Nero

[mazaru]

The pinnacle of power, poisoned by sin and indulgence - this is our homage to Classical Roman debauch. Rosemary, bay, pine and a touch of lemon.

I barely get any of thie pine in this. Initially, it's a high mix of very strong rosemary and a touch of lemon over the top. It dries down to a delicious green bay/rosemary mix that makes me want to rub my wrists with garlic and fry them. It's a fantastically edible herbal smell on me.

My gentleman friend also tried this one out, and on him it smells like, er, making love in the woods. It's more woody and less herbal, much darker, with only the barest touch of lemon at the edges to lighten it. Very sexy. Edited May 7, 2008 by mazaru

[eyeska]

Very herbal, but I definitely get the pine and lemon as well.

 

I suspect this might be very nice on the fiance, but it makes me smell vaguely like the dark end of the spice rack. While I can see it being pleasant (and, hell, I can see being in a mood where I really want the herbal, because it IS oddly comforting), it's definitely not my thing.

[Tilby]

This one was an eye opener! The pine and rosemary are sharp and piercing, and dull out the lemon considerably. A very masculine scent, but clean and sharp. I like it, and will likely wear it when I'm feeling Nero-esque.

[Lamia]

Lemony pine in the bottle - quite the olifactory sensation! Astringent scent on the skin.

[goblinshark]

This was a free gift from the lab.

 

Boy. I hate to say it but I think this is the worst thing I've ever voluntarily put on my skin as far as scent goes. A few years ago my mom and sister and I went to Hawaii for a week or so and we bought these bamboo beach mats to sit on on the beach (obviously), and they got all wet and then we put them in the trunk of our rental car and sort of...forgot about them until it was time to leave, and the rotting smell of them smelled EXACTLY like Nero on my skin. Like, rotting prunes, rotting wood, and the smell of a pack of Camels cigarettes.

 

Do not want. But I'm glad I got to try it, for curiosity's sake!

[Andrea912]

Sniff out of empty bottle: dry floral; kind of powdery

 

Don't think I like it much, but if I did, it would be for my man, not me.

[galahad]

In The Bottle

Veeery herbal bay, rosemary and pine.

 

On Application

Deep and aromatically rich. Resinous

 

Dry Down

Sharp and austere. I like the herbalness and resinous quality of this - it smells wild - but not something I would wear.

 

Rating (0-5)

2

[brsis]

Initial thoughts: I really don't know what to think of this one - it sounds like a great masculine blend, but I'm worried the pine is gonna go toilet duck on me like it did with Golden Priapus. Can't hurt to try it, though.

 

In the imp: Rich, regal rosemary and bay - deliciously herbal, but strong and dark green and ever so slightly cruel. I'm quite liking this.

 

On the wrist, wet: I smell like something cooking. And not in a good way. The pine is a bit potent, and the whole thing is just a little too smoky and dirty for my liking. Still, it might mellow on the dry-down.

 

Twenty minutes later: Very, VERY potently herbal... this is kinda ok, but I still can't shake the feeling I smell like the stuff we sprinkle over the chicken before roasting it (Probably because I do). I'm never gonna wear this often, but it might get some wear in the winter, as it's a very potent, warming scent.

 

Verdict: Keeping the imp, but don't think I'll EVER consider a bottle.

 

Tl;Dr: Potent, dark green rosemary and bay, sharpened and darkened by pine.

[Iceblink]

Herbal OVERLOAD! Nero smells medicinal. The bay is really strong. I might eat something that smells like this, but I don't really want to smell like this myself. It's overpowering!

[gingiemay]

Wet in imp - Pine, rosemary, lemon and bay. It smells like the Adriatic right after a rain.

 

Wet on skin - Rosemary pine. Very fresh and herbal.

 

Dry on skin - Rosemary, pine and a very faint tint of lemon. No pine-sol at all! It's gotten quite faint, though, and that was only after one hour or so. This could be a good masculine scent.

Edited August 19, 2008 by gingiemay

[skepticism]

This sounds a little weird, but in the vial and wet application it smelled like nitrate preservatives mixed with the cool scent of Christmas trees. It's very sharp and dominating, but unfortunately it's not as debonair as Casanova, Saint-Germain, or Cthulhu. When it dried that weird nitrate preservative smell faded (thank god) and the rosemary quickly moved to the front. I experienced absolutely no lemon in this blend, and if I did it it was a little rotten.

[ND¢]

on me, this is a very understated fresh bay/clove herbal scent. not too sharp or astringent like some people are getting. I do like it, though it'll be a while before I can justify a bottle of something so outside my normal preferences.

[megank4]

Ahh! The dreaded pine! Ahh!

 

Maybe a slight bit of rosemary, bay, and lemon. In fact, this reminds me of "Herbs de provence" used for cooking meats and stuff: rosemary, marjoram, basil, bay leaf, thyme, and sometimes lavender.

[crebbsgirl]

I believe I said the same thing about Magus. If you can describe a scent as "sharp" it's definitely not for me. GAH! The rosemary definitely takes a front seat here, with the lemon wafting throughout the blend. I can smell the pine in there as well, and overall it makes for a fresh, herbaceous masculine scent. One that is utterly not me.

[cymbeline]

Swap test!

 

Smell alike: My “saltimbocca alla romana”

 

Color impression: spiky blue-green

 

On me: Kitchen herbal!!! It’s fresh, it’s lively but, as pine didn't show, I just feel like a *veal (?) escalope*!

 

Wearing: No, I like it, but no

Edited November 25, 2008 by Cymbeline

[Sweetie666]

In the imp this smells black tea with a touch of lemon, and I really love it. Strange this is...when I put it on it instantly smells like fresh laundry. You know how warm, clean clothes smell? That's just what this smells like. Not unpleasant...but odd...

[hkhm]

imp: rosemary and pine. very clean.

 

wet: this is intense pine. i can detect the presence of rosemary and bay but whoa... pine overload.

 

dry: this is so much nicer when it's dry. the pine is tame and sweet, the rosemary is soft, yet bright. this is very reminiscent of taking a walk after a windstorm when there's all sorts of pine branches blown all over the path.

[kjirstiben]

This is a strong, sharp, smoky pine as it goes on at first. The rosemary and bay are noticeable with it, and there's a smoky quality to the whole combination that is reminiscent of vetiver.

 

As it dries down, this becomes a scent that's all about spicy, sweet pine and herbs; it's very nice, a piney greenness. Over time, it softens up and becomes sweeter, purer pine. A very foresty-smelling scent.

 

Recaplet: Smoky, then sweet pine and herbs.

My rating: 4 of 5 (I really like this!)

Color impression: A deep emerald green.

[Saya]

Rosemary, pine and a bit of lemon. I'm not sure why, but this kind of reminds me of camping. The pine is fresh and bright with a hint of citrus from the lemon. Not my kind of blend.

 

Rating (1-5) 1.2

[awesomeoverlord]

Wow, really interesting. The pine blends very nicely with the rosemary to produce a truly green, woodsy kind of scent. I'm reminded of a freshly cut Christmas tree. Not something I'd wear, but it's very nice.

[Allumina]

Delicious, woody, amazingly true to life (more so than the rosemary oil I have) Rosemary, with something sharp behind it, then segues immediately into cheap potpourri. Strong, cheap-ass potpourri. Wah.

Chemistry, it is fickle.

[milo]

On first sniff, this is Christmas in an imp! In fact, this is very similar in feel to Midnight Mass, though it seems like there is more pine here, and more spicey herbs instead of incense. Pine usually is a difficult note for me, but this works very well. Instead of incense as with MM, there is the Rosemary. This would also be awesome as a room scent for around the holidays.

[bubblefish]

It smelled crisp and light, with a hint of bittery lemon, in the bottle. When I applied it to my skin, it started to get all weird on me. It smells like pinesol with a hint of cigarette smoke in the background.

[AlarmAgent]

In Bottle - Noxzema cream, a smell my pre-adolescent year's left fully ingrained in me.

 

Wet on Skin, First Applied - It stays all menthol, eucalyptus cool for awhile. I smell pine in the background, and if it came out a little more, I'd be quite happy. As it is now, I think this would be a great fragrance for sick days. It smells very cooling and refreshing...just like Noxzema! I actually dug the smell at the time, too. I kept using the it even after it became apparent to me that it really didn't do much for my skin. It just smells like it should be helping you. Very much medicinal.

 

Dry, on Skin - The pine is coming out quite a bit more heavily now, and the lemon is drifting in and out. The camphor type smell I get must be rosemary. It doesn't smell nearly as herbal/savory as I thought it would! It does smell very sterile and clean, though.

 

It really reminds me of this place I went to as a kid for a few field trips, but I can't for the life of me remember the name! Anyway, it was like a big 'town' that was set up in the manner of the early English settlers of America, and they had bonfires, lots of conifer trees, incredibly fresh air--yeah, it smelled about exactly like this.

 

Part of me really likes this oil, I think if I smelled like it people would be pretty disoriented (which I like the thought of, haha) but the other part of me, the part that will probably actually apply my perfume every morning thinks it is a little too...not perfume. I like it, and I'll wear it around the house for my personal enjoyment, but I doubt it'll see a lot of the outside world. Now, this as a home fragrance? I'm all over it. I need to get an oil burner. I'm glad I got it as a frimp, because I never would've given it a try.

 

[tragedy]

Agreeing with the prior review... this is noxema, slathered on a downed half rotten pine tree.

Smelled close I get the rosemary, a pungent rosemary, I used to boil rosemary water for my hair and occasionally I will forget something on the stove and it will burn down, close to the skin thats what this smells like.

The lemon is a little throw, with the rosemary, its almost giving off a lemon tea vibe, but the noxema smell just ruins it.