strahlend Report post Posted December 23, 2011 The cup of life was poisoned forever; and although the sun shone upon me as upon the happy and gay of heart, I saw around me nothing but a dense and frightful darkness, penetrated by no light but the glimmer of two eyes that glared upon me. Sometimes they were the expressive eyes of Henry languishing in death, the dark orbs nearly covered by the lids, and the long black lashes that fringed them; sometimes it was the watery, clouded eyes of the monster as I first saw them in my chamber at Ingolstadt.A dense and frightful darkness: black musk, vetiver, myrrh, opoponax, hemp, crushed sage, oakmoss, and tobacco. First Sniff – wonderful black musk blend. Reminding me of Haunted.Skin Test – upon first application still reminding me a lot of Haunted – which leads me to ask the question, how is this different than Haunted? Maybe it's a little softer, I think maybe the tobacco and the myrrh together are giving this a little bit of a sweeter feeling with a very, very light soapy feeling. This is like Hunted's slightly more distinguished and elegant mother or grandmother. Just a hint of powderyness from the myrrh and maybe oakmoss. As it dries there's a bit of warm spice happening.This scent hangs on for quite a long time. At the mid point the resins really come out and it's musky and kind of resin-powdery. Late in the dry down I'm getting musky spice on my skin and it seems like it'll continue to hang on for a while. I feel pretty sure it's the oakmoss lingering.In the end it's the oakmoss that clings to the skin for an unexpectedly long time. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
angelicruin Report post Posted December 24, 2011 I definitely agree with the comparison to Haunted at first sniff. I love black musk and this scent does not disappoint. I'm one who usually cannot do vetiver, but it works in this blend. Darkens the scent a little more without making me smell like the fire pits of Hell. Myrrh and tobacco notes soften and sweeten the scent just enough and the sage seems to balance everything together. Though I won't likely purchase a bottle, I do want to keep this decant. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Monster Report post Posted December 27, 2011 (edited) This is mostly black musk with the softest touch of vetiver. On my skin I'm only smelling resin, black musk and vetiver. I'm not getting any sage at all. This dries into a powdery resin, probably too powdery for my tastes. I was hoping for more vetiver. Oh well. ETA (3/2014): Just revisiting this scent to see how it's aged. The black musk is still the most prominent note and sadly, the vetiver has some how been swallowed up by the other notes (it must have been incredibly light to begin with). This still dries to a baby powder note on my skin. So sad. I was really hoping for the vetiver to take over and for the powderiness to go away. No such luck. Edited March 24, 2014 by Monster Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
edenssixthday Report post Posted December 28, 2011 A Dense and Frightful Darkness - This is a really beautiful scent. It's definitely on the unisex side -- musky, woody, and resinous. On me, it's mostly a myrrh and oakmoss scent with a strong musky base. It's slightly powdery on the drydown, but not offensively so. It's really nice and I'm so glad I have a little bit! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
patina Report post Posted December 30, 2011 (edited) Musky and dark. I'm reminded both of Haunted and Creature Feature, though this is slightly woodier than both of those. Possibly because of the vetiver and the moss? It's a nice dark resiny mossy thing that's just a tiny bit sweet (tobacco?). It does end up getting too powdery for me. I think a decant will be enough. By the way, layered with Most Magnificent Christmas Tree, this smells like a way more complex and gorgeous Black Forest. Edited December 30, 2011 by patina Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Iceblink Report post Posted December 31, 2011 Oh HAI black musk! Luckily I adore black musk. I smell sweet tobacco in here too. This really is a "dense" oil, very dark and blended well, with nice throw! As it dries I'm getting more of the resins and a breath of sage. I really like this and it might be bottle-worthy...definitely one for us black musk lovers! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
milo Report post Posted January 8, 2012 This is a 'dark' black musk blend, if that makes sense! I have never found a black musk blend that doesn't lean to the dark side, but this really has a bite to it, with the vetiver and tobacco so nicely blended in. Though I do love black musk, I like it blended with sweeter notes like cocoa and vanilla, here it leans more to the masculine side, kind of rough and gritty. I would be all over a guy smelling like this though! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Lethran Report post Posted January 21, 2012 In bottle: musk dominant with strong opoponax, tobacco, and myrrh. The musk/vetiver combination is darkly sexual, with the vetiver well blended. The myrrh, opoponax, and sage, create a dark incense effect, and the oakmoss/tobacco/hemp cabal puts up a civilized, masculine front under which all this darkness seethes. This is beautifully designed and blended. No skin test, vetiver. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Blood onmy hands Report post Posted January 22, 2012 This starts off with lots of black musk (smells like smoky/musky, sharp, cold men's cologne to me) sweetened by the myrrh, opoponax, and tobacco. Opoponax smells intensely, syrupy sweet on me, and I'm getting lots of that super-sweet resin/incense here. As it dries down, the black musk actually calms down and something in this starts to turn powdery. It's mostly sweet opoponax and myrrh on the drydown, golden and warm smelling on me, with a powdery undertone. I thought that I might like this on my husband, but it goes too sweet on him as well. There are resin blends that I like a lot more than this one, so it's not a keeper for me. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
zankoku_zen Report post Posted January 25, 2012 Musky and resinous, with a light floral overlay. This one is lighter and prettier than I expected. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
thekittenkat Report post Posted February 5, 2012 In the decant: Getting whiffs of the sage and the oakmoss, with a touch of myrrh, and something dark, probably the musk. Wet:The tobacco comes into play, and perhaps the hemp. The dry-down: In the end, all the notes mentioned before combine into a lovely blend that's not too sweet or too dark. I think that the oakmoss is keeping the vetiver firmly in check. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Incendiare Report post Posted February 5, 2012 All of these dark notes, such as black musk, myrrh, and vetiver, collide with each other and burn my nose. It's hard to describe, or even believe, but in the vial, all of these notes almost create a brighter feel. The myrrh is definitely the most prominent, followed by the black musk. It goes earthier on me, though. Wet, the oakmoss and sage make themselves known and the resiny cloud takes a step back. Interesting blend if you're into the darker, cloudier, earthy blends. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ami226 Report post Posted July 28, 2012 On the skin: Spicy! I actually really like the vetiver in this one. Like in Tombeur it adds a bit of depth, but it isn't overwhelmingly dirt. I can mostly smell the black musk (which thankfully isn't turning into powder of doom on me this time), a bit of myrrh, and a bit of the vetiver. Argh! It was so pleasant and spicy before, but now it is starting to turn kind of weird. More of a greenish scent with a hint of dirt. Where did my spiciness go? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mymymai Report post Posted September 12, 2013 ITB: It's slightly perfume-y due to the reins with a smokey undertone from the vetiver. Wet: It's very similar to the scent in the bottle, but the myrrh and vetiver are just a touch clearer. If I concentrate, I can pick up the sweetness from the tobacco and a faint whisper from the sage. I like this so far. Dry: Yum. Tobacco, dark musk, swirling myrrh, rich opoponax, faint vetiver, and a pinch of hemp make this a complex and alluring scent. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
anaengel Report post Posted December 4, 2015 On me, this is neither dark not frightful. It is a scent that is sweet, yet powerful. In the beginning, it is a powdery, from the black musk, and floral like scent. The myrrh is trying to come out and add to the powderiness. As it is drying, the myrrh and musk show up more as powder, while the vetiver tries to show up and provide a sweet smoky feel. The tobacco is also adding to the sweetness. Once fully dry, this is a soft and sweet powder. I have to be in the right mood to wear this, but am so glad I have a bottle. It adds to some of my other scents at times too. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Lucchesa Report post Posted August 19, 2018 Wet, I could smell that rich, round syrupy opoponax, and I knew I would love this one. There are so many beautiful dark notes here -- black musk and myrrh are in the foreground on me, with the opoponax, while vetiver and tobacco are supporting players. I'm not really getting the green notes (hemp, sage, moss); this is a lush, velvety black scent on me, and it's absolutely lovely. It becomes a skin scent on me fairly quickly but lasts a long time. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites