Devil's Claw

[Victory]

A yellow-bright and smoky brown-black scent, horned, pronged and strange.

Yikes! I swiped the imp wand over my wrist a few times and almost immediately recoiled and pulled my shirt back, hoping I hadn't gotten any of Devil's Claw onto the fabric. That's a strong punch of vetiver! Vetiver is probably my most disliked note, because to me it smells like death- like bodies turning green and decomposing, sickly and somehow sweet. To be fair to Devil's Claw, the vetiver here isn't the same. It is absolutely an earthy, somewhat smoky and charred scent, but no death anywhere. It's like how people who seem to like it describe vetiver. Still not my cup of tea, but not something I'm clawing off of my skin. I think there may well be patchouli in here, adding to the earthiness. I think it fits the description well, and while I'm not planning to wear it again, I'm tickled to find a vetiver that isn't a total fail.

Edited for the description.

[Ella LaRose]

ooooo, a good bad man scent!! The vetiver fades quickly for me, which is good cause I can't stand it. and then it becomes this dark, slightly sweet, earthy wood scent. more masculine then femanine, and I have pretty masculing female tastes, if that made any sense! loL!

[Honey]

How peculiar..

 

 

Imp: Bitter and tart. Smokey woods, I agree!

 

Wet: Bitter, dark and acrid. Smokey too. Like leather, dirt and murky swamp. Somewhat like Brimstone but with an animal side to it.

 

Dry: Still acrid and tangy but with a more.. sensual note now. The faintest hint of honey or amber (something of an animal origin). Still smells like ashes though, with a hint of patchouli perhaps. Turns a bit sweet and spicy on my skin, kinda like Brimstone that ended up transforming into something halfway decent on my skin. Now it's patchouli leather, buried in ashes. Oh! Wow, it's like sweet hay and a bit of myrrh now. This is quite lovely, yet masculine. I think this will smell great on my bf!

Edited July 20, 2011 by Honey

[Juushika]

In the vial: Primarily vetiver, but there's something under it which is smoother and more colorful.

 

On me: This goes on as something golden, smooth and subtle, and slightly sweet. Drydown offers up almost nothing but a hint of background smoke. It takes a few minutes for this scent to perk up again, but when it does it's vetiver and citrus. The vetiver is surprisingly smooth, a wisp of saturated, savory smoke; the citrus is similar to orange oil (rather than blossom or flesh). The two aspects don't quite mesh—for a while they each appear and disappear, less like a morphing scent and more like two separate perfumes; with time they begin to find more overlap, but it takes hours for them to become consistent and by then the scent has slipped into the background. It's yellow-bright and smoky black-brown, and certainly strange, but Devil's Claw never quite melds into a united scent—the two aspects are desperate in both character and presence in the blend. The throw wavers and spikes, averaging out at moderate; wear-length is long, but throw dies down near the end.

 

Verdict: This is one of the better vetivers I've ever smelled—it's almost creamy-smooth, thick but mild, never harsh, half sensual and utterly delightful. It's also one of the best orange citruses I've ever tried—they tend to pale out on my skin, but this one is thick, vivid, and satisfying. But the fact that those two aspects never quite merge into a single scent is a disappointment—it feels unbalanced and unfinished. If they did, would I like this? I think so: the dimorphous golden shadow that lingers near the end is beautiful and unique, but too subtle and too long in coming. On the whole, Devils' Claw is more weird than wearable. I find myself unexpectedly pleased by what it tries to do, but what it achieves isn't quite good enough.

[Amalthea]

I used a clean toothpick to test this frimp on my wrist.

 

From the imp: It smells like that last bright orange glow from a dying fire. Bright orange, red and black. It is definitely warm.

 

Wet on the skin: Whoa! It is seriously strong. Like there was a gust of wind that puffed life into this fire and you are hit with the brunt of it. The vetiver is incredible and overpowering for a minute or two before the oil dissipates and it begins to settle and it's weird to say this but...

 

Dry down: ... it's like the scent begins to reveal a secret. The smoke gets creamier and slightly sweeter. The vetiver begins to calm down. I get hints of a smell that is, for lack of a better word, like the scent of an animal. Not cooking in this fire! But maybe right next to you? It feels comforting and familiar, which is strange.

 

Dry: It is sweeter yet. And even more complex. Whatever is sweet in this, I feel like my skin in amping it up. And the strangest thing I mentioned was that I feel like I've smelt this before. It reminds me of mountains, bonfires and sweet honeyed tea. The sweeter notes are definitely a plus right now and it is very comforting. Although it's even earthier now too.

 

Verdict: I feel like Devil's claw is the warm, secretive and comforting feeling you get when you're snuggle up with some honeyed tea at a mountain lodge. And I like it. And... it's a weirdest thing. I tend to always go for pretty scents and this is no where near it. It is definitely a unisex scent but I can't ever imagine me stepping out of the house in it. I'll decide later.

[WidgetAlley]

In the Imp: Strong, powdery, punch you in the face vetiver and patchouli, woody and smoky and really, really, really dark. Like woodsmoke, with a strange sweet overtone of barbeque. Amber is back there somewhere but right now this is really bizarre and kind of unpleasant.

 

Wet: Smoked vetiver, much like Brimstone, and whatever strange note makes me smell like mesquite. I expected this to be dense dry wood and instead it's heavy, thick, almost chemically smoke. There's a very nice amber buried somewhere in there but it's overwhelmed by smoke. A dusty, almost salty note indicates myrrh too.

 

Dry: As others have noticed, Devil's Claw much kinder when dry. I get a dusty, hot, windy sort of smell, a close cousin of Scarecrow, overlaid with a little church incense and the swampy but pleasant murk of vetiver. It's a grounding, earthy sort of smell-- not one I'm likely to keep, but it could be truly fabulous on the right skin chemistry!

[Celtic Goddess]

I just received this one in my latest order...very smoky and strong. It definately fits the dark-brown and murky description provided. The best I can do here is gritty and smoky. I, being strange, just so happen to like gritty and smoky so this is a good one for me.

[detritius]

Bleh. I’m not sure if it’s my chemistry or if I just don’t appreciate this type of scent, but this just smells like bitter dirt to me. I haven’t tried a single earthy scent that worked for me yet, though, so maybe it’s just not my thing.

[FormerViking]

Mmmmmm , Me likey ! This is from a frimp I've had at least 2 years . First out of the imp impression was SMOKE ! But it immediately calmed down to a more subtle note . This is kind of like if Umbra had a little sister . It's smokey but not a burning smell at all . Much less in your face compared to Umbra or Djinn . Very nice , and yes I do get a yellow / brown color impression from it . Slight dirt / ground note as well . I really like this .

[captnklaus]

This one was purely wet cigarette ashes on me I tried it more than once, to give it a chance, but no. A wet ashtray. Passed this one onto a friend.

Edited August 3, 2012 by captnklaus

[Magycmyste]

In the imp: Sweet with a touch of incense.

 

Wet on skin: Same, but a little dustier.

 

Dried down: This soaked quickly into my wrist, but it doesn't seem to be morphing.

 

Throw: I'm not really getting anything unless I sniff my wrist. Then again, Debauchery on my other hand is throwing all over the place, so it could be overpowering it.

 

Verdict: **** This is actually very nice. I don't know if I want a bottle of it or not, but I think I'd enjoy the scent.

[theredkilt]

From the get go, it's smoky charred VETIVER! And it doesn't lose its potency. It would be great as a layering note though.

[Greensleeves]

In the bottle: Sharp, incensey and smoky.

 

Wet: Tangy, dark yet fresh at the same time. A lot like a smoky single malt scotch.

 

Dry: Totally smokey scotch, kind of a combination of Islay and Speyside single malts.

 

After a few minutes: I still feel like I'm smelling Ardbeg, my favourite single malt whiskey.

 

After first hour: I'm getting more of a Gaueko smoky vibe from it now, just a touch greener and fresher beneath the smoke, minus the lavender, of course. A touch of incense too.

 

If I met someone wearing this I would throw myself at them.

 

After two and a half hours: A note of sweetness has crept out through the smoke.

 

After 5 hours: The smoke is mostly gone, leaving a sweet greenness and a hint of cured tobbacco.

 

Final verdict: I don't need any more Bpal, but if I found a bottle I would probably snap it up.