Minotaur

[Trish]

The Bull of Minos, guardian of the Labyrinth in Knossos. A deep, swarthy black musk dusted by a dark, resinous blend of sacred bisabol myrrh, atramentous benzoin, tsori, balsam, and galbanum.

I was ready to love this when it was wet, all dark musk and myrrh. But when dry there's another note emerge, a kind of sweet almost green but hard to describe note that I'm not so crazy about. I have no idea what it is because I've never tried benzoin, tsori or balsam before, and I'm not exactly familiar with galbanum either. Don't get me wrong, I still like this but once the imp is gone I'll stick to Priala for my myrrh fixes.


This is going to sound bizzare but if anyone here is familiar with Bonox, that's what this strange note reminds me of a little. Just a hint in the very back of my nostrals. I know, weird! It's only present when I sniff my wrist up close though, the throw is nothing but myrrh and musk and there's a fair bit of that. Edited December 30, 2007 by Shollin

[Naamah_Darling]

Oh, my! A particularly black and beady-eyed musk lurks under a fine haze of incense smoke and funereal resins. Bisabol myrrh – opoponax, if you are taking notes – figures prominently in this blend, as does benzoin. Tsori and balsam appear to be the same thing, more or less, a resinous, pitchy odor that is at once soft and sharp, piney and woody. They form the forward edge of this scent, the resin is the first thing you smell.

 

On, it's musk, a pure, dark, tail-swishing musk that smells so strongly of the animal that fur might as well be growing on my wrists. Under it, as though caught in the coarse and kinky pelt is the aroma of soft incenses, now blended to one even whole. No resin dominates, the blend is smooth and even. It dries just like this, musk and resin, becoming soft and settling in to a comfortable, lovely scent that is unmistakeably the same perfume but is somehow much prettier.

 

In another note, "atramentous" is not a word I knew, and now I'm glad I know it. Very cool.

[penemuel]

Deep, dark, delicious, burning resins and incense and this is just what I've been looking for as an incensy type scent. Why oh why didn't I order a bottle when I saw it?!

 

I got a bottle of it, and although it does the powder thing on me initially like it did to other folks who put it on right away, after about half an hour the wonderful resin scents come out nice and strong. I must find more...

Edited June 15, 2007 by penemuel

[edenssixthday]

Minotaur – Wouldn’t you know the one lunar blend I didn’t buy a bottle of is my favorite of the entire year (if not the entire lunacy series!) This scent is incredible. I’m surprised by all the Schwarzer Mond references in previous reviews. To me, it doesn’t smell at all like Schwarzer Mond. Rather, it smells remarkably like Priala the Human Phoenix, only sweeter than Priala. Minotaur is primarily a myrrh scent – husky, resinous, powdery, spicy, dark myrrh. It’s got the feel of something ancient, sacred and potentially very dangerous. This scent has incredible staying power, massive throw, and I’m devastated that I only purchased one wee decant when really, I could use a 55 gallon drum of this stuff.

[LadyCrow]

I'm thankful that fate managed to steer a decant of this my way, and that I wasn't cowed by the reviews mentioning how strong it was. Now, it's time to take the bull by the horns and type up the notes from my dairy into a semi-coherent review of my own.

 

In imp: Perfumey galbanum, almost men's-cologne territory.

 

Wet: Strong, sharp benzoin -- acrid, really.

 

Drydown: This quickly separates into two layers: the musk next to my skin, which really beefs up the resinous throw. This really is the strongest, longest-lasting incense/resin scent I've heifer tried. What is at steak here is the ability of the blend to represent its concept, which I think is done brilliantly. When a previous reviewer said it smelled ritual but not churchly, she got it ox-actly right. I'm so glad I herd about this blend. It's forever branded on my scent memory.

[Neely]

In the bottle: lovely, lovely ambery resin. Ohh I knew I had to have this one. This is actually lighter than Schwartzer Mond, which I also adore.

 

Wet: black musk and ambery resin. The colors I see are jet and amber. This is really wonderful.

 

Dry down: amber resin. This is so much lighter than I thought it would be.

 

30 minutes: ambery resins and musk to make it smooth.

 

Conclusion: it didn't turn into starchy potatos, like amber can do. I love this now, and I will adore it aged. This can only improve over time.

 

Rating 1-5: on my skin this is a 5.

[funkmoppet]

Oh wow.

 

I could tell just by sniffing the bottle that I was going to love this.

 

Wet, it is just one fantastic wave of myrrh and black musk. It's completely commanding. Ancient and huge. But as the blend dries, there's a softness as the balsam comes through. Underneath the minotaur is a man. This blend just captures it so perfectly.

 

An utterly divine resin blend. Sexy, powerful, dignified, with a beautifully mellow dry down.

 

 

If only I'd been BPAL-ing when this was available. *sigh* I'm so glad I have this bottle, and will be making it last as long as I can.

 

Edit: Oh nooooooo! *weeps* Hours later it turns to baby powder on me. Damnit!! I still adore the wet and dry down phase though, and it's worth hoarding for that.

Edited June 23, 2007 by funkmoppet

[chrisann]

I have started my bottle hoarding on Minotaur and at 5 bottle's I think I can stop now.

 

This is musky, resiny, ambery, insense love on me. For whatever reason, it made me think of Luperci though it really only shares the balsalm note. More of a "feeling" I get when I wear Luperci is echo'ed when I wear Minotaur. Minotaur makes me feel empowered, sultry, blanketed in a shoud of exotic scent. It makes me think of something a Belly Dancer or Mata Hari would smell like! Where I could not wear Mama Ji, or Priala. They changed to a weird rubber smell on me. Minotaur is a PERFECT resin blend. I am totally gaga over it and it just gets better and better the longer it's worn. Staying power is great and I'm sure this will age beautifully too.

 

A+ w/ a, "Holy crolley this is amazing" added in.

[Athenae]

Sweet holy baby Jesus in a peanut butter pretzel.

 

Mmmm.

 

In the bottle, a sweet incense. On me, a sweet, dark, mysterious incense, less sweet than Schwarzer Mond, but no less lovely. Damn, why does it have to be so rare?

 

A.

[naeelah]

Wow, this one is so perfect for the concept! I don't dislike black musk, but it's often a little too strong on me -- well, this blend succeeds in taming the musk!

 

It morphs very little. It starts out with a slight edge, and this sharp edge smooths out it dries, which is pretty standard. That's really the only change. It's a rich, slightly earthy resinous scent that's deepened by musk. I can't really pick out any notes -- I just smell resin and dark musk. It's heavenly, if you love those notes. If they're your favorites, this one is definitely a Do Not Miss.

 

This one would definitely do well on a guy, but it's fine for women, too. Throw is good, I think. The scent isn't at all overpowering, but is quite strong relative to the tiny dot that I put on my hand.

 

Icons:

Edited August 6, 2007 by naeelah

[sithwitch13]

Over the past year, I've discovered that I love resins and musk, and they tend to love me back. So basically, Minotaur sounded like something I'd love. On me, it's sort of a rich, slightly sweet smell, sort of dark but not overly masculine. It mellows a bit as it dries, and I can't stop sniffing at my wrists. I think the cedar's giving me the sweet edge, but not enough to be out-and-out woody. To me, it conjures up vague images of a dimly lit space and incense burning nearby. It's not something I've found myself wearing terribly often but every now and then it fits just perfectly. All in all, I'm very pleased with it.

[aine]

This is my Holy Grail scent. Perfect in every way. Nothing I would change about it (other than a magic limitless supply ).

 

Minotaur smells amazing on me. Black musk and resins are always fabulous, but this is really something else. This fragrance makes me feel wonderful and garners compliments like no other.

 

The myrrh is almost smoky and there is a beautiful dry incense feel to the resins. The musk really adds to the throw and longevity. Everything is perfectly in its place and I couldn't be happier with this fragrance.

 

[DenMother]

I managed to score a partial bottle of this and was very interested in trying something resin based as my knowledge on certain notes is still quite limited.

 

Bottle: Fresh, almost like pine shavings and a slight sweetness.

 

Wet: Whoa very much a wood feel, almost as if I had a stick and was burning the tip of it, I like it, very interesting, I get a woodwork class type feel if that can make any sense.

 

Dry down 10 mins: Starting to turn a little soapy, Like I have just washed my hands after chopping da wood!

 

After 25 mins: I can see why reviews have called it masculine, It has a faint cologne smell, I get the musk poking through and I am getting a deeper smoke feel but it is still a tad soapy on my skin.

 

At this stage I don't know if it is something I can wear, it is intriguing and quite complex but my chemistry is not doing it justice. I will have to see how it goes after an hour or so. I will definitely try it again as it ages.

[storme]

In the imp: sweet, dark, smoky resin. Wow. This is awesome.

 

On me, wet: man, so much sweet, sticky, warm, sexy resin. Reminds me a lot of <b>Laudanum</b>.

 

On me, dry: dark and delicious and sexy, but mostly just myrrh and galbanum. Lighter than was expecting, I guess.

 

Verdict: Wrist-by-wrist, ths is so much like <b>Laudanum</b> on me that I'm not going to mourn for more. But hey, sitll an awesome scent.

[Vampy]

Whoa, way too much myrrh. Or maybe it's that the particular kind of myrrh disagrees with me. Whatever it is, it's that same magenta myrrh scent that there was too much of in Priala, and it's nose-wrinkling and sneeze inducing, and kind of soapy. It smelled good for the first few minutes - the musk was stronger, and it had a really dark, sexy and smoky thing going on, but that myrrh kept amping until I couldn't take it.

 

I like myrrh, but not when it's this strong. In the swap pile with ye!

Edited September 16, 2007 by Vampy

[Kimocean]

Dark, sexy, smokey, sultry and utterly, utterly me. I am in love. This does remind me of Schwarzer Mond on my skin but a smidgen sweeter. I definitely get a hint of cola smell sometimes from the opponax/bisabol myrrh but I love how it swirls and sparkles with the deep deep musk and the rich heavy myrrh. Ohhhh yeah, this blend is a perfect fall/winter scent for me. The throw is gorgeous and as it has aged it has only gotten better. I'm SOOOOO glad I got a bottle of this!

Edited September 19, 2007 by Kimocean

[mspixieears]

Very heavy on the myrrh and slightly spicy. A very dark blend. It has a lot of throw initially when wet but dies down very quickly. I think the benzoin rounds out this blend – softens it. I’d be pushing it to identify other notes – except the balsam which is very nice. Nice to sample but not something I would wear again. Probably would be excellent on a male or as a room fragrance.

[dawndie]

In bottle: dark woods

 

On skin: dusty dark myrrh with a bit of dry wood

 

Half-hour later: swirling miasma of gloomy resins and musk, but with a dusty woody waft

 

In conclusion: this is a slightly less sweet version of Schwarzer Mond, which at the time was the murkiest blend I had dared to buy. Very dramatic and ballsy, which is what I'm in the mood to wear today with the nippy November winds. I love these sticky resin blends.

[TheOneTheyCallLuna]

I used to play this Labyrinth board game with my family when I was a little kid, and the Minotaur was always my fave!

 

Anyway, this scent is amazing. It's spicy and rich, decadent and dark...yum! In the vial, it smells like something my Mom would wear (and I say that in the most complimentary way because my Mom's perfumes are really nice. She's a classy lady.) Once it hits my skin it just smells divine, and like it is a perfume I would "borrow" from my Mom a little too often. It smells somehow familiar...Oh, it reminds me of an old perfume I used to wear from the long defunct Body Scent in Seattle, and I grew up on those (along with Minotaurs and mythology). This blend, of course, is far superior to that one in its complexity. The drydown mellows this blend from its nostrils steaming outta the gate running quality, but it stays true throughout to its name and its strength. Gonna get lots o love outta this blend it's really exquisite!

 

ETA: after having bonded a little while longer with Minotaur, I have realized that this scent belongs to the special catgeory of BPAL that will need to, at some future date, be pried from my cold, dead fingers. This is approaching some number one BPAL ever territory!! I don't think that before tonight I have ever smelled my wrist this many times in one hour. I'm breaking world records, people!

Edited November 20, 2007 by TheOneTheyCallLuna

[akiko]

I picked up a decant of this through the forum.

 

Imp: resiny, kind of like a lighter version of Pit & Pendulum. (Much lighter.)

 

Wet: Incense, resin, and musk, with a too-brief stage that involved cinnamon.

 

Dry: Musky resinous incense. I can't discern any particular notes (not that I know what half of them smell like anyway) to elaborate further, but I like it. It blends well, and it's still reminiscent of P&P, except much friendlier.

 

Why do you have to be a limited edition? I may have to track you down.

[porcelina]

i don't know what any of the notes are supposed to smell like, but this is dark, musky and resinous. (duh.) it's nice but it kind of does a weird floral thing on me at points. i have no idea why.

[allie63]

In the bottle: Sweet, sweet, sweet. There's something very familiar about this…

On, wet: Boy oh boy this is sweet. Myrrh, and powder (but not dry), and sweetness. Where so I know this scent from? It's so familiar it's like a word that's on the tip of my tongue…

On, 30 min: Now I understand where you get the word "amp" from. It's as if the volume on my olfactory receptors was turned up to 11. I can't handle it, the powdery sweetness is just too loud. I have to wash it off; I'm getting headache-y and stuffed-nose-y.

 

As I wash my hands in the bathroom, it comes to me: Nature's Gate Herbal Shampoo (and Conditioner, and Body Lotion).

 

Why oh why does it have to be this on me? Why can't it be the dark and seductive Minotaur? I get no amber, no musk, no wood, nothing spicy. I get headache-inducingly sweet miasma of myrrh. My heart is broken…

[joseybird]

Absolutely gorgeous!

 

This is deep incense, dark (but not animalistic, really) musk, and woods. I very much imagine a small store shrine in the depths of the darkened woods. A must for incense and wood lovers.

[TereFaerie]

In the bottle it smells of nothing but incense, but once on my skin it warms and sweetens into a beautiful powdery scent that retains a hint of darkness so not to go all baby powder. It is a warm amber that doesn't go so sweet that it smells like a bathroom or a diaper, lol, as many ambers do.

 

It reminds me of a sweet ritual type incense, and conjures up images not of the Minotaur himself, too sweet and feminine and almost hay-like, but of the ancient Minoan men and women who braved life and limb to vault the bulls and were immortalized in sculpture and wall paintings.

The light skinned figures are females.

 

 

My husband is "meh" about it, but it doesn't give him a headache, so that's good enough for me. Maybe it'll grow on him.

 

All in all, glad I went for the bottle.

[fairnymph]

Sniffed in imp: Warm, rich and sweet; dark incense, resin and spice. Not my thing, so no desire to test on skin.