Pickled Imp

[AEris]

Cinnamon, clove, vanilla, and pine sap.

This is like a love child of Chimera, Shub-Niggurath, and Gingerbread Poppet.

I have bottles of all 3, so I'm not tempted to nab a 4th blend of this type (trying to keep my hoarding to a minimum!), but if I didn't have a cinnamon/spice blend yet I'd be all over this.

Yummy!

4.3 out of 5

[sprocket21]

In the imp: Cinnamon and pine

 

On me: It stays pretty true on my skin. It's mostly cinnamon and some smoky pine. I can't really detect the clove or the vanilla, but I think that the latter is adding a bit of sweetness. This is a lovely blend for those who like spicy scents.

[jizatt]

Quite a bit like Chimera to my nose, but too heavy on cinnamon for me (and for hubby)

[Schmoozy]

First Sniff: Cinnamon and clove with a touch of vanilla.

 

On Skin: Pretty much a spicy vanilla with pine. The cinnamon and clove mingle together so well, and the addition of pine makes this yummy.

 

Drydown: The pine goes away after some time, but pretty much stays true to the spicy vanilla scent on application.

 

Final thoughts: This is going to be wonderful in the winter, and it will be interesting to see how it cocktails with sugar cookie, El dia de Reyes or any yules for that matter.

[Jinerviet]

Wet: gorgeous vanilla cinnamony baking! My boyfriend doesn't really like much BPAL- his opinion about most of the ones I like is, "they're nice, but I prefer natural you." Yet when he smelled this on me wet, he said I smelled like a cake and wanted to eat me. He held me close, and .... things would have gone further if we weren't both late for uni . This is especially awesomely surprising because he's always been allergic to dairy and doesn't like the smell or taste of anything dairy. Squee!!

 

Dry: a bit too piney for my liking. Can I unpickle this imp plz?

[gchris]

In Vial: Smells a little bitter

 

Wet: Ooooh! This is wonderful Yummy cinnamon spicey and vanilla. Not foody, but comforting and warm. I smell the pine but doesn't remind me of trees in this. It is a nice compliment. I love this one. The vanilla adds a bit of sweetness that is slightly buttery.

 

Dry: The cinnamon has faded alot so not really spicey now, it is mostly a light sweet vanilla with a hint of clove.

 

This blend was close to Three Witches in the wet stage but with less cinnamon. Fans of cinnamon will love this.

[Miss Lynx]

I wasn't 100% certain if this one would work on me, because vanilla is kind of hit and miss on my skin (it frequently turns to Play-Doh, though not always), and pine can sometimes amp up to the point where it takes over and makes a scent smell like air freshener.

 

And then I wasn't sure I'd get to try it at all, because while I signed up for a decant circle for Act V, it's been over five weeks and no sign of my decants, so I think my package got lost in the mail.

 

But then yesterday there was a meet'n'sniff and I did get to try this one, and OMG!

 

It took me back to the first time I tried Chimera, when I ended up rolling around on the bed like a cat in catnip with both wrists pressed to my nose. Yes, it's that good. Fierce spicy blast with the vanilla softening and sweetening it the way the honeysuckle and copal did in Chimera, and the pine pitch (which is very subtle) grounding it a bit and keeping it from being too Cinnabon-like, kind of like the myrrh in Chimera. All through the afternoon, any time a little whiff of this scent would float by my nose, I would be filled with a sudden wave of happiness.

 

Really, the only down side to this scent it that it may be a little too much like Chimera. Now, granted, Chimera is one of my all-time favourite scents and has a permanent place in my personal top ten, so that's not exactly a bad thing. But... Not sure I really need a bottle of another scent that smells so very similar to one I already have. That is the only thing stopping me from needing to immediately acquire a bottle of this by any means necessary.

 

They're not 100% identical -- the pine note makes me think of this as being a little like the love child of Chimera and the Jersey Devil, only without the cranberry note that can sometimes make that one go a little too sweet. I think I need to do a side-by-side test of Pickled Imp and Chimera and see if they're sufficiently distinct from each other for me to want both. Right now I have a near-empty bottle that someone was kind enough to give me (leftovers from a decant circle), which has just enough oil left in it for a couple more wearings, so I do at least have something to experiment with, despite my decants having disappeared into the Bermuda Triangle.

 

Grade: A+

[Emera]

Cinnamon, clove, and pininess. Like a sweet Christmas potpourri – no vanilla at all for me.

[MeiLin]

Sometimes, the name of a scent will just put me off trying it until the very end. Such is Pickled Imp. I mean, Pickled Imp. Seriously? They seriously named a perfume Pickled Imp. It didn't sound appetizing, so I left it till very near the end of this set of decants. And yet, the description, with the unfortunate scholar's notes, is intriguing for a vanilla lover like me.

 

In the unpickled imp, as it were: Cinnamon with an odd twist to it--I think the pine.

 

Wet: Oooh, vanilla, cinnamon and clove, light on the cinnamon!

 

Dry: The pine is coming out more, but on the whole this is a spiced vanilla. As it sits, the cinnamon is pushier and the pine makes things very odd indeed--I keep getting leathery notes now and again as it meshes with the spices and vanilla.

 

This could be unisex and I may slather it on Sir just to see what happens.

[heathercaley]

Beautiful!! This can easily replace Bengal as my favoritest cinnamon perfume. Perfect amount of cinnamon (not too much to cause irritation but just enough to smell it!) It's not a "red hots" type of cinnamon. It's calm and spicy. The vanilla sweetens it up and quite possibly it's the vanilla that keeps it from becoming "red hots" on my skin. I love cinnamon, but it burns like nothin else usually. I don't get any burn! Yay!!

 

The clove is underneath that, and I do get a slight amount of pine, but not enough to pick out. Just enough to keep it balanced and earthy.

 

This is absolutely gorgeous and hoard worthy!

[ravenrigan]

In the bottle

Old fashioned cinnamon sweets, cinnamon and clove

 

Wet on skin

OOOh Vanilla softens this right down. Right up close to the skin i get a faint fresh tang which might be pine sap.

 

Drydown

Very foody cinnamon, clove and vanilla perfectly blended. It smells like uncooked Christmas cake mixture. This is not a bad thing!

Bit of a burn reaction but only on the extra tender inside elbows.

 

Finish

Stays the same as the drydown to the end, but just gets softer and softer

Wearlength

a couple of hours at best

 

Throw

Close to skin, a private scent

 

Mood

Christmassy Baking, homey, foody, reassuring

 

Verdict

Very nice, but a bit too foody for me.

[Lyrical]

In imp: like someone dropped the contents of the spice rack into Love's Philosophy!

 

Wet on skin: clove and cinnamon over a custard-y vanilla, and something unfamiliar which could definitely be pine sap (violin rosin?). Very warm and spicy. It's left my skin pink, which doesn't bode well!

 

Dry on skin: still very realistic warm spices over custard and it stays that way. Definitely pleasant, but not swoon-worthy. And my skin is still pink where I applied it, so I don't think I'll need a bottle of this one.

 

If you love Villainess Jai Mahal, you'll love this!

[tinyvulture]

For cinnamon lovers, this is a sweet and foody cinnamon scent. I wouldn’t have guessed there was pine sap in it until I read the description. The cinnamon isn’t too sharp – it’s soft and powdery like in Chimera. But while Chimera is cinnamon, resins and floral, this is straight-up foody. A warm cinnamon roll with sweet vanilla icing. Want a bottle.

[Gale]

I have been searching for quite some time for the perfect cinnamon bun, Auntie Anne's cinnamon pretzel, yummy bakery scent.

 

The search is over. Back up bottle needed.

[rayvn1]

Warm and yummy, this imp was a fun one to try! The cinnamon is not overwhelming and blends well with the clove that tends to amp on me. These spices reminded my of Mama-Ji after she's sat an hour or so on the skin. I didn't get much of the pine, but I usually wish my chemistry would bump that note to the top more than it does. Again, a fun scent(!), but I probably won't get a whole bottle.

[jade_starlight]

Oh, this is nice. The cinnamon isn't hot; rather it smells like you've just pulled some actual cinnamon out of the spice cabinet, along with some cloves. It's very much a bakery-type scent, and I absolutely love it. *g*

[FandF]

A whole bunch of good spices from Fall....I don't pick up any pine sap wet or dry. I like spicey scents and this is a good strong in your face kind of spice scent. The cinammon/clove is bright and most prominent and it doesn't morph too much from wet to dry. It's not complicated but it's delicious.

[Miss Lynx]

Oh, yum! The phrase I read in someone else's review of another scent a long while back comes to mind: "If I didn't need this wrist, I would eat it!"

 

This is like to love-child of Three Witches and Chimera, with a touch of Snake Charmer. Spicy goodness, with a sweet vanilla undertone, and just enough pine to keep it from being altogether foody, while not veering into pine air-freshener territory. I can definitely see why this is the most popular scent of Act V, and probably shaping up to be one of the most popular of the whole Carnival.

 

Wearing this gives me little flashes of happiness every time a whiff of that glorious spiciness wafts up to my nose. If I'd never tried Chimera, this scent would probably have provoked the same reaction that one initially did (me rolling around on my back like a cat, with both wrists pressed to my nose, making incoherent sounds of happiness).

 

As it stands, though, as much as I like this, I don't know if I need to order a full bottle, because it really is quite close to Chimera, and of the two I think I love Chimera just a tiny bit more. That is in no way a condemnation of Pickled Imp, which still makes my A-list; it's just that as fabulous as both scents are, I don't know if I need two fabulous scents that resemble each other that closely. But we'll see how I feel once we get to the last-minute ordering frenzy before the Carnival comes down.

 

Grade: A

Edited October 8, 2008 by Miss Lynx

[Gwydion]

In bottle: Sweet rich spices over pine. Well balanced in the mix. The vanilla/pine combo is surprisingly interesting. Wet: The pine strengthens. It’s got a Christmas tea feel to it. The rihness of the vanilla and spices stands up well to the pine. Dry: Chai mostly. I really do like this.

[steffanina]

Pickled Imp-

 

In Bottle: Whoa, this one scares me. The pine sap scent is very strong; combined with the clove it really does smell like something preserved and dead in a jar. The power of suggestion, yeah, but I'm seriously reluctant to put it on because it creeps me out. It really is reminiscent of a preservative. Clove functions as an anesthetic anyway, so the medicinal psych in this is overwhelming.

 

Wet: I'm telling myself it's just pine sap and to get over it. It's such a prominent note I can barely notice the vanilla, which I would ordinarily love. Yes, there's vanilla and clove there, but the piercing pine sap scent is overwhelming (and still scary).

 

Dry: Cinnamon does show up, and EVENTUALLY the pine sap recedes, and what I'm left with is far more vanilla-clove-ish than what started, but I don't think I can get past the initial stages. Heck, I can hardly get past opening the bottle. And every so often I get the pine sap whiff and I shudder.

 

Overall: Clever but hits scary psych triggers for me.

[AmandaArcana]

When I first put it on it's a slap in face with cinnamon, then clove follows. After it drys I can smell the vanilla more and just a tiny hint of pine. It really works for me, smells like it should be in the chirstmas scents. It reminds me of those scented pinecones you can get around christmas time for your fireplace. Although one of my family members said they could smell picke juice (?)...not sure what kind of pickles they eat...

[megank4]

I dabbed some of this on my wrists and on my neck. On my wrists it was fine, but my neck felt like it was on fire and turned red. I had to wash it off. It smells great though, just be careful where you put it.

[ami226]

Pickled Imp:

 

I just bought a partial of it off the forum to try as all the notes sounded interesting... Anyways, tried it on and I can definitely smell that each note is present... mmmmmmm! Anyways, the combination of cinnamon and clove reminds me of Thanksgiving, but the pine gives it a bit of coolness that tones down the warmth of cinnamon. All together, it definitely smells like Thanksgiving!

 

I love this scent, but I don't think it is for me. I'll try it again once more, then possibly put it up on my sale page for other people to get a chance to try!

 

Oh, and a little of this scent goes a long way (in a good way)!

[PurringPulsar]

Pickled Imp

 

In the imp: smells like Christmas! Pine and cinnamon and vanilla sweetness.

Wet on skin: now the clove comes out! So now it smells of spiced pine and festive cookies.

Dry on skin: oh, this smells like the perfect Yule blend I’ve always wanted the Lab to make. Cinnamon and clove and pine trees, with vanilla to evoke delicious festive baked treats. The spice mix is very, very similar to Three Witches (the original), with the clove mingling nicely with cinnamon, and with creamy chai nuances to it. The pine note is fantastic-it smells a bit like Christmas tree but it also smells resinous, which I adore. I smell all the notes here in equal measure.

After a while: the pine does fade a bit, but what I’m left with is the perfect spicy vanilla chai scent. it reminds me of Sugar Cookie 04, but this is much nicer (SC04 now turns a bit sour on me and this doesn’t). it also has amazing throw and I get little wafts of cinnamon and vanilla every now and then. The vanilla vaguely reminds me of Love’s Philosophy in it’s creaminess, but without the plastic undertone, and with the spices adding warmth and interestingness to it. this is the ultimate comfort scent, perfect for rainy days in front of the TV, perfect for the cold winter months.

The drydown is a slightly smokier clove with that lovely creamy vanilla and cinnamon. Mmm, this is really lovely.

Verdict: this is wonderful! It reminds me of the original Three Witches, but with more creamy sweetness, and with a delightful hint of pine. The just-dry stage is like bottled Christmas to me, all festive pine and spices and comforting sweetness, I could see myself wearing this a lot come December. It’s like the Yule scent of my dreams! The drydown is less pine-y and smells more like a cup of vanilla chai with a swirl of whipped cream on top and an extra dusting of spice-just as delicious as the wet stage, in a different way. this is such a cosy, warming, fun scent, and the perfect blend of sweetness and spice.

Emoticon rating:

Is it a keeper? Yes-and I got a backup…maybe I need another backup.

If you like this, try: Three Witches, Eclipse, Plunder, Bengal, Chimera

[porcelina]

bitter clove and vanilla with a touch of pine... the way pickled imp smells actually reminds me of red bull cola, which i believe contains all of those things... i am not sure i want to smell like it, though. i'll hold onto it and see if it ages well.