Torture King

[DarkMouse]

The King of Pain, the Famed Fakir. Frankincense and sweet clove, mandarin and bourbon, lemon peel and leather, grasses and smoke, lime and vetiver, ambergris and deep musk.

whoah- leather, incense & spices.. its very sexy and masculine, though this one does work on a woman ( at least it works on me, but I've got weird chemistry)

There is musk in this.. and unfortunately its looking like it could be the kind that makes Anne Bonny smell like dirty gym socks on me. I have to say that "The Famed Fakir" smells sorta sexy and dangerous - I just 'tortured' my husband into trying this on his arm.. cuz it isn't doing the trick on me.

verdict: smelled way better on hubby than it did on me.. but he says he's not interested in an LE blend and will stick with his beloved DeSade.

[Monster]

Mmm out of the bottle I'm getting a sweet lime mixed with leather and musk. Gorgeous! On my skin the musk and frankincense comes out even more. Underneath everything I can smell the leather along with the yummy lemon and lime. This is a very sweet citrusy/incensy blend. Mmm I don't think I've ever smelled anything quite like this. To me, this one is more unisex. It's definilty a more dark and mysterious scent for a woman though, and a rather fresh/sweet scent for a man.

 

Final verdict. I love Torture King. There are very few CN scents I've disliked.

[Undine]

At first this was very citrusy and I thought "ugh," but Torture King quickly mellowed down into an incense-y scent (lots of frankincense top note) mixed with leather, musk, spices, and green smells. I don't find the clove particularly strong though it is present.

 

Masculine, but not in such a way that I wouldn't wear it. I haven't done too well with the Carnaval Noir line, but this isn't bad. However, it's not so lovely on me that I need to keep it. I love regular smoke smells, but although frankincense is very nice it can quickly become too much for me.

 

This scent, tried right after Bearded Lady, made me wonder if all the Carnaval scents share a common ingredient or whether it's just a theme for many of them. Gypsy Queen, Bearded Lady, and Torture King all have this sweet incense-y note that I am rather "eh" about. On the other hand, House of Mirrors (which I have not tried, only sniffed) doesn't seem to have that at all, so ... never mind?

 

Anyway. On my scale, 3 out of 5.

[maewitch]

I can't say I totally hate this. I really like the spicy-citrus notes that it opends up with, and I think I can pick up the frankinsence too. All of which I love.

 

But then the vetiver. It's not an unpleasant smell in and of itself, and it doesn't make me sick like some notes do. It's this pungent grassy sort of smell, a little feral but calm at the same time. I just don't want to smell like it.

 

I don't know, I can't explain it anymore clearly than that. I guess it's like people who like the smell of chocolate but don't want to smell like it. I think if I was sitting on my porch and caught this scent, it would be wonderful - it smells almost like what imagine African savannas smell like (and actually, it does remind of The Lion, in some obscure way). But it's just not a "perfume" sort of smell for me.

 

It smells great on the boy though. The amber and the smokiness come out more, and it smells like really debauched man-cologne. I think I'll keep it for sneak-swab-attacks on him.

 

(This was a mistake in my recent order, and I'm very grateful I got a chance to try it.)

[AlaskaSnows]

In the Bottle: Smells like a limey, spicy men's cologne.

 

Dry: Kind of like a very expensive cigar, unlit, being held by a man wearing a very mellow spice cologne. This is sweet and like an older man wearing a smoking jacket kind of feeling. This is a languid, worldly men's scent.

[Cesare]

Faustus + Tombstone = Torture King. It's a little more complicated in its phases, but that's what it comes down to.

 

Faustus is golden, woody and resiny and sweet with a hint of spice. Tombstone is vanilla, balsam, sassafras, cedar, and leather.

 

Torture King combines the resin and spice of Faustus with the wood, leather and old-time ambiance of Tombstone.

[Diana]

This was the CN oil I was most hesitant to try. Anytime I think I saw the word vetiver associated with an oil, I shrink away and quickly apply something else. However, I got the whole Odditorium, and I recently wore something with the V that wasn't completely awful. I'm so brave!

 

Putting it on, I can smell the vetiver, but it's pretty faint. What is more obvious are the lime & lemon notes. They fade fairly quickly, though leaving a smoke scent (I thought I was smelling woodsmoke this morning and realized it was me!). The smoke becomes less evident, then next the leather comes into play. A rich, black, cool leather. What's left now is a bit of a musky scent with a bit of clove and a tiny bit of smokey leather, and just a fractional note of vetiver (enough so I notice it, but not so much that I need to scrub this off ASAP.)

 

This is actually quite nice, and I'm surprised at how much I like this!

Edited October 20, 2005 by Diana

[stinkycretingurl]

i was really looking forward to this one because of the leather/incense/citrus combo and it did not disappoint. in the bottle it is a deep, mesmerizing sexy combination of leather, incense, musk and grasses with a hint of lime. on the skin it blooms in to a beautiful and complex scent reminiscent of a naughty (but fun) saddle in a dark room with lime/citrus in a bowl on the table, with the faint smell of an oriental incense lingering in the curtains. it is breathtakingly sexy--but unisex. it smells amazing on both me and the b.f.

 

interestingly, it reminded me a lot of habanita by molinard from 1924. so last night i tested them both together. torture king IS habanita but the incense/grass notes creates a preferable scent to my nose--less cloying and powdery than habanita. lovely lovely stuff.

--scg

[OriginalWacky]

Bottle: Citrusy pretty.

 

Just On: More rind now, but still citrus.

 

An hour or two later: The citrus is starting to fade away some, leaving me with some smokiness.

 

Around 6 hours: Okay, now with the citrus out of the way, I can smell some other stuff, and I'm not certain exactly what. Perhaps something amber-like, maybe even something boozy.

 

12 hours: This has pretty much faded away to nothing now.

 

Overall: I like it well enough, but it's not as foody as I tend to prefer.

 

After reading other reviews: I never really got the leather, and it seems that others got a whole lot more out of this than I did. Nice enough, but nothing I'd die for.

[yeahbutnobut]

Torture King

 

In the imp: smoky, lemony, leathery bourbon!

Wet: the citrus notes come out, along with frankincense, the smoke, grass, leather and bourbon are here too.

Dry: wow, I can smell so much in here, and yet it’s so well blended. It starts with fruity, zesty citrus at the top, resins, grass and possibly cloves in between, and the darker notes-the musk, smoke, leather etc, at the bottom. This is a really interesting scent with good complexity, both tangy and sharp with a dark undertone-I think it will smell even better on a man!

After a while: the notes in here are now very well balanced, they blend as a gorgeous mix of bright resins and citrus with a warm, deep backdrop of smoky leather and musk. I must say, this is sexy!

Verdict: like King of Clubs, this is another King who smells very sexy indeed! Bright tangy citrus with a swirl of smoke and booze, leather and musk. It brings to mind a leather jacket worn by a really handsome guy who wears a good and sophisticated men’s perfume. I swear, if I smelt a man wearing this, I’d shag him instantly!

[SeaMonkey]

I was very worried about the lemon in this, as lemon goes to cleaning fluid on me.

 

But on my skin its all incense and grass, as if you're sitting in the wet grass watching the Torture King at work and all you can smell besides the grass is his incense and musk.

[Fefferbella]

Warm rich leather, sweet spicey cloves and a hint of booze.

A fresh breeze from a lemon grove and hot sweaty man musk.

 

Damn this is a SEXY blend.

 

Must snag a BIG bottle for my boyfriend!

[zenvodunista]

I can't decide if like this or not! It's reminding me of Tez around the edges of it, but different. It's morphing a lot too. Right now it's a sort of leather, smoke, dry grass and earth patchouli right now. Earlier it was something else. No lime for me though and that makes me sad.

 

this scent is a true morpher. it's really interesting. i'm not sure how often i'm goign to reach for it though! hrm. we'll have to see. i'm very intrigued by it though and keep sniffing my arm.

 

n.

[Voleuse]

The musk is strong in this scent, at first, but there's a sharp bite of citrus overlying it. As it dries, it becomes sweeter, and I definitely smell the cloves and the leather.

 

I love this! I'm a huge fan of citrus scents, and the smokiness of this one makes it last so much longer on me. The vetiver is barely there, though it becomes stronger over time, making it sexy, but not overwhelmingly masculine.

 

Every time I sniff my wrist, I catch another combination of notes, and it's always lovely. Complex and spicy and intoxicating. Definitely a keeper.

[BlueStar]

Mmmmm snacky and derangedly sesky!

 

Wet on Skin: Frank, frank, frank, frankincense! Lemony Snickets this is citrusy leather. Warms up and the Ambergris slowly peeks out from behind the bouquet of lovely citrus and clove. I get a light breeze of bourbon and leather wafting across the lake of citrusy clove. Mmm it's getting even better!

 

Drydown: Like a butterfly this fragrance is more beautiful after it's chrysallis stage. When the leather and frankincensce notes come in fully it all blends down to an orgasmically sexy winter scent. How did I miss this scent before? For that matter why didn't I buy the entire Carnival Noir collection? Stupid Mike

 

Verdict: I have bought two bottles already and have two or three more lined up. Must have more!

Edited December 12, 2005 by BlueStar

[AngellicMystique]

Mystical spices, almost smoky on me. Self-inflicted agony of the best possible kind. I just want to roll in it.

Edited December 20, 2005 by AngellicMystique

[ChupaChup]

I was expecting something a lot darker and more dangerous from Torture King but it really is a beautiful scent. Very few leather scents work on me and vetiver often kills a blend but wow, this one is great. I only have an imp right now, I held off getting a bottle because it didn't seem strong enough for me but as it has aged, it has gotten stronger so I may just hunt a bottle down.

[perclexed]

Very interesting in the bottle, mostly leather, clove and lemon on me as it dries down. This is one of those scents that would make me want to get a little bit closer to the person wearing it. Intriguing, complex, and it makes bits of me tingle, in all kinds of good ways. After a little bit more of the citrus came out, but the base of leather and clove melded well with it.

[judas_kiss]

DH got this in a sale off the boards, and wow wow wowie wow wow, is it sexy on him.

 

In the imp: Spicey-boozey-leather-sexy. This one's gonna be good, I know it.

 

On: Okay, this one is interesting because I do not get any one note prevailing at one time. It is very well-blended and makes a sort of "new" smell. I get the clove and bourbon a bit stronger at times, but mostly this is just a gorgous, complex, almost masculine (not totally, though, I could see a sexy chica wearing this one, too!) scent.

 

Dry: The citrus comes out a bit more here as does the musk. The spices and incense notes still prevail, while the bourbon just gives it a fullness that is just mmmmmm...

 

FOr some reason, this blend makes me want to grind with my dh to Godsmack's "Voodoo". It's just so...dirty and sexy. Fuck, this rocks!

[BlackDahlia]

I had to try this one when the opportunity came for me to be able to do so. Normally I avoid citrus scents ~ but, because the description was so well written, I had to try out a bottle.

 

In the bottle I get citrus with musk ~ with a good, strong bite to it.

 

Wet ~ NO citrus on me! (Which is a very good thing!) the scent is slightly powdery yet very rich. The musk mellows everything ~ and, normally, I am not a fan of musk.

 

On the drydown ~ a warm, complex and wonderful blend with very, very good throw ~ that is long-lasting. I think that an imps worth, or maybe two is going to be devoted to some scent crafting. I think I will make some Torture King Bath Bombs, and maybe some lotion.

 

This one is a keeper.

I am so glad that the Lab writes such compelling descriptions ~ I would never have tried this just reading the scents utilised in it.

 

Edited to correct a typo.

Edited December 30, 2005 by BlackDahlia

[merebrillante]

In the vial: Aquatic.

 

Wet: A guy smell, like Polo; green and aquatic.

 

Drydown: Something metallic is coming up, but there's a hint of spice underneath that. It just made me sneeze.

 

Dry: Still smells metallic. I think that's the lemon, lime and mandarin. I don't pick up any of the smoky notes that others mention. The notes are blending more now, settling down into something a little more powdery as the clove, frankincense and musk mix in.

 

Later: Fades down into a bland, powdery sweetness.

[grrrlennyl]

at first: lots of lemon and lime, with other darker notes underneath.

on: mostly frankincense and leather, with some vetiver. not good on me at all.

1 hour later: leather and leather. oh, and leather.

2 hours later: all frankincense, leather, and vetiver.

overall: this just has way too many notes that don't work on me.

[ABrokenAngel]

In the Bottle:Thickly male. It whispers of hot nights and worshipped days. It reminds me of a man in a romance novel I read long time ago. He was a sultan I think and his favorite concubine was an irish slave girl. During the day she influenced his decisions more than his viziers did. During the night? He owned her completely. I don’t know why but this is sinfully Dominant. I feel like I should get down on my knees and say “Thank you, Sir.”

 

Wet: Oh god the leather. Oh the leather is divine that’s the first thing I smell, then the grasses and clove and a bit of the mandarin. Oh if only this wasn’t so manly on me.

 

Drydown: Deffinately going to be hunting down a bottle of this for the husband. This is another one of those scents he MUST wear. It’s dominating, worshipping, cherishing and all those other ing’s that you want from a great Dom.

[sarahj]

Torture King

 

in bottle: frankincense, leather, and musk

 

wet: the clove starts to appear...this seems very masculine to me

 

dry: spicy, but a bit on the masculine side

 

verdict: I think this will smell great on my DH

[Shollin]

First sniff: I’m having a very hard time pinning this scent down. It’s sharp and intriguing. Definitely masculine.

 

Wearing: Blimey, that’s limey! A sudden bright-green burst of lime swirls up and subsides under wood and soft smoke. The notes of Torture King sounded about half-and-half… smoke and leather, and especially frankincense and vetiver, are things that almost never work on me, but clove, citrus, grass and musk are happy. And it seems that as the notes battle it out, the happy side is winning. There’s a bit of leather underneath, but it serves as a grounding for the citrus, which is becoming dominant as it dries. This guy is really fascinating and deserves a proper daylong wearing.