Caligula

[zankoku_zen]

On wet, it smells of woods and smoke (hello vetiver)! As it dries, I get hint of lemongrass/lemon verbena (although I tend toward the lemongrass) and red wine.

 

Deeply woodsy, and on the drydown after two hours, I get a resinous note that I believe is frankincense. Definitely more masculine.

 

Deep, regal, incensey.

[HerbGirl]

Yay, there's a Caligula thread! here's my review:

 

"wet: some booze of sorts? charred wood, vetiver underneath

 

5 minutes in: OAK, vetiver, wine? a sweet lift to it as I move my hand away from my nose

 

smells like old heavy duty wooden furniture with a slight citrus lift? maybe lemongrass, lemon, lemon verbena?

 

OAK, lemon verbena, vetiver, wine barrels...

 

This really reminds me of another BPAL oil, and I just can't put my nose on it. "

 

I actually really like this. It almost smells like it could be part of the Steamworks section...maybe it's the possible oak note from Antikythera? It doesn't really remind me of Antikythera though...

 

If there IS any kind of lemony note in here, it disappears really fast after it appears 5 minutes or so in...10 minutes later it wasn't there at all. I wonder what happened to this blend...

 

Edited to add: Frankincense? Now it's reminding me a bit of the incense in All Souls...just a bit though.

[saralaughs]

I agree with the woody, slightly boozey/red wine assumptions of the above reviews. There is some sort of citrus invovled here as well. I'm really thinking it is lemongrass as it has that astringent quality. There is also a floral element here that I don't quite recognize or can pin down; it may be part of the musk I think I am getting. Maybe red musk? Beautiful blend!

[midnight_aeval]

Unknowingly, I had two imps of this in my frimp box!

 

This reminds me of the Lasciviousness Bath Oil that TAL released on their Etsy page, but with more red musk and possibly a sour/incensey note. On wet it reminded me a bit of Snake Oil, but as it dries it has that sour note that comes from sandalwood and some types of incense.

[Little Bird]

Caligula mostly smells like sweet myrrh to me. Sweet, sort of golden-brown, and resinous. There's a tiny hint of something fresh & clean way down underneath the resins, like a hint of clean lemon and laundry.

 

I like this, though it smells similar to a lot of resinous scents I already own.

[dawndie]

This is a golden delicious incense blend, with something dark scrabbling in the dirt beneath it. Like a less-sweet, dirtied-up Haunted.

 

I hope this pops into the general catalog!

[ReallyZeb]

I agree that this smells like it should be in the Steamworks section - when wet it reminds me of No. 93 Engine. Once it's dry, I'm fairly certain that the citrussy note here is lemongrass and then theres a lovely light resin smell and some light wood, I don't know what but not as rich as oak.

 

The more I sniff this the more I think of walking through scrubby silver birch type woodlands, early in the morning on a summer day when it's still cool and fresh but will turn into a scorcher later.

Edited April 22, 2012 by ReallyZeb

[Grimwitch]

Just got a frimp of this in my last eBay order from the Lab. It smelled really good when I sniffed it, all lemongrass and incense, so I put some on to test this morning.

 

Instant talcum powder. There's a tiny hint of frankincense there if I get my nose right up against my wrist, but otherwise nada. It's a very pleasant powder, to be fair, but it's really not what I was expecting. Oh well!

[mymymai]

In the Imp (ITI): I get wine for some reason, but it's a sweeter wine than some of the other scents I've tested. On second sniff, I get vetiver and something that reminds me of oiled bronze. There might be a faint hint of citrus and myrrh. Interesting.

 

Wet: Oh yeah, that is certainly red wine and vetiver. I''m still getting a little metal and something resinous, maybe a little darker that myrrh.

 

Dry: Less bred wine now, but strong vetiver, patchouli, some myrrh, and maybe a touch of amber. Hmm, I actually like Caligula.

[Coldfire]

Imp: dark red wine
Wet on Me: dark red wine but more 'grape' than alcohol
Drying Down: leather? not good leather but old dank worn hard and put away wet leather
Dry: old sweaty salted wine spilled leather. It's something alrighty.

[Lucchesa]

Sadly my imp of Caligula broke in transit, so I won't be able to wear it again.  I've slathered myself with what remained on the inside of the baggie.  I get blood musk, myrrh, and dry red wine (red wine usually goes grape syrup on me, but this is not particularly sweet.  There may be frankincense or other resins here as well.  I'm not sure about the vetiver or lemongrass -- maybe it's some of the grassy sort of vetiver?  I don't smell any of the charred kind.  Anyway, this smells exactly as it ought to, bloodthirsty and drunk on power.  I quite like it!  

[torischroeder9]

In the imp: Wine and something that comes across as softly and sweetly grassy. 

 

On my skin:  

 

Wet, it's red wine that's almost vinegar. As it dries, I detect a slight powdery note that's likely myrrh but might be amber or black musk. The red wine has also receded, and a note like lemongrass has emerged. As it warms and develops on my skin, I get more of a sweet lemony powder; it's not foody, more resinous. 

 

An hour in, and it's been fairly stable lemony black powder for the last half of it, so I'm ready to consider that this one isn't going to be a morpher on me. 

 

It's a fine scent, especially if lemon is your thing (it's not mine), but not spectacular enough on me to make me reach for it again. Glad I tried it, but this one's off to swaps.