The Great Sword of War

[angelicruin]

Mandarin, tonka, saffron, black tea, cocoa, tobacco leaf, sanguine red musk and five classical herbs of conflict.

Inside the imp, mandarin and red musk.

On my skin, madarin is quite strong, but I also pick up the cocoa and black tea.

The more it dries, the tobacco leaf note begins to emerge, but I'd have to characterize this scent as mostly mandarin and black tea.

[voorishsign]

Sam: "So who are you?"

War: "Here's a hint: I was in Germany. Then in Germany. Then in the Middle East. I was in Darfur when my beeper went off. I'm waiting to hook up with my siblings - I've got three. We're gonna have so much fun together. [ . . . ] Honestly? People don't need a reason to kill each other. I mean, have you seen the Irish? They're all Irish. You think I'm a monster; I'm jello shots at a party. I just . . . remove inhibitions."

- Supernatural 5.02; "Good God, Y'All"

 

I bought this after watching this particular Supernatural episode, since it had such a fantastic portrayal of the Horseman in question. So, as with many things, blame this one Kripke

 

In the bottle, this one is a dark, reddish brown and the scent of pure cocoa and mandarin.

 

Wet on, it's almost entirely cocoa, but as it dries down, I can make out the mandarin, tonka and saffron, five minutes on and finally! Black tea. Another ten minutes later and a lot of the scent has faded, there remains a strong citrus note that reminds me of Whitechapel and which I wasn't that fond of when I tried that, but at least it's overpowered a little by the black tea and tonka.

 

Drying completely, this is lighter and less intense than I thought it would be. It fades very quickly, and I'm a bit upset because I can't really detect the red musk - I love red musk - nor the herbs. It's a nice enough smell, but not really something that would suggest conflict or power to me - I was expecting something darker and more dangerous.

 

Maybe this is War in his off-hours, putting the moves on people in bars?

[strahlend]

In the imp: I've never smelled anything like it. It astonishes me. My first impression is of slightly burnt chocolate biscotti, but it's really not a foody scent. Cocoa, musk, tobacco in that order. I love it.

 

On my skin: Lemons. I'm bummed. Something happened with my chemistry that turned it to slightly musky lemons. This doesn't seem like mandarin, it's more like something went sour on my skin. I've tried this multiple times because I keep wanting the cocoa and tobacco to stick around, but evrey time those notes vanish with skin contact.

 

About an hour later: the lemon took off just as I was getting really sick of it and what remained was a rather warm, ever so slightly spicy, musk. I'm not sure if it's worth the wait for this one to turn around because it never gets back to how it smells in the bottle. Maybe a scent locket would help.

 

Edit to add:

I have two imps of different ages and they are quite different experiences. Most notably on the dry down the newer imp ends up smelling kind of sweet and caramely like Agrat Bat Mahlaht. The older imp dries down to a pale, lightly musky citrus.

 

This scent is exceptionally changeable - it's a totally different animal in the imp, wet, dry, long dry down, and age. Add skin chemistry to that and it's really all over the place. Just about every scent has some of these factors effect it, but with this scent the factors seem extra impactful. This scent continues to fascinate me, but because the changeable elements are so random I would rather just get an imp now and then instead of buying a bottle.

Edited January 11, 2011 by strahlend

[swtlilqtk]

Hmmm...very interesting scent! Upon first application it was very nutty....almost like a buttered nut scone. Then came the tea, very prominant..I don't get any of the orange but instead I get lemon. A very strong dose of lemon. It smells just like black tea with lemon and a buttered nut scone. I really like it...I could picture someone sitting reading a book and drinking some tea and eating a scone on a snowy afternoon, mid-winter. This scent makes me think of good and happy things, and it's really relaxing me. My only compliant is the scent isn't as strong as I like it. This and The Doormouse need to meet up with the staying power of Sugar Skulls and we would be in good shape! I think this is going on the bottle list though, this may be my new bedtime scent. It is making so relaxed and calm. LOVELY!

[hazakaza]

I've been testing scents without notes or fellow reviews to train my nose.

 

In the imp, it doesn't give me much hope, it's got a nice creamy, warm note to it, but with green herby notes riding over it. Maybe ginger? It's got an underlying funkiness.

 

Wet: Hope! Spicy, green, and fresh. Wonderful!

 

Drying: Lemongrass? All I'm getting is lemongrass, or at least a grassy, herbal citrus—it's like a less caramelized Nanshee.

 

At the end, it's low throw with white florals coming up behind, with some more ginger. Not particularly warlike, actually. I only put on a little dab but it' s pretty nice and strong as-is. I may need to get a full bottle of this; it depends on how much I reach for the imp.

 

After looking at the notes, I'm surprised there's no ginger. Maybe I just got War and Great Sword Of mixed up in my head. It's very herbal up front once the rest dies down; I really do love the underlying notes, but they're a gentle base for the herbs and citrus.

Edited November 17, 2009 by hazakaza

[starfish327]

In the imp and wet: woody with pine and an herbal over note

 

drying: still woody and the herbal note gets stronger but not over powering like it did for me in #20 love oil. maybe an herbal i can actually wear with my chemistry? then a weird creamy cocoa, tea, and saffron mix for awhile, but that fades.

 

dried: the herbs and the cocoa are still there, but my beloved musk and tobacco become more prominent. the tea has faded, and i still haven't gotten any mandarin at all from this. whatever the five herbs are, they're being kept in check by the other notes- which is nice, since most herbals tend to turn into screaming green-ness on me. great sword reminds me a lot more of male cologne than most of the spice/smoky blends on me (i'm guessing that it's the red musk and the tonka) but i actually tend to prefer cologne over traditionally feminine scents.

 

oh hai there mandarin! you decided to come play. it tones down the baking chocolate note of the cocoa and tones down the overall cologne aspect of the blend.

 

i don't normally rank scents because i don't have a lot of basis for comparison, but i give this a four out of five. i'll wear it, but i'm not sure that it's one that would come to mind automatically over dee or the music of erich zahn.

[kerikeri]

On my skin, this is MANDARIN, and nothing but. The citrus just overwhelms all the other notes-- maybe there's a hint of tea in there, but certainly no cocoa, tonka or tobacco, and I can't even smell the red musk, which is strange because I usually amp it to a certain degree. It might be a fluke caused by chemistry fluctuations, but testing this didn't go at all like I thought it would.

[Amaroq]

Imp: Wow, what the hell is this? The upper part of the wand has a weird fruity smell, and the tip smells like... chocolate. I didn't think war smelled like chocolate, but what do I know, I'm not in the military.

 

On: I smell mandarin. I think that the aforementioned weird fruity smell was the mandarin mixing with the cocoa. Thankfully, now it's less weird and more citrus. The musk comes along to warm it up as it dries.

 

Dry: Warm and orangey.

 

Hmmm. Not sure how I feel about this one.

[HKB]

On me this is surprisingly foody, edible and delicious. Chocolate cake and a little citrus. I can just barely sense the red musk in the background, which is a nice balance so it's not totally foody.

[Deiicide]

Note that the imp in my possession is almost 3 years old. When I first got Great Sword of War, I was in love. It was dark in a wierd way, but very foody almost and huff able. I was wafting on a bottle, and decided to keep the imp. While going through my stash, absently I put it on just to test it out if it's the same desire that I have grown upon it. Sadly, Great Sword of War has mellowed out to mostly red musk with some tobacco and a few herbs to clean it up. It doesn't have the bright note that I have loved about it, nor the deep cocoa that I have grown to endure. I think something may have spoiled the imp, but I don't see myself getting a bottle for it to spoil after awhile. I'm gifting my imp through swaps, and hopefully someone will love it in this stage much more then I.

[Redillon]

I'm kinda diggin this imp.

 

I don't smell any cocoa or tobacco which is GOOD. I smell a hint of mandarin, more citrus actually and the musk.

 

I do like this scent. It's definitley a unisex scent.

[Dharklady]

In bottle: Mandarin, tonka and the cocoa and tobacco leaf take precedence.

 

Wet: The dried tonka and cocoa combine with the tobacco very nicely. The mandarin gives it a slight citrus sweetness that sparkles with promise underneath.

 

Dry: The Citrus shines through a little brighter but overall not much morph. A really compelling scent and a keeper but not one for every day wear methinks.

 

Notes: The mandarin lasts while the other notes fade over time. A sweet citrus with just a hint of lemon. It’s nice but I really enjoy it’s duet with the other notes above so the imp alone should hold me on this one.

[sunlitgarden]

The Great Sword of War

 

In the imp and wet on my skin, my first thought was "buttered popcorn flavor jellybeans." Then I smelled a strong citrus (checking the notes, I guess it's the mandarin) with a spicy background. It's not unpleasant, but much foodier than I expected from the name! It kind of reminds me of an fancy type of tea (and I see that tea is listed in the notes.)

Edited February 25, 2011 by Shollin

[raisin]

I get something totally foody here.

Like others, I get lemon instead of orange. And then there's something buttery, a little cocoa, and a smidge of black tea. It's cookies at a tea party on me.

 

I'm hoping it'll morph into something I like a little better, but I doubt I'd have the patience to get through this stage.

[lunchboxmonkey]

In the imp, this smells delicious.... cocoa over tobacco leaf with just a hint of orange in the background... but as soon as it hits my skin it smells like lemon. I know there isn't any lemon listed, but i seriously smell like a lemonhead tastes. I'm still not quite sure how I managed that one Like I said though, it smells amazing in the imp, so I'm sure it would be great on someone with better skin chemistry!

[SophieCedar]

In imp and first wet smells strongly of mandarin and something sugary sweet.

 

Drydown: I smell like a high-end gourmet creamsicle? I can detect the cocoa and tobacco, making this a bit floral and confection-like. The herbs give it a touch of manly cologne too.. but still this could be construed as fancy creamsicle w/ floral honey & lavender pods or something like that. I like it!

[Reedsong]

Great Sword was one of the first BPALs I ever tried, back in 2006, and I remember being so impressed by the complex meshing of ingredients, the mandarin, tonka, tobacco, and cocoa creating such a discordant impression yet producing a very likeable fragrance. It seemed to be the oozing scented version of the clashing of swords.

 

A few years later, when I tried my imp of Great Sword again, it was less complex. Like another reviewer above, I found that the bright mandarin and herbal notes had vanished, and what remained was a primarily red musk, tonka, and tobacco blending. Tobacco leaf is a death note on my skin, and the scent was oddly rotting. It was as if I was smelling the aftermath of wielding the Great Sword of War.

 

I still think the Come and See fragrances are all under-rated masterpieces, Great Sword especially so, but advise anyone interested in this one to purchase it new and use it quickly. It's one of the few BPALs I've tried that does not improve with age.

[Deidre]

I got an aged imp in a swap...this starts off almost foody, very rich and spicy with a fesh zing from the citrus and the herbs. The foodiness calms down a bit on the skin, and it becomes just beutiful, creamy, spicy and sexy. I didn't find this masculine, really, I was just completely in love with it without thinking in terms of masculine/feminine, but on the drydown I could call this unisex, yes.

Why doesn't this get more love? It's absolutely amazing.

[gypsyjolie]

This is very citrus for the first few minutes, to the exclusion of all other notes. Then it mellows into a creamy spiced orange tea (like Constant Comment). I never get chocolate or red musk, which is a shame. This scent is quite nice once it dries, but it is very faint on me.I was hoping for more oomph from the red musk.

[Venneh]

In the imp, I think I'm getting red musk, mandarin, tobacco, and and maybe a bit of the black tea? On my skin, it's mandarin and tonka, we'll see what this does.

[KakashiMorph]

My first frimp try!

In the bottle: Dark, heavy, subdued. I can feel the mandarin and the tobacco.

On my skin: Subdued mandarin, hiding behind a veil of something dark and oppressive that sucks the light out of it. I feel that the mandarin is drowning and gasping for air. After a few minutes the veil is slowly lifted, and it struggles free. I can smell the tobacco leaf again now. Mandarin, which comes out very citrus-y and mostly like lemon on my skin, with tobbaco. Intriguing.

Cooldown: The mandarin fades away and the tobacco becomes predominant, so now I smell like lemony smoke. After a few hours when the smell has mostly died away, I can also get a faint whiff of the wine. I wouldn't have thought that the great sword of war smells that much like citrus, but that's probably just my skin. Besides, wherever there is smoke... And fires usually come with war.

Intriguing perfume oil, but I smell too much like tobacco for my tastes, being a non smoker. :/

[ami226]

On the skin: Sweet, herby, dark, and musky. Very interesting. Wow, this scent turns almost sickly sweet and kind of syrupy within minutes. Huh. After a bit the sweetness fades a little and it is starting to smell a bit spicy instead. If this was a sauce on some chicken, I would be very happy!!

 

I am not sure if I like this one. The sweetness is quite sickening, but it does start to smell better and kind of yummy later.

[zmulls]

This reminds me so very much of Celestial Seasoning's "Mandarin Orange Spice." Warm and cozy and a little spicy. And I guess "Celestial" is appropriate, given the subject matter.

 

I was really hoping for something fiercer, being all about War and battle and swords and whatnot. It's really very pretty and would be a lovely by-the-fire scent for a woman.

 

I've tried three of the "four horsemen" now. "Great Sword of War" is sexy and orange and warm. "Bow and Crown of Conquest" was all about the carnation and vanilla, very noble and pretty. And "Death on a Pale Horse," while a bit chilly, had all that nice cooling citrus.

 

I have to say, when Armegeddon arrives, it promises to be quite pleasant and will smell great.

[Altaira]

This reminds me a bit of Shubb, they have the same sweet lime scent. The tea makes it round and creamy. As it dries the frankincense comes out and I start to get a headache.

[Penance]

Origin:

 

5mL from the Lab (originally). I sold my original bottle and just repurchased one on LJ recently.

 

Preconceived notions:

 

I can't believe I never reviewed this one. I thought for sure I had, but it would appear not. This is one of those scents that sounds almost perfect except for one or two notes. In this case, it's the mandarin. I love eating oranges. I love fresh squeezed orange juice. But I don't like orange in my perfume. It's just not something I want to smell like. But, that being said, most other things in here are favorites of mine or things I like, with the exception of saffron (fine in small amounts but not so great in bigger doses) and tonka (hit or miss).

 

First sniff:

 

Straight out of the bottle, the orange is definitely putting in an appearance. It smells like spices, orange and a bit of chocolate and tobacco. I can see someone else who's a fan of orange scents finding this really appealing, but I'm not a huge fan of the scent in the bottle, truth be told.

 

Wet on skin:

 

The orange is even more prominent on my skin. It's a sweet orange scent. Not really juicy or bright. It's sweet and muted, almost like orange syrup mixed with dried orange peel. The cocoa, spices and tobacco are still here, too, and I get a touch of red musk, but it's mainly a sweet, soft, spicy orange scent. It makes me think of orange pekoe tea and expensive potpourri. And I know that makes it sound like it doesn't smell good as perfume, but it really does. It just doesn't appeal to me at this point.

 

Dry down:

 

I really like The Great Sword of War once it's dried. The orange finally mellows out once it dries and I'm left with a soft, musky tobacco, cocoa and red musk scent with a little bit of tonka thrown in for sweetness. It's a close to the skin scent, without a lot of throw, but it's lovely and sort of alluring. It's really not the sort of scent I'd associate with the Apocalypse or any of the Four Horsemen, especially War, but it smells good anyway.

 

The bottom line:

 

Once I get past the wet stage, I really enjoy The Great Sword of War. It's definitely a morpher on me. The bottle and wet scent are noticeably different than the drydown for me, which is the only reason I like it well enough to have a bottle. I'm not a fan of the sweet orange wet scent, but the red musky cocoa tobacco on the drydown is right up my alley.

 

This is also one of those scents where the age of the oil has an effect on the smell. The Great Sword of War gets less orangey as it ages and the red musk, cocoa and tobacco come out more. Thankfully, that works for me since that's what I want, but it's something to keep in mind if you enjoy the orange stage. You may want to skip a bottle and just go with imps (so that you'll be able to keep a fresh supply on hand) if you like the orange/tonka notes in this one, unless you go through a bottle before it has a chance to age, anyway.

Edited January 11, 2011 by Penance