Shub-Niggurath

[modernsaints]

The lust incense of a corrupted Astarte. A blend of ritual herbs and dark resins, shot through with three gingers and aphrodisiacal spices.

Really sharp, VERY dry ginger; there's absolutely nothing foody here, which is sad, as I wanted "evil gingersnaps"! But this is all ginger and no snap. Ginger tends to go overpowering on me, I think, and very faintly dusty. SIGH Edited December 19, 2007 by Shollin

[dixiehellcat]

Somehow when reading about this I missed the ginger mention, despite the fact that the ginger element of Vixen is part of what makes it one of my absolute faves. I got a sniffie in a swap, with a few drops in the bottom. I sniffed the imp, went 'beh' and set it aside. Last weekend going thru my storage I found it and dabbed a bit on...and 30 minutes later I was desperately trolling the swap forum looking for more, because it ROCKED. The ginger blending with spice and resin worked so well on me, not foody at all, a good thing since foody and I don't speak, and lasted all evening! (have you ever tried to type with one hand while the other wrist is glued to your nose?...well, ok, around here, maybe people have. ) I didn't get any green, just the warm dark stuff. GUH. Yummy. Mine!! The Black Goat of the Woods with a Thousand Young is my friend.

[MurderOfCrows]

I got this in a gift of several imps from a friend, who knew I liked both foodie and spicy scents, AND knew I had a boyfriend who -- well, he gave his niece a Cthulhu plushie for christmas one year.

 

So here we go.

 

In The Bottle: OMG, Bakery at Christmas! Gingerbread! Spice cookies! Mmmmmyeah.

 

On Wet: Oh my god what is that wet, flat, rotty smell?! There's spice-- and then there's this funny green, mossy river-rock smell. They do not smell good together. I am assuming this is the ritual herb moment.

 

Thankfully... I don't have time to stop and wash it off. I have to go to work, which gives it time to get into the drydown.

 

Drydown: The green-rock smell fades completely. It's very brief, but then it's all ginger again, with a cinnamon dribble and a very faint herby balance. I'm glad I didn't have the time to wash this off, otherwise I would have missed that it drys down into something perfectly good and nummy! We'll definitely have to put this to the boyfriend test tonight, though-- see how well he likes me spiced.

[CrazyPretzel]

Wet, this smells exactly like a hot drink: lots of chunky chopped fresh ginger stewed with scoops of brown sugar. It's very strong and gives me a slight burning sensation at the back of my throat when I sniff it, as if I were drinking that ginger brew.

 

When it dries, Shub-Niggurath softens slightly: more spices come out and it smells more cake-like, while not being very sweet at all.

 

To me this smells like a pretty close cousin to Pumpkin Queen, which is great as it's a GC blend! I predict lovers of the Pumpkin Queen will really enjoy this one and it's going on my bottle list.

[WidgetAlley]

I can't believe I haven't written a review for this yet, considering how much I wear it.

 

Imp: Ginger cookie dough, with lemon and maybe some amber and a lot of spice. I want to tip the whole thing into my cleavage or possibly my mouth.

 

Wet: Baking ginger cookies, warmer and drier. The ginger isn't wimpy and fake, it's real, whacked-up-ginger-root-mashed-into-the-cookie-dough ginger, a little sharp and very warm and deliciously, deliciously spicy. Ginger has an almost greenish living smell sometimes, and this has a hint of that too. Mmmmmm.

 

Dry: The throw on this is a little drier, more resinous, so you simply smell startling good until someone comes up to give you a hug and then, "OH MY GOD, YOU SMELL SO AMAZING, WHAT IS THAT?" happens. I'm so glad this stays beautiful on me, since foody scents almost never work, but this... this right here is delicious gingersnaps and unnamed incense and AWESOME. And it lasts all day, too.

 

Now to find some cookies, dammit.

[ceiswyn]

In the bottle: Mmm, biscuits. Cinnamon and ginger biscuits. Very warm and spicy. I vaguely suspect there of being black pepper in there somewhere as well.

 

On the wrist: Oh, wow. At a distance, that's very biscuity; close to, the spice overwhelms my nose. Hothothot, but not actually very sweet. I suspect that the 'ritual herbs and dark resins' are what's giving this the darker, deeper, slightly dank note that prevents it going entirely foody.

 

One hour later: Still strongly gingery, but not overwhelmingly so. It's become faintly musky, and there are definitely other spices there, but a little too faint to make out in detail. A very nice, dry scent, but not quite lively enough to be one of my favourites.

[Beazlebabe]

I need to tell you something about myself so that you'll comprehend what this blend means to me:

 

I live in a suburb of Toronto which has the one of the highest concentration of immigrants in all of Southern Ontario. (Will produce statistics upon request.) I grew up as a visual minority despite being totally white. I was frequently the victim of racism.

 

This smells EXACTLY like a South Asian bakery I visited once as a child. I'll never forget - due to aforementioned difference - when I tried to purchase baked goods from this particular place. The staff were hostile toward me, but damn if their pastries didn't smell delicious. I obviously wasn't welcome, but I stood my ground and when they attempted to short-change me I raised Hell 'til I got every last cent that was mine returned to me.

 

When I smell this, I'm instantly transported to that incident: I recall standing totally erect, back slightly arched in defiance, fingers numb from adrenaline and cringing, my words hurling from my mouth like a dart: "I'd like one of those cookie thingees, please." I learned then the value of standing on one's own two feet, the only lesson which I feel is worthy enough to impart unto others.

 

I feel strong and empowered wearing Shub-Niggurath. "Evil gingersnap cookies", heck yes, but with a Kick that will make your nose bleed if you stand in its way.

[kopper]

Shub Niggaruth was my most wanted scent, and as I opened the awaited imp, I was delighted at the first whiff I got of cinnamon goodness. Unfortunately it didn't end up working on me well -- I am not sure if my skin will ever play nicely with ginger for some reason, which saddens me greatly!

 

Wet: cinnamon spice, warm, ginger, spicy, delicious

 

On skin: at first the cinnamon was gorgeous, and the resins gave it a depth that I couldn't believe, like something I had not smelled before, and my nose was happy.

 

Drydown: somehow this turned sheer GREEN on me, like I had been in the woods for hours, rubbing my wrist against plant after plant. The ginger went away, as did the spices, and I was left with woody resin that just smelled, well, woody.

 

Verdict: I blame my skin with the ginger that turned this sour. So sad, b/c I wanted to love this so much. It didn't last long at all, and after a few hours, I sniffed and sniffed and got nothing. Like it disappeared. WAH. What a delightful blend, though, and I'm sure anyone who loves resiny woody goodness will love this.

 

Off to the sniffing imp pile, or for home, it will be gorgeous.

 

[zephyloquy]

Started out as a nice spicy ginger scent with a sharp herbal edge. After an hour or so on me it turned powdery with a faint hint of ginger. I'm not really digging the baby powder scent. I was hoping it would be a little more foody on me. Bah, body chemistry.

[tartchef]

Oh Shub... where have you been all my life? Seriously, why has it taken me so long to try this?! Shub starts out with a whallop of extra-strong ginger snaps - two kinds of ginger, cinnamon, black pepper, molasses... I want to chew on my arms & roll around in a bottle of this... It fades quickly, alas, but a few hours later re-emerges with a waft of Captain Black pipe tobacco - dry, smoky vanilla & spice. This is a warm duvet of a scent, all comfort & satisfaction. I feel like purring... and making cookies... with a scalding hot cup of ginger tea to dunk them in... Edited September 11, 2007 by tartchef

[n3m3sis42]

In the imp:

Cookies?

 

Wet:

Some sort of yummy baked goods, initially, but then this morphed into something lemony (but not like Lemon Pledge).

 

Dry:

Gingerbread and lemon. Quite possibly a bottle purchase in the near future.

[birdiefu]

I got my little lone imp of Shub right when it was released again (was that Dec 06? I forgot). When I tried it on that time, I got the dreaded lemon pledge effect. Some ginger there, but overwhelmed with super-sharp lemony cleaning product smell. Ugh, I was dissapointed. Threw it in my pile 'o imps that I planned to later sort through.

 

Fast-forward to today when I find this little imp once again 9 months or so later. I decided that Shub needed to have a second chance, and oh my is it different! It went on very sharp like freshly cut ginger- this I think is where I thought it smelled lemony before, but this time around it doesn't *really* smell like lemons, just part of the fresh ginger scent (if that makes sense). As it dries, the sharpness mellows leaving a pure, strong ginger.

 

About 30 minutes in, the other layers of the blend come out to play. The resins have that hint of syrupy-cola fizz like in Schwarzer Mond, which backs up the ginger giving it that fun evil vibe. A few other undefinable spices augment the ginger, but they just hang around in the background. The overall vibe of this scent is an almost-foody (the sweetness of the resins) dark ginger that is awesome. Yay that I didn't get rid of the imp!

 

Throw is *very* strong at first, but after the notes mingle together it mellows into a nice aura of gingerness rather than assaulting other people's noses.

[rachel2205]

I don't know what it is with my skin chemistry, but a lot of the evil scents just smell pure and good on me! Now, the downright perverted scents like Perversion or Velvet, they are sordid. But Dorian? Smells very well behaved. And Shub? No evil goats for me. When I wear it, I smell like warm gingerbread, buttery and nice, the only wickedness coming from the calories such biscuits would contain. Not that I'm complaining - I love Shub to bits and just ordered a bottle. It just amuses me, 'sall.

[Gwydion]

Smells vaguely like someone threw up egg nog and sugar plums. It doesn't remind me so much of lust incense, as morning after a really wild party. I am probably going to have to wash this one off too.

[ralenth]

Wet: Lemony baked goods.

 

Drydown: The oven heats up and Shub becomes a spicy cinnamon/ginger.

 

Dry: I smell like I have been rolling around in really sharp gingersnaps.

 

Overall: OMG, I must own a bottle. Like yesterday!

[Dark Angel]

Just received this today as part of an imp pack ordered straight from the lab.

 

It's very spicy and I swear the main thing I smell is cloves, it reminds me of ground cloves used for cooking, or seasoning hot buttered rum, which is a happy smell for me; I like it. There's definitely something dark and resinous under there; "evil gingersnaps" is just about right. I think I can sense something peppery in there, too, like those German pepper cookies--I forget the name. It's not particularly sweet or foody to me, but certainly reminds me of baking spices.

 

I don't get much lemony or green in this at all. I find it a warm, spicy, and rather comforting smell.

 

I find it a little disturbing when a Lovecraft scent is comforting, but there it is.

[jaeyne]

In the bottle:lemony

Wet and for the first 1/2 hr. or so: Lemon Pledge and coffee. Then the weirdest thing happened. It morphed to spice cake with lemon frosting.Yum

ETA: The more I wear this, the more I love it. It is my go to scent.

Edited February 18, 2008 by jaybird

[therhoda]

okay in the imp this smelled like gingery herbal tea. I put it on and was blasted by the smell of fireballs. I mean i looked to make sure i had the right imp from when i first sniffed it. Dry down was slow progression of ginger sneaking into the fireball. I didn't get anything but candy from this. I am tempted to put it in the kids pile as long as i remember to not tell anyone what the name of it is when they smell the spawn it should work.

[lookingglass]

Let me just jump on this bandwagon cuz I am instantly hooked on Shub. This is even more than I expected. Really, it is everything wonderful about BPAL all wrapped in one. It is creamy, sexy, spicy, "you've never experienced anything foody like THIS", dark, dirty, and "OMG you smell soooo good" (from strangers!).

 

Ginger is usually a note I stay away from because it can be too lemony for my tastes. But this ginger with the sharp resins brightens up the sweet, deep, musky base. It's perfect. DH says I smell like everything wonderful during the holidays when it is wet, but it dries out to dark, sexy, almost murkey skin. It's like Bengal, Chimera, Snake Oil, Sin, and Gingerbread Poppet all together, but so, so, so much more! It's drydown reminds me of Black Phoenix. Mmmmmm. Yup. Love myself!

 

This could be my #1.

 

I am so glad that I don't have a spicy big bottle of BPAL right now, cuz I need to justify Shub(s!) in my next order!

Edited October 29, 2007 by lookingglass

[Pottersville]

I was frimped this in a recent swap and can understand the desire to spread the love! Shub is a lovely scent. It has great presence, but doesn't knock your sock off. Vaguely foody (gingersnaps have been mentioned) but I don't smell like a bakery.

[The_Merf]

I tried this from a Lab fresh imp and was sort of meh about it, but I let it stew for a loooong time. It is ginger-butter-chocolate-cookie on me, yet it is not overwhelmingly foody. This does get herbier on the drydown and the buttery goes away, leaving the cocoa/resiny "afterburn." However, after about 30 minutes, this blend just about makes me sneeze; it really tickles my nose in an unpleasant way (Black Orchid makes me actually sneeze).

[Medox]

Deep incensed ginger, entwined with a light citrus ribbon. It makes me want to do things, dark and lovely things.

[OpheliasVengeance]

This is slightly spicy in the bottle with cocoa notes poking out.

 

In the wet stage the cocoa is still dancing around with the spice notes. Upon dry down, Hello super spicy goodness! I get none of the cream or food notes that others have commented on. The cocoa disappears into just pure raging varied spice notes. *love* The throw is about average.

[alexandra]

In the vial: whoah, aggressive ginger

 

Wet: rudely-shaped root ginger. Hot. I found I was standing straighter. Much more harsh than I was expecting but it becomes me. I'm experiencing a most unusual and not unpleasant feeling of arrogance.

 

Dry: spices roasted in a dry pan by a man intent on seduction. My wrist tingles gently, throbbing.

 

And?... cor blimey. Not foody or comforting on me at all which is fine as I have other ginger scents for that - this is indecent and brilliant. I will wear it when I want confidence to do many things. And one thing in particular.

[Honeygirl]

Bottle: Ginger

 

Wet: Ginger and citrus. It's very very sexy!

 

Drydown: It's not exactly foody, it's better than foody. I need a bottle, like now!

 

4.0 outta 5