Aperotos Eros

[hkhm]

Strong as death, and cruel as the grave,
Clothed with cloud and tempest's blackening breath,
Known of death's dread self, whom none outbrave,
Strong as death,

Love, brow-bound with anguish for a wreath,
Fierce with pain, a tyrant-hearted slave,
Burns above a world that groans beneath.

Hath not pity power on thee to save,
Love? hath power no pity? Nought he saith,
Answering: blind he walks as wind or wave,
Strong as death.

Unloving love: benzoin, Indian musk, massoia bark, myrrh, ambrette seed, galbanum, bergamot, and fir.

imp: it's difficult to tell what i'm smelling here. it smells like sweetened pine bark right after it's been peeled off the tree.

wet: the myrrh is the strongest note while this is wet, this reminds me a bit of mort de cesar. there is still a woody/bark sort of scent but it's indistinct. there is also a faint sweetness, ambrette perhaps?

dry: this sweetens bit by bit while it dries until it is a lightly sweet, fresh wood and myrrh scent. there is just the faintest trace of bergamot as well. this puts me in mind of wandering all over wild, undeveloped areas while a warm breeze blows all the scents of the woods over me.

[Gwydion]

In bottle: Fir is strongest, over an interesting Indian temple incense blend. There is something rather nasty underneath. Wet: It was at this point, I half remembered I had a strong reaction to massoia last time. At least I think it was massoia. I’ve taken extra anti-histamine, but the itching means it’s coming right off. It’s very not okay on my skin. I seem to be amping massoia instead of just musk I’m guessing it’s the massoia I don’t like. I was quite complex in an interesting way, but really, really doesn’t work on me.

[Eutectic]

I was very intrigued with this scent and got into my imp right away. Cold sniff I was a little put off as there is something just not right there somehow. Dabbed it on anyway...lol

 

Wet--Pine bark but very fresh and fading quickly to be followed by the myrrh and Indian Musk.

 

Dry--Oh WOW this is a scent memory but I can't place it, someone's incense from my past? Dark, slightly sinister, very deep incence and haunting. I can't stop sniffing my hand. This is a deep dark scent. Inscence lovers will adore this!

[angelicruin]

Inside the imp, I smell very spicy musk and bark.

 

On the skin, initially spicy fir and bark. As it dries, it becomes muskier, still very spicy and myrrh emerges.

 

This sweetens as it dries but retains it spicy musk scent over everything else.

 

It's a dark scent, but not oppressive. More a mysterious dark scent than hellfire and brimstone dark.

 

Just a hunch, but I believe this one is going to age magnificently.

Edited July 24, 2009 by angelicruin

[VioletChaos]

i was most fearful of the fir in this bland. as a rule, BPAL spruce notes tend to amp on me like crazy, in really unappetizing ways (pine, juniper, i'm looking at you )

 

fortunately, there's no trace of it in here on me. whew!

 

what i get instead is a rich, dark, sexy musk. not musky like Smut or any of the Enraged musks. this is more of a "dude" musk. that's not to say that i think this is only a scent for guys. but it's very heavy, and kind of overpowering.

 

the finish, after full dry down is very, VERY similar to Death In Autumn. my DH happens to have about 3 bottles of DiA, so i'm very familiar with the scent, and if you are someone who is sad to have not gotten that scent when it was still available, here's your chance to get something close enough to be a sibling.

 

 

[Delirium1009]

In bottle/imp: Resinous musk with just a hint of fir.

 

Immediately on skin: This scent is deep, resinous and slightly medicinal musk. There’s a woodiness to this blend, and it feels very dry to me. It has some nice complexity to it, but overall it’s a very dark blend.

 

After a little while: Dry, woody, resinous, musky, and slightly nutty: that’s what this scent is. It’s very deep and smells kinda brown, but still very rich. There’s just a touch of powder to it too though unfortunately.

 

Overall Impressions: This scent is quite deep and rich, and a little bit much of both of those for me. It’s musky and resinous with a dry, woody, nutty feel to it. More of a unisex blend, but edging towards the feminine side of that I think.

 

[blacklacestatic]

In the Imp: Heavy, sexy musky. A bit woodsy and thick, syrupy. A lot more depth than I was expecting.

 

Wet on skin: Rich, dark, musky. Can smell the myrrh making it richer and sweeter, as well as the fir giving off a cozy warmth. This reminds me of smut, the same sweet muskiness. I really love the musk.

 

Drydown: Hey, lab are you sure this isn't Smut? Was there perhaps some kind of mix-up? This is a lighter version of Smut, which is great because i looooove Smut. Unbelievably sexy, rich and mysterious.

 

Overall: My kind of scent! Sexy, soft, complex musk. I love what the myrrh does in this. The perfect scent to wear when you want to cast a seductive spell over your lover.

[Iceblink]

Musssssssssssssssk with spice (the bergamot??) and myrrh...oh, hell, I can't really pick out a lot of notes here; this is beautifully blended and sexy as hell. Between this and Whoso List To Hunt I'm bowled over by the newest musky GCs!

[tragedy]

This is gorgeous!!!

Its so much like an incense I once had, burning.

I get mostly myrhh, a bit of fir. Sweetness.

Its got a heck of a throw, a beautiful swirling heady, slinky throw.

 

Who frimped me this?? (I need to start marking it down!) Whomever... Thank you!!!!

 

 

edited to say: Aperotos Eros is one of my favorite poems, and I think this blend evokes the feeling very well.

Edited August 8, 2009 by tragedy

[crebbsgirl]

Something here reminds me of The Caterpillar, but I can't identify it. This is smooth and sensuous. I really like this! A little incensey in feel. Myrrh and musk and fir are the prominent players here, but the fir isn't overpowering anything. Unbelievably sexy to say the least. I love it!

[Little Bird]

In the bottle and on my skin at first, I can definitely smell the fir note. It smells very bitter, green, woodsy and slightly medicinal. As it dries down, I get more of a dark musk and sweet, smooth resinous myrrh & benzoin. I sometimes have trouble wearing musk notes (they tend to turn sharp on my skin), but the benzoin and myrrh really round out and calm the musk here. Overall it has a dark brown, warmed, sensual feel.

Edited April 3, 2013 by Little Bird

[tajana]

In the imp, I definitely get fir, bark, and a swirl of musky resin. Wet, it's odd. It's syrupy an resinous, with odd, medicinal, almost sweet-yet-savory feeling. The smell of bark punches through shortly, accompanied by a brush of fir needle. I'm not familiar with massoia bark as a note but after a bit of research (it apparently has a sweet, coconutty, buttery, distinctive aroma) I really think that's the note that rises highest and really colors the character of this scent. It amps in an odd way, it's creamy (though that could be a bit of benzoin mixing in) and it feels like an exotic spice rolled in something buttery, which feels a little nauseating to me, to be honest... I can't handle buttery feeling scents, and it's almost disorienting to find something with that quality in something so completely UNfoody!

 

The spice-feel is enriched by the edge of fir as well, and in the opening stages, by the brightness of bergamot. Mostly, though, I think I'm amping the massoia, which dampens the effects of all the other notes. There's still a detectable myrrh and musky base, very warm and "brown" in feel, and it becomes more apparent as the other notes back off.

 

It's a very, very distinctive perfume, I think... I've never smelled anything else like it. It's a worth a try just for the novelty of it, but it doesn't smell very good on my skin so I'm passing it on.

[Wwindy]

I love this so much I'm not sure I can even write coherently about it...

 

The two dominant notes on my skin are the myrrh, warm and velvety and rich, and the fir, which is not fake-Christmasy at all, it's a very natural, deep, cool, foresty scent. The combination of the two almost *shimmers* in my nose: it's like the scent vibrates back and forth between those two extremes. Like one of those silks with different colors in the warp and weft, you know? where it changes its overall color depending on how you look at it?

 

Rounding out the myrrh and fir is a musky incense blend with woody traces. The overall impression is very warm and exotic, but not overpowering and definitely not "perfumey" -- it's just this complex gorgeous evocative smell.

 

There were people walking around saying "What smells so good?" the first time I wore this in company... turned out it was me!

 

:love!:

[surlygurl]

Looking at the list of notes, I don't know what half of them are! I figured it was time to try it.....

 

Fresh on, Incense Musk!!!! Something medicinal, sharp, like an Indian/Tibetan temple incense with herbs for healing. Dark & strong. A bit scary.

 

As it dries, the sharp & scary fade and it becomes a woody resiny incense. Very brown smelling. What used to be OMG Medicinal! is now behind the incense resin, raising up. It even sweetens up a bit.

 

This reminds me of one of the Faces of the Heroine series - the really sharp incense one. This isn't as dry, tho. I can almost picture it being a leftover from that series. I like how it smells, but it's not something I'd wear all the time. I'd love to see how it ages.

Edited September 9, 2009 by surlygurl

[mand]

Grassy, with a pleasant undertone of resins, a hint of patchouli, and a creamy note.

Very natural, easy, relaxed

I don't like grassy notes - nor I really dislike them either, but I can see myself wearing Aperotos Eros a lot

Edited September 20, 2009 by mand

[isisonearth]

Imp: Very outdoorsy. Fir with a bit of sweetness...like a memory of honey.

 

Wet: Sweet, sweet myrrh and warm amber but an overall dry sort of feel that seems masculine. It starts to fade fast.

 

Dry: In minutes it is a faint but delicious skin musk with just a hint of resins if I put my nose right to it.

 

Overall: I'd like to smell is on a man. I'd like it on me if it were just a bit louder and the sweetness stayed.

[Seismogenic]

I think this is the first Ars Amatoria scent I've actually picked out for myself. Love poems and smelling sexy aren't my general thing, but the list of notes on Aperotos Eros sounds so fantastic that I need to give it a try, no matter how far the inspiration for this scent differs from my norm.

 

In the imp: Resinous and a little evergreen-sharp. If I were pressed to pick out anything in particular, I think that it's heaviest on benzoin, myrrh, and fir.

 

Wet on skin: It gets a little sweeter as it hits my skin, which is probably related to musk, since I think I'm noticing that now as well. It is still largely a resin blend, however, with a bit of sharpness that reminds me of evergreen sap.

 

Drydown: Freshly dry, myrrh has definitely overtaken benzoin as the main resin, though both are still there. I'm pretty sure that musk is the main thing sweetening up a little, though not sweet enough to dull the edge of what I still assume is the fir. The other notes are probably there, blended into something darkish that I can't categorize with the other stuff I smell. At one hour in, this is a dark resiny musk with just a little bit of bite. It's not particularly sweet anymore.

 

Five hours later: Dry wood of some indistinct sort, myrrh, and musk.

 

End of the day: A little bit of musk and a littler bit of myrrh.

 

Overall: This scent is very very brown - a sort of dark grayish brown with an almost velvety texture. The edge that it has isn't so much sharpness as just textural deviation from complete smoothness. It's rather intense, but in a rich way, rather than in an overpowering one. The musk, wood, and resin are so well balanced that I couldn't tell you which one best characterizes the scent, but that doesn't matter. I like this very very much, and I foresee myself wearing it fairly often.

[edenssixthday]

Aperotos Eros - In the vial, this is very heavy, dark, musky, and woodsy. Kind of reminds me of a head shop. But as soon as it touches my skin, something goes horribly, horribly wrong and it loses all of its deep, dark, heaviness and turns to the scent of... um... vomit.

[septima_pica]

Hmm. I first tried this when it was fresh from the lab a couple of months ago, and I was not happy -- it was far too sharp. However, I gave it a couple of months to calm down -- looks like that was a good decision. I grabbed it just now because of a certain thematic appropriateness, and also because I had not yet applied perfume today.

 

This goes on very woody and musky, a tiny bit resinous-sweet. It smells like incense in an old wooden box, like an imports store, warm, hollow and dry. As it dries down, it becomes a great deal more unified. It smells like great ancient wooden pillars now, in a room full of incense smoke -- a temple smell.

 

An hour or so later, it finally comes into its identity as an "Ars Amatoria" scent. Brown, rich, and musky, almost a velvety texture (like the dust in Velvet Bandito), while also intensely incensey, it smells like a skin scent with sweet incense over it. In some indefinable way, it smells like old things, and strength.

 

What a change! From sharp fir and powdery black musk to this. I think I'm going to love this even more in a year or so; it may go on the bottle list.

[slittlecrowrussell]

I think this is one of the blends that gets shipping shock. I wasn't impressed at first sniff, but then I let it settle a bit and warm up (about 30 minutes). It was a totally different experience to open the bottle a second time. On the skin, the first, immediate note is evergreen... balsam type evergreen. Pine often ends up smelling like Pine-Sol, but this one behaves like an actual tree - green without being 'too green.' After the initial balsam pine phase, a lovely warm musk swirling on a base of dry sandalwood-myrrh begins to emerge through the greenery. It's like walking in the November woods and stopping to snuggle up with someone you love. Overall, it smells dry and clean without being at all reminiscent of soap - very unisex. This is the kind of scent that I'll wear when I'm going to be outdoors (skiing, hiking, etc.) because it smells both natural and sexy.

Edited October 17, 2009 by 13magpies

[stellans]

At first, I thought this would be too sweet for me; it seemed to be all 'super Snake Oil' for some reason, and I got no deep incense or evergreen to leaven the sweetness. But it didn't take long for the sheer beauty of this blend to bloom, and now I'm in thrall to the incense-y goodness. I am reminded of a nice, dark little Pagan shop I used to visit all the time before moving to TN, and that is a very good memory to be reminded of, IMO. I think I'm going to add this to my bottle-want list.

Edited May 6, 2011 by stellans

[Caerphilly]

In the imp: Incense and sweet pine/evergreen/foresty/woody and lots and lots of sap!

 

Wet: Heavy sweet sap, pine bark, very woody. Dark, heavy musk. Something else...artificial... No, it's the bergamot. Smells like incense, sweet heavy incense. Reminds me of Ozymandias. It's less feminine, though.

 

Dry: Doesn't change much from wet to dry. A little powdery sweet now, but still heavy and dark. Very close to the skin. Feels like I smell like sap and bark, not like I'm wearing perfume/oil.

 

Overall: Doesn't have a lot of throw. It's too close to the skin. I have to really sniff my wrist to smell it, and when I do, it's really heavy and dark and sweet and musky. It is a lovely dark scent, but not really my taste.

[Argentwolf]

This is a beautiful blend that manages to be sweet without been cloying, and a bit on the resinous side. It's a dark-brown sort of scent, melancholy and brooding, and subtly creeps up on you to gently fill your senses with its sweet air of loss. It has decent staying power and throw. Very, very lovely.

[zankoku_zen]

This one is a resinous musk with a good bit of wood. *ough cough* What I mean is, dark-brown sort of musk, and some pine on wet, but it dries to cedar and perhaps cypress. Slightly incensey and slightly dusty.

[aquazoo]

Spicy bowling alley. It might be the bergamot giving it the spice, but it's tapping on the thin edge of soap. I can honestly say I unlove it.