The Black Tower

[modillian]

A sepulchral, desolate scent. Long-dead soldiers, oath-bound; the perfume of their armor, the chill wind that surges through their tower, white bone and blackened steel: white sandalwood, ambergris, wet ozone, galbanum and leather with ebony, teak, burnt grasses, English ivy and a hint of red wine.

Smells pretty nifty first on. Something rich, woody, and green-spicy. Could be excellent for a man as well as a woman. I can't smell the notes individually, but the wine isn't detectable, let alone sour as I'd fear, the ambergris doesn't overpower everything else, and neither does the ozone. It's wonderfully well-balanced. The longer it wears on, the richer and headier the perfume gets. After a while the ozone gets a bit more distinction, but not annoying or sinus-irritating at all. Seriously, I would not have pegged myself as liking this as much as I do. Not like a cemetery at all, but beautifully alive and unfolding like a flower.

After 4-5 hours it wears down to just the ebony, teak, and grasses, but before then it was so wonderful I'd recommend The Black Tower to just about anyone as an example of smooth, complex, heady, unisex scent. If you like this I'd recommend Kubla Khan and Thanatos too, maybe Tavern of Hell for something girlier with the same sophisticated, woody "feel".

Amazing, just amazing. I don't know how often I'd actually wear a scent like this, it's not a very "me" personal scent, but it's be great in a burner or a room scent or to perfume laundry and clothes, etc. I am honestly so shocked by how much I like The Black Tower, since half the notes rarely work on me, but it works anyway! Edited December 20, 2009 by Shollin

[Balame]

In the Imp: Mm... a full, round woody scent - the sandalwood. And hints of ozone tingling around the edges.

 

Wet: Somehow I get both a "parched" feeling from this and a wetness, as if you're staring at the cracking bones of the desolate warriors within the tower but it's pouring down rain outside, and the wind is streaking through the black sky. Ooh, this is really nice. You can pick out all the layered notes and yet they mix so well. There's just the slightest hint of sweetness from the ambergris, and yet it's deepened so yummily by the leather and wine.

 

Dry: I think I can smell the ebony now, a rich note... and sticking my nose against my wrist (which is highly tempting with this scent) I can inhale and get the "burning" grasses, as if something is still smoldering under the surface of cool armor's plate. This does get a bit more welcoming as it dries, almost as if you were to get an image of what these knights were doing in the tower before their watch was forever ended, chuckling around a fire and telling tales about their past adventures.

 

Verdict: Beautiful! I've been waiting to find something just like this. Intriguing and unknown yet possessing fragments of something vaguely warm and familiar. Totally in love with this blend.

 

Rating: 5/5

 

[iletaitunefois]

I had heard a lot about ozone blends, so I decided I really wanted to try one.

 

What did I learn? Ouch! I don't like ozone! It's like being in a room full of pennies, and it kind of hurt my nose. I think the ambergris played in here, too, but it was just sharp and ouchy. I think that's the point, but I did not like it. Swap pile for sure.

 

[fairestrocza]

In the Imp: cologne in a nice way

 

Wet on Skin: leather, smoke, modeling clay; elbows get cologne, followed by smoke and wood

 

While Drying: wrists - modeling clay (the grey, 'do not eat,' kind, not play-doh); elbows - wood and clay with something kinda sparkling; I actually like the clay scent

 

After a Little While: very evocative; clay dies down to the old-bone image; makes me think of pre-dusk grey with mist or fog; wrists starting to pick up a woody note, elbows developing something fresh and green

 

Later: starting to pick up an aquatic note on wrists

 

Final Thoughts: Definitely unusual. I will probably not wear this often, but will definitely keep the imp around for those days when I want something Different. My friend sums up this scent as "arts & crafts time in Spring."

The Black Tower earns a 3.5/5 on my skin.

[impolight]

When first applied to the epidermis, the initial impression was long the lines of, "Oh, no! Teriyaki Sauce!"Experience has demonstrated, however, that, in terms of BPAL Formulas, a metamorphosis of almost supernatural proportions will, in all plausibility, take place.As The Black Tower began to mellow, the strongest notes were both the Wine and the Blood... Sharp and coppery!As it smoothed out, The Black Tower rounded out exquisitely; taking on the characteristics of a luxuriant cologne that would seem to convey affluence as well as a position of great respect and power.The moss notes compliment copper's verdant flames. While the wine is still there, it is more in the dark-red fruitineness, and the distant floral notes.The ozone is flickeringly subtle... Not conspicuous and worrisome for afflicted with unease.The Black Tower is Cordovan red. It is a leather jacket and scarf on a motorcycle tour of a lonesome alpine road. It is the plaything of sybarites. Fans of "Phoenix Steamworks" will NOT want to pass this up!

[aquazoo]

Dusty fruit, then dusty rubble. It does smell like the aftermath of a tower that has exploded, with a wisp of smoke. A nice masculine.

[surf-tormented]

This scent has a lot of layers.

 

When I first put it on, it smells very minty with a touch of ozone.

Then it settles into a great grass and leather scent, losing most of the mint and ozone. It is almost like wearing a whole other perfume.

 

After 30 minutes of so, it morphs again into a leather incense scent that has a lot of wood notes and a slight spicy wine finish. I also get sniffs of the mint, which has made a comeback.

 

It is pleasant all the way through and lasts longer than average on me.

 

I got an imp of this, I might need a bottle.

[voorishsign]

I've been meaning to try this one for the longest time, and finally found someone who had an imp. Exciting

 

In the imp - understated and intense. Deepened ivy and sandalwood.

 

On wet - sandalwood, ambergris, ivy, and a hint of ozone.

 

Drydown - sandalwood, ivy, and slight wine, grasses. This stays fairly close to the skin and fades quickly. Shame, because it's quite a wonderful scent

[grnwoodtree]

Been waiting to try this for awhile.

 

Wet: It is indeed a masculine scent...but the ivy and sweet sandlewood (or is that ambergris) come to the forefront. I also get some of the ozone I think...not familiar with it.

 

Dry: Right now its very green, a little floral, kind of sweet, with a masculine overtone. Im getting lots of herbal notes, which must be the teak and ivy. Its all herbal notes and sweet undertones now.

 

I smell a tad of smoke...but I think ambergris amps on my skin for some reason and turns the scents to sweet overpowering everything else. Darn.

 

Later: It feels like the leather is trying to come through...its ghostly though. Which seems quite appropro!

 

All in all, its not like I was hoping for. Doesnt have the bite.

[devilot]

The Black Tower

In the Vial: I smell the white sandalwood and something almost peppery? I think it could be resinous.

 

Wet: Same weird pepperiness. Now something sharp. Almost cologney.

 

Drydown: How bizarre, the leather is starting to come forward now. I love this part, love the leather.

 

Verdict: I like the drydown, but there are other leather blends that I like more from start to finish, so this imp shall find a new home.

[ryannosaurus]

I like this one. Not really dark or heavy, but desolate and... foreboding? I catch an undertone of the burnt grasses, a leather note, and an earthy smell (amgergris or galbanum?).

 

I bought this one because it made me think of The Dark Tower series. A keeper!

[tailoredshirt]

This is interesting and I don't really know how to describe it other than, "Meh."

 

The ozone is definitely here, and I hate usually hate ozone because it makes everything smell like soap. Here, it blends in very well, but I still smell it and it's distracting me from really enjoying the scent. I also get the red wine and something musty, which I think is the combination of the woods and leather, and maybe the ivy. As it dries, the ozone fades a bit and is much more bearable. I get some saltiness from the ambergris, and that gives it a little bite. I like the combination of the sweet wine and the salty ambergris.

 

This blend is definitely wearable. It doesn't give me a headache or make me want to wash it off immediately, but I don't like it enough to wear it often. I will definitely keep my imp to try again in the future. Maybe I'll have stronger feelings about it then.

[strahlend]

In the imp I'm getting mostly a woodsy, somewhat sour red wine. Hm. Ok.

 

On my skin - WOW I'm totally in love! This is a much more interesting blend now. I feel like I'm getting a hint of the clean ozone, lots of the teak, I'm not sure about burnt grasses – I would have thought a hint of vetiver – the dark green feel of the ivy... the rest I can't easily identify. The wine is gone, the leather is subtly lending warmth without being obtrusive. This english ivy smells similar to one of my all time LE favorites - Twisted Oak Tree, but this end up just a bit darker because of the teak and leather.

 

As it wears Black Tower stays pretty true to itself after its initial dry down phase, just getting a little softer.

 

I can't wait to get a few bottles of this and sit back and sigh with contentment.

[Teaotter]

Wet, it smells beautifully complex, leather and amber with green notes in the background. Alas, once it was on me, all I could smell was the leather and ozone. I think ozone may not like me at all.

[starfish327]

i've been wanting to try this one for awhile, but i don't play well with either ozone or metallics, so i'm not holding out much hope for this one.

 

in the imp: i actually don't smell much of anything. i get a very faint cologny ozone if i try hard.

 

wet: all ozone and metallics. and it's making me sneeze.

 

dry: when it first starts drying, i get a lot more of the notes- i get smoke, leather, and something faintly green. however it then morphs back to a rather flat ozone and metallic before it dies out completely. and it's making me sneeze again.

 

i like the theme of this blend, but i can't handle blends that make me sneeze...

[Lorna Brigid]

I had been wanting to try Black Tower ever since I read it's description a year ago.

I got a vial and got the opportunity, and I wore it today.

What misfortune.

Smelled interestingly beautiful in the imp; kind of a hint of lemon, I can smell the leather, the ozone, the metallic "Wine", etc.

On wet: Within 2 minutes I went into a *getitoffgetitoffgetitoffgetitoff!* dance.

On me, Black Tower smells like death warmed over, plain and simple.

No sweetness, no sandalwood, nothing pretty. Just death.

I would not choose to goto work smelling like road kill. Mental note: When work someday requires visits to the coroner, bring a pleasant sniffy to breathe into.

I was nauseated all day, and tried hard to eradicate or mask the scent of BT.... it was a fail.

My skin amps dead soldiers, apparently.

[lahdeedah]

Mrrrrowww! I really love this one. Even though it's not the inspiration for this blend, I feel it still somewhat evokes the hero of one of my favorite collections of books: The Dark Tower series by Stephen King. It's a desolate, gaunt blend. For once the wine plays nice on my skin, lending a bit of warmth to an otherwise barren and cold scent. I also amp leather, so I get a ton of that, a hint of ivy, galbanum and a lot of ozone. Verra nice.

[pteron]

I was very excited to try such a complex scent. The Lab's description is very evocative. I love leather, but hadn't tried any of the other notes.

 

In the imp: Ineffable, but very distinctive.

 

On the skin: Well, this is certainly interesting. First, dusty red grapes. Then, the smell of burnt grass. Cool steel comes out next, and it's amazing how authentic this cold metal note feels. The grape smell has faded into the background, but not disappeared. Next is the hint of leather, which is beautiful but understated. It's really amazing how multifaceted this oil is and how much it morphs, even from minute to minute. The scent as a whole has me picturing a field of desolation. It's a dark, formidable scent, but isn't cold.

 

Around five minutes, something that smells like incense (the sandalwood?) emerges. At this point, the burnt and metallic smells have mellowed, as has the wine, and it smells more like leather and incense. It's very different from the leather and incense of Antony or Dee, though; The Black Tower is much more somber and gloomy. There is a definite edge to the scent now, which I think might be the ozone. I get a bit of the copper zing others have mentioned, but it doesn't bother me. On the contrary, I find it intriguing and have never smelled anything like this!

 

Ten minutes, and the leather has dropped out, the steel has returned, and the sandalwood and ozone are lingering. There might be some ebony, teak, ivy, and ambergris, but I don't know what those smell like enough to recognise them.

 

Forty minutes, and it's a woody, incensy ozone.

 

Fifty minutes, and the wine note is coming back.

 

Overall Thoughts: This is such a fantastic and different scent. A dreary beauty. My mental image for The Black Tower is a storm approaching a desolate field covered with the ruins of a fallen castle. Certainly the darkest of any oil I've tried. I really like it, but it's too evocative and powerful to wear as an everyday scent. This scent continues to morph, although most of the changes come in the first ten minutes; I almost wish each of the stages would last longer so I could savour them more.

 

This is the one imp from my latest order that really worked for me, so yay! It also makes it into my top 5 scents! (Admittedly, I split my order with a friend and only had four imps to sample.)

[Ishtar]

In the imp, this smelled like a classic and very high-quality men's cologne to me - fresh, a little citrussy, a little herbal. Very appealing, in a unisex kind of way.

 

The Black Tower retains its "gentlemanly" feel throughout all the stages of its drydown. The ambergris and ivy are quite prominent for the first half-hour, only to be replaced by leather, smoke and dark woods after complete drydown - interestingly, these latter notes combine into a nice blond tobacco accord on my skin.

 

Yet another stunning blend. I don't think I would reach for it often, but I can't help admiring the artistry that went into formulating this scent.

[gniwle]

Mmm, I love this. Hopefully I didn't already review it.

 

On me, I get sweet, wet stone and metal. That's what it smells like on me from application to the time it fades away. But that's not a bad thing! No, in fact, this is gorgeous and so evocative. I feel like this is exactly what the 'Black Tower' would really smell like.

[jkfagtongpun]

Er... I'm sure it's my body chemistry but, anybody remember Drakkar Noir? I put this on and I was back in 7th grade, giving Drakkar Noir to my first boyfriend. Eek. No no. This was the boy that tried to kiss me in the hall in front of everyone and I ran away screaming. Not something I want to remember.

 

I did get leather and something slightly reminding me of pine. I'm sure it would be great on the right person but I don't want to go back to 7th grade. EVER.

[Honey]

Imp: Different than I would have expected. I smell a balmy sweetness. I think it is the coumarin in the burnt grasses and the rick red wine. The balmy element could be the galbanum. This smells like a generic yet pleasant body lotion somehow.

 

Wet: I mostly get sweet heavy wine with a dash of herbal undertones.

 

Dry: The tart ivy comes through after all together with the dry sandalwood. There is also some leather and teak in the background, but they are not too dominant. It gets sharper on the dry-down, heavier on the leather. Rather masculine than gender neutral. Alas no more fruity sweetness and wine.

[angelicruin]

I definitely smell the wine and heavy smoke with this blend. Sandalwood is there too. It dries down to burnt ivy doused in wine, but I actually kind of like this scent. It's dark without being too dark and definitely has character on my skin.

[Morsigne925]

In the imp: It actually smells a bit like Yggdrasil to me, minus the sweetness. There is a cold, earthy smell to it, it's smelling quite like the description in the imp, like being outdoors after rain in an old ruin in the woods

Wet: Wow, what a complex scent - on my skin it smells a lot like trees after rain - I live in the pacific northwest and this reminds me of rain + trees fairy uncannily - i also smell a couple more musky notes, that I think are probably the wood and leather; I also smell the ivy now, and just barely a hint of sweet tartness that I think must be the red wine. This is an incredibly intriguing scent - it smells very masculine to me yet at the same time not - I could *love* this as a room scent, and I think I may try it on the BF, even though I'm quite liking it on myself. It's not the kind of thing I'd probably wear on a hot date, but maybe on a rainy day, or when I feel like reading Tolkien or playing Magic the Gathering or something. I am loving this scent in a way that's somewhat different from the way I like most other perfumes I wear to feel sexy or confident, if that makes any sense.

Drying (~1 hour): I am so intrigued by this scent! It's gotten slightly sweeter on me as it dried, but I still wouldn't classify it as a 'sweet' scent; I smell what must be the teak that reminds me slightly of Antikythera Mechanism, a slightly smoky-wood smell, still smell the ivy, and a freshness that I imagine must be the ozone. Every time I sniff my wrist I feel like I pick out a different note as mroe prominent.

End of the day: I really love this scent, but for different reasons than I like other Bpals - it's not the kind of perfume I'd wear on a regular basis, but would perhaps use when I was feeling a particular mood or would use it as a room scent. 4 stars!

 

Revisit AUG 2014:

 

I must have reviewed Yggdrasil and this one as a pair before, too, because I am again getting a very similar feeling from this one as from Yggdrasil. It's a bit...sharper, is how I would describe it, almost like it's got a bit of a light musk in it; must be the white sandalwood. I may be changing my mind about woodsy scents being my thing for everyday, because with these two I really cannot stop sniffing my wrist. It gets even more interesting as it dries down. I won't lie, to me the concept of the name of a perfume also gives them a lot of interest to me, and "the black tower" really intrigues. Definitely a keeper, may experiment with wearing this and other woodsy scents on a more regular basis. 4 stars it remains!

Edited August 23, 2014 by Morsigne925

[BoneBone24]

Wet: Deep, sweet wine with a touch of ozone.

 

Drydown: Deep, warm, and complex. The ambergris is at the forefront, with touches of sandalwood, sweet wine, burnt grass, ozone, and leather settling in along the edges. This is a full-bodied and intoxicating scent.

 

Dry: Primarily soft ambergris and wine lifted by a hint of ozone. The other notes are blending together in the background giving this an incredible amount of depth. Sumptuous and cozy.

 

 

 

I was expecting a grittier, more masculine scent, but this is actually quite sophisticated and seductive. The ruggedness is there, but so is a sweetness and softness that I wasn't expecting. It's rather sexy!

Edited June 23, 2012 by BoneBone24