Carnal

[Venneh]

Bold, bright mandarin paired with the sweet, sensual earthiness of fig.

Orange and fig, really sweet and really interesting, both in the imp and on my skin. I likes. Edited May 29, 2010 by Venneh

[sunlitgarden]

Carnal

 

Wet, this is pretty much pure mandarin orange on me. Reminds me of orange candy or orange soda, but it is more true to the actual fruit than either of those. No fig right away. As it dries, I still don't distinctly smell the fig but it seems to lend a warmth and sweetness to the scent. I like it a lot, though I'm not sure if I'd wear it enough to get a bottle.

[Monster]

YUM! Sweet mandarin orange with a touch of spice (must be the fig). Very short and simple review...this scent is very straightforward, plesant and delicious. Unfortauntely my skin eats up citrus notes...this doesn't last terribly long. I still love it though, I'm thinking this would make a great layering scent

[meredevachon]

Frimp from the Lab.

 

Fruity scents aren't really me, so I don't have high hopes for Carnal.

 

In the imp: sweet fruit.

 

Wet: Fruit. Fruit. FRUIT.

 

Dry down: What had seemed almost like the syrupy sweet of canned fruit quickly goes plastic and artificial smelling. Fruit scented magic markers? Strawberry Shortcake dolls? Something from my childhood, and not at all carnal.

 

Yeah, this is another that I'll pass on to someone who'll appreciate it more.

[ralenth]

Bright, brassy mandarin, Carnal smells like I stuck my face in a freshly peeled orange. As it dries, there's a bit of depth to it, but it never really gets too figgy. It would make an interesting room scent, but I don't think I would get much wear out of this blend.

[Argentwolf]

I don't get a lot of orange from this; it's more of a cotton candy kind of sweetness. This is like sexy candy, like the hottest person you could imagine eating one of those semi-hard toffees that melts into sugary gooeyness over your tongue. Maybe the fig gives it that strange, cream-like fluidness...not sure.

[MiasmaResonance]

In the vial: A sickly sweet orange candy.

On: It smells exactly the same, here. Not a very deep scent at all, which I dislike. I also was never a fan of mandarin on me.

 

Oh well!

[ajansuz]

This was a frimp with my latest order. In the imp, strong mandarin with something sweet underneath, hard to put a finger on what it is.

 

Wet, the mandarin amps for all of about a hot minute then completely disappears. That sweetness manifests as fig, no real friend of mine.

 

On the dry down, the fig does what it likes to do on me best, turns artificial and waxy, like a cheap scent candle. I had to wash it off. Me no likie.

[Incendiare]

Sweet oranges in the imp, and wet, Carnal smells exactly the same on my skin. I can kind of tell that the sweetness comes from the figs, but if I didn't know the notes in this blend, I would have never guessed fig. It's nice. Smells good on my skin and in my hair. Would I purchase a bottle? No, but I'm glad that I got to try this one.

[SophieCedar]

I'm starting to realize I love fig in all it's forms. This one is sweet and very sticky. The combination is festive in that winter holiday sense. At first, the mandarin is tart for a moment, then mellows to a lovely juicy compliment to the ripe fig.

[Vega]

Sniffed: Juicy, happy mandarin orange.

 

On skin: Carnal initially goes on my skin almost like orange candy: bright, bouncy and bubbly. The fig emerges with drydown, and for a while the two notes mingle in a fascinating juxtaposition of sweetness. Fig tends to get too intensely sweet for my tastes, so I'm disappointed that it eventually dominates, and the mandarin orange is relegated to merely embellishing the fig. Nevertheless, Carnal is a great blend: simple, bold, cheerful and lusty, perfectly encapsulating its name.

 

Verdict: Even though the fig was the dealbreaker, I really enjoyed the contrast and tension between the two sweetnesses: innocent, peppy orange versus earthy, sensual, almost dirty fig. (And fig dominating the orange... there must be some innuendo in there... ) Very carnal indeed! A pity I'll have to pass on it.

[subtlesiren]

Even in the dead of winter, I am looking ahead to summer, trying to find some scents that will be delicious in warmer weather.Fig really intrigues me and paring it with sweet mandarin seemed like a safe choice (I'm finding the more notes to a scent the less likely I will like them). Smelling Carnal in the vial, it is first pure citrus, but not a fresh, orange scent, the mandarin is deeper, sweeter. On my wrist, the earthiness of the fig begins to come forward, preventing Carnal from staying in tweenland. Putting these two scents together didn't seem like an obvious choice, but here it really works

[blu°]

Carnal is one of my first BPAL loves and all time favourite scents. It's so simple, yet so delicious. I love how it is fruity and sweet yet warm and rounded at the same time. No tartness here, just sunny, warm mandarin and fig. My only complaint is that Carnal never lasts long on my skin. I love to use it mixed into lotion or body oil.

Edited January 19, 2011 by blu°

[Aevie]

This one is a very beautiful type of orange! I loved it in the bottle. Unfortunately, when I put it on, it became way too sweet for my tastes and didn't last long at all.

[JasminDreams2010]

Carnal is pretty. Other than Faiza the Black Mamba, I don't usually care for foody scents (I like loud florals), so I didn't expect to like this one particularly.

It is well done for what it is, it smells natural and earthy and not too potently sweet. A must have for any orange lover.

However, after about fifteen minutes it totally disappears on me. I swapped.

[agirlnamedfury]

This is such a simple, delicious, casual scent! I love fruity & citrus smells, so I was all set to like it, but this surpassed my expectations. It's not a very sharp citrus - more light and fruity than anything. And nowhere near cleaning supply scent like citruses can sometimes be! I suppose the fig helps to temper it a little, and make it a bit more sophisticated. I really like this one, but like other reviewers have noted it tends to fade quickly. I guess I will just have to get a 5ml and slather myself in it.

[venusinfurs]

This is an interesting scent. It's very different from your average fruity scent or floral. I got it as a frimp and was happy with the bonus!

 

In bottle: Boozy orange. Smells like Gran Marnier.

 

Wet on skin: Orange candy and spiced fig. Yum!

 

Dry on skin: The orange has faded away and the spiced fig remains. I love the smell of fig, so I'm happy with it. I'm not really sure if I would wear this frequently as a perfume, but it would make an excellent room scent, especially during the fall or the holidays!

 

 

Edit: This scent made me hungry! Literally stomach growling, ravenously hungry. I'd definitely use this as a room scent during a dinner party

Edited February 28, 2011 by venusinfurs

[irishprincess]

I stumbled on the description of this looking for something else and knew I had to try it when I saw it had fig (I love fig). Out of the eleven imps I received today, this one is my favorite. A yummy citrus with just the right amount of sweetness. Candied fruit, yes, but it isn't over the top at all. It's light and sunny, the fig is in the background, it's very well balanced. My ideal smell of summer, I must get my hands on a bottle of this ASAP!

[invisible iris]

I got Carnal as a frimp in my first order.

 

in the vial: Juicy & sweet mandarin orange. Nice!

 

wet on skin: Juicy spicy orange that... begins to smell like a cheap xmas candle.

 

dry: At the very least it doesn't smell offensive on me. It mellowed a lot in the drydown, and now it's mostly light, sweet, fruity, slightly spiced, holiday fig. But honestly the wax is still there, and I can't stop thinking that I smell like a department store candle. This would probably be nice on the right person. But that person sadly is not me.

[Chelse]

I received a free imp with my last purchas, so I knew nothing of the notes at first sniff. It was sweet but not foodie, full but not overpowering, and bright. I wore it for the rest of the day...I thought it smelled a lot like an expensive candle. Once I had a chance to read the notes, I cow

D definitely pick out the citrus in this oil. Overall, I like it....but I loved it mixed with pele!

[KittyHawk]

My initial reaction to Carnal was "lemon cookies."

 

After it settled on my skin for awhile, the warmth of the fig came to the forefront. Even with the fig, this still strikes me as a summery scent. This is very unusual, but also really pretty.

[Suu4LC]

This has been on my wishlist forever. It just seems like such a simple, but unique combination. I cannot wait to try it out!

 

In the imp this is light, sweet mandarin. Almost powdery before it even hit my skin, which worries me a bit because I powderize blends very fast. But, I am always looking for citrus blends that last, since my skin eats citrus super fast, so who knows, maybe this is the one. It is lovely and sweet in the imp.

 

Oh, this is very pretty on my skin. Sweet mandarin gorgeousness. Delicate and beautiful. I don't specifically notice the fig, but there is something grounding this blend, which I can assume is the fig. However, it's not that meaty fig I've noticed in other blends. I am curious to see how this sits on my skin and how and if it will be morph. Wet on my skin, it is sooo beautiful.

 

Hmm...as this dries, it almost smells like soap. Not soapy, but like a nice bar of soap. Clean and a touch citrussy, but not sharp/fizzy citrus. Subdued and creamy but sort of bland. This is the scent I was left with-a soft mandarin soap scent. Pleasant, but not something I would need a bottle of.

[PumpkinGuts]

Carnal is orange sherbet sandwiched between two spice cookies. It's one of my top GC blends and I always become hungry when I wear it. This one seems most appropriate for winter and fall.

 

Throw: Medium-strong [3.5/5]

Longevity: Average [3/5]

Rating: D for Delicious [5/5]

 

EDIT 3/2020: Unfortunately does not age well. There's a soapy undertone now, but it had a good life!

Edited March 11, 2020 by PumpkinGuts

[orata]

This ended up smelling just like bubblegum on me. Grape bubblegum, maybe? Not like real fruit, in any case.

[Evilynn]

Sunny mandarin over a layer of spicy fig. This dries down to smell more figgy and spicy on me, and I might be going nuts (or my nose is broken), but it smells sort of carnation-y, or at least it smells like what part of the drydown of Morocco and Inez smells like on me. I got frimped Carnal by the Lab, and while I'm hanging on to my imp I'm not sure I'll get around to getting a bottle, even if I do love the scent of mandarin.