Iago

[Lysi]

Malevolent, dark and shadowy: sinuous black musk, wet leather and vetiver.

This was one of the imps I chose specifically for my husband to try (I get 4, he gets 2, that's fair, right? ).

Wet, all I got was what I'm guessing is the vetiver. Couldn't pick up any leather at all, which was a bit disappointing. Once dry, it was more like...a man's study. Dark leather chairs, the vague scent of pipe tobacco, very "this is man's territory." Nice, definitely manly, but I think just a bit too old for hubby. I didn't get any "dangerous" vibes from it, just leather-chair comfort. Might pass this along to Dad instead.

[Betula]

Iago

 

I ordered this one with high hopes (Iago is one of my favorite Shakespearean characters, right up there with Benedick). Thank the Gods of Literature, I was not disappointed.

 

In the bottle- Booze! And- Other things! It’s very powerful, but it’s so strong I really can’t pick up many individual notes.

 

On the skin- Booze again. Like whiskey. And something medicinal- is that the vetiver, maybe? Also a lovely smoky note. I’m digging the smoky note.

 

A few minutes later- The booze scent has mellowed out, thank goodness. The medicinal note has blended with it and also settled down. And I notice a little leather! It’s playing nicely with the smokiness. This is good- it brings some sweetness to balance out the harshness of the other notes. I wish I could detect some black musk, but so far it hasn’t made an appearance.

 

Much later- Iago chills out after it’s been on my skin for a decent length of time. It grows sweet and the musk shows up to make things almost creamy. Just beautiful. The perfume finishes on a pleasant powdery note. I am reminded of Prada’s ‘Infusion d’Iris’. This is definitely an oil to be dabbed, not slathered. It lasts and lasts, and the throw is really something else. It’s not something I’m in the mood for all the time, but when I AM, when I’m feeling androgynous enough and ambitious enough, this is PERFECT. I love Iago. It’s sweetly, viciously masculine and sexy, in a way that I can enjoy. Top ten for me, certainly.

[notjonathan]

This is very strong when wet. Deeply smokey. You've been up late, plotting schemes by firelight. After an hour or so the smoke is less harsh and things get more complex. Musk and vetiver, supremely and purely dark, smoothed by worn black leather.

 

I love vetiver, and blending it with musk binds the two, I guess. I usually pick up on musk notes hours after everything else has faded away, but this kept its complexity throughout the day.

[lahdeedah]

Oh Iago, you pulled a treacherous betrayal on me! Why am I surprised?

 

On wet: Hello vetiver! Good thing I like you, because you are pretty much all that I smell right now. Strong, smoky vetiver.

 

 

Moments Later: Black musk is creeping around the edges looking shifty.

 

 

Soon After That: Are those leather breechskins you're wearing? Those are HOT. Sexy, soft supple leather. I'm starting to think this is the scent I will MAKE my DH wear, whether he wants to or not.

 

And then: Noooooooooo. Black musk you've poofed into baby powder. That's not manly, wicked, or hot. Maybe you'll behave better on DH, but I'm having second thoughts for sure.

 

 

The bright side: Since the components of this blend are few, it's obvious that black musk is a problem for me. I think I already knew this, but I seem to keep conveniently forgetting. Grrrr.

[lupidog]

Decided to test this one tonight despite it smelling really foul to me in the imp. I think that's the vetiver, which I -think- smells like beef jerky/nasty meat to me.

 

Wet, yes, all beef jerky/meatiness. That begins to fade to more reasonable levels fairly quickly, but it's still quite prominent. The leather shows up and is yummy, but it's a ... meaty leather.

 

A little while later the straight up MEAT smell recedes significantly, and is less recognizable as such while it lingers in the background. It is mostly leather, which is hit or miss on me. Something is also making me nose feel twitchy, which may be the musk. I REALLY wish I weren't getting that unpleasant tickle, because otherwise this now smells like having your face buried in the neck of a man wearing a leather jacket on a cold night, perhaps during a lingering hug goodnight. Which makes me want to keep huffing, but then there's something in there making me just a touch sneezy (and maybe queasy). I may just have to hunt down the real thing.

 

ETA: Iago is also a persistent fella. I washed my wrist w/ soap and hot water in order to accommodate another smell to test, and he was just like... nope. At first I couldn't smell him but he returned w/ a leathery vengeance. Get outta here, mister leather coat wearing guy! We hugged GOODBYE. =P

Edited December 10, 2010 by starryeyedcrocodile

[fairestrocza]

In the Imp: Ugh. Leather and vetiver.

 

Wet on Skin: Black leather. More musk and less vetiver than in the imp.

 

While Drying: Not me at all. It is an interesting scent, in spite of a bit of a chemical tinge, but none of these notes are favorites of mine.

 

After a Little While: The chemical aspect has toned down. This scent makes me think of a dance club on fetish night. Leather is dominant, with a bit of musk. The vetiver is (surprisingly) being swamped by the other notes.

 

Later: Hmm. I am somewhat intrigued by the final stage, but I'm not sure I like the beginning stages enough to justify waiting. I think I'd prefer smelling this one on someone else.

 

Iago earns a 3/5 on my skin.

[SophieCedar]

Wet: smoky oiled leather and vetivert. The black musk amps it nicely.

 

Drydown: same!

[Diva Urd]

In the imp: It screams "LEATHER!!!!" and "VETIVER!!!!". There is a bit of freshness to it that I associate with musk scents while still in the bottle. It's quite similar to "Kroenen".

 

On: At first, the vetiver comes out to play without restraint, as it usually does on me. It starts calming down a little as it dries, but other than in "Kroenen", it does not seem to be as well-harnessed as it is in that scent.

 

Later: Finally the musk appears and takes a bit of the bite out of the vetiver. This is "Kroenen" with more vetiver and less of the assorted underlying deliciousness that blend has. I was hoping that "Iago" might be a cheaper alternative, but it doesn't nearly dry as nicely on me as the old leather nazi. Sadly, it's also not for the husband, since he amps vetiver to high heaven and seems to eat just about everything else in this... Too bad. Swap.

[impolight]

:::Iago:::

Huzzah for Bats Day 2011! This was the second time attending the event and it was just as challenging not to be overwhelmed by seeing the entirety of Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab's category in person. It's quite different being allowed to sniff the oils prior to making a purchase. Two days would still be an insufficient amount of time to check them all out.

Iago has been one of those blends that has been lurking in the wings, lying in wait for a prospective purchase. So far, all of the BPAL blends containing Leather have been an ecstacy on the nose. Until now, Red Rider has been the epitome of a sexy as all get out blend for Leather... And along came Iago.

From the Bottle: Kerblam! Vetiver shrieks right out of the neck with a one-two punch. This is sweet, grassy and sinister; a chuckling from somewhere deep in a rolling sea of shadowy blades. The Black Musk is gorgeous; sweet, dry, and earthy. This behaves like a draping of rich, black, flowing cloth with purple and blue highlights. A cape worn by a romanticized sociopath. Together, the Black Musk and the Vetiver entwine in a glittering and potentially dangerous kind of dalliance. A scandal. A spectacle.

So far this has the feel of a gothic novel read from atop a pile of cushions in a window seat. The novel seems to constantly shift from feeling like a tragic, melancholy romance to a boddice-ripping variety of madness and terror. It's cool and quiet and feels quite harmonious with the billowing, pewter-coloured clouds and the swaying gunmetal-green tree tops outside. Thus far, the Leather has declined to assert itself in any overtly conspicuous way. While is presence has been noted, at this phase it could be emnating subtly from the Leather-bound tome.

The Illinition: The Black Musk and the Vetiver amp, briefly, into a ghoulishly delicious kind of crescendo before the Leather drops onto it's pedestal of preeminence. This is the last thing your brain registers before realizing, too late, that you have been alterted to the presence of the assassin via Leather boots, Leather gloves, Leather jacket. This is your panicked hyperventilations being cinched to a stop as you pause in your flight from an unseen horror in the jungle's moonless night only to have the coils of a black python cradle you quiet from an overhead bough.

Iago is glamor, malevolence, and treachery. Iago is cold, calculating, and irresistable. This has all the trappings of a classic and refined gentleman's cologne with added cues of both respect and unease.

Spectrally, Iago is Black, Indigo, Eggplant, metal, mahogany, and evergreen.

On Him, Iago is wicked and villainous. This is the unabashedly sexier arch-nemesis of Red Rider. Red Rider may have thrown the gauntlet, but Iago head-butted him in the teeth.

On Her, Iago is a thing of disquiet. While decadently delicious, there is a high-pitched warning in your guts that convinces you it is a glamour-fortified disguise.

Iago is a brilliant concoction. Highest marks. a 5 out of 5.

Thank you, Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab!

[dicyfer]

This was a very interesting scent on me! Just a forewarning, I'm pretty sure what it does on me won't happen to anyone else.

 

In this imp this is, as others have said, pure vetiver, with a glorious edge of leather. When I first put it on, I get a lot more of the musk and leather, and it's smellin' good! Then, weirdness starts. The vetiver turns almost like cocoa, interesting. Not bad, but not necessarily what I want. Luckily, it transforms once again and becomes... BLACK TEA. I swear, I don't know what amazing body chemistry I have to make this happen, but it's good! It reminds me exactly of a black tea called "golden monkey," which has lovely cocoa undertones.

 

In summary: leather, musk, and vetiver are some of my favorites, so of course I love this. And morphing into tea? Amazing!

I will definitely be getting a bottle of this.

[Urpflanze]

I wasn't going to try Iago. After Bluebeard, Malediction, Umbra and Saturnalia I was reticent about vetiver scents, they're all smoked meat and dry grass. Reviews for Iago were mostly pretty good, so I picked up an imp. Gotta say, its just more vetiver to me. Leather is surely here too. Black leather. On an older man I think this could read better. It is the best of the heavy vetiver blends (runner up would be Umbra) but it is still just more vetiver to me.

[calivianya]

I received this as a frimp from the Lab.

 

In the vial, I smell something strongly chemical. I was almost afraid to put it on, but I did anyway. That same chemical, horrid smell whacked me in the face when I applied this. After about five minutes, however, the chemical smell has vanished to be replaced by a soft leather. I get no black musk or vetiver - I'm amping the leather to high heaven and there is no room for any other notes on my skin. The black musk dares to peek out on the drydown, about fifteen minutes in, and I think I can detect the vetiver, but it is almost too faint to tell. I have a feeling I could get more black musk and vetiver with aging, and this might be an interesting blend to re-try then. Until then, it is a strong leather blend with a teeny tiny hint of musk in the background.

[Larinessa]

I was looking through my purse, and came across this imp in my bag, probably aged at least 6m. Since I am currently a leather\musk fiend, gotta give this a go.

 

In the imp, sharp vetiver w/leather lurking underneath. Thank god, none of the 'chemical' tone new leather blends tend to have.

 

Wet on the skin- the vetiver is dominate, but the musk and leather are making themselves known.

 

Dry- mostly leather and vetiver, but the musk is apparent on the background. This is dead on sexy, how you would expect a really hot, charismatic man casually wearing a leather jacket would smell. But very wearable for me. This is a bottle purchase for sure for me.

[theredkilt]

This reminds me so much of Encre Noir.

 

Basically it's smoky vetiver and leather! Heavy stuff!

[maoric]

Iago was an unexpected surprise after ordering the first three BPAL scents to catch my eye. I had them shipped to my girlfriend, so I wasn't around when it arrived. She said that she could smell the leather while the vial was still closed, and it reminded her of going to a Renaissance festival. After looking over the first page of reviews, I thought "well, maybe this could be a nice surprise, though it's not something I'd normally get for myself"

 

How wrong I was.

 

I have to agree, even with the imp closed, you can smell some faint leather, and it's not too bad.

 

Upon opening it: SHOE STORE. That's all we could think about to describe it. It seriously reminded my girlfriend, friends, and I of department store sections where purses/women's shoes are sold.

 

Wet on my skin: Pretty unpleasant. I can smell the same leather smell as before, but it's slowly being joined by some sort of smell that I do. not. like. Being new to this whole scent business means I can't place my finger on what is causing it, but I don't like it. Maybe it'll change like some of the other scents did over time and get better?

 

Drying: SMELL BAD. It's sunscreen! All I can smell is thick, smeared sunscreen my parents bought for me as a child going to the beach and leather shoes. GET THIS OFF OF ME.

 

As a positive for anyone whose body chemistry plays nicely with this scent, it seems to last forever. I scrubbed down as if preparing for surgery (my girlfriend told me to stop after noticing I was making one wrist raw), but it still lingered. If anything, the leather smell seemed to only briefly fade after washing and then come back stronger. At least I was rid of the sunscreen, but I wound up smelling like shoes until showering the next morning. Not for me

[Maleficium]

I got this with my bf in mind. He loooves leather scents and I could see him pulling off this strong commanding very manly scent.

 

In the imp it smells very dark, like cedar and the tent at Bristol Ren Faire that I always stand by longingly (the one with all the fancy leather armor pieces)

 

Wet on his skin the cedar definitely pops. It's got a really sharp woodsy smell, almost like a skunk musk but one that smells really really good.

 

A few minutes later it fades to a rich leather smell. (<3 YUMMY I'M ALREADY IN LOVE) He's standing a few feet away and I can almost envision the blackest leather. There is also a definite spicy vibe going on.

 

He's shaking his head and very adamant that he wants this for his birthday. I love this scent, and I will certainly oblige!

[Monday]

An old musty leather coat hanging in a dank shed. That's Iago summed up on my skin. This scent also reminds me a lot of the smell in a store we had here many years ago which sold surplus army stuff. So yeah...musty leather. Has lots of throw.

[icarus suraki]

So...if anyone gets leather out of this, I am seriously envious. I got this specifically because it was so well-reviewed as a leather scent. But I've about decided that my skin just eats all things leather, so here I'm left with nothing but musk and vetiver, which seem to slide on down into something smelling kind of like cedar or pine or evergreen.

 

Truth be told, the longer I wear Iago, the more it smells like a commercial men's cologne or deodorant (which is frustrating because I tested Rogue last night with very similar results: men's cologne).

 

On me it's, you know, sort of spicy and masculine (very, very masculine--think Polo cologne ads)...but no leather at all, nor anything especially interesting to it. It just smells like a guy. I'm sad. I had such high hopes. Leather, why do you hurt me like this?

 

Addendum: Well, that's odd. Having gotten tired of smelling like a Ralph Lauren male model, I washed off what I could with ordinary hand soap and...lo and behold, there was the leather, hiding way down deep. There's no throw at all now, of course, but if I press my nose into my wrist, I sure can smell it. All right, so you're as sneaky as your namesake, Iago. I may have to let this one age and try it again (or try using it differently).

Edited July 19, 2012 by icarus suraki

[neuilly]

This smells exactly like the three notes listed. Alas I am not big on leather or vetiver. Was thankful for the frimp, but very much not for me! However, I was surprised that this was one of the few scents I've tried that smelled exactly like the notes listed.

[OctoberGwen]

When first applied, Iago smells like marijuana to me.

 

Once it dries down, it becomes the first leather-containing scent that I kind of enjoy. Something about the musk (I love you here, black musk) really blends nicely with the leather, which is of the decidedly non-chemical variety. I wish my husband wore scent, because I'd love to see what this smells like on him.

 

Not something I would wear myself, but I enjoyed the experience. It is definitely sexy, and the right sort of woman must totally rock this. I'm sure it's fantastic on a man, also.

[maika]

In the imp, smokey musky leather - with a hint of something green underneath

 

Wet - almost pure vetiver. But it's not screaming at me the way that it did in Saturnalia. It's very much there, but I'm pretty sure it's the leather holding it in check, because there's a little bit peeking out at the base. Very masculine though, which is to be expected.

 

Dry - the musk is right down deep, the leather has taken over, but there's enough vetiver to make me incredibly happy. It's still quite masculine - more masculine then I would normally wear - and I do want to smell on a man...but this is almost pure sex, and I need more.

[ladymeag]

This has become one of my go-to scents. When I want a sexy-dirty, manly leather, this is where I go.

 

In the bottle: VETIVER! and musk

 

On Me: Wet, there's the smoky, woodsy smell of vetiver with something lingering in the background. As it dries down, the leather comes out quite a bit and it picks up a musky smell. This is incredibly masculine and very woodsy.

 

On My Spouse: Wet, the vetiver isn't as strong as it is for me and it's a little muskier. This develops on my spouse into an almost vetiver-less musky leather. Less woodsy, less smoky, more sweaty leather.

[anaengel]

I have to admit the reason why I got it is twofold. I liked two thirds of the notes and how they go on me and everyone seems to say it's long lasting. I was a little worried though about the black musk because, no matter what, it turns to baby powder on me. Safe to say, this didn't! Too bad it didn't last through the Dawn trial.

 

The first thing that hit me was how thick the oil was. This is coming from a new bottle from the lab too. It definitely clung to the wand and oozed down it more like a gel. In fact, it seemed to slink and caress where I put it on. Yeah, it gave off a vibe just from the texture.

 

At first, the scent was more of the black musk wanting to come out and be powder, but that lasted only seconds. After that, it was all smoky vetiver and the well worn leather I love. It seems to be very similar to the leather note in De Sade, even. It makes me think of a concert after all the pyro is done and wearing an ex's leather trench to. And it lasted the longest time on me. This is one of the few that goes past the 4 hour mark. As it faded, it remained the same vetiver and leather but in lighter throw.

 

I'm glad I got the bottle of this and it's going on the "check to see who's working to see if I can even wear it to work" scent. Well, at least until I stick my arms in the Dawn.

[mymymai]

In the Imp (ITI): It's muskily sweet, followed by leather and smoke.

 

Wet: Smoky and rich vetiver swirling around black leather with a touch of skin musk. Oh, this is dangerous and sexy.

 

Dry: As it dries, the vetiver becomes a little more bitter, like sitting by a smoldering camp fire. The leather is still present, but the sweetness from the musk is incredibly when when compared to the two stronger notes. Honestly, I'd like to smell this one on my husband.

[quickdrawkiddo]

I'm one of those weirdos who loves all three of the notes in Iago, so I had to try it and WHOA NELLY I was not disappointed. Yes, it's very masculine in the imp, but I love what "manlier" notes like vetiver, leather, and tobacco turn into on my skin. And as many people have mentioned, the black musk takes the bitter edge off the vetiver and makes the whole thing much more wearable for the ladies as well as the gents. Very long-lasting and not much of a morpher. Sexay! I love it!