Pollution

[ivyandpeony]

"Excuse me," barked Tyler. "Is that your crisp packet?"

"Oh, it's not just mine," said the boy. "It's everybody's."

R.P. Tyler drew himself up to his full height. "Young man,' he said, "how would you feel if I came over to your house and dropped litter everywhere?"

Pollution smiled, wistfully. 'Very, very pleased,' he breathed.

"Oh, that would be wonderful."

Beneath his bike an oil slick puddled a rainbow on the wet road.

A toxic chypre: radioactive green musk, davana, and oozing white amber.

I love this - it is exactly what I wanted it to be. I imagined a cleaner (ha ha, irony), more piercing cousin to 51, which is one of my absolute favorite GC blends of all time, and that's what Pollution is on my skin. I picture this being easier for a man to wear than 51 would be - the musk and davana are nicely balanced so that you don't pick out an assertive floral note, and the sweetness that all the fruits add to 51 isn't present.

This is stark and clean, glowing, bright, gorgeous and green. I'm so pleased that I took a chance on an unsniffed bottle.

[LadyCrow]

In the imp: Sharp, bright green.

 

Wet: I had to look up davana to find out it was a flower (BPAL fandom increases your vocabulary, trufax), and I'm guessing that's what causes that piercingly bright green note. If peridot had a smell, I think davana would be it -- slightly citrusy.

 

Drydown: The floral recedes a bit, or maybe just puddles into the musk that oozes everywhere. Since the oil is yellow (in fact, disturbingly like it might be a 1/32 oz. urine sample), I was surprised to discover that, like many of the thick oils -- Schwarzer Mond comes immediately to mind -- Pollution sits on top of my skin for a pretty long time rather than just sinking in.

 

I have a hard time pulling out the amber as a note by itself. This is quite well blended, and really evokes the passage quoted from the book. Yet the top note, at least, in Pollution smells oddly clean. What I like is that it doesn't go to that soapy, Irish Spring "clean" that I get from so many blends with ozone notes in them. And just as paradoxically, while the musk and amber combine into a decadent richness behind the davana, this is an oil I'd wear to help wake myself up.

 

Verdict: Fantastic scent picture. This one's a keeper.

[bookandbroom]

I love that something called Pollution smells so sunny to me. I too had to look up davana, and it made me smile when the site I found described its scent as "candy-like" and "round" because a. that's funny, and b. that's exactly what I thought: Pollution to me is a sort of ozone-y scent rounded and brightened (and softened) by mint and that sweet, somewhat floral note. The mint burns off too quickly on my skin, leaving a scent-image of greenness behind without actually smelling like mint. As it dries, the scent gets a little more pointed and sharp, and it seems to have something in common with a shampoo I can't think of right now. But its subtle, twinkling green notes make it a winner for me.

Edited December 2, 2007 by bookandbroom

[jessu]

I love this! I wish the name didn't gross me out so much.

 

This is clean, but green. Not green in a plant way- green in a murky swap water way. It really smells like a commercial perfume. I get the "ozone" impression same as others above, but I def. do not actually smell ozone. In a lot of ways, this reminds me of F5. A slighty more feminine F5, though still unisex.

 

This wears close to the skin on me. I see myself reaching for it frequently but only during the day and only on days when I don't want to stand out.

[alicia_stardust]

POLLUTION

 

This has a distinct green ozone scent to it. It is sharp and musky and the ozone causes this to present as almost masculine. I find that Pollution has a clean, cool, citrus-like scent that sits over the other notes, and that helps add to the radioactive part of the concept. This is really nice. Oddly enough, I find this sort of refreshing.

[medvssa]

This perfume is duplicitous, misleading. Its an impersonator: it seems a fresh and clean ozoney perfume, almost citrusy - but quite isn't. There is something slighlty suspicious about it. Which I doubt I would have been able to point out if the perfume wasn't called Pollution.

 

Like certain shades of green, it seems to turn to a sickly hue when you inspect it for too long.

It is like making everyone in the office think you are one of them, while you smile to yourself.

 

And it is very faint and subtle, with next to no throw on my skin. I had to slather and it still stayed faint... unfortunately my skin swallows it up.

 

Certainly an interesting, sublter than I expected, take on the subject.

[maribouquet]

I can't pick out the notes (surprise, surprise!) but this smells bright yellow/green & ozoney like a pollinated cologne. When it dries it drops down an octave in feeling but still retains that explosion in the nose. Really neat, but the cologne-like aspect is not to my taste.

[Miss Lynx]

Although I dislike the idea of wearing anything named after Pollution -- I even have trouble with ozone notes -- amber and musk are sort of my holy duality, so I tend to think that anything involving those two can't possibly go wrong. Apparently, I was mistaken about that.

 

When initially applied, this smells very, very decidedly like a men's scent. It's odd, because even black musk usually turns sweet on me, but apparently the green variety packs a big men's-after-shave punch. I can wear a lot of very gender-neutral scents, but there are a few that just have too much of that men's cologne vibe, and this is one of them.

 

For the first few minutes, any way.

 

After that, my skin gets hold of the davana, and as with so many florals, amps it to the point where it obliterates everything else. So it goes from men's cologne to overpoweringly sweet floral. The fact that it still has a subtle trace of the after-shave scent lurking underneath the floral onslaught does not help, not one bit. It only makes it smell horribly wrong.

 

Which, given the scent's inspiration, is absolutely perfect, I suppose. I certainly feel polluted. Now I think I am going to wash it off before it gives me a headache.

 

I never thought I'd give any scent with an amber/musk base this grade, but...

 

Grade: F

[naeelah]

I bought a decant of this to give it a whirl, because I had NO idea what green musk or any of this would smell like. I hoped it might be a strangely sickly sweet and oily scent, but in a good way.

 

Wet, this is MUSK. Dry, this is MUSK. MUSK MUSK MUSK. I don't quite get green from it, but it is definitely a little different from the usual BPAL musks. Definitely a rich variety, not bright and crystalline.

 

It pretty much smells like a traditional men's cologne on me. Not light, clean, "just got out of the shower" cologne -- leisure suit and chest hair cologne. I don't get anything floral or candy-like. No real sweetness to speak of. I don't get "oozing" or "radioactive". Just, "How you doin'?"

 

After about 30 minutes or so, the musk does soften a bit. It is by far the most dominant note, but the amber tempers it a little and gives it a smoother, more powdery quality. There might even be a hint of davana. This is much nicer than the original stage, but still not for me.

 

I think even on the most amenable skin chemistry, this will undoubtedly be a masculine scent. If you like musky colognes, or want a more traditional cologne kind of scent, give it a try. If you don't, there's probably no point in trying.

Edited December 13, 2007 by naeelah

[manusdei]

i have a thing for chypre scents... and sometimes it's hard to find masculine scents i like. i was hoping it would be sort of a replacement for certain commercial colognes that i've wanted to buy, but that alcohol smell in everything puts me off completely.

 

i got a 1/2 decant of this to try in the mail today and of course i immediately slathered it all over.

it's exactly what i was hoping it would be!

 

it's pretty masculine - horray! it's musky, there is definitely that tinge of something a little darker. right when i first put it on the davana got too floral but it mellowed out and turned a little citrus, a little sweet, it's good. i've only had it on for awhile, but i can still smell myself fairly well.

i agree with whoever said it smells a lot like commercial/department store perfumes/colognes. that was the first thing that came to mind when i popped the cap, but that's actually what i was looking for. it has the same qualities only without the nasty alcohol smell.

[Bagfish]

I'm really enjoying my decant of Pollution (how odd does that sound?). On me it really does smell like a mainstream commercial unisex perfume and I can't put my finger on which one it reminds me of - something like A*Men perhaps? There is a sharp but rounded green-ness/fougere about it for definite, but I also get a slight woody scent when sniffed up close, and I also, oddly get a bit of red-muskiness from it too. This is better smelled from a distance rather than nose-smooshed against wrist.

 

I like it, will definitely be keeping the decant and trying it out on Mr Bagfish

[Lethran]

In bottle: Woof! Radioactive is right. I've never smelled davana by itself before, but I'm guessing from descriptions of it that it's the thing making the fruity shampoo smell. The Musk and amber give it a sharper edge and the whole thing reminds me of a perfume my mom used to were at Christmas. It also almost smells like mint. Wet: Much the same, only more aftershavelike. dry: OMG Better. It goes more masculine and amber/musky. It smells almost spicy. The effect is pleasing and a real surprise after the disappointment of the initial smell. I'm guessing the rich fruity and vaguely nutty/woody undertone is how davana reacts to my skin. if so, nice turn around.

[TrailerTrashPrincess]

to note: i LOVE chypre fragrances, and i also love the way Davana oils blossom on me. amber tends to hate me and wtf is green musk, radioactive or otherwise? (that's the reason i had to try this blend, though, so i don't mean it as an insult!)

sniffed from the decant: i smell very little. really. smells sortof like alcohol - gin or vodka, maybe.

on skin: i dunno if it is the power of suggestion or what, but i DO get a chypre type note out of this, and the davana develops into a tobacco-blossom-esque scent at first... and it gradually becomes something exceptionally masculine, although it does remind me a bit of the green Suave shampoo i used to use a million years ago (it doesn't exist anymore, sadly. it was "extra cleansing" or something like that.... been gone for well over 10 years)

after a couple of hours an odd waxy sort of scent comes out... but the first hour is worth it.

[Blood onmy hands]

I forgot to review Pollution, perhaps because it strikes me as a more department store smelling fragrance. It's also hard for me to review anything with amber-musk in it, because they tend to go so wrong on my skin. I picked it out of my imp box yesterday and dabbed some on myself and the boy. At first this reminds me very much of a men's cologne fragrance, but I can't place which one it reminds me of. It strikes me as more unisex though. It's musky and the sort of thing I'd expect marketed as a men's cologne, without striking me as being particularly manly. I think it reminds me a little bit of Versace Man - a bit on the femme side, especially in the drydown, if that makes sense to anyone, lol. A men's cologne for men who wish to smell a bit feminine? I get a hint of something slightly sweet and citrussy for a while, and I wish that impression would stick around.

 

On me, this goes a little soapy and then morphs into a baby powder phase, thanks to the amber. Unisex musk, a bit aftershavey for a while, and then morphs into slightly musky baby powder. On my boy, it smells much the same, only (oddly enough) smells a bit more feminine on him. I get a sort of sweet floral scent on his skin that might be the davana.

 

Overall, Pollution probably isn't one I'll be keeping.

[slave1]

POLLUTION

 

In Bottle: Green and planty cologne

 

On Skin: The davana is the dominant note here, very herbal and plantlike. Bursting with a green tone. Alive and vibrant, this scent wakes me up right away. I wish pollution smelled this clean and nice! It is very sharp and a bit soapy. The amber helps soften it and gives the green tone a bit more cloudiness… creating a nice visual for “pollution”. The musk is velvety and very pretty. The scent overall feels very masculine to me. It is more commercial smelling than most of Beths blends… I could see this scent being pretty popular amongst the general population. The throw is about average and the wearlength is medium to long on me.

[forspecial_plate]

Interesting....I wouldn't have called this masculine, although I do see where the girls are getting that idea.

 

It starts out with a big rush of very crisp tartness, and I swore I smelled lime. For the first 10 minutes or so, the resemblance to F5 is striking. It's a morpher though.....I knew that amber would come out, and it did. After a while I smelled the same amber that I smell in Thunder Moon, which is very sweet on my skin, but not powdery. Okay, maybe a little powdery but that could be the musk. I don't get a lot of musk from this, for me it's there but more of a supporting note. I couldn't really pick out davana here, even though I've tried davana essential oil on my skin (I realize it could be different as a perfume note).

 

Overall this works and I do like it, but it's so much like F5 and Thunder Moon to me that I really wouldn't need more than a decant. Don't get me wrong.....Pollution stands on its own, but it does seem to be in the same category as those other two scents in my opinion.

[sookster]

straight sniff from bottle green and citrus...

once applied this gets musky and slightly smoky...some sort of

a "green incense" type note...

 

this remains very green and very ozoney with the woody/smoky note...

 

typically, i would say this is a masculine scent ...

[edenssixthday]

Pollution - Interesting... I've never heard of "green musk" before. I'm wondering where this comes from and exactly what it smells like. Hmm. Overall, this is a lovely scent, very herbal and has a touch of woody-resin about it. It's kind of reminiscent of men's cologne, but not in a bad way. It's actually quite nice - very fresh, clean, and slightly invigorating. I could see my husband pulling this off better than I can. The throw is about average and the staying power on me is fairly poor.

[etienne]

I got a decant as a frimp in a swap, otherwise I probably wouldn't have thought about trying this.

 

It is very masculine to me but despite that, a very lovely scent indeed. Very bright, clean and fresh with a hint of citrus that adds that bit of extra sharpness. A very well blended scent. When it's dry I get a very slight hint of petrol in this if I sniff very closely - that would certainly fit the name!

 

My skin seems to eat this very quickly and it doesn't have much throw.

Not something I would wear but I would love smelling this on someone else, especially a man.

[zankoku_zen]

I can't pick out the notes in this one but its a masculine ozoney/aquatic musk. It kinda does put me in mind to Acqua di Gio.

 

I might swab this on the husband and see what he thinks.

 

ETA: swabbed it on the husband. And it smells divine on him. He likes Wilde, but Pollution ends up smelling much more masculine on him than Wilde does. And he likes that. It also reminds him to Acqua di Gio, but without all the alcohol. In any case, he wants a BOTTLE! Huzzah! Definitely a winner in the house... because he smells soooo good.

Edited February 14, 2008 by zankoku_zen

[Elilara]

This was such a strange one... I actually liked the smell itself. A little musky, and powdery, with a definite green tinge. However, the "green" was such that, if I didn't look at them, I'd swear my wrists really were covered in something thick and radioactive green. Something really unhealthy. So, the smell was fine, but the sensation made me slightly queasy. I was going to keep it until I had a dear friend sniff it- she said it smelled "very organic.. like, hmmm, the underside of a toilet bowl.". Yet, it also comes off as a "clean" smell. I liked it, but it creeped me out enough that it went to my best friend (she has a higher tolerance of organic green goo?).

[LunaLovegood]

Lets see how can I describe it...

Its green with the right amount of sweetness in it, maybe a bit wet, with just a splash of flowers.

Its divine!

I also must add, its a bit (just a bit) musky on me and its a sexy scent. Its a bit more unisex than other blends but I dont think its all that masculine, at least not on my skin. Its just glorious!

[persianmouse]

I loooooove Pollution. It smells like Sexy Dad. But not your dad, so it's okay to find him sexy. It smells like a DILF. It smells like graying temples and beard stubble and tweed jackets with a black comb in the inside pocket.

[fairnymph]

In the bottle: Sharp, green, fresh and heady all at once.

 

Wet: Less sharp, fresher, much more floral. Airy. Davana LOVES my skin; it's sweet and light and heady all at the same time. Really unique. It's like how gardenia would be on me if it didn't amp like crazy, with some honeysuckle thrown in.

 

Dry: The amber is coming out pretty strongly, but it's not too overwhelming. The green musk is weirdly sharp. It's far from my favourite type of musk, but it's still musk, and it's still pretty yummy.

 

Summary: Very like 51 in the drydown, but much headier. Smoggier, even. I like 51 more, so I have no need for this, which lacks the fresh, floral and fruity complexity of 51.

[Delirium1009]

In bottle/imp: Very herbal floral with a musky undertone.

 

Immediately on skin: This is very musky, dry, and cold. It has a sweet floral tone to it that seems to be blending with the amber and lifts the blend a bit as I sniff it, but there is an herbal minty scent underneath. It’s very much a unisex scent.

 

After a few minutes: This is a very refreshing scent after a little bit. It has a very nice clean and almost citrus-y tone to it. The musk is light and not overpowering, and the davana is just slightly sweet. The musk and amber are also behaving nicely. This scent is extremely well balanced and blended.

 

Overall Impressions: This is a very refreshing, airy scent. It actually smells very clean and almost citrus-y. It reminds me a great deal of Door 13, only without the metallic note that one has. It has a very unisex to masculine cologne-like feel and it just smells like it should be a bright radioactive green color, like the musk is described. All the notes are kept nicely in check, and this is very nicely blended. If you enjoy “airy,” cologne-ish blends, I highly recommend you try this one.