The Scales of Deprivation

[nineveh]

And when he had opened the third seal, I heard the third beast say, Come and see. And I beheld, and lo a black horse; and he that sat on him had a pair of balances in his hand.

Thin, dark, and shadowed. A scent that offers no sustenance, comfort or satiety: lemon peel, white sage, frankincense, lavender fougere, sandalwood, vetiver and labdanum.

Disclaimer: I do not care for lavender, as it tends to smell sticky and overwhelming on me.

But this could be the blend that makes me like lavender. It's definitely there, but it's not going overly sweet, and the darker notes are making this feel suitably evil.

I'm not getting any lemon or sage.

I think this is actually quite wearable. It's dark, hotly smoldering lavender, sort of like a combination of Old Scratch and Lenore.

If you're looking for a gloomy lavender blend, then this is for you.

[Blood onmy hands]

Mmm. I really am liking this blend. It's the sort of scent that would drive me crazy if a man were wearing it, but that I would also love to wear myself. I'm not really smelling any lemon, sage, or vetiver. I think that it is the labdanum that I am smelling the strongest, with it's golden amber-like sweetness. The sandalwood is powdery and woodsy in the background. I keep thinking that this, on me, is like a spicy-golden men's cologne. In the drydown, more lavender comes out in the background, but this is a very grounded blend. It's a smooth and sweet lavender on me, not herbal or astringent.

 

This is rather light after about an hour on my skin, drying down to something pleasantly powdery and sweet. Strangely, it doesn't smell gloomy to me at all. It's actually rather warm and lovely.

[sarada]

This is actually kind of how I wish that Incantation had smelled...

 

Lemon and lavender seemed a bit out of place at first, in an otherwise resiny earthy blend (frankincense and vetiver are two of my reasons for getting up in the...afternoon, I love them so much). But they don't really announce themselves too loudly in this blend.

 

The lemon peel is a square of sunlight falling on the floor of a dark chapel, but it never smells overtly lemony. It just adds a little light. Same with the lavender...if you like the fougere of Dorian or Old Scratch, this is a similar musky, faintly lavender cologne that just drifts around the edges.

 

The frankincense is foremost on me and lasts the longest -- the other dark scents give the whole blend some body and staying power. Like the other Come and See fragrances, this is a fascinating experience and it's great to just let these scents develop on you and listen to them tell their story. I don't know if I'd use them regularly, but wow, they certainly unfold in a most interesting way.

[Fefferbella]

On me, this went powdery... probably the lavender.

I had my fiance try a bit, and *damn* does this smell sexy on him!

 

Heavy vetiver, clean white sage, rich resiny frankincense, spicey sandalwood, with a hint of lemon peel and fresh lavender.

[cuervosueno]

This is totally unlike the description on me, meaning this is a warm, comforting scent.

 

When I opened the imp, I immediately fell in love with that familiar scent, and guessed it right away: frankinscence! I love it! I swiped my arm with it, and was in heaven in that cloud of glorious scent.

I pretty much decided on the spot that I'd need two of the Come and See scents: this and Great Sword of War.

 

20 minutes later? guess I just need the sword.

 

I love resin notes, but for some reason, two of my normal resin faves (frankincense and myhrr) don't work in their BPAL incarnations. Or rather they are just "meh" instead of fabulous on me as they usually are. In this blend, as in Midnight Mass the notes turn into inside of the pencil box on me, so what I'm getting is only a hint of frankiincense sweetness, and mostly that strong woody note that is, perhaps, the sandalwood. I do retain some of the frankincense, and I do like this better than Midnight Mass and some others, but I doubt I'll buy a bottle.

 

The other notes never really show up, which is fine with me.

[emzebel]

This blend goes on very dark on me. The first time I tried it I had a hard time picking notes, other than to strongly suspect vetiver just because of the overwhelming *darkness*.

 

Wearing this more though, with a very light touch, so as not to potentially be overwhelmed, I realize that it actually dissapates very quickly. I am noticing this with vetiver and my chemistry generally, actually - it leaps in there for a bit and then dashes off and lets the other notes play. I think that I will need to apply this with a heavy hand to get much throw or staying power. This is a blend of deprevation, after all.

 

I can see the similarity to Lenore in this - the lemon and the herbs, combined with the dark muskiness. And when by bottle of that is gone, then a bottle of this will be needed. Until then, though, I can probably live with the imp.

[hangingfire]

In the imp: Lavender and frankincense, mostly, with a slightly citrusy zing.

 

On, wet: Aw, damn. It's doing what I can only call the "lavender thing" on me, going slightly sour and sharp. It's a pity, because I like the frankinscense and sandalwood -- two elements that by themselves are generally very flattering to my skin chemistry.

 

Drydown: The lavender thing persists and dominates. Woe. I love the scent of lavender; why does it have to go all sour on me? This one is going more sour than usual, in fact, and combined with the other elements, doesn't smell like something I want to wear.

 

I was leery of the Muse and Come and See blends because of the prevalence of lavender in so many of them. It turned out to not be an issue in Death, but in Scales, it's a dealbreaker. Dammit.

 

However, if your skin does not hate lavender the way mine does, you'll probably really like this one.

Edited January 13, 2006 by hangingfire

[Voleuse]

On first application, this is sandalwood, sweet lemon, and the ghost of lavender. It's smoldering, but comfortable as well. As it dries, I start to smell a bit of the frankincense, but no vetiver at all.

 

After a while, it fades quite a bit, but it's overall a warm and shadowy sort of scent. I really, really like it. It's not masculine, but it leans in that direction, and there's an overall smoothness that works beautifully.

[aidenraine]

My preconceptions about this blend were that it was going to be a lavendery-citrus with a dominant frankincense note. I could almost "picture the scent in my mind" if you will.

 

(These new imp caps without the little handles on the front are hard for me to get off!)

 

This blend is actually pretty subdued (maybe that's part of the deprivation angle). This just smells like darkness to me- there's nothing bright that jumps out, everything just sulks in the background making a really compact little cloud of mustiness.

 

It's a great blend for representing "ominous" and "dark forces biding their time... waiting, watching.."

but I think the overall effect is a bit too muted on me. Really, it's like the oil is holding back deliberately.

 

How... strange. Appealing but strange.

[Lycanthrope]

The Scales of Deprivation in the bottle smells lightly citrussy, a touch like lemon rind, but without such a sharp, zesty zing to it. I can detect something else, like a resin, but it's a gummier, sweeter resin more akin to the components of Jacob's Ladder instead of something brighter like frankincense.

 

On my skin, this is quite subtly sweet, and what's strange is I can definitely tell that there is lemon in this, but it's not running away on my skin. What I do get is an overall creamy, slightly sandalwood-esque aroma that is layered over one of the most beautiful resins I've ever encountered. This blend doesn't pop out at you and grab you like some of Beth's other blends, yet I believe that is the strength of the Come and See series, perhaps apart from Great Sword, is that they are so harmoniously blended that they just integrate themselves with you as opposed to announcing their presence.

 

The drydown is a very deep, resonant resin that maintains a slight hint of the citrus note, but is mostly warm, deep amber gold, quiet and lurking. Good stuff. I put it on to bed last night and got a big snuffle of it in my night shirt, and it was blissful.

[kilobytesprite]

I have to agree. This is a guy's scent I'd steal and slather.

 

In the imp I can smell the lemon and the sage first and precious little else. On me it's a hint of floral, but mostly clear, clean. Not quite clear and clean like Tempest is, but not overwhelming and heavy compared to the first two horsemen.

 

What does Mack think?

 

Mack could care less. Two to three sniffs and his head is back. He doesn't even care enough to sneeze.

 

**Edit for staying power update**

 

It's now just shy of 24 hours since I put this on. I sniff my wrist and it's still there. Less the lemon and more the sandalwood, which I have a great big red heart for. I -really- wanted to love the Great Sword of War, shallowly, because of Good Omens, but Scales are winning.

Edited January 26, 2006 by kilobytesprite

[shelldoo]

in the bottle, wet, dry, this is all the same it is a breath of very light resins. frankencinse and myrrh. but the lightest barest touch. hardly there. i get no citrus and no lavander which is wonderful because i am not a huge fan of either. all in all i like this. it is comforting and light yet warm. very well done.

[grrrlennyl]

at first: lots of frankincense, lavender, and vetiver.

on: oddly sweet. there's an earthiness to this that i don't like.

1 hour later: sage, frankincense, and vetiver. i don't really like this.

2.5 hours later: softy and mostly lavender.

overall: just not something i see myself wearing.

[bodegaselkie]

Hmm. A bit like how myrrh blends go mostly-myrrh on me, this one goes mostly-frankincense, but I like the mostly-frankincense a LOT more. I can still smell touches of lavendar and white sage, although I only applied this 20--25 minutes ago, which doesn't bode well for The Scales of Deprivation. But I have to wonder what Beth was thinking when she made this -- this goes pretty girly on me. It's lovely, but I wouldn't say it has no trace of comfort. This is a very warm, slightly sweet, pretty scent.

[Brianne]

In the bottle:

Incensey and heavy

 

On me:

This is very much an incense scent on me, from start to finish. The sandalwood and frankincense come out rather heavy on me but not in the way I'd like - it smells very much like a general "incense" scent. I don't get the lemon peel at all, but I do get a little bit of lavender, which is quite a bit sweeter smelling in this than it is usually.

 

Final note:

Fans of incense scents might like this, but it's really not for me - I think I might have cared for it more if the lemon peel was stronger and added a balance to the heavy sweetness of frankincense - but it doesn't, and so I won't be keeping this.

[Thaleia]

An empty, melancholy scent in the bottle - frankincense, sandalwood, and vetiver are most evident. The woods and frankincense evoke the good grace of the Church (it might not help that I was wearing Midnight Mass last night) - not straight-up incense, but the smell of God's grace that you're going to lose at the final judgment. I can sort of smell the lavender, which makes this blend sharper and sweeter at the same time ... and why am I getting a creamy vanilla all of a sudden? Not what I'd expected, but the drydown to the incensey sadness warmed by vanilla is lovely. Very dark and sepulchral. If you like incense, you'll love this one. 8/10.

Edited February 10, 2006 by rabid hauteur

[pekeana]

Ohmygoodness...

 

Scales of Deprivation is just godly.

 

It's very soft and close to the skin, but projects fathomless despair and sadness. At the same time, it also has an air of desperation and almost a will to survive and push forward about it. I don't know how to describe it, really. I get a little bit of wood and a little bit of frankincense, and a hint of lemon, but it's all just so smooth and softly warm.

[desu]

In the bottle: A bit of sage and things I can't identify. Thin, wasted, wanting but never getting. This is the smell of desert places, the places that never get enough of what they need to sustain themselves. This is one to wear when I visit ghost towns in the high desert.

 

On the skin: The lemon peel makes an appearance on application then eventually morphs into a sagey lavender. This is smoothed out by the frankincense underneath, which is nice because without it, it would have reminded me of crackling dead sagebrush under my boots.

[smelly]

I am up in the air about Scales of Deprivation. It's sweet, citrusy but also dark when it's wet, really good. But then dry, it changes, and it reminds me of the UPS guy when he came to the door in the Eighties, when I was a kid. He wore too much cologne. There must be a shared note.

 

That's not the fault of Scales of Deprivation, of course. But I'm thinking, brown, polyesther uniform, the dreariness of adolescence, some package for the neighbor upstairs, and that overwhelming cologne he wore. The stairwell and entryway of the ugly, Seventies building we lived in.

 

Edit: this has become a favorite of mine. The patchouli base came out and vaporized the UPS guy and his polyesther uniform. Poor UPS guy.

 

This elements of this are so complementary to each other. The lemon and the darkness. The mustiness of the patchouli offset by something damp. That last doesn't sound appealing, but it's delish.

Edited March 26, 2006 by smelly

[lunareclipse]

Another frimp that I wouldn't have chosen, but that I rather like.

 

Scales smells woody and shadowed to me, with the citrus notes adding a bit of... austerity, no, asceticism, and the resins contributing an exoticism that's not exactly enjoyable, but definitely adds to the complex beauty of the accord. This is a demanding, rigorous, uneasy scent that won't let me relax or get comfortable. It's not an everyday kind of perfume, but definitely one I'll wear again and again, when I'm in the right mood.

 

It reminds me a bit of my beloved, even though it doesn't smell like him. Maybe I'll see if I can get him to try it... but only if I decide I'm willing to share.

 

edit: I waved this in the general direction of my beloved, and he said "smells just like Royal Copenhagen." Wore it today, and I gotta agree. Which explains why I thought of him when I smelled it (both he & my dad have worn that cologne). Fortunately, it's one I like.

Edited April 7, 2006 by lunareclipse

[Verilita]

I thought this scent was very warm and musky. I love the scent of sandlewood, which is the main note after it dries on me. I also love its staying power, I only have to apply it once and I smell yummy for the rest of the day! A friend of mine says this scent is quite masculine, but it soft enough for women.

Scales of Deprivation wasn't a scent I was originaly going to buy, but I'm glad I did. It's become one of my favorite scents!

[aedes]

Interesting....

 

You know, I really have to say how impressed I am by all the Come and See line. Beautifully complex, glorious, wonderfully conceived. Masterpieces in their own way.

 

This one in particular is kind of escaping my description. At first, I couldn't smell it at all. My boyfriend could, and he said it smelled spicy. After about 15 minutes, I could pick up what smelled like a little pepper, maybe along with musk. The scent grew to a pale, spicy scent, if that makes any sense. Reminds me of the nazgul. Ghostly but dark.

 

Unfortunately this strange ruddiness grows out of the background, sort of like dust, but from what I can't place. Almost smells playdoh-like. Normally only linen goes to playdoh on me, but this doesn't have linen.

 

So I don't know what I'm smelling, because it doesn't sound like any of the notes. But this is sort of how I expected Berenice, The Spirits of the Dead, or Destroying Angel to smell. Pale, but full of death.

[ViolentKitten]

Wow, this is very soft. Intriguing. Warm smelling with a hint of freshness, and cool on my skin. There’s something in here that I’m really digging. Mmmm, oh yes...I think it’s the lavender. I never thought I’d like lavender starring in a perfume, always thought it would overpower, be too sharp and herbal. But I’ve been swayed by some of Beth’s blends, a few I can think of: Envy, Gaueko, the Bow and Crown of Conquest and now this one. The lavender is gentle here, mixing in with the frankincense, white sage, sandalwood and the barest touch of lemon peel. All the other notes combine to create a soft, smooth feel. It becomes just a little sweetly sharp, but not too much so. Unlike the description, I find The Scales of Deprivation comforting. I would not have thought I would like it so much!

 

It reminds me of something though. Something else from BPAL? Thirty minutes later into the drydown…that’s it! The (sadly now closed) Green Lady Soap Skadi! There’s hints of it in the beginning, but the drydown really reminds me of Skadi. The notes are completely different and side by side, Skadi is much more sweet and foody with vanilla and nutmeg and Scales more herbal and dry, but they definitely have a similar feel.

[cupide430]

Herbalicious right off the bat. This is a light, herbal scent on me with a hint of underlying sweetness. Lavender fougere's tend to work well for me and so far this one isn't disappointing me, although I didn't think it would work when I read the notes. Definitely a candidate for full day wear and then a possible big bottle.

[Tesseljoan]

The Scales of deprivation reminds me of how a church smells. At first, a citrus note is dominant, but that disappears very quickly in the black scent that the Scales turns out to be. It makes Umbra smell like a pleasant stroll. The darker notes blend in perfectly, and it defies description even in my own language. It is beautiful.