Miskatonic University

[BoneBone24]

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

Wet: Toffee-flavored coffee. It's quite buttery.

Drydown: The sweet buttery toffee turns into more of a burnt caramel and then fades away leaving a cup of dark, high-quality coffee. Something richly masculine joins the coffee, which I'm guessing is the polished oak.

Dry: Wow. This is everything the descriptions says: rich creamy coffee, glorious old books, and a vast hall with seriously shellacked oak walls. It is both magical and serious, inspiring careful thought and ravenous research.



This is an experience in a bottle. It's so completely unique that I'm not even sure how to rate it as a perfume. Time will tell if it's something that I'd actually want to wear regularly or not, but for now I can definitely say I like it.

6 out of 10 bones Edited June 21, 2013 by BoneBone24

[sabrebabe]

In the bottle: Irish coffee, with a little extra cream. Very sweet, but I like the smell of coffee, so we shall see.

Wet: Really strong coffee, straight from a proper coffee shop. With a lot of extra cream. As is settles down, there is more Irish cream and less coffee. And ever so slight… something like baked sweetbread in the background. Uh-oh, it’s going a bit coconutty now.

Dry: Oh no! Now it smells like fresh Play-Doh! This is a bummer, I had such high hopes for this one. Trade pile.

[karykeion]

Ooh, I've been so excited to try this! I just recently had the chance to try Dee and fell in instant, need-a-5ml-now love with it, so besides this being a Lovecraft blend, I can't wait to test another mysterious scholarly scent.

 

In the imp: Irish coffee, with kind of a toffee nut flavor.

 

On me, wet: Coffee and wood. As it begins drying, a note starts to emerge that's perfectly reminiscent of new book smell.

 

On me, dry: Yep, coffee and new book smell. It barely morphs at all. I like it, but I'm not getting a lot of dusty tomes or wood, and if I want to smell like coffee and new book smell, I can just buy coffee and new books. I think it deserves a full test, but until then, I'll reach for Dee when I want to smell scholarly, I think.

[lohengrin]

In the imp: A little like caramel corn, but not quite as buttery.

 

On skin, wet: Similar to in the imp, but the coffee note starts to peek its head out too.

 

On skin, dry: The coffee note is becoming more dominant.

 

After an hour: Sweetened coffee and a faint hint of something dusty or woody. Not special or different enough to warrant a bottle.

[Vega]

Sniffed: A blast of gritty and fragrant coffee, off-set by something smoother, which must be the woods and paper.

 

On skin: Miskatonic University is a bit of a morpher. When I first tested it, the coffee and woods/paper bouquet were perfectly balanced. Coffee formed the grainy, dark base, and the wood/paper bouquet lightened and smoothened that grittiness, until it seemed like I was smelling the coffee from behind a screen of paper and wood: quite befitting a library or reading room! The second time I tested it, the coffee had the upper hand, although the woods/paper weren't completely overpowered, and still managed to add some smoothness to the coffee. Overall, Miskatonic University is a fine-smelling establishment, with the scent of coffee firmly embedded in its walls and books. It gives off an Old World atmosphere, and feels austere yet affable, if a little old-fashioned. Nothing sinister about this University! Colour impression is black coffee and milk, not mixed but standing next to each other.

 

Verdict: I'm not over-fond of the coffee smell (not even the real thing), and Miskatonic University strays too far into the coffee zone. While I have no desire to wear it as a perfume, I think it would make a fabulous atmospheric spray, so I'm astonished that the Trading Post doesn't already have a version. If it did, I'll be snapping it up for sure and turning my rooms into a venerable library!

[Twiggy]

On me, this smells disgusting. A rancid buttery, stale-coffee, dusty mess from wet to drydown.

But on the BF...whoa.

 

So i'll review how it smells on him, 'cause it's oh-so-lovely.

 

Wet, it's caramelly and chocolatey with a hint of coffee and the barest hint of dustiness, the way it smells in the bottle. But seconds within applying, the super-rich sweetness backs down and this great smell of old books emerges, with a whiff of yummy sweet coffee. It's very soft, and very nice.

 

Drydown: As the drydown-morphage happens almost instantaneously, see above. This stage lasts forever. Like, hours. Very nice indeed. It reminds me of this bookshop i go to with old dusty hardbacks and that SMELL, i walk in there just to inhale the smell of old books and coffee brewing someplace in the back and unseen to customers. Been doing that since i was a geeky little Twiglet and this is pure nostalgia.

 

So yeah. This is a keeper, on the Man.

[becca_s]

This was a frimp from the lab

 

On me, this is very sweet, creamy coffee from beginning to end. The coffee overpowers anything else in this blend for me. It's like a rich, milky, latte.

 

I'm one of those strange people who doesn't drink coffee and the smell of it doesn't really appeal to me. If you like coffee or foodie scents then you will probably like Miskatonic University. It smells too sweet and foodie for my tastes though.

[yakiguri]

Miskatonic University on my skin is all sweet Irish cream, like the sugar-packed mini Irish cream coffee creamers in the green packages I used to sneak away from my dad and drink straight. I don't really get any woods or paper notes, just sweet Irish cream. I'll keep my relatively fresh imp and see if some aging brings out the other notes more, but for now it's just making me crave Bailey's.

[Lailya]

Holy Irish coffee, Batman! I smell like Bailey's! Lailya likes. Lailya likes a lot. No dusty or wooden notes, though aging should address that. In the mean time, this is truly wonderful: it's thick and warm and makes me want to write. Irish coffee is something I strongly associate with some original characters of mine and I strongly suspect I'll be using this to help inspire me when writing about them. It's a bit too boozy to wear to work or class, but I think it'll work great as something to throw on and cuddle up in a comfy sweater on a cold night! Very glad I bought this, I will be guarding my bottle like a dragon guards her treasure hoard. *waggles eyebrows*

[ChesterCopperpot]

This is the first sent that I've gotten from Black Phoenix and it has lived up to the hype! I can't believe that it actually smells like dusty old books!

 

In the imp: sweet coffee

Wet: sugary coffee with a hint of dustiness.

Dry: barely any coffee scent now, but the distinct scent of dusty books! I can't believe it! It takes me back to studying out of old tomes in my college library.

[hexnut]

MISKATONIC UNIVERSITY

 

Tested blind.

 

In Vitro Ooh, sweet coffee. Or wait, not coffee per se but more like caramel syrup used to flavor coffee.

 

Wet As in the imp, very sweet caramel flavored syrup. There was some coffee smell, but it wasn't true coffee beans and/or grounds but rather weak brewed coffee. It made me think of the brown water that passes for decaf at my local convenience store, after I've dumped artificially flavored creamer into it. After a few minutes a deeper note emerged, not sweet but not quite bitter or acrid. Maybe this would be my sought-after book smell?

 

[Drying The unknown note became a weird chemical odor that overwhelmed the sweetness, and developed some sillage as well. There was just enough caramel-esque scent remaining to tip the whole thing into nauseating territory, and I washed my wrist around the ninety minute mark. It smelled like the artificial flavor factory made a batch of syrup in a tank that an Old One had been using as a spit cup.

 

Gah! I was so excited about Miskatonic University, and it turned into my worst BPAL experience ever. I blame the booze.

 

 

32

[Briar]

In the Bottle: Creamy, boozy, coffee. It's a heavy sort of sweet, something which should be stirred with a tiny stick and sipped hot. The boozy note is sharpest at the end of the sniff.

 

On My Skin: Coffee and something spicy come roaring out when this hits my skin. I amp coffee like woah, it seems. The creamy scent remains lurking behind the coffee, but this seriously is just shouting "fall day in a sunlit coffee shop window" right now.

 

After Fifteen Minutes: The coffee stops roaring, but it's still there, and the boozy note is getting heavier. There's something almost parchment-like in here now that it's calming down. The spice is mostly gone - all I get is heavily boozy coffee and a hint of old book.

 

This scent delightfully matched what I think was intended, but the heavy coffee note just is not for me.

[Drae]

Strictly by notes on paper, Misk U is pretty much a death blend of creamy, boozy, foody, sticky coffee horror, but since it seems to be so popular, I got curious and requested an imp swap. Sometimes we just need actual confirmation of our suspicions.

 

In the imp: while not as LOUD, there's that scary sweet boozy note that made me run away from Grog, mixed with an extra sweet Starbucks caramel macchiato, Oh dear...

 

Wet on (shea butter moisturized) skin: BOOZE AND SUGAR. It's quite loud after all, at least while wet.

 

Drydown: The scent softens up quite a bit, and the booziness has evaporated, and the coffee takes a quiet back seat to the sugar and cream. Absolutely no books or oak have shown up.

 

Dry (about 20 minutes post-application): goes a little Glade plug-in on me, just a sweet, brown-colored muddled mess, I'm fairly certain it's the irish cream, or even just the cream note that does this. I don't even smell the coffee much anymore, just boring, slightly plastic creamy sweetness.

 

Cloying sweetness, one-dimensional, and just not fitting to my scent personality at all: Drae, this is why you can't do Gourmands

Edited October 1, 2012 by Drae

[Manticore]

In imp: Sugar and Irish coffee. Smells exactly like a coffee shop/bakery I spent significant time in last fall.

 

Wet: Still smells like a really sweet Irish coffee. Which is pleasant I guess but too sweet for me.

 

Dry: the oak and dust tamped down the sweet. But it turned to... sunscreen? Within a few hours the scent faded completely from my skin.

 

I think this is a no-go for me. It was a frimp so I don't feel too bad about it. But I don't like sweet scents and the fact it turned into the smell of sunscreen didn't help.

[theredkilt]

Misc. U - you broke my heart and turned out to be so repulsive. No coffee, no dusty books, no hazelnut - only the stale breath of a musty librarian !!!

Edited November 9, 2012 by theredkilt

[madscientistdh]

Purchased from Chromeoxide!

I tried v3 the day before this one, so my perceptions may have been skewed.

 

In bottle: straight butterscotch.

 

On skin: oatmeal and faint redwood with a slight coffee background.

 

Drydown: coffee-stained wood table. After a while a rumminess peeks out, making this like Elegba's shy sister to my nose. At the very end of the day, however, this becomes a soft creamy scent that's very lovely. Elegba doesn't do this.

 

Verdict: Though this is nice, I prefer the v3's intense coffee to this one. I can't really even think of these two as being the "same" though, Miskatonic University reminded me wholeheartedly of Elegba, a scent I already own. Will have to try this one some more to get an official read on it.

 

My review of Elegba, for comparison.

[boomtownrat]

I don't know what it is about this, but it almost immediately turns into CORN CHIPS (yes, that loud) with a little side of coffee and some vague sweetness. When the dust starts to show up after it's dry, the situation becomes even more dire because I amp the Lab's dust note and boy, is it Not Good to my nose. After more than an hour I also smell old books, but as it turns out, as much as I like the smell of libraries, I don't want my own self to smell that way. This was an untested bottle purchase.

So, in summary: Fritos and sweetened coffee in a dusty old library, yowza.

ETA on 6/14/2013: With some age on the bottle, the corn chip smell turns out to have been the dust note in disguise. The Irish coffee finally takes its rightful place at the front. I get a little bit of polished oak, but not much. Now it really does smell like Irish coffee in an old library and for certain moods on damp days in fall, that will be just what I need. Miskatonic University is now safe from any swapping or selling urges, I think.

 

ETA on 5/28/2015: Well, I spoke too soon, because the corn chip smell comes and goes depending on my skin chemistry. I've given this to my husband. It smells like it's supposed to when he wears it, and he's an H.P. Lovecraft fan.

Edited May 28, 2015 by boomtownrat

[dawnwich]

I don't know what it is about this, but it almost immediately turns into CORN CHIPS (yes, that loud) with a little side of coffee and some vague sweetness. When the dust starts to show up after it's dry, the situation becomes even more dire because I amp the Lab's dust note and boy, is it Not Good to my nose. After more than an hour I also smell old books, but as it turns out, as much as I like the smell of libraries, I don't want my own self to smell that way. This was an untested bottle purchase.

 

So, in summary: Fritos and sweetened coffee in a dusty old library, yowza.

 

It smelled like fritos to me too. There's a little bit of coffee in it, but mostly stale old fritos, like a really gross dorm room. I love coffee scents in general, so this was a surprise. I'm so glad I didn't buy a bottle without testing it first.

 

Is it possible there is a bad batch? Usually if it's a case of incompatible skin chemistry I can put it on my clothes, but this smelled like dorm room after finals on my clothes.

[ladymeag]

I was sure this was going to be one of my favorite scents - turns out I was wrong, it's too foody for me. I think I was hoping for something more coffee-beans-and-oak.

 

In the bottle: Coffee, very sweet with a pile of whipped cream on top

 

On Me: This doesn't morph at all. Wet to dry it's, a slightly nutty coffee with a little brandy.

 

On Spouse: Wet, this smells just like... chocolate popcorn. What? I know other folks have gotten corn notes but this is just weird. Dry down adds coffee and brandy but the chocolate popcorn is still there. There's a hint of a White Russian in the background, too.

[carbonatedmariticide]

first time giving an actual review on the forums, ha ha. but, without further ado.

bought an imp on a gut feeling-i'm a barista, and i figured i should try a coffee scent.

 

in the bottle, it was actually a little worried and almost put off. maybe due to my own poor experience with whiskey the last time i drank, but all i could smell was whiskey and cream. however, i put it on my fiance and, oh, wow! she smelled like coffee for hours-and from far away. still, i waited and waited, until today.

 

this scent is amazing. wet, it's mostly coffee and something like dust. the whiskey and cream are second banana, but still a bit there. but once it dried, it turned to a scent that i can only describe as coffee long ago spilled on the pages of a book, which was only reopened years later. dusty, leathery book rules, and the coffee just mixes like heaven. i love, love, love it!

[bellumed]

Hey, would you like any coffee with your sugar? This is more like a coffee-flavored energy drink than Irish coffee. I also smell something that could maaaaayyyybe be interpreted as the paper or dust note, but I wouldn't recognize it if I didn't know what to look for. On me, this transforms into caramel popcorn… and then, when dry, singed popcorn. Oh Misk U, you break my heart, but we are not meant to be.

[tharsei-thanate]

About two years ago, I purchased a bottle of Miskatonic University from the lab unsniffed, assuming it would be the perfect blend for me. I mean, hello, coffee? Books? Oak halls? Yes please! However, there was this awful, jarring plastic smell when I tried it that persisted with subsequent tries. I put MU to the side for ages. I believe it's been a year or longer since my last test, so since my nose is much better trained now and MU had aged, I figured it's time to give it a proper review and decide once and for all if this is a keeper.

 

In the bottle: Wow, this is sweet! Hold on, lemme concentrate... I'm getting sugar and whiskey... there's this almost nutty smell... and there's coffee but it smells like candy. Like one of those espresso flavored candies with a chewy center. Interesting.

 

Wet: Hm. The scents dulls. It's not sugary sweet like in the bottle. It's a bit dusty, and I think I'm kinda getting oak, but the coffee, while present, is fairly nondescript. Actually, it's a tad stale.

 

Dry-Down: That plastic note is rearing its ugly head. It's either stemming from the coffee or the whiskey- prob the coffee, since Halloween in Misk U had a similar plastic and I don't think there was whiskey in that one. Yeah, I think it's the coffee; the plastic is now registering as staleness. Mix of stale coffee and stale corn chips. Eugh.

 

Dry: Much of the same, but less corn chip-y. Just plastic, plastic, plastic.

 

I'm just gonna have to face facts: this blend doesn't and is never going to work on me. I'm really sad about this, Misk U was a blend I had coveted for ages before I bought it and it's one of the worst-smelling perfumes I've ever worn on my skin. Off to the swap pile, love. I wish things could be different.

[skyablazing]

Miskatonic U: Coffee! Woods! Books! All shall love me and despair!

Me: I AM SO THERE.

Miskatonic U: Would you some delicious creamy, caramelly Bailey's with your coffee, by any chance?

Me: Why yes, yes I would. How delightful. But just one thing: about those dusty tomes of yours...

Miskatonic U: With deep grounding oakwood too. Isn't that brilliant?

Me: ...yes. Sure, it's great. But back to the dusty tomes one sec.

Miskatonic U: Atmospheric, huh? Like 'em?

Me: Well. Ok, buddy. These dusty tomes are REALLY FREAKING DUSTY OK. My nose is all... I think I'm going to sneeze. Pass the tissues.

Miskatonic U: Oh come on, don't be such a wuss. What about the whole praline thing I got going on on the drydown? *shimmy*

Me: *sneezes* Yes, it's great, but, um. Your many admirable qualities, and there are many, do not quite outweigh the fact you make me feel like I'm going to sneeze the whole time I'm wearing you. Maybe we're just not meant to be.

Miskatonic U: *pout*

 

--

 

 

Damn, I really do love this scent a lot, but there is something in it that I suspect I may be allergic to. *sneeze* I'm going to give it another go sometime to be sure though, just in case, because this smells so fantastic.

[themeaningofV]

Bottle: Incredibly buttery, sweet, caramel-y coffee, with a rather sharp dry woodsy note.

 

Wet: Oh, blergh, this is not working for me. The woodsy note is just getting stronger, and the blend is turning into something terrifying. I'm making horrified faces at my wrist.

 

Drydown: Yeah. I think I'm in the "stale corn chip" camp. I'm barely getting any coffee at all now, and the books have yet to make an appearance. Oh, wait, is that the dust? It's... not helping.

 

Gonna go wash this off... the description is SO ME but the oil and my skin do not agree.

Edited May 10, 2013 by vthesiren

[mymymai]

ITI: IT's super foody, like walking into a coffee shop / creamery. There is a little hint of dust behind it all, but I really wasn't it expecting it to be so overwhelmingly sweet.

 

Wet: It's still very much the same as when I smelled it in the imp - no additional note surprises.

 

Dry: It's still smells like a Starbucks frappuccino party. It's too sweet for me.