Darkness

[ebonykawai]

The waves were dead; the tides were in their grave,
The moon, their mistress, had expir'd before;
The winds were wither'd in the stagnant air,
And the clouds perish'd; Darkness had no need
Of aid from them -- She was the Universe.

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

I LOVE THIS. I have to go so far as to say that this may be my absolute favorite scent. The myrrh is very apparent as soon as I open the bottle, but calms down when it's on the skin. After about 1/2 hour, on me it evolves into something just amazing. The narcissus comes out, and the opium, with just a touch of the myrrh. Heady, sexy as all hell, just an incredible scent all the way around.

Completely lives up to its name and if I were looking for a signature scent for myself, this would be it. Edited October 1, 2005 by Shollin

[quinkel]

Candles, blown out by a sudden chilly wind on a dark, dark night, that exactly how this smells to me. Candle smoke.

 

It's too heavy for me, to wear but it makes a great roomscent if you want that spooky feeling.

[Sistinas]

Like so many other scents, Darkenss lives up to it's name. For me it brings to mind dark, somber and seriousness, well more like a "don't mess with me" type of seriousness.

 

Initial smell is smoky and for me it stays that way pretty much, but the smokiness does quiet down into something dark and as mentioned before rather sexy and strong. Mmmm.

[jj_j]

This is a power outage in a room with no windows - so black you can't see your hand in front of your face .... but you can smell the absolutely sexual creature nearby. It's heavy, it's overwhelmingly feminine sexuality, it has that faint band-aid note from Pulse Points that I love so, and it's the kind of scent that makes you hope the wearer brushes up against you as they try to find their way around in the dark.

 

Your fella will sniff this on the air, grab your wrist, and give you a dazed look while panting, "Damn it, woman; what is that?!?!!"

 

Fair warning - *I* am going to be that absolutely sexual creature standing next to you next time the power goes off in the building, as this is going on my immediate purchase list, in spite of being a floral. The dry down is a softer, afterglow-but-I'll-need-you-again-in-ten-minutes sort of way that's as irresistable as the first notes.

[twistygirl]

Wet, this had just a bit of bite to it that made me fear that it wouldn't agree with my chemistry... but that bite soon disappeared and what is left is an incredibly smoky, sexy, mysterious, smooth fragrance. It's deep and full of secrets, and the oils are blended just perfectly. Definitely not for the weak of heart or for somebody who wants to be ignored... this is such a perfect embodiment of the feeling of Darkness, in the best of ways. Plus, I love the idea of having a fragrance that bears the name of my Avatar (although the fragrance was around before the Avatar was, so I can't take credit for that).

[TygherRayn]

In the bottle: Woah, what the heck is that? Initially, I almost put this away. But I'm in a Darkness mood, after thinking lots about Legend tonight, so on it went.

 

Wet: Almost immediately it mellowed ... no longer the harsh, acidic scent and turning quickly to candle smoke, that smell you get just after you blow out the candles. It continues to warm adn soften, remaining a smoky, not-quite-thereness that I love .. it's like fumbling around in the dark looking for that candle you -know- you put nearby .. but can't manage to find.

 

Wearing. This is nice. Darker than the scents I've been liking so far. I can't separate the notes in this .. I'm not all that familiar with the scent of opium, or narcissus. Myrrh is the only one I know, and even that is just a part of this delightful blend.

 

This is Darkenss from Legend. This is the smell one would get when he came in the room. This is the utter sensualness of his temptation .. the call of his desire.

 

ADDED Aug. 11:

 

In the bottle: I think it's the opium I smell most in this .. sharp and spicy, but with a dark edge. Might also be myrrh .. I'm not good at picking that out. All I can say is this does definitely smell dark to me. Rich murky black and grey and deepenst violet, clouding your vision and making the world seems somehow spookier.

 

Wet: This makes my nose crinkle a little, but I'm not certain quite why. It's hot .. not spicy, like cinnamon or clove, but more .. well .. it's the smell of a roaring fire, but not the burning wood. It's the fire ... and all at once it's the darkness around that fire.

 

Wearing: I'm of two minds on this one. It's dark .. perhaps very suitable for wearing on the Dark of the moon, or for such endeavors as require Dark Moon energy. But at the same time it's the flash fo the fire, the heat of it. Not a spring/summer scent at all. Suitable indeed for fall and winter .. but even then, I just don't know how it'll wear.

Edited December 1, 2004 by Shollin

[VelvetSky]

Darkness is aptly named, this is a very somber, serious, almost ritualistic scent. Definitely myrrh, with that slightly acrid smell of candle smoke. I'm also getting something sort of musky and animal-like, but I think that's the black opium. The naricissus is just sort of sweeting it up a tiny bit, I can't really detect actual narcissus flower here.

 

This is the type of scent I'd imagine at a Black Mass, or to wear during the dark moon phase. This is an attractively negative scent, if that makes any sense at all.

 

I think I love this, but I'm not sure yet. I'll have to wear it some more to really get a good handle on it. I'm strangely drawn to it.

[ChupaChup]

This is a scent I really like in the vial but it disappears on my skin and I can hardly detect it. In the vial, it reminds me of a classic perfume (I'm thinking something like Channel 5, although I can't remember exactly what that smells like) and I even detect the aroma of alcohol. But as soon as it hits my skin, the top notes disappear. After about half an hour, the lovely myrrh comes out, but that's all I ever get

[malanna]

This is a smokey scent, for sure. There's also what seems to be musk or amber and I say that because it smells a bit like what you think body heat would smell like (made me think of a room with the candle blown out, and a horse next to you--but that may have just been because I was looking at ebony_kawai's avatar). Not my sort of thing, though.

[allamanda]

Darkness

 

This smelt like very classy alcohol when first applied and then the myrrh appeared giving weight and depth.

 

As this dries I can smell the narcissus, this perfume is gorgeous.

 

Final thoughts: Very dark and smoky, I think Beth bottled an opium den. I have already ordered my larger bottle!

Edited September 13, 2004 by allamanda

[Effluvia]

Ooooooooh.

 

This one's all spooky and mysterious and hypnotic. (does swirly Siouxsie arm movements)

 

in the vial, I smell incense.

 

on my skin, I smell incense. It feels like I'm surrounded by mysterious, spooky, yummy incense smoke. Very thick. It kinda has an edge of sweetness like smoke machine smoke. It's got a definite vibe about it...

 

It reminds me of The Caterpillar's goth girlfriend.

 

I'll be buying more of this when my imp is gone.

[Witch's Dagger]

Preconceived notions:

 

First thought (based only on the description): They have a scent called Darkness! I have to try it!

 

After reading reviews, but before getting it: Oh, it sounds like it really *is* Darkness. I'm really glad I ordered it, especially since I think some of the other oils I ordered might be too light. And I love opium and myrrh - not too sure about narcissus, but that sounds nice, too.

 

Trying it:

In the vial: At first, I notice a really sharp, strong scent that I can't place, until I realize it's soap. I've never thought of soap as being this strong, which is why I couldn't place it. There is a lot of smoky darkness around it, too, though unlike the darkness in Mystery, this isn't a 'swirling' darkness, but a dry and dusty darkness, like the inside of a cave. Mystery smells better to me.

 

First impressions: I'm having mixed reactions that change very abruptly. First, there's a sweetness that enters, and softens the soapiness, but then *that* gets much louder and more persistent and definitely floral (aha! so it must be the narcissus... I don't think I care much for narcissus). At this point, I literally pointed at my wrist with my other hand and said, "Myrrh! Where are you! I need your spice!" and poof! Spicy myrrh... Oh, it was so nice right then, but immediately went back to the soapy sweetness. All of this took less than 5 minutes, and then settled into the loud soapy smell.

 

After an hour: Huh? What? All I smell is baby powder. I'm not even getting the soap. I think I don't like my body chemistry .

 

Final impressions: Out of all the oils I ordered, I really thought (based on the notes and reviews) that I would like this one the most, and that it would be my Dark scent. It ended up being mostly soap and baby powder on me, and I like Mystery a lot more. I'm going to try it again, with some patchouli, since I think that might be able to darken it. If I remember to do so, I'll add my comments about that when I do.

 

Edited: I teach Russian 101 to pay for my graduate studies. I wore Darkness yesterday, and all day, I kept noticing that I smelled chalk - I thought it was from using too much chalk in my teaching, so tried to wash my hands. This didn't work. Finally it clicked: it was the Darkness that was creating the chalk smell! This was a big relief as I like chalk much better than either soap or baby powder. It's also somewhat empowering, as it reminds me that I'm in charge of my classroom. So, I'm glad I kept it, and I'll probably wear it again. I still like Mystery and Hecate a lot more, but this is ironically light, soothing, and relaxing for me.

Edited September 2, 2004 by Witch's Dagger

[fairywingmaker]

This smells completely different in the bottle than it does on my skin. In the bottle sharp, almost a hairspray sort of smell (sorry Beth!) However, once I put this on my skin, this becomes spicey, and dark. I've worn it for the last couple of hours and its still lovely. My skin does good things with myrrh, and it wants to come to the top. It's a much lighter, softer kind of scent than I thought it would be. I'm still debating a larger bottle.

[Lucretia]

bleh. This one smells like kerosine on me. Smells like a room where all the lights were just blown out, with a little bit of sweetness. Definitly can see the darkness, but this does not smell good on me. I haven't tried anything with these notes before so I honestly can't even begin to guess what it is that isn't working on me

[FireInCairo]

This really is bottled gloom. The melancholy of this fragrance is absolute..all encompassing dispair. The flowers of the funeral pyre indeed... I love it!

[Scylla]

In the vial: Deep, brooding florals and incense.

 

Wet, on my skin: This brought back a scent memory of a perfume my grandmother had bought me eons ago called Coquette. I have no idea what the notes in Coquette were, but the sharpness of Darkness totally reminded me of that. Probably narcissus.

 

On drydown: I'm not very familiar with the notes of narcissus and opium, but this scent is very evocative. This smells like a fancy, expensive perfume that an aristocratic woman might wear to a masquerade ball in a black silk ball gown and a black mask. Very interesting, but not me.

[Mayfair]

I got this as an extra in a swap (thank you!) otherwise I don't think I would ever have tried it. (I'm not that fond of darkness in general).

 

I have to say, that I tried it without reading the description first. Out of the vial it was a very dark and strong floral, with a bit of an edge. Having read the description now, I would say it must be the narcissus.

 

On my skin all I can smell is that sweet opium scent, like the opium scented candles I used to burn as a teenager. It is very serious and sophisticated somehow, with a melancholy touch to it.

 

Call me crazy, but it smells exactly like Chanel No 5 to me (which is a very good thing!). Being a huge Marilyn Monroe fan, I was immediately thinking of her when the Chanel association popped into my head. Darkness to me smells like Marilyn in her more melancholy moods: sensual, serious, vulnerable, alone, yet with a bitter sweet touch. Imagine a faint smile, while tears are cursing down your cheeks...

[Northernminx]

AIEEE! Scarily strong in the vial I've been avoiding this imp for days and finally sucked it up and put some on.

 

And ohhh boy am I glad I did. Powerful, strong, sexy, and oh so very mysterious. Bottled gloom is right, but incense filled, hot, muggy gloom and oh so come-hither. Opium and narcissus are the strongest notes for me, a beautiful spicey incensy smell tempered by something darkly floral. The myrrh comes in to smooth it all out and wow... not something I will wear constantly - it's simply too kick-butt for that. But a definite knock the socks off the men in the room kinda scent.

[k00kaburra]

In bottle: Very smoky. Does narcissus smell something like lily? That seems to be the floral I'm picking up.

On me: This fragrance makes me think of the old underground opium dens that Chinese immigrants constructed under Pendleton during the 1800's when it was too dangerous for them to live above ground. There's smoke in the air and incense burning on an alter in the corner of the room. A prostitute wearing a heavy, heady perfume lounges in the corner watching men gamble. This is very deep and mysterious.

[evil_laugher]

This reminds me of something or someone, but I can't remember what. It's Feminine, but Adult. It's also very indigo or a deep purple. It's had good lasting power so far and I like it a lot. Anyone who doesn't like their sample can, uh, send it to me. ;D

[Lit Chick]

MMmmmmmm.

I have been looking for a scent for my husband, and may have found it.

This smells of incense to me - it's the smoky myrrh. Mmmmm. It's not thick - he did not smell like a head shop. It's not the smell of a Catholic mass, either. It reminds me strongly of the cone incense I used in college - smoky and delicious, but not in the least overbearing.

This is a romantic, masculine smell (but not traditionally masculine - there's no sharpness or musk). I wanted to snuggle up in his arms and inhale him all day.

[surf-tormented]

Who sprayed hairspray on my wrists when I wasn't looking? Is it supposed to smell like hairspray? My gods, it is overpowering too, like stepping into a cloud of mist generated by let's say, a big hair metal band from the 1980's. Takes me back.

 

It was so strong with hairspray smell I had to hold my wrists away from me until it faded into a sort of boozy oblivion. I am still not sure about what I just experienced.

 

I am glad fairywingmaker pointed out the hairspray scent too, for I thought I was going insane for a second.

 

I'll try it again and see what I think. It was a bit too much for me to take so if it is hairspray on me again, I'll trade it for someone who likes it better than me or has body chemistry that changes it into a non-boozy scent.

Edited December 23, 2004 by Madame Nyx

[feline.by.design]

Eh? Did I cop the same imp that everyone else wound up with? My experience wasn't very dark at all.

 

In my take, Darkness was SWEET. I never knew. This was the sweetness that I received from trying out a few of the oils from Voodoo Blends. There is a dark note, but it's underlying, buried by the sweet, syrupy florals. Maybe that's the "hairspray" that a couple of others experienced (see above).

 

It's okay, but not my thing at all.

 

-doreen

[voodoobaby]

In the bottle: I get hairspray like some others did. The narcissus is also quite apparent here.

 

Wearing: Wow. The hairspray goes away, and the narcissus lives up to its name by screaming, "Look at me! I'm beautiful!" Which really isn't a bad thing. The opium is the equally beautiful note standing quietly in the background, but I'm not getting much myrrh.

 

Later: Ah. The myrrh and opium have mixed seamlessly together into a whole new scent. The narcissus has wound down a bit, making this blend very mellow and incensey. I wouldn't say that this is as dark as the description or the name implies. It's simply a smokey, brooding floral, nothing too spooky. I like it a lot, and can see myself wearing it on a day where I just want to sit back and observe everything around me rather than participate.

[Reinaluna]

Darkness, when first applied I smell strong florals and dirt. After a while still floral with just a bit of myrrh. I give this imp to my brother.