Il Matto

[starbrow]

Reviled and mocked, pelted by stones and set upon by dogs, all the while singing the song of divine madness: red sandalwood, tobacco absolute, palo santo, black copal and balsam dusted by burnt sage, soot, and an echo of frankincense.

To me this smells very, very similar to The Antikythera Mechanism (and a little bit like Smokestack). I know there a lot of Antikythera fans out there, and Il Matto reminds me of a just-slightly-mellower version of it. That heavy, sooty smell is very present, with a little less sweetness than A.M. with no vanilla to soften the edges, but some subtle spice from the frankincense and black copal. I'd say Il Matto is a little more masculine and a little more wearable, but that family of scents is not for me. I am probably a minority voice though!

[patina]

I don't get the smoke from smokestack. This is not an industrial smoke on me by any means.

 

While there is a lot of smoke/ashes, it doesn't overwhelm the other elements of the scent on me. The sandalwood and sage are at least as strong as the smoke and I can certainly pick up the frankincense, or maybe I'm confusing that with the copal.

 

This is very much like an earthy incense braiser. I really like it.

Edited April 21, 2018 by patina

[LizziesLuck]

I adore red sandalwood, and am forever in search of more scents where it shines.

 

Wet: Ermagherd, red sandalwood and glorious chewy tobacco (like French tobacco SN type tobacco). I can now die happy. Why didn't I just get a bottle of this? Gah. There's something spicy happening here too. Almost peppery? I dunno, I am not familiar with palo santo. It may be copal I am smelling.Yeah, that's sweet resiny copal. There's something a bit incensey about this. It's fucking glorious. Excuse my language, but I am THAT excited. This is really different. BUT THEN the Frank starts to happen. Echo my ass, that`s a shout of Frankincense. *sigh*.

 

 

Dry: I LOVED this, when I first put it on. And then Frank bullied his way in and stomped all over everything and ruined it for me. It`s still good. I just don`t LOVE it when it`s dry.

[zankoku_zen]

Smoky red sandalwood, touches of something resinous that smells like raisins, and tobacco. But yeah, I definitely get a "raisin" scent from this over the sandalwood and tobacco. So foodier than I expected. Not alot of wear length on this one though, since my skin seems to eat this up. Medium throw, very low wear length.

[Balame]

Oh yeah, this sandalwood is fabulous. Very reminiscent of The Coiled Serpent. I know people mostly get patchouli in that one, but for me it also seemed to be present there.

 

Reminds me of Djed as well, with its sandalwood/sage combo. Dry, sweet and smoky resins, a sparse scattering of herbs and the chewy citrus spark of frankincense. Absolutely a desert-centric blend. It smells like a secret ritual performed by a bonfire amid the sands. Warm, mysterious, sacred, powerful. The tobacco shows itself after about ten minutes, providing a glowing richness.

 

I've always liked scents that evoke the desert but haven't found many I absolutely love from BPAL. This is scratching that itch. Despite the strong formulation, I don't actually find Il Matto as heavy as some of my other incense blends, making this a solid choice for daily wear.

Edited May 24, 2018 by Balame

[Elspethdixon]

Wonderful wood/resin/frankincense combo (LizziesLuck is right; this is far more than just an echo of frankincense). The palo santo and sage are strongest in the wet stage, and make the initial opening very soothing and clarifying, almost like a spa scent (if your spa was located inside an incense-filled cathedral) and then it dries down to a soft, warm resin/incense smoke/wood. I'd say it's sweeter than Antikythera Mechanism (without being any less unisex/potentially masculine) and warmer/less sharp & dry, possibly the difference between ail Matto's sandalwood and AM's oak.

 

This scent is so soothing/relaxing/grounding that it feels like it should be a TAL or a meditation aid, especially in the early drydown where the sage/frank/palo santo notes predominate. I'm going to be adding this to my bedtime scent lineup.