Oblivion

[eyeska]

Salvation found in darkness beyond darkness, the blessed sleep of nothingness. Dark musk, wood spice, labdanum, patchouli, dark African woods, and saffron.

I adore Oblivion - normally musks pop out on me (which is yay!), but here the musk hides and is almost entirely undetectable; instead I get dark dark woods, a bit of patchouli, and a bit of warm spice. I don't find it too masculine at all, though it is more gender-neutral than anything, on me at least.

I also find it very comforting - I actually wore it every day for a week when I had to work 57 hours and got far too little sleep and time to myself. Definitely a bottler.

[savage_rose]

"Say goodbye to all this...and hello to oblivion."

 

A sexy, somber, sleeping scent. Deep without being too spicy, and just a touch of woodsy, earthy smoke. Very light musk...so nice.

[voodoobaby]

I was expecting Oblivion to be sharp, a bit generic and unforgivingly dark...thank God I was wrong! This is beautiful. My nose was plastered to my wrist the whole time, and my boyfriend's brother said I was creeping him out.

 

It is very masculine, but in a comforting, deep, cozy way rather than seeping with testosterone. It's very smooth, natural scent that isn't really sweet. It's so hard to describe in terms of notes because it's so well-blended. Just keep in mind that if you're looking for a dark masculine scent that isn't dripping with vetiver or black musk or some weird piercing note, you must try this one. So pretty!

 

ETA: Also, this burned a bit upon application, and I don't have super sensitive skin. So if your skin is sensitive, proceed with caution!

Edited April 28, 2008 by voodoobaby

[thatpirategirl]

Like breathing deep in a dark, spicy forest. I get a lot of the musk and patchouli, but it's still sweet like fresh cedar. Veeeery tasty! It's not so masculine that I couldn't wear it, but it's masculine enough that I'm constantly distracted by the fact that I'd rather be smelling it on a guy, not myself.

 

Still a fantastic scent. Makes me think of sleeping in the woods.

[Lamia]

I ordered this as an imp for my mother, and stole a wear before delivering. This smells quite like Calvin Kline's Obsession. Very potent when first applied, and for about an hour afterwards. Then fades rapidly. That's ok, because PHEW potent!

[Diva Urd]

In the vial: Unidentifiable woody/spicy OOMPH!

 

On me: Wet, it's quite the sharp woody scent. On drydown, it softens a little bit, letting a bit of the saffron and musk shine through. Even though I usually amp patchouli, I didn't get any of it here. It's mostly dark woods, with an almost chocolatey undertone to it. It seems to last pretty long - to be expected from a blend that consists of mainly woody and resiny notes.

 

Overall, it's rather nice and something different, but I think this one will stay an imp for me... it doesn't have that certain je ne sais quoi that I need for it to become a bigger bottle.

[lunaticana]

I didn t really liked it on my skin but omg

I just put half an IMP in my aromaburner cause I thought

that the smell of incense and old books maybe would be nice in my house..

and wow, yes, it IS nice, it s lovely!

now everything around me smells of the big old library from Harry Potter

with all those ancient books of spells

and candles burning in the night

there is some leatherish thing about it to.. that should be the coat of that weird guy that s haunting the school with his cat..

[Iceblink]

This started out as a surprisingly light musk. Yeah, I was confused too. Dry, it's deep and dark...musky, spicy, a little woody. The patchouli is not jumping out in this blend. Quite sexy, and this has a really lovely color too. I may save this for autumn.

[hlinspjalda]

In the vial: Woody, a resin, something that might be patchouli.

 

Wet: Patchouli first, then overtaken by musk. A breath of resin. The rest is woody-spicy but unspecific.

 

Twenty minutes: The patchouli is no longer running the show, although it's still there. Now a strong mixture of woods and resin dominates. There's a smoothness at the bottom that is musk, and a top note that is sharp and pungent.

 

One hour: For the first time I think I'm catching a whiff of the saffron. It's some highly aromatic note. The rest is quite a pleasant woodsy-spicy blend, sweeter than before. I rather like this.

 

Two hours: Mmmm, still complex. This is a nice change from my usual; I'l keep it.

 

Three hours: Resin, then wood, then patchouli, still nicely blended. And there's one note in it that's totally off-kilter, I don't know what. This one is really captivating, in an understated sort of way. It's almost smoky, insinuating, the sort of thing that sneaks up on you by degrees. Definitely a keeper.

 

Four hours: Still yummy, still hard to pin down. I think it's the labdanum, because it smells very resinous right now.

 

Five hours: Still yummy. I think this goes into the category of things I'm willing to trade if I get something I really want in return, but otherwise keep.

[plunderparlour]

this is such a comforting warm scent. its cold and rainy out and this is perfect on with my sweater and a cup of tea. dry - saffron and other resin like woodsy notes. having a hard time telling the difference in them.

[Juushika]

In the vial: Organic murky green with chemical cologne. A strange combination. Also worth noting: the oil is olive green! Never seen one like it, and it's almost intimidating.

 

On me: It's difficult to describe. The scent is smooth and green, rather like a pond of glass-smooth murky water, but there's nothing aquatic about it. It has surprisingly warmth—not sharp or spicy, but as smooth as polished wood—the scent of heat itself. I don't get any musk. The scent is lighter and softer than I expected, but still is deep and somber. Perhaps its just because of the book I'm reading (Kiernan's Threshold), but this reminds me of the cavern of an unusually peaceable Elder God: deep and dark, ancient resins and time-smoothed wood, murky green but dry, unnaturally warm, and powerful—but not threatening.

 

Verdict: Oblivion is a smoothly blended work of art, but it's not my style. I don't think I can pull it off, and while I love the warmth, the murky olive green tone of the scent is oddly unsettling. Glad I got to try it, but not interested in wearing it, so I'll pass along my imp.

Edited October 1, 2008 by Juushika

[ladyver]

to me this seems like it is a delicious sweet cyprus/pine in the early stages (but there is no pine?! so must be combination of some of the notes that i can't quite pick), then some of the darker woods, spice, resins develop into the blend with some musk in the background.

 

this is amazing and would be 'hot' on a guy!

[crebbsgirl]

Good LORD this is awesome! I get a spicy woodsy scent with just a touch of patchouli but unlike some of the patchouli blends I have tried, it stays soft. This is really beautiful and complex. I don't get a manly vibe like some of the other reviewers did. The dark musk and woods are definitely the more predominant notes on me, but the spices give it more of a feminine touch. Also of note, this took awhile to develop. But when it did, it was gorgeous!

[anastasia]

I love this one. It makes me feel like I am sitting on the floor of a man's closet in the dark. Lurking there. A man with really good smelling expensive shoes.

[TrailerTrashPrincess]

"Say goodbye to all this...and hello to oblivion."

 

haha! yes, that's why i first put this scent on my wishlist, some two years ago or thereabouts.

 

and then promptly forgot about it, apparently. until earlier tonight when i was digging through an imp box looking for swap fodder and pulled out an imp i acquired at DragonCon earlier this year. and noticed what a gorgeous shade of dark grassy green* it is. and had to test it because it didn't sound familiar.

and ZOMG, this is gorgeous!

this is, seriously, like all the best bits of a bunch of my favourite BPAL all mixed together! (The Premature Burial, The Evening Star, Quincey Morris, The Unicorn, Spirits of the Dead and House of Mirrors)

gorgeous beyond words. truly.

initially it does have a bit of green-speed-stick-mens-deodorant about it, but that doesn't linger. and it is a very-close-to-the-skin sort of scent, with really no throw at all even though i've slathered on a good quarter of an imp in the last few hours, just because i love this SO much.

despite the listed notes, what this smells like to me is water... and exotic wood. after a couple of hours i do get a bit of the saffron. but mostly, cold clear water. (which, yes, i know. doesn't really have a smell. but that's what my mind tells me i'm sniffing here!)

 

*= this oil is pretty much the same colour as Lush's Tramp shower gel. and i think the two scents would go well together, too.

Edited December 3, 2008 by TrailerTrashPrincess

[MCS4096]

In the imp: Green and spicy.. like woods and leaves and grass, but the saffron definitely spices it up. It's moist, and at this stage more masculine than I generally prefer.

 

Wet: Lots o' saffron.. woody and biting. The warmth of the saffron is fighting with the wet, moist notes. The patchouli is behaving very well-- not going to BO like it tends to on me.

 

Dry: I'm having a very hard time thinking of how to describe this one.. I guess I'm lost in oblivion I still find it on the masculine side.. but I can tell my skin is really trying to amp the saffron, which would be awesome. It's still mostly warm resins and spice, woody, and with that murky patchouli just below the surface. I like this, but not sure I'd wear it often..

 

ETA: My oil isn't green in the least, it's clear bright gold

Edited December 16, 2008 by MCS4096

[marared]

While this is certainly quantifiably a masculine scent, it's not as dark and heavy as I thought it would be based on the notes - I smell the musk and the patchouli, and the saffron to a lesser degree -- I think it's the saffron that keeps it from being really dark. It's very warm and sensual, but not outrightly sexual. Spicy and just a little sweet. It gets a little woodier as it dries, but still pretty awesome. (And the oil is a pretty typical gold, not the olive green others have mentioned.)

 

I really like this one - if it doesn't go sour in the next half an hour, it's going on my bottle wishlist. I need to try this one on a guy, too.

[Indigo78]

Lab frimp, and one I have wanted to try for ages. This imp isn't olive-colored, either - just that average goldish shade. In the imp it smells woodsy, warm, sort of androgynous. It doesn't scream "I'm meant for the uglier sex", but it is by no means girly. There's a spendy air about it, I'm guessing from the African woods. It isn't the "shopping smell", though, like what others call department store perfume - it's more like the inside of a bigshot's office. Said bigshot has good taste in furniture and cologne.

 

This doesn't throw all over the place, but it is definitely present. Yum.

[pinkpoodle]

This is definitely the most slatherworthy scent from my latest batch. It's very rich, classy, and feminine, yet dark and unique. The incense smell gives it a little more interest.

[VioletChaos]

in the imp: a really rich and heady wood, like sandalwood, mixed with a tree that grew frankincense, if such a tree existed.

 

wet on skin: more of the same, thankfully.

 

dry down: this is magnificent. that is all you need to know.

 

in all: for those days when i need both strength and protection and feel it's essential to cover up in my longest cotton skirts and soft head wraps, that is the type of day that this scent commands. one of those days when people step out of the way in deference of Supreme Crone Power. oh, YES.

 

 

:wub:

[Pamster]

Alas, I so wanted to like this. But all I get is a blast of pine air freshener followed by a lingering miasma of cheap men's aftershave.

 

Glad I just got an imp because I'm not likely to want to wear this one ever again.

 

Pamster

[zankoku_zen]

Hmm.... this is a soft piney musk with hints of air freshner.

 

Weird.

[Kikkervisje]

This one did not seem to have a particularly strong top or mid note, so it wore fairly consistently the entire time, which unfortunately was only around 6 hours on me. I would say the scent was a fairly gentle woody smell with a bit of spice and maybe even a hint of a floral. I can't be very specific here, as I couldn't necessarily pick any one scent out of this mix. Altogether very pleasant, but on the lighter side of musk scents.

 

Overall: Not a bottle contender, but I do like it.

 

(On me, it tends to go slightly sweet. I tried it on my sister, and it is far more dry and woody on her.)

[anardana]

I really really wanted to like this one - but I don't It is way too masculine- and I'm not usually afraid of masculine, but this is very aftershave-y. I prefer smooth and spicy, but this is sharp and herbal.

 

[ImperatrixMundi]

As expected Oblivion is dark and sweet, a little earthy with golden undertones. The saffron gives it a a heavy, opressive sweetness and makes me unable to wear this.

Really interesting green oil colour in the imp though, I have never seen any other BPAL with such a colour.