Tezcatlipoca

[mountainwitch]

... Deep cocoa laced with patchouli, leather armor, ritual incense, and a touch of Xochiquetzal’s flowers.

Let me preface this by saying that I fear patchouli. I tried this one only because a friend ordered it and I caved to the peer pressure. I fully expected to run for the kitchen sink in five minutes.

But this one works. It could be the floral or incense notes, but I suspect it's all that deep, rich cocoa. It's not an edible scent here, but a dark, rich, full scent that draws me in close--what is that? I like that!

Lesson learned . . . Taking a risk is always interesting, and sometimes it makes for a real reward. To think I might have missed this complex, intriguing scent because I feared a single note.

[Jerre]

Tezcatlipoca

 

To me, it's the fraternal twin of Centzon Totochitn, except the aroma/texture is slightly dryer. It almost has a “dust” or powder nose-feel to it.

 

Like it's brother CT, the scent is generic baking chocolate-dark style without sweeteners of any kind. Unfortunately, me needs *sweet* in my chocolate!

[Babylon]

Mmmm, dark cocoa, patchouli, and leather. I feel so comforted and protected wearing it.

 

After awhile, it's mainly patchouli and leather. I like Centzon Totochtin better... its' chocolate sticks around longer, plus it smells like blood! But I definitely would like a bottle of this as well. I think it'll be a warm comforting scent to wear in the winter!

[stardreamer]

Fresh on, I mostly notice the florals and patchouli. Okay, but nothing special.

 

Drydown is a different story. Oh. My. Ghod. The florals go away and it turns into chocolate and leather, with just enough incense underneath that something in the way they interact resembles amber. It's what Golden Priapus would be like with dark chocolate instead of vanilla. This is FABULOUS.

 

Staying power is good; at 8 hours it was still there, at 12 it's pretty much gone. Bottom line: one to keep and wear often!

[minilux]

The Tez is so unbelievably gorgeous and addictive, that I'm not sure I can articulate anything remotely intelligent that hasn't already been said. If you like deep, rich, luxurious scents, you must try it. And I can only imagine what it does with a more masculine chemistry, but I would not be surprised if any guy wearing it found themselves with a trail of admirers.

[ND¢]

Sweet cocoa when wet, and shortly a gentle floral comes out. It's not a 'round' floral scent; it's thin and reedy and very pretty. If I smell incense, it's a sweet and light incense that complements the blend well (the cocoa sticks around, but I don't smell leather.) I'm not sure this suits me, but it does smell lovely, so I'll keep the imp around and see how we grow on each other.

[PurringPulsar]

Tezcatlipoca

 

In the imp: mmm, cocoa. Deep, rich, dark chocolate.

Wet on skin: now the patchouli comes out-it’s strong in here! Still chocolatey.

Dry: now the incense comes out-piercing resins, probably some copal in here since I get a definite similarity to that other Aztec oil that begins with X. I also get that blend’s floral notes and similarity to Angel. This is a darker, richer, more chocolatey version of X with patchouli and I love it! I can also smell leather at the back of the scent.

After a while: eventually the chocolate note smoothes out, and becomes one with the leather and earthy patch, with the copal incense and flowers on top. It’s a lot more rounded now, not just a perfume with a chocolate coating.

There are times when this smells almost like chocolate cake/brownies and perfume, which I love! There could be something almost like vanilla to this, or a sweet floral causing this. And at other times, it’s a chocolate-patchouli scent with a hint of floral. There’s also something here that reminds me of the orange note in X, and this gives the scent a ‘Green and Black’s Mayan Gold chocolate’ scent-MG is one of the few dark chocolates that I like. Eventually it settles down to spicy orange chocolate and patchouli with a hint of leather.

Verdict: this is another example of the way cocoa can be used in a scent without it being very foody. This innovative scent joins cocoa with patchouli and leather, and also an incense-floral-perfume scent, and it works! This reminds me of the X oil, with a similar perfumey feel to it, but darkened. There are a few ‘chocolate brownie’ and ‘Mayan Gold’ moments in this scent which I really like, but most of the time it’s a unique and delicious mixture of cocoa and patchouli and copal-based incense. I still prefer Great Sword of War as my ‘complex cocoa’ scent but I like this a lot.

Emoticon rating:

Is it a keeper? Will keep the imp.

If you like this, try: Xiuhtecuhtli, Velvet, Bliss, Great Sword of War

[bizarrogirl]

I've been wearing Tezcatlipoca for two weeks straight, since the imp cap broke off, and I feel like I need to use it up before it spills. So I've been slathering it on, as well as wearing it so frequently.

 

I adore it. Wet, it smells like dark, dutched cocoa powder. Quickly, for me, the leather and incense notes come out together. I don't get the florals at all. Maybe they sweeten and lighten the overall scent, but I can't pick them out. It makes me think of a primitive fire, skins, and inexplicably rolling in cocoa. I'm smitten with it. Chocolatey without being too foody or sweet or common. Wowza.

[sofiaviolet]

I keep trying chocolately perfumes and I keep being... disappointed is too weak a word. Horrified/disgusted/nauseated is better. The cocoa smells absolutely scorched, and I'm afraid even to get it near my skin because if I do, I'll keep smelling it until I take a really long and really hot shower and it will make me sick.

[supremegoddessofall]

Chocolate patchouli wearing a leather coat! The florals are barely there, but soften it just enough. Another spicy GC love.

[sofaking6]

I got an imp of this in my very first order and held off trying it for a long time, because I didn't really get why someone would want to wear chocolate that couldn't be licked off.

 

In the bottle Tezcatlipoca is all spicy cocoa. Wet, pretty much the same with some incense floating up. It is a really nice deep chocolate, definitely sniffable.

 

But one this starts to dry, it floors me! It morphs expertly and gorgeously.

 

First, the head shop moment, which is tempered by a clean leather scent.

 

Then...transportation. This smells like the heat of the southwest...the air, the sand, the plants, everything. It actually smells hot! I am fascinated and totally thrilled.

 

Fantastic!

[glass_cat]

The imp I have of this scent was a freebie from the lab with my order. (I was such a BPAL newbie, I didn't even know about frimps yet, so yes... very pleasant surprise.) I'm indeed quite glad they sent it to me, because although the description didn't sound like something I would normally have chosen by myself, as I usually favor more old-fashioned, flower-based scents, I like this scent a lot. The best way I can think to describe the smell of Tezcatlipoca to you is to tell you it smells like "chocolate dirt", but I mean it in the most positive and complimentary way, and when I say chocolate, I mean something more along the lines of Hershey's "extra dark" as opposed to something sweeter. The smell of it even made me crave dark chocolate a bit, so it's a good thing I had some handy. After the oil is on a while, you start to smell the other notes coming through, especially the leather and the patchouli for me, but the chocolate remains regardless. It just starts to fade into the background to allow the other notes to come through.

 

On the whole, it's a very deep, dark, rich-smelling scent that would honestly work very well on either sex. Although I love it on me, this would be an extremely sexy scent to smell on a man. As a matter of fact, I would love to smell this on my boyfriend because it reminds me a lot of his personality... mysterious and somewhat dark, but with a certain mild sweetness to it... and if I didn't like it so damn much on myself, I'd give him my imp of this for his little collection. Seriously though. I would definitely consider getting a bottle of this for both of us to share in a heartbeat.

[Laurel the Woodfairy]

Tez is one of several scents that I tended to overlook in the GC because they belong to the "unpronounceables" category. However, I've seen such positive references to it, and I adore cocoa in Velvet and Candy Butcher., so it's time to give this a whirl! Right out of the imp, there was the quickest flash of yummy cocoa, but then Tez became all patchouli and flowers, which is a seriously weird combo on me. I don't think my skin is amping the better aspects of this one. Ah well.

[theseagrows]

wow i should've paid attention to the phrase deep cocoa in the description! i pretty much get cocoa, almond and maybe a faint patchouli-musk combination. nowhere are the blooms or leather, which are actually my favorite notes in this scent. way too nutty/foody for my tastes.

Edited November 29, 2006 by theseagrows

[almeda]

First Sniff: Disturbing, unsettling, like rotten, moldy chocolate with a touch of old dead skunk. Overall impression: oncoming nausea.

On and Wet: Everything drops out but the moldy chocolate. You don't want to know why I know what moldy chocolate smells like ...

Dry: Thank God, the mold is gone. It's still a very bitter smell (like crunching an espresso bean between your teeth), but the patchouli and florals are faintly beginning to show up.

 

I still don't think I like it much. I'm going to wash it off, rather than giving it my usual 8-hour-or-more long-term test-drive. One to trade away, definitely.

Edited December 8, 2006 by Almeda

[mtlaise]

well, i have to test every scent that comes across my path, but I approach this one with trepidation... patchouli and incense tend to be overpowering notes on me...

 

wet: as expected, the incense is at the forefront, screaming for attention

 

drydown: this is softening, it's getting better at this stage, and i'm getting a much more bitter scent - much be the cocoa - with a hint of sweetness from somewhere else

 

dry: ah the familiar cocoa-to-powder transformation. actually, I like powdery chocolate smells, but already have a few, and this one still has a bit too much of an incensy/patchouli feel for my taste.

[mjames121]

Omg opened the imp and sniffed...first thing CHOCOLATE! and not in a good way. Way too strong. Figured I'd give it a go and put some on ...

Still strong chocolate although i now smell leather and something like almonds. I hate this I dont smell the incense or the flowers. Oh well this is going in the swap pile. sigh

[Lionesse]

I very bravely tested this... on my husbands wrist. lol

 

Started off chocolate, and very quickly morphed to leather, then patchouli. It smells pretty darned yummy on him. No more chocolate, which is fine with me.

 

His first response to it, was to wrinkle up his nose EWWWW... when it morphed to leather, he liked it better.

 

(right now its a combo of leather & patchouli)

 

I like it! On him =)

[evcelt]

Serious cocoa note in the imp.

 

Wet, the cocoa is very strong, with something to sweeten it and a note of leather.

 

As it dries, the cocoa fades when I'm sniffing it on my skin but remains in the throw for a while. There's a detectable leather note plus still the sweetness.

 

It doesn't seem to have a lot of sustain- what's left now is mostly what must be the patchouli and "ritual incense" notes, plus possibly a bit of leather.

 

Haven't made up my mind on this...

 

ADDED Feb. 8:

 

Update: I let this sit for a week or so and tried it again. Much more vivid... the cocoa remains longer, and nicely mixes with the other scents noted above. Still no flowers, though...

[n1k1ta]

The cocoa is immediate and so inviting in Tezcatlipoca. It's not sweet at all, but what cocoa really smells like: rich, a little bitter and warm. I want to say this is just a foodie scent because of this, but there's more.

 

There's a smoky pine note from the incense which mellows after an hour so the perfume is not as green as in the bottle. A touch of floral rounds out the incense. The leather note is so subtle that it's almost indiscernible.

 

I love how Tezcatlipoca is not gender-specific! I think it would be appealing, very appealing, on either sex. I must say that I smell delicious in a totally edible way. Just dust me with powdered sugar and I'm done!

[luna65]

Thanks to Blood onmy hands for the decant.

 

Vial: Cocoa and resins, and perhaps just a slight hint of floral.

 

Skin: The leather and the patchouli are so gorgeous.

 

Drydown: I get a sense of the incense, the smoke, hanging in the air, floating over the other notes. The cocoa returns as well, after a time, with more sweetness than I sensed in the vial. This is now officially one of my Top Ten: an incredible blend of earthy, sweet, spicy and ultimately incredibly tempting, as does the Lord which it evokes.

[asciident]

Wet: Warm rich cocoa with a hint of lingering incense and flowers.

 

First on: Leathery cocoa. Manly. It's lovely, but I'm not sure I want to smell manly...

 

Dry: At this point, it's like a cocoa-laced stick of patchouli incense. Very nice, although I suspect it might be nicer as a room scent.

[jiggahava]

OMG. This is one of my favorite excolo blends. Deep rich cocoa and leather, with a touch of incense. I don't get patchouli at all, but I wasn't really looking for it in this blend. Mmm, cocoa and leather, two great smells that smell great together. It goes on rich and deep at first with strong throw, then settles down after an hour and smells hypnotically good. I get a very strong south american flavor from this. Perfect for winter or spring.

[femmefatale]

Wet: Wow, COCOA with a hint of incense. Not sure about this one.

Drying: the leather is coming out with a hint of the flowers. Not much of the patchouli. This is starting to remind me of a smoking room: deep, rich, slightly sweet but very good pipe tobacco and leather.

 

Not sure if I would wear this, I'll try it again, but I'm defaintely going to have hubby try this one!

[nikkoblue]

Swapped with someone as the description sounded intriguing and I'm All About Incense.

 

Bottle: Bitter cocoa with a touch of spice....but there is no sweetness in this.

 

On, wet: Peanut butter. Slightly rancid peanut butter. This continues for about 15 minutes and I consider washing it off.

 

Dry: Ohhh. There's the incense. The peanut butter is turning into leather. Though leather is sexy, it's not very me. This is really a nice blend though.

 

Very dry, 1.5 hours: incense. This even lasted through a shower. It's rich and beautiful but I find it very masculine. Leatttthhherrrrrr. It's interesting that I got NO patchouli out of this, and no cocoa after the initial note. Patchouli usually shows up on me pretty vividly.