The Committee of 300: Meeting Minutes

[Invidiana]

THE COMMITTEE OF 300: MEETING MINUTES
Who knows who you are?
You control all of the world,
Shadow government.

The East India Trading Company, in cahoots with the British aristocracy, founded the Committee of 300, or Olympians, in 1727. Utilizing wealth amassed via the burgeoning opium trade, the Olympians began to control worldwide commerce, politics, media, and the military forces of countless nations to further their vision of a New World Order. Through media manipulation, the instigation of limited, concentrated wars, the destruction of natural resources, the annihilation of religious beliefs and practices, international political and social convulsions, and the forced collapse of national economies through artificial depressions and market exploitation, the Olympians plan on subjugating the "surplus population" of the world.

An ominous round table for the quintessential Round Table Group: polished wood, tobacco smoke, faded cologne, and neon discharge.

This is extremely masculine on me. My skin tends to really amp many masculine notes to the point of smelling like total man, and there's no exception here. Wet it's entirely an overwhelming wood and lemon Pledge scent and while those remain dominant throughout the entire drydown what emerges as it dries down only adds to its glaring masculinity. The lemon-Pledge-doused wood becomes shrouded in a strong and unforgiving tobacco smoke, not strong enough to overtake them but potent enough to declare this really belongs on a man. The cologne and "neon discharge" notes only add to the sharpness of the whole lemon Pledge thing, since my skin chemistry loves to evilly amp lemon anything to no avail and fully takes advantage of its opportunity to do so here. On a guy who does not amp lemon to the degree I do, though, I can imagine this would be tolerable and even sexy. I just can't wear it myself.

[angelicruin]

Tobacco smoke & wood. The cologne note is vaguely nauseating to my nose. Unfortunately, not one I'm going to want to wear.

[wl552]

I didn't know what I was expecting, but sniffing and then reading the notes, I should've known. This is definitely the sum of its parts. Men's cologne: check. Freshly polished wood: check. Ashtray (tobacco smoke): check. Neon discharge (which comes off as a very, very, very slight metallic tang): check.

 

This would probably be yumalicous on a man, (will try it on the Mr when he gets home), but unfortunately, I just can't pull this one off... and I've been known to wear some pretty masculine scents. The Committee of 300, this time, is just too much of a men's club kind of oil.

 

No need for a bottle upgrade.

 

Edit: sure, I can spell.

Edited May 4, 2010 by wl552

[thekittenkat]

Didn't care for this. Smoked tobacco and cologne-stained wood. Again the stale scent that lingers after smoking. It's very masculine, so I only sniffed and didn't skin test.

 

ETA: Decided to skin test. Much like what's in the decant, only milder. Tested on the bf, and it's sweeter on him, but that's no surprise as his skin is less acidic than mine. Still not anything that we like enough to buy.

Edited May 24, 2010 by thekittenkat

[tailoredshirt]

I think of all the Helicopters, this is the one I was most excited about since I like tobacco, wood, and "masculine" scents. We'll see how it goes!

 

In the bottle: It's not very strong, but I get the men's cologne and polished wood.

 

Wet: I'm still getting the cologne at the forefront, with a bit of wood and cigarette smoke. It's not unpleasant to me. The men's cologne smells like the expensive kind.

 

Dry: As it dries, I get more of the tobacco smoke. I was kind of hoping to get more of the wood, but so far this is definitely a cologne scent, with a layer of smoke on top.

 

About an hour later, I'm getting a bit of everything now - wood, cologne, cigarette smoke/ash, and some metal in the background. The ash is not as unpleasant as I expected it to be, but combined with the metal (which always reminds me of a hair salon, for some reason...the chemicals, I guess), I'm not feeling this.

 

Overall: Cologne first, then the smoke and ash comes out, followed by the wood and something metallic. On the right person, I think this would be sexy, but I didn't love this one.

[Little Bird]

I smell dry woods and a bit of sweet tobacco from this at first, but it's mostly a sharp, acrid, ashy, smoky scent. It makes my throat feel tight when I smell it, like I'm having trouble breathing. I don't really get a cologne feel from this and don't think that I smell anything like "neon discharge," whatever that is. As it dries down, this is mostly a really sharp, heavy smokiness and hot ash smell on my skin. I catch whiffs of a sweet tobacco, but it's barely noticeable underneath all of the smokiness. I find this very heavy and unpleasant.

 

ETA: Trying this again, now that it has aged. It still has a good dose of smoke and ash to it (reminds me of cigarettes and full ash trays), but there's more of a caramelized, sweet tobacco to it now, and I get hints of a sharp, cold, pine-y cologne as well. Like smoke, ash, caramel, tobacco, pine and snow (which turns towards dryer sheets soapy smell on me in the drydown)... Time for me to give up on this bottle and put it to swaps, I think.

Edited February 24, 2012 by Little Bird

[musichappens]

This blend seems very faint on my skin; I have to practically put my nose on the patch where I tested to smell anything. When I do this, all I can smell is polished wood with a hint of smokiness. Actually, this is a really nice, warm scent that I could see myself wearing in the winter when its really, really cold out. That being said, no bottle for me, but I'll keep my decant.

[fairnymph]

Exactly as the notes would suggest; dark polished wood (but not too heavy or bitter, more smooth and deep), surprisingly light and softly smoky tobacco - more like lingering smoke, not someone smoking currently, and the slightly sharp-bright freshness of traditional men's cologne. I get hints of what I suspect are spice, incense, and maybe green musk - vaguely reminiscent of I Married a Vampire.

 

Instantly sweeter and spicier - cinnamon and clove, most likely, maybe some ginger and almost definitely some black pepper, too - a lot of dry spicy warmth that's a little like holiday potpourri, but more masculine. The wood is so smooth (polished, truly) that I struggle to pick out on my skin, and it's also a bit overwhelmed. The cologne is also harder to pick out, and what I can pick out is more deeply musky than fresh or bright. The tobacco is stronger and smokier, and just richer overall with a that sweet, rounded, gourmand quality. It's just beneath the spices, which are many and which I'm amping above all other notes. I think the combo of spice and tobacco was giving me the incense vibe, which I'm no longer as sure of - although if there is incense, I suspect frankincense.

 

Whoa, more morphing. The wood has amped up and is once again distinct; I suspect mahogany with maybe a touch of rosewood or red mysore sandalwood. Very smooth, very deep, but subtle, not like being clubbed as dark wood notes can behave. This is still quite spicy, but less so than initially wet on my skin - btw, this oil is very slow to dry, and in fact hasn't yet fully. Cinnamon and a sweet clove, yes, and maybe a touch of mace (dusty/peppery)? I get a lot of 'red' coloured vibe. This has gone a lot muskier, and I suspect a blend of musks. Some black, Egyptian or Indian with that exotic sexy depth, and dashes of red and green, too. In the wake of the amped musks which now dominate and the stronger wood, the tobacco is harder to pick out. It's definitely still present, but as in the bottle, more of a background note, and I think it's melding with the wood, but it still has a light smokiness. Cologne - almost entirely turned to musk.

 

This is a very complex and paradoxical scent, bc I get a lot of deep notes but I don't get a feeling of heaviness and I'm surprised by how light, and almost airy, or perhaps hazy, this scent feels. The notes blends more and more together coalescing into a very seamless scent quite quickly. After several hours, it becomes a very well-blended balance of the dark but gleaming mahogany wood, softly smoky and slightly sweet/gourmand tobacco, a bright yet also deep and sexy blend of multiple musks, and a melange of slightly dusty dry spices that I can't pick out individual notes from. It has decent throw, but fades quite a bit before holding faintly. Masculine to unisex.

 

 

Definitely one that must be skin-tested and probably my favourite of the series (other than TFH, which is the only Black Helicopter I actually LOVE and WANT) despite the spicy phase! But, nonetheless, not something I would wear.

[milo]

Wet, I could swear there was leather in here. It smells kind of like the leather that would be in a fancy old-fashioned chair with bronzed rivets along the edges. Gradually the woods come out, and this becomes a smoky, wood blend with a touch of old fashioned shiny leather. There is a 'sourness' about this blend, not sure what it is, I don't get tobacco per se, but maybe it's the smoky spiciness of this blend. I like this, but it is a little too masculine for me. If there was a bit of vanilla here, that may be a different story. No bottle needed, but I may seek out a decant in the future, as it is quite nice.

[sunshinedaisybliss]

 

Well.. this is the strangest thing! All I'm getting here is soap.. like a rich and heady version of baby shampoo smell. No smoke, no wood! Where's the soap coming from? I really don't know.. but somehow these notes are combining on my skin to produce something that smells a little like sweet tree sap. Sweet tree sap that smells like baby shampoo, that is.

 

Sadly, not a keeper for me, it's not unpleasant or anything - it's just... soap

[zankoku_zen]

Rich polished woods, a whiff of smoke and a giant hit of manly cologne on wet. As it dries, its definitely more of a polished woods blend. Very manly, very sophisticated. Low throw on me, and my skin literally eats this up.

 

Pass.

[crebbsgirl]

This one went pretty generic cologne on me. It went sharp - probably due to the "neon discharge" - which translates to very masculine on my skin. The woods and tobacco weren't enough to smooth it out. They were very present, but didn't overtake the sharpness of the ozone.

[Gwydion]

In bottle: I’m surprise this doesn’t have tonka, as I’d have sworn it did from the scent. The wood in this is making me think of palm wood rather than say, oak. The tobacco stroke is second strongest after the wood. The cologne and the ozoney note are understated, but interesting. Wet: The neon is a touch stronger, and the whole blend goes sweeter.. but it’s still wood and tobacco dominant. Dry: Mostly a faint cologne wit an even fainter ozone edge.

[Coldfire]

 

 

Decant: metal/ozone and the tobacco and faint traces of the men's cologne

Wet on Me: a bit more metal/ozone scent and the men's cologne is blooming on my skin

Drying Down: less of the metal/ozone and now the polished woods and tobacco are blending with the men's cologne

Dry: What IS it about men's fragrences that drives me soooo swoony? This is just the love and I may need to seek out more! Well done!

[sarielswish]

In the vial, I'm getting good polished wood and tobacco, like someone's study. Color, mahogany.

 

Wet on my skin, it smells like a very harsh version of The Illustrated Woman. Thankfully, that 'neon discharge' isn't the ozone note I was afraid it would be.

 

10-15 minute drydown - I don't know why, but for some reason this just smells like cologne to me. The wood, neon, and tobacco are all but gone.

[Drarra]

In the bottle:

The "neon discharge" is coming across as ozone to me. It's a very potent top note as I'm sniffing. Beneath it, I can still smell the wood and smoke. It smells like a smoky room to me - but not cigarette smoke. Maybe these were pipe smokers? This is not a sweet tobacco smell.

 

Wet on my skin:

Initially, I get lots of the ozone (which is fairly normal for my skin) and the cologne, although these fade. The wood smells very polished (note: it does not smell like lemon furniture polish, so I can't identify the polish note more), not very natural. After a few minutes, the polish is fading, the woods warming. I wish I were better at this so I could identify which wood it is! The smokiness is also mellowing things out.

 

Dry:

The door has been open for a while, and the meeting room is airing out. This is not a smell it from far away scent. This stays very close to my skin. I've had it on for several hours, and I have to sniff carefully. What's left on me is a the smoke grounded by warm woods.

 

Thoughts:

This doesn't seem terribly masculine to me, but that's not surprising; it's typical of my skin chemistry. I think this is going to be great for the days when I want to wear a warm, woody, smoky scent without sharing it with the world. This was a good selection for me; the descriptor of tobacco smoke had me a little worried at first!

[calivianya]

This blend is intensely masculine on my skin. I like all of the notes involved - but I have to have some kind of sweetener to wear the blend. This has no sweetener - it's all woods and tobacco and cologne. It is interesting, and would smell absolutely delicious on a man, but I think it's too much for me to wear.