Laudanum

[crebbsgirl]

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

Upon first application, this was very much sassafras and nutmeg. There was a sugary quality here initally, but it dissipated fairly quickly. The nutmeg and sassafras blended with the myrrh beautifully, and the black poppy remained in the background, darkening the scent a bit. Intriguing and narcotic definitely. The overall effect was slightly creamy and spicy. I like this a lot.

[MCS4096]

I'm really excited to try this one, because wearing a perfume called Laudanum would be awesome! Unfortunately my first quick sniff was straight CURRY..

 

In the Imp: Big time curry.. I can smell the notes.. the spicey nutmeg and the earthy sassafras, the creamy myrrh and peppery poppy.. but they combine to make CURRY.

 

Wet: Medicinal root beer.. the sassafras is a little more clear, and slightly effervescent. Sniffing of it deeply does seem to have the desired effect

 

Dry: Hmmm.. I wonder if this is the band-aid phenomenon others have spoken of.. its smelling a bit plasticy. I wonder if I'd ever have occasion to smell like a curry covered, medicine cabinet marinated band-aid? I'm intrigued by what's going on here, and while I can appreciate the subtleties that come with sniffing this up close.. I'm totally afraid of walking into a room and someone asking if I had Indian food for lunch On direct sniff the nutmeg and sassafras are apparent, but the throw is all curry. Vaguely disappointed am I.

[voodoocatwoman]

What an amazing scent. In the imp and wet on application, Laudanum is bitter and medicinal. As it dries, I first smell wood and then the sassafras. It is a little sweeter but still has a serious in-your-face aroma. I like it, although I don't see it as a frequent scent. It'll be something to save for occasional use.

[kjirstiben]

What an odd scent! It went on smelling like a savory spice to start with. I was thinking cumin, maybe--it reminded me a little of Mexican food--but I think I was mischaracterizing the nutmeg.

 

As it dries down, this scent smells more dusty than savory, but still with that odd slightly dinner-spice scent to it. It eventually becomes a dry, dusty spice… not particularly sweet--a little peppery, even.

 

Several hours in, and through its last stages, it continues to be a dusty scent, but now it's a dusty spicy oriental scent. Odd all around. I've heard that this one improves as you age it… I may try that, because this time through it just baffled me.

 

Recaplet: Savory, then dusty spices.

My rating: 1 of 5 (I'm not fond of it.)

Color impression: Deep gray-brown.

[TheOneTheyCallLuna]

In the imp this is medicinal and peppery...it has promise, though! On my skin, I get the nutmeg (yum, yum!) and myrrh (double yum), plus, what I suppose is the poppy. The sassafras is center stage, and it's the one note I'm scratching my head about. I feel very ambivalent about sassafras in general, you see...I'm confused about whether or not I like it in Tombstone, Stimulating Sassafras Strengthener, etc. Sometimes I smell it and think it's rooty and delicious, and then...car tires. I get that on both me and my boyfriend, so I don't think it's a skin chem. issue. In any case, I find this to be the least offensive sassafras I have ever smelled, the other notes balance out this blend like whoa! This is a definite keeper, potential big bottle purchase for me. Spicy, sweet, dark, and complex. All the things I love are represented in Laudanum.

[zankoku_zen]

Very medicinal and peppery - I think it's the black poppy. It smells like dirty sassafras.

 

Pass.

[mornelithe]

this is my first ever review. im not usually very good at picking out individual notes or in a lot of cases identifying them. im a reformed long time smoker, so im still getting to know my nose again.

 

in the imp: all i smell is poppy.

 

wet: smoke! and its omg in your face campfire smoke. after a minute or two the sassafras comes out a bit and it smells like someone set a root beer float on fire. it sounds way worse in print than what it is. i actually REALLY like this.

 

dry: as it dries down the myrrh starts to come out and blends very nicely with the smoky smell. for me this is smoky and intriguing without being too overpowering.

 

i wish that the dry phase had a bit more throw to it, but it seems to have decent staying power. ive been looking for that "me" scent, and i think this may be it. i got the imp yesterday, and ill be ordering a bottle today. thanks lab <3

 

[Coldfire]

 

 

 

 

 

Imp: mostly the nutmeg and poppy with slight

underhaunts of sassafras

Wet on Me: the nutmeg and sassafras are strong now.

Drying Down: Woody. Very woody mostly now.

Dry: the nutmeg and sassafras have disappeared into

the shadows and it is mostly woody vibe with the black

poppy underneath. Not bad.

 

[magikalbrownies]

ugh..OK i love indian food but this seriously reminds me of a plate of chicken biryani...

 

NO..just no...

 

dunno if its the nutmeg and myrrh mixture but this is done before it even started...

 

overall: didnt even get to my skin...

[donnatron]

Imp: Weird, weird, WEIRD dark smell that I think must be the black poppy and nutmeg.

 

Wet: On my skin this become more nutmeggy. Very weird. I like the taste and scent of nutmeg when I'm eating but maybe not when I'm just sitting around sniffing my wrist on a Sunday. I think the black poppy must be the odd, unidentifiable scent. I don't care for it. It becomes sweeter on my skin and a little repellent.

 

Dry: Laudanum is not my bag. The sassafras comes out loud and clear and is GORGEOUS. I love the sassafras note. However the black poppy is thick and heavy on my skin and just really, really unpleasant. It smells like spoiled molasses or some other borderline rotten sweet, sticky scent. Laudanum is actually making me feel a bit nauseous.

 

Throw: Unfortunately it's really good.

 

Overall: I'm a little bummed. How awesome would be be to wander around in a cloud of Laudanum all day? Unfortunately the poppy just dominates the scent and makes it really not work me. Sadly, it will have to find a new home.

[ami226]

In the imp: Ick... something sour, sweet, and sickening....

 

On the skin: Hello, root beer!! There is definitely other notes in this scent, but the root beer smell is definitely dominant. After a bit, the root beer fades and I smell something... strange instead. Must be the poppy.

 

Overall: Not my thing.... Interesting though.

[melrose]

When first on, it's sweet, spicy, and smoky, but there's a weird note underneath. This is not a bad first impression, since I hate nutmeg and sassafrass. Once in a great while, BPALs amp the notes I want amped.

 

Near drydown: I get along quite well with myrrh, and this keeps getting better. Now it smells like Old Spice with lots of smoke added, and a bit of spice/sweet.

 

Far drydown: Crap, here comes the nutmeg. This is a no for me; I would have loved it had the middle stage hung around.

[mhickle]

Wow. I am really surprised to come back and read the notes that make up Laudanum, because all I get is SMOKY SMOKE SMOKE. No spice, no sweetness, just thick campfire smoke on me. Strange. But somewhat interesting.

 

I'm actually a bit disappointed, because I was really looking forward to the mix of nutmeg and sassafrass. But I suppose you can't win them all, and I'll find this one a loving home!

[kerikeri]

Wet: Shaaaarp. Very sharp and medicinal. My housemate said it smells like Sea Breeze astringent.

 

Dry: Almost completely gone. If I put my nose right up to my arm I get a faint whiff of dry, singed wood.

 

I'm not familiar with any of these notes, so I can't pick them out, but this was pretty strange on me. It was a frimp, and probably not one I would've chosen for myself. The drydown scent is sort of pleasantly reminiscent of a wood shop, but that's not really something I want to smell like.

[rayvn1]

Nutmeg! That's what this is I was guessing light clove or cardamom. Awesome. I love the strong wash of opium as well. This is rugged and spicy and almost masculine. Great scent!

 

Quick edit to say how refreshing it is to find a nutmeg scent - I have tried and failed with so many clove blends since my skin hates clove, I'm so happy to find a spice scent I adore

Edited August 23, 2009 by rayvn1

[Venneh]

Got this as a frimp in a recent order, trying it out today. My first impression upon sniffing it in the bottle is very medicinal, and isn't giving me high hopes for what it'll turn out like on my skin... On my skin, I think I'm getting the nutmeg, along with a background of what might be the sassafrass, which smells like... rootbeer.

 

EDIT: Yeah, this is giving me a headache and, again, smells like a doctor's office. I am getting a sense that spices hate my skin, especially since anything with spices in it (Voodoo, Blood Kiss, Van Van, and now this) seem to give my skin the same reaction. Washing it off, and to the swaps with it!

Edited October 3, 2009 by Venneh

[HamletsKeeper]

Bottlesniff Brandy

 

Wet On Skin Pepper, nutmeg (sans any sweetness) and something vaguely cola-like. Weird and kind of unpleasant.

 

Drydown If you've ever drunk a Chinese herbal tonic then you'll recognise that smell. Bitterness, pepperyness and a hint of spice. Smells like a chinese herbalist shop.

 

Overall Bitter, peppery and medicinal. Inspires my gag reflex from the last time I had to drink a tonic brewed out of strange herbs. Definately not something I want to smell like.

Edited October 7, 2009 by HamletsKeeper

[MellowCello]

At first whiff from the vial, it was sharp, smelling just like pure alcohol. I let my nose take it in for while and I got a peppery scent coming through. On my skin, it evolved right into sassafras. After a while the sweetness began to die out and it turned into something a little too reminiscent of Indian food on me. I love Indian food but I would really prefer not to have people think that I just ate at an indian restaurant when I really didn't. Too bad. I was really liking the sassafras.

[sarielswish]

In the vial, it smells like burnt caramel. Pretty noxious, if you ask me. I'm not liking this. Colorwise, I'm getting molasses brown.

 

Wet on my skin, ecch. It smells burnt and cloying, like overly strong incense. I'm pretty sure that's the myrrh and poppy.

 

10-15 minute dry-down - Ergh. Getting a little more spice now, but the poppy and myrrh are making me kinda sick.

 

Ok, that's a big old no. I can't even tolerate that one for an hour.

[childoftime]

In bottle: Sweet, smokey, and a bit medicinal.

 

Wet, on skin: The poppy is coming out and mingling with the smoke and spices to make this a really interesting scent with a bit of sweetness.

 

Drydown/Dry: Spicy, heady, opium smoke and warm brandy. I love this!

[FathomBelow]

I got Laudanum as one of a surprising number of freebies from the Lab (thank you!).

It's another really evocative scent.

 

In imp: Exactly like the incense smoke you can smell in those cramped little Asian/African "exotic" curiosity shops. Crazy!

Wet on skin: Same, but sweeter. This is really interesting.

Dry on skin: Wow, it completely changed. Now it smells like a spice merchant's warehouse - rows of dusty jars containing every kind of dried spice and curry powder imaginable, with big wooden barrels of smoky black teas (might be verging on the overly poetic here). Pungent and fragrant and not sweet at all...actually, it smells just like the spice shop called World Merchants (or something like that) near Pike Place Market.

 

Although I love this one for the clarity of the images it calls up, it doesn't really match my personality or taste in scents. I'm glad I got to try it though!

[strahlend]

I've been frimped Laudanum twice now so despite my initial reaction I decided to test it.

 

Sniffing in the imp - this scent, without a doubt, reminds me of cupboards. At first there seems to be a little menthol which reminds me of a medicine cupboard. Another sniff and it reminds me of when my whole family would load up into my Great Uncle's moter-home and take a trip to the beach. There's an old, spicy, uncomfortable sweetness. I can't say I dislike it, but something about it is just too strange for me to feel good about either.

 

Skin test - remarkably the same! My arm smells like a neglected spice cupboard where things have gone off and become overly sweet. If you've ever put a sweet spice next to a savory spice in the cupboard and then forgotten about it for a while and then tried to use either one and realized they've rubbed off on each other rendering both of them kind of funky and not able to be used.... THAT'S what I mean. I also think I'm getting an association with some kind of cologne that had a similar vibe, but I can't put my finger on it for sure.

 

There are parts of this I like and parts I'm not as fond of. In the end though I don't think this one is for me.

Edited January 13, 2010 by strahlend

[starfish327]

in the imp: something vaguely earthy and whiskey. it's good. this is the first imp out of several that i've tested recently that didn't make me cringe in the imp- most blends strike me as wrong in the imp. this didn't, but it was definitely a good top shelf alcohol- i'm surprised that there isn't one listed as a note.

 

wet: OH HAI THERE OLD SCHOOL SCENT MEMORY. this smells like Ferndale. oh crap does this smell like Ferndale. I was born in newfoundland and then my parents were stationed in Ferndale CA for awhile. Ferndale was all painted lady victorians and small little specialty shops. there was one that sold a lot of imported german products- and this smells like that store. it's spicy without being foody, it's herbal without being green (thank goddess- i normally amp herbs into a giant green hell), and it's warm. it's quite nice.

 

dry: now it smells like the candy store that was across the street- it smells like good black licorice, but not necessarily annise. it's sweeter now and warmer bordering on hot. it's comforting. i'm getting the sassafras without smelling root beer per se. there is a vague floraly note which i'm guessing is the black poppy.

 

i'm not sure that i would ever wear this enough to want a bottle and it doesn't have the type of knee jerk, must replace the imp reaction that i've had with some blends but this nice. this is really really nice.

[Ajila]

In the bottle - A dark, almost kerosote type of scent, with just a hint of the nutmeg

 

Wet on me - The nutmeg warms and softens ths black, oily scent of the other notes

 

Dry on me - A warm spicy nutmeg, that faded surprisingly quickly

 

Overall - I like it, but not enough to need more than my imp

[hkhm]

imp: spicy and effervescent.

 

wet: this is a bubbly nutmeg scent. hard to describe but it has a very antique drug store kind of feel.

 

dry: nutmeg and sassafras, very dry. almost peppery.