No. 93 Engine

[badseed1980]

Balm of Gilead, benzoin, frankincense, balsam of peru, beeswax, saffron, galbanum, calamus, hyssop, mastic, lemon balm, and white sage.

Tried this one on first thing this morning. This is a scent that makes me go "yay!" It is a mood-lifter for certain. Oddly, the first thing that entered my mind when I smelled it was, "This reminds me of being happy as a young teenager." It took me a little while to figure out why. When I was a teenager, I used to hang out at the mall, either alone to shop or with friends. Yes, just like most teens. There was a store I liked there that sold incense by the stick, among other things, and I would always, always get a bunch of incense there, in various scents. No. 93 Engine reminds me of the smell when I walked over to the incense display.

This isn't the smell of the incenses burning, though. It's not a heavy, smoky smell, but the scent of the resins themselves, warm and mellow. The beeswax sweetens them all. I'm not yet smelling anything that I think of as metallic, though the lemon gives a sort of shiny note to it. There's something utterly bouyant and delightful about it. It's warm and spicy and somehow, takes me by surprise when I smell it.

Oh, oh wait--there's the metal. It takes a little while to come out on me. It adds a certain feeling of motion, of change to the blend. This is truly glorious stuff. It makes me feel happy and creative and energized. What an amazing thing to experience, first thing in the morning! I think this is the first BPAL scent I've fallen head-over-heels in love with that doesn't really strike me as SEXY, but which still really smells like something I can wear, and often, at that. YAY!

[ajcj213499]

I haven't written a review in a long time, because I'm a huge slacker, but this scent is AMAZING! It's such a perfect balance between resin and incense (both of which have the ability to be too much on my skin sometimes). It's such an evocative Steampunk scent- with good throw without being "heavy".

[edenssixthday]

No. 93 Engine - This is a warm, golden, spicy resin scent with a hint of powder. It seems very gender-neutral on me. As it dries down, the scent of clean metal becomes more prevalent and also has a hint of something slightly smoky that reminds me of nag champa. The throw and staying power are both above average.

[theseagrows]

this scent surprised me with how PRETTY it is!! it's like a sweet, soft slightly sugary lemon scent on my skin. i can't really pick out a lot of the notes, as they are blended so well. i do smell the beeswax too, which adds a nice honey backdrop for the lemon. thankfully, i don't smell the frankincense at all, which sometimes turns on me. this is reminiscent of another scent i've tried, but i can't place it. this is kind of the perfect honey scent on me. i may need a bottle of this one...

[cam]

I was really looking forward to this one, based on recommendations from some helpful forumites, and it did not disappoint. In the bottle, the beeswax is prominent, and other scents are a bit hard to distinguish. On, other notes make themselves known. Benzoin, saffron, maybe a little lemon balm. This scent is complex and lovely. I can see why it was so highly recommended.

 

May need to order a bottle of this one.

[odalisque]

What a gorgeous beeswax note! On me, it definitely stars.

 

In the imp this is a fresh lemony fragrance, which sharpens up a little more immediately on the skin. There's a short blast of something that smells like metal and oils, and then the beeswax comes out and blossoms, sweetened with the balsam of Peru and frankincense. It always has the slightest lemony tang, but dry it's really just a warm, round, luscious beeswax blend.

 

This makes me think of a comfortable wood-paneled room lit by a fireplace and lamps. Not big and cavernous, not bright with sunlight -- a library maybe. Or a study with arcane instruments on the side table. But the smell of someplace comfortable, close and cozy, a curl-up-and-snuggle smell.

[zankoku_zen]

On first, this is an incense with a clean metallic note. As it dried, I got more of the resin aspect. After half an hour, I get the beeswax coming through and it sweetens the blend quite a bit. This is a comfortable, woody kinda scent. I'm surprised at how much I enjoy this. Perhaps I've been playing too much FFXII related games, but it makes me think of an airship - with the wood and the metal and the magical technology.

 

I don't think this is something I would wear often. The scent is gorgeous, and it's very soothing but it doesn't seem all that wearable to me.

 

On the other hand, this would be a killer room scent.

 

ETA: My brain finally came up with it. It's metal made flesh. Love the smell, couldn't wear it as perfume. And the concept, blows me away.

Edited August 28, 2008 by zankoku_zen

[Nachtwulf]

I get absolutely nothing 'metallic' from this... though in my mind, this isn't really a bad thing.

Nor do I get lemon. It's mostly a sweetish resin note, probably the Balm of Gilead mentioned, with some clear 'wood' notes and just the faintest tinge of honey. Yay for the latter, because I usually amp honey, which destroyed Mead Moon for me, more's the pity. This is a sweet resin/wood sort of thing... if a guy wants something that is a bit sweet but isn't going to smell like food and make them hungry, this is a good choice. But it'd be fine for a woman too, it's just not particularly feminine. I find I like the throw better than snorfling my hand close up; there's some tinge to it that I don't care for, just a little plasticky or piney... but it doesn't carry far, so as long as I don't have my nose pressed to skin I don't mind it.

 

I'll keep the imp, I might even get another when I run out... but I don't think personally it'll be something I need a whole bottle of lying about.

[tacey]

Engine No. 93

 

I'll say right off I don't understand this one. I don't recognize any notes, although there seem to be a lot of them. The first couple of hours I think were dominated by one particular note -- sharpish, sweetish, kinda metallic but that's not really it... and then the blend smoothed out and some other things (see how helpful this is going to? I'm sorry...) came forward. I think I'm just going to set this aside for a couple of months and see whether I understand it any better later on.

 

For now, I'll just say, it's interesting, but challenging.

[crebbsgirl]

Ok, I think I'm gonna blame my weird skin chemistry on this one. All I got was lemon soda crossed with sweet tarts. No resins, no incense... just lemony candy. On the other hand, I used it as a room scent and it's beautiful! No candy there!

[LauraB]

Errr - polished wood and coca cola? No, I don't understand it either!

 

I'm guessing my skin just did something very weird indeed or my nose is shot!

[Hawke]

Sharp and herbal in the imp, though I think I'm getting just a hint of the lemon balm too, that brightens it up.

 

Wet on the skin, it's resinous and woody. Almost medicinal, actually, though I'm oddly reminded of gun oil. Not that I have a lot of experience with that scent, but that's what it evokes.

 

As it dries, it turns smoky and spicy and it's really a pretty interesting, engaging scent. Not what I was expecting at all.

 

In the final stage, it doesn't have a lot of throw, but I'm happy huffing my wrists and getting occasional sharp hints of whatever causes the metallic scent in among the resin and spice. This is much nicer than I expected it to be from the initial moments. Happy I tried it out.

[Deyja7]

I don't know what most of the notes in No.93 smell like on their own, so it's a bit hard for me to pick out singular notes on my skin. Having said that, it is quite evocative. When first applied, it reminds me of walking through an old workshop, but not in a horrible dusty way.. more that you can smell the fresh cut woods and oils. As it dries it i think i can pick more of the frankincense.

For some reason i find this comforting, a scent you would wear to bed when ill, to clear your head. But that could just be me.

[themerrybaker]

No. 93 Engine takes a while to get up to speed. Initially I was put off by the gamey hyssop, but 93 settles down to a powdery honey. Glad I got to try it, but have a bit of a surplus of honey scents at the moment.

[Mousesong]

Disappointment at the end of this review

 

My first review! I don't recognize most of the notes in this blend so I'll have to be vague here.

 

This is screaming chaos in the imp. I can't believe I hated it when I first opened it, but I did--it was just this hot assault on my nose. I corked it and went for the Antikythera Mechanism for a while before I got the guts to put it on.

 

I am so glad I finally did.

 

When I first put this on it is damn near the best thing I have ever smelled. It smells like honey and sage and hot machinery... I don't get lemon at all, whether it's my nose or this particular sample.

 

I do get a definite "powdery honey" on the drydown, but it's a good powdery. More like dust than, say, baby powder. Still a weird, sharp, hot note on top of everything--like gun oil, as Hawke said. This is an odd comparison, but if you've ever smelled a freshly-bathed rat on the back of the neck, it's similar to a sweeter, less pungent version of that musky metallic smell they give off. I used to keep pet rats so it's a positive smell for me.

 

I should also mention that lots of rat people compare that smell to--guess what!--gunmetal. A friend of mine was so strongly struck by the similarity that he once recommended I name two rats I'd just bought Smith and Wesson. They were climbing around his neck and he kept exclaiming, "they smell like guns! They smell like freshly-oiled guns!"

 

No. 93 smells like guns! It smells like freshly-oiled guns! + honey + sage + something else?

 

I wore it today at work and a lady leaning into my cubicle sniffed and suddenly said: "Do you smell that? It smells like... like sugar and almost like metal! It smells amazing!" She was astonished when I said it was my perfume. I don't think she thought that metal and heat-smell could be bottled, but apparently it can.

 

Strangely, it's a very sexy smell--not romantic or cute or pretty at all, but a juuuust slightly raunchy smell. Even on a woman. But then again, I can almost never pull off girly scents.

 

I have to get a bottle of this. I am paranoid that the bottle I get is going to reek of lemon, which I don't get at all, but I'll have to try my luck. I've only worn it twice and I've already gotten two compliments and been hit on once. Amazing!

 

EDIT: Okay, something odd.

 

So I'm down to the last few drops in my imp (already!) and they frankly reek. I haven't been shaking or rolling the imp so this doesn't surprise me at all. I know better for next time.

 

But I thought I'd mention that once the sour smell in those drops settled down, I distinctly--DISTINCTLY--smelled flat coca-cola.

 

So, Laura B, it isn't just you!

 

EDIT again: Someone sent me a bottle, mostly full. It smells like flat coke. WHYYYYYYY. Why ;-;

 

I am reluctant to order another imp because I think it always smells like flat coke and my beautiful lovely amazing imp was a fluke.

Edited February 19, 2009 by Mousesong

[mochi227]

No. 93 Engine is really really beautiful. The idea of it, as put forth in the Lab's description, is just amazing. How does Beth do it?

 

I love the waxy quality of this blend. The beeswax, benzoin, peru balsam, and balm of gilead (which I'm not familiar with as a note, but i'm guessing its resinous and wax-like in consistency) are like little sticky molecules, holding all the other notes in place. The base of this scent is truly fantastic and gorgeous, warm, spicy, and wonderful for my body chemistry (which loves resinous and sticky scents).

 

The lemon and sage give this blend a beautiful "lift" out of the waxy foundations. These high notes are the golden whizzy things in the machine that give this scent its melody, while the base is the slow, lugubrious rhythm. This reminds me a bit of a rock incense I used to buy called Three Kings. You had to burn it on charcoal discs and it was insanely smoky, resinous, and sweet.

 

Unfortunately, No. 93 Engine doesn't last too long on me (maybe I need to apply more?) and after dry down the throw is minimal. A close wearing scent of introspective beauty, I will use up my imp before deciding if I need a bottle. I wish it had more throw and staying power on me, but beautiful nonetheless.

 

3.8 out of 5.

[Iceblink]

Kind of stinky when wet--very manly and strong...but after a while this becomes a gorgeously sweet incense blend. Reminds me a bit of IFI Honey Dust, actually. I wasn't expecting this to be so sweet! Really unusual in the way it morphs--glad I tried this one!

[msbcozad]

No. 93 Engine

 

A kind soul (Wwindy) force this bottle under my nose at a Meet-n-Sniff back in August and I jotted the name down as a must have. A couple of months later, a bottle of No. 93 Engine joined my collection. I was expecting, when I applied the oil to my skin, a warm and golden scent, perhaps leaning a bit on the masculine side. What I got was a cool, white scent. I pictured a field full of tiny white flowers in the early spring. The scent is soft and gentle and feminine without being sugary sweet. This going to give Mouse's Long and Sad Tale a run for being my favorite perfume.

[MCS4096]

VERY excited about this one! I love the steampunk aesthetic and this is the one of the bunch that jumped out at me most.. plus the reviews paint it in a very good light!

 

In the bottle: I smell the sage strongest actually, maybe because it's so identifiable to me. I can smell the beeswax as well. Overall what I'm reminded of is this paint thinner my grandma uses in her painting, but it's in a good way. Lemons, sage and oily resins.

 

Wet: Really herbal and medicinal. Like trampling through an overgrown kitchen garden... on the way to the machine shop out back perhaps?

 

Dry:haha, I can tell how people smell Coke from this I think it's lemon combining with the resins.. it has an effervescent quality. Mmmm the beeswax is warming up. The herbs drop back some and I'm getting the wood aspect now. I'm imagining someone building a.. contraption, out of wood and metal, carving and sawing it so it's hot, and the wood and metal are being rubbed and shined with beeswax. This is amazing! It smells very different than in the bottle.

 

Overall: It's not entirely evocative of the concept on my skin.. it's lacking a certain dirty grease note. I imagined the scent of the engine would be there too, but this is as if you are moving along its assembly line, examining the contents of the beakers it's filling. But as a perfume for wearing I love it, it's gorgeous Glad I bought a bottle unsniffed!

Edited November 23, 2008 by MCS4096

[VioletChaos]

in the bottle: balsam tolu, a hint of sage and something that smells like lemon creme to my nose.

 

wet on skin: the citrus mixes with a fabulous oiled-metal note that leaves me swooning!

 

dry down: i agree with the person who said it's like wood and metal being rubbed with beeswax. but i'd go a bit farther and say rubbed with beeswax AND lemon creme pie!

 

in all: a beautiful steampunk scent, i can't wait to see what happens when this stuff has a chance to age and blend a bit more!

 

 

 

:D

[prettybird]

In the bottle: Hello, and welcome to Hyssop Party '08! I'll be your host, prettybird...

 

Dry on skin: Luckily, the hyssop dies down a good bit. This is really not what I was expecting at all- it's a whole lot better. I can't seem to pick out individual notes, other than the lemon balm and the hyssop. It's a gorgeous, golden scent. It's not quite me enough for me to get a whole bottle, but I'll certainly be using up my imp.

[anastasia]

I could wear this every day if there weren't so many others!!!

It really does smell like enchanted machine oil to me. Like magical sewing machine or bicycle oil.

I wish I could say more because it is fairly light but also complex. This is kind of my idea of sunshine in a bottle. I get the saffron and love it but there is just so much going on, and all the while just the prevailing concept of oil for a bicycle that is going to fly the minute you ride it...

[oldgentleman]

Imp: Balm of Gilead is the main note.

 

Wet on skin: Lemon balm! I don't think I've ever encountered this scent in any fashion other than the plant itself. Very exciting that it's wearable without sticking lemonbalm leaves behind my ears. I can also pick out the Balm of Gilead, the benzoin and beeswax smoothing out the metallic frankincense, and the sage. It's accurate in that it doesn't smell like a manufactured lemon scent but a naturally obtained one.

 

Drydown: A great balance of resin and incense, and the lemon balm and sage and hint of frankincense provide the gleaming bright brass aspect. Delicious!

 

Medium throw. It stuck around for about three hours and after that I had to huff my wrist to smell it.

[hkhm]

imp: honeyed balm of gilead. this is far prettier than i was expecting.

 

wet: the lemon balm and sage spring forward with the balm of gilead. still a bit honeyed.

 

dry: the notes seems to meld together more once dry, i can't tell them apart anymore! but they're still gorgeous. bottle-worthy.

[Little Bird]

I love No. 93 Engine . It's a complex mix of gorgeous notes that just melt together in the most wonderful, smooth, seamless sort of way.

 

In the vial, this smells soft, golden, smooth, and a bit sweet, like lemon cream. On my skin, it's much the same, but starts to take on a yummy, cola smell, and the saffron joins the mix. The lemon fades away on my skin.

 

I smell this scent and just feel happy. It's spicy, woodsy, herbal, sweet, golden, resinous, and perfect... a mix of so many things, but nothing is overpowering or too much. It reminds me a little bit of Priala.

 

I asked my boy what he would rate this one and he said he gave it a rating of "woo!" lol. I asked him to give it a number rating and he gave it a 9 out of 10, which is a very high honor coming from him. He said it smells woodsy to him.

 

All in all, I love it, and will need many bottles. I'm so glad that this isn't a limited edition blend.