Nephilim

[The_Merf]

... Holy frankincense and hyssop in union with earthy fig, defiled by black patchouli and vetiver, with a chaotic infusion of lavender, cardamom, tamarind, rosemary, oakmoss and cypress.

In the imp: A combination of woodiness, black patchouli and fig--the combination is not pleasing to me.

Wet: Fig and black patchouli...

Drydown and wear: This combination is really not for me...this is one of the few BPALs that has made me nauseous. It's juicyness mixed with the dust of the patchouli and just does not sit well with me.

[GoldenRubee]

In the imp: strong, heavy patchouli with wet grasses

 

Wet: lavender, patchouli, bitter moss

 

I was hoping to get more fig out of this but I really don't get any. This was really strong at first and the patchouli was overpowering, but after thirty minutes, it dried down to a beautiful sweet scent. The bitterness disappeared into a sweet, spicy goodness that I really wasn't expecting.The oakmoss and cypress are really in the background and compliment the other notes nicely. I have been wearing it all day now and really like it! I see a bottle in my future!

[hkhm]

bottle: frankincense, patchouli and oakmoss. what a mysterious scent!

 

wet: i'm developing a serious addiction for all of the moss scents and this blend is no exception. i don't know what it is but there is something intensely sweet behind the patchouli, perhaps it's the fig... whatever it is this blend comes off as wet, spicy and lush.

 

dry: oh it's definitely the fig that brings the sweetness to my skin! this is such a heady, sexy blend... i can still smell the mossy patchouli scent with something else that smells quite woodsy.

 

this is one of my husbands scents and i had to pilfer the bottle to get a test done.

[Gwydion]

In the bottle the oakmoss, cypress, and vetiver are strongest. On skin it is initially very foresty and vaguely medicinal. Thing cough drops in some northern wood at the very first turning of summer to Fall. Give it some time and it will smell like that, only with cheap flowers and sugar candy on top. I am not getting the connection with half Fallen Angels. Did they have sex in a forest while wearing candy necklaces and sucking cough drops? Not sure, but eeeew! Give it another ten minutes and it is almost pleasant. I am now thinking flowers and insence in a wood panelled room. Fades extra fast.

[eleventhousand]

Dirt? Dirt!

Dirty, dirty dirt.

 

*shrugs

[yewberry]

I really like this one. The notes are so well-blended that it's difficult to pick them apart. Fortunately, the vetiver isn't out front, but gently in the background, supporting notes of frankincense and cardamom (a Pepsi-Cola note that always smells "fizzy" to me). The black patchouli is there, but again as a supporting note, creating a rich, sweet-but-not-flowery base.

 

Complex, gentle, and actually lasts a while on me. Not much throw, but I didn't expect it with such a delicate fragrance. This one's for neck nuzzling, definitely.

Edited November 9, 2007 by yewberry

[nightchild80]

In the Imp (wet): Urgh!!! Nooooo!!! It's stinging my eyes!!!

 

On facial cotton (dry): Still stinging my eyes!!!

 

On me: It's bad bad bad. Heavy, sharp and eye watering... *dies* Fortunately the imp cap is torn and impossible to repair. I think this one will just get thrown out.

[AEris]

Wet, this starts out a bit medicinal, but it sweetens up as it dries down. It's an earth scent to be sure, but the fig adds a bit of smooth fruit to round it off. The patchouli is not dominant, and although it's a significant note, my brain doesn't shout "patchouli!" when I wear this.

 

This is indeed very well-blended. It's a deep, dark scent, and it's a little dusty. I think this would work very well on a juicy man, but women who like spicy, woodsy scents can wear this too because of the warmth from the fig.

 

I don't know if this is really my style today, but I do like it, so: 3.9 out of 5 from me.

[daiconharuko]

For me, I can smell the sweet-sweet oakmoss. It reminds me of walking the cemeteries in Georgia.

 

It's a bit strong... but worn in small amounts I think this might be lovely.

[gchris]

In Vial: Strong,biting,mossy

 

Wet: Whoa! really pungent. Masculine. Peppery. Authoratative. Spicy. This smells like what I was expecting from 'Death of Autumn'.

 

Drydown: This is not at all what I was expecting! It is sexy, smoky, spicey and wonderful! It reminds me of dead leaves, pumpkins and cider, walking next to a sexy man with yummy cologne. Wow, what a great suprise this one was.

[bryghtrose]

It's red, spicy and fruity. Very incense-y. Definitely not for me.

[septima_pica]

Octopod: Hoping for something as good as Nemesis, here. What I get is fig and...latex? Dude, WTF? Luckily, this goes away after a few minutes. Now it's pretty much fig and subtle spices. Damn, I love BPAL's fig note.

Oddly enough, this is much subtler and milder than Nemesis, less forward. I think I like it -- but I'll have to wait and see what it smells like after I'm over this cold.

 

EDIT.

 

Now that my pipes are clear again, I can assess this a little better. Oddly enough, I can smell the vetiver in the imp but it vanishes as soon as I dab it on. It was enough like Nemesis -- the identical sticky maroon dried-fig note -- that I dabbed on a bit of each to compare. Nephilim is woodier; it's got a dry undertone in common with, say, Magus, where Nemesis has tarry green cypress. This makes it much less sharp, more muted. It's also got a bit of something reminiscent of Kostnice and The Clod and the Pebble. I suppose that's the frankincense. It gets darker and sweeter as time goes on, losing the high notes of lavender and now I can smell the tamarind. Hah, it smells like it tastes, dark and sweet-sour.

 

This scent is pretty close to Nemesis, as I'd predicted, but is much more sweet, incensey and laid-back, where Nemesis is totally balls-out and almost bitter behind the sweet fig. Something as if you wore Nemesis together with Sri Lanka. Much less throw too. Still, I like it.

 

In summary: Nemesis's philosopher-stoner big brother. I think I'll keep it.

Edited March 16, 2008 by septima_pica

[seamor]

Wet: Well, I'm learning that my skin amps eucalyptus. Eucalyptus isn't mentioned in the description, but that's what I'm getting. Another sinus-opener, although milder than Loup Garou. Something else here - cypress? Oak moss? Not noticing any vetiver yet.

 

Nice combination, whatever it is. Smells to me like a bright but comforting light, kind of distant-lightning-ozone-y, and clean, clean, clean.

 

Dry-down: A sweetness with a touch of spice is coming up - frankincense and a bit of fig, still with that bright airy top note in the background. Becoming more complex by the moment. Can't pick everything out, but I know there's cardamom in there too, and more fig (and tamarind?) coming up. Oh, this is becoming so beautiful!

 

Aha! There's the patchouli! Not too much - just enough to ground that brightness. I'm taking it on faith that the vetiver is there, too - can't pick it out of the mix. Still with the (cypress? eucalyptus? lavender? not rosemary) clean resinous top note. Unusual and awesome.

 

The middle notes are cycling back to fig now, and what I think is tamarind and hyssop in there, too ... more frankincense ... the top note is dropping back farther, almost gone.

 

The scent comes down to earth, now that the bright top has faded. Now I smell lavender entwined with sweet fruits, a very mild patchouli, and spices. Now and then there is a still a diaphanous hint of that bright, ethereal top, but it is very faint and soon to be a memory.

 

Sweet fruits and spices, frankincense, vetiver. A very pleasant scent. Only the middle and base notes remain.

 

Another story, Beth? The slow loss of the light through small choices, until one gradually becomes more and more earthbound; still comfortable, still surrounded by plenty, and perhaps not even consciously aware of the loss ...

 

The best part of this doesn't last very long on me (an hour and a half?), but while it does, it's quite a ride!

 

Edited March 12, 2008 by celtimor

[persianmouse]

I keep getting frimped with Nephilim. The Frimp Faeries just must think I will love it. Alas, I do not. To me, it smells like pine bark and cooking herbs. Someone's making soup in the forest.

[mgrazulis]

A most interesting scent!!

 

Sniffing it in the vial, I almost put it down. Like others, I smelled strong, astringent Vaporub .

 

I am delighted that I did apply it!

 

Wet: the fig steps into a woody earthy arena with a hint of cardamon and patchouli

 

Dry:Wow what a changeling! Astonishingly complex, heaven and earth blended together, bright and ethereal.

 

This is unique...defies categorization. Even after a few hours, I am grabbing my wrists. Just lovely!

[djsiberia]

in the imp/wet : spicey, herbal, sharp, woodsy with vetiver.

 

dry: powdery, herbal, woodsy, vetiver with oakmoss and spices.

 

i kinda get confused by this and i'm not sure if i love it or hate it until many hours later when i realize i have a huge headache. i really loved sniffing it in the imp and even took it out of my scent locket - but i just can't wear this.

[steffanina]

Nephilim-

 

In Bottle: I must be in a weary mood. I'm sniffing this, smelling resin, and just giving up here. Shame on me, not even putting this on my skin. But I can tell it's going to fall into the "not for me" category. Maybe I'll try it another time, but right now I'm just in too much of a space where all I want are my beloved foody scents and if this isn't going to approach that I can't go there right now.

[Andrea912]

This came in my first order; I picked it out for the tamarind, vetyver, fig, and cardamom. I do not like lavendar or frankinscence, but I thought I'd try and see what dominated on my skin.

 

Bottle: wow; cloying, woodsey smell; very dark, very green, very piney. I detect no lavendar, which is good, but no fig or tamarind...disappointing.

 

Wet: oh ew...ew...overpowering; masculine; eucalyptus!! not good...

 

Dry: I smell like the sap from a Christmas tree. gag.

 

Not for me.

[voodoocatwoman]

In the imp and wet: I get woods and herbs from this. I can imagine standing in the midst of a forest would smell like this.

 

Dry: Nothing outstanding. I still smell herbs and woods, but there's something that is beginning to smell like cedar or patchouli. Very soft and in the background... not the dreaded Hamster Cage. This is OK but not something I would buy.

[cam]

Out of the bottle, I get a strong aroma of bitter chocolate, fig and a bit of cardamom. I definitely get the "earthiness" on this one. On my skin, the chocolate aroma softens (but isn't gone), and the fig is a bit stronger. I also get the cardamom and tamarind, and maybe a tiny hint of rosemary. This is one is very complex. It's interesting and I like it.

[Delirium1009]

In bottle/imp: So sharp and herbal… lavender, rosemary, cypress, and a good helping of vetiver.

 

Immediately on skin: This is a very sharp, herbal, and slightly smoky scent. The lavender, rosemary, and cypress are center stage, while the vetiver lingers in the background. This smells like a holiday wreath or something. There’s no sweetness to this at all.

 

After a little while: This has a lot of rosemary and cypress still, though the lavender has faded. There also seems to be a bit of patchouli and frankincense lingering in the background. There is a barely there sweetness behind everything, and if I wasn’t looking for it I probably couldn’t smell it. This is very evergreen-ish and herbal.

 

Overall Impressions: This scent is heavy on the herbal notes and cypress, and very dark and sharp. It’s a unisex scent with a very strong throw, and has a nice freshness to it. This scent is so anti-me it’s not even funny, but this would probably appeal to those who like evergreen or pine scents, especially those not on the sweet side.

[anguissette]

Ah the dreaded patchouli rears it ugly head. I wanted to like this one, I did like this one at times, but that patchouli always turns to a dull bad leather scent on me. It even overwhelmed the vetiver, that's how much my skin and patchouli do not get along. Shame, because the list of notes is lovely and I'm sure it's a beautiful scent on someone with the right chemistry. Hopefully my imps will find a happy new home.

[taramarie]

On me, Nephilim is frankincense and patchouli with a little of what I'm guessing is tamarind. It's interesting but not me.

[tacey]

Nephilim

 

Patchouli

 

Nothing else for me...straight patchouli from beginning to end.

[Lunaheretic]

Now, I'm not a very sophisticated sniffer yet, but I love the spicy, earthy sharpness to this. I do like lavender but only when it is well blended in a rich way like with this...it has an amazing complexity and is satisfyingly dark but also awakening. One of my top ten so far!!