Centzon Totochtin

[bubblefish]

The Four Hundred divine rabbits of the Aztec pantheon that preside over parties and drunkenness. Bittersweet Mexican cocoa with rum, red wine, and a scent redolent of sacrificial blood.

This one is definitely Mexican hot chocolate, but not in an overpoweringly foody sort of way. The chocolate-ness is almost more dark chocolate than the sweeter milk chocolate, and unlike other chocolate containing scents (Gluttony, for example) this one doesn't smell syrupy. However, I noticed it faded really fast (~ 30 minutes) so while it's a pleasing scent, it just doesn't have the staying power that I'd like for a perfume.

[cinnamonster]

I smelt this without opening the imp, it's that strong. I made myself open it and was rewarded (using the term loosely) with a very very strong smell of CIGARS and stale coffee grounds which turns my stomach.

 

In fact, you know what this smells of...Columbo.

 

ETA, I have received a second imp of this and it is much more pleasant, more chocolatey. I still don't like it but I think the other has aged badly perhaps.

Edited June 22, 2009 by cinnamonmel

[catattack]

Imp: Coffee and raisins

Wet: Smells the way lukewarm black coffee tastes - coffee with a slight sour flavor.

Drydown: Slightly spicy, herbal, burnt sugar with a tang. This scent reminds me of Sugar Skull, but less sweet.

Overall: This scent grew on me while I wore it. It's a "harvest" type scent. Probably good for cooler weather.

[tajana]

The notes in Centzon Totochtin by themselves wouldn't have drawn me in, but I wanted to try this because I really like the other two Aztec excolo scents I've tried (Tezcatlipoca and Xiuhtecuhtli) and I'm fascinated by their mythology.

 

In the imp I can smell the cocoa, rum, and wine. The wine scent floats highest to my nose and I got a little worried. But, wet on the skin it's really bitter cocoa, almost coffee-like. After a minute I can smell the sweet rum and some of the red wine sweetening up the cocoa, and I could swear there's a hint of roasted hazelnut here too. There's something kind of smoky about this scent, it's making me think of vetiver. That really tempers the sweetness of wine, which usually spins out of control and into sticky grape juice on me. I'm unfamiliar with the BPAL blood note but there is a sharp, tangy edge to this scent.

 

After 25 minutes, close to my wrist, it's almost sickeningly sweet and yes, a little bloody. Violent yet decadent? But the throw is pretty intense, and it's got an intoxicating quality: it's a swirl of dark, smoky, unsweetened cocoa blended with dry wine and rum. Three hours later, it's softer but still definitely there, and it's mostly an unexpectedly good rum note darkened with smoky dark chocolate, perhaps a tiny touch of cinnamon, and a bit of something "red". The overall effect is rich, but the lack of sweetness keeps it from being too foody. Interesting, and quite warm and comforting. I've come to like it a lot!

 

ETA: This is one of those temperamental scents that goes bad on bad skin chemistry days. One day I wore it and my boyfriend remarked that it smelled like "Christmas cookies". The next time I tried it, it smelled like "Campbell's tomato soup and black licorice". Um, no thanks.

Edited August 4, 2009 by tajana

[coraline]

I don't know what's cooler than divine, drunken bunnies. But unfortunately, my skin chemistry doesn't get along with Centzon Totochtin. The individual notes end up melding into something resembling plastic, waxy candy.

[stellans]

This is such a fun blend -- I mean, drunken bunnies??? HI-larious /jayne cobb

 

In the bottle, there is a definite alchohol smell, and it's more wine than rum to my nose. I also smell the cocoa, melding smoothly with the wine note. And it's important to me that the wine note is not a sour one, either.

 

On, the wine/cocoa notes quickly smooth out and give way to what is to me a lovely incense scent; the blood note (is this dragon's blood? It smells like it, a bit) and the cocoa together are achingly lovely together, and I can't stop sniffing either my wrist or my Queen of Hearts scent locket.

 

On drydown, the wine totally disappears, leaving only a smooth deep incense. I love this blend so much I hunted down a 10ml of it and I treasure every drop!

Edited June 17, 2011 by stellans

[hkhm]

imp: excellent bitter chocolate liquers. very chocolatey and lightly boozy.

 

wet: this reminds me a great deal of godiva liquer. it's more wine/booze than chocolate, however the chocolate is evident as an afterthought.

 

dry: this may be one of the very few chocolate scents that i can wear. the booze has almost completely disappeared and the chocolate has a dry, restrained quality that is wonderfully dusty and sweet... and, for one, actually smells like chocolate to me.

[BuxomM]

This is cocoa, wine and almond, similar to feast of the greatly revered ones.

[kerikeri]

Bunnies! They aren't just cute like everybody supposes. After trying a few scents from my latest imp pack that I was meh about, it was a pleasant surprise to love this one.

 

Wet, it's just unsweetened, spiced cocoa, a little bitter but in a pleasant way, like really expensive dark chocolate. On the drydown, some fine wine arrives to go with that expensive chocolate, and they mingle to create a scent that's deliciously decadent without being sweet at all. It's wonderful and a little weird and I can't stop sniffing my arm. Admittedly I can't think of too many situations this scent would be perfectly appropriate for, but I'm certainly going to try to find some excuses to wear it.

[aquazoo]

That's some dirty chocolate. As a scent, chocolate and wine don't go together. Maybe it's because I don't like wine scents, but it's just not happening for me.

[Andrea912]

Dark, sexy, sultry cocoa with a touch of blood musk and alcohol...very nice. I recommend this for people who don't normally like chocolate or cocoa...

[devilot]

Centzon Totochtin

Dusty cocoa, wine, and something moldy. I'm sure that on the right person, this would smell great, but I'm not that person.

[Venneh]

In the imp, I get chocolate, and very very red wine, maybe mixed with the blood note? On my skin, the red wine/blood note dominates, with chocolate soon after. It mellows into a sharper cherry note, with the cocoa going a bit dusty. A nice scent, but, it's not anything that screams bottle to me. Will stay as an imp.

Edited October 19, 2009 by Venneh

[skylarkza]

In the imp: Wine, chocolate and copper.

 

Wet: Rum and chocolate and is that wine or copper?

 

Dry: Chocolate. But my oh my is it heady. A very decadent cocoa, with a slightly boozy intoxicating edge and stab of something that makes me want to bite my own wrist.

 

Hours later: Rich chocolate. A hint of musk and danger. Sexy chocolate? Not sure how, but this screams "Come with me and let us do bad, bad things together... covered in chocolate." I like it a lot. This is a wishlist scent.

[donnatron]

Imp: Chocolate and rum and just a wee hint o' wine.

 

Wet: Oh rum, why you gotta be like that? The rum and the cocoa combine to be pretty... gross. The wine is such a conflicting note that it's really not helping.

 

Dry: This dries down to a pretty agreeable scent. There's a sense of bloodiness to it without being so literal. I get primarily cocoa heightened with the wine. There's still traces of rum here that prevent it from being fully awesome. It smells a lot like Midnight Kiss but if I was wearing Midnight Kiss and was sloppy drunk on rum. It's so almost wonderful but just that little bit rough around the edges that doesn't work for me.

 

Throw: Moderate.

 

Overall: Who doesn't want to love the drunken bunny scent? Unfortunately it falls just short (rum! Demon rum! I love all the other notes including blood accord!) and doesn't quite work on my chemistry. So sad.

[Deiicide]

I smell the mexican chocolate and the wine, but it pretty much disappears and the blood smell (It smells like Velivert on my skin) pretty much takes over with a slight coppery tinge in the background while it's wet. As it dries, the cocoa element comes out a lot more, the booze notes no where to be found and Velvert smell still on my skin. Interesting, but not something I can see myself wearing which is a shame because I had high hopes for this one. It dries into a very sexual feral chocolate near the end of the cycle, unfortunately the beginning is a bit too harsh for me.

[fairnymph]

Warm golden oil. And odd and jarring jumble of notes - definitely bittersweet cocoa, a little powdery and almost savoury, sweet boozy rum, the sweetened and spiced dark sort, and a light hint of sour, almost vinegary red wine. I'm not clearly getting the blood; it could be melding with the wine.

 

Foodier - more chocolate, especially. I definitely get this note I was hesitant to comment on earlier - of corn tortillas. It reminds me of the note in the Feast for the Greatly Revered ones - this scent is not that different overall from that blend. Still loads of rum, which is also smelling like coconut now - it smells like Captain Morgan's mixed with Malibu Coconut. The wine is more winey, less sour and more rich with some sweet grapeyness. I can pick out, if I sniff really closely and carefully, a little tang of slightly metallic blood - nicely done.

 

A little less sweet and foody, but the cocoa is still in command, along with that corn tortilla note. It's pretty dry and warm in feel, and kind of reminds me of mole. There might be a hint of spice, like this is Mexican chocolate sans the sweet creaminess. Something is turning is turning a little sharp and plastic on me, I think it's the sour wine, whose grapes have faded so quickly after their brief emergence. The blood has faded back into indistinction and overall this scent has faded quite a bit throw-wise.

 

Slow to dry, with the cocoa and corn notes continuing to amp as it does. It's actually still foody, really, just not in the typical sweet way. Mole spread on a toasted corn tortilla and sprinkled with unsweetened cocoa and weak red wine that's been left out for days and has started to turn to vinegar. I think the blood, barely ever apparent, is gone for good. There's still a touch of booziness but most of the alcohol has burnt off, and the rum overall has faded greatly though it remains as sort of a slightly sweet, deep creamy base that helps ground and bind the blend. It does settle into something cohesive and not unpleasant, but not up my alley at all. Great throw and longevity after initial fading.

[hmelt004]

The Boy and I are rabbit people, so I was really looking forward to this one, hoping that the cocoa note would be similar to the one in Gelt. It is not. This one smells like sticking your nose into a package of dutch-processed cocoa, no sugar added. Very bittersweet. I'm also getting a coffee vibe from this, as though the cocoa is sitting next to an open barrel of just roasted coffee beans. I don't get wine from this, but there is an astringency to this that is very wine-like.

[MissVulpecula]

In the imp: Dark bitter chocolate, unsweetened cacao, black coffee, very dry red wine and a musky deep sweet spice.

 

Drying on my skin: On my skin this doesn't morph at all. Same as wet.

 

Throw and staying power: Medium-strong throw, about 6-8 hours

 

Colour impression: deep blood-red

 

Verdict: I love the concept of this perfume! A very evocative and unique scent!

Not for everyday use but I know a little Cuban bar where wearing this will be awsome.

Great scent for special (but unfortunately rare) occasions!

 

[undream]

when i first smelled this one in the imp, i immediately thought of wafer, the kind of wafer you get in chocolate candy bars. once on, there is definite cocoa here! it's lovely, soft cocoa that become more of a dusty cocoa on drydown. i haven't been much in a "foody" mood of late, so i'll likely be swapping this one out, but still; it's really beautiful, and i am so glad i was given the chance to try it.

[Argentwolf]

I wanted to love the drunken bunnies, really I did. Throw-wise, however, all I get is stomach-turning red wine; it gives me heartburn just thinking about it. If I sniff my skin close up, I get a powdery cocoa sort of smell. But all in all, it's probably best for me that this doesn't hang around very long before dissipating.

[SophieCedar]

Mmmm... waited a while before trying this one. It's delicious and decadent.

Wet: I get more red wine rum and blood here. There's a vapor-like hint of dark ground cocoa too.

Drydown: a bit more cocoa but not really in a sense that you would say "whoa there's cocoa in here!". Honestly smells like Blood with Vice on me! It fades a bit quickly. I like it very much.

[lahdeedah]

I took a long time to try this, as when I received the imp and sniffed it I was immediately put off. The vague scent of blood mixed with wine was enough to make me question whether I wanted to skin test. But I'm in the mood today to get back to testing the ridiculous pile of imps I haven't tried, so here goes.

 

Wet: Yeah, it's hard to say why, but this immediately smells WRONG on me. I'm guessing it's the combo of the blood and wine, though cocoa can also be a tricky one for me.

 

Dry: This dried very quickly and settled down a bit, going through a phase where it smells a bit like Cocoa Pebbles. Great Sword of War did that to me too, much to my dismay.

 

Bit Later: It's only been maybe fifteen minutes and this is fading fast, but as it fades it's actually almost pleasant. The rum is in the forefront, blending nicely with the cocoa and the blood and wine have thankfully gone away. I'm guessing this scent will completely disappear within a half hour at the rate it's going.

 

Verdict: Not so great for me all up. Pass.

[killerklown]

Bottle: Dark, thick bitter cocoa with a hint of coffee

 

Wet: Coffee with hints of spice

 

Dry: Bitter cocoa with more than a hint of spice. There's a bit of coffee and what smells like tobacco hanging out in the background. I get very little booze from this at all, if it is there it's very faint.

 

Very rich and spicy, I can't see this as a blend I'd reach for often. I can see me reaching for this on a rainy day where I curl up with a good book- that's the impression it's leaving me.

[strahlend]

I don't usually enjoy chocolate scents but I do love rum and red wine. This blend is such a great mixture of cocoa and wine that they form something totally new together. I don't really get rum or anything that makes me think of blood. Since I don't usually go for foodie scents it's pretty remarkable that this works for me. I'm trying to think of how to describe this but all I can think of is red wine and a bit of chocolate in perfect proportion. During the dry down it seems to take on a sort of incensey quality which is quite pleasant. I guess that says it all. Most perfume wares off of me pretty quickly, this one seems to stick around for at least a few hours from a light dab, which was also really nice.

I just noticed that other people have commented that this scent seems to have an incense quality too. I'm glad to see that it wasn't my nose being totally weird.

Edited January 23, 2011 by strahlend