Hellfire

[Essay 28]

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 bottle: sweet tobacco.

On skin initially: still sweet tobacco, bringing up memories of grandfathers and great-uncles who smoked pipes or cigars. A walk down memory lane without the tobacco side effects.

After an hour: Faded to a sweet woodsmoke scent, still pleasant.


This isn't an "everyday" scent (especially since hubby quit smoking a few years ago) but my older son (age 10) absolutely adored the scent, so perhaps a keeper.

[unfake1]

On me, Hellfire smells powdery and plasticky, with a slight undertone of licorice. Damn my skin! I really wanted to like this one, too. Maybe I'll try it out on the boy.

[RainyDayGrey]

I'll warn you in advance that my review of Hellfire is going to suck. Anyway, I was so anxious to try this one out. Just reading the notes and the reviews was turning me on! Pipe tabacco, leather, musk and brandy, oh yes!

 

In the bottle it's awesome, musky and boozy and lovely pipe tobacco.

 

On me Hellfire smelled like crap My chemistry hated this. All cheap inscense and baby poweder. Whatever, it's not like I bought it for me anyway!

 

Now on Mr. Rainy this smelled just like I had hoped it would. He had a very good night by the way.

 

He thought it was way to strong for him to wear as is, but promised to give it another shot if I found something to dilute it with. No problem!

[kmasden]

I'm still not sure when the new formulation of hellfire came out vs. the old. Eeep, I'm bad! What I can say, is I recently bought a 5ml of this from the Black Broom and I am in love. Slightly sweet, very smokey, this is tobacco smoke on me, not from a cigar, more from a pipe. It is warm with just a hint of sweetness from maybe a fruity tobacco. Dries down to a lovely smoke scent that says sexy man or wild woman. I prefer wild woman from me. Drinking scotch and smoking cigars in a big leather chair in front of the fire. Very sexy.

[girlmadasbirds]

hmm. i don't smell the tobacco or incense in this.. it's all musk and leather on me. :/ don't see myself really ever wearing this. might smell great on a guy though.

[sarada]

This is the week that I acquire and test everything that has smoke, fire and tobacco (haha, I typoed "tomacco" the first time I tried to write that...) as ingredients, that I can get my hands on. I was quite surprised to realize recently that I love these scents.

 

Who would have thought, after all my complaining about my dad smoking pipes, that I love the smell of tobacco so much. In the bottle and freshly applied, this is like opening a pouch of thick, soft tobacco -- sweet and smoky, but dark. I can't stand the actual smoke, it makes my throat clench and eyes water, but I love the smell of the leaves, and of the lingering smoke when it gets into wood. This actually becomes quite sweet after awhile, an impossible dark, smoky flower. I don't get a lot of leather, which is good as I'm not wild about leather. DeSade didn't really turn me on, for instance.

 

This is one of the scents that I dub a Sherlock Holmes smell...I think of a wooden study full of books and an Englishman carefully examining a skull or a globe. I think the ambergris must give this a kind of golden sweetness, and anything with amber in it dries down to a mainly amber smell on me. I'm not sure what the incense notes are, but I am a big fan of anything remotely relating to incense and I enjoy the smoky aftereffects of this.

 

Truth be told, this makes me feel a little high! Heady, strong and exhilarating. Another smoke blend to die for!! I wish I was a 19th century Englishman, I would wear this to my secret occult lodge meetings. I guess this is masculine, but I really prefer these kinds of scents anyway...I can see getting a bottle of this some day, or at least more imps!

[anmorata]

Hellfire:

 

Hellfire smells just like smoke and leather to me.. the smell of a club after-hours, or the way my husband's leather jacket smells after a night out dancing. It's a familliar smell, but not one I'd wear as a personal fragrance.

[quimerula]

Wet it's musk, smoke and ambergris with a touch of leather and tobacco.

No sweet or creamy in my skin, it's almost minty (maybe some vetiver? I'm not sure). Masculine and rich.

 

Dry the leather and tobacco go stronger, but it has something poignant that I can't put my finger on.

[donsixgun]

Nice. Masculine but not *manly* I like.

 

In the imp: Smoke, musk, and a hint of leather...I wasnt sure if I would like it.

 

Wet on me: Musky and smokey, with a hint of booze, or something similar

 

Drydown: I get a somewhat powdery/leathery smoked musk scent. I like this...its very masculine, without being overly manly. It has a classy/sophisticated feel to it. Ill be needing a 5ml for certain.

[olympia301]

I was pretty new to BPAL when I got Hellfire in a swap. I wasn't familiar with the tobacco smell and interpreted it differently than I do now. It did remind me of a men's club (it's named for a famous men's club called The Hellfire Club), and I think if I had gotten the imp now, I would have kept it and probably bought a 5ml of it. Alas, I traded it away.

 

However, there is good news. It is very similar to Perversion. That flavored tobacco smell is in Perversion as well as Hellfire. Here is the Lab description of Hellfire:" A swirl of pipe tobacco, hot leather, ambergris, dark musk and the lingering incense smoke from their Black Mass." Perhaps it was the musk that made me turn away from Hellfire and toward Perversion. I like the rum smell in Perversion and the vanilla-like Tonka bean, that was missing from Hellfire.

 

I think that Hellfire is a fine scent, and if you are looking for something a little less fruit, vanilla, and booze smelling, this one is for you. And if you like musk, I would choose this one over Perversion as well.

[quikslvr]

Sweet kind of tobacco--leather at first, then peppery. Mostly sweet tobacco, though, with a hint of booze, and the fresh leather of overstuffed library chairs. After it dries for about an hour, it smells like kinky sex in a bottle: browned leather and the edge of tobacco.

 

For me, slathering an SO in it seems like a good idea.

[slave1]

In Bottle: Sweet musk.

 

On Skin: I expected this to be so smokey, but it isn’t at first. The musk and tobacco are dark, deep and sweet. I usually dislike any scent that mentions smoke, but this one is so sexy and sweet… and actually kind of light. Very interesting.

[nineveh]

I wanted to try this once I discovered how great scents with tobacco are.

 

This is a very classy and masculine scent. It's warm, sweet, and smoky, but with a pine sort of scent--I don't know where that's coming from though. I don't find the pine note offensive, however, since it's soft.

 

While I like this a lot, I don't think I'll get a bottle of it. I already have Dracul on the way, which I prefer as a dark, smoky, masculine scent. I'll definitely keep the imp and make my boyfriend wear it.

[brownbear]

Both in the vial and on my skin it smelled about the same.

 

It had a smokiness to it that I didn't really associate with pipes or cigars, just smoke. It's a good warm scent. It has something in it that also smells like body/skin but stronger, probably the ambergris? There was a weird note in there as well that i still can't place. I'll have to try it again. But overall, I'm pleased. I'm keepin it.

[blu°]

this is the second bpal oil I felt I'd have to wash off immediately (the first one was sacred whore). I usually dig smokey scents but this didn't smell of nice smoke like you get from a fire or something, it smelt like the tips of my fingers or my sweat after two weeks of chain smoking cigarettes. It made me feel sick at once. I really should quit smoking but don't think I'd like this oil better if I finally managed to do so.

[Janie]

The notes from the lab are very clear and I get all of them from Hellfire. Tobacco is the predominant note in the vial and on my skin, the musk addsinterest and the leather slides it towards the darker side. The incense makes it very wearable.

 

It's very interesting and to my nose is a more wearable pipe tobacco/leather blend than Hearth, which I find overpowering.

 

I wish it had more sillage and lasted longer, but while it is around it is a lovely masculine scent.

[norman74]

On my skin: I definitely pick up the tobacco right away and then it gets a little bit smokier and within fifteen minutes this disappears. Oh, but wait, it's like the second coming...only super musky...and starting to turn powdery.

 

I think this scent surprised me a little...I didn't expect to like it, but I kinda do. I may keep this one around and use it in an oil burner or a candle, but I don't see myself wearing it again.

[Carolyn]

Hmm, only one other person had the same reaction I did. Sour nailpolish--exactly! Then it morphed into pipe smoke and Doublemint gum.

 

I think liquor and smoke scents are not for me. Perhaps because I'm a smoking liquor drinker. Or a liquored up smoker. Or whatever. But they have simply not worked for me.

 

Mwah.

[OriginalWacky]

Bottle (Imp): Chilly and a bit herby. I get this picture of a stern older gentleman sitting in his parlor, looking down his nose at a wayward youngster.

 

Just On: It gets a bit different, bit still seems more chilly than anything. There's something else bubbling there.

 

An hour or two later: I get more sweetness out of this now, and a little bit of smoke. This gentleman is a Master, and he has been smoking his pipe.

 

Around 6 hours: It went away!

 

12 hours: All gone, still <g>.

 

Overall: Oh, if this were to last longer, I'd love that. It's one I like a lot. Good thing, I have a couple imps of it, and I'll probably hang onto at least one.

 

After reading other reviews: I'll definitely have to try this layered with O, and maybe a couple others and see what I get. If I could wear Whip, it might be the perfect bolend, but my skin ruins Whip in about 30 seconds flat. Maybe with De Sade. Muahahaha. I would trade my left boob to try some of the old Hellfire, but I'm happy with this one as well.

[JazzieCazzie]

Bought as an imp based on the notes. Immediately bought a 10 ML!!! Cannot believe I haven't reviewed this here yet ...

 

BOTTLE: There are no words to describe this. I wish there were. They'd be very good words.

 

WET: Sweet and spicy and cocoa, I feel like a cross between a walking chocolate ice cream soda and a batch of slightly scorched 'smores (the best kind).

 

DRYDOWN: Totally sweet cedar and smoke.

 

This is divine. Completely a Top 10 scent for me ... mesmerizing and brilliant.

 

Needless to say on a scale of 1-5 I give this a 5-plus.

[sophia_helix]

Note: This is the current version of Hellfire

 

In the bottle: Getting the tobacco strongly, and a hint of the sweet musk (or is it the ambergris?) Definitely a "hot" smell.

 

Wet: Whoa, an earthy scent jumps right out at me. Must be the incense. The tobacco note at the end is more bitter than before, and the sweetness has disappeared.

 

Drydown: Sweetness came back over the next four hours, and the scent has mellowed down into a nice, sweetish tobacco smell with very little else. It's probably too masculine for me to wear, but I really like the smell. Sadly, I traded it away for something I thought I'd like, and didn't, so now I'm kind of mourning it.

[SeaMonkey]

I have a raging fetish for older british men, so I LOVE this.

 

On me, I'm getting pipe tobacco, the leather, and a little wine, with a slight bit of smokey incense in the background

 

This has incredible throw and staying power. I sweated my toushie off in 2 dance classes in a row and I can still smell it.

 

I want my house to smell like this. I want to smear it on the nearest boy and be naughty. Someone find me an old british man to put this on!

[DarkMouse]

(new formulation Hellfire)

 

In the bottle: a thick, tobacco and leather mixture.. it reminds me of something, but I can't place what it is.

 

On My Skin: This gave me a headache.. but I thought I'd ride it out anyway. I can smell the pipe tobacco first, and I get a very sharp note that bites at my head. After that it goes musky.. almost soapy and powdery- I'm pretty sure that's the dark musk. It got so sweet on my skin that I had to wash it off.. and I still have the headache from it.

 

In General: I actually bought this scent for my husband, so I'm anxious to see what it does on him. There is good throw to this scent.. so I'm hoping it will be lovely. As for me, I'm not going to be using any more of this imp.. since it induced a brain numbing migraine.

[k00kaburra]

In bottle: All the smokiness of the world is condensed into this bottle. Tobacco smoke. Smoky dark musk. Heavy incense smoke. The leather gives this a bit of a snap and a definite sexiness.

On me: This is too masculine for me, but man oh man - it needs to be on a man because it smells good! Slightly kinky, the scent makes me think of a bar (so dark we'll forget who are) where everyone wears leather and lounge in wait of their prey, smoking to pass the time.Very much the scent of a man on the prowl and looking for a good time.

[Momijizukamori]

On me, it smells like church incense, at least of the variety my father uses - makes me think of big old churches with dark carved wood and big gothic arches. There's a bit of tobacco smell blended in with that, but not really noticebly so. There's also definately an undercurrent of leather, which is nice without being overwhelming.

 

In the bottle, it's more or less the same, but with this odd sort of sweet smell, as well, which luckily goes away after it dries.

 

I definately like this one at lot - it stays on me well, too. First time I tried it, it reached at least eight hours and was still going pretty well. Sadly I think it is more suited to the days when I break out my nice suits and ties, as it is most definately a gentlemanly sort of smell, but eh, means my imp will last longer