Prurience

[Quillifer]

An unwholesome scent. A craving, an itch. This scent smoulders with a lust that singes the edge of your nerves and leaves your soul chilled: red amber and scorched musk with voluptuous carnation, charred vetiver, sensuous tonka, and orris.

This blend is packed full of notes I love, so I'm a little surprised not to like it more. I'm trying it in May and I think I might like it more in winter so I'll keep the imp for later.

In the imp it smells intoxicatingly promising - a gorgeous, tight-packed scent that I can't wait to smell opening up on my wrist.

Wet, and as it dries. this opening up just doesn't seem to happen. The scent smells concentrated, sweet and smokey, but curled in on itself. Maybe this is cunningly intended by its creator. Personally I blame tonka - the only note I'm not keen on here and which has a "smoothing out" effect that has overlain several other oils I find to be lacking in energy and edge.

[Ajila]

In the bottle - Dark bitter vetiver topped with dark musk

 

Wet on me - Dark, smoky and bitter, this is really unpleasant

 

Dry on me - Fortunately this faded quite quickly

 

Overall - This really wasn't for me

[brilliantcat]

Imp: I definitely don't get the whomp of vetiver like others seem to. I get blooming florals and a hint of dirt. In my head, I see antique perfume drops spattered on soil.

Wet: Slightly powdery from the amber. I have a hard time getting anything else around it, the baby powder is too pervasive.

Dry: BABY POWDER AUUUUGGGGHHHH.

 

ETA: I felt compelled to retest based on my love for all the notes in this and the arrival of a fresh frimp. It's definitely stronger on the vetiver in the imp than my first test, dirty and woodsy and smoky. I almost get root beer It develops into a sweet resinous blend, again with powderiness but not the overwhelming blast from the previous test. It reminds me of what myrrh does on me. I tend to agree that it's black musk in this and I feel that I erroneously blamed the amber for turning powdery when it's more likely the fault of the musk. Amber does also have a powdery stage but generally quickly warms into gorgeous resin. In the time I typed that, it has turned into baby powder again. Looks like it matters little whether it's fresh or aged, either the musk, the amber, or the combination goes baby powder on me.

Edited December 18, 2013 by brilliantcat

[milo]

I'm getting a bit of resins and a lot of vetiver at first. After a bit, the vetiver fades, and it's more sweet and resinous, and I think I'm getting a bit of black musk. This is nice, black musk is one of my favourite notes, it reminds me a lot of Haunted, though there is not the same amount of amber and musk. I like this, and will probably use it more in the winter months.

[yakiguri]

Started off with wonderfully smokey and dark vetiver with a bit of bite from the carnation...then black musk swooped in and smothered the blend with baby powder. I should have known that scorched musk = black musk, the only musk that doesn't work on me.

[Deliciousness]

Red amber and scorched musk with voluptuous carnation, charred vetiver, sensuous tonka, and orris.

 

In the vial it's ... Hello Vetiver!

 

On Skin: This blend was much more palatable to me in the early stages of application as there was more complexity between the notes. The vetiver was there which gave a nice grounding, while the musks and amber made the blend a little spiced and the tonka didn't entirely devour any one note.

 

Alas, the tonk a seems to have beaten down everything in it's path and enveloped all the notes in a slightly sweet-spicy creaminess that defies descriptive terms. If anyone has tried Sybaris, this blend reminds me of that; probably because of the tonka in that blend as well. Prurience isn't my favorite, but then again there isn't anything in here that screams - wash me off! It's just a meh type of scent.

[quickdrawkiddo]

This is very "vetiver + something nice" on me, which might be my favorite sub-genre of scent. I had to try it several times to pick out the black musk, which is surprising since it usually amps like crazy on me (I should mention I don't know how old this imp is, so that might be a factor). I thought there might be a floral note in there as well but the amber is very faint. I actually like this a lot but it fades very quickly and never really has the "oomph" when dry that it seems to promise in the vial, as some others have mentioned. I think I like this enough to get a bottle at some point and slather the heck out of it, but for now my brand new bottle of Samhainophobia will fulfill my need for "vetiver + something else."

[Magycmyste]

I'm a little nervous about this one, since vetiver has a habit of going sour on me, and darkening blends too much, but I'm curious, and I've had success with a couple of vetiver blends, so I'll try it.

 

In the imp: Dark vetiver, definitely. Kind of smoky.

 

Wet on skin: Going a little light on this application. Still dark vetiver. This doesn't bother me as much as some other vetiver scents, though. We'll see if that lasts, though.

 

Dried down: I think I'm getting a bit of the carnation and amber now.

 

Throw: Almost none on me.

 

Verdict: ** 1/* I may have to give this another try later, but I don't think this scent's for me. But, a better experience than I've had with vetiver in the past.

[xsjdx]

Disclaimer: I am somewhat of a Bpal n00b, but here goes:

 

At first sniff (in Imp): VERY grassy and the faintest touch of smoke/spice. Intriguing.

 

On skin: Mmmm. Smoky, sweet and spicy indeed - really deep and evocative.

 

Drydown: On my skin, it's very incens-y...still sweet and smoky, but it's gone a touch powdery on my now. I'd have thought I'd hate that, but it's quite comforting (kinda reminds me of my nan, but in a lovely way).

 

I'm very new to scent notes, so I can't tell my vetiver from my orris (haha). I'm assuming the spicy grass is vetiver, the woodsy/sweet smell is orris, and the incense tonka?

[miamaslegi]

185: PRURIENCE
GC: Ars Amatoria
"An unwholesome scent. A craving, an itch. This scent smoulders with a lust that singes the edge of your nerves and leaves your soul chilled: red amber and scorched musk with voluptuous carnation, charred vetiver, sensuous tonka, and orris."

Received from Lab 2012

In bottle: All I get is the vetiver and a bit of sweetness from the amber and tonka.

Wet: Mostly vetiver with a hint of tonka and powdery amber. It's a little less complex than I thought it would be. I am a committed vetiver lover, but this isn't wowing me yet.

Dry: Smoky (but not harsh) vetiver and dark musk sweetened and smoothed out by the amber and tonka - never got the orris, which I like, so that's a shame. I do like this now (I am a vetiver fiend, after all), and I might go for a bottle in the future, but it's not a priority.

3.5/5

[doomsday_disco]

In the imp: I mostly smell the red amber, musk, and vetiver. I am not looking forward to this one because I amp carnation, dislike vetiver and orris, and the 'scorched' aspect of the musk doesn't sound very pleasant. Oh, well. Here goes.

Wet: I am getting red amber with the musk and vetiver. The combination of musk and vetiver remind me somewhat of Orc, but it isn't the same musk found in that blend. I can smell the spiciness of the carnation in the background.

Dry: The spicy carnation is a lot stronger than it was before. Although it has taken the center stage, it didn't stomp all over the other notes. I can still smell the red amber and vetiver. I am definitely getting the orris now (which tends to remind me of baby powder), as well as the tonka note. I would say that the carnation, red amber, and orris are the strongest notes now. The musk, while still present, isn't a main player like it was in the wet stage.

Verdict: I was dreading this, but it isn't nearly as bad as I was expecting it to be, despite the fact that I dislike several of the notes listed in this scent. I don't need a bottle of this, and I won't keep my imp, but this scent was a nice reminder to give scents at least one chance (instead of judging them by their notes or their scent in the vial).

*edit* Okay, several hours later, it smells really bad on my skin. I can smell the vetiver, musk, and orris the most, and that is not a good combination.

Edited January 10, 2015 by dementia_divine

[Veronica]

Wow, this is super dark and sensual. Deep ambers, skin musk and a slight smokiness. Vetiver in this is very well behaved, hanging in the background to add a slight, sexy kick. Not for me personally, but beautiful.

[Malaena]

On me this is mainly carnation with a bit of orris. After this one I believe I've finally figured out that I hate carnation!

[radiantfracture]

In vitro: smoky, dirty vetiver and an underground trickle of amber

 

Wet: Completely different. Amber, then florals (sweet ones), musk, then lots of sweet tonka and some powderiness from the musk or amber - then an ashiness that makes me think of opium -- that part stirs memories and I could smell it all day. There's a heady, oily floral, like lily, and something on the dirty side of musk, and then the spicy carnation.

 

Dry: Sweet amber, carnation, a residual sexy hum. I get only a trace of smokiness.

 

Very interesting, and amazing on the right person.

[freyasfae]

This surprised me as once it dried down, I am not usually one for the spicier scents, especially with vetiver in them, but ultimately it is another one of those dry, spicy, powdery scents that just don't really seem to work for me.

[LizziesLuck]

Wet: Tons of vetiver, which I like, but don't love. I know from experience it doesn't last on my skin though. Already it's burning off and I am getting some dark musk. Quite a light scent though, not what I was expecting!

 

 

 

Dry: A nice, though light, dark musk scent. I think I need to retest this. I do like it, but either it just has no throw or lasting power (surprising for those notes) or I did not apply enough for a proper test.

 

Slathered more on - same result. It's nice, but too light for me. Musky, sweet, a bit smoky, but otherwise nondescript.

[JTobias]

A fantastic GC alternative to Laura Belle McDaniel; vetiver and carnation are the top notes of this blend.

[roseus]

Everything else in this is good, but orris just smells awful to me for whatever reason. It smells dank, musty, and sweet in the worst way. I can tell this would be really great without the orris (or really great for someone who likes it!) but I just cannot do it.

[lizabelle]

Oh, boy. This was so good and then went bad so fast. As I write this it's a powdery amber beast that's eaten all the other notes. The vetiver in this is the almost-burnt version that's in so many other BPALs, and it mixes with the tonka to be something deep and sexy. I would love to see this pair in other scents, as it's kind of rare but it works well. The scent gets sweeter and powderier over time, finally settling into something that I couldn't (or at least wouldn't) possibly wear.

 

As always, take it with a grain of salt--when amber goes wrong on me it goes bad like nothing else--but this is a big no from me.