Clémence

[Katherynne]

Patchouli, Kashmiri tea, cardamom, black pepper, carnation, and clove.

IT ITCHES. >_<

on me this also smells like nothing but plain tea. I am sad. it must now go.
I really have no idea what went wrong here, either. This is so beyond disappointing

[nekogrrl]

All I smell in the bottle and wet is the clove. It's making me hungry for a spiral-sliced ham.

 

Drydown: the patchouli is coming out.

 

And less than 5 minutes after I put it on - it's gone. Wait, no, there's the clove, close to the skin.

 

Meh. Not my thing.

[Ilex]

All these notes were supposed to work on me! But no. Same ol' story, I guess...

 

Wet, it was nice, a lot like my fave, Maquerade. The patchoulli (my buddy) was keeping everyone else in line. Then, blammo, clove body slammed all the other notes to the floor and stood around shaking its fist in the air for a while. Sadly, this translated into taking an olfactory trip to the craft shop, via stupid sweet plastic candle smell. Wearing it for a while, it mellowed and let the patch peek its head out a bit. Its very like Masquerade on me but I think I like Masq better.

 

Oh, and a weird thing... during the candle phase I went and chopped up some cilantro. Whoa! That was a nice smell combo. Made me want to get my hands on some cilantro single note (should such a thing exist) and try some layering.

[gchris]

In Vial: Perfumey

 

Wet: Strong, a bit harsh

 

Dry: This has a little bit of spice with mellow scented perfume.

[Leopard403]

Thank you, random internet addiction, that you made me order Clemence!

I am anti-patchouli. Period. But after all the raving (and way too much champagne) I decided I *needed* this. And I am so happy I did!

This is a wonderful earthy-spicy floral without any of the hippie-ish associations I have toward Big P. It is sexy and sultry and overwhelmingly spicy carnation on my skin. Just delightful, and the first CD scent I must must must stock up on!

[veronicafranco]

oh, my, this is delicious on me. a bit like a less-friendly crabtree & evelyn nantucket briar. i get the clove, cardamom, and pepper. what sweetness there is, i suppose would be the carnation, which (happily) is clove-y to me anyway. not really getting much of the tea or patch - i guess it's all blended in, fine by me. it's so hard for me to find oils that are actually spicy on my skin, and this one is!

 

should also make a superb layering scent....

 

edit - wearing again - not sure where my olfactory lobe was that first day, but o yes, there is tea and patchouli here. also, i wasn't sure i was going to need a bottle of this, but now i am getting that sneaking suspicion...

Edited August 8, 2008 by veronicafranco

[sookster]

straight sniff from bottle is peppery and clove and yum...

 

once applied, lots of tea and cardamon with that lovely peppery clove...

after a few minutes the carnation combines with the other notes and i am

absolutely in love with this masterpiece...

[northatlantic]

In the vial: WHOAclove.

 

Wet on skin: WHOAclove. And dirt! Thin, stony soil. The smell of a clove cigarette being ground out on a graveyard drive.

 

Drydown: Continues to be dirt and clove. No tea, no cardamom, no warmth, no subtlety. Undead craft store. Apparently, even the most rich and subtle of patchouli hates me, and without something to soften and mellow it, the clove curb-stomps all the other notes.

 

Miss Clemence, I'm afraid you and I aren't fated to be. As described, you're a woman of cruel pleasures--too cruel for me.

[damiel42]

In the bottle, I smell cloves.

 

Wet and dry on my skin, Clemence is CLOVES with a tiny, frightened whimper of carnation.

 

Darn.

[GhillieDhu]

Gorgeous clove pinks fading to smoky strong chai tea, with a big kick of dirty patchouli and somehow a honey-like sweetness in the drydown. The carnation goes a teensy bit powdery, but not enough to bother me.

 

Incredibly long staying power. This is a STRONG oil on me - any more than a dot can get overwhelming. Bold and brash but snuggly, like a girl who wears Doc Martens, dyes her hair black, and spoils her pet bunnies rotten. A little heavy for hot days, but I'll probably wear this a lot in the fall and winter, and it should make a great room scent too. Hoarding at least one bottle.

[ladyver]

wet on skin: sweet spices!

 

dry down: now I've had it for a couple of weeks the patchouli softens it and the carnation provides a nice floral contast at the top; it is a bit like diving your nose into the sweet spice cupboard; then the pepper appears!

 

dry: unfortunately on me it becomes a pot pourri-like patchouli/clove/cardamom combo; not the spicy chai tea scent i was hoping for

 

oh well, i guess i had been doing so well with the carnaval's that i was bound to eventually come across something that didn't quite work for me as i hoped

[blu°]

On me this is totally Lush's Tramp. I don't even smell any carnation or typical spiciness (Hot, orange-y, fiery). It's green. Fullstop. And a bit earthy. But more green, really, a very dark shade of green. It's probably the tea and cardamom with the patchouli taking over that is making it turn out like this. While I often don't care much for the hot, rugged patchouli Beth uses, I really like this smooth and green version in here.

 

I hope the carnation won't take over later on after application as I love it the way it is.

Edited July 26, 2008 by blu°

[starwild]

Whoa, tea! Spicy, spicy tea! And a black pepper note that works on me! Lots of clove, but some sweetness in there too.

 

My perfect spiced tea scent, backed up with some slightly-smoky patchouli. Nice! I might need to add Clemence to the bottle list.

[septima_pica]

At first: Masala chai all over the place. Without milk. So far this is avoiding the "potpourri" territory.

5 minutes: Starting to stray that direction. Cardamom is not coming out at all, this is 100% clove and black pepper and carnation now. If I could crossbreed this with Laudanum I'd have the perfect spice scent. Was hoping for some patchouli in there though, and so far none at all.

10 minutes: Now it's getting familiar. I think I've smelt this somewhere else in the catalogue -- one I haven't tested for a long time. Straying a little too close to craft shop right now...and then back again...

30 minutes: Only the fixative is left! That was weird. It's really really faint now; I have to work to find it. When I do, it's a touch of patchouli and masala chai again -- this would be good at about 4x its current throw, so that I could smell it without mashing my nose into my arm. It was nice meeting you, ma'am; pity you can't stay.

1:30: Nothing. Absolutely nothing at all.

[Champagne]

Clemence is a gorgeous spicy kick in the start, but after 10 minutes it fades to become a Potion dupe drowning in a lake of clove, that it`s not a bad thing at all even considering that I normally run away from clove:the kashmiri tea note must be so good I forget about it

I like it a lot. I`m a spice sucker and can`t help it

[VioletChaos]

in the bottle: oh YEAH. THIS is the cardamom i've been waiting for all my life!

 

wet on skin: cardamom, tea, and a hint of that black pepper (which i had feared, but is actually quite perfect in this Chai-like blend!)

 

dry down: lovely, lovely tea. like Chai mixed with a nut milk. not almond or hazel, but something.

 

in all: simply fantastic. the tea scent i've always hoped for, and never found.

 

 

 

:D

[mazaru]

This is very sharp on me, acrid almost, high and in the back of my throat. It's too spicy for me - too much high earthy spice, without the sweetness I like to round it out. The patchouli/cardamon combination is just too much for my skin chemistry, too, and it's constantly threatening baby powder.

[ravenfeathers]

in the bottle i'm getting lots of patchouli, lots of tea, with just a smidge of spiciness

wet on skin zing! it's carnation and clove all the time! now, carnation has a clove-y smell anyway, but the dry, spicy clove note here is sitting just underneath the slightly floral cloviness of the carnation. the patchouli is barely there, just a grounding element.

dry on skin the drydown on this gets darker and spicier, then even darker and even spicier, then... it disappears in a puff of sweet. love it.

 

eta after further testing, i'd say this has a fairly cloying, slightly decomposing smell on drydown, a bit like someone's storage closet, to be honest. a fantastic scent, but not on me.

[Eemia]

I love that this is earthy-spicy rather than foody-spicy. With the clove and cinnamon notes I was wondering which way it would go. And despite all the richness in this, it's still sort of light on my skin. Or breathable I suppose. It's doesn't feel like a heavy layer I can only wear at night or when the weather is cooler.

 

The spice notes are really great. I never was a huge fan of any of those...I've even had reactions to cardamom before. But this isn't bothering me as long as I keep it on the backs of my hands. And it smells so fantastic in my scent locket.

[Saya]

In the Bottle

What a spicy little thing! When I opened it up black pepper and clove immediately commanded my attention.

On My Skin

The pepper and clove are a bit overwhelming but the tea, carnation and patchouli are doing their best to tame them. This has a sharp, spicy smell with a bit of cinnamon which I can’t say that I really like so far. It smells vaguely of LUSH’s Wiccy massage bar.

 

After a Bit

This blend to my nose is nothing but pepper and clove. It’s plain spice without anything to temper it. I think it would be a beautiful smell if the carnation came out a bit more, but as it is, it’s just giving me a headache.

Rating 1-5 (5 being the best)

Scent – 1 Throw – 5 Longevity – ended up blending it.

Overall (not an average of above scores) – 1

 

Final Thoughts

I’m not a fan of Clemence on it’s own. I decided to layer a tiny bit of Love’s Philosophy with it to see what would happen and I loved it!!! I just might have to use this imp to layer with some my sweeter smells.

[edenssixthday]

Clemence - This is dark, heavy, and spicy. The dominant note on me is the clove and it reminds me of a richer, spicier version of The Smiling Spider. The throw is very strong when I first apply, but after about 20 minutes, it sticks pretty close to my skin, although the slightest breeze catching it will waft the scent around me. It’s lovely and spicy-scent lovers will adore this one.

[tinyvulture]

I was on a search for the perfect chai tea perfume. Bengal comes close, but it's not strong enough. Clemence is strong. When I first apply Clemence, it's like I'm bathing in strong black tea, flavored with spicy cardamom and clove. And the patchouli and carnation are perfect accents. The patchouli seems "wetter" than usual, almost juicy. Not sure how to describe it. If you love tea scents, pick up Clemence, and be overwhelmed with indulgent tea goodness.

Edited August 10, 2008 by tinyvulture

[zankoku_zen]

I have to say that Clemence surprises me. It's more wearable than the notes indicate - it starts out spicy on me. I definitely smell the pepper and clove on me. As it dries, I get more of the carnation peeping out and some of the tea, which makes it an almost 'gentle' kind of scent. I can see this appealing to Hod, Inez or Judith & Holofernes lovers - but it's spicy in different ways than any of the previous three blends, at least on me.

[Nimthiriel]

Initial impression:

I get a quick sniff of all the listed ingredients, and it's a good deal more powerful than I thought – the pepper smells especially fiesty!

First on:

Pepper, clove and cardamom immediately dominate – imagine sticking your nose in a bag full of those spices.

 

Dry:

After about 10 mins, it smells a lot like a cup of chai tea – actually, exactly like chai tea. Yummy. The pepper, patchouli and carnation seems to be hiding for now.

 

A few hours later, it's still a lovely chai tea scent.

 

Finally:

Hmm, I'm hanging on to this for the time being, I think.

[hepkitten]

If you like spicy scents, this is the OMGBBQSQUEE. (And on my relatively sensitive skin, at least, it doesn't burn. Huzzah!)

 

Lots of clove and black pepper, with the tea and a tiny whiff of carnation behind it, as well as some phantom ginger. It's FABULOUS.