Old Scratch

[sunlitgarden]

Old Nick, the Devil himself, as seen through the eyes of Victorian New England. A jaunty, dapper scent, deceptively genteel: a lavender fougere with tonka, amber, rosewood and a whiff of diabolical patchouli.

I'm not entirely sure where this imp came from. I think it was a frimp from the Lab.

In the imp: Astringent lavender, some wood, and I can smell the patchouli in there but it isn't too dominating. Something is back-of-the-throat bitter.

On my skin, it smells a bit rosy (though I know rosewood isn't the same as rose). Has kind of an airy ethereal quality to it. Out of all the odd things, it pulled a scent memory of the cafe near the Space Mountain area in Disneyland which I visited in second grade. This isn't the first time this has happened. Disney does pump atmospheric scents around and I think Disney must have had some "futuristic" or "spacey" scent in the background here, because I have no idea why I would think of that so readily otherwise when I smell this type of blend.

The lavender comes out more as it starts to dry, and the lavender + wood + amber smells kind of "ethereal yet grounded" to me, and almost reminds me of a Phoenix Steamworks blend.

The patchouli is not too strong in this blend. I think it's just helping to provide a warm, earthy base to the scent. I don't mind it when it's like this.

I'm not getting much tonka here, at least not the same tonka used in the Rum-Soaked French Tonka SN, but there is a sweetness to the scent that it might be providing. The base notes are blended together pretty well.

I wouldn't associate the scent with traditional "devil" or "Satan" imagery, but if he's trying to be charming, he's doing a pretty good job!

Edited October 1, 2015 by sunlitgarden

[LexieBlom]

Old Scratch imp, inspired by dfotw

 

Wet/Bottle - Lavender, lavender and more lavender. I was hoping for some more tonka and patchouli.

 

Wet/Skin (5 minutes) - Lavender with a touch of tonka, quite soft and a bit powdery.

 

Dry/Skin (30 minutes) - Tonka with a touch of lavender. Very powdery and dry, however.

 

Not terrible, but not really for me.

[freyasfae]

When wet, this one went almost (but not quite) lemon pledge on me, but then as it dried down it started to go more general perfumy scent. This has a lot of notes that tend to not like me so it's surprising this doesn't end up being terrible on me, but it also doesn't end up being anything special either. To the swap box!

[VetchVesper]

Lots of lavender at first. Dapper, but in a more mature way than Wilde. There's a boozy undercurrent to the lavender, I'm guessing that's the tonka, but the wood and amber notes start to make more of an appearance in the dry down. By the end, this is a nicely balanced blend of powdery warm wood and herbal lavender, and it's very nice. This is masculine in an understated way, but I feel comfortable wearing it too.

[LizziesLuck]

All lavender on me, which I am totally OK with. I wear it for bedtime a lot, and use it in my diffuser as well.

[violetvorpal]

I love Old Scratch! On my skin it is a mix of Dorian and TKO which is a lovely combination! It is a lot like The Serpentine. If you liked The Serpentine or never got a chance to try The Serpentine, I'd recommend Old Scratch. The tonka balances the lavender well. The lavender isn't astringent. It is quite elegant and smooth on my skin.

Edited August 17, 2017 by VioletVorpal

[freyasfae]

I received this as a frimp from a recent BPAL order. This one surprised me! I applied it first, then looked up the description. It is all around very well blended, so I had trouble identifying different notes. I actually would not have guessed lavender right away because it is very subtle (or maybe just subtle for me - I love me some potent lavendar!) But now makes sense in terms of the description of a genteel fougere, though not getting much in terms of the deceptiveness of it because it is so smooth and well-blended.

[doomsday_disco]

In the imp: Amber, lavender fougere, and rosewood.

 

Wet: Lots of lavender fougere and amber. The lavender in the fougere is a sharp, herbal lavender. After a few minutes, I can smell the rosewood and the patchouli.

 

Dry: The lavender has calmed down, and the amber reigns, followed by the rosewood. After a few hours, it's all amber backed by the rosewood.

 

Verdict: I was hoping for more lavender fougere, but this is predominantly an amber scent on me, and the lavender within the fougere was sharper than I was expecting. The scent is nice, and I'm glad that I got a chance to try it, but I don't think a bottle will be in my future.

[Cali]

At first sniff this is not the type of scent I would wear, but upon having it on my skin for a bit, there's definately some redeemably qualities in there. At first my mind went to 'ghost house' heady, dusty and dark, but it's gotten a bit more complex in the span of a couple of minutes. There's a softer patchouli (comparable to the one in The laughter of Loki) I get as base, with the other notes complimenting it well - sweet, but not too - and the others giving this a masculine and warm touch. The lavender being the most appearant sweet note in here, slightly comparable to TKO's.

Dry on me, this is what Alan McMichael should've smelled like! Someone with a warm character to feel at ease with.

[monocainsheresy]

Villain bundled up in woodsy resins. I can't really give much more detail than that because it is so superbly blended.

Old Scratch is a mysterious man, unmistakably refined but not exactly trustworthy. Warm and welcoming, but perhaps dangerous if crossed.

Very Victorian. Very dapper. Very spooky. 10/10

 

[roseus]

Such a smooth beautiful blend. Softly sweet, smooth, decadent woods and a bit of musk. Everything is very well blended, I can barely pull out the rosewood and lavender. 

[torischroeder9]

In the imp: Lavender, rosewood, and amber. 

 

On my skin:

 

Wet, lavender and rosewood are strongest, with the fougere having an almost citrusy quality. As it dries, the citrusy element tamps down, and it's mainly lavender and rosewood on me. Even at this stage, it's very well-blended. Though I can pick out elements of the individual notes, they're not fighting one another for supremacy. 

 

At approximately the half hour mark, I can detect the floral-type notes receding just a bit and the tonka and patchouli perking up. After about forty-five minutes, however, that slight shift in balance is holding steady. 

 

"Deceptively genteel" is an excellent descriptor for this. If masculine, it is quite genteel, though it could easily be a scent for all genders. And yes, just a bit spooky. 

 

Throw is on the stronger side of average. 

[donkehpoo]

Wet: Angels on Bare Skin (LUSH), is that you? (I got a very similar scent from Baku as well; the biggest difference is here, I'm not getting any kind of astringent note.) A smooth, clean, herbal lavender scent.

 

Dry: Yep. Still giving me that Angels on Bare Skin vibe. Not for me.

[IoPan]

Old Scratch:

 

in imp: A fresh, almost watery smell, light and with a very slight sweetness, like unobtrusive florals. I’m struggling to figure out where that fresh, light smell comes from, because none of the ingredients on their own tend to be fresh and light! I can get a suggestion of lavender, but it’s not the heavy, sleepy lavender you typically smell. It’s a faint camphoraceous note whose stringency perks up the heavier ingredients nicely.

 

Wet: I can definitely sense the lavender and amber playing together on first application. The lavender is stronger now but anchored by a strong base note from the amber and tonka. As it progresses toward the dry stage, the rosewood comes through noticeably but it’s still quite nicely balanced.

 

Dry: Oh, wow. That rosewood is NICE. What a delicious meld of all the notes. Nothing is overpowering or strongly forward, but they all support each other in a unique, appealing fragrance. It’s woodsy and resiny with just the barest hint of a floral note, which doesn’t read as lavender at all, though it clearly must be from the lavender. The impression it gives me is of walking in a shady forest on a warm day. The warmth is in there, but mostly the experience is crisp and refreshing and very earthy/woodsy/natural.

 

After 30 minutes: This has morphed into a more sophisticated and balanced, more artfully crafted version of the only commercial perfume I ever liked, Alabaster for Banana Republic. A bright, clean, unisex fragrance that walks a line between green notes and resinous notes. A definite keeper! Ordering a full-sized bottle of this one.

[labugsy]

Oh wow this is incredible. The most gorgeous lavender and amber fougere. The amber almost goes powdery but manages to restrain itself. To me, it's a love child of Casanova and Dorian, but it takes a little more after Casanova. Moderate throw and great longevity. It smells like something a Bronte sister would wear and I love it. There are so many gems hidden in the GC! 

[LavenderCoffee]

Hubba hubba, this is a great scent. Leads with a strong lavender but then it settles in with the rest of the notes. That rosewood! I love how this smells on me and I think I would be devastated to smell this on an attractive stranger. 

[Lunasariel]

In the imp: A very soft, perfumey (but not sweet) lavender. The astringent edge that lavender sometimes has is blunted by tonka and/or amber. Subtle and lovely!

 

Wet: Ah, damn. I haven't tried a fougere for years after they drastically failed to work on my skin, and it looks like things haven't improved. Soapy, plasticky lavender, alas. At least it's balanced out by a surprisingly nice rosewood!

 

Dry: Once the lavender fougere burns off (after an hour or so), it actually dries down to a really lovely amber-rosewood scent, with more rosewood closer to the skin and the throw having more amber. Well, that was a nice surprise!