Laudanum

[quimerula]

The essence of the most debauched hunger encapsulated into a perfume. Desire beyond love, anguish beyond sanity. Nutmeg, sassafras, black poppy and myrrh.

Wet it's spicy and dark, whit a myrrh bottom line.

Dense like honey, soporific due to the black poppy. It has a bitter-sweet undertone.

Dry it's very smoky (quite better for me).
Good lasting power.

[amrita]

I spilled a bunch of this on my fingers when opening the imp, and when I sniffed my hands after wiping them off, there was wintergreen screaming at me. Wow! Hello, wintergreen. (I'm guessing it must be the sassifrass, but I'm not sure. To me it smelled exactly like my birch essential oil, which is used as a wintergreen substitute.)

 

This blend was slightly sweet and prettily spicy on me, but dried down into incredibly dry woods and resins. I usually like dry--but Laudanum just smells very strange on me. Interesting but not wearable!

[girlmadasbirds]

on me, i get the spiciness of the nutmeg and an herbal 'medicinal' kind of smell. it's oddly comforting. i probably won't wear it a lot, but it's a keeper.

[dreadeddragon]

In the bottle: Medicine. Specifically, an almost minty medicine. I can pick out the nutmeg in the background.

 

First on: NUTMEG! There's some other stuff in here, but I have no idea what it all is.

 

Drydown: It stays sort of nutmeg & earthy spices, but more of a flavorful spice like in cooking.

 

I was expecting a bit more of a poppy/opium scent from this one, I don't think I'll wear it.

[lokelani]

I bought this one for the name alone.

 

First impression: Holy. Freakin'. Hell. This is INTENSE. Very spicy and...incendiary, is the best word I can come up with. After a few moments: It reminds me of...what? Bonfires. Dry autumn leaves and smoke. Halloween night. It’s comforting and sort of wild and unrestrained at the same time. That seems like an odd emotional combo, but there it is. Wow, this brings back some good memories…it’s very strong, though. A bit overwhelming, but very distinctive. Definitely not an everyday scent.

 

A bit later: Oh, no. Here comes the myrrh, messing with my fun. Back off, myrrh!!

 

Alas, the myrrh ignored me and took over. I don't know why myrrh dislikes me so. In any event, I won't be able to wear this. Darn shame. Of all the scents this one really stimulated the little memory cells the most, although from the beginning it was maybe a little too strong for me. I think that I might try it as a room scent, though -- if I had some incense that smelled like this I think I'd love it, especially on cool autumn nights. Or I might swap it so that it could meet someone who would really enjoy and wear it regularly. Not sure yet.

Edited May 21, 2005 by lokelani

[voodoobaby]

In the bottle: Sharp sassafras, only much darker. Evil root beer!

 

Wearing: There's a definite woodiness here--nutmeg? I can definitely smell the regular, almost-lemony nutmeg scent, but this is a lot deeper than what I had expected. No poppy here. As for the myrrh, it and sassafras have always smelled quite similar to me anyway, so it's hard to differentiate the two.

 

Later: Very smooth. At first. Then once you're used to the smoothness, it catches you off-guard and there's a big spicy, woody bite.

 

Overall: I like! I definitely don't mind smelling like root beer, especially if it's evil and spicy.

[tsarina]

I think it is the sassafrass and nutmeg I'm smelling. It's bitter sweet and strong, so much that my nose twitches if I get too close. The medicinal tang is wearing off and I'm starting to get more of the sweetness.

 

This scent confuses me. I can't decide what it is.

[Krista]

Laudanum

It smells…strange. It’s light green and minty (?). It reminds me of something, but I can’t figure out what. It’s very light and cool.

[fragrantgrasse]

This IS intense. It is also making my throat sore and my head feel like it is full of cotton.

 

Laudanum certainly is starting out smelling very medicinal - sharp & green more like a wintergreen-type-green. Oh of course, sassafrass. Which, aromatherapeutically is supposed to be good for cutting the addiction to nicotine.

 

If cigarettes taste like this smells - it would certainly cure me.

 

 

It seems to be having an almost narcotic maybe even psycotropic effect on me....I probably shouldn't confess this on a public forum, but we're all friends here, right? Once upon a time many years ago, I had a "drink" called nutmeg coffee. It contained regular old brewed coffee, ground nutmeg (we actually ground the nuts ourselves) and ground poppy seeds, sugar....I have no idea what else we put in it - probably because by the time we finished I had had quite a few mug-fuls taste-testing it and had become non compis mentis

 

A Latin scholar I am not, but you know what I mean

 

Apparently Laudanum also has the effect of being a truth serum....blahblahblah...

 

To wind this up, I am not sure I can wear this but one whiff out of the imp (and on my hand) certainly drove me down memory lane.

[Cagedflame]

I didn't get ANY of the spices that other people mentioned. I did get a fascinatingly toxic and intoxicating smell from it, though. Something like stargazer lilies, strong incense, rubber gloves (??!!), baby powder, and maybe a hint of musk, and un-name-able things. It's really its own scent; I had to try really hard to smell things that might be individual notes. Never been in an opium den, but like others I'd expect it to smell like this.

[JazzieCazzie]

On my second go-round with this it went immediately on my MUST HAVE MORE list ...

 

BOTTLE: Sharp and smoky

 

WET: Mysterious, band-aids and coca-cola, mesmerizing. Medicinal but in a good way. It is so hypnotic and amazing.

 

DRYDOWN: Terrific throw all day.

 

On a scale of 1-5, this is officially a 5.

 

REVISITED AND RE-REVIEWED MARCH 2013 as I work my way through ALL of my scents, A-Z, to figure out what I need and what I can swap. This is from an older imp (not sure of date, I have two, both from Lab).

 

IN THE IMP: Fizzy spicy soda with a kick. Not placing the smoke in the imp this time.

 

Applied to wrist, crook of arm and cleavage (always a favorite place if I know I like the scent in advance).

 

WET: I can see the "band-aids and coca cola" reference from my first go-round though being a little more familiar with notes now it's probably more like root beer. As soon as I apply it, there is an immediate sweetness which I didn't note in the imp, and am guessing that's the myrrh. It actually reminds me a lot of Kathmandu when wet, which I test-drove again last night. A similar middle-eastern or Indian complex blend, heady and grounding at the same time. After about a minute or so, I start getting a floral throw -- from the poppy, I assume.

 

DRYDOWN: I love all the different "tastes" of this ... sweet, spicy, salty. There's something a little unusual about it (the salty part, kind of a foody Indian cooking smell) but it is still very very nummy.

 

OVERALL: While this is not something I would wear every day, I really love it and think it is a FANTASTIC "dab a little bit on before you go to a party with really cool people, because they will find you fascinating and exotic and want to know why you smell so good!" scent.

 

On a scale of 1-5, really close to a 5. Maybe a 4.8.

Edited March 21, 2013 by JazzieCazzie

[Hawke]

Doing an early morning test for a change.

 

In the vial: Spicey flowers. No idea what sort of flowers, but there was definitely something floral hiding under the initial bite.

 

Wet: I think my skin likes to amp up the spice in anything right away. Maybe why I like it so much. This went so 'hot' it almost stung my nose.

 

Drydown: The floral, whatever it is, is a definite presence now, not hiding under the spice anymore. There's still enough oomph there to kick me in the sinuses, though. Will be interesting to see what this turns into.

 

Hm. Fizzy. Now that I've read through the other reviews, maybe this is what they mean by feeling light headed? It feels fizzy to me, like inhaling over a glass of soda, and you get the carbonation bubbles up your nose? The almost-painful edge on the spice is gone now. My nose is glad about this.

Edited July 2, 2005 by Hawke

[nineveh]

Nutmeg and rootbeer? Weird.

 

After it fades a bit, I get a sweet wood smell. The spicy sharpness of the nutmeg has calmed down, and the rootbeer note has toned down too.

 

This is a sweet medicinal scent that is oddly appealing. It seems to ultimately fade into sweet nutmeg. I have other spicy scents that I like better, but I'm glad I tried this one.

[Rikibeth]

This is the first BPAL scent I've tried.

 

In the vial: Sweet! Really really syrupy sweet. Which makes sense, considering how sweet pure opium resin smells. Also, yeah, lots of myrrh. Which I already know smells hormone-carbonating fantastic on my friend Nancy, but on me it just doesn't have the same effect. I can't really detect much sassafras (that ought to smell like root beer, right?) or nutmeg, just a general sort of warmth to it that's probably their effect. And I LOVE nutmeg and considered it the secret to my very popular quiche at Michaele's, not to mention an essential element of my beloved bread pudding. No, I can't smell any nutmeg at all.

 

Wet: Oh, THERE'S the sassafras! Wow, root beer. Still no goddamn nutmeg. And the myrrh and black poppy have disappeared under the overpowering scent of root beer barrel candy, or maybe it's root beer schnapps. Hey, I haven't had that in a long time. Maybe it's time to pick up some and have boozeoriffic root beer floats.

 

Dry: How long do I have to wait for dry? Two other reviewers I know on LiveJournal don't say. I asked the friend who gave this to me (she wanted me hooked!) and she said ten minutes and then half an hour... *checks clock* *drums fingers*

 

There was something dried-herbal as it was drying off, probably the sassafras. It's still there but going further back. The myrrh-poppy sweetness is back full force. I STILL can't smell the nutmeg. I even went outside on my front porch away from the leftover cooking smells of dinner, and I can't smell it.

 

Okay, I just hauled out my Microplane and my supply of whole nutmeg, and I'm still not convinced there's much in there. It's blending in and just adding some overall warmth, I guess.

 

Overall: It smells like a witchcraft store. Or someone who's just been to the perfume-oils merchant at a Renaissance Faire. It's probably going to turn too powdery on me, the way myrrh pretty much always does. I like it, but I'm not sure it does much for me. Since it's "traditionally masculine" (seriously? the overall impression is MUCH too sweet for me to think of it as masculine) maybe I'll try it on my husband, although it hasn't got any citrus or oakmoss, both of which tend to improve resin scents on him.

 

However, it appears to be as addictive as the name would suggest. Even though I'm not thrilled with it, I can't stop sniffing it.

 

 

Wear it at your own risk.

[magdalene]

in the bottle: oh, nutmeg. How much I love you.

 

wet on skin: nutmeg and sassafras. This is like a glorious and alcoholic rootbeer, rimmed in sugar.

 

dry: the myrrh and poppy have warmed up the spiciness, blending everything together into a heady perfume that makes me want to lounge around in silky things with my hair down and wild.

[quikslvr]

Such a dark start, dominated by the myrrh and black poppy. I can smell the nutmeg if I try to single it out--that darkness of spice. Very dark, though. Reminiscent of, well, Darkness, and a few other blends. Very strong, until long past dry, when it goes more smoky. When it dries, the sweetness of the sassafrass comes out, but always darkened by the nutmeg and myrrh, and only if you take a deep enough breath to be uncomfortable (for me). I like it when it's calmed down some. I know that tones of this are in some of my favorites (like Black Phoenix, I believe), but I think it's a bit too powerful on its own for my tastes.

[k00kaburra]

In bottle: Nutmeg and spices. Definitely a foody scent, but quite smoky, and a hint of something almost astringent and rather medicinal.

On me: Sassafras and spices. It isn't something I really care to smell like; it's like rootbeer and hoarhound candy. (At least, I think that's the candy I'm remembering.) It makes me think of old-time general stores. Interesting, but not something I want to wear.

[Obesa_Cantavit]

I really loved the description of this and I was ready to love this sent in the vial (so spicy and crisp at the same time yummy!), but the second it hit my skin it went to smoke and a rather acrid black burning rubber type of smoke at that, this one really seems to hate my skin. The smoke smell dies off after about an hour leaving a quite pleasent spicy scent but I don't think I'd be willing to go through the burning phase again so off it goes to the swap pile.

[QueenFae]

Whoa! Super spicy nutmeg overload! This is burn your nostrils out strong. Heavy on all four ingredients but the nutmeg is definitely the most prevalent. A spicy, in your face, incense earthy smell. Quite masculine, definitely not for me!

[inkstone]

A freebie from the Lab!

 

In the imp: Sassafras & myrrh. Okay, let's give this a try.

 

Wet: Myrrh.

 

Drydown: Myrrh

 

Final thoughts: Bah, myrrh.

[OriginalWacky]

Bottle (Imp): Hmmm, sort of deep, and possibly myrrh.

 

Just On: Myrrh, deep, pretty.

 

An hour or two later: Quite deep and myrrh-y.

 

Around 6 hours: Wow, it's fading fast. That's unusual.

 

12 hours: It's gone.

 

Overall: I think I like it. Quite a bit really.

 

After reading other reviews: I was starting to worry that I was the only one who got myrrh than anything else, but then I saw a review where someone said that was strongest, so I didn't feel so bad. I didn't get he spicy sweetness, the other fun stuff, but since I like myrrh, that was all okay. Although myrrh usually sticks around longer on my skin, this was still fab, and I like the scent.

[olympia301]

Smokey, that was my first reaction to this. I know that laudanum wasn't smoked but still there is that forbidden edge to it. Yet it is so appealing, the incense (and I mean churchy "legit" incense background to it) gives you that air of authority being perverted which makes you tingle with doing something bad when you smell it. This is really really pleasant, like you are wafting away on a dope induced high.

 

I can pick out the nutmeg and sassafrass quite clearly but at the same time they are blending well with the rest of that smoky smell.

 

This is a truly intriguing scent, one that I will have to explore and perhaps purchase a bottle to explore further. Thank goodness the FDA doesn't know about Laudanum, or that you need a prescription for it!

 

Very nice...captures the spirit of the thing. Like writing a poem or tale which lifts the hairs on the back of your head. Perhaps...like...Frankenstein! *

 

*Purportedly written under the influence of Laudanum by Mary Shelly. Really, if you haven't read the original, I commend it to you wholeheartedly. Fine book, wear Laudanum and go read it.

Edited July 31, 2005 by olympia301

[Lilithlefay]

This smells exactly like rootbeer with a little more spice to it on me. It is very warm and spicy, definately more of a winter scent in my mind. The sassafras and nutmeg really stand out in this.

[miss apple]

Laudanum

 

I was intrigued by the ingredients in this most especially the nutmeg, black poppy and myrrh. In the bottle I can't pick out any of these though, it's just something dark and kinda sludgy. When I first put it on there's a medicinal quality but still no spice or sassafrass. A minute or two after this dries down I get...rubber. Hpmh. My arm now smells like a tire shop with a bit of something burnt underneath. After ten minutes it still hasn't changed. I don't mind the smell of burnt rubber itself but I definitely don't want to smell like it.

[Blueelm]

My first review had to be of this, which became one of my favorites after I had worn it a few times.

 

This is such a hot and dry scent, full of bitter smokiness. The first twenty minutes are almost too much because at first this smelled like burning rubber to me, but for some reason I really liked it anyway. I love... the smell of... pool toys. But I digress.

 

Nutmeg and poppy seeds being burned, that's the impression, hot and bitter but with a resinous undertone.

 

After a while this dries down to a warm, creamy, myrrh-heavy scent. Not vanilla, I suppose maybe that's the sassafras. It doesn't ever get sweet or foody on me, just warm and intoxicating. It stays very dark to the end, and the drydown really lingers.

 

 

I really love this, but it sometimes makes me a little afraid it might be a bit strong for work or certain company.