Masabakes

[lavenderblue]

Masabakes is a Cantabrian demoness that governs lustfulness and lechery. In order to tempt virgins to corruption she employs the aid of her lackey, the imp Tentirujo. Under the cover of magickal invisibility, the imp caresses maidens with mandrake root, instilling uncontrollable passion and wantonness in the unsuspecting girls. Thick black currant with the darkest, deepest myrrh, a drop of bitter mimosa and the slightest touch of mandrake dust.

On sniffing this one in the imp, I hated it. It smelt like earth and ribena all mixed up together. On my skin at first I could really smell the earthy notes but laced over the top there was a distinct sweet, fruity smell and it took me back 20 years to school when the craze for candy called Spangles was in full swing.

After a few hours the spangle scent softened and its really fruity and slightly floral on my werid skin - still - its lovely.

[pensive]

Fantastic randomized gift imp! Thank you!

Imp: Earthy and dark

On me: Dark, spicy and heavy

Drydown: Warm and spicy.

Impressions: Root cellar or something. Brown color.

Verdict: I really like it. Do I big bottle like it? Not sure yet. I do know someone who may like this a bunch. But if she doesn't I'm asking for it back

[oakmoss]

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.

[nineveh]

This was an unusual blend on me, but I liked it. I could smell mostly the dark, sweet myrrh with something cool underneath--the currant, I'm guessing. This one had a sinister feel. I don't know if I'd wear it enough to warrant a big bottle, but it intrigues me.

[joseybird]

Thick and dark and fruity and slightly bitter, Masabakes is less poisonous than earthy--that's the myrrh working wonders with the black currant.

 

If anyone is familiar with Changeling: The Dreaming, this is what I can imagine an Ailil wearing (manipulative, beautiful, aristocratic fae). It's the scent of black velvet and secrets

[Rackham's Vanity]

Masabakes

 

Oh, I really wanted to like this, but it didn't work out that way.

 

Masabakes is the "sharpest" BPAL oil I have sniffed thus far (and granted, I'm still only a few months converted). It reminded me of the citronella candles we would burn back home to ward off mosquitoes in the summer. I didn't get any black currant, sadly.

 

In the end, it powdered out on me, while retaining its the sharpness.

 

Masabakes is going into the swap pile, hopefully to end up with someone upon whom it smells amazing--not me, unfortunately.

[Carmencita]

Smells like (both in the bottle, wet on me and dry on me): Rootbeer, cinnamon, and musk

 

It's too masculine for my tastes and too musky (but I'm sensitive to musk).

 

Still, very interesting scent. I would recommend it to others, particularly men.

[lookingglass]

She has been on my wishlist for a while, and I received her as a freebie in a swap...oh, the kindness on this forum overwhelmes me!

 

Since I have moved to the South, I have fallen in love with the mimosa trees. In the early summer, they produce Seus looking, pink, puffy blooms that are sweet, bitter, tangy and fruity smelling. Really quite a happy smell. I have never found a perfume that could capture it. I find them here...darkened

 

Masabakes is a Southern graveyard filled with Witches.

 

It is sweet, sour, spicy, and resinous...macabe, wise, and sultry.

 

I am in awe.

[ladymissspyder]

This was more than a little off-putting when I smelled it in the imp. It seemed a bit harsh and sour.

 

However, once I put it on, it developed some sweet (blackcurrant?) and powdery (mimosa?) notes that really went well with the sourness (which became more of a yummy tart note). It's an unusual and enigmatic scent, with a nice balance of divergent notes.

 

It evokes images of strong women when I sniff it...I'd wear this to meetings when I need to really keep my wits about me.

[~AmusedMuse~]

This is a dark resinious buttery very eathy scent. While wet it is very incensy but upon drydown, I could detect the slightest floral although I was unable to identify it specifically. My scale of 1-5....4

[Blood onmy hands]

When I first applied this... juicy currants (I agree with the reviewer who likened this to prune juice, I get that smell as well) and... dill pickles? Very odd. But surprisingly good. I get a kind of dill pickle scent in Kostnice that I *love*.

 

In the drydown this shifts a bit and I can smell ginger and clove. It's warmer and spicier now. I'm also getting a bit of a powdery woods smell.

 

Hours later it's the myrrh that's left, I can still smell traces of it on my skin.

 

This is nice and rather unlike anything that I've ever smelled before. Weird is the word that keeps coming into my mind. I'll probably keep my imp, but I'm undecided about getting a big bottle.

[tesao]

this was lagniappe from the lab. i most likely would never have ordered it on my own; black currant (well, most fruit, with the notable exception of citrus) tends to hate my body chemistry/skin.

 

when i first put this on, it smelled of citrus, more like orange than any other. citrus and spice. reminiscent of a pomander ball made from an orange, whole cloves, and a cinnamon stick.

 

as it dried down, i realized i had absolutely NO CLUE what i was smelling. it isn't citrus. it isn't any spice i'm familiar with. it IS warm and spicy and comforting. it sends a little shiver up my spine. i want more.......

 

[feline.by.design]

This was a freebie with my most recently received order, so thanks go out to the Lab for allowing me to try this out. :::thumbs up:::

 

Masabakes smells sweet and dirty in the bottle. Hmm.... intriguing. On my skin, it maintains the same fragrance, but it lightens up a bit, seemingly as my body heat warms the oil. It's still dirty and sweet, but a little less dark on my skin than in the bottle. It's really interesting, but I can't really make up my mind. The myrrh is dark in this, but as it's worn longer, the fragrance lightens up overall, making a sort of earthy sweetness that I think I could really get down with.

 

I don't know how often I would use this oil, but I think that there are some times where my mood would really suit this. Despite having so many bottles and so many more imps, I don't think I have a suitable dark, earthy scent that fits certain moods and outlooks I might have. Masabakes seems to fill in that slot very well, being earthy yet not too dark or bitter, which is the issue I've had with oils such as Capricorn, Yggdrasil and Nocnitsa. The currant, which is what I assume is causing the sweetness in Masabakes, is really fantastic blended in with the tempermental myrrh, a note that isn't too stern in this fragrance. Actually, this would be very good to study with.

 

This seems like a fabulous oil for centering one's self. It seems suitable for serious moments, but without being too stern or ornery, as the earthy nature seems to contain a hidden smile or two. Definitely something to consider getting a bigger bottle of in the future.

 

-doreen

[Sistinas]

a review of Masabakes

 

Vial ~ heady, dark, it smells truly evil >

 

Wet ~ there is a touch of sweetness to it, but it is there just to detect,

it is not a standout sweetness. This is a truly decadent heady scent.

 

Drying ~ you can detect the mimosa, it blends in well with the myrrh and

black currant and as I wave my wrist close to my nose I catch a hint

of powder as if it is an afterthought.

 

Dry ~ I have to say that the mimosa really makes this scent. Although I am

big fan of black currant and myrrh, I think the mimosa brings out the best

of all three components.

 

Fade ~ The scent has softened a bit, but it is still the same scent that I

discovered when it dried on my wrists.

 

Final thoughts ~ Very nice scent, I am thinking this would be excellent for

the cool evenings. It is a very nice scent, on a scale of 1 to 5, I would

have to give it a 4.

[aedes]

I wanted this for the myrrh, though I was a little afraid the currant would make it a juicy, berry, or fruity scent. I was pleasantly surprised all around.

 

I pick up mostly a ginger smell, actually. Not the big chunks of candied ginger I got in Alice, but the whole, natural ginger root; woody and spicy spicy. The currant is there, but I don't smell like a berry ready to burst. It smells mostly deep red, lush, and sexy, it could even pass as a floral. The myrrh is doing its work in the background to keep this a dark, warm, moaning/sighing sort of scent. I like it a lot! I'm not sure I'll get a bottle, but I'm definitely digging the imp.

[glampyre]

Deep, dark, deliciously clovey. If you wear Masabakes, you're not messing around. It's very beautiful and intense. If, like me, you're a fan of the "dark" BPALs, this is one of the darkest!

[cupide430]

Smoky and deep with an earthy note at first that smells fresh and damp. The earthy note fades away quite quickly leaving deep warm incense notes. This is a bit sharp and a touch spicy. Definitely something I'd recommend to those who like deep rich dark notes like this, but not exactly for springtime flower loving me.

[k00kaburra]

This is a re-review, I suppose. I had previously tried this imp and did not care for it, but since I never took the time to write a review I thought I would try it again, this time typing up my impressions.

In bottle: It's an interesting spiced fruit blend. Deep dark myrrh and an almost-figgy note - mandrake perhaps? (I have no idea how mandrake smells.) .Or perhaps that is the black currant, which I have never smelled quite like this before, but it's certainly there.

 

On me: Dark and seductive. In my mind it's a bit strong - rather the sort of scent for a forceful, sexy older woman rather than a young, giggling girl. It is a promise of what lies ahead in a night of passion and wild abandon; heavy and full of incense, but slightly cloying from the sweet fruit. As it dries it vacillitates between powdery and plasticky - the latter note the probable reason I didn't choose to keep this in the first place.

It strongly reminds me of Henri Bendel's Fig Candle.

[tesao]

dirt. musty attic full of cobwebs. bundles of dried flowers, herbs, spices, twigs hanging from the rafters. a hint of sunlight attempting to pierce the darkness through the single, small window.

 

the poisoned fruit of knowledge. acrid. unknowing. blind. rife with power. but only for she who knows how to unlock it.

 

too tart and too fruity for me at the same time. who knows how the lab does this??? has beth sold her soul to nikki????

[ajcj213499]

I wish this had smelled as lovely on me as on some of the other reviewers (stupid body chemestry!) When wearing it I smelled some beautiful notes that I could distinguish, but the were overpowered by the scent of... beets...strange...

Ah well, off to swap...

[urraca]

I love the concept of this because of its associations with Cantabria. On, I get myrrh lightened just a touch by sour, juicy black currant. The effect on me is medicinal, kind of like a 19th century potion you'd buy from a phony doctor at a fair. I like it much more than I thought I would, but it isn't quite "me" and with all the beautiful BPAL to wear, this should go to a more appreciative home. Also, I love myrrh but it doesn't love me --- I am getting a bit of a headache, as I often do from it.

By the way, I wonder where Beth got mandrake root from?

[jazlyn]

Ooo, interesting. Masabakes seemed to be kind of warm, probably because of the myrrh? but then things shift and it seems like a cool scent, only for a bit before switching back. This is dark, a bit bitter, and sexy; it reminds me of Scherezade, Lust and Desire hahaha... this'll be another clubbing/out at night scent!

[ayelienne]

If I could have stripped the powder smell that my skin amped up, I would have loved it. Sadly, it was not to be. And now I have a headache. Off to swaps.

[Ciircee]

This was a freebie in my (first ever) order. OMG :bowdown: I love the the person who put this in my box. I was out for the day, so I took notes on it.

 

In the imp: Dark, earthy, with a sort of sour note. I went 'hmm' at it.

 

Wet: I fell in LOVE with it. There's a scent of earth and the warm, dark dryness of myrrh and something that isn't so much 'sweet' as it is 'lucious'. And something that sparkles.

 

Dry 10 minutes: Could not stop sniffing self. This is a lucious, earthy, sweet-bitter-tingle darkness. Where is Mr. Circe?

 

Dry 30 minutes: The scent of 'earth' fades so it's not a 'dirt' smell (which I enjoyed muchly) but it's still there, keeping the myrrh from being too dry. Really, where is Mr. Circe?

 

Dry 1 Hour: I'm guessing that it's the mimosa that adds that bitter-tart sparkle to this scent and that the lush/sweet is from the black currant (one of those deep, deep black ones). The mandrake is the dirt/earth smell and the myrrh is the smoke-incense. Where the hell is Mr. Circe?

 

Other notes I made that were coherent: Excellent throw and it lasts all day. This is one of those sexy, powerful scents. Mr. Circe said (and I quote) "You smell great", which is high praise indeed. I am SO getting a big bottle of this when finances permit.

[jasper17]

In the imp, this was a tiny bit sour with something spicy behind it.

 

First on, it was very earthy, almost dirty, and the myrrh was so warm - it's a little sweet but maybe like honey-sweet and not sugary-sweet. It's also a tiny bit fruity but not overwhelmingly so.

 

As it dried, the myrrh kind of took over and it went back to the slightly spicy-honey-sweet scent.

 

Overall, it's a very earthy, warm, sensual scent and absolutely gorgeous. I got more compliments on this today than on any scent I've ever worn before, BPAL or otherwise. Big bottle is definitely in my next order!