Karleidoscope

I am surprised at how few people have commented on the packaging! Karleidoscope arrives in a narrow tube, with faceted plastic (like a kaleidoscope lens) on one end. A foam silhouette of Karl's head forms a cushion between the bottle and the lens, so that you can look through the slit (also shaped like Karl, seen sideways) to see Karl's head surrounded by faceted color, all of which reflects off of the golden interior. It's perfume! It's a toy! It's really goofy! The bottle also has a black casing surrounding the inner tubing, providing that stripe effect. All in all, this is quite original, and makes this scent a lot of fun to open. The next big surprise arrives shortly after I sprayed the scent. Immediately there was a distinct herbal floral note, velvety, a touch sharp, entirely unfamiliar. Five minutes later I could not smell anything on my skin. I was baffled. Karleidoscope went from quite strong to nothing...and after about 20 minutes, faded back in, eventually reaching a nice intensity. This intensity seems to come and go in waves. I was baffled. I couldn't figure this out, so I went looking through all the notes. It turns out that humans can only smell violet for about five minutes. After about 5 minutes, the scent molecule turns off our scent receptors, making itself undetectable until enough time has passed for the B-ionone to be perceived as a "new" scent. So, for me, the B-ionone is very forward in the beginning- it is all that I smell. So when my receptors turn off, the scent disappears completely. As the heart opens, violet continues to fade in and out, while the other scents remain steady, creating that wave effect. Neither musk nor the fantasy freesia note appear on my skin (YAY!). This is one of the most unique scent experiences I've ever had! It also turns out that I really like violet, and the reason that I've never enjoyed violet scents is because of artificial violet notes. Good to know. So, the opening is a pure blast of violet, which comes and goes throughout the life of the scent, while the other notes provide a backdrop. The heart opens as nicely pungent angelica, with a resinous edge from the benzoin, and just a touch of heliotrope, combined with subtle dark patchouli. The dry down is soft vanillic tonka, layered with heliotrope. And the violet come and goes, and comes and goes. K is an amazing scent experience. It's inexpensive ($12 for a 2 oz on the 'bay, free shipping), and even if you don't care for the scent of violet, it is worth experiencing, in my opinion. I do present this with the caveat that you have to have the OR5A1 neural receptor to perceive violet scent. So, before buying, please go sniff a violet. Make sure that you can smell the flower before purchasing! You can usually find viola odorata in flower stores, but you may have ask for it. And then, enjoy the "hide and seek" experience of true violet. What fun! And, in my opinion, this is also a really lovely, deceptively simple, elegantly warm, lightly playful scent. And the best part? You never have to worry about your scent overwhelming those around you, so you can apply with abandon! If they can smell violet, the violet will disappear and reappear for your companions as well. It will be noticed when you enter, and again, after you have been in company for a while. I really love this! I am seriously considering ordering more bottles and making this a spring/summer signature. First, because it's lovely, and largely ignored, and second, because, as a neuroscience graduate student, Karleidoscope is fascinating! Longevity appears to be quite good, 6+ hours. Sillage varies, depending upon perception of the violet note, from a skin scent to within arms length. I suspect that K may form a slight scent trail, but I haven't been able to verify this, due to the hide and seek nature of the violet, and the limited time that I have been wearing it. Highly, highly recommended! EDIT: In warm weather, the angelica really shines, taking on an almost amaretto-like tone. Seriously, people, you've got to try this!

This is really gorgeous! I love violet and angelica together, so I was pretty sure I would. It wears very much like a Blvgari in terms of longevity and sillage, but is of high quality like them also. Gorgeous powdery violets, herbal minty angelica, and benzoin for a vintage touch and gives it that luxurious high class velvety feel. I also get some clean musk. Going through my laundry today I noticed a lovely cloud of a smell and found it on a sweater I wore last week one day and had to look on my timeline to see what I had on that day. It was Karleidoscope! I wasn't really all that impressed with this at first, but I really truly love it! A sweet, lovely cloud Is it backup bottle worthy? If you love violets and angelica, you bet!

I love this one so much! Wasn't really sure if I should blindbuy this, thank God I did it, as it was totaly worth it. First of all it does smell a lot like My Queen (which I love too, but sometimes I find it a little bit too heavy and cloying. That's why I love Karleidoscope, because it's weaker than my Queen but still smells amazing. By weaker I don't mean that its' gone in an hour. By that I mean I can spray it as much as I want and it will not cause me nausea. I'm a sucker for everything powdery and the musky violet in this one suits me more than well. I can only praise this fragrance. Well done!

I made a review for this one before but it seem like it isn't here anymore. Got a bottle of this (60 ml edp) from the bargain bin for €11 and am so mad at myself for not buying more. I have a hit or miss relation to violet. This fragrance is one of the few that contains violet without it dominating the olfactory profile for me. It is a sophisticated, not that sweet but warm amber fragrance with earthy violet and angelica to keep it balanced. Very well blended . Only minus is that is sometimes seem to disappear to my nose only to reappear a few minutes later.

It is definitely cold weather fragrance and I was wrong about this beauty,thats it.I put it on my wrists yesterday and could smell it for several hours.Very classy and balmy ,discrete rich scent,high quality perfume .Not sexy and in your face ,but sexy clouse your skin scent.Closest to Unforgivable Women,just not that powdery,more balmy rich I am actually amazed by quality of Lagerfeld perfumes,own two of capsules Light and Red.Classy and ladylike scents Just amazing for the money I paid for that quality perfumes Highly recommended