Carnal

[holborne]

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

Smells pretty much like orange Charms, with a dash of fig. Very nice, although not exactly the first thing I'd think of when I think of the word "carnal."

[Gateau]

Carnal surprised me with it's deliciousness. So simple--mandarin and fig, but so yummy on my skin. It starts out like orange candy, and mellows out into a softly spicy, fruity, but not sugary warm mandarin orange. my only gripe is that it doesn't last long on my skin. It makes a nice complement to fig-white sandalwood hair gloss.

[KatharinaNordh]

Oh this is delicious!

 

It doesn't - to me - rhyme with its name, but it is a juicy deliciousness with some youth and warmth to it.

 

Very the-color-orange-smelling, but somehow...don't get me wrong, it smells a bit too much like candy for me to consider it a perfume.

 

I do believe fig is going to be among my love-notes though (I already knew I love the smell of mandarin, only not one ME)

 

Yep, delicious, and I wish I could see myself wearing it, cause I LOVE the smell, but it's just not very me :/

 

Eta: Actually, screw that - it sits and wafts beautifully on my arm and...of course I can find both reasons and times to wear it.

Summer-parties, for example I have a BBQ/babyshower coming up - I'll take it for a spin then and see how it wears.

Edited April 21, 2012 by Asinya

[Phocion]

It smells like a grown-up Kumiho to me. Love it! Mmmm.

[hexnut]

In Vitro Sweet and tangy - citrus?

Wet Oh yes, that's my Carnal; no need to see the imp label. Wonderful not-too-sweet orange.

Drying The orange dried less tangy and more candy-like, but not cloying. I couldn't identify the fig, but doubtless it was toiling in the background, keeping the mandarin on track. The scent faded quickly but did not morph. Later the same day I put some in my hair and the scent lasted for many hours.

This is a cheerful scent! It's so simple but so well done. I just wish it lasted longer on my skin.

[Saffrin]

Not a fresh imp.

Imp: Warm, golden, syupy sweetness. Not particularly tangy, but very snuggly.

 

 

Wet: Spiciness of the fig comes out briefly, over top of the sweetness, but then it falls back into an almost candy-like scent.

The throw on this seems to be quite small. I had to apply double my usual test amount, and even then, it seems really soft.

 

 

Dry Grownupish orange candy. Just not complex enough for me, and it leaves me wishing that it had sandalwood and honey notes.

[yakiguri]

Straight up orange and fig. Glad to sniff a citrus blend that doesn't immediately turn to floor cleaner on my skin, but the fig is giving this weird quirk to the blend that I can only describe as something artificial. It's as if instead of an actual orange, you're given a plastic orange-colored sphere that's supposed to smell like orange, but you know it's fake. Definitely doesn't evoke anything carnal...

[batsy]

In the vial: Bright mandarin, but it has a plastic tinge to it. And a hint of spiciness.

 

On the skin: Full on mandarin. Which is good, because normally I cannot wear things with any hint of fig in them. Even on the dry down, where it fades into my skin, it's still mandarin. Not much throw, if any, to this, unfortunately. It's a fun little scent, just not sure it really invokes its name.

 

Verdict: Keep. Try at a later date to make sure there are no fig issues.

[vanillabean]

In the vial: Sweet and bright without being astringent. There is definitely fruit in here and something a little more grounded. (At the time of putting it on I couldn't remember the notes)

 

On skin: Mmmmmm this is sweet and sophisticated in all the right measure. I could see this being a great everyda.... HEY WHERE DO YOU THINK YOU ARE GOING, PERFUME?! GET BACK HERE AND LOVE ME!

 

I love this, but it vanished darn near instantly. If I stick my nose riiiiight up to my wrist and inhale like mad, I can get a whiff of orange, but nothing else.

WHY DO ALL THE THINGS I LOVE BETRAY ME?! NB: The short staying power could be because I tend to heat-amp my oils with my blow-drier. But I didn't blow-dry my hair today. So I will keep this and try it again.

[bellumed]

Yum, Carnal is delicious smelling. Like fruit gummies. Only they’re actually the grown up, mature, sophisticated version of gummies with just a touch of that "earthy fig." I think this smells like a sunset. August-sliding-into-September, end of summer, just starting to get a touch cool. This is the perfume I would want to wear while watching fireworks at a carnival.

[ObliqueRed]

This starts out on me with a delicious rich fruityness. After an hour or so it starts to get mellower and spicier; after several hours it's a lovely, slightly sweet spice. This one is very autumnal to me, warm and foody but not TOO foody. I wear it a lot when the weather turns crisp and the leaves start to turn. One of my favorites.

[damonkitty]

This is an uplifting scent. I feel happy wearing it . First I have to say anything with orange/madarin/citrus notes in it is usually a win for me. This blend takes mandarin to another level. Since most citrus notes vanish on my skin in two seconds I really like how the fig gives some staying power and depth to the scent. It starts off as a candy orange, but stays strong with a warmth from the figs. I am writing this one down for a future bottle purchase.

[Astarial]

When wet, orange blossom honey! Not sure where the honey comes from - might be the sweetness of the fig, and my imp is a bit aged which could enhance that. The honey scent goes away as the oil dries, and a bit more of the fig is present, balancing the orange. On me, this scent is very light - not much throw, or staying power. A pity, because it's quite lovely... but on the other hand, with a name like Carnal, a close-proximity nuzzling scent is basically what you're going for, right?

[icecreamcone]

It smells like mandarin oranges and sugar in the bottle and I like it!

My skin changes it though so it didn't work for me!

 

Edited December 26, 2022 by icecreamcone

[Deliciousness]

This is a simple scent of mandarin and fig. It's quite sweet at first application and I find fig just keeps getting stronger the longer I have this on. Once it calms down, after an hour or so, the scent becomes light - almost floral.

It's an okay scent, but it's just not grabbing me. I think it's the fig that is a downer in this as it can become cloying on my skin from the get go. Glad I got to try it, sad it didn't work out. I'll probably give it another go before it becomes a frimp.

[mymymai]

ITI: The fig is rather prevalent here. I get a little mandarin, but I'm surprised at how dominant the fig really is.

 

Wet: Yum! It's like candied mandarin and sweet, earthy black fig. Wow, this is a great combination - sweet, but grounded.

 

Dry: The scent vanishes on my skin pretty quickly, but when still there is a balanced blend of earthy, light citrus, and sweet.

[batsy]

In the vial: Orange. Which is a poor way to describe it but that's what I get: orange.

 

On the skin: It's quite a sweet, over ripe candy orange on my skin. I don't get any fig, which is a blessing in disguise, even after full dry down. I'm not sure I'd wear this often, and the throw is very little on me, but I might layer it with something.

[doomsday_disco]

In the imp: Exactly what it says on the tin. Mandarin and fig!

Wet: Mandarin dominant. The fig is present, but it has taken a background role. However, the fig note is becoming more prominent the longer this sits on my skin.

Dry: The mandarin still reigns, but the fig note is stronger than it was during the wet phase, lending a bit of earthiness to this sweet, fruity scent.

Verdict: This is nice. I don't feel the need to grab a bottle of this one, but I think it would be great to wear during warmer months.

[skyelyric]

The scent and the name definitely do not jive in this case. In the imp, this is sweet, orange-leaning citrus. On my skin, the orange fades very quickly, leaving me with fruit-tinged bubblegum. I actually love this because I can't wear candy/sugar scents, so now I have something to reach for when I feel like that kind of playful scent. There's a bit of similarity with Tweedledum to my nose, so I guess fig equates to bubblegum for me. My only complaint is that it lasts about an hour tops.

[greeneyedgirl]

Fig has always reminded me of sweetened iced tea. Makes a very sexy skin scent, definitely a winner for me!

[Veronica]

This smells like those powdery, sweet sugar candies. Not overly sugar-y, but powder, sweetness, and orange.

[LizziesLuck]

I recall loving this back in 2006/2007. I had an imp of it from that time. I remember thinking back then that the fig was similar to the fig note in my beloved Freak Show.

 

When I retried it again this year, it was all sweet powder orange. Made no sense, I find fig amps with age.

 

Anyway, I've now tried several newer imps (one fresh from the Lab) and they all smell the same on me, powdery orange. Fake powdery orange. Apparently my skin chemistry has changed. Sad.

[Casablanca]

Bottle: Mandarin with something earthy, but I don’t smell much fig in the bottle.

Wet: Woah. This is a bright orange and reddish-brown scent of mandarin and sugary fig (like the fig jam from a Fig Newton).

Dry: Mandarin with a little bitter peel. The fig seems sticky sweet on me, and later a little clove-spiced and powdery.

I've worn this three times and have liked it twice. Once, it had an overbearing figgy sweetness. But overall this is good and it's a full-bottle contender.

[Kay Torres]

Spilled this on my hand in the haste to sniff my imps. I had no intentions of trying any scents on skin today. I haven't slept (Thanks ever so much, Insomnia). That tends to make me hypersensitive to everything.

 

May I just say that this is a bright, JUICY orange. I can't really pick out the fig as fig... there's just a nebulous something in the background trying to sedate that orange. It seems a smidge somber in the face of the orange's overwhelming effervescence and optimism.

 

This is very strong (take that with a grain of salt - as I said, I'm hypersensitive right now). I spilled the drop on my hand roughly an hour ago and it still hasn't toned down yet. Nope, not just my perception. I'm at work and a coworker that sits a bit over 10 feet away asked who is eating orange candy. In spite of it's strength, I quite like it. Very realistic and no iffy florals screwing up my citrus fix. It makes me feel peppy and happy, which is no small thing after having been awake for 35 hours straight.

 

2 hours in - the realism of the orange has vanished. It's gone plastic now. Sad. I was digging it. I'll try it again on a different day and update. It could just be that I'm all out of whack today.

 

*edited to update* Nope, it wasn't that I was out of whack that day. The mandarin really DOES turn to plastic on my skin all the time.

Edited August 1, 2016 by SunsetKay

[joopjoop]

Something about the combination of the orange and fig smells very Christmas-y to me. I can't quite put my finger on it - like mulled punch at a holiday party. I find it very comforting, but it as a perfume, it is not really something I would reach for.

 

But I think I will keep the imp around as a holiday mood scent - maybe something for the oil burner.