No. 93 Engine

[MisterShrapnel]

Balm of Gilead, benzoin, frankincense, balsam of peru, beeswax, saffron, galbanum, calamus, hyssop, mastic, lemon balm, and white sage.

No. 93 Engine wins the prize for "most bizarre scent that I still enjoy wearing."
The note list is a generally intimidating medley of "OMG WHAT IS THAT"s, and together they are no less strange. This is a very bright scent--gleams like hot bronze-toned metal and glows like candlelight. Has woodsy tones, some herbal elements, a kind of peppery kick, along with the sweetness of frankincense+beeswax and a tang that can only come from citrus (lemon balm?).
It really does smell industrious, mechanical and yet heated, quiet/calm despite all that activity.
I have no real adequate words to describe this... very atmospheric and evocative.
Be glad it's a GC, and go try it for yourself. Edited May 1, 2009 by MisterShrapnel

[sadtomato]

heavy and sweet with some lovely resinous notes.

goes a bit powdery on the drydown, but still sweet with the lovely resin smell.

[catattack]

Imp: Perfume-y

Wet: Floral. This is very faint on my skin so far.

Drydown: After a few minutes, I smell frankincense. Then, a few more minutes, and a faint citrus not appears. Must be the lemon balm. The benzoin has started to sweeten things just a bit. Then, a note that reminds me of cola appears.

Overall: This is an interesting scent. I like this. It's not like anything else I have.

[Bluestocking]

In the imp: With that note list, I'm as nervous about trying this one as I am excited. Lots of unknowns here. So, first sniff… wow, this is much sweeter and less lemony than I imagined! But it's great. Frankincense and white sage are strongest, reminiscent of Scales of Deprivation, followed by benzoin and balsam of peru, with touches of the lemon balm and saffron (a little bit like Kathmandu). Very spicy sweet and incense-like, both resinous and woody—a golden, glowing, almost honey-syrup-like kind of scent that does make me think of polished brass and well-oiled gears. I don't get any of the hyssop.

On, wet: As incense-heavy and spicy-sweet-aromatic as Cathedral/Kathmandu/Scales of Deprivation, but much warmer and more vibrant, with a nicely herbal quality developing out of the lemon balm and white sage, to balance all the sweet frankincense, benzoin, balsam and galbanum. It's a beautiful blend of the smoky-sweet-syrupy resins and woods with the tart, citrusy herbs.

On, dry: Not much changed, just smoother and mellowed and slightly sweeter. For a moment, the resins almost went really, really sweet, like the lotus/incense combo in Kathmandu, but the lemon balm, beeswax and sage held it back. It's still a nice balance of the spicy-sweet, exotic woods and resins and those fresh herbs. I keep getting images of gleaming brass—really right on for the concept. It's such a warm, complex and yet comforting scent, and it has great throw, too.

Later: Much lighter and drier, and the lemon balm and herbs have nearly disappeared. The frankincense, balsam and benzoin remain, woody and smoky and spicy. It's very sweet now, but it's not cloying, and it's still very golden and warm.

Overall: I know the note list for this one looks bizarre, but I was astonished at how well all these elements blended and worked together—sort of like all those gears in the description, working in perfect balance. It's a rich, sweet, complex scent, but there are so many layers that work so well—the herbals, the beeswax, the resins and woods. The benzoin here is particularly mellow and gorgeous, which is maybe the first time I've ever said that about benzoin. It's also a dynamite perfume for frankincense lovers, as it figures prominently, at least on me. If there's one thing that didn't quite live up to my expectations, it's that I might have liked a little bit more beeswax and more oomph from the lemon balm and sage—but then again, everything is so beautifully balanced here that I'd actually be hesitant to change any of it.

 

 

[Dark Alice]

This is very manly. Peppery...with oil. It smells like a mechanic's shop...with the mechanic wearing a very expensive and wonderful cologne. Lovely on a man...but not on me.

[selchie9]

Resinous and herbal and peppery, and sweet. I normally don't like resin or and herbs+sweet make me sick, but I'm really loving this. It's quite an arresting scent, and may become my first full bottle.

[amyw]

It's really strange, but this is pretty much a dead ringer for Schwarzer Mond on me, enough that I'm surprised I don't see a rash of people in this thread saying the same thing. I don't think they share any listed notes, but that could be my ignorance of multiple names for the same thing(s). I think it smells, as I like to say, "as intended" on me, but it's not my thing at all. It's got a peppery-ness running through the herbal resin notes that I don't care for. I can't quite verbalize my reasons either, which I realize makes this review less than helpful, but I'm posting it anyway hoping the comparison to Schwarzer Mond will help someone.

[hlinspjalda]

In the vial: Herbal, saffron, beeswax, resiny, lemony in that order. An interesting complex mixture.

 

Wet: Resinous yet very herbal. I'm getting tree-sap resin and something sweet, perhaps the calamus. There's a sort of cola note to this as well.

 

One hour: Wow, this is wondeful. It's spicier than I expected, and the lemon-sage notes give it a fantastic balance. I can make out the beeswax, but it doesn't dominate.

 

Two hours: Yesterday I heard this scent called a boy magnet. Well, I'm not a boy but I can see the attraction. This is pungent, spicy, sweet, and wide awake because things are interesting, not because something is shouting. It's just the thing for a steampunk geek boy, and yet it reminds me of Pennsic and patiently hand-tooled carpentry at the same time. I love it. If it stays like this, we're in big bottle territory.

 

Three hours: And still loving this one. It's resiny, herby, and lemony, with a tinge of sweetness and another of smoke. (Smoke???)

 

Six hours: Oooh, still very good. I may have to get a bottle of this. Will see what my boy thinks of it first, though.

 

I bought a bottle of this and it will be in regular rotation. This is the scent that made me begin to suspect that beeswax was one of my love notes; further experimenting proved that theory correct.

 

[Monster]

In the imp: Really light..can't really tell what it smells like.

 

Wet: Ok, first thought was SWEET TARTS! This is a balmy, candy-like lemon on my skin. Not detecting any beeswax (thankfully) or sage. Not exactly sure what the other notes are supposed to smell like (besides the frankincense or saffron). All I'm getting is a yummy sweet Sweet Tarts smell.

 

Dry: As this dries the sage comes out...ever so slightly. The initial lemony, Sweet Tart smell has subsided as well and I'm left with a wonderfuly balmy, mildly resinous scent.

 

Verdict: Drop dead effing GORGEOUS! This is really wearable and something I can see myself reaching for on a weekly basis. New favorite? I think so!

[tajana]

This is a really, really great perfume. In the imp it smells light and sweet: a really promising blend of resinous and "incensey" smells and honey.

 

Freshly applied, it's already complex and mechanical and golden, vibrant and warm and gleaming. Tart lemon balm, sweet honeyed beeswax, and balsams swirl together to create a cheerful, almost candyish smell, punctuated by a bit of sharp, somewhat peppery bite and herbal white sage. After it sits on the skin for a while, those top-notes lighten up just a bit, a bit of a woodsy note peeks through, the frankincense wafts beautifully, and the sweet benzoin and soft balsams and exotic resins really take center stage. Fantastic scent. It's hard for me to pick it apart more and analyze it because it does not morph much at all after it dries down, it just very slowly fades (lasting power is very good), and because so many of the notes are unfamiliar to me. The overall effect is really beautiful. A golden honeyed, sweet, zingy, resinous scent.

 

Unique, very evocative of the "steamworks" theme, and a new favorite of mine for sure. I think it's really gorgeous. In an attempt not to be too hasty, I'll use up my imp until it's dangerously low before buying a bottle, but I really think this'll end up being a 5mL buy.

 

ETA: Would like to mention now, about a year later, that this is one of only two scents I have a back-up bottle of. It's just that good.

Edited July 1, 2010 by findaghost

[mhickle]

At first, this is all incense smoke. Then, as it dries, I get a lot of ginger -- so much so that I was surprised that it's not among the notes. I mean, this is full-on ginger on me, with a background of smoke and some herbs, particularly the sage. I really like it, but am surprised at how this worked out on me, considering there's no ginger to be found!

[coraline]

I can't pick out the individual notes, and I don't even know what some of them smell like. All I know is that No. 93 Engine smells like clean copper metal to me, spiked with something like pepper. It's basically steampunk captured in a bottle, very impressive.

[Evengloam]

Bottle: Heated copper and lemon balm. So strange how the smell actually makes me think of hot copper but it does. I've never smelled any perfume like this.

 

Wet: It's sweeter. I'm really not familiar with the majority of the notes in this scent, but I know the sweetness of the lemon balm is coming out more. The pleasantly sweet quality doesn't seem to be attributed to just the lemon balm, though. It's probably another note(s) I'm not experienced with.

 

Dry: Much of the same but a little more herbal, spicy, and resinous.

 

1 hour in: A little less sweet. Herbs, spices, and resins haven't really gained any strength but are becoming more prominent as the scent becomes gradually less sweet. This scent doesn't morph so much as gently fades away.

 

This is SO intriguing; extremely unique. Definitely happy with this one. Will be purchasing a bottle at some point.

[Gin]

No. 93 Engine

 

Another oil I tried without reading the description. Smells a bit like Strawberry Shortcake's friend, Lime Chiffon. Lemon/limish, and a sweetness akin to vanilla (and doll heads). It morphs into something that reminds me of leather, but there's a brightness to it. Dry, it's slightly spicy, as in baking spices, and still a touch leathery. I generally don't care for leather scents, but this oil is really interesting. Not a bottle buy, but I think I'll use up theimp.

[moon_lemming]

When I first sniffed No. 93 Engine in the vial, I smelled something familiar. In a good way. LEMON, I love lemon. I know almost everyone thinks OH NOES PLEDGE when they smell lemon, but it always cheers me up. There was some other stuff in the background that smelled familiar, but I couldn't name any of it.

 

My skin amps the lemon balm at first, along with something else familiar, maybe the frankincense. It's sort of an odd almost unpleasant combination, but it works. As it dries, the lemon gets fainter and something else from the myriad notes amps up... it almost smells like I've rubbed some cooking spices on my wrist. Not in a bad way, just sort of savory and spicy with a hint of sweet and the tiniest smidge of woods; oh, and a powdery feel, which is common for resinous scents on my skin.

 

I don't think I would go through a whole bottle, but it's a weirdly compelling, complex scent nonetheless.

[tragedy]

One of the most unique scents!

I get a definate machine vibe, something sweet in the background

(I jotted review down without looking at notes, so I'm guessing beeswax??)

While its definately different, and not offensive, I dont see it as something I would wear.

I enjoyed experiencing it though!!

Edited July 26, 2009 by tragedy

[jewelbug]

This is a review of a nicely aged bottle from ~15 months ago (thanks tartchef!!!)

 

Bottle: Semi fruity (citrus?), and a lot of very sweet honey/beeswax. A bit of smoky resin, too, but mostly a very honey/waxy scent with depth.

 

Wet: Oh, yes, lovely honey/beeswax. With a sort of herbal quality in there…almost minted. For that reason it reminds me a bit of mead moon and the recent ’09 litha--herbal honey blends. There’s also a citrusy tone here--herbal lemon balm or citronella? And a smokiness deep underneath. Bright and sweet, but with some very grounding notes.

 

Drying: This goes through a lemony wood polish and wood table with dripping beeswax candles phase...then breaks into:

Dry: The balsam/wood/resin notes take the forefront, slightly smoky, with the company of less-pronounced-than-when-wet beeswax/honey/lemon. The very late drydown is a suble lemon honey w/resins blend, kinda creamy anda wee bit smoky. Very nice, indeed! Lasts about 6 hrs.

 

Overall: A GC that is beautiful and complex and reminds me of a lot of harder-to-find blends. What's not to love?! Reminds me of: Mead Moon (but MM is sweeter, more honey, this has the added bonus of lemon/resin/smoke/wood), Litha (the honey/herbal combo, but litha is sweeter overall), Hand of Glory(but this is far less smoky during the early phases--the late dry downs of the two are pretty similar on me, though), and luperci (but with different types of wood notes than luperci and a twist of lemon). Huzzah!

 

[caffinatedangel]

Holy poo this scent is amazing. I had no idea I'd like this, and just tried it because I had the chance. But wow. Half the notes I don't even know.

 

First off: I do recognize slightly benzoin and beeswax. Really delicious combo somehow. With a tang overtop it from the... well, tons of tangy notes in this. It smells like warmed metal, somehow. Also somehow... buttery, sweet, honey-esq but not honey, and is a bit machine like.

 

Later: Something with tang pops out more. What is hyssop? I don't know most of these notes. But the butterysweet combo from the start takes a backseat to a new tang, that's even more metallic. Very copper-like. (I had the luxury of testing Copper V1, and this is somewhat familiar to it!)

 

Overall: Tangy sweet, copper-like, diet-coke esq fizz. Really unique and fun, but yet I find it somehow wearable on me. Awesome. Nice throw, nice endurance. Win.

[topazphoenix]

I can't describe or pick out this swirl of notes, but oh hey, there's the hot metal again. That's going to become a deal breaker for me. Sigh.

[Ravenclaw79]

Cologne-y in a golden, amber-y sort of way. A bit masculine, too. Glad I took a shot at it, but eh, no.

[MamaMoth]

This is the very first scent from BPAL that I ever laid my sniffer on. I am still new, but I can safely say I'm an addict at this point, and all because of #93 Engine. What an introduction! I've never smelled such a complex scent before.

 

To be honest, I'm completely unfamiliar with most of the listed notes. I can definitely smell the frankincense, the benzoin, and the beezwax. It has a glowing, round, coppery feel to it. I get the image of a frankincense beeswax candle being melted in a copper kettle, with a handful of spices being thrown in. I can smell all these individual notes (that I recognize) very clearly, but they never seem to be jostling for attention. It is complex without being busy or overwhelming.

 

Simply put, it's gorgeous and a must-have for me.

 

I've seen some opine that this is a masculine scent, but personally I wouldn't characterize it that way. Definitely unisex, not overwhelmingly masculine or feminine.

 

The only negative thing I have to say about it is that it doesn't last nearly long enough. It has completely dissipated about 2 hours after application.

Edited August 26, 2009 by MamaMoth

[hlemonds]

Such a beautiful, warm blend. Upon initial application i get a sort of citrus-y feel that quickly morphs into an incense/woods mixture. The wood notes in this are so gorgeous! They don't turn to nasty pickle-juice-and-pencil-shavings on me, which is a big WIN! The first hour or two i get a mix of the warm wood notes and a scent that reminds me of this awesome incense i used to buy. After the first couple of hours pass i have warm (almost fuzzy smelling, if that makes sense) beeswax with soft herbal incense wafting over it. Just so amazing! And utterly unique. I've smelled nothing like it, and i am so drawn to it!

[arsenicsauce]

Wet: Smells like the woodshop- woods and oil, I would guess that's the benzoin.

 

As it dries, it goes through a stage where it smells like a bunch of soaps stacked together in a store, just a generic nose-tingling clean scent that I don't much care for. Fortunately that seems to last for only a few minutes. Now it's resolved into a sweet, dry wood with a little bit of sharpness to it, like you've been planing fresh planks. I'm surprised at how much I like this. I'd say it was a unisex scent.

[superpopkid]

Standard new person disclaimer: I'm not great at picking out notes yet. Also, in the imp, all oils smell harsh and strong, so let's skip to the wet stage. Strong resin-y smells and an intense sweetness. After a few minutes the resin settles down but the honey sweetness of the beeswax is intense. For the next couple hours, I smell like a church filled with lit beeswax candles, which is how I wanted to smell, but unfortunately the beeswax is still an overwhelmingly sweet and very cloying smell on my skin.

 

After about four hours, it has settled down, and I can smell a sandalwood-y, glowing kind of smell behind the sweetness. I could stand around and sniff beeswax candles all day, and the description sounded like it was made for me, so I wanted to love this one a lot. Unfortunately my skin amps the sweetness of the wax, or the oil just mixes poorly with my chemistry, so it's unpleasantly sweet for the first couple hours. I may try layering it with a woodsier sent to cut it a little.

 

UPDATED

I gave this another try on its own, and I'm so happy I did. I've worn this several more times since the first test and now I LOVE it. For whatever reason, the cloying sweetness I got the first time settled down considerably. (It's possible I over-applied, or it just needed even a wee bit of aging - the imp was lab fresh when I first tested it.) As this warms up on my skin, I get all the wonderful complexity suggested by the notes; herbals and metal along with the hot beeswax, which itself now has plenty dimension beyond "overwhelmingly sweet." I should also add that this is a perfect cool-weather scent. I'm looking forward to wearing it like an extra layer of glowing warmth against the Massachusetts winter. Overall, No. 93 is absolutely gorgeous and I think it may be my first bottle purchase.

Edited September 29, 2009 by VitaminA

[redderz]

In the imp: Oily lemon. A strange combination, but not a bad one!

 

Wet: Lemon, and something else resiny. It might be the beeswax. Hmm, I'm not sure what to think, the lemon is quite overpowering at the moment! It smells a bit like my doctor's surgery.

 

Dry: Yup, still reminds me of my doctor. Which sucks, because I really wanted to like this scent as much as everyone else does! I think it's the beeswax, it doesn't like me.