Miskatonic University

[Laurel the Woodfairy]

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

My review was "eaten" in the recent crash, so I'll try to recreate it:

Miskatonic U. is hazelnut coffee on me, with a surprisingly butterynote--almost like Midway with coffee instead of candy. I find it delicious! However, others sniffing it on me have detected "the dreaded Play-Doh note", whatever that is. It is very possible that my career goal of becoming tenured faculty at Misk U. has clouded my judgment.

Go, Flying Cephalopods!

[tinyvulture]

for a second, this totally smells like irish cream. then the boozy note quickly dies away, and it smells exactly like rice pudding! sweet, creamy rice pudding you've cooked yourself. yum!

[Meg]

In the bottle: Very sweet coffee.

 

Wet: Coffee and something very dry and papery - wow, really the scent of paper!

 

Drydown: Very much the same as before, coffee with hints of walnut and toffee, and white paper. It doesn't really smell of old books as much as of white pages that have never been used. There's also the scent of wood, probably as a base note, you only smell it if you concentrate hard. It's a really dry scent overall, with a very good throw.

 

Overall: I'm happy to have been able to give this a try, as it's quite a fascinating blend - there really is a library scent to this, of coffee and books and studious people. It smells dry and papery yet somehow polished and rich as well, and it definitely smells like shades of brown. This fits its description perfectly and is very evocative. However, I'm not a huge fan of coffee or of the papery note, and I'd see it better as a room scent than as a scent to wear.

[GemmaCat]

That's right: I got my greedy paws on a bottle of the precious, and eagerly applied it this morning as soon as I'd ripped my package apart.

 

This is ALL irish coffee: sweet, a tad milky, rich, and absolutely mouthwatering. I had some reservations before I sniffed this, since I LOVE coffee but hate anything coffee scented or flavoured (I know, it's weird), but this really is delicous. The first thing that struck me about it is the throw. Immediately after application I was enveloped in the coffee-scent, and the staying power is equally formidable. It only disappeared 6 hours later because I jumped in the shower. Actually, the scent is so strong that it did trigger my asthma a little, making it the first BPAL scent without jasmine to do so. ^^; I'd heard tell of the 'dusty library' drydown and got some of that but not enough for my liking. So, yeah, I was a smidge disappointed, but not by much.

 

Overall, I can see why this is so popular and it's the most impressive of Beth's scents I've tried to date. At first, I didn't think it was really me, but overtime I've grown addicted to it. It's perfect to wear when I'm studying or want a cozy pick-me-up.

[Electra]

I do not do foody scents...but I like this one. Go figure.

 

First on, it's strong, thick, sweet Irish coffee. Nothing but. I don't drink coffee because I don't really like the taste, but I *love* the smell. There was a coffee shop in the mall that I used to love walking past over and over again when I was a kid because they brewed flavored coffees and it always smelled wonderful in front of the shop. This is what that smelled like.

 

After an hour or so, I get the dust dry-down - which on me smells a bit plasticky. I don't care. The plastic is only on my skin, while the Irish coffee scent stays true on my clothes - and the Irish coffee scent is such a comfort scent for me (the olfactory equivalent of a hug) that I'll deal with the plastic. I can't really smell it unless I put my nose right to my wrist anyway.

 

This isn't something I'd wear very often - it's too strong and too sweet. I'll only wear it when it's cold out, and only when I need comfort. But it's so wonderful for that that I'm keeping my bottle.

 

10/19/06 - Unfortunately I have to edit my review. I tried Miskatonic again this morning. For the first three minutes I smelled like a delicious praline - and then I smelled so strongly of evil plastic that I had to scrub immediately and vigorously to remove the scent as quickly as possible.

 

Sigh.

Edited October 19, 2006 by Electra

[fiddledragon]

Scent in bottle: Sickeningly sweet caramel-coffee. Oh dear.

 

Scent on me:

Wet -- Much less sweet coffee. It's a nice coffee scent. I can't stand the taste of coffee, but I quite like the smell. I'm not entirely sure I want to smell like coffee, though.

Dry -- Sort of a coffee-candy smell, with a little bit of wood notes finally peeking out. Miskatonic University apparantly suffered some sort of space-time warp and was melded with Willy Wonka's factory.

 

Conclusion: Too sweet. Not me. Up for swaps! I need to try Clio, and see if that has the book/parchment note I'm looking for.

[graycat]

wow, this smells like sitting at the counter at the buena vista cafe, the famous san francisco irish coffee house. mouth watering!

 

but as soon as it dries it turns dusty books on me. blah!

 

this is why i love my scent locket, it's perfect for this kinda stuff.

[Jettcat]

I got my hands on an imp today, it was love at first sniff!

My initial reaction was, Damn it's Baileys Irish creme.

As it dries down it turns in to one of my most requested cocktails: Slippery Nipple or Stiff Dick-

Baileys and Buttershot Schnapps blended with creme!

 

I never get a dusty note, but there seems to be a slighty nutty something in the background, perhaps Beth raided my Liquor cabinet and found my Amaretto

 

Oddly, this seems easier to get my grubby paws on than Snowblind, not that I'm complaining...I'll just start hoarding!!

[Ryvre]

In the imp: Coffee, and not much else. I was hoping for the "dusty tome" note to be more prominent- I can't smell it at all.

 

On me: Burnt coffee- This smells like walking into a room where somebody forgot and left the coffee machine on over night.

 

After an hour- The burnt smell gets more prominent as it dries. Maybe it's the dusty tome going weird on my skin. It smells like seriously burnt coffee.

[Izabel]

Misk U smells DIVINE in the imp... but 2 minutes after putting it on it goes plastic on me and I had to run away and scrub and take it off...

 

Sadly this luscious fragrance I can only use as a room scent.

[lysistrata]

In the vial: Sweet Irish Coffee.

 

On me, wet: Very subtle coffee and a hint of butter. Yummy.

 

On me, dry: Something darker creeps in behind the buttery coffee; it's a titch smoky and dry. Very subtle and nice. Maybe even some chalk in there. It ends up making the buttery coffee a bit stale. But it really does smell like what I imagine old university halls would smell like.

 

Verdict: I do think this is a lovely smell, but smelling like a stale General Foods International Coffee is not really my thing. I can see why it's such a hot commodity in the BPAL universe though. There is something very comforting about this smell, especially for people who like coffee. But I am not really one of those people.

[jolarocknrolla]

when wet, all i get is hazelnut coffee, i love love love this scent wet. Even as it dries down it retains a lot of it's warm and yummy hazelnutty flavor. Unfortunately after about 3 hours when it is completely dry and entering it's last stages the lovely coffee smell goes completely away leaving a hint of warm pipe tobacco scent. I'm ok with the tobacco scent, but it's very close to what i get from Grog (which is all pipe tobacco on me).

[Reedsong]

I received a sniffy in the mail a few days ago as a very generous frimp; I'd been dying to try this one.

 

Within five minutes, my excitement had faded from, "Yay, Misk U!" to, "Oh, dear lord, where's my soap??"

 

The imp exudes a "venerable tomes of rather evil learning" fragrance that fascinates, intrigues, tantalises. Then I applied the oil to my skin, and it instantly transformed into "rich buttery gumbo." It's this strong, pervasive, savoury-roux-butter aroma that's really disturbing, radiates from my wrists and envelopes the entire room; I think it seeped into the walls and will torment the next tenant of this apartment. I smell like I've just come from Cthulhu's Dark Kitchen of Evilly Fattening Southern Cuisine.

 

I had to pass on this one, unfortunately. And it destroyed my undefeated Springtime in Arkham streak. And I was sad.

Edited June 19, 2006 by Reedsong

[sookster]

straight sniff from imp is sweet buttery toffee goodness....

upon application a coffee and wood scent come forefront.....hmmmm....

after just a few minutes that blasted play-dough aroma is all i get....

i will have to try this in my scent locket to see if i get better results rather than

applying it directly to my skin.....time to wash this off

[columbus]

This was the first bottle I ever bought (off of ebay, of course!), so it's fitting that it'll be the first review that I do.

 

In the bottle: the "Irish" part of Irish coffee. No real coffee note, but definitely that toffee/caramel/perhaps a hint of amaretto that you get wtih a good stiff cup of Irish brew. Delish. I really want to take a swig. Is it worth it, I wonder?

 

Wet on the skin: *Now* the coffee comes out, and it is strong. The first time I ever used this, I put on *way* too much. The second time, I used a sewing needle for just the smallest dab, and it's still quite strong. Good for late night thesis writing, let me tell you! Lovely, coffee goodness.

 

Drying: As it starts to dry, the overpowering coffee does fade a bit. Definitely a scent of wood here, although I can barely make it out. The dust starts showing up: the whole combination of wood and dust smells like spring cleaning to me.

 

Dry: The coffee's just about gone, now, but what's left of it warms up the dusty smell nicely. This isn't cleaning dust anymore. To me, it smells like a dusty room that's broken up by rays of light. It's warm dust. Have you ever smelled a cat that's been sleeping in the sun? Something like that. It smells like that wonderful old book store with the rare, dusty volumes that you can browse all by yourself on a Sunday afternoon.

 

And there are cats sleeping in the sun.

 

8.5/10, would probably be 10 if it weren't so strong in the beginning (ah, headaches! )

Edited May 20, 2006 by columbus jones

[ajcj213499]

The lovely and wonderful Brienze sent me a sniffy imp of Misk. U so I could try it...

 

Smelled from the bottle is was wonderful! When I tried it on it smelled sweet and rich and a lot like Bailey's Irish Creme. Unfortunately as it dried down it turned a little plastic smelling.

 

If I by some miracle obtained a bottle of this I would wear it happily in a scent locket since I love it wet, but since it's likely I will never have any more Misk. U, I'll comfort myself in the fact that it turned plasticy on me.

[Melantha]

In the bottle: Wow. Now *that's* Irish Coffee.

 

Wet: The coffee is still there, but now there's a touch of... caramel?

 

Dry: The faintest hint of the dry dustiness and wood emerges, just enough to round it out.

 

Conclusion? Yum. I can't believe I snagged a bottle of this! I love the smell of coffee (even though I can't stand the taste) and this is what all coffee should smell like!

[storme]

In the imp: mm, caramel. slightly burnt, creamy caramel.

 

On me, wet: hmm, this is now a slightly alcoholic caramel, but a lot fainter than it was in the imp. I wonder if my skin is going to overamp the sweetness?

 

On me, dry: this is still burnt-caramel-smell to me - there's a lot of alcoholic and woodsy warmth behind the sweetness, but not much coffee. Not too cloying, though.

 

Verdict: Interesting. I don't get much of a university feel to this at all - except in the sense of student drinking. I think I might keep the imp around to retest before making my mind up on this one.

[edenssixthday]

Miskatonic University - I heard so many people raving about Miskatonic University that I simply had to get an imp when I saw someone swapping one. When I received it, I excitedly opened the imp, and breathed in the warm, sweet, and creamy scent of Baily's Irish Cream, and I was so excited I thought I may have found the best BPAL scent ever. Boy, was I ever wrong. Within seconds of touching my skin, the "dusty tomes" was the predominant note. There were no "oakwood halls" and the Irish cream scent faded into the background. It reminded me of standing in an extremely dusty room that hasn't seen fresh air in a hundred years, with the very faint aroma of brewing coffee wafting in from somewhere down a hallway fairly far away. So it's not totally a bad scent (the Irish coffee note saves it), but it does make me curl up my nose in a not-so-good way. This scent does to me the exact same thing that Dorian does to me, where it pretty much turns to musty dust on me. Very sad, considering both of these scents are ones that most BPALers I know rave about.

[karengypsy]

In the vial: Strong coffee. Wood.

 

On me: This is the embodiment of walking into a professor's office - old books, worn wooden desk, lots of coffee. This is a really incredible, warm, lovely scent on me. I love the smell of coffee, and I love smelling like coffee.

 

Verdict: I would love to get my hands on a full bottle! Or more imps, if I have to settle for that.

 

Rating: 5/5

[abejita]

I finally understand the hype. This scent is rich, dark, and delicious. I agree fully with Karen Z. about the old professor's office comparison. Though the notes aren't the same, there is a similarity between this and Red Lantern, another of my favorites. Same scent family.

 

I am experiencing some serious longing for more scents with a deep coffee note to them. In the meanwhile, I'll be madly searching for a 5ml of this, wishing for another springtime in Arkham.

 

10/10.

[tidesong]

In the Bottle: Irish cream!

 

On Application: Mouthwatering butterscotch, then it morphs back to Irish cream. After that, I pick up a very faint touch of coffee, and a slight woodiness. After 10 minutes, there's a smoky, slightly sweet cocoa-coffee, with a drizzle of caramel.

 

On Drydown: Mostly cocoa coffee, with that slightly caramel swirl to it. I want a frappucino now.

 

Comments: I wasn't sure I'd like this once the coffee came out, but I can't stop sniffing my wrist. It's strangely wonderful smelling. It reminds me very slightly of my beloved Red Lantern.

 

Verdict: Agh, I didn't want to like this. But I do. Keep!

Edited July 11, 2006 by tidesong

[juniperus]

(from a sniffy, so not enough to really try on and savor)

 

Dead on. Coffee, the smell of yellowing pages...it's the smell of old used bookstore with coffee overlayed. Damn me for missing this!

[jenleigh]

I was lucky enough to get a sniffie of this from bifemmefatale over on LiveJournal. And oh. Oh, my. This is just...the description is so much like the scent itself. Irish coffee and book smell. I keep sniffing my fingers - got a tiny bit on me when opening it. This is just gorgeously blended.

 

If I ever win the lottery, this is something I'd plunk down big-time for. It really IS as good as everyone claims it is.

I want to time-travel back to April 2005 and order many, many bottles.

Edited July 24, 2006 by jenleigh

[dreadeddragon]

In the bottle: Irish car bomb! With some cedar in it.

 

First on: It's got that same sugar scent from Sugar Skull in it, which turns it into a popcorn bucket with a coffee sitting nearby when combined with the dusty scent.

 

Drydown: This hasn't changed at all, but I'm thinking now besides the coffeecorn, it might also smell like a burnt caramel latte.

 

Overall: I am so not a foodie, this is not for me, but I'm really glad I got to try it because the description was intriguing.