Herbert West

[savage_rose]

Aftershave, embalming fluid, and splatterings from a panoply of reanimation reagents.

All I can smell is subdued aftershave...soapy, slightly cologney. Don't get me wrong, I like it. But this definitely seems more like a masculine scent to me. Edited June 24, 2008 by Shollin

[HatterRenoAxel]

I bought this one for a Hojo from Final Fantasy VII cosplay I'm doing in a few weeks.

 

Imp: Smells like the Elizabeth Arden Green tea prefume, but with less alcohol

 

Wet on skin: Aftershave, less green tea smell.

 

Dry: Mostly aftershave but still a little hint of embalming fluid there.

 

Mad scientist are love <3 I need more of this and my beloved Miskatonic University.

[Iceblink]

Smells like Embalming Fluid, all right--lemony, fresh. Makes you wish the Lab would do cleaning products. I'd love my kitchen floor to smell like this after being cleaned!

[Scylla]

From the imp to drydown on my skin, Herbert West smells like a masculine version of Embalming Fluid. I'm not sure what the note is that makes it go masculine (as opposed to unisex). It smells clean and almost astringent. Like Herbert West's laboratory?

 

Pleasant enough, but not me and not DH either.

[alicia_stardust]

This is definitely a subdued aftershave. It's not over-the-top masculine, but it's definitely got a gentleman air to it. Beyond that, there's something in there that's almost sharp, almost ozone, almost metallic. It's really quite fitting even if it doesn't work on my skin chemistry. This is a good one to hand to a guy and see if he likes it.

[DARKBEAUTY28]

Yeah, this one is a little too masculine for me. I smell the citrus but it isn't a sweet citrus. It's rather dry. Don't get me wrong, it is a fresh citrus, just not sweet. You know, the longer I wear it the less masculine it is becoming. It's actually drying down to a unisex scent. May not be one that I'd reach for often so I might not keep it.

[voodoocatwoman]

Citrus and rather masculine. Probably great for a guy but not for me.

[suki]

in the imp: a light citrus aftershave.

 

wet on skin: yup. same.

 

dry down: yeah. aftershave.

 

in all: a daily scent for the menfolk- clean, innocuous. not bad, but nothing spectacular, either.

 

 

 

:shrug:

[lucy gray]

Well, it's an accurate description! In the vial and on, it smells EXACTLY like the lab's Embalming Fluid with aftershave mixed in. What I love about EF, though, is that it's bright and fresh, neither of which is really a feature of aftershave, no matter how nice it may smell.

[vikitty]

A masculine version of Embalming Fluid. Nice, but not for me. I like to smell female.

[Delirium1009]

In bottle/imp: Piney cologne.

 

Immediately on skin: This smells like citrusy tea (like Embalming Fluid) plus men’s cologne with a heavy pine/ozone type of feel going on. This is very masculine and heavy.

 

After a little while: The pine type of feel I got at first has certainly faded. Now this is more of a light cologne plus citrus tea type of scent. It’s very crisp and refreshing with a more masculine air to it. The initial heaviness has lightened a bit, but it’s still very cologne-like.

 

Overall Impressions: This is a more masculine version of Embalming Fluid. It has the crisp citrus tea, but also a nice cologne note that blends in well. I like girlier scents, so this is a bit too masculine for me, but my husband would probably love this. This isn’t a very complex scent, but it seems very wearable and refreshing.

[skepticism]

All that surfaced on my skin was lemon. Pretty boring. Baobhan Sith was the same on me, but just pure grapefruit. I thought about giving up on it but then I decided to try in on the boy next time I saw him.

 

What a world of difference male skin chemistry makes! I dabbed some on his wrists and all the notes crawled all over him. Lemon was still prominent, but it had its entourage of herbal and woody scents to go along with it. Very clean and fresh.

 

I really like this scent, but I don't think I'm going to be starting a BPAL collection for him anytime soon unless he wants to chip in some dough, hehe.

[gingiemay]

Wet in imp - A bright, fresh, aftershave-y scent with the sweetness of embalming fluid.

 

Wet on skin - Smells very fresh and commercial.

 

Dry on skin - To me this smells like a masculine cologne you could get at the department store. It smells quite good, but just very commercial and generic. Since I am single and do not have a boy on which to test fragrances, this goes in the FS/Swap pile.

 

(I think this is the same imp that skepticism got from Valerie )

[Methos]

Herbert West is my favorite Lovecraft character, so I was excited to get my hands on this. I wasn't disappointed. In the imp it smells light and citrus-y with the aftershave quiet in the background. On me it smells more or less the same, with some weird, almost shadowy notes coming out. It... does remind me of the face West shows the general populace: the scent of a gentleman during the era of the first World War, with something a bit weird about him.

[ReikoSazanami]

In imp: A definite hit of aftershave come first, but there’s something almost fruity or citrusy behind it.

 

Wet on skin: Lemon! Where did that come from? I’m guessing it’s the embalming fluid, but the scent right now resembles lemon candies, strangely enough. There’s also a menthol and mint scent behind it, likely made of whatever the aftershave notes are blended from.

 

Drydown: The candy scent has backed down, leaving a strange blend of sharp notes behind. It’s almost herbal, but the tang that the lemon scent originally gave it now lends a chemical smell to the blend. The aftershave has come back as well.

 

Overall: In its entirety, the scent delivers exactly what its description sells us. Though it could be interpreted as a masculine scent, I find it to be more unisex, at least with my personal chemistry. All in all, I don’t mind it, but also don’t know if I would buy more than an imp.

[rayvn1]

This isn't too bad!n the imp I smelled my nemesis, the dreaded green tea. But on my skin I get the clean, freshness of the green tea with a spiciness of aftershave that actually is very nice So no Embalming Fluid for me, but Herbert West works out - yay!

[tehriaz]

ha! now I know what I'll do when I run out of f5 it's like f5 mixed with wilde. cool.

[milo]

At first, this is fruity and citrus, I kind of like it. Reading the description, I see Embalming Fluid, which is one of my faves. No wonder. The aftershave and something else comes into play, and the lemony goodness takes a background. I don't mind it, kind of neutral on this one. It's got a cakey vibe to it which probably is making this not a definite win for me.

[hkhm]

imp: aftershave. just plain ol' aftershave.

 

wet: very crisp citrus, more lemon peel than lemon pulp.

 

dry: this has a more watery citrus scent after it's dried. it's a little too strong for me but i like it nonetheless.

[Andrea912]

Very clean and manly; nice!

[hellomoonglow]

I've gotta say that based on the notes in this as per the description, I would've never tried it. However, I received an imp and decided to slather some on. Delightful! Faint, whispy, fabulous. I just ordered a bottle!

[zankoku_zen]

It's been a while since I've tried Embalming Fluid - and I agree with the crisp lemon comparison. Definitely masculine. This one is a nice bright chypre - less 'heavy' than Pollution, but in the same vein. Brighter, crispier, more lemony.

 

I'm going to introduce Herbert to my husband and see if they get along...

[masquedbunny]

I've never tried Embalming Fluid, so I can't really compare them ...

 

In the imp: Citrus and aftershave.

 

Wet on skin: AFTERSHAVE. Wow, I smell like guy. Fresh and clean citrus, it's also reminding me of dish soap.

 

Dry-down: Still mostly aftershave, but more chemical than soapy. I also swear I'm getting a note of ozone--which is weird to me, because that's not listed.

 

Eh, it's not driving me away or anything, but I don't think this one is for me.

[CynicalPink]

imp: Sour aftershave

 

Wet: Lemony cleaning solution

 

Drydown: Lemon meh

 

Overall: Very much a guy scent on me. But not like a "manly-lumberjack-bear-rasslin" kind of guy scent. Definitely more quiet and creepy. Not for me, though

[RedRoseMaze]

In the bottle: Indeed, aftershave and citrus (or lemon). It’s definitively for men, but I’m curious enough to try it on.

Wet: Still a good dose of aftershave, lemon, as well as tea and/or something herbal and fresh.

Dry: Not so much aftershave anymore, but a refreshing lemony herbal scent.

Verdict: I don’t doubt this would smell different on a man (my skin chemistry tends to make everything turn sweet); however, whenever a perfume changes during drydown, a part of my brain says “make soap!” This psychological problem aside, I really liked it, the smell is clean and clear, and not as sinister as I thought it would be.