The Black Tower

[blood*rose*flowers]

Say that the men of the old black tower,
Though they but feed as the goatherd feeds,
Their money spent, their wine gone sour,
Lack nothing that a soldier needs,
That all are oath-bound men:
Those banners come not in.

There in the tomb stand the dead upright,
But winds come up from the shore:
They shake when the winds roar,
Old bones upon the mountain shake.

Those banners come to bribe or threaten,
Or whisper that a man's a fool
Who, when his own right king's forgotten,
Cares what king sets up his rule.
If he died long ago
Why do you dread us so?

There in the tomb drops the faint moonlight,
But wind comes up from the shore:
They shake when the winds roar,
Old bones upon the mountain shake.

The tower's old cook that must climb and clamber
Catching small birds in the dew of the morn
When we hale men lie stretched in slumber
Swears that he hears the king's great horn.
But he's a lying hound:
Stand we on guard oath-bound!

There in the tomb the dark grows blacker,
But wind comes up from the shore:
They shake when the winds roar,
Old bones upon the mountain shake.

A sepulchral, desolate scent. Long-dead soldiers, oath-bound; the perfume of their armor, the chill wind that surges through their tower, white bone and blackened steel: white sandalwood, ambergris, wet ozone, galbanum and leather with ebony, teak, burnt grasses, English ivy and a hint of red wine. (Gender neutral)

In the Bottle: This smells strangely masculine and sweet at the same time. This has the scent of leather mixed with the richness of the red wine and a sweet scent that reminds me of dragons blood

On wet: This is a light masculine scent to me. It has the depth of incense, touch or leather and a slight sweetness that is a nice touch. As it sits I get the ambergris and I am not sure what in the description is "wet ozone" but I can sense that a bit to the back

Drydown: This is a sexy, deep, slightly sweet, sense. This is perfect for those of you who adore the incensy blends that Beth can blend so well. This also would work well for guys as well. I can't wait to try it on my new husband!!

[donsixgun]

Sandalwood, leather, ozone...as as it settles the 'burnt' smell comes out a bit. It actually does have a dead, abandoned smell to it. I quite like it, and Im glad I got a 5ml.

[slave1]

In Bottle: Throat Lozenge

 

On Skin: At first it is minty… maybe menthol. Then I smell the ivy and the wine. It does smell very cold, “chill wind” is a good description. This is a beautiful haunting scent! I really want to smell it on my husband as well. There are so many notes listed, but I don’t smell most of them individually, they all meld into one beautiful scent. I especially do not smell the leather or burnt grasses, this is a very light, shiny metalic scent… not dark or woody. So complex!!!

[AliBabble]

oh man, this is soooo nice. out of the vial i got sweetness and wine at first...reminded me almost of wanda, or other sweet/wine scents. but on the skin, it is quite another story...something resin-y or smoky comes out, making it a bit ominous, but not dismal. like charcoal. embers. burnt love letters. it darkens the sweetness, but doesn't obliterate it. really wonderful and unusual.

[vyvyan]

Wet, on my skin, this was almost all wine. Oddly sweet and burgundy-colored. I wasn't thrilled, because I'm not a big fan of wine notes and was hoping for something else, but then it starts to dry.

 

In the drydown, the wine starts to move to the background, and the smokier notes come out.

 

Actually, yesterday, when I first tested this, it was mostly smoke and leather and a little something warm and a little something green, and I *liked* it. Today, it's equal parts wine-warm and smoke. The green and the leather don't come through as much. Oh, that wacky skin chemistry of mine - I'm sad, b/c I liked it better yesterday. As it is, I'll probably finish the imp (lovely for fall), but it's coming off the big bottle list.

 

Lasts a few hours on me, medium throw.

[Ina Garten Davita]

First Impression: Fresh ivy trailing out of pewter challis of deep, red wine.

 

Second Impression: I thought sweaty leather soaking wet from battling in a thunder and lightening storm. It couldn't be further from that. This scent is much more the romanticized version of English knights preparing for battle. It's slightly masculine from the ambergris and leather of which I only get the tiniest breath. The wine and ivy take the forefront intermingled with hints of sweet woods and grasses.

 

Final Analysis: The scent just screams "England" to me. It brings back memories of the travels Rob and I took while I was visiting him when we first started falling in love. It's very evocative of a country that I've enjoyed visiting more times that I can count.

[~AmusedMuse~]

My Impression: I can only agree with the earlier reviews and state that to me this is masculine and if I had a man I would slather it on him. Truly this is an awesome surprise to me. I definitely agree that it is like a burgandy wine. On a scale of 1-5.... definitely a 4

[Imbrium]

First sniff: this is strangely sweet. I can't place any of the notes; it just smells good.

 

On, this is immediately very green. I smell almost like I smeared my arm in ivy, which I like. Early on, the red wine is very prominent, but that fades quite a bit as it dries, and it takes on a very woody-ivy tone, with hints of red wine, smoke and something sweet - I don't know what it is, but after reading reviews of the SN, I'm going to take a stab at it, and say that that's the ambergris.

 

Overall: This is really interesting - it's a rather complex blend, for sure. And it smells a bit like a greener Mabon to me.

[Lorencita]

I think this is just beautiful. I was really surprised at this. It smells like wine & ivy, it is a little sharp at first, but it mellows beautifully. I want a bottle

[sarada]

This is an incredible, unique fragrance...I had a feeling that this was going to be an instant love affair for me and I can sense that a beautiful relationship is about to start!

 

My first impression in the imp is that it smells like Hunter Moon somewhat...the slightly sour hint of wine and a dry, smoky wood. I like this a lot more than Hunter Moon though, it's not nearly as sour and there is a slow spiral of tobacco and wood smoke drifting through the air. It makes me think of a group of adventurers in leather armor sharing a flask of red wine on a smoky autumn evening as they make their way through a thick dry forest to a blasted heath and a ruined tower.

 

I would swear that I smell cypress in this, but whatever I am smelling it is wonderful...it is the darkest, richest wood and the deepest fragrant dry greenery. It is smoke and crisp air, and the refreshing splash of wine on thirsty lips. I am only just beginning to understand this scent. As it dried down the main thing that stood out was that greenery, but I have a feeling this will develop on me in different ways when the weather changes.

 

I can't wait to wear this through the autumn and the winter. I ordered a bottle within moments of trying this and I can't wait for it to get here! Smoke, wood, forest greenery, and wine are among my favorite notes....this would also fit in perfectly as a Samhain scent.

[darkwitch]

Old English Gents Club, book lined cedar shelves, heavy wine, leather chairs, velvet covered teak tables, cigar and pipe smoke. When I smell this I can actually hear the dice roll and the glasses clinking together. This is a very intriguing scent, I may have to buy more!!!

[sheepzeit]

Initially, this scent is woodsy and masculine with a slightly peppery overtone to it. Not exactly pepper maybe, but definitely something sharp with a bite to it.

 

As it dries, the ozone, wine, and leather come out very slightly and the mood changes from a dark brown to one of almost a blue-green with slate grey. This is such a dark, overcast, moody scent. So masculine but fresh, and I have to say that I have very rarely come across a scent that hit its own description so dead-on. I really do see the dusty soldiers and the ivy crawling up the cold stones, smell the wind and the clouds, feel the dry grass under my feet...

 

Although this scent is a little masculine for me and I may not really wear it much, this imp is definitely worth keeping. Like Thunderbird and Black Annis, the images this conjures up are just too good to swap away.

[Yagathai]

In the bottle: Sweet, with an almost medicinal tang to it. Hints of leather and spice. Very interesting and complex, in a good way.

 

On my skin: This smells completely different than it did in the bottle! Starts off floral, with a hint of something methol-ish. Definitely ambergris, though sadly I get no leather, teak, grasses or wine. Not particularly masculine on first blush, I must say.

 

After about ten minutes, it starts to settle down. I start getting something like a sour red wine, with a smoky, spicy background -- must be those burnt grasses! Is it a little woodsy? Maybe. A little leathery? Perhaps! There's a certain tang that reminds me a bit of Cthulhu. As time goes by, the sour smoky note achieves more prominence, like Brimstone, but milder by an order of magnitude.

 

There is a hint of something minty-ish -- could that be the galbanum (amusing aside: galbanum is also known as bubonion. Heh heh heh. Bubonion)? Maybe it's the ozone interacting with the other notes? People have said that this is a "cold" scent, but despite the vague minty air I don't get a "cold" feeling from this at all. It's too sweet to be cold. Unfortunately, my skin seems to be amping the sweet properties and damping the spiciness that others have reported. Quelle dommage.

 

After a while, the wine starts to smell a bit like cough syrup -- alcoholic, but sweet as well. At last I start getting a bit of sandalwood, which is quite appealing when mixed with the ambergris.

 

Final verdict: I'm torn here. It seems that The Black Tower is two scents -- one smoky, woodsy, spicy and resinous, and the other sweet and floral and alcoholic. I very much enjoy the former, but the latter leaves me cold. Well, actually not cold, but you know what I mean. I like the former enough that I can tolerate the latter, but the two halves don't really enhance each other to any significant degree. They two do settle down and mellow after a while, but they never quite sit easily with each other.

 

It's neither especially masculine nor feminine, in my opinion. I will say this: The Black Tower is evocative of something. I just can't place what, exactly. I will give this scent a second try, but unless my second opinion is drastically different, I probably won't be going for a big bottle of the stuff.

Edited September 28, 2005 by Yagathai

[tsarina]

The first whiff is sweet with the wine. Then I start to smell the sandalwood and leather. The ivy really comes out after a minute or so. It's a beautiful, soft scent on me. There is a tingly hint of ozone and wood to it. I think it is profoundly lovely.

[shelldoo]

in the vial: masculine, sandalwood.

 

wet: peppery, sandalwood

 

as it dries i can detect the leather, sandalwood, it went a hint soapy for abt 1/2 a second. then recovered quickly. it is smokey, sensual in a dark, deeply manly way, i thought i got a touch of hops too. but it was so briefly wafting i am unsure. man this is sexy to me. i will NOT be swapping this one. i will however be hinding around the corner waiting for the man to come in and i will sprinkle him genrerously w/ sexy melancholy in a vial

[coulrophobe]

With my chemistry, The Black Tower is a slightly more masculine version of Loviatar (which I love). Leather is definitely the strongest note on my skin, with whiffs of smokey sandalwood and something sweet and perfumey (I'm betting ambergris). I'm surprised by how gender-neutral this is; it'll make a great "sexy going-out scent."

[Little Bird]

ETA: This is another bpal scent that smells nothing like it did back in 2005. I think that a lot of things have been reformulated. I love the 2005 Black Tower, but the recent imps I've gotten of this smell nothing like the 05 (and it's not just a case of aging, they don't smell the same as they did/do fresh). Recent Black Tower gives me a headache and smells like cheap spice potpourri mixed with cigar smoke. I don't really get the leather, wine or ivy from the newer versions, but there's a weird sourness to it and something that smells like dead leaves.

Spice potpourri, cigar smoke, dead leaves and soured fruit. My older bottle of this still smells great, but the newer ones are unwearable...

 

--

Old review:

First on I am getting the red wine and ivy. It's an odd mixture of boozy berry and green. I am enamored with andrabell's review of ivy trailing out of a challis of wine, so that is the mental picture that I am getting now. I am amazed at how well the description captures the scent. This does remind me of wandering desolate castle grounds overgrown with ivy and long dead spirits.

There is a burst of ozone in here, like a chilling breeze, and then it is gone to make way for leather, sandalwood and amber. The warm powdery amber over the cool leather is making my pulse race. I'm starting to think that this would be a really sexy scent to force the boy to wear, lol. I like that it does get a bit warmer and spicier in the drydown over a few hours.

Conclusion: I like this one. It's one that I'd love on myself or the boy, though it has a more masculine feel.

--

Edited May 3, 2012 by Little Bird

[aidenraine]

Wet: I got a strong "cherry lollypop" from this when it was wet on my wrist. Very sweetly strong fruit with a musky undertone, not unlike Urd when it's wet (not that it smells like Urd, but the same sweet-musky combination.)

 

As it begins to dry it musks up a bit- I smell the sandalwood. Thankfully, I don't smell anything ozoney, and this doesn't strike me as particularly masculine (it's truly gender neutral to my nose.)

 

 

Drydown: It's starting to smell kind of peach and musky- a really great balance between fruit and spicy. I smell maybe a backdrop of leather, but it takes a backseat to the other spice and fruit.

 

 

After some time: Musky-fruity, nice balance. Slather Slather.

 

Verdict: Keeping the imp happily, but probably not a 5ml. I almost never love something enough for a 5ml

[grrrlennyl]

at first: floral and light. very interesting.

on: dark, but...not heavy. cool. i get tons of the notes, but especially sandalwood, ozone, and leather. very interesting.

half an hour later: the leather is most prominent now. it's still dark and cool.

1.5 hours later: still dark, but nice.

3 hours later: cool and dark.

overall: this is nice, but i'm not sure i would reach for it often.

[tesao]

i honestly can't recall a description that had less information to go on but was SO dead on. great call, beth!!!

 

i like this. it is another one of those evocative blends, wood and leather and bones in davy jones' locker (the ozone notes). you can literally see the pirate ships and the tattered jolly roger.

 

it doesn't last very long on me, though. and i'm not sure that i would reach for it all that often.

 

i love it on a man. rrrowr.

[isyche]

in vial: ooh, interesting. pinelike spicy wood and leather and a red sweet wine smell with a coolness laid over it, like the cold wind in the description.

 

on me: whoa, this is stronger than I thought it would be. very leathery-resin-spicy, kind of Loviatar-ish, or the woods/incense are a bit like Hexennacht. I can still smell the wine behind it a little, but the leather is really amping up. as it dries it starts to smell more like the bottle scent, smoky leather and wood with that cold quality like a long-extinguished fire. darkness, ruined tower, ashes, dead trees, ivy, leather armor, chilly wind -- exactly.

 

The Black Tower is very evocative and different, one of those complex BPAL scents that seems to tell a story, and I love that. I think it would be awesome to wear in a medieval RPG or something, but it's too much for everyday use -- nevertheless, I love the images it conjures up, so the imp must stay with me.

Edited October 13, 2005 by isyche

[Penance]

First sniff:

 

None of the notes immediately stand out in The Black Tower, for me. I get a general impression rather than a mental list of notes: dark, masculine, intense, heavy…like a stone-walled room with heavy black velvet curtains that block the moonlight. So far I really like this.

 

Wet on skin:

 

Once I put this on, my skin amps up several of the notes and I can suddenly identify several portions of this scent. On my skin, The Black Tower smells burnt (the burnt grasses) with an electric tang (the ozone) and a background of leather, sandalwood and ambergris. This reminds me of Samhain and Hexennacht for some reason. This is complex and dark and brooding and utterly gorgeous. I’m sure this would smell amazing on a guy. If I weren’t selfishly hoarding this, I’d try it on my husband next.

 

Dry down:

 

This is intense. I can see this being too much for someone with more subdued tastes, but for me this is perfect. The Black Tower, on me, is dark and brooding and, for lack of a better word, destroyed smelling. I get the mental image of a pillaged castle…burnt wood and grass, the metallic bite of the armor of the slaughtered defenders, the leather of the ransacked furniture and the muskiness of hot skin. I love dark, dangerous smelling scents, so this is perfect for me. Masculine without a doubt, but I’m not a girly girl by nature.

 

The bottom line:

 

I was hoping to love this because it combines several notes I like or love (sandalwood, ambergris, ozone, wood notes and grass) in an unusual way, but I was worried about the wine, so I’m thrilled to find that I love this.

[wickedgoddess]

Wet - dark, masculine, and yet very appealing. No notes stand out at first except for white sandalwood.

 

Dry - as it dries, I get ambergris and other woods (ebony? teak?) along with the sandalwood. Ah yes, there's a hint of leather as well. I like this quite a bit, but it's a bit masculine for every day wear. I will hang on to the imp, but I probably don't need a bottle of this.

 

On the wickedgoddess scale of 1 to 5, with 5 being best, this rates a 3.

[arabella]

First Impression: Sweet tobacco and sandalwood.

 

Dries down to: It mellows into a creamy scent, with woody, smoky, sweet tones; yet, there's a freshness to it.

 

Additional Comments: This is another winner. After checking the scent description, I see there's no tobacco but there is burnt grasses, which must be where I'm getting the tobacco and smoky notes. I definitely pick up the sandalwood - the teak and ebony also give richness to the wood. The sweet tones must come from the wine; the freshness from the ozone; the creaminess from the ambergris. The galbanum acts as the conductor of the whole piece. I have no idea what English Ivy is like, so I can't comment on that component, and I can't say I pick up on the leather either, but this is a beautifully balanced oil. I'm so glad to find a non-foody, non-floral, earthy scent that works so well for me. I think this is my new "comfort" scent to use when I curl up with a good book.

 

Lasted: A couple of hours.

 

Rating: 4.5 out of 5

[CLFilm]

I'm finding I have to try things a couple of times before I review them.

 

That being said, the first time I tried this, I thought it was much too sharp, which made me sad.

 

Trying it again today I'm finding a simply lovely scent - I can't stop sniffing my wrists! As several others have said above, I can't really pick out specific notes here though that may have more to do with the fact that I'm a newbie.

 

It truly does smell like armor - amazing. That is descriptive word that enticed me into an imp, the note I was craving somehow, and boy does this deliver. It's warriors after a battle, a wet sword stuck in the ground, a musty dungeon, a windswept battlefield, a glass of wine in front of a fire, a sheeting rain, a crumbling castle being reclaimed by vines - all at the same time.

 

So complex - I think I adore this.