The Parliament of Monsters (2006)

[naeelah]

Dust, incense, wet tobacco, and a curl of opium smoke.

Wet, this is very sweet tobacco and opium. (I'm not actually sure what opium smells like, but I can definitely smell a common bond between this, Dr. Seward, and Blood Countess, which all have opium smoke. I've always assumed it's a thick, sweet smoke.)

As it dries, it becomes smokier and drier. The sweetness recedes a little and the incense really kicks in. It lightens up a bit as it dries, and it takes on a little more of the dusty note. On the whole, this is a generally light sweet incense blend, so I think it's an excellent for those who may like smoky/incense blends but find many of them too thick and heady. I'd say it's also very gender neutral.

And that pretty much describes the whole thing! This one is pretty straight-forward, to my nose. It's a little like a light version of Perversion. I really like it, but it fades really quickly on my skin, and I like my incense a bit stronger. Edited December 30, 2007 by Shollin

[bookofblues]

Very green, sweet, and mossy for me with an undercurrent of opium. I don't know how much I'll be using it though since my husband just stole it from my hot little hands with a proclaimation of "Mine!".

I find it to be a very unisex scent, and apparently so does he. Quite nice.

[ClareN]

In two words, "sweet incense", like the first reviewer said. A lovely, simple, sweet smoke fragrance. It reminds me of something I can't put my finger on. Unfortunately, it didn't stick around long enough for me to figure out what it was. I've tested this once and don't own it, but I'd definitely buy it if it was a bit stronger.

[Trish]

When wet this is very strong very sweet opium and tobacco on me. I don't dislike it, but it is quite overwhelming! After about 30 minutes it softens quite suddenly and is much better - a soft smoky opium incense. A little dust has also appeared which is good, I quite like fragrant Bpal dust! It has quite good throw and average last.

 

It's quite nice, but I'm not sure I'll wear it that often. I'll be keeping my bottle, although I may end up decanting some samples from it.

Edited July 8, 2007 by Trishek

[The_Merf]

In the imp: This is tobacco and equal parts incense and opium smoke (OK, perhaps it leans a bit more to the incense)

 

Wet: This is incense going soapy and opium smoke--very sharp (though I think that some of the sharpness might also be from the tobacco). The scent does come off as more green than dusty in the wet stage.

 

Drydown and wear: This mellows out and loses the sharpness, but it is still a high incense/tobacco/opium mix. The tobacco scent gets stronger as the perfume dries, and the smoke in "opium smoke" becomes more prominent as well. This comes so close to being really spectacular on me (though I think if this changed in the way I wanted, it would be a lot like Mum Moon), but there's a floral/soap edge that will just not go away from my skin.

[alicia_stardust]

This is mostly dust and perfume with a touch of incense smoke. I don't get any of the characteristic opium scent that I'm used to but I do think it's there in a different form; it must be the way it mingles with the other scents. It's an effective scent, very evocative of the art and description.

[tartchef]

Wow, this is boozey! Much sweeter than I'd expected... I think it's the opium I'm reading as wine, as I got a similar twang from Dr John Seward...

 

Surprises aside, this is really nice - smokey, very tart & dry (who was it who mentioned underripe blackberries?), lots of tannins with a faint warmth at the back. Like inhaling fruited pipesmoke, or taking a sip of fortified wine - warm, but only fleetingly so; somehow juicy & bone dry at the same time. It fills the back of your throat at each sniff, very close, almost claustrophobic, much like Strangler Fig.

 

This is a scent for dimly-lit, enclosed spaces, deep couches & dark conversation...

 

Edited 'cause I can't spell, apparently

Edited September 12, 2007 by tartchef

[mspixieears]

What a refined incense blend! It’s definitely very dusty in an old world sort of way. It’s also very smoky and seductive. I don’t really smell the tobacco smoke so much. A wonderfully warm fragrance – it must be the opium smoke. Lovely! Think I shall get a bottle.

[jewelbug]

In the imp: This smells like a sweet man's cologne with a bit of spiciness. I can't really pick out any of the notes

 

Wet: Still sweet cologne, but now its sweeter and a bit less masculine There is even a slight citrus quality to this--bergamot? And very, very oddly, it reminds me of my grandmother's perfume (I believe its called jean nate) As far as I know that and this don't share a single note, but it still reminds me a bit of the melange of smells I'd smell in her bathroom, which consisted largely of her perfume. It also reminds me a great deal of her art studio...some sort of woodsy aspect that is like her framing station.

 

Dry: Still reminds me of a combo of my grandma's perfume and her art studio, but there is a sweet, almost creamy fruity scent as well. I actually think it might be champaca flower. Maybe.

Overall: This is a very evocative scent for me. it wasn't at all what I expected, since those notes would never scream "my grandma's art studio and perfume" if I just read them....maybe gmom smokes opium and I never knew? HAHA. Anyway, I quite enjoyed the strong scent memory with this one. I'll likely keep the imp, but wouldn't need enough to justify a bottle.

[grrrlennyl]

at first: damp, smoky, and dusty.

on: opium and incense. still dusty and damp.

1 hour later: odd. my skin is making this sweet and almost fruity. the damp and dusty feeling is still there, though.

4 hours later: still a sweet, dusty scent.

6 hours later: still sweet and dusty.

overall: this is pretty, but smells very similar to a lot of oils i have.

[SarahScent44]

In the imp, the Parliament of Monsters is all incense and opium - very smoky.

 

On my skin, I get dust and tobacco - smells almost woody, like an old cigar box.

 

But - tragedy. I can barely smell this when it's dry!! What's there is nice, but it's almost completely eaten by my skin. Sad.

[Gwydion]

In bottle: Not promising. Smells like shampoo, though I can pick up the incense and opium smoke. Wet: Plastic. Almost musky. the scent is hard to categorize. I do get a sense of dust, but the intense is so sweet and strong it seems almost floral. the opium almost smells like must. This is so much more what I'd expect a snake dancer to smell like, incense and exotic female sexuality. It is very perfumey, intensely so. Dry: It calms down rather. It's still a touch perfumey, but solidly in the resin/incense/opium camp. It smells cleaner, somehow, though heady. I'm a little bummed because I was expecting something more androgynous from the description and likely wouldn't have ordered it if I'd know is was so aggressively womanly, but I actually do like it though and is you like strong incense perfumes with an exotic sexy undertone this is totally the way to go. Dry, it really grew on me, even though it was not what I was expecting. I suspect it says something about the high quality of this oil that I'm going to keep it and wear it despite it not being what I'd imagined. It bears a similarity to Dia de Les Muertos, only without the flowers and the cakes.

[scarletgenesis]

In the imp, this is quite dusty, with a bit of tobacco. When I first applied it to my skin, I could barely smell anything. After a few moments, though, I started to get more tobacco and lots of sweet incense. There is something floral here...maybe the tobacco notes? After a bit, the dusty note comes back. I have a bit of a cold it seems, and the dusty note doesn't agree with my sinuses today.

 

This is nice, I guess, but not amazing. I think it would smell better on a man though (and I usually like 'masculine' scents alot). I don't believe I need a bottle.

Edited April 3, 2008 by scarletgenesis

[AEris]

I didn't have high hopes for this one because I was worried about the "dry/dust" note, but I absolutely Love it!

 

I'm going to slather today to test it out better, but right now it's a soft, lusty opium/tobacco/incensey blend. It's like taking the red musk and juiciness out of Mme. Moriarty, and you're left with a resinous, intoxicating perfume.

 

It's kind of sweet for a man's scent, but that's just my picky opinion.

 

Gorgeous! I see a bottle in my future.

 

4.8 out of 5

[azhriaz]

I didn't have high hopes for this one either. I thought it sounded a bit boring, but it's my surprise hit of the Carnival.

 

It seems like a soft scent at first, but it really lasts and doesn't seem to morph a great deal over time. There's a nice balance of sweetness and dryness. Incense and opium smoke are definitely standing out for me the most, the tobacco and dust are fainter.

 

My favourite incense blend so far!

[TulaMontage]

Bottle: Sweet wafting insence slowly creeps out the bottle and engulfs my senses.

 

Wet: Holy head rush... I am melting into a bed of deep red candied opium poppies. A sprinkling of ground tobacco leaf dances on poppy pettles for a few minutes before falling into the murky depths of this scent. It takes quite a while to dry on my skin but thats ok.

 

Dry: This has become subtle enough for me to snap out of my opium enduced delerious state and I am able to focus on the other notes. Sweet vanilla mint? I am not sure. But this is a sensual, exotic, mysterious blend that beckons me into it's smokey depths.

 

I NEED a 5ml. What a scent...

[lilacea]

This was just super sweet incense and sour opium on me. No dust, no smokeyness, just high pitched sweet and sour. The tobacco kinda gave it a sickly edge.

Edited July 28, 2008 by lilacea

[arabella]

First Impression: Sharp, biting opium.

 

Dries down to: Tones down somewhat.

 

Additional Comments: I think it's the wet tobacco providing the sharp edge. It's reminiscent of a "men's only club" whiskey and pipe tobacco - very masculine. I expected Tiresias to be wet and this one to be dry, based on the notes, but they're the opposite.

 

Rating: 2 out of 5.

[iiinterstate]

Such an odd blend!

 

Parliament of Monsters starts out mild and almost smells like dry grass, pretty much how I expected. Then within an hour it COMPLETELY morphs. I don't know what opium smoke is supposed to smell like, but I assume it must have a slightly sour note to it, and that's mostly what I get. I'll have to try this in a scent locket to see what happens there.

 

Overall, I like this blend, but I'm not sure if I really need a whole bottle. Yet.

[rawgirl75]

I'd shied away from this one for a long time due to its opium and tobacco notes which usually spell disaster for me in Beth's other blends. However, I decided to take a gamble on a decant of this when I read other reviewers mention that Parliament of Monsters has a similar feel to King Cobra and Carcieri D'invenzione, both of which I absolutely adore. And oh boy! was I NOT disappointed! WOW!

 

I don't know how it's possible, but Parliament of Monsters is PERFECT on me.

 

On my skin, that stage of "white musk, white wine and opium with smoky tobacco-touched incense underneath" that Yeahbutnobut described is captured early and held in place. The "curl of opium smoke" is definitely there, not as a cloud of smoke but literally a slightly bitter (but not unpleasant) tendril curling up and tickling my nose. The fruityness I pick up on I would best describe as a dry white wine. And the sweetness I get comes only from the wet tobacco and perhaps a little of the opium. No caramel and no honey notes present thank goddess because both are death notes for me, completely ruining every blend they touch as soon as they hit my skin.

 

THIS is what I had wanted Philosopher in Meditation or Midnight Mass to smell like (but they didnt) and I'm definitely getting a bottle in my next order from the Lab. Even though I can imagine this scent smelling lovely on a man, somehow this scent strikes me as more suited to a strong powerful matriarch instead: She's tough, she protects her family (humans and/or familiars) and she's one heck of a force to be reckoned with!

Edited May 31, 2008 by rawgirl75

[galahad]

In The Bottle

Oddly, a very faint berry-like note in the bottle. Barely detectable.

 

On Application

Berries and tobacco

 

Dry Down

Ah, there we go. As it warms, it's warm incense and tobacco. A little sweet but fairly dry. Still very, very faint. So far the most disappointing of the CD blends that I have tried. I suspect aging may help.

 

Rating (0-5)

2

[starwild]

This went very sweet on me, and strangely smells of grapes! But not fresh grape, more like powdered grape candy. I guess it's the opium?

 

I can definitely smell the dust, but it's not at all a dry or harsh scent. It's very light and soft, but not fading-soft, just not packing a huge punch.

 

I don't get much tobacco at all.

 

Very nice, will probably use the imp but I'm safe from needing a bottle.

[nekogrrl]

In imp: sweet incense

 

Wet on skin: incense and tobacco

 

Dry on skin: tobacco

 

Meh. It's a nice incensy scent when it begins, but I'm just not fond of the tobacco note when it's so prominent.

[greenranger]

This dries down to a fairly light, dusty, tobacco and opium scent with maybe a hint of incense. Which is very close to what I was looking for from it, therefore, I am quite happy. =)

[brsis]

Initial thoughts: Oooh... tobacco incense = win, but opium is nasty on me. Hmm...

 

In the bottle: Sharp, smoky incense with a hint of dark tobacco.

 

On the wrist, wet: Dusty, wet, old smouldering incense and tobacco... it's an amber/frankincense kind of incense, I think, and it's got a bit of opium sharpness.

 

Drydown: I get less incense - and unfortunately, less tobacco - on the drydown. This is a sort of dusty, old frankincense and opium thing. Not so much my kind of scent, but it's got a kind of vague warmth and mystery which means I might wear it on occasion.