Titus Andronicus

[brilliantcat]

Dark musk and black amber with frankincense, red sandalwood, neroli and bergamot.

It smells fresh and slightly musky and delicious upon first application. I can definitely pick out the citrus notes. It grows slightly incensey and very rich-feeling. I quite like it on me, though I bought it for the husbeast... I'll have to restrain myself from stealing it from him

[Monday]

In the imp: Subdued black musk.

On my skin wet: Bummer, this is barely there black musk with a tiiiiny hint of bergamot.

On my skin dry: Black musk SN but it's very faint.

 

I think I'll stick to my decant of The Butterfly instead.

[paraphrased]

Warm, sweet, and dark musk and amber. I could smell sandalwood when I applied it, but it disappeared and only returned hours later. I think the frankincense joined in then too, but I'm not familiar enough with the note to say for sure.

 

The bergamot and neroli did not make an appearance. This is a musky incense, no citrus in sight.

[JazzieCazzie]

Received what seems to be a partial imp as an extra in a swap.

 

IN THE IMP: Hard to pinpoint, at first, specific notes. I get a round reddish musk but also the fruit and, oddly, a touch of floral, sort of like a non-macho men's cologne.

 

Dabbed on one wrist and in crook of arm.

 

WET: Really not me. Sadly, the neroli and bergamot amp right away and hide any trace of the amber, musk, frankincense and/or sandalwood which might have made this work for me. But it's not awful, not a "OMG I HAVE TO WASH THIS OFF NOW," so I wait it out to see if perhaps on drydown the resins or woods would come out to play.

 

DRYDOWN: They don't. It's all soapy neroli and bergamot all the time. And I get something a little funky-stinky like myrrh drydown though I don't see myrrh as a note.

 

OVERALL: Into the Shakespearean swap pile or, more likely (once I check oil level) into the frimp box.

 

On a scale of 1-5, about a 2.5

[Teaker]

Much fresher and lighter than I was expecting! Fuzzy, comforting black musk with a hint of citrus. This morphs really quickly into a faint, close to the skin musk. Very unisex, and could be good for layering. Weirdly enough, it reminds me of Black Temple Burlesque Troupe, without the cocao.

[miamaslegi]

187: TITUS ANDRONICUS
GC: Illyria
"Dark musk and black amber with frankincense, red sandalwood, neroli and bergamot."

Received from Lab 31 July 2014

In bottle: Nice! I'm getting the smooth sweetness of the amber and sandalwood with a citrusy zing from the neroli and bergamot. This doesn't smell masculine in the imp.

Wet: The neroli and bergamot have come to the forefront with the sweet resins and wood in the background. This is more masculine smelling on my skin, and the combination of notes has given this a dark yet almost creamsicle-ish feel. Interesting!

Dry: Amber, frankincense, dark musk and sandal. Smooth, sweet, dark, and a bit smoky/incensy - the citrusy notes are all but gone. I do like this, but I think I'd rather smell it on a man than on myself.

3.5/5

[Magycmyste]

In the imp: Sweet and musky.

 

Wet on skin: Still sweet and musky, with a bit of sharpness.

 

Dried down: As it dries down, the sandalwood comes out a bit more. It's very pretty. Drying further, the sharpness goes away,and this scent is starting to make me happy to sniff it, but there's still an edge to it that doesn't quite endear it to me. I think it might be the bergamot or neroli.

 

Throw: Not a whole lot. I'm ok with that, honestly.

 

Verdict: *** 1/* This is nice,really, but it's not quite doing it for me. I think this one is going to go into the swap pile, but I'm glad I tried it.

[Balaclava]

In the imp, it smells so musky and incensy and heavenly. I was so excited to try this, but then...

 

Wet, on skin: CITRUS! Citrus comes screaming to the top, and I smell nothing but citrus! Like, dish soap citrus.

 

The drydown took away all the nasty citrus and left a cool, androgynous musk. I quite like it dried, but if only my skin didn't amplify the evil citrus.

[mymymai]

• ITI: That neroli and bergamot here are strong, clear, and refreshing. It makes me year for a cup of Earl Gray tea. However, behind those notes saunters in a rush and slightly dangerous musk and sandalwood, lending a seriousness to what would normally be an indolent perfume.

Wet: It still maintains the lovely tones from the neroli and bergamot, but the bergamot paired with the sandalwood and frankincense just flowers on my skin. It's glorious, like rose gold set before a wafting incense-laden censer. The musk, however,still provides a slightly threatening tone to the scent, like shadows that appear darker than normal in that gilded room. I love it and feel empowered for my procedure.

Dry: After nearly 12 hours and begin scrubbed by prepping pads, Titus Andronicus endures. It's sweet from the amber, almost honeyish still, with darkly resinous notes of bergamot and neroli still ambling about below the musk. It's a strong bottle contender.

[Veronica]

Wet, this starts off all red spices and darkness. As it dries, it becomes primarily neroli--spiced orange blossoms, with that familiar bitter twang--warmed up in the background by red musk (not for me!) and topped with the herbal, soapy bergamont. Warm and herbal musk. Not what I expected from Titus, the character, and not really for me.

[Coldfire]

Imp: musk and sandalwood
Wet on me: this is dark swirling headiness, all musk and incense
Drying Down: rapidly turning into baby powder incense. i tend to turn amber notes into baby powder.
Dry: the baby powder notes faded to a smooth incense scent.

[Teamama]

Dark musk & red sandalwood 4 life!

 

So, I love Titus Andronicus. I was a little worried about the neroli & bergamot, but as soon as I opened the imp, I knew. Insta-bottle.

 

T.A. is sweet & woody/musky/resin-y, with just a little citrus-y kick. It's probably a unisex fragrance, but I'm not going to share it with Teapapa unless he says "Pretty please with sugar on top?"

 

Absolutely cannot be improved.

[LizziesLuck]

Wet: Oh wow, this is sexy. Syrupy dark musk with really smooth sandalwood. I love red sandalwood. There's a hint of citrus lifting it, but not a lot. It's nice. Somewhat masculine, but not overly so, I still feel I could wear it, even though I like more classically feminine scents.

 

 

Dry: Resiny musk. Really good. Less masculine as it dries. It's soft and sweet. I really enjoy it. I do wish the red sandalwood was more prominent, because I love it so, but this is still pretty great. Might be bottle worthy.

[achildoftime]

I was expecting it to be a bit more musky and deep, but I get some nice sweetness from the neroli and bergamot. I think the musk keeps the scent from being too sweet or outright floral, but the neroli in particular keeps the scent from getting bogged down. I think there is a nice balance here that makes it a nice scent for anyone.

[roseus]

In the imp: smooth, dark, and cool. Like what I would think midnight smells like.

 

Wet: definitely getting black musk. It's almost asphalt-y and industrial, but in a good way.

 

Dry: weird and flat and sad on me. Almost sweaty. Reminds me of how badly So Below failed on me.

[dementia_divine]

In the imp: The dark musk and black amber stand out to me the most, followed by the frankincense, sandalwood, and bergamot, with some bitter neroli at the very end.

 

Wet: The dark musk, amber, frankincense, and bergamot are the first notes to leap out at me. The dark musk and amber are soft, but the frankincense and bergamot are sharp. I am still getting some bitterness from the neroli at the end of each sniff, which I hope doesn’t end up coming out more over time.

 

Dry: Fortunately, the bitterness and sharpness has gone away. It is mostly a dark musk and soft, black amber scent accompanied by the frankincense and sandalwood and just a tinge of bergamot now.

 

Verdict: I like the dark musk and black amber combo, but I was not a fan of the sharp and bitter qualities I got from this on my skin during the wet stage. I don’t think I’ll keep this, because there are other scents with black amber that I have that don’t have any bitter neroli involved, but it was nice to get to try it.