Novel Ideas for Secret Amusements

[MourningVeil]

Polished tortoiseshell, ivory, and mahogany gleaming with amber cream.

The notes in this one sold me instantly, it sounded expensive and definitely poked at my curiosity with notes like Tortoiseshell and Ivory.

Fresh from the mail today, it does not disappoint! Its stunning and beautiful and definitely has that expensive polished mahogany ballroom vibe. It's more "feminine" than I had anticipated which was a pleasant surprise. There's a lovely creamy sweetness bursting from it that I would attribute to both a beautiful Amber Cream note and what I'm guessing to be the Ivory. The Ivory immediately reminds me of Signiour Dildo, this may be Narcissus? It has a sweet light floral quality that sings over a rich polished wood base. It's so goooood.

Signiour Dildo's older richer finer aristocratic cousin at a Ball. Heaven.

[Jenjin]

White and pearly, I'm not sure how to describe it but it does smell like white and smooth just after application. The mahogany is gentle and gleaming in the background, giving it a warmth and deepness. I'm also getting a very slight floral note that floats to the top and gives the whole thing a beautiful airy sweetness like velvety blossoms fluttering along wooded shutters, pure and transient. Soft and sensual, it makes me feel like i'm wearing expensive silk lingerie and fluttering in feathers. Simply gorgeous and very different.

Edited March 25, 2018 by Jenjin

[Vaporeon]

I think this scent is really good, its smooth and soft and complex, a little woody, a little sweet. But unfortunately I only smell those things when I smell it very closely. Otherwise I can't shake the impression of cantaloupe!- not a fruit I enjoy. Lol hopefully this passes.

[Casablanca]

Oh, this is so lovely.

 

Polished, white, pearly, creamy, soft, sophisticated, elegant, educated.

 

Besides the amber cream, and a tasteful mahogany, there's a blend in it that reminds me some of orris butter, some of a soft white vanilla, and some of blonde woods. I take it these are the tortoiseshell and ivory. Whatever they are, I'm in love.

Edited March 3, 2018 by Casablanca

[galahad]

In the Bottle:

Hard to describe. Definitely some mahogany and that delicious amber cream with an almost floral muskiness

On the Skin:

Creamy and rich, smooth musk, The mahogany emerges quickly to dry the blend a little but adds that rich red woodiness which is softer than the BPAL redwood note but similar.

One the Drydown:

Uber sophisticated and elegant - silk and cashmere rather than cotton and wool. There is a slightly gourmand feel to this but not super foody. This smells so much better when you get wafts than when you sniff directly. I get occasional wafts which are absolutely divine. Good throw and wear length

[zankoku_zen]

White pearly cream, woodsy background. This smells both perfumey and expensive, and yet very subtle and grounded. This one is a sophisticated blend that defies your expectations. Medium throw and wear length.

[LizziesLuck]

I am so intrigued by these notes!

 

Wet: No clue what I am smelling! Smells sort of "white and creamy and cold" so I think it must be ivory? It's sort of soapy and powdery as well. Not gonna lie - it's pretty weird. I have never smelled anything quite like this, but if I had to pick something it reminded me of, it would be a chalky old fashioned cold cream.

 

 

Dry: I don't like this, and I'm quite sad about it. It's really hard to describe, but it smells white and both powdery and creamy. Slightly soapy. Just not doing it for me.

[pigeonheart]

I'm glad someone else mentioned cantaloupe, because the dominant top notes I am getting smell like melon! It is similar to cucumber/melon fragrances I've smelled before, but it's much nicer. It's hard for me to find the words because I don't think I could identify tortoiseshell, ivory, or mahogany prior to smelling this.

 

All in all it's a cool and soothing blend of scents. I expected something like teak but the mahogany is subdued, clean, and resinous. Polite and polished. The amber cream gives it a soft depth that it otherwise would be lacking, but it doesn't amp like other amber scents do on me--it's just enough for you to know it's there if you study it closely. I wish this scent lasted longer on me but it fades after a few hours. It's very elegant and lovely. Maybe not enough to get a bottle, but jury is still out...

[surlygurl]

The first couple times I tried this it was a creamy soft vanilla wood with a vague bit of fruit. This last time I tried this it was polished woody vanilla, but the "vague fruit" was now a very soft violet scent. It lasted and lasted, although the throw was subtle. *Very* pretty. I wonder what it'll be next time I try it....

[theseagrows]

this scent definitely smells polished. it's like soft polished woods, with something almost mildly green and/or fruity that i cannot place. perhaps it's the "ivory"? it smells clean, kind of like freshly shampooed hair. the amber is in the background. this isn't what i expected. i somehow thought it'd be much more like a creamy wood scent. it's fresher than i thought.

[Aviatrix]

I had such high hopes for this, but I am not getting any of the elegance others experience. In the bottle this smells surprisingly fresh, but also refined. Unfortunately, my skin turns it weirdly chemical. Not sure why, or which note it could be, but it definitely isn't working for me.

[roseus]

Hmmm I think the ivory is orris, as I had feared. Starts off with a dusty, ultra-sweet violet like note. Dry it dials down a bit and I get some of that wonderful amber cream but the orris is a bit much for me.

[mishi-bear]

I got a decant of this one on a whim, really not knowing what to expect. I was curious based on just the idea of what tortoiseshell and ivory could possibly be made to smell like. I'm so, so glad I decided to try this one. It's definitely not what I expected, but it's very elegant, classy, expensive smelling, and stunning.

 

This has a sort of perfumey overtone to the whole blend, adding to that 'expensive' feel. The 'tortoiseshell' is a very orange smell. At first I thought it was a citrus, but as the perfume dried and continued to develop, it became a very lovely melon smell. Sometimes melon notes can be oddly funky on my skin, a sort of bizarre sweetness, but this one is bright, sweet, fruity, and delicious. Next is the 'ivory' which seems to be some sort of white floral. It's not at all bathy or soapy smelling, so definitely not a jasmine. My best guess is narcissus, definitely white and clean smelling with a sort of bittersweet note but not at all bathy. The mahogany is very in the background, and not at all pencil shavings or wood chips. It smells glossy, polished, and expensive. Deep dark brown and shiny. The amber cream is a mix of a sweet amber with a touch of a creamy vanilla note, very pretty. Medium throw and wear length.

[Lucchesa]

I tried this Novel Ideas out of curiosity (and because roseus was offering a screaming deal on it - thanks, roseus!). I wasn't sure quite what to expect. It isn't something I would turn to every day, but it has an understated elegance to it. I don't have the kind of job that involves meetings in boardrooms, but I think it would play very well in such a setting, with a beautifully cut suit. There's a faint sweetness to the amber cream, a hint of polished woods but nothing forest-like whatsoever, and I might have guessed a fruit or a flower. No throw on me (which is normal) and average wear life.

[milo]

I'm not sure why, but I thought that this was going to be a heavy scent. I'm getting a bit of resins, but mostly a fresh green smell. It smells like something Yardley would put out, but so much nicer. I really like this, and will use my imp when the mood calls for something green and fresh to wear. Its' nothing quite like anything I've smelled before from bpal.

[supreme_c0rt]

I wouldn't have guessed it immediately, but the suggestions of cucumber-melon identified why this smelled so familiar. Wet, it is a bright and fresh, sophisticated, high-end cucumber-melon with a very subtle amber and wood base. The mahogany is so subtle that if you were looking for a wood-forward note you might be disappointed. Not much throw after it dries and fades very fast. Once it does, the complexity flattens out and I'm left with a simple creamy cucumber-melon not unlike many commercial blends. I prefer the wet stage, but it's transient. Very pretty, but I don't think I'll need more than the imp. 

[doomsday_disco]

At first, I was sitting there thinking that this reminded me of something, and I thought it might be the mimosa and cream from Comparison of Celebrated Beauties, but I went to sniff my bottle, and that wasn't it. I think this is actually reminding me of is Lush's Daddy-O shampoo. It's like this strong candied violet plus cream. I tend to amp violet and its relatives, so either it or one of them is in here. I also get the cucumber-melon vibe that other reviews have mentioned.

This was... unexpected, given the list of notes. I did not get the amber part of the cream or the mahogany on my skin. I'm glad I got to try it, but I will have to pass it on to someone else who might love it, as the secret violet or orris note is super strong on me.

Edited July 13, 2019 by doomsday_disco