Al Azif

[Penance]

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

Preconceived notions:

This was the first SIA scent that really jumped out at me note-wise since I'm an unrepentant incense lover so I'm really hoping this works for me, especially since the other SIA scents I've tried so far just haven't done much for me for some reason.

First sniff:

Incense but sweet and musty...almost like musty maple syrup dripped over incense. Normally I adore incense scents, but something about this just isn't...appealing to me, I suppose. I don't care for sweet scents and that combined with the mustiness is just...not quite working for me.

Wet on skin:

Better, but still sweet and musty. There's some sort of background note in here that's really just not working for me, but I have no clue what it is. None. I'm mystified.

Dry down:

The syrupy sweet note is gone, but this is still striking a bad note with me. I never thought I'd find myself saying that an incense blend wasn't me, but there's a first time for everything, I guess. This is a bit...cloying, I guess, for me. I prefer dry, heavy incense notes and Al Azif just doesn't fall into that category for me. It's more like...I think the best way to put it is that it smells like the dregs of a dozen different sweet, heady incenses left in the brazier. Not a bad thing necessarily, just not what I want.

The bottom line:

I never dreamed that I'd say it, but I've met an incense blend I don't care for. It's strangely disconcerting and more than a little sad.

[Ina Garten Davita]

First Impression: Soft, sweet incense.

 

Second Impression: This scent is precious and lovely. Reminiscent of the warmth, softness and powdery incense quality of Tushnamatay but with none of the woodsiness. Beautiful.

 

Final Analysis: Really good staying power and stays through on a long drydown. So nice.

[PurringPulsar]

Al Azif

 

In the imp: sweet, dark, spicy incense. I swear I even smell a little bit of dark rum or whisky!

Wet on skin: this is a really dark resinous blend with a twist of booze and some dry spices and woods.

Dry on skin: dark, sweet, sticky resins. There's possibly some really dark amber in this, and some myrrh-dark myrrh probably. There are also some dry woody or spice notes in this. And there's a booze note-not sure what kind of booze, but it reminds me of Miskatonic's Irish cream note, or perhaps of dark rum. It's a very sweet scent-there may be some treacle in here as well, a really dark sugar scent, slightly maple-syrupy.

After a while: this is complex, there are many resin scents in this, but they blend together into one, sweet mass of resin and I can't pick them out, that's how well blended this is. There's now a lighter, and, dare I say it, slightly floral top note in this. There's also a sweetness, which is much like bourbon vanilla-or maybe even bourbon liquor.

After an hour or so, I can smell a little bit of patchouli, with a molasses like topping.

Verdict: this is a really interesting scent-it's complex, unusual, and very dark. It's incense-y and resinous, but of very sticky, dark, treacle like resins, as opposed to dry, smoky resins. Very sweet and viscous smelling. It has a little hint of strong booze, possibly rum or whisky. And there's a spicy note in there, or perhaps some woods. It's very intriguing and does fit the description well (even though I've never read Lovecraft), but I'm not sure if it's my favourite incense scent, but I do enjoy the fragrance.

Edited July 23, 2005 by yeahbutnobut

[OriginalWacky]

Bottle (Imp): This has some bite to it, but I don't know what exactly it is.

 

Just On: Hmmm, smooth with a bite.

 

An hour or two later: Smooth with a bite. Some kind of familiar spice.

 

Around 6 hours: Some bite, some spice, all fading.

 

12 hours: It's left.

 

Overall: I like it, but I'm not dying for more of it.

 

After reading other reviews: I didn't get syrup at all, which is probably good, or I might have cried that I didn't get more.

[Eros]

In the bottle this is syrupy-sweet incense. On, the sweetness mellows just a tad and I get a very deep, rich and exotic scent.

After about an hour I get a bit of something that's trying hard to tickle my nose and throat. Black patchouli? Certainly seems to be, blah. However, this is so beautifully blended, so complex, I'm doing just fine with it

Two + hours, still a bit of that annoying something but I can live with it. This is dry incense and crackling embers. Acrid, yet sweet smoke. As it draws me in, it also repels me. I see a vast wasteland of darkness.

The feel of this is true to it's description. This strikes me as more of a ritual oil.

Whatever, it's beautiful!

Nice throw and lasts for hours.

[coulrophobe]

The first time I sniffed Al-Azif, I was smelling a friend's just-arrived Arkhams and didn't have the descriptions in front of me - and the smell made me think that this simply must be the one that was only described as "air and darkness." That description was actually Yog-Sothoth, but out of the bottle, Al-Azif is dark, sweet and airy; there's something that gives my nose the sensation of cool air. It's like walking into a chilly moonlight room with the lingering scent of smoky-sweet incense.

 

Now that I have my own bottle, and can actually try it on my skin, I get the maple syrup that everyone's been talking about - luckily, it only lasts 5 minutes, because if I really wanted an oil that makes me smell like IHOP, I would have found myself some Hearth by now!

 

Al-Azif dries down into the most beautiful sweet, dark powder scent, with a hint of something almost musky. One of my all time favorites is Morocco, and while this doesn't smell like Morocco per se, I get the same general feel... while Morocco with its warmth and spices is the desert during the day, Al-Azif is the desert at night, cool, silent and empty.

 

This blend is gorgeous, and I love it.

 

(edited because I can't spell those crazy Lovecraftian names)

Edited July 29, 2005 by coulrophobe

[QueenFae]

A soft, flowing, sticky sweet incense. It reminds me of the inside of a metaphysical store I go into, where all the incense and candles and herbs blend into one beautiful, uplifting smell. I find this one pretty feminine on me, but my skin tends to pull out sweetness, so it might be nice on a guy too. There is a mild undertone of a floral, maybe night blooming jasmine or something light like that. It's lovely, I'm glad I snagged a bottle!

[slave1]

In Bottle: Sweet and sugary.

 

On Skin: This is a brown sugar scent. Soft and sweet, even a little maple scented. I don’t find it sinister, if anything it is comforting. The sweetness fades and other notes appear. There seems to be a light resin/woody note… and almost a floral note in the background… jasmine or something light? It is also a bit incensey. I love it but wish it was stronger. It fades very quickly.

[fallow deer]

Mmm this could be one of my favourite SiA scents - for me, it's simply very good quality incense sticks, the type they burn in indian restaurants. I can definately pick out frankincense and spices, but this is so smooth and well blended I can't pick out much else.

 

It's very exotic and faintly hypnotic and absolutely gorgeous.

 

And a bit , too.

[aidenraine]

Wow, what a surprise. I thought I'd be disliking this to be sure. It just didn't jump out at me!

 

So let's see... it's sweet and musky all at once, with a touch of wood to it. I do detect the maple, but it's an undertone and doesn't cause the scent to become too sweet.

 

It _IS_ like a stick of incense... would definitely make a great room scent because it's better than most incense, much more interesting. Like incense + jasmine + maple? God, that sounds like it'd be nasty but somehow it isn't.

 

I'd like to be the type of girl whose apartment smelled like this too... mmmm. It smells smokier on the inside of my wrist than the outside.

 

I am so torn. I love this, but I'm not sure I love it on _me_. It's not leaving my apartment though; my oil burner and it are going to become quite close.

[slugbait]

An imp I got in a swap with ShadowMaat. Thank you!

 

Out of the imp this smells like soft incense without the smokiness. On my skin this smells of maple syrup and brown sugar backed by a light floral. This sounds weird but as this dries this smells similar to the musk in whitechapel! I really like this one.

[maewitch]

I think if I lit an incense cone and then dumped a bunch of sugar on it and let it smolder, it would smell something like this - very sweet, smoky and a little burnt.

 

It's not in any way a BAD smell. It's just no, you know...great.

[Nachtwulf]

Bottle: Well. This is different. It's thick and incensy and dark, all right... strangely more 'dark' than Darkness. Ironic. It's kind of spicy and thick and exotic, not quite managing to make it to being sweet at all. It is Man Scent, I think.

 

Wet: Ooh. Warm and spicy and yes, incensy. It's also distinctly smoky. There's some kind of musk crawling around underneath it, though, that threatens to turn into that icky 'animal stink' that I found in one of my CT2 imps. I have to wonder if it's civet.

 

Dry: ...It's sure different. It's thick and smokey and potent, and it reminds me....well... it kind of reminds me of Samhain ritual incense, from back when I used to practice with a Wiccan coven. It's harsh and smoky and dark, and I'm somewhat bemused as to how they got the smell of autumnal incenses and smoke into a bottle like that. This is bonfire smoke, too, not pansy candle smoke. Oak and wood and resins.

 

Final Opinion: ....Hmnr. Jury is out on this. It's potent stuff, but I'm not sure I want to smell like I just came inside after standing next to a bonfire and hanging onto a shell full of dragon's blood for an hour. I'm almost tempted to try layering it with Sugar Skull to see if the sugars will mute the beast a little. I'm getting throw from both right now, and it's actually pretty nice.

[Shollin]

First sniff: WOW, is this ever incensey. And I don’t want to jinx myself, but it just might be an incense that will work on me… I think the main note in here is red sandalwood, which is something I can wear by itself. It’s gorgeous and warm and feels like church in a cozy midnight-Mass way.

 

Wearing: I think I’ve found it. A scent that truly smells like incense and doesn’t go funky on my skin. This… this is happy. And yeah, it’s supposed to be all dark and wicked and whatever, but… this is something I’ve been looking for without ever realising it.

[SeaMonkey]

Its incensy and its also sweet. Its much like lighting incense then eating waffles. I like it!

[slave1]

In Bottle: Smoky wood

 

On Skin: This is a dark incense scent. Very pretty and there is a sweet resin note in the background. It smells very thick and sticky and also woody... maybe cedar? It seems light, barely there… but when you do catch a whiff it is do deep and delicious. A great scent for someone who likes mysterious, dark resin scents. It doesn’t have much throw though or I think I’d wear it. It fades in about 10 minutes sadly.

[Voleuse]

On first application, this is an odd combination of sugar and resin. It's sweet and syrupy, and darkly tinged. It doesn't blow my mind when I first try it on, but it's insidious. I keep wanting to sniff it, more and more.

 

As it dries, it becomes a little less sweet, but the overall balance of sugar and incense stays the same. I don't get any floral or wood notes on this at all. The throw is decent, and it lasts a respectable amount of time. I really like this, though I don't think I'll go through the heartbreak of trying to find a bottle.

[tinyvulture]

Really sweet, really heavy incense. I get a hint of maple syrup – it’s that sweet. I can’t pick out individual notes – myrrh, maybe? It’s long lasting, and I like how dark and mysterious it is in spite of its sweetness.

[LittleGreyKitten]

This is the epitome of incense blends for me. Deep, dark, incredibly thick and sweet, smoky, resiny and potent. It is definitely the best incense BPAL I've tried. Throws like mad, I do best with small, small dabs, or it can overwhelm me. I don't use it a ton, but it's perfect for what it is. I find Pit & Pendulum very similar but not as perfect- there's a bit of a jarring note in it, so Al-Azif wins hands down. It's so beautifully dark.

 

I'd give it a 5 out of 5.

Edited May 8, 2006 by LittleGreyKitten

[dreamingjune]

In the bottle: Imagine aged incense and rum. Maybe a bit of aged opium too. This is sweet without being sickening or foody. The incense note isn't earthy or patchouli like. It's like the smell of a really pungent incense while it's burning.

 

On the skin: Absolutely wonderful. A sweet scent that doesn't make me want to scrub my wrists with a brillo pad. This remains sweet but it's tempered by this pungent burnt incense note that never fades off the entire time you are wearing it. It's like a note in Wilde. I much prefer it in this blend as it really keeps this one interesting. This scent doesn't change much from in the bottle, and it really lasts as well.

 

Overall: Absolutely nothing like any other bpal I've ever experienced, aside from having the strong burnt incense note that is also in Wilde. This is one of those scents that you covet even if you don't reach for it very often. Absolutely perfect.

[brownbear]

As good as I expected it to be. I got to sniff this at a meet up a while ago. It is foody spices with a little sweetness and incensey smoke. mmmmmm

[jolarocknrolla]

this is a tough review ... i smell a sort fo inscence and a powdery note, with sweetness behind it. initially there is a spicyness to it (like carnation but not floral), but as it dries down the spinyness tones down and it sweetens up a lot. after about 2 hours it smells like sweet powder and a bit of chocolate believe it or not, this smells like Enraged Bunny Musk's distant evil cousin. powdery, but much darker and more inscence-y.

[grrrlennyl]

at first: odd. dark and earthy, but with a disconcerting sweetness underneath.

on: very, very sweet. syrup-like. fresher than in the imp.

2.5 hours later: odd. there is definitely sandalwood in this, which makes me think of tushnamatay, but there's also a lot of sweetness and a soapy undertone.

4 hours later: a very floral, slightly soapy incense.

overall: i like this when it first dries, but i think i'll just try layering tushnamatay with something sweet to get that effect.

[edenssixthday]

Al Azif - Smells sweet and lovely in the vial. Once it’s on my skin, it’s sweet like maple syrup or a heavy brown sugar sauce, but then as it warms up on my skin, it becomes cloying and smells like rancid syrup with a bit of something dark and unpleasant underneath – hard to tell if it’s vetiver? Incense? Smoke? No matter what it is, it doesn’t work on me. It’s got a nice level of throw and moderate staying power, but I really can’t stand the scent.

[Em-]

Very very sweet rich incense. Heavy and intense and really altogether to much for my little nose to appreciate.