Event Horizon

[Iceblink]

A disconcerting scent, heavy and oppressive, through which no light, no matter, and no spirit can escape. Black opium, labdanum, opoponax, black orchid, and benzoin.

Dark and smoky--resins with orchids wafting over the top of them. I smell the opium but it's not jumping all over all the other notes like it often does on me. I'll keep this imp to age and see how it is in a few months, because this blend has great potential for yumminess.

[Lumina]

I received Event Horizon as a super-generous frimp from a wishlist-checking!forumite It was one of my most-wanted imps, so yay!

 

In imp: warm, somewhat dry-smelling resin; unidentified floral. Slight woodsiness.

 

On skin: Wet: slightly peppery and peculiar, I think that’s the orchid. Sweet labdanum is the only note I'm picking out for sure. The blend tends towards acrid, but not in a big way.

As it settles into drydown, I get the impression of faintly lingering incense, or possibly dusty wood. A very familiar smell. I’d associate this with either a church or a library.

 

After an hour or so, it has morphed, becoming more defined, and I finally get something a little more like opium but a lot more like a particular church I used to go to as a child. Exactly like that church, in fact. The thing is though, I’ve never been to another church that smelled quite like that one. Hey, you think they burned opium there? I can tell this blend is heavy on the opoponax. I do love opoponax/myrrh, so this makes me happy. It isn’t too acrid and the labdanum & benzoin means it’s not at all bitter.

 

Colour association: clear/transparent at first; white smoke on drydown. So, not so much a black hole!

Texture association: feather-light drizzly rainfall at first; later, smooth (not gritty) smoke.

 

Comments: A strange scent, not what I expected. It did morph quite a bit from beginning to end. It was only okay in the first and middle stages, but in the final stage it was pretty compelling. My major quibble is that I got very little throw. As a side note: if I ever meet a man who smells like this, there is a strong possibility that I shall jump him.

 

Throw: 1.2 / 5

Wear length: 4.0 / 5

Bottle? Quite possibly. The imp stays with me, and is queued for testing in scent locket.

[modillian]

In the bottle: smoke overload.

 

On the skin: Beautiful, perfumey buzz. Slight orchid, slight labdanum bite. Indulgent opium haze. It's strange - the perfume buzz (opoponax or benzoin?) is strong on top, the flowers are weak in the middle, and the bottom opium is as strong as the top. It's a bread-heavy sandwich here. Strong, but it's not overpowering like in the bottle. Gorgeous. Torpid. Wrecked.

 

After an hour it smells completely different. The heavy perfume has faded and let the flowers shine through as tons of orchid and opium accented with a labdanum whine. This is scary, mwahahahaaa! An awesome costume perfume, your favorite witch and her magic potions. Lasts for six hours.

[taramarie]

Wet on my skin, Event Horizon is the opium, orchid, and benzoin. Kinda light and hazy. As it dries, what I'm guessing is the labdanum and opoponax come through. It's very pretty, though not as dark as I expected.

[crebbsgirl]

This starts out a little commercial for my tastes, but develops into something I have never smelled before. At first application, the black opium is very prominent. The opening is much like Anathema, but this disappears after about 10 minutes. The opoponax and laudanum lend an earthy grounding to this blend, and the benzoin sweetens it up just a touch. The black orchid remains an undertone here, so that the scent never reaches "floral" territory, but instead adds another dimension. I think I'll hang onto this and see how it ages.

[jencallisto]

In the imp: A bit sweet, a bit medicinal.

Fresh on the skin: A rather bitter floral with an oddly heavy sweetness. It's reminding me of the florals I don't really like, though -- I'm not a big gardenia or plumeria fan, and it's leaning rather sharply (and I do mean sharp -- the waft is a bit spiky) in that direction. But something saves it from being the simple "I hate this because it makes me feel sick to my stomach" that those two tend to give me. I have no idea what any of the notes in this smell like, actually, including the opium, so all I can do is describe the overall scent. It seems to be like a very medicinal flower, showy and rather deadly.

10 minutes later: Huh. So, okay. I didn't really expect to like this one, and the incredibly strong dark floral (with huge throw, incidentally) front seemed to emphasize that. And yet, and yet. There's a spiciness to the scent that I'm really kind of liking. It's very intense.

30 minutes later: I'm so confused about why I don't hate this. I think it's partially an effect of how that spicy edge is clearing my nostrils. And it's sweet and heady without making my headache worse, possibly because the spicy and the underlying bitter balance everything out. If anything, the thing that's annoying me most so far is the way it smells a little bit like really strong baby powder.

50 minutes later: Oh. Spoke too soon. Still can't tell for sure about the headache, but it's _definitely_ turning my stomach. It's may well be the black orchid if it's the florals that's the problem, but honestly it could any of the notes, or some combination. Damn. I think I have to wash it off. And I was feeling so pleasantly surprised, too.

 

Verdict: I'm so sad this didn't work out, because it was poised to surprise me. And I love the name. I might try it again at some point and see if any part of it was a fluke.

 

One word: intense.

[butcherbaby]

i gave an imp if this to my hubby awhile ago, since he loves the movie of the same name. well, that was back when i was still really new, but now i realize nearly all the notes in it are favorites of *mine*. so i give it a whirl.

 

well, that was a no-brainer! opium? check! Black orchid? check! oppoponax? well, i don't reallly know what it smells like on it's own but it's in a lot of blends i like so...check! labdanum? probably the only iffy note here but it works.

 

super dark opium incensey with deep black orchard and a resiny, smoky richness. there is a note somewhere that is a little off, a bit discordant, but here it's like the small intentional flaw that sets off the perfection of the whole. love it. big bottle for sure. and i don't think hubby's getting the imp back

[Lyrical]

In vial: a heavy, resinous floral.

 

Wet on skin: mmmmm I like opium! Orchid too. It's very dark - "heavy and oppressive" describes it well. But it's beautiful!

 

Dry on skin: as it dries it develops a very realistic smoke note. It's very sexy, spicy and exotic! I still get a lot of orchid (cf Queen Mab) and opium. I think the smoke might be a bit too much for me, though, even though the rest of the scent is beautiful.

[magikalbrownies]

its very dark in the vial. resins are overpowering and some part of me just got a headache with it.

 

it just didnt work out for me. maybe its the orchid (never been a big fan). either way, this is good as an imp for me.

[milo]

I had difficulty picking out the notes in this one, I just knew that I liked it. So peeking, I see that opium is the main note, something that I have recently discovered and enjoy very much. I get the smoky, spicy opium, and a touch of floral, which is probably the orchid. This is not as strong as I'd like it to be however, and fades quite quickly as well. While this is 'OK' I will just keep the imp for now.

[masquedbunny]

In the imp: Warm and woodsy opium.

 

On wet: Very heavy opium and light floral (the orchid, I suppose). Mmm. It's smoky and kind of makes me think of a fire in summer.

 

Drying: This gets smokier and more resinous as it dries. I'm not sure this is work safe for me. The impression is that I've been spending time in a hookah lounge.

 

Dry: Definitely smokier, but I think the orchid becomes more evident at this stage on me. It's also kind of like ... burned sugar.

 

Very interesting, though I'm not sure if it's a daily sort of scent for me.

[lookingglass]

Smokey, sweet and dusty. If you liked/loved/missed On Darkness, try out this baby. It is very similar, but less fruity. Yum!

[ouch!]

Opium is the strongest note here which I'm not a fan of usually. It just makes me think of an older classic commercial perfume. However...the other notes give this a darker edge and a few people have mentioned the likeness to Schwarzer Mond and I can see the similarity, except Scwharzer Mond is more heavy on the Patchouli & Myrrh.

 

This belnd also has this note I get sometimes with BPAL blends which I describe as...petals that have been stomped on in the rain. Kind of like wet petals.

 

There's also a slight powder element to it and a sweetness. Which makes it alot softer but the opium drowns alot of this out.

It's not really a scent for me but I think with the right chemistry this scent could be knock out!

[aquazoo]

It takes a minute to come up. This is a soft, balanced blend. It's not oppressive on me, just sweet & pretty. It's warm in a vanilla sort of way.

 

 

[copagirl]

I loved Event Horizon because I used to love Opium perfume! This smells just like it, which I love and then later on me it softens and a little smokey scent is showing up.

[cinderfallen]

If you love the lab's opium note, like me, you'll feel like you hit the jackpot. I first fell in love with the hint of it in Belle Epoque, and it's also here in its full glory. I get the orchid more or less depending on my skin chemistry at the time, but the perfume is a more crisp version of Languor, and I think the benzoin is the note that offers an almost citrus edge to the waxier, sweet orchid.

[aedes]

Oh, AWESOME! Total instant classic for a base note junkie like me. Got the black, prickly, somewhat spicy and clean scent of labdanum and benzoin, and the opium and opoponax take it on home to dark creamy goodness. The orchid isn't too strong, just enough to keep it from being too masculine. Reminds me of Hades without the cypress or Laudanum without the sassafrass. Totally stocking up on this one.

Edited April 13, 2009 by aedes

[angelicruin]

Sniffing the imp, it's a dark seductive opium blend. Very resinous.

 

Wet on my skin, it's opium, dark musk, and benzoin. This is a very dark scent, but is sweetened enough that it blends well on my skin.

 

This has a lot of throw in it and dries to much the same scent as it was wet on my skin. I will definitely keep the imp for now...and comtemplate a bottle.

[Coldfire]

 

 

 

 

Imp: Heavy. Heavy like a Led Zepplin Riff.

Wet on Me: sweet spicy heavy. Okay this is what I’m smelling as ole Led Zepp is crunching away thru Kasmir.

Drying Down: Heady and Heavy…this is Page and Plant right in the thick of it. All in your head and in your mind and taking over. Chugga chugga chugga..oooooooooooooooooooooo yeah yeah oooooooooooooooooo yeah yeah

Dry: deep spice with the sweetness coming from a touch of the orchid. The opium and benzoin are drifting tendrils round my head. I’m just laying back into this scent and letting it and Led Zepp carry me away…and the Led Zep is only playing in my head.

 

[tragedy]

This doesn’t strike me as dark at all, but then opium scents don’t, and this is all opium on me. Its nice, but a little perfumey for my tastes. Very strong throw!

[isentropic]

How in the HELL have I not reviewed this yet?

 

Event Horizon is my single most favourite BPAL ever, and the reason I even got into it for more than a couple month fling. It was my first bottle and will always be my last love :]

 

ANYWAY.

 

There is something rich and powerful and heavy (in the most glorious way possible) about Event Horizon. It's the warm, palpable air of a hookah den, spicy and delicious and ... I don't know. Perfect.

 

Incredible. Need more bottles.

[tacey]

This imp has been sitting in my to-try stack for a while, and I think I understand why it hasn't gotten the thumbs up/down decision. I've tried it a couple of times already, and somehow it's just not very memorable. Today, however, it's growing on me. The first hour or so was pretty 'meh' -- just nothing there to notice. Now (in my toasty warm office), it's finally getting somewhere.

 

Very few notes that I can pick out -- nothing like my other opium notes, though. A touch sweet, and some smoke coming out gradually. Dark, but ... not a substitute for On Darkness. Just not very exciting on my skin -- very little depth.

[claudia6913]

When Black Butterfly Moon came out, I was reminded of this scent (which I hadn't tried before). I liked BBM, lets see how EH does. In the imp its incense through and through.

 

Wet on my skin I get dark spices. The scent doesn't give the visual of removing all light like BBM did for me, but it definitely makes it darker, deep shadows with teasing glimpses of light.

 

Dry down is a spicy incense smell. It's very heavy, not a huge throw, and not for daytime wear in my opinion.

[rayvn1]

This opened a bit harsh with the labdanum and opoponax very front and center. Mellowed out quickly into a rich, dark scent I adore all the notes in this (every single one!) so it's not too surprising to me that I like it. I don't know if it's something I'll wear often - though it was pleasant, nothing really moved up to center stage to catch attention. Might try mixing it with Prunella or Bensiabel because a bit of plum would be fabulous with this I think...

[Ohmaude]

This isn't dark at all for me. Something about the different notes just don't work, and I amp the orchid and opium as a very sharp, acidic, soapy floral. Usually I like opium and benzoin...I wish I experienced the dark spicy sweet floral others do. Bah.