The Seekim

[ami226]

Cacao absolute, hay, black pepper, patchouli, and incense ash.

 

This smells like there should be black musk in here. A powderiness that just doesn't smell good on me with some woodiness.

[Roogna]

ew. I get pinesol with cocoa and rum. not a good mix

[Vega]

Sniffed: Black and inorganic. I recognize cocoa, pepper, and most of all, ash.

 

On skin: While I can smell the bittersweet dark cocoa forming a deep base, and perhaps a bit of hay, pepper and patchouli adding nuance and variety, the blend is completely dominated by inorganic, gritty incense ash. BPAL's dust/stone accord has a very inorganic vibe, and the one in The Seekim is similar to the stone note in The Isles of Demons, Phoenix in Summer, and Visiting the Temple of Auspicious Fortune. But this is the most heavy stone accord I've encountered in a BPAL blend, to the point of being oppressive and off-putting. In fact, The Seekim smells downright spooky, and actually makes me feel nervous and very uncomfortable. Time doesn't help; it only gets more ashy and eventually drowns out all the other notes. Colour impression is a chaotic scribble of black lines.

 

Verdict: There are (thankfully only) a tiny handful of BPAL blends that don't just smell unpleasant, but actually evoke psychic disorder and intense oppressiveness in my mind. The Seekim is one of them. I won't be trying this again.

Edited April 3, 2012 by Vega

[brilliantcat]

In the imp, it's chocolatey and piney(?)... something is tricking my nose. On me, it's definitely pine trees and something kind of rotten :x I'm not sure what's causing it to smell like that, none of the notes are represented to my nose. It makes me queasy to be honest. And not five minutes later, it smells AMAZING. Creamy patchouli, earthy and slightly sweet. Well that was a surprise! During drydown it develops a salty, aquatic feel, probably from the stone. I'd definitely take a partial!

[gasolinemonk]

gather round, my children, for an epic tale of greatest highs and ruinous disaster.

 

THE SEEKIM

 

WET: chocolate. mmmmmmmm chocolate.

ON PAPER: powdery chocolate, with something spicy (the pepper) and something clean (the hay). absolutely lovely. nom nom nom. too much chocolate is awful but this is just right.

WET ON SKIN: I want to eat my wrist.

DRY ON SKIN: I still want to eat my wrist.

 

CONCLUSION: YES. YES. DELICIOUS. wait - oh fuck, it's separated in the bottle and I didn't even notice.

 

COMMENCE GENTLY ROLLING TO MIX IN THE SEPARATED PARTS.

 

THE SEEKIM: TAKE 2

 

WET: nom nom nom chocolate but oh wait! something else... hay! oooohhh so much more there, now that I've mixed it up, and such a boon! before, it verged on being too much chocolate but now, not at all. oh this is even better than before I mixed it up.

ON PAPER: so much pepper! so much hay! so much patchouli! and all held together by the chocolate! this is EXCELLENT.

WET ON SKIN: (shuddering with pleasure. taking long, rattling sniffs.) I could wear this all day. this is amazing. this is... shit. it dried.

DRY ON SKIN: furniture polish. fuck.

 

CONCLUSION: HOLY GOD DELICIOUS for about three minutes. then the hay turns to furniture polish.

[porcelina]

The first thing I notice is the hay/pepper/patchouli combo, which is a bit sharp and gives The Seekim a masculine cologne feel to my nose. At first, the pepper actually makes me want to sneeze! Under this is the gorgeous, glorious cacao which is rich and deep and a light sense of faded incense. This hits quite a few of my favorite notes and I like it a lot... until... oh god... like gasolinemonk just above me... the hay. The hay starts to smell just. like. furniture polish.

I am going to attempt to rescue this by layering with something musky or amber-y (hay works on me in Hay Moon, for example!) because it is too nice to go this way.

Note: the cacao absolute tends to separate, so be sure to stir this one up before testing!

Edited September 2, 2014 by porcelina

[DazyG]

This is very similar to Lurid BonBon, but with a prominent gay note. The chocolate is string with this one!

Edited February 5, 2016 by DazyG

[bellumed]

Lots of sticky cacao I have to tap and roll to dislodge from the bottom. This smells, oooh, mystical. A witch’s ritual performed out in the barn. Drydown is salty ash and an air of pepper.