R'lyeh

[scourgeotheseas]

The sunken city of the Great God Cthulhu. A hellishly dark aquatic scent, evocative of fathomless oceanic deeps, the mysteries of madness buried under crushing black waters, and the brooding eternal evil that lies beneath the waves.

R'lyeh - A freebie from the Lab, because otherwise I probably wouldn't have tried it...

In the bottle: I'm getting a mixture of pine and mild incense, with a background of murky bog. Freshwater, but slimy.

On me: The aquatic note is at the forefront, followed by a mix pine/light floral. Poo! I wanted to smell like evil aquatic grapefruit. Instead, it smells like my arm is rotting.

Drydown: Now I'm getting just a faint whiff of citrus, or maybe I just want to. Eventually, the aquatic note sweetens up some, and that's when I begin to smell something reminiscent of grapefruit and burnt sugar.

Well, the aquatic note is really dominant here. I loved Danube, and this is a darker, less clean version. I'm not quite sure about it. Especially as I've developed a headache since putting in on. It probably deserves another shot before heading to swaps.

[Red_Hot_Mama]

I can't believe I haven't reviewed R'lyeh, especially as it has become a favorite of mine!

 

This scent is chock-a-block full of scent memories for me; all of them wonderful.

 

When I was very little we used to go to the beach nearly every day. Well, there wasn't much money & there definitely wasn't a lot to do for a child on a Navy base in Mayport, Florida.

 

Walking the beach & climbing huge oak trees covered in Spanish Moss was my personal form entertainment. When I wasn't reading a book, I was building a fort in a downed tree or combing the beach for interestingly shaped driftwood.

 

R'lyeh smells exactly like those experiences! Salty air, sunshine, driftwood, trees & moss. It's all THERE!

 

Thank you, Beth! I really am enjoying R'lyeh! :00001651:

[aritei]

Many years ago, I went canoeing down a river with a friend. There was a mossy grove with funny grey fish and smooth pebbles on the bottom of the river. I think this captures the scent of that day perfectly.

[RainyDayGrey]

I ordered R'Lyeh for my huge Lovecraft fan husband. I had no idea I would like it so darned much.

 

In the bottle: water, clear, cold refreshing water. Not salty ocean wather though, this reminds me more of a rushing river than a tangy ocean spray.

 

Wet: all sweet fresh water. Ok this was not how I expected this to smell. It's very nice though.

 

Drydown: Wow, this did a complete 180 in the dry down. It does become more of a salty tangy ocean scent. It's got a touch of masculinity to it, but not so much that it would scare me away from wearing it. In the extreme drydown it morphs back into that sweet fresh water smell. This is definatly the most aquatic blend I've sniffed so far. The rest of the watery blends I've had all have varying degrees of floral to them, this one is all water to me. I didn't smell any of the grapefruit others have mentioned either.

 

Now I don't know what to do. Like I said I ordered it for the hubby, but damn I really like this. We could share, but he thinks BPAL blends are too strong on thier own for his tastes and has requested that I dilute all of his down before he wears them, I find that a little blasphemous, but whatever. The thought of dumping this particular imp of the precious in a bunch of perfumers alcohol though seriously makes me want to weep. Maybe I'll get lucky and he won't like it as much as I do.

[tesao]

in the bottle: grapefruit!!!

 

on my wrist, wet: grapefruit, but other things as well. spice. and what i can only suppose is "aquatic notes". it does smell like a living body of water, but not a dark one. not a clear one that you can see 8 feet down, either. a live, vibrant, happy and healthy moving body of water. perhaps a river?

 

on my wrist, dry: grapefruit. clove. the river is still running through it.

 

overall impression: a happy scent. vibrant, spicy, clean.

 

will keep to see if it ever calls to me.

 

it is DEFINITELY not evocative of evil or even of lovecraft, at least not to me....

[Alice Aforethought]

This is a tangy light berry scent, which levels out for me at watermelon sweeties. It's almost the light, sweet citrussy version of the now-departed Carnivale. It brings back memories of early teen years, with those dewberry type scents.

 

Unfortunately, it's too sweet for everyday wear for me, so it's a good thing i got it for my lovely.

[yummysushitoo]

A very interesting scent. I detected hints of greenery, and aquatic notes, but also a faint floral. Sorry. I'm not very good at identifying individual scents yet.

 

It certainly was not "brooding eternal evil", but rather a pleasantly complex scent.

 

I definitely liked this one, as it reminded me of a rainy garden, filled with lots of greens, and a few flowers to provide deceptive decoration.

 

Either spring or summer. I haven't decided whether day or evening. Perhaps another test...

[shelldoo]

intresting in the vial, i got grapefruit and possibly honeydew?

 

on it went immediately grapefruit and as it dried it got a bit aquatic but graoefruit was the front runner this is sparkling, clean, fresh and light

[paperdoll]

Initial Sniff: Grapefruit, with some aquatic notes and a hint of something darkly animal.

 

Wearing: The grapefruit dominates when wet, but very quickly something warm and spicy rises to compete with the cool refreshing tang of citrus. I seriously think there's ambergris in here, y'all.

 

Final Impressions: I would never have tried this based on the description (I don't love aquatics), but when the Lab sent this as a freebie, I sportingly gave it a try.

DAMN.

This is one fine blend! It is totally unique and unexpected. It has great staying power, and I love the combination of cool and warm.

[tsarina]

This is the ultimate summer scent for me!

 

I love the tangy grapefruit. It has to be red, ruby grapfruit with that delightful mix of sweet and sour. There's a warm note in here that I can't quite identify that blends with the citrus. Add a salty, aquatic tang and you have the gorgeous R'lyeh.

 

It's like swimming and sunlight, and orange skinned fruit. I walk around imaging evil grapefruit from under the sea.

[theshapeshifter]

In the imp: Definitely a 'murky' scent, but I can't quite place anything.

 

Initial application: Dark, cold, scary still water, and... Granny Smith apple? There's just a tangy whiff that's evocative of a really, really tart green apple.

 

After a few minutes: Still getting the apple. In fact, I stuck my wrist under hubby's nose, and he did a sniff test with the green apple soda he was drinking, and agreed I wasn't crazy. Almost like bobbing for apples, actually!

 

Drydown: The murkiness is taking over now, and the tangy note is changing a bit. Now I can kind of see what everyone was talking about with the grapefruit, although it's not a sweet, juicy grapefruit on me, more like the rind and pith left behind. But the predominant note is the murkiness. It's getting to be less like a dark cold pool, and a bit more swampy. Vetivert, maybe? It's reminding me of a softer, less floral Highwayman now.

 

It's a fascinating scent, one that makes me keep sniffing my wrist and hair every couple of minutes. It's outdoorsy and mysterious; I like it a lot.

[pensive]

(all tests have been done on me, your milage may vary thusly)

Preconceptions: Well I was never one for grapefruit.

Imp: If its one thing I'm learning fast about the complicated blends (especially the aquatics), its that "I have no idea what this is but I'm not repulsed" is generally a good sign.

Wrist, wet: Woah, herbal medicine. Down boy, down. Get you gone!

Drydown: Hey check out my citrus incensey thing. It's alternately sweet and sour and tasty business all on one wrist.

Drydown: Gets lighter as it goes.

Impression: I don't know if we're overestimating the evil grapefruit, but it is Up To Something. It's a wet mossy tree that was there before the dark murky lake was.

It is dark summer evening scent. Sweet and sour sauce.

Verdict: As far as the aquautics go, Cthulhu and Undertow still rock my house, but I kinda like this one for its vaguely citrus thing and it makes grapefruit smell good to me.

[QueenFae]

A very masculine scent to me. Deep, aquatic, and many layered. At first sniff, the aquatic notes really come out, but after awhile a rich, spicy undertone shows itself. It's sexy, dark, and strong. I can't wait to try this on my man.

[k00kaburra]

In bottle: Crisp. It's the fresh-yet-slightly-metallic scent you get as you run one of your knives through a melon, cutting it in half. Honeydew with a hint of steel. The aquatics are strong and dark, but the fragrance itself seems rather light and airy, except for that sharper edge that clings to it.

On me: I definitely get more of the grapefruit and spice notes when this is on the skin. Too bad, I was really liking the bottle scent. This certainly isn't a bad scent, though; on the contrary I quite like it. Salty grapefruit is how I would describe this. It sounds a bit odd, but man does it smell good!

[Sunbear]

Wow. It's been about a month since the first time I tried this, and it smells completely different to me now. I don't know if that's because this was one of the first scents I tried and my nose is more finely tuned now, or because it's reacting differently with my skin for some reason.

 

The first time I tried it I got grapefruit (like everyone else) and soft spices.

 

Now I smell grapefruit still, but the other layer isn't spicy at all. It's softly, wetly floral, not too sweet. I've had no luck with florals up to now, so finding one I like is a good thing! It's better in the crook of my elbow than on my wrist, because the grapefruit note lasts better and keeps the florals from going too sweet on me.

 

Either way, I like it, and it's a keeper. I'll be curious to keep trying it and see if it comes up differently every time!

 

Edit: Hmm, wore it one more time and it came up way too floral-perfumey, enough to almost give me a headache. Maybe I put on too much. Now I'm thinking about swapping it. I can't believe how changeable this is on me!

Edited July 4, 2005 by Sunbear

[madelf]

This was a really interesting oil to wear.

 

It smelled dark and a little wet with a scent similar to incense when I first put it on. I can't say that I remember what a grapefruit smells like, but there is a bitter citrus note that blends in with the insense smell. It doesn't give any of the brightness to this that I would expect from citrus.

 

This really didn't smell very aquatic on me, but it was pleasant. Very dark and heady. It seems like it would go well with an evening of lurking.

[Blood onmy hands]

Wow, this fragrance is really overpowering on me. Giving me that beat up nosebleed feeling.

 

First off I do get a grapefruit smell. But it's not like nice juicy grapefruit insides... it's like slightly hardened angry grapefruit rind. Very sharp. I also get an odd/sweet incense smell in the background.

 

After about a half hour, I have angry grapefruit rind and salt. Not saltwater... it's like I stuck my head into a bag of salt and snorted some up my nose.

 

Sniffing this leaves me feeling lightheaded and wounded. It's... interesting...

[Celogrl]

I can't believe I haven't reviewed this yet- I meant to!

 

My feelings keep changing about R'lyeh. I get NO grapefruit from it. Odd, I know, because everyone else does. I get a salt water tang, not terribly strong, and the incense notes as well. Upon application, it is a sharp, hit your nose, in your face aquatic, but it dries down very quickly and becomes a faint ocean on my wrist. Today I love it, but one day a week or so ago I wondered what had originally attracted me to it because the scent was different somehow. It changes a LOT! This is complex and multi layered. For the most part, I am so glad I got this imp.

[malanna]

I must agree with the reviewer that said that R'lyeh was evil grapefruit. It's very bitter, and nearly bitter enough to make the grapefruit unrecognizable, but it's very tangy, too. This is definitely and aquatic scent. A bitter aquatic scent (if I didn't make that clear the first go around). It reminds me of another bitter aquatic, Szepasszony. After two hours, this actually gets a bit sweet and sugary, with a hint of tang, like a highly viscous grapefruit syrup. After four hours, there's not much to smell....

[Orodemniades]

I don't know what's in this and I don't much care.

 

All I know is that this is the best aquatic I've ever smelled, and is most likely to be one of the few aquatics I'll actually wear.

 

Love. It.

 

Oro

[dcmo]

One of the few people not picking up grapefruit in this one. For me it's just fresh, aquatic, ozone, watery scent with a touch of something sweet underneath (very faint) It's really nice, I like it.

[rellyjean]

No grapefruit here, which is a shame, as I love grapefruit scents.

 

In the imp, this was dark swampy bog waters. Something evil slithering underneath, rotting.

 

On me, the rotting bits came out and started waving their dead limbs at me. Still no grapefruit. No lightness, no sparkly, just - something under the evil seawater is coming for my head.

 

Which is a very cool effect, I have to say, and Lovecraftian like anything. Just - not something I want to smell like. At all. I had to go and wash this off before I'd given it time to settle in, even. It was chokingly strong.

 

So maybe on drydown it would have morphed into something different, but I don't think I'm going to find out, as the brief experience I had with R'lyeh was disconcerting enough.

 

I have such freaking weird body chemistry.

[wickedgoddess]

Preconceived Notions - When I first found BPAL I was going to order this scent, because I loved the description. But then Springtime in Arkham came and I sort of forgot about it. The lab sent me a gimp of this is my latest order and I went, "Oh yeah, I was wanting to try this." But with the exception of Jolly Roger, I haven't really enjoyed any aquatics. Being a water sign I think I should, but I seem to go for the firey scents instead.

 

Wet - this is a dark aquatic alright. I get an aquatic note with a touch of murky darkness and a bit of sweetness. So much nicer than what I was expecting!

 

Dry - This isn't stagnant water, but a bottomless pool of moving water. It's a bit incensey and yes, I think I might smell ambergris. And while I get a very light trace of citrus, it isn't identifiable as grapefruit to me. A dark, sexy aquatic, something only Beth could pull off. I don't think I need a big bottle of this, at least not yet, but I am definitely keeping the imp.

 

On the wickedgoddess scale of 1 to 5, with 5 being best, this rates a 3.

Edited August 2, 2005 by wickedgoddess

[Essay 28]

In the bottle: Definately aquatic, and it reminds me more of what I think a bayou smells like than Bayou did in the imp (at least compared the bayou I grew up next to!).

 

On skin initially: Aquatic fruit? I had to come read reviews to identify this as grapefruit, which I've never smelled as a perfume note before.

 

After an hour: The oil fades so rapidly on my skin (I tried two separate times) that it's hard to really judge it after an hour. The notes have blended to an almost floral scent, but without the powdery scent I usually get from florals on my skin. A hint of the grapefruit remains, but only because I knew it was there from the initial application. Sadly, as much as I wanted to like this one, it doesn't have enough staying power for my skin, so it'll go off to someone who can enjoy it more.

[Brianne]

In bottle:

A bit like wood polish

 

On me:

Amaltheagray was right - R'lyeh is EVIL GRAPEFRUIT. The grapefruit of dark and murky waters lol. Despite the dark element of this scent, it's still refreshing and clean smelling. Definitely a spicey aquatic/citrus. The spice is kind of woodsy and deep, and the aquatic note is very similar to the one I smell in Jolly Roger. The citrus is more of a yuzu grapefruit - deep and tart.

 

Final note:

This is quite unique and refreshing - and I actually think this would smell great on a guy. Not that it wouldn't work on a girl, but it's not the type of scent I typically wear. It's still really nice though!