Miskatonic University

[missTallulah]

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

I have found the bravery to write my first review. It was hiding behind the frustration I have just felt after applying Misk U and almost crying. Dramatic, yes?
I have been lusting after this scent for as long as I've known about bpal since the description is perfection. Coffee fiend who would hide in an ancient library under a giant old book for the rest of her life? I should smell like Misk U.
When I apply it it smells like putting your face into a big bowl of toffee popcorn into which someone has inexplicably dumped a huge bag of cheesy nachos.
My sadness, let me show it to you.

[voorishsign]

Nearing my goal of trying every oil in the Arkham line (Only Nyarlathotep and R'lyeh left to go).

 

This has been getting consistently brilliant reviews but I was at least a little concerned because a lot of the oils everyone seemed to love have failed utterly on me. Here goes nothing.

 

In the imp - pure coffee and butterscotch. Tasty!

 

Wet on skin - Much of the same. More butterscotch than coffee.

 

Drydown - Much of the same but getting stronger. Oh - hang on. This is actually getting really nice! The intense butterscotch is all but gone, which is nice, because I wasn't a fan. Dry wood, a dusting of coffee. A hint of dry paper.

 

Holy hell! This is brilliant! I was so worried and it's magnificient!

 

Which makes me happy in particular because I am a huge Lovecraft fan and I felt like a bad fan because so far, only Herbert West has done anything for me. I wanted to enjoy more of the Picnic in Arkham oils, and now I found another to love

[josephinemarch]

 

 

I've wanted this one for AGES and finally got my fresh imp today!

 

Imp: BOOZY COFFEE PUNCHING ME IN THE FACE. (In the best way possible.) The smell of rich coffee, a little whiskey and butterscotch!

 

Dry Down: Much of the same, just less intense. The scent is basically lingering in the air, making it hard to tell what my skin smells like

 

After awhile: The weirdest, most abrupt change I've ever had in a BPAL. The coffee is all but gone, leaving only the dusty books and dry wood. Pleasant, really. The scent is DEAD ON in the way it smells like an old library. The coffee is just barely hanging in there.

 

Not sure if I'm totally in love with it yet. I'll have to test it for awhile.

[mjules]

First application: Wow, does the Irish coffee ever turn to buttercream icing on my skin! This must be Irish cream coffee, with Bailey's instead of Jameson. There's a faint hint of something else in the background that smells kiiiiiiind of like pipe tobacco, but mostly it smells like Irish cream coffee, vanilla sugar cookies, and buttercream icing. That'll make you hungry.

 

Then I got a wild hair and layered it with Juke Joint, and suddenly it was two old gentlemen sipping their drinks, puffing cigars, and staring longingly at the crumbs of homemade vanilla pound cake while discussing their favorite old books.

[CitizenBree]

Coffee, most prominently. Then dust. Funny that the dust note really does make me feel sneezy, though I never do sneeze. I guess that would be conditioning, since the dust isn't actually there. Weird.

 

Anyway, if you like coffee scents, you have to give this one a try. I think I tried it because someone said it was creamy, which I like. But I don't really like coffee too much. I guess I wanted more Irish in there.

 

Throw is decent and it sticks around for a while. I'm at 2 hours since putting it on and it still smells pretty strong (as if it's still wet).

 

Overall, this smells good, but isn't right for me.

[fisharescary]

It's just sweet coffee! If anything else is in there, it's too subtle for my nose (which admittedly is not all that unlikely.) And it's truely a sweet coffee, not a perfumed interpretation. (just to be clear, either of those is fine, but they're two different things.)

This is delicious. I love huffing it. I'm not sure how regularly I'd wear it, but unlike most other sweet delicious food-y blends, this one has less potential to be either frustrating or fattening- I can have several cups of (carefully sweetened) coffee in a day without feeling like I've gained 20 pounds, if this gives me a craving, which it could, being so realistic. Not sure if I get 'Irish' coffee per se. Will have to double-check.

 

Average throw and duration.

[Schmoozy]

Hot black coffee sweetened with sugar and the umistakeable scent of old wood.

Love it.

[antihero]

Delicious butterscotch and coffee! Quick, somebody stop me from licking it off my wrists.

[moon_lemming]

I've wanted to try Misk U for a long, long time, and received a frimp of it in my last order, huzzah! Wet, it's caramel and coffee. Then as it dries I smell a little wood (har), but mostly coffee with a drizzle of caramel, maybe spiked.

 

DELICIOUS.

 

And too good to last. The caramel turns too buttery as it dries and everything else fades and Miskatonic University ends in a blaze of fuzzy buttered blah.

 

I have bad luck with the Lab's "buttery" blends as a rule, so this isn't too surprising. Disappointing, but I think this imp will make an ace room scent.

[NicoleJoy]

More butterscotch or caramel than coffee, this scent confuses me. I get a big bowl of caramel popcorn out of this, as many others have mentioned. If I sniff really hard, I kind of smell coffee...or maybe I just WANT to... But mostly, it's a big bowl of caramel popcorn.

 

Not that I'm complaining - just confused.

[Geminirubyshoes]

Geez, I thought I did a review for this forever ago!

In the bottle Miskatonic University smells like Cheddar Popcorn. Straight up. It throws me off a little. However, once applied it smells like warm irish cream coffee. Actually more like warm, irish cream coffee cake. It's pretty scrumptious. Makes me want to eat Irish cream coffee cake in a library.

[Kiraze]

ugh but this is smelly... first impression is bad... very bad...

 

slate coffee with rancid milk... and something salty that changes into musty smell of something old and wicked that makes me almost physically sick so i need to go to wash this off quickly (though evil whiff still peeks beyond lavendar soap.... i need stronger neutral smelling soap as with lavendar this is totally gross)

 

description of this sounded so great that for sure I need to try this again before giving final verdict as I am not ready to give up yet

[meredevachon]

I wasn't sure about this one, but I just had to order an imp to see. I'm not a foody sort, but the polished woods and dusty tomes called to me. And while I love the smell of coffee, I wasn't sure I wanted to smell like coffee.

 

Still, when the BFF and I decided to get together at a coffeeshop today, I knew this was the one to test today.

 

In the imp, wet, and for the first hour or so: This smells so familiar. I know this scent. Just don't ask me what it is, 'cause I couldn't tell you. It's an olfactory deja vu. Sweet, definitely. And whiffs of saltiness from time to time. What it is is right on the tip of my tongue, and I just can't come up with the word.

 

Dry, several hours: Whatever morphing has happened was subtle, but eventually it's Irish Cream. I think I can pick out hints of wood and old books when I really sniff for them, but wonder if I'm just imagining it. Good throw without being overwhelming, and amazing staying power (after soap and water AND rubbing alcohol, I can still smell it close to the skin.

 

When the BFF sniffed it on me, it went something like this: *sniff* Sweet. *sniff again* Very sweet. *deep inhale along my skin* Maple syrup? [note, I hate maple syrup] *sniffs some more* What's it supposed to be?

 

As soon as I mention Irish coffee, she agreed. And when I mentioned the other notes, she said it sounded like just her thing.

 

I'll have to think about this one. But I may pass it on to the BFF, because she's right, it sounds just like her.

Edited July 8, 2010 by meredevachon

[Deceitfuldescender]

This was the first scent of Bpal I tried on that worked for me (and interestingly it also helps me develope an appetite when I don't have one.)

 

When I put it on, it is all rich coffee with that nice hint of Irish cream. As the drydown comes on, the oak comes out with the faintest whisp of paper. It smells so very academic and rich. This is probably one of my favorite woody scents, which has the dryness softened by the Irish cream. It fades into just a touch of sweet oak before disappearing.

 

It has excellent throw for me, and decent staying power (a few hours.)

[FathomBelow]

I'll be honest, this one would have to turn out really horrible for me to give it up. I absolutely love Lovecraft stories and the descriptions and role of Miskatonic U in the stories.

 

In the bottle: Strong, sweet hazelnut coffee. Yum!

Wet on skin: Lost the coffee. Now it's just caramel-y hazelnut candy. Still yum! If it keeps going like this, I wouldn't mind a bit.

As it dries: Pretty much the same.

Dry: The coffee comes back, which together with the hazelnut candy are in the foreground. In the background is what I'm guessing to be the "dusty tomes." It's very light and airy but still has a definite presence, and doesn't seem to me so much dusty as papery.

 

Overall, this is a very scholarly scent which I will definitely enjoy wearing to class this winter! I'm so glad it turned out well.

[DifferentDances]

Imp: Hard coffee candy that's been in a tub with hard butterscotch candies.

Wet: Faint, faint coffee scent. Like I passed by a Dunkin Donuts or something.

Drydown: Somewhat plastic coffee, but with a sense of warmth. You know, the kind of warm and cozy you feel after a good bowl of soup or a delicious mug of chocolate. Very, very faint, though. I can picture doing a double take if a man walked by wearing this, but thus far it's not a scent I would actually wear.

Dry: Faint plastic with a teeny hint of cheap coffee.

 

Rating: 2/5. I'd like it more, I think, if it lasted.

[brettashley]

I totally thought I already reviewed this, but according to my spreadsheet, I haven't, so...

 

Wet: strong, rich Irish coffee, with a definite sugary undertone. I'm getting what a lot of people have mentioned before, a sort of caramel/butterscotch sugariness. A bit too sweet, actually.

 

Dry: as it dries, it mellows out and the sweetness loses its edge. Now the wood and paper notes are coming through, and it definitely smells like I'm in a library - one of those old-fashioned, polished-wood-and-incandescent-light ones.

 

When I first got this bottle, I think the wood-and-paper kinda put me off. I guess I was expecting a straight-up foody/coffee scent, but I got something else, so I put the bottle away for a while. Now, however, I'm really enjoying the fact that it isn't straight-up coffee. I think I'll like putting this one on for when I need to feel studious. It's pretty strong on me, so the smallest dab will do.

[Seamyst]

In the imp: Coffee and Bailey's! No note of dusty books or wood halls. Smells delicious.

 

Wet: Basically the same as in the imp, coffee and Bailey's. (Note that I'm not familiar with the smell of whiskey and cream, so that could be the actual note, and I'm just interpreting it as Bailey's.)

 

Dry: The Irish coffee has mellowed - it's still definitely there, but somehow softer. A good hint of dusty books definitely comes through. YUM!

 

Overall: This smells amazing and lasts for hours. It's going on my bottle list!

[Ashenrook]

A freebie from the WeHo Bookfair!

 

In the Bottle

I was sniffing at the bottle and, like I often do, I got a drop of the stuff on my finger unintentionally. It was then at this point that I sniffed it, widened my eyes, and went "OH MY GOD". It smelled delicious! Coffee with Bailey's! I just had to try some more.

 

On Skin: Wet

...Hm. Not quite as I hoped. Something about the Irish coffee is going a little odd on me. I'm picking up that hazelnut-y scent that people have been talking about, but I want to say that there is something going on with the whiskey and cream notes that are screwing something up. Something almost smells burnt (and not in the roasted coffee way). Yeah... Like someone just picked up a bunch of hazelnuts, threw them into a pot of cream and coffee, and burned it.

 

On Skin: Dry

Oh dear. Yeah, this is definitely a bad reaction. The beautiful Irish Coffee has turned into... Corn Nuts with cream and coffee.

 

Afternotes

...I'd like to know how my skin made this go from coffee to Southwest-seasoned, whiskey spiked, Corn Nuts. I really do.

 

 

Verdict

On an American scholastic grading scale, I'd give this a F.

 

It's a grade I give with a heavy heart since I wanted this to work so much! Dusty old library? Oakwood? COFFEE? Sign me up! But nope, MU does not play nice with my skin...

[butterbeer]

This was the scent that made me finally jump in and order from BPAL. Probably because I often joke about one day studying Classical Languages at Miskatonic, ehe. Not to mention, the description sounds totally something I'd like, as I really like old books and coffee. And university *does* have a scent! Everyone thinks I'm crazy but it's true.

 

Miskatonic is WAY strong. I accidentally spilled some and had to keep the imp in a separate place, and now my make-up bag smells of Miskatonic. On me (if I recall correctly) it fades fairly quickly, but it's definitely very strong. It's an AMAZING scent, though! It scents of coffee and caramel.

 

It's not something I'd wear just everyday, though, because it's so strong. Miskatonic is really warm, though, and I mixed in some with my conditioner (which previously had a very faint scent and now smells awesomely). It holds well in my hair, it smells nice but it doesn't really scent everything in a 20 miles radius. GORGEOUS scent!

 

ETA: I went to try it on my skin again today. It didn't fade as quickly, but after just a bit turned into... coconut. A spicy Thai coconut.

Edited November 25, 2010 by butterbeer

[MirasolAbeille]

This description/concept appealed to me so much that I ordered a 5ml bottle unsniffed. Never again.

 

Blargh for the amp of sugar and evilly rancid butter, beneath which I might be able to suss out faint coffee and whisky if I wanted to put my nose that close to my wrist, which I don't. I waited a stomach-turning hour for this to turn into something more complicated/interesting/appealing on my skin before I finally took pity on myself and washed it off. It took three bouts of scrubbing with soap and water, plus a long hot shower the next morning, before I stopped catching whiffs of it. REALLY strong throw, and obviously it works on the vast majority of the population, but sadly, I am not one of them. Even the faintish, mostly-washed-away ghost of this perfume makes my stomach flip unpleasantly, both wet and dry.

 

I am wearing Door today and feeling much better about life. Miskatonic University is most definitely in the swap pile.

[Incendiare]

This one is a shocker for me. It smells nothing like what I imagined it to be, but that is a good thing since I thought it would smell like dusty coffee. Instead, Miskatonic University smells like a cappuccino sweetened with a bit of toffee. The deeper I take a whiff, the more I can detect the Irish cream. Wet, it is beginning to morph a bit. The woods are coming out ever so slightly and it doesn't smell as sweet. The dust is very faint and barely there. This is definitely a lot better than what I was expecting. Bottle worthy, not sure, but this imp will not be neglected at all.

[ModderRhu]

this totally smells like corn pops. yummy, but not something i'd ever wear again

[Penance]

Origin:

 

5mL from the Lab. I had a decant of the original LE version of this a long time ago, but apparently I never reviewed it and I've got no idea what happened to it, so I'll be reviewing based on my GC bottle.

 

Preconceived notions:

 

This is going to be based on my thoughts before I'd tried the LE version, since my expectations for my GC bottle are based on my experiences with the LE Misk U. I think that's the most accurate way to do this.

 

First off, I need to say that I hate coffee. I can't stand the smell of it and I don't like the taste, either. I generally avoid coffee scents like the plague, but I'd tried every other scent from the Springtime in Arkham line and wanted to complete the set, so I tracked down a decant. While I hate the smell of coffee, I do like the smell of Irish cream (I assumed, at the time, that this would be that sort of Irish coffee, rather than the type made with whiskey) and I love wood and old books. So I had some faint glimmer of hope that it would work.

 

First sniff:

 

(Based on the GC version)

 

This is just like I remember the LE version being. Strong, sweet, almost caramel-like Irish cream (I can see where someone might get caramel corn from this, but it would have to be the heavy, almost butter toffee kind of caramel corn). That's it. No coffee, no books, no wood. Just Irish cream. And strong Irish cream at that.

 

Wet on skin:

 

Wet on my skin, Misk U smells almost like butterscotch on me. It has a strong, buttery, caramelly scent to it that really puts me more in mind of butterscotch flavored coffee creamer than Irish cream. It's very strong and too sweet for my tastes at this point.

 

Dry down:

 

As Misk U dries, the butterscotch note slowly disappears and I'm left with a rich Irish cream scent. If you've smelled Bailey's, then you know what this smells like. It's creamy and very slightly caramel-like. I don't really get coffee so much as I get something kind of like coffee flavored ice cream mixed with Bailey's. I don't really get much, if any, wood and no old books (I think they're being drowned out by the Irish cream), which is a bit disappointing since I would really love this if they made an appearance.

 

The bottom line:

 

I like Miskatonic University. It's definitely not my usual sort of scent and not something I would wear every day but I'm glad I have a bottle and it'll be a good choice for chilly days when I feel like wearing something cozy smelling. I think I would genuinely love this if I got the wood and old books, but I'm happy enough with Misk U as is.

[elinox]

First Sniff: Irish cream, yummy!

Wet: A bit of buttered toffee and definitely some sort of dry wood.

Dry: The smell of wood grew stronger as the lovely Irish cream smell faded into nothingness. I could still smell the hint of toffee, but it's mostly dry wood.

Throw: I might as well take this subject out since I never get any sort of throw. Oh well.

My Reaction: While I think the smell of freshly cut plywood is intriguing, the dry wood smell with this was not. It did not remind me of old polished halls, but rather an unfinished wood project. I had hoped the Irish cream would stick around, but alas, it’s just wood. It's interesting in a curiosity sort of way, but I don’t really want to smell like dry wood.

Rating 1-5: 2