The Robotic Scarab

[ShadesOfFree]

Polished metallic notes, glossy leather, frankincense, star anise, and thin lubricating oils.

Another Lab-frimp~ I got this afternoon... Live-blogging a scent ftw? This might get rambley.

I'm picking up the spices + frankincense, first. Mostly the frankincense. ...and something that's making my brain think "gold", which I suppose is the metallic notes. I think the 'thin lubricating oils' are turning to soap on me, though? But not 'soap' like a bad thing, more like... men's shower gel. Maybe.

It's got a round sort of smell, glittering and smooth and sort of soothing. I feel like this one would kill me if I already had a headache, but it doesn't seem to be creating one thus far, for which I am grateful, because I rather like it. I'll probably hang on to this one, try it out a few more times - it's not very 'me', but it's interesting, and I'd definitely like to play with it some more.

[BoneBone24]

Wet: Clean-spicy.

 

Drydown: Warm metals - not at all sharp - and well-worn, soft leather. This is a very comforting scent, it's slightly sweet and spicy, but not in a foody way.

 

Dry: Frankincense seems to be at the center, although it doesn’t dominate. I don’t know how to describe the oils but they are coating everything in the loveliest way. Slightly sparkly and almost clean. Well-worn and nostalgic.

 

 

 

 

The Robotic Scarab smells like a discovering forgotten treasure in the back of an antique store or stumbling upon your grandmother’s old jewelry box when cleaning out the attic. It's familiar, surprisingly delicate, and cherished. A must-try.

 

7.5 out of 10 bones

Edited August 27, 2013 by BoneBone24

[bergamot_bliss]

In the imp: Soap. Straight soap.

Wet on skin: More oily than soapy now, and I’m getting the frankincense. Thankfully no anise, which I don’t like. It’s surprisingly sweet, and a little metallic.

Drydown: Dammit, there’s the anise. I do not like anise. Why can’t I smell the leather? I like leather!

Dry on skin: Sweet and shiny in a way I don’t really like—it’s too sweet, really—and soapy. Going to be swapping this one.

[ianastar]

I dont know how the lab does the metal notes, but I totally smell metal in this. Not a fan, its up for swaps.

[Wren12]

In the imp...bright and shiny. The smell is evocative of freshly shined brass, a metallic tinge, with a tiny hit of sweetness.

 

On wet...the metal seems to brighten more, taking on a sharp edge. It begins to take on a masculine cologne scent. The leather peeks about the corner as it begins to warm and the frankincense becomes more assertive.

 

Drydown...wowie, do I really like this. The leather becomes significantly more pronounced st this stage. The metallic edge is still present but subsides somewhat. The earlier noted, cologne scent, becomes more noticeable, mixing with an almost aquatic note (the oils?) and the sweet note of frankincense becomes a lovely, slightly incensey top note. I don't notice the spices that others have mentioned, but that's fine as I adore this just the way it is.

 

Another bottle to add to the wish list!

[ClareN]

Spicy leather and sweet incense with faint anise, rounded off with smooth metallic notes.

 

The opening is a little harsh, but after it settles down it continues to develop in interesting ways for the next 15-20 minutes. Very nice.

 

After that, sadly, it goes a bit stale and "off" with my skin chemistry - metallic notes and I rarely get along.

 

Reminds me of the "soft, masculine leather/oakmoss" genre of BPAL, including scents like Dee, Casanova and Saint-Germain. One to try for anyone looking for a complex leather blend.

[zewtsuit]

I absolutely love this scent when I wasn't expecting to. As a foodie/sweet kind of person who generally can't stand to wear masculine style notes, this knocked my socks off. In the bottle, it's this really slick mechanical smell, like gears and a new leather chair. It's not greasy or oily though, it keeps this clean, fresh smell that's almost reminiscent of this carbolic coal soap that I used to buy when I just wanted to be squeaky clean, but gentler on the nose. Very unisex, whenever I wear this I always feel very industrious

 

On another, incredibly weird note, I accidentally layered this with Squirting Cucumber, and my lord. Possibly my favorite non-girly scent either. There's this gorgeous leathery freshness mixed with this ozoney light perfumey smell from the Cucumber. Unnggggg this is brilliant. I don't know whether or not it's my skin amping the soapy smell, but either way it's delicious. So happy with this!

[kythe]

Mmm, anise and sweet dusty incense blended nicely with energizing men's cologne. Once dry the cologne fades out to the point that you wouldn't think "cologne" upon sniffing, but it still retains a scent quality reminiscent of cologne. The anise and incense combined have a beautifully complex and intoxicating overall effect anchored by the leather (soft, well-worn, unobtrusive, NOT like Whip's rank black leather jacket), which is helping make this a "my skin but better" scent. It's unisex with masculine associations, which I love -- it doesn't actually smell manly, but some people might stereotypically associate leather and dustiness with masculinity. I amp sweetness so your mileage may vary.

 

I was hoping for more metallic/oil notes since the machine oil smell of a metalworking shop is one of my favorite smells. Sadly they never showed up.

 

This seems like a refined, steampunky, suave version of Perversion prior to getting trashed. Might deserve to get upgraded to a big bottle...

 

The lab initially forgot to include my Robotic Scarab in an order. When I followed up, they not only shipped me the missing imp right away but added TWO free steamworks imps! Best. Customer service. Ever.

Edited May 9, 2013 by kythe

[Xanon]

This should be an absolutely perfect scent for me. I love leather, and anise, and oils, while metallic scents are also typically winners for me. Unfortunately there is something off about this.

 

*Imp straight from the lab*

 

The good: there is a nice metallic coolness to this blend. The anise is beautiful.

 

The bad: I get no leather. None at all. Then something goes terribly wrong, and I get a weird medicinal scent that reminds me of my grandmother's bathroom. An odd mix of perfume, minty toothpaste, and spices. Not great.

 

The Verdict: Nope, this is not for me. Which makes me really sad.

Edited July 16, 2013 by Xanon

[mymymai]

ITB: Oils fragrant with frankincense and star anise please my nose. There is something faintly metallic to it, but the resins are dominant here.

 

Wet: Resinous leather massaged with oil and a little copper, then topped with star anise. Oh, this is gorgeous!

 

Dry: After about 7 hours, the scent is primarily frankincense, star anise, and just a touch of metal. I've really enjoyed wearing it today.

[brilliantcat]

OH GOD I LOVE THIS. I'm a big fan of leathery scents and this is a soft, broken-in leather. The anise + frankincense give me a teeny hint of sarsparilla/root beer which I find enjoyable. The metal and oils add just enough depth to clearly bring to mind the golden gleaming of the scarab. Definitely need a bottle

[hexnut]

A frimp that was at least five months old when I blind tested it. The oil is orange-brown.


In Vitro Floral? Dragon's blood?

Wet A mild spicy floral that developed a "commercial perfume" smell. This was fairly strong during the wet phase.

Drying Slightly powdery "perfume spice" that faded away over the next two hours.


The label reveal was a surprise. I would have bet money that there was dragon's blood in this, and I didn't get leather at all. On the bright side I didn't detect frankincense or star anise either, but while The Robotic Scarab wasn't bad on me it isn't a scent I'd reach for.

[doublehelix]

Spicy leather and florals! I have to agree with others who have said they get cinnamon and peppermint notes in this. Definitely interesting, but not enough leather for me. When dry it's still slightly spicy sweet, with faint leather in the background.

[Veronica]

Exactly as described--metallic and oily. Not for me.

[evilbee]

Not knowing the notes, this smelled like a pleasant, quality commercial perfume. Looking at the notes, I can sense the warmth of the metals with a bit of incense, but no sign of anise (thank goodness). I like it and will wear it again, but won't bother with a bottle.

[spikyfairy]

I wish I had a similar experience to all the very positive reviews here! So far none of the Steampunk range has worked for me: they all end up smelling a bit the same, and it's an unpleasantly perfume-y sort-of-aquatic. I suspect some common note between them that disagrees with me.

Wet: Cinnamon, leather, and a (to me) aquatic that really does smell a bit like metal. The notes are staying quite separate, it almost feels like I'm wearing 2 different perfumes.. I know it's meant to be anise in this, not cinnamon, and I can smell that a little too - but I can sure smell cinnamon more. I don't hate it, it's warm & wet & golden, but already getting sweeter (this may be my skin). Quite strong.

 

Dry: "Cinnamon" fades back a little. Got to admit, this does somehow smell like gold. Unfortunately most things verging on aquatic tend to go very sweet & commercial-bodyspray on me. Seems to be building up more throw the longer it's on me - always the ones you're not too keen on that last the longest, I find
After an hour or so it's all blended together more, and is rather nice really, but not very 'me'.. It smells like a warm aquatic - which is just a kinda confusing combination for this particular nose!

[Cali]

Ooh!! I was always a weird kid and loved the smell of gasoline at the gasstations and while this is not the same as that, it certainly has something alike in the oil/matellic elements. It's just the right amount of sweet and spicy and doesn't morph much on my skin thankfully! One of my many faves!

[Mermaid-on-Land]

Ok, so right on application I smell mostly frankincense. That stays dominant for about 5 minutes til the other scents start to emerge. I definitely get the gleaming metal undertone and a very clean, light leather. This is the first leather scent I've tried and I like it. It's not 'walking past a leather store in the mall' strong, just a nice clean component adding to the scent. I get a shiny golden-bronze color feel. There's a somewhat masculine vibe to this, it smells a bit like aftershave or something for a couple minutes but that goes away. There are no sweet notes for me to amp, but I don't mind that. I can smell quite a bit of the anise in the background; it's a softer, less bitey anise than in Absinthe. The throw is good, I can smell it while moving around. I really like this, it's interesting. Unique. When I walked downstairs after putting it on my mom asked (from across the room) "what perfume are you wearing? It smells good, very clean." I think that's a good description. Shiny, squeaky-clean, burnished brass and leather. I feel like a badass steampunk girl building mechanical creatures in a workshop or something . The throw diminishes over the course of wear, beginning to drop about 3-4 hours in.

[Casablanca]

Star anise, a little orange-toned, is my first impression of Scarab. The orange tone and much of the anise vanish in a minute, and then I smell frankincense, and a little of what I'm guessing is meant to be the lubricating oils -- but they seem to dilute the fragrance more than add to it. I smell another thin musk. Later, I find some leather.

Scarab settles into a light anise and spice leather skin scent, barely there.

[LizziesLuck]

Wet: Hmm, this is much fruitier than I had anticipated! Interesting. Very hard to pin down, not entirely sure what I'm smelling. It's slightly sweet, warm, and glowing though - a bit spicy, and so far I don't hate it. Very light though, not much throw.

 

 

Dry: A soft, sweet scent with hints of anise. I can't pick out any other notes, specifically. I like it, but I like my scents a bit stronger.

[lizabelle]

This scent is absolutely fascinating. I thought I would hate it from the notes and ended up not. It's still not something I would wear, probably, but I'd love to smell it on someone else!

 

It starts off with straight-up motor oil right out of the bottle, then a blast of leather, then a metallic note. That start is overwhelming but once it calms down it conjures up an image of some kind of steampunk workshop. The oil moves into the background and compliments the metal (I'd compare it to steel/iron, slightly warmed by fire or movement). As a sidenote, I am blown away by how real the metal smells in this; I thought I hated metallic notes, but that's probably because they're usually pretty fakey. The leather isn't overpowering, and is dry and a little powdery. The frankincense shows up as a background spicy note that I misidentified as pine at first. The anise completely disappeared on me, which is bizarre because I normally amp it by a lot, but the mix is very well-balanced. Even while realizing I could never see myself getting a full bottle, I couldn't stop smelling it!

[joopjoop]

My nose is a little off, as I am recovering from a cold so I may have to revisit, but so far I really like this one.

 

It smells like a clean well-oiled clockwork machine with just a hint of anise to brighten things up. As it dries down, more of the leather comes up, but the metallic and oil balance it nicely. I do wish the anise was a little stronger, but part of that could be my nose, or maybe it needs to rest a bit more. It smells very clean and unobtrusive (yet still very much there) to me. I think it would be a very appropriate work scent, and it might be interesting to test while working out (I work out at home, alone, so it won't bother anyone but me!)

 

Not sure if I need a bottle, but I'm sure I'll figure it out with a few more tests.

[milo]

Pretty much a masculine cologne type scent on me, which means I probably wouldn't wear it, but it doesn't mean that I don't like it! Primarily lots of metallic notes here, and I'm getting amber, though it's not listed. This is rich smelling, and sophisticated, a well dressed dapper dude blend. I like it! (But not on me)

[cassiejaynebunk]

I'm not really sure what I am smelling here - certainly not any of the notes listed...maybe that's because Beth is such a scent magician.... it smells like a mens cologne on me, albeit a little on the sweet side. I don't get any anise thankfully as i can't stand the stuff but it's nice, whatever it is.

[doomsday_disco]

In the imp: I can smell the frankincense, anise, metallic notes, and the leather. The metallic notes do smell polished and aren’t as sharp as the ones in Galvanic Goggles -- at least, not in the vial.

 

Wet: I’m getting the oils, anise, the polished metallic notes, and some frankincense. The metallic notes in this are definitely a lot more well-behaved on my skin than the ones in Galvanic Goggles. They still have a bit of a cologne-y vibe to them, but they aren’t sharp in this one. The leather in this scent is smooth.

 

Dry: This one stays close to the skin. Anise usually takes over on me, but that didn’t happen here. It doesn’t read as black licorice anymore. It’s hard to pick out any of the notes now, but the frankincense is definitely a main player. This is a warm, resinous scent, with a soft, well-worn leather, and a bit of spice. I’m still not sure which oils are in this, but I can tell that they are contributing to the scent.

 

Verdict: This one was far more pleasant than I expected to be, given that it has metallic notes and anise in it. It’s my favorite scent of the Phoenix Steamwork scents I’ve tried thus far, but it’s so light on me that I know I wouldn’t reach for it. So I’m passing it on to someone who wants to try it.