Sky City (After)

[ami226]

SKY CITY (AFTER)
The smoldering ashes of a dead city: smoke and cinders, scorched wood, creosote, tar-smeared concrete, singed bone, and dried blood.

On the skin: A sweet burnt cedar wood? Might be slightly wrong on the wood type, but it reminds me of cedar. Quite different and strange. Definitely the scent I would expect from a dead city! Well, I might expect an actual metallic hint, so maybe this is really a singed forest...

[LaurieB]

This is my dream scent. Move over Oblivion--Sky City After is so dark and gritty you can almost taste the tar-smoked clouds and burning wood. Yep, I love that sort of thing, but lest you think this scent is unappealing, nothing could be farther from the truth. The charred wood bonfire fades into a wisp of clove smoke in the distance, and the burnt pavement mellows to a soft, worn stone. It is a beautiful, but poignant scent. There is a haunting sense of loss--as well there should be--and Beth and Co have captured it perfectly.

[papermaker]

It starts as burning wood (cedar or fir) It's a sweet wood, and that tar like smell. As it dries you get a hot pavement like smell.

Dry it is not nearly as strong. The smoke is like a sweet wisp off in the distance. The dry smoke is lightly clove scented. There is also the scent of well baked pavement too.

[fairnymph]

VETIVER the dark gritty STOMPITY sort - didn't skin test though - reminds me of Gore-Shock very faintly but mostly Djinn and Brimstone. As I suspected and conceptually very accurate but I'm a bit scared about skin testing this one...

 

I shall update this review as I properly test all the new releases over the next 7-10 days, just an FYI.

[Invidiana]

I had to test this twice to really get an accurate impression, because after testing a bunch of sweet scents the first time it seemed very off. The second time, though, (after really huffing the coffee beans the Lab thankfully provided) I could really appreciate it as an odd but nevertheless complex and even strangely sexy scent. In the bottle it's like ginger ale of all things, and wet on my skin it's basically ginger ale over asphalt. It was going to go one of two ways, but it ended up taking a turn for the positive. Surprisingly the smoke/cinders/scorched wood/singed bone notes, which must contain vetiver somewhere, don't amp to the point of being utterly manly on me but actually provide a tempered smoky base for the tar and blood accord. There must be pine tar in this, because my skin sweetens that up, and along with the blood accord it saved the day; I amped both enough for the scorched stuff to behave, and while there's still a ginger ale undercurrent it's pleasant for me because I like ginger ale. It's an unexpectedly sensual scent once it's fully dried down and really growing on me. If you like Inganok Jewelers, give this one a try.

[angelicruin]

Scorched wood & blood, slightly spicy.

[GypsyRoseRed]

In the bottle, this is the dark and gritty smell of things burning - it actually made me flinch a little at first sniff and I almost didn't test it on my skin. I'm glad I did! I'm hesitant to guess at notes because this is so evocative, but what it dries down to is a beautifully rich, slightly sweet woodsmoke. Unexpectedly good.

[heathercaley]

I actually like this! It sounded like it could be a total hit, or even an epic fail, but this is actually really good.

 

Once applied, I can smell creosote and then some dirt and a hit of something sweet in the background. The sweetness is probably the dried blood note, but to my nose, it's a little reminiscent of Queen of Clubs with that dirt and sweet red note.

 

As it dries down, there's a bit of spice popping through, like cloves?

 

Once it's dry, the sweet note calms down, and the creosote fades to the background. The clove and dirt note are the most prominent once dry.

 

I bet that this is going to calm down and become beautiful as it ages.

 

Throw is decent (a strong medium)

 

Verdict? Post apocalyptic yum!

[surf-tormented]

This smells so great in the vial. It smells of burning, gunpowder, a strong electric current and destruction. My skin says "Gimme!".

 

But on, once it soaks into my skin, it smells a bit like Ekhidna or other blends with a smoky patchouli in it. Basically, once dry, it smells like only patchouli, like that note ate up all the yummy burning and destruction. It also smells to me a bit like Smokestack, probably because of the creosote note they share. But Sky City (After) doesn't morph on skin the way that Brimstone or Djinn (this blend's distant cousins) do to make it deliciously burnt wood, smoke and ash on my skin.

 

I may try this in a locket to see if it will keep its scent that I smell in the vial. If not, it is a HUGE disappointment to me.

 

If you find Djinn, Brimstone or Smokestack too harsh but like the idea behind the perfume, Sky City (After) could be for you, I guess, if you can find it. Again, I thank kind swappers for letting me even sample these!

Edited May 13, 2010 by Madame Nyx

[Little Bird]

It kinda makes me feel bad that I like Sky City (After) a lot more than Sky City (Before). I prefer my Sky City burned to the ground, apparenty, lol.

 

I don't care for smoke/ash scents, but I get more of a woods, spice, and warm resins feel from this. It's not really smoky or ashy on me at all.

 

On me, this smells like cedar spiced with sweet cloves and a tiny hint of cool, sweet pine, all wrapped up in a warm, resinous feel that smells slightly like dark, sweet cola. Dark, sweet, warm, woodsy, and spicy.

 

It reminds me a bit of Schwarzer Mond, Priala, and Sunbird. It's smooth, pleasant, and very wearable. I'm definitely happy to have a bottle of this.

[devilot]

Sky City (After)

In the vial: I swear I am not on crack and not kidding, but this smells like a smoky Coca Cola! Like, exactly like that!

 

Wet: Cola. Hints of burning and smoke. But ultimately, cola.

 

Drydown: Shifting to a warm, slightly smoky, spicy wood. Still very sweet, and that Cola is now a hint, but still there.

 

Verdict: Fascinating blend! I really really get a kick outta this one. I would never ever wear it as a perfume, but I'd love to have even a partial decant of it just to keep and sniff because it is just so damned unique to my nose! BIG THANK YOU to the C2E2 sniff circle started by GypsyRoseRed!

[strahlend]

In the imps this reminds me very much of Gore-Shock. The association is not positive for me.

I went ahead and put a dab on my skin anyway and it did turn into a relatively pleasant smokey woods type of scent with a hint of burning toxic materials and a particular kind of sweet clove I associate with spoiled meat sitting inside a spice cupboard. Not the worst thing I've ever smelled, but it is making me feel sick to my stomach.

[khazakant]

In the bottle: Very dry cola, maybe a hint of mint, and my grandfather. He was an auto mechanic and this smells a lot like his toolbox or his cellar. Most everyone in my family is a mechanic or a factory worker and that metal-concrete-and-grease smell was always one of my favorite scents growing up. Smells like home.

 

On application: I lost the cola initially, but the dry note deepens into a rich, solid scent like earth, or cocoa or chocolate. What I thought was mint is now turning into cloves. Gorgeous. As it starts to dry something in the background starts to come out, a very clean and clear scent like pavement and rain.

 

Drydown: It stabilizes somewhat. The cloves calm down a lot, which I was worried about because I'm not big on cloves. Now it just seems like a earthier, more organic version of how it smelled like in the bottle. Mmmmm, this is perfect.

 

Final verdict: This scent is beautiful and strange. I love it. I smell like the world's most comforting garage, and I want to buy every bottle of this ever made.

[bluerose]

In the bottle: A sweet and smoky wood scent.

 

On the skin: A sweet and smoky medicinal smell. It might just be me, but it doesn't smell very post apocalyptic. It smells like a medicine shop.

Edited July 7, 2010 by bluerose

[edenssixthday]

Sky City (After) - This is the type of scent that smells god-awful to me when it's wet, but has the potential to really blossom on my skin. Sure enough, I love what this does on me! It's the scent of scorched cedar and blood, and there's something sweet and spicy that distinctly reminds me of clove gum. The longer it's on my skin, the more it smells like burnt wood and clove. Oh, it's delicious!

[Seismogenic]

I'm not going to even pretend that I didn't immediately think "1906 San Francisco earthquake and fire" when I read the description of this scent. It should surprise nobody that my mind went there before I even finished reading the list of notes. It's a fascinating and terrifying event that relates my field of my study and one of my favorite cities in the world, and I squee'd out loud to see a BPAL oil that could so easily be construed as representing it, even if that wasn't the actual intent. (Though, I should also note, the oil was available exclusively on 16-18 April, and the 1906 earthquake was on 18 April. Also, the label art even looks like San Francisco! Behold:

)

SO aaaaanyway, I had to try it for that reason alone! Also, the notes themselves do sound good…

 

In the bottle: Dark and smoky, with some smashed wood and creosote, but also surprisingly sweet. At times, oddly reminiscent of cola, or, at least, cola with FIRE.

 

Wet on skin: Immediately far less sweet, which is a good thing. I'm definitely getting the burned wood and creosote loud and clear, with dry ash and smoke backing it up. The sweetness isn't entirely gone, though; it's become a bit spicy now. I'm wondering if that's the blood note, perhaps?

 

Drydown: Freshly dry, it's even less sweet, though still somewhat spicy. The ash and cinder notes come out a lot more, overtop what is definitely charred wood. Less creosote now, but I think the tar and asphalt are starting to make themselves known. At one hour in, things have settled into a combination of slightly spicy smoke, dry ashes/charred wood, on top of a hint of hot tarry asphalt.

 

Five hours later: Fainter, but largely the same blend as at the one hour mark. It's a warm blend of burnt wood and scalded tarry asphalt. Still spicy, though I can't quite figure where the spice is coming from.

 

End of the day: Very faint charred wood with just a hint of tar. Not particularly spicy anymore.

 

Overall: Should I feel bad about thinking that a scent meant to emulate a city that has been knocked down and burned up smells good? Particularly if the concept of that scent reminds me of a very real thing that happened to my favorite real city? Well, uh. Maybe I should be feeling bad, but that doesn't change that I think this scent is awesome on me. I think it nails how one would imagine the post-fire combination of heat and spent combustibles (that hot asphalt note is particularly striking), which is intense and a little freaky. But at the same time, it's warm and smoky and woody and spicy, and those are a kind of scent that I love and that work well on me. So yes, I will say that I like smelling like this particular destroyed city. Maybe that's part of the whole fascination with cataclysmic events that so many people seem to have. I dunno. Long story short, Sky City After == win.

(Aaand I will probably wear this every April 18th for ever or for as long as I still have some of this. And I will probably wear Sky City (Before) every April 17th. But I'll have to follow this up with Priala or some other phoenix scent, because San Francisco rose from the ashes after the quake and fire and…AHH I AM SUCH A NERD.)

Edited July 10, 2010 by Seismogenic

[jencallisto]

Looking at the previous reviews, I seem to be in the minority on this one. Don't worry, Sky City! At least one person liked you a whole lot more before you were burnt to the ground!

 

In the decant: Burnt concrete.

Fresh on the skin: Paint thinner and wood chips. Uck.

7 minutes in: Sweetened up some, now smells almost... Christmassy? But still bitter and chemically.

30 minutes in: ... Yup. Still Christmassy. Weird.

1 hour in: Still Christmassy. Totally weird. Is my nose broken from testing so many scents so quickly?

2 hours in: Ditto. Seems to have stabilized. Odd.

3 hours in: Yup. Very artificial, like it's a car tree version of Christmas.

 

Verdict: Super weird and off-putting and so not me... that turns into something not quite hideous, but even stranger.

 

One phrase: Artificial Christmas.

[zankoku_zen]

Gritty vetiver, smells almost sandy and I'd swear there is either cinnamon and/or allspice in this. As it dries, I get a hint of blood.

 

Dark, gritty, debris. This is a city in shambles.

[mand]

Shoe polish and piercing eucalyptus. It could sound horrid, but it smells really great to me. Very outdoorsy and free.

[cfrancesca]

I get scorched wood, smokey vetiver, spices (cloves?) and resins (almost cola-like), it has an overall gritty, ashy feeling. As it dries, the clove amps on my skin and there's a slight metallic tang to it, which must be the blood. Not something I would wear, but I definitively find it very evocative.

[MCS4096]

I agree with the smoky Coca-Cola review! When this first goes on you get exactly what the label says, right down to the creosote, which is brilliant. It smells like destruction and upheaval. But as it starts to dry it becomes very sweet, and that's what really makes me love this blend-- it's crazy wearable. It's effervescent sweet resins with a hint of pine forest. Sweet, sweet destruction