Incubus

[ReikoSazanami]

Spectral white musk and the heart-stopping chill of sheared mint, fanned by caramel-touched body heat, and the diabolical sensuality of black musk, nicotiana, and sage.

In imp: Mint that goes straight up my sinuses! Menthol and…waffles? No, that’s maple syrup.

Wet on skin: More of that bright white mint, alongside something sinister underneath. The maple syrup smell is warping into sticky-sweetness, but I’m not quite sure of what it’s becoming. Another sweetness is in there, possibly the nicotiana. I’m getting warmth from the syrupy caramel and nicotiana, but the mint and white musk give it a creepy chill. VERY suiting of the name.

Drydown: The maple syrup smell has (thankfully) mellowed out. The musks just aren’t there on me, but the sage and nicotiana have stuck around with what’s left of the caramel. It’s still doing that strange back and forth between warm and freezing, which amuses me to no end. Wait, there are the musks! And between those and the “body heat”, I am wanting to do very bad things to my wrist.

Overall: The hot-cold aspect of the oil won me over. I’m still a little leery on how much I amp the caramel, but time may mellow it even further. I love the combination of musks and whatever “body heat” entails. Top ten material!

[caitilarkin]

Well, I promised myself that I would try all of my frimps, so I tried this one even though the combination of notes scared me when I read the description.

 

In the imp: Sage with a hint of plasticky sugar and mint in the background

 

Wet on skin: Sage and mint fighting a pitched battle

 

Dry on skin: Goes through a lot of morphing, but at no time do any musk or tobacco appear. They're wisely staying out of the sage/mint battle for world domination. The caramel tries to break through but is submerged by the sage. And we have a winner...SAGE!

 

Not for me...

[klokwerk]

in the bottle, get something like celery? once it's on, it dries down into caramel/maple syrup and don't get any mint that i can smell. not bad, but not one of my favorites.

[isisonearth]

Imp: Very minty, almost toothpaste minty. The incubus has gleaming white teeth:)

 

Wet: The mint is much nice on. The sage rounds it out and makes it more complex.

 

Dry: As it warms the caramel comes out and an occasional flicker of nicotiana like a flame. The mint settles down to a backdrop of coldness. I like it. I get this very unusual cold/warm dichotomy that seems to switch back and forth with each sniff.

[stillalive]

foody warm urine with a bit of tobacco. Extremely kinky as a scent. Not sure if I really want to walk around smelling like foody warm smoky pee but I like it a lot.

[Iceblink]

Holy fricking MAPLE SYRUP. Seriously, this makes me want pancakes like right now. The longer it dries, the more the tobacco is coming out and with the syrupy caramel figuring in that makes this very sweet indeed. A little musky--actually I wish the black musk was a little more prominent; maybe in a couple of hours! But this is absolutely delicious in the meantime. YUM!

[Brianne]

The black musk sort of worried me at first, because it's often pungent and unpleasant on me, and when I first put this on, that's what I got. But it quickly disipates into a soft skin scent - something only touched slightly by caramel sweetness and a thin mint. If you are afraid of really minty scents, I wouldn't worry with this - it's very vague in this scent.

 

It's really a close-to-your-body scent.

[Alchemy21599]

In the vial: intriguingly spicy with a touch of herbs and sweetness.

 

Wet on skin: dude, where did that wet dog come from? :

 

Dry: sickly sweet caramel.

[ralenth]

Imp: Caramel swirled in musk

 

Wet: Mint. Wow, mint. Candy cane orgies, anyone?

 

Drydown: Musk swirled caramel comes to the fore with mint chiming in.

 

Dry: Maple? Minty Maple? With a side of musk? Where'd that come from? Mint comes back to dominate...

 

Overall: Intriguing, to say the least, but I doubt this demon would seduce me.

[jehrichardson]

At first, caramel and mint. Caramel scent in BPALS does this odd thing where the scent makes my lungs feel airless... very odd and disconcerting. I should also note that I'm not a fan of caramel scents to begin with.

 

Now my wrist smells of caramel, mint, and burnt plastic and makes my lungs feel like they're collapsing a bit.

 

In a word: No.

[Andrea912]

Minty and smoky and herby, all at once...not attractive on me.

[VioletChaos]

in the imp: sweet caramel, and a hint of tobacco.

 

wet on skin: a little mint is coming through, just a hair-just enough to temper the SWEET of the caramel. i don't get anything else at this stage.

 

dry down: the mint has actually gained momentum, which i wasn't expecting. but it's at odds, not in harmony, with the caramel.

 

in all: a strange cross of a Mint Julip and "Pinched With Four Aces". it doesnt meld, though, and that's it's downfall.

 

 

[rayvn1]

Yummy, warm and sexy. Some nice spice to it, but not a whole lot of distinctive character to this one. Subtle and seductive. Sort of slips around your senses. Lovely musk and a hint of mint after it's all over.

[TheOneTheyCallLuna]

Hmmm, this one is really nice...in the same scent family as Arrival at the Sabbath, Odin, and Lyonesse, as well. Golden, caramel with spices. This blend is fairly unisex. I find it to be a more masculine counterpart to, say, Arrival at the Sabbath. I think I'll have to slather my man with this one and report back. On me, it's lovely, though, and a definite keeper!

[zankoku_zen]

This one did an odd thing... it also kinda smelled like celery when I first applied it (lilac, are you there?!).

 

However, it's dried to a caramel + smoky wood thing. Caramel can be so overwhelming, and it's nicely held in check here. But yeah caramel that isn't too sweet, with some resin/wood in the background.

 

Pretty, and not all that masculine. Much more foodie than anticipated.

[hespera4523]

In theory, this should have worked on me. This should have been epic. I love mint, musk, caramel, even the sage which seems to have the unnerving tendency of turning into the scent of a freshly packed...ahem...water pipe every time it hits my skin. This had potential. And come on, let's face it...smelling like a rampaging sex demon? Should be ultimate win.

 

Instead I get...vegetable.

 

Momentarily, I am afraid that my nose may be on the fritz...but I smell it again, and it is still vegetable. I don't know which vegetable...but I am relatively certain it is an evil vegetable and means to do me harm.

 

I'm a little afraid of the imp. I put it down and back away slowly.

 

I look at the imp now and then like its an unexploded bomb. Somehow, the not knowing is worse. What vegetable is it? Whatever it is, half a bar of my precious Icon soap from Lush did not take the scent off. So I bury it in some Mme Moriarty and try to pretend it isn't there.

 

So I retreat to the forums and do a bit of research. And the answer is so simple!

 

I return to the living room and confront the imp that is sitting on the coffee table. I invoke its true name: "CELERY, begone! You have no power over me!"

 

I don't know what I expected. The imp obviously does not vanish into a puff of smoke, turn inside out, or become a vortex of darkness that tries to suck my cat into the floor. But I feel better anyway, and make a mental note to hand this imp off to my friend Scott, who gets all the manly type scents that just don't work on me.

 

But still...my victory is hollow. I wanted this to work, I loved the notes. Damn skin chemistry. Growl, growl, snarl, growl.

[quinctia]

It's like an immediate taste of caramel with a strong aftertaste of mint in the imp. On me, it's similar, but I don't like the effect—I'm searching for the caramel note in a sea of a clean, aftershavey scent. But the caramel is still mysteriously hanging around. TEASE.

[milica]

all caramel and musk, and I hate caramel on me. white musk is not working out as nice either... not for me.

[crebbsgirl]

Ok, I have a feeling this review is going to garner me some side-eye from a lot of you. I'm sorry, but I just have to say this:

 

Incubus smells like lettuce on my skin.

 

There, I said it. It's out there. Whew, I actually feel lighter.

 

I have no idea what is causing this. If I smell a little deeper, I can detect the caramel. So this leads me to believe there is some unholy interaction between caramel and mint on my skin that is turning this to lettuce. I am also willing to point a finger at sage. Just because I never liked the look of him either.

[djsiberia]

interesting. this is sweet caramel, mint and sage. the mint clears my nose and the caramel adds this yummy sweetness and the sage adds an herbal scent

 

[Evengloam]

Bottle: Mint. Caramel and micotiana, followed by the sage and musks.

 

Wet: The caramel is gooey and freshly made --- still warm --- rather than store-bought candies. The mint rides caramel's coat-tails. Sage and nicotiana follow. On me, the musks kind of weave in and out of every note, and they show up in a different place with every sniff. Kinda interesting. Very warm and sexy. Nice throw. A unisex scent.

 

1 hour in: It's faded noticably, but I can still easily pick out the caramel. Next up is the nicotiana and sage. The musks do the same weaving act they did in the wet stage, and the mint has done a disappearing act. Low throw.

 

Unfortunately, Incubus has little wear-length on me. I find it absolutely perfect for me, otherwise. It could be because I know my frimp is over a year old. I love the scent enough I may order another imp of it eventually, but it won't be immediate.

Edited September 17, 2009 by Shollin
Removed Lab description --Shollin

[naeelah]

I'm not sure how old my imp is. This is a lot nicer and more wearable than I would have thought, as someone who isn't a fan of black musk.

 

Wet, it's a bright and crystalline scent with something almost like citrus. It has only a hint of mint (sharp, like peppermint) that becomes a little strong while drying, but evens out with the rest of the blend once dry. The caramel note is fairly strong and provides a warm, fuzzy counterbalance to the mint and white musk.

 

Little by little the black musk emerges as a base note. Often it totally takes a blend over, on me, and makes it smell like some kind of 70s men's cologne. Here, though, it anchors and deepens the caramel, providing a rich and slightly oily counter to the brightness of the white musk. It never becomes too strong. I think there must be a little skin musk, which provides a good middle ground. I never get much sense of the nicotania or sage.

 

So, in short, this is a unique blend with a split personality: spectral, crisp, citrusy mint countered with sweet fuzzy caramel and rich musk. Unisex.

 

Try it if you like: Tiresius, The Arrival at the Sabbath, Wulric, Melainis, Agrat-bat-Mahlaht

[Monster]

In the imp: Super sweet caramel with a hint of mint. Oh boy

 

Wet: Minty caramel...like Mentos and super sweet sticky candies. Very odd, not sure this is going to agree with me but I'm having fun sniffing it.

 

Dry: The mint quiets down (but is still very much there) as this dries. I'm getting more musk now....still LOTS of caramel.

 

Overall: I'm not sure if this one is for me. I need to test this out a bit more (especially on it's own. I've been testing lots of oils today). Caramel scents can sometimes be a bit too sweet for me and paired with the mint, this one is just odd. It's a lot of fun but certainly strange. You've gotta try this one just for it's weird factor!

 

ETA:

Ok, it's been a day now and I've decided that I can't do this one. The caramel is just too sweet on me. Oh well.

Edited July 12, 2009 by Monster

[ouch!]

When I smelled this I thought....hmm. Weird. White musk and foodiness!

 

That's pretty much how this goes on me. It's white musk and the caramel when it's wet...then the caramel takes over as the white musk fades and it's straight up caramel. The same sort of caramel vibe found in..Sugar Skull, Triesas, Sticky Pillowcase.

 

I never would have thought of putting caramel with white musk, but it makes for an interesting combination. Not really gonna be a favourite of mine though this one!

 

 

[Gwydion]

In bottle: The mint and caramel combination is interesting, but on aggregate less than ideal. I think this would be better with honey or sugar cane. That aside, it was quite fascinating in it’s nuances, to the point I was genuinely tempted to skin test it although I know better than to put mint on my skin. I’m not skin testing due to reactivity.