Darkness

[HKB]

Bottled gloom; the essence of oblivion. Blackest opium and narcissus deepened by myrrh.

I think it's the narcissus in this that smells almondy to me because I recognize it from Hunger. Hunger is great on my boyfriend but is just a flat almondy smell and not interesting at all on me. I detect that smell in this but I don't think it's overpowering it yet. It definitely has a smokey, snuffed out candle smell to it, and a sweeter almost boozey floral smell, is that opium?
It's good because some of the notes are working but as a whole I'm not that into it. I think the narcissus is kind of bleh-ing it up.

[batsy]

In the vial: I think the sweetness is the narcissus. Kind of sweet and dark.

 

On the skin: It's hard to describe accurately. It's dark and clingy. More of a floral on me; the narcissus is amped. Not bad.

[Venneh]

A sweet, dark floral smell in the imp. On my skin, I'm getting what I think is the opium amped pretty crazily strong, and it goes straight to doctor's office, with a sickly sweetness underneath. Ugh. Must get off now.

Edited October 26, 2009 by Venneh
Removed Lab description --Shollin

[MinxyMinou]

Oh..I like this. Have been wearing this as my bedtime scent for the last few weeks.

 

On me it's a warm, smokey/sweet incense. Attractive, comforting and calming. Yum

[Stormslegacy]

In the imp: it smelled very smoky, like a black ashy dry smoke.

 

Wet: It smells smoky for a moment, then as the smell molecules or whatever spread out it opens into a beautiful deep dark floral. Very impressive.

 

Drydown: It gets a little more powdery as it dries, it made me sneeze a couple times. It's a lovely scent that definitely invokes its namesake. It's different than any BPAL I've tried before. It's simpler than a lot of blends but that's not a fault.

 

Hours later: It powders significantly (without smelling like baby powder) but stays a strong smelling dark floral. I put it on in the morning, it's still here in the afternoon.

 

Conclusion: Definitely a keeper and am contemplating a bottle. It's beautiful but it's not an every day kind of scent. Definitely more for an elegant evening.

Edited November 10, 2009 by Stormslegacy

[Balame]

In the Imp: Very flowery, but in a mature, "ladies perfume" sort of way. I suppose this is the narcissus, I'm just not too familiar with the scent. The myrrh is definitely apparent with its resinous smell too.

 

Wet: This is so very familiar. I feel like I could go grab a number of the commercial perfumes out right now that are "higher end" and get ten different variations of what I'm picking up. Kind of alcoholic, mixed with a very heavy sweet floral.

 

Dry: Still more of the same. It's very classy I guess you could say, but again, in a more mainstream "this cost me $500 and it's made by only the greatest perfumers" sort of way. The reason I love BPAL so much is because they provide beautiful, unconventional scents and I feel this is more like a namebrand copy. At least that's one upside, good alternative to pricey smells you could find at the mall?

 

Verdict: Not the sort of thing I like, and I was expecting so much more... to me, Darkness should have been a bit more similar to Sheol. You can still have florals and a pinch of sweetness but then "bitter it up" (for lack of better expression) and make it into something edgier. To me this would be the powdered darkness of a wealthy merchant's den rather than the creeping darkness of a true night.

 

Rating: 1/5

[SugarCookie]

This one is much too heavy for me. It smells like very strong traditional perfume. I think this scent could work on a man or woman. The notes blend nicely and this oil does what it's meant to...but I find it overpowering. It makes me feel like sneezing a little.

[forspecial_plate]

Not a fan....

 

I still am not sure if I like opium, because some scents that I like have it and some that I don't like also have it. Darkness makes me think of jasmine when first applied, then it starts to turn powdery. Overall just too floral for me, not in the right way. I like myrrh but it can't really save this one for me.

[SophieCedar]

This is a relaxing scent for me. A flowery version if anathema. Not as preferred as, but still good. Slightly soapier.

[impolight]

:::DARKNESS:::

 

Oh, the loveliest melancholia imaginable...

Darkness is beautifully beautiful.

Darkness is bittersweet, overcast, aching, and maudlin...

Darkness falls all about you like damp, sullen wool. This is amazIng in that it is as spectacularly gorgeous as it is gloomy.The Myrrh and Opium coil together to make the most invitingly sweet noose, while the the heartbreak that is the Jonquil makes a poignant and indelible mark as to the fleeting nature of beautiful moments... The grasping at straws.

On the skin, all of the notes amp hugely; threatening to go a bit on the soapy side before the crescendo abates and beautify... Purpling like late October's dusk.

This would be the fragrance to wear while journaling or writing poetry on the front porch of a dilapidated old house that the local kids are afraid of on a cold day with sodden skies.

This scent screams to be liberated from modern contraption; worn by candlelight.

In solitude.

Darkness is a humbling masterpiece.

5/5!

[ami226]

Huh, I think I have tried this one before, but trying it now I think it is quite good! I think I mostly smell myrrh, but there is a hint of floral that blends so well with the myrrh. It is just amazing!

[BrittJD]

I am very new to BPAL, in fact, i only have ordered one set of imps. So, forgive me, but I can't describe all of the notes, let alone detect every one of them.

I will say, however, that this smells amazing. It's hard to describe. I like darker, warmer scents, like Blood Kiss, Blood, and Bloodlust. Me liking Darkness came by complete surprise to me. I ordered it because I liked the name. It's a bit floral, but in in a different way. I HATE floral.

Like I said, I can't describe to you what I'm smelling, because I don't even know, but this is absloutely amazing, coming from somebody who hates lighter scents and who hates the smell of anything floral.

Give it a try, really!!

[ajansuz]

When I ordered this, I had forgotten what my mother's favorite perfume in the late 1980's, Poison, did to me. Opium gives me a headache to end all headaches. This smells like a high end, expensive perfume, very lush and yes, dark, and sadly it killed my head. I think I'll give this to my Mom, because not only will she wear it, she'll love it. The saddest part to me is that I actually loved the smell. Narcissus and myrrh are delicious together, and they played nice with the opium. The smell just doesn't love me.

[calivianya]

I can definitely recognize the lab's opium note now, between this scent and Belle Epoque. This is very strong opium with something floral and spicy myrrh. It does smell like darkness, in a way - it is very heavy. It's not really my thing.

[evil_laugher]

This is one of my all-time favorite BPALs. I have no idea what it smells like, but it's very adult and sexy to me.

 

As someone earlier said, Chanel No. 5 always reminded me of this.

Edited February 9, 2011 by evil_laugher

[Ramen]

In the imp, I have to join the people who found this scent unfortunately generic. The myrrh stepped in pretty much as soon as I put it on and now I've been wearing it a while there's something faintly sweet I don't recognize, but it's still not anything thrilling. I'll probably give it another shot sometime to see if body chemistry can save it, but I'm not optimistic.

[JLH]

I received this as a freebie from a lovely forum member.

 

In the imp this smelled very smokey, which interested me. On my skin, however it's actually a perfect balance of florals (from the narcissus), smoke (from the myrrh), and a deep, dark sweetness (from the opium, I assume). As it dries, I found that the strange sweetness of the opium and the narcissus come to the forefront, while the myrrh tags along behind them. It is present, but not very heavy on me, with a moderate throw. What a lovely and evocative scent.

[Ella LaRose]

ok, so I have discovered how much I love myrrh, and this oil rocks!! wow! I feel so sexy with it on! sweet scent, strong and dark, love love love!

[invisible iris]

When first applied, Darkness is strong narcissus, and in turns threatens to go soapy or powdery. But it never does.

 

It dries to narcissus and opium. Myrrh is there, but isn't a strong player. I think it’s the narcissus that makes this smell very adult-lady-perfume-from-the-80's. When I put my nose right up to my skin, I get a formaldehyde/powder thing going on, but the throw is more pleasant (while perfumey). I *do* like the sweetness of opium that I occasionally catch whiffs of, the same almost vanillic note from Debauched, and in very late stages the opium is most of what's left, and it smells nice. This makes me want to try other opium blends. But on the whole, Darkness is (appropriately) a dark, smoky floral, a bit too floral.

 

I don’t feel like it’s very “me.” Too serious & old-fashioned, maybe.

[TastyMischief]

Drop dead gorgeous for half an hour, but turned flat, generic, then plasticky-soapy.

Will retest.

 

Retest day: SUCCESS!!!!

This is unfathomably beautiful. The narcissus tamed down a bit, the scent got a little powdery, gently musky, the myrrh and opium stayed perfectly balanced. Simply gorgeous.

Edited August 29, 2011 by TastyMischief

[mxtine]

I've loved heavy opium & myrrh scents since I was a teen, so Darkness isn't really that heavy to me. It's along the same vein as Butter Arsenic...sweet, heavy resins. I dislike florals and narcissus is usually something that makes me sneeze, but it's really working with the opium and myrrh. It does get powdery on the dry down, but it's resin powder vs floral powder and that's A Good Thing.

Edited June 21, 2011 by mxtine

[DeCuvieri]

In Bottle: Strong opium note, and though I’m not fond of florals, I like what’s coming out of the imp. If it stays this way on my skin I’ll have found a keeper.

 

Wet: Nothing is really standing out here. The narcissus is present, but muted. Despite the generous amount I applied there is virtually no throw. I think it would be too faint to notice anyway. Tragic really, because I liked this at first.

 

Dry: The myrrh begins to peek out, but it doesn’t seem to add anything to the mix.

 

Conclusion: The simplicity of this oil makes it disappointingly generic. Barring the tiniest hint of myrrh, Darkness really smells like a number of inexpensive perfumes you can find at a department store. It's not bad, but not for me. I'll be passing this one on.

[achromance]

Wet: Smoky dark florals, with a hint of bitter sweetness.

 

On my skin: Deep, dark florals and a sharp, cold wind. The sweetness is a distant hint that fades quickly, turning into something burnt.

 

After a few hours: There's only a faint, dark floral left. It's a seductive scent and while it's beautiful and quite expressive, it's not necessarily my thing. I'll have to give it another go sometime.

[Gateau]

Imp -- narcissus and spice

 

Wet -- really does smell like deep oblivion with the bone-dry narcissus and opium. It's rather tarry and noxious. I can't imagine wearing it.

 

Dry -- it sweetens and spices up slightly, but stays essentially dank and dark. Before long it's giving me a headache. Will try to wash off but I suspect it will linger.

 

It's a very punk anti-perfume perfume Smells like church catacombs. So not my style.

[Ryokumuji]

Frimp from the lab. This is a dark resinous floral scent. And totally not me.