forspecial_plate

Most of the Arkham scents that I've tried have a bold, garish quality that is interesting, but for me unwearable. There are a couple that really work for me, but most of the ones I've tried are too......I don't know, amped up or something. They remind me of when you look at a TV screen and the color setting is turned all the way up. I realize that this is on purpose, and I applaud Beth for her creative interperetation of Lovecraft's universe. They really are unsettling scents. The Deep Ones has that quality too. It is so sharp, tart, and bold that I can't imagine wearing it with any frequency. And don't get me wrong....it smells good to me! It's just too much for me to handle. On first applying, it smells very green and juicy, with something lurking in the background that smells.....almost skunky to me. It reminds me a little of Hemlock, if you've ever tried that. This is deeper and murkier. I agree that there's something tart and bitter here like grapefruit. It has a little ozone that comes out more strongly as it dries, and I think that's where the 'dryer-sheet' smell is coming from. This scent is so juicy and full it almost feels like you can take a bite out of it. It reminds me of a distant cousin of Kingsport. Kingsport is like standing on a cliff overlooking the beach, with crashing waves, and mist all around. The Deep Ones is more like being tossed around in those waves, with the seaweed trying to strangle you and coral poking at your skin. It's really extraordinary and I know some people are really going to like it.

This scent is sensual, but may be too sweet for some. Basically it smells exactly like a sweet Indian incense. You have smelled it before. I would have guessed honey is in it, but not caramel, at least not at first. As time goes by, the caramel starts to come out more. Red musk is nowhere to be found by my nose. It's a really pretty scent, but I fear too feminine for me. Very sweet, but not powdery to me. I would not call this gender neutral. However, I had my imps in a cigar box and this one leaked just a little bit. Now my box smells very lovely. I doubt I'll get any wear from it. I prefer Chintimani-Dhupa with its woods over this. If you like honey scents like Bengal you might want to try this.

I'm a guy and I like some of the woodsy scents. Add me to the Dee and Aureus fans. I wasn't crazy about Black Forest...but that's when I was going through my 'hating juniper' phase, and I would actually like to try it again. Burial might be good for woodsy and earthy. My favorite 'foresty' scent is the newer Wolf Moon (it came out in December of '06 but the bottle says '07). "This is the dead of winter: a frozen night, chill wind, and the sharp, warm perfume of blood, fur, fang, and claw. Winter air, Terebinth pine, juniper berry, dusty orris, deep amber, white sandalwood, black musk, blue cedar, and tonka." Actually it's one of my favorite bpal scents, period.

I don't have Embalming Fluid any more, so I can't compare side by side. From memory, Herbert West is very similar but has a darker, murky side. There's something a little more husky about this, that reminds me of the deep aquatic of Cthulhu, just a little bit. I could be imagining this, but I seem to be smelling a faint rubbery note, like the seaweed component in Cthulhu. But yeah, like everyone else said, it's a lemony scent with maybe some tea, and I swear there's just a hint of mint in here. Cool and refreshing with a bit of a dark side. I really like it and I keep taking deep sniffs of my wrists....I would probably prefer this to Embalming Fluid or F5, even though they are a lot alike. (F5 is brighter and more cheerful than this) I could see myself switching my F5 for this.

I like The Dodo. For me the cassia dominates for a while, but in the throw I can smell tartness and fruit from the lemon peel and maybe mango. It's true...it smells different up close. The fruit/tartness disappears up close but comes out in the throw, but so faint it's really a teasing note far in the background. After a long while, it balances out and I think some of the other notes are coming out, but nothing that I can really pick out as one particular note. I never did pick up on the red musk or woods. Cassia smells a little dusty to me and it's not one of my favorite notes. However, this is an interesting scent.

I added this to my wish list because it had some notes in common with Snake Charmer. I mean....I knew it wouldn't smell like Snake Charmer, but I was on a plum kick for a while. I know a fabulous imp-fairy who spoils me from time to time and *poof!* there was Megaera. Fruity scents like this (Megaera) are very hit-or-miss for me. This one doesn't quite work. In the vial, and right after applying, this is a nice light and effervescent scent. Then the fruits emerge, and I'm not crazy about how the plum mixes with the bergamot and grapefruit. Basically it's kind of like stale candy on my skin, and not much else. About 2 or 3 hours later, the amber takes over and it's much better. However.....probably not something I will reach for. : (

For me this is sharp soap with some ozone. I did a search for benzoin and that's how this ended up on my wish list...otherwise it may not have been on my radar at all. I do like moss, but can't smell it here. Just soap, soap, soap with little or no morphing. : ( edit: I forgot I reviewed this already, and actually forgot I had already tried it. So I tried it again! : ) This time, it's a much lighter and softer scent than the above review would suggest. I have since sniffed white musk SN and I can really pick that out in Urania. It's actually not a bad scent at all, just too feminine for me to wear (and I had the same thought about White Musk SN). So I wanted to revise my negative review a bit. It's not as sharp a scent as I first thought, actually it's shimmery and pretty.

I really like Ostara. It has a complexity that reminds me of a couple of the resinous Salon blends....but really, it's like nothing I've smelled before. The flowers and resins are perfectly balanced, very harmonious on my skin. I am not a violet or strawberry fan, so I was interested in what those 'leaf' notes would be like. I think maybe they add some sharpness, maybe a touch of 'green' to the scent. So far, the three times that I've worn this, I haven't smelled the honey cakes or sweet cream at all, except in the bottle before I put it on. This is a great spring scent. To me it's definitely not a garden in bloom, it's more like the feeling of plants and flowers just before they really grow and bloom....a feeling of potential growth and power, if that makes any sense at all. It's amazing that a scent could capture such an abstract concept, but that's really what it smells like to me. edit: I just re-read my review and realized, I didn't really describe what Ostara actually smells like. It's not strongly resinous or floral, but a very even mix of both of those qualities....with a bit of tartness or sharpness, from the frankincense, or possibly the leaf notes. It's great that everyone seems to get something different out of it. It's a bit hard to describe!

Cthulhu works well for me. It's very aquatic obviously, a salty sea scent with a strong touch of ozone at the beginning. Later the deeper, darker green notes start to emerge. Lasts longer than other aquatics tend to on my skin. I like!

Fresh and clean, seems like strong ozone to me, unless I'm just amping that note. I didn't smell citrus right away, but now that I read other notes, I can pick it out. If you're curious as to what ozone smells like I would say give this a try. Smells nice but if I wear ozone blends, I prefer them a little darker, more complex, and/or deeper like Kingsport or Cthulhu.

Even though it has rum and you said no booze...I would still recommend Creepy, even if you just try a decant or a sniffy. It's a great caramel apple scent.

Mag Mell strikes me as a very strange scent. It starts out fresh and sweet smelling, kind of herbal, a little grassy, with a hint of ginger and a lot of verbena, which I happen to like. After that it slowly builds in intensity, and also shifts....a weird foody aspect comes out for me, very much like buttery cookies or baked goods. It still smells sweet, but turns into cake or cookies or something. Pretty odd, and I don't know what's causing it.....there's not one note that stands out, it's more like the whole thing together is resembling cookies to me. Maybe it's the amber and ginger. Weird, and although it's not unpleasant, I'm not sure I want to wear it again. I think Antonino or Polyhymnia are more to my liking for this kind of herbal/lemon-y scent.

Okay, so....I understand that there are some different myrrh notes in bpal scents. I think this must be the same one that's in Penitence. For me it smells very sweet and powdery, and dominates Dance of Death. For the first 30-60 minutes it's nearly all I can smell in this blend. After a while the myrrh calms down a lot, and I think I can smell the other notes emerging, mainly orris. It's still a very dry and powdery scent, on the sweeter side, and just not my thing. I may try it one more time just to be sure. Edit: On second try....I forgot I already reviewed this. Mostly myrrh at first, a little less powdery this time. The myrrh has an herbal and dry aspect from the patchouli and orris. Then the musk starts coming out after about a half hour. This has echoes of Lycaon and Typhon. I'm not crazy about this although I feel like I should be. Not my favorite of myrrh scents.

You might want to try The Great Red Dragon and the Woman Clothed With the Sun. It's in the Salon section. Here are the notes: "Daemonorops [which is dragon's blood, I think], vanilla, Indian sandalwood, Mexican copal, hyssop, muguet, sweet pea, amber, hazelwood, galbanum, hiba wood, and orchid." It's a very warm, golden amber scent. I can definitely pick out the dragon's blood. It's also slightly nutty. On my skin the florals didn't stand out much, but some people do amp sweet pea so that could be a problem. You would have to buy a whole bottle, buy the Exhibit II set of Salon imps (they only come as a set), or find a decant (which is what I did). Hope that helps! : ) Edit: okay, I re-read the reviews...this could be more floral than what you're looking for. BUT...I wouldn't rule it out just because of the florals. It could surprise you.

What a great scent! I really love this! The notes are blended so seamlessly, at first I didn't even realize it had any kind of citrus. It just smelled bright, bold, slightly floral, sweet, and somewhat resinous, in a sunny kind of way. Reminds me of the daytime counterpart to Midnight On the Midway (then again, my nose has been known to make some strange associations, so this could be way off). It lasts for hours....a good 6 hours later and it's still here, mostly resins now. I guess the copal is what I'm smelling. I can see where someone would think this smells masculine. It reminds me of after-shave. I'm finding out that I'm partial to a lot of 'masculine' scents (fancy that!). This seems to be a golden-orange colored scent.

Blood Lotus is a fairly potent, sweet and fruity floral. I do get the hint of bubble gum at first, but as expected the dragon's blood pretty much takes over after just a few minutes, because that's what it usually does on my skin. After a while it backs off some, but as with most blends containing dragon's blood, this does very little to excite me. I already gave away my imp of Black Lotus, otherwise I would do a comparison. As I remember, that one worked out better for me, although I gave it to someone I thought would enjoy it more than me. I just am not a big fan of dragon's blood, and I can smell it in this blend. This isn't a bad smell at all...nothing repellant about it, nothing turning sour or bad on my skin. Just doesn't do much to 'grab' me like so many other scents do.

Wow...this thing is powerful! Very decadent, thick, almost intoxicating scent. Opium is the strongest note here...really stands out and becomes nearly powdery for me, but nice and kind of dizzying. I recognize the red musk from a few other bpal blends, and it blends nicely here. Not my favorite musk but I can handle it. The civet doesn't bother me. Honestly, I'm not sure I can tell it apart completely from the musk. Overall....I don't hate this scent, and I don't love it. It smells more feminine to me and at the beginning, smells nearly like a commercial, traditional perfume, mostly because of the opium I think. After a while, the scent showed NO signs of fading or backing off, until it did eventually become too much for me. I gave it a good while, about 2 hours I think, and finally washed it off....very tenacious scent! Just not my thing, personally.

This is quite a strange and unsettling scent. I smell the vetiver, dark and herbal, and also the sweetness of fruits, so sweet it's almost like candy. The sweet element of this scent nearly overpowers me in much the same way that Al Azif did. This is more bearable...when I tried that scent (Al Azif), I had to wash it off...but I gave this time to play out on my skin. Eventually some of the sweetness backed off, and the fruitiness became deeper and much nicer. This never struck me as spicy. I think the vetiver and black musk did some weird combining thing that made me think of leather. This somehow fits right in with the other Arkham scents that I've tried....eerie, and not something that I feel drawn to wear, but interesting to try.

Mr. Jacquel is a soft, spicy amber scent. For me, the spices seem heavy with either cassia, cinnamon, ginger, or all three. Reminds me a lot of Saw Scaled Viper. I can just catch hints of patchouli. I think I have yet to figure out what hyssop smells like. Strange...this isn't what I expected at all from this scent! Light to medium throw. I like it, however I am on the fence whether I need more or not. Edit: I have to edit this because, the more I wear it, the more I like it. It's a golden scent with a quiet strength that is really growing on me. I think I'm finding out that amber works for me more often than not. In that case, I should probably embrace it, yes? Anyway, it works well in Mr. Jacquel. Edit again, just to add: This is one of those great scents that took me by surprise in such a sneaky way. I went from 'not sure', to really liking it, to reaching for it more and more often, and on to needing a 5ml bottle. I think it needs to go into my top 10 now.

Three Gorgons is captivating, with a light throw. I was expecting the amber to be stronger than it is. The pepper is much stronger than I was expecting, unless that's the vetiver chipping in to make it seem very spicy and herbal. The citrus is emphatic at first, then backs off quickly as citrus usually does for me. Reminds me of a hazy, hot, dry day...bronze skin glistening with oil. Overall, I do like the smell of this. The pepper is reminiscent of White Rabbit, although I did not like that scent. Other than that, this is very unique.

Orpheus is a lovely crisp green scent. It might fall into the sharp herbal category, but it has some sweeter notes too, a little floral... The citrus notes are not very strong for me.

I had very high expectations of Doc Constantine...maybe I was setting myself up to be disappointed. *[see edit!] Basically...it smells good, but doesn't captivate me like I was expecting it to. I do like woods and smoke, and the other notes sounded wonderful to me. Up close, I can smell cedar strongly, with the other notes lurking behind. The throw is better....musky, woody, a little leather.....smells good. Somehow, though, I was expecting more. I'm still on the fence, so I will let this age and try it again. I think I wanted something more like Geek. It's okay, though....there are already so many CD scents that I love....I'm glad I can let this one go and prioritize the others that I do want so much. *Edit: This is another blend that has grown on me a whole lot since I first reviewed it. As usual, once I got past my expectations, I was able to appreciate this scent for what it is. Also I think setting it aside for a few days helped...the strong cedar has backed off a lot, and I'm picking up more of the other notes. Smokey, woodsy, sexy.....this reminds me a little bit of Dee. It's good stuff.

I'm completely revising my review..... I actually really like this. It smells a little mossy to me for some reason. I love the smokiness. Before, I was confused about the tobacco I think. I thought I was smelling champaca flower. But I think it's just the tobacco. This scent reminds me a little of Midnight on the Midway, a little darker and huskier maybe. I think I'll be wearing this more often and I'm glad I didn't swap it right away!

This is a bracing sea scent that really captures the character it represents (or maybe...the painting and description really capture the scent?). It has a chilly quality...I can really imagine a mermaid's icy, contemptuous stare. The oceanic aspect is strong, and the other notes add depth and some sweetness to the scent. I can't pick out individual notes except maybe ozone. Comparison time: my first thought when I wore this was "Kingsport Light!!". Right now I'm doing a side-by-side comparison, and the two scents do have some similarities. With Kingsport you are standing on a beach in the fog, but with Thalassa you're standing on the prow with the spray in your face, and the sun is shining. A few minutes later (say, within an hour), some of the ozone falls back and the sweeter notes come forward a bit. I think I can smell the resins. It's reminding me of one of the Salon scents at this point (Cloister Graveyard or Death of the Grave Digger). Anyway, enough comparisons....it's a great scent! Aquatic and deep, bright and refreshing.

Faiza is deliciously dark and sultry. Actually there seems to be one note in here that's disagreeing with me just a little bit, but not enough to put me off the scent as a whole. Maybe the caraway or ti leaf? I'm not sure. She is a dark, green and black, slithery scent....rich and humid. It could be the moss that makes it humid, but I don't worry about individual notes when I wear this so much as just enjoying the whole scent. It's more fruity than floral to me, and a little herbal and spicy. Faiza could be Antonino's sultry, dangerous cousin. I bet this will get better and better with some aging. And I love the idea of wearing something with green sandalwood in it, even if I can't really pick out the sandalwood. How I would love to sniff that on its own!