The Antikythera Mechanism

[brwnpaperhag]

Teakwood, oak, black vanilla, and tobacco.

Wow, this is sweet. I was not expecting that.

The sweetness is definitely the top note, the way you can pick out the soprano in a quartet. That sweetness is so unlike the other notes that it almost comes off as a floral. This could be the vanilla note blending with the teak, but whatever it is, it's what makes it feminine on me. Underneath it though, you get all that dark goodness-the smokiness from the tobacco, rounded out by the wood. At the very bottom, peeking out, is the creamy vanilla.

This is lovely. However, like Boo, it's a little heavy for my skin, so I'll need to remember in the future not to slather this on the way I do with my other oils.

Ohhh. The wood/tobacco just won out, and now it's like sniffing a creamy chest of drawers. Wow.

[levelek]

Disclaimer: I am recovering from flu, which may be affecting my chemistry as well as my olfactory sense!

 

In the vial: well blended, light and sweet - almost perfumey!

 

Wet: very woody. Even though I dislike classically feminine scents, this may be a bit too masculine for me.

 

Dry: The vanilla emerges and gently warms it - it is still not dominant. Also - it smells strangely soapy! The one relief is that the tobacco is not strong. I must come back and try this another day. I hope my chemistry is just wonky today.

 

ETA: I have tried this again, and the soapy smell is almost entirely gone

The vanilla is imperceptible as a note, but its effect in softening the blend is obvious. The tobacco thankfully is subdued - it smells like the memories of tobacco and male cologne in a wood panelled room where the wood had soaked it up, rather than someone smoking at present.

I think this will be a great work scent for being taken seriously in male dominated environments! Definitely to be worn with a trouser suit, not a dress.

Edited November 24, 2009 by levelek

[alioth]

I'm not sure whether anyone remembers it or not, but back in 1996 or so, Givinchy released a scent called Organza Indecance. It was pretty much the only mainstream women's perfume on the market that contained neither florals nor citrus--it was all woods, amber, and vanilla. My mother bought it for me for Christmas around then, and it was my absolute most favorite scent. A few years later, it disappeared, and achieved bizarre ebay cult status. I've been looking for it again (in a reasonably priced form) ever since.

 

I'm sure you can see where I'm going with this.

 

Antikythera Mechanism dries down on me to ping my scent-memory pretty much exactly for Indecance. It's a warm, woody, sexy-dark vanilla, not cloying or foodie at all. I'd consider this more of a 'winter' sort of scent--it's that sort of warm. I'm in nostalgic olfactory heaven--this is going to become a definite go-to scent as long as the weather is cool.

[papermaker]

When this first goes on it is all tobacco and woods. As it dries there is mire and more vanilla that comes out. It dries down to a woodsy vanilla with a hint of tobacco. I love it so much I bought a bottle before I reviewed it.

[wrestlingentropy]

Dude, I don't even know WHAT'S going on here. When I first put it on, it's very sharp, astringent, almost Windexy. I kind of panicked. It gets a lot nicer as it warms up on my skin, though--kind of cottony, like a stack of down comforters four feet high or a basket of laundry that's been sitting in the Southern sun for hours and hours. It's not exactly what I was expecting, based on both the lab's description and the majority of reviews here, so I'm still trying to figure out how I feel about this one. Even though I wouldn't necessarily equate cottony with sophisticated, it feels VERY sophisticated--almost too much for me. Maybe it's the tobacco that's creating this paradox? (My nose is still relatively untrained.) I bet it would be utterly devastating on a well dressed man.

[emily2531]

At first this smelled like vanilla mixed with rubber or latex. After about 10minutes the weird rubbery smell faded, and I got the nice smooth vanilla with tabacco and wood. I think I've seen people compare this to Angel, and I guess it does remind me a little bit, but it's got none of the berries and caramel that make Angel smell like cotton candy. I think I smell some patchouli in here, so that may be where the similarity is coming from.

[lensflaaare]

Wet: Wood and vanilla and tobacco. The vanilla softens the blend up, but I like how it's not too sweet here.

 

Dry-down: Increasingly spicy from the tobacco. This is a very sophisticated blend, and I'd say this is how I think a Victorian gentleman would have smelled like. There's something here that's a little similar to Dee (probably the tonka/vanilla association), but while Dee is an intellectual, this man is smooth-talker and one who frequents high class social gatherings.

 

Dry: Hm. The vanilla shoves it's way to the forefront again, but thank goodness it's not too sweet. It almost becomes potpurri but the wood and tobacco holds it back. After a while vanilla disappears to linger at the edges of the scent and I get a little bitterness from the tobacco (I believe). It's not an unwelcome bitterness though... it actually makes the blend smell even better. I love this! Very sophisticated.

 

My brother's opinion: He approves.

[Banyangirl]

This smells... almost like chocolate on me. Like chocolate tobacco. It must be how the vanilla and woods interact with my skin, but I kind of love it! I'll edit this as I wear it more: I'm wearing it on my elbow crook and I normally wear scents on my wrists, so maybe it's smelling deeper/smokier because of its location. But so far, I really like it.

[KesHiro]

I am a vanilla and woods combo freak so when I saw the notes listed for this scent (with the addition of some lovely tobacco), I knew it was a must-buy!

 

In the bottle, I get a strong patchouli note with a hint of men's cologne. It's very strong and the patchouli almost seems like a single note. It's a little scary -- I'm okay with patchouli hanging out in the background but I don't like it as a main note! Wet, the woods come out and beat down that weird patchouli. I think I'm getting teak more than oak, and now the tobacco starts to emerge. There are five minutes where this turns into scary ashtray, with the tobacco overwhelming everything, but then about halfway through the drydown the woods gain strength. Dry, this remains a wood/tobacco scent until about an hour has passed and the faintest touch of vanilla emerges, turning the tobacco into a sweet pipe tobacco. The mental image I get is of a gentleman sitting behind a polished oak desk in his wood paneled office, prepping his pipe for a nice, relaxing smoke as he surveys his business deals.

 

This is a lovely unisexual scent, bordering more on the masculine side, but I think women can comfortably wear it too. This is the kind of scent for when you want to seem no-nonsense and powerful but still have a touch of femininity (thanks to the vanilla). It's like the one woman in the boy's club; she wears a simple but wonderfully cut black power suit, she keeps her hair in a bun, she wears tiny pearl studs in her ears, but paints her lips dark red. She heads the entire operation and if a guy talks back to her, all she has to do is give him the long silent, emotionless stare in order to scare the bejeebus out of him.

 

Highly recommended if you love this kind of scent and I'm so happy with my bottle!

[voorishsign]

My last Steamworks oil for today - this was generously frimped from the lab, another instance where I kept going back and forth on trying an oil and the lab helping me out by sending me a frimp of it

 

In the imp - orange oil, pure teak.

 

On wet - an incredible scent! I didn't think it would be that overwhelming. Wood, oak and tobacco - so far, so standard - but what's impossible to describe is how intense and deep this scent is. Good heavens, how beautiful! Thankyouthankyouthankyou for the frimp, lab, without you I wouldn't have tried it!

 

Drydown - Deeper, deeper the wood notes go. Oh geez, this is sheer brilliance. A hint of black vanilla but not too much. God yes. Absolutely lovely!

[ralenth]

Wet: Smoky teak wood. I have a distinct urge to nuzzle up to my arm.

Drydown: As it dries, The Antikythera Mechanism gains a bit of sweetness from the vanilla.

 

Dry: Still predominantly wood and musk, TAM stays close to the skin. It has amazing staying power (all day!) and doesn't make me nauseous like most vanilla blends.

 

Overall: It's like Liz, but with a woodsy boost. It's sexy and sophisticated. Definitely a bottle purchase. I also really enjoyed it layered with The Bow & Crown of Conquest for added oomph.

[impolight]

:::ANTIKYTHERA MECHANISM:::

 

 

Ah, what a multi-splendored thing that is the skin and it's secretive sigil of body-chemistry, yes? Antikythera Mechanism is an unmitigated Wünderkind; the Rosetta Stone by which the greatest of epics might be translated for ours smelling pleasure...

Antikythera Mechanism is virtually insectile in the number of evolutionary changes it goes through... No other oil is quite like it in this respect. To ascribe anything less than profound for this stunning formula would be folly.

Antikythera Mechanism is very much like the trophy room alluded to in an earlier review; it is a single location where evidence of many exotic experiences are on display that one might reflect upon wildness and ferocity while simultaneously enjoying the finer things in life.

Antikythera Mechanism is a strange contraption in that it seems to span so many time periods at once; effortlesslt dancing betwixt wormholes to suit it's whim. It is a secret vault of knowlege that lends an intrigue to the wearer.

Antikythera Mechanism is an affluent, Walrus-Mustachioed tycoon. It is the black sheep of the Hellfire Club. It could be the sugar-daddy to Snake Oil.

When first opened, Antikythera Mechanism resounded with a rich, dark, wooden fragrance, mingling with something citrusy... like the fine spray you can see upon first ripping the rind of an orange.

Almost immediately, a spiciness began to emerge and there was a swelling of some dark fruit fragrance... almost a plum or a cherry.

A few hours afyer wearing, and when physical exertions brought about a need to perspire, a scent emerged that brought to mind some of the pre-World War II barbershop talc that used to be secreted away in the drawers of Grandfather's shaving goodies... Excelsior with the effect of bygone era!

Everything in the Steamworks line is brilliant to date!

Antikythera Mechanism could work for either sex, yet the woody, smoky, dark-paneled barbershop effect it engenders probably make it most suitable for him.

Exquisite!

5/5!

[kohimame]

Sadly, The Antikythera Mechanism went on smelling like an ashtray. I never got any of the well-oiled woods and smoky vanillas that everyone else got. Bummer.

 

I might age my imp a bit and see what happens, but I get the feeling this was a fail on me.

[cinderfallen]

Tobacco doesn't smell evocative to me. It actually smells like Asian medicine. It's what I get most out of the scent, plus wood. Then it smells kind of like pancakes. Not for me.

[personaldna]

Oh, I can imagine that all the little steampunks must love this! Wonderful woody scent with the complexity of vanilla and tobacco.

 

I see distinguished, learned gentlemen wearing stovepipe hats and waistcoats who periodically check their pocketwatches in a smoking parlor of panelled wood.

 

Which is something like what many others have said before me. What is so enticing about it is the way it mellows on the skin. I can't stop smelling myself! New favorite!

[Ashmedai]

Most prominent is teak, smooth, shiny and sleek, along with a smoky-black vanilla that softens it and makes it incredibly voluptuous. Thankfully the tobacco note isn't the one that turns to a rancid, stale ashtray on me (as in Velvet Dogs Playing Poker or Herr Drosselmeyer), in fact I'd have a hard time picking out a tobacco note. If anything, it reminds me of a good pipe tobacco (Stanwell Melange, with a hint of dried dates and fig), but more incense-y than smoke. It envelops the other notes perfectly, so that overall it's sweet and silky, but with an edge that tells you not to f*ck with it. Very nice...definitely unisex.

 

 

 

 

[ModderRhu]

The Antikythera Mechanism

I can't distinguish between the two woods (teak and oak) in this blend, but I get an overall feeling of "woodiness" that I like. The mix of tobacco and vanilla is very nice, and fortunately I don't get much of the ash tray smell that other BPALers have gotten. I'm not sure that I agree this is a unisex scent. On me it turns sweet and the vanilla dominates. I think my skin tends to "amp" vanilla. The throw is VERY strong so be careful if you wear this one to work. It lasted over 12 hours on me.

I would give this one a 4 out of 5.

[skyelyric]

Wow. I amp the living hell out of this. I put like a pinprick sized drop on my wrist and WHOAPERFUME.

 

I smell a lot of tobacco in this, but it's like sweet, rich vanilla-scented pipe tobacco. Overall this is a very oppulent scent, I get the woods blending in behind the tobacco.

 

I'll have to hide my imp for a while and see if it mellows out any, I have a feeling it would be stunning if it weren't trying to climb up my arm and kill me.

[odalisque]

Well, I really wanted to like this one but taken with my experience of The Illustrated Woman, it confirms that tobacco is not for me, especially not tobacco partnered with vanilla. It smelled mostly like strange vanilla cigars, maybe strange vanilla cigars in a wooden box. I remain curious as to what teak and oak smell like but this was obviously not the blend to teach me.

 

[Coelli]

This is tobacco and vanilla on my boyfriend, and it smells so fantastic on him we've given it a nickname:

 

"The Pantydropper."

 

If this doesn't work on you, try it on your man if you have one. *swoon*

 

Edited: I stole my boyfriend's bottle. Sorry, baby. I'll get you another one, but this one is MINE!

Edited May 19, 2010 by LaLaLaLaLemon

[SophieCedar]

Mmmm. This smells really "rich". Refined glowing wood and vanilla with a sweet cologne undercurrent from the tobacco. The throw is great and same from imp to drydown. Very impressed!!!

[TulaMontage]

This is oooooooooober strong teak in the imp. With the notes listed, I expected it to be a little softer and less heady.

 

Wet on my skin it's a soft blend of wood resins and wet tobacco. I picture myself as being in an old gentlemans study, pipe in hand and my feet up on a beautifully polished old wooden desk.

 

Drying down sweet vanilla tobacco! I amp tobacco as I am a smoker, but this is lovely and creamy and luxurious and yum! I don't think I would wear it as a perfume out and about, but this is definatley one for sniffing myself at night when I'm alone

[Dharklady]

In bottle: This smells promising.

Wet: Woods and spice and a touch of vanilla. Mmmmm.

Dry: Oooooo it’s spicy and absolutely wonderful.

Notes: Feels very masculine but I’m totally in love with it.

 

[Gold Dust Kitten]

This scent is THE BOMB.

 

It smelled like root beer in the bottle last night, and I wondered why I ordered it. I put it on this morning and I was in love. It smells like root beer and Tang, which is the EXACT smell that Thierry Mugler Angel for Men had. I used to wear that cologne and I'm thrilled I found it at BPAL. I'm so in love. I wanted to eat myself and it lasted all day.

 

Someone walked into my office and said I smelled like incense, which I think is fantastic. Very beautiful and interesting scent.

[INFJ4w3]

This is one of my favorite scents. It has lots of sillage and staying power and it really smells GOOD in a unisex (but sexy!) way. I would describe it as a fall/winter scent, as it is dark, smoky, warm and strong. It would make a beautiful room spray. If you have an occasional vanilla problem (that plastic/rubber/burning hair smell), don't worry. The vanilla here is mild and sweet, combined with woods and smoke.

My picky-picky partner commented very favorably on this scent. ( He actually said "mmmm" !)

4 1/2 to 5 stars. I think this would smell fine on just about anyone.