Malice

[Quillifer]

A profound, complex scent that encapsulates the joy one finds in another’s pain. Ylang ylang, clove, Indonesian red patchouli, and dark myrrh.

When I first ordered this, I didn't like it at all. I love all the notes in it but, as with Lust, it felt just overwhelming and too tightly-bound. I felt as though I was smothered and couldn't relate to it.

At the moment I'm not doing swaps because I've had a few go wrong, so this sat around - fortunately! I tried it again on a whim this evening and I love it I'm so happy. Perhaps it has aged a bit - though it can only be a couple of months so I doubt it's that. I've had the experience with Samhain of finding the wet stage really quite unpleasant and just forgetting about it for an hour or so, and for me this works really well with Malice. It settles in with me, I tune in, and all the notes I know I love sing nicely for me. But it is both assertive and also rather "closed" - a dark, brooding scent that commands my attention but doesn't explain itself.

[maika]

In the imp, patchouli, and something spicy-sweet. Probably the clove.

 

Wet, patchouli and myrrh without a lot of throw

 

Dry, there's a bit of a perfume-y vibe, which I think is the ylang ylang, the myrrh patcholi and clove are all there together - and the earlier posters are right, there is almost a sunscreen thing going on there. It's not OMG sunscreen, but it is very reminiscent. That's not a bad thing though.

 

I'm not sure if this is going to be a bottle purchase, but I'm definitely keeping the imp.

[ShadesOfFree]

Vial: It's... patchouli. Nothing else, really.

Wet: Patchouli & myrrh. It's very dry. Reminds me a bit of 'all night long' but less cinnamon'y, a little more powdery as it starts to settle. Kind of a calming, sleepy scent, but not to the point where I can't wear it during the day. And there's something up there, too, something peppy? Not peppy. Sassy?

Dryish: Myrrh and ... I guess it's the ylang ylang, but that's not a scent I'm familiar with... It's a floral smell, though, but it almost reminds me of booze or fermented flowers, or something. Not negatively, just... that's the impression of it. That's if I have my nose to my wist, though - just wafting around me I'm just getting straight myrrh. There are no cloves, the patchouli has gone away, and the floral doesn't reach that far. It's rather nice, wafting.

Dry: It's like a resinous, incensey baby powder. I really like it in this stage a lot.

Final thoughts: I could use a bottle of this. I would probably wear this a lot - it's got personality (kind of feisty, a little playful) but it's still comforting and cozy. I get nothing malicious out of it - there's nothing cruel to it. Just something that feels familiar (even though it's not because it actually is, just that kind of comfort), like someone you're used to having witty banter with. It's great. I'm adding this to my next order list, I think. 4.5 stars (only lower than 5 because sniffing close to the mid-dry stage is a bit wonky, but waftingly it's fine so.)!

[ccelaya]

Wet- The red patchouli is strong but sweet.

On Skin - Myrrh and hints of Ylang Ylang soften the patchouli.

The resins are very heavy. Its smoky with some sweetness.

Very nice scent but as it dries the myrrh becomes stronger.

Perfect for someone who likes smoky resin scents.

[Zii]

Wet: Why hello there patchouli. This is patch, some of the warmth of clove and just a hint of incense.

 

Drying: Getting some of the sweetness of the ylang but this is still patch dominant with the warmth of the clove and myrrh. This is a better, less sweet Lust.

 

Dry: Sweeter, and there is more clove now, but it's still a really warm, nice scent.

[inhumation]

on wet, it smells mostly of myrrh. As it dries, I smell mostly ylang ylang and a touch of patchouli. it definitely has a snarling bite to it, much as you would expect from malice. I don't smell the clove. I shall keep the imp, but there's no need to get a big bottle.

[BoneBone24]

Wet: Smoky myrrh and ylang ylang. Robust.

 

Drydown: Primarily myrrh, with the golden-sour twang of ylang ylang just beneath it. It almost smells a bit soapy. As it dries, the ylang ylang amps to high hell and misbehaves to the point of smelling like soap-covered play-doh. Oi. (Note: The soapy-play-doh-wonkiness does not occur during subsequent wearings. This seems to be a first-time only issue.)

 

Dry: Once dry the ylang ylang starts to behave again, thanks to Patchouli stepping in with a grounding effect. The clove isn’t terribly overt, but its deep warmth is present. But, the myrrh remains the star. As the day wears on, I find that this is a very fickle scent, each sniff yields a slightly different result. In lieu of documenting every single twist and turn, I will simply describe it as a wispy myrrh with multiple personality disorder.

 

 

 

7 out of 10 bones

[Veronica]

Not sure why I wanted to try this, it's nearly all death notes on me! This is smoky patchouli layered over sticky sweet, heady ylang ylang soured by a dark, dank myrhh and spiced cloves. Nope!

[tallan]

Oh, this is dark and spicy. And heavy. The patchouli, clove and myrrh are all deep, deep, deep, and the ylang ylang is incapable of lightening it up, it just adds a floral tone to the scent. I feel like lying down when I huff my wrist - almost faint. It's like the scent steals its way into my head and weighs it down.

 

This is so, so "BPAL-y" to me. It falls into the same family as Sin, Lust and Vixen. That deep, sexy-resiny type of scent, heavy on the patchouli, lacking the sweetness of, say, Snake Oil... It's good. It's distinctive. I don't know if it's me, still. (The rest of them weren't.) But I'll hold on to this for a while, see if I'm ever drawn to wearing it.

[freyasfae]

I got this as a frimp, and it has all the things I wouldn't usually pick or my skin wouldn't like (which is a part of the fun of frimps!). This was okay in the bottle and better on the skin, but overall still not a combination I am a fan of. I think I need more florals or fruits to balance spicy scents like this.

[roseus]

This was very spicy-sweet in the imp and on wet in a way that I didn't like. Dry it's very dark and resinous, in a way that I'm certainly digging. It's very well blended, as the patchouli isn't super gritty or prominent (and as a patch lover that would not deter me anyway!). I get a little heat from the clove and just a little of the sexy floral thing ylang ylang does so well. I don't know if I need a bottle but I will definitely use the imp.

[Teamama]

Warning: this review is not going to be helpful to anyone, due to the reviewer's clove-amping problem.

 

Malice smells fantastic & complex in the imp. I like the way myrrh and patchouli wrestle with ylang-ylang. The clove is subtle, and warms the other notes.

 

And, the moment Malice touched my skin, the ylang-ylang, patchouli and myrrh folded their tents and stole away, leaving me with nothing but clove and a hint of nail polish remover.

[VetchVesper]

When I first smelled my aged imp of Malice, I was not overly impressed. It smelled like many other incense blends that I liked better, and it smelled more baby powdery to me than most. Granted, it was evil baby powder, but still, not too interesting. Recently though, I've been revisiting some of my neglected imps and am finding a growing appreciation for this scent.

 

It still starts off as evil baby powder to me, but then complexity starts to surface. Ylang ylang floats above adding sweetness to the resins, which are thick and dusty. Something musky and lived in lurks beneath, like the human smell a person leaves on their perfumed shirt. Malice becomes a presence, quietly demanding my awareness. Someone described this as "brooding" and I agree. This is an incensey thunderhead, a soft and snugly blanket waiting to smother you.

 

I might need to keep an imp of this around.

[doomsday_disco]

In the imp: I smell all of the notes in the order that they appear: ylang ylang, clove, red patchouli, and myrrh.

 

Wet: First, I'm hit with a blast of clove, but then the ylang ylang quickly rises up to join it. Then the patchouli and myrrh emerge. The myrrh is definitely a dark myrrh, not a soft one, and the combo of the ylang ylang and myrrh are somewhat sharp on me, with an extra bite from the clove. The red patchouli, while present, is

 

Dry: The ylang ylang has calmed down significantly and is no longer playing a major role. Now it is mostly a clove and patchouli scent, darkened by the myrrh in the background. The clove is the dominant note.

 

Verdict: I really like the prominence of the clove in this, especially during the dry stage, but alas, the wet stage was too sharp on me for my liking. I think I'll keep the imp just because of the clove, but I doubt I'd reach for it over something like Wednesday's Child is Full of Woe, which has plenty of sugared clove and no phase I dislike. That clove, tho!

[Lucchesa]

Lust was awful on me. Lust and Malice each have four notes, three of which are patchouli, myrrh and ylang ylang. Malice substitutes clove for Lust's red musk, and that makes all the difference.

 

Ylang ylang is never my favorite note, but after an initial blast of tropical blooms, it settles back to let the patch, myrrh and clove duke it out. So this is not a floral blend on me, but a spicy resinous one. It takes a long time to settle the balance between the three components, so that sometimes when I sniff my wrist the clove dominates, sometimes the myrrh or the patch. I actually enjoy that quality in a scent. It keeps things interesting.

 

The late drydown is a soft, dark myrrh/clove skin scent, very beautiful. I didn't have high hopes for Malice, but it works surprisingly well on me.

[fairybites]

Clove and patchouli musk mostly! Honestly got kind of a red wine vibe from this initially, but that's nowhere in the notes. Goes on strong, but mellows out and gets sweeter with time. 

 

Pretty good, doubt I'll upgrade but I'm pleased that this ended up working on me.