Succubus

[Dustbunnyxox]

Description from BPAL:

Bat-winged, flame-eyed, and possessed of an unearthly, perfect beauty: the Daughters of Lilith, the Succubi, invade the dreams of men and lie with them in rapturous, unholy sexual union. The scent of their skin is bittersweet, dusky and terminally seductive. Mimosa, orange blossom, neroli and bergamot with a drop of sweet clove.

 

From the bottle:

Eh. I only wanted this, because it had clove in it. I do not smell it at all, nor anything in its discription. really blunt and incensy at first, but now it has sweetened up just a little. more of a house scent. smells like a new age store or someone who has tried on too many scents at the cosmetics counter.

 

On me: same as in the bottle. but not as bad. i guess ill have to give it time to get used to it. wow. not even ten minutes and the smell has almost disappeared. it's so light now. i hate to say this, but it almost smells like soap.

 

Two hours later: incense. One that a friend got me a while ago. This would make a great house scent. But I wouldn't ware it again.

[Penance]

Origin:

 

Lagniappe from the Lab.

 

Preconceived notions:

 

There's no way I'm going to like this and I know that going into it. There's only one note in here (clove) that I like - the rest either don't appeal to me or downright hate me, but I'm willing to try it anyway.

 

First sniff:

 

Surprisingly, this strikes me as being a distant cousin of Dracul's. That has to be the orange blossom and clove coming through. It's floral, slightly cloying and very heavy on the orange blossom and neroli with just a hint of spice. While I love Dracul, this just doesn't do it for me.

 

Wet on skin:

 

Heavily perfumey, which means orange blossom. For some reason, I can't tolerate either orange blossom or neroli. They just make me cringe for some reason (except in Dracul, for reasons just as mysterious). This is just too cloyingly perfumey for me, just like I thought it was going to be.

 

Dry down:

 

All heavy, perfumey, cloying citrus florals without even a hint if spice. I knew Succubus wouldn't like me, so it's not a surprise, but I'm still a little disappointed the same way I am every time a BPAL scent hates me.

 

The bottom line:

 

Succubus and I weren't made for one another, that much is obvious. Hopefully someone else can love it.

[Janie]

A sweet floral (lots of neroli and mimosa come out to play). The clove is muted. It lasts well enough and is pleasant to wear. It doesn't scream "look at me I AM FLORAL".

[maewitch]

This one made me all confused.

 

For the first 15 minutes, I was sure this one would be a pass. It smelled like orangy-floral furniture polish, albeit very elegant furniture polish.

 

Then the strong florals and the overwhelming orange died down, and the clove starting warming up a bit. I think I may have strained my nose trying to catch the simulataneous changes.

 

Dried down, this was an airy mix of florals, faint orange and barely-there clove. I never though I'd describe something with clove as 'airy', but there you go.

 

Final verdict: I'll wear it (along with an expression of bewildered pleasure), but won't be getting a bottle.

Edited August 16, 2005 by maewitch

[Brianne]

In the bottle:

A bitter, green smell

 

On me:

This is definitely not what I was expecting from this scent. In my mind, succubus sounded sweet, but dark, and a tad spicey. In reality, Succubus a crisp, clean, almost green scent. It reminds me a bit of Aizen-myoo in that it has the same crisp, clean vibe. The clove never shows up for me at any point in this scent, and the neroli is more like orange rind - it's bitter with zest, rather than sweet. The bergamot adds more citrus to this, but in a grounded way.

 

Final note:

It's not really for me, but it is a very clean scent.

[Little Bird]

At first this is all orange blossom and neroli on me. Ripe citrus and a burnt orange smell. I was hoping that this would be a clove and orange scent (mmm, spiced orange) but I'm not getting any clove out of this.

 

An hour later this has faded quickly. I even forgot that I was wearing it for a while, it is so light. Now if I smell my wrist I can see that the clove has come out and the citrus has faded away.

 

I have a bar of clove soap. In the drydown, that's what Succubus smells like on me. Definitely soapy, but very light and barely noticeable on my skin.

[imaginepageant]

In the vial: Fabric softener sheets. Yes, that's precisely what this is. But not quite as nicely fresh-smelling as actual fabric softener sheets. If I try really hard, I can maybe, just possibly, smell the tiniest bit of orange, but definitely none of the other notes this is supposed to have. It's just Downy, that's all!

 

Wet: Still fabric softener sheets! Actually, now I smell a bit of laundry detergent as well.

 

Dry: All right, I'm finally finding something other than a laundromat here, but that remains the overall effect I'm getting from Succubus. It's powdery now, and a tiny bit sweeter, and maybe more fruity, although I have the feeling that that's coming from the various other scents I have on my hands and arms right now.

 

An hour later: Still pretty much the same, though possibly a little darker and dirtier.

 

Overall: Ew. I really don't like this at all. And I'm painfully confused as to why I'm smelling this overwhelming stench of fabric softener sheets when it seems that nobody else is!

[jewelbug]

Imp: Astringent orange with some background florals. Very "fumey", if that makes sense.

 

Wet: So far it’s a sweet floral with a citrus chaser. The floral is kinda powdery to my nose, and the citrus is biting. It has great throw.

 

Drying: Powdery floral with orange in background. Just kinda fumey perfume. Eh.

Dry: 1 hour and later. Wow. This turned out beautifully--the powder is gone. It’s a sweet floral with a bitter orange-pith bite. This reminds me of my granddads back yard (he has mimosa trees--coolest flowers ever). This invokes my childhood memories at his house. Simply lovely. It lasts for about 4 hours.

 

Overall: If I were going to wear a floral, this would be a strong contender. Sweet, light once it mellows. I hint of citrus. This is very pretty. Not at all what I expected from succubus--I expected something more devious, less sweet and pretty. But I didn't get the spice notes, which probably would have been the devious bit.

[crystaljapan]

I just spent about 10 minutes with my nose at my wrist trying to figure out what this scent reminded me of. I know it is something from my childhood but I can't place it. Driving me batty.

 

Some sort of soap I think... I keep sensing a soap that is shaped like something like those little decorative soaps people keep in the bathroom. But I know this is from someplace specific.

 

Anyway, I can smell a bit of orange and some sort of powdery soap like scent. This is gonna drive me crazy.

[PixieSkull]

In the imp: Fruity floral with strong orange blossom and bergamot being bitter in the front.

 

Wet: The bergamot and orange blossom mix well, can't detect any sweet clove yet. Neroli somewhat hiding behind the bergamot, strange as it's a note my skin likes. Very fruity, suspect the mimosa and orange blossom want to play.

Drydown: Soap. I'm thinking orange blossom turns to soap on me, because I can smell the Neroli still. The bergamot disappeared entirely and I have no clue what mimosa smells like.

 

Overall: No use to keep it, would be nice on someone else but not me. Swapping away.

[lohengrin]

In the vial: Spicy and floral, quite masculine.

 

On, wet: That "masculine" edge fades quickly. Still the spicy floral I associate with neroli.

 

Later: Clove! Finally, a blend with clove that shows up on me!! I <3 this one, I do! Never got any bergamot, but that's okay -- it's a fabulous spicy floral/clove kick in the teeth.

[Monster]

This one is so strong and foul I wasn't able to bring myself to put it on my skin So I'll have to review it based on what I smell out of the vial.

 

This is strong and old smelling. It reminds me of a hospital. It's very astringent smelling, medicinal, sharp and bitter.

 

There isn't too much I can say about this. I really don't like it at all

[AlaskaSnows]

In the Bottle: Bitter citrus peel and resin.

 

Dry: Like a drying orange, there's lots of peel, and some sweet flesh. It's not like an overripe fruit, all sweet, more like an orange drying for some reason, maybe for clices in a potpourri. It's a very interesting and complicated scent. Sometimes sewwt, sometimes all bitter peel. I find it fascinating, but won't be buying a big bottle unless my feelings for this change.

[Phaedra]

This was a frimp from the Lab in one of my recent orders. Wet this is bitter orange. When first applied it's a powdery floral, almost violet like and there's a hint of citrus. This is a very light scent. It becomes a mix of baby powder and baby aspirin- you know, the orange baby aspirin pills. After about an hour it becomes pure powdery violets. I think I'll try this again before making a final decision.

[carolinachiquita]

I don't like this when It is in the bottle - there is a sharp green scent that I just don't like. On application, I can still smell that "green" smell and it just puts me off it, the scents that are underneath seem to be quite nice but they are just competing to be smelt underneath the green!

[Ankhet]

Succubus:

In the bottle: All I can smell is something sharp. The Mimosa? Nerouli? It makes my eyes water a little.

Wet: I still smell the something sharp, but the orange blossom is slowly coming through

Drying: It's getting a little bit of that powder smell again, but nowhere near what Tiger Lily did. Even though I keep sniffing it, I don't think I like it. I need foody scents. Well, give it a while more, maybe a half hour. But maybe not. My eyes are starting to water again.

Update: I had to wash it off, since it made my eyes water, and my mom's eyes, ACROSS THE ROOM, were watering, just from the scent.

Conclusion: sell imp

[pinkpoodle]

I had a lot of trouble analyzing this one. That's partly because the scent wore off pretty quickly and I had to reapply it a couple times.

 

Wet in bottle: Very citrusy and tart

 

Wet on skin: Neroli--lots and lots of neroli with a tinge of orange.

 

Dry on skin: It still smells mostly like neroli, but there is something deeper. I can smell the clove a little bit here and there. Otherwise it's not very noticeable.

 

Dry after a couple hours: The neroli/citrus smell is very tame now and I smell a grey, pale floral scent. It reminds me of the way my grandmother's antique dresser smells. She used to stuff decorative soaps (the Chinese kind) and powdery sachets in the drawers with all her clothes. It's a little soapy, but not in a bad way. This soapy, wilted floral scent seems to be something that people either love or hate. I think it's actually quite nice. My only complaint is that the scent doesn't last as long as the others usually do.

Edited October 21, 2005 by pinkpoodle

[sarahj]

Succubus

 

in vial: orange blossom

 

wet: orange blossom and something very sweet (mimosa?)

 

dry: sweet orangey floral...no clove...fades in about 3 hours

 

verdict: nice, but I don't need a big bottle

[Wench457]

Well, I really wanted this to work on me. It has so many notes I adore, bergamot, orange blossom, mimosa. Alas, it went all citrus soap on me, before fading out entirely within a half hour. It wasn't unpleasant by any means, but two tries with the same result means it goes to a better home.

[Freyja Lux]

Sort of a spicy floral... soft and earthy. Bit too floral for my taste, but lovely nonetheless. I'm not sure what creates that somewhat sweet and citrus-y element to it... maybe the orange blossom? A very unique scent. I can't really place any of the ingredients individually but it makes a lovely perfume.

[niter]

Well, my first review got eaten by the internet monsters...here goes again.

 

This scent started out very strong from the imp and on the skin the clove was overwhelmed by a soapy scent. There was a degree of intrigue mixed in, but I can just tell this scent is not for me. Pity, what a lovely concep (no worries as there are so many more to love)!!

[TroubleDoll]

Fresh out of the imp, this scent is a sharp citrus. It moves ever so slightly into the soapy range, like mimosa soap. The drydown warms up a bit, a spicy floral with a hint of lemon.

[Fefferbella]

Wow, this is orange blossoms and cloves on my skin !

 

Very pretty, but citrus doesn't agree with me at all!

 

swap pile!

[malabar]

I loved this initially - it's a whole lot of neroli in my face - but alas, that gorgeous top note vaporizes quickly and I'm left with just a trace of it in a rather undistinguished powdery base. I'll give it another go, but it's ultimately disappointing.

[darkitysnark]

Succubus

 

Another barter with rhubarbbear!

 

Huh. Looking back at the notes listed... I didn't get any of that... maybe the bergamot, but this was so short lived that I'm hard pressed to remember anything at all. I can tell you I had this wishlisted because of the clove, and add a disclaimer that most citrus hates me (as in it turns into a cleaner smell and/or disappears quickly) though orange has been more harmonious with my skin.

 

Having said all that:

 

In the bottle: sharp, green, wet. This is the most aggressive it will be for me.

 

Wet/drydown: I'm getting a very well blended (aka Can't distinguish any individual notes) "clean" scent. It's verging on soapy, but not aggressively nor repulsively so. Just a really crsip, clean smell. Pretty much the opposite of what I envisioned for a Succubus.

 

Later: this "later" is fairly soon after the initial application... maybe an hour or two? The scent is gone. Totally swallowed by my skin or dissipated into the ether. Not even a trace. I don't think I picked up on clove at any point of the experiment. Woe!

 

Huh. This warrants one more try, but I'm thinking we don't get along as a perfume pairing. This would be Most Excellent as a room fragrance. In fact this and March Hare are probably reason enough for me to finally get an oil burner to scent our wee apartment.

Edited November 21, 2005 by darkitysnark