ICDX 11

[LizziesLuck]

Fresh out of the mail! I just got this from the Lab's Etsy. There were a ton of protos on there - I have no idea why it was this one that called to me so loudly. But it did.

In the bottle: Whoa grapefruit! Shit. In theory, I quite like the smell of grapefruit! It's zesty and refreshing. But once it hits my skin, it gets real ugly, real fast.


Wet: For a brief moment, it's fresh, zingy, bright - everything you would want from a lovely (pink, I think) grapefruit scent! And then my chemistry starts to grab hold of it and turn it into something bitter and nasty. It also amps the grapefruit (now turned horridly bitter, as predicted) to high heaven, making it really difficult to pick out other notes. But I think I detect some mint. I am also getting a lot of sweetness, which is helping to counter some of that bitterness my skin pulls out of the grapefruit. This is actually much nicer than any other grapefruit blend has ever been on me - as it dries, the bitterness fades and this is....actually kind of nice??

Dry: I was crazy, re: mint. There's no mint in this. This is all citrus, all day. It's actually really good. It's sweet and creamy. Kind of like candied grapefruit rind. There's still a hint of bitterness that I don't care for, due to my chemistry (without exception, I just can't do grapefruit). But if it weren't for my chemistry, this would be awesome. It reminds me a bit of Jiggery Pokery (just in the same vein) which is a sweet, creamy orange on me. So, long story short, I get sweet creamy grapefruit! I will have to swap this (boo skin!). Kind of sad about that, for some reason I just really thought this would be a "me" blend. Oh well, you win some, you lose some!

[zankoku_zen]

Candied grapefruit. BY JOVE. This one has a huge bright citrusy pink grapefruit, and a whiff of florals on the drydown. But yes, sugared candied grapefruit. Great throw for a citrus based blends.

 

THIS IS MINE, ALL MINE, YOU CAN'T EVER TAKE IT AWAY FROM ME.

 

*goes off to buy the remaining ICDX 11 bottles*

ETA: I am detecting smidgeons of coconut underneath. This smells citrusy fresh and tropical. Perfect for the summer.

Edited June 14, 2018 by zankoku_zen

[cloudybasil]

When I first sniffed this out of the bottle, I thought this was eucalyptus, or something. After letting this sit a couple more days, this does start to smell like the grapefruit everyone is describing, but it smells more like grapefruit ... rind? Including the bitter white pith. It does start to round out a bit and lose the bitterness a little bit. Like citrus sunscreen.

[Threemoons]

Tardy to the party on this, but broke out my frottle proto of this today.  LOVE IT, but I wish the grapefruit was longer-lasting.  At the end of the day this dries down to a sort of light white floral musk on me after the initial glorious blast of grapefruit and sugar. 

[quantquill]

In the bottle, I got a whiff of cat pee (you know those bushes with prickly leaves that smell like cat pee?). However, I know better than to let *that* scare me away! Let's get some oil flowing, people. 

 

Wet: Phew! No cat pee scent at all. Instead, it's a big bracing blast of... menthol? 

Dry: Bracing citrus adds to the mix! The menthol fades toward mint.

Dry + 5: Menthol is gone. Citrus has mellowed. It's not sugared grapefruit, but maybe sugared rind? A teeny hint of mint. No florals.

 

Dry + 15 through 30: Mellow grapefruit (no sourness at all) with a hint of sweetened rind.  Quite pleasant. What a ride! 

 

I accidentally bought 2 bottles (hello, binge buying from multiple places!), so I'm going to keep one bottle to enjoy, and destash the other.

 

Seems like it would be a good option to clear the sinuses! Maybe I'll slather some on my chest next time I've got allergies. Then I'd get to enjoy the mellow dry-down with my newly cleared nose!