Freak 2011 Eau de Parfum

Freak (Eau de Parfum) by Illamasqua
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7.3 / 10 57 Ratings
A perfume by Illamasqua for women and men, released in 2011. The scent is floral-spicy. The production was apparently discontinued.
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Main accords

Floral
Spicy
Woody
Smoky
Oriental

Fragrance Pyramid

Top Notes Top Notes
Opium poppyOpium poppy BelladonnaBelladonna DavanaDavana
Heart Notes Heart Notes
DaturaDatura HemlockHemlock Queen-of-the-nightQueen-of-the-night
Base Notes Base Notes
FrankincenseFrankincense MyrrhMyrrh OudOud

Perfumer

Videos
Ratings
Scent
7.357 Ratings
Longevity
6.246 Ratings
Sillage
5.749 Ratings
Bottle
8.359 Ratings
Submitted by Kankuro, last update on 11.01.2020.

Reviews

6 in-depth fragrance descriptions
6
Scent
Coutureguru

223 Reviews
Coutureguru
Coutureguru
Very helpful Review 7  
Freaky deaky LOVE!!!
When I heard that Illamasqua was releasing a fragrance I was 'over the moon', so to speak. I am a make-up artist by trade, and as such have a few of Illamasqua's aces up my sleeve (their lip tar is just incredible). I immediately called up a friend in England who was about to visit and asked her to bring me a bottle.

I've probably never been so disappointed by marketing hype IN MY LIFE. There I was, expecting the three witches from Macbeth to rise out of the vapors cackling 'double double toil and trouble, fire burn and cauldron bubble' ... they didn't!
Instead, I was faced with a fume that in it's opening is decidedly 'boyish' ... not to mention 'boorish'. Old fashioned barbershop aftershave emanated from me in waves and I was most distressed. I put the bottle away in it's packaging and resigned it to the rear of my 'backup' cupboard, fuming that I had spent a small fortune on it!
Some time ago, I was at a loss for what to wear so I yanked it out and gave it a really good overspray. I'm so glad I did!!
I realized that one has to look past all the copy about this fragrance. I have to say that I find it completely misnamed and misrepresented ... but when one overlooks the schpiel, Freak is actually a really gorgeous unisex. Far from knowing what all of those poisonous flowers smell like, I get a really unique LIGHT opening, with a woodsy fresh cant followed by a smooth, velvety drydown with rather impressive resinoid leanings. Parfumier Azzi Glasser has managed to bamboozle the mind, by delivering a fragrance that by it's very nature points a finger at the wearer and with a very large tongue in the cheek giggles 'freak'.
I have come to really enjoy this fragrance.
I have two bugbears about it. The first one is about the cardboard packaging. The pushdown cover of the box does not carry the weight of the (gorgeous) bottle and has sent mine spinning across the floor more than once. That it hasn't smashed to pieces is a miracle. I've had to tape the sides as I like keeping my frags in their boxes.
The second is that an 'extrait de parfum' has now hit the shelves! Could we rather not just have had it from the beginning ... as the skin life of Freak is nothing to write home about. (Damn all bean counters to a fiery pit!!)

I have changed my mind about Freak as I have been wearing it. I'm loving it ... even without the witches :).
5 Comments
10
Bottle
5
Sillage
7.5
Longevity
8
Scent
Ysbrand

84 Reviews
Ysbrand
Ysbrand
Very helpful Review 5  
Titania asleep
What happens with Freak is a little bit what i mentioned in the review of Nuit Etoilée... Night, darkness, are slippery concepts. So is freakiness. Being us humans visal creatures, translating this concepts into olfactive signifiers is even trickier. What is a freaky scent? is it ugly? is it different? is it unpleasant or the opposite? Freak has a negative connotation, but nowadays is something some proudly embrace. If that wasn´t complicated enough, we all have different threshold of tolerance to freakiness. So, in my opinion, the choice of the name, plus this self-appointed harbinger of night title, has brought Freak more dissapointed/angry reviews than positive, being an absolutely wonderful fragance.

Going to the fragance,i have Freak Extrait de Parfum on one arm and Freak Eau de Parfum in the other. Spot the differences. Well, they seem to have the same formula (something I applaude; i hate, and i am aware this is a big word, when the different concentrations of a same fragance smell different or even completely different) The Extrait smells slightly stronger, but both are rather close to the skin and thin. Minding the price, probably there is no point in spending more in the Extrait that i am reviewing.

How does Freak smell like? Is hard to figure out at the start , you will probably need to put on your "perfume glasses" Is weird. And rare. Weird is more a first appreciation, rare is the second sniff, when you realize you want to keep it. It is a quiet, whispering fragance: the crackling noise, forbidden to mortals, of flowers opening and of little insect feet tapping on the wood floor (now that probably freaked out many of you, but having grown up with an entomologyst i have nothing but love for insects) It is a nice collection of unusual botanical notes. I admit my ignorance about most of them. I know hemlock smell musty (and there is a warm herbal mustiness in the drydown) The only notes i can easily identfy (and bring me memories of our garden at night) are Angel Trumpet and Queen of The Night, this flowers unfold their fragance once the sun is set. Overall, Freak smell like ethereal, strange, cryptogam flowers: sweet, a bit soapy, a bit intoxicating... a quiet lure, almost unnoticed, that is always there, obsessively calling. The fragance is sort of uniform, as things appear under the moonlight. Underneath the delicately alluring flowers, cool myrrh and unlit incense bring darkness, and is oud what gives a brilliant repulsive/attractive note. The drydown is woody and softly balsamic.

Freak made me remember the "altered visual perception" that the main character of Photographing Fairies suffers after eating some parasitic flowers that grew in the highest branches of certain tree. Great movie by the way.

Freak is a fragance most people wouldn´t make an objection, because is not loud, and is not unpleasant, but few of them will get it and appreciate its otherworldly, addictive beauty. Thank you, J, for this great finding.
5 Comments
7.5
Bottle
5
Sillage
4
Scent
Sfonativeboy

18 Reviews
Sfonativeboy
Sfonativeboy
5  
Freak is Safe....
Freak is astonishingly......
very safe and dare I say common.

it starts off like a few have mentioned ..
like a Men's cologne or After shave
however, it shifts and turns itself into a nice floral scent .
Like a man dressing up in drag ....familiar yet odd.

ahhh.... .
there are themes with which this fragrance and its creators
want to work within ..

the use of "Moonlit" and "Night Blooming "as its other theme
is why is I get White florals.....

But this is just a "Nice".fragrance
"Nothing out of the ordinary at all."
. but perhaps thats what so freakish about it
.. the fact that its soooo very very normal....
Like wearing .. a Ralph Lauren Preppy ... outfit ...
Polo shirt collar up to a Goth Party ...
The fact that its so normal ... makes it in fact an oddity
One wonders ....what lies beneath ...?????
and that's what's so Scary and FREAK -ish!

I agree with others that are also disappointed.
This fragrance does not live up to the cool dark imagery
that the advertising campaign and the bottle
want you to believe or buy into.

I wanted this to be something oddly special ...
Night-blooming flowers are usually intoxicatingly heavy.
they bewitch and usually make you swoon ....

I imagined a modern "Christian Dior's POISON"
or even dark and inky like ... "SoOud BURQUA"
or even odd and "Moonlit" cold like ...."L'Artisan Passage D'Enfer"
I wanted so much to buy this ...
I got a sample size ....
which is about as much as I can recommend ..
1 Comment
10
Bottle
7.5
Sillage
5
Longevity
9
Scent
JPhx

8 Reviews
JPhx
JPhx
Helpful Review 3  
No Freak show here!
The image that was initially conjured up via great marketing and superb packaging could have easily lead to a great disappointment due to the lack of depth and darkness hoped for, but this has grown on me after numerous wears. However, it is extremely light just as other reviewers have mentioned in the past and unfortunately with mediocre longevity. The light and fresh florals have a mere hint of an oud-like scent and little incense, resulting in a soft fragrance that remain close to the skin. Nevertheless, it has become a favorite this year and one that I will consider buying again.
0 Comments
7
Bottle
5
Sillage
8
Longevity
4.5
Scent
StellaDiverF

213 Reviews
StellaDiverF
StellaDiverF
Helpful Review 3  
Freak Wannabe
On my skin, Illamasqua Freak is a rather amorphous fruity floral with a noticeable woody backbone. There are occasional whiffs of sweet tuberose and jammy abricot, and the woody note sometimes shares a few common traits with synthetic oud, but most of the time, it's an abstract clean creamy woody floral with a surprisingly restrained sweetness in today's mainstream market.

The sillage is moderate to low and the longevity is around 8 hours on my skin.

I was initially very disappointed by Freak, as it's anything but freak or dark suggested by its cheeky marketing prose. However, if put into its context being a fragrance marketed to appeal to a young clientele, Freak is indeed very "alternative" compared to most sugary gourmand fragrances put out by major designer brands. Besides its low level of sweetness, its perceptible woody undertone can make it seem more masculine and "darker" than its competitors, but at the same time, its clean floralcy would still provide a relatively easy access and its abstract nature could also be interpreted as "mysterious" and coherent to its "poisonous flower" theme. While I don't find it a remarkable fragrance, it's certainly a cleverly constructed one befitting to its marketing strategy. If you happen to be looking for a clean woody floral fragrance in a cute bottle, Freak might worth consideration.
0 Comments
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