Oblivion

[BuxomM]

Salvation found in darkness beyond darkness, the blessed sleep of nothingness. Dark musk, wood spice, labdanum, patchouli, dark African woods, and saffron.

This was a frimp. It is a masculine scent to me. It smells like pine and musk. I prefer sweet foody scents so this wasn't a keeper for me.

[Tess]

In the bottle - This smells LOVELY. Sweet and woody and musky. I cannot WAIT to put this on!

 

Wet - Mmm, saffron...

 

Drying - Okay, it's a bit "alcohol" smelling. Not in a "yum alcohol!" but in a perfume alcohol way. But even with that, it's just fantastic. Deeply musky with woods and sweet spice. It reminds me of a woody, deeper version of Oisin. Which makes me happy.

 

Dry (45 minutes) - It hasn't been that long, but I'm just adoring this so much! It's very true to the previous stages and really is the darker, more woody Oisin.

 

Overall - YES. This is a big, big YES. Gods, this is such a bottle scent for me.

[liquidtrance]

In the imp, I think the dark musk and patchouli are most prominent.

When it hits skin, though, it's much more wood and spice. Just a hint of something like pine-sol…Hm. So far, I'm not in love. Something new seems to be coming forward. Unfamiliar. Maybe it's the saffron?? Really strange. Really. Maybe it's the dark musk or labdanum?

After reading labdanum's relation to ambergris(sperm whale) I get conotations of musky dead things. Strangely it begins smelling more pleasant after only a minute or two. Gets more subtle. ... Strange. Once this is dry its peculiar and unexpectedly intriguing. Worth another wear, but I am wary. It's on the verge of being too strange. In the right situation it could be attractive, but in the wrong situation it's certainly no good. Alright..After about an hour this is rather creamy with a hint of spice. The amount of stages it had to go through though, is wearying. Maybe this would be better NOT during RMW... (The drydown is indeed soo nice. Hmph) I think the full drydown reminds me of Hay Moon. Less grassy, but very golden and warm.

[Evengloam]

Bottle: Dark pine; woods and musk. Vaguely spicy. Murky.

 

Wet: Not as bitter as it was in the bottle. It's a touch sweet. Not exactly sure what's doing that, but I'm going to assume it's the labdanum or saffron.

 

Dry: Spicy wood blend with just a smidge of sweetness to keep it from being too bitter. Very resinous. Almost too strong for me. I hope it softens.

 

1 hour: Yay! It softened. There's a balance between the woods and the spice. Still very resinous.

 

Unfortunately, it only lasted a couple hours. Blah. I think I'll keep my frimp, though.

Edited July 2, 2009 by Evengloam

[rayvn1]

Oh dear god this is good Sweet, sweeeeet, smoky, spicy goodness. A bit "veiled" smelling somehow. Musk and labdanum tends to love my skin and this is amazing! Light, but deep and rich at the same time. Bottle-freaking-worthy.

[tragedy]

I keep going back and forth as to whether I think this is purely masculine or unisex.

Its a very nice blend, incensey... with HUGE throw, its mainly woodsy and musky.

Im giving it to hubby... I think itll smell better on a boy!

[Gin]

Oblivion - Looking at the notes, I thought, no, not for me. I popped open the imp anyway, and... I don't know what I smelled, but I liked it. Or was at least intrigued by it. It smells masculine and clean. I think what I'm drawn to is the saffron. It makes this blend sweet but not foody sweet. Oblivion is spicy and woody and sweetgrassy. Really beautiful.

[Suu4LC]

Oh, this is quite nice...a rich dark musky, spicy wood scent-I looove the saffron in this! This isn't quite as OMG DARK as I was afraid it would be...more rich, dark brown instead of blackness. Woods aren't usually my thing, but this has enough spice and saffron to keep it from being too woody. It's a bit masculine...not quite cologney though. Very bold.

 

This has a nice throw and decent staying power, though after a few hours it doesn't disappear but turns to a sweet powder.

 

I liked this blend quite a lot, moreso than I thought I would. This is a great unisex blend. For someone like me, who doesn't generally do "dark" blends OR wood blends OR patchouli blends, I would allllmost put this on my To Buy list. It's the most unique blend, but it is an amazing blend for someone who wants a deep spicy earthy blend, that isn't TOO deep or TOO spicy or TOO earthy.

[MamaMoth]

Wow! I expected something rather heavy with this, but the saffron gives it a... spicy freshness? heh. It's hard to put into words, actually. Spicy without being heavy or opressive. Clean-smelling, sweet without being SWEET. I mostly smell the saffron, wet and dried down. A few hours in, I get a vague reminder of Morocco, but still overlaid with that great saffron.

 

Really lovely, and unique.

[EdenIris]

Hey, my imp's not green! I wonder if the formula changed.

 

This is really beautiful. I suspected from the description that it would work well on my skin (dark musk, woods, patchouli, and saffron are all winners for me), but I thought it would be darker, more intense. Instead, it's sort of comforting. Gentle.

 

During drydown, I get prominent wood (heheheh, I am 12 -- sorry!), but then all the notes balance and meld into something soft and dark and just a little sweet/spicy. Like kitten fur.

 

This is going on the GC bottle list.

 

ETA: Very strong throw for the first half hour or so, then it backs down. I'll have to be careful where I wear this.

Edited October 8, 2009 by EdenIrisMae

[angelicruin]

Spicy saffron and dark musk, mostly. More woodsy as it dries. I'd call it a more masculine scent. Patchouli doesn't really emerge for me with this one.

[reynardine]

It started out quite well. Got a hint of musk. Spicy when wet. Dried down to something woodsy--probably with cedar since my nose suddenly stopped up?

 

More of a manly scent, I'd say, but since the allergy thing hit, I'm going to pass this one along.

[Saya]

Based on the description I didn't think I'd care for this blend at all. This starts off smelling very masculine, lots of dark musk and spice which combine to make this a very 'thick' scent.

 

After a while the more dominant notes fade a touch and the saffron comes out adding just the right amount of sweet to balance the darker elements.

 

This blend has huge throw and major staying power. I'll definitely use the imp and probably end up springing for a bottle once it's gone.

 

I'm glad I took a chance on this one!

[DeltaCat]

Musk and saffron. Very clean smelling. Slightly manly, but I like manly scents!

[ralenth]

Wet: Musky, spicy woods. Like Scherezade sans the cinnamony note I get.

Drydown: Manly spice cake. What? Yes, really. As Oblivion dries, it goes back toward a dark woodsy scent. Very, very dark.

 

Dry: Barely controlled sexy woodsman - this is bordering on pornographic, folks.

 

After an hour: Apparently, this woodsman likes a cuddle. It's still dark and sexy, but there is a sweetness to it that I wasn't really banking on.

 

Overall: Conflicted. It's like a one-night stand with amazing raw primal sex who wants to talk about feelings the next day. I just don't know what to do.

 

ETA: Hour Four: We're back to musky sexiness (but now times a billionty). This man came into my office and I thought he was the source of divine aroma, but then I discovered it was me. If I can get through the sweet stage, this is ridiculously amazing.

Edited February 23, 2010 by ralenth

[Caerphilly]

In the imp: Sweet spices, orange, clove and a bit of sweet herbs. Slightly fruity, a bit spicy, not patchouli or wood at all! So happy about that. Not what I expected. Like a heavy perfume.

 

Wet: Smells more masculine now, like cologne. I'm getting an astringent smell, a heavy sweet alcoholic.

 

Dry: After all of that, the patchouli and wood smells come out. Ugh! There is still a citrus and astringent alcohol scent coming through, though.

 

Overall: Really like the beginning. And interesting smells, morphing from something of a heavy perfume to a masculine scent. When it's dry, though, I don't like it all! Too dark and too masculine and heavy for me. Darn that patchouli!

[Sabir]

After looking at a few other reviews, I'm wondering if this is the same scent. *checks Imp* It says "Oblivion." Here goes nothing.

 

Scanning some of the other reviews I see descriptions of notes like, wood, spice and masculine. I'm getting none of that. In fact, this smells kind of floral on me, and not a nice floral. It's like a sickly, trashy kind of floral that I'm not at all enjoying. There might be a smudge of woodsy-ness thrown in for good measure, but it does nothing to redeem this scent for me. It just conflicts with the smell of wet, mashed up flowers.

 

Not for me. Sad to say.

[CreamyJade]

In the bottle: Musky woods, a hint of spices. Smells a bit masculine, but lovely.

Wet on skin: Saffron, backed up by dark musk & woods.

Dry on skin: Very sexy, dark, smouldering musk, with woods & spices to back it up. Yes!

Final thoughts: This has an amazing throw and lasting power. A very dark & sexy unisex scent, I have to remind myself to try it on the boyfriend! I'm happy I finally bought a bottle

[misscoldheart]

Hm, this is a weird one. I will start by saying I notice an immediate difference between the green and amber colored imps. I am reviewing the amber colored one because it seemed more promising.

Wood doesn't usually work on me, but this is ok. I have many musk blends and was able to pick up on that right away. The spiciness is also immediate.

It went through a short powdery phase and then settled into a sweet ambery, somewhat cologne type scent. I'm also picking up a hint of vanilla. This may be a bit too masculine for me so I'm not sure how much I'd wear it, but it would be lovely on someone who was better suited to it!

[impolight]

:::OBLIVION:::

 

Based on the moniker for this one, the expectation was for something a wee bit more... Dark? Sinister?

The (well, not really) surprise with Oblivion was that it is actually quite the exotic, yummified sort of goody that one can expect to emerge from The Lab consistently.

There was some trepidation upon reading that there was Patchouli in this; yet, not only is it a lusher, greener Patchouli, it is present only enough to add a degree of sultry mystique to this blend.

Another surprise with Oblivion was the perfume of the ferrous-flowered Saffron; ordinarily one of the more delicate and subtle blossoms, it's sweetness was luxuriously apparent here! Neato!

It's strange that there is not any Amber in this blend, considering how incredibly sweet it is... Labdanum isn't a familiar fragrance (thus far unidentifiable in most of the blends that it's listed in) yet that could account for some of the sweetness that so closely resembles Amber in Oblivion.

"Wood Spice" is also an enigmatic descriptor, but from what is detectable in this blend, the closest note that it could be likened to from personal experience is Allspice.

The "Dark Woods" makes oblivion velvety-smooth... So far, these come together and summon a theme of an old-timey barber shop... Some exotic sort of talcum powder imported for their more discerning clientele.

On the skin: everything in Oblivion Amps, especially the sweetness (really? no Amber?). The spice comes out a little more assertively here as well.

Unisex for certain... Just about the time that a proper place with a specific gender gets near to being solidified, there is a flux that shifts it to the polar opposite of the spectrum.

In either case, Oblivion is a very nice fragrance; wistful, creamy, dreamy...

Oblivion would work well with heavy fabrics, Victorian wallpaper, the good china, and an oriole window... A pipe-organ can be heard somewhere in the distance...

Definitely more Salvation than Sin.

Yummaliscious!

4.75 out of 5.

[strahlend]

I bought this bottle for my mom and snuck a test in before passing it on.

Oblivion is very warm, musky and lightly spiced... I can see why mom decided she wanted more of this, it's exactly the kind of scent she likes.

For my taste this is just a little too sweetly musky. If I'm remembering right from other blends I think it might be the labdanum. Something here feels kind of powdery and suffocating to me.

[Vega]

This is the amber oil. (There is a green oil? Intriguing, I'd like to try that!)

 

Sniffed: Dark and woody, very smooth and clean.

 

On skin: A very dark, deep scent. I get mostly woods, overlaid with a sheen of bright spices. It gradually opens up during drydown, becoming smooth, sleek, and clean, reminiscent of lacquered wood. Oblivion feels "enclosed", like it's blanketing my senses without being too stifling, and there's something cold and hollow about it. It definitely evokes the enfolding yet impersonal blackness of the abyss and annihilation.

Colour impression is a very dark brown, almost black, with a polished sheen.

 

Verdict: Fascinating, not unpleasant, but not my kind of scent: it's too dark and deeply woody for me. But I'm once again in awe of how Beth is able to capture the essence of Oblivion in a scent! I'm glad I got to try this.

[Ajila]

In the bottle - I would guess it's the wood spice that I can smell

 

Wet on me - A soapy/spicy aftershave sort of scent

 

Dry on me - A warm, soft, slightly masculine resin

 

Overall - I can see why people would love this, even though it's not really something that I would wear

[bloody sore]

I call this cheap man.

Wife calls this too strong and a little stomach turning.

Blech.

Almost a little lemon tang to this, which I really don't like.

[SophieCedar]

Wet: The color was surprising! Inky blue green black. The smell is very dark and reminiscent of cologne, the musk is strong w/ wood spices and labdanum. However I can tell it has promise...something lovely in the drydown.

Drydown: patchouli and saffron brightens the mix and the woods dry it out and deepen it. I truly love this one. Slightly masculine however with my skin chemistry it's complex, deep, slightly sweet, and seductive.