Minotaur

[galahad]

The Bull of Minos, guardian of the Labyrinth in Knossos. A deep, swarthy black musk dusted by a dark, resinous blend of sacred bisabol myrrh, atramentous benzoin, tsori, balsam, and galbanum.

In The Bottle
Resinous, slightly sweet (I suspect form the benzoin which has a vanillary scent). I was expecting it to be thick and dark and dry but it isn't in the bottle.

On Application
Quite a thin, waxy oil on application. Beautiful musk with a slightly aromatic herbal background

Dry Down
Goes powdery but lovely on drydown. Certainly dustier and drier than I expected from the bottle. This was a free bottle with my latest order. I am assuming freshly made so this should be fanstastic when it ages.

Rating (0-5)
5

[Salsa Shark]

This scent was so close to being wonderful. Wet and in the throws it's sweet, dark sticky resins floating through a cloud of black musk.

It reminds me a lot of the later stages of Shub. It's a beautiful sweet myrrh scent, more than anything else.

 

On the skin though, there's a a weird flat sour note that I think might be the galbanum. It's not overpowering, but it's there enough to be noticeable if I have my wrists near my face, which is a real shame, and it's definitely comparable to the herbal/green thing that other people mentioned.

[MCS4096]

Reviewing another awesome sample given to me by GirlinDenial

 

In the Imp: Very strong musk, balsam and myrrh notes.. nothing really sweet when it's this concentrated

 

Wet: Same as above, but a sweetness and herbal aspect appear which lighten that musk up a bit

 

Dry: PERFECTION Seriously amazing... sweet, spicy myrrh with a lovely musk base. Like the world's best incense. Like you've been given a spice rub haha.

 

Long Wear: Moderate throw and moderate lasting power on me. I wish it stayed a little stronger longer, but it fades to a wonderful sweet myrrh that smells exactly like this "honey amber" resin (whatever that is) I scent my apt. with.

 

Overall Experience: Seriously.. This is amazing stuff. I'm so sad now that I've realized just how difficult it would be to get 5 mL bottle at this point in time lol This is pretty much what I look for from a perfume, and I would wear it year round, even though most would probably find it more of a cold weather scent. I imagine this is what people would douse themselves with in ancient times rather than taking a bath.. It would just build up in these amazing layers until you smelled like this forever... *sigh*

 

ETA: If this were ever resurrected it would sell like hotcakes

Edited November 14, 2008 by MCS4096

[CreamyJade]

In the bottle: Woah, heavy resins!

Wet on skin: Resins, dark heavy musk.

Dry on skin: Dark resins, though the blend is much sweeter than in the bottle.

Final thoughts: I was lucky enough to find a bottle, and boy am I glad! This is truly beautiful. There's a sweetness to the musks and resins, which I love. It's not an overly masculine or feminine scent, so I'll have to try this one on the boyfriend.

[greenranger]

 

 

Dark musk, myrrh, benzoin, balsam and galbanum...Obviously I had to try that one. I have no idea what tsori is, but maybe I'll find out here?

 

Lovely dark musk and resin. It's different from any other of the resin or musk blends I have tried so far. Complex enough to stay interesting.

 

Strong on me, and lovely. If I had a guy that would wear it, I'd love that, but since my guy doesn't do scent I'll have to wear it myself.

[crebbsgirl]

I am a myrrh fiend! I am the person that finds Schwarzer Mond light. I am the type of person that revels in the dark deep wonderfulness of all things resin and it is near impossible to find a blend too dark. So can someone please explain why this went to powder on my skin?? What the hell man? Black musk and I are so good together, so I'm very hesitant to blame her. This isn't heavy at all! This is light, and sweet. Sure, there's a musky resin overtone to the POWDER. Seriously. Minotaur I am so mad at you right now. I'm going to take a week to cool off, and then we're trying again.

[zankoku_zen]

Mmmm. Amber powder like WHOAH. It's sweet, golden, resinous powder.

 

...

 

*shrug*

[Ceri]

In the vial: Sweet & dark. Very intoxicating.

 

Wet: Dark, spicy incense.

 

Dry: It gets sweeter as it dries. After 15 minutes this turns into sweet baby powder incense.

 

Overall: This is a gorgeous blend, I love it best when it's wet but it's not for me.

[ravenfeathers]

in the bottle a little bit sharp and balsam-y; this doesn't bode well

wet on skin yeah, that's the good stuff. the musk is that hairy, animalistic musk of buck and hunter moons. myrrh like whoa and i'm loving it, despite a little bit of that sharpness lingering

dry on skin resins rule here, with just a huff of that fantastic black musk. this is gritty, sweet, and reminds me strongly of schwarzer mond. it's SM's angry alterego. minotaur is in your face, bullish, ballsy, and all man. fantastic.

[rayvn1]

How the hell did this go wrong?!? I love every note in here, especially swarthy black musk! But alas, it turned straight to powder on me. Powder!! (sigh...) I'll try it again, but otherwise this is going straight to the swaps. I am right with crebbsgirl on this one. What the hell man?

[stellans]

I loved this blend at first sniff when it first came out in 2007, but it just keeps getting better with age. I'm a big lover of resins, and this is a superior example of the darker resins skillfully blended with other notes to bring out the best in all components. I agree with other assessments of this blend as a 'deeper big brother to Schwarzer Mond,' and actually like this blend better! Unlike some other reviewers, I get no powdery notes at all, only deep and lasting sexy myrrh, musk and galbanum. Balsam sometimes adds almost a minty note in some blends to my nose, but thankfully not in this one. The May Suspiciendo Despicio release of Taurus had an abominable mint note, so I was happy that the Minotaur did not and wear it to commemorate the Sun's arrival in Taurus, which is my Rising Sign. Four stars!

Edited May 3, 2011 by stellans

[Tess]

In the bottle - When people say this is just chock full of resins, they aren't kidding. It has a smooth backdrop of that deep musk and then the resins play on top of it. There's the slightly bitter note of the myrrh, as well as some sweet from the benzoin (which I can't for the life of me spell tonight). So far, I'm in love with this one.

 

Wet - Oh, this is so dark and lovely.

 

Drying - The blackness of the musk and the myrrh are coming out far more and it's lost quite a lot of its sweetness. Hrm, yes, it has gone somewhat powdery on me, too, although it has become very faint. Darn it, come on skin, bring it back to me!

 

 

[Coldfire]

 

 

Bottle: dark and resinous is correct .

Wet On Me: I get more myrrh and benzoin before I get the black musk so far.

Drying Down: the musk which turns to baby powder on me is being held in check by the resins. This smells like finding a vintage dress in a trunk in your grandmother's attic. Lovely, a wee bit dusty, dark and full of untold memories.

Dry: some of the musk comes out to play once this finally dried. Still has that 'vontage' vibe around it.

[grnwoodtree]

In the imp, it could have been love - but on my skin the black musk turns to powder immediately with no change after several hours.

[Penance]

Origin:

 

5mL from the Lab (eBay auction).

 

Preconceived notions:

 

I've read the reviews, which is what prompted me to try this one. I adore resin/incense blends, especially the dark, heavy ones, and from what I gather, this is right up my alley.

 

First sniff:

 

Smells a lot like Scattered Gloom, which I really like. This is definitely a very deep, dark, dry resin blend with something menacing and musky in the background. This is a very strong, imposing scent in the bottle. Definitely not for the faint of heart. I can tell this is going to be a "little dab will do you" scent. No slathering necessary or recommended.

 

Wet on skin:

 

Almost identical to Scattered Gloom. Dark, deep, dry and imposing. This is an advanced resin-wearers' blend. You need to get your legs under you on the bunny slopes before tackling this behemoth. Minotaur isn't for beginners or wishy-washy resin-wearers. I can't pick out any of the individual notes here. All I get is an overall impression of darkness, dry, crumbling resins and desolation. And it's beautiful.

 

Dry down:

 

Very deep, strong, nose-prickling resins. This is a very dry scent, not at all sweet like Cathedral. It's even drier than Penitence. Again, the dry down is very similar to Scattered Gloom on me, although Scattered Gloom has a more velvety feel to it while Minotaur is rough and almost abrasive, like something hidden away in a dark corner for years and years, crumbling and dessicating. That doesn't sound good, but it is. If you like this sort of scent. And I do.

 

The bottom line:

 

Right up my alley, but definitely not for anyone other than a dedicated lover of deep resin/incense blends. A tiny little dab is plenty to get a good level of scent, so this one's going to last me quite a while.

[mxtine]

This smells delicious in the bottle, with black musk and dark chunks of unidentifiable resins. I'm surprised the oil isn't black. I put a small dab on the top of my wrist because I can tell that this scent means business. For several minutes, I'm overcome with the smell of heavy, powdery myrrh incense. Even later, this dries down to the most gorgeous resin/black musk scent thanks to the sweetness of benzoin.

 

What a winner.

[Ella LaRose]

this is by far, my most favorite scent! sweet mystery in a bottle, deep myrrh, sweet earth, spice, wow, I need many more bottles of this one!

[windbourne]

RESINS LIKE MAD.

 

Heavy, dark, intense, smoky--this guy means business. The myrrh is a little less sweet than many that I have experienced, but the benzoin and balsam balance that out a little.

 

There's a pepperiness to this on my skin, but not a specific pepper-type note, if that makes sense? It's a little sneezy. I've experienced that before with black musk, so it doesn't surprise me much.

 

As it dries, it stays pretty solid and dense. This is a scent I might wear out to a club or something like that. Somewhere that I might like to have a really sturdy scent that would stand firmly on my wrists and last for hours while I danced. Something that would make people around me sniff and wonder what smelled so amazing.

 

Throw is pretty significant, and it doesn't take much. Lasts a long time. Is intense and a little brutal.

 

I can't say I'm in love or will be wearing it constantly (I can't, not at work. The scent-sensitives there would be Dead of Resins in minutes), but HODAMN this bottle is amazing. If I hadn't gotten a full set of the Therianthropics, I probably wouldn't have gotten this, as it overlaps quite a bit with Priala, but this is a much darker scent, lacking fire and smoke and brilliance. Priala rises, but this one sinks into the black. However, having gotten it, I am happy to have it. My goodness, yes.

[catalyst]

Got a tiny, tiny sample in a batch of imps, with only a couple drops in it, but this one likes me a lot. Sucks that it's gone forever, both from the lab and from my vial.

 

I would never have guessed half those notes, and didn't, in fact. I was guessing musk, amber, and maybe a little leather.

 

It's warm and furry, but not the cruel monster people think of when they think of a Minotaur. It has a soul, a softness, that makes you want to bury your face in it, but it's a little bit on the wild side, too. Definitely a strong resin that makes a statement. I would have slathered it if I could. I can see this as a masculine soap or massage oil too, although it's not as overtly sexual as Satyr is.

 

Love it. I really wish I could get more of this somehow.

[Monster]

Dark, rich resins and thick black musk. The benzoin gives Minotaur a little bit of sweetness, keeping this from smelling too masculine. There is also a soft, furry quality to it (I think from the musk). I can't stop huffing my wrist. This is one of the most perfect resin scents I have ever smelled. It's dark, mysterious and drop dead gorgeous…time to hunt down a bottle.