Thanatopsis

[Wren12]

A meditation upon death. Inspired by William Cullen Bryant’s poem. A deep, solemn earthen scent containing pine, juniper and musk.

Smelling it blind, in the imp, I at first have no clue what notes are here, but I'm very intrigued. After a bit of rumination there is a definite menthol-ish note...maybe eucalyptus or piney. It's nice.

On wet...hmm...it smells a little like Vicks Vaporub...which actually has great associations for me. Don't ask. A defined, almost sweet sap note becomes apparent under the high eucalyptus scent.

On dry...the Vicks scent falls away, and with it the very sharp quality of this blend. In its place the sweet green, pine sap comes to the forefront with a lovely, light musk mingling like a well loved friend at a party. This brings the blend to a whole different level.

Overall I like every single stage of this blend, totally a keeper.

[beakerwill]

Posting from my old (summer '06) BPAL review journal; I will update as I retest

 

(circa July '06 - don't know if imp was lab fresh or eBay lot, so imp age/freshness is unknown)

 

In the Imp: Oohh... It's kinda piney Like a bit of Christmas tree limb that has sat outdoors for a month or two, and you are sniffing it on a cold gray evening in late winter.

 

Wet: Same as the imp... But as it starts to dry, I'm smelling a bit of pine-sol. Hmm.

 

Dry: As it dried, this changed from slightly spicy pine with a hint of pine-sol, to pine and something animal-like, to Cat Butt with a hint of pine. Sadly, my initial mental image of this scent seems to have been a bit - off. I had to go scrub it off, but on my way to the sink I passed my husband... Who informed me that whatever I was wearing smelled "fresh, breezy, like the outdoors - really awesome!"

 

Current thoughts:

I haven't retested, but reading the scent notes for this oil, I seem to have smelled all of them during my test, including (especially) the musk, lol. If this imp was Lab fresh when I tested it, it has aged 6&1/2 years since... Possibly worth a retest, if nothing else to see what the musk has done.

[fufu_berry]

Very soft and pleasant - goes on with a light tinge of juniper and citrus, which makes me think the musk is a lemony black musk. It dries down to a light dry pine. I think "solemn" describes it very well. I didn't find this particularly green or astringent, and it's the softest of BPAL's pine scents that I've tried.

[WidgetAlley]

Imp: Pine! Sweet, sugar-frosted pine, and lots of fizzy juniper, which always makes me think of gin. And behind it, musk. It doesn't smell like black musk or civet yet (neither of which work on me), so perhaps there's hope for this after all.

 

Wet: Pine and warm animal fur and a hint of baby powder, which, uh-oh, could mean black musk or could just be juniper doing weird things on my skin. Fresh-cut wood, too, splintery and damp. I expected something much less.. refreshing. Oh, wait. There's the cedar-baby-powder-death smell of black musk coming up underneath. Man, black musk is way unsettling to me.

 

Dry: Forest and animal eyes, gleaming out of the darkness. I think this would be great, dangerous and feral, on a man, but to me, black musk is just to odd to wear.

[Zii]

My skin eats this, which is awful because I love the way it smells. It's a faint but sharp resiny pine with the fun kick of juniper darkened by the musk, but it has zero throw on me and I have to huff to get any smell at all...

 

Might buy another imp of this just to see if this was a batch issue, because when I do smell it, it's right up my alley.

[Atrous]

In the wet stage Thanatopsis smells just like Czernobog but lighter. That's fine because Czernobog is one of my top three scents.

The problem is the dry down. While Czernobog goes all dark, sexy musk on me; Thanatopsis just dries out and practically disappears. What little I do sniff is very cheap cologne. Too bad.

[KakashiMorph]

This imp is aged.
In the bottle: Juniper, hello!
On my skin: Jumping juniper which is very refreshing. A few minutes later the juniper mellows down a level and I can tell there is musk in here even if I can not smell it as a note. Half an hour later or so it gets more musky, which gives it another dimension. It actually smells like Shub Niggurath at this stage, minus the gingerbread.
Drydown: Shub Niggurath without the gingerbread.

[lunabee34]

This oil is very dark in the imp, coffee colored. I’m a bit worried. LOL Initially, this smells very earthy. In fact, it smells exactly like dirt—that sharp, acrid bite of freshly overturned wet earth. This is not the black, loamy dirt of a fertile field, though—it’s the Mississippi dirt out in the woods behind the house I grew up in—that yellow or red or beige dirt buried underneath years of accumulated pine straw. I smell something sweet, and then the pine and juniper jump out at me. This smells like my forearms are sticky with pine needle sap. The trees eventually fade quite a bit, but it continues to smell exactly like dirt with something sweet and resiny underneath. I love this. Hard. Apparently I really want to smell like dirt. LOL Thanatopsis lasts and lasts and lasts. On the first test on Saturday night, I could still smell it the following afternoon after showering that morning. I think my daughter is right that something in Antony is also in Thanatopsis, and I think it’s the musk. There was something sweetish in Antony that made me almost, almost like it before it went to powder on me, and I’m guessing it was musk. I tried layering Thanatopsis with Incantation today, and it was glorious. I am going to have to get big bottles of both those fragrances.

[Heaven_Star]

Imp: Exactly what it says in the description: juniper, pine and musk. Straight up and no frills.

 

Wet: Sweet juniper with a little bit of pine that gets stronger as it goes. There's very little musk showing up, just the juniper and pine playing off each other really nicely.

 

Dry: Really lovely juniper and pine. The musk never really showed up for me, or if it has it's super subtle and mixed in well.

 

I was never not going to love this - it's Black Forest without the amber that can be powdery on me, it's a perfect "woods" scent. I don't know if I'd get a big bottle, because I already have lots of similar scents, but I really am enjoying this one so I might cave. It really doesn't morph on me, it's juniper and pine in a bottle and that's enough to make me fall in love. I would have liked a little bit more musk to it, but it's still great even though that note doesn't show up for me.

[Jeni Mullen]

My scent palette: I'm a foodie that doesn't tend to like the lab's vanilla scent unless there's something sugary in it. Eat Me is one of my favorite scents along with Captain Lilith (more boozy but still sweet). I am slowly finding out that I don't like woods in my scents. I love FOREST smells (like pine needles, juniper, leaves, moss and grass) but sandlewoods, rosewoods, and things like cedar or oak just don't do nice things on me. I love Magnificent Autumn, Samhain and Druid! I like spices too as long as they aren't kitchen spices (like mint and sage). Frankincense smells a little like sage so I haven't been too happy with that in my blends either. Scherezade and Sapphics are my go to spice oils. My biggest no-no are florals. Lavender and Jasmine, ylang ylang and peony run rampant. That said, carnation and sometimes rose can be quite nice on me if they're toned down. I also am not sure about my take on citrus. Lime is overwhleming (but I liked it in Lily Witch despite the leather). Bergamot is nicer. Leather and hemp tend to give me headaches.

In the bottle: Pine-Sol almost exactly. It hurts my nose

On my wrist, wet: Pine-Sol still, but mellowed

Fifteen minutes later: Still the pine-sol scent but I'm starting to dig it. I think it's the white musk mellowing it out. It smells so earthy and has a much better throw than druid. This is not a wintery blend, however. It's more like the start of fall or tail end of summer. It feels "warm" and "green" to me and I try not to use words like that in my descriptions but this one really just feel like I would put it on for an early fall picnic.

Thirty minutes later: This has just replaced druid for my favorite "in the woods" sort of scent. The throw is miraculous. Because this is pine AND juniper (not the wood itself but the leaves and the sap) it has a very foresty feel. Isle of demons feels similar but IoD is sort of more marshy and earthy. This one is more treetops. Oh I love this, this might end up beating out druid for a bottle when I finally can afford a GC scent!

Verdict: Mine mine, all mine forever (or at least when I'm not feeling like wearing something sweet)

[Veronica]

Mmm, pine trees and a skin musk. Surprisingly gender neutral, but I would want this on a guy.

[dementia_divine]

In the imp: Mostly pine, followed by the juniper and musk.

 

Wet: Pine and juniper reign. The pine note in this feels more realistic and less in-your-face than the pine in Black Forest, which also contains juniper and pine. The musk is getting stronger as the scent sits on my skin, but I don't believe it's the same musk used in Black Forest. I think this may contain one of the musk notes found in Smut, but I could be wrong. It has a syrup-y, grape-y vibe to it.

 

Dry: This is musk-dominant on me now, followed by the pine. I'm really not enjoying this musk note.

 

Verdict: I like the pine in this more than Black Forest, but I prefer the black musk note used in Black Forest. I'm going to pass my imp on to a friend that enjoys tree scents.

[freyasfae]

I love pine and fir smells so when I got into BPAL, I decided to try and find a fitting pine scent for my skin for the winter months. Well, after trying The Jersey Devil, Nocnitsa, Winter Heavens, Hurðaskellir, and now this, I am starting to learn I like pine in theory, or as a candle, room spray, etc., but not on my skin. Compounded by the juniper, this is super pine-y. No thanks.

[Lambent]

Hmm... Pine. It then becomes a soft, clean musk. I like the smell of pine, but it seems to be temperamental on my skin, warping into something akin to cat piss. I love the idea of this scent, but not how it performs on me.

[Casablanca]

I like pine, juniper and musk. I hope this isn't the freshly turned grave and rotting grass kind of solemn (a la *Burial*).

Bottle: Pine, and then musk, both tinged with blue from juniper and maybe spruce. Thankfully no recent graves.

Wet: The same but with heavier pine and more earth. Solemn is a good word -- it's even joyless -- but not necessarily dysfunctional. It's a motionless dark pine and blue conifer forest. The juniper-spruce is cool, but the musk smells warm. This place feels outside of any season.

Dry: This first time I tried this, I got a little red swelling at the spot of application about 30 minutes in. This was a surprise since I normally react to cinnamon and maybe clove, and don't get anything like those here. Trying it on a different spot today... and not seeing a problem. But something weird: I can imagine the tiniest bit of clove or maybe cinnamon in this when I smell it again. There is a bit of spice here. But it doesn't show on me until after drydown and even then it's faint.

I'm not sure if I need a bottle of this but I'll enjoy this imp.

Edited April 26, 2016 by Casablanca

[bellumed]

I would never have expected to like this so much! Foresty and cool in that menthol way. Certainly suitable for a guy, but I like it on myself as well.

 

Similar to Samhain but I prefer Thanatopsis by far. Also reminds me of Triumph of Death (which has peru balsam and dark musk).

[BridgeKeeper]

Ooooh, I really like this one. It's lighter than Black Forest, and for some reason reminds me of my local Renaissance Festival. Didn't change too much over wear. Hippy-ish, I think it suits me. Though I like Black Forest better, this one is also a keeper.

Edited December 2, 2016 by BridgeKeeper

[Mokiefraggle]

Got this as a frimp with my 13 order, and I have to admit that I took one sniff of it and decided immediately that it was going straight to Darling Fiance, no question. I didn't even bother testing it on myself, since I knew that while I totally can wear this scent, it'll never be quite as good as it would be on him. I was absolutely not disappointed when I stealth-dabbed him with it tonight, and I may order him a bottle of it closer to his birthday.

 

So, as I said, I knew at first sniff that Thanatopsis would be his. Darling is all-over a woodsy, musky, green scents type of person. He wears juniper, pine, and other green notes beautifully, and this is no exception. It's very close to the body wash he likes to use (the C.O. Bigelow Elixer line, particularly Green), and much like the few BPALs he owns, but it's a slightly darker note than what he normally tends toward. I think this is the first time I've ever tried anything with a black musk on him, as he usually wears things like Yggdrasil or Golden Priapus, but I knew that meant he'd agree with the pine and juniper from the get-go. The musk also agrees quite well with him, not going lemony as black musk sometimes can; thank goodness. I know citrus scents don't work nicely with him, from the few times he's tested the more citrus-note blends of Elixer lotions and colognes, and I'd have been rather disappointed if it went lemony and ruined the rich, dark green scent that it began with. It's a dark, delightful scent on him, very deep and a bit earthy, and I kinda almost had to drag myself away from his neck to write this review.

 

I'm always glad when I can pass an imp or two off to Darling as opposed to setting them aside to one day become a swap; he doesn't buy many of the things he still sometimes refers to as "the smelly stuff" with a mock crinkle of the nose for himself, so I definitely enjoy being able to share the love and make him smell amazing at the same time. :3

[Elspethdixon]

Wet/In the Imp - musk & pine

Freshly applied - cool, menthol-y hint from the juniper, slightly sour pine, hint of clean/laundry/haze from the musk (don't turn into soap/dryer sheets, don't turn into soap/dryer sheets)

I'm testing this side-by-side with Przezcucie (sp?) and they actually blend really well - with both arms combined I'm surrounded by nose-tingling winter forest. One of the two makes the inside of my nose feel cold/tingly for several moments even after I've stopped smelling it, but I can't tell which. Neither of them is what I think of as "Christmas Tree" fir/pine, but both are nice. I think the Prz has practically burned out my nose so that all I get from Thanatopsis is musk. I'll have to retest it alone.

30 minutes in - my nose still feels weird tingly-cool on the inside from those first sniffs. Some kind of sensitivity? Anyway, the strong pine/fir scent has faded and Thanatopsis is now warm and masculine outdoorsy-tinged musk with a little soap with hints of cool juniper when I put my nose right to my skin.

[gloame]

I got this as a frimp in the same order as Theoi Nomioi and there's a definite resemblance at first sniff. Both are sharp, green, chewy pine. Almost like you can squish the seeping sap between your fingers and roll it up into little balls.

 

This is super clean and green. It smells like open windows and spring cleaning. It's fresh and beautiful, but not something I'd wear. It would make a very nice room scent.

 

If you miss Theoi Nomioi, this is a good alternative, but I think Theoi is prettier.

[LizziesLuck]

Wet: Musky, murky woods. I like it better than most scent containing pine. The musk is keeping the pine from smelling like cat pee on me, as it often does. Instead it's refreshing and almost minty. It's a cold scent.

 

 

Dry: Pleasant musk and woods. I think it's about the best pine has ever smelled on me! I still find it too masculine to want to wear, but it's very pleasant.

[lizardskin]

A warm, slightly spicy pine scent. I'm not sure what kind of musk this is, but it doesn't seem to be black, fortunately, since I'm not super fond of black musk. I don't get much in the way of earthiness/dirt, just juniper and pine grounded by a light musk. The pine/juniper combo reminds me of Ranger, which I love, but Ranger is a lot more complex. If you are looking for a dark pine forest scent, but Ranger or Black Forest are a bit too much, Thanatopsis is a good alternative!

[achildoftime]

This is a great pine scent. It's very invigorating and fresh. Like taking in a lungful of forest air. The pine and juniper meld very nicely. I like smelling like trees and this one is great for that. I think it's more sap and needles than bark and moss. It dries to be more mellow. It's more like a well-worn hiking shirt with lingering forest and not like someone who works in a lumber mill or as a lumberjack where the scent just permeates everything.

[Lucchesa]

I had an imp of Thanatopsis early in my BPAL journey but misplaced it, and I recently acquired a replacement. It's wonderful! Golden Priapus is one of my favorite GCs, and Thanatopsis is definitely a close relation, with musk instead of the vanilla. So it goes on all sharp juniper and pine, but the sharp note is quick to fade. What remains is a soul-filling sweet musky pine that stays true for a long time.

 

I can see using this around the holidays if you like to smell like evergreen boughs. I'll wear it any time I don't want to clash with the great outdoors. I think this would be equally good on a guy - maybe even better!

[SoundlessEchoes]

In the imp: A blend of deep, earthy scents, hard to pick out specific notes. An old growth forest.

 

5 to 10 minutes drydown: First wet and for some time, I get a strong impression of sandalwood - since there's not supposed to be any sandalwood in this, I think that's the way my nose is interpreting the blending of the pine and musk. There's hints of something warm rounding out the back, an amber or vanilla sort of note.

 

1 hour out: A soft, woodsy musk. Not any distinct notes, just the perfect blend like standing in the deep shadows near the pines of an old growth forest. Absolutely wonderful.

 

This is one of my favorites, and the only thing keeping me from going for a full bottle yet is that I feel that it's a bit strong for my work environment.