Oblivion

[coulrophobe]

Salvation found in darkness beyond darkness, the blessed sleep of nothingness. Dark musk, wood spice, labdanum, patchouli, dark African woods, and saffron.

Preconceived notions: Sounds nice, but perhaps a bit too manly for me?

In the imp: First I have to remark on the color – it’s a funky olive green! I have other green oils, but none quite this color. On to the scent itself: some scents just grab me, and this is one of them. It’s clean and musky, with a bit of a dry-wood note. A bit masculine, but not to the degree I expected.

On: The spices come out a bit more. It’s not nearly as manly as I thought it would be, and works nicely with my chemistry. To my nose, it’s primarily a warm, dark musk with spices and a bit of wood. Absolutely gorgeous.

[nineveh]

A lovely, somber scent. To me, this has the same feel as the Bow & Crown of Conquest, but minus the sweetness of the vanilla.

 

The spices are there, but it's mostly a subtly spicy wood scent, as opposed to a skin-burning red hots thing.

 

I don't love it as much as I thought I would (the notes were very, very appealing to me), but I suspect that this'll start to grow on me.

[sarada]

I have to agree that the color of this oil is amazing, that deep murky olive green. Unique!

 

The notes in this are almost a who's who of things that I like, except that I don't know what labdanum smells like on its own and I have had bad experiences with almost everything that contains saffron.

 

It smells as murky as it looks, but not in a good way for my taste. This smells like some sort of chemical cologne to me, not pleasant at all. It is very masculine but in a dark, aftershavey kind of way.

 

As I suspected, saffron is the key ingredient that messes up a blend for me and pairs with the woods that I would normally like to make them smell chemical, cologney and unpleasant.

 

I didn't want to test it but tried a drop and it didn't do very nice things. I don't smell patchouli, I don't smell woods...just a very murky, plasticky hairspray-like scent that is heated up by a heady musk.

 

The saffron does remind me of the sharp, bitter smell of saffron ice cream. But while I like to have that after Indian food for its cooling sweetness, I dislike the scent itself.

 

This was nothing like what I expected and I'm glad I was wary of the saffron. A good masculine scent perhaps, or for someone who doesn't have the weird reaction to saffron that I do (though I like the note in Scherezade, go figure).

[Heretic]

In the vial: Green with a slight "men's cologne" note. The oil itself is very viscuous and deep green.

 

On my wrist, wet: Green and...is there mint in there somewhere? Very earthy and green with some subdued woodiness.

 

After 20 minutes: This reminds me a little of Lenore, but without the sting of vetiver. A dark, mellow scent that isn't heavy.

 

After an hour: Oblivion is a difficult blend to describe. It's beautiful, but I wouldn't call it pretty, weighty but not heavy, dark but not dreary. Neither masculine nor feminine. It is a very mysterious scent. I think it would layer very well with Lush's Tramp. Definitely bottle-worthy. A new favorite!

[filigree_shadow]

I knew I should have gotten a 5mL of this straight off.

 

Deep and musky, with just a little bit of resin. I don't think this smells masculine, but it is dark. The saffron is lovely. Overall this is a beautiful blend.

 

Put some of this on my hubby, and on him the sweet resin is a lot stronger. I like it on him, too. I think this one and Hellion are the only ones that work well on both of us.

 

Edited on 7/9/08 to add:

I've been letting my imp sit a good long while, and now it's about two years later and I'm wearing it again. Wow. It smells fabulous. It reminds me a whole lot of my aged Al-Azif bottle from the Springtime in Arkham series. My husband wore Oblivion today too, and we both liked it a lot. I'm now trying to talk him into buying a bottle of it.

Edited July 9, 2008 by filigree_shadow

[LittleGreyKitten]

I think my sistercousin might like this- she loves wood notes. It's definitely got a woody base, with a nice spicy throw. I like most of it, but there's one note in there that just doesn't do it for me. Not sure what... saffron maybe? (Hope not, doesn't bode well for Teh Underpants!) Maybe it's just the wood mix smells kind of overly masculine. This is one where the throw smells different than the up-close-nose-to-wrist scent. It throws spicy, but smells mostly woody up close. Overall interesting but not me (thank goodness! I fell for so many of this new release of GC scents it was gonna be uuuugly.)

 

3 out of 5.

[Mountaingrrl00]

This is Top Ten material for me. Dark dark musk, warm resin, savory saffron and just a hint of sharpness from the patchouli. It reminds me a bit of another of my favorites, Morocco, but darker and more substantial. Beautiful, strong and sexy.

[Voleuse]

Huh. On first application, I have absolutely no idea how to describe this. It's dark, but rather ephemeral to my nose. Spicy and a bit sweet, but not anything I can name particularly. As it dries, it doesn't morph on me at all. It's really, really nice. It's somber and warm, and rather striking, but not something I would particularly wear.

[Bagfish]

This smells so unlike my preconceived notions of what Oblivion would smell like - I imagined it would be woody, resinous and earthy. On me, it smells just like a commercial, big brand women's perfume, something like Dior Addict or Samsara On my skin, it really does smell like there is carrier alcohol, although it smells nothing like this in the imp.

 

Someting in Oblivion just doesn't agree with me. I have a feeling it is the saffron as I got a similar reaction to Scherezade Oblivion is also very strong, my trial dab is sticking around for ages. All in all, not for me.

[yeahbutnobut]

Oblivion

 

In the bottle: much smoother than I expected. There's something about this spicy woody musk scent that reminds me of Morocco, but it's deeper. Sort of like Morocco's darker cousin. The oil is a wonderful dark green colour.

Wet on skin: ooh, this is nice…it's dark and mysterious, with a hint of something spicy to it.

Dry on skin: mmm, this is very intriguing. It's an almost masculine scent, but not blatantly so, this is more unisex. I can smell the patchouli, a hint of labdanum, and the dry warmth of saffron, with a scent of fragrant wood and musk in the background, which is indeed reminiscent of Morocco. It's a deep, rich, warm, earthy scent, but so different to others of that genre…. There's a bright, fresh sharpness to it that is almost reminiscent of a perfume I've smelt before (I think it's the musk), and also a background to the fragrance which is almost like old, worn leather, and a salty aspect as well. This is a very interesting fragrance.

After a while: this lightens a bit, the scent 'lifts' and now smells like a wispy, evanescent, slightly tangy/salty musk. It doesn't lose its darkness though, but that is more like an undertone now-an undertone of smoky, almost incense like woods, with a layer of ethereal musk on top, with spices flitting through every now and then. The scent is very subtle, not loud or brash, its quietness is almost serene or contemplative.

It slowly fades over the next few hours and after about 3 hours, the scent I get is a more balanced scent of woody spiced musk, warm and almost comforting, but with an edge. This musk is now slightly reminiscent of the drydowns of Devil's Night and Enraged Orangutan Musk, and even has that smokiness that these scents had. And then, by the end, I get a little hint of something which may be cedar.

Verdict: this, to me, is Morocco's darker, introspective cousin. Almost like 'cedary' Morocco which has been darkened and cut through with deeper notes until it is a new entity altogether. This fits into the niche of 'dark and earthy' but is so different to the others in that category. You can just about make out hints of the notes mentioned-the musk, patchouli, saffron, labdanum, woods and spices-but they are so well blended together, and the result is very different to what one expects. The scent swirls slowly, sometimes revealing gleaming sparks of spice and lighter musk within it's murky depths, it is a mysterious and unique scent that is at times subtle, but it's profound darkness pulls you in, like a black hole. It lightens a bit at the end, the musk gains a sharper edge and the woods develop a smoky aspect before fading away as a smoky woody musk. The only thing about this scent that I'm not sure about is that at times it smells quite masculine, but most of the time it's quite unisex for me to pull off (but I think this will be so sexy on a man!) I'm now quite glad the Lab gave me a bottle of this-I think it's a keeper that will grow on me!

To sum it up in a smiley:

Edited April 19, 2006 by yeahbutnobut

[wickedgoddess]

Before I put this on, I am struck by the dark green color. Interesting.

 

Wet - Oh. Wow. Dark and herbal at the same time. Dark musk and woods. Damn, this is good. *slathers on more*

 

Dry - definite top ten material. I haven't really found a dark musk BPAL I love; this is it. Dark and sexy and woody at the same time. Indescribably gorgeous.

 

On the wickedgoddess scale of 1 to 5, with 5 being best, this rates a 5.

 

I've already ordered a bottle!

[Nadirah]

Ok this smells like chocolate and spice to me Fresh it smells of wood and musk, but theres that sweetness. I had to check the color to make sure this is right, its green alright. This is definatly GREAT stuff for anyone who likes something that almost smells sweet and has a dark undercurrent of resin and wood in it. This one lasts on my skin for about 2 hours or so, I put more on because it smells wonderul

[Blood onmy hands]

I was also intrigued by the olive green color of this one. It looks very cool in the imp. Anyhow, lol.

 

This is very dark and strange on me. Not bad strange, but very different from anything that I've ever smelled before. It smells empty. Whenever I sniff my wrist or catch a faint whiff of it floating up to me, I'm struck with a spicy woods scent and then suddenly nothing. The dark musk lends it a clean, chilly, vacant sort of element.

 

Oblivion is like cold emptiness drizzled in spicy woods and something smoky and resinous. It's dark and sexy and something that I would love on the boy. It strikes me as something that is too masculine for even me to wear, and I tend to wear a lot of men's colognes.

 

Spicy woods and hints of dark musk and earthy patchouli, but overall it's surprisingly light and disappears after only a few hours on my skin. I think that this one captures the concept of Oblivion very well, it's so deep and empty at the same time. I like the concept a lot, but the boy is getting the imp.

 

ETA:

I lied. I gave this to the boy and then stole it back for myself. Oblivion is sexy as all hell.

Edited August 4, 2006 by Blood onmy hands

[LiberAmoris]

Oblivion is really hard for me to describe, so let me just start by saying that I *luff* it. The oil itself is very viscous and green. It's definitely an earthy, almost forest-y blend, but then there's the musk and saffron that brighten it up and make it almost effervescent, in a strange way.

 

I'd love to dab some of this on the boy if he'd hold still long enough. And I think I'll experiment with layering this with Dance of Death to see if I can approximate a Tramp-like state.

[ChupaChup]

Oblivion is awesome. I have a hard time describing it when wet, it's very dry and smoky but once it dries down it's very much like a less-sweet, stronger Morocco. Maybe like Morocco without the vanilla, although there is a tiny bit of sweetness there. It has great throw and lasts a long time, at least eight hours. My boyfriend already stole my imp so I'll have to get us a big bottle.

[cupide430]

I was initially hesitant to try this one, but my musk-lovin' skin chemistry totally came through for me here. This is warm, comforting, spicy, resiny, and just gorgeous. It had crazy strong throw on me. The musk definitely comes out, the patchouli hides. I couldn't think of a better way for this one to work out. Definitely another big bottle contender.

[lyndsayj]

While it's true this does have a masculine undertone, it's not a very "in-your-face" type of masculine. It's just right for me - mysterious and dark without being an obviously-male scent.

 

As people have said, this oil is green and colour and it *smells* green, too Wet on the skin, the woods come across as a subtle pine-y scent, but on drydown the musk creeps out and eventually mellows.

 

It's a very sophisticated, soothing, calming blend.

[emshort]

I am a big fan both of Scherezade and of wood/patchouli scents, so I was right on this when it came out. And wow, it's lovely. Sexy, rich, sophisticated, but wearable by both genders; distinct enough from Scherezade to be worth having on its own.

 

I'm still not sure I know what laudanum really smells like, though.

[Aredhel]

Rating (on skin): 1/5

Summarised in a word or two: Outdoorsy.

 

In the imp: Dark musk, woods, saffron and spice!

 

On skin, wet: Eep. Thick, heavy dark musk, strong woods and dirty patchouli. This does not bode well.

 

On skin, dry: Woods, musk and patchouli. Very 'high-end men's cologne'-y, or maybe aftershave. Something "manly" and outdoorsy. Something my father would probably love, but is way too thick, heavy and woodsy for me.

 

Conclusion/Notes: Musks, woods and patchoulis are three notes that can go either way on me, and in Oblivion, they've decided to rail heartily against me. I don't usually think of scents as "feminine" or "masculine," but I've made an exception for Oblivion, which fairly screams "I AM THE SCENT FOR A GUY THAT CALLS HIMSELF A MANLY MAN!" at me. It's interesting, and not bad, but I can't see myself wearing it. Ever. However, I love the colour of this oil — that deep, earthy shade of green is one of my favourite colours.

Edited April 28, 2006 by Aredhel

[Miss Lynx]

A very rich and warm scent, very much in the woodsy-spicy family, and decidedly masculine, even on my skin which tends to give sex changes to a lot of men's scents.

 

Some scents that are designed for men work fine on me, but others seem to stand up and shout "Heyt! I'm a guy scent!" This would be one of those. It smells like walking through the men's fragrance area of an upscale department store. It would be a lovely scent, on someone who was not me and either had XY chromosomes or at least was a lot more butch than I am.

 

It certainly has major staying power though -- it didn't want to come off even when scrubbed with soap.

 

Grade: C

[The_Merf]

In the imp: Smells green, but not spring green. In another review I said that Alecto brought Lothlorien to mind; this scent brings the outer edges of Mirkwood to mind (going out, as opposing to entering, I'd assume!).

 

Wet: This comes off as greener than I thought it would, given its muted smell in the imp. I smell the patchouli and the woods right away.

 

Drydown and wear: It does not take long for this oil to "smoke out," which is excellent. The dark musk and spices get stronger as the oil wears on. I am holding this one on my B-list, but it might move up to the A-list by the time fall comes around. It seems like it would fit well with a fall wardrobe.

[desu]

In the imp: Very interesting. This certainly smells like a guy scent, but more in control of itself. This is cool, calm, and collected.

 

On my skin: Oh my goodness. This is schweet! It's green and a bit aquatic without making me think of Marshall's antiperspirant, spicy without making me feel like I shoved a lit stick of incense up my nose, and sweet without being bothersome. It's warm, inviting, and strong; I love it! This is a definate bottle purchase.

[storme]

In the imp: wow, this is nice. Soft yet dark. Spicy, sexy warm woods with saffron and musk.

 

On me, wet: Still soft, spicy woods. Very warm and dark. The oil is a crazy colour - dark green! - but mmm, it smells like a darker, naughtier, less-sweet Morocco.

 

On me, dry: Mmmm, it just keeps staying warm, and dark, and rich and sexy and sultry and woody and spicy and musky and *slightly* foody and... man, this is such a great scent.

 

Verdict: Yum. I think this just replaced Morocco on my list of future Big Bottle purchases.

[provocateur]

Boy did I get something completely different:

 

in bottle: Men's aftershave. It's sharp and uncomfortable, so it's not a nice aftershave either.

 

on skin, wet: There's something extraordinarily aquatic that is just pushing everything else to the side. I think I can gather a hint of the resin incense, but not a lot.

 

This was getting so unbearable that it's the first blend to ever trigger an allergy attack - watery eyes were the most prominent. I had to wipe it off before it got a chance to dry down.

 

Overall - 0/5. I really wanted to love this. It sounded so wonderful, but alas, it does not love me.

[edenssixthday]

Oblivion - The oil is a dark, murky green color -- the color of algae and lake-bottom scum. It's just the creepiest color, and I almost avoid applying the oil based on the color alone. However, once I apply the scent, I'm surprised that it doesn't smell like stagnant pond scum, but is rather a dark and slightly sweet wood scent. I find it impossible to identify the notes, but it's slightly husky, the way patchouli usually works on my skin when it’s being nicely subtle, and it’s slightly woody and spicy. Despite the squeamish color of the oil, the scent is really soft, subtle and nice. Sadly, it doesn't last on my skin more than an hour, and the throw is virtually non-existant. I am concerned that my pre-conceptions involving the color of the oil have interfered with my enjoyment of the fragrance, so I'm going to put this in my pile of scents to try again, but I have a feeling that it's just too faint for me and that I'll be passing it along even though it is delicate and pretty.