Miskatonic University

[jade_starlight]

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

*sniffs wrist, and then attempts to type with said wrist attached to my nose* Misk U. is coffee and hazelnut and something else that I can't quite identify but smells absolutely heavenly. It's absolutely delicious, and I'm very hard pressed not to lick my wrist. A bottle of this is definitely in my future.

In conclusion, Misk U. is absolute coffee-flavored love.

[cinderfallen]

There's a quick burst of irish coffee, but it dries down quickly. It smells like dried, spilled coffee on old books thick with dust. Powdered with sugar on a wooden surface. Hm. Odd.

 

This is a decant of the original LE. I wonder if there are any differences between it and the GC?

[klavierbarrette]

oh man. this is AWESOME. i only get the irish coffee.....but damn. this really nothing to say other than i need a bottle. especially since i just spilled some on my pillow. oh well it will be a nice smelling pillow!

 

i usually hate the scent of coffee...everytime i walk by the coffee bean store i go EWWW but i had to try this, i just HAD to. it is so delicious.

[phedre]

Whoa. Bailey's irish cream and coffee. It hit me like a ton of bricks! The scent stays very true on my skin with none of the woods or books coming out to play at all. I really wish they would, as the pure irish coffee scent gets quite overwhelming after awhile. The throw is quite intense and I could smell it all evening; it even lingered on into the morning!

 

I don't think I'll be buying a bottle of this one, but I'll use the imp as I try to figure out if I like it or not; either way, it's an experience!

[Musamea]

I'd heard about Misk U from practically the day I got into BPAL, but never expected to get a chance to try it, since it was still discontinued then and going for exorbitant rates of Ebay. Imagine my joy when it was resurrected.

 

In the imp and wet: Wow, I now know why this was the Holy Grail of BPAL scents for so long! Rich, creamy hazelnut coffee. I want to eat my wrist!!!

 

Dry: Oh no… the dust note is coming out… and taking over… aaaaaand… yup, any coffee goodness is gone. *weeps*

 

Conclusion: Well, it'll be an absolutely beautiful room scent.

[jiggahava]

Oh gosh, where do I start. Love love LOVE it.

 

The perfect coffee scent....it makes me imagine myself indoors at a dusty library reading books while I'm drinking hot irish coffee. The books are of the dusty sort, but it's actually quite nice. A little bit of woods come out, then quickly fades and all that's left is the sweet coffee. Delicious, and a bottle will most definitely be in order.

[hypatia]

Before Miskatonic University came back, I got to sniff a bottle of it at a meet-n-sniff. It was as described: very much Irish coffee, complete with the creaminess and the slight booziness and the coffee. "Nice!" I said to the owner, "but I just can't quite see myself wearing it, you know?"

 

"Neither did I," she said, "but it grows on you." So I ordered a bottle and, lo, it does.

 

It's all Irish coffee when initially applied, but the sweetness fades a little and a nice wood note takes over after a while. It dries down to a warm wood scent with coffee overtones and a hint of sweetness. It's fantastically evocative: totally like a coffee room in an old university building. I wish I got the old books note that's supposed to be in there, but the others work so well I don't care. I always seem to reach for it on the days when I'm wearing my softest, warmest sweater -- it's exactly right for fall and winter.

[cybra111]

Miskatonic University

 

I have an imp of the first and now of '06.

 

Here is what I found:

In the imp:

Original-dusty with a bit of Irish cream.

06'-lighter dust with more cream.

 

On me:

Original: Faintly coffee and Irish cream, but so light I might have to slather.

 

06'-lightly dusty with a faint background of coffee. It fades quickly and I am left with the polish used on the oakwood halls. I really wanted this to be great. I love coffee scents!

 

I am determined to try this again..and again until it works!

 

After 2 hours, the scent wavers inbetween coffee and the polish.

Edited December 8, 2006 by cybra111

[Mountaingrrl00]

I don't reach for this often, but sometimes it's just the thing - sweet but not too sweet, the butterscotch note tempered by a bit of wood and softness. I don't get a lot of coffee - it's not a jolt-you-awake scent. I think the coffee just lends some depth to the scent, and a subliminal suggestion of a hot beverage. There's nothing bitter about it. I like it on a cold morning when I want to carry a little comforting cloud around with me.

[Quiara]

Immediately out of the imp, this is straight up Irish coffee, sweet and creamy. Wet, it's very sweet and absolutely wonderful. As it begins to dry, I get a rather dusty note that I'm not quite as fond of, but eventually it gives way to the wonderful Irish coffee with a hint of oak playing around the edges. All in all, I'm very glad to have it; it's a warm and comforting scent.

[lady_pandora]

I wait until I went to work today to give this one a proper testing. Why? Because my boyfriend hates it. I put it on last night and he was "ew"ing in about ten seconds. This is not a slam against Beth. The BF hates flavored coffee, you see. Fortunately, I am not afflicted with this problem.

 

Right out of the bottle, this is very buttery. It settles down into the aroma you get when you brew hazelnut coffee. I don't know why I'm getting hazelnut and not Irish cream, but there you have it. You know how flavored coffee never tastes as good as it smells? This is the smell of flavored coffee brewing. Which is a scent I love so much I could use it as incense.

 

As Misk U dries, the scent close to my wrist remains coffee. There's a slight burnt note there as well. But the throw is something else entirely--the coffee note isn't detectable, and instead I get the exact scent of my mom's seven-layer cookies. It's sort of butterscotchy, sort of sugary, sort of nutty, sort of coconutty. I like it, and it's a very nostalgic scent this time of the year.

 

This is reminiscent enough of Christmas that I may not have the urge to wear it as much at other times of the year, plus there's the boyfriend-hating-it problem, so I probably won't end up buying a big bottle of it. But I will definitely be savoring the imp!

[macabre_fae]

Miskatonic University is heavenly,I had been waiting to try it quite a while and I just recently recieved a bottle in a swap.Oh my goodness,rich toffee cake is my impression of it.It's very odd,the first stages it is sweet and coffee like,torward the end of it's run it smells of burning paper.I imagine the university students burning ancient texts to incite a years old ritual when I smell the burning paper.All in all it's fabulous,and I love it.

[Browneyes]

Wet this is hazelnut coffee, and a little bit sharp somehow ...interesting

 

Dry this mellows down alot. it's very rich, creamy butterscotch-y/toffee-ish/caramel on me... without being too sweet though.

 

But not sure this is my thing will definately edit if it grows on me, but this is just so different, and so unlike what I normally want to smell like in terms of perfume. Pleased with my imp though because that was the reason why I ordered it in the first place - to try something completely wierd (to me) and potentially wonderful.

I have already pondered on its use in a brown-sugar coffee-grind body-scrub is that blasphemous? I imagine it would be scrumptious...

 

ETA: I have discovered that the caramel note in this is in fact closer to a raw cane sugar smell. I was at the supermarket yesterday and there was a bag of this sugar that was ripped and the smell of it reminded me so much of Misk U!!

 

ETA2: This gets better on me after a few months' aging. I tried some on yesterday and it was dustier, as if some of the other notes had decided to come out now. I really liked it this way, and might have to get a bottle eventually!

Edited February 17, 2007 by Browneyes

[maribouquet]

I so wanted to like this, but sadly it doesn't work on me. On good days it's a sawdust sweet caramel chocolate, bad days it smells like formaldehyde - must be the whiskey.

[Analise]

I thought I wouldn't like another "foody" smell to wear (I love the smell of Jack, for instance, but it's not something I'd wear) but this?

 

I adore this. I was sniffing my wrists all day long. Will definitely wear more.

[wikkidraven]

i got an imp of this from my bpal enabler, i have been trying to get misk u for far too long! wet, it smells just like a glass of iced bailey's. i know, because i LOVE bailey's! however, the sweetness does fade, and the oak note begins to peer out. for anyone who loves the smell of coffee, this is a very comforting scent. i think i'll still be on the lookout for a bottle

[glass_cat]

Before I started expanding my scent horizons through BPAL, I was one of those people that thought they hated scents that had any type of dominant foody element to them. However, thanks to lots of good frimp lovin' from the lab, I've tried my share by now, and they've grown on me to the point where I'm beginning to actually seek them out. I'd been thinking about trying Misk U lately for that reason, and had planned on ordering an imp soon, but lo and behold... I got it frimped to me with the order I received yesterday! Really, the labbies must be psychic.

 

This scent is pure, unadulterated heaven. To me it smells like buttered waffles and maple syrup with hazelnut coffee and cream on the side to wash them down. (I'm weird... I actually don't really like to consume either of those things, but I dearly love the smells, so this is perfect for me.) I also strongly smell the oakwood, and something else wonderful that smells like paper. I can't even imagine what specific note that could be. It's so very like strolling around a huge, wonderful, old library with a hot mug of some delicious flavored coffee in your hand, trying to decide what you'd like to read that it's ridiculous.

 

The combination of all the different elements in this is extremely pleasant and comforting. (I think Antique Lace just earned itself some fierce competition as far as favorite bedtime/comfort scents are concerned.) My boyfriend hasn't smelled this yet, but I know he's going to go absolutely wild over it. He loves the foodier scents that I wear sometimes and wishes I'd wear them more often. I myself seriously can't stop smelling my wrist. This is so familiar, due to the "waffles and coffee" impression I keep getting, yet so different from anything I've ever smelled before at the same time.

 

Miskatonic University gets an enthusiastic, unwavering A+ from me. This is definitely going to be one of the very next bottles I order.

[Miss Lynx]

Ack! This smells like some hideous artificially-flavoured sugar-laden instant coffee, of the sort they try to pass off as "cappucino" in places that don't actually know what cappucino is. Not getting any old books or wood notes in here -- just cloyingly sweet fake coffee.

 

Once it settles in for a while, the sweetness diminishes a bit, and there's a touch of something else there, which conceivable might be wood. But still it smells more spilled flavoured coffee than anything. And that is not anything I could ever see myself wanting to smell like. Hell, I don't even want to drink flavoured coffee!

 

Eventually, after washing my hands, I could smell the wood a bit, but it was an unpleasantly sharp, acrid sort of wood. Not an improvement.

 

It's not quite in the "Get it off me! Get it off me!" category, but it's solidly within in the "This is not going to touch my skin again if I can help it" category.

 

Grade: D

[GlowJob]

I got this as a frimp from a recent bottle swap and boy am I glad I did!It's nice and buttery,but not sickeningly so.Smells like a rich dessert eaten with a hazelnut latte.It does go through a short plasticy stage as it dries down but that passes.Definately on my 5ml list!

[femmefatale]

In the bottle and wet it smelled like very strong, very sweet irish coffee. As it dried something...sharp and acrid came out. Maybe the wood? I also caught a hint of the old books, but not good. There was also the smell of vanilla extract. Again, not good.

I had to go wash it off after a little while because it was giving me a headache and made me a bit sick.

Definately in the swap pile.

[Esatres]

In the imp: Caramel is pretty much all I smell. A slight whiff of coffee now and then. Smells exactly like a coffee shop for sure.

 

Wet: More caramel, with a darkly nutty undertone. Hazelnut? Some kinda smoky nut. Coffee shows right back up at the top after a little bit, with whiffs of vanilla.

 

Dry: Sweet, very nutty. Good amount of cream and vanilla as well.

 

Conclusion: Quite a comforting scent that really makes me want some coffee, heh. No hint of the books, though. I don't think I want to smell like it all the time just walking around though. I'd say that this is a good "intro to foody" scent for those who are looking to sample foodiness.

[dronzeka]

I know this is one of those famous scents that everyone loves, and I was excited to try it, but ick, I cannot wear this. It's sickly caramel-hazelnut-ick on me. It's like the fake sickly hazelnut smell that hangs over bad flavored coffee. I don't get any real coffee scent, which would be nice (just deep strong coffee without sugar? that would be neat! but it's not this). Anyway, I'm glad there are so many people out there who love this one, because that means it should be able to find a more appreciative home than me. Maybe someday I will find a rich, sweet foody BPAL that works on me, but it's looking less and less likely!

 

(ETA that this is the re-release, Misk-U-in-GC version, not the earlier LE.)

Edited January 25, 2007 by Anna D.

[Silverstrike]

In the imp this smells absolutely fantastic--Bailey's Irish Cream and coffee, a little bit of. . . dust? Very interesting and yummy (yes, I'm a foodie although not one that likes Sugar Skull). On my skin, it fades a bit and ends up less complex until I'm left smelling like sweet Bailey's and that's it. It was a fun ride, but I probably won't be purchasing a bottle.

[filigree_shadow]

I have one of the new imps from the Lab after Misk U was added to the GC catalog, and it definitely smells different from my Springtime in Arkham bottle. This new one has a lot more of a coffee scent to it, and more wood, too. Kind of boozey... it's a slightly bitter scent.

 

The old one is creamy with a little bit of booziness, and that great oakwood underneath it. I don't get nearly as much coffee in the aged scent as in the fresh scent. Not quite as much wood, either. The SiA one is one of my husband's favorite scents -- he wears it a lot.

 

Personally, I liked the aged version a lot better than the fresh one.

[Lit Chick]

Pure Irish coffee, heavy on the Irish.

 

It knocks my socks off.

 

That is all.