Joyful Dalliances in the Underworld

[VioletChaos]

Black leather aflame with a cherry-infused cognac that has been spiced with brown sugar, vetiver, black pepper, and dried apricot.

Full disclosure: normally I don't 'do' leather scents- they tend to amp like crazy on me and last far too long. but the other notes in this were SO compelling that I took a chance. Let's see hoe my gamble pays off...

In The Bottle: The cherry-infused cognac hits my nose first, followed by a little of the smoky aspect of vetiver. But that's it.

Wet On Skin: AH! *There's* the leather! But amazingly, at this stage, anyway, it's playing nice and just adding a dense, dark round note to ground the other, sweeter, lighter notes.

Dry Down: Okay...the *vetiver* is actually the dominant here. But not by much- the cherry, the brown sugar and the apricot are all mixing together to form something that's sweet and smoky and *quite* sexy on the right person.

In All: For those that normally fear leather, this just might be the one for you. And for those looking for a good smoky-sweet scent for date night- regardless of gender- you just might want some too.

[erinallana]

I am a huge fan of the Lab's "black leather" note; in fact I am still nursing the dregs of a very aged bottle of De Sade. Sadly, none of the other scents in the GC with the same note really match that sharp and sexy love that I get from De Sade, so I was sad when it went to the Great Lab In The Sky. I've been on a constant lookout for black leather based LEs, so I picked up this one right away.

 

That said, this scent does not start out where I expected at all. Given the description I was thinking it would be leather-forward, but on first application it's all boozy cherry with a strong, spicy-smoky caramelized sugar note that reminds me a bit of the Nefarious Plan bath oil the Goblins at the Trading Post put out a couple of seasons ago.

 

But then, as it dries down...what's that? Whiffs of De Sade? Could it be? Sniffed on the skin this smells like cherry and vetiver, but that subtle throw is all sexy, sexy leather. Perfect replacement for my leather fix.

 

Of course, my skin tends to eat leather for some reason, so this needs a re-application after a few hours - but it only takes a few sniffs of that dry down phase to make my day.

Edited February 13, 2016 by erinallana

[halation]

In bottle: hardly any leather. Cherry, and cognac, and a vetiver that reminds me of the sadly departed Devil's Claw, and a light spiced almost-peanut-butter note that reminds me of Tezcatlipoca (maybe that's how my nose is reading the leather?) Something about this feels quite syrupy -- the apricot? It's sweeter than I was expecting / hoping, so I'm a bit nervous.

On, wet: Starting, a bit, to open up. The apricot is very sweet on me -- it's very definitely dried apricot, not fresh, so it's sweet instead of tart. It's going a bit scented-candle-store on me and I'm not sure how I feel about that. The leather *is* there, somewhere, but it's overwhelmed by the sweetness of the brown sugar and fruit. I feel like a pumpkin spice latte. Still no booze at all.

As it dries: Oh, good, the vetiver is coming back in, and a little leather along with it. This is still quite sweet, maybe too sweet for me, but it could be a nice, cosy, winter scent. It's not sexy so much as snuggly, surprisingly. If I had to put it in a sentence: a warm hug from a kind person in a sexy leather jacket -- but very much a hug from a friend, not a lover.

Drydown: Settling into a light cognac / spice. The apricot is quieting down and smoothing out to be a warm golden undertone. A little leather, but soft and well-worn, not new-boots or sharp black leather. Not the sexy date night scent I was expecting, but it's cuddly and comforting. I expect it to get better with age.

[Larinessa]

Wet, vetiver. Strong and sharp. I was put off by it, but was willing to wait for the dry down, and I'm glad I did. Dry, it's a sweet cognac tempered by cherry and chewy apricot, backed with a subtle leather note. I'll be buying a bottle of this, SS I think it will layer well as well as stand alone.

[Elspethdixon]

In the imp: Rich and smokey, and I think I can smell a bit of the black pepper.

 

On my skin: The moment this hits my skin, even before it's dried, it becomes a dead ringer for woodsmoke. A thick haze of woodsmoke with hints of something almost BBQ-like (maybe that's the brown sugar and cognac reminding me of the whiskey and honey that often go into barbecue sauce?).

 

Sadly, it doesn't last long on me - after about half-an-hour to an hour the smokey campfire/BBQ pit smell has changed to a faint, sweet/smokey scent that has already begun to fade away. About a centimeter away from my skin I can smell a ghost of fruity-sweet smoke, and if I touch my nose directly to the skin I get a delicious smoked brown sugar.

 

If the smoked brown-sugar-and-fruit phase this dies down to on me was stronger and lasted longer, this would be a must-have, but as it is, I mostly get a half-hour of woodsmoke followed by almost nothing. (I bet if I put this on my clothes/in my hair I would smell just like I'd spent the evening sitting around a campfire grilling delicious things and gotten the smoke smell all over me - I may have to try that with the remains of my decant).

 

Edit: Forgot to mention that I got very little leather out of this scent, despite leather often amping and taking over on my skin. It was all slightly-foody smoke, all the time.

Edited March 15, 2016 by Elspethdixon

[DiesMali]

In the bottle: Oof, not pleasant. Burnt and foul-smelling.

 

Wet on my skin: Something about this combination of ingredients starts out smelling almost nut-like on my skin. Not pleasant at this stage, but not as foul as in the bottle.

 

Dry: This smooths out a bit after about ten minutes, and it's now fruity black leather with just a hint of brown sugar. I'm not getting any cognac, pepper, or vetiver yet. I do believe I'm going to let this bottle sit for a week or two and then re-test it, because I had high hopes for this and I want it to work. Right now it's a bit discordant and smells a lot like dried prunes. I like prunes, but I'm not sure I want to smell like them.

[LiberAmoris]

Joyful Dalliances in the Underworld is kind of an amazing progression. Wet, the vetiver, leather, and pepper are really strong. They're honestly too much for me at that stage. But once those start falling back as the fragrance dries, the cherry cognac, brown sugar, and apricot come forward. This stage smells like sweet, brandied cherries and apricots! The foil between dalliance and underworld is pretty great. This is going to be great on my husband like Yule Buddies is...this is going into his BPAL box.

[LizziesLuck]

Wet: The dried apricot is at the forefront on me, and it's so good, sweet and sticky. The smokiness of the vetiver goes so well with it. The cherry cognac adds more depth to the overall sweetness. I quite like this. It's a very down-and-dirty apricot, more in the vein of Depraved than Pandy or Aristocratic Couple.

 

 

Dry: This doesn't morph a whole lot on me. It's a dark, boozey, chewy, fruity scent, and I am really liking it. Not a lot of throw on me though, and it's gotten quite faint. I think I will need to do a full day test, but I am so glad I tried it, even though I was scared of the leather, which is super iffy on me. I never detected the leather in this, or the vetiver, or the pepper even. It's all sweet boozey fruit, almost jam-like, and if it stands up to a full-day test, I may need a bottle.

[zankoku_zen]

Cherry cognac, apricot, and black leather. This is a very fruity/boozy black leather. Great throw and wear length.

 

I seriously can't handle BPAL's black leather note.

[methodmaven]

Very disappointed. Ordered a whole bottle of this based on reviews and notes because I couldn't secure a decant in time. Sadly, this has no presence at all, much less throw. Even minutes after slathering liberally, I have to hold my wrist up to my nose to even pick up on a faint whisper (a memory, even) of some sort of leather, booze, and apricot. I am sure the fragrance per se is lovely, but this bottle seemed to be almost all carrier oil and not much else

 

The whispers I picked up were enticing enough that I might snag a decant from someone else, in the off chance I just received a bad bottle.

[Roogna]

on me this is soft - not a strong throw

 

I get cherry, then a sugary/apricot leather? maybe some pepper/vetiver? but mainly it's a soft cherry and leather that's really the best of both -- neither being too strong and the cherry not being too syrupy

 

unfortunately this creates a BURNING sensation on my skin :@&*$!:

[Lucchesa]

Joyful Dalliances in the Underworld is underwhelming on me.  It starts out cherry cognac with that fiery note, whatever it is, inherent in the word "aflame."  (You know that note, it's in things described as hearth flame and whatnot.)  Then I get apricot and low-key vetiver, like Depraved with vetiver replacing the patchouli, and the leather is faintly apparent.  It never gets any stronger on me.  I was hoping for A. leather, B. cherry cognac, C. smoky vetiver.  I get mainly fruit, and my skin eats it quickly.  

[starbrow]

A lot of spiced dried fruit, like this seriously smells like something that would fill up someone's Christmas stocking in 18th century Poland or something. It's very hearty, with a big kick of growly vetiver, but that combo here is not really working for me somehow. I wouldn't have guessed leather, but it is a big beefy vibe of something hard and toothy. I get some booziness - this is a rummy cognac, to me - and the prunyness (totally a word) of dried apricots and cherries, thickly spiced with black pepper and some brown-sugared sweetness. Don't let that last bit fool you; Joyful Dalliances has a bite, and she is here to sink her teeth in. The vetiver never really emerges all silvery like I like it; it's always tied up in that dark, fibrous web of fruits and ferocious spices.

 

Ultimately, I think this is for someone who wants a bit more kick in their fruity blends than I like. This is one big boot-stomping scent, and it reads more like a gothy Yule to me than a Luper. That's super cool to me in theory, but I guess in my actual wearing habits, I like my scents kind of segregated by occasion! Bottle finding a new home, but glad I know what Joyful Dalliances in the Underworld smells like. World domination and regularity.

 

I would wear this scent while: casually flaying my enemies before Christmas dinner.

Edited July 3, 2022 by starbrow