R'lyeh

[DARKBEAUTY28]

The sunken city of the Great God Cthulhu. A hellishly dark aquatic scent, evocative of fathomless oceanic deeps, the mysteries of madness buried under crushing black waters, and the brooding eternal evil that lies beneath the waves.

Mmm this one is nice! It's like tropical bubble gum. I don't get any "darkness". I get a lot of brightness from this scent. The scent of this one smells like it could have fit in with the Tiki scents. Yummmmy!

[Victory]

Aquatics are somewhat hard for me because they tend to be so subtle and faint on my skin. R'lyeh is of course an aquatic, but to me, it is much more a spicy scent than a water scent. First on, I could smell the aquatic smell, then slowly a spice began to bloom in the water. It makes me think of cinnamon, although I don't think it is. It's not a Christmassy spice, the way Al-Shairan's spices are, but actually a very nice one. The aquatic notes pop up every once in a while, but the majority of the time, R'lyeh is spicy. Not exactly the menacing scent I expected, but nice for what it is.

[stillalive]

a nice, dark, aquatic smell. sort of citrusy. Reminds me a touch of Bayou except that I like this one a bit less, lol. It also faded on me the second I slathered it on, so phooey.

[Delirium1009]

In bottle/imp: Very salty and almost fruity and green.

 

Immediately on skin: This is another super salty, crisp water scent. It has a very charged ozone feel, but also a very round fruitiness to it that’s almost green. Bamboo maybe? This reminds me a bit of Boo Bam meets Moana from the Atomic Luau Lounge.

 

After a little while: As this dries it gets a bit sweeter. The very crisp feel settles a bit, and this becomes a smooth almost fruity green scent with a bit of saltiness. The sweetness almost has a thick feel to it… like syrup or something, but it’s not resinous.

 

Overall Impressions: This is a very smooth salty, oceany scent. It is a bit fruity and sweet, but retains a nice freshness. There’s almost something thick and spicy about the undertone of this, so it has a nice depth. I recommend this to people who like complex but crisp blends. This is definitely unisex, so men would be able to rock it too.

[anguissette]

It reminds me of Kumari Kandam, sharp, unmistakably aquatic but with a darker layer lurking underneath.

[djsiberia]

wet/in imp: sweet and sour. and another one that has citrus - er, grapefruit.

 

egads another aquatic - this really smells like a sinister version of the deep ones without a dominate grapefruit.

 

ack...this must be passed on.

[angelicruin]

I like the aquatic fruitiness of this scent. On dry down, it's mainly grapefruit on my skin.

[llhorian]

Hmm, this scent is too...unexpected for me.

I was pleasantly surprised to get a frimp of this and couldn't wait to try out the Lovecraftian evil. Then I find that the dark and mysterious evil that lies beneath the murky depths...smells like pink bubblegum.

Seriously... I may just find a girly girl to give this to, but as a guy it's not something I'd like to wear.

[VioletChaos]

in the imp: a deep aquatic note. actually reminds me a little of the Kama Sutra "sea bath". not a bad thing!

 

wet on skin: same- sweet, deep "blue" and very aqua.

 

dry down: same!

 

in all: although i have *never* been a fan of any aqua scent, this one is quite appealing! i would call this a Single Note, it's so pure in what it is. and if i, as a person who normally HATES aqua is finding it to be quite lovely, then all of you who LIKE aqua are going to be head-over-heels for this one. stock up!

 

 

 

[CynicalPink]

In the imp: Exactly what is says on the tin - Evil water. Most of my experience with the ocean being the Jersey Shore, I think I'm a pretty good candidate for imagining what evil water might smell like

 

Wet: wtf fruit? Not that I mind! It's pretty nice. Just didn't expect that. I guess a Lovecraft sense ought to be weird, though

 

Drydown: Okay I'm keeping this. It's weird! It smells good! I'm really having trouble coming up with a better way to describe it. The fruit calmed down quickly and I'm almost pulling out a floral...then again my skin loves florals so if it's there I'll find it.

 

Overall: I'm definitely a fan and the imp is staying but I'm not sure I need a full bottle. It's a scent like nothing I would have ever thought to wear and it does that fun, distinctly BPAL thing of smelling a little different on different pulse points. I will decide about the bottle later. For now my nose is staying glued to my wrist

[RottenLullaby]

In the imp - Definitely get the aquatic note, and the citrus scent so lovingly described by others as “evil grapefruit.”

 

On my skin - Spicy aquatic citrus, which I’m loving. The spice reminds me of ginger, but I’m not for sure.

 

Drydown - Gets a soft spicy scent that doesn’t linger long, and makes me sad. I miss it too much after its gone.

 

Overall - I'd dont think I'd get a full bottle just because of the fact that it dosent last, and I'd be slathering it on ever other hour or so. It would be gone too quick! Otherwise though, I love it.

Edited December 12, 2008 by RottenLullaby

[FallDaze]

Initial thoughts -> I'm hoping that this is dark, but not too heavy if that makes sense.

 

imp -> very masculine. Not as aquatic as I envisioned, but definitely dark.

 

wet-> it softens nicely and becomes a lot less masculine, but it's still quite a dark scent. Brooding and churlish if you will.

 

After a while -> This ends as a soft and wispy dark, almost but not quite floral aquatic. A soft and sinister mist encroaching upon a field of flowers. Definitely keeps that dark, wet feeling base through it's morphs.

[ealasaid86]

In the Bottle: I get almost pure grapefruit.

 

On my Wrist: Where did the grapefruit go? Now I get pine and murky aquatics. As it dries down the pine starts to disappear leaving just the murky aquatics.

 

Verdict: I wish the grapefruit had stuck around, because I'm just not digging the straight aquatics.

[rayvn1]

Very close to the scent description! It's an aquatic, but barely. Mostly it's one of the darkest BPAL's I've ever run across. Nifty Murky, stygian depths.

[fairnymph]

Sniffed: Amber coloured oil. Tangy, almost metallic. Not really oceanic, more of rain/thunder note. Slightly sweet/fruity, and I get a bit of powdery-edged, perfumey amber. This has weight, as suggested by the description.

 

Wet: Much fresher and cleaner, now distinctly an aquatic with a mildly salty edge. Lots of ozone. Still pretty perfumey, and more cologney with a slightly soapy edge. I'm pretty sure the fruity note is grapefruit, and it reminds me of Szepasszony as a result - though this is a sweeter grapefruit, more like in Croquet.

 

Dry: Masculine in feel. Going more and more salty/aquatic and as it dries (albeit very slow to dry). Also more dark, almost incensey or maybe woody? It's still very refreshing though. It DOES feel deep/black/brooding, paradoxically. The fruit/citrus note smells oddly rotten on me now, though.

 

Summary: Sweet & sour, almost fermented-rotting grapefruit, salty rain, amber, ozone and some sort of dark, vaguely incensey/woody note. Intense throw that fades a bit with time.

[Veronica]

This is definitely a more aquatic scent. It starts off almost tropical like, with a citrus note, very pretty. As it dries, it loses the citrus and starts smelling sweet and amber-like in combination with the aquatic notes. Surprisingly pretty, but not for me.

[bubblefish]

I got this as an imp a while back and fell in love with it and ordered a 5ml bottle almost straight away. I simply love R'lyeh!

 

I don't get the grapefruit at all, but it definitely smells crisp and clean, but with an undertone of something darker just under the surface. It doesn't change much between application and dry-down, but after an hour or so it is a little darker and less "bright" I guess I'd call it. Anyway, I totally adore this scent.

[Iceblink]

Dark aquatic--if most aquatics smell fresh and clean, this one smells grimy and cloudy. Not giving me a headache like aquatics tend to do, though (must be the Lovecraft fan in me!). Not as strong as they usually are either.

[topazphoenix]

R'lyeh = Slightly warmer, sweeter Stormhold without the vetiver.

[sarajane]

Not dark at all. Very nice, bright aquatic!

[stardreamer]

In the imp and fresh on: Yes, aquatic, and I can also understand the "dark aquatic" part, though I wouldn't call it hellish. This is a deep, cold, still pool on a moonless night -- significantly darker than most of my aquatic scents.

 

Drydown: After an hour or so, the aquatic note mostly fades out and a strong spicy scent comes to the fore. Quite a bit of cinnamon, some ginger, something woody, with a musky underpinning that might be ambergris. This is completely different from the initial scent! When I got home from my errand-running I touched it up, and it did the same thing again -- starts off aquatic, then fades to spicy/woody.

 

Not that I'm complaining; I like both sides of this morph, but it's one of the strangest ones I've ever experienced. I never got any grapefruit at all -- not surprising, because my skin eats BPAL citrus notes for breakfast; it probably got buried under the opening aquatic mix. No estimate of staying power because of the touch-up.

 

Bottom line: definite keeper!

[cupcakegernade]

IN BOTTLE: It smells aquatic grapefruit and vanilla. I am also picking up something acidic, it is probably coming from the grapefruit.

 

WET: It is pretty much the same, just more well rounded. The vanilla seems to be softening the sent. However, this is mainly a evil grapefruit lurking in the dark waters.

 

DRYDOWN: The grapefruit takes a turn for the lighter side. Will it is still a very promenent sent, I just thought it would be a bit darker and heavier. I think I would like to have had some dark musk or incence in here. It seems a little to light to be the home of the dreaded Cthulhu.

 

OVERALL: Will this sent is nice, it just is not what I would have expected. This is a nice combination of aquatic and citrus, good for late spring/early summer.

 

ETA: Several hours later, R'lyeh has turned very soft and powdery on me, with a subtle hint of the aquatic and grapefruit notes. It is very lovely at this stage, but still wish it was more dark and bruding.

Edited August 17, 2009 by scopoliacarniolica

[Calligrafiti]

imp: very citrusy and oceanic

wet: the citrus/ocean dies down a bit and a lovely dark spice comes to the fore

dry: mostly spice, but lifted by an underlying citrus

 

I like this one very much. Of the 8 I've tried so far, this is one of my favorites. R'lyeh really works well with my body chemistry--if I find myself attracting shuggoths tonight I'll know why.

[Violaine]

Beh. I always want to like the idea of aquatics, but the fact of the matter is that I just don't, period. I was excited to hear about the grapefuit in R'lyeh, though, so I decided to give it a try.

 

Wet, in the imp, I definitely smell grapefruit - a salty grapefruit, really. On my skin it turns more aquatic and I can recognize that it's such a well blended perfume... but it's just not for me. To me it's a quintessential aquatic, salty and... well, shower gel-ish. Not something I want to smell like. But truly, if aquatics are your thing, then you have GOT to try this blend!

[ouch!]

This perfume smells like heavy opium. Not too fond really. There's a fruit in here too and I'm getting that awful dreaded thing I get sometimes from BPAL oils where it smells like someonehas trampled on petals in the rain and mud.

 

 

Ouch!