Nigredo v7

[edenssixthday]

Nigredo v7 - Dude, this is AWESOME!!! Vetiver/smoke/ash lovers are going to go nuts over this one. It's farging GORGEOUS!!! Wet in the bottle it smells like stanky wet vetiver, but fortunately for me, as much as vetiver stinks when it's wet, when it dries down on my skin, magical things start to happen. As it dries down, I can smell other notes beside the vetiver, and this is chock full of smoke, ash, and molten rock, along with the odd sweetness of sulfur, and everything that's dirty, gritty, grimy, heavy, dark, menacing and foreboding. This scent is sinister and uber-sexy. It was so tempting to pass it by when I sniffed it wet in the bottle, but I'm sure glad I remembered that my skin does good things with vetiver, because this is one of the most hardcore and awesome vetiver blends I've ever encountered. Move over Determination and Three Jacks -- Mama's got a new favorite vetiver scent!

[Ondine]

My notes on this one were: "Vetiver!!!!" (Yes, with many exclamation points.) If you like vetiver, this might be the blend for you. If you don't want what was essentially a single-note vetiver to me, then ... this is not the blend you're looking for.

[femmefatale]

I am so so so happy I was able to get a bottle of this (and a kind soul is selling me hers so that dh and I have our own bottles!).

 

It is really amazing. Yes, there is vetiver in it but so much more. I don't know if it's just my skin chemistry, but there is a stage where is smells like Anne Bonny, but during battle with the smoke of buring pirate ships around her, along with a sweet note underneath it all. The smoke note comes and goes and there is this wonderful sweetness that reminds me of a dark vanilla, though is not strong and is more of an undertone. It balances out the other notes nicely. At one point I thought I caught some dark plum also, but it was short lived. I need to try it a third time to see if I can pin it down better. I would love to know the notes in this to see how far off I was.

 

This is such a wonderful scent that both dh and I can wear (on him it's much smokier) and it's something I can actually wear year round.

 

For all of you that sniffed it and passed it by.... You missed out on something special.

Edited July 29, 2009 by Femme_Fatale

[hlinspjalda]

In the bottle: Very dark, smoky, black. I get charcoal, maybe vetiver, maybe myrrh. Reminds me of Djinn, Priala, and Rumplestilzchen.

 

Wet: Patchouli and vetiver, with a wood. Very dark, a little sourish. Wonder if that's oakmoss instead of wood?

 

Half an hour: Definitely a wood with vetiver. It smells oaky, a little bit like Oak King minus the intensely menthol aspects. There's a touch of myrrh smoke (not the resin, the scent of the smoke itself) and still that impression of charcoal.

 

Hour and a half: Still that resinous wood quality to it, with charcoal and smoke. It smells black but not at all unpleasantly so. If that was vetiver, it's gone all sweet and tractable on me the way it sometimes does.

 

Four hours: Sourish wood, with the remnant of something that's either patchouli or myrrh, I can't make out which.

 

[moonstonemama]

 

this is dark, dry, sharp and very vetiver. it also smells kind of minty, but more menthol than either peppermint or spearmint. and there is also something that smells like fire. This is really nice. I've never thought of myself as a vetiver fan, but I guess I should just admit it. This is dark, fiery, and sexy.

[zankoku_zen]

Very sharp, very dry, very vetiver. It smelled like smoky bacon on me when first applied, and as it dries, it's pretty much straight up vetiver and maybe myrrh. It makes me think of Djinn and Priala, but drier. Def. more of a masculine blend.

 

Meh.

[fairnymph]

Warm golden-brownish oil. Sharp, boozy, herbal, medicinal. It reminds of this herbal cough syrup that I have that has alcohol, honey, and echinacea in it. There is the same sort of slight syrupy sweetness under everything. It also reminds me of Bitters.

 

Same, but stronger, harsher, more boozy. Very alcoholic, very bitter. Lots of rooty notes, maybe an earthy or rooty patchouli - actually, I'm almost positive there's black patchouli in this. Valerian root, and then I think the honeyed note is a resin, likely benzoin. There's also a sort of dustiness, so I strongly suspect myrrh.

 

More and more incense/resin notes. The black patchouli takes over, and it's really dominating everything else very, very thoroughly. It reminds me a lot of how Samhain 2009 went on my skin in drydown, though the earlier stages are very different - it's that same patchouli noe. Almost no booze, but still some mentholic herbs and roots, though they're less bitter and sharp now. Amped benzoin sweetens this. It's much better dry than it was wet.

 

This just gets better and better over time! The patchouli has evolved into quite a lovely patchouli note - too strong and masculine for me personally, but it's now smooth and deep and round and dark and a little incensey-smoky, not too dirty or gritty or rooty. The vetiver has held on well and it provides a smoky, cologney-clean counterpart to the patchouli. Only a whisper of those sharp mentholic notes remains, and the benzoin has faded slightly.

 

Final drydown is a good balance of dark patchouli and pleasantly cologney vetiver with a hint of sweet resiny base. Dark and masculine, and much better than the bottle ever suggested. Moderate throw and good longevity.

 

[Venneh]

Got a tester of this in a recent swap; it's very sharp, probably vetiver and smoke in there at the least. On my skin, it's pretty sharp, very smoky/firey. Probably not going to go well.

[Little Bird]

This is lots of smoky, dark, earthy vetiver on my skin. It smells like charred mesquite bbq planks at first, which I sometimes get from vetiver notes. It reminds me of Lenore's smoky darkness, but lets up a little as it dries down, getting a bit sweeter and more resinous. Still, this is too smoky and dark for me.

[savage_rose]

Wow, a vetiver that's not too overpowering! Spicy, sweet golden cologne with a smoky streak of vetiver. Good balance, nicely masculine.

[angelicruin]

Vetiver, but it's not as rancid as that note tends to go on my skin. Too harsh and masculine for my tastes though.

[myth]

Mmmm! Dark, woody, resiny darkness. Even reminds me a little of Damnation.

 

Getting a touch of pine/eucalyptus as it settles in. The eucalyptus goes away quickly, but it gets kind of funky and almost animalistic… civet maybe? Something earthy [but not dirt], and increasing smokiness. And perhaps pine tar.

 

On full dry it's quite woody... cedar maybe.

 

I see other reviews say vetiver, and this is a more smoky-woody type of vetiver than what was in Velvet Tiger, so it didn't just scream vetiver at me. But yeah. Also I think there could be patchouli in here too... the combo making the funky earthy scent I get for a while before it dries out and become more woody. This has some iffy moments, but overall is in the vein of things I like, and the dry down is pretty nice. A very dark scent.

 

ETA: after looking at other reviews I had dabbed just a tiny bit more on over the same testing spot to see if I got the vetiver, and I have to say that second application amped the vetiver much more, and it dried down a LOT smokier and with more gritty ash the second time than it did the first. I've noticed vetiver can do this on me... a light application often smells much much better than a heavy one does, and that was DEFINITELY the case here.

Edited July 2, 2010 by myth

[mymymai]

ITI: It's an interesting smoky, resinous blend. It reminds me of the lab's vetiver and its fire/smoke notes. I think there might be some galbanum in here along with something that is just the tiniest bit green, like menthol.

 

Wet: Oh yeah, that's vetiver with camphor and some kind o f resinous wood underneath, perhaps myrrh, but it is not as sweet as I would normally anticipate it to be.

 

Dry: There is a slightly sweet spiciness to the scent as it dries, as if there were a supple brown leather note rubbed with all spice, infused with vetiver and camphor or cedar.