The Contract of Theophilus of Adana

[sarada]

I dare not open this scroll. Temptation is the plague of men's spirits.

Parchment, Siamese benzoin, infernal incense, red musk, brimstone, and daemonorops.

The Wunderkammer collection looks like it's going to be my favorite thing in the entire history of BPAL -- the notes, the concepts, the art -- it's just everything that I read and think about! If I had time I'd write my review in the style of an HP Lovecraft story opening and talk about the trepidation with which I crack open this vial and let forth the wisps of forgotten nightmares, but since it's the first review let's just get down to business!

Being a lover of incense scents above most things on earth I was very excited for this one. I've always liked red musk as well because it is so incensy -- such a rich, spicy, deep scent that one might imagine would infuse the tapestries and brocade pillows in a den of beaded curtains and hookahs. I do get quite a hit of red musk for this -- a dry, smoky red musk, that has long since seeped into the fabric and wood of the room. Hypnotic and arcane, not overly smoky, but it drifts around me and hangs in the air as though I've been burning all of my favorite incenses throughout the night.

There's a nice dryness to it that I would imagine is from the parchment and brimstone -- but it's not acridly smoky, it doesn't smell like Brimstone the BPAL oil, for example. Benzoin adds a resiny incense kick, and I imagine that the daemonorops is making it just a teeny bit more of a glistening blood red. Overall a lovely, dry incensy red musk blend that incense lovers like me should adore. Scherezade fans take note! But this is a bit darker and smokier than that, and never powdery or perfumey.

[Josh]

This is great! It's like the lab took the book/paper note from Lurid Library and made it a singlenote, like paper that smells like it's sat in a room full of dense incense smoke. This is the ultimate old paper/book/library scent, and under it I get something that almost smells like dusty old stones and rain.

 

ETA: I agree with the OP: The Wunderkammer set is easily my favorite thing the lab has ever done.

Edited June 11, 2008 by Josh

[alicia_stardust]

This has a sort of creamy-color to the overall scent, if that makes sense. I imagine dry crumbling parchment and brimstone, but then those are sort of contrasted by the daemonorops and the deep and juicy red musk which happens to be much more subdued than it normally is in a blend. The benzoin and incense add a resinous and atmospheric quality but here is where it gets interesting. Something about the way all of these various notes intermingle give off an almost blood orange-like quality. It's a little elusive and not extremely noticeable, but I keep finding it here and there. I can't think of anything to compare this to, but it's really worth checking out. The parchment doesn't go too dry and the red musk doesn't amp too much. It's lovely.

[sookster]

i was so afeared when i applied this one...

 

pure, hayoooge perfume...but i do love it...

the notes that accompany this are very unexpected...

this is one that needs a try or two or three!

 

loads of incense and florals come thru and this is a true beauty...

[savage_rose]

This scent is surprisingly crisp...it's like aquatic incense, or an incensey aquatic. There's a note that smells like a creamy waterlily to me, and benzoin is in the background adding a little scent "pop" with every sniff. I can't smell the brimstone at all, but I do not miss it .

[greenranger]

Um. This smells like green wood, and smoke to me.

 

Not what I expected it to smell like, but, there it is. So far it is green wood and smoke.

[slave1]

THE CONTRACT OF THEOPHILUS OF ADANA

 

In Bottle: Paper and light resin

 

On Skin: The parchment note stands out on me, I smell paper right away. The benzoin is sweet and offers a beautiful light resin note. The incense combined with the brimstone is smoky and dark and gives this scent a mysterious edge. The red musk is a bit feral, sexy and full of warmth. The daemonorop note is also dark and resinous, with a nice warm spice. This is the scent of old paper, left in an attic that gets a lot of sun. Dried out and ancient… It has a pretty heavy throw and average to long wearlength.

[filigree_shadow]

I'm not sure how I feel about this scent yet. Out of all the Wunderkammer, I expected I'd like this one the best based on the notes, and so far I don't think that's the case. (But, to be honest, I'm really loving the Wunderkammer as a whole way more than I thought I would, so... tough competition.)

 

Red musk is my favorite musk, but in this it seems drier than it usually does. Not as deep, and not as red. Kind of hazy. I think the parchment is making it seem dry, and the incense and brimstome are contributing to the haze.

 

Don't get me wrong, I like it. It's just not what I thought it would be. I think I'd have to test this a few more times to get a feel for it.

Edited July 2, 2008 by filigree_shadow

[tinyvulture]

crumbly parchment and slightly soapy incense, warmed by red musk. i never tire of red musk. it’s usually so bold, sexy, and juicy, but here it’s toned down a lot by the dry, somber parchment, resins, and smoky brimstone. a unique showcase for one of my favorite notes. i sometimes can’t wear parchment blends because they are too dry, but this is just right.

 

several minutes after it dries, it smells a lot like nag champa incense, only muskier. very nice.

[nekogrrl]

Wet: dry red.. /something/.

 

Dry: Hellooooooooo soap! Very sweet-smelling soap.

 

Bah. Another one for the swap pile.

[anardana]

I probably should have googled daemotrops before I ordered a decant because: "The fruits of certain species, in particular Daemonorops draco, produces a red resin known as "Dragon's blood"." Dragon's blood and red musk both hate me- they totally overpower this blend, and all I smell is sweet floral icky-ness. This isn't dry and parchment-y on me at all, unlike Aziraphale for example.

[Blood onmy hands]

This sounded great to me up until the brimstone and daemonorops. The Contract probably would be lovely to me without those two notes. As it is, this is okay on me, but probably not something I would reach for very much. The smoke and floral in this seem mismatched to me.

 

The Contract has moments that I enjoy where it's hints of sultry red musk, a dry paper-y woodiness, and incense smoke. Other moments, it's mostly something like woodsmoke and soap made with sweet, half-rotten flowers. All in all, it's a bit too smoky for me, and I'm not loving the floral qualities.

[edenssixthday]

The Contract of Theophilus of Adana - This is a gorgeous scent! It smells dark and rough in the vial, as the brimstone note is really strong. But on my skin, it's a gorgeous musky blend of incense and daemonorops. I had no idea was going to be this gorgeous and have such a perfect level of throw. I should probably try to get more of this while it's still available.

[meeow712]

I'm usually a sucker for incense, but this just didn't go incensey on me like I was hoping.

I smell like old crumbling parchment that has been locked up in a dusty library with some very stale incense traces. It's not awful, but not something I enjoy smelling like either. I usually love red musk, where is it hiding?

[MeiLin]

In the imp: Benzoin, incense and something sweet, the dragon's blood resin one assumes (that's daemonorops).

 

Wet: The same.

 

Dry: Benzoin, dragon's blood, musk, incense.

 

This is a dragon's blood I can wear. I tend to amp it so much that I can't wear it; it's overpowering. But with the musk and benzoin, and the smokiness from the incense, it's just at the level it should be.

 

Sir says, "eh, it's okay." So we keep the imp but no bottle. Saved again.

[naeelah]

For some reason I'm obsessed with collecting and testing book/paper/parchment scents, even though I rarely wear them. So I was very excited to try this blend, especially given the presence of brimstone (another note I'm kind of obsessed with even though I can rarely wear it).

 

Although it looks dark and heavy, The Contract is a relatively light scent. Wet, it has a clean, fresh quality. The paper note is strong and resembles starched linens. The red musk lends a bright, chemical-y edge. The daemonorops, presumably, give it a slightly green, watery quality, and underneath is just a suggestion of incense.

 

As it dries and everything settles down, paper is still the most prominent note, but now it's accompanied by a richer musk, richer smoke, and smooth resin. The longer it dries, the stronger the incense quality becomes. The brimstone smells a bit like a wet ashtray at first, but it's really light. I can hardly tell brimstone is a note in this. In the middle phase, it's basically a light incense and red musk blend. Reminds me of Krampus, but not as strong.

 

Once it's been dry for a while, it's brittle parchment and dark smoke and ash. The red musk doesn't seem as pronounced, but you can feel the effect. This is a paper blend for those who want a book with a dark edge. It's quite similar to Lurid Library, but with a very different musk.

 

Try it if you like: Eshe, The Bugger Alle This Bible, The Chapel, The Lurid Library, Krampus.

[Czarina]

Sandalwood, smoke, and paper. This is Da Bomb in a scent locket, fades very quickly on my wrists.

 

ETA: after many hours in the scent locket, this has a rose scent, although rose is not listed as one of the notes.

Edited August 21, 2008 by Czarina

[grashopper8]

In the decant, this is a dry paper scent, and although it's evocative, I was hesitant to put it on my skin.

 

It warms up a lot, though - the main notes that I can pick out during the drydown are the red musk, myrrh, and dragon's blood.

 

It's very nice, but it's also similar to other resinous scents that I own.

 

4.2 out of 5

[zankoku_zen]

This one was an incensey papery kind of blend, very dark and smokey.

 

Not my kind of blend.

[yeahbutnobut]

The Contract of Theophilius of Adana

 

In the imp: floral? that’s probably dragon’s blood. I also smell dusty paper and incense.

Wet on skin: whoa, that’s a lot of dragon’s blood! very lilac-y. I also smell the incense and something woody, as well as parchment.

Dry on skin: mmm, if the dragon’s blood behaves this has the potential to be marvellous. The incense here is gorgeous, reminiscent of the frankincense and myrrh of Valentine of Rome, but a bit heavier on the frankincense. There’s also a hint of one of the Egyptian scents to this incense note, either reminiscent of Anubis or Meshkenet. There’s a lot of smoke here, a smell of burning, that’s the brimstone. I smell something green and sharp and bitterly floral, probably the DB (please, please don’t turn to fail on me), as well as hints of dusty paper (like Clio) and sweet benzoin. The red musk is subtle but binds the whole scent together and adds a layer of exotic richness. But that dragon’s blood…it’s being very persistent and trying to take over!

After a while: ok, the dragon’s blood is being a lot more prominent here than I was hoping for, but now it smells like a rather lovely mix of red musk, DB and incense. in fact, it smells just like the Cracked Bell with a hint of Judgement (the tarot oil). It’s got less of a papery feel to it now, and more of a brassy scent. It’s also a lot smokier, and much more musky as well. Can’t say I’m crazy about the all powerful DB, but it’s quite nice. Almost perfumey at times, oddly. The more I smell it, the more Cracked Bell-like it seems to become.

The drydown is almost indistinguishable from Cracked Bell on me, sweet amber-musky-bloody-incense, but only with extra dragon’s blood (which is a bit bitter here) and none of the vetiver-ish scent I got in CB. But the dragon’s blood is too strong for my likings.

Verdict: I was expecting this one to be outright love since I love papery scents, incense scents, and papery scents with incense. sadly, there’s one note in here that has it in for me-dragon’s blood. At first it is a really nice resin-incense scent but the daemonrops resin really wants to disturb the lovely mix of parchment and incense and musk, and finally it wins out and the scent turns sharp, a bit floral and not very nice. It’s ok, but I’d rather the dragon’s blood were quieter and the incense notes more prominent. I like it when it turns into a scent reminiscent of the Cracked Bell, a musky dragon’s blood with smoke and incense, but not enough to keep it.

Emoticon rating:

Is it a keeper? Not really. I'd prefer it without daemonorops, I think.

If you like this, try: Valentine of Rome, Dragon Moon 08, Cracked Bell, Lurid Library, Clio, The Chapel

[tartchef]

I'd put off reviewing this for several months - the hot summer made a scent this heavy & smoky sound unbearable... now the weather's shifted, this is perfect...

 

In the bottle, Contract of Theophilus is very similar to the Cracked Bell & Scherezade - red musk & incense, thick & heady. On my skin, the parchment note really takes off, and the daemonorops come out to play. As a rule, dragon's blood is a disaster with my chemistry, but through some miracle, I can wear daemonorops very happily - it adds a dry reedy note, faintly perfumed but perfectly wearable. The brimstone is barely there, a trace of grit, that's all. CoT ends up an even-tempered, dry red musk - very bookish & esoteric. I wish the benzoin came out just a bit more - I'd like a bit more sweetness. That said, I'll happily hold onto my dribble-in-a-bottle

[rayvn1]

This was very curious. A bright, harsh scent that has a deeper, darer side lurking under the surface. Unfortunately it kind of leveled out at a generic smell after a while, but it was very interesting in its wet and early dry phases. I'll hold onto this guy and try again later. I think I like the benzoin and brimstone in this. I've never tried those notes to my knowledge, but I'm assuming that's what's creating this interesting clash of bright harshness and deep sexiness.

[Delirium1009]

In bottle/imp: Sour, herbal musk.

 

Immediately on skin: This is musky, but also very dry and sour. It smells old for sure. It also has an odd green soapy note to it that eases gently into the dragon’s blood.

 

After a little while: This dries to a sweet, musky, dry scent after a while. The parchment, incense, red musk and dragon’s blood (daemonorops) are evident but all blend together seamlessly. They smell deep and dry, but dark as well.

 

Overall Impressions: This is a very evocative scent. It smells dry and very deep and dark, but also a hint sweet and floral from the dragon’s blood. I think this will be a big hit for those who like paper and incense scents.

[Miss Lynx]

Although a number of the notes in here -- benzoin, daemonorops, red musk and incense resins -- are usually good on me, I'm not liking the combination here so much.

 

The red musk is barely there, and I think maybe it's the brimstone that's throwing it all off. The dominant impression is a bit harsh and grating, and there's definitely something a bit mineral or chemical about it. What incense I can pick up seems to be a fairly bitter myrrh.

 

The parchment/old paper element is there, and on the whole the scent does seem fairly evocative of what it's supposed to represent; it just doesn't add up to anything terribly pleasant on my skin. It does have a strongly masculine edge to it, so maybe this one that would be better on a guy.

 

Actually, I may have spoken too soon -- after it settles in for about an hour or so, it sweetens up a little, with the red musk coming out more, and I do like it better that way. But I still think this one's not really a keeper.

 

Grade: C

[Ajila]

In the bottle – Parchment and an odd, green leafy scent

 

Wet on me – An odd musty green scent. I don’t know where I’m getting it from or how to describe it

 

Dry on me – A warm dry vanilla that sits close to the skin

 

Overall – I love the dry down, but somehow I’m not as excited as I expected to be