Joined in 2023 
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63 About this deal
The clove, licorice, and warm, mulled spices do evoke the feeling of a (very high end) holiday candle, but that’s part of why I love it. After reapplying liberally multiple times, and turning up the heating more in the evening, I finally get the holiday season connotations. I tested this in cold weather, but I would love to see what happens when heat and humidity press down on the level spiciness just to encounter what note pops out. It was still spicy but the sweetness in the formulation had developed, and in partnership with the light floral additions it stops it from being that acrid 'body odor' complaint that a lot of 'spicebombs' get.
It's very, very spicy and very strong almost to the point that I feel like being on some kind of drug. The detonation of 4C (cloves, caraway, cumin, and cardamom) is arresting, like the first lines of a novel that have you transfixed and reading pages upon pages into the night. About 20 years ago, TBS took a foray into Ayurvedic dosha balancing and Vata was one of the results. Read about this perfume in other languages: Deutsch, Español, Français, Čeština, Italiano, Русский, Polski, Português, Ελληνικά, 汉语, Nederlands, Srpski, Română, العربية, Українська, Монгол, עברית. I don't know if I was sold a duff sample on 2 occasions or if this perfume just really really doesn't suit me.
I have never eaten one (I find the texture disgusting) but it 100% smells like that - slightly lactonic, sweet and warmly spiced and very comforting.
It may be an old one, but it is still so relevant today - I did find it very familiar though, so I suspect I have been unwittingly drawn to it on others for some time now. Cardamom is a favorite note and cumin reminds me of childhood (mom's cooking), so perhaps I'm more inclined to like it. It dries down after several hours, with traces written in your personal bubble, a sillage that haunts, and a creamy, earthy, lived-in base, attributed to a synergy between an amber accord and patchouli. When it finally dries the clove becomes sweeter and I can see how people say it smells like a Christmas Candle, but there is something very sexy about it.
The bottle is cumbersome and a strange shape, I don't think there is anything jungle-ish about it and I don't understand the elephant unless it's to indicate the scent's strength which to me is not that great. The longer it develops on my skin the more the vanilla and amber come forward as well, making it softer and softer. I find the best way to wear this is to get a mini- that way instead of spraying it you're just dabbing it on, and the smell isn't so overwhelming. It’s definitely unique, smells like clove and cinnamon mixed with porta potty freshener , then the dry down has an old school cover girl foundation smell or an after sun lotion that reminds me of the old school foundation . First I’ll say this really evolves a lot and I don’t mean to say it’s bad at first it’s just not what the final smell will be.
The fragrance is a mix of spicy clove and sweet licorice, I was surprised that cinnamon isn't listed.
The spices overwhelm instead of envelop, the cloves are too sharp, reminding me of a visit to the endodontist.
In the drydown, the clove fades into harmony with the other notes and settles nicely into a blend of warm vanilla, clove, gardenia, a hint of simmered orange, and a whisper of powdery ylang-ylang.I can really understand the fear and fright that this perfume can give, it is very strong, very intense and overwhelming. Cardamom spices up a gourmand heart of Ylang-Ylang, Liquorice and Gardenia over a generous base of Patchouli. I would say it's an all-year fragrance but I do notice the hot/dry or wet weather can affect this more than other fragrances. The intensity and substantivity on my skin is more than 12 hours with strong to moderate diffusion and Sillage.
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