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I was trying out Dracul while out with a friend, and she told me that it smelled like Shalimar.

Wow, I really did it to myself yesterday. I've been testing a bunch of imps and decided to go through a few, rather than wear one the whole day. I wore Perversion in the morning for a couple of hours, was very satisfied with the skankiness of it. Then I put isopropyl alcohol on a cotton ball and cleaned it off. I tried Schrodinger's Cat for an hour or two, got all the citrus and mint and chocolate notes, and wiped that off. Then I tried Yorick, and got a good whiff of it. Later on, I showered before going out; and wore The Deep Ones to yoga. This morning, huge red blotches on my wrists. Now, I've worn The Deep Ones before, and I don't remember it causing a problem. I was trying Perversion and Schrodinger's Cat for the first time, and Yorick I had only tested briefly before. So, was it something in Yorick? Was it a delayed reaction to Schrodinger? Did The Deep Ones bother me, even though it didn't do it the last time? Or was it a reaction, the next morning, to the alcohol rubs? The only element that has bothered me this much before was the cinnamon in Faustus, which I stopped using.... ETA: Ah, it looks like, with this post, I am no longer a "wrist-sniffing wench"...that's good news...

I should preface that my skin chemistry loves dark notes. As a guy, my chemistry is quite different from most other posters. Florals and the like just are wrong on me, and dark musky smells thrive. And vetiver, so wrong on so many, is a great note with my skin. So Rumpelstilzchen is so much Win for me. Yes, I get the very strong smoke for the first few minutes. It reminds me a LOT of Brimstone. But where Brimstone is smoke, and just stays smoky for the duration, in Rumpelstilzchen the smoke settles in and becomes a blended note with the spices. The patchouli and vetiver keep it a strong masculine scent, and the nutmeg and other spices waft around them. I can't take scents where the spices predominate, but I like it when the spice notes are accents to the darker ones. So this is just perfect. I do very few bottles, but the next bottle I get will either be this or Czernobog. Not for everyone, clearly. But for guys who like things like Czernobog and Iago, or women who like strong notes, this is a winner.

This is every bit as good as advertised. Blood, musk and vetiver plus other yummies. Hot and diabolical. Me likey. I think I'd like it equally well on a woman. Have her doused in this and brought to my tent. My only complaint is that it only lasted a couple of hours, then faded. I wish it had a longer wrist-life.

This reminds me so very much of Celestial Seasoning's "Mandarin Orange Spice." Warm and cozy and a little spicy. And I guess "Celestial" is appropriate, given the subject matter. I was really hoping for something fiercer, being all about War and battle and swords and whatnot. It's really very pretty and would be a lovely by-the-fire scent for a woman. I've tried three of the "four horsemen" now. "Great Sword of War" is sexy and orange and warm. "Bow and Crown of Conquest" was all about the carnation and vanilla, very noble and pretty. And "Death on a Pale Horse," while a bit chilly, had all that nice cooling citrus. I have to say, when Armegeddon arrives, it promises to be quite pleasant and will smell great.

I wore Dracul out for drinks with a (female) friend, and she said it smelled a *lot* like Shalimar. So I stopped wearing that one.

I love leather. I really like tobacco. I *think* I like oppoponax (I like Godfather Death and that may or may not be the oppoponax I'm reacting to). But....sigh. It barely registers on me. Leathers generally like me, Iago and (LE Lupercalia) Enkhesapolos are perfect. But this is light and fades quickly. I think this would be a good leather scent for a woman who wanted a leather but didn't want to reek of it as a matter of course.

Mmmmm. Urrrgggh. Ahhhh. Ewwwww. I do like aquatics on me and was looking forward to this one. And I have to say it gives what it promises (at least on my aquatic-friendly skin). You smell the water and ozone, you smell the vegetation, the power and nobility of Cthulu. However the “rotting vegetation” note, which is absolutely right for the scent, is, well, a bit like rotting vegetation. Sickly-sweet and slithery. And while in concept it sounds like fun, it isn’t what I’d want to wear all that often. So this one goes on the list of scents that work the way they are supposed to on me, but that being said, don’t strike the kind of note that I particularly want.

Abstraction -- get an imp of Iago. I love leather as well, and that one just nails it for me.

Just got a frimp of this today and testing it out. I have a very musky skin chemistry so I'm always looking for dark blends. And vetiver is one of those things that works on me well, though clearly not on others. So this one is very happy on my skin. There's a sweetness (the myrrh?) which gives it that "nice cologne" overdraft, while the musks settle in and jockey for position. I'm an Iago kind of guy, and while this isn't a leather scent, the musks and myrrh make this a good choice for me.

Thanks, gwydion. I have looked up and down Steamworks, and listed a few I've tried and liked above (for some reason, Galvanic Goggles didn't register on me, quite a disappointment). I really think I need to spend some more time in Marchen and Arkham. Any scents that use a lot of oakmoss? I don't think I've tried that particular element. (And I did tag Lurid for future imping. Does sound yummy).

Well, as a man, this thread is of particular interest to me, and I’m getting lots of ideas to try. The difficulty is that while some scents can be tagged as “masc” or “uni” there’s still the question of variegated body chemistry. I happen to be of Slavic descent, and am pretty, how shall I say, hirsute. Hirsute and perspirative. So sweet scents – florals and spices – simple don’t work on me. I tried wearing Dracul and a trusted female friend told me it reminded her of Shalimar; and I thought to myself “ur doin it rong” And I was frimped a decant of Crowley and I couldn’t figure out what was amiss until I realized it had lilac in it. Very strange. So I try many things and few work - -Iago is perfect, Antikythera Mechanism is masculine but warm, Robotic Scarab sits well. I was frimped a decant of Enkhespalos, which is as perfect on me as Iago. I’m having luck with unusual choices like Godfather Death, a good autumn scent, woodsy and dry, with something that smells like fennel. And The Deep Ones, with its murky aquatics and romantic kelp. Thanks for all the good suggestions. If I find anything else that is aces, I’ll report in. ETA: The Coil is a nice change, too. I like smelling like an live electric circuit.