Faustus

[shriekingviolet]

Category: Sin & Salvation

 

Site Description:

An infusion of incalculable power and irresistible temptation. Truly an exercise in megalomania and self-gratification: frankincense and cinnamon, darkened by violet.

 

Initial Impression:

Frankincense is what I smell mostly here, though there's a slight violet tingue that I smell after exhaling.

 

After Wearing It:

For the first hour or so, I can't smell anything but frankincense here. Very pungent and demanding, and more than a little masculine. I like frankincense, but on its own, it's a bit much, so I was quite happy when the frankincense started fading back enough to allow the violet notes to poke through. in the end, this isn't a distinctively violet scent, but it is a pretty intriguing spicy and slightly powdery oil that whispers seductively of lighter things.

 

Final Thoughts:

I really like the dry down on this one, but it takes a bit long to get there and the first stage of the fragrance is too harsh for my nose. Might be something to try putting on before I go to bed, since it is pretty long wearing. I need to test this one out as a room fragrance as well.

[sirensongsouth]

I found Faustus to be a spicy warm slightly powdery scent. Mostly I smell a dry incensy scent (frankinscense I assume) warmed by cinnamon, the violets lurk around the edges softening the scent and keeping it from being too austere. I like this a lot and I don't find it to be too masculine at all. However, I have also been known to wear men's cologne from time to time since they are usually spicy and warm and less floral than many women's scents. I like this a lot, I will definately be using up my imp's ear and may even buy a bottle.

[Gothabillywench]

I can't believe it's taken me this long to post on this!

 

This was one of the 1st BPAL scents I ever tried & I still love it!

 

This is a winter rainy day smell. It's very strong & heady. Spicy but with a mega violet kick to sweeten things up a little. This one lasts all day & for ages after as my winter scarf came out of hiding yesterday after a very long summer & I could still smell the Fuatus on my scarf - from last winter!!

 

Just a perfect winter evening smell- sexy, intoxicating but still girly enough from the violet to stop the spices & resins from making it manly.

[chai_girl]

I stopped by my mailbox on my way out the door to a party...lo and behold my BPAL box was in there! I took it with and...not being able to resist...I opened it at the party. I had friends digging through the box and ooohing and ahhhing...Several of them men...

 

Now to the point...One of the extras that Beth added was Faustus. I sort of remembered that it was supposed to be a masculine scent so I found a couple of volunteers...OMG! By the time I left an hour ago, these men were having women grabbing them by the arm and sniffing as they melted. This is a fantastic scent on a man. The two that tried it had slightly different body chemistry, but it was similar on both...the violet was there, but it was kept from being too feminine by the cinnamon and frankincense. They blended well and I didn't really smell the cinnamon and frankincense, it was more of a "feel" because they kept the violet from being too overwheming, if that makes sense.

 

Both of these guys asked me for the URL for BPAL and plan on placing orders ~grin~. I need to stash that imp away until my boyfriend comes in to town next weekend.

[Alice Aforethought]

Imperious and impulsive...to me it's mostly smooth, sharp spice with a little frankincense underneath, and cool violet gliding smoothly above. It is very sexy - out of all the violet scents I've tried, this one is the deepest, and most exhilarating and alive.

 

This would be perfect for cold, rainy November days in front of a fire, but you'd still get the draught and shiver of the rain on the windows.

[cuervosueno]

I just got my imps ear of this. Was inspired to try it by reading these reviews. I often wear frankincense alone so I thought I'd try it even with the suspicious violet in it (I'm afraid I rarely like floral notes)

And I tried it for the first time tonight and loved it. On me what I noted most was cinnamon, though there was a sweetness that I attribute to the frankincense. It faded down to just the hint of floral, the violet..... Very very nice, but at least on this first try, it faded very quickly--is virtually gone now, just about 4 hours later.

I kept having an image in my head of someone dressed in a dark edwardian suit, with a flash of purple from the shirt underneath....it is a very elegant scent to me, and yet somehow devious....

I may get a bottle of this.

[lorajc]

oooooooooohhh this scent is unbelievable. I love it. Frankincense, violet and cinnamon!! It is really a true gem. Beth really knows how to make the unique scents and that's what I love about her scents. Chimera is the first cinnamon scent I bought and Eclipse and Faustus were the next 2. Faustus is deep with an unexpected splash of violet and cinnamon. What a combination. Who would have ever thought I've blending this? Well of course, our lab Goddess, Beth. I bow to thee almighty Beth! Megalomania and self gratification..........yes, this is a very self gratifying blend!

[Splendid Molerat]

This is another new favourite for me. Faustus has both coldness and warmth, like a charming sociopath. For me the cinnamon adds a dizzying, carbonated quality, and the whole blend is sublimely sniff-able.

 

I'll have to save this for days when I need to convince myself that I'm the most important person in the room.

[TheDarkMother]

In the Bottle: The Frankensense in there is the most powerful scent, floowed by the cinnamon, with an aftersmell of violet. Oooooh!

 

On Me: I can't smell the cinnamon yet, so it is very heavy franksence and violet. Mmmm....violet! This is an amazing scent, very powerful and condescending. Then, here comes the cinnamon that just hightens the power of the scent. This commands attention. My hubby was sitting next to me playing City of Heroes and this is the first time he has turned to me and said, "What is that scent that you just put on?" He likes this one a lot, he says that it smells very good on me.

 

Its nice to be noticed!

[Astarte]

This has to take the biscuit for most oddest trio of notes but it works so well together. The sharp note of frankincense is subtly sweeted and warmed by the cinamon (almost smelled warm like oranges for a while) and then cooled by the violet. Gorgeous and cant believe I've not tried this sooner.

[Penance]

Got an imp of this from Tempete.

 

First sniff:

 

Frankincense, very strong frankincense and a hint of cinnamon. This is like Penitence's spicier, softer sister. I don't smell any violet yet, but that's fine because I love the way it smells as is.

 

Wet on skin:

 

The frankincense immediately disappears as soon as this hits my skin and it turns into violets dipped in cinnamon sugar. Very powdery and softly spicy at the same time. I don't normally care for floral scents, but this is beautiful. The spiciness of the cinnamon keeps this from becoming headache inducing and the floral notes keep it from smelling like a bakery.

 

Dry down:

 

More powdery and slightly less spicy. The frankincense still hasn't made a reappearance, but I find that I'm not really missing it. This is so beautiful just the way it is that I don't think I'd want to chance ruining it by adding it into the mix. I really like this one!

 

The bottom line:

 

This one's a real shapeshifter. It goes from resiny and spicy to powdery and spicy in the space of seconds and both ends of the spectrum are just gorgeous. I really like this one.

[closedacct]

Faustus

 

In the bottle:

Mmmmmm. Frankincense.

Wet on skin: Lovely frankincense, but strangely, no cinnamon or violet.

 

Dry: Still powerful frankincense and nothing else

 

Final thoughts:

 

I totally love this even though I couldn't get those coveted cinnamon and violet scents. However, my husband hated it, calling it potpourri scented. So, off to swaps.

Edited November 22, 2004 by ewalk

[Ishtar]

I was really looking forward to trying Faustus since I adore frankincense, cinnamon and violet.

 

I expected something warm, bright and haughty, but Faustus turned out to be cool, sharp and quite masculine on my skin. As it dried, the violet quickly took a backseat to the resin and spice. In spite of this, the blend did not warm up and never really "bloomed" on my skin.

I did enjoy Faustus but I feel as if it did not quite express its full potential. I feel as if I missed something. I ended up swapping it, but maybe I should give it another try one of these days.

[isyche]

At first, Faustus is all dark incense, then the violet comes out. The frankincense and violet combination is really dark purple, smoky and interesting. The cinnamon adds a subtle touch of spice/heat but isn't really noticeable on me.

 

I really like this - a man could definitely wear it, but I like it on me too. It certainly fits the name...makes me picture a sorcerer conducting a dark ritual with incense and fire, wearing deep purple robes.

[Nadirah]

I love cinnamon and frankincense so I Love Faustus. the Violet gives it a light floral smell and in this oil blend it works so well. It is very long lasting and strong. No need to slather this stuff on because a small amount smells really good. This goes on my big bottle list.

[sarahmarie]

At first, this was all violet on me. It reminded me a lot of soap, but there was still something different about it, something seperating it from a normal soapy-floral scent. And then, the violet dropped down quite a bit, allowing a cinnamon-warmed frankicense to come out. The cinnamon is barely detectable on me, which is interesting since my skin often loves cinnamon and amps it up. Instead, it just warms the frankicense, so there's a hint of spice but not much else. The violet never really goes away, it just drops back enough so that I can smell the rest of the scent too. Interestingly, the violet seems to sort of float in the air as a seperate entity from the rest of the blend. I like this, but it's got some challenging notes for me, and I'm not sure I like it enough to keep it.

[LupaWulf]

I really LOVED the description and the thoughts of the mix on this one.

 

Definatly spicey and I could smell the frankensence. I wasn't sure about wearing it, but the other notes really temped me into putting it on at work.

 

I'm sort of on the fence for this one. I DID smell cinnamon for a little while with it on. Yet, it really didn't last. Frankensence really took over.

 

I'm not huge on the frankensence.

 

So overall I'm sort of still fence sitting. Glad I only got an imp of it. I'll still give Faustus another shot to proove himself. (Mostly since I'm a huge cinnamon fan, and I also love the story of Faustus)

[Theravada]

I really thought I'd like this one. I love incense notes and cinnamon. Although I wasn't very familiar with violet, I'd heard it compared to lavendar, which I really like.

 

These three notes just did not work well together on me In the bottle I mostly smell the dry, smokey frankencense and a strong sweetness which I guess is the violet. The cinnamon is very subtle.

 

On, this stays very true to what I smelled in the bottle, except the sweetness intensified!! I'm shocked at how sweet this one is! I guess violet can do that, and now I know I'm NOT a violet fan. And no, they don't smell like lavendar at all

 

This would have been really nice with some other floral note besides the violet. It just went way too sweet, and I really can't see this as a men's fragrence at all. I'm really kind of sad about this one.

[scourgeotheseas]

Faustus

 

Beth threw this in as a freebie a while ago, and I'm just getting around to it.

 

In the bottle: Some kind of spicy scent. It must be frankincense. I don't smell cinnamon or any floral.

 

On me/wet: It's all about the frankincense, I guess. I love cinnamon but can't pick up any of it on my skin. I also really don't get any violet at all. Perhaps the frankincense will go away soon, leaving me with a more pleasing drydown.

 

Drydown: Starting to pick up a more powdery scent. Other than that, I can't sense a change. It does smell very masculine, though.

 

Yeah, this is SO not me. Off to the swap pile, ye impie!

[Macha]

Faustus sounded intriguing, and I like cinnamon scents, so I ordered an imp of the stuff from the lab.

In the bottle: What an incredibly dark, spicy smell. Strong violets, mixed with the spiciness of cinnamon. I can't smell the frankincense. It smells very astringent and medicinal.

 

Wet, on skin: I put this on and immediately wonder if I've made a mistake. This is such an overpoweringly masculine smell, so dark and sharp and spicy, that I can't see me wearing it. It's almost medicinally pungent, overpowering and in-your-face. A hell of a throw, and dark as sin. There is something about this scent that is unabashedly corrupt, and my initial impression is to say it's not for me. My boyfriend, on the other hand, immediately says he likes it.

 

Dry, on skin: Like a perversion that shocks at first, then titillates and finally arouses, Faustus is beginning to seduce me. The violets crumble into powdery sweetness and the cinnamon becomes a warm glow of dying embers upon which the frankincense burns softly. This is really quite beautiful, if extraordinarily masculine and dark.

 

Conclusion: I bet this would smell amazing on my boyfriend, so I will have to arrange that. A powerful scent, a forceful scent, but a scent that is definitely wrestling with its demons. It's just a little too much for me, although I could get used to that lovely dry-down stage.

[Finny]

Frankincense and Violet?

 

Violet turns to sugared violets on me, I love the way they smell. Frankincense is my favorite of all the resins. The combo, is wonderful. Dry sweet wood, with sweet candy flowers, the cinnamon spices it up nicely.

 

This is a wonderful combination for me.

[Lucretia]

Well, my favorite violet scent to date. This smells like dark smokey violets, not the icky violet candies i get most of the time.

First on I get goneril almost.. there must be cedar or sometype of wood in here as well. That later fades and i get some soft smokeyness. Dark, like a smokey lounge, and yet somewhat sweet with violets. An innocent lady in dark circumstances.

 

Nice! Will certainly finish the imp.

[Gin]

The cinnamon pops out right away. The violet is underneath, and doesn't fully emerge unless I take a big whiff. I don't smell the frankincense much at all, unless it's just blended so well that I can't separate it from the cinnamon, which is entirely possible. This stays steadily cinnamon all the way through.

[requieminblack]

First sniff from the bottle- A bit medicinal?

 

After 10 minutes- It's so weird how some of the BPAL oils trigger memories. This one smells exactly like the drug store we used to go to when I was a kid. I remember always thinking it smelled strange in there...and this smells exactly like it! It's not a bad smell...it's a medicinal/Doctors office kind of scent mixed with powdery violets. I don't smell any cinnamon in this.

 

After 30 minutes- This still smells like the drug store/Doctors office.

 

Summery- This one was a wash off. I am not having any luck with the oils I am reviewing today.

.

[shelldoo]

very very frankensence on the wet stages

 

as it drys it becomes more floral and the violets blend nicely w/ the cinnamon and frankensence.

 

nice blend very mature and complex.