Grand Guignol

[prettybird]

... Our Grand Guignol perfume is a shot of sweet apricot brandy; just enough to settle your nerves after a ghoulish, gory brush with the macabre.

I got this as a freebie, and I'm so very glad I did, because I wouldn't have picked it for myself. I don't usually gravitate toward light or fruity perfumes, except orange.

In the imp, I get loads of apricot and only the tiniest hint of booze. It's like a super perfect apricot, juicy and wet and sweet in the best way.

On my skin, the apricot dies down, but not by much, and the brandy comes out more. It doesn't smell nearly as "foody" on as it does wet, which I appreciate. The scent doesn't really change as it sits, which is just fine with me in this instance. It just stays and stays, and I don't get tired of it at all. So delicious! Edited September 29, 2007 by Shollin

[Shitow_Haruka]

first sniff: Yummy apricot brandy. It makes me wish I could drink it.

 

wet: It's still apricot brandy - a bit boozy, but I like it.

 

dry: The booziness drops out and I'm left with warm apricots on my skin.

 

This was a frimp and I'm glad I had a chance to try it. I have a feeling I'll be reaching for it when the weather cools off again.

[Athenae]

It came as a frimp in my latest order, and on me the fruit goes a bit plasticky, and there's not a lot of boozy scent. A Strawberry Shortcake doll, that's what this reminds me of, that kind of plastic-fruit combo. Which, bummer, because I do love a fresh apricot and I love Beth's booze notes. Stupid body chemistry.

 

A.

[Naamah_Darling]

This is, as you might expect, intensely fruity. It's fruity to the nth degree. Fruit personified – perfumified? It's fruity.

 

On, it's still fruity. This is a thick, sweet syrup scent, apricots and sugar. There's a touch of booze, like schnapps, in the background, but this is a resoundingly simple scent with very little depth – almost a single note.

 

There's little else to say about it, except that it's an exceedingly warm and friendly scent, approachable, full of delight. Very nice. Those of you who have had good luck with the Lab's fruit notes take heed: this is a good one. Those of you who are wary of trying them might as well start here; with less in the way of other scents, this blend is less likely to be soured by some other additive. It's very true.

 

Worth investigating, especially for fans of the sweeter blends.

[Nimthiriel]

Initial impression:

I'm terrified this'll go rancid like the apricot in Depraved did on me, but it smells lovely in the vial – soft apricot with a touch of something else.

 

First on:

It really does smell like apricot and brandy! Lovely. I hope it stays nice.

 

Dry:

20-30 mins after application, it's still a lovely apricot brandy, though a little softer than before. Yum. This is so delicious!

 

Finally:

I have no idea what to use this for (I generally only keep scents if I find a specific ”use” for them), but dang, I have to keep it.

[aquazoo]

Bleah, starts with fermented fruit! It's not bad as a smell, but there are very few foodie smells that I like as far as smelling like that. It fades down into a nice dust, but that takes a while.

[MaidenGenevive]

Grand Guignol

 

I'll admit, one of the reasons I chose to test this one was someone else had reviewed it to be something like rotten apricots swimming in booze. I was curious if it would smell that way to me, and if it did, what that would smell like. Basically, I tested this one expecting not to like it.

 

Sweet, but not cloying, apricots and brandy, but the brandy isn't sharp and biting like hard liquor usually is. It's a presence, but it's fairly quiet. At first, I didn't really like it. Apricots are a unique smell, and something about it and the slight booze wasn't clicking with me. I asked my husband to smell my wrist, not expecting much of a reaction. But he reacted very positively. He said it was fresh and feminine, and reminded him of a fruit tea. As it wears, it mellows. It's a warm, pleasant smell, that has a tartness to it.

 

[1 - Hate] .. [2 - Dislike] .. [3 - Like] .. [4 - Really Like] .. [5 - Love]

 

2 / 3 : It's not unpleasant, but it isn't really me. My husband really liked it a lot, it's one of his favorites thus far. I liked the dry-down better than the initial application.

[AEris]

Whomp whomp, tutti frutti!

 

Not my style, but if you like fruit, especially if you're interested in apricot, this is one to try.

 

I'll be passing this on; I'm sure it'll find a home!

[radishbaby]

In the Imp : Sticky sweet apricot.

 

 

Wet : Oooh this is an apricot with a bad side. The bandy is there making this thick and syrupy.

 

Dry : Oh Grand Guignol, how do I love thee? Let me count the ways . . . This is just so perfect. The brandy is full without being knock you over alcoholic. The apricot is big, ripe and juicy wet - so much so that my mouth is beginning to water. Its just too much - if heaven came in a bottle this would be it. This is such a wonderful representation of its description - the scent is something strong and so sweet its tart, the kind of stiff comfort you'd need after seeing something horrible.

 

 

Over All : Perfection you name is Grand Guignol - what throw and stay too!

 

 

Big Bottle Worthy : YES!!!

[Dinerdulcinea]

Apricot brandy---straight up...with a hint of something green.

 

Actually quite nice! Usually the booze notes go powdery on me, but not this one. I'll probably use my imp.

[SarahScent44]

Hurray frimps!

 

Sniffing from the imp got me a WHOA - it's really boozy-sweet.

 

When I put it on, it was still sharply boozy - a little bit more fruity on, but it's pretty light. GG is not especially strong or deep at this point.

 

It gets stronger as it dries - so boozy it almost makes me drunk just smelling it! But there's something almost spicy (??) about it that's really interesting. I'm still on the fence with this one - I could see it working really well, but it's not one of my favorites.

[porcelina]

wow, for once a boozy scent doesn't make me smell like i just spent the night drinking myself silly. this smells like dry apricot tea on me!

[Pottersville]

Sweet, but not nearly as sweet as I'd expected! I get a lovely woody apricot vibe from this. Just wish it lasted longer.

[alicia_stardust]

GRAND GUIGNOL

 

This is apricot brandy exactly. The apricot really amps on my skin and takes on a syrupy fruit quality. It reminds me of summers spent at my grandmother's garden, chasing unseen things and running through the fields of corn, the orchards, and the tall grasses. This is a comforting, scent with a jolt of boozy fruit.

[spicyelenore]

At first, this was fruity and sweet on me...but with an undertone of booze that came to the forefront in the drydown. It kept morphing pleasantly between something sweet and light and something more intoxicating until I felt like I was sitting on a terrace somewhere in another country (don't know why but it seems more romantic), in the summertime, enjoying a Sangria or something. Then as it dried it got a little...greener? Dirtier? Rough around the edges (it's nighttime now on a summer's night and we're prowling the clubs in an unknown city.)

 

I like it.

[tziporra]

Awwww.... and the boozy scents have been working SO well on me, too. Oh well, I guess this is the exception that proves the rule? Thanks to Shollin for enabling this review!

 

Grand Guignol doesn't give me much from the imp, a whiff of apricot maybe, light and pretty.

 

On I am transported by a scent memory: My mother owned a flower and gift shop while I was growing up and I spent a lot of time there. She tended to buy what merchandise she liked for resale instead of what would sell, so we were stuck with a lot of old stock. One item I remember very vividly was a peach room spray that she loved (I know, Grand Guignol is apricot, not peach, but bear with me here).

 

I thought the room spray was pretty enough, but it had a very very strong scent of the carrier alcohol that prevented it from being on the same level as, say, a baking peach pie, which I would have preferred (especially as I would have been able to eat some peach pie). Grand Guignol has that same alcohol note to my nose, instead of the more drinkable alcoholic notes I've been getting from other boozy blends -- and sometimes it even veers into bathroom spray territory on me. Not good.

 

Oh well! There's plenty of booze I do love in the catalogue, I won't grudge this one miss.

 

Best,

 

Tzi

Edited January 15, 2008 by tziporra

[JenM]

In the imp: I must have Velvet left on my fingers, coz I get a shot of darkness with the sweet apricot of this. Sweet, dusty apricot.

 

On the wrist: apricot with play-doh. Hope that settles out. After 10 minutes, it sours. That may be the brandy bit of the description, but it’s not nice. Sort of sweet-n-sour-n-clinical. Don’t like it.

 

45 minutes: back to sweet. No throw. Gone from right wrist.

An hour: pretty but faint, still with edge of play-doh. Alas, it is not to be.

[CrazyPretzel]

At first this is rich and sweet like apricot jam. On my skin it initially seems to go kind of thick and bitter, more like stewed fruit than booze. Strangely enough though the sweetness comes back as it dries, and the throw is nicer than the full-on effect I get from sticking my nose right on top of my wrist. Walking around today I kept getting little enticing whiffs of apricot brandy, and my mother thought it smelled quite nice too.

[greyroses]

Well I got something totally different!

 

IN THE BOTTLE: Sugared apricots, with maybe a very light alcoholic drizzle.

 

WET ON THE SKIN: Very soft apricot-rose scent (there's a few roses out there that smell of apricots, damn me if I can remember a single name of one right now) that deepens as it warms up. Picks up distinct greenery--ferns, I think--& violet notes after about a minute, then a hint of carnations. After 5 minutes, this is one of my favourite smells in all the world--a high-end florist's. It makes me all teary-eyed for my floristry days! ;_____; A smudge of apricot-scented geranium after 10 minutes. There's a lot of greenery in this--but it's not herby (by that I mean "foody" greenery) at all--although, yes, you can eat roses & geraniums, I know. ^^ But you get what I'm saying. Even the apricot is a "flower" rather than a "fruit" scent.

 

DRY: Gets a bit strident after about an hour, but as long as I keep my nose away from my wrist, it's not overwhelming. It tones down after a few hours, thankfully, & the scent stays steady & never morphs into anything funky. I never did get a boozy note at all. Throw was low-to-medium & duration was about 9 hours.

 

VERDICT: Oh my stars, it's my second Keeper! Not something I'd want to wear constantly...but sparingly, it would be a wonderful & nostalgic scent to have on hand.

[fairnymph]

In the bottle: Sweet apricot liquor. Spot on!

 

Wet: Still that sweet apricot scent, but spicy too. Cinnamon, and a sharper spice, clove I believe. The spice is not too much, it's well balanced by the apricot. There's a hint of a smoky smell, that I actually like (usually I hate smokiness) - it's like the first wood smoke of autumn.

 

Dry: The apricot-sweetness fades quickly revealing more of the spice, which is still lovely.

 

Summary: Sipping apricot-brandy spiked mulled cider in front of a fireplace - I'm right there. I find this scent so completely evocative. This is NEVER a scent I would have thought to try, but it is actually delicious. I'm not 100% sure if it's something I would wear, though. Perhaps in late fall as a room scent?

[waternight]

In the imp: Sweet apricot. No booze.

Wet: Holy apricots, batman! Still no booze, but there is a faint plasticky note present. Hmm. A bit later, this is very sugary plastic apricots.

Dry: Slightly musty, plastic apricots.

[hkhm]

imp: yup, that's apricot brandy all right. yum.

 

wet: wow! the apricot is a little more subdued but this really smells like brandy. yet another entry on my to-buy bottle list...

 

dry: this dries to smelling like some sort of fruit brandy, not strictly apricot. very yummy.

[iiinterstate]

Yep, apricot brandy in a teeny vial.

 

Beth nailed it with this one, but it isn't a scent for a recovering alkie like myself to be wearing around

 

The description is dead on. I'm impressed, but I think I'll be swapping this imp.

[LadyLuckDoubt]

In Bottle

Apricots, swirled with a smokey darkness I can't place. I'm iffy on it, but I was on Yerevan, too, because of the apricots, and that happened to like me, so we'll see how this goes.

 

On me

Fermented apricots, rotting. When I was a kid, we had a plum tree in the back yard, and my sister and I used to pick up plums when they'd fall on the ground, and one year my mother threw a heap in with some booze of some sort, and then about eight years later when we moved house, we found the concoction and tipped it out... and that's the closest thing I can compare this scent to. It wasn't particularly boozy by that stage, and if it was, I wouldn't have drunk it (and I still wouldn't... and I'll drink just about ANYTHING)-- te smell of rotting fruit was the overriding factor here.

 

Seriously, I feel mean, and I'm sure this smells gorgeous and classy or swanky or something on everyone else, but it really didn't work for me. (And I'm finding my body likes most BPALs, but when they really don't work, it's an extreme thing. Like this.)

 

Thankfully, for me, I've noticed the throw is only strong initially, and by the end of the day it's all but disapated into a fairly benign apricot-moisturiser scent.

[goth_huntress]

I need to remember how much I liked this one. I got to sample a friend's IMP, but keep forgetting to buy a bottle.