Thanatos

[Red_Hot_Mama]

One of the horrible, painful, cruel, brooding, mocking and malignant children of Nyx, he is Death Incarnate, and is seen as a willowy young man, accompanied by a butterfly, bearing an inverted torch and funeral wreath in his hands. In modern thought, thanks to Sigmund Freud, it is the Death Instinct: love of death, destruction and decay, and the desire to embrace the quiescence, silence and peace of the grave. Dry white sandalwood and soft Siamese benzoin over a lugubrious blend of myrrh, Moroccan rose, mastic, tomb moss and a thin whiff of Greek incense.

What a marvelous scent!

Thanatos starts off dry & clear, with a hint (only a hint) of dewy rose. Then the incense combines with the sandlewood, benzoin & myrrh for a eyes-rolling-back-in-your-head experience.

If you want a fantastic, one of a kind, season transitional blend, Thanatos it IT!

Update: 9/3/05
Thanatos would be a wonderful scent for layering. It's a unisex scent, despite the rose. I'm looking forward to a "mature" Thanatos, mmmm. Edited September 15, 2007 by Shollin

[Ina Garten Davita]

First Impression: Woodsy incense and rose.

 

Second Impression: This scent starts of lovely, with the roses backing off of the woods and incense, lending a sweet dewiness rather than a pure rose fragrance. This gets very dusty as it dries.

 

Final Analysis: I love the way this smells in the bottle and when wet, but the drydown didn't work well with my skin.

[Thorne]

I got a frimp of this in my last order, and I'd been wanting to try it, so thanks Labbies!

 

This reminds me in some ways of Gypsy Queen - it has several of the same notes - but it is much drier and cooler feeling. It's lighter on the incense and rose, and heavier on the woodiness, myrrh, and benzoin. It sort of feels like a more manly companion scent.

 

In the imp, it's sweet and dry, almost like a fine wine. On the skin, the sandalwood and moss are most prevelant to me me, and are very dry and masculine. But then the myrrh comes in, very strongly, followed quickly by the rose and just a hint of incense. It mellows into a sweet rose and benzoin(benzoin is quickly becoming a favorite of mine), and lingers close to the skin. I absolutely love the dry stage of this perfume!

 

Despite my use of masculine terms to describe it, I think this blend works well as a unisex perfume, and I'm thinking about getting a bottle.

[minilux]

This actually reminds me quite a bit of Geek. I guess it's the moss that is one of the most prominent notes in both of them for me. Despite my chemistry's tendency to amp rose notes, I am not getting any rose, well maybe just a teeny tiny bit in the background since the idea's been planted in my head. I am liking this quite a bit, however, it may ultimately be a bit too masculine for me. Anyone who is into earthy, woody, mossy scents should definitely check this one out.

[UltraViolet]

3.5

 

In the bottle

It's a pale gold colored blend.

It's a bit like Zombi in the bottle. A nice blend of rose and mosses.

 

On

Wow, this is different and it's good. I can smell the Greek incense, moss and rose primarily. The benzoin and myrrh kind of holding everything together. This is one of those "incessantly mushing your nose to your wrist" blends. Addictive. Sniff sniff sniff, it's wonder I haven't sniffed all the smell out of it. This isn't like Zombi as I thought it smelled like in the bottle. This is different, intriguing as hell.

Why can't I smell the sandalwood? Hmph.

 

30 minutes

It dries down to a sweet incensey blend with a dark green mossy scent mixed in and a "pokey" bright pickling spice scent note in there that I can't place. Mastic maybe? I've no idea.

 

Throw:

average

 

Scent category:

Incense/Resin/Floral/Woody-Green

 

Summary

This is enchanting.

 

Purchase again?

Yes. An imp.

 

1-5 rating (5 being best)

3.5

 

Edited November 28, 2005 by UltraViolet

[sideviewhotel]

Thanatos comes across as rather sweet when wet on my skin but it's warm and spicy at the same time, I think. I'm having trouble picking out specific things, but it's good. This is very good.

[Little Bird]

Mmm... I am definitely loving Thanatos. This might even be a 10 ml purchase in my future.

 

Moss always has a sort of spicy goldeny-dark green smell on my skin. That's definitely here at first, along with a pleasant rose scent. It's not a sharp or perfumey rose, more like rose water. Light and clean.

 

In the drydown I am getting more incense and woods. It's just... good. The rose has faded considerably, I think that I smell faint traces of it every once in a while, but it's not prominent. Mostly I am getting spicy woods, incense, and dark green moss. I cannot wait to try this out on the boy. If he doesn't like it, I definitely have no problem using up the imp myself though .

[The_Merf]

In the imp: I smell sandalwood! This will be interesting--it pits sandalwood vs. myrrh; the two notes my skin amps up the most...I don't smell the myrrh though.

 

Wet: Sandalwood is winning this battle at the moment.

 

Drydown and wear: Hmmm...this is interesting. I accidentally layered Magus with Djinn and created this very spicy sandalwood that I really liked. Thanatos is turning into a more subdued version of that. I'll have to try this again, as I seem to have second thoughts about every sandalwood blend I try, but I like this right now. I'll admit that it has a warmth on my skin that I wouldn't expect from a "death" scent, but I like that warmth.

[urraca]

First off I get a scent that reminds me of olives, the good olives swimming in juice that you get when you order a glass of wine in Spain. This is a good thing. Then the sandalwood comes to the fore, backed with some incense, and thisis also very good. If you have been looking for a scent that recalls a spice merchant's wooden chest and all the lovely things inside it, this is the perfect scent --- not too sweet, just nice and woody and fragrant. Late, late in the drydown I do get a hint of rose but it is subtle enough that I think this is worth trying for the wood lovers and flower haters out there. Delicious.

[aidenraine]

Wet: Wow, what on earth does this smell like? I'm mystified. It's definitely woody with a slightly sweet musk. Am at a loss to associate with anything I've ever smelled before though. I am getting something like a sweet mustard out of this. Or .. no, it's changed to the smell of cherry cola candies (you know, the ones that are like a syrup in a wax vial- and you bite off the head.)

 

Dry: I definitely smell the sandalwood and myrr, and perhaps the sweetness is the rose?

I really want the smell of this in a bath bomb.

 

Mmmm musky.

 

The sweet dies down after a while and just becomes musky-incensey.

 

A really alluring, unique scent!

[Penance]

Preconceived notions:

 

Thanatos immediately appealed to me, both for the name (psychology geek that I am and because of my obsession with death) and because of the notes. I love sandalwood, myrrh, moss and incense and I’m fairly fond of mastic, but the rose worries me a bit since I normally avoid rose if possible. I’ve never smelled benzoin aside from in Snake Charmer (which I adore), so I’m not sure how I feel about it just yet. I’m really hoping to love this.

 

First sniff:

 

Mmm, incense! I seem to smell all the incense and resin notes in here when I open the bottle. I don’t get any rose (thank God), but I smell what might be the slightest hint of moss in here. Right now, this seems to fall into the same category as Penitence and Cathedral, a sort of cathedral after mass kind of scent, but with a touch of graveyard thrown in. Beautiful!

 

Wet on skin:

 

I love this! Dry, incensy with just the right amount of earthiness. The moss gives this some depth and keeps it from being too much like Penitence and Cathedral (not that that would be a bad thing). The mastic is making a strong appearance, too, giving this a sort of spicy green wood kind of scent that I really like in this.

 

Dry down:

 

Dry incense and the barest touch of dried moss. This is beautiful in a dark, almost forlorn smelling way. I had a hard time seeing the inspiration for this in the scent at first, but now it’s obvious. This isn’t dangerously dark smelling, more mournful smelling somehow. I really like this.

 

The bottom line:

 

Thanatos definitely lived up to my expectations. It won’t push Cathedral and Penitence out of the places of honor in my perfume collection, but I love it!

[wickedgoddess]

I test too many oils. Over the months the romance of BPAL has been replaced with trying to test one or two oils every day. It's become rather workman-like. Something about reading the ingredients of this oil reignited the thrill for me however. The thrill....the mystery...how will these exotic ingredients combine? Will it be magical?

Wet - Primarily white sandalwood, with a trace of exoticness. I like this.

Dry - still primarily sandalwood. This is a masculine scent, yet not so masculine that a woman wouldn't wear it. But there's nothing soft or feminine about this. I love this is much the same way I loved Sri Lanka, and yet there is something more here, a little bit of mystery. Possible bottle, definite keeper.

 

On the wickedgoddess scale of 1 to 5, with 5 being best, this rates a 4.

[misfitroxy]

I'm surprised by wickedgoddess' review, as this oil is extremely "soft and feminine" on me. Skin chemistry differentiations never fail to surprise me.

 

Thanatos starts out very soft and rose-y in the imp. It's comforting, a rose blanket if you will. There's something tranquil about the blend, interestingly enough. I imagine a dusty Victorian parlor in the midst of the Summer filled with dried roses. All the curtains are shut to keep the heat at bay, but the temperature amps the scent nonetheless.

 

It turns sweet and almost creamy on my skin. I can understand the comparison to Gypsy Queen as there is a bit of that deep floral quality found in that particular oil (of course, this is rose, as opposed to carnation). Thanatos is more heady for me, though. Its throw is powerful. I don't even have to lift my wrist to my nose to catch whiffs of it.

 

I expected this blend to be much darker than it is. It does warm up after a while, and I can catch the sandalwood peeking through, but it's more powdery than smoky on me. There's a sharpness in the background that's not quite wanting to mix with the other elements as well.

 

I'm uncertain about this one and if I'll wear it. There's nothing about it that I don't like, per se. But it's just not grabbing me how I expected it to. I think I'll let the imp age a bit and see if it morphs.

[lemurcatta85]

too manly for me, but the incense-y smell is lovely on the boyfriend!

[wolfie13]

Okay - my rascally skin chemistry is likely at fault here, but I seem to be getting something entirely different than most folks!

 

From initial sniff to drydown I get a mostly very green/woody scent (and a touch floral), fairly light and unisex - in fact it's rather similar to Yggdrasil on me! (if you added some rose)

 

My skin REALLY amps up the moss note in this one, which is the dominant one the whole time, and I get some rose and the siam benzoin (which reads as pretty sharp and balsamic on me - not much of the vanillic quality that some folks get.)

 

I really don't get any sandalwood or myrhh from this and no incense either!

 

This is an okay scent for me for a "green" type scent, but there are others I like better in this genre and considering i was looking for a real incense blend, it's a non-starter.

 

(I'm hoping Midnight Mass will be my HG concerning this matter.)

[LiberAmoris]

Thanatos is a tough one to describe. The closest I can come to encapsulating it is to say that it smells like someone took a bottle of Rose Cross and aged it for 100 years in a moss-lined box made of sandalwood. If that perfume was then unearthed and mixed with an equal part of amber and worn to a Black Mass, that would be Thanatos.

 

I love the darkness and mystique of this blend but it has the kind of rose that always dries down to a dill-like smell on me. I think it might be the intersection of the rose with something else, but it's definitely going in the direction of pickle. It's a beautiful blend though, and if my skin wasn't busy messing it up, I'd be wearing it all day.

[sarada]

I really love the description in the review right above mine but I will try to do this justice too!

 

I love the concept for Thanatos and was hoping for something along the lines of Dance of Death, in the combination of myrrh, woods and incensy smells. In the imp myrrh is the strongest scent that I get, though it shifts quickly on my skin.

 

This is much more of a perfumey interpretation of Death -- an almost feminine take on it, with the crackling static of resins snapping as they burn up on hot coals, over the high-pitched whispers of rose and loamy moss. It is a bit more light, perfumed and alive than I had though a death fragrance would be, but that does fit with the imagery of a willowy young man with a butterfly.

 

The wood and incense are very much in the background here, crowded out by a profusion of flowers and moss that have overgrown the grave. The rose and perfumed moss turn out to be a bit overpowering on me. I like my Death best when it's dark and buried deep in the soil. Still, I think I will keep the imp because it's a lovely interpretation of the concept.

[slave1]

The name caught me right away. I mean this scent’s description is one of the best. It is quite an exotic scent. The myrrh and incsnse give dark smoky notes, the benzoin sweetens it up, the rose and tomb moss give nice floral and earthy notes and the sandalwood remains the strong key note. Fans of Zombi and Graveyard dirt might like this for it’s creepy earthiness… it’s a little more elegant though which is what I love about it. It is unique and catches attention, I can’t wait to wear this one out.

[des]

This is my second ever BPAL try, and while it didn't grab me with that "Oh Jeebus I love this" feeling I got almost right away from Yog-Sothoth, it has grown on me tremendously. Sandalwood is definitely the primary scent on my wrists, but it's not an overpowering incensey sandalwood. It's a warm, soft sandalwood with just a tiny hint of pretty roses. Thumbs up!

[grrrlennyl]

at first: very light and moss-y.

on: i'm getting myrrh, moss, and incense. i'm not sure about this one.

half an hour later: just generally warm and dry.

1 hour later: still that generally warm woody scent.

2 hours later: still wood.

overall: this was really boring on me. i don't really have anything else to say.

[carolinachiquita]

I hadn't read any reviews or descriptions before I tried this so it was a suprise when I tried it. It is really really nice, I was pleasantly suprised! It is like a woodsy floral incensy blend that is really stunning on my skin and it lasts too! I think I've found another imp I want a bottle of!! The description makes it seem quite morose and decrepid even but this is such a gorgeous scent that to me really doesn't match the description of it...wait a min I can see the description when I sniff the imp but on my skin it morphs to a really happy and joyous scent - ace!

[Miss Lynx]

I decided to try this one today because tonight I will be going to a memorial ritual for a friend who died recently. But I'm wary enough of new scents never to put something new one right as I'm walking out the door to an event, since I don't know what they'll do on my skin. Thus, my having put it on a few hours earlier, so that I can wash it off in favour of something else if I need to.

 

First impressions: this is almost what I expected Rose Cross to smell like: rose with a hint of incense balancing it. But rose is one of the florals my skin really likes to amp, so Rose Cross was all rose and nothing but on me. And Thanatos, while other people have described it as having just a hint of rose, is very, very rosey on me. There is a bit of a dry incense softening it, but the rose is very definitely centre stage. I'm getting no moss, and nothing at all earthy. Wet, the rose was almost nose-burningly intense, but as it dries, it becomes a little more manageable.

 

After settling in a bit (half an hour to an hour), the rose does die down, though, and the scent becomes more balanced. At this point, it's a bit like Burial (about the only rose scent that's worked on me so far), only with incense resins replacing the earthy/patchouli element there. Not bad, though not terribly exciting either. Unfortunately, it also doesn't last too long beyond that point.

 

On the whole, I think I'll stick with Burial, both for a not-too-excessive rose scent and for a thematically appropriate scent for funerals.

 

Grade: B-

[tinyvulture]

The individual note that I can pick out most easily is the rose. It’s soft and dry and pretty. There’s also the slightly bitter, dark green scent of moss, and the sweet, dusty myrrh, and a hint of incense. It doesn’t really smell woodsy to me. Interesting and complex.

[quikslvr]

Oooh. Sandalwood and benzoin first kick. Oh, nice. Finally I can identify benzoin as itself. Ever-so-slightly medicinal, rather like a men's product of some sort, and rather sharp. The myrrh enters pretty quickly. The rose is a subtle undercurrent on me with this one, getting stronger as it dried. The benzoin waxes and wanes, as the other notes come to the forefront and fade again. Fascinating blend, but not really me.

[PurringPulsar]

Thanatos

 

In the imp: roses soaked in deep, rich resins.

Wet on skin: whoa. This is a profound scent- myrrh and possibly some benzoin, mixed with a dark rose note and other things I can't quite grasp.

Dry on skin: now I get a moss note that creeps up. This is reminiscent of Zombi but it's more mysterious, it has lashings of resins/incense that makes it smell much nicer than Zombi (which smelt too much like it was decomposing for me) and more along the lines of All Saints 05. The rose note is strong but it's nicely balanced with bitter myrrh and sticky sweet benzoin. This is one incense blend where the brightness of frankincense isn't featured to lighten the fragrance, this is deep, rich, dark and mournful, and it smells quite wonderful. I get something vaguely herbal or olive like which I think might be the 'Greek incense'.

After a while: this improves as time passes, because the rose strengthens fabulously on my skin, blending with the myrrh to give a lovely rose incense scent. I think the myrrh is not as sweet and a tad darker than other myrrh notes, this one is different to other scents with myrrh and rose. I think I get sandalwood now, as well.

Verdict: this is what happened when Zombi and All Saints 05 had a lovechild-Thanatos was his name. A truly profound blend of rose, resin and incense, with a bit of moss thrown in for good measure. Funeral incense blended with grave blooms and mosses, this scent is deep, dark, almost melancholy. And I like it a lot. This is so much better than Zombi to me, thanks to the resin notes, which are bittersweet and rich, surrounding the rose-moss scent in a thick scented layer. It's an amazing scent-I'm not sure if I'd get a bottle of it yet but I will keep the imp and consider it!