Odin

[JazzieCazzie]

... His scent is dry elm bark, amaranth, warrior’s musk, and Odin’s Nine Herbs of Power.

 

Test-driving my way alphabetically through my entire BPAL collection over these weeks, the better to finalize a full "swappable" list and figure out what I love, what I don't and, ideally why. Odin was either a frimp from the Lab (which is what I THINK it was) or a lagniappe in a swap. Double-O-ing it this morning with Odin on one wrist and lagniapped imp Ochosi on the other.

IN THE IMP: Much sweeter and lighter than I expected, sweetly woodsy. Not getting big "masculine" vibe.

Dabbed on one wrist.

WET: It remains, light sweet and woodsy yet I can't put my finger on a single note. Quite feminine on me, really, but not in a girly-girl way. Definitely getting something slightly floral, even ... perhaps the amaranth? Don't really know what that is supposed to smell like.

DRYDOWN: This was almost a potential keeper until now. Dries down into a very powdery scent, slightly wonky on me -- though I know myrrh isn't listed in the notes, whatever note is doing this is reacting on my skin EXACTLY like drydown myrrh.

OVERALL: It's not a washoff, but it's not a keeper. I would not say it has to be a guy scent. I find it very gender neutral.

On a scale of 1-5, about a 2.8

[Coldfire]

Imp: woods and herbs

Wet On Me: woods, herbs and the baby powder of musk

Drying Down: herb-y powder over the elm

Dry: still herby-powder over elm wood.

[lucycat]

This was a frimp from the Lab.

 

In the imp: Woodsy, musky men’s cologne.

 

Wet: woods and musk. As it dries, there’s a soft herbal undertone.

 

Dry: The musk goes soft and powdery, and though amber isn’t a listed note, I’m getting amber. In fact, it’s very similar to Haunted, which was an imp I chose in the order this came in. When I put my nose right against my arm I get soft, resinous sweetness, almost like vanilla.

 

While I could definitely see this working on a man, it’s not at all overwhelmingly masculine, which surprises me considering the name and inspiration. On me it’s quite unisex and somehow soothing. Nice.

[Jangzonrice]

Got this as a frimp. Wet: strong cologney musky smell...do not like it at this point. Dry: still musky, but Amber and myrrh smells are coming through (Amber is not listed, but I am getting a light amber scent). This is much better so again bpal surprises me again with a much different dry down than one would expect from the wet stage so, again, let the oil dry before making a final decision! Throw is nice, my bf could smell me and he thought it was great on me, but lasting power stinks. It only lasted 3 hours so I will have to re apply frequently or use a fixative balm next time I use it. I will not buy a full bottle, but will probably get another imp when I run out.

[elinox]

First Sniff: Wood resin and warm amber.

 

Initial Wet Application: Campfire smoke under resin, with a faint whiff of pine needles. This is a very masculine scent so far!

 

Dry Down (first 15 minutes): As it dried this continued with a woodsy scent. The resin is keeping this from being too much like a pine forest though. At one point I think I was getting a warm, fur scent which I liked, which made me think of Geri and Freki.

 

My Reaction: This brings to mind a roaring campfire in a pine forest with a mountain man sitting beside me just outside an old, oak cabin. It’s interesting, but too masculine for me. It does bring to my the All-father though.

 

Rating: 2

[AgriaTheWild]

When I smelled this in the bottle, it kind of made me nervous. But when I put it on it just grew on me. I'm really digging it.

I wasn't sure exactly what it smells like- kind of like warm, spicy woods.

[dementia_divine]

In the imp: Tree bark, musk, and herbs.

Wet: The elm bark is the dominant note, and it definitely reads as dry (and sharp!) to my nose. I am also getting the musk and herbs. This may be too masculine for me. It kind of reminds me of polished wood.

Dry: The scent is sweeter (and a lot smoother) on the drydown. The elm bark note still reigns, so it's mostly a woody, musky scent on me (with the herbs being in the background). I am somewhat reminded of Lush's Icon perfume.

Verdict: This is too masculine for me, but since I actually bought the imp for a guy, that's okay! I'm glad that I was able to try this one, though! I adore Norse mythology.

*edit* I tried an imp of this fresh from the Lab a few months ago before sending it to a friend. I got hazelnut when I applied the fresh imp, which I thought was curious, but it ended up turning into the woody, musky, masculine scent that I remembered once dry.

Edited July 6, 2018 by dementia_divine

[false.azure]

Testing untested imps from my stash.

 

In the imp: It's a nose full of wood! Very bitter and a little sharp.

 

Wet on skin: Very woody. I can't quite tell that it's elm over another type of wood. It is very warm, with the musk starting to appear. The herbs give it a bitter quality. The wood doesn't seem smooth or hard to me, but it is definitely a cut wood rather than a forest smell. As it dries, the herbs make their way out even more.

 

Dry on skin: As it dries further, the wood becomes smoother and a bit harder, though this scent still tickles my nose a bit. It's probably the herbs. There's something slightly peppery or spicy on top of this scent, with the smooth wood and the musk in the background. The musk is slightly sweet on me. Even so, it's still a bit raw feeling. I'm also getting a bit of smokiness from it, though it isn't a super warm scent. I'd say it's pretty temperature-neutral, at least with my chemistry.

 

Verdict: It's certainly a masculine scent. I liked it in the imp, but it's a little too bitter and a little too raw for my tastes, and the musk is a little too sweet. It's not vanilla at all, but that's the type of sweetness it has on me. Something between the bitterness of the herbs and the sweetness of the musk is clashing. It doesn't smell bad, it's just not my taste. I'm sure it would smell fantastic on someone else who didn't amp the sweetness.

[Veronica]

Light, sweet, but very herbal green floral musk. Gender neutral. Something in this goes sour on me.

[Soupy Twist]

Cool dry musk in the bottle. Goes on as dry leaves. There's an herbal note, maybe the amaranth? It continues as a dry, crisp, smooth, pleasant, masculine herbal scent, but that morphs into powder (maybe because I'm a lady).

[rix]

Got this frimped, smells interesting in the vial.

 

Musk. Musk, musk, musk and--hazelnut? A hazelnut that starts going maple syrup, and doesn't go away. I HATE hazelnut!

This is going in the swaps pile.

[LexieBlom]

Odin imp

Wet/Bottle - VERY light and sweet, not at all what I was expecting. Slightly musky and herbal as well, but that was to be expected.

Wet/Skin (5 minutes) - Powerfully herbal, and a little powdery. Normally, I like that combination, but right now it's just not doing it for me. I was really hoping for more elm bark.

Dry/Skin (30 minutes) - It smells like babypowder and oregano on my skin.

Sadly, this won't be a keeper. I had such high hopes, too...

[roseus]

In the imp: slightly sharp herbs and soft elm bark.

 

On wet: soft, dry wood and soft green herbs. A little warmth from the musk

 

Dry: Strong, warm, and powdery. Green and herbaceous but not in a sharp, fresh way. More like dried herbs. The wood is soft and warm, as is the musk. For me this feels gender-neutral but leans masculine.

[freyasfae]

A lovely soft woodsy note with green notes and rounded out by musk. I would wear this, as would be my guy.

[lizabelle]

I get a lot of dry wood and musk out of this, with not a whole lot else at the start. There is a hint of the herbs from Yggdrasil as it warms up on my skin, which is lovely, and there's something sweet and almost haylike too. It does start out a bit more masculine than I tend to like, and the strong, sharp musk stays constant throughout, but it might just be worth it for the drydown. As far as more masculine blends go this is easily one of the most unique ones I've smelled.

[kajacana]

It's hard to pinpoint what this smells like. All I know is that I read the notes list, then I opened the imp and I was shocked because it smells nothing like I expected it to.

It goes on warm and brown, like woods and toasted nuts. It gets drier and herb-ier as it wears; loses some of that rich, foody quality and gets sharper and a little cologne-y. It ends up a surprisingly soft, woodsy, musky scent. Not for me but just goes to show you that you should skin test everything!

[LizziesLuck]

Wet: Wow, those are some powerfully manly herbs! I don't know how else to describe it. Warm, almost-but-not-quite woody? Sort of earthy, but not in the way that it smells like earth. Ugh, I am failing at describing this. It's different than most things I have smelled. It smells like...nature. Manly nature. And animal musk (in a nice way!). That's all I've got.

 

 

Dry: Still difficult to describe. In the same vein as Coyote, maybe? Warm, musky, sort of woodsy (but not quite like wood, exactly). It's very BROWN. That's the best way I can describe it, it's a warm, brown scent. I like it! Not sure I would ever wear it, so I will pass this imp on to the next person, but I am glad I tried it. This would be an awesome room scent, and great on a guy also.

[bellumed]

Sweetened woods, very nice. Actually smells like a wafer on my skin. Digging it! Changes on drydown into something more herbal. Hard to put my finger on exactly what that is. Eventually it kinda evens out: a little sweet, a little herbal. Odd, but I think I like it. All in all I’d say this is a pretty unisex scent.

[achildoftime]

It smells like the woods in the summer. There might be some stray wildflowers in bloom, but this is mostly the dense foliage and undergrowth. It's very herbal without being medicinal. Dry, it's mostly herbs drying in the sun. I think this would be a great scent for when you're dying to be outdoors in nature, but there's a foot of snow on the ground.

[TrailerTrashPrincess]

dry elm bark, amaranth, warrior’s musk, and Odin’s Nine Herbs of Power.

 

in the imp and wet on my skin, this is so delicious. strangely like Miskatonic University, but minus the irish coffee.

dry woodsy (but no cedar or pine or anything readily identifiable), and something like maybe a brown musk... and something that might be hay-ish.

 

i could certainly envision a Viking smelling like this. a Viking fond of his soap. or maybe even the favourite soap of a Viking smelling like this.

 

(did you know you can still buy the soap that George Washington used? And JFK for that matter. they didn't use the same soap, but the same company. That company - Caswell Massey sells a 3-bar box of those two, plus the one Eisenhower liked. i never much cared for Eisenhower's favourite, but George and JFK woulda been some fine-smellin' dudes. 'splains a lot about JFK in hindsight, i guess.)

 

sadly after a couple of hours this turns into something that reminds me of Ivanushka. it goes very pickle-y.

[Lucchesa]

Odin is strangely foody on me -- the amaranth? I was hoping for woods and herbs, trending masculine, and instead I got something closer to bran muffins. I have no idea what my skin is doing to this one, but I don't think it's honoring Beth's original intentions. Sadly, not for me.

[sunreon]

i'm getting slammed with musky buttered popcorn.

 

i'll let it see how it does on my skin, and maybe try it again some other time, but uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh. hunh. this is a strange one. maybe it's contaminated (def not a new from lab imp)