Depraved

[Kitrona]

A salacious, lecherous, leering scent - dirty and dark, slapped with a wet sweetness. Earthy black patchouli swelling with apricot.

I love this scent. I actually wore it by accident; I opened the imp and got some on my fingers in the process. I was initiallyl hesitant about it because I do NOT like patchouli... it makes me nauseous. But after sniffing this for a bit, I realized my past encounters with patchouli were when it was being used to cover up pot smoke - and I'm allergic to pot.

So, I sniffed this for a while on my fingers, loving the earth and apricot and the way they fuzed, and decided to take it for a spin today. I actually got decent throw! My skin tends to eat scents for breakfast, but this one was still noticeable after 6 hours or so.

I truly love the earthy smell to this, and have discovered I tentatively like patchouli. The apricot sweetened it all up, but not too much... I didn't get attacked by my friend's sweet-toothed dog, at least!

Definite wear again, maybe get more.

ADDED Dec. 29:

I absolutely love this scent. It smells like an orchard at night on me, and is perfect for warm weather. I picture a couple meeting in the orchard, gettin' dirty, and laying together afterward, just breathing, before they have to get dressed and go to their separate houses.

Sadly, I lost my imp, so I must order a bottle. Oh darn.

[lady_pandora]

This one did not work on me at all. I got rotten fruit and cigarette smoke. I had to wash it right off. Sorry, lab! I guess I was just not meant to be Depraved...

[couscous]

Apricot fans, take note! Black Patchouli works REALLY well with this note.

 

My skin amps up Apricot like you would not believe- so much so that all four of the apricot blends I've tried ended up as varaitions on the singular fruit. Katharina was crystalline apricot jam. March Hare was christmas apricot jam. Grand Guignol was apricot booze. And Depraved is apricot sexiness.

 

When first applied, Depraved is gorgeous. Beth's apricots are ultra concentrated, extremely sweet- like dried fruit or cooked pies and jams. The black muskiness (is that patchouli? dark myrrh?) gives it a dirty feel, a slick of oil. Katharina may be the most wearable of this family for her purity, but depraved is a close second. Depraved also has the most potential to blossom into something more complex- provided you don't have skin like mine. I can feel the black musk struggling to come out here, but he's no match for The Fruit Warrior.

 

Unfortunately, what happened with depraved is the same thing that happens with all of the apricots: I love it for an hour or two, and then I get oversaturated with sweetness. It's too much. It's just too, too much, and what once felt like an elegant, clever take on the girlish predilection for fruitiness turns into something silly.

 

It feels a bit ridiculous, actually.

 

Fun, pretty, but ultimately not for me.

[supremegoddessofall]

Yup, that's patchouli, and yup, that's apricot. Very rich, very earthy.

 

Score: 4 out of 5.

[Natch]

in the bottle: very sticky, sweet patchouli. Sort of makes me think of gummy candies.

 

wet: the patchouli comes out a bit more... sticky sweet gummy in one sniff and a smoky, bitter patchouli/black musk in the next.

 

dry: the patchouli has died down and refined a bit, making the now slightly less sweet apricot more prominent.

 

overall impression: This is really much nicer than I expected, I don't know much about patchouli and so I admit I was a little afraid, but it combines very nicely with the apricot. However, I can't really say the scent suits me... I tend to go for girlier, foodier, or lighter things, so I think I'll pass it on.

 

B

[Elemcee]

Depraved is equal parts sweet and dirty. So perfectly blended, indeed.

 

Salacious is the word, I think. This scent makes me feel like giggling because I'm doing the most naughty things, even though I'm not.

 

It also brings to mind that feeling of stickiness after eating a soft, ripe fruit like an apricot, and the juice is all round my mouth and all over my fingers.

 

So, um, I like it.

 

ADDED Jan. 21:

 

Patchouli often has a tendency to take over on my skin. In Depraved, however, the sweetness of the apricot manages to tame it, and so this scent is a perfect mix of sweet and dirty, which is what it should be.

 

Depraved is being taken on the muddy ground underneath an apricot tree whilst wearing a pristine white dress.

 

Very nice.

[UploadedLobster]

Gwhlaaaagh. Urk. Blech!

 

I wanted to love it, honestly I did. I'm a great fan of patchouli, cedar, and apricot individually, so having them all together seemed like a guaranteed good time. Alas, no.

 

Right away, the cedar jumps out and trounces the patchouli, which is a real shame because patchouli's earthiness would be the perfect bridge between cedar's sharp resin and the sweetness of apricot. (this apricot is dried, by the way, maybe stewed or glacee. Very smooth, not tart.)

 

Normally prunus notes (almond, plum, cherry, peach, apricot) disappear within minutes on me, but this one didn't. It stuck, valiantly hanging on to my skin while the cedar careened around going WOOOOOO I AM BIG AND STRONG LOOKIT MEEEEE. The next day I could still smell it wafting around me--this sucker lasts, which is great, but it is also a laster that sucks. Not so great.

 

More patchouli and less cedar would make this a winner, but as it's mixed now there seems to be just enough patchouli to make the cedar smell dirty instead of sweet, which unfortunately makes it clash with the apricot.

 

Lobster Rating

Better than: pinchy shoes

[Eunice]

Oh my goodness, this is NICE!

 

I had put off acquiring an imp of this but since I just received one from my Switch Witch I had to give it a shot. Patchouli is my number one favorite note but I'm not one for fruity scents so this wasn't high on my list to try. Oh, was I ever wrong! The patchouli isn't soft and gentle at all. This is dark and earthy. And paired with the light, sweet and tart scent of apricot, well, it is an excellent pairing. The apricot keeps the patchouli from being too dark and heavy while the patchouli keeps the apricot from being too sweet and cloying.

 

So big big thanks to my Switch Witch, I now have to get a large bottle of this in my next BPAL order!

[themerrybaker]

I get mostly cedar. This imp seems to be exhibiting Depraved Indifference to the fact that it is supposed to be apricot-patchouli. Very strange.

 

A few months later...

 

The Lab gifted me with a leaky frimp which I set in a box of tissues. Depraved makes the tissue smell like subtle apricot. I am really enjoying the oil this way.

Edited December 23, 2006 by themerrybaker

[Monster]

Out of the imp I'm smelling a lot of cedar as well. Perhaps there was a label mix-up? Or maybe the black patchouli in this has a cedar smell. Hmmmmm Very strange.

 

On my skin, wet I can now smell something a little sweet and fruity mixing with that strong cedar smell.

 

As this dries down it sweetens up quite a bit and I can smell the apricot. *thumbs up* It's not a mis-labeled imp after all Black patchouli smells just like cedar!

[azhriaz]

I like this a lot. Usually I find the patchouli-heavy scents a bit too dark and heavy, but the apricot perks it up nicely.

[Alchemy21599]

In the vial: sweet and dirty, not in a good way.

 

Wet: moist earth, cedar, and apricot.

 

Dry: I almost didn't try this scent when I opened the imp, but I'm happy that I did. I would absolutely wear this clubbing when I want to be noticed. Grrr!

[tempestteapot]

Wet this smelled strongly of apricots. Sweet with a hint of darkness underneith.

 

Dry it turned to 'corkboard'

 

 

 

Guess that one is heading to the swap pile

[sterlingspider]

wet: exactly as described, very sweet true apricot scent with a dark smouldering background

 

drydown: getting a peppery/papery edge, the apricot is still very true, though it reminds me more of dried apricots then fresh. It's got that sort of amped sweetness and earthy peppery bite of dried fruit. The pachouli also has this really strong dry dirt/earth edge to it, reminds me a lot of Graveyard Dirt (which I really love) and for as much as it smells like dirt it still manages to smell clean. Like damp topsoil.

 

I was a little dubious of this at first, it just didn't call to me and so it sat in my imp box for a couple of months, then all of a sudden lately I keep having this urge to wear it and every time I do I'm totally happy to be surrounded in this scent. This stays very true to the drydown on me the whole time and both the sweet apricot and the peppery/dirty pachouli scent endure. It's making it hard for me to try new scents as I'm always more interested in wearing that then trying anything new.

 

Even The Boy likes it and said immediately that he thought it was a very me scent, so I think I'll be picikng up a bottle with my next order.

[Emma2403]

In the bottle: agh, damn patchouli… it just kills everything else!

 

On my skin: applied very carefully as patchouli is really not my friend. And it's nearly the only thing I can smell. I'm really looking for the apricot but it's not there.

 

Verdict: I had to wash it off before even waiting for the drydown because it was a patchouli nightmare!

[lepetitmonstre]

in the bottle: wow, patchouli! waving it's arm trying to get my attention for sure!

 

on my skin: still so much patchouli but with a little sugary scent in the background. i hope the patchouli calms down.

 

drying/dry: still a lot f patchouli scent but it's mixing well with the apricot. the apricot smells fresh but....ugh patchouli just takes over!

 

 

impressions: well it does round out to be a nice fresh fruity scent but too much patchouli for me.

[earring]

Now I tend to amp BPAL fruit and I've had to pass on a couple of scents for that very reason however being a patchouli lover I was really wanting this to work and it does In fact it is so fantastic it may be bottle worthy and it takes a lot for me to think that! Anyway onto the scent:

 

In the imp the patchouli does shout out but there's a definite hint of fruity sweetness behind it.

 

Wet on the skin that pretty much prevails but the fruit is now bursting through and dominating the patchouli although the patchouli is definitely there in the background. This smells absolutely divine if a little fruity.

 

On drydown the patchouli comes through a bit more, warming up the apricot and tempering the sweetness perfectly. Something slightly peppery to my nose as well but that just adds to this. Yum

[RaeiNarcissus]

This scent is very dirty. The apricot just barely sweetens the black pachouli, but not enough that it doesn't feel like i'm caked in dirt. My least favorite apricot scent.

[Phantasmagoria]

This one reminds me of potpourri and forests. Forests, especially, after a rain. Must be the black patchouli. It's quite strong when wet, a little weaker when dry. I think it'll probably last a while on me. Mmmmm, it's quite nice after it's been allowed to sit.

[Inanna9]

The apricot is luscious, and the patchouli is such a nice counterpart - for about ten seconds. Then my skin turns it into pencil shavings. Fruity ... pencil shavings. *sigh*

[oh_the_horror]

I think this one does evoke the name. It's disturbing to me. It also smells really bad to me and on me. It's just missing something sweet, pleasant, nice. It kind of creeps me out. I don't think I like black patchouli.

Edited January 12, 2007 by oh_the_horror

[theseagrows]

i was frimped this, it's not something i'd ever buy since i'm not a fan of either note. so yeah it smells like earthy apricots pretty much. the apricot note is stronger than the patchouli on me. and this is off to swaps for me!

[storme]

In the imp: yup, earthy fusty patchouli and sweet apricots.

 

On me, wet: hmm, less earthy, sort of a woody patchouli now, and the apricot has vanished.

 

On me, dry: lots and lots of slightly gross fusty patchouli and a lovely apricot note occasionally flitting to the surface.

 

Verdict: oh, well, patchouli is always risky on me. Swap pile time.

[GoldenRubee]

The apricot smells very fresh and warm and really is a nice compliment to the patchouli. I thought that the patchouli would be overpowering but it's very low key in this. Very warm and fruity, but mild and earthy too. Even after the apricot fades the patchouli doesn't bother me as I thought it might.

 

I have an imp of this and I'm really enjoying it. I'll probably get even more use out of this in the summer months as a beautiful pick me up.

[glass_cat]

I wouldn't really have picked this out of the pack, since neither patchouli nor apricot are among my favorite scents. I don't have anything really against either, but... you know how it is. I guess that's why frimps are a good thing, eh? It forces us to try scents we probably wouldn't otherwise. Every once in a while we find something that we like.

 

For some reason, I really want to describe this as smelling like shadows. It's so dark, dusty, and earthy. Then there's the apricot in the background lending this a hint of sweetness that contradicts the dark earthiness of the rest of the blend very nicely and makes it feel like it lives up to its name. Overall, this is the smell of digging up fresh earth in your garden so that you can plant a fruit tree. It's an interesting scent, and definitely one I would recommend to those who love earth scents and would like to try one that is really earthy.