Cthulhu

[acidrica]

A creeping, wet, slithering scent, dripping with seaweed, oceanic plants and dark, unfathomable waters.

Sharp, sharp ozone. And....uh.....nasty fabric softener. I wanted to love this, I really did. I love Cthulhu! But this makes my head hurt. I'll try it again to make sure, but I'll probably have to swap this.

[Coldfire]

 

 

 

Imp: very aquatic

Wet on Me: aquatic green. Oooo this is a summer scent right now

Drying Down: starting to get a bit soapy now. Very clean soapy aquatic

Dry: clean soap. Ivory soap on me. Maybe it’s this cold that is

amping things wrong. But I don’t mind the scent. I am glad I got to try it!

 

[lupidog]

Oh Cthulhu! How can I be surprised that you continue the trend of aquatics not only amping, but BLASTING INTO SPACE from my skin?

 

Don't get me wrong. I LOVE this scent. It is murky and dark blue green, but somehow clean too. I love how wet it feels. Very evocative. Perhaps more pleasing to the nose than I might anticipate Cthulhu to be, but we'll let that slide. I would define it as tending towards the masculine side of things, but definitely still unisex.

 

Unfortunately, it goes on loud and gets louder. The next morning it was SCREAMING from my skin, and much of what I loved about it was lost in the noise. It doesn't fail, rum, aquatics, and strong food scents just are so strong on me. I like this enough that I may experiment with the teeniest tiniest dabs, but ultimately it is probably too strong for me. I put it on a male friend whose skin just absolutely eats up oil, and on him it was a light, clean aquatic. Go fig.

[mooncityminx]

In the vial: Sow-oap!

 

Wet: soapy water, something dark in the background

 

Drydown: green and cold and soapy! Very very clean.

[crebbsgirl]

This was aquatic, with a herbaceous overtone. Crisp and clean. A little soapy. As I'm not one for aquatics, this isn't really for me, but I can see those who enjoy the clean scents really liking this. Definitely unisex. I don't get an overtly masculine feel here. I don't get any bathroom deodorizer or cleaning products from this.

[donnatron]

Imp: Citrus man soap. Sort of smells like my boyfriend's bathroom after he showers--a bit humid, a bit soapy, definitely clean.

 

Wet: Strong lemon soap undercut by a slight powdery quality.

 

Dry: I like it but I don't like it. It smells like high school make out sessions. Like walking home from my boyfriend's and catching the scent of whatever body spray he liberally applied on my skin and clothes. It's appealing in a return-to-my-teen-years sort of way but I didn't like teenage boy's cologne when I was a teenager let alone now that I'm an adult.

 

Throw: Strong.

 

Overall: I can see a man wearing this but I wouldn't classify it as masculine. It smells too much like an awkward, earnest teenage boy and I can sort of relate to it fondly but it doesn't have the strength I prefer in my perfumes.

 

I'm pretty sure I just snubbed Cthulhu. That's a bad idea.

[Dianora]

Based on the description of something dark, slithery and aquatic, I was all set to love this scent. I mean, I imagined something forebodingly evil that was redolent with the sharp tang of the sea, seaweed, and unspeakable things raised from the depths of the ocean. On getting a frimp of this though, I was very glad I didn't order a bottle unsniffed because it's absolutely nothing like that.

 

In the imp, it smelled-- fresh and clean? That can't be right. Surely the almighty elder god can't smell like laundry soap! But that's exactly what it is. Instead of the dark green slithery scent I'd imagined, I can't help but think of fresh laundry blowing in the breeze under the summer sun. That isn't to say this is bad, it's a very nice laundry scent, but I'm pretty sure Cthulhu doesn't do laundry. I dabbed some on, and woah, does this amp. Look at me world, I totally just washed my clothes! It gets pretty soapy as it dries, though again, in a pleasant enough way. After about six hours of wear, I can still smell this scent going strong and still soapy.

 

This isn't terrible, by any means. If this fragrance were in a laundry soap, it would be the best, freshest smelling laundry soap ever. However, this really isn't what I was looking for in an elder god, and I can't help but think that the description is a tad bit misleading. Ah well, I guess it just wasn't meant to be.

[cinnamonster]

Wet: Dove soap

Dry:Dove soap

hours later:Dove soap

 

This is truly extraordinary, I never experienced another blend that did not mutate in any shape or form on me before. I happen to like the smell of Dove soap but I don't think I would buy it as an oil. I might put in a drawer on some fabric as a drawer scenter though as i like the clean-ness of it.

[modillian]

In bottle: Oooooh, so different than R'lyeh! Spicy and aquatic, but not as dank with ambergris.

Wet on skin: Ohhhhhhhhhhh! I like it! More powdery than R'lyeh, more floral. More of a waft too. This reminds me of my grandmother's fancy soap, but in a very good way. Something slightly nasal, like a lily going on, but not too much, just to cut the powderyness. More of an aqua-floral than a straight-up aquatic to my nose. Gets extremely wafty, inducing a mild headache. It's not exactly a "me" scent, may have to relegate it for dress-up or show-off purposes only. It works alright on me, but may go to the swaps simply because I can't imagine reaching for this as even a 10th or 15th choice when I want to wear perfume.

[milo]

Cologny, ozoney, aquatic. If you are an aquatic fan, you'll probably love this. Not for me, off to swaps.

*This is nothing like the Velvet Cthulhu if anyone was wondering.

[mgrazulis]

Wet~very calone-y, dank and masculine. Like leftover dishwater with a lemony undertone. As it dries, it gets very ozoney with a sharp seaweed floral and a limestone note. Powerful, intimidating aroma! A bit too sharp and masculine for my aquatic taste.

 

 

[theseagrows]

got this as a frimp from the lab: manly, manly mountainy-aquatic musk. it smells like commercial deodorant or aftershave-not really my kind of scent, but i'm glad i got to try it!

[sarajane]

See, I LOVE aquatics. I think Beth does an amazing job of making aquatics that aren't super-manly gross smelling.

 

This is a nice, clean watery scent. Perfect for aquatic lovers.

[bubblefish]

This smells masculine to me with a hint of cologne. There's also some definite cleanness and brightness there (sunlight on the water's surface, perhaps?). But mostly it smells like aftershave or men's cologne.

[Diva Urd]

Somehow, I am just terribly unlucky with the Lovecraftian scents... a shame, I love his works.

 

So, despite knowing that it probably wouldn't work out, I got an imp of "Cthulhu" in a swap, and here are my testing notes.

 

Vial: Incense and sharp soapiness - ozone?

On: Tons upon tons of soap when on initially. Loses some of its sting as it dries, but still seems very soapy to me - nicer soap than at first, but soap.

Later: Never stops being soapy, now with an undercurrent of the smoky note in "Ogun". Reaaaallly not a fan. Swap.

[SlySionnach]

Got this as a frimp from a generous forumite.

 

In Imp: Something dark, wet, and a familiar niggling at the back of my mind. Behind all the tentacled-slimy-scent is something I know.

 

Wet: My god, it's Cinnabar by Estee Lauder. I used to put this on when I went to my grandmother's house. I remember wearing it when I was five and we got the call at three in the morning that my oldest younger sister was born. Ack, the olfactory memories! *cuddles them*

 

Dry: Well, there goes Cinnabar, leaving behind something deliciously aquatic. It's a dark, depths-of-the-ocean-Mariana-Trench kind of scent. And definitely a bit too masculine for me.

 

Keeping the imp for the scent memories, but probably not a bottle.

[claudia6913]

The very first thing that comes to mind is "Cool Water" perfume. The second is a bar of fresh soap. The third is ... nice cool breezes.

 

Cthulhu is definitely aquatic, more light and airy, than dark and mysterious, though it does have a small undercurrent that could sweep you in if you aren't careful.

 

It's a perfectly clean scent. Love it and glad I swapped for a bottle!

[Janegodzilla]

I'm a huge Lovecraft fan, so I was incredibly excited to try out my Cthulhu imp. I was somewhat disappointed that soap was the first note to hit me from the vial. Beneath the soapiness, however, was something green and kind of salty, and so although the overall effect was a bit sharp, I was still intrigued.

 

The soapiness stayed strong when wet on my skin, but as it dried the soap receded a bit and my tentacled friend started to smell more like juniper berries. When I closed my eyes, what immediately came to mind was the Oregon coastline in winter. Cthulhu smells green and gray and a little murky. It's like hiking through coastal evergreens on a windy, overcast day. It mellows a lot as it dries.

 

Final Verdict:

As much as I like Cthulhu, I don't see myself wearing it much. It's a little too masculine for me (although, considering who it's named for, I'm really not that surprised). The imp, however, shall stay -- I have a feeling this would smell amazing on my guy!

[voodoocatwoman]

Super clean scent. Just fresh from the shower soapy scent.

[Invidiana]

I have to think I was a little afraid of this after reading the description and put off trying my imp of it for a while...then I got a second imp and since I had it right in front of my laptop I thought oh, what the heck, so I dabbed it on my kneecap. I can't stress this enough--don't always judge a scent by what it seems to be in words. This stuff is wildly sexy! It's not nasty slimy seaweed at all but more like the "dark, unfathomable waters" in the description. I can't pull my nose away...if I didn't know the name of this scent or the impetus behind it (let's face it, Lovecraft's Cthulhu must smell like an airplane toilet ) I would have guessed it was some sort of attractant!

[Stormslegacy]

I love this scent. It's in my top favorites.

 

It's a little on the masculine side but I feel that it's rather unisex. It's definitely got a lot of cool aquatic notes in it. Very deep, dark scent, it kinda resonates with me as a Pisces. I feel it is a good scent for travelling. It also lasts a while on me, so frequent touch-ups aren't necessary.

[revinn]

All I can smell is seaweed..which I actually don't mind! Nice to have an imp at hand if I feel like smelling the ocean. I am a Maritimer, after all.

 

Out of 10: 5.

[angelicruin]

Inside the imp, it's definitely aquatic plant.

 

On my skin it turns to soap.

 

Back to the swap pile.

 

 

[loubric]

Aquatic and herby scents always do really well on my skin. This one is very soapy green in a very nice way. I think it’s more of a masculine scent but could definitely be worn by either. A really nice cool and clean scent.

 

It’s good and clean and fresh tra la la…

[voorishsign]

I'm possibly the only Lovecraft enthusiast who isn't that fond of Cthulhu. I mean sure, Cthulhu is iconic of Lovecraftian literature, he's fairly cool-looking as far as ancient gods go, he has a nice palace and a great PR department, but I always hoped the other gods would get some attention as well, which they only so rarely do.

 

This is an herbal, pleasant acquatic that smells nice and fresh, but there's also nothing really eldritch or outstanding about it. I was hoping it would be a hint darker, a little more unsettling. It smells nice, which in this context is almost disappointing.

 

It'll make a great gift to other Lovecraft geeks like me, though