Quirkiest, most bizarre oils

[hlemonds]

Paduan Killer Swarm. One of the most amazing scents ever. I am addicted. But it does start out as quite an odd scent while wet.

[talula_fairie]

Jailbait is the only really weird scent I ever really liked.

 

Maybe Blood too, but I don't know that's really all that weird.

[madscientistdh]

I've tried Pain and Bluebeard, both of which have been fascinating olfactory experiences. Pain is two notes (lavender and pennyroyal) that somehow combine into a minty scent, and Bluebeard is just... crazy. A peppery, violent roller coaster ride.. I think it's the vetiver and violet.

[cherrycherry]

Yes, I found pain to be weird too. It chilled me, creeped me out. An uncomfortable scent that I would never wear, but am happy to have an imp of for the novelty value.

[Siberia]

The Witch's Repast (Marchen) is super weird. I think it's gross, but a lot of people like it. I thought it smelled like caraway, honey, and barf.

[Electric Maenad]

Iago - don't like it myself, because vetiver is a death note on me. But I smelled it on one of my friends, and it smelled pretty much like "bastard in a bottle"

 

I thought the note list for Two Headed Goat from Carnival Diabolique sounded pretty damn strange. Actually, a lot of the Wunderkammer scents sound pretty damn strange.

 

Also, last year's Yule LE, Old Man Ackerman's Instructional Toys was just flat-out *weird*. Sort of a lemony, fizzy, metallic WTF.

[MirasolAbeille]

I can't believe I'm the first one nominating Floating Market. To me it's the smell of the Super 88 Asian grocery/food court in Boston. Herbs and curry and wasabi.

[Altaira]

I can't believe I'm the first one nominating Floating Market. To me it's the smell of the Super 88 Asian grocery/food court in Boston. Herbs and curry and wasabi.

It's not the Super 88 without the smell of fish.

 

The weirdest to me so far is How Doth the Little Crocodile: chocolate mint and aftershave.

[captainecchi]

I'll second the suggestion of Agnes Nutter. I hear everyone raving about the Lab's blood and metallic notes, but usually they do nothing for me--"metallic" smells like generic aftershave on me, and "blood" usually contains dragon's blood, which smells like rotting flowers to me. But this one really does exactly what it says--smells like blood and rusty nails and gunpowder. It's awesome, but not something I wear on normal days. Great for certain LARPs, though!

 

In the same collection, War. Martial blends do tend to contain dragon's blood, too, but this one doesn't. It's... hm. A hot, spicy smell. Lots of ginger. It very much reminds me of the quote from Good Omens, "And she lifted her sword, and smiled like a knife." (paraphrase).

 

(The Gaimans in general have been good to me. I should try more before more of them get discontinued *sniffs*)

 

In the impables category...

 

Twenty-One: For those times that you need to smell like a gin martini, this accomplishes it quite effectively.

Cthulhu: smells like bubbles rising off a sunken necropolis. Likewise, for bubbly smells, my go-to blends are Masabakes (now DCed) and Twinkle Twinkle Little Bat.

Shoggoth: I had to try this, because my love of HPL is well known around here, and because shoggoths are cool. It was overpoweringly floral, yes, but also a weird odor of burnt plastic. Which seems appropriate to me.

 

And I'll second other recs above... No. 93 Engine, Destroying Angel (this smelled like bile on me... is that the infamous dirt note? I didn't get that in Burial), Brimstone, The High Priest Not to Be Described (dced), The Music of Erich Zahn (dced; best if you want to smell like an Indian restaurant).

 

Hmm. Apparently weird to me means "evocative." I can get behind that definition.

[zmulls]

Iago - don't like it myself, because vetiver is a death note on me. But I smelled it on one of my friends, and it smelled pretty much like "bastard in a bottle"

 

.....and of course that happens to be my favorite. But I'm more a bastard *with* a bottle.....sometimes...

 

Nosferatu and Perversion have been mentioned as weird, and I have to concur. Nosferatu smells *exactly* as advertised.....dank crypt, traces of red wine lying around. I tested it at home on one of my work-from-home days and it creeped me out.

 

Perversion smells soooooo skanky on me. Pretty post-coital -- or even coital. Or porn store. It's just *really* unsettling.

 

To the above, I'd add Yorick. Also smells as advertised -- overturned earth and decaying bones. Merciful heavens, it's evocative.

 

The three above have one quality in common -- I think they're fascinating in their own olfactory splendor, but I have no idea when or where I would actually wear them......

 

(I thought about wearing Perversion when going out to see some Performance Art on the Lower East Side of Manhattan, but I chickened out and put on Iago instead)

 

ETA: Yes, Twenty-One is saved for special dress-up times, like when I'm dressed as in my avatar pic

Edited January 25, 2011 by zmulls

[Vega]

The oddest scent I've ever tested was Visiting the Temple of Auspicious Fortune Alone on the Winter Solstice. Stone, dust and rain... BPAL's stone note fascinates me, and this was the most inorganic of stony blends. It reminds me sometimes of steaming wet bitumen after a summer monsoon, sometimes of brand, spanking new car leather.

[Jupita]

Julia Stone, it smells like rotten linen. Point. Just that, rotten damp linen. I can't even say I hate it, because it's so spot on, that I marvel every time I sniff it. But it's totally unwearable to me, it's gross.

[steelfaerie]

People have probably already contributed these, but I think Xiuhtecuhtli and Tristran are two of the strangest scents ever.

 

I adore them both and have gone through multiple bottles of each, but they are in fact very odd.

[Xanon]

I'll second the Floating Market, and throw in Splatter Comedy.

 

FM has the oddest scent to my nose, but I freaking love it! I could huff this all day. But I don't like to wear it on my skin. Scent locket for the win!

 

SC smells like banana Runts (those candies), pie crust, and WD-40. Its like my childhood in a bottle.

[Floria]

Goblin is rather an odd scent - none of the ingredients are that unusual, but combined, it smells like old-fashioned makeup. Very evocative, at least if you ever spent time as a kid playing with your older relatives' scented face powder.

 

Some of the RPG scents are rather offbeat.

[Mountaingrrl00]

Has no one mentioned Gore Shock?

[ljaylh]

Has no one mentioned Gore Shock?

 

Oh.. I wouldn't say Gore Shock is quirky or bizarre.. it's just downright disgusting. Dead flesh, rotting things, stale vomit and unflushed third-world toilet. It's the only BPAL everthat has made me actually gag.

 

The quirky and bizarre thing about it though, is that some people (albeit only 2 or 3 that I know of) actually like it

[venusinfurs]

I don't think anyone has mentioned it yet, but Hairy Toad Lily! It is a very layered scent....at first I was like EW! then Hmmmm...then ok not so bad...really quirky and strange. Plus the lack of actual description/notes makes it even more fun to guess exactly what it is.

 

CENTZON TOTOCHTIN has a very odd blood smell. I like the blood smell in other blends, but this one just seems unsettling to me. Could be because it's combined with wine and chocolate!

 

Someone once sent me a freebie of a partial bottle of Bride of Dracula. It smells like a musty box with an old woman's perfume, accented by some kind of potent acidic smell. Really gross but I keep it just for novelty's sake.

 

Odin is another blend I find sort of odd...but it works. It's dark and masculine, so you may actually like it. It's old man tobacco and gin smell, with a sweet top note and a hint of spice. Like hot peppers!

 

Jazz funeral has been said a few times now, but that is a great recommendation. I love how unique that blend is.

[Floria]

Ogygia might deserve a mention. Most of the reviewers just got aquatic-and-something, but it's the only perfume I've ever seen that combines violets, wild celery, and seaweed.

[lunaticana]

Banana Peel in Graveyard and Hairy Toad Lily

[Invidiana]

Inganok Jewelers is tres weird but....I think it's sexy.

[sharkdiver]

to add a few bizarre ones:

 

Poisoned Apple (GC) - not because it smells strange, but it is the craziest morph ever - It starts out wet, like the most perfect red juicy apple...then slowly, as it dries, the hemlock and oleander takes over, and the apple all but vanishes...its like a downward spiral into poison land! it's very wearable though, so I highly recommend trying it, if you like apples!

The Wiley Grasser (LE) - That was sickeningly sweet cotton candy, and...Pine Needles. Very odd combo, that somehow worked! was too sweet for my taste, but many people love it. It's DC'd now though, but you can still find some through swaps/sales I'm sure.

 

The Malignant Dreams of Cthulu in Love (LE) - this was like musky/oceany scent...combined with Chocolates. It's awesome.

 

White Rabbit (GC) - was perfectly crisp clean linen with tea, honey, and cream, with a bit of ginger and pepper thrown in...it's lovely though, on me, I could smell the ginger and pepper only in the imp, but on my skin, it was only clean linen, tea, honey, and cream.

 

another GC that was bizarre was Beer from the Marsh Woman's Brewery - this was grassy, clean, with a slight hint of Beer. I couldn't decide whether or not I liked it...

[dreamingjune]

None of these are truly bizarre, but I certainly find them uncommon--

 

Saturnalia: Violet deepened with vetiver.

 

No. 93 Engine: Balm of Gilead, benzoin, frankincense, balsam of peru, beeswax, saffron, galbanum, calamus, hyssop, mastic, lemon balm, and white sage.

 

The Dodo: Red musk, lemon peel, sugar cane, cassia, white sandalwood, mango, and agarwood.

 

Milk Chocolate, Cassia, and Bacon.

[Alia Kaitan]

Delphi has to be one of the most unique scents that I have tried so far. The smoke of Sacred Incense of Apollo twined through laurel branches, bay, and honey wine. I do loooove it, which was a surprise to me. In my mind, it's a perfect daytime scent for dark people. Smooth smokey honey with a slight herbal feel (the bay and laurel?). It does have a fruit sweetness to it, but it's a full bodied, living sweetness: more like berries on the bush rather than dripping berry sugar syrup.

Edited January 17, 2012 by kaitan

[Lethran]

Inganok Jewelers is tres weird but....I think it's sexy.

 

Me too.

 

I forget if I mentioned the weirdness that was Velvet Clown?

Edited January 18, 2012 by Gwydion