Herbert West

[WidgetAlley]

Aftershave, embalming fluid, and splatterings from a panoply of reanimation reagents.

Imp: Embalming fluid, yum! That same gorgeous lemon, tea and musk scent, with a hint of something manly and almost sort of Dorian-ish underneath. Oh, deeeeelicious.

Wet: Musk, musk, musk, but it's all so light and crystalline that it's not overpowering! I get the lemon and tea still, but there's also a hint of that perfect clean-sweat manly-smell that comes with Dorian, and something a little green and herbal. Oh my Gawd. I want to gnaw my arm off.

Dry: Pitch-perfectly balanced between Dorian, Embalming Fluid, and a traditional men's cologne. A tiny bit masculine for me, but totally swoon-worthy (and not overpowering!) on any man. Can't wait to slather a boytoy in this!

[cadenza]

In the imp, it smells very citrusy, but not a warm foody citrus, more like an astringent, herbal citrus.

 

On me, that citrus is backed up by something else--something slightly aquatic?

 

All I know is that it smells like Embalming Fluid but works better on me. Not as bright and sharp. *goes to look at the description*

 

Ahh, aftershave, that must be what's calming down the embalming fluid! I love it (yes, I keep sniffing the crook of my elbow), and my husband the perfume-hater bends so far as to say "it might be pretty okay in small quantities." Yay!

[tziporra]

Dear Mr. Herbert West,

 

I regret to tell you that I am writing to tell you that I wish to never see you again.

 

Oh I know I was initially so excited about our relationship. You arrived on my doorstep so unexpectedly, so well- packaged, with an overall air of impishness that I found irrestible. And you were so very charming; fresh and lighthearted and fun. We seemed to have so much in common; our interests lay in much the same directions, or so I thought. But that was before I got you under my skin, before I found out how you were with _me_.

 

I must confess, Herbert, I think the problem is your aftershave. You might think it trivial of me to quarrel with you on such minutiae, but the scent of it grew and grew until it overwhelmed me. Is that rose in there? Why didn't you say something about it to begin with before it went all sharp and nasty and altogether rosy? I know I've tolerated some roses in my life before, but they were very special, and your aftershave just isn't.

 

In any event, I find I must (literally) wash my hands of you altogether. It's not you, it's me, etc.

 

Regards and best wishes in your future endeavors,

 

Tzi

[OctoberGwen]

When first applied, I quite love this.

 

I'm not generally a fan of smelling like a man, but the lemony quality of this one is just fabulous on me. If it stayed the way it smells when wet, I would totally wear this on hot summer days: it smells clean but not soapy, fresh but not sharp, and is just complex enough to please my nose and avoid boredom.

 

Unfortunately, the longer I wear it, the more cologney it becomes. The pretty lemon is eventually overtaken by whatever that undercurrent smell is (the aftershave, I suppose.)

 

Bummer.

 

Still, I'm glad that Puddin' included this in my last Post order as a frimp, as I never would have tried it otherwise.

Edited April 20, 2013 by OctoberGwen

[BoneBone24]

Wet: A sweet lemon-citron cologne. It has an airy quality I'd describe as nearly effervescent.

 

Drydown/Dry: I can definitely smell the embalming fluid but it’s much more sophisticated in this thanks to the support of the other notes. It’s bright and sweet, but also musky, pale green, and nuanced. Note-wise I’d guess embalming fluid (lemon, white musk, green tea, aloe), citron musk, oakmoss, hyssop, elemi, and maybe a touch of something earthier like white leather or frankincense. As it dries a prettier note, lily perhaps, comes out too. Overall it’s very clean and tart with a classic appeal. In short, it smells like musky lemon rain.

 

 

I adore this. I've been holding on to my Embalming Fluid imp, along with some of the other light citrus blends (Phobos, Baobhan Sith, etc.) because I like the idea of having a clean citrus scent to splash on when it's hot out or when I've been sweating. But none of those have really wowed me, due to how simple they are, I think. But here comes Herbert West with a solution to that problem! It has the same refreshing goodness but with gobs more sophistication and intrigue. On the bottle list it goes!

[calivianya]

Quite deliciously citrus upon first application with a hint of aftershave. I like it! It is surprisingly happy considering the subject matter. I'm definitely going to have to try it out on my boyfriend later.

[Erinofhere]

It is said this is like a masculine version of embalming fluid. I have no idea what embalming fluid smells like sooo...

 

To me this smells very strong of green tea (My least favorite smelling tea) some rose for sure. I am picking up on some citrus and maybe a bit of rosemary maybe sage. I am also getting something that reminds me a bit of bag balm?? It’s very clean smelling and not at all bad. It's okay. It's not me and it isn't the Mr. either. I guess this one goes to the swap pile.

[mymel0dy]

In the imp: Citrus, citrus and more citrus. A mix of citrus oils and juices .

 

Wet on the skin: Something darker comes out. I think it is musk, but I can not place the scent. I know it is not embalming fluid

 

Dry on the skin: Men's cologne or soap. It smells clean but still masculine. I can not pick out notes just a cologney soapy scent.

 

Conclusion: I don't know if it is my body's tendency to make things got soapy or if it is the aftershave scent overwhelming everything. It is not a bad soapy, like others I have tried. I feel like I just got out of a shower and the only soap there was to use was somewhat manly scented.

[lucycat]

This was a frimp from the Lab.

 

In the imp: Citrus men’s cologne.

 

Wet: Definitely Embalming Fluid, with a little bit of musk making it more masculine.

 

Dry: I like almost all citrus scents, and Herbert West is fresh, lemony, and sweet. It’s masculine, but in a well-behaved way; it’s not in-your-face. It also smells like something my brother wears. He has an array of commercial men’s colognes, so I can’t say for certain which one this smells like, but wearing this, I smell like my brother, which is an odd feeling.

 

Hours later, in the final drydown, this becomes Embalming Fluid with a very prominent rose note. At least now I don’t smell like my brother.

[mymymai]

ITI: I get a gorgeous lemon verbena note, but like lemon verbena tea paired with something more masculine and slightly peppery. Interesting so far.

 

Wet: I still get mostly Embalming fluid ( lemon, tea, aloe, musk), but the aftershave tones down the sweeter aspects by adding something spicier and a little more sharp.

 

Dry: After some time. it becomes a soft, slightly lemon-y, tea infused subtle scent. I like it.

[Veronica]

This is sparkly and clean and bright, definitely men's aftershave and cologne, but could also work as gender neutral. I like this scent overall, but not something I would wear.

[doomsday_disco]

In the imp: I get the green tea and lemon of the embalming fluid and the aftershave. It's a masculine Embalming Fluid!

 

Wet: I am still getting lots of green tea and lemon, so the embalming fluid is the most prominent component on my skin at first. Then the scent becomes even cleaner smelling, thanks to the aftershave and possibly, whatever is comprising the reanimation agents. I'd still say this is like a masculine Embalming Fluid, or the clean part of Sherlock Holmes. The lemon note in the embalming fluid seems to be getting stronger over time.

 

Dry: Definitely a more masculine Embalming Fluid, but not overly so. It's a clean, lemon/green tea/white musk/aftershave scent. I get more aftershave and musk during this phase of the scent.

 

Verdict: I like this! Not enough to hunt to try to hunt down more, fortunately, but it's nice. Now I just have to decide whether to keep the imp for myself or if I should be nice and give this imp to my mom, since she discovered she was a fan of it after it was discontinued.

[theredkilt]

It's a beautiful citrus-floral scent. Herbert West has a white rose note that goes so well with the aftershave and embalming fluid components. The white rose comes out the most on my skin and the citrus-aftershave notes just round out the scent. 

[Mister Azure]

Herbert West is an interesting fellow with strange habits. 

 

He starts off with a rather pleasant cologne. He also likes to start off his day with a hint of citrus and something else. You can pick up the faint scent of embalming fluids that have permanently stained his flesh. Always an undertone. However, as the life of West goes on, you can tell he likes to remain clean and fresh. A strong soap that still holds onto the embalming fluids. West is consistent if nothing else. 

 

The wear for this scent is not very long lived and does not cast itself very widely. It is a scent that starts off interestingly enough but devolves into a basic soapy clean scent.

[fairybites]

This is a lot nicer than I anticipated. This is basically aftershave at first, but it morphs into a clean laundry scent during drydown. I'm not getting other notes that people have mentioned such as citrus; my imp is probably old since this is discontinued and those notes could have faded over time. Shockingly, the wear is pretty good on this. This has me wanting to try Embalming Fluid next!

 

Realistically, I wouldn't buy a bottle of this because it's just not a scent that I gravitate towards. But it's a calming nice scent that makes me think of a person close to me. And for that reason enough, this imp will be in my collection forever.

[PumpkinGuts]

Re-Animator is one of my favorite horror films, so I was eager to try this even though Embalming Fluid didn't work out for me.

 

Yup, there's that verbena, green tea, and aloe from Embalming Fluid, accompanied by a light herbal aftershave. The verbena is flat and much quieter than the aloe and green tea, but citrus is notorious for aging poorly. Something goes a bit cucumber-y on my skin. Not really what I thought glowing lime green reagent would smell like, but to be fair, this is an old imp. Drydown is a white musk powder bomb.

 

I would not recommend splurging on a bottle of Herbert West because it doesn't seem to age well. It was fun to try, though!