Grand Guignol v4

[fairnymph]

Deep reddish-brown, cola-coloured oil. Red musk, black plum, snake oil, brandy. Not all that boozy. Reminds me a lot of Mme Moriarty with extra Snake Oil, and it also reminds me of a Snake Pit blend, or Hellion, although this isn't smoky. It's more of fruity thing, over a slightly boozy Snake Oil base. Not at ALL like the released GG. Personally, I don't like either...though I like the black plum note in this.

[zankoku_zen]

Grand Guignol reminded me to peach brandy, but with patchouli. I got this whisky boozelike with a hint of fruit and patchouli.

[ifinena]

Mmmm Red Musk! And a dark fruity note, could be plum, but not like the smoky SN Plum or Dionysia plum. This is a different, less aggressive and yummy fruity plum(?). I like this proto.

[crebbsgirl]

Red musk and a dark fruit. Maybe black plum like suggested above? This does call to mind Mme Moriarty, but this is much more wearable that Mme. is for me. The red musk is fairly predominant here. This isn't so much sweet as it is dark and tart. There is a bit of a boozy vibe here too, but on me it's not overly strong.

[Invidiana]

At least on my skin, this one reminds me of Snake Charmer. A lot. There's the beautiful black plum note, definitely a dose of sexy red musk, wearable dark booze. I'm getting what must be black coconut in the background too. There's a also a certain smoky quality to this which isn't quite "smoky" in the typical sense of the word but more hazy and mysterious.

[cfrancesca]

This one starts off as boozey apricot brandy with a backdrop of red musk, it really does remind me of Snake Charmer or Mme. Moriarty, but with boozey apricot and stronger on the red musk (maybe a little Arabian musk too). As it dries, I also start to get some patchouli and woods (not sure which kind), and some dark plum emerges. It settles into a blend of red musk, fruits, patchouli, woods and booze.

[Mellifluous]

I get the snake oil bit, and a little bit of plum. This is actually smelling really similar to dried DeathRock. I'm not sure why that would be.. possibly allergies? but thats what I'm getting out of it now. When it dries, I do get more of the darker, patch/woody aspect, which is really nice, and what makes me love this bottle. Very glad I happened upon it!

[Penance]

Origin:

 

5mL bought on Etsy.

 

Preconceived notions:

 

I really like the released version of Grand Guignol but don't wear it very often because it's so intensely fruity. Everything about this prototype version sounds fantastic, though. I love red musk, patchouli and booze (except gin, absinthe, beer and wine) and I like plum. I've been lusting after this one for ages, so I was thrilled that the Lab put it up on Etsy when I requested it.

 

First sniff:

 

Love! This smells fairly similar to Lust v7 (which I absolutely love) in the bottle, but less smooth and rounded. This is intense red musk, with just a touch of patchouli.

 

Wet on skin:

 

Uh-oh...the red musk is doing the weird thing that it does in Krampus and CBBOB1 where it goes sharp rather than smooth and sexy. I'm not sure if it's a particular type of red musk that's the culprit or if it's just my skin chemistry doing weird things to red musk when it's in certain scents/combinations.

 

Grand Guignol v4 is all red musk at this point.

 

Drydown:

 

Just when I was thinking that this was going to have to be one of those "smells amazing in the bottle, but not on me" scents that I have to wear in a locket, it calms down quite a bit. It's still sharper than I'd ideally like (and not as nice smelling as in the bottle), but it's quite nice. It's still mainly red musk (it reminds me more of the musk in Scherezade than Lust v7), but I'm getting the patchouli again and a hint of something vaguely boozy and fruity (which smells more like the apricot brandy in the released version than it does plum; to my nose, anyway).

 

The bottom line:

 

I wish that Grand Guignol v4 smelled as good on me as it does in the bottle, but I still really like the scent of it on me. I do think that I'm probably going to be wearing it in a locket more often than on my skin, though, if only because the wet stage is fairly harsh.

[Gold Dust Kitten]

This Grand Guignol prototype is a heady blend of red musk, apricot tobacco and plum brandy. It's very boozy and completely different than the released version, which was straight apricot brandy on me. My nose is doing weird things with scents tonight or my skin is just sucking it up, because it's not lasting at all.

[boxinghelena]

Grand Guignol v4 is amazing!!!! I knew I would love this once I saw the mention of Hellion. I see where it's similiar but not quite the same. It's much lighter in my opinion & maybe a tad more musk. I love it!!

~

[saralaughs]

Very much a red musk blend.

 

There is this apricot brandy with a bit of plum that melds so well in this. Very yummy. The brandy is what turns me off though; I tend to amp alcohol in any form and the only note this helps is red wine, anything else ends up smelling sour and off. This blend goes powdery for a bit but smooths out on the drydown into this sweet, earthy red musk. I like it but I dunno if I like it enough to get to that point.

[furygrrl]

In the bottle: Super dark, super rich, medicinal fruit cough syrup.

 

On wet: Ooooh...delicious apricot simmered in sweet musk. Decadent and candylicious.

 

Drydown: There was a brief, worrisome moment of "omg, EVIL PLASTIC!" but that seems to have faded. Now I'm getting a sweet, lightly fruited musk with a vague brandied undertone. I also keep getting these odd hits of...violet candy? Whenever it registers, I'm reminded of Psychological Horror, even though they're nothing alike in terms of notes or "feel". Weird.

 

Overall: I like this blend! It's not as smooth as I would like - especially when compared to the gorgeous released version - but I think that age will help with that. Fruit and musk and sweet stuff grounded with a smidge of something darker are favourites in my scent stable, so I think this proto - which hits all those marks - will eventually do very well for itself. Until it has a chance to soften those rough edges, though, it rates a 3/5.

[Little Bird]

I really like bpal's apricot note, but this mostly just smells like red musk and maybe a hint of smoky tobacco on me. It has that fruity, warm, almost wine-like quality that red musk often takes on my skin. It's okay, but I have red musk + fruit type scents that I like more.

[VioletChaos]

In the bottle: I'm getting the apricot brandy thing others mentioned. The fruity/incensey vibe of this in the bottle reminds me strongly of the "head shops" my mom brought me into in the 70's. It's not a bad association

 

Wet On Skin: there's what appears to be a black musk note showing itself. Right now it's behaving, but black musk is often a deal-breaker for me, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed...

 

Dry Down: Boy oh boy, this is *heady*. I'm getting the tobacco and definitely the plum. I can see the comparisons to Mme Moriarty and to Snake Charmer (two of my winter time favorites!) but it's completely it's own thing, too- not a replacement for those others.

 

In All: A lighter throw than MM or SC, and a little heavier on the black musk, i think a bit more aging might improve this oil. I'll hold onto it for now, but if it doesn't come together by summer, it might have to go to the swap pile...

[LizziesLuck]

The released version of this is terrible on me. I wanted to love it so badly because I adore the Lab's apricot so much, but it was sickly sweet and just off on me.

 

I wanted to try this because folks were mentioning red musk, which I love, and I was hoping this might work out better on me.

 

 

Wet: Not getting any red musk. Apricot for sure. There's something else in here that's turning really nutty on me. Hmmm.

 

 

Dry: This isn't BAD on my the way the released version is. But it's not god either. It's very light, a bit fruity, and just nothing special on my skin. Too bad! It's really lovely in the bottle.