The Lurid Library

[Mechanical Death]

The incense-tinged scent of forbidden tomes and the musk-laden remnants of infernal servants.

 

2012

In the bottle I smell a hint of the complexity lurking underneath. All of the fantastic reviews had me really excited to finally try this scent.

On my skin I get nothing. Dust maybe. There's this mild something that could be paper but it fades so fast before it even dries I can't even tell

[jkfagtongpun]

I'm similar to the above - I get a teeny whiff of incense then... nothing. Boo.

[tharsei-thanate]

Got a frimp of 2012 from Dark Alice!

 

Lurid Library is a gorgeous blend. It's wonderfully sweet and perfumey with a thin layer of dust and musk. "Vintage perfume" is a pretty apt way to describe it.

 

I'm not getting much book/paper, although I can feel that it's in there. I should be disappointed about that- it was the "tomes" part of the description that called to me- but I honestly don't mind!

 

The longer it's on, the dustier it gets. But it's a good sort of dusty. It doesn't make me want to sneeze and it isn't powdery. It's like the dust absorbed some of the perfume that was in the old, vintage bottle. The musk is also taking on a warmth that makes me think of skin. It's almost like I'm smelling perfume on someone else's skin. I know that sounds kind of weird but it's actually very lovely!

 

The thing that's killing me is that I tried it on during Comic Con, but only after my hands and arms were already smeared with all sorts of different oils. When I put Lurid Library on I guess it didn't mesh well with something else and it didn't smell all that great so I didn't get a bottle of it. I should have tested Lurid Library first! Nevertheless, I'm glad I was able to do another test on clean skin. Thanks, Dark Alice!

 

I need to get my hands on a bottle of this one for sure.

[brilliantcat]

Imp: Something floral, but subtly so. A hint of musk. This is surprisingly light in the imp.

 

Wet: Incense and what smells like ink? Or maybe that's the books. The floral I was getting is nearly undetectable now. I can catch the musk intertwining beautifully with the incense but there's a slight harshness, perhaps the parchment?

 

Dry: Gorgeous incense but something is giving the impression of cologne. This seems to happen with many book/parchment type notes, which makes me terribly sad. I'm an unrepentant bibliophile and I desperately wish these type of scents would work on me

[TheMistWalking]

2012 Version (aged about 6 weeks)

 

I tested this, put it away to age a little, then tested it again -- but it hasn't changed. On me, The Lurid Library is 'old-fashioned' ladies' perfume: a mix of high-pitched florals, maybe some white musk, a hint of powder as it wears.

 

I don't know about those infernal servants, but I'm pretty sure they'd be perfectly at home taking tea with my grandmother.

 

It's a nice enough scent, but it's not for me.

[thekittenkat]

In the decant: Something musky, something papery, and is that currants?

 

Wet: Sweetish incense spilled over some old papers.

 

The dry-down: Now, it's musky incense that has been long since dried into old papers. Nice, but another incense blend that I only need a little of.

 

ETA: only to mention that this is for the 2012 version.

Edited November 26, 2012 by thekittenkat

[catalyst]

I don't even know how to describe this. It's like nothing else I've tried, or had on my skin, except maybe Dragon's Bone. It has a similar "dry wood something" note to it, and I'm also wondering if there's a bit of India Ink in here too. It literally defies description, other than to say I really like this a lot. I don't get perfume or floral out of it, but there is a bit of "incense" whatever that means. Frankincense and maybe a little grain of rose or lavender somewhere to make it a little sweet.

 

It really does smell like an old library that somebody's been using incense in for years. And for some reason it smells really good. I'm extremely fortunate that a friend surprised me with a bottle in the mail yesterday as an early present.

[sophia_p]

I was really excited about this one, and as a result really disappointed. Thankfully I only got a decant of this.

 

At first all I smelled is cologne. I've noticed in another blend with incense, there was this cologne-y smell at first, so maybe it's that. As it dried, I gradually got the musk and incense on my skin, but only if I held my nose inches away. What was actually wafting up to me was just the cologne. I gave it many hours, but ended up washing it off.

 

My quest for a book-smelling BPAL oil continues!

Edited December 7, 2012 by sophia_p

[rosymaplemoth]

This was my first experience with a 5ml bottle, and I accidentally put on a wee bit too much. That probably affects my opinion of it, but... I mostly just got wham IN YOUR FACE floral. Bottle, wet, and dry I didn't get any paper or leather-bound books... which is quite sad, as the 'book' smell is what I was looking for.

The scent will also stay with you for a long, long time... so if you've been having trouble with scents that fade too quickly, this one is for you.

 

Nice, but glad I didn't get a full bottle.

[mymymai]

ITI: Powdery musk with something that reminds me of perfumed paper.

 

Wet: I get perfumy incense and spicy musk.

 

Dry: Sweetly resinous, like myrrh with white sandalwood, but also something explicitly like perfume. I'm just not sure what that note is.

[Mergekat]

Oh my!

I wanted to try a book-orientated fragrance because I find it to be a comfort scent. And when I won the bid for Lurid Library, I decided to try it now. I smelling it and I'm getting that sweet, yet dark incense and the dry tones that do remind me of very old books. It really does remind me of a few new age book shops I've gone to in the past. I actually really like it a lot because it balances out both the sweet and dry very well on me. I wonder now if other bookish scents would work well on me like this does? I give it a solid 4 out of five, only because around other people the incense might bother them.

[gobbldygook]

As a book lover I can't help but try as many of the bookish BPAL scents I can get my hands on...

 

Imp: Spicy and full of incense-y deliciousness; I think I can smell the musk as well. Sniffing from the wand, there's something sharpish and acerbic that smells really familiar, though I can't place it.

 

Wet: Sweetish incense and, oh dear...

 

Drying/Dry: Powder, powder, powder. Further from my wrist I get a touch of musky sweetness but it's quite overpowered. I can smell the sharpness I smelled in the imp on my skin as well - it's not straight up baby powder, but sweet floral powder. Other reviewers mentioned florals - I wonder if there's carnation, my arch-nemesis, in this.

 

Sadly, I don't get any incense or bookish smells at all; back to the imp box it goes.

[Zii]

First sniff: Oh dear... Medicinal musk... In fact, on second bottle sniff, it made me sneeze. I almost didn't test it at all, but I didn't want to give up on such a promising description and really adorable bottle.

 

Wet: Trying just a drop, I couldn't get my wrist away from my nose. It's nothing like what it smelled like out of the bottle (thank goodness)and it just the most wonderful smell. I smell a lot of beeswax and vanilla, which I can only assume is the parchment, plus a really spicy incense note. My skin loves this, and is amping all the things I love.

 

Dry: My little tiny drop dried down very quickly into a really sweet, slightly powdery incense. Most of the distinct parchment notes are gone, but I think the sweetness must be the beeswax notes I smelled when it was wet. It's still very strong, even though I just tapped the cap to my wrist. This one is probably going to linger, and if I get any odd morphs, I'll update my review.

 

Dryer: The honey notes are back!! They ease the powdery scent a little and make it crisper.

 

Also, this is the 07 blend, and I'm sure the age has a lot to do with how strong the richer notes are.

[Lorna Brigid]

I looked forward to trying the Lurid Library, and finally got my chance with the 2012 Weenies.

Honestly, this is all dust and Chanel No. 5 to me!!

It is pleasant for sure, but I think all I need is the imp. This is not something I reach for.

[Aviatrix]

This review is for the 2007 version that I recently bought here on the forum, so it was already aged when I got it.

 

Wet it smells musky and sweet and then dries down to almost pure incense on me, with something else that I'm thinking is a kind of dust note (the old books, maybe). Not that I'm complaining, I love incense-y scents and this one is very light and sweet! It reminded me a little of Old Moon.

 

I get none of the florals other reviewers have commented on.

 

It does not have much of a throw and stays very close to my skin.

It's a gorgeous scent nonetheless.

[sunlitgarden]

I'm going through some of my old notes. This is for the 2012 version, tested when it was fresh. I love the idea of "old book" smells, but to me they need to have a bit of sweetness; I've actually learned that this is from a compound released when the paper starts to break down.

 

No sweetness here. The Lurid Library was dark and musty, crumbly, and bitter on my skin. Evocative, but kind of gross. I think I'll stick with my Dungeon Crawl for this type of scent, which has a similar sort of spooky, musty feeling but is more wearable.

Edited September 26, 2015 by sunlitgarden

[aquazoo]

I get that sweet, old-book scent here.

[doomsday_disco]

Year unknown.

I'm always down to try a book scent, but alas, this one was not very bookish to me, either in the vial, or on the skin. It mostly read as cologne with a poof of powdery musk, but the incense aspect became more noticeable over time.

I wish I had gotten the old books scent that some other reviewers experienced! This is not for me, but I'm really glad I got to try it, and I'm looking forward to trying the pumpkin patch variant from this year's Weenies.  

Edited November 6, 2019 by doomsday_disco

[Lucchesa]

Not sure what year my decant is.  I get a dry, feathery incense -- not nag champa, fortunately -- and what smells like dusty sandalwood.  I'm not getting any clear sense of old books -- no appreciable leather or parchment.  There is a subtle muskiness as well.  This is a skin scent on me but lasts a long time.  Kind of a low-key comfort scent but nothing I need to seek out more of.