Brimstone

[Jangzonrice]

In Hermetic alchemy, brimstone is one of the Three Heavenly Substances, one of the primary alchemical Priciples. It represents the strength of will and the vigor of passion, and it is a symbol of the process of fermentation. A smoky, gritty blend, husky and gray.

 

Got this as a frimp. Wet: strong burning smell, not as nice as djinn, a bit too acrid for me. Dry: better now, still acrid but with more spices and little vanilla(???) coming through. However, the beginning wet stage is a bit much for me, djinn is still better than this in my opinion, but I will keep the imp. Throw is nice, I can smell it on a snowy day without huffing my wrist. Staying power is good. I've had it on for 7 hours and it's still going strong.

[Deliciousness]

On my skin, this is an eye watering, smokey blend - it starts to come close to liquid smoke on my skin.
On application, I detect the scent of scorched earth and molten hot rocks. Then I start to get a touch of salinity emerging thru the dry smoke. After this, the scent of burning meat comes to the foreground with wisps of campfire coming thru here and there. I'm mot really enjoying this scent as it's overwhelmingly "burning" smelling on my arm and is making me slightly queasy.

In concept, I give this a 10. It's a dark, smoky and viscous blend - very fitting for it's namesake. But I don't want to wear this - it's disconcerting - too close to burning flesh for my tastes.

[Kanashisa]

Personal Rating: 3/10 --Very impressive though!

 

In bottle: Sharp, smoky--but not warm at all, makes me think of a cold, yellow fire. At best a cologne, acrid, not a hint of sweetness. Maybe I'm imagining a hint of sulfur because of it's name... I'm scared to put it on.

 

Wet: I put it on my knee (teehee). A weird mix of pepper and something maybe anise-y (?) but not quite. Very hard to describe, but it definitely elicits the idea of yellow, sulfurous brimstone. Not pleasant, but not repulsive, just very strange. Definitely a smell that will clear your nose!

 

Dry: Sharp, peppery and vaguely, vaguely like licorice, with a dash of something that kind of makes me think of something burning and barbecue sauce (?). Pretty strong too. I once accidentally got it on a t-shirt and I could smell it for half the day.

 

Scents like Brimstone explain why BPAL is an exceptional company. Who else could come up with a perfume that fits the concept so perfectly? Although I would never wear Brimstone, I love the idea of it, and I keep it to impress my friends and perhaps to put me in the mood when writing about traipsing through the netherworld or demon dragon battles or gunfights in abandoned subway tunnels or any moment of profound bitterness. It's beautiful, in it's way.

Edited September 6, 2014 by Kanashisa

[elinox]

First Sniff: Dusty, dry incense.

 

Initial Wet Application: Soft and smokey; I think there’s something familiar in this but I can’t quite place it.

 

Dry Down (first 15 minutes): As this began the drydown, I’m getting something slightly coppery in the background. It’s still mostly soft and smokey though.

 

My Reaction: This was gentler than I thought it would be. With a name like ‘brimstone’ I was expecting fire and alchemy, bright and bold, but this is soft and gentle. There’s something similar to black pepper in this, but it’s faint and not likely to last long on my skin. It’s interesting, but probably not something I’d reach for very often.

 

Rating: 2

[bulletslc]

On wet this smells to me like a campfire extinguished by rain. There is a gritty ash feel but also a damp earth scent.

As this dries down it smells more like a charred sweet wood. Warmer and less dirt smelling. Not one i would reach for often but very, very intriguing.

[Veronica]

Exactly like the description. Ashy, smoky.

[Marla Moreau]

In the imp and wet on skin: freezing cold strong pine pitch. Evergreen sap... it even feels cold on my skin, not getting fire from this at all... more like the woods during a snowy winter. *shrug*

 

Dry down: this smells christmasy on me O_o Strong evergreen sap and woods. No smoke or fire at all, very cold scent. Disappointed, glad I got an imp before going for a bottle. I smell like a craft store during christmas time when it's completely dry. All the pine is giving me a headache.

 

Where's my smoke and fire, dammit? I wanna smell like burning houses...

[DiesMali]

In the imp: Strong burning rubber.

 

Wet on my skin: Grey, gritty, burning volcanic ash.

 

Dry: Much the same as when it's wet. It smells very much like hot volcanic ash, and I'm definitely impressed that this scent got packed in a little vial like this. Not something I'll wear often, buuut Ren Fest and RPG nights might benefit from it!

[sunlitgarden]

Imp of unknown age, probably received as a lab frimp at some point.

This does indeed smell "smoky and gritty" to me -- probably mostly vetiver. It's not really anything that I'd want to smell like, but I tried putting a teeny drop on my skin. It smells almost spicy in a way, at first, but very dusty and dry and smoky. It's definitely an interesting and evocative blend.

[Casablanca]

An olfactory smoke storm: the heavy smoke, burning wood, resins, and billowing waft of yellow sulfur are almost dizzying.

Brimstone settles, though, into a much more accessible smoky skin scent. I'd be happy to have most of my skin smell like this, but would hesitate to start the trial of that wet stage.

I love the fire, smoke, resins, and whatnot, but Brimstone may overdo a good thing. I'd like to layer it with other scents, though. I'm curious to start with Lights of Men's Lives, with its lovely candle smoke and honey-vanilla wax.

[Sio Bhan]

This was not the campfire smell I was looking for. It is not a woody fire, but an industrial waste fire! Or maybe the smell of a burning church? Brimstone is BLOODY STRONG and my partner recoiled in disgust when I placed the wand under his nose. I actually like it! There is an after scent of molasses on this one, but predominantly it is acrid, smokey and almost sulphuric; metal and tyres after a fire. I haven't worn it in public, because it would raise eyebrows as to its origin. People may suspect you are an arsonist, a worshiper of Satan or a warlock from Firetop Mountain!!

[gloame]

With a name like Brimstone, I didn't have much hope of this being a wearable scent on me, with my finicky chemistry, but it's actually quite lovely. Wet, it's super smoky and burnt, but it dries down to a lovely cedar+patchouli. It's woody and warm and lovely. A nice layering scent!

[achildoftime]

I get very burnt woods. Maybe pine, but it could be a smattering of others. I just know it started off as pine lumber and then burns pretty quickly. It's not a campfire so much as the smoldering remains, only slightly less ashy. It lasts a while so that's nice, but it does stay pretty close to my skin. If it had a little more throw I'd probably be more interested in getting more, but for now an imp will do. I'll happily hold on to it, because it is a evocative and nice scent.

[lizabelle]

Sharp, smoky, and strong. I'm really not a fan of this one, and find myself comparing it (negatively) to Djinn. While Djinn goes from smoky and sharp to warm and resinous, this stays as a campfire the whole time, and actually seems to get worse the longer it's on my skin. It also has a lot of throw, so I finally had to just wash it off. This is probably not my most helpful review, as I couldn't pick any individual notes out of it; just something like burning sap surrounded by huge clouds of smoke.

[LizziesLuck]

Wet: WOW. That REALLY smells like brimstone. There's a dusty, mineral, stone quality that is SO realistic! There's sweetness and a smokiness that is NOT vetiver, which I am also really digging. This is such a neat, atmospheric scent. It makes me want to curl up with a good horror movie/novel.

 

Dry: This smells like cool minerals to me - like someone threw a bucket of water on hot Brimstone, sending a cloud of steam and smoke up into the air. SO NEAT. I don't know that I could wear it, but I am sure keeping this imp! It is such a neat scent. Beth is a genius. Everyone should try this, just cuz.

[strick9]

It seems I'm a complete outlier with Brimstone for the most part, in that i find this scent absolutely wonderful. I didn't expect it. at all.

 

Firstly, my imp doesn't smell too downright smokey. Smoked patchouli and vetiver maybe. Oak moss perhaps. Ashy, certainly. But I don't get the liquid smoke and other notes that other folks are describing. Maybe my imp has had time to age? Whatever it is, I'm into it.

 

Wet on the skin, Brimstone has the stone note that I so love in Night's Bridge (another scent that i never thought I'd be into, but alas!). While Night's Bridge has a musk that keeps it round, there's something a touch animalic and sharp here. Civet maybe- i think this keeps the vetiver from amping out of control on me- but vetiver, you are certainly a star here. Patchouli for sure, and it's a wet, dank patchouli.

 

Dry, for me, is about the same as it is wet, with the exception of maybe some anise/fennel seed. It's definitely seeds though, and not star anise. There's no sweetness here at all. I really quite enjoy it a lot. I don't know that it's full bottle worthy, but i think it will be interesting to play with and layer. O comes to mind, as does Ravenous. I'm actually testing Brimstone and Ravenous at the same time on different wrists, and i think there's potential here.

 

For me, I don't know that it's evocative of "fire and brimstone;" If there were an image, for me, this is a forest fire being smoldered out by a long and steady rainstorm.

Edited October 7, 2017 by strick9

[ianastar]

OH. HELL. TO. THE. NO.

 

When I first put this on it was very overwhelming. Made my toes curl (and not in a good way).

 

This is a very herbal fire that has smoldered down to a pile of ash and soot. It is very reminiscent of a camp fire or fire at home that has burned its way out and there is left that ashy smell in the air.

 

This reminds me of part of the Spaceship Earth ride at WDW Epcot where the city is burning. YUCK!

[dementia_divine]

In the imp: Is this a cinnamon-y BBQ-y vetiver? It's spicy and smoky.

 

Wet: Yes, that's what it is. I get a blast of cinnamon and smoky BBQ sauce. It smells like I spent the day in a craft store and then proceeded to rub BBQ sauce on my arm. Whaaaat. But then... it takes a turn. There's this earthy, wetness to it, like freshly turned earth, like it just rained and the rain extinguished a fire.

 

Dry: The wet, earthy phase lasts for a while, but in the end, what I end up getting is a strong patchouli and BBQ-like vetiver.

 

Verdict: NOPE. I appreciated the wet dirt phase, but there are a ton of other scents I enjoy more with wet dirt, because they are not accompanied by BBQ OF DOOM. But I have a friend who loves cinnamon and vetiver (and smoky scents in general), so I'll pass this imp on to her.

Edited March 22, 2018 by dementia_divine

[starfish327]

In the imp- hello vetiver

 

Wet- the vetiver would like you to know that the rumors are true, it can in fact smell like bbq and creosote

 

Dry down-I like vet blends enough to know to ride it out. Eventually the vet calms down to a murky greeness in the background and the blend becomes surprisingly light. It's very vegetal and I suspect a black resin in there somewhere.

 

Heavily masculine and probably would do well in a body product. I honestly don't hate it but I'm not sure I'm ever going to want to smell like this straight up but I'm in a 'try layering everything with amber' stage and this might be fun to dirty up blends.

[Ghost of a Rose]

Frimp fresh from the lab - thank you!

 

In the imp: Not sure I like this. VERY strong and smoky. Intense. Almost all smoke, with a hint of incense.

 

On me, wet: Pretty much the same. But I'm liking it. It reminds me of campfires and woodsmoke. Makes me want to go camping. There's some clove oil, too. The intensity calms down to some extent pretty quickly, but it remains strong and smoky.

 

Upon drydown: It has lost much of its intensity, but remains smoky and fairly strong. Lots of vetiver, which gives it some earthiness as well. And very incensey, with that added touch of clove. Really quite pleasant, and certainly surprising. After an hour or two, it even becomes soft and gentle, but still the same scent. It doesn't morph at all.

 

Verdict: 4 out of 5 stars. I wouldn't want to wear this every day. Or out in public, because of the strength, and because other people might dislike it. But at home, as an occasional change from my usual floral favorites - sure!

Edited August 11, 2018 by Ghost of a Rose