Darkness

[Miss Lynx]

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

I tried this at the same time as Peitho, one on each wrist, and my results were really quite opposite to what I expected. I thought this was the one I would like better, with the myrrh and the dark earthy edge it seemed like it would have...

But no. I can smell that part of it in the background, but the florals are stomping all over it, and they're exactly the kind of high-pitched, cloyingly sweet florals that my skin loves to amp up to screaming levels. I get nothing spicy or smoky or any of that. Just full-oncloying, powdery floral assault with a faint touch of myrrh in the background.

Overall it smells kind of like gothic baby powder. Definitely not for me.

Peitho on the other hand behaved itself surprisingly well, but that's another review.

Grade: D Edited October 26, 2005 by Shollin

[jewelbug]

Her:

Wet: Biting, sharp, something a tinge unpleasant. Odd, but it sorta reminds me of a jasmine blend. I wonder if narcissus and jasmine share some common qualities? It's got mustiness too it, which succeeds in making it feel dark. It's kinda making me claustrophobic.

Dry: Ah, glad I waited. Definitely lost the unpleasant tinge. Now I smell an anaesthetic quality, but it’s a bit sweet and a hint powdery at the same time. I think I get mostly narcissus, but there is an undercurrent of what I think is myrrh. It's much nicer now, but totally not "me".

 

Him: a slightly medicinal greenish smell. I think that's the narcissus. Spicy in an anaesthetic, numbing way. Same as me, but with more powder.

 

Overall: Something in this reminds me of succubus. It’s a pretty blend, but is just too dark, floral and "old" for me. More mature than I am. And still a wee bit stifling. Definitely too girly for him.

[SeaMonkey]

This is mostly opium and narcissus on me. I was having a particularly wonky body chemistry day one day while wearing this and my body ate everything but the opium.

 

The ex: You smell like my grandmother

me: Your grandmum smells like opium??

The ex...............

[kettu]

I have two imps of Darkness and they're different enough that it makes me want to get a third for a tie-breaker, if that's even possible.

 

I tried the first imp of Darkness weeks ago and all I remember is being disappointed at it's unremarkability. It's supposed to be all earthy and myrrhy, dammit! BE something, already! But... no. Nothing doing.

 

Edit: I just tried the first imp of Darkness again and YUCK! it's all arsenic and old lace. Sickeningly sweet with dusty florals and old Miss Haversham glaring at me in the attic. Ew. My guess is that the myrrh is lacking and the opium is amping the narcissus. Phooey.

 

 

And then we got a second imp and it was a slightly different colour -- darker. Hrm. How appropriate. And this one... Oh. My.

 

Sooooooooooooooo niiiiice. Dark myrrhy incense smoke wafting through my brain. This is not gloom. Gloom is Black Annis. This isn't even doom. There is no badness here, only a warm, slow burn of embers in a darkened opium-den-inspired room. Velvet pillows, raw silk duvet covers, heavy curtains draping the walls and windows, smoke filling every available space but without being overpowering. So very sensual.

 

um, yeah. I think I like it.

Edited November 16, 2005 by kettu keiju

[Sycorax]

This isn't the sort of scent that I'd usually order - myrrh generally a bit too heavy for my taste. However, when I recieved an frimp via a deal with a very kind forum poster, I was pleasantly surprised.

 

It the bottle it was all myrrh. Myrrh, myrrh, and more myrrh. Pretty overpowering.

 

Then it hit my skin, and immediately turned to the smell of melted wax. The myrrh faded, and the narcissus became much more apparent. Darkness is a scented candle, that's just been snuffed out - you can still smell the hint of smoke. It's a very evocative scent. Over time it mellowed considerably, and the melted-wax scent gave way to a more subtle smoke.

 

I don't think that I would buy this to wear. After a while, the smell of smoke became too prominent on my skin - to the point where it might be hard for others to tell whether I'd put on perfume, or just had an accident with some incense. That said, it think that Darkness would make a really fantastic room scent.

Edited November 28, 2005 by Sycorax

[terrierhead]

Oooh, I am in love with Darkness.

 

I only put it on a few minutes ago, and I hope it stays just as warm, comforting and incensy as it is right now. I'd been putting off trying this imp because I thought it would be overly sweet and floral. Instead, it's a cozy, spicy wonder - sensual, but with a weird numbing sensation as well when I sniff it off my wrist. This smells deliciously like a just blown out candle; I think the darkness it's named for must be the immediate after-effect of blowing out a bunch of spicy candles. I must get a bottle of this!

 

ETA: Oh oh, my wrist is starting to burn a little. If I'm allergic to this I will be deeply disappointed.

 

Edited again to add: Ok, I'm not allergic. I'm trying Darkness again but getting very different results. It's a lot smokier than it was last week, and I'm getting a bit of a headache. Odd.

 

Edited yet again: It's about half an hour since my last edit, and now I smell like a smokey pickle. Arrrgh

Edited December 22, 2005 by terrierhead

[feline.by.design]

Okay, I couldn't help but think about that Chappelle Show skit where Dave Chappelle is kitted up to be Rick James, and he calls Charlie Murphy "Darkness."

 

"Darkness, errabody, Darkness! The Darkness is spreadin', I can't see!"

 

Anyway, Darkness smells like something else I've encountered at the perfume counter at Burdine's, Macy's, Sears or what-have-you. Although the ingredients sounded intriguing, the outcome seems kind of "blah." I'm not very impressed with Darkness; it isn't spicy enough, it isn't really heavy enough... it's just sort of dank. It's a little like opening a wet cigar box, but without the lovely tobacco fragrance. Just wet wood that's a little dusty.

 

This seems like something my mother would wear, actually.

 

Sorry, not for me, but as always, I'm much obliged to be the Lab's guinea pig for any free imps that go my way.

 

-doreen

[sookster]

i had such high hopes for darkness....

 

straight from the imp is is very dark as the name implies but dark florals...

the myrrh in this one never even comes out .... just thick, languid florals

that don't work well with my chemistry....

 

after awhile, this reminds me of something my gramma used to wear but

i can't quite pinpoint which fragrance it was.....

 

off this baby imp goes as a frimp to a lovely swapper

[Meg]

In the bottle: This is black and sweet, like molasses. I can smell the myrrh clearly.

 

Wet: Smoke, very heavy smoke, slightly bitter, I think this is the opium, it reminds me of poppy seeds. The myrrh is in the background, and I get a general impression of a very dark room... the kind you would have a séance in, perhaps.

 

Drydown: The opium had been very dominant at first, now the myrrh is coming out more and the scent sweetens. There's a slightly powdery floral in there, though I don't recognise narcissus clearly, that becomes the leading note after a few hours. It's a dizzying scent, that tends to make you feel lazy and sleepy.

 

Overall: The scent is very enjoyable, so dark and sticky and smoky. It's the smell of darkness indoors, a house with tightly closed velvet curtains, keeping in the dark and the smoke. This makes me feel drugged, though. Probably great for insomnia and for relaxing, but not so great when you need to stay awake. And it lingers there for a long while.

[yeahbutnobut]

Darkness

 

In the imp: dark, indeed. Smells like really heady perfume…I'm tempted to say Opium but I haven't actually smelt that perfume! Though opium is indeed listed as a note in this. I also smell narcissus.

Wet on skin: the smoky aspect of the opium comes out now, though it retains it's perfume like scent, which may be mixed with myrrh and narcissus.

Dry on skin: a very heady, dark, heavy smoky perfume. It's like a swirl or a fog of scent, descending like a noxious cloud…it reminds me of traditional perfumes, the heavy opium fragrances I must have smelt on my mum's dressing table as a child. A lighter narcissus note peeks out sometimes and I think the myrrh just adds to the dark, smoky, slightly incense like background of the scent.

After a while: it softens, the smoke fades, but it still smells like posh perfume on me…which in some cases I don't mind, but this one's a bit too mature for me. It's more like something my mum could take.

Verdict: this is a very deep, heady, heavy scent. It's very much one of the more 'perfume like' BPAL scents, in that it smells like a traditional posh perfume you can buy at a department store. This isn't a complaint-some of the 'perfumey' BPALs can be very nice, but this one's a bit too heavy and mature for me. It's a real opium scent, very intense, quite smoky and mysterious, but it's not my thing.

Edited January 4, 2006 by yeahbutnobut

[LadyKalessia]

In the bottle, the opium is the first thing I smell, with a bit of backing from the narcissus, and a hint of deep myrrh. I'm a little worried at just *how* dark this smells.

 

Wet, on skin, the opium mixes weirdly with the narcissus for me. It reminds me of the decaying remains of an old eau de parfum we found in my grandmother's things... But not unpleasantly so. I think that's the narcissus talking. We'll see how this dries down.

 

On the dry down, this is a nice, subtly spicy scent. It really does make me think of a perfectly coifed, dark haired, doe eyed woman in a red 50's evening gown. I'm imagining my grandmother in the height of her youth and beauty... It's spicy but understated on my skin, and just a bit floral. Sophisticated is the word I'm looking for. And those last breathy notes have great staying power... I think this is a cocktail party scent for me.

Edited January 18, 2006 by Shollin

[Fefferbella]

Frimp from the Lab:

 

Mmm... Opium... I love BPAL's opium note... it smells *so* good.

 

 

Sadly the narcissus goes all powdery and stale on my skin.

[niter]

Imp

Dark, wet spices over a sexy masculine floral base.

 

Wet

Wet, the notes are the same except I can smell the delicious myrrh. I already know this whole blend is not for me but I am rushing over to swab it on my husband. This is ridiculously sexy for a man. MMM.

 

Dry

This dries down a bit softer, sexier. The myrrh was stronger on me than on my husband and overall it is a sexy man scent. Too bad for him for feeling it did not suit him. Too bad for me too, I guess.

[merivelle]

This is a heavy, dark scent. The opium and the myrrh are the stongest notes., and I barely notice the narcissus. I like it! My only complaint is that it doesn't last super long and needs to be reapplied during the day, making the bottle disappear quicker!

[slave1]

In Bottle: Dark floral

 

On Skin: The narcissus seems to be the dominant note. A nice elegant and unique floral. The myrrh has a nice sweet and powdery feel that wraps itself around the narcissus. The opium adds a incense note that is slightly spicy and exotic. This scent blends well and warms up on my skin very nicely. But… it’s a little soapy for my taste, the narcissus I think… I do like how it does seem “dark” and that although it is pretty it doesn’t give a happy bright feel, it’s more depressing and quiet. Gloom… yes, very nicely put.

[sarada]

I can't believe I didn't review this ages ago, it was one of the first that I ever tried.

 

I'm going to have to review it from memory because I can't see myself opening a vial of it again. Darkness is one of my only true BPAL enemies, and it's a shame since I don't even hate the ingredients on their own. There's narcissus in Hellion and Snow Moon, and I like those. There's opium in Red Lantern and that might be the note in RL that I like. And there's myrrh in half of my favorites.

 

So why is Darkness so objectionable to me? Well it smells like hairspray. Or some sort of chemical adhesive. It's just....a very chemical smell. Pharmaceutical, even. Dissonant and jagged, like static, but also stinging and astringent.

 

Several other scents that pulled this trick on me were Languor and Hades and they do share a couple of notes with this. I'm not sure what the offending fragrance is but I am just going to assume that black opium and narcissus together are a bad combo for me and avoid it in the future.

[Wench457]

Darkness ITB: a spicy floral - a bit like cloves. Looking at the notes listing, that's the narcissus. I'm surprised I didn't recognize it - I love those flowers and have a yard full of them in the spring.

 

On: Rich and warm, still has that narcissus top note which smells a bit like cloves here.

 

Dry: Not gloomy on me at all, rather, this is warm and comforting, like snuggling up a great guy. Guy being operative here, as this goes a bit masculine smelling on me.

[undream]

Dark, chilly & smoky, a very black oil. Charred. Unfortunately, Darkness does not sit well on me at all and becomes an almost acrid smoke on me.

 

(With a hint of hairspray? Again with the hairspray! My wonky chemistry turns many lovely BPAL scents to hairspray. )

 

 

Fated for the swap pile. /sigh

[konekoshadow]

Mmm. This is a warm, spicy dark scent. It reminds me of summer nights, when everything is still warm, and the night air feels like damp silk on my skin. I adore this one, everything I hoped for and more!

[aine]

I had braced myself for disappointment with this one. I adore myrrh and opium is always good on me. Could Darkness be anything but a letdown?

 

Absolutely! This is divine. It is rich and comforting, like the place you might run to in the darkness. Or the person you find in the darkness and realise you needed all along.

 

The myrrh is fabulous as expected, this is the most glorious opium note I've encountered and the narcissus rounds it off beautifully with an elegant flourish. It is the scent you hope will flood your senses when you lay your head on the bare chest of a strong man in the dark of night.

 

 

*sigh*

[Laurel the Woodfairy]

Narcissus and I get along grandly with Pride, but in the absence of roses I don't know how it will react.

 

On me: Opium and narcissus make a great combination--dark enough to live up to the name, but sexy in a smoldery way. A great scent for evening. Reminds me strongly of Opium by YSL--smoky, incensey oriental, slightly sweet. I don't know if I *need* this one, as it would fit the same mood as Haunted, and nothing tops Haunted for me. But I do like it.

[moon_lemming]

What a weird scent memory. Darkness smells exactly like a perfume someone used to wear . . . an older woman, only this is the scent when there's a little residue left on the nozzle, no warmth from skin to muck it up. Maybe Wind Song. I'm not sure.

 

Myrrh usually amps ridiculously on my skin, and the myrrh in Darkness is no exception. It almost knocks me over upon application, but it seems to settle down as it dries, leaving a spicy floral that's still pretty strong. There's something dry and off-putting underneath it that makes me not love it, though. I can't quite put my finger on what it is, but it's not pleasant. Not really dirt, more like the dust that sticks in the back of your throat after you clap erasers clean.

 

Wow, if I wait even longer that note goes away and Darkness turns into a soapy spicy carnation scent. (I'm not great with florals, so I'm not sure what I'm reading as "carnation" -- maybe the narcissus?) It's good, but I don't think I can take those in-between stages.

[QueenFae]

Comes out really floral smelling on me. Strong, heady, deep narcissus just barely accented by opium. The myrrh is just barely there, enough to give it a hint of resiny backdrop. It's a strong blend with a lot of throw, and it stikes me as being more feminine. I actually would have guessed there was lotus or night jasmine in this. It has such a sweet feel to it. This actually smells pretty good on me, I think I'll hold onto my imp.

[Medici]

In the imp: A heady smack of opiates and myrrh.

 

Wet: Black as pitch and dusted heavily. Not be redundant, but I see where this gets its name. It's not just dark, it's a great big freaking unending abyss that you either launch yourself into fully, or you teeter on the edge a while, considering just how far down the rabbit hole you'd like to go.

 

Drydown: Mostly opium and narcissus, a little sudsy. (I don't think narcissus likes my chemistry too much, its going a bit soapy.)

 

Verdict: I love it in the imp, I'm not too sure my chemistry particularly cares for it though.

Edited April 27, 2006 by Medici

[gwyllgi]

It does indeed smell like gloom, but it for some reason smells like sour gloom on me. I'm not quite sure where the sour comes from, as none of the listed notes have given me problems in the past, but I smell like brine and wet books. This is one of the few I've had to wash off inside of half an hour.