Ozymandias

[Shollin]

Desolation. The remnants of an empire, shivering with forgotten glories, a monument to megalomania, sundered power, and colossal loss. Dry desert air, dry and hot, passing over crumbling stone megaliths and plundered golden monuments, bearing a hint of the incense of lost Gods on its winds.

First sniff: Hmmmm. This is dark, very dark, and though it doesn’t quite smell smoky, it reminds me of smoke. I suspect it won’t work very well on me.

Wearing: It goes from dark and smoky to light and soapy. It doesn’t work very well on me, but not for the reasons I expected...

[Lucretia]

This smells like fancy hair conditioner to me! I mean, I'm sure it doesn't really, it's just I had a conditioner that had this scent when I was a kid. It's soapy, and reminds me of gold dust for some reason. A very dry scent. I mean, it's dead on for the description, I just can't shake my associations with the scent from my childhood though.

[sookster]

straight sniff from imp ... dry...yes perfume can be dry and this is what it is all about...once applied it still has that unique dryness about it...and it vaguely reminds me of something my father used to wear when i was a kid...hmmm...

this does not morph much with my chemistry...in fact not at all...but it is all

about this golden dryness...so if that is what you're looking for, this would be right up your alley

[Faeried]

Wet green notes, florals and soap. Between the green and the soap, this one is going to the trade pile. Not quite what I was expecting.

[forspecial_plate]

Hmm...what am I smelling? Sandalwood? Ozone? Not quite...but it does have a clean, soapy smell....dry though. Desolate is a good word to describe it. Almost in the same family as Oblivion and maybe Morocco...dry, a little woody, maybe some amber, and there's something powdery creeping in. But if Oblivion is darkness, this is more sunny...but still empty. It smells good and I'm going to hang onto it, wear it again, but probably not buy a bottle. It's interesting though. Oh and I could have sworn I smelled some vanilla in there.

[Thaleia]

When I first smelled this at a MNS back in June, I was so underwhelmed because it was not what I expected at all. Maybe I was having smell overload or something at the time, because I didn't smell much of anything ITB. When I put it on, I got a kind of weird incensey smoke and dry desert sand, but there was also a weird something else I couldn’t place.

 

Now that I have an imp of my own, which I received in a swap today, I’m getting a very fresh, clean just-out-of-the-shower scent. This is not the cinnamon I’ve gotten from other ‘dry desert sand’ scents. This one has the ozone note in Lurid that I love so much and I’ve spent the entire morning huffing my arm. Seriously.

 

Look upon my works, ye Mighty, and despair.

 

This scent is fit for a king.

[girl_android]

For reasons unknown to my mind, I picked an imp of ozymandias from forum sales, not realising that I was about to win an ebay auction of a bunch of imps which also included ozymandias ... yep, I was doing really well with keeping track... or maybe not!

 

In the imp, it's green and floral. it's not sharp though, more ... rounded.

 

Wet on skin: the green flies off somewhere, leaving me with golden, dried flowers. I wish I could be more articulate about the flowers (besides thinking, it's not jasmine, it's not honeysuckle, I don't think it's jonquils...), and there's a hint of smokiness floating about too, like the smoke off a stick of something calming...

 

Dry: there's something a little powdery about this. Not old-lady powdery, not baby-powdery... clean and slightly green soapy powdery. Lucretia mentioned that it smelled of hair conditioner ... I couldn't name the brand, but it does remind me of shampoo or conditioner from some point in my life too!

 

It's a little flowery for my normal tastes, but I'm going to give it another go (probably when the second imp arrives!).

 

 

ETA: I'm wearing this today actually - it's 2 weeks to summer and we're having 14 degrees (celsius) as a maximum... this is definitely growing on me! It's about 3 hours since I first applied it, and it's a lovely warm golden thing... not sure it's two imp worthy (seeing as the second imp arrived today!) but it's definitely worth one!

Edited November 14, 2006 by Girl Android

[euterpe414]

This is, as many have said, gorgeous and classic. I agree completely with Caulrophobe in that it is extremely reminiscent of Chanel No. 5. This scent seems, though, to encompass many moods or things at once. It is stately, clean, sweet, masculine yet also feminine, rich. I don't know how these thoughts all exist together concerning this scent, but they do.

 

I don't know if this scent is me, per say, or something I would want often, but I am not giving away my imp of this, that is for sure. Perhaps somewhere down the line I will own a bottle of this.

[eanewsom]

Ozymandias is a complete heartbreaker. I am a huge Shelley fan, and this is one of my favorites by him. And yet, when I put it in, I just smell like soap. Not even nice, fancy soap, but the nasty soap that teenage boys use trying to drown out any potential B.O.

I just wanted this one to be perfect and it couldn't be much worse.

[harmonyfb]

In the imp, this was sharp and a little acrid. I dabbed some on my wrist, and lo, and behold - sandalwood.

 

Yup, pretty much single-note. Weird.

 

Once it dried for a while, there was a pleasant musk scent that joined it, making it smell a little masculine.

 

It had a very low throw, and didn't last long, but it was pleasant enough while it lasted.

[mtlaise]

Wet, this reminded me of an aftershave or cologne my dad used to wear... can't remember what it was, though... as it dries, the finish gets softer, and I can see this working for a man or a woman. I can't place the notes at all, except for something like a light musk or sandalwood, which tends to give off a soft, slightly powdery finish for me. The throw on this is quite good as well. I'll probably keep this imp.

 

ADDED April 15:

 

Ever try an imp and think it must be mislabeled because it reacts so differently on you than others have described? That's Ozymandias to me. Wet, the overwhelming impression I got was of a men's cologne. As it dried, it was pretty much the same, but with a softer finish, maybe a hint of sandalwood popping out? Once completely dry, I could see this as working for either men or women, but that initial scent would put me off wearing it. I would love to smell it on my boy though...

[supremegoddessofall]

Very yellow, but not citrusy. It's sort of an air aquatic. Hard to describe, but it's very clean and smells like sunshine to me, or fresh laundry drying in the wind. Somehow it also reminds me of my grandmother's favorite perfume, only less cloying.

[marietta]

To me, this smells like clothing from an estate sale in the good part of town. It's not precisely unpleasant, and I do understand the Chanel no. 5 (which I can't wear either) association . . . but my traditionally feminine skin makes this smell like a traditionally feminine old lady.

 

Would be great for someone looking for a conservative everyday scent.

 

Sadly, not for me. Very impressive, though.

[corvidae]

I don't know why, but I think I like it. Cairo was too sweet for me, and Bastet was too yellow; yet I am an Egyptophile through to the core, and I need at least a couple of Egyptian scents. The first one was Khephra, and this is the second, I think.

 

It smells dry, very dry, and certainly carries that "old-fashioned perfume" scent with it.

 

Oddly enough, I think the reason I love Dorian and Antique Lace so much is that I can smell the antique perfume, powdery, slightly acrid, and that might be why I like this one, too. This is Victorian Egyptomania in the best possible way.

[LadyMedb]

Dry and musky with a nice balance, but dry indeed - too much so for me to appreciate it properly. The slight hint of incense is beautiful, but the rest is just too wispy and transient. I guess that was the point.

Edited January 24, 2007 by LadyMedb

[melrose]

I immediately get the Chanel #5 scent, but more powdery, less floral. I frickin' love it. I think it's my Number 2 favorite BPAL ever - Dee is still Number 1, but this is gorgeous.

Edited January 29, 2007 by melrose

[mirei]

In Bottle: Papery powdery. Certainly old and slightly musty. Like an ancient library.

 

On Skin: Strange to think, this reminds me of my grandmother. She was tiny and british and strict. A powdery smell with a hint of musky flowers, like those satchets you find in old clothing that has a hint of flowers that have faded with age. A dark, closed up house that has years of memories involved. A leatherbound book that has been packed in with other, more scented things. Like old knowledge.

 

Wet: Oh, flowers, fresh bright flowers in the desert. Brilliant. I'd wear this all the time if I could keep it constantly wet.

 

Drydown: The water dried pretty quickly, I sniffed while it was drying and it had a vaguely fruity odor, which suprised me.

 

After Time: It faded very quickly but I loved the fade. If I wore it regularly I'd have to put it on well before leaving the house. As it stands though it became almost non-existant within minutes of the drydown, which suprised me as the one I tried before this, Hymn to Prosperine stayed apparent well after two days and three showers. This left a powdery smell I had to chase across my skin, almost like the scent was pulling away from my nose as I was sniffing.

 

Final Verdict: Too old for me, and too many memories associated with it. The powdery smell is overwhelming to begin with and almost nonexistant eventually. The only way I could wear it truly is if I kept it constantly wet and that's just inefficient.

[Naamah_Darling]

Unexpected! This is high, bright, and perfume-y, very pretty.

 

On, it definitely has amber in it; I can smell that in the waft. It goes on very sharply perfumey/soapy, but fades in a minute or so to a very regal incense and slightly floral perfume blend that is both classic in profile and yet subtle and very deep. The resinous notes here are sneaky, pretty. It's not a heavy scent, but it's not one you can ignore, either. Its touch of classic perfume would make it suitable for someone transitioning from traditional perfumes to BPAL, while its resinous depth lends it a sophisticated depth.

 

This is definitely a dry, hot smell, but it's not a desolate, empty smell. This is more like the scent of perfumed resin baking out in the sun – strong and clear. It just gets more and more beautiful as it dries, and more incense notes come out. Lovely. I really cannot emphasize its prettiness enough – in its final stages it is quite reminiscent of the opening of Jacob's Ladder, albeit minus that heartwrenching slight sweetness that Jacob's Ladder had.

 

The drydown is very neutral, but the opening salvo is so traditional that I cannot classify this as anything but an overtly feminine perfume.

[tinyvulture]

sweet, dry, dusty. like an aged bottle of women’s perfume from some unknown era that has been buried for centuries. there’s a powdery incense element to it as well. i was expecting some stone or metallic elements, but there’s none of that. it’s not a strong scent, but a pretty one.

[fiddlehead]

I haven't got much to add to the other reviews, really. I slathered it on my wrists and it was instant "old vintage perfume bottles on a dresser". Exactly! This is the scent I've been avoiding all my life But if it's a scent you love, better buy a bottle or three of this.

[voodoobaby]

In the bottle: Wow, perfumey! And very masculine. And just slightly spicy. Ooh.

 

On the skin: OK, call me crazy, but this smells a whole lot like Noir to me. I think they must share a similar note--it has that same slightly sharp, old perfume smell (opoponax, possibly?). It does smell kind of clean, but not quite. It's hard to describe. The impression I get from the blend is of a drag king from the 1940s, if one ever existed at that point. It's masculine smelling on the surface, but at the heart of it it's clearly feminine. Definitely a "me" scent. Again, at least the way it smells with my skin chemistry, I strongly recommend Ozymandias to those of us who mourn Noir's passing.

 

Edit: I decided to test Ozymandias and Noir side by side. In comparison, Ozymandias is definitely cleaner, dryer, more masculine, and a whole lot lighter. However, I still think they must have at least a couple of notes in common. I'm thinking opoponax and rose here. Eh. Maybe. Also, anyone else love Gonesh No. 6 incense? I'm smelling a hint of that in Ozymandias. *loves*

Edited June 11, 2007 by voodoobaby

[t_for_tau]

This must be another demonstration of my whacked-out skin chemistry, because on me this smells *exactly* like medicated shampoo. Before it turned into that, it was a very perfumey, rich, dark scent. Off to swaps to find someone who doesn't turn it into Vosene and can give it love.

[andhowever]

This was a frimp from the Lab.

 

Several people have said this reminds them of something their dad used to wear, and I definitely get that association as well. My dad wore Royal Lyme, and this doesn't smell like it per se, but it has the same feeling. I get a soapy scent, a little bit of sandalwood, and something that smells like shaving cream. This is very much, to me, a wholesome-clean-boy scent. In fact, I have a friend who is a wholesome clean boy in every respect and I'd like to try this on him.

[The_Merf]

In the imp: Soapy incense

 

Wet: Very soapy incense!

 

Drydown and wear: More incense and less soap as this dries down, but this one is not for me. Off to swaps.

[taramarie]

Ozymandias is absolutely gorgeous! I can see the comparison to Chanel No. 5 and I get the sense of ruins in the desert. Only Beth could make a blend like this possible. I've just found a new favorite.

Edited July 15, 2007 by whiterosepetals