The Scales of Deprivation

[Casablanca]

Thin, dark, and shadowed. A scent that offers no sustenance, comfort or satiety: lemon peel, white sage, frankincense, lavender fougere, sandalwood, vetiver and labdanum.

Lovely blend. The initial lemon is present but doesnt overwhelm, balanced with white sage, frankincense, and a subtle lavender. I also get a touch of sandalwood at this stage.

Frankincense, labdanum, and sandalwood come out on me as this dries, though hints of lemon and lavender linger.

I like it.

[achildoftime]

My nose had a bit f trouble with this one. I couldn't pinpoint any notes, even when I checked the description. I think I can pick out the lavender, but as soon as I get a whiff, it changes and goes away. After it dried, it finally settled on cleaning product. So whatever is going on, it's not for me. Chemistry is weird.

[VetchVesper]

I get the thick sweetness of labdanum (which I mistook for ambergris) with a dusty, soft frankincense and a dry herbal greeness from the sage. The lavander probably adds to that last aspect, but i don't register it specifically as lavender. A thin thread of citrus floats above the whole thing adding some complexity and lifting the fragrance. Overall, this is a dusty herbal/wood blend that's well blended and would smell divine on a guy but would work for a lady too. I've really been impressed by the 4 horsemen blends.

 

ETA - Erps!  Wrote a 2nd review, not realizing I'd already posted one.  Here it is, almost a year later.  I guess the citrus lightened up with aging, which makes sense.

 

I'm getting a lot of labdanum's golden sweetness, along with frankincense.  This is very resinous, despite the lavender and lemon notes that don't really show up on me.  I do get a hint of the sage, but wouldn't guess it was in here without the listed notes.  This smells more dusty than powdery if that makes sense, and I could well see it being some sort of church incense.  It smells gender neutral to me, and is a lot gentler than I would have expected.  After it's been on a while, the sage and lavender come out a tad more as a dry herbal note in the background.  This smells calming to me, and I rather like it. 

 

Oddly, I could see Aziraphale smelling like this... if he didn't already have his own lovely scent, so not an evil smelling blend to my nose!

Edited March 2, 2019 by VetchVesper

[doomsday_disco]

In the imp: The lemon peel in this is actually a lot softer than expected, but it’s one of the main notes I’m getting from the imp, along with the white sage. Behind those notes, I can smell some frankincense and fougere.

 

Wet: This is kind of medicinal, in a cough drop way. The lemon peel and white sage still stand out to me the most, but I’m also getting more of the lavender fougere on my skin than I did in the imp. Then, a light frankincense emerges, along with a pale sandalwood.

 

Dry: The lavender fougere and resins are the main players. I am still getting the sage, but the lemon peel is very light now. The resins are a little heavier(the labdanum has probably joined in, and the frankincense has gotten stronger). There’s no smoky vetiver here -- it’s the herbal bourbon vetiver variety that I can handle.

 

Verdict: This is light and airy and more pleasant than I thought it would be. I think it would be great on a guy, but I don’t think I’d reach for this one myself, even though it is nice.

Edited August 9, 2018 by dementia_divine

[starbrow]

I would swear there is chamomile in this blend. Perhaps it's the lavender and frankincense combining in a way that reminds me, very vividly, of the cool herbal qualities of chamomile. The sharpness of lavender usually pops out at me, yet in The Scales it is quieted, grounded. So is the lemon peel, another vocal note that stays calm amidst the pale resins. I would also swear there was clary sage here, the white sage is that pretty. Even the vetiver is not menacing but fuzzy, inviting. I am really loving the meditative frank and sandalwood with the herby top notes. It's funny that the description says it offers no comfort, because I do find this combination very comforting. It's a close second behind Bow and Crown of Conquest from this Come and See line. 

[artisjok]

The Scales of Deprivation is an upright scent. I feel like a calm, strict, yet compassionate teacher would wear this. It’s a fougere for sure, very refined. I pick out the sage easily, and a bit of the lemon peel in the early stages. The vetiver starts to peek out as it dries. I don’t get a whole lot of resin, maybe a touch of frankincense, yet it’s difficult to discern from the touch of lemon brightness. The sandalwood becomes more apparent with wear, and I agree with the fuzziness. I start to notice the lavender more, and the sage is still prominent.

The longer it wears, the more “me” it feels. I would totally use this in meditation or to keep myself composed through some tedious task. It does defy the description, as starbrow says. 
Definitely keeping my imp, and would consider more!

[mymymai]

Ugh, absolutely fantastic - the vetiver is stronger against the labdanum and resins, adding a deeply sensual impression of redolent incense to fading citrus tones and a gentlemanly fougere (once dry).  I would follow someone awkwardly to get the name of this scent if I smelled anyone walking by with it.  It gets my vote for the #tournamentofunderdogs #underdogs.

[Rayleigh]

I have tried only two of the four Come and See blends (the other being my first BPAL love, The Bow & Crown of Conquest,) and I really need to get around to trying the remaining two. Both of the ones I have tried are complex, well-layered scents that are both evocative and just plain nice-smelling. They were also good when I was new to perfumes, because the individual notes are pretty distinct, even though the scent as a whole isn't at all disjointed.

 

The Scales of Deprivation is fascinating for its striking hollowness. I test most of my imps blind, without looking at the name, because it gives me the best impression without being influenced by the idea behind a fragrance. Even without the name, this scent stood out for that vast, empty core. It's an olfactory cylinder. Citrus is doomed to a rapid demise on my skin, but the lavender and white sage seem to help sustain it a bit. The top notes are crisp. Then there's the depth of the resins. Frankincense is soothing, warm, and golden, so it contrasts with the colder notes around it. The labdanum is unobtrusive, but must be contributing some amber-like sweetness. Beneath that is the core -- that dry, dry vetiver. In my notes from the blind test -- which, in fairness, it wasn't hard to guess which blend this had to be -- I called that core a "scorched earth" scent, with the warmer notes contrasting.

 

This isn't a big morpher. The frankincense gets warmer, and the lemon peel eventually succumbs to my skin's citrus-killin' ways, but for the most part, it stays remarkably consistent, and sticks around steadily for a good long while. This one grew on me tremendously, even over the course of the first wear.

 

Most of this is about how interesting the scent is as a concept -- so far, the Come and See blends do "scent experience" very well -- but I also like wearing it. It's meditative and a bit bleak, but mostly, it's steady, cool, collected, and calm. It has a ruthless clarity. It goes great with those "get down to business" days when you need to cut through mental clutter, though I wear it often enough just because, and even as a sleep scent. Some days, you have to raze some fields to the ground and stand in detached observation. And smell great while you're at it.

Edited March 13 by Rayleigh

[Luna Fatale]

In the Imp: Something sweet & citrusy. It's light & pleasant. 

 

On the Skin: Smells the same as in imp initially. Sweet, soft lemon peel but now the white sage is apparent. It's surprisingly comforting (unlike the description) maybe due to the lavender fougere & sandalwood. It's not super smokey from vetiver on me, instead it's light, airy, and soothing & I'd definitely buy a full bottle. ❤ After a few hours, I can barely smell it. I would put some in a roller-ball for reapplication.

[Pris]

On 11/22/2010 at 9:03 PM, Michele my belle said:

 

Thin, dark, and shadowed. A scent that offers no sustenance, comfort or satiety: lemon peel, white sage, frankincense, lavender fougere, sandalwood, vetiver and labdanum.

 

Wet, it goes on sharp, with an almost betadine or iodine smell. A little rubbery.
Dry - it's nice.
Later - this has really grown on me. I feel like a sexy mummy. Not a shambling scarecrow, but a regal form quietly at rest, lovingly wrapped in bandages heavy with sacred oils. My only complaint is that it doesn't seem to last all that long on me.

Edited November 4, 2022 by Pris
typo

[LavenderCoffee]

This is much nicer than the copy would lead you to believe. I mean I can't presume to know what you believe, so I suppose it is nicer than I thought it would be - quite comforting!

Bright lemon and herbal lavender are prominent on initial application, but dissipate quickly. Once dry, the lavender behaves more like lavender fougere and the frankincense warms around it, with some sage lingering over the top. It's gorgeous and softly sweet?! Gonna give this one a full SOTD treatment soon. 

[Jarek]

I got this as an Imp in my Fougère Imp pack back in 2020, and it's one of my favourites. I am used to smelling it without paying much attention to the different notes, but I am going to try and describe them here.

 

In the Imp and wet on skin, the sage and lemon peel and lavender are more apparent. I'm not usually a huge fan of lavender but as a fougére and in this blend it is very nice.

 

Once it's dried down it smells more wood-y, though less than what I'm used to sandalwood smelling like, but still very much wood, and also the vetiver and probably labdanum. The lemon peel is nearly gone, the sage is still apparent, the lavender is still present but more muted by the wood and vetiver but has more throw than the wood and vetiver, oddly. (I have researched fougère, so now I know part of the wood scent comes from that!)

 

Like I said I really like this one and it's definitely on my list of bottles to one day obtain. I'm not as enamored with it as I am, say, Vicomte de Valmont, so I wasn't entirely sure, but I have gone back to this one repeatedly and I suspect it will be my next empty Imp after Vicomte and Cthulhu.

Edited November 23 by Jarek