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A sinister, sinuous incense of summoning, a herald and paean to the Primordial Gods of Darkness, Chaos, Madness and Decay.

This is more like what I expected Aureus to smell like (which I'm testing on my other wrist). It reminds me of Bastet, that warm buttery amber and almond feel. So what some people have described as molasses or coconut I'm reading as amber and sweet almond. I like it -- it's very comforting. No throw but a skin scent for my own well being.

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someone above said "sugared incense" and that is the perfect description of this one, although i would add "creamy" to that as well. there must be some lovely sandalwood in this blend. mmmm i love this one. and so does my kid as she made off with my imp :biggrin:

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Interesting.Very interesting. This is a truly mysterious blend - it keeps reminding me of other scents, but it shifts so much that it's pull out any one note to identify it overall. I think I can smell some of Scarecrow's oil and dried grass, some of Bastet's deep saffron, and the deep almond of Salome. There's a strange but not unpleasant playdoh note as well.

 

 

It's a surprisingly attractive and sweet, not at all what I was expecting from the description.

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In the imp I get a vaguely sweet sharpness [i'm still getting my note awareness back]

 

Wet on the skin: ...nothing. Absolutely nothing. It's actually disconcerting.

 

Dry: I eventually I get something like the long dry down of a floral incense with a smoke note. If I try I get the maple note, but it's the way sap smells when being boiled.

 

Either I'm completely nose blind to this one or my meds are doing it no favors.

 

3/7/2021

 

I am slowly retesting everything, since my imp collection is...it's a lot. And I have shifted at least some of my meds over time, plus my own aging, etc

 

in the imp: ok wow. this is not what I was expecting based on the reviews. very sweet incense, and 'new' stick incense. this is incense like you took it out of the box, not burning it

wet: very very sweet incense but sugar. reviews were talking molasses, maple syrup, golden syrup, etc. this is straight sugar on me with the incense. this is nothing like I was expecting

dry: it may be counterintuitive but this is another white blend, but white incense. that's def jasmine with the incense and sugar.

I actually like this one. I was fully expecting this to be another test and dump, but this is surprisingly light, femme, and spring-y for a blend named after the necronomicon 

Edited by starfish327

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On me, Al Azif is a light floral scented incense that vaguely reminds me of sun screen lotion. While I usually domt like the scent of sunscreen, I find this scent oddly comforting. This isn't a scent that would go In my wheelhouse, so I domt think I'll buy a a full bottle. I will enjoy the imp while it lasts, hopefully on a more warm and sunny day!

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In the imp: Something floral or lightly citrus at first, then a soft not-smokey incense. 

 

On my skin:

 

Wet, I get the same floral or citrus note. As it dries, I get a sugared incense smell. (It's similar in feeling, though not exactly in scent, to the "sugared clove" in Wednesday's Child Is Full of Woe.) As it warms and develops, I get something that alternately smells a bit like soft, creamy floral and lightly resinous frankincense. 

 

The throw is low on me, but it could possibly be a very nice resinous scent for warmer weather. I don't believe I have anything that ticks the "summer incense scent" box. 

 

If this is a summoning from the Gods of Madness and Decay, you can count me in. 

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Al Azif is a sweet cedar-y incense on me. Very rounded and smooth. I definitely get some sandalwood, too, and maybe some amber. I agree the sweetness could be maple or almond, though it’s subtle enough to make it hard to decipher. I also think my imp is pretty aged. 
Comforting to smell, yet no throw on me so I have to huff my wrist to get any. 

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I am convinced this has almond in it...and it's the first almond I kinda like. The incense is mildly sweet in a nutty almond way, with perhaps drops of kyphi lending a distinctly Egyptian atmosphere. A very warm and deserty incense (not desserty :P) tinted with sandalwood and perhaps amber, which glows more beautifully the more this dries down and the almond calms its bits. 

 

This is a contender for my 'find some almond I like' campaign. It seems to fit in this blend. I'm not mad at it. Keep my imps!

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So al azif gave me quite the scare. ***head's up, this review could be totally off base!***

 

First, full long backstory time. I just found a bottle of al azif that never made it into the folds of my collection and since this is one i've been intrigued by i decided to try it on right then. I opened it up and gave it a sniff and was crushed to smell straight carrier oil. Sort of light, def like jojoba and or almond, which makes sense cause i know the lab uses jojoba oil as a base. So my immediate thought was that the bottle was compromised from not being put away, but i decided to try it on anyway.

 

It takes a minute, but on the skin this did start to come out to play. First there was like a foodie sweetness. Not exact but i am strongly reminded of bananas. I could be way off base here but as it dried there was a chewiness that makes me think more of fig. But still lots of banana. A little bit dark, like a banana dipped in resin. There's a hint of powdery woodiness that seems very well blended to me. 

 

I see some mention of vetiver in reviews, to me this is not coming out strongly. I wouldn't have guessed that based on what i'm smelling, tho of course that doesn't mean it's not there, but def none of the dry, herbally, bitterness i associate with vetiver. I almost feel like the sweetness is partly coming from myrrh, which goes sweet and powdery on me, but it's hard to pick out. 

 

Overall this is not exactly what i was expecting and i certainly wouldn't call it sinister. It's actually kind of comforting, and almost beachy, like a hint of suntan lotion. Not like lotion in the bottle tho, more like the remnants of it on the skin after a long day of being out in the sun. The sweetness tones down somewhat and it becomes a little warmer as it dries. It's really wild cause i'm sniffing the bottle and then sniffing my arm and in the bottle it still totally smells like carrier oil.

 

i am honestly not sure if this is compromised or not, tho i did end up finding an imp of al azif and giving a quick sniff in the vial i did get the same generic carrier oil scent. So this review could be totally off base. But that's what i got

 

Eta: i was wearing time's infliction of eternity the other day and it struck me that it smelled familiar, it smelled like the banana-y vibe from al azif! And today i have on ill mannered dragon and same thing at first, though it quickly blended in with everything else. So i am now certain that dragon's blood is a component of al azif

Edited by DiZZysTARdust

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Soft incense. I agree it is sunscreen like. Light,  creamy, but only mildy sweet foodiness. Maybe sandalwood? I like

 

Soft, but lingers on the skin

Edited by Vaporeon

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Warm, smoky-sweet incense with hints of almond? woods? saffron? I can't tell but none of it is bad. I like this a lot; it hugs close to the skin, but has all the comforting autumnal-associative feeling I want in cooler weather.

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Unfortunately, I really just smell almonds. Well, almonds and plain Ivory Soap. After reading all the reviews, I was expecting scrummy sweet incense.

 

I had to wash this off after about 30 minutes because it was making me feel ill. (I REALLY dislike almond scents) So sad this didn't work out for me. 😢

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Another bottle I never reviewed. Bought in 2018. I rarely touch this one, but mostly prefer when my wife puts it on. Her chemistry works well with this; turns to a smooth, creamy incense with a dark secret underneath. On my skin, however, it doesn't seem to change into a deeper or richer scent. It stays the same as in the bottle. As for what it smells like, in the bottle it is spiced incense with something creamy just barely there. I get sandalwood, but you know I'm probably one of those silly people that can't detect notes well. Lol & as I don't see it listed I'll guess. On my skin, the creamy note fades fast & I'm left with faded incense like I walked into an old temple that had ceremonies for decades. Not bad, & I do love it dearly, but I've not acquired a taste for it. It does bring memories of casting spells with my wife, & that is truly special to me.

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In the imp I get a super dry, woody incense. I think it might be a really dry sandalwood, like the Australian Sandalwood SN from sometime back. It's almost cedary. I get something bright at the edges, maybe lemon? On my skin it's smoother, less splintery wood. Still with a faint citrus edge. Reading other reviews I'm seeing almond, and I could see that. Not cherry-almond on me but a nuttier, creamier one. This aspect is well-melded into the woodiness for me. A really interesting and pleasant scent.

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Wet: A tad playdough-y in the imp, but once on the skin that vanishes and soft spicy notes come out (carnation? birch wood? rosewood?). It reminds me of spiced tea.

 

Drydown: It grows sexier and muskier. I wonder if there’s a floral note in there, jasmine or carnation maybe? It’s a very cozy scent. The more it dries, the more glowing, resinous, and sweet it becomes.

 

Dry: Darkly sweet, yet soft and smokey. There’s a honeyed, almost caramel quality to it. My note guesses are balsam/birch, opium tar, labdanum, frankincense, and a white flower of some sort. All in all, it’s a wonderfully enticing, sexy, and nuanced blend. For something that worried me at first sniff, this really turned out to be quite a stunner!

 

 

8.5 out of 10 bones

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Didn't care for this too much when I tried it first but I retested it today, aged 3+ years (both me and the imp) and I think it's really growing on me. I can't pick out any notes but incense and something sweet. The sweetness is not cloying at all and it's all smooth and mellow. It's skin close and doesn't have much throw on me. Would be my only complaint cause otherwise I really like it. 

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It took me a second to identify what this reminds me of, but the answer is figs! It reminds me of Pacifica's Mediterranean Fig scent in particular. It's not identical, though. That scent is more earthy, while this one has a sweet, almost cake quality in the bottle followed by the figs and fruit when it's worn. Very clean smelling and smooth. I get the faintest wisp of light incense, maybe a touch of resin. A fantastic scent although I'm not sure if the gods of darkness and chaos are what I think of when I wear it. It does make me think of the Middle East and there's a touch of mystery about it, though.

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So I absolutely love fragrances that smell like incense. Unfortunately, this one doesn't do that for me. Nor do I get any maple syrup vibes, as others have mentioned. Something in this reminds me of Oblivion, and I suspect there might be dark musk in this, and/or myrrh, because I'm a bit nose blind to those two fragrances. I can detect them more as a presence or feel in the perfume, a sort of emptiness, versus an actual smell. It's very weird, and I don't get it. 🤷‍♀️

 

Someone mentioned almond. I could see that maybe, but I'm also thinking that could be myrrh, lending sort of a golden sweetness. There might well be some amber. This is very subdued and raspy and texture.  It smells sandy, vacant, dry - it almost has a parchment vibe.   

 

It's a skin scent on me. I poured half an imp on myself and still only smell it when my nose is directly on my skin. So, not enough punch to be something I need more of. I wish I was getting the maple and incense so many others are, because, far from sinister, that sounds heavenly.

 

 

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Is it weird that i'm getting some kind of caramel here? Like, a fruity caramel hard candy. Nothing dark about this on my skin and i'm really confused lol. 

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I imagine at some point over the years I've tried this, but with perimenopause skin chemistry changes, I'm trying everything again. This is a lovely sandalwood blend that reminds me of And Though They are with You... I definitely prefer the addition of the vanilla in the latter, so I think I'll pass this one on to my husband. Thank you to the Labbies for the frimp! :D

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Testing a second-hand frimp.

 

Wet, I got the brief play-doh effect another reviewer mentioned. Almost plasticky, but not in the fragrance oil way.

 

As it dries, I first get honey and then dry wood. My brain initially says "cedar?" But I realized that it is sandalwood. I really enjoy this combination. A little moody. By the end of the day, the scent on my sweater reminds me quite a bit of Death is Death from the 2021 Weenies, which is a sweet sandalwood incense with myrrh. On my wrist, what hasn't just rubbed off is vaguely fruity.

 

This was low throw throughout it's life on the skin. It isn't remarkable to me, but very nice and I will wear it again.

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