is disgusting on me. Completely sickening. Never before has a scent prompted this much dislike from me.

 

I smell this and my brain screams, "Hospital, hospital, hospital, hospital." And, the thing is, I usually like hospitals. My father was in the hospital for much of my childhood and I practically grew up there happily. Until I was old enough to realize that the hospital was the place he would die in, and sooner than I accepted.

 

This is plasticy bandaids, breathing tubes, and decay on me. I think that I'm getting that sense of decay from the wine (I often do). It's so medicinal on me.

 

Madrid takes me straight back to the day that my father died, and brings back all of those feelings of fear, confusion, and anxiety. I was sobbing as I ran to wash it off.

 

I've never had that strong of a reaction to a perfume before.

Edited April 30 by Little Bird

[Sheila]

This was a giftimp from the lab. Thanks, lab--glad I got to try this.

 

On wet: grape kool-aid!

 

After 15 minutes: phew, the super-sweet grape scent has dried down. The cloves are coming out now, creating a very pretty, slightly sweet, spicy blend. The grapes have settled into a dry wine scent, creating a nice base for the spicy cloves.

 

I like this--it's a very nice scent, but not very "me." I think someone with a connection to Madrid might enjoy this more. Off to swaps.

[Janie]

Like many others I get the grape bubblegum note on opening, followed by cloves on drydown. The mimosa never comes out to play on me.

 

Soft throw, lasts moderately.

[WidgetAlley]

In the vial, this is a smoky orangeish colour, and seems to have some kind of sediment on the bottom. Interesting. Oh, and it smells like... grape baby aspirin. Yikes.

 

On, it's... grape baby aspirin, booze, and just a hint of smoke. Yep. That's it. When it dries, it's (barely) grape baby aspirin, and then something unpleasantly powdery... the mimosa? Then it's gone.

 

Swapped this faster than an eel in a snakepit. Just doesn't work with my chemistry.

Edited September 7, 2005 by WidgetAlley

[Monster]

Out of the bottle it smells very strongly of wine, the mimosa gives it a citrus sort of twist.

There's something plastic smelling about this one, I think it may be the mimosa (which also smells like fake orange scent to me...like Bayer for children)

 

On my skin, it practicly vanishes...I can only smell a fait hint of mimosa and nothing else. The clove note is undetectable to my nose.

 

I was really looking foward to Madrid, too bad it's not for me.

Off to swaps!

[faifai]

Wine! I get the scent for once, recognize it instantly.

 

Too bad I hate wine with a passion--drinking it, smelling it, experiencing it in any way. Away with you, Madrid. It's just not for me.

[madelf]

This smells gorgeous in the bottle - sweet red wine and just a smidge of floral and clove.

 

On is a differant story. Next to my skin is a very nice wine/clove scent that I love. However, there is a throw in this that is some kind of stinky - a weird liquor soaked floral that just smells odd and not very pleasant. Unfortunately, that is all I could smell for the first two hours, unless I held my wrist directly to my nose.

 

After the two hour mark, this toned down into a very dry scent that I would normally associate with amber on me. It is a bland spice that just isn't working for me at all. Not unpleasant, but boring.

 

I'm going to give this another try to make sure, but it looks like Madrid may be off to swaps.

[harmonyfb]

My body chemistry HATES this scent.

 

In the bottle, it smelled like grape-flavored Motrin. ::grimaces::

 

Wet, it smelled like that nasty, off-brand grape soda.

 

Dry? Oh, my god, the nastiest brown estery smell. I had to run and try and scrub it off. After two scrubbings, I still can vaguely smell it.

 

The friend who passed me the sample loves this scent & bought a huge bottle of it - on her it smelled of lovely spiced wine. On me? Bleah. I'll be passing the imp along to someone else.

Edited September 15, 2005 by harmonyfb

[puck_nc]

Since I lived in Spain for a year and visited Madrid, I had to see what Beth had come up with to represent the city.

 

Origin: Purchased on LJ.

 

In the Bottle: Cough syrup! Ew. I can smell the clove after a few persistent sniffs.

 

Wet: I get clove and something sweet and thick, but it doesn't smell like wine. Perhaps it's the mimosa.

 

Drydown: The wine never shows up. It stays medicine-y with lots of clove and that pink-red sweet note.

 

Verdict: Not something that I'd wear, and not a scent I think of when I think Madrid. But I remain curious as to what Beth would do for Sevilla...

[urraca]

Grape flavoured candy that turns darker and deeper once it hits my skin. Then clove emerges. The scent remains kind of smokey-sweet from this point but not in a good way with my chemistry. The sweet is still artificial candy-like while the smoke is a little sharp and sour.

 

I was curious about the mimosa urinelike scent some have mentioned (which I don't get) because to me Madrid (the city) smells like hot sun, potatoes frying in oil, lingering deisel and human urine. But in a more romantic mood, Two, Five and Seven best evokes the city I love to me.

[AlaskaSnows]

In the Bottle: Winey honey candy!!!

 

Dry: Well the winey honey candy mixes very badly with the clove on my skin, the clove is very pungent, and it's a very cold dry flat note, very bitter and like dried plant matter. Doesn't work.

[arabella]

First Impression: Almonds and citrus.

 

Dries down to: A boiled milk scent appears and the almond/citrus notes tone down. Eventually, they blend together and become a lightly spiced, boiled milk.

 

Additional Comments: I'm way off-base on this one - the description lists red wine, mimosa and clove. The wine seems to manifest as citrus and, now that I think about it, it does remind me a bit of sangria. I'm guessing the mimosa is what gives it the "boiled milk" scent. I can't detect clove at all, so it must be a miniscule amount. This is just very bland on me.

 

Lasted: Less than two hours.

 

Rating: 2 out of 5