Freak

The Bottle: I love Freak's bottle in that its design is sleek and edgy. The cute little silvery snail at the top adds a playful pop to the otherwise femme fatale look. As another user mentioned, the box it came in has a gorgeous backdrop of a full moon, which looks even more wonderful when the bottle is placed inside. The Scent: The initial notes are a sweet and dramatically floral mix of opium poppy and gardenia. I also smell hints of rose and orange blossom as others have pointed out. While the first notes are dramatic, they aren't overpowering in the bad, headache inducing sense and they cool down after a minute. In the heart notes, I immediately pick out the datura and hemlock, which gives it a beautiful flowery, musty-sweet smell. The scent of hemlock is quite unique in this perfume as it the source of sweet, decaying earthy smell that seems to play out for most of wear period. The datura is the warm, flowery fragrance similar to a mix of jasmine and vanilla orchid. The opium poppy from the first note has also carried over a little bit from the top note, but mingles well with the hemlock and datura. The only part I cannot pick out is the Queen of the Night, mainly because I have never smelled it before. The drydown reminds me of stepping into one of those quaint little Tibetan shops you find every so often in college towns or urban areas. The warm, soft, and smoky incense-like scents play well with the Myrhh. Though I can't pick it out, I suspect the Oud might be a part of the overall incense experience in this perfume considering it is most commonly used for incense sticks and cones. At this stage, it has an aftershave-like quality as another reviewer mentioned, which I personally enjoy quite a bit. Overall Impression: It has mysterious, almost shy quality to it, much like the nocturnal plants and animals this scent is based off. It is a very unusual, but strikingly gorgeous scent in that most of it's charm lies in the mix of balmy florals and smoky, sweet incense. I wouldn't call this a dramatic perfume, as it is soft enough to be worn in the daytime. It would probably work best as an summer and autumn perfume though it can be worn year round. What I like most about Freak is how it balances its exotic, oriental notes with the delicate, but earthy floral ones. Neither one overpowers the other, which is refreshing after trying so many other oriental-floral perfumes. Instead of the florals playing second number to the orientals, both the floral and oriental elements in Freak work together in an almost harmonious manner. For me, this is what I look for when I want an oriental-floral fragrance (If I wanted a mostly oriental scent, I wouldn't bother throwing in florals in the first place!). I am very happy that I went out on a limb and pre-ordered this as it is exactly what I was looking for.

I really wanted this perfume to be "above average" . The adverts "spoke" to me , i expected a strong , dark and mysterious fragrance of good quality. I set out to get hold of a sample , and told myself i would save up for this treat....The bottle is adorable and if it had been a bit cheaper i may have bought it "blind". Ive loved and worn Poison ( the vintage , not the weak wishy - washy reformulation) for a lot of years. A lot of my friends hate it and it makes them sneeze or feel sick. Hence "Poison" is mostly worn indoors , alone , for myself. I was hoping "Freak" may be a modern substitute Poison - Something as strong and unique , without been "too 80s" or sneeze inducing :) I was very kindly sent some samples by a fellow fragrantican - Thankyou ! XXX 3 weeks since receiving the samples i waited to test , as i had a bad case of flu and wanted to wait until my sense of smell was back to 100%. During those 3 weeks i was very tempted to spray , but thought these testers are to rare to waste! Well i finally tested it and yes , its a nice fragrance. But just "Nice". A little bit floral , a little bit Oriental , nothing out of the ordinary at all. I agree with others that are disappointed. The juice does not live up to the image the advertising campaign and the bottle project. Nothing Gothic , different , noir , night , dark or poisonous , or "Freaky" here ...at least not to my nose. I think with the price and limited distribution , this scent is aiming for the "Niche" market. 2nd disappointment - The scent doesn't last. Id expect better at Niche prices. Ive got Bog Standard high street frags that last longer So , to sum up - A "Nice" scent , but nothing special at all. I could get a 1000 other "just nice" scents on the high street for a 1/3 of the price of "Freak". Out of interest i got a few friends ( who are not fragrance mad) to look at the advertising , then sniff. The feedback i got was they were expecting something - "stronger" " more seductive" " more unusual". Hmmm. SUCH A Shame this is a negative review , as i wanted this to be something special and to treat myself. Also its a shame as another member had gone out of there way to send me the testers . ( there not impressed with the scent either BTW) FYI -The make up from the same brand is very good BTW. ( i still want that bottle , but ill get a empty one of ebay n save my £££s for s better frag). ****Next on my list to try is CoutureGuru's recommendation of " If you want something really freaky - try "Stephen Jones" ****

Well I finally received my long awaited sample of this today from surrender to chance...&& well I don't hate it I actually quite like the juice...it hints at that vintage-esque perfume smell but with a modern edge...but agreed this stuff is sooo weak to be EDP! I'm hoping that this isn't some watered down crap from this site && what I'm smelling is the true scent I don't think it is but I'd hate to be judging it from what I'm getting if its not... anyways from what I am getting is a fairly nice/ safe light floriental yeah I do kinda get that men's aftershave smell but IMPO I think it hints more to the fem. side && it actually reminds me of...ok I'm Italian (big family) that scent like one of my great aunts would smell like when I hug them at a family gathering..hence the vintage type smell...hey I'm glad I got to try it. Will I be springing to purchase a bottle...probably not..would I mind receiving it as a gift...not at all :) In all quite a nice scent, the expected dark && freaky meh...not so so much but it's still something different to experience, what's funny is on me it smells more fem., but on my mom it smells more manly (the a/s smell) maybe that's what makes makes it freaky?! haha idk.., like a previous user stated a little decant is about all I can recommend too though due to its weak longevity && poor sillage, unless you can't resist not owning the adorable slanted snail bottle! :) UPDATE: (9*20*12) I think this works really well if you layer it with something, currently I've been layering it with my burberry touch && I just love the combo I think it might be changing my mind && I might have to get a full bottle now! :)

Freak is fascinatingly dark, smoky, floral scent, however not potent enough to single you out as the nature of the name of the scent. I was hoping for a little freak makeover in this scent but then again how do you freak out a scent? The mix of ingredients did create something freakishly pleasant that I love to smell. It is sort of a beatnik form of reality as this is how I envision the scent, a scent for those who dare to wear black clothes with red lipstick everyday as a form of expression; not a scent for the masses but for a select few to enjoy. From the reviews I was expecting a really heavy, strong, potent type of scent...the type of scent that gives you a headache if overly sprayed. I timidly sprayed this on my wrist and prepped myself for an olfactory overload. Freak was not like that at all for me. Upon the first spray the scent is a sweet floral scent. As it settles the incense and myrrh start to appear with hints of spiciness. I sprayed the perfumes a few more times and had some on my hair as well. It is now night (9 hours later) time and I still pick up some light hints on my hair, very lovely scent. Longevity is medium on my skin...longer on hair and for me sillage seems to be between soft and medium. I ordered the 75ml from Illamasque directly because it was on sale. As hulalulu1234 already pointed out it is Made in China.

This is a gorgeous, sexy, evocative perfume without being too in your face. If you like perfumes that will last all day then this will be your baby and the best thing is also that hour by hour there is a subtle but noticeable change in the fragrance on yourself so you never forget you are wearing it. It is subtle enough to wear during the day in the office due to the floral undertones but also not so in your face to offend and the musk overtones waft in a sensual but ladylike way and will make people ask what you are wearing. TBH I can't really see many males wearing this perfume but at the same time can (if that makes sense?) The fragrance almost makes you feel like you have a spell and are enticing people to notice you and say "wow that smell is just amazing what is it can I sniff/smell you? Lol" It is not a cheap smelling perfume and after about 6hrs you are left with a soft, sweet expensive smelling musk. If you are quite shy this will make you feel so sensual and will make you smile and feel more confident. If you are already quite confident then all I can say is watch out men because you will be enticed into her lair if she is single! Lol xxx