A Torrent of Light

[Caper]

When I found so astonishing a power placed within my hands, I hesitated a long time concerning the manner in which I should employ it. Although I possessed the capacity of bestowing animation, yet to prepare a frame for the reception of it, with all its intricacies of fibres, muscles, and veins, still remained a work of inconceivable difficulty and labour. I doubted at first whether I should attempt the creation of a being like myself, or one of simpler organisation; but my imagination was too much exalted by my first success to permit me to doubt of my ability to give life to an animal as complex and wonderful as man. The materials at present within my command hardly appeared adequate to so arduous an undertaking; but I doubted not that I should ultimately succeed. I prepared myself for a multitude of reverses; my operations might be incessantly baffled, and at last my work be imperfect: yet, when I considered the improvement which every day takes place in science and mechanics, I was encouraged to hope my present attempts would at least lay the foundations of future success. Nor could I consider the magnitude and complexity of my plan as any argument of its impracticability. It was with these feelings that I began the creation of a human being. As the minuteness of the parts formed a great hinderance to my speed, I resolved, contrary to my first intention, to make the being of a gigantic stature; that is to say, about eight feet in height, and proportionably large. After having formed this determination, and having spent some months in successfully collecting and arranging my materials, I began.

No one can conceive the variety of feelings which bore me onwards, like a hurricane, in the first enthusiasm of success. Life and death appeared to me ideal bounds, which I should first break through, and pour a torrent of light into our dark world. A new species would bless me as its creator and source; many happy and excellent natures would owe their being to me. No father could claim the gratitude of his child so completely as I should deserve theirs. Pursuing these reflections, I thought, that if I could bestow animation upon lifeless matter, I might in process of time (although I now found it impossible) renew life where death had apparently devoted the body to corruption.

A torrent of light: eucalyptus petals, white mint, white amber, and ozone.

yay, i'm first! let's hope i can do it justice.

i find myself drawn to descriptions that are bright and clean, even though i don't always like the way they smell on me. a torrent of light smells great on me though, and i think it's because the amber tempers the higher pitched notes.

bottle: light citrus? and ozone. i think that this might be the difference between eucalyptus petals and straight eucalyptus. it's a lighter non-astringent eucalyptus that makes me think of citrus. really amazing in the bottle.

wet: oh yum! i smell clean and light. there's an brightness to it that makes me think of electricity, but the eucalyptus is vague and not harsh like i was worried it might be. it could be unisex at this point, which is usually how ozone comes across to me.

dry at 5 min: the amber starts to warm and mellow the brightness of the mint and eucalyptus. i say mint and eucalyptus, but neither of those are really prominent or harsh like they can be. just light, breezy, and a hint of cold. this seems to be more feminine to me but it isn't strongly feminine at all. in fact i would say it is nicely androgynous.

dry at 30 min: the amber has really warmed it up and softened it like amber usually does. i love amber in pretty much everything i've ever tried it in and seem to be lucky that it doesn't go powdery on me. the eucalyptus petals add a slight floral edge to it but i'm not really into florals and it definitely doesn't come across as a floral. it's more like the floral adds a touch of complexity to the warmness of the amber and the brightness of the ozone.

verdict: i like it a LOT. i'm definitely keeping my bottle and i think it will work well on those days when i need a bright winter scent that isn't foody or sweet. masterful blend! 9/10

for those that were afraid of either the eucalyptus or mint being too strong or astringent, you should try this one anyway. they are very subtle and the amber and ozone are the more prominent notes.

[strahlend]

First Sniff – very clean and BRIGHT.

 

Skin Test – it's bright and makes me think of lemons without actually smelling like lemons. A bit soapy. The amber sweetens this up. Still makes me think of soap though, almost irish spring in its enthusiastic cleanliness. The mint brings it back into non-soapy territory. The amber mint combination keep this scent interesting.

 

After a while this is what I always hope that the pirate smells would be like. It's sort of fresh and clean but there's also a depth to it - I think it's the amber – that makes this really appealing.

 

Edit to add: This scent continued to grow on me and I have a couple bottles stashed away. The more I sniff it the more it smells like a pirate to me. Clean air and water, but still musky, and warm. All the elements keep each other in check. Hopefully there are more bottles out there for me to hoard, I need more of this stuff in my life.

Edited April 14, 2012 by strahlend

[yeahbutnobut]

A Torrent of Light

 

In the imp: fresh and bright, eucalyptus that clears the nose, with a perfumey undertone.

Wet on skin: frosty mint and a jolt of eucalyptus with white amber.

Dry on skin: ozone leaps out, mixed with white amber, with the eucalyptus and mint lingering. These notes are like a winter wind, clean and clear, piercing and chilly. The kind of cold that cuts through you. The ozone here is of the electrical variety, not as sharp as the one in Lightning, but it has a crackling, metallic quality to it. The ozone and amber do combine to give a scent that reminds me of sporty perfume or clean linen, very clean and refreshing. The eucalyptus does clear the nose and mind but doesn’t smell medicinal.

After a while: it smells perfumey now. Gone are the mint and eucalyptus, the ozone and amber stick around and it smells a bit like a mainstream perfume now. Not in a bad way, but I’m not sure I’m keen on it. Reminds me a bit of something I’d smell in a West End department store. It reminds me of Ether and Pollution as well. The ozone is all that’s left after a few hours, very little white amber remains by then. At this point the ozone reminds me of Archangel Winter, but a bit sharper and soapier.

Verdict: a blinding white light is what this evokes, like a bolt of lightning. It is almost icy but not quite, it’s even more luminous than that. It’s a flash of eucalyptus and mint with electric ozone and white amber. Quick as a flash the cold notes fade to leave an ozone-amber scent (with emphasis on the ozone), which unfortunately is a little too much like generic perfume for my tastes. I prefer Menacing Ionospheric Research Instrument, which is similar but has more complexity. Though this may be worth putting in a locket for that initial mind-clearing 'zap' that I get from the wet stage.

Is it a keeper? no.

If you like this, try: Pollution, 51, Alien Invasion, Ether, The Coil, Menacing Ionospheric Research Instrument, Parsifal

[patina]

I think this is what a florescent light would smell like. White mint, ozone, a perfumy undertone from the white amber and possibly some eucalyptus. The eucalyptus is not the nose-clearing stuff I'm familiar with, though.

 

This is fairly faint on me, but as it starts to dry down, I love the way the amber and ozone turns sweet, but this is really too faint for me. I prefer Ultraviolet.

[gchris]

Soft and lovely. I can smell the eucalyptus but it is delicate not overpowering. The white amber is the next strongest and oh how I love thee. The mint is light as a breath and the ozone diffuses the whole blend making it etheral. I think I'm in love! This blend makes me feel as if I am weightless, like floating on a cloud. I know sounds strange, but that is the impression I am getting. Like I have floated somewhere far away to a peaceful place. I think I need this blend based on relaxation purposes purely. When philosophy the brand came out with their perfume that was suppose to smell "soap and water clean" this is what I wanted it to smell like. Not that this smells anything like soap but pure and clean and just lovely. I could keep going about how much I love this scent, but I'll stop now

[milo]

Not getting any eucalyptus here, surprisingly, but a lot of soft mint and warm amber. Usually mint makes a blend cool, but here there's a warm cozy feeling along with the cool mint. This smells like clean girl out of the shower. I'm betting this blend would be great for the summer.

[Lethran]

In bottle: Mint dominant with strong eucalyptus and ozone support. Amber extremely understated. This is so full of notes that don’t work for me that it’s hard to be impartial. It is very cold, pale green, and dental. No skin test for everything but amber.

[zankoku_zen]

Minty fresh ozone. It sort of smells like toothpaste on me. Really delicious toothpaste.

[Incendiare]

Although the eucalyptus is obvious at first whiff, the slightly sweeter mint is noticeable. The more I smell it, the more the mint stands out in contrast to the eucalyptus. On me, the eucalyptus dominates and a sharp ozone, almost citrusy, shows up. The name is very fitting for this blend because this truly makes me think of a violent burst of light. Like an electrical storm. It's actually a lot cleaner than I'd imagined as I thought the eucalyptus would be the star and turn this into a medicinal mess.

[aphrodite]

at first whiff i was in love with this. delicate, minty, herbal, crisp, and distinct without being in your face. then the ozone and amber began to take over, and i'm not sure if ozone doesn't work for me or if it's the way the two combined, but after about thirty minutes it began to smell exactly like a specific car air freshener an old babysitter had. i couldn't say what scent the air freshener was, but it was the tree shaped generic type, and as the day wore on this became more and more precisely that. it's possible if i'd never smelled the air freshener, i may have liked this, but the correlation made me pretty much tear my clothes off to jump in the shower and be rid of this the second i got home.

[thekittenkat]

In the decant: Eucalyptus, some mint, and certainly the ozone.

 

Wet: Much as when sniffed, but with a faint sweetness coming forward.

 

The dry-down: This became a skin scent, and is slowly fading. I like it because the white amber didn't get too powdery, yet at the same time I don't like it, because I suspect that the amber has reined in the scent too much. Yet another scent that reminded me of Moon of Ice in the wet stage. I'll put this in the scent locket in the future.

[mistressfizz]

Sniff: Faint whisper of mint

 

Wet: Mint is definitely the strongest note. I was hoping for a more herbal greenish scent, with the eucalyptus component, but this is all sugary chewing gum mint, sweet and sharp.

 

Dry: Still sweet, but kind of musky, maybe from the amber. The mint is lighter, pale and lofty. This one is a bit too light for me.

[Blood onmy hands]

The mint and eucalyptus smell like mint mouthwash, the ozone turns slightly soapy, and the amber adds a touch of baby powder. I should hate this, but it's rather light and actually inoffensive on me. Clean. Reminds me of a little bag of travel size toiletries, lol.

[84trillion]

I absolutely hated this when I first received it. I took one whiff of it, smelled mint, and put it away. However, wearing it now, I feel like this is a lovely blend - reminiscent of cologne, but not too masculine for me to wear. Very fresh, and bright, with something warm underneath (the amber, I assume). A 6/10 - will keep my partial, wear from time to time, but will not actively seek more.

Edited July 12, 2012 by 84trillion

[stellamaris]

So very in love with this scent.

I wore it A LOT in summer, it's so fresh and awake.

Yesterday I wore it for luck, to get my lights back on...seemed to have worked, and it was so refreshing besides.