Erik

[Josh]

"Then he hissed at me. 'Ah, I frighten you, do I? ... I dare say! ... Perhaps you think that I have another mask, eh, and that this ... this ... my head is a mask? Well,' he roared, 'tear it off as you did the other! Come! Come along! I insist! Your hands! Your hands! Give me your hands!' And he seized my hands and dug them into his awful face. He tore his flesh with my nails, tore his terrible dead flesh with my nails! ... 'Know,' he shouted, while his throat throbbed and panted like a furnace, 'know that I am built up of death from head to foot and that it is a corpse that loves you and adores you and will never, never leave you! ... Look, I am not laughing now, I am crying, crying for you, Christine, who have torn off my mask and who therefore can never leave me again! ... As long as you thought me handsome, you could have come back, I know you would have come back ... but, now that you know my hideousness, you would run away for good... So I shall keep you here! ... Why did you want to see me? Oh, mad Christine, who wanted to see me! ... When my own father never saw me and when my mother, so as not to see me, made me a present of my first mask!'

"He had let go of me at last and was dragging himself about on the floor, uttering terrible sobs. And then he crawled away like a snake, went into his room, closed the door and left me alone to my reflections. Presently I heard the sound of the organ; and then I began to understand Erik's contemptuous phrase when he spoke about Opera music. What I now heard was utterly different from what I had heard up to then. His Don Juan Triumphant (for I had not a doubt but that he had rushed to his masterpiece to forget the horror of the moment) seemed to me at first one long, awful, magnificent sob. But, little by little, it expressed every emotion, every suffering of which mankind is capable. It intoxicated me; and I opened the door that separated us. Erik rose, as I entered, BUT DARED NOT TURN IN MY DIRECTION. 'Erik,' I cried, 'show me your face without fear! I swear that you are the most unhappy and sublime of men; and, if ever again I shiver when I look at you, it will be because I am thinking of the splendor of your genius!' Then Erik turned round, for he believed me, and I also had faith in myself. He fell at my feet, with words of love ... with words of love in his dead mouth ... and the music had ceased ... He kissed the hem of my dress and did not see that I closed my eyes.

Resin-coated wood, kerosene, oil, leather, musty velvet, and dust from the Grand Drape.

A little hard to decipher at first. First impression is that this is very well blended, very comforting and soft, good on the skin, not sharp or cloying or anything that could be remotely offputting. Something about this seems nostalgic somehow, and I soon realize a small part of this actually reminds me of the soap at my grandparents house when I was a kid, I always really liked that smell and later found Dove Cool Moisture soap smelled quite similar. Erik almost has a smoky cucumber note mixed with a very soft (I presume this was the velvet note) wood fragrance and, at least to my nose, what smells like a type of leather I've not noticed in any other bpal scent -- a very clean leather, not sharp like a shiny black leather and not well worn like rawhide.. something more light and clean.

The more this dries down the more I like it. A slightly sweet smoke -- and while the overall scent is somewhat on the darker side, there is something slightly aglow in the background (again, I'm just going to refer to it as a very warm/smoky cucumber note.. pale green, not crisp, mellow and really "melted" into the overall scent).

This is a really good one. Not sure if it's the nostalgia or what but Erik is a really cozy and intriguing scent, perfectly gender neutral (or possibly leaning slightly toward the masculine) and neither too strong nor light.

ETA: A couple hours later and all this has really been is a sort of smokey cucumber scent.. slightly clean but still pretty dark, a really unique scent. I really like this one a lot, it demands a certain attention.

Final edit (swear!) -- Just had to come back and say I really like this scent. It's not at all offensive or annoying in any way.. it's subtle enough to be worn on its own but would be fantastic to layer with as well. This is a really well done oil! Edited February 21, 2009 by Shollin

[twilighteyes]

In the bottle: Vetiver. Black Musk. Resins.

 

As it dries on my skin, the vetiver recedes and the smoke comes out, then the wood. A faint whiff of leather. Predominately musky, smokey wood. Resiny. The smoke is receding into the background.

 

Wish I had a guy close by to slather this on, I can see it being VERY sexy.

[Christine Daae]

As with Christine, this is something I absolutely needed to get - this story has been my greatest love for the longest time.

 

This is incredibly odd in the bottle. I am reminded of the part of the book where Christine relates that Erik's hands smell "of death." (I always wondered if she really knew what death smelled like, or if she were being reminded of funeral Mass. She's a dramatic creature, that Christine Daae!)

 

Wet on my skin this is polished wood hidden under a dusty tapestry. This is so hard to describe, but the notes are all present...it is incredibly evocative and very strange on me. The colors are all dusty velvet blacks and polished mahoganies.

 

It reminds me of rooms full of expensive furniture under a blanket of dust; lamp oil burning, trying to dispel the oppressive darkness as someone sits at the one piece of furniture that looks like it has been used recently - a desk, or even better, a massive pipe organ, well-maintained and oiled and only meant to play the most tragic of songs. This is...indescribable, really, it's the scent of the skin and the clothes of the person who lives at that pipe organ - mad, brilliant, tragic, finding out too late what he has missed in life by living in death. And therefore, perfect.

 

Also: I'm not sure if these were intended to be layered, but I was wearing one on each wrist and kept getting the loveliest wafts of fragrance...when layered, these scents sing counterpoint to each other, becoming something richer, deeper and sweeter than they are seperately. Christine brings brightness, brings light to Erik, and Erik gives Christine more depth. It's beautiful.

[nursekins]

Erik- I was very scared of this one...the notes seemed like disaster for me...kerosene...leather...oil...all of these alone spell awful for me...but...erik is gorgeous and perfect I love this story...

This is the perfect combination of darkness and white...I sense the dark velvet and a cold black patent leather notes...you can smell the dark underground chamber complete with dust and cold stone notes...I do get a wood note but it is very aged and in noway resembles fresh wood...It is a strong dark scent...one you can not ignore...but after a time you begin to get something pure and very white at the heart...it is hard to put into words...it is almost what a pure white scent would be...bright and strong...like maybe a combo of pure ozone,musk..clouds...water droplets...I am sorry I am at a loss for words on the exact notes...This is perfect as far as a picture for me...dead on erik...not so much the phantom you see on stage...think more of the actual novel

[Little Bird]

In the bottle and on my skin, this isn't very good. I once cleaned wet, moldy curtains out of an apartment, an apartment that had just had a fire. The smell of this is like a memory of that burnt wood and moldy curtains. In the drydown, this starts to smell ozone-y fresh and soapy clean, like someone covered the moldy curtains in laundry soap.

 

I expected a dark, woodsy, resinous scent from this, and it's really soapy-clean, fresh, and tangy smelling on me, with just a bit of smoke and mold. I don't care for this one.

[femmefatale]

In the bottle it's definitely resiny woods and just a bit cologney. Very nice.

Once on, it keeps the resinous woods, but so much more comes out. I smell a bit of the leather along with something vaguely sweet and sharp at the same time. I can also smell the dusty cloth (how does she do that???). Very cool.

I also think this is unisex, though leaning towards the masculine.

 

As with Christine, I think this fits Erik perfectly.

 

Like the poster Christine Daae, I tried one on each wrist and the scent of both of them together, yet apart, is just beautiful. I am a huge Phantom fan and was a little nervous to try these because I was afraid they wouldn't live up to the book (and my expectations). Thankfully I can say there was no need to worry, they are both simply perfect and fitting and do honor to their namesakes.

 

Just a note, this has a hell of a throw. A little goes a long way.

 

Also, I tried this on dh. Smokier & darker. That's all I can say about that.

 

Edited March 1, 2009 by Femme_Fatale

[Gwydion]

In bottle: Yum. I love the resin coated wood, the kerosene/oil note is unusual, but fascinating doing cool things with the cloth elements. It’s a little like mechanical Phoenix and Shadwell had a son. Wet: Very sexy. I love the way the resins sweeten the sharper elements. It feels a little like Jolly Roger while smelling more like several steampunk scents. It’s got a pleasant steampunk aftershave thing going on. I’m really liking the cloth elements as well, which really do give one a sence oftheater curtains and old costumes. Dry: the wood deepens and grows richer, the dust transforms into a very light sandalwood. The kerosene/oil softens with wear. The whole thing is stunning.

[unlaced]

Okay I finally got around to testing Erik from my Erik/Christine duet... and !!!

 

In the bottle: Is there something wrong with my nose? This smells... clean to me. A bit aquatic, and fresh...? huh? *checks label* Yeeeaaah, this is the right bottle...

 

Wet on my skin: The same "clean" smell...... I can smell some of the mustyness and maybe come cloth behind the weird clean-ness and is that resin and oil and kerosene hiding back there.......?

 

Dry: ahhhh, there's everything! The clean smell is gone and I can smell the resin coated wood strong and clear. Everything else blends in behind it nicely and sharpens it up. Not too much, just enough to keep it distinct... if that made any sense.

 

I'm going to have to resist my urge as a slatherer with this one. It's pretty potent.

 

All in all I like it a lot! More than Christine... People have mentioned layering the two, I wonder how that would go. *ponders*

[Schmoozy]

Wow. This is not what I was expecting at all. It is so much sweeter that I anticipated. It definitely has a airy, ozone, almost aquatic fresh vibe.

Resin coated wood and musty velvet are the two notes that really stand out. Even though it is crisp and clean smelling, I can feel the must & dust.

Side by side with Christine the two compliment and stand out in their own way. Just beautiful.

[fairnymph]

Sniffed: Wood, kerosene, and oil. It's very solvent-y, but in a pleasant sort of cologney way. I get that 'motor oil' sort of metallic feel, which I was hoping for. It is a little dusty, but not overly.

 

Wet: Sharper, more metallic, tangier. Still very woody. Also, there's something sweet now, possibly a wood note> This almost feels aquatic, cucumbery-wet and cool, too. I get a 'wet stone' smell.

 

Dry: Okay...oddly spicy? Peppery? Also, sweeter and sweeter. Still very woody, a little more dry and dusty now - cedar, I think? But a really well behaved cedar. It's a little soapy, but in a nice way.

 

Later: I really get a fuckton of cucumber. I think the spicy note is white pepper, and some zingy ozone, too. I get some white sandalwood now, too. Almost a salty aquatic drydown - I agree with the 'steam punk Jolly Roger' assessment.

 

Summary: I agree with others - this is resin-y without being incense-y (which I love!), in a way that evokes ballet rosin. And there is totally a 'steampunk aftershave thing' - both of these aspects being layered on top of a slightly spicy/zingy CUCUMBER. Good throw & longevity.

 

I wish I got some leather, but I still really like this. It's not what I expected at all but it's lovely and unique. :hearts:

 

Edited May 21, 2009 by fairnymph

[anastasia]

I spent a lot of my childhood in backstage settings. Onstage too but sooo much more time is spent backstage than on. This really does smell backstage!!!

The kerosene smell is awesome. It is oily and good. There is a bit of a sweet floor polish thing which may be what smells clean to everyone. It is an institutional sweet smell but in a good way. And there is kind of a dusty drape thing too. Not too much dust to this though which is cool because Miskatonic University is almost all mildew and dust on me like rotting choir robes and I was afraid maybe I amp those smells since everyone else got buttery coffee...

I think this really does smell like an empty theater.

This is kind of woody, neutral, spacious. The resins don't really come across as incensey at all. More like polish or wax or rosin for ballet shoes.

My fella likes it too. I think he kind of wants some.

This is very evocative of the book character which is good cuz I read and loved the book long, long, ago in grade school and did not love the following theatrical manifestations...

[zankoku_zen]

I don't get the cucumber in this - but I do get a nice, rich man's cologne - slightly aquatic but with the leather asserting itself. Oddly enough, it makes me think of Hessian of the Hollow. It's a little too masculine for me, but the leather doesn't work as well on my husband as it does on me.

 

Ah well. It's a pretty sexy masculine cologne. Which surprises me, since I have a mild aversion to Phantom of the Opera, but that's really the taint of the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical speaking.

[MCS4096]

Musty incense soaked curtains and polished wood heated by bodies. The leather comes out more when it hits my skin. I wish there was a little less of the cologne-ness with the moody elements, but the throw IS mostly musty drapes, which is awesome Fantastic when worn side by side with Christine!

[lilacea]

I'm having a hard time picking individual notes in this, but there are very distinct impressions. There's a sweet wood, like a bois de rose, right up front and centre. There's that hint of the dusty note you find in other BPAL blends, which reminds me of a cousin of ambergris boquet. I'm not getting a heavy leather impression, very light. Sweet clean linens. But there's something sickly that turns on my skin. Like lotus. I'm trying to figure it out, it's a base, semi-sweet and rooty kind of smell. It's a little stale and unenthusiastic. There's a touch of beeswax, not much in the way of any musk that I'm picking up on (which for some reason I've come to expect at least a little in most dark and manly scents). I'm going to let this settle and wear for a little longer to get a better impression of the dry down. I put it on earlier today for the first time and washed it off before I had to leave the house. I've only just dabbed it on again and haven't really got to a true dry down yet, but it's not looking promising unfortunately.

[rayvn1]

Oh crap. Why didn't I hold onto this, again? A hint of ozone on me with a cologne-y edge and a dusty, harshly sexy leather note. Crap. I need to track it down again - that'll teach me to let something age before I send it to swaps

[donnatron]

Bottle: Holy McShitters, Batman! THIS SMELLS LIKE THE PARIS OPERA HOUSE! Okay, not the house per se but how I imagined it to smells when I read Phantom. I think. I guess I never really pictured what it smelled like but when I smelled this it smelled like what I would have envisioned it to smell like had I thought to think about such a thing. Anyway. It smells like the opera house. So weird. Also unnerving about putting it on my person.

 

Wet: The kerosene is the first out of the gate and amps uncomfortably. And while this is an aggressively masculine scent and it has a lot of ingredients that really are not my thang, this still works in a weird, cologne-y way. It smells like mens' cologne but it still works on my skin. So odd.

 

Dry: Ozone and kerosene and dust and dryness and a hint underneath it all of just really nice gentleman's cologne. There's even a hint of a musk that may be skin musk or Arabian musk. Something light and skin close. This is aggressive as hell but kind of works in a bloodthirsty sort of way. There's also something a little walk of shame-ish about this. Just like... it's really manly and so it must not really be my possession. It works on my skin but doesn't sit naturally there.

 

Throw: Strong.

 

Overall: I SMELL LIKE THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA, YO! This is awesome and I love it.

[filigree_shadow]

Eek, this one is not good on me. Smells dusty and musty. Yikes. It makes me think of my grandmother's sweater that has been sitting in a drawer all summer and she didn't wash it before she wore it in the winter and she smells kind of like a musty sweater. There is no way I can get away from that association with this -- that's exactly what it smells like to me. So, no. Not gonna work for me.

[edenssixthday]

Erik - This type of dirty, dark, dank, manly-man scent tends to scare me. A lot. But you never know with BPAL, so I tried it anyway. When I first apply it, I think it's one of those surprise scents that smells nothing like you think it would, and for a second, I think it smells awesome -- warm woods and leather...mmm. But really, that only lasted for a split second, because that's when the "musty" scent comes marching in. It's the same green mildew note from Shadwell. The only difference is it's mildew coated in dry dust. It's so gross. I also can now smell the kerosene oil underneath all of it, which adds a non-gross, interesting, and odd level of complexity to the scent. After a while, the mildewiness (is that a word?) actually dissipates, leaving behind an aspect of it that reminds me less of mildew and more of lush, tropical greenery. This is one very strange, very odd scent. I don't like it and would never wear it again...but I can't stop smelling it on my skin because it's so damn intriguing.

[strahlend]

I'm kind of fascinated by musty/mildew and other unpleasent sounding scents because they somehow manage to evoke the odd/unusual/werid feeling but still smell really good. I'm enamored.

Erik does smell musty, a little woody and kind of dank. There's a sort of green feeling here too, like ivy. I really love this scent but need to reapply it often because it fades fast.

[quidproquo]

First impression... definitely a dark, heavy scent. I wouldn't wear a lot of it at one time or else it would become overwhelming very quickly. It isn't sharp or unpleasant, just very strong.

 

When I first put it on it smells almost smoky, and I can definitely smell the resins.

 

After it's dried a while the leather comes out... and a bit of the musky scent that they described. I don't know that I smell the musty drapes, but I can see how this would be evocative of a mysterious Phantom living beneath the opera house.

 

I'll have to try layering it with Christine, I'm curious now that I've read what other people have said about trying that. Overall I like this scent, although I don't know that I'd wear on a regular basis because it's very distinctive and strong. It might be my new evening out with a slinky black dress scent.

[a_llb]

In vial: Oily kerosene, strange but not bad. Resinous wood, not like any other blends I've smelled before.

Wet: Thin black leather which fades pretty quickly. I get a bit of mustiness as well, rather strong.

Dry: The initial strong musty kerosene is rather intriguing, much more appealing than you'd think. It fades into dark velvet with almost a polished or waxed wooden undertone.

 

Verdict: I wanted to try Erik only because I love the story. I really did not expect to like it or find it wearable- I am glad to be wrong! There is a sweetness in the end result that is refined & dark. Images of velvet drapes swaying softly from a ghostly passerby, hidden in the shadows just outside the warm glow of an oil lamp. Lonely yet oddly magnetic, drawing you in with passionate fervence.

 

Also, Erik layers well with Christine- I am in love! Christine's light vintage florals illuminate Erik's unique & solitary genius, bringing heavenly beauty to the madness. What a pair.

[porcelina]

So I loooooove PotO and had to get Erik because it totally sounded like something I would like (sorry, I did not get Christine because florals are reeeeally not my thing). This is a dark and masculine scent that smells like dusty wood and resins. it is richer than and not as dry as i expected. i really like it!

[whisperstilled]

I've been wanting to try this baby since I first got into BPAL, and I finally got my hands on a decant.

 

In decant: A weird sweet mustiness, and oil? Let's see how this goes.

 

Wet: Something sharp and sweet at the same time. Beeswax for sure, and the resin sweetening things. Wood, definitely, and no leather.

 

Drying: What an odd duck! This reminds me of some other conceptual BPAL scents, but of course none of the names come to mind right now. I would say it's closest to Liberty, if anything. Strong beeswax/candle wax.

 

Dry: This is truly a bizarre one. I can't figure out if I like it or not, but it's definitely an unusual scent to be tried. On the drydown it mellows its weirdness a little and the leather rises up, bringing this a bit closer to some of the Phoenix Steamworks scents, and actually becomes a lot nicer. Not one I need a full bottle of, but kind of fascinating.

[renfair]

Ok, have to preface this by saying The Phantom of the Opera is my absolute favorite book of all time, and I've been obsessed with it since second grade. So getting this perfume and Christine were kind of a huge deal to me.

First Sniff Impression: Clean, cool, men's cologne. I love it!

Wet in Vial: Cooler than I was expecting. More aquatic. I was expecting dusty and dry, and it's kind of the opposite, which I love. I can definitely get the wood, and there's almost a sweet decay to it, which is just perfect for the character.

Drying Down on Skin: Oooh, I think I'm getting the leather now (heaven!!) It's almost floral in a way (someone in reviews said beeswax, so maybe that's it). But it's getting a little more bitter and dry, some of the aqua is going away. The resin-wood is coming out more strongly, and I think I can actually smell the kerosene note. It really is making me think of backstage an old theater, with all of the contruction going on, and the gas lamps. It's starting to feel like something older, that's been shut away for a long time.

 

Dry on Skin: Dry, the oil and kerosene (and maybe leather/resin?) are really prominent and have the most throw. Honestly, it's now not a scent I would want to wear, but it's still excellent for the character, especially if you consider how Erik's sanity really deteriorated as the story went on. It's now gone from a sort of seductive men's cologne to straight up BURN DOWN THE MOTHER #$@&ING OPERA HOUSE! But now, about an hour after that, he's starting to sweeten up again ... LIKE IN THE BOOK.

Conclusion: Erik had a very strong strength, which is fitting even though it changed a lot from wet to fully dry and fading hours later. Like Christine, I really felt like Erik told a story, and one that was very reminiscent of the character the perfume is named after. I wouldn't wear Erik again as a personal scent, but I'd still like to smell it once in a while. I'm going to try layering it with Christine and see how that goes.

[Cali]

Wet, i get something wet- and soaplike. Dust? Absolutely agreeing with the smoky velvet cucumber there. It's not disagreeable on me, but it's not something i'd ever go for.

On drydown it's a strong, but watery vetiver, with something surprisingly sweet and light (like a heady floral that's watered down), but the overall feel of it is a dark brooding figure. The notes are beautifully blended, i find it incredibly hard to describe. Oily, 100-year-old-layer-of-dust, vague woodsy, dirty leather and watery velvet cucumber vetiver??