Old Scratch

[moon_lemming]

Old Nick, the Devil himself, as seen through the eyes of Victorian New England. A jaunty, dapper scent, deceptively genteel: a lavender fougere with tonka, amber, rosewood and a whiff of diabolical patchouli.

 

Old Scratch was a frimp that I never would have tried on my own. Once again, the Lab proves its psychic powers.

 

Yum. Before I read the description, I was thinking Old Scratch smelled like leather, with a warm hit of vanilla. I guess the "vanilla" was the tonka, and the leathery scent was a combo of patchouli, rosewood, and amber. It's pretty damn sexy. Masculine, but not so much that it smells wrong on me.

 

I'm going to try this one on my husband; if it smells this good on him, it's headed for the big bottle list. If not, I'll just keep the imp for myself, for special occasions.

Edited January 24, 2006 by karen

[hangingfire]

In the imp: My first impression reminds me strongly of vetiver. After reading the notes list, I'm guessing it must be the lavender fougere right out there in front; I get a bit of rosewood as well.

 

On, wet: The rosewood and tonka are certainly reminiscent of Dee, but the lavender fougere gives it a less esoteric feel. I'm not really getting much amber, but that's okay; I like it.

 

Drydown: Rosewood and tonka, mostly, with a slight zing from the patchouli and possibly a little floral-vegetal from the lavender.

 

Normally lavender hates me; it goes sour and damp-smelling. Clearly lavender fougere is another thing altogether, and I definitely like it much better. This is a pleasant masculine scent; I'll have to compare it with Dee.

[Naamah_Darling]

I'm scared this will be one I can't actually wear because of the lavender. Still, nothing ventured. . . .

 

When I pop the top, I get a strong sniff of something almost gingery. Wow! But on second sniff, this proves to be patchouli under a strong lavender base. There's a whiff of something soft and warm under the freshness which must be the tonka. Quite masculine. I like this a LOT in the bottle!

 

I put it on, and in less than five seconds, POW, out comes the amber and the tonka and a rosy smell which must be rosewood, even though I thought rosewood wouldn't smell like roses, but like lacquered wood. Hunh. My bad. The patchouli is there underneath and oh, god, the throw is vanilla/amber/rose! I totally wasn't expecting this.

 

Oh, my. My, my, my. It's definitely gender neutral at this point. Very seductive, but also adult and old-fashioned. Inviting, like an androgynously gorgeous person asking you out on a date, and you go out expecting to be picked up in a really normal if expensive sedan and instead find a freaking four-horse calash with all the bells and whistles.

 

Dry, it's very amber/rosy, with a dry and dirty flash of the oakmoss or whatever goes into bottoming a fougere ("bottoming a fougere" sounds like a really depraved sex act, by the way). The androgynously gorgeous being now has you in the limo and is fondling your thigh while whispering lewdness in your ear. There are roses inside the carriage. And those are some mightily talented hands.

 

This ends up powdery and earthy, but it's not the usual vile baby-powder smell that lavender turns into on my skin. The patchouli and amber keep this a warm scent, a skin-scent, that is meatier than it is clean.

 

I was expecting something else . . . I don't know what. But this is a warm, friendly scent; very, very sexy. This is the devil you know, in the Biblical sense of the word. Very, very nice.

[amrita]

Wet, this is sweet like berries, or wine. This is a sweet, gentle, warm, woody, patchouli musk. Ten minutes later, this is warm and slightly masculine, but sweet and woody and comforting. It's totally wearable by a female.

[WidgetAlley]

The forum ate my first review of this, so here's Old Scratch (shriekingviolet is a goddess remix.)

 

This starts out all herbal lavender on me, strong and pleasant, and mellows quickly to a delicious, warm scent: masculine, but not manly. Very well-mannered and genteel, but deceptive and many-layered. Note wise, the tonka was strongest for me, a golden warm sweetness, backed by cologney lavender, green oakmoss (it's in the fougere, isn't it?), and hat-tipping rosewood, on a base of smooth amber.

 

This is a Southern man with old money, in a white fedora and a too-wide smile, with a twinkle and a wink in his eye. For those of you who are Neil Gaiman fans.... this is what Anansi would smell like, with his lemon-yellow gloves and his cheroots, when he's pretending to be a perfect gentleman.

 

I like it.

Edited March 8, 2006 by WidgetAlley

[isyche]

Old Scratch starts out on me as lavender and wood, a little bitter, and then softens to a nice, complex scent that's masculine and warm without being too cologney or overly sexual.

 

It kind of smells fatherly to me for some reason, so I think it would be great on an older man.

[septima_pica]

Hm. This is a nice, gentlemanly, slightly distinctive cologne, but some of its subtlety gets lost on my skin, which just amps the hell out of the amber and lavender; those nice tonka and rosewood notes that deepen the smell of Dee so much get swamped out.

In summary: pleasant enough, but it'll smell better on someone else. If I want something of this flavour, I'll go for Dee instead, where I can actually smell the tonka.

[QueenFae]

This is gorgeous. A smooth, sophisticated lavendar, shot through with the creaminess of amber and tonka. The patchouli undertones are the icing on the cake; it gives it a darker, more complex, sinister feel. This reminds me a bit of Villain, or maybe it just has the same feel. I absolutely love this one, but I know the boy will hijack this imp as soon as he sniffs it!

[Eunice]

In the bottle: Earthy with a touch of zing. Is there a spice in here?

 

Wet: Amber with the sweetness of tonka. The earthy scent isn't so strong on my skin when wet. No lavender.

 

Dry: Wow is this soft! I was expecting something a little stronger. The rosewood really ties everything together. I was wondering how the lavender would fit with patchouli and amber because those are always so much stronger on my skin. The rosewood brings it all together for me.

 

Overall: I am in love with Old Scratch! Love it! I feel very feminine wearing this. The scent is so light and subtle. *swoon* I can't wait for this bottle to arrive! And imp is just not enough!

[arabella]

First Impression: An herbal floral.

 

Dries down to: Feels like lavender and thyme.

 

Additional Comments: This is very well blended. I got the lavender but missed on the rest of the notes. The tonka gives it a drop of sweetness and I can detect a hint of wood. This is quite nice and definitely masculine.

 

Lasted: A few hours.

 

Rating: 3 out of 5

[tidesong]

In Bottle: Mmm, the lavender is very strong. It's overpowering everything else in the bottle. There's a touch of something a little sweeter, but I'm not sure what it is. I would guess the rosewood or the amber.

 

On Application: This is what I was looking for the other night when I tried Sophia. Very nice, soft lavender. On my skin, it warms very quickly, most definitely the amber, softening out the normally sharp edge of lavender. I don't get any of the patchouli, and only a faint, faint whiff of rose.

 

On Drydown: Interesting. There's a bright citrus type note coming out, I'm wondering if this is the tonka, but I'm not sure what tonka smells like. The lavender has faded, I can barely smell it now. It's really become too bright.

 

Comments: This had potential in the bottle, it was a lovely lavender scent, but my skin makes it turn very citrusy. It's not something I'd wear, but I think it might work nicely in an oil burner.

 

Final Verdict: Try it as a room scent in a diffuser. I'll probably decant it out and keep a little for myself, unless it's absolutely fabulous as a room scent. I won't be ordering more.

[storme]

In the imp: lavender! and patchouli! the cleanest dirty hippy *ever*.

 

On me, wet: mmmm lavender and wood, and not too much patchouli. it's a little bit herby-sharp, but it's quite soothing.

 

On me, dry: weirdly, this has morphed into something quite deep and musky and warm - with just the faintest whiff of lavender adding an air of hastily-assumed respectabilty to the blend.

 

Verdict: Man, this is nice. I may have to try it on the SO, but even if he doesn't like it, I'll keep the imp around. Very subtle and sexy.

[SultryWolf]

I had high hopes for this one, not least because I am fascinated with Devil legends (best ever: the Murder By Death album Who Will Survive, and What Will Be Left of Them?). Alas, it was not meant to be.

 

Here's the saga.

The night that my order arrived, I dabbed a teeny bit from the end of the impwand onto my wrist before bed. In the imp it smelled of musk and fire over something sweet. On , it settled into the comforting aroma of an old leather book.

The next day, I put on a full impwand on my wrist - and was overwhelmed. Too strong! Too cologney (I guess that's the fougere)! I was willing to let it settle, but I just couldn't. I had to wash it off

A couple of days later, I again tried a smaller amount. This worked, and the old leather book was back, but it just doesn't work as a scent on me.

 

Still, I'll keep it around; someday, perhaps, the right application will come along!

[TrailerTrashPrincess]

in the imp: lavender. straight up and fresh.

 

went on my skin: lavender and .... something. not quite patchouli, maybe the rosewood.

 

as it dries, the amber takes over and turns it all into lavender and powder -- but dusting powder, not baby powder.

 

smells rather like a stereotypical "mom" kind of smell... coty lipstick and airspun powder, heavy foundation, and palmolive.

(not that my mom ever smelled like that, that's more *me* than -her-, but you get the idea)

 

so... mom is the devil in disguise?

 

oddly enough, i really really like this... and as a rule, i can't stand lavender (being as it is a mint-cousin, and i really don't like mint)

 

really random thought: i think this would make a nice counterpart to Herr Drosselmeyer

[edenssixthday]

Old Scratch, you devil, you! If my man were to wear this scent, I would be all over him like white on rice! Old Scratch is sexy, sophisticated, and very gentlemanly. Upon first whiff, it smelled too... I don't know, too woody for me (rosewood and tonka combo, perhaps?) and slightly rancid. But as it dried down, the scent became so incredibly "dapper" and "genteel" just like the Lab's description. This is not a scent I would wear, as I prefer more "girly" florals and fruity scents, but I am so giving this imp to my husband to try out, and if he likes it, we'll get him a full bottle. I would love to have a man who smells like this -- even if it were Old Scratch himself!

[nevermore]

I find Old Scratch to be very cologne-y, rather like Villain, but warmer and a little bit sweeter. I smell mainly lavender, rosewood, and a tiny bit of tonka and patchouli. While Villain was too masculine on me, Old Scratch is just right - perfect balance between the "cologne" and the vanilla/rosewood. I need a bottle of this for winter.

[fairy]

Along with Wilde, Old Scratch has been in my "to try" baggie since the beginning. I guess the name didn't appeal to me, and I think I opened the imp a few times to take a sniff and didn't care for it.

 

Since I gave Wilde a try tonight and wound up liking him, I decided to try poor Old Scratch as well.

 

He didn't do as well.

 

I got a hot, bitter, sharp smell. Which is odd because judging from the ingredients listed I should like it...must be the patchouli (which is hit or miss with me)

 

I don't get the "gender neutral" feeling from it either. It doesn't smell like it could be cologne, like Wilde, or even Casanova did. This still seemed like perfume to me.

 

Overall I didn't like poor Old Scratch. Too bitter for my taste. It also made me a little bit nauseous :/ Off to the swaps...

[ND¢]

In the bottle: Reminded me of a perfume my mom had when I was little, but I can't be more specific.

 

On me: Still does smell more like a traditional perfume than most of the BPAL offerings I've tried. Classy, warm musk with the sharpness, maybe, of lavender. I don't feel that it's masculine (probably because of whatever perfume I smelled.) Definitely not 'girly,' though. It's pretty; dries to a pleasant, clean soapiness with, possibly, a subtle amber/musk undertone. Not really striking me as patchouli-ey at all.

[juniperus]

bottle: sharp lavender, and hints of more behind

wet: I can detect the patchouli and tonka, but it's still mostly lavender

dry: the amber still hasn't made its presence known, but the rosewood is playing back-up-singer to the patchouli, and the tonka is very sweet.

later: amping tonka + patchouli - amber = leather? and stale cigarettes?

[supremegoddessofall]

Tried this at a meet and sniff. This is a good guy scent. The patchouli almost has a leather feel, which I think is being assisted by the tonka. The lavendar softens it a bit - great scent for a guy. I tried it on my girlfriend and was very pleased.

[sterlingspider]

in bottle: lavender sex

 

wet: primarily amber with a hint of the tonka and a background hint of pachouli, something sweet and woody coming out as it dries

 

drydown: Old baby powder at the bottom of a dusty cedar chest

 

On me this turned out to be a total clinker, but I want to try it on My Boy before I swap it away forever as he tends to smell DIVINE in lavender based scents.

[lady_pandora]

This was a frimp from the Lab. Thanks Lab!

 

During the first few minutes, I can't make out the notes in this at all. I mean, I can smell it, but I can't pick out and recognize anything.

 

Old Scratch then dries down to something that reminds me of spice cookies. Did you know that the Devil smelled like spice cookies?

 

"Come to the dark side. We have cookies."

 

A little while later, the amber appears, in its baby-powder incarnation. Which is weird, because usually amber doesn't go all baby-powderish on me. There's also something vaguely citrusy.

 

The evil cookies also stick around.

 

I'm not entirely sure what I think of this one. I think it's one to try again at another time.

[Kimocean]

This is one of the first BPAL scents that has gone really wrong on my skin. In the imp I smelled mostly lavendar and tonka and thought it might be quite nice on me, but on my skin it went really sour/nasty. It's softening up as time goes by, but I'm pretty sure I won't want to wait this nasty unwashed feet phase out very often.

[filigree_shadow]

Lots of lavender at first, but then the amber and patchouli tone it down. It turns into a little bit more of an earthy scent -- not overly lavender. This is the sharp sort of lavender that smells good on my husband but not on me. It's going kind of powdery on me, too.

 

Also I think it's funny that lady_pandora said that the scent reminded her of spice cookies. When I first tried this scent months ago, I wrote this in my notes: "Something about this scent reminds me of breakfast."

[Shitow_Haruka]

This was a frimp from the Lab. And I can't thank them enough!

 

first sniff: lavender and I can smell the amber underneath.

 

wet: I love this sweet lavender! And the longer I wear it, the more the sweetness grows. The lavender fades and the rosewood comes to the fore. The sweet warmth of the tonka (vanilla scent) and amber blend with the florals to make it lovely.

 

dry: This is beautifully blended together - the notes are hard to differentiate. The scent is marvelous.

 

And like Marie, it's causing my DH to chase me around our home.

 

Big bottle!