Old Scratch

[crebbsgirl]

Old Nick, the Devil himself, as seen through the eyes of Victorian New England. A jaunty, dapper scent, deceptively genteel: a lavender fougere with tonka, amber, rosewood and a whiff of diabolical patchouli.

This was a really warm blend. The rosewood, tonka and amber cut the sharpness of the lavender beautifully. The patchouli is incredibly faint here, offering just a hint of earthyness to this blend. It becomes a woodsy, spicy lavender that wears very close to the skin on me. I like it, but in terms of warm lavender blends, I prefer Gaueko. Edited October 19, 2008 by crebbsgirl

[MrGrey]

I got Lavender scent. But as that started to fade a bit, Amber made a soft appearence. Now it's a blend of lavender and amber.

[Saya]

In the Bottle

Hello lavender and patchouli. This is pretty potent!

 

On My Skin

It’s softened up a bit, now I’m getting hints of tonka and amber through the lavender and patchouli. So far it isn’t OMG love, it’s pretty good though.

 

After a Bit

The lavender is pretty tart, it isn’t soothing like it is in some of my favorite blends. Fortunately the tonka helps counteract it a bit. The rosewood is bringing an earthy element to the blend. It’s nice, but not something I’d hoard.

 

Rating 1-5

Scent - 2.5 Throw - 3 Longevity – 4

Overall (not an average) – 3.2

 

Final thoughts

It’s a nice blend and I really like the tonka, but it’s not something I’d wear frequently or even something I’d imagine myself reaching for. I’ll keep the imp for the days I feel like switching it up, but I don’t think I’d get a bottle of this.

[awesomeoverlord]

I should say, I got this mainly because of the lavender. I'm also a big fan of tonka and rosewood so I was expecting this one to be a winner.

 

Vial: Pure lavender -- beautiful natural herbaceous lavender. Very very promising.

 

Wet: Still lavender, but some of the other notes are coming out to play. Woodsy and warm. Nice.

 

Dry: Uh-oh. I'm not sure what happened here but all I'm getting is glorified baby powder. Mehhh. There's a trace of something I might have once identified as the lavender, a bit of that lovely woodsiness and I think I can pull out the tonka, but mostly powder.

 

Old Scratch seems to have transformed into Old Matronly Nurse. I'm not ready to give up on this one quite yet -- it was just sooo good. Maybe if I reapply it every 10 minutes...

[Andrea912]

Imp: lavendar, tonka, amber, and patchouli; headshop, but not as spacey...delicate and genteel

 

Wet: becoming darker, more woody; maybe the tonka and rosewood?

Edited January 11, 2009 by Andrea912

[VioletChaos]

in the imp: pure gentleman's lavender.

 

wet on skin: same, but with a strange dollop of tonka added in.

 

dry down: the lavender has toned down considerably and the tonka and amber have taken over.

 

in all: a fine gender-neutral scent for a chilly late afternoon.

 

 

[Dark Alice]

Thanks to the wonderful kindness of a fellow forumite I finally got to try this.

 

On average, my skin absolutely adores lavendar and I adore it too. However, in this blend from wet to the drydown smells like my old great aunt's lavendar perfume and my grandmother's expensive lavendar based perfume. I smell like I belong in a senior citizens center in the victorian era playing bridge with women that have drenched themselves in this scent.

[rayvn1]

I usually avoid lavendar because it often doesn't work on my skin (I'm looking at you, Lilith Victoria ) Luckily this is one of the few that really, really works well! Sparkling lavendar base with diabolical and manly patchouli. It's really warmed up by the rosewood too. Fabulous

[milica]

oooh, this is nice!!!

 

amber, pachouli, tonka... mostly tonka with a little wood and in the drydown amber tonka, beautiful!!! lavander is just in the background for me, so this is great!!!!

 

[hkhm]

imp: lavender and tonka.

 

wet: lavender. pretty much just lavender but light, not herbal.

 

dry: this dries to something of an amber/tonka scent with a light lavender backdrop.

[Allumina]

BABY POWDER. HACK HACK WHEEZE. interesting for about 5 seconds (fancy male toiletries?) till the baby powder descends to pick at my flesh like a vulture.

 

[catattack]

Imp: Sharp lavender

Wet: Lavender, woods, and tonka.

Drydown: The lavender has faded quite a bit. The amber and rosewood are most prominent with a tiny bit of tonka sweetening it. Further drydown, it's beginning to smell like frankincense on me. Strange, it's not a listed note.

Overall: In the drydown, it goes too sharp on me. Such a shame, as I really like the wet stage. I was hoping for a rich lavender scent.

[Suu4LC]

Hmm...this is mostly patchouli to me in the imp-light male cologne, maybe a HINT of lavender, but mostly patchouli! Nuuu!

 

Ok, way more lavender-y cologne on my skin-hmm, a bit sour though. I like lavender, but there's something in this, not sure what, that comes across as sour to me. The wood and patchouli are also evident, and the amber shows up all powdery ]:

 

Yes, this dried SUPER powdery. Meh! Amber does that to me sometimes. Smells like super sweet lavender powder with a hint of patchouli-no more sourness. Stupid amber! This is far too powdery for my tastes.

[cinnamonster]

I have to admit before I was frimped this I had no idea it existed, I don't remember reading the description before even.

 

I'm glad I got this though. I really like it.

 

I get a strong blast of a citrus-y lavendar, with what I guess is the rosewood base, but has a slight white sandalwood feel to me. A hint of spice rounds it out after a few minutes, but the citrus feel remains, which for me is amazing as I destroy citrus in anything else

 

It makes me think of a good man, clean shaven but rugged, into walks in the woods, wearing a soft lambswool sweater, wow, it's made me all Harlequin novel! It's lovely anyway, nothing diabolical about this at all.

 

It'd suit someone who found Dorian too feminine. I find Dorian very femme personally (although maybe it's just how it goes on me), but this is a unisex scent.

 

ETA: wow after an hour this has really masc'd up! I think the tonka has come out now, the citrus has run for the hills and it's reminding me of a body spray that Avon did, that was a bit Angel-y, only definitely a masculine scent. Not sure I like this so much anymore! Dammit! Rugged man fantasy over...

Edited June 18, 2009 by cinnamonmel

[isisonearth]

Imp:Lavender and leather

 

Wet: Lavender and creamy tonka. Very light.

 

Dry:Woody but the lavender gives it a musty scent. I'm not a fan.

[sirensea]

This reminds me quite a bit of Man With Phallus Head. The tonka note is strong... but the florals give it a feminine edge, accentuated nicely by the amber, which I think is responsible for the almost metallic after-smell.

 

Very nice! Might even be bottle-worthy.

[caffinatedangel]

In the imp I'm excited. I can smell that weird lavendar men's nonsense that was in mad hatter, and patchouli. And im thinking... sweet.

 

Wet on skin patchouli blooms up for me. naturally, I love patchouli, so Im looking hard for it. I also get that delicious tonka note of spicey vanilla. Mm.

 

Dry - Well... I don't know. this is a man's cologne to me. It's not "manly" like leather, but it just has some kind of vibe that says male to it. A more... refined male. The rosewood is quite strong on me, it doesn't turn into pencil shavings or anything, but it adds a dryness to everything. The patchouli just ends up adding a little grit, tonka takes a backseat (it always seems to, but then hours later will be there warming up my skin), so then it's mostly a lavender and amber blend. It's a bit... "powdery" into the drydown. It's not bad, it's just odd. Something about this scent... is curious.

 

I'm reminded of a lifeguard I had a crush on during a summer camp once. It smells like pool, summer, and hiking. Very natural, but with a touch of... trying to cover it up. almost smells like it could be deodorant. Don't get me wrong, that's a good thing. Ever have a heavy makeout and you end up smelling like him? then it ends up just being his DO and BO?

 

Well whatever, this was interesting, and brought up odd memories. It's like... the innocence in breaking rules, you know? I make no sense. I really like it, though. It's bright, happy, and somehow fun... with this dab of naughty in a green, earthy way.

 

Yep it's the rosewood. We sat around and learned about pool safety and general first aid for hikes in some older wood building... and the rosewood is tugging on some note, plus everything else. Wee.

 

Ok throw. It doesn't overtake but it wafts a little. The staying powder is ok for oils as well. It's a nice blend, just not one I want to smell like. And the powder note that keeps building is getting to me (amber, amber, amber. Tisk tisk.)

[ouch!]

Patchouli turns to powder of death on my skin so this one is going a bit wonky.

 

The wet stage is a nice Lavender/woodsy scent. And there's a burst of feshness behind it. Then the patchouli and amber team up to for a big powdery bomb that explodes off of my skin. I still like it but I don't think I'd buy a bottle of this.

 

 

 

[heathercaley]

This is a lovely lavender scent. It's a brand new fresh imp, so I bet it will age gorgeously! It starts out all lavender, then as it dries down, it grows sweeter and softer, and blossoms into one of the most loveliest blends I've tried in a very long time. I do believe that this is more unisexual than masculine, as the tonka sweetens it up just a bit. I do hope that the patchouli pops out more, so I'll throw this in the back of my box and let it age and then see what it will do for me later

 

 

[mgrazulis]

Not a fan of this on me...lavender and tonka together is quite lovely with the rosewood. It has the feel of Villain there. However the patchouli and amber on the drydown takes me to the land of powdery fail...

 

[Leopard403]

Whoa, hello herbal lavender!

[Molls]

I have a new frimp of this, and to my surprise, I really like it. It's a light, airy kind of lavender. Just a bit of amber and tonka. I hardly get any patchouli, except in the late drydown. It's quite masculine, so maybe I won't wear it. Maybe put a sachet in my b/f's drawer to scent his clothes?

[steffanina]

Old Scratch-

 

In Bottle: I think I smell lavender; this doesn't give me that slap of men's cologne right away.

 

Wet: Very faint on my skin, just the merest hint of soft soft cologne.

 

Dry: I'm not sure why but this is giving me an unpleasant, slightly nauseated feeling. It's like all the things I fear about men's cologne just decided to go into stealth mode until they could sneak past my defenses and go, "HA!" It doesn't agree with me.

 

Overall: Not for me.

[girlinredshoes]

In the Bottle: Rubbing Alcohol + Bergamot. I don't dislike, it is interesting!

 

Wet: A total blast of wintergreen! Now calming down and turning quite lovely, lavender and the gorgeous tonka coming out. The amber add a high, clear note.

 

Dry: This isn't very strong on me, but I like it! The amber is a bit stronger and the rosewood balances things nicely. I might wear it when I want to be subtly noticed....

[DeltaCat]

Herbal lavender with a hint of baby powder. I would buy baby powder scented like this. Definitely.