Al Azif

[Gin]

A sinister, sinuous incense of summoning, a herald and paean to the Primordial Gods of Darkness, Chaos, Madness and Decay.

Al Azif (on the imp as Al-Azif)

I try to not rely on the listed notes, but when there are none, I flounder about like a fish out of water. This is syrupy sweet at first, but dries down to flowers. It actually makes me think of dead flowers, out in the heat and humidity. But... in a good way. The flowers are a little too fragrant--maybe they're not dead, but crushed, and they're dampened by something. Some sort of haze. A very interesting and morphy oil.

[mgrazulis]

Fruity resin, a bit of sweet incense, cool and musty air...as if something nefarious is about to emerge. There is a quick short burst of sweetness that is somewhat like caramel, but it disappears quickly. A fallen flower left to decay in myrrh...yes there is something slithery going on, too. Getting a bit of vanilla flower toward the end of the drydown. Dark and beautiful skin-scent.

 

 

[Suu4LC]

In the imp this is a resin-y incense with a hint of something buttery sweet.

 

I saw other reviewers mentioning butterscotch and maple, and I totally smell where they are getting that-this is resiny, butterscotch incense Odd combo, but actually rather nice! A sort of foody smell that isn't really foody at all!

 

Wow, this dries gorgeously...it's almost like a burnt sugar/creme brulee scent on my skin O_0 Delicious! Whoa...I can't stop sniffing my wrist...this blend is SUCH a surprise! Incense-y blends are almost never my bag, but this blend just works so well on me...

 

Yep, this gets added to the bottle WANT list! As bizarre as this is, this is creme brulee on me. Delicious burnt sugar. Woohoo!

[toomuch]

Very light, sweet incense. Nice but I like my scents stronger.

[bubblefish]

I get a gentle incense note that is layered over something darker. The description of the scent is perfect. There's definitely something sinister lurking there among the swirls of incense and flowers.

[skylarkza]

In the imp: Vanilla chai tea and smoke.

 

Wet: Incense, smoke and spices.

 

Dry: Buttery and creamy. With a good dose of spices and smoke.

 

A while later: Smoky, spicy. Slightly vanilla-buttery undertone. It smells gorgeous - complex, intriguing and oddly comforting. It has a good throw and lasts well. I really LOVE how this smells on me. This stands a good chance of becoming a signature scent if I get my paws on a bottle.

[Invidiana]

I was really, really surprised by this one. I must have about a squillion imps of it, more or less, but always put off trying it because I was afraid it was going to be like headshop incense; it's anything but. It's really deep, dark and surprisingly sweet (though I do have skin that amps sweet notes) with nothing headshop about it. I got a lot of dark vanilla, woods and smoke with a smooth blend of spices. Too bad Lovecraft isn't around to to get a sniff.

[voorishsign]

Huh. This is nothing like I was expecting. It's sweet and floral with a touch of something foody, here I was expecting old incense and dry paper. I was really quite taken aback. This was a frimp, and I'm glad I'm getting to try all the Lovecraft scents, but this one really isn't for me - it's just too sweet on my skin. Oh well.

 

It's interesting to have a perfume surprise you this much though

[Amoraexcena]

Imp: a nice resin and a whiff of jasmine.

Wet on Skin: Incense smoke fog, a thick sweet resin sweetened with honey, rosewood I think grounding it. Jasmine flowering around happily.

Drydown: This oil reminds me of O in that it takes forever to dry. My skin's amping the jasmine and the sweetness. It's a really pretty floral at this point, what I imagine a spiced jasmine nectar to smell like.

[ami226]

On the skin: Sweet and slightly resiny. A bit smokey, but I actually like it. Very good! I think this one would smell great on my SO, but I haven't had a chance to attack him with it yet.

[Lucretia]

At first I'm really put off by this. I don't even know what it smells like, Jasmine maybe? This makes no sense, but it sort of reminds of the scent of a car that's been sitting under the sun. After it dries it improves a ton on me, and I actually rather like it. It's a soft incense with floral undertones (the Jasmine isn't at all as amped now) and something sweet. It's very mellow and sort of a second skin kind of scent. I like this a lot dry but can't stand it wet, so I'm not quite sure what to think overall.

[Finch]

A sniff straight from the imp and on initial application this is quite intense; very floral. However, once it settles into the skin it becomes a sweet smokey incense that lingers for hours without being obvious and intrusive. It's rich, ancient, ornate, and mysterious. Though I wouldn't wear it every day, I really like it.

[CitizenBree]

Strong sweet scent going on and in the vial. Definitely get the maple syrup tones. Can sometimes be a bit too strong when it is wet but after it dries (after I've exercised too), it's very light and delicate. Comes off as a sweet incense. It would probably be something I'd want for an atmosphere scent but not a perfume.

[DeltaCat]

I get a little bit of B&BW's Rice Flower and Shea when I wear this. There is a hint of pecan but I mainly get this sweet creaminess that is divine.

[Ajila]

In the bottle - A strong, woody incense that tickles my nose

 

Wet on me - the incense is softer and sweeter with an almost coconuty aspect to it

 

Dry on me - A soft warm incense that settles in like a second skin

 

Overall - A scent that just begs to be nuzzled, now I just need someone to do the nuzzling

[raisin]

I had given this a run before, and I may return to try it again, but for right now...

 

I'm getting something buttery, lots of vanilla, and sweetness. It is forcibly reminding me of homemade cookie dough.

Quite at odds with "A sinister, sinuous incense of summoning, a herald and paean to the Primordial Gods of Darkness, Chaos, Madness and Decay"! Bizarre!

 

Regardless, I think I'll be trying to get rid of this one. I'm not picking out any promising notes, but maybe someone who loves vanilla could appreciate it.

[skyelyric]

This totally does not jive with the description for me. Was a frimp in my last order, and to my nose it's a kind of butterscotch/caramelly/coconutty white musk. It's not bad, but it's really, really sweet, and white musk is generally a death note on me--this seems to be behaving in a similar fashion.

[SophieCedar]

This does have a sweet buttery element to it. However I'm surprised to see that the majority did not pull arabian musk out of the mix? That seems to be what I smell the most in imp and wet. After it burned off a bit, I smelled some spice too.

[topaz]

This one reminds me of Death Adder when I first dab it on. That sweet and spicy vetiver. Then it smells like the Adder took a dip in a vat of syrup. This one is so sweet for a sinister scent. I like it. A lot.

[ataniell93]

I'm not sure this is me. When I first put it on it smells like pink bubble gum, then it dries down to powder. A lot of BPAL smells like baby powder on me, unfortunately, but when it works (as with Morgause and Endymion) it REALLY works!

[impolight]

:::AL-AZIF:::

 

There is mass bias on this end for the Picnic in Arkham series. It is difficult to have anything but praise for anything even remotely affiliated with the writings of Mr. Howard Philip Lovecraft, and Al-Azif is certainly no exception.

The Imp was uncapped to reveal gorgeousness on a grand scale! At first, this invited comparison to On Darkness 2009. There is Cocoa, Teak and Poppy... Darkened a bit by either Cedar, Vetiver, or Patchouli... This is particularly difficult to distinguish as there is alot going on with the fragrance that is Al-Azif!

This is very dark and disturbing! Beautifully so!

There is a lightless thrill to this that is hard to describe...Imagine Space Mountain on crack. This version goes 85mph, is 18 stories high, has 6 loops somewhere in it, and there is... ONE star in the whole ride. Double the effect, and you're getting warmer!

There is a subtle sweetness in Al-Azif that could be Rosewood, could be Ambergris, could be Amber... Or is thanks, entirely, to the Poppy.

The flesh, annointed: Al-Azif AMPS! Everything about this blend magnifies exponentially and turbulently.

Al-Azif is nearly out of control!

The Incense makes it's appearance about 3 minutes after it makes contact with the skin, but the Poppy and the Rosewood REALLY shine.

This is an amazing fragrance.

It is almost impossible not to underestimate the potency of Al-Azif's sexiness!

As it matures and develops, something close to either Clove or Cinnamon introduces itsself into the mix and makes it profoundly challenging to moderate the salivary response... Which is not to say that Al-Azif is AT ALL foody. If anything, this gives an almost predatory impression; as though one has grown slavering, lupine jaws, though with multiple rows of teeth.

Al-Azif also makes the wearer feel as though they can see in the dark.

Al-Azif has reduced this reviewer into a stuporous puddle.

Perfect for Him or Her.

5.5 out of 5!!!

[KesHiro]

Frimp in one of my orders.

 

Well, this was a surprise. I was expecting something very heavy and, well, sinister. Instead, I got an afternoon tea party.

 

In the imp, I smell sweet fruit resin and a bit of incense. Wet, this turns into straight up apricot jam. During the drydown, a bit of a creamy note appears, and once dry, I'm left with cream, apricot jam, and a bit of smokiness.

 

Who would have thought that those Lovecraftian creatures would be nice enough to bring scones before driving humanity insane? Very interesting, kind of pretty, but not something I'd wear as a perfume. Makes an awesome room fragrance, though!

[hersphinxness]

I was inspired to dig this out of my imp box by sister. On her, it's an amazing humid floral scent, exactly the kind of thing I like. I was very excited.

 

I put it on, sniff, and... OLD SPICE. I waited until it dried. Still, Old Spice. Ack, no, help, I smell like my dad! On my list of things I want to smell like "my dad" is probably, oh, dead last. Why, Al-Azif, why?

[calivianya]

I'm agreeing with other reviewers that this is very sweet. It definitely surprised me. I'm not nearly good enough at picking out notes to make a decent stab at what's in it, but it smells very floral at first. Maybe a little bit of jasmine? As it dries down more sweetness comes out to complement the florals... but then it turns to powder on me. It is staying very close to my skin and doesn't have a lot of throw.

[Mountaingrrl00]

This had promise. I love incense scents, and I like the syrupy aspect to this one, but something about it consistently made me sneeze. Had to swap it away.