Laudanum

[Loligo]

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

I see I am not the only person who thought "Opium den!" right away. This is *such* an evocative smell -- heavy, smoky, medicinal, spicy. I was prepared to love it (though I can't imagine wearing it very often), but then the smell actually started nauseating me. I washed it off with soap, but I could still smell it. I washed it off with rubbing alcohol, but could still smell it. And actually, the post-alcohol smell is really quite nice -- it's got the good aspects of the scent without the sickening ones. I would love an elegant vintage wool coat that smelled like this version of the scent. Hmm, I may play around with sachets....

[Brianne]

In bottle:

Warm, slighty sweet and spicey

 

On me:

I have the perfect way to describe Laudanum. You know when you have a wooden dresser (or say, someone you know) and you open it up and there is a potpourri satchet that is very old and faded in there? That's the smell of Laudanum. It's an old lacey satchet, that's faded and aged into a yellowed ivory color with a dusty pink silk ribbon to tie it. It's the smell of that old satchet in an old fashioned wooden dresser. The smell of the wood and the sweet, spicey potpourri mingling together.

 

Final note:

Pleasant, I think it's a scent that a lot of people could enjoy. Unfortunately, I don't particular care for overly woody scents like cedar or myrrh, so it's not for me, but it's definitely not a bad scent at all

[AliBabble]

god, i love this one. this was one of the first bpal oils i tried - i've always been fascinated when i've read about laudanum in old books. this is the closest i'll get to trying it, i guess.

 

it makes me think of a dark, dark root-beer sassafrass-y brown color - almost black. so soothing, sweet, syrupy and spicy all at once. if it's medicine-y, it's a medicine i wish i could try. it always makes me think of a thin, handsome, 1800's guy, all strung-out, hallucinating off of laudanum. but he has beautiful visions. i dunno...it's a very happy smell for me, not sinful at all, actually. i get a lot of compliments on this one, too.

[Little Bird]

Laudanum is a very hard to pin down sort of scent. It's edible and foodie on me, but not in the usual sense of 'this smells like a bakery'. It smells like a kitchen with old fashioned wooden spice racks and all sorts of exotic spices everywhere. Definitely woodsy and spicy.

 

The sassafras comes out after a few minutes of wearing this and smells like root beer on me. Spices, woods, and root beer. Very odd.

 

I'm not sure that I will ever wear this again. It reminds me of the kitchen in my old house, growing up before my mom and dad divorced. The wooden pantry. My mother's exotic spice racks set up all over the kitchen. It's unsettling. I don't really want to smell like that. It smells old and a bit dusty in the drydown. I can practically feel that awkward silence of my parents' strained dinner conversation all over again, being caught in the middle of all of the bad feelings. Very unsettling for me.

 

Amazing how a scent can bring back what the mind tries so hard to forget.

[urraca]

Hello nutmeg, nice to see you. And whoooaaaa, there's sassafras! And here's a little myrrh, just to keep things under control. I don't get anything I can identify as black poppy. Lovers of sassafras will adore this because it is a beautiful natural smelling sassafras. The whole scent gets across the idea of a 19th century nostrum just beautifully (not sure why this isn't in Bewitching Brews). This was a kind frimp from the lab for me.

[anmorata]

Laudanum:

Wet: Sassafrassy sassy!

Drydown: I smell like rootbeer.

Longterm wear: baby powder rootbeer. Sad, I really thought this one could be a good one. Pass.

[jewelbug]

Bottle: Musty, spicy homemade rootbeer. I moaned in audible pleasure when I first smelled this--a fresh new imp straight from the lab. My very first Bpal lab order arrival (but now I've got 2 more on the way). This it to test as a his and hers (yes, i know its traditionally masculine, but I try EVERYTHING i get).

 

Him:

Wet: Fresh warm spicy root beer.

Drying: Rootbeer, but more myrrh than me. Lightly spiced.

Further into trying, tis develops something almost musty smelling--like a basement. One of his favorite smells is basement, oddly enough. Still has the rootbeer, but its much less.

Final stage: Warm resiny myrrh with a hint of rootbeer--no more basements. It stays at this scent for the duration. Which is not very long, actually--2ish hours?

 

Him, Overall: Though he likes basement smell, he didn't think this was as good for him as the others we've tried and loved on him. I liked it, but I also agree with his judgement.

 

Me:

Wet: Warm dry rootbeer. Almost a numb smelling medicinal feel to this sassafras on me, actually.

Drying: Spicy rootbeer--less medicinal, but still a bit of anesthetic fell too it. Even so, this is so unique and awesome. It really captures the numbing quality of sassafras. WE used to make homemade rootbeer with it. We also used to pull the saplings and chew the roots. This is it. It's awesome.

Dry: Smooth rootbeer barrel candies. You know, the old fashioned kind. No more anaesthetic quality. Like dark rootbeer candies with a bit of spice. At this point (1 hr), the nutmeg has made its unmistakable appearance. Nutmeg and rootbeer candies. At around 2 hours, myrrh joins the party--nutmeg myrrh and rootbeer. It's all melded together very well now, though, so it's hard to pick out the notes.

 

Her, Overall: I really like this, but it is not exactly a "me" scent--a tad manly for me. I wish this had worked better on the hubby. I’m so very happy I tried this, though. It's SO unique. Wow.

[Firewaver]

Hmm.. P-U.

Wet, this is a murky, smoky rootbeer. Rootbeer being guzzled in a smoky, dirty speakeasy. So odd how this smells so identical to rootbeer.. i can almost hear the foam fizzing. It might not be something I want to wear regularly, but it certainly makes me want a Rootbeer float.

 

Dry down.. a little smokier, with less rootbeer. I smell myrrh now, kind of a dusty myrrh. Maybe the strange note I'm smelling is the sassafrass. It's not familiar to me at all. I might smell a spice, I guess that would be the nutmeg.

 

The drydown is almost good enough to warrant a place in my collection, but not quite. It is a little masculine for me, though i can really see this being spectacular on a guy that could work it.

[Hanyaan]

Laudanum is amazing. I thought there was no way in heck that I could pull off one of the masculine blends, but apparently not; Laudanum has converted me to not needing to smell uber-feminine all the time.

 

It smells nice (if a bit too much like men's cologne for my taste) in the bottle; I can definitely smell the sassafrass and the myrrh. Wet, there's a very strong rush of sassafrass; I smell like demented evil rootbeer. When it's dry, there's still the demented evil rootbeer, but it's yummy demented evil rootbeer, and more complex somehow. It smells like one of my favorite jackets would smell; like dark brown velvet, very Victorian, with a hint of something slightly dangerous. It even makes me feel fabulous. A definite keeper.

[hangingfire]

In the bottle: It smells like I've stuck my head in my spice cabinet -- sweet, peppery, spicey.

 

On, wet: Peppery root beer -- I guess that's the sassafras talking.

 

Drydown: The root beer smell isn't quite as marked; I can get a little of the myrrh now, and the overall smell is making me think of pre-Hot Topic goth clothing stores (there was one in Houston -- Timeless Taffeta, wasn't it? And another that was in an old church, and which was replaced in that building by a restaurant.)

 

I really don't know what to make of this scent. It's fascinating, but I have absolutely no idea whether or not it really works on me. I'll experiment with it some more; maybe there's something it can layer with.

[Dark Angel]

Source: Imp from Lab.

 

This is really different, but I like it a lot!

 

Wet, it smells to me like some festive alcoholic holiday drink. I can smell the nutmeg and I know that's what's making me think 'holiday' because of the connection with eggnog. I always grate fresh nutmeg on my eggnog and that smell of grated nutmeg is very strong at first. It doesn't smell like eggnog itself, just the nutmeg part. It smells like a nutmeg liqueur, if there were such a thing (there isn't, is there?).

 

As it dries down, the myrrh starts to come out. Myrrh is iffy on me; sometimes it works and sometimes it smells like a hair salon (go figure). And my skin seems to amp it up, so after a half hour or so, it's the predominate note in Laudanum. But this is the myrrh that works on me, and the other spices round it out and make it complex, spicy, and wonderful. It has moderate lasting power, maybe 3-4 hours on me.

 

It's weirdly addictive, and I could see the connotations of decadence and languor, but it doesn't seem anguished or insane to me, in fact it still feels rather festive, like going to a holiday party where everyone is dressed up, eats and drinks too much, gets rather silly, and ends up laying around in a happy, rather disheveled stupor.

[Miss Lynx]

I wasn't sure what to expect from this one -- it had some notes I like, but the sassafrass worried me. I don't even like root beer to drink, much less to wear. But I thought it was worth a try. It smelled intriguing in the vial, and not too root-beer-y, so on it went.

 

And very nearly, off it came. It was an exercise of will not to run to the washroom and wash it off immediately. Aaaah! Root beer hell! With a special pungency that seemed to burn the inside of my nose, like I'd actually physically snorted root beer up there.

 

But I persevered, and thankfully within about 5-10 minutes it had mellowed right down to a warm, spicy, woodsy scent that was actually quite nice. There's still a faint touch of root-beer-ness to it, but it's subdued enough not to be much of a problem.

 

Not sure if it'll be a keeper or not -- if the beginning root beer assault wasn't so awful, then definitely, because the drydown is very warm and comforting, and particularly seems like it would be a good scent for fall, but man, those first five minutes or so... Well, we'll see.

 

Grade: B

Edited October 28, 2005 by Miss Lynx

[aedes]

I think jewelbug has expressed the rootbeer experience I had at the beginning of this scent. It's weird, but nice, and I like it. It quickly mellows to a warm, snuggly scent. Excellent for late autumn and winter. Myrrh is taking the lead for me, as it always does, but the spices and sassafrass are still there, giving it a vaguely Old West feeling. Mmm. This would smell divine on Doc Holiday.

 

In fact, yes! The creamy sweetness combined with the sexy masculine scents makes me think that this is sort of like Dorian set in the Wild West. The scents themselves aren't identical, but the concepts seem very similar.

 

Keeping this impy for sure.

[atthis_uk]

Vial: Strong nutmeg, pungent, slightly bitter. Faint hint of something sweet, almost like maple syrup. (I don't know what sassafras smells like, so maybe that's it?)

Wet: Very nutmegy

Drying: Nutmeg still present but less sharp. Pungent, peppery, musty, smoky spice.

This is a really interesting, evocative smell.

[kettu]

Holy Crap! Evil Root Beer!!!

 

Miss Lynx tried this and I reeled in horror. But it became a train-wreck sort of horror and I kept coming back for more. Eventually, after a couple of weeks of having it in the apartment, I tried it.

 

This scent is just bizarre enough to have captured my attention and has since morphed from sheer, unadulterated disgust to a warped and pleasant delight.

 

Initial: evil root beer! It's almost like a mellow-sweet civet.

 

Dry Down: the root beer fades enough to be manageable and the spice comes to the fore. It is deep, bittersweet spice. Really really really nice.

 

Lynxie doesn't want it, so it's mine. Aaaallllllll Miiiiine!!! Muahahahahahahaha!

[Nachtwulf]

Bottle: Hooyah. Spicy it is. It -is- masculine, like their little tagline says, lacking the sweet notes you find in Chimera, Bengal, or other spice-type blends. However, it avoids smelling like pot roast. (Don't laugh, one of the Chaos Theories I tried smelled EXACTLY like pot roast spices. Eugh.)

 

Wet: ...Hm. Unlike most spice, this doesn't say 'warm' to me, but is still spicy. It smells...very much like something REALLY FREAKING FAMILIAR, but I can't place it. It sweetens up a bit, but remains far from sugary. It also seems to retain that masculine edge. This would be uber-sexy on a guy. It's not too bad on me.

 

Dry: Hmnnn. (This scent obviously makes me go 'hmm' a lot.) It still smells familiar. The spice has largely died down, leaving myrrh, and something else (poppy? I have no idea what poppy smells like). Weirdly, I get the impression of leather and smoke, even if there isn't an obvious leather note to it... with a sharp kind of spice in the background (which I presume is the nutmeg, though it seems sharper than that, almost like aniseed).

 

Final opinion: It is definitely mansmelly. If you're a guy, and you like spice, and you don't want to smell like a breakfast confection, this is definitely for you. It's sweet-ish-, but not sweet like Chimera or even Bengal. There's quite a bit of throw, which is less masculine... it's more of a vague sort of vanilla-spice kind of thing. I think I'll keep the imp, though I don't think I'll wear it enough to warrant a bottle.

Edited November 24, 2005 by Nachtwulf

[sarahj]

Laudanum

 

freebie from the lab

 

in vial: nutmeg and sassafras

 

wet: spicy root beer

 

dry: dusty root beer without the sweetness...fades in less than 2 hours

 

verdict: nice, but fades too quickly...I will use the imp but I don't need a big bottle

[WidgetAlley]

All right, I admit it. I'm already wearing Burial on my wrists. After washing off Black Phoenix (not that I really needed to, since it smelled like soap anyway. ) But I really want to do another review tonight! And I have Voltaire and Rasputina on the playlist, and if that isn't bloody appropriate music for reviewing Laudanum, then I don't know what is. Here we go!

 

In the Imp: Spicy, dry root beer. Almost like root wine. Intoxicating. I can't stop sniffing. If I inhale for long enough, I catch an undertone that's almost papery. Black poppy? Myrrh? We'll find out. I like it so far, but of course, that doesn't mean anything until I get it on my skin....

 

(I applied this just below my elbows, which is a new place for me, so it might have an effect on the scent. I didn't want to put it in the crooks of my arms, because that always makes things smell unnaturally sweet, and I don't usually wear much oil there anyway, but my wrists were already taken, so this was sort of a compromise.)

 

Wet: Yummy sassafras and a stronger paper note. Definitely getting the myrrh as well... my skin is actually a little tingly from this. This is quite dry, and not as sweet as it was in the bottle. I'm sure the black poppy is in there, but it's sure as heck not showing up as a floral to my nose. Hrrrm..... where's the nutmeg? Ah, yes. I had to go and sniff the ground version in the spice cabinet first, but I can tell it's there now. It's what's adding that almost salty spice note.

 

This one's a bit odd. It doesn't seem to have any throw at all, but the second-skin quality lures you in for another sniff. It's not at all a "perfume" smell, and I'd be hard-put to classify it: it's not floral, or oriental, or gourmand, or foody, or woodsy, or herbal, or even medicinal. I don't associate it with any particular time of the year. I can see why this one is named after a drug! It's developing a smokiness that I like very much. It doesn't remind me clove cigarettes, which is kind of what I was hoping for, but hey, one can't have everything, right?

 

Dry: All the notes have mellowed and blended more, and some waft has made an appearance-- it's a good deal sweeter than what I get when I jam my face into my forearm, but still excellent. Spicy, pleasant, unique... incensey myrrh and spicy nutmeg, with an overlay of heavy, dry poppy and a drop of sweet sassafras. If brown velvet frock coats had a scent, this would be it.

 

This one is a true testament to Beth's genius... a most unusual smell indeed, put in perfume form and bottled, and, holy of holies, it's very wearable! I'll enjoy my Imp to no end.

[merebrillante]

In the vial: Spicy. I thought it was cinnamon and cloves, but it's the nutmeg I was smelling.

 

On the wrist: Still nutmeg-y, but something sharper and more acrid underneath.

 

Later: It's settled down some, but it's still a little too much like gingerbread cookie for my taste. I don't like to go around smelling like I bake. It gives guys the wrong idea. Luckily, this one wears off fairly quickly for a Lab perfume -- at nine-plus hours, I can just barely get a whiff of it when I stick my wrist up to my nose. To the trade pile!

[BlackDahlia]

I was intrigued by this one by the description, alone.

 

Desire beyond love, anguish beyond sanity.

 

Hmmm. We'll just say that I identify well with the sentiment.

A love that makes you wish you swallowed Laudanum... but, I digress.

 

Anyhow ~ this fragrance is soooooo not me.

 

In the imp ~ it is medicinal and green herbal-y. It is very harsh to my nose... almost made me want to not give it a go. I like to remain open-minded, however ~ so I put it on.

 

I wish I hadn't. I then smelled like medicinal floor cleaner gone so, so wrong... Laudanum is best left alone by me... anything that evokes anguish beyond sanity is something I so need to avoid... like the plague.

 

Been there, done that.

 

Laudanum is out of here...

Edited January 1, 2006 by BlackDahlia

[slave1]

In Bottle: Spicy myrrh.

 

On Skin: This is a sultry scent, dark and spicy. The myrrh has a nice incense layer, the sassafras gives a rootbeer note, and the nutmeg gives a very nice warm spice. The black poppy isn’t very strong.. I do get a “hunger” from this scent… a real hunger because now I’m starving!! It is so intriguing and mysterious… once you smell it you want to breathe in deeper. It’s unlike any scent I’ve ever smelled and I’m dying to see what others think of it on me. It is a little mors spicy than I normally like, but I’m willing to try it out.

[septima_pica]

So on me, this is crazy spicy evil rootbeer right out of the bottle - but within 10 minutes that's gone, leaving behind a truly amazing complex scent. Nutmeg, poppy, and myrrh, with the sassafras almost gone and lending just a hint of sweetness. In fact, smelling this, I'm picturing a dark old wooden cabinet full of drugs - in spice boxes, dribbly bottles, and well-used pipes. And wearing it, I smell like the person who makes them. Again, I'm not sure whether to blame the power of suggestion, but it's really excellent.

 

Definitely going to need a big bottle of this. It's one of the first BPAL scents I tried and loved, and I regret not buying it at the Black Broom when I was there. Smelling like a brewer of obscure narcotic elixirs - I'm all over that. Mmmm. Even more than Dee, this may become something I wear on an everyday basis.

 

EDIT: So in case I'm not the last one to figure this out...today I happened across the following information: safrole, the aromatic component of sassafras oil, is a commonly-used precursor to the synthesis of MDMA (that's Ecstasy). The appropriateness of this (along with nutmeg and poppy!) makes me indescribably happy. Attar Shanas, did you know about this already? I bet you did, you sly chemist. Mad props to the Alchemist for this one.

 

And does that mean myrrh has some psychoactive property as well? 'Cause if so, I'm completely failing at finding out what it is, and I want to KNOW! ::insert mad-scientist smiley here::

Edited February 10, 2006 by septima_pica

[La Chispa]

In fact, smelling this, I'm picturing a dark old wooden cabinet full of drugs - in spice boxes, dribbly bottles, and well-used pipes.

 

Yes!Yes!Yes!

 

For those who were fans of the HBO series Carnivale ( ), this is what I imagine Lodz' trailer to smell like....but only when I wear it in my hair. Something strange happens to it on my skin and all the notes become muddled together. It's not bad just not quite as striking as when it is allowed to breathe. This is one of those scents that needs, imho, to move through the air to be fully appreciated. As a room (or hair ) scent, I am all over Laudanum!

 

This is one for the 'big bottle list'.

[PurringPulsar]

Laudanum

 

In the imp: opium! I get a smoky dark opium scent with a hint of savoury spice-the nutmeg, I think.

Wet on skin: smoky opium incense…the myrrh in this gives a slight ‘church incense’ feel, but with opium-there’s some interesting contradictions here! It also smells a bit medicinal.

Dry: whoa, this is dark! Really dark and very medicinal now. I am not too familiar with sassafras so I can’t comment on that, but this now smells like a strange, macabre, and possibly contradictory cross between the fumes of a potent (and probably quite lethal in large doses) old fashioned medicinal tincture/elixir, church incense, and opium smoke! The scent is dark, shadowy, a tad sinister…it brings to mind underground passages and darkened crypts filled with thick, choking, narcotic smoke from some bizarre and forbidden ancient rite taking place nearby, something about it smells dangerous but you want to explore the shadows…there’s something behind the smoke that’s sinister and yet so tempting.

After a while: I love the way the myrrh note makes this smell so much like incense, and that’s enhanced, darkened and twisted by the poppy/opium. I think the sassafras may be giving the scent its medicinal edge, as this sometimes smells like the contents of an old fashioned medicine cupboard…and there’s also the nutmeg, spicing up the fragrance a bit.

Verdict: this is a really dark, dense, smoky and thick scent, reminiscent of intense incense, opium smoke and the vapours of some medicinal (and probably a bit poisonous) concoction you’d find in some old apothecary. It’s very intriguing, it brings to mind exploring some dark, shadowy, ancient crypts where you can smell fragrant, narcotic smoke, you try to find it’s source even though your instincts tell you that there’s danger lurking round the corner and that the mysteries you seek are not meant to be seen by the un-initiated. A fascinating and very evocative-and somewhat disturbing-fragrance, it was an intriguing scent experience but unfortunately not a perfume I’d actually wear. I’m glad I tried it though.

[Caltha]

Laudanum

Sharp, leathery dry and herbally bitter. A little murky, original but unpleasant. As it dries it gets more plesant: woody, dry, warm and warming. Still, I gave it away and I won't miss it.