Shoggoth

[Silverstrike]

An amorphous, radiant, incandescent scent. Ever changing, protoplasmic and primordial: white amber, green coconut meat, iris, palmarosa, Chinese peony, lime, water lily, snowdrop, muguet, lemongrass, osmanthus, wisteria, glassy musk, and hinoki.

In the bottle, this smells kind of "meh", but after it's been on my skin it becomes fantastic--lemongrass and creamy coconut. In the bottle (actually, imp) I smell the lemongrass, something green and florals, no coconut. The coconut and something else make it smell like an expensive lemongrass, I think because it makes it so much more complex. I didn't quite know what to expect, but I love this and it's going on my big bottle list now.

[dawna]

in the vial: Lime, lemon and a hint of something else.. can't explain..

 

on the skin: lime and lemon like woah. after a few seconds there is a slightly floral scent in the background.

 

on drydown: I am smelling the lemongrass more here, its still very citrusy with a hint of floral and finally the coconut meat in the background. Very nice.

[Lit Chick]

Lemonlime candy. Like a Life Saver. I kept it one for hours, too. Candy candy candy the whole time.

All of those gorgeous notes..... and the only one that I smell is the citrus. Oh, the injustice! I'm bringing out the villagers for that BOOO on aggressive lemongrass!

[tinyvulture]

i had a pretty immediate aversion to this one because of the lime and lemongrass. my skin really amps up the citrus, and the citrus/coconut combination is just not doing it for me. those are the only notes i can make out, as i’m not sure what the florals in it actually smell like. i’ll be swapping this to someone who can give it more love.

[Rusalka]

This is such a strange scent. In the imp vial, it reminds me sharply of Australian 'tutti-frutti' candy -- sweet, a little fruity, and heavy with sugar. But it transforms almost instantly, on touching my skin, so that 'radiant' becomes precisely the term for it. Oh, there's still a lot of fruit in here: if anything, the lime note is swollen into dominance now. But there are hints of sweet coconut peeking through, and the lemon's been made fragrant with petals, and everything has a deliciously sugared edge to it.

 

 

Oh, this one is going to be a Summer scent for sure.

Edited January 26, 2007 by Rusalka

[grrrlennyl]

at first: a sweet, white scent. i can definitely smell some coconut.

on: lovely. this reminds me of the star a little, but with a lot of floral notes to it. very pretty.

1.5 hours later: a soft, sweet, creamy floral with a bit of coconut.

3.5 hours later: lovely. warm, sweet, creamy flowers with a bit of musk.

5 hours later: wonderful. this is such a lovely, sweet, creamy floral. i'm getting a hint of lemongrass, too, which brightens it up nicely.

overall: i'm glad i got ahold of an imp of this because it really smells nice on me.

[phedre]

In vial: lemongrass, coconut, and lime

 

wet: this is very light; i can barely smell it on my skin. Definitely lime and coconut, and a little light floral.

 

drydown: lemon notes seem to take over on my skin. This one turned to pure lemongrass.

[jiggahava]

For the huge number of notes listed, this isn't a very complex smelling scent! I get lemongrass and lime STRONGLY at first, almost astringent smelling. Then after an hour I smell lilac and some watery floral, maybe the waterlily. Not a lot of throw, even after I slathered. I like it, especially after the lemongrass calmed down but I don't think a bottle is necessary.

[Meg]

In the bottle: Lime, lemongrass and something akin to lotus. Ick.

 

Wet: Lime and lemongrass, with the thickness brought by coconut. It reminds me of a certain type of coconut candy. Then suddenly the citrus lifts to give way to... iris, I think.

 

Drydown: Lemongrass comes back with a vengeance, still mixed to coconut. I get some florals, but I couldn't describe which, except that they smell very clean and white. I do recognise iris and it's strange greenness. After a while the lily of the valley (muguet) and snowdrop peek through a bit more.

 

Overall: Iris and lemongrass and lime, with coconut, all notes that I really don't like or can't wear. I think it smells like window cleaning product, and I don't get very much beyond that. Plasticky, artificial and citrusy. Not my thing.

[Brianne]

In the vial:

a green but lemony scent

 

On me:

With a name like Shoggoth, I don't think you ever really expect for such an uplifting, light and bouyant scent lol. When it goes on wet, the lemongrass is quite apparent - it's bright and lemony and backed by some airy floral.

 

When it's dry, the lemon is more... sweet - kind of fruit loopy in a way. And the lime is the same. It's a playful lemon lime scent. The musk smoothes this out and the floral and wood notes are so subdued that you cannot distinguish exactly *which* notes they are in the background.

 

I *barely* get coconut but it's there. This smells very similar to The Star only if The Star was Key Lime Pie, Shoggoth is a lemon lime pixie stick - softer and more sugary. I love it!

 

Final note:

I love this so much, the sugary quality to this makes it almost candy like, but in a soft spun sugar kind of way. Want more!

[filigree_shadow]

Lemongrass is almost always a note that ruins a blend for me, partly because I my skin seems to amp it outrageously and partly because I don't like it. This seems like mostly lemongrass and lime to me with barely a hint of anything else. There's a tiny weeny amount of coconut. This is the kind of scent I like in a wax tart but not as a perfume.

[edenssixthday]

Shoggoth – This is a really bright, fresh scent that is predominantly lemongrass on my skin. I smell a touch of wisteria and lime behind the lemongrass, but not much else. The scent doesn’t morph or change as it stays on my skin. The lasting power is about average, although the throw is light once it dries down. I highly recommend this for people who like strong, lemon scents.

[pekeana]

I get iris, lemongrass, lime, and just the barest hint of coconut. Alas, the way the iris plays in this is just too much for the rest of it to balance out. And there's an odd afternote to it that's kind of powdery but bad musky that you register after you inhale it deeply, then move away. It's very odd, and, ultimately, not for me. *siiiiigh*

[Carmencita]

In the vial: Lime popsicle

 

Wet: Sugared limes on ice with a twist of coconut meat.

 

Dry: Undercurrent of my Spanish grandmother... weird.

 

Lime yogurt. This is swiftly going claylike on me.

 

Everything turns to clay! What is up with my skin?

[Allumina]

I was actually hoping for the sharp lime/lemongrass attack that people were complaining about but I never got it.

 

Wet it was sweet and tart and lemony delicious. (no lime that I can pick out, though)

Dry it slowly turned into a gorgeous "warm island"-creamy-coconut-floral-tropical smell. Really, really lovely. Medium throw.

 

Wow. I don't like florals, or girly scents, and I thought this fragrance was emphatically "not me" but it's so... *pretty* I might end up buying a bottle anyway, which is saying something. I imagine it'd be great in warm weather.

[Dinerdulcinea]

imp: lemon candy lolipops from the Dr's office.

wet: same! So far=meh.

Dry: Lemon Pledge

Later: NAH.

[eanewsom]

In the imp: lemongrass, lime, lemongrass, and did I mention lemongrass? It's not quite the sensory assault that I got from Phobos, but I didn't get much of anything except the citrus out of this, maybe a little musk, but definitely no coconut or florals. Hologhost's review of the aged stuff sounds lovely, though, so I may keep this one in the back for a while and try it again. *crossed fingers*

[alliekat13]

In the bottle I get a really sharp lime with herbs, followed by a brief hint of woodiness. On my skin it turns into a kind of generic floral/citrus scent, and I really don't get the coconut at all, which is a shame because I love coconut. This reminds me of one of those expensive spa lotion/bubblle bath type scents, kind of herbal, kind of generic smelling. I don't know, maybe I'll give it a try some other time, but this is just not what I was hoping for.

[LadyCrow]

This was... well, every bit as peculiar as you'd expect a Lovecraft-inspired perfume to be, and definitely fit the constant-change part of the description! Wet, it was all the lemongrass, to the point of lemon Pledge. I just kept my wrist away from my nose and waited, confident that everything would change on the drydown. And it did -- sufficiently that the musk rubbed up against something late in the coconut-floral stage (which, thankfully, never got cloying) and gave an almost smoky note, as if to say, "Hey! This is a monster! Remember?"

 

On me, Shoggoth had fairly good throw for an oil that's so light-colored in the imp, which was interesting. I think that overall, for me, either this is going in the "age it, try again" pile, or this is more in the category of "perfume science experiment" -- if I'm trying to write and my brain really needs to be woken up with some highly unusual sensory input, definitely, Shoggoth. I can see why this isn't in Bewitching Brews under the "fall at my feet, you hot and lustful man" category, however.

[cuervosueno]

This is an interesting scent. I used to shy away from everything with coconut because I thought I hated it, but then I started becoming interested. Obatala, for example, is one of my favorite scents. And I like citrus, so I swapped for an imp of this.

 

And was not disappointed. In the imp is it is sharp citrus, but immediately on my skin it turns creamy lime, but key lime rather than regular lime (you know, slightly sweeter than a regular lime but not lemon either?) It does very much remind me of Milk and Honey only stronger.

 

After a bit, the coconut comes out, and I love it in this blend. It is as if lemon were added to Obatala, which is a clean and crisp "white" scent (appropiately for the loa), so Shoggoth to me is a clean white scent with the brightness of citrus added.

 

It gets creamier and sweeter the longer I wear it, but the florals are only there to add sweetness on my skin--I can't pick out individual notes. And that's fine with me, since I don't like a lot of florals.

 

Overall this is great, and I may have to order a bottle.

[Bagfish]

Shoggoth is a gorgeous shertbet-like, almost fizzy lemon/lemongrass scent when first applied. It is a refreshing citrus and is totally not something I would ever have tried except a friend gave me an imp that she didn't like. Her loss is definitely my gain

 

As Shoggoth dries down it becomes more floral, there is almost a peony sort of side to the fragrance. It also becomes more rounded, probably the amber and coconut. The scent has a good throw and I can still smell it in my cleavage 15 hours after initial application. All in all it is a total suprise that I love this scent, as the notes are really not me on paper. It even garnered unasked for compliments from Mr Bagfish too, which is very unusual.

 

I REALLY need a big bottle of this for the summer, it is totally gorgeous!

[zankoku_zen]

In the imp: Citrus and a caramel like scent

 

On Skin: Citrus, very strongly a lime citrus, and coconut.

 

On Drydown: The lime edge flitters a bit away and I get more of a floral coconut.

 

Verdict: I think the lime is a little too sharp for my taste. And I was hoping that the coconut would not take over. Unfortunately, it seems the BPAL coconut wants to smother me in its goodness but I don't appreciate the smothering. There is some very light, cheery, summery and tropical about this blend. It's as if Shoggoths went down to a Brazilian beach for some suntan time and margaritas.

 

I don't think that's the image Lovecraft had in mind.

[Eemia]

I tried an imp of this last night.

 

This starts out beautiful....very watery and light and summery. It's mostly coconut, but it's not the fake, gag-inducing sweet coconut that I despise in cheap lotions and sprays. This coconut is mild and fresh, though it is the dominant note here. There is a lot of citrus and I bright lime. So far this is very tropical and reminds me of the beach. I'm not noticing any of the other notes, except perhaps a *hint* of very pale florals. Overall, it's clean and happy.

 

This fades quickly on me, and becomes all warm coconut and something musky. I don't think that this is for me, though I will say that if you are a fan of coconut scents then this might be the perfect coconut blend for you. Despite many efforts I am not a coconut person at all. I was hoping more of the other notes would make an appearance but unfortunately this was more like a single note for me. I think I will pass this one along to my mom who smells wonderful in coconut blends.

[erraticprophet]

After looking at the description, I wondered if this might be one of those amazingly complex scents that keeps changing every five seconds. I also worried about the amount of florals in it. (Retried recently and modified rating and review)

 

Initial Impression: This smells very soft to me. A very light floral. Strong aquatic notes.

 

On Wet: It's turned brighter and sweeter. Still quite floral, but not heavily so. I smell the lime and the barest hint of musk coming out. Slight antiseptic smell.

 

On Dry: More lime and coconut now. Amping the musk and a hint of citrus. Something smells vaguely antiseptic. Coconut is gone.

 

Final Impression: Unfortunately, this turned a bit antiseptic on me otherwise this would have been a pretty and unusual scent. But I prefer Embalming Fluid if I want musk and citrus.

 

Rating (on a scale of 1 to 5): 2

Edited November 20, 2007 by erraticprophet

[SlySionnach]

Name: Shoggoth

In Bottle: Very lemongrass, and some wisteria. It's very faint... I almost can't smell it!

On Skin Wet: Oh... my... gods. I love this. I love lime, and, unlike in the bottle, my skin is amping it with the hint of coconut, making me practically swoon! There's a tiny bit of an aquatic water lily note underneath, but the lime is taking the stage!

Drying: Lime still strong, but the coconut is coming through more. A bit of the lemongrass trying to peek its head up.

Evaluation: I think this may have to be my signature scent for now, because I'm trying to sniff my wrist off! Many bottles... many many bottles...