Miskatonic University

[oceandreamer001]

... The scent of Irish coffee, dusty tomes and polished oakwood halls.

I was lucky enough to be enabled by Dinah, a lovely, lovely forumite.

The description is SPOT-ON.

First, I smell irish coffee in the bottle.

On my skin, it's pure coffee, and I get a note of hazelnut.

Then it is coffee, and oakwood.

The drydown is some oakwood and dust. A tiny bit of coffee remains.

I have an image of someone in tweed, surrounded by dusty books in a dim library, possibly of gothic origin.

Love it!

[maijasu]

At first, I get a blast of Irish coffee, very sweet and creamy. Delicious!

 

On my skin, it has remarkably good throw and smells great, but I keep getting teeny whiffs of some sort of plasticky aroma every now and then. Not enough to make me hate the scent, which is really impressive and quite unique, but I won't be paying ridiculous ebay prices for a full bottle either. I may keep my imp and try it out in a scent locket to cut down on the eau de plastic. Overall, a wonderful scent, just not the perfect one for my skin chemistry.

[TrailerTrashPrincess]

ever had rice krispies treats made with a cup (or thereabouts) of peanut butter added to the marshmallowy mix before you add in the cereal?

(my mom loves them made that way, so its a scent i know well)

 

after the initial coffee-woodsy scent, as soon as the oil begins to absorb into my skin, that's what i smell. with a little bit of the plastic i've come to associate with BPAL vanilla.

 

so, yes, i've had to get a bottle of this.... to add to my scent memories collection that BPAL has given me.

 

edited to add:

ooooer, i have the questionable honour of being the last person to review it when it was still a LE, expensive, hard-to-find blend! [=

 

hopefully everyone who reviews it from this point on will have paid regular catalogue prices for their bottles [=

Edited August 31, 2006 by TrailerTrashPrincess

[dawna]

hopefully everyone who reviews it from this point on will have paid regular catalogue prices for their bottles [=

 

Nope not from the new GC series, but this was a generous sniffie from a friend..

 

In the vial: Sweet sweet sweet irish coffee

 

Wet on the skin: Sweet Irish coffee with creamy whipped cream on the top.

 

On drydown: This is a seriously sweet, yet grounded scent. Its a gorgeous sweet coffee scent grounded with something dusty, slightly woody. It has rocketed to one of my favorite scents and I am so so so glad that I will be able to get a full imp of this cheaply now that it is a General catalog scent and not one of the more expensive LE scents out there. Hooray for Beth hehehe

[marlatiara]

I was given an imp by a friend - 99% sure it's a decant from the LE series.

 

I didn't look up the description before I dabbed it on, just vaguely remembered that it was something collegiate scented (ha).

 

Wet: Caramel popcorn! Honey and vanilla and caramel and POPCORN!

A few minutes later: Someone turn off the stove, the popcorn is burning...

*I look up the official notes*

Drydown: OK. Irish coffee and then something sharp - wood and dusty books coming to the forefront. My husband says "coconut" as well.

A few hours later: The wood/books has faded into the background, as I'd really hoped it would, and it's back to Irish coffee/caramel popcorn, which I adore.

 

I think I may be buying a bottle of this. I'm so glad it's GC now!

[steffanina]

Miskatonic University-

 

In Bottle: Mmm, sweet boozy cream with a coffee undertone.

 

Wet: Oh, how good this smells--Irish coffee or maybe a touch of hazelnut coffee too. I hope it doesn't go musty. Well, old-book musty would be fine, just not my-bad-chemistry musty.

 

Dry: Pity, it did get musty on me! Oh, well, not like it's anything new. Happens all too frequently on me.

 

Overall: Went musty. Will keep for a scent locket.

[Deiicide]

This is for the re-introduced scent within the Picnic in Arkham selection, I haven't tried the original blend yet.

 

In the Bottle: Sweet butterscotch with a faint coffee overtone.

 

Wet upon the Skin: Almost all sweet butterscotch, almost a bit too sweet. I was a bit worried that it would almost be all toffee and butterscotch as was Drink me. We'll see in the moments to come.

 

5 Minutes later: The mustiness that must be the bookish tone has come and siginifigantly tempered this blend. There isn't as much throw as there was before but I can definately feel a nice smooth creamy Irish coffee smell about me. This is the smell that allowed my brief time working as a local barista so worth it. The smell of the first pour of coffee just accented by a hint of creme and sugar.

 

20 minuters later: About the same with a bit less throw. Wow.

 

This is such a keeper and has probably cemented itself in the 10 ten for me. As the weather is growing a bit colder, coffee is definately one of the things I turn to. It is a definately smell of comfort.

 

Two Thumbs up.

[porcelain72]

Finally, my chance to try the legendary Misk U has arrived!

 

In the imp: creamy, sweet, almost buttery coffee.

 

Initial application: same as above. Yummy. The SO very much enjoys it as well.

 

Drydown: on my wrists, something dry and dusty, with the coffee behind it. The throw, however, is all coffee and just lovely. I am not disappointed, and chances are this will end up on the 5ml purchase list.

 

Smiley rating:

[nightbird]

this is the new GC scent - I got an imp because I'd heard so much about it and wanted to try it for myself!

 

in the bottle, it's coffee. I love the smell of coffee, but not the taste, so this is great.

 

on me, it's more coffee, with something faintly plastic underneath.

 

when it dries down it's a sweet, sugary coffee.

 

not sure how much I'll wear this, but yum! I'm keeping the imp for sure.

[Alchemy21599]

The famous Misk U is finally in my hot little hands!

 

In the bottle: coffee with a shot of Bailey's Irish Cream.

 

On: More Bailey's than coffee.

 

Dry: A smokey, aged wood smell has started to come out. Blech. I don't want to smell like bitter, acrid smoke. I am happy that I got a chance to try this and even happier that I didn't spend a fortune to acquire a bottle. Off to swaps.

[savage_rose]

First off: Yay Beth, for making this a General Catalogue scent!

 

In the bottle: Snelling Dining Hall, UGA, late '90s...late night cappuccino runs with my roommate, surrounded by students and books and the University. It's so close to that it's like a time portal.

 

Wet: All this and more...a plasticky note. Must be the pizza, LOL.

 

Dry: Thankfully, the plasticky note has faded to the background. Sugared coffee...mmm. I'll try this again during another time of the month, and see if the plastic is still there. It's faded, but I don't like expecting a whiff of the nostaligic and getting a whiff of "fake". Sigh.

[Keres]

In the bottle: Coffee, with something sweet.

 

Wet: This smells familiar, but I can't figure out what it is. It's something I'd expect to smell in a starbucks. Coffee with vanilla, or hazelnut, maybe. Something creamy and sweet, anyway.

 

Dry: Huh. I put a little Misk U on each arm. On the right, it's the same as it was wet, except there's a faint dusty smell clinging close to my skin. I didn't think I'd like the "dusty tomes" part, but it's actually kinda pretty and interesting. On the left arm, all the sweetness has disappeared, and it's turned into pure coffee.

 

 

I don't drink coffee, but I'm loving this scent. And it has throw! I've tried about 40 different BPAL perfumes at this point, and none of them are detectable from more than an inch or two away. I'd resigned myself to spending most of my time with the back of my hand pressed up against my nose. But not only could I smell Misk U while I was typing, my brother could smell it. From across the room and down a flight of stairs.

 

I would say that I will definately be purchasing a 5ml of this, but with the kind of strength it has, it might be a long time before I use up my imp.

[k8tey]

In Imp: Baileys & Kahlua

 

Wet: Hot Buttered Popcorn and Playdoh. It's the same playdoh I get in snow white, so they must share a note.

 

Dry: Hazelnut coffee. If I inhale too close I can smell the 'doh still, but only if I sniff for it.

 

I don't usually love heavy foodies, and this is a SWEET coffee, but I like it. I think it would be a good room scent, too.

[fairy]

If there were such a thing as heaven in a bottle this would be it. I had heard of this one and was watching ebay every time a bottle went up but there was no way I could afford it. I knew I'd love it but resigned myself to the fact I'd probably never smell it let alone wear it.

 

Then it was brought back...of course I had to buy a bottle.

 

This is AMAZING. Do you love the way Starbucks smells? Fresh delicious warm coffee. Then this scent it for you. It's warm, comforting and simply delicious. Now I know what the fuss was about.

 

Definitely in my top 3.

[birdiefu]

Hmm, I guess I wasn't expecting Misk U to be a foody sweet scent. I was expecting dusty old tomes, oak, and coffee, but I guess the cream and sugar from the coffee is all that came out on me.

 

Bottle: Sweet!

Wet: Milk & Honey and very foody sweetness (like Cockaigne).

Dry: Creamy, sweet, honeyed foodiness- cakey? No coffee, no oak, no old tomes. A lot of foody throw that is slightly sickening to me.

 

This smells so not like I expected, that I'm wondering if I got a mislabeled imp (though I doubt it). I will have to compare this side-by-side with Cockaigne as it really makes me think of that scent.

[indicolite]

Sweet coffee!!!

 

With a whiff of parchment...

 

How could I have ever doubted the people who swore by this (although $120 on eBay is a little too much)?

 

Need bottle, stat!

[Precis]

In the imp: DUSTY COFFEE? I guess in that tiny little vial, there isn't room for all the notes to spread out so it smells like they've been poured into a single mug.

 

On, wet: Same as in the imp! That delicious Irish coffee smell is so wonderful and spot on that I wish the dust wasn't there; it would be a WONDERFUL foody scent all on its own. Miska U almost smells like a kitchen where something unsweet is cooking and interfering with the smell of that yummy coffee. Rice? Pizza? Pasta? Play-doh?

 

On, dry: There's less coffee and more of that weird other note I'm getting.

 

Verdict: the booze-cream-coffee portion of the scent will keep this imp around but that odd interfering note won't let me get a bottle just yet. I have high hopes that this will age deliciously, though; I know some people get play-doh from fresh Snake Oil as well. Verdict postponed!

[citharadraconis]

Just received the GC version from the Lab.

 

On opening the imp, my first impression was "My god, I've died and gone to coffee heaven." Wonderful, rich, creamy, slightly boozy coffee with a throw like nobody's business. I want to drink this.

 

Wet on my wrist, it's the same as the imp--delicious coffee nirvana. I'm walking around inhaling my wrist and it looks silly but I DON'T CARE because this is flipping gorgeous. It's so strong, I'm even getting a psychosomatic caffeine buzz.

 

As it dries, the dusty tomes and oakwood halls make an appearance and come increasingly to the fore. I was worried about this stage after reading the "burnt popcorn" reviews, but it's not unpleasant at all. I love the smell of old books, and Beth's hit it spot on. I worked in my college's enormous old library all of last year, and this scent is the same--or would be if we were allowed to drink coffee in the stacks.

 

Overall: Absolute love. The perfect comfort scent, unique and evocative. I probably should've gone with my gut and ordered a 5ml unsniffed, but it's strong enough that the imp should last me a good while. Definitely a future bottle--so glad this is GC.

Edited October 6, 2006 by citharadraconis

[Iceblink]

All righty, I'll be honest.

I hate coffee. I mean I HATE coffee. I get queasy just walking past the coffee aisle in the grocery store.

BUT I also love Lovecraft so I had to try all of the Arkham scents, and this was one of them. You can see the bind I was in.

Well. This is delicious. Sweet, foody, a little reminiscent of Drink Me. Like a great flavored coffee blend. I'm keeping this imp for a chilly morning, just to see if I can wear it all day without having a coffee freakout. Kudos to Beth; getting me to even TRY this was a feat!

[The_Merf]

"Springtime in Arkham" was wrapping up its run just as I was getting started with BPAL. Since I was a n00b, I was afraid of ordering LEs without a chance to try them, so even though Misk U and some others sounded nice, I passed.

 

I am SO grateful to Beth that I now have the chance to try this blend!

 

In the bottle: Minor warning flags go up as I recognize the creamy, foody note that has caused problems in numerous other blends. I have to hope that the wood notes do their job.

 

Wet: Holy cow, is that strong. I can smell this everywhere--and it is good. The wood notes do their job and keep the coffee/cream notes from going bananas on my skin. This does smell very "sophisticated university" (though perhaps more young, hip grad student than old professor...not that this is a bad thing at all).

 

Drydown and wear: This has magnificent throw, and the wood notes continue to blend beautifully with the dominant notes. What a lovely scent--I will always make sure to have bottles of this on hand.

[TheBrett]

This was exactly as described, and stayed that way. Perfect for my work persona (I'm a historian.) I'll wear it a lot.

 

If I could change anything about it, I'd up the amount of dusty tome/polished wood to balance the sweetness a bit more.

[Teggy]

Oh my...I wasn't expecting to like this as much as I do!

 

Um...wow? This is really neat stuff and stays very true on my skin. The coffee is very creamy, making is soft and faintly spicy. I can tell there's something woody under it all, but it doesn't overwhelm the other notes that I often get from other blends. This one is intigrated so smoothly that it makes the blend really come together as a cohesive whole. This would smell wonderful on either a man or a woman...or in an oil burner!

 

[themerrybaker]

So thrilled to have gotten to try the 2006 version. I'd swear there was vetiver in this. Misk U is a dry, bitter, dusty scent where the coffee stays discretely in the background. So glad it's not foody.

 

A wonderful scent to wear on cold, rainy, weekend afternoons and probably perfect in an oil burner.

[gaai]

This stuff is goooood!

So now I know why people were lusting after this one so much......it's gorgeous!

I mostly get the coffee......I drink lots of coffee and this smells just like how I'd love my coffee to smell....nice and creamy and a little sweet .

Don't get more than hints of the dusty tomes and oakwood halls though, but that could be because of my stuffy nose.....I can smell, but I need to sniff extra hard to get the whole scent, so I might be missing some subtle notes.....

 

I'll test it again when my nose is all clear again to see if I actually hate it.....but I highly doubt that!

[bodegaselkie]

I ordered Miskatonic University hoping for a strong coffee-laced scent. The coffee barely emerges on me, although it has a strong sweet/caramel note, and the woods definitely peep through. It's very pleasant and evocative, but may wind up being too sweet for me. Too bad. I love the smell of coffee, but can't drink it, so I was hoping this would be a good substitute.

 

ETA: I'm wearing this again today, and the coffee scent is much more pronounced. It's still very sweet and caramel-vanilla-y, but mmm. I like this quite a lot.

Edited October 12, 2006 by bodegaselkie