Miskatonic University

[dragonrain]

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

This smelled very creamy in the imp but morphed drastically once on my skin. In a way I find it comforting. It stirs up images of musty old houses, antiques, libraries full of ancient books; stale coffee and dust. I like it, but not enough to wear, I'm afraid. I believe it would make a wonderful room fragrance. Edited May 9, 2007 by Shollin
Added Lab description --Shollin

[modernsaints]

Mmmm.

 

In the imp this is a really sweet, lovely, warm coffee - not a bit of dust or wood to it. On me, it gains that caramel note, and just mellows more and more as I wear it, turning me into a big sweet latte! I'm not entirely sure whether I want to SMELL like a latte, but I can't stop huffing my wrist when I wear it, so I'll definitely need to do some more testing. But I will enjoy that testing, oh yes I will!

 

ETA: Aaaaand on further testing...I smell like popcorn half the time. Huh? I'm so incredibly torn on this one.

Edited May 29, 2007 by modernsaints

[hipslike___cinderella]

Oh jeez... let me preface this by saying what I was looking for in Mikatonic University: Dust. That ancient, tickle-you-nose dust note, like the one hiding in The Parliament of Monsters; and a heaping cup of rich coffee and cream. Something gentlemanly and upstanding.

 

Here's what I got: BOOM!OHMYGODBUTTERYPOPCORNSOAKEDINIRISHCREAM.

 

This is THE STRONGEST bpal blend, out of the bottle, I have ever sniffed. It made every olfactory thread in my body stand on end, and almost induced a headache immediately. I couldn't believe it. I swore it off, separating it from all my imps until the day my boyfriend sneakily dabbed it on (I picked it out for him, after all). I directed him to stay away from me, but eventually gave a sniff, for scientific purposes. This one sniff, conducted about 30 minutes after application proved no different than the first: BUTTERED POPCORN, strong coffee and a vat of IRISH CREAM. No dust, no polished oak. This, to my nose, is a food-phobe's NIGHTMARE.

 

Sorry for the caps and the negativeness, but I hate BPAL blends so seldom, and I can't believe how bad this is to me!

[porcelina]

i have been waffling on this one for some time but as i applied it for reviewing purposes i realized that i simply must have a great big bottle of this. it is the most delicious, creamiest coffee scent you can imagine- and i am not a fan of coffee or foody scents in any way. i also don't know how the hell beth does this but i really do smell polished oakwood halls and dusty books. i want my apartment to smell like miskatonic university!

 

now that i have a big bottle i have spent some more time wearing and sniffing misk. u and i love it even more. in the bottle it is this delicious, creamy, alcoholic coffee scent and it reminds me of bailey's irish cream. when i put it on it's still delicious and creamy and coffee-like but there is this lovely woodiness underneath and then it really starts to smell like old books... later the rich coffee scent comes back and oh it's just amaaaazing.

Edited July 24, 2007 by porcelina

[eleventhousand]

Sweet butter and dirt.

...but I think I like it.

 

[500ml]

Strong creamy coffee, almost like caramel with a teeny bit of dust. I don't like coffee scents, so this isn't for me.

[prettybird]

Bottle: Not just Irish Coffee. IRISH COFFEE. A nice buttery sweetness to it too.

 

On skin: Mmmm. The dusty scent comes to the party, and I end up smelling like a coffee bar in an old library.

 

This is a particularly good scent to wear under other scents, as it doesn't overpower (and people just assume you've been to the coffee shop). I need a big bottle of this.

[n1k1ta]

I have smelled just like a Cinnabon all day. It's fantastic. No dusty books or oak. I am all coffee and creamy, sweet, luscious pastry. I need vast quantities of Miskatonic University, thank you!

[funkmoppet]

Guh. Wow. That is some awesome irish coffee right there. Boozy, sweet, strong coffee with incredible throw. There is nothing about that I don't love.

 

So strong, it's all coffee, all the time right through the dry down and then...oh-ho THEN I get the oak. The coffee backs off just enough to get that wood, and while the dusty tomes aren't showing themselves, this is the kind of library I smell I could get lost in. Books, coffee, wood - heaven.

 

LOVE. And my wishlist grows again.

[LadyCrow]

So I bought a decant of Misk U., knowing that I don't like coffee. Nope. I have an advanced degree that was certainly fueled by a lot of caffeine, but I actually go to coffee shops for the chai latte, and now I do my paper-grading on Red Bull. True story. So why even try Misk U.?

 

Loads of reasons. Lovecraft love. Occupational hazard. Two people close to me -- my mother and my husband -- have been coffee drinkers, and I was always compelled to agree with Mom that her various coffee blends smelled lovely, even if I thought they tasted like boiled arse.

 

So I put on only a little Misk U., seduced by the scent description anyway, and this is what happened:

 

In the imp: Creamy caramel.

 

Wet: Caramel, and hello coffee, and ah, you've brought your friend Uisge Batha over to play!

 

Drydown: This is amazing. Amazing. This has absurdly strong throw; it's like carrying your own portable fair-trade non-S'bux coffee shop around with you. The Irish coffee is heavenly sweet, and that first stage lasts for years. Only after a considerable wear time does the oakwood enter, close to the skin, and by that time it merely rounds out the complete scent picture: you really can find yourself transported to a huge library full of oak tables. (Just don't read anything by that Abdul Alhazred guy.)

 

Verdict: I still don't understand why I can like this so much and still not like coffee. It seems like heresy. But... I really like this.

[Alseides]

This is fabulous! FABULOUS! I have always loved the smell of coffee (almost more than coffee itself) and what I get from this straight away is a HOT caramel latte with a shot of espresso and a sprinkling of cinnamon. I drink these things twice a week, my little moment of heaven, and here's the scent captured in an oil!

 

I'M IN LOVE!

 

As time goes on, it smells more like cinnamon rolls on me, but I don't care, because I love those too. This is... amazing!

 

Then I get worried, because it starts smelling "burnt". Like oak, and BURNT cinnamon rolls. Uh-oh, I hope this passes...

 

the burnt note is only noticable if you take a BIG whiff of it, but I love big whiffs of coffee and cinnamon rolls! Please go away, burnt note!

 

On my boy, this smells like "popcorn and jelly bellies". In truth, I smell coffee and oakwood on him, but I'll let him think what he likes, as long as he wears this for me! I'm living vicariously through him, since this gorgeous scent turned to charred food on me.

Edited July 22, 2007 by Alseides

[mechangel]

Initial scent is warm butterscotch, after application it settles into the Irish Coffee smell but I don't smell any books. When I get to work a guy comes up to me and says I smell like his Uncles Library in the summer. Thats a pretty good sign although I don't smell that yet. After maybe 4 hours I begin to smell the books! Ill have to wear it a few more times to decide if I want a full size or not, but generally, I like it.

[Mamacat]

I had such high hopes for Misk U. I really did. I wanted the coffee and cream and dust. If I had read any review that said anything about caramel I wouldn't have bothered. So, I open up the imp and I smell . . . caramel. I put it on and I smell like maple syrup. crap. Why does my skin amp caramel and turn it into maple syrup. why????

[maproot]

just reading about Misk U makes me drool it is such a warm, comforting, wrap the comforter around you and read good books scent. the caramel is not overpowering to me at least, and the coffee comes through like a rich after dinner coffee after a satifying meal with good company and conversation.

 

ADDED Oct. 22:

 

I had this (and loved it)even before Bonfire Night, and ow I love it-am glad its GC-the coffee smell isterrific-I tend to slather and forget about it,but it definitely has throw-so perhaps I ought to use a little less-its buttery in a good way, and caramel and coffee(not burntwarm and cozy and a good library scent)

[JenM]

In the imp: my first reaction is “dust and chocolate.” Then I read the description, which says “Irish coffee,” and think “of course.” But dust and chocolate is my honest reaction.

 

On the wrist: exactly as in the imp.

 

Drydown: much more coffee-y in the throw, but up close I still get that dusty smell.

 

One hour: The whole room smells of coffee. Funnily, wrists when sniffed smell completely different to the throw. They smell like Kahlua.

 

Two hours: hint of wood on both wrists. The throw of coffee is still almost overpowering; I think I may have to wash it off. It's not unpleasant, but I'm not a coffee drinker. And it does smell more of Kahlua than coffee. Like a white sombrero.

 

5/10. Nice, but not for me.

 

ETA: Just washed my wrists and it's still there. THat's some staying power!

Edited August 2, 2007 by CrazyDiamond

[stasha]

If my personal heaven were bottled up in oil form it would be Miskatonic University. Sitting in a library with a cinnamon roll, coffee, and booze. I agree with the other reviewers who talked about the supreme morphing power of this as well. The wood/book scent comes out a lot more on the skin but the sweet coffee smell keeps it from getting the dusty, shop room smell. This was a frimp someone threw into my order and I am SO GLAD.

 

It wasn't even on my radar/wish list originally but holy cow

[CrazyPretzel]

Mmmm! Strong buttered rum from the Irish coffee. This smells more than anything like a stack of freshly-made pancakes with lots of melted butter and syrup. Sweet, buttery without being sickly, and very foody and delicious. The coffee lingers in the background.

 

As the oil dries down, the pancake smell remains, but the books start to come out -- a wonderful smell like a library. I've picked up the paperback I'm reading now, fanned the pages out under my nose and taken a deep breath to doublecheck. Yep, it's the smell of books!

 

The wood plays nicely in this blend -- seems it's not very strong, which is good since woods tend to screw things up for me.

 

This would make a fantastic winter scent, but I'm enjoying it very much now in August as well. Winner!

[backwards8]

I knew from the description of this oil that I would love it since it contains 3 of my favourite things: books, irish cream and coffee.

 

In the imp: Buttery irish cream with a hint of coffee.

 

On me: Less irish, but more caramel and a stronger coffee smell. Yummy! I couldn't stop smelling my wrist. After about an hour, it loses the caramel and becomes more oaky, still with the coffee in the background. Smells like curling up with an old leather-bound book in a dark corner of a library. Very comforting smell.

 

This one definitely goes on the bottle list. I think it'll be a lovely winter scent.

[naiade]

I get pure sicky-sweet maple syrup. I smell like a stack of pancakes, with no books or wood or even coffee in sight.

 

I'm a bit disappointed, but c'est la vie.

[arcticwolf]

ITI: Unadulterated Irish Cream! Sweet, sweet coffee. You are the elixir of my life *drools*. Very strong.

 

Wet: Creamy, buttery, caramely, Irish cream coffee.

 

Drydown: It took a few hours before this went a little dusty smelling. I didn't smell dusty books or library smells or oakwood, unfortunately, just dusty irish cream coffee. But I do love it. Very comforting. I couldn't stop huffing my wrist. This will make a wonderful Room Scent, even if I don't like walking around smelling like food.

[erina74]

wet- something that could become your new favorite coffee drink at Starbucks. Something like a caramel macchiato (sp?) with a creamy butterscotch after tone to it.

 

dry- still yummy coffee drink but much more subdued, I think its a cafe mocha now. Also smelling the oakwood now, but its rich buttery oakwood. This is staying up in the library all night totally engrossed in something completely fascinating. Definitely not like most of my miserable sleep deprived times desperately cramming a bunch of details I don't care about to do well on my test the next day. This is the library you actually want to be in all night.

 

Like it very much, but then again I am a coffee addict and adore all pretty flavored coffee based drinks. Also love getting lost in really good books.

[jewelbug]

This goes on a thick hazelnut cream...more nuts and cream than coffee (that's how my sister takes her coffee!).

 

Unfortunately a burning plastic nastiness comes out under the hazelnut cream and doesn't leave. Just as well, as this starts out a bit too foody for me, anyway.

[MissLily]

I ordered an imp of this in my very first order, and loved it so much I bought a bottle, and the soap.

 

In the bottle: Sweet, sweet Irish coffee in a dusty room. The more I huff it (and I must confess, a few times a day at least I do) the more the oak is perceptible.

 

Wet: the sweetness amps up to a pitch that would be obnoxious if the oak, whisky, and freshroasted coffee didn't roar up as well. This is an incredible, complex scent.

 

Drydown: the dust note (how does Beth DO that?) becomes more prominent, reminding me of the secondhand bookstores I'd beg to be taken to in small seaside towns on family vacations. Dusty books sometimes make me a little ill now so it's a really special thing for me to be able to enjoy the scent and the memories without coming down with a nauseous headache.

 

The only bad thing I have to say about MiskU is when I attempted to scent some homemade flaxseed hairgel with half an imp, everything but the dust note completely disappeared. I really wanted my hair to smell like Irish coffee. I do not want my hair to smell like dust.

[Torrain]

Starts with a strong hazelnut-sweet coffee smell--my husband was three feet away and noticed when I opened the imp. A kind of raw wood/dust element (do I call that a note?) gets stronger once it's on my skin, but always stays behind the hazelnut and coffee.

 

This is very much its own smell, not mine--you know how occasionally you'll put on a scent, and it's lovely, but it doesn't seem to have anything much to do with you personally and the two of you just happen to be in the room together? That's what I get. But it is a lovely smell, and it brings an incredibly vivid mental image along with it{1} that I really like, so it's absolutely one of my keepers.

 

L&c,

F

---

{1} Amaretto coffee sitting on a freshly sanded blondewood table, with the steam curling up and gently catching the dusty sunlight that's streaming in through the tall paned window beyond the shelves of books.

[squirrelmonkey]

I have a bottle of it, so I'm a fan. Definite Irish coffe+caramel, with just hints of wood lurking on the drydown. Very creamy, mellow blend with a nice throw.