Masabakes

[bombus]

... Thick black currant with the darkest, deepest myrrh, a drop of bitter mimosa and the slightest touch of mandrake dust.

I am only getting dusty myrrh, it isn’t working for me at all. It makes me sneeze, I feel like I am in a very dusty attic, not good at all. I really wanted to like it!

[cranberry]

I’ve wanted to try this one for a long time so I’m thrilled to finally have the chance – thanks GC swap!

 

In the imp and once applied to the skin, this is rich, slightly spicy, and a bit hard for me to describe. Initially I’m getting mainly myrrh that’s softened up some. There’s a wee bit of currant that adds a juicy quality to this scent. It’s strong and it’s making my hand tingle where I applied it. It smells like there’s moss, loam or dirt here, maybe that’s the mandrake. This is an unusual one. Dark, sexy, rich, spicy. Powerful. I’m so glad that I tried this!

[brownbear]

This one starts out dark, dirty, and dusty. There's a little bit of dusty floral in there. After a bit the myrrh starts smelling really good. That is one note that my skin does like. Overall, it gets pretty warm, resinous, amber colored, and slightly slightly floral.

[Neely]

In the bottle: I don't know if I got a mislabled imp, or what, but I smell salty spicey bay rum! I don't get currants, nor myrrh, nor mandrake. Just lovley spiced bay rum.

 

Wet: salty spicey bay rum with a hint of citrus. I love this phase!

 

Dry down: Wow, I need more of this, provided I am indeed wearing Masabakes and not one of the pirate ones mislabled. I will have to get another imp from the lab to be sure before gettting a bottle.

 

30 minutes: clean, spicey, salty bay rum. I am in love!

 

Conclusion: if this is indeed Masabakes. I need more of this. Big bottle will be needed.

 

Rating 1-5: on my skin this is a 4.5.

[CiCi]

Masabakes is very heavy on the myrrh and does smell like I invaded my Grandmother's attic after it had been closed up for a century! After half an hour or so there is a sweetness that is developing, perhaps from the currants? It is rich and spicy and it makes me feel quite daring! I actually think I like this-I just have to remember to apply it an hour or so before I want to get the full effects of this bewitching fragrance. I can't seem to stop sniffing myself so this must be one I put on my wish list!

[mspixieears]

I expected far more blackcurrant in this but it’s very strong on the myrrh. I guess I was hoping for another Lurid. The myrrh is completely overpowering and I don’t get the mimosa in this, or the blackcurrant when it’s drying on my skin. It actually smells very mentholated on me. Every now and then I think I get a whiff of the elusive blackcurrant…but not sure. Hopefully the myrrh will die down or this blend is not for me. It could be suitable for guys too, this blend. Ten minutes later, I’m definitely getting the blackcurrant note, thus making this fragrance more delightful – I think I was hasty to dismiss this so quickly.

[bibliophile]

Hmmm. While I can smell the yummy blackcurrant in the imp, on my skin, the "slightest touch of mandrake dust" amps way up and takes over. I get no sweetness at all once I've applied it, just dusty myrrh. Off to the swap box with my imp!

[Cariad]

I decided to give this one last try before I put it in the swaps box, and my god am I glad!

I usually try out my new imps on tissue first, and with Masabakes all I could smell was MYRRH! - so I pulled a face and put it away somewhere to forget about it.

I got it out again today while I was writing out my swaps list, and because myrrh and I usually get along just fine, I decided to swipe a little on my wrist to see if it would change at all - and wow! After a few seconds of dusty, dry bitterness, it warms up to a delisciously dark, fruity scent with enough of a bite to keep it from being too sweet. I've had no luck with fruity blends until now, but this one is a winner.

[sideviewhotel]

Wow. I got an imp of this with a birthday order a friend made for me and.. I'm not sure WHAT I'm smelling, to be honest. But, it smells like a much heavier version of Hexennacht on my skin. And, from what I can tell, they don't share any common components. Though, it could be the mandrake dust that reminds me of the fir and herbs from Hexennacht. I'm not sure.

 

Anyway, just like Hexennacht, it sits close on my skin and the mimosa note seems to compliment the currant (I think that's what I'm smelling??) and I like it.

[Jia_Mekare]

In the Imp: Ooooh...Cinnamon, with an evil core to it. I think that's the myrrh.

 

Wet on skin: More myrrh, but there's still that sweet spiciness that makes me think cinnamon.

 

Dry on skin: all I can think is EVIL CINNAMON all the way through. And it gives me a headache.

 

No buying big bottle for this one. Thank god it was a sample!imp.

[The_Merf]

In the imp: Dirt, lots and lots of dusty dirt, with just a hint of something that is either the blackcurrant or mimosa, but it's very faint and hard to tell.

 

Wet: Really dusty dirt, no fruitiness, just a hint of resin.

 

Drydown and wear: This does get fruiter and more resinous on drydown, and the dirt note is actually really hard to pick out after about 25 minutes. However, this is a very stale fruit smell on my skin, and the entire oil just smells off with my chemistry. I'm going to have to swap this one.

[Wildbriar]

Masabakes

Source: lab frimp

 

In the imp this one is very dry smelling. I don't detect any of the currant at all, its a very dry resionous myrrh. On my skin initially it warms up almost immediately and becomes slightly sweet and very resinous with a background of spice. On drydown It becomes somewhat powdery on me, but in a very nice, feminine way. I expected this one to be masculine on but instead it becomes a very ladylike powdery resin. I do so love myrrh and this is all myrrh, I never did get any of the notes of black currant or the juicyness others describe . I'm in love

[starwild]

Got this as a frimp!

 

In the bottle: Dark and herbal.

 

Wet: Spicy with a deep, dark undertone.

 

Drydown: Baby power, but spicy baby powder with a hint of bitterness.

 

Later: The myrrh is coming out to play now.

 

I kind of like it, but not sure if I'll keep it.

[aquazoo]

I can smell that chocolate right off, just like Mandrake. Kinda dusty. Some interesting notes are coming through now, nice spicy things.

[impadua@aol.com]

I don't get this, I smell Tea Tree Oil!

Not a bad thing, just not expected. And dust.

Dusty Tea Tree Oil.

Off to the swap pile for you!

[Brianne]

Another quickie review! This goes on smelling quite a lot like black tea leaves to me actually. Which I really like - it's very potent though. As it settles on my skin, that tea vibe is still very much there, but now with a bit of myrrh also. It is a bit "perfumey" in vibe though - very strong, a little...I dunno, acrid? I am getting a little dust too, but this comes off as a kind of incense/tea oil, heavy on the incense. It's nice, not quite for me but it has a certain appeal to it.

[Bagfish]

Masabakes smells like the resins of Schwarzer Moon with a helping of civet for the first six hours of wear. It is very dark brown and a little acrid. It wasn't offensive, but wasn't particularly winning either. After six hours a beautiful sweet currant comes to the fore which mixes wonderfully with the dark resinous myrrh, but obviously, it is also very faint because it's been worn all day.

 

I'm not sure it's worth going through the ass-y ness of the first couple of hours and then the dark resins for another four for the couple of hours of faint sweet currant so this one goes to swaps.

[prettybird]

I don't really get the dust in this, which is odd, because my skin usually amps it like crazy. I don't know what I'm smelling in this that's floral, but that's what I get from it.

 

I got this off a friend, because it smelled not right on her, but it really works for me. I don't think I know the correct words to describe what it smells like, but it's a sweet, dark scent, and the sweetness comes out more and more as it dries down. It's a bit incense-y, but not overly so.

 

I don't think I'd buy more of it, but I certainly like it!

[TrailerTrashPrincess]

impsniff: mandrake, myrrh and something red.

on skin: this reminds me, strangely, of Graveyard Dirt. and hairspray.

but i like it!

[djsiberia]

i put this on and thought it was interesting. then i forgot i had it on 2 hours later and couldn't really smell anything.

 

will pass on this

[brit_brat100]

Imp: Soapy, like Ivory soap.

Wet: Ooh, chilling on the nose!

Dry: Pretty, but still kinda soapy. Oh well.

[Apple]

Even though they have no notes in common as far as I know, my first thought upon smelling this on my skin is that this is like Alice's older sister. The same curious spiciness overlaying earthy sweetness, but with more of an edge, more heat, less light. While I generally wear Alice to put me in a better mood, I think I'd be more likely to wear Masabakes when I'm in a bad mood and don't give a damn.

 

I'm glad to see that someone else compared Masabakes to Alice. Although they smell different when wet, I find them virtually identical when dry. At first, Masabakes is very dark, sharp and smoky (and reminds me oh-so-slightly of the wine and ivy in The Black Tower), but soon a honey note surfaces... a deep, DARK honey. And then I smell some rose fighting to turn into horrible chemical nastiness (which is what rose does on my skin), but thankfully something else in this blend reigns it back in and I'm left with a honeyed, spicy carnation-rose that smells just like Alice. Very, very odd.

[zankoku_zen]

This has to be one of the more description defying blends for me. I get this dirty note, and some sweet blackcurrant smell, but it doesn't turn to jam.

 

The previous reviewer, Apple, mentioned honey and carnations and I can see that.

 

I normally don't like this kinda scent, but I'm sort of really digging this!

[CordeliaSeduced]

From the notes in the description, I was intrigued. I'm a black currant fan, so I had to try it--

 

But somehow, Black Currant did not come out to play. I can't tell if it was the myrrh or the mandrake (since I've never actually sniffed a mandrake), but something powdery completely overwhelmed me. After about five minutes of dry-down, all I could smell was a sort of stale cologne scent--like perfume from the fifties unearthed in my grandmother's attic: it could be lovely, but all I can smell right now is an acrid, dusty mottle of something that won't be within ten feet of my skin.

 

It wasn't offensive to anyone else that I'm aware of, so I can't really say it had a decent throw either. I want to chalk this up to my skin chemistry because it smelled much different in the imp--I'll definitely re-try this one, because I do want it to work.

[mazaru]

Wet: Mostly mimosa with a touch of blackcurrant. Very clean, crisp and high.

 

Dry: Dusty myrrh. This was the first oil that made me realise my skin dislikes myrrh; I was startled by how quickly the blackcurrant left the building and by how strong the dusty smell became. You win again, skin chemistry.