The Apple of Sodom

[arsenicsauce]

Native to the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, this fruit turns to ashes when plucked as a sign of God’s displeasure.

On the initial application I get a distinctly jolly-rancher apple smell from this. There's something spicy underneath- I can feel my skin numb a bit. Okay, yeah, that's definitely cinnamon, and it's kicking ass and taking names, so I would be really surprised if this didn't give those with sensitive skin a rash. I get just a whiff of dark brimstone around the cinnamon, but mostly this is slightly sweetened cinnamon to me (and surprisingly, this does not make it smell like red hots- must be the apple saving it, because cinnamon scents usually default to red hots on me as a rule).

[HamletsKeeper]

This is pure plastic on me. It smells like a 5yr old jar of cinnamon that's lost all it's fragrance. You still smell traces of what used to be there but it's so faded and old now that the smell is just unappealing. I don't know whats in this scent but all of it must be fail on my skin because it doesn't bloom at all.

[edenssixthday]

The Apple of Sodom - I'm not a fan of BPAL's apple note in general, and this is no exception. It's bitter, slightly rancid apple blended with a darker, ashy-type scent. It's not particularly unpleasant, but I don't see that it's something I would ever reach for.

[skylarkza]

In the imp: Soapy apples.

 

Wet: Crisp apples, fresh and juicy. Surrounded by apple blossoms.

 

Dry: More blossoms. The apple has faded. This is almost all blossoms, but with a spicy tinge to it.

 

A while later: A creamy scent, but with a gentle cinnamon edge. Slightly floral, like newly opened blossoms.

[reynardine]

In imp: apple scent

 

Wet: Ooooh, this is BITTER apple!

 

Drydown: smells like apple cider with mulling spices

 

Later: Cider, pure cider. Too bitter for my tastes. To the trade pile.

 

[HKB]

Immediately I think of generic man cologne, but soon it turns into a sharp apple. The apple gets sweeter and softer but it's dry, not juicy. Powdery and blah for a while. Something a bit richer comes around, but I have no idea what it is. Overall it's too weak.

Edited February 6, 2010 by HKB

[cuervosueno]

Whoa! This is odd! In the imp I get a whiff of green apple, but on me, the green apple takes the backseat to something oddly bubblegum-ish (as others have noted) and then green wood and then ash! This is really strange, kind of like someone peeled some bark off a bunch of twigs then tossed in some bubblegum and dumped ash over the whole thing.

 

Yeah, don't think I need anymore of this.

[FathomBelow]

Quite frankly, I can't stand this one. It's the first Black Phoenix blend ever to have produced such an impression on me.

 

On my skin, this smells extremely herbal, almost acrid, and yet perfume-y at the same time. There is absolutely nothing that smells remotely like apples or ash (granted, I've never smelled ash in a perfume, but I have smelled plenty of real ash). It's obnoxious and overbearing, like the worst department store perfume ever gone wrong.

 

The image this calls up is a beefy sixty-something woman with her hair in curlers, standing in a ratty mint-green bathrobe with rhinestone-studded sunglasses and fuschia lipstick. It's an extremely vivid image - I suppose intense dislike spurs the imagination.

 

This one is definitely off to my giveaway pile. As most of the other reviewers have smelled distinct apples and/or ash, I'm wondering if my perfume could have been mislabeled. Or maybe I just have really odd skin?

[gingiemay]

This is a really bitter, woody apple. It's not a juicy, green, red ripe apple, but a bitter, sour scent, almost like a crab apple that's not ripe. As it dries, the woody notes and the sourness fall away and there is something like what I would swear is sandalwood in here. Overall it's really not me.

[kohimame]

Huh, I didn't get any form of apple out of The Apple of Sodom. Going on wet, I get a mash of different scents; spices, some kind of floral, and an herbal bitterness. As it dries down though, the notes seem to tone down a bit and I'm left with what seems to be apple blossoms and .. cinnamon?

 

The Apple of Sodom didn't wear long at all, 3 hours, but the throw was phenomenal. When I put it on originally, I really didn't care for it, but it's grown on me. I'll keep the imp and see where it goes from there.

[Leah703]

Wet on skin: Bizarre and medicinal, there isn't a single note I can pick out although there is something in there that reminds me of an old Yves St. Laurent perfume that my grandmother wore. Whatever the medicinal smell is reminds me destruction, like standing from afar watching a city on fire but without any hint of a smoky smell. The color that comes to mind when sniffing this is a smoky black with just a hint of green. .

 

Drydown: Some green fruit comes out. I can pick out a bit of green apple but that is all.

 

Dry on skin: The medicinal smell fades and the smoky black feel softens. Eventually the green apple hides. I'm beginning to smell a bit of clove and dry woods, sandlewood perhaps. The dry phase reminds me of the aftermath of a huge fire that destroyed an ancient city.

 

Verdict: It's amazing how Beth has captured the feel of total destruction in a scent. Unfortunately it's totally not me but is very interesting to sniff.

 

 

[raisin]

I don't know what it is, but I really like the lab's apple scent, even if I almost never wear it.

 

This one goes on very apple-y, and smells authentic enough to me, albeit with kind of a bitter kick at the end.

I lose the apple as it settles, but before I could pin down what it smells like instead (sort of fresh, but a little perfume-y?) it's pretty much gone. There's just a little patch of skin that's ever so slightly fresher smelling than the area around it.

 

Alas.

[AnArtfuldodger]

In the imp: APPLE!

 

Wet on wrist: Apple apple apple! Love it! It's not a tart apple, it's sort of like an aged apple that's been sitting in the tree a long time, until it's mushy and warm. Yet it doesn't seem like a fall blend the way Lamb's Wool does, it's a warm apple, but it's still light!

 

On the drydown: It stays pretty true to just being a warm-yet-summery apple on me. It's sort of a slightly darker apple (maybe that's the "ash" thing going on there). Pretty good staying power, medium-low throw.

 

For those who want a good straight-up GC apple scent, this is it! It's much warmer than SGA, cooler than Lambs Wool though.

 

 

Edit: reading other reviews, it may be that my skin chemistry amps the apple and nothing else, since like I said....I get apple, and that's almost entirely it, whereas it seems other folks have sensed other scents entirely here! Me, I just get apple!

Edited July 8, 2010 by AnArtfuldodger

[impolight]

:::THE APPLE OF SODOM:::

 

This is quite a peculiar scent. Certainty as what to make of it is finite. Referring to the Lab's notes was of little enlightenment.

The Apple of Sodom smells like Apple, shampoo, Pine, varnish, and... Birthday candles.

Eve did not put her feminine wiles on display when she smelled this and decided to bite it anyway.

Adam's first thought upon following suit was a future vision of Nascar.

The Denizens of Hell, celebrating their victory upon eating this, probably had a little too much... Brimstone scraping against their helmets.

The Apple of Sodom isn't bad, mind you, it just isn't something you'd... Eat.

On the Skin: Wow. The varnish really comes out and sets the gums to bleeding.

There is a floral underneath this, struggling to catch a breath (Daffodil or Narcissus?), but it is quickly fumigated into submission.

The Apple of Sodom is a fearsome contender.

At first, it seems like it would be effective at repelling mosquitos or deterring predators, but once the intensity subsides, those soft florals are actualoly quite nice.

The Apple of Sodom has become clear blue and pale white blossoms cascading through the air currents.

The Apple of Sodom would be a nice, fresh formula for Her.

This would also serve as a sensible room fragrance.

4 out of 5.

[Ryokumuji]

Oh my gosh, this is amazing. This was a frimp in my order from the lab and the apple is... wonderful. It's different from "Poisoned Apple" which I tried just last night. Apple is at the top but there's something sort of floral but "green" in there too. I wouldn't call it "herbal" though. It's pleasant and clean smelling to me, different from the "dark" vibe that "Poisoned Apple" had. Now that it's been on my skin for about 10 minutes, it smells much more floral to me, with the apple floating in the background. As a fan of both fruit and florals, this one gets two thumbs up from me.

[Lethran]

In bottle: Sharp apple, with a hint of something chemical underneath. It’s strong and intense. Wet: Sweeter and stickier smelling on the skin. Crystiline and delicte. Pleasingly simple. Dry: Goes a touch plastic.

[Altaira]

A very light, dusty apple that disappears on my skin.

[Amoraexcena]

In the Imp: I smell a sharp, sour green apple tinged with eucalyptus.

Wet on Skin: The apple fades to eucalyptus, spearmint and ice. It definitely goes herbal.

 

Drydown: Lily of the valley and pine soap, with a melange of herbs. Very little apple.

[ShannonElisabethJones]

In the bottle, this is fresh, sharp apple skins and some sort of dry herb/spice. Tasty, but probably not something I could wear often.

 

Just after application, I get a wee bit of menthol in with the OMGAPPLE. My BF says it smells like Lifesavers wrappers (I honestly don't know where he gets this stuff, but it does make life interesting).

 

If the apple doesn't calm down, I don't know if I'd have a wearable scent. I just don't think I could carry off smelling like apples all day. I like the scent.....maybe in a oil burner.

[filigree_shadow]

Disclaimer: I don't think I've ever kept an apple scent that I've tried. It's just not really my thing.

 

I put this one on thinking it was probably going to be a big blast of apples, but it wasn't. I let it sit on my wrist for about 20 minutes while I did other stuff, and when I sniffed it to write this review, I couldn't figure out what I was smelling. Certainly didn't seem identifiable as apples. So I put on some more oil and tried again.

 

Now when it's wet, it seems like I can smell something that's vaguely apple-ish, but not hugely. It kind of smells like apples and.... oh, what's that woody viney note. Galangal? It's that one note that smells a little woody and a little bitter, and I usually try to avoid that note.

 

This one's not a winner for me, but I didn't really expect that it would be.

[grrrlennyl]

The Apple of Sodom

 

On: Far more perfumey than I would have though, but also herbal. I can get a bit of ashiness and some sour apple, too.

1 hour in: Sweeter now. Powedery/ashy with a sweeter apple note.

5 hours in: Sweet and almost a bit anise-y. Powdery. Pretty.

Overall: This is really pretty scent and wasn't at all what I expected.

[KittyHawk]

In the imp, this is a VERY astringent apple. Crisp, raw, and very green.

 

Wet, this is still all apple. I like it, but I wish it had more depth. Patience, grasshopper.

 

Dry, this gets very herbal, but apple remains the strongest note. This is very nice; I will be wearing this exclusively in the fall when I'm getting nostalgic for Michigan autumns. Lovely--a perfect scent for anyone looking for a clean apple single-note with depth.

[Vega]

Sniffed: An odd, inorganic scent that I can't quite place.

 

On skin: I have a hard time placing The Apple of Sodom. On one hand, it smells like stone, inorganic and dusty. On the other hand, it's not quite the Lab's stone note that I'm familiar with (as was in Niflheim or Visiting the Temple of Auspicious Fortune) -- it smells different, somehow. After drydown, tendrils of something sweet begin to emerge from under the dust and inorganicity, a floral or fruity sweetness that is extremely faint and sometimes morphs away completely. I would like to smell more of this sweetness, but its tenuous presence seems to fit well with the scent description. The scent ends up gently vetiver-smoky and dusty, and barely detectable on my skin. Colour impression is brown-gray dust with the faintest tinge of vague colour.

 

Verdict: Well, this fruit of Sodom has indeed disintegrated completely on my skin. I'd be able to say more about it, if it had more lasting power, but as it stands I'm swapping this off.

[mymymai]

In the Imp (ITI): While apple is one of the notes, I’m greeted by notes reminiscent of men’s cologne, king of like an oude, thyme, and some other medicinal greenness. It smells wonderful and I can’t wait to wear it.

 

Wet: I tried this on and the first response was, “Oh goodness, yes!” It smells delightfully foreboding yet very alluring at the same time. I want to bathe in this scent. I still get the masculine qualities, but the tartly spiced (warmed clove and cinnamon) apple is emerging and is balancing out the herby oude.

 

Dry: Gloriously tart apples that have soaked in spices of nutmeg, cinnamon, and clove with a hint of smokiness. Oh yes, this scent will be mine in larger quantities.

[ChesterCopperpot]

In the imp: Bam. Strong apple scent.

Wet: Green apple (though not like a fake jolly rancher green apple. An apple straight from an orchard), slight spice (cinnamon),

Dry: Still very appley, but now there's the slightest hint of baby powder at the end of the scent. I don't like baby powder, but it's so faint and the apple is still strong, so I don't mind it. A fabulous apple scent!