Cloven

[Seajewel]

A call unto horned beasts and the devils which wear them as masks. Bleating and rutting of the pitch black goat. Hot breath and frenzied hooves beating upon the witching mound. A perfume to shake the depths of the earth and wake the dead.

 

A dark and diabolic animalic musk glittering with red labdanum, vetiver, black amber, rosemary, and charred sandalwood.

[elissamay]

A feral burnt offering take on Satyr, with an almost metallic crackle of red labdanum, deep vetiver, and just a hint of herbaceousness from the rosemary while wet. The amber comes to frolic during the dry down, entwined with the musk. 

 

If you love, love that primal, animal musk vibe, you'll enjoy this, especially because it takes something you love and elevates it with offerings of other notes. It's sex musk, but make it witchy.

 

Later in the drydown, that charred sandalwood makes itself known. Paired with the musk and amber, it almost reads as sweet leather. Sex on four legs! (Four hooves?)

 

Note: I'm testing this one day from the mail since these are only available for a limited time, so ymmv!

Edited May 6, 2023 by elissamay

[starbrow]

Beth, did you make Cloven for me? This scent is immaculate. I couldn't have asked for a more Me blend.

 

A bottle sniff is all of the things I love. Satyr and Sin and Old Demons and Streets of Detroit and Dark Lace, plus fur and vetiver. Are you kidding me? This smells so rich and complex STRAIGHT FROM THE MAIL. Get. On. My. Skin.

 

A gritty, hypnotic vetiver makes a surprising and delightful top note. It's reminding me of The Great He-Goat vetiver from 2006. I call it gritty, but it's also thick and a little peanut-buttery. It's neither perfumey vetiver nor lemony. Nor, to my vetiver-loving heart, does it come across as too sharp or acrid. It's baby-bear-just-right. It weaves itself into what smells to me like both red musk and black musk. The red musk is seductive and sparkling; the black musk is spicy and motor-oily. 

 

I was so worried the "animalic" quality would be 💩. It's not! No barnyard either! I get a delightful fur that is really hard to explain, but it's what I would want a brown wolf to smell like. Foresty, musky, fuzzy. I believe there's some Ceylon cinnamon in here that's adding to that impression; don't quote me on that, but if you like Sin, you might love it here too (is it hiding in the red labdanum), and the black amber is strengthening the Sin connection. I think the rosemary might be responsible for the slight forest vibe. It's perfect; a delicate trace of plant, not a smack of pine. I can't smell the charred sandalwood. IDK but it's not a problem at all.

 

This acts like a well-aged BPAL classic on my skin. It is only going to get better with time. Tempted to back up, am restraining myself FOR NOW but dat vetiver and black musk. Love at first huff. 

[Viiinylflowers]

A very lush multi toned anamalic musk that unsettlingly and hilariously smells like I’m ….huffing satans neck??  A little too close for comfort, yet compelling. 
 

The opening reminds me of the wet stage of aureus a little (well, not exactly but it’s the closest I can think of to compare), but blacker/ more serious even, threaded through with plush musks, and and without the warmer notes hiding inside.  
 

Then it starts developing a complicated anamalic black leatherish vetiver scent to the musk with a furry undertone and a fuzzy/huffy…. kinda angry? hormonal heat behind it.  But cozy/dangerously erotic?  Freakin weird but good.  🤣 I struggle with vetiver especially and this isn’t doing the evil charred skunk glands thing on me, which I had fully expected to happen.  

Finally it sweetens a little as the sandalwood emerges at the base, and it smells like all stages blended together in a pleasant anamalic musky jumble w a poof of something somehow red musk adjacent, and puff of powdery black amber.  It only goes a teensy bit tangy on my skin in comparison to other anamalics I’ve tried.  
 

The projection on me is minimal - closest I can describe it is like - a red musk semi sweet sandalwood haze from afar.  And up close it’s like oh goodness I’m smelling satan, and he’s in this intense chaotic/erotic mental state.

Edited May 11, 2023 by Viiinylflowers

[feyofthefellwood]

This reminds me of Tombeur, not necessarily because they share a lot of notes, but just in the general feel. They are both musk-heavy, with an underlying sweetness and texture that invites you to nuzzle and huff. This is a heady, sensual musk, with a velvety vetiver undertone. The black amber adds just the right amount of alluring sweetness. The charred sandalwood is complemented by the rosemary; together, they add a pleasant woody backdrop. 

[doomsday_disco]

This one is a charred resin infused red musk on me. The resins are more prominent before the musk takes over, and I do get the labdanum more than the others. The vetiver is present, but doesn't take over,  and the rosemary is very fleeting, only a poof in the wet phase with the initial blast of charred sandalwood.

 

This is too musk-heavy for me, but it was nice to get to test it.

[Failmingo]

Can't believe I didn't review this last year. Over time my appreciation for really dark musks has deepened, but I still tread carefully. This one is so exquisite, beautifully mellowed into something goopy and mysterious by the amber and labdanum. And yes, as others have pointed out, the scent (both in the bottle and on the skin) is fiercely, defiantly animalic.

 

I think just the imagery from the name and art was enough to mentally conjure some kind of shaggy horned/hooved situation; there is something hot in it that faintly reminds me of the weird burning bone smell from the dentist. I'd entirely forgotten that charred sandalwood was included in the brew, so re-reading that once I had it on the skin made all the sense. That's where this truly infernal quality comes from, which I'm addicted to.

 

So it's not an idyllic, pastoral goat scent at all; there really is that sense of ancient curses and old-world superstitions. I've found this enjoyable year-round; in colder seasons it's like memories of heat from a dead hearth, in warmer seasons it advertises a kind of foully hypnotizing animal lust. It broadcasts that attitude problem that folks are counting on goths to provide, and which some will find sexy. The forbidding aspect of the charred bony stuff feels like a statement of plausible deniability: "Sure, I may seem appetizing now... but you were warned."