The Final Darkness

[Lycanthrope]

The sun turns black, earth sinks in the sea: black amber and shimmering moonflower blackened by opoponax, khus attar, smoked oudh, and myrrh and all swallowed by the fathomless depths of a lightless ocean.

So, this is a very interesting, drippingly thick scent. It's almost pitch black and thick as a mofo when decanting.

The immediate feel is R'Lyeh, that similar murky citrus salt scent with a hint of seaweed and decay, except that this is a little more sweet, less citrussy, and it is feeling much more complex. The amber is not the same as the ones in like, La Lugubre, but it is definitely a sweet resin. I get the multiple smokey components as a thrill of incense smoke running over the predominantly sweet-ish environmental oceanic, and while I get a touch of bitter from the khus it is not terribly overpowering. The moonflower is probably in there somewhere, making sure this doesn't get too muddy, but I honestly can't find it as a dominant note.

I would get this if you like R'Lyeh, and other deep oceanics, and want to try an artistic variation. I have to retest this one maybe in the dark of night.

[Balame]

I thought I’d like The Final Darkness most out of the Ragnarok line, and it’s not disappointing.

Very sexy! Kind of reminds me of Schwarzer Mond without the icky dry zdravitz that kept it from working on me.

There’s something almost nutty in here. I would describe it as “powdered darkness” or “tendrils of night,” if that makes any sense. It’s not actually powdery/dusty to the nose, but it’s a gentle yet mysterious mix of awesome.

Cool like night air, yet also sweet and comforting. Like a dark figure you know is watching over you rather than looking to cause trouble. As much as I love many of the notes here, it’s tough to find them! It’s a gossamer sort of blend.

I think I can find my beloved khus after a while. The earthiness of vetiver gets softened up by the myrrh for a truly seductive mix. I feel like I'm smelling jasmine even though it's not listed, and here’s the crazy thing—I usually hate jasmine. Yet this reminds me more of the fruity version versus the dry stuff I can’t stand. I think the moonflower is probably pushing it towards being juicier as well.

I quite like this, even though it dries on the floral side. Makes me think of an Arabian princess. I can’t say it’s aquatic in the way I’m familiar with (not foamy or salty), but “sweet and magical night air over the sea” would be apt.

 

*edit* So I've had this for about a year now, and sweet jumpin' Odin. This has aged more gloriously than any other oil I've ever owned. The moonflower/jasmine-y aspect has almost completely disappeared, and when I put it on I'm immediately bathed in the scent of deep, sweet amber and heavenly incense. It's completely warm now, like being cuddled against the side of a mystical, black-furred beast. Or black silt swirled through with flecks of gold. Truly a comforting darkness. It also lasts for ages and I get whiffs of stunning myrrh and ambergris weighed down by amber all day/night. This is seriously perfection for resin and incense lovers.

Edited April 7, 2015 by Balame

[Atrous]

This is a scent evocative of darkness.

 

Smoked Oud really hits my nose when this is still wet on the skin.

As it dries the smokiness recedes but doesn't go away. It blends in nicely with the rest of the notes.

It's hard for me to really pick out individual notes. To my nose it's got a dark resin feel; a bit of incense in the background. I'm not really getting any aquatic out of this. It smells like shadows.

 

I really love this and I'm glad I have a bottle.

[MCS4096]

Resins plus salty aquatics. It winds up feeling like one of those stone+blood blends (I just wore Sarah last night and there are some similarities). The darker notes are more apparent at the beginning, with just a slight salty hint of ocean. But as it wears, for me, the aquatic aspect becomes more obvious and the dry down is strong salt water and incense. It's funny that some folks get no salt, because it's quite obvious on my skin.

[MuskWitch]

Just got my bottle, I was a bit hesitant to buy it because of the "ocean/aquatic" note.

 

This scent is not nearly as strong as I thought it was going to be. The amber brings a tiny bit of warmth, moonflower adds the softest hint of floral, khus adds depth, and oppoponax gives a resinous/woody scent. And, this is the first scent I've tried where I can truly say "I know what salt smells like". There is a salty note underneath all that goodness. This is DARK and DEEP, but it isn't strong, at least not to my nose.

 

After about 15 minutes I thought "I like this, but one bottle is enough". Now, 30 minutes into it, I'm not so sure.

 

I don't like aquatics, but this is LOVELY!

 

[tziporra]

I admit, I was hoping this would be like Noctiphobia on me (that had no notes listed, so why did I think that?) but this is not really the vastness of space kind of night. The is a dark empty kind of night, with no hope and no future. A heat-death, end of the world kind of night.

 

I'm also amber the amber like woah, so on the drydown it's difficult for me to pick out any of the other lovely notes I wanted. No aquatics on my skin, just dark resins with no sharpness or brightness (fittingly) to lift them.

 

Not for me.

 

Tzi

[Magycmyste]

In the imp: Soft, dark, sweet, and with a touch of incense.

 

Wet on skin: Soft, dark, amber touched by myrrh. There's a touch of floral to it, probably from the moonflower.

 

Dried down: Same as before, but even softer. This is pretty. The salty aquatics are starting to come through, and blend with everything else

 

Throw: This has a decent throw on me.

 

Verdict: **** You know, I should love this. It's beautiful, but... it's not quite grabbing me.

[velvet]

During the first stage there is medicinal quality to this scent. It's intoxicating, but not in a favorable way. As it's drying down it mellows out a bit but there is that note hanging above it, a sickly sweet herbal that sticks in the back of your throat. I am attempting to try to stay with it as it enters the middle and hopefully final stage, but I think the notes its producing right now are enough for me to take it off.

[thekittenkat]

In the decant: Moonflower, night air, hints of salt and spices.

 

Wet: Much as on cold sniff, but the oudh and myrrh are coming into play.

 

The dry-down: Not really a morpher; it mostly stays the same throughout. The moonflower scents the night air that is gently touched with some resins and salt.

[zankoku_zen]

Dark amber, oudh, trace of oppoponax and myrrh.

 

This smells dark, with a light touch of ocean and smokiness.

 

In other words, this smells like a dark night by the ocean with the emphasis that you are smelling THE DARK KNIGHT NIGHT, and the ocean is the background.

 

So yes, manly. Dark, mysterious, night.

[patina]

I get syrupy, super sweet dark resins and dust. This is actually not bad, though there's a faint medicinal tinge.

 

There's a faint bit of coolness, a hint of ice and black ocean. The sweet resins are the most prominent thing though. I get a good throw.

 

I love this one, although I am a dark resin fanatic and I don't mind the syrupiness.

[Aviatrix]

I am getting mainly very dark and heavy resins with a slight aquatic undercurrent. I can't usually tell resins apart very well, so to me it's a mish-mash of resinous notes that's nonetheless rather pleasant. There's a teensy tiny hint of something floral that I assume is the moonflower, but it never gets prominent enough to notice unless you know it's supposed to be there.

On the whole, however, it's much too dark a scent for me to wear regularly, but Im glad I got to try a decant!

[Zii]

ITB: Hello vetiver my old friend.

 

Wet: This is ambergris, it has to be. It's so lingering and eerie and not at all as heavy as the bottle whiff would suggest. Creepy and light and slithery.

 

Drying: It's drying pretty quick and staying rather close to my skin, but this is a very aquatic incense. If there's vetiver in this like I originally thought, it is very quiet, though it could be part of that rich smokey vibe.

 

Dry: If this stuck around, this would be challenging Laughter of Loki for my favorite Ragnarok scent. The throw is non-existant by this point, though my nose is a little stuffy from allergies, but when I get up and personal with this, I can't stop huffing myself. The darker notes keep the aquatic from going lemony, but there is a distinct rotting seaweed/dark ocean saltiness to this that plants it firmly in the marine aquatics. It's dark and slithering, but the incense notes keep it surprisingly sweet and not at all oppressive. Slithery really is the right feeling for this.

[Monster]

For some reason I never signed up for a decant of this in the circle I joined. After reading the reviews I ended up purchasing a bottle, blind and I'm REALLY glad I did.

 

The Final Darkness opens with strong ambergris and moonflowers notes. There's an indolic quality that quickly fades as it settles into my skin revealing deep, dark and salty smelling resins. It's oceanic without being overly aquatic and evokes the image of a sinking ship. It's a frigate falling into the depths of a first green, then deep turquoise and finally dark blue/black ocean. The final dry down is a sinister smelling, salted incense on my skin. Gorgeous!

 

If you like Pirate Moon or the Phoenix you need to try this one!

[milo]

Aggressive and gritty. I'm getting musk and woods. Not for me.