Event Horizon

[becca_s]

A disconcerting scent, heavy and oppressive, through which no light, no matter, and no spirit can escape. Black opium, labdanum, opoponax, black orchid, and benzoin.

This was a frimp from the lab with one of my orders.

Event Horizon is a dark and heavy scent on my skin - very true to its description. It's strong and has good throw. I can't really pick out any notes in particular, just a sharp, perfumey fragrance. Event Horizon isn't really my thing, but I am glad that I got to try it.

[calivianya]

Opium is hit or miss on my skin, and I think this one's a miss. The opium/orchid combination makes this a thick/dark floral with some interesting things underneath. Unfortunately, I just can't stand a predominantly floral smell. This will do better on someone else.

[catalyst]

I was intregued by the name of this one, and I'm not very familiar with those notes, so I thought maybe I was taking a chance that I'd hate it in a recent swap.

 

I really don't get the overly-dramatic gothic description at all. This is a 1940s sultry bombshell on a stage in a dark, upscale nightclub where it's cigars instead of cigarettes, and 20-year port instead of bourbon.

 

It's the female version of Satyr.

 

Almost so sweet and sticky that it goes foodie, like a dark burnt sugar chocolate caramel, but not quite. It stays on the resin/pipe tobacco side of that. My female housemate has already claimed it for her own. Way too sweet and floral for me.

 

They should re-name this Eartha Kitt. That's perfect. Yes.

Edited September 29, 2012 by catalyst

[strahlend]

A couple years ago when I first encountered this scent it didn't do too much for me. The opium and orchid were interesting, but not compelling.

 

I tried it again a few months ago and fell in love with it, and I appreciate it even more today. My tastes have been moving more toward resins and dark, saturated florals - and Event Horizon fits my current tastes perfectly.

 

Sniffing from the imp: this gives me a similar feeling as black lily, it's heady and floral and sweet, but this scent actually seems lighter in tone, I think the orchid has a somewhat uplifting effect.

 

Skin testing – Sweet and musky. It feels classy and elegant. The combination of opium and resins with the orchid is lovely. The orchid is more noticeable now. After a little time it mellows and all the elements blend into each other seamlessly. It's very smooth. This scent is like a river of black silk.

 

It blends into my skin and smells like I've been walking through resinous incense and wear an exotic flower in my hair, like I live in a temple.

[laforetnoire]

I haven’t been very lucky with any of the opium notes I’ve tried so far. But, let's give it a try! I got this as a frimp from the lab, and being a major science geek, I loved the name!

 

In the bottle: Smoky amber (benzoin I guess) and... cherry?!

Wet on skin: Homemade spicy cherry alcohol. Yummy! (It might be my imagination but, that’s really what it smells like to me!)

Dry down: Sophisticated patchouli and musk (which might be the opium note I smell here). With incense smoke, a hint of spices, dark florals notes in the background. And my imaginary cherry is still there!

 

It’s truly dark and seductive scent. I can't stop smelling my wrist! I get inevitably attracted to it, like a black hole. I cannot escape its gravitation!

 

I will definitely order a big bottle of this! A big thank you to Lab to make me discover this one. Just by the scent description, it's not a scent I would have tried on my own.

[Wren12]

In the imp...dark, sinuous, a touch of thick sweetnes.

 

On wet...lovely, strong opium with a resin like sweetness.

 

On dry...the orchid brightens the darkness of the opium and the sweetness remains without becoming foodie. The floral may be a little much for me, but I feel the opium might bring it down enough to work for me.

 

All in all, ill keep the imp, but I don't really need more.

 

Eta: so I got curious and looked up benzoin. Turns out it is a resin with a vanilla ice cream like scent, which must be providing those resin notes and some of the sweetness. You learn something new everyday!

Edited January 7, 2013 by Wren12

[kythe]

The scents that have worked best on my skin so far are smoke, leather, tobacco, and rum. Opium den was the next logical step.

 

On skin it's languid, druggy, mysterious, with a hint of sweetness. There's a smoky burnt charcoal edge to it that gets stronger for a while until it's almost drowned the rest out.

After 20 min, the burnt charcoal recedes and I get more sweetness and a bit of soapy floral that I'm guessing from the other reviews is opium. I typically amp florals but this one is respectably faint, like I used lightly scented bodywash. A hint of incense spice is coming out.

At 40 min, very faint. Mostly charcoal left. Blends with yet negates/contrasts my skin smell in such a way that the area I test swatched is like a void if I sniff closely.

 

Not in love, but intrigued enough to keep the imp.

[rinster]

In another thread I saw this scent referred to as an "old lady scent", but I don't get that at all. It's got a sophisticated velvety darkness that gives a nod to classic perfumes by Guerlain and Chanel, but I personally find this prettier. It's a little melancholy and cerebral, but that's ok because not everyone is in fizzy foody fruity floral candy mood all the time (or ever).

 

Re-reading this review, I realize I sound like a crabby old lady, so maybe it is an old lady scent after all!

Edited May 9, 2013 by rinster

[Caper]

Opium notes just smell amazing to me and I've liked every single blend I've tried with opium smoke or opium tar in it.

 

This is no different and I love it. I initially got an imp of it in a swap and I really liked it. I realized I needed a bottle when I found that I had reached for it almost every single day for a week. My bottle is very similar to my aged imp so I'm confident that it will only deepen a bit with age.

 

Something in here remain me slightly of Sin. Maybe it is the richness? I am not a floral fan and the smooth base of opium and labdanum are only lightly touched by the orchid. If I really look for it I can find a vague hint of the orchid, but it mostly just enhances the opium.

 

This is a win, and I'm about 95% certain I'm going to get a back up bottle of this in my next order because I would be very sad if it were discontinued.

[brilliantcat]

Sweetly floral in the imp and wet on my skin. I couldn't have picked this out as orchid, it smells almost fruity but a dark, rich, dripping fruit not a girly fruit. The opium quickly asserts itself in that dark, dusty, soporific way I love. Less fruity but it still has that punch of sweetness that keeps this from going into sneezy territory. Mmm I love this, it's probably my favorite opium scent.

[BoneBone24]

Wet: Dark, somber orchid

 

Drydown/Dry: Pale, misty resins. The opium lends a deep, intoxicating warmth to the blend, while the orchid brings a cooler energy. Where the two meet a fog-like smoke is formed. Airy, but dark and shadowy.

 

 

 

7 out of 10 bones

[Veronica]

Interesting. Something a little musky, murky and something twisted and sweet. Black licorice comes to mind.

[psychocygnet]

Smells like a garage, but in a weirdly pleasant way reminiscent of new car and spilled Coke and the cool paved ground. There's a sharp edge to it, so I can't see wearing it out where people will expect me to smell pretty, but I'm just so damn intrigued by it...

[Malaena]

Wet - This starts off as a super sweet flower. At first I was confused and had to look it up because I thought "I know I didn't order a damn white floral!" It smells very much like honeysuckle. I don't know what opium smells like and no orchid I have ever smelled is reminiscent of this.

 

Dry - The sweetness lessens and smokiness arises. It smells a bit like candle smoke. The smoke lessens and becomes an indescribable floral resiny scent.

 

I'm going to pass this one along.

[emanomaly]

I bought a bottle of this becoz... insomnia.

 

This smells just like the censors at church to me!

I'm not particularly religious but good lord do I love that smell. There's some kind of floralness there as well but mostly: church incense.

It's intense. I can't stop smelling it. Like the other resin-incense heavy scents I've wound up purchasing, I don't know how much I'll actually wear it. I don't really want to walk around smelling like church, but at the same time I am addicted to this smell. Perhaps I'll use it in a diffuser or oil burner thingy. It's quite heavy and quite lovely

[LizziesLuck]

I find this very true to it's description, heavy and oppressive.

 

It's much sweeter than I anticipated, and the orchid is the dominant note on me. It's almost too sweet. I like florals, but this one just isn't working for me.

 

 

ETA: hours later, this is actually really beautiful. I will likely do a full day test to see if I can be patient enough to get past the beginning stages, which are sickly sweet to me. If so, this may even be bottle worthy!

Edited October 31, 2015 by LizziesLuck

[Cali]

A smooth, industrial scent. Brassy and smoky.

I find it very hard to describe but I'm getting a silent-hill vibe.

[LuneNoir]

OMG! I'm in love!

This is dark, mysterious and as it's description says: Heavy and oppressive, but in an oh, so sexy kinda way. My husband said it reminds him of the Dior Poison that I used to wear. I get that, and am so happy that I tried this one. It's without doubt right on top of my favorites list.

 

Now if only I could find one that smells similar and does the same for me as my beloved YSL Opium..........

[Mermaid-on-Land]

Yummmmmmm. Resiny and sweet. There's a rich balsamic quality to this too. Not quite vanillic but sweet, as I tend to amp the sweet side of scents. The orchid reminds me of the narcissus from Darkness in the "dark saturated" variety of floral it presents. Both florals have a hollow quality as though the scent is cavernous. The orchid mainly flares up around the 30 minute mark, then fades back to a smoky, burning, resinous, incensey scent. Eventually the smokiness fades to the background a bit and it's more charred incense than BURNING incense. I really REALLY liked this one! It had a lovely throw, i smelled it as i moved around all day. It's still going strong at about eight hours. Yay. Smoky burning resins.

[kattalog]

Wet: Dark, almost oily spices.

Dry: A spicy sweet scent, softened by something oily or balsamic. Not gourmand, but rather spcies that adds to a soft warmth without being sharp – a dried fruits kind of sweetness.
At half an hour the spices are going strong, bits of dried sweet fruits but the balsamic character is mostly gone.
Past an hour its more warm spices, less fruits. This makes me think of the common more spiced fall scents that usually gets released, with notes of chai and pumpkin spice, but without being as foody and sweet, as there is no sugar in Event horizon. Just a itty bitty cloud of smokey incense.
Ends with a almost smokey vanilla-like sweetness

Dominant notes: Opium, warm spices, dried fruits during its early stages.

Lasting: 3 hours

[WinterSong]

In the imp: Dark, smoky opium.

On my skin, the other notes begin to shine through, but after a minute or two, this scent does something very bizarre: It ends up smelling a little like vegemite. I've tested the imp twice and on both occasions, this happened.

Then, sadly, it goes sour on my skin.

I think this would smell lovely on someone else, but it's definitely not for me.

[gloame]

Disconcerting is a good descriptor for this blend, but I don’t think it’s disconcerting in a bad way. It’s just unusual. It calls for a double-take when smelled.

The overall impression I get of it is dry wood, warmed up and ready to burn. The orchid gives it enough warm floral to balance out the heaviness of the other notes. I think it’s quite lovely.

Unisex, woody, soft, warm.

A surprise fave.

ETA 7/14/17: Eh.

Where I'd wear this: To disappear

Edited July 16, 2017 by gloame

[Pixie-elf]

Initially, it starts off smelling like a deep, sweet tea almost... Black tea, is how I'd describe it. I get hints of Orchid, and resin... Then the Orchid starts to bloom.

It's dark, but not really smokey on me, which I'm thankful for. Beautiful floral with a hint of sweetness, but not foody sweetness I guess that's the Opium? It's gorgeous. I can also smell what smells like honeyed resin, which I'm assuming is the opoponax. It's not strong, it's just far off in the background.

The sweetness eventually leaves, and I'm left with florals and resins.

I like this!

Edited June 18, 2017 by Pixie-elf

[VetchVesper]

Ummm.. I'm getting bubblegum? O_o. Like REAL heavy on the orchid, but it's reminding me almost of lotus. Black Lotus, to be specific. Then the floral gets sucked into the black hole and I get a weird, charred incense smell. Not sure what to make of it. Definitely one of the more interesting BPAL scent journies I've had.

[achildoftime]

There's a beautiful floral opening for this one. It's a pretty orchid and it's a little smoky from the opium. It was sweet, but different enough to make it an interesting version of a traditional floral. The more it wears, though, the more the opium and labdanum dominate. It's much darker, and less floral. I wish that the orchids came back, because they were my favorite by far.