The Deep Ones

[edenssixthday]

I think their predominant colour was a greyish-green, though they had white bellies. They were mostly shiny and slippery, but the ridges of their backs were scaly. Their forms vaguely suggested the anthropoid, while their heads were the heads of fish, with prodigious bulging eyes that never closed. At the sides of their necks were palpitating gills, and their long paws were webbed. They hopped irregularly, sometimes on two legs and sometimes on four. I was somehow glad that they had no more than four limbs. Their croaking, baying voices, clearly used for articulate speech, held all the dark shades of expression which their staring faces lacked.

Black algae, drooping seaweed, salty brine, and crushed coral.

The Deep Ones - Another lovely aquatic! It's heavy, murky, salty, and you can almost feel the rush of deep sea currents as you sniff this. The scent has a lot of throw, is very strong, and has excellent staying power. It's very salty initially, but smooths out as it warms up on my skin, and brings back memories of living near the ocean in San Diego, and the smell of the briny salt water as it would waft through my open windows at night. I love it. Kudos to Beth for another fantastic aquatic -- and even more kudos for including it in her GC repertoire! Edited September 15, 2007 by Shollin

[filigree_shadow]

Ooo, this is an interesting aquatic. It smells salty and sweet. It doesn't smell exactly like the ocean, it smells like the air around an ocean. To be honest, it seems like there's some sort of smooth creamy floral note in there with it. It's not at all unpleasant (don't let the description fool you!) and reminds me of being on vacation.

 

I think this is one of the prettier and least masculine aquatic blends. Very nice!

[supremegoddessofall]

Very aquatic and rather terrible on me - this smells like a very bitter grapefruit on me.

[Blood onmy hands]

Aquatics always intrigue me, but we generally don't get along well. The Deep Ones has an eye stinging, bitter sharpness to it that I can't stand. It reminds me of the sharpness that I get from grapefruit and opium notes.

 

Sharp like opium and insanely bitter grapefruit. Sharp. Bitter. Cutting. There's a sweetness here (my mind latches on to an impression of sweet tarts and gummi bears, oddly enough), but it's so overpowered by that sharpness that I can't enjoy it.

 

After a half hour, the sharpness has calmed down slightly, but it's still too much for me to handle. This has also gone slightly soapy and dryer sheet-esque.

 

The Deep Ones literally makes my eyes water. My imp will have to find a new home.

[forspecial_plate]

Most of the Arkham scents that I've tried have a bold, garish quality that is interesting, but for me unwearable. There are a couple that really work for me, but most of the ones I've tried are too......I don't know, amped up or something. They remind me of when you look at a TV screen and the color setting is turned all the way up. I realize that this is on purpose, and I applaud Beth for her creative interperetation of Lovecraft's universe. They really are unsettling scents.

 

The Deep Ones has that quality too. It is so sharp, tart, and bold that I can't imagine wearing it with any frequency. And don't get me wrong....it smells good to me! It's just too much for me to handle. On first applying, it smells very green and juicy, with something lurking in the background that smells.....almost skunky to me. It reminds me a little of Hemlock, if you've ever tried that. This is deeper and murkier. I agree that there's something tart and bitter here like grapefruit. It has a little ozone that comes out more strongly as it dries, and I think that's where the 'dryer-sheet' smell is coming from.

 

This scent is so juicy and full it almost feels like you can take a bite out of it. It reminds me of a distant cousin of Kingsport. Kingsport is like standing on a cliff overlooking the beach, with crashing waves, and mist all around. The Deep Ones is more like being tossed around in those waves, with the seaweed trying to strangle you and coral poking at your skin. It's really extraordinary and I know some people are really going to like it.

[harmonyfb]

In the imp, this smelled very...wet. Deep, still waters, with something lurking underneath. Wet, on my skin, it gave me the sense of brown water - like muddy swirls in a bottomless lake. Not terribly pleasant, but very evocative.

 

Dry, it was soap. ::sigh:: I just have a terrible track record with aquatics.

[PilotKitten]

I’ve liked quite a few of BPAL’s aquatics and I thought this would be a great, colorful scent from the description. At first it is insanely sharp like a citrus peel. Tart and stinging. In the drydown, this is the soapiest BPAL I’ve ever worn . Pure, strong, overpowering soap.

[brit_brat100]

Imp: Very salty and fruity. Wow, what an intrigueing combination.

 

Wet: More murky, but still kinda fuity, and less salty.

 

Dry: Aw, this goes all soap on me. Rats.

 

Final Thoughts: The wet stages of this are really interesting. I wish I could make it stay like that. Oh well.

[LiberAmoris]

The Deep Ones is an aquatic more in line with Danube than say, something with a prominent ozone note. That is to say, I pick up on more florals and grapefruit here than I do ozoney soapish notes. It's the kind of deep, plashy aquatic that makes me want to drive out into the woods in the summer and swim in a lake.

 

Aquatics aren't the category of blend I find myself reaching for often, but this is quite nice.

[Electra]

Oh god.

 

This is simply foul on me. No, really. It's awful.

 

Aquatics are usually my scent family. I love them, they love me back. Olokun was a smash hit for me. I love Thalassa. I love Storm Moon. Many of my favorite non-BPAL perfumes are aquatics.

 

But...this one smells like BO on me. I think it's the grapefruit that I sniffed in the imp. Grapefruit turns musty on me. Whatever it is, it does NOT agree with my chemistry. Gah.

[SultryWolf]

In the imp: Sweet, fruity, and a bit bitter. *reads description and goes *

On: At first, a candy-like fruity. As it dries, though, a warmth develops - almost resiny. *reads description again and goes *

 

This is one of those scents which, while I wouldn't reach for it as a perfume, fascinates me with its texture and complexity.

[sookster]

straight sniff from bottle is very much dark, salty seafoam

 

once applied the salt becomes intense and an almost metallic note comes

bursting through...this is very strong

 

after awhile there is a bright note that appears and fades fast into the depths

of the deepest and darkest of waters...amazing

[glass_cat]

Hmmm... this is a very interesting aquatic indeed. I've had good luck for the most part with BPALs aquatic blends, so I figured this would be nice on me when I got a chance to give it a try.

 

As others have said, this has a very prominant grapefruit note, and it's definitely the first note that jumps out at you when you smear this on. It's a strong, tart, sour grapefruit though. No sugar on top, if you get what I mean. I personally don't consider it a bad thing though. I personally really like sharper citrus scents and wish there were more of them out there in the world. I also pick up salt and something green and damp that I can't quite put my finger on. The overall feel I get from this is "fresh but menacing" and that interests me quite a bit. Most of my other aquatics.... like Sea of Glass and Selkie.... are "fresh and bright", so I like that this one is different.

 

I really couldn't say at this point if I would purchase a larger bottle of this or not. It will just depend on how often I reach for my imp and whether the scent continues to grow on me over time the way some of the other Arkham scents have. I do really like it though, and I will certainly be finishing my imp. However, I do see where this wouldn't be something that appeals to everyone. It's one of those ones that's either you or it's not.

[swilde]

Does anyone remember Bath & Body Works Juniper Berry body splash? It was blue green. Well, the Deep Ones smells like that and grapefruit.

 

I detect a marine mid note that makes it somewhat salty. (In fact if I sniff too hard, I actually taste salty grapefruit!)

 

This is citrus-sweet, but organic. Playful and pleasant like an ocean breeze. I'm liking it alot!

[Alseides]

This is lovely, so I can't figure out why more people haven't tried it. It's a very nice aquatic, masculine, with a whisper of fruit. Pretty.

[t_for_tau]

Oh god, this is truly *terrible* on me. This is the first bpal that I've put on and actually gone and *run* to wash it off. I think it's that bitter grapefruit - it is really, really reminding me of the time I got violently ill-drunk from doing too many mezcal shots with salt and an unripe lime. It smells *exactly* like that.

 

Now that I've scrubbed most of it off, there's a rather pleasant aquatic musk floating up from my shoulder, so for someone without the awful associations with this smell it could work out as a really good scent. Just - not on me.

[steffanina]

The Deep Ones-

 

In Bottle: Ooh, very sweet citrusy-fruity aquatic!

 

Wet: More of an aquatic but still with some fruit in it.

 

Dry: Fades a bit quickly, but nice while it's there. A citrusy blend.

 

Overall: Will try again.

[usamimi]

In the bottle: Satly but sweet...kinda lke saltwater taffy.

 

Wet: Still salty, but very cirtusy, with a hint of florals.

 

Dry: Saltiness dried down a bit, still a tad citrusy.

 

Overall: It wasn't bad, but I don't think it works well on me. A great aquatic scent, for those who like them!

[Galatea]

This was one of those surprise loves. By it's description I never would have bought even an imp to try this. But luckily I was fimp'd a sample and tried it. On me it turned out to be the best clean-aquatic scent ever. I've tried quite a few of them in my day, and even once being a self-professed addict of Cool Water perfume, and way too many aquatics turn out to smell like straight dryer sheets or fabric softener. Not this one!

 

The Deep Ones is all at once clean and fruity, aquatic and sweet. I love it.

 

That one little fimp led to me buying a whole bottle after only one scent test.

Edited August 9, 2007 by Galatea

[funkmoppet]

How the hell did this cheeky little dank bitch escape my notice?

 

It's surprisingly sweet - one of the algaes or mosses used in here is a sweet variety. It's reminding me of SOMETHING that I can't put my finger on - but whatever it is, it's working well with everything else.

 

This one drifts like a current, the algaes and dank mosses wafting about as the wonderful salty note rises every so often. It's dark, and cool, and positively intriguing. I suppose it is murky, but the absence of any dirt note keeps it from getting too earthy.

 

A fantastic aquatic - I'm gonna love it in summer!

[greencat03]

in imp: salt, marine, and ... grapefruit?! Where the heck'd the grapefruit come from. The Deep Ones, I dub thee "Seaside Grapefruit!"

 

on me: tropic florals, brine, and grapfruit. My skin is doing weird things to this.

 

after a few mins: There's something in this that reminds me of Manila, a heavy, tropical floral. Beats me what it's doing in here though. This is also an oddly warm scent. I'd expect it to be more cool. I give up trying to decipher the notes.

 

overall: While a "seaside grapfruit" is an interesting scent, it's a little odd for regularly wearing, I think this shall go into swapland.

[Trish]

I got this as a frimp from the lab, and fully expected to hate it. Everything about it screams no to me. But since I swore to try every Bpal that came my way - and the fact that it doesn't smell too bad in the imp - on it went.

 

And I don't hate it. But nor do I actually like it. Salty aquatics really don't do it for me at all. Howver if they are I'd definitely recommend trying this one out, because it's a rather well made one. A semi-sweet salty aquatic with just a touch of grapefruit, and not as dark and dank on me as the description made me think it would be.

[zankoku_zen]

Again, an ubershort review. This one started out promising, a relatively 'profound' aquatic and I do have to say that it was unlike any other aquatic I had encountered.

 

Unfortunately, it turned into a generic cleaner after about thirty minutes. Sad.

[Medici]

In the imp: This is probably the darkest aquatic I’ve ever had the fortune of sniffing. The word to describe it that comes to mind is “fathomless.”

 

Wet: Salt water and kelp. A little green, a little musky, a little like the hide of a very big fish… a big fish with teeth… and tentaculum. Lots of tentanculum.

 

Drydown: Overall, it’s a very masculine fragrance, and for that reason, I think I’d steer clear. I will, however, pass it on to the boys to see if they like it.

[theGreatMissJJ]

In the imp: Strongly aquatic, with a hint of saltiness that's very reminiscent of the ocean. I like aquatics, although not as a scent to wear. I like things around me to smell aquatic however.

 

Wet on skin: It's sweet and somewhat floral/green, possibly the algae or the seaweed. It's not too different from the initial sniff in the imp.

 

Dry on skin: Dry, the brine comes forward more with a slight "tangy" tinge that may or may not be the crushed coral? (Reading other reviews of this scent, it appears to be grapefruit, and it does smell somewhat "fruity" but it's not listed as a note.) It reminds me of Selkie, but insofar as it's in the aquatic family. As far as that scent family goes, I still prefer Selkie for its soft and gorgeous feminine touches. However, the Deep Ones smells like the Atlantic Ocean on the English coast, which is rather amazing.

 

Throw and wearlength: Like most of the other BPAL aquatics the throw and wearlength are medium.