Eyes Made Strong and Grave with Sleep

[annemathematics]

Ambergris accord, white musk, tobacco absolute, opoponax, and bitter cacao.

Reviewing this fresh from the mailbox. This was a blind bottle buy, as I'm addicted to bpal tobacco and like all of the other notes listed for this scent.

Freshly applied, this feels like it could go a little perfume-y, a little cologne-y, and it does pleasantly for about twenty minutes before drying down with the tobacco being soft but the strongest note.

visions of autumn vii was tobacco and opoponax with a spicy, woody edge, and this is a cousin, only here the scent is made slightly sweet with the cacao and the whole is lightened with the musk and ambergris. Essentially this is a nice treat for tobacco lovers. A non-foodie tobacco truffle.

This is baby spanking new, and the throw is low. I wager based on previous bpal experience that this scent will grow stronger with a bit of time and that the ambergris and musk will come forward more, letting this develop into a scent that is more than the sum of its parts. Even if it stays exactly the same, I've no regrets as I like this sort of thing immensely.

[FragranceLush]

OMG this is an immediate bottle purchase for me after a quick test. I prefer my chocolate and cacao notes to be supporting players rather than the main attraction, and this scent delivers. Rich, heady notes combine here to make one sexy scent!

[Atrous]

This scent has an Ava-esque quality to it but less floral, more gritty.

The White Musk is in the forefront and its beautiful. As it dries down the Ambergris blooms and mingles with Musk. Tobacco comes out giving the blend a smokey feel. I'm glad the Cacao in no way turns this scent gourmand. Instead, it stays in the background helping Tobacco in giving the blend a gritty edge.

[Haltija]

I can't even contain my excitement for this beauty right here.

 

This is one sexy scent, plain and simple. The white musk and tobacco are the most dominant notes on me and goodness are they striking. It does smell more like a cologne than a oil and I have no issue with that in the least. You would think the cacao would make it foodie but it doesn't in anyway, it seems to have made it smell rich and classic. A woman or a man could equally pull this off wonderfully. A decant is not enough, I need a bottle!

Edited February 19, 2015 by Haltija

[MCS4096]

I was immediately reminded of Black Temple Burlesque Troupe (Cacao, black musk, and tobacco absolute.) The ambergris and white musk here feel, at first, a little discordant in their brightness against the unsweet cacao and tobacco, but (on me at least) ambergris dries down to a musky your-skin-but-better scent that bridges the two aspects together-- a singing white musk preceding a chewy resinous base.

 

I imagine if I compared this side by side with BTBT there would be notable differences, but the association was so immediate in my mind I cant imagine I'll need to own both of these even though this is a lovely lovely blend!

Edited February 28, 2015 by MCS4096

[Balame]

This is much more cologne-y than I expected. I was thinking it would smell like roughed-up incense, but instead it's surprisingly clean and bright. The very strong musk is definitely responsible for the cologne vibe, but after a few minutes the tobacco takes center stage and lends more heaviness. I really like BPAL's tobacco, but between that and the musk they sort of eclipse everything else. I can pick out the sweetly fizzy yet muted ambergris behind them, but unfortunately the musk is still loud enough that it verges on pushing me into headache territory. Very surprised by this as white musk usually plays nicely with others, but here it's just screaming for all the attention. While ambergris is generally one of my favorite notes, I wonder if this combination is what's making it too sharp. I can't pick out any cacao or opoponax. Would be great without the musk (and perhaps a toned down ambergris), but as it is this is overwhelming on me. Too many powerful notes vying for the limelight.

[theseagrows]

i get mostly white musk, tobacco and cacao at the outset with maybe just a hint of ambergris. later on it becomes mostly ambergris and opopnax, very nice and resiny with that hint of saltiness from the ambergris and a clear brightness from the white musk. i am really liking this one and contemplating a bottle.

Edited March 12, 2015 by theseagrows

[zankoku_zen]

Ah, I get where the love is coming from. Chocolate, tobacco, and the white musk bringing some brightness to this. Very musky, very wearable. More perfumey than I would have expected. Good throw and good wear length. In some ways I think of it as a cross between Black Temple Burlesque Group and Ava. Or perhaps if Ava had done Cabaret? Average throw, average wear length.

 

Cocoa, tobacco, musk.

[LiberAmoris]

Eyes Made Strong and Grave with Sleep is really wonderful. It does have a cologne-y vibe, which I also attribute to the musk and ambergris. Those notes last a long time on my skin, and the tobacco, opoponax, and cacao give them dimension. The cacao melts away first, and then the tobacco. They leave a subtle shaping on the ambergris, musk, and resiny opoponax—and the result is a sweet, musky, clean drydown that has very faint overtones of tobacco, chocolate, and something nearly marine (not really aquatic, more like sea salt). It's like if Lyonesse went out clubbing in the 80s! And yes, that's a compliment.

[stubbornfire]

Oh, neat. I don't like chocolate in my scents - I don't like foodie anything. This is but isn't like that. When I think about and go sniffing for it, it reminds me a bit of tootsie roll pops. But then there's the other ingredients going FOODIE? WHAT? NO FOOD HERE HAHA.... While nervously elbowing cacao to back the hell up. It's strong and sort of fresh and a bit like a tootsie pop. It's so weird. That is, apparently, the theme for the scents I am trying today. Weird but good, oddly enough. At least until it starts to dry down.

 

Something goes a little off in this as it dries down. Or something+something+my skin chemistry, since all these notes (-caocao) should be wonderful. It just smells...vague and not good. Gosh I hate to say this but it smells vaguely like someone didn't wash their hands very well after they went to the bathroom.

 

I'm gonna go wash my hands/arms very well, and hang onto this to try one more time before passing it along. Ugh. ;(

[thekittenkat]

In the decant: So very well blended! Tobacco is shot through these elegant notes.

 

Wet: Those other notes are overwhelming the tobacco; however, it makes the cacao not so bitter.

 

The dry-down: And yet another shift, as the tobacco returns to the forefront. There's a touch of saltiness from the ambergris. The white musk causes this to be a bit 'perfumey', but not terribly so. The oil itself is a golden brown, perfect for a tobacco scent.

Edited June 28, 2015 by thekittenkat

[milo]

Perfumey, kind of harsh and woody at first. Fades to practically nothing within a couple of hours.

[LizziesLuck]

Wet: In the bottle, this is gorgeous, but hard to pin down. What am I smelling?

On my skin - holy Hannah this is good! I can pick out all the notes except ambergris. Somehow they combine to become woody and vanillic. Which is amazing. Lots of sweetness from the tobacco and opoponax, so the cacao doesn't seem bitter at all. The musk is heavenly. This is GORGEOUS. So glad I grabbed it.

 

 

Dry: Amazing. Need more. Swoon. One of the best tobacco scents I own, and that's saying a lot.