Laudanum

[LadyCrow]

The essence of the most debauched hunger encapsulated into a perfume. Desire beyond love, anguish beyond sanity. Nutmeg, sassafras, black poppy and myrrh.

In the imp: Sharp, dark, sweet.

Wet: The poppy is strong in this one, with the sassafras giving a sweet richness that lies just behind the smoky opium.

Drydown: The narcotic poppy dominates at first; then the darkness is very specifically green and herbal, with rich red nutmeg just in the background. It morphs a bit as I wear it, with the nutmeg getting stronger. The medicinal quality is always there in it, but just like its namesake, that poppy -- which stands out most in the strong throw -- keeps me coming back. I'm not quite sure what the myrrh is doing, but I think it adds smokiness.

Verdict: Sigh. I can't stay away from Beth's poppy/opium note! I will wear this when I want to smell sweet, strange, and slightly delirious. (Actually, that's a good description of me. Hmm.) Edited December 28, 2007 by Shollin

[ravenfeathers]

i had to laugh at the description, because:

 

in the bottle root beer!

wet on skin root beer!

dry on skin root beer!

 

no, really, that's all that's going on here. it's a nice, light, frothy root beer from start to finish.

[Josh]

Rubber gloves (or a fresh balloon being inflated for the first time) and a spiciness not unlike root beer. This smells more like a modern day hospital or dentist office to me, like the rubber gloves of a dentist being right in your face as he works on your teeth.

 

Very pungent and medicinal. Has left me woozy and with a slight headache.

[Pendragon]

In the imp: Hmmm this almost smells salty? There's definitely a kitchen spice smell from the nutmeg.

 

Wet: smells like pinetarsol stuff we used to put in the bath when we had chickenpox as kids!

 

Dry: Pinetarsol mixed with a bit of opium

 

Verdict: Definitely not a keeper, I can't get past the pinetarsol factor.

[manusdei]

root beer. yep. root beer, but a little more herbal. it stays like that for awhile and gets stronger. i like the smell of root beer, but it got pretty intense. maybe the myrrh in it is what's doing me in, as i've found that has a tendency to make me a little sick if mixed with the right (or wrong) things.

 

then... a bit later, out of nowhere, it turns into.. motor oil?! straight up - greasy tools.

i'm pretty sure i'm not going crazy, since i held out an arm to my girlfriend and she thought the same thing, whereas before she was also "mmm rootbeer!!" i might give it another shot sometime but i'm not so sure : (

[lainevierge]

This just smells like root beer on me. I get the Old Spice smell when I put it on my husband. I have nothing against smelling like root beer, but it doesn't turn me on that much either.

[Pincushions]

Unfortunately this is probably going to be my most negative review so far...

 

I got Laudanum as a frimp, or else I never would have picked it out. None of the notes particularly appeal to me. In the imp it just makes me cringe. Don't know if I want to try it... But here goes:

 

 

Applied, it smells like burning root beer, I'm guessing that's the sassafras. Yuck. I hate root beer. Definitely mostly nutmeg and sassafras. Slightly black licorice-y, and I also happen to hate black licorice. A half-hour later, licorice is hiding, but it still retains the strong burning root beer. Did I mention my hatred for root beer? Some of the opium and myrrh comes through but it doesn't fix the smell. This isn't going pleasantly at all. It's not my skin chemistry. I just hate root beer. Yuck. *is patient* Nope, still burnt, dirty root beer, the licorice returns, and it's giving me a headache. My mom loves root beer, maybe I'll give it to her, so long as she doesn't wear it near me. *washes off.*

[DogNPonyShow]

Unfortunately this is probably going to be my most negative review so far...

 

Strangly, this is the exact same reaction I got. Mine was also a frimp, but in the bottle I got all nutmeg and spices. It made me want some eggnog. Quite nice. But on...pure licorice. I had to run to the kitchen so I could wash it off.

[seashell]

MMMMMmmmm. I love my spicy scents, and this is a great addition. The nutmeg/myrrh combo is very nice on me and I can't stop sniffing my wrists! This is (almost ) as good as Silk Road!

 

Lasts a good long time on me, too. LOVE!!!

[SarahScent44]

In the imp, wow - something strong - and almost musty - sassafras? poppy?

 

On my skin, it's very harsh and medicinal.

 

When it dries, the nutmeg is there, but everything below that is too strong and harsh.

[BohemianWeasel]

I really wanted to like this, being such a fan of the Victorian era.

 

But sadly it was rubbery pencil shavings and traditional, crumbly incense - later sprinkled with a dash of the much-mentioned rootbeer - served in a rubber bottle.

 

mewl.

[aleciarivas]

DEFINITELY medicinal. Ick. Ew. Cough cough. I can smell some sort of dry wood beneath it all, but frankly I just can't get past the medicinal smell.

[enderfem]

Imp: Something high and sharp, almost medicinal but not unpleasantly so. Can't really pick out individual notes.

 

Wet: Oooh. Something dark and smoky that I didn't get at all in the imp, maybe the myrrh? Unexpected and pleasant.

 

Drydown: Rich and earthy smell. What I wished Samhainophobia had smelled like on me. Reminds me of the movie Tombstone. Unusual, but I like it!

[CrazyPretzel]

This one is very interesting. At first it is a strong medicinal smell, a trifle akin to Listerine, which I suppose is appropriate for a scent named after a drug. As it dries the sassafras warms up - and I for one was *not* thinking root beer, actually; more like a very soft woodsy vanilla scent. There's a touch of myrrh, dark and powdery. I can't identify opium in this one (one of my favourite notes), and the nutmeg is not noticeably foody to my nose.

 

Soft, dark, powdery, and spicy, with sweetness and a little ribbon of poison running through it. Apparently this one's not wildly popular, but I love the aura of it and may get a 5ml when my imp runs out.

[suki]

in the imp: the sassafras is so strong it becomes medicinal.

 

wet on skin: it's become more like root beer. interesting! i'm not picking out any other notes at this time though.

 

dry down: wow. it's really just like root beer.

 

in all: i don't get anything other than the sassafras from this blend, and that's too bad. it sounded like it had the potential to be a very heady, sexy blend. ah well.

[sofaking6]

I got a frimp of this, but honestly might have tried it anyway based on the notes...but WHOA! Very medicinal, very antiseptic-smelling. For me it went from listerine to straight myrrh and I never got the poppy, nutmeg or root scents. Stupid chemistry.

[Dark Alice]

I know exactly what this smells like on me. It smells like the dentist's glove with dental toothpaste as I get my teeth cleaned. Yuck!!!! Ironic since I have to go to the dentist on wednesday....

Edited August 4, 2008 by Dark Alice

[smokey188]

in bottle: spicy and woody

on skin: something about this scent reminds me of my grandma's house maybe it's the nutmeg. it's very nice but i think the spice is just a little bit too sharp for my liking. I'll have to conduct further tests on this one but i don't think i'll be getting a bottle. This scent might sit better on a male or someone with better skin chemistry than me.

[Iceblink]

Herbal/medicinal/pungent WHOA STRONG sassafras. This has quite the kick to it wet. It's drying down into a softer root beer-y scent, but overall it's still quite strong. I wish I was getting more myrrh out this.

[rawgirl75]

Hehe I recommended this one to someone this morning and decided that I should also post my review here too:

 

This is a weird and fascinating scent. I like it

 

Wet: I get notes that (to me) smell like burnt mint, light licorice and a smidge of medicinal stuff.

 

Dry: Its laudanum right on the nose (and a little bit rootbeer). Surprisingly quite wearable. The burnt mint, licorice and medicine have softened and faded and the remaining scents is fascinating. This is one of those concept scents - I can totally see a 19th century doctor smelling like this and I think it belongs in the Steampunk category.

 

[Edit to note: My imp is probably almost a year old. I remember trying this one when it was fresher and hating it back then because it was too strong/sharp, so I recommend swapping someone for an aged one. I had dug this out of my swap box to sell, but I think Im going to keep it now. Yum!]

Edited August 16, 2008 by rawgirl75

[hlinspjalda]

In the vial: Strongly myrrh and wood.

 

Wet: Still myrrh and wood. It smells dusty, though, like sassafras roots rather than green twigs or leaves. This may be the most purely myrrh-like of all the myrrh notes I've smelled in BPAL blends.

 

Twenty minutes: Killer myrrh, the smell of the pure resin smoking on a charcoal briquet. I expected this to be soporific, but instead it's more like a wrap-shot to the back of the skull.

 

Two hours: This was scary-strong myrrh for a long time, wafting off my arm wherever I went. Now it's mutated, maybe from the poppy? I sort of smell either smoke or tannin-y wood, something dark and gnarled. Interesting, but I don't think I want to wear it again.

 

Four hours: Now it smells like spicy sweet wood smoke. I rather like this phase. Still, trade pile.

[Suu4LC]

I am honestly not sure what to expect with this blend...nutmeg and sassafras sound wonderful, but I have no idea how they will go with the black poppy and myrrh. I have a feeling this may be too dark of a scent for me, but I'm looking forward to giving it a go!

 

Oof, ack, this smells really weird in the imp...sour and medicinal. Almost like sweetened rubbing alcohol >_O I really hope this morphs on my skin!

 

Ugh, yeah, this is no good on me. I think it's the black poppy. It is WAY too strong. I don't get any nutmeg in this at all. And while I normally like sassafras, I am not digging it in combo with the myrrh and poppy. I do have to mention though, that this does smell ten MILLION times better on my skin than it did in the imp.

 

Unfortunately, this combo is just too odd for me O_o Will be passing it on to someone with more exciting taste than me!

 

ETA: On full dry down this is VERY strong and VERY dark/incense-y.

Edited September 5, 2008 by Suu4LC

[Allumina]

I wanted to like this, but no dice.

 

At first I get bubbly, fizzy rootbeer, which is kinda neat, but there's a note under it I don't like- kind of a rancid oil note. Ugh. Very, very dry and a bit medicinal. It would be cool if not for that weird note... Eventually, it dries and the note disappears, but then it goes sweet, like practically all bpal does on me. Bah, sweet.

[Czarina]

Oh, wow. This smells like candle soot and matches, with a nutmeg and rootbeer undernote. The rootbeer fades fast.

 

It really makes me think of someone heating up drugs in a spoon. I don't know my historical drugs enough to know whether this would have been done with laudanum , but there's a clear burnt note in this to my nose that I really like.

 

If you like this try: Bonfire Night, L'Heure Verte.

[GeorgeJr]

This was a frimp I got from someone on EBay with a bottle I bought a while ago .

Quite honestly , this isn't something I would have ordered for myself going by the ingredients . That and reading everyone saying ROOT BEER Not exactly something I want to smell like . So imagine my surprise when I tried it & actually like it ! If I hadn't read the notes , I would have guessed that patchouli might be involved . It makes me think light patchouli , with some sweetness thrown in for good measure . I will admit there is a slight root beeriness to it . But it's not in a bad way . It's not like all I smell is soda .

All in all , a very nice surprise for me .