Brimstone

[Meg]

In Hermetic alchemy, brimstone is one of the Three Heavenly Substances, one of the primary alchemical Priciples. It represents the strength of will and the vigor of passion, and it is a symbol of the process of fermentation. A smoky, gritty blend, husky and gray.

In the bottle: Smoke and burning! Oof, this is a dark perfume. It reminds me of Djinn and Yog-Sothoth.

Wet: Much the same as in the bottle, smoke, ashes, burning wood, it really smells like something that was on fire. But, uh-oh, Play-Doh! However, it seems rather appropriate... burning plastic probably does smell like that.

Drydown: It dries down to an acrid smoky smell, it still smells like it's burning when on the skin - actually it's a bit irritating for the nose and throat. And there's the sulphurous note I'd been looking for, it smells like firework smoke, and is the essential part of Brimstone, in my mind.

Overall: Works perfectly as a really burning, chemical scent. It doesn't just smell of burning things, it has a... perhaps minty tinge? Djinn was lemony, this is minty, rather, and it's got quite a bite. It sometimes veers near Play-Doh-ness, but it comes back just before. Actually it smells faintly like gasoline. Very very firey. I quite like it, though I don't think I'd actually wear it. I bought it because a favourite TV character of mine is rumored to wear a home-blended gunpowder scent, and this is probably the colsest thing I could find. Edited January 26, 2006 by Meg

[SeaMonkey]

It goes on smelling very strongly of rubbing alchohol and reminds me of getting a shot. As it dries, there is a stage where it is smokey and ashy. As it dries, it smells a little like bug spray. It reminds me of camping. I'm getting a woody burnt cedar smell.

 

It reminds me of rain putting out a campfire. Its a very unusual smell

[Thaleia]

Whoa, that is really strong stuff. I took one sniff from the vial and my sinuses should be clear for the next day or so. Definitely smells like something's burning, which is apt for the name (I was wondering if it was to do with hell, or the 'fire and brimstone' speeches which talk about just that). I'm almost scared to put it on. Unlike Djinn, which is fiery yet comforting and warm, this one's a towering inferno. Should I be getting civet out of this? I'm getting dizzy and my stomach is doing weird things, which probably means it's a yes.

 

It's mainly burning wood and scorched earth and a very strong civet note. I'm sorry, I hate doing this, but I'm going to have to wash this one off. I just can't take the civet thing. 1/10.

[The_Merf]

In the imp: Fire and brimstone, indeed! This may be a bit stronger than Djinn, but they both smell quite similar...very acrid.

 

Wet: I'm glad I was smart enough to try this on its own, as it is overpowering. However, it is quite evocative--this certainly smells like the refuse and results of dealing with dangerous substances in one's lab!

 

Drydown and wear: An incredibly strong scent that does not morph much on my skin. I wish it could warm up just a little bit (it smells like unnatural burning, not the burning of some natural substance like wood or tobacco), because I don't mind the strength, but it is sadly not for me.

[storme]

In the bottle: hey, awesome, smells like Djinn - smoky and warm and delicious.

 

On me, when wet: Whoa yikes. It's Djinn without the edge of sweetness that I loved so much there. Instead, this has musty earthy tones - strong and acrid enough to make me cough. It makes me think of a bonfire that had wet earth thrown on it to extinguish it.

 

And, sheesh, I can't decide if it smells like stale mossy earth (my brain thinks it's moss dust or something, I guess) or like a wet ashy smoke. It gets sweeter and warmer the longer it's on (and the acrid smell and the mustiness fades), but it also fades on me as that happens.

 

Verdict: I might be prepared to keep this around despite the musty fusty drydown stage, because in the imp and after a long drydown, it's a nice scent. But I think I'd rather use Djinn, and not have that acrid musty drydown.

[LittleGreyKitten]

This scent is major. It is not girly, not fluffy, not even friendly. It's fully hardcore. I think I could scare people with this smell.

 

It isn't just smoke to me. It's kind of... sharper. There's something metallic and pointy in there.

 

This is what one might expect Nuclear Winter to smell like (though it doesn't, not at all). It's very stark, deadly, and menacing. Menacing has been mentioned repeatedly in this thread, and for good reason. Brimstone embodies the scent of menace to me.

 

I'm amazed Beth created something that causes such a visceral reaction- it really does.

 

That being said, it is so very, very not me. I also think I can almost taste it, just the dab I put on, and it has GOT to come off. Now.

 

Anyway, for an evocative scent that lives up to it's name, 5 out of 5; for actual wearability on me, a 1. Still, try it if it comes your way. It's worth it for the experience, for sure. (And who knows, you may have someone you need to intimidate, and I think this might just be the ticket!)

[filigree_shadow]

When I first put this on, I thought "Ew. Did she sneak some civet in here?" Pungent and gross. And then I got interested in something I was doing around the house, and didn't sniff it again for about 15 minutes. It was much better that time. Still a bit nose-crinkly but not icky.

 

It smells smoky, not like a campfire but like that acrid smoke when something's burning that shouldn't be. But I don't actually want to smell like I'm on fire. The thought of people lunging at me with buckets of water does not appeal. So this one's not for me.

 

However I must mention that there is something in this that reminds me of chicken noodle soup. Odd. Maybe it's an herb in there or something.

[dragonryder]

Oh my, smoky definitely from the bottle and quite strong. Left it on for a while, but a little too much for me.

[urbanruralferal]

Okay, Brimstone has the honor of being the first BPAL scent to feel like home to me. Going on, it feels like a second skin! (I used to wear vetiver all by itself, or mixed with sandalwood (Khus), so this is a comforting and familiar scent.) It is gritty and sharpish at the same time, although grey I don't get...
After wearing it for an hour or so, it loses a bit of it's sharpness and goes a tiny bit sweet on me, and almost a little soapy, but not unpleasantly so. It seems to fade fairly quickly, but it may be that I can't smell it anymore but others can. That used to happen to me with vetiver...
At the rate I am applying this, I am going to quickly use up the little imp; this may my second big bottle ever!
Brimstone has also helped define a path for me to travel through the world of BPAL. I am sure to meet a scent that will bump Brimstone, cause it's not quite perfect, but for now it reigns in my imp box!
Oh, yeah, and my husband, who is wary of added scent due to chemical sensitivity, took a whiff of this on me, and said, "Now that's more like it!" An added bonus.

ETA: In town today wearing Brimstone. A clerk says as she rings me up, "I smell something burning... rubber?" It was me! BWAHAHAHAHA!

 

edited 2017: I tried a fresh imp of Brimstone, and while it is still really nice, it isn't the Holy Grail I was raving about 11 years ago. Today, for me, this finishes as a pretty, feminine vetiver.

Image: the sweet stargirl that works at the head shop. You have a crush on her, but she isn't quite letting you in to her private reality.

 

I'm going to put this aside to age for a while, cause, you know, vetiver.

Edited November 14, 2017 by urbanruralferal

[ladymissspyder]

In bottle: acrid and smoky. Does not actually smell like brimstone, thankfully. I'm not sure if I even want to try this on. (But I'm doing the whole-GC swap, and as far as I know I'm not allergic to any of the ingredients, so I will).

 

Wet: It's got that cat-piss smell that green wood gets. Gah...I really can't remember which wood gets like this.

 

Dry: OK, now it smells like brimstone ( ) and a bonfire. I'm also getting some...oakmoss and patchouli, I think. But just in the background.

 

I'm going to guess that this will fade into a faintly sulphuric patchouli/oakmoss blend, but I'm all set and I'm going to wash this off!

 

As a side note: I would have to agree with an earlier poster who said that this is a Nightcrawler scent. It would be an awesome addition to a Nightcrawler halloween costume, or a generic demon costume. Yes, I am that anal about my halloween costumes.

Edited May 22, 2006 by ladymissspyder

[goth_hobbit]

Well, I decided to try out my imp today -- seemed appropriate, since I'm soldering.

 

In the bottle: Lives up to the name; I get a flashback of an SCA event where someone decided to light the campfire with charcoal starter and briquettes -- after the wood was added, but before the charcoal / starter fluid scent burned off. This one is going to be interesting...

 

Wet: Wow. Fire. My skin is amping this something fierce. A teeny dab creates an almost 2 foot throw. Faint hint of sulphur with incense. Fire at a Catholic church.

 

Dry-down: More of a floral note creeping out, but still very intense.

 

Completely dry: I can't decide if I like this or not. If I don't, why do I keep sticking my wrist up to my nose? It reminds me of several things; the resinous scent of casting wax, the scent of the burn when a flake of same ignites on charcoal, incense, campfires... I almost think that Hawaii must smell something like this, when you're close to Mauna Loa. No, maybe it's more brimstone and treacle with a floral note. I can't decide.

 

I finally decided that I like it, but Panther-kitty took one sniff, and started sneezing to the point that her eyes were watering. Much as I like it, I can't call it a comfortable scent on me. I'd wear it if I were going into a serious confrontation with someone who I really don't like, because the throw will be enough to make them keep their distance.

 

Brimstone comes across as a very aggressive scent, and if I need the psychological armor, The Black Tower or De Sade would probably work better. I prefer to project quiet menace.

 

On the other hand, if I ever get up the moxie to do a Dark Phoenix costume like I've been threatening, I know exactly which imp to grab...

Edited May 25, 2006 by Goth Hobbit

[juniperus]

Bottle: stone and smoke and ash.

Wet: same, but deepening and darkening.

Dry: must be both vetiver and moss here - the bottom notes are amping and morphing.

Later: deep, dark cave smelling of bare earth and damp stone filling with the smoke of a great, hidden forge.

[PilotKitten]

Well, at least the lab description is accurate... wood fire, smoke and incense.... and not in a good way (at least for me).

 

The wood fire note comes out slowly but whaps you over the head when it's out in full force. I find myself almost wishing for the overload of incense again... almost.

 

I smell like I just got finished rolling around in a cinder bin or cleaning out a chimney. Where's my top hat and chalk dammit, I want to be "Bert" and dance with some penguins! >_<

 

10 minutes later and I'm catching a whiff of some faint sweetness. Not enough to talk me into keeping it on any longer though.

 

Dancing penguins would be the best thing about wearing Brimstone... that is, if there were dancing penguins in the first place.

[TrailerTrashPrincess]

sadly, the wet-in-the-imp smell doesn't change much on me...

 

all day long i've smelled the way our living room smelled the year a storm blew the cover off the fireplace and all the ash and logs got rained on.

 

amazing that such a scent-memory can be crammed into such a teensy little glass vial, but that's the talent from the Lab.

 

i'll keep this, just to sniff it and be amazed. and maybe scare some people off. (again, i must be grateful for my Other Half's complete lack of a sense of smell!)

[septima_pica]

I've practically OD'd on Paracelsian alchemy recently, so I'm curious as hell about this one. ::applies:::

 

::falls over::

WHOA. That's *burnt*. A blast of smoke like a campfire being extinguished with water, then a burst of something weird and ozoney -- like burning plastic maybe. Oh man, this is so incredibly evocative I can't even figure out how it was done. It even *smells* pointy! How is this even possible?

 

This scent is a bravado coloratura piece, what my old piano teacher called a fireworks show. It's like a Liszt fantasia: its purpose is not to be aesthetically pleasing so much as a shout of "Check this shit OUT!". I approve wholeheartedly. I'm keeping this one for sure, but I'm still not sure what I'm going to do with it.

[laurahcory]

Wow. Brimstone is bottled wet ashes, still smoldering. It's too harsh for me to wear on its own, but on a hunch I applied some Baron Samedi over it, and what a great combination! So I think I'll keep my Brimstone for blending purposes, again, not to wear by itself.

[sookster]

straight sniff from imp this reminds me distinctively of djinn but with a much deeper and earthier note....

 

applied this amps up intensely with my chemistry...definitely smoky and dark...

i find it just beautiful and intriguing...although this is much more of a autumn/winter blend to my schnoz....i will give it another try at that time...

during hot, humid days this is just much too powerful

 

i can picture myself wearing this with a heavy wool sweater, my fav faded jeans,

ugg boots sliding down a thickly blanketed snowy hill in the neighboring town with my grandkids

[Elrianra]

In the bottle, this is gritty and very smoky... it reminds me of ashes and sand and there's a bitter wood note in this. Wet, my skin tones down the harsh chemical bitter smell so this isn't pesticide anymore (that's what it reminded me of, mesquito repellant!!!) and has that odd smoky/sandy wood note. Somebody said cedar but I don't think so... it's more like aged cypress. As it dries, oddly enough, the smoke dies out almost entirely and leaves behind a grey grit that rubs at my nostrils like I'm scrubbing them with sand. There's something tart in this, not citrusy, but bitter-sharp-sweet. How very strange. As it warms, this reminds me a little of my dad's mechanics soap that he always kept around when I was a kid - gritty with sandstone or something ground up in it... it lacks the citrus notes that stuff had, but the gritty smell just evokes that image. Reminds me a little of paint thinner as well, very sharp and acidic. This is definitely something that reminds me of sitting outdoors and watching a camp fire - no, a bonfire - die down after hours and hours of burning. The smell of scorched earth and the last wisps of flame from the embers before a gentle breeze churns up the cloud of dark smoke that signals the death of the blaze... This is harsh and direct. It stays hard and gritty hour after hour - did I forget to mention this is strong?! A tiny dollop on my wrist and all I smell on my arm is charcoal and embers.

[Brianne]

In the vial:

Husky is the right word - it's acrid and husky

 

On me:

Woah, this is very much "burnt" and not like firewood - more like wet ashes. It's acrid and bitter and that smokey and gritty smell is very intense. I would say this is one scent that was captured extremely well. I think I was hoping for something a little more "fireplacey", but this isn't it. It is, however, very much what it says it is - burnt. There is some kind of wood note here, but it's something a little bitter, so it doesn't give a fireplace feel to it. An unsual blend, the woman who wears this is brave!

 

Final note:

Not a firewood smell, but kind of like if someone put out a campfire and you can smell bug spray at the same time. Smoldering, burnt, acrid and smokey with a touch of mystery woods.

[edenssixthday]

Brimstone - Egad! I didn't think it was possible to find a BPAL oil that was more vile than Highwayman, but I have found it. Brimstone smells like an ashtray -- one that's sitting next to a rotten egg. Oh wow, this is just gross. I'm sorry I can't even attempt an objective review of this one, it makes me physically ill! Despite my complete revulsion to this blend, it matches the description perfectly, and I have a feeling this is exactly the scent Beth was intending to create. It is highly reminiscent of standing on the edge of a huge sulfur pot up in Yellowstone National Park. If you like smoke, ash, and sulfuric blends, you may like this, but I sure don't.

[Eunice]

My first reaction was that this was wasabi and pickled ginger. It gets a little woodiy and smoky after a while but this just smells like wasabi and pickled ginger. And as odd as the combination may be, I really really like this!!

[Miseraya]

I got this from Juniperus Intrepidus, thanks!

 

In the imp - Wow, strong and acrid. It almost smells like I have been kicked in the sinuses by an enraged burnt grapefruit.

 

On Eric (the boy) - This is unfortunate, on Eric it smells like burning tires, maybe burning plastic. Definitely an acrid burning chemical smell.

 

On me - It's similar... I get that chemical fire sense again. When I was a child, my stepfather used to have trash fires on our property (rabid pollution, but I was too young to do anything about it). This smell reminds me of those giant bonfires, comprised of all the household and workshop garbage. I was always warned to stay away from them because he would toss everything in there, regardless of whether it was explosive or not, and once a can of spray paint exploded and sent shrapnel through a nearby tree. This is that smell exactly. Oddly appealing but frightening and utterly bad for you. The strange mix of fire, food, chemicals... sweet but acrid and if you stood too close for too long you'd start to get lightheaded...

 

As magnetic and amazing as this scent is I can't see it as something I would want to smell on me or in my house. Off to the swaps.

[PurringPulsar]

Brimstone

 

In the imp: not sulphur, thank goodness. Instead I get vetiver, ginger (I hope this isn't the nasty red kind that turns evil on me) and incense. Maybe patchouli.

Wet on skin: vetiver of doom with ginger…

Dry on skin: ginger, deep, heavy vetiver, and a twinge of incense, dry earthy patchouli, autumn leaves, with a hint of sweet resin to it-maybe frankincense. This is an earthier, less spicy, vetiver-based version of Djinn. It's intense and very much dominated by Vetiver of Doooooom, but it's not bad. It's dark and ashy, like wet charred wood that was once part of an autumn bonfire, with dead leaves on top.

After a while: I'm sure I'm getting a slight hint of burnt rubber…yup, the ginger here is probably red ginger. Dang it. it's not overpowering though-because vetiver is still king here. Smoky, incensy, gritty, dark, sweetish vetiver, with a scent to it reminiscent of damp, decomposing bark chips.

And then the scent becomes nothing more than rubbery red ginger and evil smouldering vetiver. It'll take ages to scrub off, this will. It does remind me of the vetivery drydown of a TAL/voodoo scent, but with a burnt rubber scent that I'm not into at all. The scent does have a feel of something ritualistic about it which seems fitting.

Verdict: whilst it seems appropriate for the description and is a very good representation of brimstone without any sulphurous tones, I wasn't very keen on this scent. Dark, smouldering, gritty, ashy, burnt, destroyed, almost apocalyptic. It has the heavier, darker vetiver that can either be very nice or can ruin a blend, and worse than that, it has red ginger, which, from experiencing the SN, turns to rubber on me. This scent was all burnt rubber ginger and vetiver. Occasional hints of patchouli and resinous incense try to lift the scent at times, make it more bearable, but are scared off by the dominating presence of these two evil notes. If I want a burnt scent, I think I'll stick with Djinn-it has a slight similarity, with ginger and vetiver but also spices and a whole lot more incense to make it lovely. This is going to swaps.

Emoticon rating:

If you liked this, try: Djinn, Sloth, Hurricane, Muladhara, Umbra

Edited September 28, 2006 by yeahbutnobut

[Alchemy21599]

In the vial: acrid smoke.

 

wet: this scent reminds me of a college chem lab accident. I must wash it off now!

[VeganChick]

Hoo boy. I got this as a freebie with something I bought from someone (I got a bunch of orders all at once, so I forgot who this one came from.)

 

Sniffing the imp: Holy strongness! My first reaction was "Ick!". But then it gives off a slightly sweet note. Mostly a cedar-like wood and lots and lots of smoke. I was afraid to try this one...

 

Wet: The sweet note comes out a bit more, but it's stil an extremely strong woodsy, campfire smell.

 

Dry: It's a nice sweet campfire smell. A bit too woody and masculine for my tastes, but it's still nice. Obviously, since I keep sniffing my wrist as I type.

 

Overall: It's a very nice, evocative scent. Both comforting and threatening (as all smoke smells are for me). I think this would be a good cold weather scent. Like in the depths of winter when I'm snuggled in a thick sweater and blankets. This one would probably warm me right up...