[shelldoo]

The Daemon Sultan, Seething Nuclear Chaos

...that last amorphous blight of nethermost confusion which blasphemes and bubbles at the centre of all infinity -- the boundless daemon-sultan Azathoth, whose name no lips dare speak aloud, and who gnaws hungrily in inconceivable, unlighted chambers beyond time amidst the muffled, maddening beating of vile drums and the thin, monotonous whine of accursed flutes; to which detestable pounding and piping dance slowly, awkwardly, and absurdly the gigantic ultimate gods, the blind, voiceless, tenebrous, mindless Other Gods whose soul and messenger is the crawling chaos Nyarlathotep.

Azathoth is the blind, idiot god who sits on a black throne at the center of Chaos. His scent is high-pitched and screeching, both impenetrably dark and searingly bright with the clarity of madness: tangerine, saffron, vetiver, black amber and cedarwood.

in the bottle dark, sinister resinous, a teeny bit of the tangerine lingers. this is definitely a unisex blend. i actually would love to smell it on my dh.

on my skin cedarwood is the note most prominent, then vetiver as i move my hand away from my nose i get a gentle waft of black amber and the tangerine is mia. this is strong and masculine dark resinous, swarthy. yet there is something green in there i am trying to pin point what exactly is the greenness. man this is a wellblended scent. i will have to keep sniffing and update when i place exactly what that note is.

[clover]

Azathoth

Upon application: The two most dominant notes are the vetiver and the saffron (which I recognize from the Scherezade I was wearing all day). I get a slight whiff of something citrus-y and astringent - presumably the tangerine, although I would have guessed lemon verbena - it has that vague greeness to it.

After a while, Azathoth seems to blend together a bit more - all of the notes combine into a slightly masculine, but really wonderful scent. The vetiver is definitely the strongest note - which is a-ok with me, because I LOVE VETIVER.

"High pitched and screeching, inpenetrably dark and searingly bright" is the perfect description. Love it.

[mmcfa2]

LOL I'm not sure we have the same bottles!

Wet: citrus! bright sweet mandarin
dry: cedar and vetiver with a touch of saffron

wonderfully warm and dry and woody. cedar is the longest note for me, just yummy and would be AMAZING on a man.

[ivyandpeony]

Mmmm... I never thought I would associate the words "sexy" and "blind idiot god," but a sniff out of the bottle and I was like, "Whoa!" This is a gorgeous blend although it may prove too masculine for me to wear in the long run.

I share the vetiverphobia of the majority of BPAL fans, but the other notes persuaded me to order this one, and it is very interesting to me... This vetiver seems different than the vetiver I have encountered on previous occasions. It is richer, mellower and smoother. Whether it's truly a different vetiver oil that the Lab has used, or a result of its wedding with these other notes, I can't say. But the effect is that of a very expensive perfume, as if the house of Creed had hand-blended a scent for you.

Upon application, Azathoth starts out with bright citrus and saffron notes, and slowly dries down to a very deep, woodsy, dare I say BRAWNY base of cedar and vetiver. It was at this stage, after wearing it for about an hour and a half, that I gave up for the night, because this lecherous vetiver was crawling slowly up my arm and I could tell it was not going to take no for an answer.

This is one that I am really looking forward to trying again in a few weeks, to see how the notes have blended. For right now, Azathoth is gibbering away in my BPAL drawer (I told him he's resting at a very luxurious spa, having a special isolation treatment, though and he believes me ... blind idiot.)

[Macha]

Woah. Umm....that's sure is some strong Vetiver and Saffron you got there, Mr. Azathoth. Really strong. I had no idea that the chaos of nuclear fire was so...masculine.

So masculine that in my mind I can't help but picture some incredibly testosterone-laden God of War trying this fragrance and saying, "Umm....this is nice, but do you have anything a little more sissy I can try? That is much too manly for me." Oh great, Mr. Azathoth, now you've gone and made the God of War cry and pine for some pansy little fragrance like Dracul or Czernobog.

I suspect that impression might be different if the tangerine had ever really showed up to the party, but sadly cedar and black amber appear to have hijacked tangerine, tied him up, and dumped him in a very unpleasant part of a deep, dank, stone dungeon in preparation for dark rites to the Great Old Ones. Sorry, ol' chap. It would have been nice to have met you. Hope you like the sound of flutes.

Azathoth is not for me, but I will, of course, have to try this out on my boyfriend. :P

[gingersnapp]

I had very high hopes for this blend, even though I have notoriously bad luck with vetiver. But I suspected that the tangerine, saffron, and cedar might help tame it.

I was wrong. So wrong.

Yet another blend where the only visible note is wicked, bitchy vetiver. :P When will I learn my lesson???

[kimchi]

This is an incredibly warm & sexy scent. :P

On me, Azathoth is all cedarwood and vetiver. Yummy!
I can tell there's a bit of black amber. I don't notice any tangerine and I have no idea what saffron smells like, so I can't pick it out.
It has very good throw and lasts a long time.

This scent is a bit too overwhelming for a 90 degree weather day like today but I will wear this in the Fall & Winter.

This would be amazing on a man since I find it to be a masculine scent. I would want to cuddle with someone wearing this-bury my nose in his neck and sniff to my heart's content!

[Northernminx]

The good: Saffron and tangerine citrusy smells are yummy, like a delightful, sexy, masculine tango.
The bad: Vertiver still doesn't like me and sadly this is one of those blends where it shows up and refuses to go outside like I politely asked it too. No, mr. vertiver has to show up and beat up the tangerine doing the tango, give him a black eye, and toss him out the front door.

Masculine? Definitly, like a barbrawl waiting to happen this is testosterone laden on me. Wonderful, except for the vertiver, between that and the masculine part this one isn't for me. Sigh.

[sarada]

I didn't put this in my first SIA order, despite it having some of my favorite notes in it (cedar, vetiver, hell all of these are favorite notes of mine) ... I tagged it onto another, later order as an afterthought. I had mixed ideas about how it would turn out, and was really hoping for something like Capricorn (very deep and woody, sweet and brown) with a touch of sweet tangy citrus and some of the spicy warmth of saffron that I love in Scherezade.

It came across in the bottle very much like a masculine cologne though, rather like a darker, deeper version of Incantation (which struck me as pure cologne, and not one that I liked). But the vetiver does keep it from going too far in that direction. The smooth softness of vetiver warms up the blend and it fades in and out between masculine perfume and a warm, woody blend. I don't get much of the tangerine at all and I really don't sense much saffron either. I think that the amber gives it the cologney edge along with cedar...as much as I love cedar it can have a very aftershavey scent in certain combinations.

I think I will keep it because I love having these Arkham bottles and I do get a lot of vetiver from it, but it's a bit too much like a cologne/aftershave scent for my tastes. I might eventually wind up swapping it if I find out I missed the boat on another scent but I'll give it a try until then. Maybe in the fall it would suit my mood better. Or the boy...I caught him sniffing it, and he's a Lovecraft fan so maybe this is made for a masculine chemistry. We'll see!

[mmontgomery]

This is a very masculine scent but one that I can imagine wearing. I love the woody elements, especially the cedar notes.

[ladytaga]

This is way to woody and didn't work out on me (to manly). I knew it when I ordered it but I wanted to order the whole pack. I don't know if I will swap this one out because well I like having them all together. Maybe when I have my babies my hormones will allow this one to work until then it will sit in the box. I really hoped the citrus would just jump out on my skin...but it didn't :P

[Lady_Ell]

I had grand hopes for this (tangerine, saffron, etc.) but it makes me smell like a 14-year-old boy who bought his first bottle of Drakkar Noir and spilled it all over himself.

[Atalanta Pendragonne]

This was all vetiver on me, as well. Not an "eww, vetiver!" like some blends, more of an "enh, vetiver". I think I picked up a hint of the cedar as well. Very much a masculine scent. I wouldn't mind this on someone else but it is not for me.

[cuervosueno]

Thank you to Atalanta Pendragonne for swapping with me--turns out I love Azathoth!
Of the SIA blends, I ordered Al Azif and Shub-N. I knew I'd like Shub, because I had an imp of its gingery goodness, but I bought Al Azif based on the reviews of it being incense and vetiver.
So I am SO glad I got this, because for me, it is the much amped up brethern of A.A. that one fades too fast, is a barely discernable scent, but indeed, Azathoth gibbers and howls, and is a real presence!
Yes, vetiver, lovely smoky strong vetiver, screaming out of the darkness. In the bottle, there is a strong aftershave note to my nose, which I realized is tangerine mixed with the other elements, esp. saffron. But neither the tangerine nor the saffron show up as individual notes on my skin at all. Its just that lovely V-grass, then it softens and lingers with cedar goodness.
Funny, I'd been thinking of trying my own vetiver blend because I have a lovely bottle of it, but after this...well....Beth has done it much better than I ever could.
So I'll be keeping the blind idiot god who tramps madly through the vetiver....
And I've loved reading the reviews of this--great work everyone! :P

eta: I put this on last night, and when I woke up this morning, I could still smell it--12 hours later--but it had morphed back to its original slightly aftershavy scent, which I think is the tangerine? doesn't seem likely, because usually citrus notes fade quickly, but the vetiver fades eventually to this other note. Not my favorite part of the Azathoth experience, but by now its just a faint whiff so I still love it. But wow, does this have staying power!

This post has been edited by cuervosueno: 01 July 2005 - 05:39 PM

[quinnbee]

I am shite at describing scents, but all I can say about Azathoth is that both Scott and I are mad for this. I'm already looking for back-ups, b/c we are definitely going to go through our original bottle very quickly. :P

[zenvodunista]

i adore this scent. close to my skin it's very woody, but this delightful aura of sweetness hovers about me when i wear it.

i am hoping that layering it with Arkham Revisited will help the AR stick around a bit longer (i love that to pieces, but it fades VERY quickly on me).

i'm really sad that these were limited runs. hopefully, they will occasionally come back and visit.

n.

[paperdoll]

Initial Sniff: Cedar and vetiver. Strong and masculine.

Wearing:At first this is all cedar and saffron. Slowly the saffron disappears and the vetiver comes out. Cedar and vetiver play nice for a while, then vetver decides to smother vetiver to death and announce his triumph with authority. This has great staying power.

Final Impressions: Either this vetiver is different than the one Beth usually uses or the mix makes it express itself differently on my skin. Vetiver always takes over on my skin, but usually it ends up as a spicy dark earth scent. This still has the earthiness, but it is oddly sharp and piercing. Very interesting!

[laochodia]

All I got from this was ginger; the kind of ginger that rapes your nostrils. (It certianly bloody felt like it. Not to malign any of Beths work but..this blend didn't like me.) I got a hint of a dark amber but all I could smell was ginger, ginger and a hint of lemongrass (don't ask. I don't know where it came from).

[k00kaburra]

In bottle: Smoky vetiver and heavy, earthy cedarwood. I am searching for a hint of the other notes, and I think I may detect a corrupted dark amber; but other than the dark, shadowy wickedness of this blend I find nothing else. It makes me think of a deep pit with smoke rising up.
On me: This is an extremely masculine scent; far too dark and wrought with incense and earth for me. After it dries the light hints of tangerine wafts up, but it is still a polar opposite of a scent for me. To the swap pile with ye!

[Dark Seraphim]

I LOVE this scent and I think this one has become my favorite.

Bottle Very strong alchohol scent. I though 'alchoholic' because I was addicted as soon as I smelt it. I also got a sense of sterility while smelling it. Reminded me of a hopsital.

Worn: At first, it smelt like a hospital would smell like. Very clean. Then, it suddenly smelt exactly like a Greek Orthodox Church. I never thought Azathoth would have that kind of scent, but I was very pleased that it did. A couple hours later, it started to smell sexy in a very animalistic way.

Overall, a great, strong scent. Just the way I like them. Can't get enough of this one. 10/10.

[OriginalWacky]

Bottle (Imp): Fresh and clean.

Just On: Still mostly fresh and clean.

An hour or two later: It's got that fresh and clean thing, but there's something darker going on underneath those. It makes this very interesting.

Around 6 hours: I can still get the fresh and clean, with that dark tinge of other.

12 hours: It's left my skin now.

Overall: This is pretty neat. I like it.

After reading other reviews: What an interesting reaction. To me this smelled much fresher than I would expect in reading the notes. Macha... I laughed so hard I scared three of my cats when I read your review. Now all I can see in my head is a crying God of War.

[quantum spice]

on me, once it dried, azathoth was all vetiver and cedarwood, with the occasional hint black amber. very dark and masculine. i'm not really a fan of cedarwood to begin with, and vetiver and i have an uneasy truce, so this was not a scent for me.

it did, however, last for about 12-15 hours. good if you like it, not so good if you don't.

[emzebel]

I cannot help but wonder, reading the reviews, if perhaps I have something else in a bottle labled Azathoth? It is amazing how we all process things differently...

To me this scent is lovely - very fresh and clean with a hint of the same boggy base that makes me think of marshes in western Massachusetts that has been in all the SIA scent's I've tried (not MiskU, yet, to be sure!). I don't know enough about vetiver to be able to pick it out of this mix, but to me this is not an overly masculine scent at all..it is mossy and woody with just tiny little hints of the saffron and tangerine to make it fresh, but not enough to stand out.

I don't think I would seek out another bottle, but I'm definitely glad to have the one.

[Little Bird]

I thought that I would love Azathoth since people were describing it as masculine and I have a history of happily wearing men's colognes.

The cedar in this is the main note on me and it is a very smoky cedar at that. All I can think of when I sniff this is 'BBQ' :P. This is probably a result of my father BBQing with cedar planks... I now have an association with that smell. The citrus comes out on the cedar as well, like a nice citrus marinade.

This isn't really masculine on me either. It smells surprisingly sweet and smoky. Azathoth might be my least favorite blend in the SiA series, sadly.

[cranberry]

The first time I smelled Azathoth, I thought this is pure vetivert and I was actually a bit scared to put it on (despite the fact that I have about 4 bottles of pure vetivert EO). So I waited a while.

A couple of weeks later, I put just the tiniest bit on my wrists to give it a whirl. And I thought this is pure vetivert, and only vetivert - nothing else. And strong. Just a drop is very potent and lasts a long time. After a while, I got bored with the vetivert smell and washed it off (after scrubbing a long time with lots of soap - it's a persistent bugger).

So this evening, about 5 weeks after getting the bottle, I thought, I'll give it another try before deciding whether or not to keep it. And applied just the tiniest bit from the edge to one wrist and rubbed it on my other wrist. Well, I have to say I have a completely different perspective!

Initial Impression: Vetivert, stong vetivert. Wafts of some kind of mens cologne on top of the vertivert. Tangerine, saffron? Hard to say.

After a while: Wow - this is getting pretty good. The men's cologne doesn't last long - thankfully. It seems to deepen and get a bit smoky, becoming this amazing deep dark incense smell, of course, underlain with vetivert. It's very masculine but yummy!

In conclusion: It's a keeper! I was expecting it go off to swaps or sales, but I really like it. It's good alone. I'm pretty sure it'll be good layered with other scents. I had a bit of Queen of Clubs on my sweater and those two combined....wonderful. I think it'll be great with floral, fruits, maybe other woods? Letting it age and blend was a wonderful thing!