The Great Sword of War

[Vega]

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

Sniffed: A "red" scent suffused with a thick spicy note that I can't identify. Ginger or saffron, perhaps?

On skin: All the notes in The Great Sword of War are blending to form an unfamiliar new scent that I can only describe as sweet-and-spicy herbal. It's light, dry and intense, slightly biting, tight and hazy. (Is ginger one of the unnamed herbs? Or maybe this is saffron.) Red musk is far in the background, and I can maybe pick out a ghost of smooth tea and bright mandarin, but otherwise this is too blended for me to identify individual notes. My previous test-notes suggest that The Great Sword can be quite biting; today it's more muted and obscured, but still has that spiced edge. Colour impression is dark red.
While not overtly unpleasant, there's something about this herbal-spicy tone of The Great Sword that a bit unwelcome. I smelled similar qualities in Vampire Tears (which I really didn't like), so I wonder if these two blends have a common note.

Verdict: Not impressed. I haven't had much success with the Come and See series: both The Scales of Deprivation and Death on a Pale Horse were disappointingly simple, one/few-note blends that simply didn't resemble their notes list at all. The Great Sword of War is no different, I suspect I'm just not getting its full goodness. What's more, I'm not fond of its herbal-spicy note. Swaps...

[Gold Dust Kitten]

This definitely doesn't smell as scary as it sounds. It's a syrupy sweet orange rind that has been soaking in black tea. There's also chocolate and tobacco, and possibly cloves. The clove doesn't smell very spicy, so it's more of a faded clove note. Surprisingly, I'm not getting much saffron or red musk. Dry, it smells like either potpourri or orange tobacco.

[valnillarose]

How odd! This is the first BPAL I've tried that I didn't get ANY of the notes listed. No cocoa, no tobacco, no tea. Instead I get lemon meringue, in the vial, wet, and until it dries. It's not an unpleasant lemon, but I expected more from this.

[invisible iris]

A free imp from the ever-generous Lab.

 

In vial: Dark intensity.

 

On skin: Cocoa, mandarin, and a dankness that I could swear is patchouli? But maybe that’s tobacco leaf. It’s not bad. Dark herbs begin to emerge.. Do I detect anise? Clove? Black pepper?

 

Dry: Wow, this is intriguing. I adore the dark “herbs of conflict,” whatever they are (still guessing star anise and/or anise, clove, black pepper, maybe another variety of pepper?). They're intensely stimulating, in a desolate, scorched way. Cocoa, patchouli-like tobacco, and tonka are other major notes for me, which along with the herbs (and maybe bitter black tea) evoke deep roiling darkness. With mandarin/saffron a shot of dying sun glimpsed through the billowing black clouds of a Miltonian battleground. This is dark without being a nose-killer, dry spicy, and dynamic. Beautiful and amazingly evocative. It smells like fate. Inexorable fate. It says, in the grim words of War, “I am going to kill some fools.”

 

Applied sparingly, it mellows a bit in the late drydown (2 hours or so), leaving the dusty aftermath of well-rounded pepper/clove/anise, cocoa, tobacco, tonka (adds a hint of sweetness), + a trace of orange hue. Lovely.

 

Might be my favorite evening scent so far.

[calivianya]

My first thought is that this scent is very usual. I get the cocoa and red musk, which I'm used to smelling in sweeter perfumes, and instead I get them paired with green-smelling herbs and a faint pinch of mandarin. It's like the scent is sweet, but not sweet enough. It can't decide which it wants to be, and it is a little off-putting. The different notes do not harmonize well at all, at least not with my skin chemistry.

[jkfagtongpun]

Wow. Wow. Wow. This scent triggered a very visceral reaction in me. It was that feeling of losing your stomach when on a rollercoaster. That plus reminding me of what I love and miss most about my childhood home: sitting on the porch in hot, humid, bright, midwestern summers.

 

I love this. It's mainly tobacco leaf on me with subtle sweetness backing it up. I never thought I was a fan of tobacco leaf but clearly I was wrong. I couldn't stop sniffing my wrists all evening.

[Balame]

In the Imp: I love the name of this, but then, I'm violent. I smell the tobacco, tea, and saffron, which reminds me of yummy Indian food. But really dangerous Indian food.

 

Wet: It's so nice that this is fiery without resorting to the old standbys of cinnamon and ginger (both of which I loathe). It's kind of difficult to describe. It's juicy because of the tea and mandarin, but also dried by the cocoa and tonka. Great balance. I do smell a bit of red musk, which I normally don't like, but it nicely grounds the scent in this instance.

 

Dry: Mostly the same. I'd say that though the dry notes are there, the "wet" feel wins out in the end and actually makes this quite refreshing. It's pretty much mandarin tea with some spices. I think the Great Sword must be powerful, but used to put an end to fighting rather than continue it.

 

Verdict: A scent that has an understated strength. Attractive. I'd like to keep an imp.

[Ghost of a Rose]

In the imp: The oil is a clear golden brown. Black tea, cocoa, and mandarin come off most strongly.

 

On me, wet: The same as above, with the addition of tobacco. Very intriguing. A dark, brown, chocolately scent. Masculine, but I like it, too.

 

On me, drydown: I'm now getting a sharp peppery note that I think is the saffron, with the chocolate right behind it, and then the other notes. It's like an expensive, classy, sweet-scented pipe tobacco with saffron mixed in.

 

After 30 minutes: It has lost most of the sweetness, but otherwise is much the same.

 

Verdict: This was clearly designed to appeal to men. But I really like it, and I've never been into rigid gender roles. I will wear it now and then. It will be an interesting change of pace from my usual flowery fragrances. Sorry, boys, I'm keeping this one for myself!

 

My rating: 4 stars

[Kamanjah]

A dark red oil, in the imp it smells almost bitter. Goes on quite thick. Wet on skin: Mmm, tobacco under a touch of red musk and tonka. I like this already. As it dries (very quickly for such a thick oil), I can smell the mandarin, and herbs are starting to show themselves. The mandarin has overtaken the tobacco. So far this has good throw, enough to make my eyes sting a bit.

 

30 minutes later this is predominately tobacco on my skin, softened by the tonka and musk. The mandarin has fled; tea and cocoa never came to the party. All in all, well blended.

 

I'm beginning to think I amp tobacco leaf, which doesn't bother me at all as I love the smell. Bottle worthy? Yes! And I'll have to try this on DH as well.

[milo]

This has so many notes I like, and it does smell promising in the imp. Fresh mandarin mostly, but with something else a bit pungent. On, not so good. Very medicinal, like Dettol at first, no mandarin, tonka, saffron, just yucky disinfectant. Dry, this smells a lot like Red Lantern to me, kind of sweet, burnt caramel with the dry dusty tobacco, a blend that is NOT good on me. This is such a morpher, but not in any way good on me in any of it's stages.

[Honey]

Imp: Very-- fruity and soapy. I can smell mandarin, and there is tea and cocoa and the herbs.

 

Wet: Hmmm.. I guess this is mainly mandarin and musk with something.. like.. cocoa or coconut in the background. Really citrus and nuts mainly. Reminds me of cake with orange cream filling.

 

Dry: Still mainly citrus and musk. Definitely creamy and slightly herbal. Guess this will tone down a little after a while. It becomes muskier after a while, and the cocoa shows up as well. It is rather unisex I think. Sharp and spicy but not in a ginger/cinnamon kind of way. And, no, this is a nice citrus that does not smell like any detergent or cleaning product.

[Suu4LC]

This is such an interesting sounding blend. I love saffron and tea and mandarin, cocoa, red musk and tobacco are hit or miss notes on me. I wonder how this all goes together!

 

This is really hard to get a handle on in the imp-sometimes it just seems like a burst of sweetness, other times the mandarin is most pronounced, some times it seems tea based...this is probably going to be morpher.

 

On my skin its sort of this intense pungent mandarin and red musk scent. I get a bit of the other notes, but it all mixes together in a weird way...

 

As it dries, from far away it is mostly just a red musk scent, then up close its a musky pungent mandarins scent.

 

On full drydown this starts to go SUPER powdery on me. Like seriously sweet powder. O_o Yep, basically dried down to straight sweet powder. Not sure what note did it, but boo-urns! I hate when that happens!

[mymymai]

In the Imp (ITI): The mandarin is immediately discernible, along with tobacco, tonka, and some of the herbs. The combination is just a little medicinal, but in a good way.

 

Wet: An interesting combination of tobacco, cocoa, tonka, musk, and some resinous notes. It’s a bit on the sweet side, but I like the tobacco, tonka, and slightly resinous notes.

 

Dry: After 12+ hours, the scent is largely cocoa, musk and tobacco. It’s got some great staying power and settles down to a very nice scent.

[curlsandpearls]

Bottle: Musk with a sharp mandarin-orange layer.

 

Wet: The same—mandarin is prominent, but there’s a warm musky-cocoa base underneath. I’m not a big citrus person so I knew I was taking a risk with the mandarin, but the rest of the components, to me, justified the purchase. We shall see if any other notes emerge as it dries.

 

Dry: I’m getting whiffs of tonka in between the mandarin and musky-cocoa. It’s not full-on foody, but there are foody elements mixing with the citrus (with a musky base) that make this a really interesting scent. It’s a noticeably complex blend. Also: it says there’s no patchouli, but at times I swear I’m getting patchouli. Maybe it’s the red musk—herbal mix? And about fifteen minutes into the dry-down, tobacco leaf finally comes out. Hello, friend. The lab’s tobacco notes are works of art, and this one is no exception, but I doubt that this glorious note alone will be able to save the blend for me.

 

Later: An hour in, it’s become a fully realized tobacco-tonka blend, and it just gets better from there. Somewhat reminiscent of The Antikythera Mechanism, only with a slight citrus undertone that augments the scent. I really, really like this stage—it’s just that the mandarin is so strong early on I’m not sure if I’d do a bottle. Hanging onto the imp, though.

[detritius]

From the name, I expected this to be much bolder and sharper, but on me this is almost... gentlemanly. I get the musk, the tea and the citrus, and a little touch of tobacco. It's very smooth and sexy in a dignified way. I'm surprised, but not even a little disappointed.

[Dusk]

Lots of chocolate. Mandarin and chocolate. And... jelly beans, according to my mom. Definitely a candy sweet scent. I can smell some tonka, and some of what I think might be saffron - but none of the classic herbs and no musk, the top notes are overwhelming. So far, I'm not impressed.

 

A bit later, there's lemon. Sweet lemon, mandarin, and hot chocolate. Vey foody. Where's the musk? The sexy, dark notes?

 

Drying, I think I can smell something herbal. Bay leaf, maybe. Juniper? Before I can get a handle on them, the baby powder emerges.

 

After about 3 hours, I can smell chocolate, tonka, musk (finally), and baby powder. And it remains baby powder.

 

From candy to powder, with no happy in-between. Not what I hoped for at all, sadly.

Edited April 2, 2012 by Dusk

[whitsunweddings]

In the imp: Like a sweet Gaueko (which I love) - I guess that must be the tobacco, but with a tonka hit.

Wet: Spicy tobacco and cocoa with a hint of citrus. Mmmm...

Dry: So delicious, omg. I get clove-spiked citrus. sweet tobacco, hints of chocolate. It's amazing.

A couple of hours later: Faded to a spiced red musk, quelle bummer. I tried it as a room scent, and it kept its original dry scent well, so yay!

[opheliatrey]

What I get more from this at first is the underlaying scent of an orange spiced tea and much heavier of the tobacco and musk. After a few hours it is just smoke and slight vanilla. It reminds me of a lovely old man smoking pipe tobacco and it gives me the smiles.

[alyelle]

Another freebie from the lab, though I think I'd have eventually picked this one out myself to try.

 

Imp: tea and tobacco, with a splash of mandarin and a hint of cocoa.

 

Wet: very strong mandarin, and still that hint of cocoa. The tea almost vanishes beneath the citrus, and there's not a trace of musk or herbs to be seen.

 

Dry (10 mins): a rich warm blend of tea, cocoa and tonka; basically a winter beverage party. I can almost see the steam rising from the cups and the marshmallows bobbing in the cocoa. The musk slowly makes its way out, and every so often, I'll catch a light top note of mandarin. Still nothing herbaceous.

 

Dry (2-3 hrs): this sure does morph a lot! It's now soft musk, sweet mandarin and tonka, with nothing of the deep chocolate or tea notes left. And STILL no herbs!

 

I've worn this a few times since I first got it (the imp is now about two years old) and I'm always surprised when I do that the blend hasn't changed with age. The only difference to Oct 2010 is that first sniff of the imp is a lot more chocolately. Otherwise it wears exactly the same way. The throw is quite good, and it lasts for a good 6-8 hours without reapplying - 4/5 overall.

[fufu_berry]

In the imp and for most of the day, this smelled like sexy, dangerous boba (bubble) tea on me...I think some combination of the red musk, the tonka, and the cocoa made it little bit creamy and sweet, but not too sugary, and the tea came through really strongly. Tea is a great note on me, I'm discovering, so I really enjoyed this. After maybe half the day, it's mostly musk and a little bit of herbal spiciness. It's light, but still really nice. I'll definitely be thinking about a bottle of this!

Edited September 16, 2012 by fufu_berry

[redopinion]

When I got my very first batch of imps, this was my favorite. I didn't get the strong mandarin that everyone else did. I loved it SOOOOOO much, I purchased a large one. Aha... now I smell the MEGA-SUPER-EXTRA-HAPPY-CRAZY citrus that everyone describes. After wearing it for about 20 minutes, the raw, rough, sparky madarin mellowed out to the GSofW that I remembered.

 

I'm going to let this one age, as I suspect the Mr. Clean aspect will mellow.

[BoneBone24]

Wet: Dry dirt and butter?

 

Drydown: Yep, that’s butter. Butter and cocoa powder. I’m not sure where the butter’s coming from, maybe it’s the tonka? After a few minutes a dry spice joins in. Ten, fifteen minutes after that, the slightest amount of mandarin zest appears too. Then something changes that I’m having trouble attributing to any specific notes so instead I’m going to say that it becomes hypnotic and I feel like Homer Simpson eating donuts.

 

Dry: Finally the butter eases off and a beautiful red musk comes forward. Spicier and fruitier now. Red musk, juicy mandarin, and dry cocoa spiced with tobacco and a hint of prickly herbs. Orange-hued citrus rarely shows up on my skin so I’m really digging the mandarin here. Overall, the vibe is powerful, exotic, and focused.

 

 

 

 

7.5 out of 10 bones

Edited June 21, 2013 by BoneBone24

[ladymeag]

I'm kind of surprised at all of the reviews here because I seem to be smelling something completely different. The end effect for me is the very old-school, classic men's scent Clubman by Pinaud. Think barbershops and men in sharp suits.

 

In the bottle: Musk and tonka heavy.

 

Wet: my first thought was: Pinaud hair tonic! Sweet mandarin tobacco; fresh cut pine boughs and pipe smoke. The tonka kind of comes forward as it dries.

 

Dry: This definitely smells like classic men's aftershave/hair tonic like my father used to use - Clubman by Pinaud. I can pick out the tea, mandarin, tonka, and musk with an herbal background. Very masculine!

[sisi33]

In the Bottle: Tonka- mmm, vanilla-ish!- cocoa, red musk. Edible!

Wet: Cocoa, tonka, spices (must be those "herbs of conflict") and slight tobacco. Can I live in this?

Drydown: Tobacco leaf is coming into it's own. This is turning out to be glorious. Cocoa and tonka are still prominent, but they're not overwhelming everything else. Medium throw, so I don't have to constantly have my nose pressed against my wrist (like that's not happening anyways). Not a foodie scent by any means, strangely enough, considering the notes.

 

5/5

[Floria]

In a fairly fresh imp, this is strong mandarin over a well-blended, slightly sweet base chord. This is a citrusy-cologne mandarin, not creamsicle mandarin. I like citrus, but I actually like this better after the initial mandarin blast has died down just a little so the notes underneath stand out more. I'm looking forward to seeing how this ages.

I'd characterize this as a unisex scent, leaning a bit toward masculine. It's a little cologny for me, but I do appreciate a blend containing red musk that doesn't turn into the Red Musk Show.