Mort de Cesar

[Pottersville]

MORT DE CESAR
The essence of intrigue, betrayal, and impending doom.

Well, then, Antony, who was a friend of Caesar's and a robust man, was detained outside by Brutus Albinus, who purposely engaged him in a lengthy conversation; but Caesar went in, and the senate rose in his honour. Some of the partisans of Brutus took their places round the back of Caesar's chair, while others went to meet him, as though they would support the petition which Tillius Cimber presented to Caesar in behalf of his exiled brother, and they joined their entreaties to his and accompanied Caesar up to his chair. But when, after taking his seat, Caesar continued to repulse their petitions, and, as they pressed upon him with greater importunity, began to show anger towards one and another of them, Tillius seized his toga with both hands and pulled it down from his neck. This was the signal for the assault. It was Casca who gave him the first blow with his dagger, in the neck, not a mortal would, nor even a deep one, for which he was too much confused, as was natural at the beginning of a deed of great daring; so that Caesar turned about, grasped the knife, and held it fast. At almost the same instant both cried out, the smitten man in Latin: "Accursed Casca, what does thou?" and the smiter, in Greek, to his brother: "Brother, help!"

So the affair began, and those who were not privy to the plot were filled with consternation and horror at what was going on; they dared not fly, nor go to Caesar's help, nay, nor even utter a word. But those who had prepared themselves for the murder bared each of them his dagger, and Caesar, hemmed in on all sides, whichever way he turned confronting blows of weapons aimed at his face and eyes, driven hither and thither like a wild beast, was entangled in the hands of all; for all had to take part in the sacrifice and taste of the slaughter. Therefore Brutus also gave him one blow in the groin. And it is said by some writers that although Caesar defended himself against the rest and darted this way and that and cried aloud, when he saw that Brutus had drawn his dagger, he pulled his toga down over his head and sank, either by chance or because pushed there by his murderers, against the pedestal on which the statue of Pompey stood. And the pedestal was drenched with his blood, so that one might have thought that Pompey himself was presiding over this vengeance upon his enemy, who now lay prostrate at his feet, quivering from a multitude of wounds. For it is said that he received twenty-three; and many of the conspirators were wounded by one another, as they struggled to plant all those blows in one body.

Conspiracy and murder in the Theatre of Pompey: balsam of Peru, bitter clove, motia attar, amber musk, opoponax, cypress, red wine grapes, tagetes, spikenard, and blood accord.

Wet, this is all bitter clove and hot spices. I was surprised to get a cinnamon-like blast until I looked up "balsam of Peru" and found it described as smelling like vanilla and cinnamon. The cypress and opoponax are present, but playing in the background during this phase.

The red wine and florals start to peek out a bit more during drydown, though the spices are still very much present. I keep sniffing my wrist. I'm not sure that I love this blend -it has a nearly uncomfortable impact- but I know I don't hate it!

Three hours later and I've got a lovely, spicy, woody scent with what smells like dragon's blood sweetening it up. Normally I'm no fan of dragon's blood, but it certainly works well in this! A keeper!!


Edited for formatting.

[lisawoj]

Nice. Warm, spicy, very woody and dry. Definitely a unisex scent. I could picture Indiana Jones wearing this scent.

[scarletgenesis]

Please tell me why I had to spill almost 1/2 the bottle of this the first time I tried it. Please tell me why I only bought 1 bottle when I knew it would work for me so well.

 

This. Is. Gorgeous.

 

In the bottle, it's all cloves and cinnamon. Once on (and I'm wearing alot of it, in an attempt to not waste some of the spillage), the cinnamon-vanilla really pops and I also still get cloves, blood accord and some muskyness that must be the amber musk. I think I get a hint of the wine grapes as well. After a while, the floral and dry woodyness start to make an appearance. This is a rich, heady blend of spice that is kept from being too much by the softness of the vanilla.

 

I must track down at least one more bottle, because this bad boy is in my top 3. I know there's no use crying over spilled milk, but I will now go cry over spilled Cesar.

[Athenae]

In the bottle, I thought ... oh, boy, I should have ordered a gallon of this. Opoponax is my one true love, and I can smell the sweet myrrh and amber with something lighter behind them.

 

Then, on, it went straight to horrible men's aftershave. The balsam and cypress take over completely. I smell like a disgusting old man, and it has throw like whoa.

 

Stupid skin chemistry. I may wait a couple of weeks, and try this again, see if it smells less like Boozy Inappropriate Uncle and more like the heaven it smells like in the bottle.

 

A.

[euterpe414]

The first thing I thought once this hit my skin is that Mort de Cesar is a very powerful scent (in feel and in throw)- the cypress and balsam are very strong on me, supported by a very 'classical' incense and a hint of the 'blood' in the background. I really love cypress, and it is great to see it in an incense blend like this. I could see this scent working very well ion either sex, although I think it does lean a bit to the masculine side. I love the painting on the label, and I feel that this scent perfectly embodies it (how does Beth do that???). I have quite a few incense blends but this one is very unique amongst all of them, and a very welcome addition indeed.

[vintagedlust]

In the bottle the scent almost knocked me over. It's really powerful. I can definitely smell the bitter clove (and it is bitter, opoponax, and cypress. I would classify the smell as masculine overall.

 

Wet the clove amps up big time. For the first 5 minutes or so it was all I could smell.

 

Dry it softens up a little and I can smell the blood accord and grapes. There is also a hint of muskiness in the background for me. The cloves are still front and center for me though.

 

Overall I'm not really sure how I feel about this one yet. It may be a little too heavy for me. I think I'll keep for a couple of months or so and see what it smells like once it has aged a little. It has potential, the grapes and blood accord are lovely, but the clove is a little overpowering.

[savage_rose]

This smelled very spicy in the bottle, and on smelled like clove and cumin. Mmmm...a very sultry, beautiful scent.

[VioletChaos]

in the bottle: spicy. i get a ginger note, maybe some cinnamon, cumin. but it's not foody at all.

 

wet on skin: cypress is coming out now. i hope it doesn't stay. i'm not much for cypress.

 

dry down: interesting. the cypress has, in fact remained, but the other elements, notably cloves, vanilla and ginger, have taken the edge off, made it better. it's complex, darkly sweet and sexy as hell.

 

in all: oh YEAH!

 

 

 

Edited March 21, 2008 by VioletChaos

[inurbanus]

On me, Mort de Cesar is something sweet with faint spices. I was expecting this one to be stronger, but there's nothing offensive to my nose in this, which is good. There is a resiny quality that I really like at the beginning, but it goes away after fifteen minutes. It reminds me a lot of Gingerbread Poppet and Shub Niggurath. This isn't a must-have, but it's not a failure either.

 

3.5/5

 

ETA: This is unbelievably fabulous now. It's stronger, and the resins remain for the duration of the blend. I think this is now one of the best BPAL spice blends I've ever smelled. I'm sorry I doubted you, Mort de Cesar!

Edited September 21, 2008 by inurbanus

[slave1]

MORT DE CESAR

 

In Bottle: Musky earth

 

On Skin: This is so dark… mostly woods and spices… so very earthy and incensey. The resins are very deep, and there is a dirt note. I almost think I smell patchouli but it must be the more planty notes. I don’t smell the blood or grapes… hmm… was looking forward to them. The clove is very strong and the balsam is more woody than pine like. There is a light sweetness to it, but on me it is mostly a very dark, resinous earth scent. Not really me, but I love the intent, description and feel to this blend. Strong throw and long wearlength.

[sookster]

straight sniff from imp this reminds me a lot of valentine of rome...

 

once applied this has more spiciness but in the same family as VoR....

 

this is gorgeous; loads of clove ...superbly spicy, unisex blend...

[maribouquet]

Testing out my decant today, and I am surprised by how much I am enjoying this. Really loving what I think is the combo of amber musk and opoponax. The blood accord is very much present and has a wonderful iron-like tang to it. Very complex yet smooth and vital. I may have to track down a bottle if possible.

[Extispex]

When I first saw this up on the site, I knew it had the potential to be a new favorite. I scraped the bottom of my paypal to buy it. And I was so not disappointed.

 

Cesar, where have you been all my life?

 

In the bottle I get mostly cloves, with a hint of creamy balsam. I could sniff it from the bottle all day.

 

First on, its all clove and cypress. Very strong, spicy and masculine. I love this stage but its almost overpowering.

 

As it begins to dry down, I get more of the red grapes, which I love, and just a hint of blood against a vanilla-y background. It goes through so many stages as it dries, each one lovely. Then once dry, it settles into a gorgeous creamy aroma with hints of spice and dark resin.

 

The final stage is my favorite, and it has a lot of staying power one me. My only regret is that I didn't buy more bottles.

 

I'm looking forward to seeing how this ages, IF I can keep myself from slathering it on and using the entire bottle before it has a chance to age.

[twilighteyes]

In the bottle this is spicy clove and vanilla/cinnamon that is "Balsam of Peru". I can smell a bit of the sandalwood from the "motia attar" but none of the jasmine. Definitely musky. A tiny bit of fruit -- maybe from the grapes and the tagetes?

 

On my skin the clove comes out in full force (YAY!! CLOVE!!) Dry down is back to to clove, cinnamon, vanilla, sandalwood, a bit of fruit deep within but mostly dark spices.

 

Very lovely. Glad I grabbed a couple of bottles.

[alianthe]

In the bottle: Spicy! Winter spices, mostly nutmeg. It's not in the description, but nutmeg is what I'm getting here, with a blend of balsam and cypress, and a darker backnote. Very winter-spicy-woodsy.

 

On my skin: The amber musk comes up and wraps around the spicy-woodsyness, blending them in together. The result is dark and spicy and sinuously inviting, with an uncompromising sharp-bitter edge. There is enough similarity in the bottle to Samhain '07, which touched off a migraine, but it didn't happen with Mort de Cesar. This is almost as I would expect the demons of The Hallows to smell, but reassuring instead of frightening. That's probably the woods coming through. Not sure why, but today I want to bathe in it.

 

Conclusions: Delicious! A warming and bracing winter scent, perfect for days like today. Very glad I bought the bottle after reading the reviews.

 

ETA: name of scent that made headache

Edited March 24, 2008 by alianthe

[Spacekitty]

Um, I don't want to compare apples to oranges (or big etailer perfumer to little etailer perfumer), but to me this scent - with its theme and components says, "If you steal from betray me, I'll steal from betray you - only I'll do it better so don't F with me".

 

Mort de Cesar is a wonderfully woody/spicy/sweet blend. It's dark and angry and hot and... violent. But beautiful the way a fire or electrical storm or well-choreographed kung-fu fight is violent and beautiful.

 

On me the clove is the most prominent, but not in the way that Three Witches was where it was almost one dimensional because there was so much spice and not much else. This one is definitely multi-dimensional (God, Beth just keeps getting better and better at her trade) and multi-layered. Every note plays off each other beautifully. I keep visualizing a three-dimensional equalizer, with the all the blend's components moving up and down and back and forth, helping each other and pushing each other around.

 

I'm not a huge fan of heavy spice scents, but this is incredible. This is what I was hoping Minotaur was going to be.

Edited March 24, 2008 by Spacekitty

[moonstonemama]

in the bottle: spice spice spice

 

wet: all I'm getting is spice. lots of clove.

 

30 minutes later: less spice, more "other stuff" I can't discern what though. It's nice, I think. It does remind me of Three Witches, only this is more complex. I'd swear I smell some honey in this.

 

I think I like it. I think it's going to require some wearing to determine if it's a keeper.

[hkhm]

bottle: clove! yummy, spicy, warm clovey clove!

 

wet: clovey musk. this reminds me of the taste of clove cigarettes.

 

dry: yup, clove cigarettes. this is a keeper.

[alicia_stardust]

This is a fantastic blend, and it's right up my alley. It's also right up my husband's alley and he tried to pocket my bottle of Mort three times before I finally got him his own bottle.

 

The most prominent part of this blend, both wet and dry, is the clove. It takes me back to my days of clove cigarettes and damn if I don't want one right now! But Mort de Cesar is more than just a clove cigarette. It is darkness and deception; there is musk and dark resins, blood. But to counter that there is a sweet little hint of grape wine. This blend is complex yet smooth and it is oh so sexy with a dark edge to it.

[GoldenRubee]

First smell out of the bottle is yummy cloves, then spice. I knew from the description that this was a scent that would love me and I was right! It is spicy with a little woody undernote and after the cloves dry down a little it is just perfect. My husband could wear it, but I don't think I will let him. I purchased multiples of this and also scored my daughter's bottle since it was too heavy for her.

[Elilara]

Oh! I was just wishing for a smokey, clovey scent, and this really delivers! It has a familiar scent to it too- I think it reminds me of a very oily smelling Sandalwood perfume I had before I got into BPAL. There are also some very nice herbal notes to this one too- dry, not green.

 

The best part? My guy really digs it. He had me put some on him on the way to school (he was driving) and at the end of the day he said he must not have been wearing enough of it because no one asked him what he was wearing or seemed to notice it! Win? Yep!

[Little Bird]

Mort de Cesar is one of those scents that I don't really like on me, but I love it on my boy and would probably like it on anyone else. The bitter spice, sharp metallic twang of the blood accord, and powdery amber-musk make this not-me, but all around I do actually like this. On my boy it's a sexy blend of bitter clove, cinnamon-ish spice, and woods. Every once in a while I sniff and think it's resinous or a bit powdery or warmly musky, but overall it's spice and woods and a rather attractive scent . I wish I'd gotten a bottle of this for my boy.

[LupaWulf]

Wow! Just Wow!

 

I wasn't sure how I felt about this one when I sniffed the bottle. It did smell spicey, but wet it also had sort of wierd amberish or something tones? I wasn't sure, either way smelled sort of funny to me.

 

I decided to take a chance and put some on regardless. When it hit my skin it totally transformed! I experienced a warm, spicey scent rich with cloves and fire. It's delicious! Personally it smells like some sort of spice cookie my mom used to bake during the wither. And talk about lasting power! I bet if I hadn't taken a shower that night, I would have still smelled delicous cloves the next day.

 

I am very impressed with this one!

[lainevierge]

When I first pulled this bottle out of the box I thought it smelled spicy and lovely, but opted to try Sugar Moon instead. Today the bottle had a slightly different scent, more like Queen Alice (one of my favorites).

 

When I put it on just now, it had the unmistakable note of unwashed bodies in the background. Quite unpleasant. I blame it on the bitter clove. However, this faded and then disappeared and I'm left with a spicy incense scent unlike any spicy BPALs I've tried before (Wolf's Heart, Bathsheba, Blood Amber, Hades). I'm so glad this one morphed. It really is quite lovely and though I only dabbed one wrist it has an amazing throw. I still smell the clove in there too. This is everything I wanted Valentine of Rome to be.

[Brianne]

*shakes head sadly* Bitter clove seems to go wrong on me so often. It always seems to go powdery and sort of "off" - it just doesn't vibe with my chemistry This smells masculine to me but I'm not getting much else there unfortunately. And yet I will always hold out hope for bitter clove hehe!