The Byronic Antihero

[childoftime]

THE BYRONIC ANTIHERO
He stood --- some dread was on his face,
Soon Hatred settled in its place:
It rose not with the reddening flush
Of transient Anger's hasty blush,
But pale as marble o'er the tomb,
Whose ghastly whiteness aids its gloom.
His brow was bent, his eye was glazed;
He raised his arm, and fiercely raised,
And sternly shook his hand on high,
As doubting to return or fly;
Impatient of his flight delay'd,
Here loud his raven charger neigh'd ---
Down glanced that hand, and grasp'd his blade;
That sound had burst his waking dream,
As Slumber starts at owlet's scream,
The spur hath lanced his courser's sides;
Away, away, for life he rides:
Swift as the hurl'd on high jerreed
Springs to the touch his startled steed:
The rock is doubled, and the shore
Shakes with the clattering tramp no more:
The crag is won, no more is seen
His Christian crest and haughty mien.
'T was but an instant he restrain'd
That fiery barb so sternly rein'd;
'T was but a moment that he stood,
Then sped as if by death pursued;
But in that instant o'er his soul
Winters of Memory seem'd to roll,
And gather in that drop of time
A life of pain, an age of crime.
O'er him who loves, or hates, or fears,
Such moment pours the grief of years:
What felt he then, at once opprest
By all that most distracts the breast?
That pause, which ponder'd o'er his fate,
Oh, who its dreary length shall date !
Though in Time's record nearly nought,
It was Eternity to Thought !
For infinite as boundless space
The thought that Conscience must embrace,
Which in itself can comprehend
Woe without name, or hope, or end.
—The Giaour, Lord Byron

An aristocratic cologne of titanic passions, moody and brooding. This scent is dark with disillusionment and cynicism: a Victorian fougère and a dashing carnation boutonnière tainted by a cloud of khus, yew, and patchouli.

I had to have this for the name alone, even if it didn't sound like a dark and brooding Dorian!

In bottle: Sharp vetiver and yew, a whiff of earthy patchouli, and the faint sweetness of flowers deep underneath.

Wet, on skin: Lavender pops right out here, with the vetiver and yew underneath.

Drydown: The carnation joins the lavender, with vetiver and yew hovering around, and patchouli forming a solid, grounding base for the scent. I was worried this was going to be too masculine for me to pull off, but it's turning into a fantastically unisex scent. It sort of reminds me of Samhainophobia meets Dorian. I love this one in a big way.

Dry: This is one of the only scents that smells exactly like the description on me, which I thought from the florals might be a bad thing, since florals just never work on me, but this one is amazing. It's like wearing a victorian gentleman's coat in a graveyard on a chilly night.

[Greenwoodtree]

Need I say that i was thrilled beyond belief to see a Byron scent, especially after I suggested a fragrance like this!

 

I'm in again! Although I said that Saturnalia reminded me of Byron's velvet coat, this IS SOOO much closer to how I see the dark-haired brute lover.

 

The fougere definitely stands out, however, I was pleasantly surprised to find that the vetiver and patchouli balanced the flora, and my first impression was of an utterly old fashioned Victorian scent, a bit licentious, with some steamy sex in the boudoir. After about 30 minutes this mellowed in a similar fashion as Hunter (altho completely different scents!). It is truly unisex, lovely, sexy, old fashioned, yet too rich and fulfilling to wear without intent.

 

Another wonderful vetiver!! Thank you, oh fabulous perfumer, for giving me such a wonderful Byron scent!

[SophieCedar]

I was hopeful yet meh when I ordered a decant of this.

This is amazing. Intoxicating and the throw lasts forever. Very distinctive and dark!

 

Wet: it grabbed my attention immediately as the smell rushed toward my nostrils. I've only experienced throw like this maybe once before. The fougere and carnation is a perfect floral fit, for me. Sometimes girly flower blends are too much for my senses. The vetivert adds depth and a meaty blackened earthiness but the carnation prevents from making it easily identifiable. Not sure if it's yew berry or branch essence, but there's a purple berry tinge in the background.

Drydown: it just lasts and lasts. exactly as described and incredibly bewitching.

[MCS4096]

When I first put this on I was a little let down-- my boyfriend and I both found it a little "rough" I'm guessing the patchouli and some of the other dark elements are more prominent upon application and it comes across a bit ill balanced. BUT THEN.. it dried down and I kept thinking " what is that delightful scent?" well, it was this guy! The darker elements recede but don't disappear, and the carnation steps up. It became lovely, sweet.. yet complex and the throw and lasting power was quite impressive. So glad I waited him out because he might very well be a bottle

[ami226]

On the skin: A smokey carnation. Maybe with a hint of wood? This is a very friendly carnation that has just been wreathed in smoke. After a bit the smoke fades a little and now I am definitely smelling the lovely carnation. Soooo good! Such an interesting scent!

 

I have to admit that this one was not high on my list, but it smells quite a bit different than I thought it would. I need to try this on my SO!

[angelicruin]

Heavily smoked carnation on my skin. Actually, not bad on the skin. The smokiness does dissipate the longer it's on my skin.

[Little Bird]

The Byronic Antihero is a very dry, dark scent that's masculine, *spicy*, slightly earthy, and a bit musky. It has a strong spiciness from the carnation, but this isn't a fresh carnation like the one in Maiden. It smells old, dry, and trampled into the ground. The mix of patchouli & khus is also dry smelling. It makes me think of dusty earth and dead, brown pine needles. There's something like a whiff of woodsmoke and a hint of men's musky cologne in here as well.

 

I think that this smells very well blended, complex, and rather sexy. I can imagine my husband wearing this a lot over the winter.

[LauraB]

I want what everyone else is smelling: I get earth. Lots of earth. There is a slight trace of green at the start. And a faint whiff of anise (eh??!) and slight smell of burning rubber (this is what vetiver does when it Goes to the Bad!). Heaven knows what has happened to the carnation!

 

But mostly my byronic antihero smells of dank soil. Bother!

[milo]

This one is a dark, sweet patchouli masculine blend. I get a hint of woods, and something tobacco-like. It kind of reminds me a bit of The Marquis de Carabas, but that one is better. This is a great masculine blend however, and I'd probably feel like attacking any hot guy that wore it!

[Coldfire]

Decant: the spicy carnation man scent

Wet on Me: totally spicy carnation man

Drying Down: The spicy-ness of the Carnation really amps over everything. I was really hoping to get more of the yew and patchouli.

[arsenicsauce]

I can't decide if I don't like this scent or if I need it to live. It's definitely "masculine", but not in what I think of as a traditional men's cologne sort of way at all. When I first put it on there was a period of unpleasant sweetness mixed with the sour bleh of vetiver (I wonder if that's the khus, because I'm not sure what khus smells like, or if there is vetiver in the victorian cologne note); but then dry, it's a perfect balance of carnation and that vetiver smelling note, which are not things I'd expect to play well together. I didn't detect the other notes at first, but I think that may be patchouli bringing a soft earthy undertone. Actually I retract my original statement, I love it. I've always had a weird love-hate relationship with blends that have vetiver as a note or things that "smell like vetiver", i.e. almost all the lab's "smoke" notes, because they have an attractive sharpness I like and yet a repugnant sour undertone that smells like B.O. on me (and I amp it like crazy). This has the smoky sharpness that I love without the stale sweat I hate.

 

So: Masculine, but the carnation and patchouli soften it into something that is wearable for either sex, in my opinion. Though more a scent I'd wear with combat boots and a bomber jacket than a sundress and heels.

[edenssixthday]

The Byronic Antihero - On my skin, this is much nicer than it smells in the bottle. In the bottle, it smells like a heavy men's cologne, but on my skin, it warms up to something much nicer. It kind of reminds me of what you'd get if you crossed a very masculine Chrysanthemum Moon with a non-leathery Rivet Goth. There's a note in this that reminds me strongly of the opium note in Mum Moon and it blends beautifully with the patchouli. I don't smell the carnation at all, unless it's a different carnation than I'm used to, as it usually goes quite spicy on me, but doesn't in this scent. This is a scent that I would love to smell on my husband, especially if I were wearing Mum Moon, as I think they'd compliment each other beautifully. It has really strong throw and quite long staying power.

[zankoku_zen]

This one is carnation, slightly cologne and all guy. YUM! I have to test this out on mr. zee_zee. For a comparison, it reminds me to Bleu by Chanel minus all the citrus.

 

This is smooth, masculine, warm. And drop dead sexy. Here's to hoping that mr. zee_zee's skin chemistry cooperates with us this time...

[sunshinedaisybliss]

This is an interesting one! The patchouli is that KICK ASS kind of down and dirty/earthy and sticky patchouli and it's all I can smell at first, but the carnation stops it from being too outrageous and actually ends up coming out on top a few minutes after I've applied the oil. The initial cologne-like smell also goes away pretty quickly. What I'm ultimately left with is carnation on top of the sticky tendrils of patchouli with a mix of floral-ish smells around the edges. It actually gets nicer the longer it stays on, everything warms up and balances really well but the patchouli and carnation are definitely the stars of the show here.

[Voleuse]

On first application, this is a rather incensy vetiver, which is different and interesting. As it dries, it becomes more cologne-like, with the vetiver playing a dominant role. The carnation makes for a nice, but not overly-floral highlight, and the patchouli isn't as prominent as I expected. Unfortunately, however, there's an odd note that I find personally off-putting--it's like faintly sickly smoke on me, though I imagine it would play more nicely on others.

[countessmouse]

In the bottle, I get...pickles. I'm serious. Pickles.

 

Fortunately, I was brave enough to just go ahead and put it on and have been pleasantly surprised. It's like an old wooden chest full of dried flowers and spices. Heckuva throw, too.

 

Odd, but not in a bad way. BF doesn't like it, but I sort of do. It's not going to be a favorite, but I might keep it around for a while.

[crebbsgirl]

This one stays pretty carnation heavy once it dries. In the wet stages there was something a little sharp and masculine, but during the drydown it became pretty carnation-centric. I can detect the yew lazing in the background, but I really have to sniff to get the patchouli. It wears similar to Hod on my skin, but with a hint of smokyness.

[filigree_shadow]

When I first put this on, it smelled solely like carnations. Very true to the actual flower. Like I just put my nose in a carnation.

Then over the next 20 minutes as it dried, the patchouli and wood notes came out, making it a deeper and drier scent.

It ends up smelling mostly masculine to me, with a rather prim overtone.

 

Honestly, I'm not sure that I've smelled a BPAL oil that was similar to this one -- at this point, after sniffing/testing/wearing a few hundred over the past several years, it's not that often that I smell a BPAL oil without being reminded of another one. This one is distinctive. I can't remember another one that has a cologne + carnation scent.

 

I'm not sure my husband could pull this off, but... I could. And I will.

[impolight]

:::BYRONIC ANTIHERO:::[/b

 

]This one has been a long time coming.

A 5ml bottle of Byronic Antihero was ordered less than 48 hours after it had been listed in the LE category... And here it is the latter part of November. The anticipation had taken on nearly mythic proportions... Savoring has become an art form.

According to the Lab's notes, Byronic Antihero has Carnation factored into it.

If the Carnation is anything like what is in the now CRIMINALLY discontinued St. Germain ( merely an opinion, mind... Ommmmm) then this will be an instant head-over-heels dilemma, certainly.

The Lab has also provoked an uncharacteristic 'smitten' status with Patchouli. Ordinarily, Patchouli would be something readily shied away from, yet somehow the revered Alchemists have managed to eke out the very noblest qualities from this most pungent root.What a learning experience it was to understand that Khus and Vetiver are one and the same!

Vetiver is a big-time favourite note, so the seams are practically ready to pop! On with it!

From the Bottle: Much sweeter than predetermined! That must be the unquestioned dominance of Carnation, with His regal frock...

Byronic Antihero is indeed dark.

Crushingly dark...

This is romanticized melancholy under a cold, wet from the rain, 40 pound, indigo velvet blanket... In a meadow of Carnations and... Poppies?

The surprise is that the notes of Vetiver and Patchouli have not, thus far, shown the slightest flicker of their pungencies.

From experience with Yew, it has somewhat of a sharper and more astringent quality... Also completely absent at this stage of the experience.

Byronic Antihero is decadently sweet and dark. There is a very faint aroma of Clove(?) just barely dusting the aura of this.

A ripple of a mirage.

A hologram.

A glamour.

On the Skin:

 

*Yelp!*

 

Wow, this is good!

The same darkness and sweetness holds sway but NOW the Patchouli and Vetiver waft in like braids of incensy smoke and perfect there could easily be some Leather in this, too... Black Riding Boots?

Byronic Antihero is tragically beautiful, Epically maudlin, a quarry of the sense of self-destruction.

Byronic Antihero is genius.

On Her, Byronic Antihero could work, yet, imagination suggests... Strange. For a reason that you can't quite put your finger on, suspicious.

On Him, Byronic Antihero is irresistable. A the darker, more delicious forces of nature.

Byronic Antihero is YUM squared.

This one, if any, could well reapper somewhere near, say, St. Valentine's Day... Unabashedly Himself or under a pseudonym.

Byronic Antihero is an easy 10 out of 10.

[thekittenkat]

In the imp: Carnation tea, but with something, perhaps the yew, lying underneath, dark and moody.

 

Wet: Yup, that's the yew==sharp and somewhat bitter. The carnation tea is still there, but struggling to get through the yew thicket.

 

The Dry-down: There's a hint of the patch and the fougere and the khus, but this hasn't changed much since I put it on. It's a unisex scent. I think my decant will be more than enough, and I'll just put this in the scent locket.

[Verios]

This was the one halloweenie that I would have bought no matter what the notes listed were--the name/theme of it alone were enough to make it a must-have. With that said, package arrived today! (and I've had it on for maybe 10 minutes...so I'll update the review if I find the oil behaves differently after it's settled for a week or two, or if the scent morphs as I wear it.)

 

In the bottle, it smells somewhat perfumey, but not enough to be off-putting. Once it goes on, after only a couple minutes, I smell pure carnation--and not the carnation I'm used to smelling (as another poster mentioned, I also have a tendency to find that 'carnation' scents go spicy on me)...instead it really is a true-to-flower carnation scent, with something (I don't know which note) giving it a bit more depth. Fortunately for me, since this was one that the notes didn't really influence me on, I really am liking it so far!

[Laurel the Woodfairy]

I had to have this for my husband, my personal Heathcliff! It has that classic gentlemen's cologne scent, more mainstream than some BPALs but with a lovely spicy touch of carnation. I think even men who are new to BPAL would like this.

[HerbGirl]

When I tried this last month, it smelled like perfect carnations on my skin. Ordered a bottle.

When I tried it after my bottle arrived, it smelled like perfect carnations on my skin. Wish I had ordered 2 bottles.

I was really hoping that it would be the same, and it is... I finally have a super carnation perfume! It's not spicy...it's like a perfect home grown white carnation, and I love it!

[grrrlennyl]

The Byronic Antihero

 

On: For some reason, I didn't expect this to be as dark and woody as it is. There's an almost sour feel to it, along with the scent of cologne and pathchouli.

1 hour in: Lots of freshly-cut wood.

2 hours in: Wood with a bit of patchouli.

3 hours in: Sweeter, with some rich patchouli and a base of wood.

7.5 hours in: A lovely sweet patchouli.

Overall: This is really nice on me once the patchouli comes out.

[theseagrows]

wow, what a weird scent...it's a smoky woody-carnation on me. for some reason, when i smell it, i visualize a ship at sea at night with dark wood interiors, and something sinister is going to happen. ha.

 

it definitely does smell cloudy, i detect the carnation and khus, which is an odd combination. i guess the yew must be the woody backdrop. i mostly tried this because of the fougere and carnation, but alas, it is too woody for my tastes.