Tombstone

[lizzieborden]

A celebration of one of the first commercially produced perfumes of America's Old West. A rugged, warm blend of vanilla, balsam and sassafras layered over Virginia cedar.

On first sniff: Sharp, just a little foody, not sure if I like it, but it's definitely sending my sniffer for a whirl.

Wearing: I'll probably have to keep this on awhile to have a fully developed opinion cuz its definitely a confusing scent. One second I love it, the next YUCK. I had a similar reaction to Spellbound, making me think its a good scent, just not *me*. The only scent I can pick out is the vanilla, and its a thick, rugged vanilla. I think the cedar is what's causing the intense sharpness at the top. It's almost minty in that way, but also kinda cleansing. I'd definitely like other opinions from anyone else who recieves this, I'm too unedjamukated to describe it. I wish I could find a little scentreel like you do for paint colors or hair colors, to sort of help learn the different scents

Further Wearing: This is reminding me a lot of when I was Vivian Leigh for an event. She wore Joy, which also had cedar (w/ rosewood, neroli, peach, ylang-ylang, and vetiver). And I had a sandalwood fan, so either it's the cedar or there is some definite sandalwood in there with it. It's slowly mellowing, which is nice. The vanilla is still a lot like Snake Oil's vanilla, but much more low and lazy. And the mintiness is just wafting over. Overall, it's enjoyable but too foody for me. I don't see myself being able to give it up though either. >Packrat< I can definitely see this being part of the Old West though.

Edit: Much more manly on my second wearing, much darker... Still really wish i knew what sassafras and balsum smell like, and i really need to smell cedar and sandalwood against each other. Now I'm regretting not sending this to my boyfriend though... Edited September 15, 2007 by Shollin

[Shollin]

First sniff: Wow. Cedarwood dipped in vanilla, big skies and wide-open plains with the wind blowing ripples in the yellow grass.

 

Wearing: Tombstone is beautifully warm, and really interesting. The vanilla is primary, and there’s a definite woodiness underneath, like vanilla condensed into the consistency of molasses and poured slooooooowly into a cedar chest. There’s a sharpness to the cedar that gets up my nose a bit if I sniff my wrist directly, but the aura is that gorgeous thick gooey vanilla with not a hint of sugar.

 

The texture of this scent reminds me of that amazing brandy-butter sauce they pour over one of the desserts at Applebee’s… thick but flowy and almost sticky but not quite. (Dang – now I really want a skillet blondie. ) It seems pretty unisex, but I have a feeling that if a man wore this scent he’d be sex on horseback. (Or maybe I’m just thinking of Viggo. )

[Nadirah]

mmm this one is a very *dusty* kinda smell, I can definatley picture a walk through a dry hot heat to come to a running river with birds and trees.

This one lasts a good long time too, I love how the vanilla and sassifras mingle w/ the cedar. I like cedar smells, with the vanilla, this one is slightly foody. I smell yummy.

[xoe]

This one on me, at first smells like kaopectate or something. Not too great. After an hour or two, it started to be very sexy and warm. Towards the end of the evening it was all sugary vanilla and comforting.

 

On my boyfriend it didn't smell like kaopectate at all. Just sexy and delicious.

[bluemockingbird]

Tried this for the first time today. At first, I smelled vanilla twined with cedar. The scents together seemed to confuse my nose, because I wasn't sure if I liked it or not.

 

Later, the cedar came out more - I love the smell of those little cedar jewelry boxes, so that made me happy. A few hints of mint too - does that come from the sassafras? It had other wood in there I didn't recognize, which made me think this would smell wonderful on the right guy. No one to experiment on just now, so I'll have to wear it myself- darn

 

Ten hours after I put it on, I could still smell it - by that time, it was a delicious warm but not overwhelming vanilla. The later scent entirely made up for the ambivalence I felt about it at first - I'll definitely wear this again.

[lucytalk]

For me, the vanilla and cedar come out strongly. Unlike the others, I can't smell mint (good). However, I don't know what sassafras or balsam smell like, if I did maybe I'd be able to pick them out. On, it stayed very strong all day, drying down to a warm, woody vanilla. I don't find it foody at all due to the woodiness. I'm not sure I can wear this myself, I feel it's maybe a bt masculine for me to carry off, but it is the kind of scent I'd put on for a night in on my own, just to smell good for *me*. It is a pretty sexy scent, on a guy it would be . As a massage oil it would be great too, I'm considering getting a 5ml just for that. Unfortunately I didn't get to test my imp out on my bf, as I let my dad have a sniff and he liked it so much I gave him it!

[jj_j]

Yum! The scents are so intertwined I can either smell only the whole, or each note in bursts if I stick my nose into it.

 

Think the vanilla of Snake Oil, a hint of root beer in the background, the spicily dry fragrance of pencil shavings, and the warmth of sweetly woody balsam. Lots of strength, and good for masculine or feminine, depending on which notes your body brings out of this.

 

Dry-down stayed exactly the same on me, which is unusual - but I'm not complaing about something that smells so fantastic when I put it on staying so perfectly delicious throughout its wear.

[Lady_Ell]

Something went dreadfully wrong when I tried this on.

 

On application: Uh oh. Something is amiss. Kaopectate indeed.

 

Drying: Double uh oh. I smell like the inside of a dentist's office. I have a strong minty-papery-chalky-bubble-gum smell coming out of me. It smells so much like the dentist that I can't concentrate on anything else. Think: the paper on the X-ray film tabs, plus the bubble-gum and mint polishing paste they put on with that little twirly brush, plus a fluoride rinse (that bluish, soapy looking stuff), and something medicinal and chemical that I can't figure out.

 

Damn. I was really looking forward to it, since I like woody smells and cedar and vanilla.

 

Later:

I tried to wash this off and it just. wouldn't. come. off. This is some strong stuff.

 

ETA: I tried this on again a year later and the terrible dentist office smell wasn't there! I realize that when I wrote this review I was taking medication that made most of the oils smell weird/skanky on me. Sans medication, Tombstone smells exactly like it's ingredients, mainly cedar and vanilla. Very very strong cedar and vanilla. It's still a bitch to wash off, though.

Edited June 8, 2005 by Lady_Ell

[byrdie]

From my second BPAL order.

 

Wet ~ Sweet and smokey at the same time. I love the smell of woodsmoke, and Tombstone seems to carry it quite well.

 

Drying ~ A little less smoke, a little more sweet -- they've blended quite well. I don't know exactly what sasparilla is, but I like it blended as it is.

 

Dry ~ Interesting. I've heard of sweet grass, but I don't know if I've ever smelled it. Everything has blended perfectly to the point that this oil smells like the smoke from a burned piece of sweet wood.

 

Afterthoughts ~ I may have put too much on. In the car, I needed to roll down the windows until it faded a bit. Too much sweetness makes me woozy, but then I have a cold right now anyway. Hours later, it has faint traces of smokey sweetness.

 

Final thoughts ~ In proper doses, this will become one of my favorite oils.

[Tesseljoan]

I was actually intimidated to put this on. It smells so strong and powerful in the bottle, that I was afraid to put it on my skin...

 

I finally gathered enough courage together to put a tiny bit on. And it's overpowering indeed. It smells very strongly of dark wood, teak I guess. after a while I get a waft of licorice as well. It is very dry.

 

I still feel a bit intimidated by it, even though I htink I like it. As if a long-haired, long-bearded, leather-clothed, veeeery big, muscular, tattooed (a bit like dakeyras, Alice Aforethought's man ) is giving you a big bear hug.

 

 

After 30 minutes: Not nearly as intimidating as first, kinda nice, actually. Smells like dryness and faintly of licorice.

 

ETA: after an hour of vigourous excercise (which makes a scent morph ultra-fast) there's nothing left but dessert-like sweet vanilla This one really has a gentle core, after all.

Edited April 28, 2004 by Tesseljoan

[with coffee spoons]

This is gorgeously masculine on me. The cedar is the predominent note, brightened by the minty balsam and smoothed out by a bit of vanilla. The sassafras is very much in the background, perhaps providing an initial touch of sweetness, but it fades quickly. It's really gorgeous, a really lovely fragrance. Refreshing, very Strong Silent Type. Evokes the great outdoors, a landscape more expansive than God. It is very rugged, but strong in a very sophisticated way. Actually, it reminds me of my boyfriend's hands. Large, strong, they have the blunt fingers and scars of a workman's hands, but they are effortlessly strong, they are understated in motion, and therefore elegant. That's how this fragrance is: it doesn't try to be anything, it just is. Strength that lies in potential.

 

At this first stage it's still sweet enough that I can wear it--and I adore it mightily, but as time wears on the mintiness fades and the cedar becomes drier and very slightly bitter as the vanilla recedes. This makes it even more masculine--still gorgeous, but something so masculine that I sadly cannot wear it. Despite that, I'd have to say that this is one of my favorite oils as far as composition, up there with Snake Oil and Seraglio. It's a bleeping shame that I can't pull it off after its first stage--it's so good. I tried touching it to a bit of Snake Oil, hoping that the latter would sweeten it up enough for me to be able to wear it, but it had the reverse effect-- The Tombstone made Snake Oil drier and quite sexy in a very masculine way. If Snake Oil doesn't work for a guy on its own, this is the ticket for making it work. Lasting power is terrific. It's never very loud on me, but it stays put with a vengeance. It fades somewhat after a few hours, but it's still unquestionably there after eight hours.

 

I would ask my sweetie to test it out except that he doesn't wear anything, and I'm not sure what he'd think... I'm strangely secretive about absurd things-- he knows about Snake Oil (and does he ever like it!), but I haven't told him that I am obsessed with BPAL and have tried and plan to try lots o' imps... Well, he'll find out this summer, when we're not 800 miles apart. If nobody claims it for swap, I might just ask him to give this a go. I do love smelling it. I'm wondering if a touch of sweet rose might make this one work for me. Hmmm...

 

Moral of the story: try it! If a woman's chemistry pulls out the right notes, this one could be wonderful. And on a man, as Shollin aptly put it: sex on horseback!

Edited May 10, 2004 by with coffee spoons

[Voivodess]

Whee! I love Tombstone with an unholy passion. As I'm sure I've mentioned somewhere else, it was the first scent I knew I had to order as I browsed BPAL for the first time. I love cemeteries, I graverub, and I've always been fascinated by gravestones (although I do realize that the "Tombstone" refers to the Old West town, but, hell, sometimes love is blind ), so I figured this would be the perfect choice. It is!

I can understand how this might smell masculine on some ladies, but my body chemistry has always been erratic - Alice, which was in fact the first Imp I ever tried, smelled rancid on me and I couldn't wait to wash it off - and on me, Tombstone makes me think of vanilla beans stored inside a cedar chest on a drowsy summer's day. (Though, interestingly enough, when I sniffed directly from the bottle I thought: Jesus, this really does smell like a gravestone! It had that slighly wet, earthy, lichen-affixed-to-rough-stone composition I know so well. Elizabeth, I tip my hat to you). I smell warm and a trifle foody, though not in a synthetic way, and the foodiness is tempered by the musk. This does not strike me as a terribly complex scent (certainly nothing along the lines of Old New Orleans, which I'm currently wearing and which keeps changing in the 4 hours I've had it on), but is grounded and somewhat earthy without being base or heavy in any way.

I wouldn't let the name or the negative reviews scare you off Tombstone. I can easily see how this is a works/doesn't work scent with little in between, but if it works, it WORKS. My friends love it, I love it, and in all probability it's going to become my signature scent (once I've found a BPAL floral I really like for special occasions, and a third scent for man-snaring activities - Chimera, perhaps? - I'll be all set). Try swapping if you're not sure, because in my opinion it's well worth the 'skin-test.' Cannot reccommend this enough.

[Thanatopsis Azraelis]

This one didn't work very well on me. It started off overly minty and then quickly dried into an unpleasant, dusty smell.

[Koumori]

This one intrigued me as soon as I opened the sample vial, where I got a very layered balsam and cedar. I tend to like masculine-leaning scents, and I like this one. It's subtle, and makes me think of dusty old buildings and decaying pine. I'll have to try it over Snake Oil as someone else suggested, as I bet that's an interesting combination. Unfortunately, it only lasted a few hours on me, but it's worth a re-application. A potential "big bottle."

[VelvetSky]

Intimidating at first, Tombstone just hollers "masculine" when sniffed straight from the Imp and cautiously applied. The vanilla jumps right out...not a dainty, soothing vanilla but a heavy, brooding vanilla that's downright evil (in a good way!). The vanilla tempers the pungency of the cedar...hell, this isn't just cedar wood, this is sap!

Halfway down, the sassafras appears...think root beer, but more primal and rugged than anything A&W ever bottled. Almost liquor-like in it's impact it causes the cedar to pull back and ease up a bit.

I smell dry grasses here (tumbleweed)?

By the time Tombstone hits bottom, the vanilla has morphed into a mellow smoothness; the sassafras still tickles your nose and the resulting epitaph on this Tombstone is: subtle richness.

I'd definitely wear this myself as a Power scent when I'm feeling (or feeling the need to be) confident and strong.

 

Velvet

[hypothermya]

Love the movie, love the genre, love the concept. And, looking for a new scent for my boyfriend. So this, along with several other "masculine" scents, were on my list.

 

In the Bottle

 

Wow. The cedar and sassafras are strong, almost offensive to my nose. On the second whiff, the vanilla makes it sweeter and more rootbeer like. The boyfriend says that it smells like dirt, almost dusty. I have to agree.

 

Wearing It

 

The dust scent comes out even more. As it dries down, the dirt and cedar picks up a lot more. He says it smells like a dusty old wooden cabin. Yes, I agree, but perhaps a dusty old wooden cabin with an empty bottle of sassafras rootbeer sitting on the table. The scent isn't as strong and overpowering on him, which is a plus. But I'm still not sure that smelling like a dusty old cabin is quite what I envisioned for him in terms of a cologne/perfume. Eh. He likes it. Says that it reminds him of hiking.

 

We'll see. It definitely captures the feeling that Beth was going for (she's so good at that!), but not what I was looking for. Definitely not as yummy on him as Old Morocco or O. It's funny that all of his scents are sweeter than mine! I think I'll wait to see how the scent mellows out in another half an hour or so and update on that if it's any different.

 

edit: After about a half an hour, the scent changed drastically. My boyfriend described it as "Carnie Candy"; I have to agree with him. His skin chemistry really picks up vanilla (part of the reason why O works so well on him), and so the scent turned into the smell of cotton candy, taffy, and (yes, even this) carmel popcorn, mingling with the smell of dust. Exactly like a circus concession area. While it was really nice to be swept back to my memories of circuses, I think that the both of us aren't into him smelling like this on an ongoing basis. Oh well. It was a fun experiment.

Edited May 30, 2004 by hypothermya

[Vaniclion]

Fresh out of the bottle, I caught whiffs of warm sweet vanilla. Like this vanilla bean tea I have. Smells a bit like fresh cake. As I actually sniff up on it, I catch a wood smell, likely the balsam and cedar with the cedar being the most prevalent.

 

The vanilla is the 'wafting' note. This smells less like a cowboy on me than perhaps the camp cook. Bakin up some tasty vittles for the hard-workin menfolk... oh, look, drool. Okay. Changing thought trains.

 

It's a nice scent, I'm just unsure its for me. Candle would be lovely, as it still smells very homey to me for some reason. Maybe the combination of that cedar box and my mom smelling like vanilla. Who knows. Also might make a nice 'earth' smell if you don't care for the scents that smell like, well, earth.

[Gothabillywench]

VANILLA VANILLA VANILLA

 

that is all I get woth this one. Far too sweet for me so will see what happens to it on the boy as he has a knack of making what's sickly sweet on me far more boyish & menacing.

[aessedai]

At first, for some reason, I thought I smelled leather. I figured I didn't like the smell, but I let it settle.

Then I smelled vanilla. Then I smelled trees. Now it smells like cedar and vanilla, kinda sweet to me.

 

I think I thought it smelled like leather because the smells remind me of "new car" or "car air freshener" but honestly they are much more amazing than that. Just my warped associative mind at play!

 

This is definitely something I will be wanting a 5 ml of!

 

ADDED Sept. 27, 2005:

 

I adore Tombstone. I wore it for a whole summer, so I'm on a little break from it right now. Will go back soon. The way the vanilla blends with the tree scents, and the sassafrass complements that is just amazing!

[shriekingviolet]

Initial Impression:

Smells like vanilla scented pipe tobacco and whiskey.

 

After Wearing It:

Wet, this reminded me strongly of those whiskey filled/flavored chocolated you can buy. The notes were all coming on strong at once and the affect was slightly dizzying. After it dried, it mellowed a bit, the sassafras and cedar notes coming to the foreground while being sweeted by the vanilla. It was dry and sweet, and reminded me of a candy store we used to go to right before being dropped off at camp for a week. The shop had a rustic decor and felt like the last stop before the end of civilization. It was a vaguely exciting memory, jovial in a way. I can definitely see where the idea of a frontier saloon could have inspired this.

 

Final Thoughts:

This scent is masculine, but not overly so, as I think a girl could pull it off. It's sexy too, but not really for me. While I enjoy it, the smell of sassafras is just disconcerting on my skin. It's something I'd rather smell on someone else.

[Reinaluna]

Toombstone Hmmm, I can smell the cedar and vanilla. It goes on heavy and I thought that this might be too manly for me but then it softens down. Vanilla with a sharp spicy background and good staying power. I dont know about a bottle but I will use up the imp.

[Ishtar]

So I was in the middle of an imp-sniffing session with Chin the other day when I noticed her imp of Tombstone. Since I am on a mission to find the perfect vanilla scent (Snake Oil is not bad on me but not totally compelling either, alas), I was quite curious about this blend. I loved it at first sniff: woody, spicy vanilla, exactly what I was looking for.

The lovely Chin let me take the imp (thank you )

A bit later in the evening, I sniffed it again and lo and behold, I got that wet stone smell that Voivodess wrote about! Wow, that's weird. But interesting!

 

On my skin, thankfully, the wet stone and the lichens disappeared immediately and I was left with a smooth yet deep vanilla, underscored by spicy and woody notes. It reminded me of walking in a forest of old growth cedar on a sunny day. The air vibrates with wonderful warm scents, but the canopy is so dense that you cannot really feel the sun even though you know it is there.

 

Upon drydown the vanilla took a backseat to the cedar and sassafras. Far from being foody, this sweet spiciness was actually almost bittersweet, even a bit melancholic. Truly beautiful.

 

I found Tombstone to be extraordinarily evocative. To me it really encapsulates the spirit of the Old West. Each stage reminded me of a specific place in BC, be it a forest, an abandoned gold mine or a ghost town. Amazing.

Edited July 15, 2004 by Ishtar

[deandra]

"Bartender, bring me a sarsparilla!"

 

Someone else here smelled sarsparilla and I definitely smell that; can't smell the vanilla note on me, which is usually a very disappointing phenomenon, but for once I don't mind.

 

This is good.

 

This belongs to a cowboy, somewhat weathered, but not old. He hasn't shot too many folks yet, maybe none. This guy smokes a pipe, too; I can definitely smell the smoke but it's a sweet pleasant pipe tobacco kind of smoke and NOT the marlboro kind at all.

 

This might be a little too butch for me (by rights I should pass this along to my boyfriend) but I'm going to try it out on a day when I want to feel tough and see how I do with a non-girly fragrance.

 

Having fun with this. I plan to add to this review after I wear the imp's ear some more.

Edited July 23, 2004 by deandra

[Hallows_Eve]

In the bottle- I smell deadwoods. Dry and dusty,

 

On Me: The vanilla comes out and stays, however, the cedar controls in and blends nicely. It is a good scent for a hot and dry day- a good campfire scent. Something for the outdoors in any case. Very distinct, its one that will attract attention to you if you are around people not used to the combo. "Wow, SOMETHING smells good over here". A bit like opening a cedar chest in a dusty and hot attic.

 

Also mingles well with the scent of Three Jacks (as in I wore Tombstone, my husband wore TJ). It made quite the Deadwood pair...

[binkyboots]

well paint my wagon!

 

I adore this scent, it goes on very vanilla (not a bad thing, I like vanilla) but then it did this weird morphing thing where the vanilla swirled and dried and the cedar crept in along with another note, something sharp, but with the vanilla it's marvellous...

 

it's quite a masculine scnet, but I tend to go for a more masculine perfume anyhow so it's perfect for me, not boyish enough for mum to ask why I'm wearing aftershave, lol

Edited July 28, 2004 by binkyboots