Cthulhu

[cadenza]

A creeping, wet, slithering scent, dripping with seaweed, oceanic plants and dark, unfathomable waters.

Conversation my husband and I had (starting with "Herbert West--Reanimator"):

Him: Herbert West--Reanimator is the best name ever.
Me: I have a perfume named Herbert West.
Him: Oh really?
Me: I have a perfume called Cthulu, too. I don't think I like how it's going to smell, though.
Him: It's Cthulu. I don't think it's supposed to smell nice.
Me: Let's try it!
Him: ...are you sure you want to do that? It's Cthulu. He'll stay forever. You'll be stuck smelling like Cthulu.
Me: Let's try it!
I open the imp and we both sniff it.
Him: Wow, that smells soapy.
Me: Yeah.
I apply some.
Me: Still smells really soapy.
Him: Yeah.
Me: I keep hoping it will at least turn into an evil soapy smell...
Him: Um, nope, still just soap.

Off to swaps it is!

[Saffrin]

Wet salt and ozone. It smells like the ocean on a dank, overcast day after a storm, when all the seaweed is strangling the shallows.

 

The sharpness drops off in the drydown.

[MtMoonKitty]

Fresh imp from the lab. I have only one way to describe this one both in the bottle and on my skin: Irish Spring. Just like it!

[LateOne]

Got this as an imp on ebay. Wasn't sure what to expect, and I don't usually wear aquatic scents.

 

In bottle: Aquatic and fresh, like aftershave.

Wet: Sharp aquatic, a bit dark and musky. Masculine - huge thumbs up.

Drydown: Almost floral, but still sharp and fresh. Salty, even.

Dry: Salty and a bit musky, but still fresh. More cologne than perfume.

 

Hell yes. I want a bottle to use as an aftershave now. This is absolutely fantastic and a must-have for guys and aquatic lovers.

 

Ia Ia Cthulhu fhtagn.

[Deliciousness]

In the Imp: A deep aquatic scent with salty ocean water, seaweed and an unknown darkness. Seriously, you can smell the darkness in this blend - it's a little creepy.

 

Wet on skin: Woah! I move my arm around and all I can smell is an overwhelming and nausea inducing, very salty cologne. I want to wash this off, but want to get to the dry down.

 

Dry on skin: After a few hours, this settles into a slightly salty Axe body spray. It doesn't really smell horrible on me, but it's not that great either. Then again, The Deep Ones smelled nearly the same way too (except more soapy), so this may just be my body chemistry and my own olfactory experience. Alas, I'm afraid aquatics may just not work on me

[mymymai]

ITB: Salt and kelp and sea-foam with a touch of something perfume-like.

 

Wet: It's aquatic, but pleasantly so (which is amazing for my nose). I get oceanic plants, musk, maybe even faint ambergris and salt.

 

Dry: It's still perfume-y and aquatic, but faintly so. It's not bad.

[ObliqueRed]

On first opening the imp I didn't think I'd like it, because it came out a sharp blast very reminiscent of men's drugstore cologne. But when applied to my husband it changed; it's a really lovely, complex, masculine aquatic.

[boomtownrat]

A friend got a pile of carded imps at Dragon*Con and this is one that she gave to me. Seldom one to turn down a chance to try a BPAL that I've never smelled before, I was happy for the chance to test this even though aquatic notes seldom work for me. Sometimes an aquatic note that's too strong will drive itself through my head like a freight train, but I decided by sniffing Cthulhu that I could at least dare to test it on my skin.

 

In the imp and wet on my skin, Cthulhu smelled a lot like Irish Spring soap ("Manly, yes, but I like it too!"). It had a hell of a throw at this stage. My husband said it smelled like soap, but I should mention that he's never exactly descriptive when it comes to scents. His sense of smell isn't the greatest and he mainly just says things are "nice" if he likes them.

 

On the dry-down Cthulhu calmed down and started to smell darker, more unfathomable, as the notes say. The Irish Spring phase only lasted a minute or two. From just a minuscule dab on one wrist, it gave off powerful waves of deep-sea aroma. For those who love aquatics, this would likely be a great hit.

 

Once fully dry, Cthulhu was quite potent. I started to get a tingling warning pain in my head and had to wash it off. If I don't put it up for sale, I might give it to my husband or see if a friend would like it.

[hexnut]

Blind test of a frimp.


In Vitro Sharp and aquatic.

Wet A pleasant aquatic scent. I hoped it would stick around longer than the other BPAL aquatics I've tried.

Drying Alas, no. This faded very quickly and eventually turned soapy.


I laughed out loud at the label reveal. Dread and puissant Cthulhu, by my skin reduced to nice-smelling soap.


ETA Blind test of frimp received in June 2013 and aged at least five months:

In Vitro Bright citrus and/or floral.

Wet Same when freshly applied, definitely aquatic after three minutes. A plastic note intruded ten minutes after that.

Drying Faint aquatic and plastic. Nope.

[LamentConfiguration]

I got this and a few other sample sized scents as a first time order from BPAL, and, maybe it's just me, but both this and Calico Jack smelled overwhelmingly of lavender clothing detergent! I was quite saddened- but, lucky me, the bonus vial I got with my purchase smelled delicious enough to make up for it.

 

Now, might I ask you lovely, experienced customers why an aquatic scent would turn overwhelmingly, unmistakably lavender? I'm quite confused.

[batsy]

In the vial: soapy, salty dish cleaner.

 

On the skin: There's a strong ozone note, mixed with the aforementioned soap and salt. It didn't change as it dried down.

 

Off to the swap pile.

[Mokiefraggle]

Not terribly fond of aquatics, but I'll wear them when the mood strikes and if the scent is good overall, so I'm giving this particular frimp a go. I've had decent luck with the few that I've gotten, so I'm never above giving them a go.

 

In the imp and wet on my skin, it's straight-up Irish Spring soap. It's green, very much aquatic, and a bit on the soapy side. Not sure I dislike it, but it's potent and way more green than I personally go in for. It's a very strong, in-your-face sort of green, and while it's not bad on my skin, it's definitely not my usual tastes.

 

Dry, it's still a very potent green scent. I don't dislike it, but I don't really think it's for me. It's still more than a bit Irish Spring, and I've never been terribly fond of that particular soap in more than the smallest quantities. That said, it doesn't seem to last too long after it dries, so I didn't have to deal with it for terribly long after I applied it. I might see if I can get it on Darling, as it's more his sort of scent; he's the one who wears aquatics nicely, not me.

 

I'm glad to have tried it, but I don't think this particular Lovecraftian horror suits me.

[DiesMali]

In the imp: Strongly salty seawater.

 

Wet on my skin: Dark, muddy, kelpy seawater.

 

Dry: The water part of this fades on me within an hour, leaving something that smells very much like the slimy seaweed and sand left behind as the tide begins to recede. Mostly sand and mud, though, with the salty, slimy seaweed strewn about in places. This isn't really something I would wear, but it was certainly interesting to try it out.

[gentle-twig]

i literally don't know how to review aquatics but this is the saltiest aquatic i have tried. it doesn't really fit the inspiration for me because this feels happy and playful, but that's not a bad thing. probably my favorite aquatic i've tried, but that's not saying much.

[Veronica]

Not as dark as the name suggests. I get a light, fresh aquatic. Very pretty and has a somewhat floral-quality to it.

[Lydialove]

Well well well. Cthulu, for a cosmic horror that cannot be described, you certainly are a dapper little old man at heart.

 

A bit of a lady-killer as well, eh?

 

Is that a bow tie under those tentacles?

 

Edit: ***tentacles*** because... uh... even an elder god couldn't get away with wearing a bow tie under that other body part.

Also, aquatics are terrible on me so it's shocking that Cthulu is turning out to be really quite delightful.

Edited September 1, 2015 by Lydialove

[shibagast]

Irish Spring for me as well! Sad, as I'd hoped it would be the ocean I was waiting for... As it dries, it smells a little more like dryer sheets that I dipped in the ocean and allowed to dry in the sun. At least it smells clean.

[torikitty]

The people who said Irish Spring soap nailed it. I don't get aquatic as much as I get clean. I'm surprised this is more unisex than I was expecting. I could see leaving this for Spring, and it would give you that fresh feeling all day.

[radiantfracture]

This came as a frimp with an order.

 

So in the bottle, wet, and dry this is a nice salty aquatic, except that every so often during drydown there's just this -- flicker -- of something really unpleasant -- sour and rotten. Entirely appropriate to Cthulhu, but not something I want to smell on myself. Now that it's dry, I don't smell it, but I'm nervous... edgy... what if it returns?

 

Strong throw on me, and an aftershave vibe when it's dry that I probably wouldn't wear, but one who loves aquatics and fears not the elder gods could enjoy this. The salty-ozone element is really cool. I'd pick up something else with those notes.

[freyasfae]

In the bottle and right when wet, this smelled like a rather generic cologne, but after a few minutes it started to smell like a lovely cologne inspired by the briny seas. The salt air comes out, and this is actually less aquatic to me than it is sea salt air. While I like these sorts of scents, I don't often wear them on my skin, so I think I am going to save this for summer and see how I like it on my skin.

[Laurel the Woodfairy]

A clean, soapy base with topnotes of salt, seaweed, and aquatic...reminds me strongly of Sea Vegetable soap from LUSH. Not my usual style, but I'll keep the frimp because having an imp labeled Cthulhu makes me laugh--only at BPAL!!!

[brettashley]

Lab frimp. I think I tried this one before. I love the inspiration, but all I'm getting is aquatic aftershave. One day, I'll have the deep, fathomless depths of the ocean bottled up for me - today is not the day. (No but seriously, all the BPAL ocean notes turn into soap on me, sadly.)

[sarandipitee]

It's a softer aquatic than I expected, but ocean soap is not for me. This would smell so fresh and salt spray on the right person. Off to frimp.

[Joyleaf_]

Aquatics and my skin do not play well together. This is a cthuhlu who has decided to really devote his time to being a school janitor. Its just soapy pledge water on me. No thanks!

[Casablanca]

On the wand, Cthulhu is like a quintessential oceanic aquatic. Breezy, cold, watery, slippery vegetal, and a little salty. The aquatic part seems to have something white and floral in it, a bit like gardenias, and something a little citrusy, maybe grapefruit, but just as little parts of the whole.

 

On my skin, it's more soapy; I guess I expected that, but the saltiness also grows at first, which I didn't. Then the dark element comes out as something briny and biological: it's not rotting kelp, more like dark, grey-green sea creature skin.

 

I like my oceans to smell like the pure sea spray freedom of travel, or my Caribbean vacation. I'm glad I tried this freebie, but it's not for me.