Smokestack

[hipslike___cinderella]

Grey-brown flue gasses belch from colossal steel and concrete monoliths, forming bloated clouds in the dusk-dark sky.

Creosote, coal, and industrial waste.

I love the scary dirtiness of unpopular Samhainophobia and my favorite Tiki is the stifling, smoky Moai. Shoulda known I'd be the first to review this one.

Looking at the greyish, smoky gold oil through the vial, I said to myself "vetiver" before even opening it. Uh huh. Smokestack is surely a version of vetiver to my nose initially; but as NON-earthy as vetiver can get. It' truly smells like coal. On my skin: oh... huh! This isn't dirty or unbearable at all. In fact... it's unsettlingly clean to me. A meld of vetiver and metallic tang... really? Weird. And bravo! What a strangely good combination. Breath in deep and you almost get a charcoal cough in the back of your throat.

This is not really a morpher at all, however, 10 minutes later and on there's this very faint rooty, almost cola syrup waft coming up underneath. And there it is: industrial waste in the form of dark smoke notes and metal.

Akin to the volcanic ash in Moai, I predict this will be another highly evocative blend cherished for its effect, but perhaps a bit tough to wear.

[devilbunnyart]

On my skin:

After drying down, I felt it was very much like other "burnt" scents like Brimstone and Djinn. But softer and more complex.

 

On my husband's skin:

It smells ALOT like Iago on him! With a touch of the charred note in Death of Autumn. I definitely agree that I smell vetiver. I'll update if my impression changes significantly.

 

It's very nice. It's one that I'd prefer to smell on a man than to wear myself, but I like it.

[alicia_stardust]

This seems like it has vetiver, but instead of being dark and vegetative, it has more of an ozone, stone, and metal sort of twist to it. I definitely the get sense of billowing black clouds of dirty air. This is one of those "how did Beth do it?" sort of blends. I almost find myself with the reaction of covering my mouth against the thick and dirty air. Highly evocative!

[Heavenlyrabbit]

smells like a dirty ashtray but in a good way!

 

And only BPAL would inspire such a bizarre comment.

[savage_rose]

With notes like "Creosote, coal, and industrial waste", how can anyone pass this up?

 

Surprisingly, this is nice. This must be the vetiver that likes me. It smells just a bit smoky, but underneath the smoke, there's a bit of cologne. It doesn't smell like the usual smoke to me, it smells like a cooking smoke, a toasted nuts quality. And something almost rooty. I actually like this, I can't believe it.

[Reaver]

Vetiver. Frankincense?

Dark, dreary yet clean and industrial. This stuff is strong and noxious. The most appealing of the Steamworks in theory to me, and the most interesting sniff of the bunch. Maybe not my favourite, but for sure the most interesting. I love it, I love it on me. Iridescent purple brown coils of smoke, snaking from my wrist to my nose continuously. This fills the air, and lasts a good while.

 

Similarities to Faustus, Brimstone and Satyr.

 

Conclusion - This was bought by my man, for my man. He wanted to smell like creosote. I REALLY hope he likes this. Actually, I hope he hates it, so I can steal the bottle and ferret it aways. It's a compulsive sniff.

9.5/10. Nothing has gotten a 10 yet from me. Always room for improvement.... the oil COULD be bright pink. I'd make no other change

[sookster]

straight sniff from imp is very much djinn-ish!! one of my favs!!

 

once applied smoke and ash and something very sweet...wow...

i love the concept....adore the scent

[forspecial_plate]

First impressions, possibly to be edited or added to later.....

 

At first sniff, yep, this is my beloved Djinn, but also not! I agree that there's a big presence of vetiver in the scent, and that there's more going on here, more complexity (than Djinn), something a bit sweeter lurking in the background. After reading Reaver's review, purple was the color that kept coming to mind. I couldn't decide what kind of notes were buried in there......musk? incense? Um, flowers?? Maybe not.

 

After a long while, this stays pretty strong. It becomes something like a sooty smear of a scent, making me think of aromatic charcoal, but good, not acrid or unpleasant. I kept thinking of a beautiful high-grade charcoal making a matte black smear on pure white paper (no paper notes in the scent, just an image in my mind), with the finest coal dust at the edges.

 

The kicker is that I already have a well-aged bottle of Djinn, and Smokestack really is close enough that I don't need bottles of both. I'll definitely enjoy exploring this scent again, though.

Edited May 20, 2008 by Forspecial Plate

[LadyLuckDoubt]

Yes, I bought this unsniffed. Because the idea of smelling like industrial waste was far too cool to pass up.

 

In the Bottle

No industrial waste. Just a single note of vetiver- being a vetiver lover, this doesn't upset me though it's not totally what I expected. There's too much green and warmth for industrial waste.

 

On Me

This is Malediction!lite. It doesn't have that same loud fieryness that Malediction has, making it a LOT more subtle and inoffensive, and there's a dryness that comes through after awhile. The notes I'm identifying first off are vetiver, then there's something woody and smokey-- I'd say cypress at a guess, and then there's a bitter, harsh-but-hard-to-pick-out note which reminds me of a cheap gin and tonic. Combined, though: not bad at all, but not at all coal and creosite.

 

After less than an hour, it's all but gone, or my nose has adapted to it. There is a slightly lingering metallic note left over, which makes me happy.

 

Overall-- not bad, and I'm hanging onto my bottle of course, but I did expect something more... ashy and carbony, I guess. And less green and alive, more dead and burn-offy.

[Sushi-n-Sake]

This review will be short, because from start to finish I thought Smokestack smelled a lot like Yankee Candle's Fireside scent, but slightly more complex. I adore campfire/smoky smells, so this will get a lot of wear from me in the fall and winter.

[greenranger]

In the imp, smoke and something that my nose just identifies as "perfume."

 

Wet, the smoke scent has vanished, and the "perfume" scent is all I am getting.

 

Drying, some of the smoke scent is back...but, I don't think this scent is meshing well with my skin, and I don't know enough to identify the notes that I am getting. Maybe if I try again another day.

 

Later:

Well, it is smoky now...but, it is also vaguely soapy? On my elbow I can now smell the creosote, clearly. It's interesting, but, I don't think I want to wear this right now.

Edited May 25, 2008 by Aerinha

[slave1]

SMOKESTACK

 

In Bottle: Masculine smoke

 

On Skin: I’m just putting a dab on, because this scent scares me. I really dislike smoke scents and they always amp like crazy on me. So one little dribble… It’s actually not bad. There is an obvious smoke note of course, but then I smell a very masculine soapy note. It’s cold and a bit medicinal, like Numb in a way… I smell a bit of earthy vetiver and that trademark smokey ash note in scents like Djinn and Brimstone. Sadly, those are 2 of my least favorite BPAL scents. This scent didn’t kill me like I thought it would, but I don’t really like it either… But it fits it’s name perfectly and sets a mood like no other. It has a moderate throw and fairly long wearlength.

[tereshkova2001]

Okay, I really like this. I've been on a total "burned things" kick, and this goes right along with that. It's dark grey-black, the scent of things burned all the way to ashes. It has a bit of a tang to it, as one might guess, and maybe a trace of ozone. Mostly carbon and ash, though.

[zankoku_zen]

This is masculine smoke, but it's not too vetiver heavy. I like it better than Djinn. It's smoky and sexy and tasty (I get a faint root beer taste from it).

 

The husband isn't into this kind of scent (he'll tell me it smells like Vick's vaporub, regardless) but on the right guy, ZOWHEE.

[galahad]

In The Bottle

Herby, eucalyptus and tar. Not really very strong in the bottle.

 

On Application

The scent is really quite elusive but when I do catch it I occasionally get the industrial waste scent and occasionally its a spicy mint.

 

Dry Down

This is really quite odd but lovely when you can smell it. Oh yes, when it warms up I really like this. I am going to have to try again when I don't have so many other scents on.

 

Rating (0-5)

3

[myth]

Oh dear. Here is exactly what I wrote in my spreadsheet notes:

 

Smokey rubbing alcohol? This is pretty terrible so far. Something in it actually hurts my nose. Way way late in dry-down in became tolerable and was sort of nicely smokey. There's no way I can get through the dry-down though.

 

A second try was less rubbing alcohol, more hairspray.

 

LOL. I don't know what else to say. I love smoke, but this isn't woodsmoke or camp smoke, it's gritty industrial ashy smoke. It was just awful on me; one of those scents that makes me feel vaguely ill. Definite similarities to Djinn, which had pretty much the same effect on me. I'd seen wc proto reviews that talked about wood, and smoke that I hoped might be wood smoke, but alas, twas not to be for me.

[filigree_shadow]

Vetiver and ash. That's what it smells like to me. But it's not Sloth-like dank and musty vetiver, it's much smokier. It also smells... fresh. Fresh vetiver? Weird, I know. But that's what it smells like to me. It seems like there's some sort of gentle spice in there as well that's crisping up the scent a little bit. A slight metallic twang to it, too.

 

I'm not normally a big fan of these bonfire/smoke sorts of scents, but I think this is a good one.

[brsis]

Initial thoughts: I was going to wear this to Expo, while cosplaying an insane evil scientist. I think it would have worked. Unfortunately my first ever order got insanely lost by the post office and this didn't arrive until much, much too late, but I'm still very curious about it. How exactly do you make industrial waste smell good?

 

In the imp: Like that, obviously! Hmm... vetiver? Might be vetiver but it's playing very coy if it is. A metallic note, which isn't always a great idea on me - Mechanical Phoenix did not love me - and something that almost smells like cola. How bizarre.

 

On the wrist, wet: Yeah, that's vetiver. Definately smoke and a metallic tang. Unexpectedly smooth - vetiver tends to be grainy or gritty on me - and low-key. Oddly hypnotic, too - I keep sniffing...

 

Twenty minute later: And that's vetiver! It's all vetiver, actually - vetiver with a nose-tingling, throat-tickling acrid undertone. Now it's dried down I'm not nearly so taken with it - it's just another vetiver blend.

 

Verdict: A swap, but a sad one

 

Tl;Dr: Vetiver, metallics and a choking sweet smog - destined for someone else's skin chemistry.

[lilacea]

Wet, first thing that smacks me is the vetiver, sour and sharp. Not a dirty vetiver like it can sometimes be though. Once on the skin, there's that distinctive coal tar smell, perhaps with a hint of birch. The drydown sees something like oakmoss come out, but it is subtle, and for a scent named for industrial waste, it is remarkably clean smelling. Kind of like freshly scrubbed skin after using a coal tar soap. A touch of vetiver remains in this clean phase, just kind of murking it up. Odd, but alluring.

[edenssixthday]

Smokestack - This smells like smoke - dirty, toxic, pollution-laden smoke. It smells like an ashtray, actually. After about 15 minutes, it starts to smell like a sweet vetiver scent and becomes much softer and nicer, but I don't think I can handle wearing this while wet.

[Blood onmy hands]

Smokestack reminds me vaguely of Lenore (charred, smoky, black vetiver), but it's even worse on me than Lenore is. Smokestack is like Lenore dumped into a dirty ash tray. I can't actually imagine anyone wearing this, except perhaps as a layering note to add a bit of grittiness underneath another scent. Even then, I couldn't pull this one off. It's far too smoky, dirty, and gritty for me (and I have enjoyed quite a few vetiver blends, but this ash tray smell isn't for me). To the swap pile with this scent.

[Iceblink]

I thought I'd hate this but...I don't. It's all vetiver when wet and the drydown makes me think "industrial cologne"--the ash and coal is there but in a perfumey sort of way. It really works somehow. This is masculine and not something that you could wear everywhere; maybe to industrial night at the club though! Really interesting.

[ralenth]

I was generously gifted an imp by FallDaze in my PIF package.

 

imp: smoky, masculine, with some oomph (could it be vetiver?)

 

wet: mmm, creosote smoke (reminds me of childhood bonfires in the desert)

 

drydown: As it dries, it becomes vaguely metallic, but not overly so. The dominant notes are that delicious creosote and vetiver, but oddly clean green (though deep green). Manly green.

 

overall: I would definitely wear this. I could even see myself owning a bottle.

[gchris]

in vial strong. smells like the usual bpal strong blends. Dark and spicey.

 

wet: even stronger, getting a tiny bit sweeter which helps to balance out the harsh spicey-ness.

[NotTheRedBaron]

I am in LUST with this fragrance. Like...ready to rip my clothes off LUST. I started with a dab on my wrist. Immediately, clouds of acrid smoke rise. I am enrobed in soot, but I'm not getting industrial waste. I'm getting cedar and vetiver mixed in with the charcoal. Now there are some spices burning in the mix: cardamom I think. My pulse is quickening, this is a thrilling scent!!! This sooty, smoky, spicy ecstasy continues for quite some time, then the sootyness begins to draw back, the smoke dies down, and the subtle sweetness of incense oozes from the ashy remnants.