Illuminati Cotillion

[sunshinedaisybliss]

Ceremonial incense, pipe tobacco, temple roses, and shittim wood.

Every now and then a rose blend comes along where the rose doesn't amp on my skin, or smell like an old lady's wardrobe, cheap potpourri or handwash. And when that happens, I rejoice. REJOICE.

Illuminati Cotillion is one of those blends! YAY very much!! At the start, this seems spicy and dark but it lightens up a little when the pipe tobacco starts to warm in. The incense isn't any specific 'incense' type, more just a general incense-y feel.. dark and resinous, mysterious and moody.

Even though I keep reading it as shittin wood instead of shittim wood.. this is a note I'd love to see more of - it's a lovely soft smell with a warm, foggy fragrance that adds a touch of sweetness here - a perfect partner for the incense. And 'temple roses' - well, I don't remember seeing those in a BPAL before but this is a well-behaved rose that isn't amping or overriding everything else.. it does come out more strongly at about the 30-minute mark but it never spoils the lovely incense smells.

If you like dark resinous blends, you should definitely give this a try. Whilst it has elements in common with other incense-y BPALs (in particular, it reminds me a little of Lucy, Kissed), the combination of notes in this one is quite unique.

[milo]

Hmm, not to bad. This is primarily an incensey wood with a touch of rose that is not amping on me for a change. This kind of reminds me of the feel and smell of Red Rose. Not getting the tobacco, but maybe it wil come out in time. I really like this, but it is too similar to Red Rose (to me!), to warrant a bottle.

[zankoku_zen]

Sour roses, incense and powdery woods.

 

Not for me.

[ami226]

On the skin: Rose and.... something woody? Eep. The rose is quite strong and does not play friendly like other roses in the past.

 

Not my thing at all.

[Ondine]

Exactly like Midnight Mass on me

[crebbsgirl]

This went to primarily incense and woods on me, with the tobacco very faintly rounding out the scent. Until the rose started to amp. And then, predictably this was all rose all the time. The woods and incense hold their own against the roses for a good long while before losing. But in the end it's mostly rose.

[Gwydion]

In bottle: Rich tobacco and incense blend, sweetened by rose and anchored with wood. I’m not good with rose, so I’m not skin testing, but this is quite lovely.

[Ruffian]

Rose scents usually go sharp and loud on my skin, but this one is a good tame rose. The incense and tobacco are equal players to the rose and gives the scent a dusty feel. It does smell like incense and it does smell like rose. The two sit side by side instead of being blended. Underneath it all I can smell wood acting as a nice base for the incense and the rose.

[amanderinorange]

This one is definitely a dark and heavy scent.

 

In the bottle it's a heavy incense with roses and what I think is the shittim wood. There is also something a little sharp/sour which I think might be the tobacco. Normally tobacco and I get along very well, but it's not usually this strong.

 

On the skin, the rose fades away and the incense and tobacco amp up to almost overwhelming amounts. A little really goes a long way with this one. After about an hour or so all I can really smell is the tobacco, unless I sniff my arm up close, then I get some of the rose and incense.

 

Overall, I actually kind of like this scent in a weird, nostalgic sort of way as it reminds me of my grandpa. Hopefully the tobacco blends a little better with the rest of the notes over time, but I'll hold onto it even if it doesn't.

[ElizabethOSP]

Illuminati Cotillion is so damned evocative that it takes me aback--in a very GOOD way--every time I wear it. I've never been gobsmacked like this by a scent. It has something that's hooked into my dna, or, more to the point, into my soul.

 

Sniffing the bottle, I'm immediately diving into one of my family's old wooden chests, rooting around for exciting stuff. I can even see the interior of the chest, with my great grandmother's and great aunty's tatted lace and other wonderful old things wrapped in brown paper and yellowed tissue. There's a vague whiff of dried rose petals. Aunt Ninie must have tucked those in amongst the dusty-rose velvet ribbons.

 

On my arm, I still get all the above, then a small breeze of dried roses (must have uncovered them when I moved the ribbons). The dried roses subside back into the lower left rear corner of the chest and the woods waft around me. This smells sooooo good!

 

As it dries down, I smell some fresh rose. Maybe Grandma Babe walked by with a bouquet, looking for a vase. Then all the scents meld into this INCREDIBLE blend. Like I've got about three of those old chests open, and I'm sitting in the middle, pulling out old clothes and trying them on.

 

So evocative. So magical!

Edited July 1, 2010 by ElizabethOSP

[whisperstilled]

In Imp: Incense for sure. Not getting much wood, at least not at this stage.

 

Wet: Roses and incense, now I'm getting mostly rose. A little tobacco, but not much

 

Dry: Rose, incense, almost no tobacco. I don't know if I just amp the rose in this (I must) but I get more rose and incense than anything else. Alright, nothing super exciting. 2/5

[voodoobaby]

Soft incense notes, dried roses, deep tobacco, and polished wood. This is gorgeous. It smells sacred and just...lovely. It's surprisingly gentle and comforting, yet still really deep and solemn. This is a must for incense fans.

[countessmouse]

Oddly enough, I usually amp the hell out of rose, but I'm not getting any here. It's all incense and woods, and kind of reminds me of an old chest of drawers in an antique shop. Pleasant but not a favorite, and, so far, the only scent out of the Black Helicopters line that I actually can tolerate.

[tdgnika]

In the imp, I was getting a chemical smell that I don't care for. Not sure what note would have caused that, since none of the scents listed usually create that chemical smell for me.

 

But, wet on the skin and on drydown, I was getting only shittim wood, a very nice, light wood scent that I like.

 

This one's a keeper.

[Anita]

IN the imp- almost lemony, sweettart kind of a candy smell, with something clean in the background.

 

on wet- still getting the candy sweettart, no sign of anything else that is in the description, unless the lemony stuff is the wood.

 

dry- oh, there you are incense! very faintly showing up, the sweettart is gone, but the lemon remains in the background with the incense now.

 

I think this is off to swaps, because while it is a nice clean scent, it isn't something meant for me.

[LizziesLuck]

Wet: A beautiful blend of incense and roses. I think I smell some Frank in there. Sweet, resinous and woody. Reminds me a bit of Cicuta, I think. Lovely.

 

 

Dry: Gorgeous. Roses and incense. Rich and sweet. I really like it.

[Lucchesa]

Illuminati Cotillion starts out as pale incense, dry rose petals, and gentle wood, the latter two combining to give a sensation of rosewood.  Unfortunately, I never make out any pipe tobacco, which is a scent that is always very fugitive on me.  (I would LOVE to find a good pipe tobacco scent that lasted more than 20 minutes on my skin!)  The rose goes a little sour on me, as rose + incense often does, but if the combination works for you, this is a lovely rose/wood incense, perfect for world domination.