Lampades

[Ajila]

... Their scent is the crisp, inviting bittersweet tang of cranberry with smoky dark lilies, heady, sensual musk, a tingle of ginger and a brush of Mediterranean spices.

Wet on me this was dark acrid berries, the cranberries I guess. Dry it's sweeter, juicier and more spicy. It's like mulled wine and it'd be a gorgeous christmas blend as far as I'm concerned. Edited December 30, 2005 by Shollin

[jewelbug]

Bottle: Cranberry (very strong, lovely berry note), and something warm, musky and smoky underneath.

 

Wet: gets REALLY sweet and berry. This cranberry note is lovely. But it’s a little to sweet/fruity for me so far.

Drying: still very berry, but I can smell a bit of darkness and warmness--musk and spice? But only very slight. Is it just my imagination, or am I getting the occasion whiff of bread yeast? Weird. This is interesting, since from far away its very strong berry, but up close its smoky/dirty smelling. Very apt for the name, I think.

 

Uhoh, after about 30 min, this turns to fruity berry bubble yum on me. In about an hour, it's still bubble-yummy, but with a slight floral.

This lasts 4-6 hours on me, and at settles into a sweet berry with a light floral. It's pretty.

Overall: My skin obliterated the musk and spice notes. The smoky mixed with the berry was fascinating, but overall this was too berry for me. It is already winging its way to a new home. Lovely "dirtied" scent for the fruit loving types, though!

[Little Bird]

Lampades is a lighter, more subtle sort of fruity scent on me at first. The cranberry here doesn't smell like cranberry on me so much as a misty berry sort of smell (maybe a bit blueberry or blackberry-ish). It smells similar to berry flavored Kool-Aid; as it has a sweet, watery quality. The musk and lilies are always lingering lightly in the background as well, adding a perfumey, feminine edge to the whole thing. And the florals and musk here really do have a darker, smokier edge to them... nothing like the white, soapy lilies that I usually encounter.

 

In the drydown, the ginger and spices begin to come out under the berries and musky floral. There's an earthiness here that makes me think of black patchouli, and a slightly dusty, sweeter spice. Lampades reminds me of Florence... it's like Florence's darker, not-so-sweet cousin. Very pretty and alluring.

Edited September 3, 2006 by Blood onmy hands

[aidenraine]

The cranberry is a lot fainter on my skin than on most people's. This is incensey-musk first, and if I didn't know it wasn't a patchouli scent, I would swear it is.

 

It reminds me of Urd, another favorite. This is rich and spicy and incredibly well suited to the fall, people are right.

 

As time passes it becomes a bit "redder" but still the musky incense lays on top of it, giving it a rough edge. It's almost nutty- that dry, dusty smell of a bin of nuts. Mixed with the fruit- a cranberry trail mix.

 

Oh Lampades, I am part of your fan club now. How wonderful you are.

[Miss Lynx]

It’s funny -- the description of this scent initially put me off because of the cranberries, but as I've tried more BPAL scents, I've realized that fruit notes in a scent are not only not always scary, but can sometimes be really nice. Berries in particular seem to work well on me. So they've gone from being a minus to a plus. Couple them with musk and ginger, and well, I was intrigued!

 

And unsurprisingly, I really like this. It seems to fall roughly into the same scent-family as Bewitched, which is a very very good thing as far as I'm concerned. It also reminded me a bit of Blood -- spicy berries with a dark incensey undercurrent, ending up making it smell a bit like nice scented candles. The lilies were the only thing left in the description that scared me, but they actually behave themselves quite well here, adding just a slight floral edge but never becoming dominant. All in all, a very, very nice scent.

 

The only down side is major lack of staying power. It's not too strong to start with -- I put it on lightly at first as I usually do with new scents, but then once I realized how gorgeous it was had to put on more so I could smell it better. And even with that double-application, it's been maybe an hour, and it’s already faded down so far I have to press my nose right to my skin to smell it.

 

Still, a definite keeper. I’ll just have to slather it, I guess.

 

Grade: B+ (A if it lasted longer)

[brownbear]

Wet: fruity, juicy, tasty with a little sweet incense

 

dry: ooooohhhh cranberry. makes sense. Still fruity, but now there is some wood with it. It fades very quickly on my skin which is a shame because I like this one very much. I'll keep the imp and probably slather it on until it's gone then move on to the next fruity one.

[aessedai]

On me this is pure apple. Can't dig it.

[lohengrin]

In the imp: Cranberry, spice, florals.

 

On, wet: Definitely a lot of cranberry. I smell like Ocean Spray, musk and spices. Not that this is a bad thing.

 

Later: Settles down to spiced cranberry. Little bit of musk. The lilies are surprisingly absent, the ginger is unsurprisingly so. Ginger never seems to show up on me. Ah well, it's a nice scent, nonetheless.

[Chantarelle]

Absolutely brilliant.

 

Juicy cranberry - and by now I know that I'm a complete sucker for berry scents - with an underlying hint of Queen of Sheba-esque spices and something darkly warm (the musk?). And the floral isn't overwhelming at all. Love it so very much.

 

When I first put it on, I was so excited I started jumping around the room, that's how much I love it.

[allelujiah]

The oil is a gorgeous dark brown color in the vial. I paniced a bit when I saw it because no good can come of me mixing with patchouli, and that dark brown color made me highly suspicious.

 

At first the cranberries smelled sweetly and strongly, like an apple scent (Hesperides). I was not too pleased with that situation. It is like cough syrup, but it fades upon drydown, thank goodness.

 

I fear that there is a bit of patchouli in here, or spices that are similar, but it isn't overpowering in the way my chemistry usually amps it up.

 

It is a warm berry scent over all. It is spicy and makes me think of red lacquored wood (if that makes sense to anyone but me).

 

It is a bit too sweet of a scent for me. It isn't terrible or headachy, though.

[katalia]

This one is sweet and fruity on top, but there's an undertone of smoke or ash on me. I like it enough to finish the imp, but the smokeyness is a turn-off to me.

[wanderingredhead]

this turned out much less fruity on me than it seemed to on most reviewers. I couldn't really detect any individual notes- wet it was a slightly bitter, musky floral.

once on my skin though, the bitterness amped up a lot, and overwhelmed the florals. A little to acrid for me, alas, so it's going to the swap pile.

[lookingglass]

This is like an autumn version of Bordello. It is initally very tart and fruity, but as it dries out it gets darker...like a damp, decaying autumn forest. I get a very strong visual of the hunt...

 

My husband says I smell like a fruity Snapple tea (though there is no tea in it, the cranberry tang throws a tannin-like scent.).

[herongale]

preconceived notion: I'd been looking for a good berry scent, and this one was usually at the top of the list of recommended scents. Now, cranberry is not exactly my favourite berry... I much prefer raspberry... but the mixture of items here is beguiling. I never knew that the underworld had nymphs, either. But my feeling is that this scent might have more of the complexity that I was expecting out of Perspephone (which is a beautiful but ultimately un-nuanced scent).

 

in the imp: the oil is a transparent mahogany red-brown color. I definitely smell the cranberry but it's a lot different from what I expected... although it is tart and red, it reminds me more of wild berries than anything else. I wonder if this is what Skadi smells like? It's a very wintery scent, reminding me of the winter berries I can find in some of the most sheltered areas of Cranbrook. Red and green growing things poking through sheets of ice-storm glass under a distant south-arcing sun and a high pale sky.

 

wet: Absolutely lovely and scrumptuous. Spruce berry and cranberry and a richer faint scent of blackberries with the distant promise of spring.

 

drydown: What a wonderful wintery scent. This is like a medieval Christmas feast wine, mulled with cranberries and spice. It's Freya and her tiger-drawn sleigh, a laughing goldenhaired goddess under an endless northern night, brilliant faintly colored stars in a mantle of deep midnight blue, the green phosphor of the aurora licking the sky.

 

verdict: 5ml of this will certainly be on my next lab order. (I never plan on ordering 10ml bottles because I'd rather order more frequently to always have fresher oils available)

 

post-conceived notion: Berry scents for the win!

[wingedcorset]

When I was a kid, we had marionberry (insert gratuitous crack smoking joke here) thickets in our backyard. This smells like the bowls of berries that we used to pick, complete with little bits of leaf.

 

Wet on my wrist, it smelled like spiced peaches. From my journal: "Peaches? WTF? Suddenly I'm smelling spiced peaches. My nose is insane."

 

Dry was "flowery rotting berries. Ew."

 

The rotting smell went away quickly, and the scent faded between flowers and berries for the brief time that it stuck around.

[tinyvulture]

this is a straightforward fruit scent at first: tart, sweet cranberries. then it gets a little bit more earthy and spicy. no florals. i like it, but i know i won’t wear it because it’s more of a room fragrance.

[RainyDayGrey]

I love Lampades, it reminds me of the holidays. The most noticable note is the bright, tart cranberries. Underneath is a dark smoky slightly spicy scent. Absolutely beautiful. It reminds me of making fresh cranberry garland for my tree. I don't get any floral in this at all, I was pretty surprised to read lily included in the notes. It doesn't remind me of cranberry sauce or chutney either, the cranberries are unsweetened and the spices are diffrent. In fact, it's almost more inscensy than spicy to my nose. As I said, I love this, and I wish the lab had more cranberry scents.

 

This is one of those blends that just gets better with age too. I don't wear it that often, but every time I pull it out it just smells deeper and richer than before.

[Voleuse]

This is cranberry and incense on first application, juicy sweet and musky at the same time. After a bit, I'm able to distinguish the liles, and the spices are certainly evident. I think I get a hint of the ginger as well, but it's not strong enough for me to be sure.

 

Over time, the cranberry fades into the background, and it becomes this complex and sweet scent. Rich and the teensiest bit smoky, fruity but not too sweet. It fades almost immediately on me, but I really like it while it's evident.

[Victory]

When I first put this on, the cranberry is very evident. For me, it wasn't tart like the juice so much as just a realization that it was cranberry. I get a little incensy/spiciness a little later on, but Lampades isn't particularly long lasting on me. After the first half hour, I have to really search for it (nose moving up and down my arm, glued to the skin). There are lingering traces, but not much.

 

Someone once said they thought Lampades was holiday-ish. I don't get that on my skin, but I have to admit that Lampades isn't striking. It isn't that it's not nice, but I don't have any compulsion to put my nose down to my arm and smell, even when it's first on and I can smell it.

[alicia_stardust]

First I have to say: Oh, WOW. I mean. Wow.

 

The moment I smelled this I thought it might be love, and I have gone through piles of imps without having anything touch my top 3 favorites. But this one has been added to my favorites.

 

Wet: very tart and fruity. Definitely cranberry.

 

Dry: tart, cranberry...but so many more layers. I get a slight musk, a bit of floral, and something that reminds me of the faintest incense. It's not strong. It's just enough to counterbalance the fruitiness of the cranberry.

 

Overall, this scent is bouyant and uplifting yet very sophistocated. I give this a 5 out of 5 stars, and I'm buying a bottle the moment I have the $$ to!!

[inbigtrouble]

On me, this is very similar to Seraphim, of which I am a fan. I get the same sort of Sweet Tart impression that I do with that one.

 

What first comes through with Lampades on me is definitely the cranberry with a hint of light spiciness behind it (the ginger?). It is soft and light and round. There is a slight dryness lurking in the background here, almost smokey, which keeps this from becoming cloying. I can't really smell the floral aspect of this at all.

 

I am not sure that I like this enough to buy a big bottle (I am not much of one for fruity scents, even though this one is not "hit you over the head" fruity), but it is a lovely scent, and I will certianly enjoy my imp while it lasts!

[AlaskaSnows]

Wet: Very berry. Something a little astringent, and maybe something a tad peppery.

 

Dry: Berry. This is not a fat bursting sugar laden berry, this is a real berry on the bush.I don't get quite just cranberry, because there is a sweetness, maybe a cran-raspberry. It's fun and light.

[PurringPulsar]

Lampades

 

In the imp: mmm, fruity red musk. I find that red musk seems to bond very nicely with fruit notes-such as the strawberry and cherry in Hollywood Babylon. In here, it’s bonded nicely with cranberry.

Wet on skin: crisp, tart cranberry with rich, fruity red musk. This is very nice. I get a bit of gingery warmth here too.

Dry: I like this a lot! I love the way the cranberry and musk work so well together in here, they complement each other very nicely. I don’t get much lily yet but I think the ginger and spices are adding just a touch of warmth to the scent, but it’s the cranberry-musk that’s dominant in this deep red scent. This is lovely for the cooler weather.

After a while: maybe this isn’t red musk after all, I’m now thinking it’s a darker musk…it seems deeper, more intense, very smoky. It still works nicely with the cranberry, which is a bit sweeter and not as sharp as before, though now it's a dry cranberry scent as opposed to the juicy scent it had before.

Verdict: this is another lovely fruity-musk scent. This time, cranberry teams up with a deep musk note and the two notes combine very nicely. Hints of ginger, smoke and spice flit through the scent every now and then but it’s mainly smoky musk and tangy cranberry. The scent is rich, juicy, deep red and sensual, warm and very nice for autumn and winter. It’s a pleasant scent but I do prefer other musk scents to this, but I’m keeping the imp.

[zenvodunista]

this is a dark, tangy and incense filled berry, as odd as that sounds. for me, it's almost too dark and deep, but i think if you are a fan of dark woods, incense, and very dark fruits, you'll like this one. this one's intriguing, but not me.

 

n.

[Phaedra]

Wet this is sweet dark berries and reminds me of Scherezade. When first on it's still sweet but lighter and mixed with some herbal notes. After several minutes I can smell the cranberry note. After a couple of hours it develops a warm undertone. This is sensual, dark and mysterious- very earthy. I think I'll use up the imp but I'm not sure if I need to get a bottle or not.