The Music of Erich Zahn

[TrailerTrashPrincess]

A ghoulish and tortured scent, suffused with the blackness of space illimitable: ajowan, vetiver, black musk, opoponax, mimosa, and tamarind.

sniffed from the imp: a human musk (not an unwashed sort of smell, just... a skin sort of smell) running slightly toward the scent of Greed - with something sharp (the Vetiver, i'm guessing) that makes the inside of my nose tingle

now, let me also say that i don't know what ajowan or tamarind are supposed to smell like.
but on me, the black musk gives this a lovely foundation, the mimosa adds in something creamy-sweet and i'm guessing the myrrh/tamarind is what is adding the richness/depth here.

i really don't like this at first, but after a bit it morphs into something truly lovely. i'd been putting off trying this for ages - and now i don't know why... i think the colour of the oil (almost Dragon's Blood red) may have been scaring me a little.

[Shollin]

First sniff: Yikes. Mr. Zahn seriously needs to tune his instrument. His Music is a sharp, loud cacophony of … something unpleasant. Vetiver is never nice to me, so I didn’t expect to like this one.

 

Wearing: The topnote is really nice, a very interesting bright golden note I don’t think I’ve smelled before. Tamarind, maybe? But underneath is the swampy vetiver and thick black musk, and the lovely soprano melody isn’t enough to save it from the pounding bass dissonance below.

[Torrain]

In imp: vetiver and black musk, I think. I don't know about ajowan or opoponax, so this is going to be an interesting one. On my skin, it's more refreshing—vetiver?—and something kind of licoricey-sweet starts popping up almost immediately.

 

5 min: having looked up ajowan, and seen its connections to dill, caraway, and cumin, I am guessing that's the scent I'm getting (maybe with a little tamarind). The refreshing impression has stepped back into the background a bit; I think that's the opoponax, not vetiver. I'm still getting a sweet note in with the spice, and I'm guessing that's the mimosa.

 

...you know, this might not have been the smartest thing to test when I still have my curry lunch on the desk beside me.

 

15 min: It's lovely--cool, airy-light, black, and refreshing, like a midnight sky. There's a hint of heat in there that grounds it, keeps it from just being a pretty scent that doesn't have anything to do with me; for some reason, I'm getting the mental image of sheared licorice.

 

30 min: it's traded coolness for warmth; the black musk seems to be coming out, but very decorously. Still a black and airy scent—it really is evoking Zann's garrett and the view out the window, at least for me.

 

45 min: oh I love this. Have I mentioned that I love this? It's delicate and black and fresh and faintly warm in a way that's just a little too sharp to be cosy--

 

--good god. It's Edward Gorey. This oil is Edward Gorey.

 

1:15: continuing in its lovely caraway-sweet darkness. 1:45 same.

 

It starts fading after perhaps two and a half or three hours, and after about six hours, it's faint and very sweet; pure mimosa, I think. I wish it lasted a little longer, but I'm really really happy with this.

[Brianne]

THe vetiver in this is too loud and sharp for my tastes - it is backed by a foody spice that smells like ginger to me, even though that isn't listed in the blend. That is all I get unfortunately, it's very straightforward on my skin - I think because the vetiver is just so loud on me!

[maribouquet]

It must be the ajowan and tamarind that I'm smelling the most: Indian spice and a fermented sort of fruity smell. This is so interesting, but I don't think I can pull it off as a scent. Mostly it just smells like an Indian restaurant on me. Ah, well.

[lemonade]

IN bottle

 

Sweet dark earthy mayan chocolate

 

 

On arm

 

A dark death fairy drenched in bitter cocoa beans searching around a green leafy graveyard for victims

 

 

Dry

 

Im weeping buckets... It hates me seems like the fairy turned more nasty on me

 

ETA

 

OK 1 hour later.... amazing transformation... I think the dawn threatened the nasty fairy and out popped her more gentle chocolate musky side... YAY... im liking it a LOT now

 

It was one hellish journey to get to the end but the final destination was worth it!!

 

I also tried layering this with bloody mary and believe it or not the scents are amazing together.

Edited May 1, 2008 by lemonade

[alicia_stardust]

This is the blackest, darkest fragrance I have ever come across. It is truly fathomless and ethereal. The vetiver and black musk are predominant and bring to mind the eeriness of the story. Perfect execution even if it's too strong and dark for me.

[Lamia]

So complex! Leather is very quiet, and it goes through a lot of changes as it dries. I have no idea what most of the ingredients smell like separately, so can't tell you what it smells like now. About half an hour after applying, I was reminded of the smell of a library or a dusty bookstore. Now there is just STUFF going on in the scent. Fascinating - an asexual scent which starts masculine.

[brsis]

Initial Thoughts: I really liked my last Lovecraft scent, and I tend to strike lucky or unlucky with certain sets. HOWEVER, the two couldn't be more different.

 

The notes have got me mixed - I like vetiver and myrrh (Opoponax), but I can't help but feel they're going to dominate the blend and overpower the mimosa and tamarind (Yummeh, a bitter fruit!). In other words - if this smells like Ligur, I'm going to be dissapointed - not because I don't like Ligur, but because I already have an imp.

 

In the imp: Vetiver! I nabbed Ligur down to compare and actually, the ajowan (Smells a bit like caraway) and the mimosa are also quite prominent in this. This is a bitter, slightly sharp spice.

 

On the wrist, wet: Ajowan and vetiver, primarily. It's wavering between 'herbal' and 'caraway spice'. I know vetiver tends to calm down on me later on, but this is much less potent in the wet stage than I'm used to. Anyways, we'll see what happens next.

 

Twenty minutes Quite Some Time later: It's mostly vetiver on me - I don't seem to get any of the other notes except maybe the tiniest hints of opoponax and ajowan. It's certainly sweet and dry vetiver rather than the wet, murky, punch-in-the-face stuff I get in some other scents. It's also very low key, compared to Ligur, my other vetiver scent, which is potent as hell. I'm unsure about this - it wasn't what I was expecting or hoping for, I can't quite call it a complete success, I prefer Ligur to this, and yet... I do quite like it. Not love it, just quite like it. It's not quite a day-time scent, not quite a comfort scent... but to be honest, it's very evocative of the description. This is something that isn't unpleasant, it's just... unsettling to the point of being worrying.

 

Verdict: Tentative keeper, but I'm really not sold on a bottle.

 

Tl;Dr: Vetiver dominates this, but it's a sweet, dry, caraway tinted vetiver. Not quite a comfort scent, but in the same ball park.

[Indigo78]

Vetivert in the imp, and wet on my skn that all there is. It doesn't last- Vertiverts is interrupted by the Mimosa and Tamarind...Of course I think I detect Cinnamon - because whenever warmm spices come jogging into the picture I impulsively yell "cinnamon!" like we're playing Jeopardy.

 

This is a warm yet morbid scent. Strangely, through all this morbidity it doesn't smell "old" in the least. It shares that dusty, ancient quality with some of the feminine Ars Moriendi blends of Beth's. I can see it more easily on a dark, mercurial person who shifts from sweet to serious in a flash - 'cause this blend does.

[Delirium1009]

In bottle/imp: Vetiver and musk with an underlying spice.

 

Immediately on skin: This is damp, dark vetiver and musk with a little tamarind underneath. It’s bitter, dark, damp, and a touch spicy. Very odd.

 

After a little while: This just doesn’t work for me. The vetiver and musk create something smoky but powdery, and the spiciness just lingers and smells almost savory in this. This is almost like smoked herbs and spices of some kind.

 

Overall Impressions: This is odd. The vetiver, musk and spices create something smoky that I think smells more appropriate to be rubbed on a steak than applied to my skin. There’s also an odd powdery/rubbery note to this. Not something I would wear, and definitely not pleasant to my nose.

[iiinterstate]

Wet: WHEW, vetiver!

 

I'm trying not to let the vetiver scare me off, it seems like this blend is one you need to wait on.

 

It only takes a few minutes for the vetiver to chill out a bit, and now I have the resins coming through that I loooove. The tamarind is there too, a little bit tart. This really is a nice blend overall -- opoponax and vetiver are so great together. I'm not sure if I need a bottle yet, but I'll definitely wear this at full slather to see.

 

Final impression: spicy resins and earthy vetiver with a tad bit of tamarind in there for some kick.

[Pookstrell]

This blend is a dark, brooding vetiver lovers paradise! Fairly dry, although the tamarind adds a touch of sweetness. Initially this reminds me a little of Death Adder, which I love. However, as this dries it develops an almost clovey vibe on me. However, I have the feeling that it might be a spice other than clove which I am struggling to identify. Maybe ajowan? the black musk gives this a strong, warm base. This strikes me as a very serious blend. Erich Zahns music must be solemn dirge.

[Coldfire]

Imp: dark and the dank of vetiver

Wet on Me: still dark and SHARP! Nothing but the

vetiver jumps out for easy id.

Drying Down: Thankfully the throw is not far on this one.

The vetiver seems to get some of it’s sharpness tempered by

The black musk

Dry: okay this is powder over the vetiver. Not really too

Remarkable for me. Off to the re-homing pile

[sirsaber]

once again I smell smoke. In fact thats all I smell is smoke. I can't even pick up anything else. When it first went on it was strange and almost wolfsbane-ish but eventually just smelled of smoke. Wait.... something fresher is peeking through. Interesting how it morphs so swiftly on my skin. Its now become more of a blend of smoke and maybe something green/aquatic. An interesting combination but probably for my enabling pile.

[VioletChaos]

in the imp: strictly vetiver.

 

wet on skin: same, but softened up *slightly* with a hint of black musk.

 

dry down: the vetiver comes back, full force.

 

in all: my particular skin chemistry tends to pick out the vetiver to the exclusion of all else. luckily, i like the smoky, earthy scent of it, so it poses no problem to me. if the same is true for you, i say go for it! and if you happen to be a person whose skin EATS vetiver, the other notes in this sound lovely-give it a whirl!

 

 

 

[ReikoSazanami]

In imp: Pungent and a bit stinky. The vetiver and black musk are at the forefront.

 

Wet on skin: Smoky and very black, with the scents muddling together. There are some dark fruits underneath there, but they haven’t surfaced. The musk is right near the top.

 

Drydown: I have no idea what I’m actually smelling, but the ingredients are pretty exotic. The black musk and vetiver have taken over, making a very smoky and dark blend.

 

Overall: Gritty and strange. It suits the Lovecraft line perfectly, but I’m not sure if it’s for me. It stays close to the skin and has a throw of only a few inches. I’ll keep it, since a deep, creepy scent can be fun sometimes.

[Caerphilly]

In the imp:When I first smelled this, it reminded me of a Polish dish. Bigos anyone? I hate Bigos, it's meaty with cabbage, boiled. But there is a sweetness to it that is intriguing me, so I will try it on me.

 

Wet: Damp leather. Different from the imp. But it's still gross.

 

Dry: Rotting leather. What's with scents and me!

 

Overall: Not for me. Just not right for my skin chemistry.

[milo]

At first, this is all vetiver. I have a hard time telling vetiver and cedar apart, but vetiver disappears very quickly on my skin, which is a good thing. This whole blend actually disappears very quickly on me, and I get a "barely there" fragrance of something very nice. Kind of musky, with just a touch of vetiver. The throw and length of this is not great at all, so not for me.

[Andrea912]

Imp: oh! bitter, sour...tamarind vetiver and black musk is dominant...

 

Wet: oh lord, it's worse...tamarind and chili powder...

[crebbsgirl]

Hmmm.. this one I didn't like so much. There was a really predominant vetiver/musk combination at the beginning of wear here that seemed pretty promising. As it dried though, there seemed to be this developing sour spice smell that came out. It just smelled rank on my skin. It was weird though, in that if I kept my wrists away from my face it was ok, but as I brought my nose in closer, it smelled just... bad.

[kbrighton]

I really, really don't like this scent. A frimp from the lab, I never would have chosen this, the description conjured up images of a smelly sweaty man who smokes too much, probably has a cheap cigar clamped in his teeth and whiskey breath.

 

But I'm game and tried it anyway. In the imp -- nasty, wet -- nasty, drydown--I gave it an hour and hoped no one in the house got too close, becasue it remained nasty. I washed it off.

 

I wonder if this is the vetiver effect so many people mention (you either love it or hate it)

 

Sorry Mr Zahn--you were not for me.

[femmefatale]

I had dh try this one since I knew it wouldn't be for me. It's actually very nice on him. Starts of a bit strange, but dries to a smooth, smoky musk. I like it.

[riflmom]

Oh my. My sister passed this frimp on to me, because it didn't work at all for her. I put on just a tiny dab, and was engulfed in stale cigarettes. It made my husband feel ill.

And then it wouldn't wash off!

So, out to the trash Erich went. Apparently the scent gods didn't appreciate that, because guess what I got frimp'd on my next order? yup. New Erich has his own little home now, in the corner of my imp box, unopened.

[angelicruin]

Sniffing the imp...vetiver.

 

On my skin, the vetiver amps above all else. I do get a bit of dark musk as well. As it dries further, it smells like cigarette butts.