A Violent Fit of Trembling

[annemathematics]

Dark myrrh, black cypress, fir pitch, and a shuddering sliver of white mint.

Puddin is such a wonderful tease, and this was one of Puddin's wonderful teases right before he unleashed the 2016 post yule scents.

Violent fit of trembling is a bottle of beloved notes: I adore cypress, evergreen forests are magic to me, peppermint is a mood brightener and myrrh is a base note in many favorite bpals.

wet this opens with the cypress and the fir. there is a cool brightness, but I wouldn't think to look for mint in this if I didn't see it listed.

this dries down to a deep unisex cologne, more myrrh than fir. it feels a little gritty but not dry. it reminds me a little of german expressionist horror, which I love, for being dark with that touch of evergreen. violent fit is delicious.

[Casablanca]

On the wand, this is a weighty myrrh, a dark and swampy cypress, and a chill minty fir. I like the balance of it.

 

On my skin, though, it turns unfortunate. The haunting-woods parts of the notes recede and a medicinal quality that leans toward ammonia comes forward. Something in this also turns just a little sour – the sort of reaction I read about but don’t usually have myself. It’s slight, but ends up smelling off somehow.

 

Dried, the unpleasant reaction settles down. The myrrh abides. And this develops a slight gingery note? Maybe it has some galangal? I’m not sure what that is; maybe it’s just my skin.

 

This one isn’t for me.

[crimescenecleanup]

There's a new coke on the market, Coke Cypress! And that could be the soft drink or the street drug, as my arm is numb where I applied this.

 

Yeah, that's what I get. Beautiful chilly cypress and coca-cola, then hint of cold, cold mint.

The myrrh resin and evergreen pitch combination must be what is triggering that coca-cola scent memory. I get that from BPAL's Voodoo as well.

Not that I am complaining. It is still more perfume than soda, more resin than gourmand. I have never tried another perfume quite like this. It is in a category of its own.

 

It is my favorite treatment of the cypress note so far, and BPAL has done some very cool things with cypress this year. This will have a treasured place in my collection and will be getting a lot of wear in the coming summer months.

Edited January 29, 2017 by crimescenecleanup

[zankoku_zen]

Myrrh, fir, and a touch of mint. Again, this one is a very wintery blend. Slightly masculine. Low throw and average wear length.

[DiZZysTARdust]

This is a glorious blend. I'm so happy i was able to track down a bottle. In the bottle it's dark resinous evergreen sap. On the skin the cypress and fir blend so beautifully, with the mint adding a cold touch to the throw without being all "mint". I'm not a fan of the snow notes tbh, but without the ozonic qualities the mint is totally subtle and blends well with the other notes. It acts as a good counter to the myrrh, which turns up the powderiness as it dries. The powder doesn't overtake. The evergreens are still totally present. It's like a fir powder, like a really nice fir body powder. I loooove it. Even though it's got four notes, it kind of reminds me of the recent duets/menages or SNs in that i think it would be excellent for layering with. A really excellent subtle perfumey fir.