Wednesday 18 January 2012

Illamasqua Freak smells like..

I got a tiny sample of Illamasqua's Freak when I made my first ever Illamasqua order from their sale.  It is probably the most complex perfume that I have ever introduced my nose to.

I can identify the smell immediately, although I'll leave that until the end of the post.  Can you imagine a three liner post from me?  It will never happen!

On a side note, I start this year with the sad realisation that I am once again abusing a member of the punctuation mark family.  A few years ago, it was the comma.  I've moved onto harder stuff now and it is exclamation marks that I'm mainlining (the line being my fingers and not veins).  This is more than evident in the majority of my tweets.  I don't know why it is, I'm just a highly exciteable person! (See, that was totally by accident).

Anyway, I got this vial and I really like the smell.  It is like nothing else on the market at the moment and that is pretty much in keeping with what Illamasqua do.

The official notes are..
I on the other hand know exactly what it smells like.  Old Indian grandmas at the Gurdwara.  If you think I'm joking, smell this and then go smelling an old bibi at the Gurdwara.  The funny thing is, it smells nothing like a bibi (the Punjabi word for grandma) when she's at home.  I don't know why that is.
In that way, it's a really comforting smell because it reminds me of both of my grandmothers.  I don't think I could carry off this scent as I feel it's a bit too mature for me but my grandmother is loving it.  That alone makes me laugh a bit, I bet she is in no way Illamasqua's target audience yet she cannot get enough of the perfume.

Illamasqua describe it as being a concoction of dangerously exotic unconventional flowers.. I told my grandma this and she remarked that it sounded just like her.  I had to laugh as she explained how she was dangerous (when she lived in India, she had a stand-off with a monkey who kept ripping the tyres on my uncle's bike..on more than one ocassion..)  And as for the exotic part, she's brown, how much more exotic can you get?

It also made me laugh a bit that Illamasqua market themselves as quite an edgy brand yet this gives me that feeling you get when you put on a pair of freshly ironed (still warm) trousers or when you wrap yourself in a blanket that's just come out of the tumble drier. 

The full sized bottle looks something like this..
I applaud Illamasqua for being able to make a perfume bottle that not only stands out but also isn't difficult to display on your dressing table.  I've seen some very "original" designs recently and although they look nice, they're not really very practical and the last thing you want is for your lovely bottle of perfume to slip out of your hands and smash into a million pieces.

The full sized bottle retails for £59.00, available from their website.

12 comments:

  1. That description is classic! I literally laughed out loud! Xx

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    1. It's true! I really couldn't put my finger on the smell, then I went to the Gurdwara and there it was!

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  2. Oh gosh, I was so curious to see what you thought of the scent.. DIED at the description hahah! xx

    ps - I'm a serial .... abuser and also guilty of adding ~ ~ to words where I'd usually wave my hands around irl!

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    1. It is the absolute truth! Have a smell in-store and you'll see what I mean!

      I don't know what is wrong with me, I keep doing it without meaning to..as I've just realised there is one in this very comment, sorry!

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  3. yeah it does have a peculiar smell doesn't it?! I'm a bit iffy on this one!

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    1. I think it takes a fair bit of getting used to, you can't just smell it and decide there and then if you like it or not. It grows on you. What I would do is spray it on a card, keep the card with me and then smell it as the day goes on. That's how I fell in love with Balenciaga's perfume.

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  4. Hehehe....great description! I would think Illamasqua would do a young, hip scent, not a bibi scent!

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    Replies
    1. That's exactly what I thought!

      It's as bibi as almonds, sogi and laichi in a tissue..

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  5. Great description. This perfume really is very potent. The bottle is gorgeous though.

    http://pandorasssbox.blogspot.com/

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  6. Yes, the bottle is gorgeous. A lady at work wears it but has somehow managed to dilute it down. I asked her how she does it and she said that she just spritzes it in the air and then walks through it.

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  7. LMAO....go bibi! wow, yeah...i'm super curious to sniff this, but doesn't sound like anything that i'd rock O_o

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  8. Rhamnousia I loved this post, so honest and funny! Bibi at the gurdwara. Wow if your granny could see some of the illamasqua looks she'd freak lol

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