Thanatopsis

[Ghost of a Rose]

A meditation upon death. Inspired by William Cullen Bryant’s poem. A deep, solemn earthen scent containing pine, juniper and musk.

Lab frimp aged about 6 years.

In the imp: Oil is clear, dark brown. On sniffing, my first thought is eucalyptus. Or something similar - sharp and camphoraceous. Some kind of evergreen?

On me, wet: Oops, I swiped this on without checking the notes first. And instantly realized my mistake. This has red or dark musk in it. The Snake Oil Kiss of Death. Which I absolutely cannot wear on my skin. My chemistry turns it into something completely different and nauseatingingly unpleasant. I've got to go wash it off.

I'll try it again another time, in the scent locket and wearing gloves while handling it. Seriously. I can't let this come in contact with my skin AT ALL. I hope I haven't already ruined the whole sample by touching the oil.

[monocainsheresy]

Musky pine and squished juniper. Smells like the Adirondacks. 

A simple, lovely scent, but my fear of pine turning into bathroom cleaner is going to ward me off from getting a big bottle.

 

[Niniel0205]

Starts of very pine-y. Sharpness fades away pretty quickly and I can smell...walking through the Redwoods here in Big Basin state park, California.

 

I can smell the trees, I can smell the bark, and I can smell the mossy ground heated up by the sun during the day. I might even think I smell a squirrel but that is my mind playing tricks on me, haha! 

 

Strangely enough, reading through the first page of reviews, someone said 'When this dries on my skin, however, it just smells like herby dust. Like those bottles of spices in the back of the cupboard that you never use and have been around so long they've lost their scent and just smell sneezy and dusty." This is also exactly the same kind of feeling it evokes, something just out of reach, in a dark place, that been there for years. 

 

The strength of the scent seems to be fading a little which I hope it won't continue with. I like smelling like sneezy and dusty Redwoods.

[Hades_Girlfriend]

Got this as a frimp, thanks lab ❤️ Have been thinking about purchasing it, but not gotten around to it, since I was afraid it would be "to masculine" (don't want to use gender, but don't know what else to call it - cologny maybe?) or depressive in a way or something like this. But this is so beautiful. It is dark, calm, and instead of ancient (which is a way many bpals make me feel - in a good way!), this is outside time. It is not depressive and is totally androgynos. But it IS dark. In a very comforting kind of way. It reminds me a lot of Der Tod und Das Mädchen by Schubert (or what it is called ... ). The pine, juniper and musk mixes perfectly and it just kind of exists ... I really enjoy it and think it is very beautiful and unique! I will probably buy a big bottle of this someday and I can see this being a fave, since it really taps into a want and need for feeling more in tune with what this evokes.

[Laughing Seagull]

Thanatopsis is...  A Tom Collins!  I think that's what you call it - a cocktail made of gin, lemon juice, and a touch of sugar syrup.  How refreshing!

 

This is definitely a gentler scent than the aggressively coniferous (and discontinued) Nocnitsa which I used to be very fond of, but I'm okay with that.  It gradually becomes more pine-y over time but never loses that lemony dark musk that I always enjoy.

 

The image this evokes is sitting in a dim, mostly-empty bar sipping a gin with a little curl of lemon peel on it, talking to a gentle, understanding bartender who may or may not secretly be an angel.

 

Love it!

[Rane.]

Obtained this bottle in 2018, one of the many in my first purchase. It's a simple, yet complicated smell. The juniper & musk swirls so well with pine. After it dries it's powdery with a hint of pine. Wasn't too sure how I would react to juniper but combined with pine & musk it makes for a dank forest scent that I think men would love.

[Llanval]

I was very hopeful for this one, as I love juniper and pine maaaaybe too much. But my skin loves to not cooperate with musk and I'm left with nothing much at all after 30 min. When wet, it's a little unobtrusive sweetness from the juniper and bright pine quickly swamped under a muzzling veil of powdery musk.

 

I adore bpal for their photo realistic forest scents, but thanatopsis isn't one of them. Forest adjacent yes, but not like Theoi Nomioi or Druid.

 

Dark/black musk seems to be very temperamental on me, so another one gets lobbed to the gift imp pile!!

[Rane.]

This is my 2nd bottle, 2022, not sure how long the lab has mother bottles, but I label this as "born 2022". My first bottle was bought 2018 with my 1st ever purchase from BPAL. I enjoy supporting this small business. So, onto the review! My 1st bottle was Pine dominate, however this one is a nice balance with the Juniper & Musk. When wearing the first bottle, I once heard someone say they smelled Pine-Sol. No, no, honey. It's a beautiful & fresh, deep scent. This 2nd bottle is foresty, slightly dank, all dewy conifers with a murky musk. As it fades the pine comes back on top. It has medium throw & length. Again, I'd suggest this to the males collecting these oils. Thank you, BPAL, for the great experiences! 🥰

Edited March 1, 2022 by Rane.

[groovyrooby]

I don't often go back to review GCs that have been around awhile, but then again, I don't often like pine- or juniper-forward smells, and this one I LOVE! It's one that I never would have selected for myself and makes me ever grateful for lab frimps.

Put it on at work as my post-lunch scent refresh (My Wise Beauty was the a.m. smell today ) and as I sit here thinking about how wonderful I smell, I figured I should give this one some props. I love a good musk, but earthy smells are love/hate for me - I don't enjoy the Lab's dirt and dead leaves notes. This, however, is a gorgeous blend to my nose. Reminds me a bit of Alviss and Troll - my other unlikely woodsy loves - but more grandiose, very confident, and soothing. Almost cozy compared to those two, but it's not withdrawn. It makes me feel more contented and peaceful. It captures the poem's feeling of life as something larger than our comprehension, and it puts me in a mood to detach from petty and mundane gripes, focus on the bigger picture instead. The musk really ties this all together nicely as a comforting reminder of the natural order of things. Wonderful stuff.