The Naturally Possible and Impossible

[Tal Shachar]

This has occurred in my presence on four occasions in darkness. The test conditions under which they took place were quite satisfactory, so far as the judgment was concerned; but ocular demonstration of such a fact is so necessary to disturb our pre-formed opinions as to the naturally possible and impossible, that I will here only mention cases in which the deductions of reason were confirmed by the sense of sight.

On one occasion I witnessed a chair, with a lady sitting on it, rise several inches from the ground. On another occasion, to avoid the suspicion of this being in some way performed by herself, the lady knelt on the chair in such a manner that its four feet were visible to us. It then rose about three inches, remained suspended for about ten seconds, and then slowly descended. At another time two children, on separate occasions, rose from the floor with their chairs, in full daylight, under (to me) most satisfactory conditions; for I was kneeling and keeping close watch upon the feet of the chair, and observing that no one might touch them.

The most striking cases of levitation which I have witnessed have been with Mr. Home, on three separate occasions have I seen him raised completely from the floor of the room. Once sitting in an easy chair, once kneeling on his chair, and once standing up. On each occasion I had full opportunity of watching the occurrence as it was taking place.

There are at least a hundred recorded instances of Mr. Homes rising from the ground, in the presence of as many separate persons, and I have heard from the lips of the three witnesses to the most striking occurrence of this kind the Earl of Dunraven, Lord Lindsay, and Captain C. Wynne their own most minute accounts of what took place. To reject the recorded evidence on this subject is to reject all human testimony whatever; for no fact in sacred or profane history is supported by a stronger array of proofs.

The accumulated testimony establishing Mr. Homes levitations is overwhelming. It is greatly to be desired that some person, whose evidence would be accepted as conclusive by the scientific world if indeed there lives a person whose testimony in favour of such phenomena would be taken would seriously and patiently examine the alleged facts. Most of the eyewitnesses to these levitations are now living, and would, doubtless, be willing to give their evidence. But, in a few years, such direct evidence will be difficult, if not impossible, to be obtained.

Notes of an Enquiry into the Phenomena called Spiritual during the years 1870-1873, William Crookes

Well-worn leather, bay rum, vetiver, cigar smoke, and amber oudh.

The tobacco note here is the same as the one in Gaueko, because in the bottle they both read to me as a slightly chemical caramel flavour. That doesn't happen on my skin, thankfully, just a weirdness in vitro (love me a Gaueko). The leather is soft and not at all shiny or "new-smelling", receding into the background as the tobacco and bay rum form the foreground. Amber bridges the two and I can't tell where exactly the vetiver is lurking, but it's not prominent.

It could be my skin doing strange things, but on me this was very sweet, and not as masculine as you'd think from the notes. I loved the image of 19th century Mulder types in a gentlemen's club talking about ghosts and such, so I was actually hoping for a bit more dudeliness, but I'd say this is just a spicy, warm unisex scent.

[Nascargot]

I find this to be a very gentlemanly scent, but not in the manner of a typical cologne or anything overwhelmingly masculine. There's a sort of cavalier curiosity to it - proper, but eyebrow-raising, which I suppose falls in with the paranormal inspiration. Leather is most prominent for me; worn but well-cared for. What lingers in the background is smoky enough to add some depth but sweet enough to avoid being too brash. I'm glad the vetiver takes a bit of a backseat - I think too much of it would disturb the 'picture'. Multi-faceted and descriptive without being muddled or confusing to the nose.

[galahad]

In the Bottle:

Bay rum and cigar smoke with a touch of leather

On the Skin:

Much lighter and more cologney than in the bottle, initially. I love the smell of cigar smoke and that note in this blend is delightful. The leather is worn and black and the vetiver is definitely there but restrained as is the oudh.

On the Drydown:

This is the scent of a well-used dark library, complete with dust and the memory of cigar smoke. It is richly masculine

[Dark Alice]

Generic woody man cologne. No leather. Just bland woody cologne. *sigh*

[LiberAmoris]

The Naturally Possible and Impossible is a genteel mix of notes, with the leather, cigar smoke, and amber oudh most prominent. The vetiver is subtle on me (and quite nice here). As it dries down, I get mostly cigar smoke and amber, with hints of leather and bay rum. I love the cigar smoke note, and there's such a nice glug of it here. I tested this one on my husband as well, and it is very, very nice on him.

[RedPersimmon]

This reminds me of a cracked, faded, well-worn leather easy chair that's been scented by the cigar smoke of its daily occupant. I believe the occupant has a beard and a dog that sits at his feet. I get a lot of oudh, leather, and smoke. It's spicy with some sweetness in the background. When wet, there's a green herbal sharpness that vibrates on top. It really gives it that eerie feeling that fits the story.

[Verios]

This is everything I hoped it would be, which is a huge relief, as leather scents haven't quite been hitting the mark with me as a whole, lately.

 

This is fresh from the lab, and hasn't had time to settle yet, but I think I am mostly getting the leather, cigar smoke and bay rum - it reminds me a lot of my Judge and Jury atmo (which, re-reading the notes in that, actually makes sense), which is one I really love, as well~

[marared]

Leather with a hint of vetiver, and the cigar appears in the mix after it's dried down. Unfortunately, the leather also has a whiff of ammonia to it. It's strong when it's freshly applied, but even after it's dried down and sat for a while, there's still a slight undercurrent that makes my nose twitch every time the scent reaches it.

[VetchVesper]

All the notes in this seem restrained and subdued. I smell oudh and tobacco at first. Oudh can go a bit "manure" on me, and that's what this one is doing, but it's light enough it's not totally off-putting. The tobacco two is light and makes me think of smoke wafting in from an adjacent room. The bay rum sweetens the mix, but this doesn't smell super boozy to me. The leather is not prominent to me, though I'm guessing it's adding some warmth to the mix. In some ways this reminds me of Perversion, but I like that one much more. Maybe Perversion's well behaved cousin with a British accent? Pleasant, but resistible.

[zankoku_zen]

Tobacco, oudh, and bay rum leather. Do you like cigars? This reminds me to a cigar shop. Good throw and wear length.

[Lucchesa]

The cigar smoke and bay rum sweetness of Frank Burns, here with oudh and vetiver, so stronger and darker on me. I'm not actually getting a lot of leather. The cigar smoke was a little too sharp on me while wet and the oudh was a little oudhy, but it dries down beautifully. Unisex trending masculine, and I actually get a little throw for a while, which is lovely. I have to say I tried this fresh and didn't review it though I kept the decant, so it must have struck me as having potential but needing a little aging. Six months later it's very nice, and I suspect that cigar smoke will only get smoother with time.