Shub-Niggurath

[Nycorson]

Shub 2006- The lust incense of a corrupted Astarte. A blend of ritual herbs and dark resins, shot through with three gingers and aphrodisiacal spices.

 

I was sent a sniffie of it when I first started, I just ignored it because I had heard how rare it was and did not want to get hooked. So I ordered an imp when I next ordered so I could try it.

 

Ginger cookies...

 

I love foodie scents and this is no exception. All day I kept getting whiffs of that wonderful sweet ginger and it made me smile every time. The lemony scent I caught at teh beginning was rich and creamy and just enhanced the ginger.

 

This will be a bottle very soon as even my husband did not dislike it (which is major for me) and I love it... ~sighs~

 

 

 

edited to add description.

Edited February 7, 2007 by Nycorson

[Holly]

I was sooo excited when I heard this was coming back; I've been looking for a foody ginger scent that works on me for ages. For the first 45 seconds or so, it was ABSOLUTELY PERFECT! Rather like vanilla inscense and candied ginger. I was about ready to break out the partyhats when, lo and behold, the ginger disappeared and I was left with...snake oil?

 

Seriously, it turns out identical to snake oil. This is definately not a bad thing, just not something that I need more of. CURSES!

 

I sure this will be beautiful on someone else

[Browneyes]

Too lazy to break down the review into imp-wet-dry-verdict stages, but here goes:

 

 

Freshly baked, warm out of the oven, ginger cookies with lemon zest (or lemon icing?)

I love this, and I'm not that much of a foody person. This is really lovely though, not cloying or heavy at all.

 

And it is not purely foody either. It definately has a certain twist... a secret ingredient or something.

 

Try it!!!

 

ETA: I just had to come back and rave about this some more! I am definately going to order a bottle of this asap

 

ETA2: So I now have a bottle and the Shub soap from BPTP!

Edited April 13, 2007 by Browneyes

[captainecchi]

I was really excited to try this one, because I had heard from many excited people how great this was and how happy they were that it had become GC. Plus, I like foody smells, so I fully expected to love this one.

 

Sadly, I found this a little lacking in depth. There's ginger, and.... yep, there's ginger. Maybe a very faint background of incense? I like ginger, but I didn't feel like this smell belonged on me. I like smells that keep me guessing; that always have another twist to offer, so this was disappointing in that regard.

 

3.5 out of 5. I'll use the imp, but I probably won't be buying a bottle. Husband likes it a lot more than me, though, so we'll see if it grows on me.

[glass_cat]

Hrm.... well, this was one of those scents I must say that I was really curious about because, like most people, I'd kept hearing over and over about how out-of-this-world incredible this was, so I was pretty excited when I got it as a frimp with the order I received a couple of days ago.

 

On me, this smells very predominantly of lemon. Not that this is bad, because I like the smell of lemon, but yeah... that's what I'm getting from it. I do detect something foodier that is probably the ginger in there too, though. Overall I am reminded of the smell of some type of ginger cookie with lemon icing on it. I can already tell that this is something my boyfriend will love on me. It kind of smells like I've been baking and cleaning at the same time, but it's a good thing, if that makes any sense.

 

It's pleasant, but I'm not sure that I really understand what all the fuss is about, but then so far I haven't when I get around to trying the scents that I hear a ton of rave reviews about beforehand. I definitely like the foodiness of this, but I have other blends that fall into the same category as this does for me that I far prefer... like Eat Me, Drink Me, Tezcatlipoca, and Miskatonic University... and I already have bottles of all of those. This is a little more "wakey-wakey" than those are though because of the lemon. This might be a nice choice for when I want something foodier and more comforting, but want to be alert enough to write or paint maybe. I'm not impressed yet, but this is the type of scent that has the possiblity of growing on me, especially if my boyfriend likes it. We'll see how often I reach for it.

 

EDIT 3/19/07: Well guys, this is definitely one scent that has grown on me a lot over the past month. Aged Shub really is better Shub, so if you're not impressed with it right away, put your imp away for a month and try it again. My boyfriend absolutely loves this on me and actually requests it, and I get so many compliments on it. I'm still not sure this is as "me" as some of my others, but it's definitely yummy enough to necessitate keeping some around... at least an imp or two.

Edited March 19, 2007 by glass_cat

[kwsix]

In the imp: Gingerbread

 

Wet on my skin: Sweet creamy lemon that reminds me of those lemon dessert bars with powdered sugar on top, with gingerbread in the background

 

Drydown: As it dries, the lemon fades into oblivion and I get deep, rich, gingerbread. Actually, it's more like my molasses ginger cookies instead of gingerbread. It's spicy, dark, and delicious. It's very spicy on me, which is a nice surprise because my skin tends to make spice disappear.

 

Overall: I am one of those people who stayed away from Shub when it was rare, because I was afraid I would like it. I'm glad I did, because I like it so much that I would have been tempted to pay an exorbitant price for a bottle. I agree with Holly - there's something in Shub that is very reminiscent of Snake Oil, although it never actually turns into Snake Oil on me. I can see why so many people love Shub. I'm putting it on heavy rotation.

[miss_rynn]

I have a terrible, shocking confession to make... I don't actually like Shub.

 

The most recent version of Shub is a tasty mix of sweetness and ginger in the vial - the lemony note is the same that I get from Sudah Segara, which I assume is the sheer sharp freshness of the ginger note. On the skin, for about 10 minutes, it is indeed the gorgeous dark bakery scent I had been led to expect; the witch's gingerbread house that Hansel and Gretel discover in the forest.

 

After 10 minutes, however, the sweetness and the ginger both leave. The remainder is, on me, an entirely masculine incensey affair. Patchouli, dry and bitter sandalwood, maybe a dash of clove and smoke. A sliver of black amber. It smells like the doe-eyed goth boys that used to try to seduce me in clubs with quiet, dark, and vaguely off-putting voices. The sort who try to win you over with how soulful they are, but all they are actually interested in is getting into your pants.

 

It is an interesting scent, but not exactly my cup of tea.

[Lit Chick]

Shub starts as a dark, yummy, spicy blend as everyone says.... but after an hour I am left with the same dusty book smell as Miskatonic U. And sigh, I am not a fan. Both blends smell so freaking amazing at first, then turn unpleasant.

I'm sad, but this will go to swaps.

[astridclaire]

I don't get any lemon from this at all. Just lovely, delicious, dark and sexy ginger. It's sweet without being overwhelmingly so and not too foody either. It's sexy, sexy ginger and I love it!

[terrierhead]

I got an entire bottle of Shub unsniffed - a Christmas present from my husband. I seem to have got a bottle with very little if any lemon. It's all warm gingers, spices (nutmeg? cinnamon?) and soft incense with some amber, perhaps. Throw is fairly decent, and it lasts an average length of time for me. I'm enjoying the delicious wicked gingersnap fragrance! My only issue is that the oil burns my neck slightly when applied. I don't have any problems with the oil on my wrists or hair, though. A keeper!

[Katinka]

I should just accept that anything with "incense" in the description will not like me. I love ginger, though, so I thought I'd give it a shot.

 

For the first 30 minutes, Shub smelled exactly like I'd rubbed a wet Atomic Fireball over my wrists. Then, it morphed into a nice, but faint, gingerbread for another 30 minutes. Then it just went...I dunno, grungy?

 

But while Shub and I weren't fated, I can see that it would smell fabulous on someone else. I'll just wear other ginger/cinnamon scents like Chimera or Pumpkin Queen instead.

[sh1mm3r]

Warm, comforting, incensey spices. No citrus or lemon in sight, although I wish it was in there a little. At first this is heady and thick, and then goes in the background, but then I'll catch whiffs of it.

 

I put it on after using a lemon + gingerbread scrub this morning - yum!

 

I like this more than gingerbread poppet - it is not as cloying, and it lingers longer.

[fiddlehead]

Finally, an Arkham scent that works on me!

 

Shub starts out smelling, sure enough, like gingery spicy cookies. Nice. But the best part is later. What I suspect is the incense starts coming through and it becomes amazing. Deeper and more serious and spicey. I never got even a hint of Lemon out of this. I've been wearing it since 11:00, too.

 

A definite winner for someone who's become increasingly picky about scents in her year of BPAL

[Illessa]

Ohh, my first review *eep*

I'm a Lovecraft fanatic so I knew I needed to get at least one of the Arkham scents, and this one seemed like the most fun to me

In the bottle: This is gorgeous, lovely sweet gingerbread, a little more foody and sweet than I tend go for but, mmm ...

On wet: The gingery goodness is joined by a citrusy layer and some extra spices I can't really identify, it's very interesting, although I don't normally get on with lemon so I was quite glad when it started to fade

Drydown: Woah, cinnamon to the face! My skin seems to have grabbed the cinnamon in the spicy mix and is amping it like no one's business, and the ginger is fading. I love cinnamon but this is a little strong.

Dry: Hmm, I still smell very strongly of cinnamon, but there's an incensy note coming through which tempers it somewhat, this is really rather nice.

Lasted around 4 hours although by the end I mostly smelled of faint patchouli which isn't my favourite scent. I rather like Shub-Niggurath but the overpowering drydown and rather dull patchouli at the end spoils it a little, add to that the fact that the disappointment from my skin just eating up all that lovely ginger and sadly I probably won't be buying a big bottle, although I'll certainly be trying the imp again!

[Celestyna]

This smells like ginger and chocolate and some sort of rum on me.

I really do love it. I finally took everyone's advice and aged it so the lemon has worn down.

 

Actually, when paired with Smut, it smells like African Cush.

[akw]

I held off reviewing Shub until it aged for a month or so, and I'm glad I did.

 

Early on, especially when wet, it was too lemony and gingery for me -- a little too foody. I found it interesting and wore it around the house, but it didn't seem repeatable beyond the imp.

 

The lemon has simmered down a bit, and something warmer and darker is sitting under the ginger -- perhaps the incense. The lemon now adds sparkle and interest rather than being sharp. I'm wondering if this actually has lemongrass rather than lemon.

 

It's still in the foody category, which I actually like, but not as in-your-face as it was a month ago. I'll probably be buying a bottle soon, so it will be nicely aged by the time the imp is gone.

[kwelge]

First try (1 week ago, recovering from a cold): K, there's ginger... it's kinda faint, with lemon. I'm getting a little reddening of the skin on the back of my hand, too.

 

Second try (today):

Wet: My G-d, it's Gingerbread! Straight from the oven, wafting like nothing else, with warm lemon glaze on top. I *adore* gingerbread. Plus, I'm not seeing skin-reddening like last time.

 

Even the super-picky fella likes it... "I thought one of my roommates had bought gingerbread! Wow, that's good."

 

Dry: Subdued, darkened gingerbread. Occasional wafts of lemon glaze. Not quite as strong a throw, but lovely within a foot of the hand.

 

I can see what all the fuss was about, and believe I may be in the hordes who love the evil she-goat.

 

Time to start planning for a bottle in the future, when funds (and lack of crazy-amazing updates!) allow.

[andhowever]

I'm new to BPAL myself and am slowly dragging all of my friends into it with me. I bought a random imp pack for one of them, with the intention of leaving the first test of all of them to her. Well, I saw that there was an imp of Shub. What's all the fuss about, I wondered? I snuck a tiny little dab onto my arm.

 

Three hours later I snuck the imp out of her bag and into my BPAL box. If you'd told me Shub-Niggurath would smell like bright, fresh, lemony, gingery, Juicy Fruity, sweet yellow goodness, I would have laughed. But it does on me. So perfect for what I want from a scent. This could very well be a bottle.

[outofrhyme]

In the bottle:

Pow! A very wet, green ginger, with some herby lemony stuff, and a baking scent.

 

Wet:

Gingerbread with a hint of something lemony? I can't shake the "cooked" feeling.

 

Dry down:

Most of the lemon went away, but it's just a little plasticky. Other than that, it's pretty much herby ginger, fresh and twisted.

 

Final thoughts:

I'm not sure what I think of this. I think I would like it better without the lemon herbs. I'll try everyone's advice and age it for awhile.

[hypatia]

Right out of the bottle: Gingerbread! Warm gingerbread made with molasses. Wow, you wouldn't think this was a Lovecraft scent; it's so domestic. (The Black Goat of the Woods with a Thousand Young bakes cookies? Who knew?)

 

Half an hour to an hour later: oh, there's the resin. I think I'm getting a bit of cardamom or clove, too.

 

A couple of hours later: it's faded down to ginger-and-resin, darker than before, but getting very faint.

 

Verdict: Nice! It doesn't seem to have much staying power on me, but I suspect it would make a good combination with something else.

[lightgatherer]

Shub on my skin is initially ginger incense. I think the resins amp a bit after that and threaten to go to baby powder, but something, perhaps the yummy ginger, holds them in check and makes them bearable. After a while it turns to gingerbread. It's a lot like Gingerbread Poppet on me, but it actually has staying power. Score!

[Alseides]

It's very gingery. For the first twenty minutes I could smell some sort of citrus in there as well, and my mother said it smelled like incense to her, though I can't agree.

 

Now all I'm getting is ginger. Vaguely reminiscent of cookies, but mostly just plain ginger. Nice, but not for me.

 

Very strong, btw. Very.

Edited March 9, 2007 by Alseides

[girl_android]

Based on description, this infamous scent had my name written all over it. I was just getting my feet wet in the world of BPAL when the original shub-niggurath was fetching some rather scary prices on ebay. I picked up an imp in my first BPAL order, because ... how could I resist!? The review that follows then, is of the resurrected and in the GC version of the scent, rather than the original. I'm tempted to say something about launching 1000 ships, but that's a different sort of legend, right? *grin*

 

In the imp, I'm a little worried, I get something that reminds me of ... burnt butter? Slightly wet dog? It's a burnished red oil in the imp, kind of what slightly diluted rust water might look like if it were in an imp.

 

Wet on skin, the thing that makes me think burnt butter/wet dog goes away (*sigh of relief!*), and I get something that reminds me of what the smell of freshly baked gingerbread feels like when I inhale it, except without the hot steaming part. It's kind of weird, actually.

 

Once it's not so wet, I get something lemony, but not lemon. Lemon verbena? Lemongrass? I am not willing to give up on something that contains ginger so quickly! This imp is going to have to serve some time in a cool dark place for me to revisit, because at the moment, while there's nothing that makes me hate it with the passion of 1000 burning suns, it's also not quite winning me over yet ... gah, I'm none for two at the moment, and I can't have that! (Although, from first sniffs of a few of the imps in the rest of the group order, I forsee some straight to bottle purchases in my future ...!)

[bulletslc]

Dammit! I did not need ANOTHER oil I MUST have as a bottle!!!!

 

imp reccommended and sent by LJ friend....

 

In bottle....LEMON (and ginger peeking over lemon's shoulder and grinning evilly)

 

Wet....MORE LEMON....but now ginger is dancing behind the lemon and just knowing its time is coming....

 

Dry down....Initially this smells exactly like Florida Water ( an old perfume blend used in Cuban Santeria)....I LOVE Florida water! It is citrusy/tangy, spice!

 

Further dry down.....the lemon has left the playing field and ginger and the other spices are settling in for some long term foody goodness. If there were even a hint of pumpkin here I would swear it was my mother's pumpkin bread!

 

Verdict.....arghhh! This will definitly have to be a full bottle in the future! Luckily for my budget I have more than enough smells (both here and on the way) to keep me satisfied...but I think I'll have to get a bottle of this by next fall....this is a perfect October/November scent!

 

**Edit.....got a bottle....not like my imp much! I think my imp is the old LE version. Still that heady cinnamon, clove, ginger smell, but the lemon is WAY far off in the background and the warm roundness is missing. Maybe this will age well....but I think the lemon is a lost cause.

 

Okay....dry down does bring out a more warm "cookie" scent....but the spices are still WAY too strong in this. I like it....just not as much as my little impy.

 

**Edit #2.....yes it ages well! One of my top ten!

Edited June 26, 2007 by Bulletslc

[salamandrina]

Warm gingery goodness with a little lemony love in the background. Delicious, delectable, and very comforting.

 

I love it, the husband loves it. Will be keeping/buying more.