Hellfire

[Nepthys]

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.

I've heard comparisons between this and Perversion, one of my lab all-stars, so I was excited to try this. Unfortunately it just didn't work. I usually love "masculine" scents but this is definitely suited for a man, not me. None of the booze or cream came through on me - just a dark, murky, leathery smoke. My skin apparently sucked away all other elements that might have made it more complex. Oh well, them's the breaks.

[Penance]

I got a 5mL of this from belladonnastrap.

 

First sniff:

 

Very strong pipe tobacco, it smells almost exactly like the inside of a fresh packet of the stuff. This isn't pipe smoke, it's the tobacco itself: dark and rich and deep. I can't smell anything else right out of the bottle even though I know there's more to this scent than tobacco. This is very masculine smelling and I don't normally consider too many scents to be clearly masculine. I don't shy away from strong masculine scents though, so that won't put me off.

 

Wet on skin:

 

Much lighter than in the bottle somehow. It's not as overpowering as it was straight out of the bottle, either. I can smell the faintest hint of leather now that it's on my skin and maybe even the tiniest hint of incense. I really expected this to be much stronger than it is. On me, it reminds me of the smell of a library in a mansion somewhere. I can just imagine some rich aristocrat smoking a pipe and reading Le Mort D'Arthur. But, at the same time, it's very cozy smelling, like the inside of my grandparents' house when I was very small and only knew pipe tobacco as the smell that I associated with grandpa.

 

Dry down:

 

A light waft of pipe tobacco mingling with the faintest scent of a leather sofa that's been polished with wear. If I inhale very deeply, I can smell the faintest breath of incense smoke, but mainly it's a very warm, comforting masculine scent that makes me feel warm and protected. An odd association for a scent named after the Hellfire Club, to be sure, but one I can't seem to shake all the same.

 

The bottom line:

 

Surprisingly comforting and deceptively subtle. An enigma and a paradox; simultaneously sophisticated and folksy and full of conflicting associations. I really like this one in spite of my worries that it might be a bit too masculine even for me.

 

EDIT: It would help if I could spell.

Edited May 6, 2005 by Penance

[quinkel]

Hellfire...a very high class scent.

 

I wore it for the first time last week in Barcelona, when we went out to a club at the olympic port and to the casino. It fitted the Casino soo well, it was smokey inside, all those gamblers around and me sipping a Bacardi, while sitting on a velvet sofa. That's Hellfire. It was where the location and the scent came together.

 

It's hard to descripe what it smell like, sweet, tobacco, patchouli perhaps.

 

Note:i dislike places where its smokey and often it makes any perfume go vile mixed with the smoke on your clothes:rasp: but Hellfire get's better in that environment, it's my number one cafe/club/casino scent.

[Ishtar]

Maybe it is because I work in a cigar shop, but I loved the good quality leather/ fine cigar tobacco combination in Hellfire.

 

At one point I was afraid it was going to turn a little musty on me, but this was just a stage that did not last. Let's just say that it was the smell of the well-stocked bookshelves in the corner of the old gentlemen's club

 

From the notes listed it will seem obvious that this is a rather masculine scent. Still, it is much softer than I intially thought it would be. It is actually quite smooth, like a well-worn leather armchair.

 

Hellfire is wonderfully evocative. I like this a lot

[closedacct]

Hellfire

 

When I first put this on it smells like O. Which is not a bad thing, but I don't want O out of this, I want sexy, smoky leather and pipe tobacco!

 

Okay, it is morphing...Ahhhhhhh. Cherry pipe tobacco and a well worn, dark red leather armchair. I close my eyes and see a crackling fire in a huge fire place in a room filled with books and highly polished wood floors.

 

Wow. I find this blend very sexy. It is so much more sex to me than O was.

 

Absolutely a 10 ml for me.

[Fishwomon]

I absolutely adore Hellfire. I can't say enough about it. It's the most unusual scent I've ever worn, comforting, magical, mysterious. Today I put on my favorite big fuzzy soft black cashmere turtleneck sweater, then applied Hellfire to my wrists and neck. Now the neck of my sweater is scented with Hellfire and it's perfect. Hellfire smells like what that sweater should smell like: warm, black, intellectual. Oh, oh, oh.

 

Reviewers have described the scent well: the smoke and tobacco, the leather and brandy or cognac. But I want to tell you about the image Hellfire evokes for me.

 

A woman on the Left Bank of Paris in the 1920s, wearing a sleek dark bob and mannish trousers. She's smoking a cigarette and nursing a brandy as she reads over a manuscript she's been writing. She's in a room by herself. It's early evening, and the lamps are lit. Her desk is littered with papers, books, and fountain pens, and maybe there's also a manual typewriter. Her fingers are stained with ink. She has many lovers, men and women both, but she is a free spirit, devoted to her art. When she goes out in the evenings, she puts on red lipstick.

[Jezebel873]

Thank you, Scylla, for letting me try this!

 

In the vial, it smells sweet, and not at all what I thought it would be like. Hmm. Oh, wait, I think I smell the smoke and leather hiding in there. Oooh, this is going to be good.

 

Brandy and woodsmoke. Oh, here comes the leather. This one keeps changing! Aaahhh, there's the pipe tobacco. It just keeps sweetening up and becoming more lovely. It even got a positive response from my husband, which is almost unheard of.

 

After several hours, I'm getting sweet spicy tobacco wafting around me, and boozy leather when I put my nose to my wrist. Wow. I really really love this one. I put some on my husband and it was fabulous on him as well. It's not something to wear everyday, but it's moved into my top 5.

[VelvetSky]

I've been blessed with an imp of Hellfire from a lovely and generous swapper, and I haven't been able to stop sniffing my wrists all day!

 

This is like being in a Victorian gentlemens' club...the sweet smell of pipe tobacco mingled with the boozy scent of fine Brandy. Deep leather armchairs in front of a crackling fire. I think most of us who have reviewed this scent are having the same thoughts and impressions. This blend is so sophisticated, intelligent, worldly and wicked.

 

I think Mr. Darcy's library smelled like this.

[xochitl]

How lucky am I that in my last order I haven't found one scent that I don't like? Hellfire is another one that I will have to order a 5 ml of, pronto. The incense and musk, perhaps with the addition of pipe tobacco, give Hellfire its sweetness that I adore. Layered with the leather, however, this one turns naughty and seductive. Immediately bumped de Sade and Perversion out of their top 2 leather slots.

[malati]

I took a deep sniff of this directly after applying and boy did I get a shock. Not only was this pipe tobacco it's my grandad's pipe tobacco. He passed away 5 years ago and I can't believe I'd forgotten he smoked a pipe.

 

During dry down the tobacco faded into the background. I could sense leather, grey leather, and I wondered how a scent could have a colour. The leather stage was brief and turned into an aromatic tea. I'm wondering if this was my interpretation of the incense.

 

This too was brief and the tobacco returned. Grandad was back, he could have been in the room with me. I can't wear this as a perfume, the connotations are too strong. But I will keep this to remind me of Paddy Jack.

[nevermore]

I could have sworn I reviewed this, but it seems I haven't. *shrug*

 

Anyway, I find Hellfire quite similar to O like many of the other reviewers - sweet, sort of musky, smokey, but with an interesting leather note that O doesn't have. It's very distinctive, but I'm afraid to wear it out of the house, because it smells so sexual. I really do enjoy it, though there are only specific situations that I can wear it in - like going to the bar.

[tinyvulture]

Leather, tobacco and liquor - a very sexy and manly scent. Half an hour after application it smells a bit sweeter - kind of like cherries - but still very leathery. I will have to get my husband to try it on.

[voodoobaby]

In the bottle: Hmm. Smells very alcoholic and kind of animalistic. And...vetiver? My nose always wants to pick out vetiver in these dark scents.

 

Wearing: Ah, here comes the leather. And musk. And something like myrrh? Maybe that's what was masquerading as vetiver in the bottle. This is quite masculine, but not overpoweringly so. In fact, that was a surprise to me. I expected it to smell stronger and more...evil...or something. This is more mellow than anything, but it's a mellowness that could easily be broken by the rage beneath the surface.

 

Later: Pipe tobacco starts coming out. This is Loviatar's darker male twin. It's not as sweet, but it is somewhat sweet. However, it doesn't seem to last too long, which was another surprise. Oh well, still good.

 

Overall: Love it! This is definitely a new favorite of mine. Keeping the imp, for sure.

[Finny]

Ah, this is what I imagined Hearth would smell like. Smoky, leather, and a subtle sweetness from the tobbaco. As it dries down the musk starts to come out a bit, and it softens the leather note. This is wonderful, I need to update the top ten list.

 

It's a richer De Sade, a less sweet Hearth, and definitely a keeper.

[shelldoo]

I have found yet another note i enjoy, leather.

 

thsi is a sexy, hot smell (duh) on me it is mostly leather, but w/ a smokey, boozy background, like I am just comin home from an after dinner drink at a pub.

 

for me a boozy, leather, and smoke is cool in my book

[TheDarkMother]

Leather, leather, leather. I love the leather scents! YAY!!!

 

In the Bottle: Leather and incense. Oooh!

 

On Me: Mmmm....leather and cherry wood tobacco! Maybe even a hint of cinnamon in this one. Oh this is womderful, but in a totally different way. This reminds me of an older man sitting in a large, comfy leather chair next to a roaring fire in a large library with a fez on his head, a pipe in his mouth, and a large book in his lap. Brandenburg Concerto #5 is playing in the background. His accent is a thick Yorkshire accent, and on the walls are old hunting trophies from his earlier years when he would hunt foxes on horseback and go on safari in the jungles of Africa.

 

This is a comforting leather scent, not the normal sexy scent. I'm not saying that this isn't sexy, it just is in a totally different way. I love this one a lot! I think I'm going to need a bigger bottle!

[surf-tormented]

Hellfire is a bit weak on me. What I smell -- smoke, leather, incense, tabacco, wood -- smells great. It reminded me of other smoky scents like Brimstone and Djinn when first applied, but that quickly turns to a less smoky leather incense scent. But it isn't strong enough for my tastes.

 

I don't know if this is the new version or old. Any way to tell?

[orangepoppy]

Oh my dear heavens, I tried Hellfire today and I love it. Thank you Lab for including this as a freebie in my last order, I probably would've never ordered it on my own. Silly me was put off by the name....

 

The scary part is that I came very close to not even trying it on my skin. (I should know better by now that scents can totally change once applied.) From the bottle, it was a dash scary, but an intriguing I-can't-help-but-look sort of scary. On the wrists it went and there was a bloom of tobacco and huh? cinnamon? I don't know what ingredient smelled like cinnamon and tickled my nose, but it soon went away and was replaced with leatherrrr. Purrrrrrrr! mmmm, men....yes, it smells like all the wonderful things I love about men fabulous men! This is cozy and intimate.

 

There's a sweetness in this blend that keeps it from being too "too" ~ I wish I knew what ambergris smelled like. And how in the world does Beth create the scent of leather? So many questions, but what I do know for sure is that this is going straight to my big bottle wish list.

Edited February 12, 2005 by orangepoppy

[rainbow]

In the bottle- boozy, like sweet alcohol.

 

On me- resin and smoke, thick and powerful. This ended up smelling very smoky on me. For the duration of when I was wearing it, that's what I got- smoke, smoke, and more smoke. There was something thick and cloying in the background, but for the life of me I can't pin down what it was.

 

At the end of the day, this isn't for me. It's an amazing scent, but not the sort of scent I usually wear. I found the scent of it a bit disturbing- I'm not sure what image it's conjuring, but this just doesn't work for me.

[requieminblack]

First sniff from the bottle- Smoky warm spices and booze

 

After 10 minutes- This smells like a cross between Wanda and Centzon Totochtin. It has the booze, blood and myrrh smell of CT with the leather bite of Wanda.

 

After 30 minutes- I can still smell the tobacco smoke and the myrrh but everything else has faded down on me.

 

Summery- I really like this one because it is so much like my beloved Centzon Totochtin. I like CT much better but the imp is a keeper.

[tart]

Hellfire...

 

Wet: This smells like sour nailpolish. My face looks like this right now:

Drying: Why does this remind me of church? Smells like spiced woods.

 

I was thinking to give this to The Boyfriend, hoping it would smell like Incantation. As it dries, it becomes more powdery and less sour. It reminds me of an older man. Older men creep me out.

 

ETA: Okay, maybe this isn't so bad. Maybe Hellfire is mixing with Spooky, but I smell something smooth underneath all the spice. I get a pleasant incensey smell that would blend well with Dragon's Blood (or Dragon's Milk), Snake Oil, O, or maybe even Has No Hanna.

Edited December 2, 2005 by Shollin

[mmcfa2]

This is SO nice! It was a freebie from the lab that i would have NEVER ordered!

 

The scent IS comforting and deep but not dark. I cannot smell the individual notes at all, just a slightly smoky ( pipe!) leathery smell, like I just sat in a leather chair recently occupied by a fellow I like who smells extra good who was drinking single malt scotch!

 

I want to try this one on my hubby and see how he smells. I lean towards this being a masculine scent, warm, sexy and oddly comforting.

Edited March 15, 2005 by mmcfa2

[Guest ExquisiteSiren]

When in the near future I aquire a boyfriend of fine taste.....I will buy him a 10 ml bottle of this myself and demand he slather it on while we read philosophy on a crisp fall night by a cozy fire...in a fine leather chair.

 

*sigh*

Seeing that I don't have a boyfriend worthy enough for this perfume....

I will have to swap the imp away because it makes me yearn for one.

 

Its an intellectual mans cologne. The type that has a sexy office of law....and wears black coats. Decadent... expensive....but witty.

 

Off the the swaps you go >

[Tesseljoan]

I was at first a bit intimidated to put this on, but it turned out great. Tobacco and leather, with a pleasant sweet note. I don't think it's a typically masculine scent, but perhaps that's just because I like to wear it myself. The leather note is much softer then in Wanda, and everything blends so well together. Beautiful scent -even on a spring day!

[Northernminx]

Sweetly smokey and just a touch of leather underneath it all, this was mysterious, masculine, and a little creepy. The leather really starts to come out as this dries, making this a more incensey version of De Sade on me. Yummy yummy.