Azathoth

[stardreamer]

Azathoth is the blind, idiot god who sits on a black throne at the center of Chaos. His scent is high-pitched and screeching, both impenetrably dark and searingly bright with the clarity of madness: tangerine, saffron, vetiver, black amber and cedarwood.

You'd think this would have been a good scent for me; saffron, amber, and cedar are all things that work well with my skin chemistry. Unfortunately, they are all completely overpowered by the musky vetiver. Never got even a trace of the tangerine, but that's no surprise given my history with BPAL citrus. It's not nasty, just definitely too musky for my taste.

It gets a little better as it wears on, but not enough to salvage it. No estimate of staying power, because I needed a shower and washed it off. This one's headed for the swap pile.

[funkmoppet]

Frimp from the Lab!

 

When wet on the skin, this is fantastic for a dark, mad god. It is larger than life, and full of swirling resin, vetiver and heavy musk.

 

No tangerine, which is kind of surprising given my skin's tendency to amp the sweeter citrus notes. But the vetiver IS amping. The musk is drowned out.

 

In fact the vetiver amps a bit too much, like Highwayman.

 

Dry, I'm not loving this. The vetiver is still dominant and I KNOW my skin's going to reject the resin in this one. So alas, I'm off to wash this off before it does.

Edited July 9, 2007 by funkmoppet

[Bagfish]

Wow, the centre of chaos that Azathoth sits in must be a damp shed. Because that it what this oil smells like on me, brown, damp, dark and earthy; full of spiders and unmentionable creepy-crawlies. There is no brightness in this scent at all, the vetiver note drowns all with its dankness.

 

Hmm, probably a suitable evocation of the god, but I can't see me wanting to wear this for fun!

[catwoman30]

Well I wasn't sure if this one would work on me or not as I dislike vetiver on general principle.....but boy was I in for a surprise: I LOVE this scent!!!!I definitely get vetiver but it blends so well with the cedarwood.Just a warm lovely, earthy scent.Don't get any tangerine,amber or saffron unfortunately(although I think they must be there calming the vetiver) but I still love this.The weather is (finally!!) statring to cool a bit and I think this will be perfect for those golden Autumn days.

Edited September 18, 2007 by catwoman30

[Trish]

In the imp: Sweet yet slightly tart citrus and resin.

 

Wet: Vetivert, citrus and a touch of cedar and saffron.

 

Drydown: The vetivert is becoming rounder and smoother, while the cedar is becoming stronger and the citrus weaker. It's quite strong despite the fact I only put a dab on. There's a swirl of saffron but only a little. It is quite masculine but that's fine by me.

 

Dry: Hmm there's something weird in this, almost chemical. I suspect it's the vetivert combined with.. something. Perhaps the cedarwood.

 

Urgh I want to keep it going for longer to see if the amber turns on me (amazingly it hasn't as of yet) but that vetivert chemical smell is getting up my nose.

[hkhm]

imp: i smell amber, vetiver and cedar. the vertiver is sharp but it's not knocking me back like it does in some of the other scents.

 

wet: smoky pines. the amber is quite faint. there is nothing to suggest tangerine when i sniff this scent.

 

dry: this dries to a faint, soft pine.

[maribouquet]

I think I'm starting to like vetiver.

 

This hits me a bit like Troll did - well blended, cedary but not overpoweringly so, with the vetiver a rolled in very nicely. Oddly comforting in an earthy sort of way. There's something very smooth and fine underneath - maybe that's saffron?

 

I like it.

 

ADDED March 19:

 

Mmm, sexy carpenter!

 

I like this, despite the vetiver and cedar. It's dusty and smoldering.

[megank4]

I don't get any hint of tangerine at all with this. It is mostly cedarwood and black amber on me. Very intriguing scent. For a moment, vetiver reared its ugly head, and I thought it was a goner, but it seems to be okay now. For some reason, reminds me of Blood Pearl, but none of the ingredients are the same. Who knows?

This fades way too fast- one hour maximum.

I also like it better on my skin than in a scent locket. There is a slight difference in the scent. On my skin it seems warmer smelling.

Edited January 15, 2008 by Megank4

[aestien]

Bottle: it smells like brimstone, probably the vetiver

Wet: sharp tangerine smoky vetiver over the earthy amber and cedar, slightly chemical smelling

Dry: the sharpness subsides to a spicy smoky wood blend

 

Great blend for capturing the image of the name, but too strong for me to wear day to day.

[CrazyPretzel]

Oh man, this was a towering pile of fail on me.

 

No citrus, no saffron, no cedarwood, no recognisable notes at all besides burning tires.

 

To be fair, it is highly evocative in that I probably would go mad if I smelled like this all the time!

[voodoocatwoman]

In the imp: Grassy.

 

Wet: Oh, joy. I smell like hay.

 

Dry: What is it with me and cedar? Was I a hamster in a past life? I smell like HAMSTER CAGE!!!

[twilighteyes]

Cedar and vetiver.

 

But I like them.

[mhickle]

I might be in the minority here (from just skimming the other reviews), but on me this is one thing and one thing only. An upturned bottle of Captain Morgan. Putting it on first thing in the morning made me feel liike I had a hangover. To be fair, it does become a little more than that as it wears on - the cedar comes out a bit. But I just can't get past the first stage with this one.

[sirsaber]

I think this blend is perfect. There is a good darkness to it but the tangerine bites just enough on me to add a tinge of brightness. It has a very earthy scent to which I have discovered I am quite a fan of. Earthy scents always send me back to bygone days.

[donnatron]

Imp: The tangerine dominates (yes!) with a nice base of vetiver and a touch of cedar (yes!).

 

Wet: I have never learned my lesson with cedar. Cedar LOVES my skin. Cedar gets really rowdy on my skin. And unless the base is something completely soft and sweet like vanilla, it will just get unruly.

 

Dry: I can smell faint hints of vetiver and a touch of the saffron and amber. Unfortunately they're all being smothered by the cedar which has aquired an unfortunate dill pickle chip quality. I will give the blend credit that this does smell manic.

 

Throw: I'm leaving a trail of cedar. Good thing I'm alone in the office today.

 

Overall: Just not my bag. This is a bunch of tempermental ingredients, though, so I'm just impressed that I managed to make it until the dry down.

[akuaa]

(frimp!) tangy lemony baby powder. i bet it's a kind of flower but i don't know enough about these notes to say, but it smells like lemony baby powder. it's a little too soapy-cleaning-supply for me. :/ after reading the description i think it's an unfortunate combination of the tangerine and cedarwood that just doesn't work for me.

[Argentwolf]

At the very beginning, as I first drew breath to sniff it fresh from the imp, I could detect a faintly-sweet, fruity note.

 

And then...the cedarwood came.

 

The cedar completely dominates this one for me; I cannot smell anything else. And, oddly enough, the sweetly-earthy note that usually defines cedar for me takes on a sharp, high pitch early on in this blend; it reminds me more of pine trees.

 

So, nope...this one just didn't work.

Edited April 21, 2008 by Argentwolf

[suki]

in the imp: all the rich smokiness of vetiver.

 

wet on skin: still heavy on the vetiver. it takes a LOT for vetiver to get calm on my skin.

 

dry down: all vetiver, possibly a hint of leather, but nothing more.

 

in all: if you adore vetiver as a note, this is a winner for you. if, like me, it just amps impossibly on your skin, you will likely wanna skip this one.

[Alarine]

In the imp: Amber and mint (?!) and vetiver, with a little cedar and spice... very dark, which fits the description, after all.

 

Just on: Same, including the weird impression of mint, but with a little more cedar and spice....

 

About 30 min later: the darkness from the vetiver & amber is calming down a little and it's getting spicy and maybe a tad citrusy again? Wonder what was making my brain think "Huh, mint." at first...

 

After several hours: Mmmm, spicy and earthy and dark deliciousness. Very dark, but I kept getting hints of tangerine, too. This was a little spicier after drying, the second time I tried it (tonight, since I just found one as a freebie in the order that arrived today).

 

Definitely want to pick up a bottle of this strangely comforting (from the tangerine/amber/cedar) scent that's not at all soothing. I just love it.

[GingerGunlock]

In the imp, I could smell a bit of tangerine, a generous amount of cedarwood, and a whiff of my darling Vetiver.

 

Wet: Is that....peanut butter? What the hell? Peanut butter jelly time, that's what's happening on my wrist. I don't know what's going on.

 

as it dries: CEDAR! Cedarcedarcedar, and a little bit of something else...the saffron or the black amber, perhaps? The peanut butter has gone to wherever it is peanut butter goes when it dies.

 

Dry: Nothing jumps out at me as "tangerine", but there is a light, citrus aspect that happens on the tail end of huffing the lovely cedary vetiver that is wafting off of my wrist. It's been a very strange journey.

[alicia_stardust]

This is dark and biting and very sinister. It has a masculine edge to it and is mostly dark vetiver, dark musk, and only the slightest touch of tangerine to brighten this. Very strong throw and long wear-length.

[tastycactuar]

I got a bottle based entirely on the fact that there was tangerine in the blends. Unfortunately, I opened the bottle to sniff and it was insta-headache. I think I blame the vetiver. It just smells... dirty. And not in a good, clean, dirt way - in that "moldy used book with pounds of dust on" way. I couldn't even bring myself to try it on.

 

I wanted to like all the Lovecraft scents... but I fear it is not to be.

[carrickfergus]

Sharp, geranium-smokey-herbal. A very INTERESTING scent, very unique.

[tinyvulture]

a strong, powerful scent, loaded with cedar and vetiver. there’s also something spicy and medicinal – i would guess sassafras, although it’s not listed in the description. i don’t smell any tangerine. there’s nothing citrusy or sweet about this. it's one of those awesome scents that really captures the smell of being out in the woods, breathing in the trees and earth. perfect for lovers of vetiver and of dark, heavy, woodsy blends.

[galahad]

In The Bottle

Spicey and slightly fruity amber. Very nice in the imp

 

On Application

Amber and cedar with an overlay of citrus

 

Dry Down

The saffron is really evident giving the distinctive medicinal smell. It's not unpleasant, I just don't think it works well with the mandarin. The overall effect becomes an earthy and spicey dry blend. Interesting but not a winner for me.

 

Rating (0-5)

3