Unspeakably Evil Temple Atmosphere Spray

[VioletChaos]

UNSPEAKABLY EVIL TEMPLE
A profane blend of opoponax, galangal root, dried mosses, wormwood accord, sandarac, frankincense, myrrh, and black copal.

Yeah, I could see how this would be the perfect thing to spray during a good RPG when all are in some dank dark hole.

For atmosphere while gaming, this makes sense. But me, personally, I would not spray this just to add scent to a room randomly. It's dark and dank, with hints of both wet stone and sulphur. So, you know, great for ambience, but I *definitely* would not, say, spray my linens with this scent.

I would totally bring a bottle of this to a LARP, though!

[GypsyRoseRed]

I guess the lesson here is that Evil smells GOOD! This somehow manages to be a scent that evokes the concept that it's supposed to, without crossing into territory that would make it unusable for everyday and I really appreciate that. While this isn't my favorite of the currently released atmosphere sprays, I have to judge it on it's own merits, and although I wouldn't have guessed that I'd be the kind of girl who'd spray my bed in Unspeakably Evil Temple, I guess I am!

 

The roots, mosses and wormwood accord give this a subtle living, overgrown plant feel that could easily be taken for wet stone or 'dankness'. What really makes this so beautiful is the smooth blend of lovely dark resins in it, because they give the scent it's ritualistic, slightly sinister feel.

 

ETA: I could still smell this on my office chair the day after I sprayed it, and it had blossomed into gorgeous, rich resins. Awesome!

Edited June 17, 2011 by GypsyRoseRed

[Dove]

I just sprayed a little on my pillow last night and I wasn't sure that I liked it because I kept waking up going "What on earth is THAT". So I woke up this morning and blamed it on possible conflicting scents so I just said balls to it and sprayed my entire room like a maniac.

Now I completely agree that this is full of beautiful resins and is such a mood setter of serious business. It is intense and lovely, a keeper!

[calivianya]

Everyone else was saying this is a bedroom scent, so I tried spraying it on my pillow. Initially, I smelled a burst of what I thought was cinnamon along with resins, but now am a little unsure of - this smells fiery, in a we-just-invoked-a-giant-demon-to-kick-someone's-ass kind of way. I'm definitely imagining the presence of hellfire. Either the fiery, smoky smell tames down after that or I get acclimated to it, because Unspeakably Evil Temple turns into a gorgeous resin blend about 15 minutes after spraying. It becomes very sweet to my nose, mostly from the myrrh. It still manages to be one of the darker resin scents I have smelled from Black Phoenix. I'll compare it to Cathedral - this is Cathedral gone dark, what's left after the cathedral has been trashed and turned into a pagan temple. It's quite delicious and sensual, and I think I'll get a full size bottle whenever I can spare the cash.

[oceandreamer001]

I've been spraying this at work because I find the irony amusing. It's not my usual type of scent, but it has totally grown on me.

 

I get dark resins, patchouli, and maybe some leather.

 

If I had to describe what this smells like, I'd say it's how Viggo Mortensen's Aragorn smelled in the Lord of the Ring movies.

 

A sexy brooding man who has dark secrets.

[patina]

Whoooaa, manly.

 

I was really looking forward to this one because of the resins, but I was surprised at how spicy it was. Spicy and woody. The galangal root is really present and that may be what smells sulfurous. Not bad, especially not if you like mosses and (non-cooking) spice. But I'm thinking this is a scent for spraying in a study with leather chairs in the middle of winter. It's a good deal less awesome in my bedroom at the height of summer.

 

Edit: Actually, as this disperses it gets lighter, sweeter and more appealing to me. I can imagine using this when I'm doing serious studying or trying to pretend I'm doing serious studying. There's a certain sense of power to it.

Edited July 19, 2011 by patina

[Little Bird]

Evil Temple is oddly spicy and manly at first, like a spicy men's cologne, and I think the wormwood and moss are giving off a bitter, sour quality that I'm not enjoying. I like the earthy, woody, resinous part of this, but there's a bitter sharpness to the blend that just doesn't work for me.

 

ETA: I tried this again today (going through and selling a lot of my unloved room sprays) and this smells very different from when I first had it. I'm not sure if it ages well or if I just didn't shake the bottle up properly the first time I tried it, because it does seem to have a thicker, dark oil that has settled to the bottom of the spray. I'm not getting any of the sour moss or cologne from this anymore. Mostly this smells almost identical to bpal's Sloth to my nose - lots of thick, heavy, sweet myrrh and something like a spicy, dark, velvety vetiver. I'm kind've in love with it now...

Edited January 10, 2013 by Little Bird

[angelicruin]

Dark, resinous, a subtle amount of root and wood that adds just a bit of bitterness. It's definitely dark, but a kind of sexy dark. I'd have to agree with the reference above to Aragon from LOTR.

[Altaira]

The overall impression I get is of resins; frankincense and myrrh, very dark and deep. Then I start sneezing and my head feels tight.

 

I sprayed in in my bathroom on my cloth shower curtain. It was too strong for me in such a small space. It was a lot nicer the next morning, but it still provoked an allergic recation, so it's not for me.

[Poenari]

Unspeakably Evil Temple is my holy grail of the atmo sprays! I adore the deep incense, warmth, and woodsiness. Frank and myrrh dominate, but there is a depth and darkness beyond them. This is so much better than Yuletide Yet to Come, and I thought that one was perfect! I drive 100 miles a day roundtrip to/from work so I spend a ton of time in my car. I sprayed a blanket that I keep in my car, so my car is now my evil temple.

[HerbGirl]

Why do I smell VETIVER? Why? I love all of the notes here, and am so happy to have an atmo spray with moss in it since I love the smell but cannot wear it. But there's something off here...not evil, just off. Eh...it's ok if I don't really like one or two if the rest are amazing, right?

[Ghost of a Rose]

Shake well before using - there are globules of an amber-colored oil in this that do not dissolve and blend in to the pale yellow watery fluid.

 

A deep and dark smoke-and-incense scent; with just a tiny smidgeon of sweetness (the myrrh and opoponax?) that makes it stand out from other such blends. Perfect for a man cave, a guy's car  or the car of a woman who loves incensey unisex fragrances, or the library room of an English country manor. It is dignified, introspective. As befits its name, there is a sacred mood to it that would also make it ideal for religious places and spiritual practice, such as prayer, meditation, rituals, holy days, etc. It invokes quiet and peace. For the altar, I think of this as belonging to the elements of air and fire due to the smoke and incense.  With the copal of the Aztecs and the frankincense from India, among the many other notes, this temple could be anywhere in the world, although it has an exotic Spice Road vibe - I think of Morocco, Marrakesh, or Katmandu.  And there's nothing in the least evil about it. It's beautuful.

 

The throw has a spicy character.  I don't know where that comes from.  Up close,  the strongest notes are first wood, then incense.

 

This blend is not typical of my usual preference for girly florals. But it is so beautiful and evocative that I love it anyway, and wil use it with pleasure and respect.

 

The longevity seemed about average at first, as it greatly decreased in strength after a few hours. However, a couple of days later I noticed that the bed linens I had sprayed it on still held a soft incense fragrance that was even lovelier for having lost the smokiness and masculine feel.

 

My rating: 5 stars

 

Later ETA:. I love Ocean Dreamer's association of this with Aragorn.  She or he nailed it!

Edited November 26, 2018 by Ghost of a Rose

[ianastar]

I get pure incense and resins, reminds me of those Sundays at mass at Catholic Cathedrals. I like to spray the room and over my mat before mediation and yoga.

[JazzieCazzie]

Lagniapped with a goblin squirt of this and am truly afraid that I am going to have to go onto an atmo-buying binge. Which I can't afford. I've now tried four (via lagniappe and frimp) and LOVE three out of the four ...

 

I totally get the "dirt" comps but to me, the first sniff is beautiful wet dirt in my backyard, right after that first warm spell when it is fresh and springy, and right after an afternoon rain. It makes me want to go do some gardening (and I'm not a very good gardener ... I always end up with overly-pruned bushes and a sore back). ...

 

Then it morphs into precious, precious resins and incensey lightness, one of my favorite "blends."

 

This. Is. Fabulous.

 

ETA: So, I did hubby the favor of getting him his favorite "garlicky kale" salad from Whole Foods and two days later my car still smelled like garlicky kale, so I brought my squirt to Shana to use as "car freshener scent" ... and in that space, it REALLY smelled like Anne Bonny! Which of course is a good thing because that's one of my favorite BPAL scents. So yeah, the squirt is staying in the car now.

 

I have already begun a small collection of BPTP precious for my soon-to-be-new bathroom (starting major renovations on Monday which are sure to bring about 2-3 months of hell but then years of bliss) ... the smaller of the two will be, technically, "the guest bathroom" (now that The Girl has moved 2000 miles away, even though in my mind it will always be "her bathroom") but in theory it will be "my bathroom," since it will have the soaking tub (pulling up the other tub and replacing it with a steam shower because we're old and creaky). I've already gotten hubby to buy me a BPTP candle AND bath oil with which to launch it properly when it's finished, and shelves for my bath goodies ... now it will also feature a small seaglass vase which will hold my atmo sprays.

Edited April 29, 2013 by JazzieCazzie

[zankoku_zen]

Dank dungeon! This smells dark!

 

I get frankincense, mosses, and something that smells dark and smoky like vetiver, with a slight aquatic edge to it.

 

Highly masculine blend.

 

PASS.

[Monster]

How have I not reviewed this one yet?!

 

This is one of my favorite atmosphere sprays the Trading Post sells. It's all dark, rich resins, and grey/black smoke. Vetiver isn't listed but I get something that smells like it. This is the smoke from ritualistic incense, and it's not like the incense of Midnight Mass, this smells far more sinister. If this came in a perfume oil, I would wear it. Love for-evah!

[DevilsCandyCane]

I'm so sad about the morphing this does Freshly sprayed on clothing, it's fabulous - really dark and evil, somehow earthy but not the outdoorsy earth note, this is more like the damp depths of a cave, atmospheric and awesome. But then about 15 seconds later it fades into oblivion, only to be resurrected after a few minutes as a sort of limp patchouli thing. It's not exactly unpleasant at that point, the dankness vaguely remains, but it's mostly like an almost floral soft patchouli (smells very, very similar to TAL's Determination), and though it's not a bad smell, there's just something about that makes me feel intensely irritable. I think it may be that it smells very much like generic female perfume, and makes me think of ghastly family visits, being annoyed by relatives

 

Sorry, evil temple - you're the first linen spray I've ever met that I won't be keeping!

[mooncityminx]

I guess evil is in the eye of the beholder? Because to me, this is just fabulous, and not at all evil. There are a lot of resins in this, which remind me of Lyonesse, minus the aquatic notes. The incense seems to dominate this blend. There are some spices, woods, and even a tiny bit of sweetness. To me, there are a lot of parallels between this and The Trackless ERG.

Edited July 2, 2015 by Tempest

[BeyondBad1313]

Aak! This one does smell like it lives in some dank little cave. It is sulfurous and full of brimstone. Fitting for it's name, but I don't think this one could be used for anything other than setting the mood for a spooky or dark and evil party. I would use this maybe during a party to set the mood, but good lord not too much, no one likes to smell like satan's basement.

[Casablanca]

I haven't reviewed an atmo before, but I have some samples. Gotta start somewhere. Might as well start by speaking of the Unspeakable.

 

This came out a little odd at first, in that I had just read the listed notes and no reviews, so I wasn't expecting the distinct dark and smoky vetiver note that was the first thing I smelled, mixed with damp mosses. Whenever that happens I have a minute of, "Why am I smelling X?" But there it is.

 

After vetiver and damp mosses I get a short kaleidoscope of different earthy and rooty things, with a faint wetness like there's a lake hidden in the back of a lightless cave -- still and out of the way, and only guessed at, because you can't see it. And then in a couple minutes the blend settles into lovely dark resins. Mm, resins.

 

I'm wearing The Lights of Men's Lives on my wrists and they go together splendidly.

[lizabelle]

My nose is failing me today--I could have sworn there was vetiver in here, but I guess it's a super smoky patchouli. It's kind of bitter, and I could definitely see this being what incense offered to evil things might smell like. After the inial blast of blackened wood the resins take over, but they stay kind of dusty. It's a dark, earthy, but cold smell overall, but there's a brightness that reminds me of the final stages of Djinn at the bottom, like fires in the distance... It's incredibly evocative.

[brilliantcat]

I am not a fan of dirt scents but I can't detect a whiff of it here. I get beautiful dark resins and I'm in love. My bedroom is officially an Unspeakably Evil Temple and I am the supreme lich who roams its halls. You must face me to recover the treasure! Which is more of this atmo tbh. Anything less than a natural 20 means I continue to hoard it MUAHAHAHA!

Edited May 17, 2017 by brilliantcat

[Rane.]

Sprayed some on a favorite blanket. First smells of opoponax & the delightful resins, & a bit of that lovely galangal root that smells just like this incense I like to buy. Frankincense, Myrrh, & Copal carrying everything gently. I feel like it might be the wormwood coming thru at the end of a sniff. If this is what evil smells like then count me in!

[fairybites]

Reminds me of an incense blend, honestly. It's dark and very fitting for an evil temple. Frankincense was the main note I could pick out from this. This has a little bit of spice to it once dried down.

 

Pretty interesting, can't say I'll reach for this all the time but for certain moods this will get lots of love.

[RoseThornAndOak]

I'm reading Conan and The Manhunters by John Maddox Roberts right now, and just got to a part where they describe this evil temple with an ancient snake altar and red light that filters in like blood and these pillars of stone that are shaped like women in chains wincing in agony holding up the ceiling. Brootal. There's also a potential curse on the place. Pretty metal. So this scent makes me think of that, a really horrible place to die or get sacrified in. Actually let's just skip the ever needing to go inside part. Smells like ancient, dark incense with some grimacing vetiver wanting to chop my head off in a bit. 

 

tldr Brootal, badass evil temple incense with dark vetiver. Something clean and powdery resinous, too. Perfectly fits the mood.