Arkham

[CrystieSC]

A shadowy, unapproachable forest of maple, birch, dogwood, cypress and pine softened by a garland of New England wildflowers: bergamot, columbine, rue anemone, blue violet, creeping phlox, bloodroot, toadflax, and pixie moss.

In the imp, this is a bitterish smell to my nose. I've had it for a while now and just didn't want to try it. Today I used all generic bath products without layering, and decided that made it a good day to just try something in my "to try" pile. I grabbed an imp at random and this is what I got.

I put some on, and the bitter smell magnified immediately. It also had a "hot" smell, like black pepper or hot sauce, and a hint of patchouli which I don't care for.

As it dried, it lighted up a great deal, and began to smell "clean" instead of hot. Like soap, only not soap scented. A nice light floral scent.

5 minutes later, it was still light and clean, but also became sweet. It's still sweet - almost an hour later, and I actually like it. I'm not sure if I'll get a bottle, but I'll use up both imps I have and may change my mind before they are gone.

I'm glad I made myself leave this one on for the 2 minutes it took to dry

[Extispex]

In the imp, very woodsy. The florals take a back seat.

 

On, wet, a gorgeous woodsy scent, very very sharp, almost brutal. Everything I've ever wanted in a wood fragrance.

 

As it dries, it goes more floral and the woods fade to the background. Becomes a very nice, rich floral. I like it, but it just pales in comparison to the wet stage. The dry-down, while lovely, just isn't very me.

[funkmoppet]

NOOOOOOOOOO! *has tantrum* *throws things*

 

God dammit this was trousers-down boy-sex when wet! The kind I'm searching for!

 

And then...WTF Doom Powder!?!!??

 

*Stares at the Lab description*

 

WHAT??!! There's nothing in there that should do this on me, it's all herbs and wood and flowers! WHYYYYYYYYY...

 

*whine*

[Miseraya]

In the imp: Very astringent floral. Odd.

 

On the wrist: Definitely very astringent, reminds me of aquanet. Yikes.

 

Drydown: This stays with the hairspray smell consistently. Not cool.

 

Swapped.

[CrazyPretzel]

In the imp, this was rather sharper than I expected -- I guess that'll be the pine.

 

Wet on me: Ohh, lovely -- some sweet flowers starting to come out now.

Dry on me: It's, um, fading rapidly, or possibly making my nose numb, and I'm getting a sharp headache when I sniff this. That's a first; I've never had a headache from a BPAL scent before.

As the minutes pass, it just keeps fading more and more. Kind of a non-descript floral that vanishes before really becoming anything definite....

 

Well, that was disappointing! With that smorgasboard of notes I thought it was going to be something exciting and it turns out to be pretty bland on me. Swaps.

[ClareN]

Foresty-grassy-woodsy in the vial.

 

On my skin, floral.

 

I don't like florals, but I still thought it was a particularly nice floral until I read a mention of hairspray in Miseraya's review above. It really does smell like some hairspray I've smelled before; unlike hairspray, Arkham isn't making me suffocate and die, but that association ruins the scent for me. I just can't do this type of scent.

 

I love the scent in the vial, what a shame it had to turn out this way on my skin! If you like fresh, warm, outdoorsy and not-too-sweet floral scents, this is a good one.

[Styx]

Arkham (light yellow oil)

 

Pfrimp (thank you!): soapy, and a bit sharp.

 

Skin: How strange. This has a clean feel to it, but not a buffed up polished clean; more like drink this detergent and you die! kind of clean.

The woods were so subtle, I would almost call this a complete floral scent. The drydown isn't as harsh, its much gentler, but retains a poisonous air.

Quite sweet and longlasting too. A perfume for a dangerous woman.

 

Heavy weight, cool to touch, winter and spring scent.

[alianthe]

In the bottle: Arkham starts out as very sharp and somewhat damp. Evergreens after rain. Something just slightly citrus seems to hover in the background, but that might be one of the evergreen backnotes. Very woodsy, very high on the nose, harshly refreshing.

 

Dry - Powdery & quite perfumy. There might be a hint of pine in there, and maybe a hint of orange, but it's mostly a sort of dark floral now, all middle and no top note.

 

Conclusions - Wait, where'd the forest go?! I was really hoping it would dry down differently, but apparently my skin really likes amping the florals and eating the greens. Sadness for me.

[squirrelmonkey]

For me, the most prominent note was birch sap, both in the vial and wet on skin. A very strong, nostalgic woodsy and sweet smell. As it dries, it backs off a bit and I get more flowers - I swear I smell tulips in there too. A very unusual scent because of the birch sap note, and a keeper.

[rhiannonsanchez]

I was really looking forward to getting Arkham. In the bottle it smelled great. Floral and woodsy. Sadly, when I put it on, it turned into old ladies perfume. It smelled just like my grandmothers' house when I was a kid.

[girlygirl]

WET: Sweetly floral. So pretty! Oh no, there is birch in this? I am allergic to birch pollen so I wonder if this will make me sneezy...

 

Dry: Very soft floral. I applied quite a lot (for testing, anyway) and it is faint upon drying. Pretty. Girlish. Would be equally at home on a woman as on a young girl.

 

Verdict: a bit too faint for my tastes, which is surprising given how sharp it is in the imp.

[zankoku_zen]

At the beginning, this was a fairly woodsy scent with a whiff here and there of flowers. Dry down, its a pretty floral scent.

 

Although admittedly, there is just a slight sheen of creepy to it all. Like being in the woods and knowing something is out there.

[brit_brat100]

Pine and other forest trees. And then it's just soap. Pine soap, but soap still.

[twilighteyes]

This one is both floral and fruity at the same time. The type of smell that I can feel on the sides of my tongue. I can't make out any individual scents but it's very nice and not unapproachable at all.

[Argentwolf]

In the imp: Wow. It really does smell like an old person's house. Like...cleanser and very artificial air fresheners trying to cover...something gross.

Eeek.

 

This scent morphs quite a bit. When first applied, the florals are predominant, in an almost sickly-sweet way, though having them in open air on the skin does wonders for the geriatric-home smell. Then, there's pine, trees, woodsy scents...perhaps the moss as well. Definitely a sense of earth and loam and undergrowth there.

 

When dry...it actually smells a lot as if you'd come to a halt on a forest path, and were scenting the trees and ferns around you. I'm not familiar with Eastern US trees, but there's definitely a pine smell like Douglas Fir, cedar, redwoods...that's what it reminds me of.

 

I don't believe it's for me (and it didn't last long on me at any rate), but if you like nature scents perhaps you should give this a try.

[djsiberia]

hmm...

in the imp : very very woodsy, pine and woods.

i don't think i can try this. usually woodsy scents turn into mr. clean on me.

i'm picking up a couple of floral notes..

 

still not wanting to attempt to try. too woodsy.

[steffanina]

Arkham-

 

In Bottle: This smells "perfumey"; not sweet or brightly floral but floral, reminiscent of a garden without any dominant note. I smell a bit of soft earthiness without actuall smelling dirt.

 

Wet: Softly floral, light and breezy, not a strong note at all. The merest ozone-y hint.

 

Dry: Gently floral, without anything eye-watering, without anything sharp. If one liked soft florals this should be a big hit with them--I'm not one for florals myself, but it is pleasant! It gives the sense of outdoors and gardens without any one floral I can identify.

 

Overall: A pleasant garden scent.

[LadyLuckDoubt]

In the Bottle

Bitter and green notes dominating, reminds me of some of the Rappuccini's Garden blends.

 

On Me

Initially I get the bitter greens but they're not at all unpleasant-- it's like walking through a dew-soaked freshly-cut lawn in the morning.

 

When everything settles, the bitterness has faded off a little, and the florals start shyly coming forwards. I can't recognise most of them-- they're soft and subtle and not overly feminine. No classic roses and violets here-- they smell distant and exotic.

 

Sadly, it doesn't last very long on me, but an interesting, and intriguing blend all the same.

[sirsaber]

I am confused.....

 

When it went on it was a very nice woodsy scent but after a throw down during Krav Maga and I sweated I could have sworn I smelled cinnamon...... not that its a bad thing mind you....just...unexpected. I love this stuff btw..

 

It does have a touch of floral but its kinda an exotic middle eastern floral on my skin. Works good for me.

[fairnymph]

(New version.)

 

In the bottle: Green, fresh, herbal. Grassy-planty, almost sharply so.

 

Wet: More floral, softer, but still very grassy-green and fresh. The floral is white, clean, and feminine. The oil is quite soft; not much throw. The grassy-green/fresh notes disappear within minutes.

 

Dry: Floral-herby, slightly soap. Very mild.

 

Summary: It's not bad, but it's not thrilling either.

[Clammmms]

Wet: Woodsy, earthy, and slightly evergreen smelling

Dry: Floral and clean with a little bit of earth

 

I love this both wet and dry. The scent is relatively long lasting, too. A good spring-time scent.

 

9/10

[innocent]

I was hoping for a bit more woods with this one, but its predominently a light floral. I like it, but from time to time I'm catching a hint of soap. It's also making my nose itch a bit, so I don't think I'll be wearing it that often.

 

Nice, but something I wouldn't mind trading or giving away.

[galahad]

In The Bottle

Soft and not quite floral. Hard to pick out anything individual

 

On Application

Cypress with wildflowers

 

Dry Down

This does smell of spring flowers in a piney/cypress glade. I get some violet coming through quite strongly as it warms but the flowers are blended so nicely it is hard to pick them from the bunch. Really pretty, however not my thing. May keep the imp.

 

Rating (0-5)

4

[diamondstars]

I can't pick out any single notes..all I can say is it smells 'green'!?!

[odalisque]

In the imp this was an odd (to my nose) combination of floral and pine. Almost like public bathroom dispenser soap.

 

That intensified for a bit after I put it on my skin, and then interestingly I really *could* smell the light hardwoods, maple and birch.

 

After that, though, the florals took over, and it was so floral it really wasn't for me. I don't see this as a fruity floral or a pink floral; to me it was white floral, but i also get a whiff of some floral accord that Eos also has.

 

I really don't get dark, forbidding forest out of this. Maybe the edge of the woods on a sunny day with the fields full of flowers, but mostly just flowers.