Hellfire

[suki]

A scent celebrating Sir Francis Dashwood's Order of the Knights of St. Francis of Wycombe, also known as the Hellfire Club. A swirl of pipe tobacco, hot leather, ambergris, dark musk and the lingering incense smoke from their Black Mass.

in the imp: smoky, but not in the usual vetiver sort of way. more sweet and refined. it must be the pipe tobacco.

wet on skin: now a light musk has come into the mix. the pipe essence is still present.

dry down: this has stayed the same on me pretty much from start to finish. no leahter has appeared on me, which i'm grateful for!

in all: because of the pipe tobacco, i can feel the ghost of Black Lace in this blend. like Black Lace's slightly sweeter cousin!

[eatingthesea]

hellfire belongs to that rare category of scents that so evoke a part of my history or memories that it's almost too special to wear, for fear i'll start getting misty-eyed. as to the scent itself, i was pleased to pick up on the ambergris...i didn't know it was in there beforehand but i had a pretty good feeling, and it was immensely comforting to find i was right about it. combined with the pipe tobacco, i find this scent more cozy overall than sexy...probably has something to do with its familiarity to captain black pipe tobacco...what my dad smoked each night as he helped me with my math homework. this scent just sits right with me...i really adore it. very special stuff.

Edited April 25, 2008 by eatingthesea

[savage_rose]

Litterboxes and baby powder. Not two great things that go together, not at all.

[Poenari]

Very disappointing to me, because I like all of the individual notes. But this smells like a tiny bathroom that has extra rolls of dry toilet paper, the industrial kind, stacked on the back of the toilet. Not disgusting, just not a pleasant smell.

[alicia_stardust]

I love, love, love the way that tobacco and leather mingle together. This is the most dominant part of the blend for me, but I do get a smooth and sticky ambergris layer and a touch of musk underneath that. This one is very intense and strong, but it is also very, very niiiiice.

[thatpirategirl]

I really had to force myself to test this one out. In the bottle it smelled exactly like scotch, which to me is absolutely disgusting. But I try every scent I come across, so...

 

To my great relief, the scotch scent calms down just seconds after touching my skin. Smokey incense and tobacco begin to come out, and the leather is sweet. I'm baffled that it suddenly became so rich and calming, but I guess I should have known that nothing ever smells like it does in the bottle! It's a decadent masculine scent that reminds me of Sherlock Holmes sitting in his study.

 

Definitely too masculine and out-of-character for me -- I ended up washing it off after about a half hour, not really wanting my mom to smell scotch and tobacco on me. But I'm highly impressed at how well it transformed itself into something interesting! On a guy it would be fantastic.

[greenranger]

In the imp, alcohol...scotch or whisky or something.

 

Wet on me, not much misbehaving actually going on is there? A solemn, well cleaned, library or study. I'm not certain what happened, but something is repressing the scent something fierce. Usually I can smell leather, tobacco, musk, and incense very clearly. Each of those notes is often the last note standing on my skin in other blends...so...where's the party?

 

In fact, the one spot on me that I can smell much of anything smells a little like someone's been cleaning. Did someone get wind of a visit from Mom and tidy up the evidence?

 

Prompted by the reviews preceding mine, I tried to wait it out. It DID come back...slightly. It was a very very very faint tobacco scent. I don't understand! Perversion was lovely, other scents with similar notes go well with my skin, what happened?

 

 

 

-----------

 

A few days later, I gave this another try, just in case it was my monthly skin chemistry playing with it.

 

In the imp, alcohol. Something hard, like scotch or whisky.

 

On me, I smelled tobacco only on the spot I applied on my elbow, and then...gone. It's gone in all the places where I applied it, except for the faintest whiff of cleaning solution.

 

 

So far, I am terribly disappointed.

 

------------

Third try. I can be really stubborn sometimes.

 

This time I smell smoke....some sort of scented smoke or smoke mixed with incense. It's actually more noticable away from the places that I applied it, though. I usually like tobacco and incense, but this one? ehhh.

 

Swapping.

Edited June 16, 2008 by Aerinha

[grashopper8]

oh WOW, this is unexpectedly wonderful!!

 

Anyone who likes Anactoria absolutely must try Hellfire. It has the same gorgeous honeyed amber musk, just Addictively Perfect!!

 

I can also smell the leather, which actually is working very nicely. The tobacco, I'm not picking out quite as much, but it's there, adding depth to an already deep scent.

 

Gorgeous golden musk, I love it!!

 

4.6 out of 5

[ouch!]

Ok I'm so confuddled....

 

I have an imp of hellfire and I cannot tell for the life of me which one I have, whether it's the old formulation or this one!! I'm reviewing here because..it smells like neither of the descriptions I have but I spose it's closer to this if any! *wonders if that's correct*

 

Ok, this will be a strange review because reading the rest..I get NONE of the same kind of notes or smells!!

 

(oh yeah, it is defiantely an imp of Hellfire, it has the lab label and everything)

 

Well...one of my favourite GC blends is Sed Non Satiata, and this is very similar to that. I got honey straight away (Which is why I'm confused, because it would make more sense that this is the old formulation grr).

 

But anyway..I put SNS on one hand and this on the other, very very similar except that this has a slightly green note to it, and seems to be less sexy, but much more musky...there's a hell of alot of musk in here.....It's a a musky, sexy..almost vaniallery honey blend which doesn't match ANY of the two desctiptions!

 

I NEED AN EXPERIENCED FORUMITE TO TRY THIS AND TELL ME WHAT'S GOING ON!!

 

That's the only way I can describe it..

[carrickfergus]

Sharp and herbal-smokey, not quiote masculine, just rather delightful.

[thelaurenator]

Whoa. This certainly does smell like Hellfire. It's an unpleasant, evil fire scent. Smells like a forest fire or something-- there's a heavy dose of anguish in the scent. It's definitely not a pleasant fire scent, like a bonfire or a campfire. It's bitter.

[brsis]

Initial thoughts: Oh my. Oh my oh my. Oh... dear God, just put it on already! NOW!

 

In the imp: Phwoar. Tobacco, yes, but not the nice fragrant note I get from something like Ogun, this is thick and black and gives you lung cancer just from looking at it. Leather, yup, getting that too. Ambergris and incense? Quite possibly. There's also an unmistakable tang of single malt whisky, which isn't listed in the notes but goes rather well with the theme, doncha think? Overall, a heavy, thick sort of scent... not actually as masculine as I first expected.

 

On the wrist, wet: I hope I like this, because thanks to dropping the imp wand it's now what my knitting smells like. On, there's some slight funkiness going on with the musk - it can behave a touch oddly on me - heavy tobacco, leather, that slight licorise tang I get from the combination of the two... bit of incense? Quite possibly. So far, this is interesting, but not really me... a bit like Stimulating Sassafras Strengthener, it's catching in the back of my throat and making me feel ever so slightly queasy.

 

Twenty minutes later: This is a little too close to Herr Drosselmeyer for me to get really excited - I love Herr, but with it's linen note etc it's cleaner and warmer than this. It's hot and muggy - leather, tobacco, and a definate twang that catches in my throat, which I think is the musk misbehaving just a little. Overall, this is good - just not that good, and Herr Dross is better.

 

Verdict: Keeper, might consider a bottle if my Herr Drosselmeyer ever runs out.

 

Tl;Dr: Heavy, thick hot leather, tobacco, and a wiff of dark ambergris incense with a musky tang.

[plunderparlour]

Tobacco leather musk. This is so great on my guy!

[Iceblink]

I saw leather in the notes and was instantly suspicious. But I tried it anyway and oh my--this smells great! Tobacco and sweet incense and honey? really? Wow...this is fantastic. I'll have to wear this alone one day and see how the leather behaves but for now, WIN.

[milo]

I love this in the imp! On application, it is very fresh, a great summer scent. I do not get any floral, which is a good thing. This is very light and breezy in spite of the musk and leather. For some reason, I get mint, but it is not listed in the ingredients. An unexpected winner!

[AthenaRose]

My fiancé wasn't all that fond of this one on him, so i tried it too.

 

Starts out sharp and minty. Then the mintyness fades and it turns into a warm sweet smokyness with a bit of leather. Very Sherlock Holmes... sitting in a leather chair, smoking a pipe. Nice enough, if you like that sort of thing. Too masculine for me.

 

2/5

[ladylavy]

As per Ouch's review, I'm not sure on which kind of Hellfire my imp is, since it feels like none of the two!!

 

Imp: as I open the imp I smell a very warm honey, with a slight hint of metallic in the background

 

Wet: on, it reminds me of old, humid and rundown houses and mossy stones. It's somewhat green and wet but still resinous and honey.

 

Dry: it's still green and wet with a resinous and powedry note. It smells like antique furniture's wax and beeswax. Could it have an amber element?

 

Overall: I like it and it's quite lasting on me. It kind of remindes me of something pleasant and warm. I would like a bottle.

Again, I cannot detect leather. Must be my veganness rebelling agains it !!

[Suu4LC]

Hmm...this does NOT sound like a scent for me. It was a lab frimp, and a blend I never would have given a second glance. I don't like tobacco or leather scents, but I have to give everything a try!

 

In the imp I get a lot of dark musk and leather. It's not as smoky as I had expected, which is a good thing, because sometimes leather and tobacco smell like stale ashtray to me, and I am not getting that while sniffing this blend.

 

Out of all the leather blends I've tried, this is probably one of the most enjoyable ones. Not ashtray-ish at all. There's some note in here that really cutes the leather/smoke/incense, and softens it up a bit. Still, i would call this a masculine scent, but not as dirty or dark as I had expected. More refined and dignified.

 

This dries down very nicely. It is a pleasant tobacco/leather/musk scent-not my thing, but I would recommend it to those who find the description intriguing.

[GeorgeJr]

I'll start of by saying this is nice , but it's not going to supplant Dee as my go to leathery / smoky goodness scent . This is like Dee with some sweetness added . Not as smoky either . The sweetness is quite strong in my nose . I'm getting some leathers past it , but only if I really snort hard at my arm . Maybe it's the incense I'm getting ? Maybe . Don't get me wrong , this isn't bad . Not by a long shot . It just doesn't wow me like others have .

[jewelbug]

Imp: Surprisingly sweet, mostly pipe tobacco, I think.

 

Wet : Lots of sweet tobacco (love it!) and a wee bit of musk. Reminds me of the tobacco from herr drosselmeyer.

 

Drying: This gets smokier and more leathery as time passes. After about 10 minues, it’s a really sexy, smoky leather and tobacco combo. 20 mins in, the musk takes it a little toward the powdery side of things, but its still a nice leather/tobacco mix.

 

Overall: Sexy leathery tobacco. This would be fantastic on a man. For me, I prefer herr drosselmeyer for my leather/tobacco needs (its sweeter and a bit less masculine).

Edited October 1, 2008 by jewelbug

[modillian]

This is a frimp. I would never have picked this one because of the "dark musk". I am prone to liking all the other ingredients very much, though, so we'll see how it goes.

 

In the bottle I get leather, musk, and smoke. Wet it's all black leather, which is very nice. Dry at first it's hotly tanned leather with a little smoke. The throw is very minimum, surprisingly. The throw is...disappearing, in fact? Is my skin eating this oil??? There some punchy ambergris coming out with the hot leather and smoke, but it's still departing at about ten minutes in.

 

It's gone! My skin has eaten this oil. All I'm getting is a very faint leather/smoke scent. Well! That was a disappointing show. Half the fun of these oils is smelling how they unfold over the hours. I guess if I want a show tonight I'll just pop on some Kubla Khan to blow my hair back. I already have lovely powerful leather scents, so Hellfire is quite swappable.

[meredevachon]

The first time I tried this, it reminded me so strongly of Loviatar (thank you, leather and musk!) I couldn't really smell anything else. Not that that's a bad thing; I like Loviatar... but I don't need two of them. So I decided to put it away and try it again a couple of weeks later.

 

It still started out almost exactly the same as Loviatar, chemically in the imp from the leather note, then strong leather and musk when wet. But as it dried and bloomed on my skin, the sweet roundness of the tobacco came out and made it so much better. I only got hints of incense from time to time, but the tobacco-leather-musk is absolutely lovely. Definitely a keeper.

[porcelina]

i think the incense in hellfire goes a little odd on me- it almost smells like anise? after a little while that goes away, however. it's really nice- smokey musk and leather. i can definitely see myself wearing this.

[cymbeline]

Swap test!

 

Smell alike: A spicier Highwayman

 

Color impression: wild fawn

 

On me: Ouch… I am started to think that the lab leather note doesn’t really likes me =/ It goes all screaming on my skin, leaving no room for the others. Too bad, because the faint accents I get for the musk working with the spice (tobacco) is really nice

 

Wearing: Too manly for me, I prefer rounder, brighter scents

[Pottersville]

A frimp from the Lab - THANKS, LAB! Sadly, I didn't get a single one of the listed notes! At first sniff, I was hit with a wave of powdery sweetness (amber?!), quickly followed by something more acrid that I took to be vetiver or patchouli (tobacco?!). The two balanced each other nicely for a short period, and then the powdery sweetness was back. I hate my skin chemistry!