Czernobog

[Witch's Dagger]

Czernobog

Created in honor of the Slavic Black God of the Dead. A nighttime god of grief, evil, chaos and woe, he is paralleled by his twin brother Bylebog, god of light, joy, order, and good fortune. A combination of three musks, with splashes of dark myrrh, vetiver and mullein.

 

This was not only a freebie from the lab, but one that caused me to have a spiritual experience. Thank you!

 

I cannot give an adequate review of this one, so I'm not even going to try. Here, then, are my impressions, written quickly and without much analysis:

 

The name suits it perfectly: While in many countries' folklore, going into a dark forest is a theme, it's even moreso in Slavic folklore. The dark, wild, and unpredictable forest is a major theme in just about everything.

 

This is a black God - half animal, half man - totally black, in the middle of the darkest forest you can imagine, at night.

 

In other words, I get foresty (dark green, not necessarily "woody") smells mixed with civet and other musks.

 

And, for me, it is truly a sacred scent. Too sacred to wear on normal days, but I definitely want to get a bottle of it at some point.

[Laurel the Woodfairy]

This was a freebie, and I am very, very scared of it between the description and the reviews. :eyes the dark-blackish-brown imp anxiously:

 

Actually...this is fine on me. Not scary or gross at all. The dark musk note that I love in Haunted is here, and I've been keeping an eye (nose?) out for other blends that have it. It's dark but a tad spicy, and not as strong as I would have thought. I do think it will be sexier on a guy (:looks around for guy; where is he?: ) It's not bad on me though. Apparently my uber-femme chemistry can tame anything.

 

Edited to add: the myrrh came out more strongly on the boy, and we both quite like it on him, so it's off to his imp box now.

Edited April 6, 2005 by Laurel the Woodfairy

[loveandprozak]

Before someone flames me for this review, I'd like to point out my previous reviews of scents. They usually are quite mild-mannered and analytic.

 

I am unable to be analytic about this scent, however.

 

 

Top note: A demonic cat with a yeast infection is starting to pee.

 

Middle notes: Bacteria-infected demonic cat pee.

 

Base notes: The frustration of trying to get bacteria-infected demonic cat pee off the carpet.. or your arm for that matter. (Which people who've had cats, demonic or not, know this can be quite a chore...)

 

 

Now where did I put that bottle of nitric acid...

[e_miche]

I quite like it on my skin. No cat pee here.

 

I do find it vaguely reminiscent of Snake Oil- I was shocked to see that at least 1 person noticed that as well. I also get a strange citrus out of it every now and then, but on the whole, I like it.

I need to at least get two more imps of it.

[Fyre_in_Winter]

Umm... Czernobog is an interesting scent. The oil is very, very dark and ominous looking. Sniffing from the imp though revealed a light incense/resinous scent with a bit of something fresh. Dabbing it on my skin elicited the lime note others have mentioned. So far so good, and then a rank undertone developed. I was undecided if that undertone was bad BO, old urine, or equal parts of each. I suspect one of the musks to be a feral or dark musk that didn't agree with my skin chemistry. A bit of a shame, but this isn't my usual kind of scent either, so I'm not heart broken. I can definitely see where this would be yummy on a guy, though.

[voodoobaby]

In the bottle: Very strongly myrrh. Certain types of myrrh smell like soda to me; this is no exception, but it's more of a Mr. Pibb smell than Pepsi. There's also a slight chemical smell that, while surprising for BPAL, is not horribly unpleasant.

 

Wearing: Musk! Wow! This is...very sexy. Holy crap.

 

Later: Still mostly musk, but very little myrrh, and a certain biting spice. I can't really put my finger on it. It's quite sharp, but not in a vetiver-y way. Just...spicy and sharp. With musk. Mmm. Still incredibly sexy.

 

Overall: Love it! By far one of the darkest scents I've tried so far, which is a very good thing for me. Very much a keeper.

 

EDIT: OK. I tried this one again and...ugh! I don't know if the above review was a fluke or if I was just having an off day recently, but it smelled awful--almost like BO, but not quite. I put it on before school thinking I loved it, but it just took an awful turn and I had to get some alcohol swabs to get it off ASAP. It was so bad that I ended up swapping it off. And I liked it so much before.

Edited August 22, 2005 by voodoobaby

[Loligo]

This was a fascinating smell experience, but not necessarily one that I need to repeat!

 

I *felt* this oil even before I smelled it. As soon as I put it on (and I am a slatherer, BTW), I got goosebumps ONLY in the area where I had applied the oil. Seriously, a little square half-inch of goosebumps. And the oil left a green stain, too.

 

It started out with foresty smells -- I'm terrible at telling all those evergreen trees and related woody notes apart from each other. Then it morphed into something very manly and sexy smelling. A bit too manly even for my androgynous tastes, but I thought it would smell great on my husband. And then it turned into wet dog. I know, I know, body chemistry -- maybe it wouldn't smell like a wet dog on *him*. But he's not really that into perfume anyway, so I traded it away for something I wanted more.

[nineveh]

Before I even try this on, I can tell that one of the musks is red musk. I can smell it in the imp and I can identify it by its dark reddish purple color.

 

This is a dark, intense scent. I don't find it to be unpleasant, but I'm not sure I like it, either. I usually like musks and myrrh, but here, it smells like something pungent with burning wood. Sometimes I get a decay scent creeping up from underneath. That might be vetiver, but it doesn't smell like the vetiver that I've experienced in other blends.

 

Overall, I found this to be very dark, raw, animalistic, and smoky. It fades after a while to a less intense, sweeter scent while still remaining dark.

[slugbait]

After trying Satyr for my finace and realizing civet smells okay on him, I thought maybe Mr. Czernobog would work out as well.

 

This oil is very menacing looking in the imp. It's almost black. Opening it, this reminds me of a sweeter version of Satyr. My boy just wrinkles his nose when he smells it and refuses to let me put any on him. Oh well. I'll just test it.

 

I put a small patch on my arm and wait. There is definately civet in it. Not bad. It begins to get stronger, more potent, and suddenly: it smells like BM. Ugggh!!! This is the first BPAL oil that has actually triggered my gag reflex. Dry heaving, I ran into the kitchen holding my breath while trying to scrub this off before I threw up.

 

This might work for other people, but this is definitly not me and it makes my stomach hurt. Fiance won't even touch it... Into the swap pile!

[Lycanthrope]

This scent makes me feel EVIL when I put it on. Very odd, after the oil touches my skin I get this distinct feeling of... wanting to just be bad. Weird.

 

In the Bottle or Imp:

Wet amber with a touch of dark woods, a spicy, twisted and chaotic topnote.

Wet, on Skin:

Definitely a peppery vetiver on me, with an interesting green herbal kick, like lime, sage and thyme. Definitely sharper, pungent herbs as opposed to wet or fresh ones. Maybe a hint of mint.

Drying Down:

Still peppery, but has gone sweeter with musk. I get a very potent camphor/benzoin resin, medicinal whiff at this point.

Over Time/Longterm:

The camphorous aroma is gone, and Czernobog has transformed into a subtle, sweet amber and musk blend, akin to Titus Andronicus. I'm actually sort of missing the extra herbal/camphorous bite it had about an hour ago.

Final Verdict?

Makes me evil! Naughty! Will keep the imp, but it's not really something that goes with sweet (generally) innocent me. Dark, potent, but it turns rather unassuming and generic men's fragrance after an hour or so.

[judas_kiss]

Wow, this is a heavy scent. Just a drop on my wrist and I could smell it for hours.

 

This scent immediately started off a deep, sticky pine. Rather like the sap you will find on pine lumber. Then, the animalistic musky side of this fragrance really began to bloom. Immediately upon smelling this scent in its full glory, I thought of a black wolf watching from a thick, pine forest on a chilly night. I thought this might be what his fur smelled like.

 

Over all, a very strong, sexy predominantly male fragrance. I might wear this to a club when I am in ball-buster mode.

[Red_Hot_Mama]

Czernobog

 

This was a frimp with my last order. Interesting color, dark & deep brown. Sure makes it stand out from the other Imps. Guess I need to try this.

 

The first scent to "hit" me is the mullein. I had no idea what mullein smells like. I just knew I caught a wiff of something which remined me of eucalyptus. Turns out, you can distill an methanol extract from mullein. Ok...makes sense.

 

Once the mullein fades, the musks & vetivert "kick" in. Never did smell the myrrh.

 

Ultimately, this is powerful, musky MALE.

 

Czernobog is one of those oils you just need to experience. Let yourself get past the menthol stage & don't apply too much.

 

It's worth it!

[slave1]

In Bottle: Musk!

 

On Skin: I love musk, but this one is a bit too smokey for me. Very heavy and masculine. Dark and sexy, the myrrh gives it a nice warmth. The vetiver gives it an animalistic edge. My husband doesn’t like smokey scents and this one is probably too heavy for him so it’s off to the swaps.

[BlueStar]

I hoped so desperately that I would love this scent. My chemistry disappointed me again.

 

Wet: Mmm tasty, spicy, musky, sexy, hot hot hot smoky deliciousness. I imagine a predator stalking it's prey through an old battle field laying in waste.

 

Drydown: OK my body sucks! The Myrrh goes crazy and the musk starts to smell like urine. I wish it worked but it just doesn't. Ihate my skin!

[Northernminx]

Strong, musky amd dark, this is a slinking, dark masculine scent. Mostly I get musk from this with a touch of earthy spice and thankfully none of the stale smell I usually get from vetiver. Fun to try, but definitly too masculine and dark for me, this was something that makes most men's perfumes look bright and fluffy.

[parrot_suspect]

There's a strong eucalyptus/pine note in the opening -- like being in a dark forest. Very woodsy-smelling. Then it loses the eucalyptus and slowly morphs into something reminiscent of Dragon's Musk. This is not a bad fragrance but I don't see myself getting a bottle, as Dragon's Musk by itself is just fine.

[Lori]

Mmmmmmmm…right off the bat, I smell the Vetiver in the imp! I’ve been wanting to slather that on my BF for awhile.

 

Wet on wrists: ooooh…now the Myrrh is coming through..yum! Oh, I LOVE this on ME…if I get it on him, I think I will be all over him!

 

*sniff, sniff, sniff* I CAN’T STOP sniffing my wrists! This smells So good! I would definitely wear this myself but I want to get the boy some. I will be all over him like a bunny! Actually, since he just got home after being away for 9 months, I am anyway, but this will make me crazy! It hasn’t even dried yet, and I smell SEX like there is no tomorrow! Bye, I am off to grab him.

 

Haha…I came back to add that I read the description again, and God of Chaos accurately describes my boy!

 

Drydown: It’s got too musky for me to wear but I still want to smell this on him before it goes to the swap pile.

[hologhost]

This has been possibly one of the strangest BPAL scent experiences I've had.

 

This was a frimp. My mother and always do a sniff fest when new stuff comes in. This smelled awful even before I opened the bottle. Feral and dark. There's a rank note here - maybe civet. Medicinal and camphorous. Icky! I thought, "Straight into the swap pile with you!"

 

That's were it got weird. The scent would not get off my mind. It kept calling to me - like that nasty, but cute boy in the dark corner of the bar "Come on, you know you want me..."

 

This has gone on for a couple of weeks. Finally, I thought it would be a shame to trade something without seeing what it does on my skin, right?

 

So I wore it yesterday. The feral smell is still there. It fades over time. I'm forced to admit that I'm beginning to like this. I really don't know why. It takes a good three hours for the blackness to creep far enough back so that it smells anything like a normal scent. I freely state that I don't know what about this strange little bottle put it's claws into me. But I guess I'm keeping it.

[brownbear]

This one was hard to get my head around. It's dark and heavy. In the vial it seemed to have a note something like jujyfruits. The fruit and the licquorice and the spearimint all mingling together. There is also a lot of heavy musk in here. I really like how it is wet.

After it dries on my skin though a more menthol note comes out. I don't think my skin is cooperating with this one, though I really enjoy it in the imp. Maybe I can find someone dark and mysterious to put it on.

[Blood onmy hands]

Umm... add me to the list of people that Czernobog went very, very badly on.

First on this smelled like sharp medicinal menthol and maybe a hint of lime. I really like lime, so I thought that maybe it would be okay. It was luring me into a false sense of security.

Slowly this begins to take on a bad smell. Reminding me of, um, feces. Dirty and nauseating. I wanted to wash it off at this point, but I was only five minutes into wearing it.

I waited it out for 15 minutes before washing it off. It started to smell like a mechanic's shop. Oil, grease, car parts. And still feces in the background.

This is so odd. My friend said that it reminded her of Satyr, but Satyr is one of my favorite BPAL blends...and it didn't smell anything like Czernobog does on me. This is awful, so awful that I don't even want to swap it to anyone.

I think that I'm going to send this to a guy that I don't like anymore with a note about how sexy it smells. I'm sadistic like that.


Retrying an imp of this in 2016 and it is (or I am) completely different.
I smell misty, cool evergreens, like rained on juniper bushes, paired with a black musk and sweet myrrh combo that's really quite nice and conjures up blends like Snake Oil and Snake Charmer. Slinky, sexy, musky, dark, resinous, forest blend.

Edited May 18, 2016 by Little Bird

[LyndaM]

Czernobog...this one didn't work for me at all. I was almost afraid to put it on my skin, but I gave it a try. It was just too dark and heavy for my nose, I couldn't pick out a single note until extreme drydown. Then, all I could smell was a very heavy black musk with an undertone of patchouli, and...something else. Something unpleasant.

 

Czernobog is the only BPAL scent I have tried within which I couldn't find a single thing to appreciate, it was all done in by the mysterious evil note.

 

Edit: I'm still trying to puzzle out what didn't work here. I've found that every BPAL musk, including the dark musk, works well on me, so that can't be the culprit. I gave the imp to another newbie, and it had a similar effect on her. This must just be one of those blends; either it works on you or it doesn't.

 

Edit II - Two Years Later: Either Czernobog has changed, or I have changed. I suspect the latter. I got a frimp of Czernobog in my last order. Now it just smells darkly masculine and musky, with a lasting pine note. I cannot imagine what horrified me so the first time around. Still not my thing, but not at all unpleasant.

Edited October 12, 2007 by LyndaM

[coulrophobe]

Like several others, Czernobog was the one BPAL that made me physically nauseous. I'm dead certain there's civet in here - because only civet smells that awful on my skin.

 

At every stage - in the imp, wet, and dry - this smells like a mixture of Pine-Sol and feces on me. It's all eau de diaper pail - heavy piney disinfectant and poo.

 

I've tried blends containing civet, and they all have a note that is distinctively (or is that di-stink-tively? Bad pun!) fecal on me. I know it's not the musk, as even the dark "feral" musks are OK with my chemistry. I tried Czernobog on one of my guy friends, and while he didn't think it was *too* bad, it was still diaper pail to my nose. So sadly, this one just ain't for me.

[Carolyn]

Well, I didn't get feces or cat urine or diaper pail from this. I did get a decaying, bad breath odor, though. I'm not sure anyone else picked up that particular note, but it's a doozie.

 

I agree with others, I'm not even sure it's fair to swap this sucker.

[Nachtwulf]

Bottle: Okay, I was disappointed with how un-Dark 'Darkness' was. /THIS/ is Darkness. It's a dusky, thick oil, it's pungent and resinous and powerful. It also strongly reminds me of SOMETHING and I have no clue what.

 

Wet: Strangely, this seems to pick up some odd sweetnesses when I put it on. It's not food or floral, though; I can only imagine it's some musk or another reacting with my skin. I'm picking up a peculiar clove/pepper kind of note too. Weirdly, the vetiver (which usually tries to stab me in the sinuses when I'm not looking) is totally absent. It still reminds me of.... something.

 

Drying: It gains a weird, kind of unpleasant pepperish note, but it's pretty transitory.

 

Dry: It mellows a bit more, gaining a more woody quality. It's still sweetish, but not food or flower or anything like that. I can pick up a bit of champa or something similarly incensy. It's like a Black Mass in a bottle!

 

I don't know that I'll wear it all that /often/, but I do like it a great deal indeed, and I'll probably pick up a 5ml at some point for those days when I need a bit of forcefulness in my life.

[lookingglass]

On me this smells like I got something dead on me, and I tried to scrub it off with an industrial cleanser. Body decomposition and an astringent chemical smell (scrub, scrub...). There is something nice underneath...the musk, I think...but all together, this one is NOT for me!