Tiresias, the Androgyne

[Ajila]

Dark, moody, and bittersweet: black currant, patchouli, tobacco, cinnamon leaf, caramel, muguet, and red sandalwood.

In the bottle – Caramel (prays that this is one of the few caramel blends that actually works on me)

Wet on me – Sweet caramel, smoky patchouli, something bitter and a bit peppery (the cinnamon leaf?)

Dry on me – Rich dark caramel oozes throughout the blend, there are occasional hints of the other notes, but they are mere sideshows to the main attraction

Overall – Wet I wasn’t convinced, but dry I love it and even as it fades to barely perceptible the remnant is warm and sensual Edited September 25, 2007 by Shollin

[funkmoppet]

Wet this is strong caramel. The same sort of burnt caramel smell in Sugar Skull, only this caramel manages to fade down a bit as it dries.

 

I definitely get the sandalwood as it dries down. It gives it a dusty wood edge to take a bit of the sweetness away, and when dry, the patchouli is more noticeable. Finally the caramel backs off and leaves a sweet, dusty wood fragrance. I don't get any of the currant, which is a bit disappointing. The tobacco really only shows up softly underneath, if I really look for it.

 

I'm a bit on the fence with this one. I don't think I'm much of a fan of the caramel/sweet woody blends. At least I'm not really fond enough of them to want more than one blend from this group. The sandalwood makes this one for me though, and does reign in what initially threatens to be too foody.

 

I'll hang onto the decant and have another go at it later.

[grifyn_whiffs]

In the imp, this is sweet caramel (a very round caramel note, not the "knock-you-down-and-rot-your-teeth caramel... not that there's anything wrong with that) and tobacco! I am instantly in love.

 

Within just a few moments, it has already morphed. It morphed as I was sniffing it, which was a cool experience. Now the tabacco and red sandalwood have come out to play.

 

Is it weird that I haven't gotten black currant out of this yet?

 

Harumph. Why must the perfection of this be leaning so heavily in the "pencil shavings" area? The red sandalwood is threatening to take over, but as I sit here, I can smell the soft waft of caramel tickling my nose, and I'm in love all over again.

 

Pencil shavings are dying down... good! Now I'm sniffing the softness of the muguet. Oh! This one is so lovely and surprising. Woodsy, resinous caramel. GUH. ::adds to 5ml WANT list::

[alicia_stardust]

Tiresias is nice. It's sort of thick and heavy, gender neutral, strong. The black currant is my favorite part of this blend, but the patchouli is a bit to strong and swarthy for me.

[noumenon]

You gotta wear Tiresias, or it'll wear you. When I wore Tiresias out to the movies today, its scent coiled around me like a serpent - tendrils of caramel delivering deep, dark spices to everyone within five feet of me. My brother sniffed me and said, "I really want some chai tea now." It's the olfactory equivalent of a low cut top, a skirt that rides up on its own accord, and four-inch, patent-leather heels. It's hot. And on a sticky southern day in August, it's too hot to handle.

 

It's also completely addictive. I'm going to have to hide the bottle from myself to keep from wearing it to work tomorrow.

[Esmeria]

I wanted to try this one, ever since realising it shared a few common notes with Red Lantern (Aka Beauty in a Bottle).

 

In bottle: Wo-hoah. This is a strong one, not that this is a bad thing, of course. I don't think you share any common notes, dear Tiresias, but you remind me of the precious, Centzon Totochtin. And that is definately a GOOD thing.

 

Wet: Yum, let me eat now please! It's just so lovely, and dark and moody. The Centzon is still shining.

 

Dry: I can smell the tobacco now, giving it a smokey edge to it. The spices are starting to come out, too, which give it a hard kick.

 

Opinion: Blooming gorgeous! I need a bottle!

[fortytricks]

I didn't expect to like this one this much-caramel is not my favorite note, but this is so interesting. On my wrists the caramel and tobacco are the primary notes, and they smell wonderful together.

 

Also dabbed a bit in my cleavage, and, oddly, the patchouli and sandalwood have really bloomed there(yes, I keep sticking my head down my shirt to compare against my wrists).

 

All in all, I find this a fascinating and beautiful scent. I may have to have a bottle.

 

Edited to fix typos

Edited September 11, 2007 by fortytricks

[mand]

Patchouli, the dirty kind I like and not turning sweet, almost incense - it reminds me of Kathmandu. My mother says sandalwood, but I can't smell it

[n0thing]

This is my current favourite BPAL, and i'm eagerly awaiting the arrival of a bottle before i use my imp up completely!

 

Initially i got pure caramel - a sort of hazlenutty, incensey, dusty caramel, but NOT like the dusty-sweet smell in Miskatonic Uni, that i hated, this is more like Gluttony.

After a few uses though, I've started to notice the patchouli more too, and it's become this gorgeous mix of dusty, hazlenut-caramel, patchouli and incense, and it lasts AGES, and just gets more smoky & lovely smelling.

 

Interestingly, sandalwood blends usually smell the same on me (boriiing!), and blackcurrant is usually a BIG no-no, just goes cold & wierd smelling, but for some reason Tiresias really works

Edited September 25, 2007 by n0thing

[SarahScent44]

In the imp, this is SO rich - patchouli, tobacco, cinnamon, caramel.

 

On my skin, the caramel comes out in a big way, but it's not overly sweet - it's a sort of smoky caramel (which I'd attribute to the tobacco), with the patchouli backing it up.

 

Dry, this is really interesting - that smoky caramel. Really sensual and yet sinister, but it's a LITTLE too smoky for me to keep.

[mspixieears]

Caramel with the smokiness of tobacco. As it dries either the red sandalwood or patchouli begin to emerge. I think this is a nighttime fragrance. There is an element of spiciness in this – it must be the cinnamon leaf? The caramel mixed with the tobacco gives off a very coffee-ish fragrance. Overall, a warm spicy blend that is mysterious and earthy at the same time. Reminds me of Wulric without the lavender. Gets earthier with wear.

[suileach]

In the vial: Sweet and dark. Caramel, vanilla, cinnamon, and sandalwood. This smells really lovely and promising...

 

On me: Cinnamon sticks! And then...it becomes intensely dry. Dry woods, dusty tobacco, old patchouli. Dang nabbit. It smelled so luscious in the vial. My skin sucks the life right out of it.

[hkhm]

bottle: patchouli, sandalwood, tobacco...

 

wet: this is creamy caramel smeared over cigar-smoke. i like this so much better than i ever thought i would. intensely beautiful!

 

dry: there's more fruity sweetness here, possibly the currant, with the smoky caramel scent. so incredibly sexy.

[Apple]

Why, hello there, Monster Bait: Ventriloquist Dummy! These two scents smell very similar to my nose. I suppose it's not surprising: they both contain dry woods, fruit notes, patchouli, and caramel. On me, they both smell like butterscotch poured over cedar shavings... which is not nearly as unpleasant as it sounds. Unfortunately, it does set up an endless loop of, "Dessert! Hamster cage! Dessert! Hamster cage!" in my brain.

[theal8r]

In the bottle: This smelled like a big uh-oh -- very heavy and syrupy sweet with thick incense. These scents always amp like crazy and give me a big headache. Mostly I caught the sandalwood, but with such sweetness...

 

Wet: super intense but that gorgeous cedar started coming forward and toning the sweet down. although it was a strong scent, it didn't have much throw on me (which is good -- I can huff my wrist and otherwise not bother other people).

 

Dry down: So lovely -- a woody, smoky sweet smell -- like a bookshop that burns sandalwood and cedar incense and serves lattes.

 

9 hours later: I have the subtlest wiff of sweetened cedar -- like I've been digging in a hope chest all afternoon. This dries to such a soft, subtle and sensual note, I don't know how I'm going to stand not having a bottle!

[Lethran]

In bottle; this is reminding me of ventriloquist dummy, that odd mix of masculine elements and foody stuff. One simply does not expect tobacco and caramel together. Wet: Burnt sugar and woodshop with cinnamon. Oh, the cinnamon. This is a note my skin amps, so your milage may vary, but mix that with sandlewood, tobacco, patchouli, and caramel and you get the dominant scent, here. The effect is odd, but not displeasing. Sadly, not stunning either. Dry: fades fast to vaguely foody sandlewood.

[iiinterstate]

:D

 

So far, this is the most delicious of the CD blends I've tried (and I flipped big over a few of em), and I never would have gone for it on my own (Thank you Jennifer!!!).

 

Its caramel and burnt sugar, toned down with sandalwood and patchouli (which I usually run from without a second thought) OH. Just enough food, just enough wood, a hint of tobacco but not in an old cigar kind of way. Overall, BEAUTIFUL. I can't keep my nose away from my wrist.

 

 

Definitely buying a bottle. Probably two. I wonder how this will smell in a year?

 

 

Several hours later: Still true scent love for me. *sigh* The throw is still incredible and deliciously caramel. A new favorite without a doubt, and definitely hoardworthy.

Edited April 15, 2008 by iiinterstate

[arabella]

First Impression: Very spicy wood.

 

Dries down to: A dry masculine scent.

 

Additional Comments: Hints of black currant, tobacco and caramel appear intermittently. The spicy dryness must come from the cinnamon leaf, patchouli and sandalwood. I detect no muguet whatsoever. It's interesting but not what I want my man to smell like.

 

Rating: 2 out of 5.

[maribouquet]

Sexy - dry tobacco, a touch of sweet from the carmel, and cinnamon. The patchouli and currant are lurking dirty in the background, just a bit! Not sure if it's really me enough to want a bottle, but I'm enjoying it. Really fits the theme.

[DogNPonyShow]

In the vial: A caramel cookie.

On: The cookie lingers for all of five seconds before turning into a bitter tobacco with something sharp in the background. I'm going to assume it's cinnamon, which tends to hate me. The caramel stays around very faintly, but it's very dark.

Verdict: I belive the scent captures the character very well, but it's way too strong for me.

[Lavada]

When I opened he imp for the first time, I was convinced this was going to be a big of a disaster as Incubus had been. All dark caramel... but Tiresias is much less feral than Incubus.

 

This is crazy strong, folks. Crazy. Strong. Caramel and black currant! Maybe cinnamon, but I could be registering the woodier notes, because it isn't so much spicy as it is savory and it's in the background anyways. One dip of the decant wand shared between both sides of my neck... the first hour was spent being dead certain that I was 'fuming up the train and trying not to be smothered by the scent.

 

The tart-ish edge of the currant wears off and the whole thing subdues just a little. It's much smoother and darker and smokier and I loves it! The caramel is still the dominant note, but tiny little hints of the others come and go throughout the day while combining to add a wonderful depth to the whole experience.

 

Major throw (7 hours later and my friend randomly whispers in a lecture theatre "Dude. You smell nice."), insane wearlength. The Conundrum: I know I love this enough to want more than an imp... but I need so little of it at a time that I don't think I need a bottle. Hmm.

 

ps; grammatical errors entirely intentional, by the way. the spelling isn't, if there are any.

Edited May 23, 2008 by Lavada

[carrickfergus]

Like standing in a bakery... too sweet, saccharine, false..... ick.

[Champagne]

Foody caramel and tobacco with spices and sandalwood dancing in the background, even if it`s difficult to add something to what was written before, let me tell you: it`s an edible and complex heaven with amazing throw, I`m in love And don`t be scared by the patchouli like I was, it just adds a deep tone to this sugar fix.

[nekogrrl]

In imp: CARAMEL, almost burnt-smelling.

 

Wet on skin: cinnamon caramel

 

Dry on skin: cinnamon caramel woods

 

If the caramel would tone it down, and not be so almost sickly-sweet-rots-your-teeth, this might actually be a nice scent. However, for me, this is going straight to swaps.

[anardana]

Caramel and tobacco are interesting together.. sort of smells like burnt sugar.. a bit sweet for me, but interesting... sort of like a masculine-foody scent.