The Antikythera Mechanism

[marared]

Teakwood, oak, black vanilla, and tobacco.

Arg, for this imp has a sticky top that's nearly impossible to get open!

I really like this one, but it's not a scent I think I would wear - however, I would love to slather a guy in this and cuddle up and sniff it on *him*. It's very well blended, and it takes a while for the vanilla to come out, but it's there, held down by the teak. It's just too masculine for me, alas.

[sprocket21]

In the imp: Sweet, sharp wood.

 

This sweetens up a bit after it's been on my skin for a while. It's about half vanilla and half teak. It's wonderful to sniff, but it's just a bit too masculine for me. This is an amazing scent though - very well blended, not too sweet, not too sharp, not too dark. It's a work of art. It seems like something I would wear when I need to be inspired.

[eatingthesea]

this is gorgeous i set myself up for not liking it because of all that woodsy stuff, and i still do not know how tobacco fares on my skin in general. at first, this scent is a bit too cologney and masculine for my tastes but after some time, it is all smoky, deep vanilla. sometimes i get little wafts of what i perceive to be a moss note but alas, that one is not listed. and if it were in it, the love would be just as, if not more, forevermore. anyway, this is a perfect comfort scent, something i'd classify as being in the same family as hellfire. lots of yummy smokiness. good for smothering the manchild with, too. there is no sharp cologne note here after it's been sitting. worth the wait. there should be more scents like this one.

[tinyvulture]

if you enjoyed the tobacco and vanilla combination in Black Lace, i would recommend this scent. i’d say it’s the male companion to Black Lace, really. the spicy tobacco and soft vanilla are seamlessly blended with teak and oak, two of my favorite woods. the oak reminds me of the strong oak note in the Hesperides, and the teak is dry and refined as usual. i agree with other reviewers that it has a Victorian feel -- proper on the surface, decadent underneath. there’s something cold and dark about it, too, like sniffing cold marble or metal.

[bites_the_sun]

This is absolutely beautiful. It starts off wet as quite perfumey with a faint tinge of something metallic - but not offensively metallic, then dries into a gorgeous smoky, woodsy, vanilla (and this from someone who reacts badly to many vanillas - I hate Antique Lace, for example), very well blended. I don't find is 'masculine' at all. Gender neutral, maybe, but it doesn't smell manly to me at all. Something about it - the vanilla and the mood it creates for me, actually reminds me somehow of Snake Charmer, my ultimate BPAL scent.

 

I never order 2 bottles of anything, but after sampling this scent from the imp, I'm almost inclined to order two bottle of it with my next order, as I can see it being a scent I want to wear above most of my other cherished BPALs.

Edited July 5, 2008 by bites_the_sun

[Lyrical]

In bottle: masculine and woody (*sniggers*), but soft. The oak and vanilla remind me strongly of Haloes, but without the cloying note that has. So far, a more masculine version of Haloes.

 

Wet on skin: a darker version of Haloes - oak and vanilla (and probably teak too, but I'm not sure where oak ends and teak begins). No tobacco yet.

 

Dry on skin: here comes the tobacco, adding a smoky, sexy edge to the vanilla and woods. Where Haloes was golden, this is dark brown. Definitely unisex. This is Haloes' mature and darkly sexy older brother! Probably a little too masculine for me to wear much, but gorgeous anyway! Decent throw.

 

Two hours later: wait a minute - what's that note? It's gone icky! Needs further testing. I could still smell it on my skin when I woke up this morning, so the wear length is great.

 

Second test: this one is a keeper!

[brsis]

Initial thoughts: This has the potential to become a really good, low-key work scent. I'm not expecting it to blow my socks off, exactly, but I'm really hoping it's going to turn out to be very wearable.

 

In the imp: The oil is a lovely polished wood colour. Smell wise, it's a smooth vanilla'd wood with just a hint of tobacco leaf - not smoggy or heavy, but refined.

 

On the wrist, wet: Again, very prominent vanilla, but the smooth, sweet teakwood is keeping it mature and earthed. Mmm, this is quite masculine - almost similar to Dee, but less potent, less cologne and leather. This is the kind of scent that you'd notice very favourably if, say, a rather attractive shop assistant in a very old, well established boutique was wearing it (Which is GOOD since I'm hoping this will turn out to be a great work scent!)

 

Twenty minutes later: This is a very earthy, woody vanilla - no plastics or sickly sweetness here. This smells expensive - like one of those little old shops that have been there for hundreds of years where nothing costs less than a month's wages and the walls are all woodpanelled. Gentle, refined, sophisticated, but all the same a day time scent - I probably wouldn't wear this after six o'clock. It's a real skin hugger, though - very little throw - which means a scent I would otherwise be drooling over has been shuffled a little further down the list into the 'yeah, that's nice' catagory.

 

Verdict: A bottle, one day, but not yet.

 

Tl;Dr: Gentle woods smothered in creamy vanilla - expensive, refined and low-key.

[taramarie]

Wet on my skin, The Antikythera Mechanism has a top note of tobacco, middle notes of wood, and a base note of vanilla. Dry, it's just the tobacco and vanilla. This is a gorgeous blend, and on me it seems to be on the masculine side of neutral. Definitely a keeper.

[filigree_shadow]

I wasn’t sure about this when I first put it on because it smelled a bit medicinal. However, after it warms up it’s wonderful. Dry wood notes with a whiff of tobacco all covered by that lovely dark vanilla. This smells like a very comforting scent to me – it’s the sort of scent I’m basically always in the mood for. (I’m kind of a sucker for the dark vanilla scents.)

 

For the first 30 minutes or so the vanilla was the dominant note, but when it’s dry it seems like the wood notes are coming out a little stronger. I like the scent both ways.

 

It doesn’t seem to have a ton of throw, but I didn’t put a lot on. I’m going to try wearing it for a day and see how often I need to re-apply it. In the meantime, it’s going on my bottle wishlist.

[Aldercy]

This may sound insane, but when I first put this oil on, my thought was... chocolate bug-spray. That was really the combination that first occurred to me. It was more weird than actually bad, so I left it on and waited. It took awhile, but eventually quieted and became more woody and sort of creamy. There's a kind of pale smokiness to it and it eventually heads toward a vanilla-dominated perfuminess on me. It's not bad after it gets through the initial awkwardness, but I think I have to try it a couple more times before I really know how I feel about it.

 

By the way, The Antikythera Mechanism has a gorgeous color. It's the darkest oil I've personally seen, but it's this lovely, luminous rust color when held up to a light.

Edited July 20, 2008 by Aldercy

[Monster]

I don't know why it's taken me so long to try the Steamworks scents. But, seriously...Antikythera Mechanism..where have you been all my life?!

 

Out of the imp: As SOON as I smelled this out of the imp my first impression was...ANGEL by Thierry Mugler (?!) While it's not exact, it does smell similar.

Wet: Rich, woody vanilla with something sharp and a almost astringent in the background. Not sure what it could be since none of the notes listed ever smell astringent to me.

 

Dry: As this dries the tobacco and oak warm up even more and play along really nicely with the vanilla. This isn't foody or too sweet, the vanilla simply compliments the resinous woodsy smell of the oil. It's GORGEOUS! It still has a similar smell to Angel by Thierry Mugler but with a richer, earthier scent to it. I can definitely see why this is everyones instant new favorite.

 

I can't believe this is a GC scent. I'm so amazingly happy I'll be able to stock up on this whenever I need to.

[starwild]

Imp: Woodsy vanilla, a bit reminiscent of Mme. Moriarty. Promising.

 

Wet: Woodsy vanilla.

 

Drying: Woodsy vanilla. Smidge of tobacco smoke.

 

 

EDIT: Forget what I said! This is AMAZING. SO AMAZING. YUM. I bet it will age to perfection. BOTTLE NOW.

 

It's just that first hour or so that it takes for it to settle down on my skin, and from there it's incredible.

Edited July 23, 2008 by starwild

[CreamyJade]

In the imp: Very woodsy, the teak probably.

Wet on skin: Sweetness comes out of the woods.

Dry on skin: Sweet blend of vanilla & teak, not overwhelming at all. So nice!

Final thoughts: I really like this one. It's not too sweet, not too overwhelming, but still very present on my skin. I'll need a bottle when my imp is finished!

[Zeljana]

first time I tried this I tested this with 7 other scents ( :D) at the same time and all I got was almost alcoholic note when wet and pipe tobacco in the dry stage. when it got a proper testing, straight away I recognised the scent which was rather cologne-y.

this is a combo of Thierry Mugler's A*men with a little bit of Byblos cologne on the side to amp the tobacco.

I still love it, though. The drydown is gorgeous and much softer than of the above mentioned colognes, so a woman can pull this one off, thanks to the oil form which smoothed the notes out.

This would be fantastic on a man. My b/f wears A*men, I'm sure he's gonna love this one.

Edited July 29, 2008 by Kosyena

[porcelina]

i bought this one for my bf and it smells good on him, but whaddaya know, it turned out to be even better on me! i kind of dabbed it on and forgot about it, and about an hour later i was sniffing myself going, "what is that gorgeous smell?" (that kind of reaction is always a good sign!) antikythera mechanism is rich, dark and warm- i love tobacco, i love vanilla, and the wood does not go all pencil/cardboard on me- it is smooth, dark and polished, slightly sweet. a future big bottle purchase, definitiely.

[jizatt]

The first time I wore this, I thought it was too masculine, but I couldn't help but wanting to wear it again anyways. It does strike me as a FANTASTIC scent for a guy - although I have yet to talk my husband into wearing it. But, having worn it a couple times since, I can say that the vanilla does come out the longer you wear it. This has a stronger throw than most of the BPAL that I've tried, enough to get comments, enough for me to smell on myself without sniffing. This is gorgeous, and I think has a possibility of aging well. I'd compare this to GV and Haloes for the glowy wood/sweet touch. I wasn't going to buy this, but after wearing it all day today, this might be a big purchase for me =)

[AthenaRose]

Another Imp i got for my fiancé. He wasn't wowed by it, it's not really his style.

 

So i decided to give it a try. This is a dark, masculine vanilla. Much sweeter and more vanilla on my fiancé and much darker and more masculine on me (which always seems to be the case when we try the same sent, he amps sweetness, and i amp woods).

 

It's pleasant enough on me, and not overwhelmingly masculine. It's definately wearable. It's a dark rich vanilla (not sweet) that for some reason reminds me of a dirty version of Stimulating Sassafrass Strengthener, yet the only note they share besides vanilla is oak. But yeah, on me... this is evil dirty rootbeer, but in a good way, haha. And this one does not turn buttery and sour like SSS does.

 

3/5

[Czarina]

In the bottle: teak and vanilla.

Wet: teak, vanilla, sweet tobacco.

Drydown: vanilla and teak.

 

Not quite like Glowing Vulva, but very close (missing the cream, and the wood is not as strong).

 

Good throw and wearlength.

 

Yummy.

[cam]

This sounds right up my alley, and in the imp, it's lovely. Unfortunately, there's a note here — the teakwood? — that smells like the vet's office on me. I wasn't sure what it was at first, but when I put this on, I immediately thought of trips to the vet. About an hour later, I walked by the cat food bowl, and realized what the problem was — something in this smells like Iams cat food on me.

 

Otherwise, it's nice. The black vanilla and tobacco are great. I can't get past the Iams-ness, unfortunately. Bummer.

Edited August 20, 2008 by cam

[Champagne]

The vanilla with teak and the tobacco is just simply and straight sexy. I can see it`s unisex but it`s gorgeous for a woman who need a little confidence for a night out. A perfect complement to a date in a smokey bar sipping whiskey!

I gladly leave the whiskey to someone else and will use Antikythera with heavy make up instead . No for girly girls.

[zankoku_zen]

The wood is vaguely reminiscent of No 93 engine, it's rich and great smelling. But in this particular case, it's not as sweet and it's got that tobacco and dark vanilla going through. On me, mostly it's tobacco and great smelling wood.

 

I rather prefer No 93 engine though.

 

 

ETA: Tested again. Too much wood for me handle. Sad.

Edited July 14, 2009 by zankoku_zen

[modillian]

In the imp it's a bright ruddy amber, almost full to the top. Immediately on the skin I get the woods -oddly distinct- and a faint sweetness. Oak-tobacco on top of teak, no vanilla other than the down-low sweetness. Somewhat similar to Kathmandu at this stage.

 

Oh my. Oh my goodness. It's -it's heating up. Jesus, it's heating up and getting stronger and spicier as it goes. Nnnnnnrgh. The vanilla is toasting up the woods and howling as they burn. And -and it's getting heady. Heady, as in vaguely alcoholic, like the best kinds of vanilla do on me, and smooth smooth smooth. Oh, this is heart-stopping. Who would have thought a mess of woods livened up with vanilla would be so affecting? This is everything I'd hoped Sapphics would be and wasn't. The oak keeps the other scents from being too weighed-down as the vanilla and tobacco throw a party and pop open the whiskey. The Antikythera Mechanism is a transforming oil, going from plain woods to a living machine I could not even have imagined.

 

Medium throw, gains an almost nutty quality as it sweetens and wears on. The teak holds strong, only morphed and amazing after a few hours. And get this - eighteen hours later it's still strong! It's way mellowed and almost musky on me, the black vanilla and tobacco having morphed the other woods incredibly. Five million thumbs up!

[hypatia]

I had to try this one because I'm fascinated by the Antikythera Mechanism. And most of the notes (wood, tobacco, vanilla) are the kind that usually smell good on me. And for the first few minutes, they do: it's heady and warm and sweet but not excessively so. The tobacco reminds me of Hellfire or Carceri d'Invenzione. But then the vanilla takes over and stays front and center for most of the drydown, with whiffs of teak peeking out. I'm not sure why, but the notes don't seem to meld on me; it's like they're out of phase with each other, each doing its own thing, vanilla drowning the others out. It must be my chemistry, because it sounds like the notes are more harmonious on a lot of other people.

 

In the end, though, Antikythera Mechanism is almost my ideal warm/woodsy scent, but, alas, not quite. I think it would smell really good on someone else, though.

[jade_starlight]

This is one of those scents that has me typing with one wrist plastered to my nose. The woods are warm, the tobacco is just slightly smoky and the vanilla gives it just a hint of sweetness. All in all, it's absolutely fabulous and I will definitely need a bottle.

[foxroses]

In the bottle I get mostly tobacco and a kind of heavy vanilla. Fairly straightforward.

 

Immediately on the first time I said tobacco/vanilla, but faint, and smooth. Today, all I smelled was teak. The vanilla comes out later and is smoked up nicely by the tobacco. Unfortunately on me its very very faint. It's VERY nice but I wish it was about 5x stronger. It really is delicious though - a teak, woodsy base note with wafts of smoke and vanilla smoothing the whole thing out - lovely.

 

A plus for this one is that is LASTS. Usually blends fade on me and as this one is fairly light I thought it would, but come 6pm its still on. Although a big negative is what GentlemanCaller said:

 

It's a real skin hugger, though - very little throw - which means a scent I would otherwise be drooling over has been shuffled a little further down the list into the 'yeah, that's nice' catagory.

 

 

I feel exactly the same way. It's very nice but I almost don't notice I'm wearing it. I am going to have to try slathering a lot on because I feel like I could bathe in this and love it!

Edited September 10, 2008 by mitsukai