The Scales of Deprivation

[GeorgeJr]

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

And to sum up my Come & See reviews , here's The Scales . I think I saved this for last because sadly my skin seems to gulp up the scent almost as soon as it hits . I have to really huff at my wrist to get anything , but what's there is very nice . I will admit , that if not hovering directly over it , I do get a vague smell of something . But it's nothing strong enough that I can describe it other than as a perfumy kind of thing going on . Scents like this are the reason I wish I could find a scent locket that did appeal to me . I do like the smell of this in the bottle , very strong with resins & slightly sweet / citrusy . I'll hang onto it & see how things age / my body changes .

[GalaxyLei]

This is masculine without being overly cologne-like...a very light, masculine herbal scent. It's what a man might smell like just after showering...it's very nice but fades quickly to be replaced by something almost minty. I'd agree there is no sustenance in this...it's there, then there's only even a hint that there was something at all. It fits the concept perfectly, and for the experience alone it's worth keeping the imp, but I think for me not a bottle.

[tajana]

This is fantastic for the first half hour or so. Sage and lavender, with a citrus twist, laid over a base of dusky sandalwood and vetiver, with just a breath of ecclesiastical frankincense. Gorgeous. Resinous, cleanly herbal, almost spicy, in a chilled way: its sweet enough on my skin that I'd classify it as unisex rather than masculine. "Thin, dark, and shadowed" indeed. I was surprised by how much I loved it, but after some time passed the complexity faded away and I was left with vague powder. Tragic! On my boyfriend, it just disappeared.

[spoilsofwar]

In the Imp: The frankincense is really noticeable, and I've come to realize how much I love the smell of frankincense and myrrh. I can also smell the sandalwood, which I also love. I was really unsure of the vetiver, but I also knew that all the scents that had labdanum in them, I'd fallen in love so I was more than willing to give this one a shot. In the imp, it smells a bit masculine, definitely, but not overly so.

 

Wet: Oh wow. I am in love. The frankincense really comes to the forefront, and the sandalwood cancels out anything lemony in this, which I think is good. Citrus might dilute this, and I love how lush and warm and thick if smells.

 

Dry: The throw on this -- for me -- is amazing. Everything that I loved about it wet is still there dry. And I can smell the lemon peel just a smidgen, which actually doesn't detract because the sandalwood has come out even more. YUM. Definitely buying a bottle of this! Like it's companion The Bow & Crown of Conquest, this is sex for me.

[blacklacestatic]

In the Imp: light, sweet, but hard to make out.

 

Wet on skin: Sweet and light, but perhaps slightly sour. Not very perfumey. It's strange, kind of like when you smell something funny and you're not quite sure where it's coming from. Not necessarily bad, just funny, kind of off.

 

Drydown: A bit richer, spicier and masculine. I think my skin eats up frankincense which is why nothing really came forward until now. Would make a really great men's cologne, but doesn't suit me. The notes are very harmonious now, it's kinda spicy.

 

Overall: I would probably be very attracted to a man wearing this, but it's perhaps not for me.

[SeaLady]

For some reason, this was exactly what I wanted to wear today.

 

Wet, it smelled like eating Fire Ball candies in a summer attic. Dry, it became more musky and masculine, but in a way that I was comfortable with on myself. There was a sour woodsy kind of note, but it mellowed gradually. I could definitely smell the lavender, but the rest of the notes surprised me when I read them just now. It's very mysterious, and rather naughty. I don't feel very deprived

[Jenn2D2]

I loved how this smelled in the imp - dark lavender and frankincense. On me it turned instantly to musty, old, band uniform. Wet wool that's dried, with just a hind of valve oil. Definitely a strong scent memory, but not one I want to smell like all day. I definitely feel deprived

[rayvn1]

Lots of white sage and lemon from this one. Light and refreshing was not what I expected, but this is very enjoyable. Decent throw and some staying power. Nice

[angelicruin]

Inside the imp, light and sweet. Hard to pick out individual notes.

 

Wet on the skin, lemon, sage, and very light lavender. No vetiver anywhere to be found. Sandalwood and Frankincense emerge as it begins to dry.

 

I love this one. Not a lot of throw, but it's good enough that I would slather it on just to wear it.

[topazphoenix]

I'm getting mostly sage with a slight citrus tang. Slightly woodsy, masculine..the throw is moderate at first but then disappears.

[jamethiel]

In the bottle: A light herbal scent. Slight citrus tang. Hmmm. I morph lemon sweet, hope this isn't the same.

 

Wet. Herbal and lemon. A sharp scent. Hmm. Nice.

After about 30 minutes: Okay, there's some sweet earthy/slightly smoky scents coming through. That would be the vetiver and I think I can smell frankincense, but it seems to be far lighter/sweeter than usual.

After an hour: Musky, but not a sweet musk. It doesn't smell the same as Jicky (which has far more lavender) but it sort of feels the same. I can still smell it 8 hours later, after going to bed.

 

This fragrance lasts.

 

The frankincense, which is a shame because I love it. But on the whole a big thumbs up from me.

[donnatron]

Imp: Surprisingly soft and warm. I primarily get sage with sandalwood and frankincense in the background.

 

Wet: Remains soft and dusky. Smells very ritualistic.

 

Dry: This is surprisingly mild. This is soft sage and sandalwood with a touch of citrus. Dusky, understated and subdued. Borderline masculine but works well on my skin. It's not really my style but the drydown is okay.

 

Throw: Mild.

 

Overall: It's okay. Reminds me of another GC scent I can't place. Pretty but ultimately a little indistinguishable.

[Caerphilly]

In the imp: Lemon, Herbs, and Sandalwood. I'm getting powdery/cakey vanilla from this as well. I think my nose has been off lately. Very warm and inviting. No vetiver or lavender. I'm getting light yellow and pale green from this.

 

Wet: This is a lovely gender neutral scent. Slightly powdery on me, but the citrus and herbs make it equally masculine. The Sandalwood is making this not too sweet.

 

Dry: The wood fades. It's powdery lemons with a bitter herb scent in the background. Very pretty!

 

Overall: I am really surprised with this scent. Lasts forever on me, me and my boyfriend can wear it. And I'm getting nothing from the description! This is warm, inviting, and comforting. Lovely scent.

[boxinghelena]

Yowzer!! I really thought Scales of Deprivation would not work on me. I tend to stay away from scents with any type of lemon or lavender. I thought for sure I would hate this scent. I actually can't stop sniffing my wrist. It's the frankincense that is saving this scent because it's mostly all that I smell with a little bit of sage and just a touch of the sandalwood.

 

Call me pleasantly surprised and happy.

Edited December 1, 2009 by boxinghelena

[skylarkza]

In the imp: Watery cologne.

 

Wet: Sharp smoke and cologne.

 

Dry: Smoke and spice. This smells like incense and rosewood. Hmmmm.

 

A while later: Smoky, wonderful. There is something faintly floral but far more spicy and dark about this. It is a very insucstantial smoke - like the faintest puff of incense on a dark breeze.

[milo]

Wet, I get a strong wood(?) with some citrus. Dry it ends up being kind of a citrussy masculine blend with a touch of wood. Not bad, but a bit too masculine for me.

[gingiemay]

I get the lemon, white sage, lavender fougere and sandalwood, no vetiver or labdanum. This has faded quickly on my arm, but what I can get is a pleasant sandalwood, herbal scent. Despite its description, I do find it strangely comforting because I am amping the more pleasant notes. And I do love lavender fougere!

[littlegoat]

Wow, I never ever would have ordered this scent, but I was at will call tonight and the bottle was pretty and I had a bit of testing space left open on my upper arm...

 

This doesn't smell like any of the listed notes to me, instead it is warm and soft and sweet. I've been smelling it all night with no idea what was in it, and I was considering amber and some kind of vanilla/beeswax as note options. I'll be putting a bottle into my next order, and hoping it smells exactly like the will call tester!

[cyanidenoir]

Upon application, the lemon is intense. It smells a bit like lemon Pledge mixed with sage. I'm going to assume that the over-powering chemically smell is the vetiver, which gives the scent a heavy, dark fell (which I typically despise.)

After about half an hour, the lavender and sandalwood came to the surface. Lavender and sage are an awesome combination and the sandalwood softened the vetiver.

 

It's definitely an interesting scent.

[tailoredshirt]

I wasn't entirely sure what to expect from this, but I ended up liking it. It started off a bit sharp, and I think I got some of the lemon and lavender. Now it's mostly the sweetness of the labdanum and the frankincense, with something herbal and astringent sharpening it just a bit - I think this is the lavender. Sometimes frankincense gets really overwhelming on me, but it's nice here with the labdanum.

 

I don't know that I'll spring for a bottle, but I like this blend and I'll definitely keep my imp.

[impolight]

:::THE SCALES OF DEPRIVATION:::

 

The Scales of Deprivation was immediately snatched from the line-up at this year's Bat's Day.

As one of the gloomy and doomy's from Sin and Salvation, the Apocalyptic associations had already elevated this one to the status of legend. 5mL of this was purchased unsniffed...

From the bottle: The Frankincense, Lemon Peel, and Sage pop out right from the start.

The way that these blend together prescribe a foxiness that is ordinarily associated with the goodies from the Wünderkammer from personal experience so far!

And really... Has there ever been a Vetiver so... Slinky?

This Vetiver has hips that orbit ball-bearings... This has a pavonine strut!

The Scales of Deprivation is wickedness, but a gleeful, celebratory sort of wickedness! This is a fragrance to turn over stones and seek it out! Skincindiary!: Bow before this! The Scales of Deprivation is the fragrance to be annointed with as you're tethered, naked and spread-eagled, to be auctioned off for a debauch!

Lavender and Labdanum converge for a lullaby of lust for lamentation...Deprivation is a good word!

There is bleakness here, but there has never been a bleakness so beautiful! The Scales of Deprivation is a biting blindfold.

The Scales of Deprivation is the perfume of paradise as smelled from the bottom of a pit littered with bone and ash.There is something cruel here too... Well, perhaps cruel is too strong a word. Impassive? Stoic? A sociopathic hearthrob?

The Scales of Deprivation is a tantalizing twist on the prospects of abject depravity and sinister sullenness.

There is a familiarity here that is desparagingly evasive... This is showing up at your own high-school reunion and entering the auditorium only to have it fall utterly silent while every head turns your way... And not being able to recognise a single face.

The Scales of Deprivation is another spectacular victory from the prodigy perfumers at Black Phoenix Alchemy Labs.

The wearer of this would cross the threshold of a church only to have the carpeting in the foyer catch fire beneath the soles of their feet.

This is a great, bleeding ballyhoo!

On Him, The Scales of Deprivation is calculating, manipulative, and surgically precise... The sort of scent that toys with you and giggles while you squirm in discomfort.

On Her, The Scales of Deprivation is a sexy nurses uniform with many unfortunate, agonizing sensations associated with it.

The Scales of Deprivation is a clarion-call of horrors released from their subterranean prison with the fingernails of God peeled back the horizon from the jagged edge of distant mountain ranges.

The Scales of Deprivation is the most delicious misfortune realised.

Escaping the hollow and lightless glory of the fragrance that is The Scales of Deprivation is but a foolish hope.

Terrific!5.5 out of 5!

[skyelyric]

I was generously gifted an imp of this in a recent wishing well swap. In the imp it is heavenly--the herb/resin/wood thing almost has a cinnamon-y vibe to it, I don't smell any citrus at all, but it's really lovely.

Eagerly skintested only to find after about half an hour that if there's not white musk in this there's something that mimics its behaviour exactly on my skin, and I'm left with a noxious sweet cloud, so, so sad after the gorgeousness in the imp.

 

Back into circulation it will go...

[Aldercy]

I love this out of the imp. I was in the midst of a mass sniffing, sorting out which imps were good enough for a full skin test and which were awful enough to go right away, maybe with a cursory dab. I opened this one expecting not to like it at all based on notes, but was so impressed at the depth and richness that I immediately slathered myself. The murky resins under a glassy surface of sheer lavender... so lovely.

 

Well... ten minutes later it smells like feet. And cheese. Exactly like feet and cheese. I'm really disappointed with my skin chemistry right now.

[Vega]

In imp: Brown and woody. I'm not detecting individual notes, but then again I'm not familiar with many of them.

 

On skin: My scent memory ends here -- I don't recognize any individual notes at all. But The Scales seems well-blended, with all the notes working together to create a full-bodied scent. Overall, this is very brown, woody, resinous, rather masculine; and feels bleak, lugubrious and strangely calm. It has body and depth and a solid presence, but somehow remains low-key and doesn't assert itself. If a scent could be "stern" or "aloof", The Scales would be it. Colour impression is a light woody brown.

 

Verdict: The Scales is an intriguing scent that I keep coming back to, because it smells quite different from everything else I've tried. Even so, it's a bit too masculine and "stern", and I don't see myself wearing it often.

[ShannonElisabethJones]

I didn't care for this one. It didn't last long on me, and the little whiffs I got smelled like plasticky lemon.

 

Off to swaps.