Incubus

[WidgetAlley]

Spectral white musk and the heart-stopping chill of sheared mint, fanned by caramel-touched body heat, and the diabolical sensuality of black musk, nicotiana, and sage.

 

I love everything in this one except the black musk-- oh, and caramel is iffy. So let's hope this works!

Imp: Wow, that's... really... different that what I thought it would be! It's a soft caramel overlaid with white musk and the strong green touches of sage and mint. Totally unique, totally different from the usual note combos, and I really like it! It smells like sweet, sugared, clean sweat in a deep forest. Definitely sexual in a very unusual way. I'm getting a very soft floral that must be the nicotania, but no powdery stinky heavy black musk, thank heavens. If it stays like this I'm going to be in looooove.

Wet: Sweet caramel, bright nicotania and sexy white musk! Mint is just underneath, backing it all without taking over. I can see why this is 'masculine,' it does have a very sophisticated and unusual cologne-ish vibe to it, but certainly not enough to make it unwearable for a woman. After a moment the sage comes up, rounding it out with herbal, earthy goodness.

Oh damn. Oh damn. Is that a celery note I detect? Don't do this to me, Incubus.

Dry: With my nose next to my wrist I can separate out that what I'm smelling is a gorgeous, complex caramel-musk and a many-layered mint. But from further away and at a casual sniff, all I get is celery. This one broke my heart!

[rhubarb3point14]

If I didn't know what was in this, I would have guessed fenugreek and pepper! It’s maple-y and spicy on me. There is also a warm, rich tobacco component, which makes sense given the nicotiana.

 

This isn't at all what I expected, but I like it a lot. It melds well with my body's natural smell. I'm keeping this imp and wouldn't mind having another.

[Kayah]

imp: herbal caramel

 

wet: same herbal caramel.. it's quite yummy

some mintiness peaks out a little bit around the edges and starts to become more and more noticeable as the oil dries

 

 

drydown: minty herbal caramel.. the caramel eventually fades away, leaving behind something softly herbal and minty. Far into the drydown it goes a little smoky which is the nicotiana finally showing up for the show.

 

final thoughts:

I wish the caramel would stick around more. I've learned that my nose either ignores black musk, or it just never shows up on my skin because I get absolutely zero musk from this blend. The rest is pretty - I will occasionally wear it, but it's not really my type of scent.

[jkfagtongpun]

 

I was so looking forward to this one.

 

It innocently smelled of mint and a slight bitterness in the imp but the second it hit my skin, oh dear.

 

It was burned rubber and insect repellent. I'm afraid I didn't make it past that stage as it was making me feel a bit ill. It had to come off.

 

Boo. Hoo.

[rorygory]

I am in completely addicted to Incubus. "Mint" and "caramel" seem like a terrible combination on paper, but out of the bottle, it's a loud, green fresh note paired with a round, sugary skin scent that is striking and sexy. BPAL's tobacco scents always win my heart, and Incubus is no exception. The green freshness fades as it dries down, and the nicotiana and sage notes come forward to create a sweet, herbal tobacco heart. It's a warm, masculine, sensual skin scent that perfectly illustrates the devilish concept. I love it.

[Winter_Wanderer]

-

Edited October 7, 2016 by Winter_Wanderer

[Erinofhere]

This was a frimp from the lab

 

In the imp: Mint and celery seed

 

Dry down. The musk comes out along with a slight tobacco smell. I am not getting any caramel or maple syrup smell but that celery seed smell is still there lurking in the back ground. Something about this works for me. On a man this would smell very sexy. I would have never though that mint, celery seed, musk and tobacco would do well together.

 

It seems to vanish pretty fast but I think we still may have to get a big bottle.

[ND¢]

It's like the previous reviewer said... something about this just works for me and I don't know why. It's a comfortable, natural scent. I get the odd duality of the cool vs the food note. On me the caramel (and prob. musk and nicotiana) smell terribly familiar. It's another BPAL that I can't pick out (not Hearth, as someone mentioned.) Strange, evocative, and very straightforward, and since I'm not a floral girl I enjoyed this more than I thought I would given the description. A totally non-buttery caramel, BTW, for those like me who overamp and as such avoid like the plague the lab's buttery foodie scents. This is definitely more gourmand, and I don't see it as a masculine fragrance at all so much as a very simple, almost alluring scent. Sometimes I feel like oils with a jillion notes in them are just a screaming mishmash that is more trouble to discern than to enjoy. This is not overly complex, and doesn't have that problem.

[Deliciousness]

Imp: Minty, musky ... it seems like this oil should be green
On skin: Eek - mint with a cloying sweetness - burnt caramel?
Dry on skin: The mint settles down and the musk comes forward, but there is still this burnt caramel note which is throwing me for a loop.

Ok, while I don't love this scent, it should be noted that my hubby liked this one quite a bit
The issue I'm having with this one is the combo of mint and sweet. I sniff my wrist and I get a sweet note which attaches itself to the back of my nose and throat - almost like I snorted sweet-n-low. I know, weird right?! Anyway, I've got this sweetness stuck on the back of my throat with this minty musky burnt thing going on. Anyway - I'm chalking this up to my skin chemistry and crazy nose.

[Pendragon]

I have had this imp sitting in my collection for at least 4 years, so mine is beautifully aged.

 

It has an amazing deep caramel note, with a soft top note of mint. The combination just works. It is long wearing and would suit warm days, cold days, any day! This has become an instant favourite. I wish I had dragged this out a long time ago!

 

A very sexy smell. And immediately going on my bottles list.

Edited July 12, 2013 by Pendragon

[BoneBone24]

Wet: Strong, sticky caramel over smoky musk. The overall effect smells like maple syrup.

 

Drydown/Dry: Gobs and gobs of maple syrup poured over burnt sage. Soft, fuzzy, sticky, sweet, dark, and buttery. It makes me want to eat burnt waffles.

 

 

 

 

6.5 out of 10 bones

[detritius]

From the description, I expected something totally different, but on me, Incubus is all warm, melty caramel that gets smokier and muskier as it dries down. The tobacco note unfurls lazily amid the sweetness -- it's less smoke than whole, sunbaked leaves, somehow. The musks round out the carmel and keep it from being sticky-sweet, and the mint and sage don't stand out as individual notes, but they may be in there somewhere. Overall, I expected something much darker, but on me, this is all temptation and decadence -- "Oh, I really couldn't... well, I supposed one taste couldn't hurt." -- which still seems thematically appropriate. Wickedly luscious. I only hope wearing this won't kick up a craving for smokes or sweets.

[Monday]

On my skin wet: a strange mish-mash of notes, I get salt, caramel, tobacco and mint.

On my skin dry: the tobacco is taking over together with mint then it fades rapidly leaving a hint of white musk. I get no black musk out of this.

Oddly herbal start. Odd is actually exactly what this smells like on my skin...just odd.

[Veronica]

Caramel coated musk. Actually not too foody for me and pretty nice, just not something I would wear--very sweet.

[LexieBlom]

Incubus imp

 

Wet/Bottle - Sage and caramel, with a whisper of mint. Almost foodie, but not quite there yet. Really sweet, really smooth. This is very...different.

 

Wet/Skin (5 minutes) - This is getting foodier and foodier. The caramel and mint are all I can really smell, but that's not a bad thing. The sage is definitely hinting at that celery note other people are describing, though, if I sniff too deeply.

 

Dry/skin (30 minutes) - This disappears almost entirely on me after about 45 minutes.

 

It's alright, but not bottle worthy.

[d0gbones]

In the imp: slightly minty musky caramel

 

Wet: Mostly caramel, but there's an almost fruity floral going on.

 

Dry: hmm. Tobacco and caramel. It's not terrible, but tobacco notes make me nauseous so it's definitely not one I'll be keeping.

[LizziesLuck]

Wet: Caramel, and...something. This is SOO familiar! It reminds me of a wax tart I had years ago and LOVED. This smells amazing, just not sure I want to smell like it. Surprised I haven't amped the nicotiana to high heaven yet. This is so interesting.

 

 

Dry: This fades a lot and gets very faint, but still smells so familiar to me. It's really comforting because of the memories I am associating with it. If it were longer lasting I would be really tempted to get a bottle. I still might. I think it's the combo of the caramel and tobacco flower that I am enjoying so much.

[achildoftime]

It's mostly burnt caramel for me. It's not particularly sweet, just caramelized musk. I also get a tinge of mint, but it's not particularly minty. It just has the tingly nose feel to it, along with the burning caramel musk. Wen it dries, the nicotiana comes through quite strongly on top of it all. It's really not my thing.

[roseus]

In the imp: My nose finds the opposition of some of the elements confusing. The warmth of caramel and sage and the cooling edge of mint sort of clash for me.

 

Wet: Warmer notes and the musks merge and it becomes very skin like and comforting, but overall of it is a chilly sweet mint.

 

Dry: Caramel and black musk form the main body of scent for me as it dries, though I do continue to detect some sage. The mint is still very present though, coming in at the end of each sniff with a distinct chill. It is pleasant, but my nose is still confused by it. I may keep the imp just because it is so intriguing.

[doomsday_disco]

In the imp: I'm mostly getting the white musk and mint, with a bit of warmth from the caramel note and the black musk.

 

Wet: The white musk and mint are the dominant notes. I'm also getting the citrus-y quality of the early stage of the black musk, and as the scent begins to dry, the tobacco note emerges, adding a smoky warmth to the scent.

 

Dry: The white musk and mint are the main players for a long time, with the tobacco slowly gaining prominence.

 

After a few hours, it's a musky tobacco scent with a hint of sweetness from the caramel skin musk and a smattering of sage. The mint has faded by this point.

 

Verdict: This one is a morpher! I don't dislike it, but I also can't see myself reaching for it – this particular tobacco note combined with the musk is a little too masculine for me.

[torischroeder9]

In the imp: Mint, something musky, and something... almost vanilla or buttery?

 

On my skin:

 

Mint, yes, but I'm also sticking to that vanilla/buttery claim. As it dries, I want to call that note black musk and something else, though I don't know what the something else is. The white musk is also very definitely present, though it's more helping waft the other notes than it is commanding nose attention itself. 

 

Sadly, the black musk plus stage doesn't last past the initial drydown. Incubus becomes mint, nicotiana, and sage floating on white musk for me. It's ethereal in a way that's more haunting than angelic or pretty (though it's a very elegant scent), but it's just not me. 

 

Throw is light to medium. 

[lady_pandora]

I get a creamy white floral in the beginning, and then just musk, musk, musk. It works conceptually, but doesn't really stand out on my skin.

[Laughing Seagull]

This isn't exactly a "me" scent because it turns out to be very earthy (I think due to the sage mostly), but it isn't unpleasant.

 

The caramel note is so subtle to my nose that I wouldn't know it was there if it wasn't for the notes list.  Minty tobacco is at the forefront - an herbal mint such as the one in Envy, not a candylike mint.  It fades away after a while, as mint tends to do.

 

I smell the white musk more than the black musk.  Despite containing caramel, it's not really sweet.  Overall, white musk and tobacco seem to be the stars of the show here.

[supreme_c0rt]

This is another mellow, your-own-skin-but-better scents. Mostly getting a sort of brownish skin musk, just a touch leathery (very very faint leather, like a worn watch band). The mint is doing really interesting things here -- I wasn't sure how it would fit, but it's giving everything an airy, breezy lift that's working nicely. The caramel note comes out more on the dry-down; it's not really sweet or chewy like honey, much more of a homemade caramel. Like you left it on the stove just a touch too long and it's a little bit burnt. Not too sweet. The sage and tobacco leaf round out the edges. Tobacco is very much JUST the raw leaf, not the shisha or sticky French tobacco. 

 

This vibe is VERY Southwest Cowboy. Aird winds, warm dusty desert, sagebrush, and delicious warm skin. This would be a fantastic gateway BPAL for someone who doesn't want to smell like perfume. It's very gentle, but you will smell good. 

 

*edit: I am also getting a very faint whiff of celery seed from this. Hm. I think it's the sage messin around.

Edited April 15, 2021 by supreme_c0rt

[MolyH]

I'm surprised by how much everyone else mentions caramel, because I don't smell it at all. I just get a minty-fresh cigarette out of this, which I do in fact like a lot. It's a scent that indeed evokes a handsome, deadly attractive man. I'd be more into this if hubby liked it more, but he thinks it smells like soap 😂