Carnal

[Shollin]

Carnal, from Love Potions:

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

 

First sniff: Very bright orange with a shadow of something more reserved backing it up.

 

Wearing: At first touch the orange is much lighter than I expected – it doesn’t leap out and bite you on the nose, it’s just floating generally around you. It’s a paler, more reserved orange than the aggressiveness of Ravenous... rather ironic from something named Carnal. But I like the warmth of this one a lot. I can definitely smell the fig, though if I didn’t know that’s what it was I would never have been able to define it. It’s making me hungry, and confirming that orange scents really do work well on me, though I’d never have thunk it. I should find more.

[autumn24]

I thought it smelled like dark red rose and deep purple juicy concord grape when I put it on, but reading the notes later, it is mandarin and fig. The fig possesses a raisin-y plump juiciness to it, and when combined with the mandarin, Carnal is really quite mouth-watering.

[jj_j]

My father refers to Harlequin novels as "Harlot novels," and in the immortal words of one particularly bad one he and I laughed about when I was a teenager, "Take me, now!"

 

Carnal is sexy in a bright and twinkling way, with mandarin and fig creating quite a complimentary pair. Fruity, but not, which is quite an accomplishment for two fruit scents. Like all romance novels, these two are very much a happily ever after.

[twistygirl]

This is very soft and pretty but not one of my favorites thus far. I kept smelling something that was just a little odd and lo and behold it is the fig. I want to love fig on me because I really like Lush's Figs and Leaves soap, but I've tried a few figgy scents and none of them work on me in the long run. Of all the figgys I've tried, though, this one is by far the nicest. If you like fig, you will love this scent.

[chai_girl]

I wore this one this morning and swapped it with another girl in the office in return for the Haunted she gave me last week.

 

It is a very lovely scent. I didn't read the description until just now. I kept smelling plums with a hint of raspberry...go figure. The scent stayed true through the dry down. It didn't last long on me though. I reapplied just before I gave it away to get me through the day.

 

It is a delicious scent and I think it would make a great room scent for me...especially in the summer. Ripe juicy fruit wafting through the house, but my imp wouldn't be enough to do that. I might have to get a 5 or 10ml for that.

 

I just don't like to wear fruity scents...but the girl that sits one desk over from me loves fruity and foody scents. That is why I got the Haunted and she got the Carnal...We make a great BPAL pair ~grin~

[roisnoir]

My initial impression was "oriental orange" - very earthy and sensual scent.

 

I'm not one for food scents, but this is something that I wouldn't mind smelling like in the least.

 

I'm not sure if I'm going to want a large bottle or not, though I will be using up my imp.

 

 

---

It's been a very long time since I wrote that.

I've since used up the imp, started in on a second, and have ordered a 5ml.

 

Carnal is one of my favorites right now - it's perfect when it's too hot to wear Persephone, and will be extra yummy when it gets cooler. I'm finding that I really quite like the smell of figs, and while yes, I'm still iffy on foody scents, I don't mind smelling figgy in the least.

 

This one gets me complements from women.

Edited October 11, 2004 by roisnoir

[malanna]

It smelled the same on me as in the imp. It was an evil orange (er, mandarin). The fig makes it so, I suspect. The whole time I was wearing it, everytime I sniffed it (to check to see if my initial impression was correct), I didn't actually feel it, but the image in my head was of an evil orange attacking me. Not because it was a strong scent, but when I leaned in, it was strong. Like the orange was dominating the scent (even if there weren't that many notes in it).

[skg]

Initial smell out of the imp was a sweet "frooty"orange cherry with some mulling spices and fig.

I thought i was really going to like this but the sweetness of the fig got a bit much for me.

I kinda wish the orange had more of a bitter bite to tone done the sweetness.

By the end of the day I smelled like a little kids sugared cereal.

Ugh!

This one is derfinately getting traded.

[chin]

I love this one. When I first tried it I was in the throes of hayfever, and my initial impression was that it was nice but had no depth. I tried it again last week, and have been wearing it ever since. The fig seems to round out the bottom, it's sweet and warm. The mandarin is sunny and bright.

 

I wore this with O yesterday, it was delicious! I ordered a big bottle, I think I will end up wearing this alone on sunny days, and layering it in the colder months.

[Ms. MSGirl]

This is lovely, light orange with a sweetness to it. I have to sniff really hard to smell it on my skin, even though I just spilled my entire imp's ear on me -- I have to get another one or a big bottle, though, cause this is so beautiful that I just want to keep putting it on again and again despite its lightness! It develops beautifully on my skin, though, getting more orangey and more complex and more intense as it dries. Reminds me of the French countryside...

[Ina Garten Davita]

First Impression: Wet, it's all fig.

 

Second Impression: On the dry down the orange starts to make it's presence know.

 

Final Analysis: A very simple, sweet scent. Not sure if this is for me.

[Vicious Mistress]

I liked this one a lot in the bottle, but after a few minutes on my skin, it turned to cherry 7up.

 

I'm hating my skin chemistry.

[Mitzy]

Oooohhh, this scent is ME. In the imp Carnal is enticing and light, orangey with a pale spice. Once applied, it is a bright, juicy mandarin for only a few minutes. Then it dries, and the sweet spicy fig blends beautifully with the mandarin for a smell that reminds me of Christmas, candlelit at dusk. I love it, love it, love it. I cannot stop smelling myself. I only wish that Carnal had more staying power, it is mostly gone in about 2 hours.

 

I would say this is a candle-y scent, but many times have I sniffed a candle in the shop then surreptitiously rubbed it on my wrist...

 

 

EDIT - I took my oils out to visit my mom today. After ONE MEASLY WHIFF of this she promptly got misty, then burst right into tears!!! Apparently it brought back wonderful memories of another time, another place and she loved it.

Edited May 12, 2004 by Mitzy

[Ura]

Initially, ripe fruit spiced with cloves, and immediately mellowing with rich figs. Warm stewed spicy fruit. A favorite of mine.

[supasonicsage]

Well, my chemistry strikes again. In the bottle, I get orange, the second I put it on I smell like a strawberry shortcake doll. It turns really plasticy and chemicaly on me. After a half an hour or so, the plastic tones down a little, but it is still there.

 

I don't know if it is the fig or the orange that is doing this to me, as I don't think I have anything else with either in it.

 

I will, however, be turning this into a room spray, as it really does smell great in the bottle.

[Lady_Ell]

Mmmmm Mmmmm Mmmmmm.

 

When wet, there's a bright, short flash of strawberry fruit roll-ups, which hit me like a brick the first time I wore it... I haven't had one in probably 15 years and I adore them.

 

Drying: It becomes more grown-up, like switching to cassis after a childhood of Berrilicious Juicy Juice. There's definitely a strawberry-quality to this on my skin, even though it doesn't have strawberries in it. I can't stop smelling myself. I get wafts of strawberries and blackberries and oranges and figs in a mixed fruity swirl and feel very happy to know that it is ME that smells so good. I feel like going up to strangers on the sidewalk and going "You know what? I'M the one who smells so good on this here sidewalk!"

 

After an hour: Since I only have an imp of this, I'm not being very generous with it on my skin, so it tends to fade... not as quickly as Old Shanghai or Kumiho, but it doesn't have the staying power of say, Dana O'Shee or Old Morocco. Layered with O, however, makes it stick around and be less strawberry and more something sweet and sticky and slippery and beautiful, and it stays for hours.

 

I just bought a 10 mL so I'll be dousing myself in this when it arrives.

This is divine.

Edited July 8, 2004 by ladylatemar

[any_old_actress]

FIRST SNIFF: warm fig, spices

 

WEARING IT: i don't smell any mandarin at all, it must be way in the back. this is such a warm, earthy, comforting scent on me and has a great spicey kick to it. i do love it but find it fades quite fast.

 

FINAL VERDICT: i think i may love it on my boyfriend more, so i'm going to try that out. it's a beautiful scent but not for me everyday.

[isyche]

Carnal isn't as super-sweet as some of the other fruity scents I've tried (*ahem*Persephone) - I think the fig grounds it somewhat. That said, it's still too orange-candy for me.

[shadow]

This one's sweet and a little warm. I guess that's the earthy note people are attributing to the fig? As far as fig goes, I prefer that really dry green smell, I guess that's actually fig leaf, but I still like this one. I put it on the other night, and then got worried I wouldn't sleep, but I slept like a baby. I might have just been exhausted, but I'm going to try this again to see if that was it. The color of this one is a deep peach with brown speckles.

[nevermore]

This was one of the freebies in my first order, and definitely not something I would pick for myself, as I don’t particularly care for figs. In the vial, Carnal is mostly mandarin with a touch of earthy fig, but once on, the fig steadily gained ground against the mandarin orange. After about 10 minutes, fig was all I could smell. Into the swap pile with this one. Darn.

[darkling]

I was dubious about trying this scent because orange is the only fruit that I do not enjoy eating or smelling.

 

When wet, Carnal smells distinctly of mandarin orange. It smells juicy and ripe with no hint of citrus.

 

On dry down, it smells a bit sweeter. I imagine a tangerine lollipop with just enough natural flavors to keep it from tasting (or smelling) artificial. I don't perceive any hint of fig but it may be what keeps the scent from being overly sweet.

 

The down side is that it only stays strong for about an hour. After that point, I need to directly sniff my wrists if I want to catch the scent.

Edited June 21, 2004 by darkling

[AmberBreathing]

To me Carnal is a light scent with a trace of sweet/fruitiness; not a traditional "fragrance".

 

There is something about Carnal that is so appealing...but somehow it falls short of its full potential. I'm using it as a base for layering, trying to get that extra "something".

[Aurelius]

Oh Jebus, I LOVE this one. The mandarin doesn't seem to make its presence known at all on me. I could smell it in the vial, but on me, nothing. But I don't mind because I love the smell of fig! Yay! I SO will be buying a bottle of this. It smells rich, thick, and sensuous. I only wish it had more staying power; this scent fades to nearly nothing in about two hours.

 

Mmm, mmm, mmm. I'm so glad my body chemistry didn't turn this one into old man's cologne on me (like Noir did). Ahhh...

[hypothermya]

I wanted to give this a shot because of how lovely the fig note is in Dragon's Heart. Plus, after reading Vaniclion's review of the single note, I decided that anything with fig would be thrown onto my wishlist. The mandarin sounded appealing, also, because anything with orange is a bonus.

 

In the Bottle

 

This smells great! Think orange, but not the sort of sour, tangy, citrus of tangerine; nor the sticky slight citrus of a regular orange; instead think of the sweetest (but not candy sweet -- this is pure fructose sweet) section of orange that you can imagine, without a hint of sourness. Then imagine this earthy scent underneath it all, something that's perfectly layered with the sweetness of the orange. And that's what it smells like from the vial. My boyfriend says that he doesn't like it much, but then, he's not a fan of figs. For me, this smells delicious; fruity in a way that defies the candied sweetness of most fruit scents, and brings this down to the earthy level of sin.

 

Wearing It

 

Sadly, this doesn't work very well on me at all. When I apply it, it immediately starts to change into a waxy scent, and starts to smell like a candle (this is the second time a new scent has done this to me this week, and I'm beginning to suspect that it's due to some weird body chemistry thing...I'll have to try this out in another week or so). I can still smell the delectable scent of orange and fig underneath, but it's all ruined by that waxy smell. Not nearly as bad as some of the other scent changes that I've experienced (like the rotten fruit smells, or the powder scents), but still not what I want to smell like. Pity.

 

I really was curious as to what this would smell like, and I have to admit I didn't anticipate it at all. The scent from the bottle is much better, and very different, from what I imagined it to be. I guess I was thinking that the orange would be lighter, more citrus, and that the fig would be more candy like. This is a very welcome difference from what I imagined, and I wish it had worked out better on my skin. But, I'm willing to give it another go. Here's hoping my skin chemistry works better next week.

Edited June 23, 2004 by hypothermya

[ViolentKitten]

Tasty! ...Wet, this is bright, bold, fruity...very edible. I mostly smell the mandarin and orange, but also blueberries, strawberries and a teeny hint of spice. Hmmmm, it smells just like a big bag of boiled lollies!! I can't help thinking of a little kid, fingers all sticky with a guilty look from over-indulging in said sweeties. The fig is there, but it goes from a touch of spice to a soft muskiness. And that's what the drydown is on me too: a soft musky orange, which disappears in about an hour. All up, it's a lovely happy scent, but I keep feeling that it's missing something, so it's not quite for me.