On Darkness

[undream]

An embrace: black poppy, lavender, thick black incense, black amber, rose geranium, Brazilian rosewood, and benzoin.

this is a dark purple scent full of sweet, candied fruit. an hour or so in, the incense unfurls out into the throw, and it is beautiful, but the overall heavy, syrupy sweet scent of this is just a bit too much for me. off to a better home!

[Vega]

The 2008 version.

 

Sniffed: A "purple" scent: dark, juicy, heady. There's a scent association here, but I can't quite recall what it reminds me of...

 

On skin: Well, this is definitely darkness embodied in a scent -- strong and heavy darkness. On Darkness is well-blended, but it seems to be a mix of smooth incense/resins, and heady, dark florals. Over time it lightens a little, and I can now identify lavender and perhaps the rose geranium and rosewood that are adding a floral-sweet touch. There's also a juiciness that reminds me of dark, syrupy berries and seems almost medicinal and/or artificial in its sweetness. In fact, I think my scent association is some sort of syrup... perhaps cough syrup? Regardless, all the notes work to make On Darkness the thickest, heaviest BPAL blend I've encountered so far. Colour impression is a reddish-purple so deep and dark that it's almost black.

 

Verdict: I'm usually not one for dark-and-heavy blends, but there have been a few that I liked. On Darkness is not one of them, however: it's just too heavy for me.

[HerbGirl]

This is the OTHER perfume that I can't wear. It sounded perfect for me...Lavender, Incense, Amber...sign me up! I think it's the poppy that doesn't like me at all...I don't think it's the same poppy used in Vechernyaya (which is one of my favorites)... like I said in the Chant D'Automne thread: can't complain that 2 out of over 200 don't work for me!!!

[Gwydion]

In bottle: That’s a lot of rose geranium and rosewood. The benzoin and incense are rather harsh. The amber manages to make a solid third. I honestly can barely pick out the other elements. Wet: The benzoin is strongest on the skin, but the rose geranium really tries hard. This is really not working on me, though I can see how the insense and rosewood would work really well on someone else. On me it’s rank and cloying. I can pick out the lavender now. This is giving me a headache. It’s really strong. Dry: I normally love lavender, but hear it has ganged up with the benzoin and rose geranium and some of the incense to do terrible things to my sinuses and head. I did not wait as long for the retest as I normally would because the resulting headache is rendering me rapidly in need of a shower and a lie down. I think I need to add rose geranium to my do not wear list. I’m not fond of benzoin, but I think I would have noticed it making me ill before this. Sorry, I can’t be objective here.

[Akurarei]

On Darkness 2009

 

In the Bottle:

I detect the lavendar & some dark resins/incense

 

On my Skin, Wet:

A burst of blackness.

It's like everything is covered in soot without smelling like smoke.

 

On my Skin, Dry:

Ok, this is better.

I get the lavendar again, and the dark incense

It does have a slightly smoky touch to it, but it's just a hint.

Every now and then I get a whiff of the rose geranium, which adds a dark floral tone to this scent.

 

Verdict:

Very unique.

It's an interesting mix of dark resins with a dark floral.

[puellacaerulea]

On Darkness 2009: In the bottle, I get mostly incense and resins; I can't really pick out any florals. Once it's on and had some time to dry down, though, the lavender and rose geranium come out and balance out what would otherwise be nothing but thick, nearly cloying incense. The balance of the floral and incense notes make for a really lovely scent; for some reason it just seems very Victorian to me. I can't imagine wearing something this thick, heavy, and dark in the warmer months, but I think I'll be coming back to this one quite a bit this winter.

[Eschezhivet]

It's very difficult to smell this at all. The oil is also filled with a lot of tiny bubbles, which is interesting and has not happened with any of the other imps I've tried? It looks fascinating, like shaken honey

 

Anyway, if I stick it right under my nose, it smells very grassy at first, in a way that is simultaneously harsh and juicy. There's a sweetness underneath which is very difficult for me to figure out, even after drying for a while. I could almost swear it's like some kind of very sweet bread, which is maybe slightly ridiculous a description. Later on it gets berryish, but the sweet-bread thing doesn't go away.

Edited April 9, 2012 by Eschezhivet

[MtMoonKitty]

This is the 2009 version, given to me as a gift from a friend.

 

This is very much wood smoke and Kalhua on me. When it dries down I can faintly get an incense quality, but mostly it smells strongly of cocoa but not in a foody way. I like this one but my chemistry can really morph this one sometimes. It is one of those that I can wear sometimes and other times... no so much. There is a lesson to be learned here: just because something doesn't smell good once, doesn't mean it won't smell great the next time.

[Quillifer]

(posted in wrong place sorry)

Edited November 2, 2012 by Quillifer

[milica]

This is the 2008 version.

 

It is amaaaazing in the bottle! Lavander, rose geranium and incense, kind of dark and strong, but soothing, sooo good!

 

And then on the skin it turns even more amazing, aaand then this soury note appears and its bugging me. And then lavender goes away, amber eats everything and incense really gets sharp. Damn.

[mymymai]

ITI: deep incense, sweet rose geranium, luscious amber with subtle undertones of poppy. It’s warm, exotic, and complex.

 

Wet: It’s a little sharper with the rose geranium and lavender at the start, but as I inhale, it warms up with the incense, benzoin, and thick amber. There is still a touch of poppy, which adds to the complexity.

 

Dry: I tested this last morning and evening but didn’t review it. I still have some scent left over on my wrist - so we are looking at 18 hours that this has stayed sniffable on my skin. Reapplied, the black incense and amber are thick and sultry while they lightly veil the poppy and hints of rose geranium. It’s gorgeous!

Edited November 3, 2012 by mymymai