Miskatonic University

[milo]

The scent of Irish coffee, dusty tomes and polished oakwood halls.

This is Bailey's and buttery caramel. I don't really get any coffee out of this one. Although I don't really like foody as a rule, it is helping curb my sweet tooth to wear a foody scent in the evening. Love it, but probably wouldn't wear it out.

[tigerfish]

That one is strong! As in *that-jackass-just-poured-his-drink-all-over-your-favourite-shirt-and-now-you-reek-of-cheap-whiskey-and-want-to-hide-in-the-loo*-strong. Sadly I didn't get any coffee whatsoever. *gah* The smell calms down a bit after the first 15 min (I detect faint wafts of old books and dust, which would be lovely had the books not all been pickled in sugary whiskey) but it still made me nauseous and I had to go and wash it off...

 

I'm sorely disappointed and sad because Miskatonic University was the scent that made me notice BPAL in the first place and I loved the concept behind it. Plus, I had sniffed it on a friend of mine and it was so delicious and swoon-worthy on her. Damn you, skin chemistry! But I'm going to age the imp for a few months and re-test just in case. Maybe it will improve or perhaps my skin chemistry was a bit off today. We shall see...

 

ETA: The scent lingers even after 24h, 2 showers and some vigorous scrubbing with my soapstone. This one has serious staying power! Unfortunately the boozy note is still overpowering on me...

Edited September 30, 2008 by tigerfish

[arithmetock]

I can smell the coffee, but the buttery note is even stronger. I really wanted to love this one, but when it's on my skin the butter note becomes stronger and stronger until it's all I can smell.

[NixieCakes]

At first this is all caramel. Then slowly it morphs into Barnes & Noble. I smell just like B&N and I loves it.

[Juushika]

In the vial: Almost indistinct, but cream with a touch of coffee and dusty wood.

 

On me: Heavily creamed coffee, lightly sweetened. The cream is generous, the coffee is secondary but amps a bit more with wear. I can't pick out alcohol, thank goodness; nor can I pick out books or wood, though they may be what provides the barest grounding, non-foody aspect to the blend. On the whole, this is milky/creamy, sweet, delicious coffee—in fact, it smells just like coffee ice cream, but pleasantly warm instead of cold. It's a comforting foody scent, creamed-coffee light brown in color, thin cream in texture.

 

Verdict: I've always wished that Misk U. were more complex than pure creamed coffee—I would love an atmospheric scent, something more evocative, more of the books and wood. Nonetheless, it is lovely. It's true to life, foody without being overly sweet, comforting and delicious. This is a wonderful scent for cuddling up and reading. I don't wear it too often, but I am glad to have my imp around.

[DarthArwen]

I was SO ready to love this. Love the concept, love the scent out of the imp. Yum. Like Gluttony with added coffee. Mmmm.

 

Sadly on my skin the coffee immediately disappears, leaving me with... dust. Possibly some wood. Not Good. With regrets, but to the swapbox.

[Mousesong]

This does, indeed, smell like the world's most gorgeous, sweetest, Bailey's-laced coffee in the imp. I get the faintest dusty-page notes if I concentrate, but no wood.

 

On my skin it turned immediately into freshly-opened play-doh. No coffee, no wood, no dust. Just raw play-doh. It flashed me right back to kindergarten. So disappointed! My mom likes it for putting on her pillow, though. She digs a kahlua-spiked cup of coffee before bed. So not a waste! Definitely worth a smell if you like coffee smells. Ignore my funky skin.

[jencallisto]

In the imp: Pure Irish cream, nutty and boozy and delicious.

Fresh on the skin: Bright, creamy, sweet Irish coffee. And something a bit darker to the edge of it -- maybe the dust and oak, a bit moulderly. I love the Irish coffee, but I'm not sure how I feel about the moldy edge.

5 minutes in: Mmm. The waft is really nice, Irish coffee exactly. And the moldy bit is starting to turn into mildewy old pages, which is at least a bit of an improvement.

15 minutes in: This is doing a similar thing to gluttony, giving me a sort of sugary tickle in the back of my throat. Plus I'm still having very mixed feelings about the mildew.

1 hour later: This is so close to amazing. And then there's that icky, bitter note that gives me that "you're allergic to this" feeling of involuntary revulsion. It's not too strong, but it's definitely there.

2 hour later: This is fading, which is probably good. It's so weird. I really like it, and yet I really don't. Kind of fascinating.

2.5 hours later: You know, as long as I don't press my nose to my wrist I actually mostly like it. It's like a cup of Irish coffee sitting on a desk, forgotten long ago by its researching owner, slightly chilled from the drafty room and with a layer of dust settled across the top.

3 hours later: Powdering down to a dusty vanilla.

4 hours later: Faded vanilla candle with a hint of dusty Irish mocha.

5 hours later: Huh. Mocha. Nice. Basically no throw by now, though.

6 hours later: Still mocha. Yay.

7 hours later: Hazelnut mocha.

9 hours later: Irish coffee linger.

 

Verdict: I really expected to like this. And it's so frustrating how much I did like it... except for that wisp of mildewy ick that didn't really go away for hours. I enjoyed the long mocha linger a lot, but 3 hours of musty edge is a bit much to endure for that. I'm allergic to both dust mites and mold, so perhaps I'm just oversensitive to related smells. And yet I love libraries. Though admittedly, from the Cthulhu mythos perspective, they're rather dangerous and probably not very well kept. I'm probably going to keep this and try it again later. Maybe it'll age or my chemistry will change just enough that suddenly it works all the way through. *fingers crossed*

 

One phrase: musty Irish coffee.

[stefrand]

ITI: Very strong! Smells like butterscotch and coffee more than Irish creme coffee. Slightly astringent smelling, but not much.

 

Wet: Coffee!!!!! Dusty, alcoholic coffee. There is something plasticky about this at first. It smells very...fake. I hope that goes away. It's certainly different from anything else I've tried! It smells a little like coconut. Or sunblock. Weird.

 

Dry: Still smells very fake, like plastic smeared with sunscreen.

 

Drydown: Play-Doh. This smells like a dusty container of Play-doh covered in sunblock

 

Final Thoughts: Really really not for me! Too bad...I was so looking forward to this one.

[caitilarkin]

In the imp: Croissants slathered in butter

 

Wet on skin: Sweet pastries made with oodles of butter, taunting me from their plate, sitting next to a mug of steaming, fresh-brewed coffee with cream and sugar

 

Dry on skin: The pastry note remains strong for hours, and the richness of the coffee note intensifies with time.

 

Not sure what happened to the dusty tomes and polished oakwood halls, but this is all pastry shop, all the time. It's definitely not what I had expected, but it's extremely yummy nonetheless!

[milica]

the second I've opened the imp, whole room was filled with this scent. very very strong irish creme, bit boozy.

 

on skin, this is total a disaster. smells like irish coffee with vanila, some alchohol and tooooo much sugar. toooo sweet. would have liked it more if it smelled more like plain espresso, more bitter than sweet. also, it turned a bit powdery on me, and that is the only thing I liked in this scent.

 

swap.

Edited November 2, 2012 by milica

[mgrazulis]

Strong coffee, Irish whiskey, Baileys, whipped cream and sugar...the aroma is distinctive and intense. Stiff and strong. When drydown starts, it gets a high pitched sweetness. Patience....patience...patience. I want to give this a good shot. There is a nutty note that plays around the edges. The dusty books and polished tables take the sugar factor down. Much later, the remains of the Irish coffee sit in a glass mug. It's empty, but the tell-tale smell of the concoction is still there.

 

I like this imp...especially when the woods kick in. I'm hanging on to it!

[stu5011]

I'm generally not one to wear a scent except to make my SO come over and smell me. This, this is different. This I will wear just for myself.

 

From the bottle's first sniff, I had to keep myself from instinctively drinking it. The coffee tones are large, but tempered from the cream and whiskey. If only my first irish coffee had tasted as this smelled. A reminder of one of my favorite bookstore's odor, minus the subtle scent of cat... odor, this scent makes me happy I got involved in wearing BPAL. A must try for all coffee enthusiasts.

 

*Warning to coffee enthusiasts: You may want to lick yourself. Refrain from this behavior, it doesn't taste as good as it smells.*

[Andrea912]

Imp: mmm...nice rich coffee with irish cream; sweet

 

Wet: wow, this is really caramel and toffee on me; I love it!

[revinn]

My signature scent, easily. This is so "me," and I absolutely love it.

 

Initial Smell from Bottle: Very, very sweet. I was almost a little put off by the sweetness.

 

Wet: Oh, this is yummy. Not buttery, not cloying, just the perfect decadent caramel.

 

Dry: Now I can smell the coffee, but it isn't bitter. It's sweet coffee, with a heaping drizzle of caramel, and, thankfully, not a bit of booze. Normally I amp boozey notes, so I'm very happy about that. My favorite smell is the scent of the spine of old books, and this scent is grounded by that musty smell and a touch of dry woods. This is the scent that made me realize how much I adore caramel notes, and I plan to order a big bottle very soon.

 

Out of 10: 10!!

[suki]

in the bottle and wet on my skin, Miskatonic U. is a coffee lover's dream come true. yummy, yummy Irish Cream notes are strong, though the dusty books are certainly adding balance to the affair.

dry down, it all goes horribly wrong on my skin, and becomes just a pile of dust. not even the books, JUST the dust. as a note mixed in the other things, i really liked the dust note for lending complexity. on it's own, however, it's just bad news.

 

in all: oh, MU, i had such high hopes. but i shall transfer to a different school of higher learning at once.

[MisterShrapnel]

Can't say anything new, unfortunately. It's the smell of the best afternoon alone ever--reading books in an old-fashioned study, with loads of caffeine.

Prominently a rich, buttery dessert-like confection of a hot coffee drink, leaving ring-shaped stains on bookshelves and tables made of dark wood, and-- holy crap I even get the dust motes. After a while the coffee backs off and only the dregs remain, and my wrist starts smelling mostly like dusty paper. A bit... er... dry for my tastes, but this is so spot on. Amazing. I don't want to wear this as a perfume, but I reach for the imp when I get dessert-cravings. (It doesn't really tide me over though)

Yay.

[CynicalPink]

Imp: Nice whiskey. Like quality stuff, too. Not the bottom shelf "this is just getting mixed with coke anyway" stuff.

 

Wet: Punch in the face of caramel and coffee. LOVE.

 

Drydown: The drydown was very quick and mellowed out everything. It's really faint now (I don't put much on for tests), but I can still get a bit of the Irish coffee. Not getting the play-do scent others mentioned.

 

ETA: Now that I've been doing more frequent all day wear and it's gotten some time one all my pulse points for long periods of time, I really get the dry oak cutting in to the Irish coffee. I think I'm also getting the "dusty" element, but on me it's just more of a bite then sneeze inducing dust.

 

Overall: The imp is definitely a keeper. I'd like to see if the scent gets more staying power as it ages. As for right now, it smell wonderful and warm if just a bit drunk

Edited February 27, 2009 by CynicalPink

[blacklacestatic]

In the Imp: sugary hot coffee. Way more sweetness than I was anticipating, but that's good.

 

Wet on skin: Yummy and foodie! I get mostly a yummy coffee scent. It's very creamy and delicious. Reminds me of a bakery I used to pass on my way to the train every morning @ 5 am. They would be brewing coffee and baking cookies at the same time. That's what I get from this. There'a vanilla-like note (caramel?) and it's slightly powdery in a soft, cozy way. It also makes me think of relaxing in front of the fireplace with a hot cup of sweetened coffee.

 

Drydown: I get the woods here and no more coffee, but it's still creamy and warm. A little darker than before. I get a slight hint of plastic, but just a touch. Very strong throw. I can still smell it when my wrist is nowhere near my nose, but that's ok because it's extremely pleasant.

 

Overall: I never thought I would like this, but I'm pleasantly surprised! It's wonderful, kinda old-fashioned. I definitely get a nice bookstore/library feel from it.

[FallDaze]

Imp -> Delicious creamy coffee with a hint of wood in the background. So yummy smelling, I hope it stays like this!

 

Wet -> The cream backs off a bit but the coffee note is still relatively strong and the wood note becomes more pronounced. It's like the cream and oak switched places from what I got from the imp.

 

After a while -> So far so good! It get's a touch too sweet for me at times though. It's also super good layered with Villainess's Ginger Snapped. Eventually though the wood notes takes almost complete control here. I'll definitely keep the imp but I probably won't need a bottle

[anastasia]

I guess I am a lucky girl because on me this smells a bit buttery and coffeelike when wet but then just turns into old old old books with the coffee smell in the background. There is a dusty mildew paper smell that is so very Lovecraftian that it gives me the wiggins. This smells like a dusty used bookstore somplace where it rains - A LOT!!! I had it on my shirt and took my coat off and got this huge waft of rainy day smell. I have high hopes now for all the Arkhams and for all the book and paper smells. This is hyperreal on me. I will have to wear this in my home which is an environment that morphs easily into the Lovecraftian reality. I am wearing it at work and it is kind of causing dissonance in my brain. I want to see things lurking in the shadows... no shadows. Damn!

Edited February 1, 2009 by novak69

[Bluestocking]

In the imp: The most perfect Irish coffee I think I've ever smelled. It's sugary sweet, creamy, boozy coffee. There's a hint of something that makes me think of hazelnuts, as well as a nearly buttery caramel note.

On, wet: This is super strong, but it's a coffee lover's paradise! Less coffee, but a lot more booze and creamy caramel, with just a touch of something drier behind that suggests the polished oak.

On, dry: The coffee has stepped back a bit and allowed the wonderful, steady oak note to come forward, along with a slightly sweet/dusty/dry scent that I can only identify as old books and paper—the essence of a large library distilled. The sweet whisky and darker coffee are still hanging around, but now they're the accents, rather than the whole show, and the combination together is amazing. It's amazingly evocative, almost exactly like sitting in a study carrel, poring over old books while you sip your latte.

Later: It's boozier again, so now I get the scents of polished oak, smooth whisky and parchment paper, with an deep undertone of the dark coffee. It's gone from the scent of studying in some dark corner of a massive old library to, uh… doing other, naughtier things in some dark corner of a massive old library. Up against the shelves.

Overall: I can see how you might not like Miskatonic University if you don't care for fooy/sweet scents or coffee, or if you've never deeply inhaled the air in a library just to enjoy the smell of all that knowledge. Otherwise, though… this is just bliss to my book-loving, coffee-drinking, deeply nerdy soul. The early stages of the scent are delicious, if almost too sweet, but once the oak and old book scents come forward to add some complexity, this is intoxicating: equal parts studious and sexy.

 

One note, though: this is SUPER strong and long wearing. I didn't put on much, and I was enveloped in a heady cloud of sweet-coffee-woody-bookishness that lingered until the next morning. Don't slather this one on unless you want everybody to think that you took a bath in Irish coffee.

 

 

[unlaced]

Oh my goodness! This is as good as I imagined!

 

I've been lusting after this one for a while now and when the boy asked me what I bottle he should buy me at Will Call the other day I told him Misk. U.

 

When I opened the bottle to sniff it my first reaction was "woah! that is strong!" A foody, coffee, creamy kinda sorta chocolate-y (?) scent. It's hard to narrow it down but in the bottle none of the book or wood smells make themselves apparent. When I gave the bottle to my sister to sniff she said it smelled like cake and I can see how she would get that. In the bottle and at first on the skin it's pretty foody.

 

Wet on my skin and drying it keeps its pure coffee & cream scent. I generally slather pretty well but it seems I will need to hold back with this one as it is quite potent.

 

Now, 5 hours later that little bit is still going strong. If I put my nose right on my wrist and sniff it gets a kind of plastic-y after-smell (like aftertaste but after-smell...) But I can smell whiffs of it all around me and it is beautiful. with no hint of plastic. It seems to have deepened a little from just coffee & cream, I can juuuust barely smell something else behind it but I can't tell what it is. I think with some age this is going to become an even more beautiful and complex scent.

Edited February 11, 2009 by unlaced

[katiet518]

Hmm. At first this one is too sweet, almost...caramel-y? After dry down I get a whiff of books and maybe coffee underneath.

 

Now I can't smell it at all, I think my nose is borked.

[iamblackbird]

In the imp, it's incredibly sweet, and I kinda wanted to drink it (but I restrained myself)!

 

Once on, it's a lovely caramel/coffee scent... but wait...

 

Damnit. On drydown, it goes all dusty/dusky, and there's no more sweetness left. Poo.