Thanatopsis

[Shollin]

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

First sniff: Very masculine. Incensey and cologney. A hint of citrus. Second impression in the bottle: cedarwood.

Wearing: Too sharp and dark to be me. Might make a good Halloweeny oil-burner scent.

[Koumori]

Thanatopsis is, so far, my all time favorite BPAL scent. The musk helps keep it from becoming too piney, and I think the way it's described in the catalog ("deep, solemn earthen scent") is very accurate. On me, it lasts and lasts and I never get tired of it. It's sophisticated and mature. This is my everyday scent. (And I have a blouse that will smell like it forever because my bottle happened to be the first one that arrived without a stopper-top on it and I didn't notice until I'd upended it over my wrist.)

[Tesseljoan]

Contrary to what I thought when I was ordering, I don't like earthen scents, so this one is unforunately not for me. In my oil burner the earth scent is more in the background, and there's more of a warm, incense type of smell. Very sad.

 

Side-effect: it puts me to sleep very quickly.

[misspissed]

i recieved this as a sample and figured i'd give it a go...unfortunately, it did not work on me at all. it was too overpowering, even when dried down. a little too masculine, as well. this is definitely a good guy scent, though.

[Lady_Ell]

I love how this smells when wet. Very piney, like dry pine needles and a bunch of dried herbs. It makes me think about what the kitchens of European medicine-women or witches from the 15-19th centuries would smell like.

 

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.

 

I think I will keep wearing this, but will make sure to put it on my clothes instead of directly onto my skin so that the pine/green aspect stays strong.

[grrrlennyl]

at first: all i'm smelling is pine. lots and lots of pine. this may end up being a nice, butch scent when i'm in that kind of mood.

 

on: yup, definitely pine. there's something else there. there's something floral and something...almost salty. i'm liking it.

 

1 hour later: i can smell the slightest hint of something sweet underneath the original pine/floral scent. i'm still liking it.

 

2 hours later: this stuff is great. it's still piney, but has mellowed out and seems to have a bit of sweet and spicy floral underneath. wonderful.

 

5.5 hours later: the smell has mellowed quite a bit. the pine isn't in my face as much, and it's mixed in with the sweet and spicy floral smell. very nice. what i wish "men's" cologne smelled like.

 

overall: i probably won't be buying a whole 5ml of this. however, if i don't find something that smells "butchy" to me that i like better, i'll probably grab another imp's ear of it when i finish this one.

[Sierona]

This is one that i really do like... but its not really me. Its a nice woodsy scent (very piney), very strong at first but fades down nicely, this would be a great guy scent i think. Definately keeping this one tho, its a very unique scent.

[eleventhousand]

There's something in this one that smelled like Listerine on me...unfortunately it was the one thing my nose kept coming back to.

[jj_j]

My skin didn't produce an earthy scent out of Thanatopsis at all. Guess I'm odd in so many more ways than I had realized.

 

Juniper keeps this light and brisk, the pine seems to be the tiniest of drops, and the musk rounds Thanatopsis out to a scent that is both ethereal and sensual.

 

Another nice surprise, as the musk is reined in and the scent is neither too earthen or piercing.

 

I'm seriously contemplating a purchase, much to my surprise.

[AnimeKitten]

First sniff: musk, with a bitter sharp overtone. Hmm. Quite like this.

 

On the skin: almost immediately tuns into a sharp piney/musky scent.

It certainly doesn't become earthy on me. Just sharp and sweet at the same time. Not my usual kind of scent- but I do like this. Will edit this in a few hours, to say what it turns into. I keep getting fruity ovetones wafting up from my bosom, which is nice.

 

Half an hour o so later it's mellowed quite nicely. It's now a sweet musky pine, which I LOVE.

 

Now, anothe half hou or so later, it's mostly musk with a top note of sharp fruitness, which ou can onl smell from a distance. I think I prefrred it before. But- still lovin' it!

Edited October 1, 2005 by Shollin

[Thanatopsis Azraelis]

This is like a lighter version of Czernobog at first -- the juniper makes it lighter and greener. Unfortunately, from there it just gets progressively dustier until it smells like...well, dirt. And not in a good way.

 

The beginning is nice enough, but the drydown is just that -- far too dry.

[lorajc]

This is another favorite of mine. I can't believe I haven't reviewed it yet. This was one of the first BPAL scents I bought and I don't particularly care for juniper so I had no real hope for it. Dark musk must love my skin cuz this wears beautifully on me. I had a lot of wafting from it and usually woody/resin scents tend to stay close to the skin. I wore this for a job interview and got the job! Lovely blend. Another great deep/resiny scent that is geniusly blended by Beth.

[xoe]

At first I thought I didn't like this. The pine is very strong, and it's not that I don't like pine. I just wasn't sure.

 

But after it's been on for a while, I've really come to like it. It definitely is sophisticated and mature. And it somehow seems wholesome. Outdoorsy.

 

If I ever want people to think I'm a nature girl, this would be the scent to wear

[Effluvia]

PIIIINNNEEE! Good pine, though. Dark, ominous, spooky, musky pine. Whee! The juniper gives this a bit of a Vicks Vapo Rub smell, though. Hmm.

 

on my skin: Hee hee, this reminds me of a sexy, waify goth boy in the woods on a moonless night. I like it a lot. It's earthy and dark and glorious. It's kinda femme and butch at the same time. I dig it. For some reason, it reminds be of a big, sexy Harry Potter. I don't know what that means.

 

Hooray for meditations upon death!!

[autumnviolet]

Thanatopsis-

At first-eek! Very masculine pine/herb/dark musk. Do I smell formaldehyde?

Drydown- Still heavy, sharp, but intriguing. Something sweet like an undercurrent of babypowder. Definitely mellowing. Herbs, medicine, pine, but softened with musk. A guy scent but I'll wear it this winter

[clephan]

My boyfriend's first comment when I walked into the room wearing this was 'Samhain'! I think the only real similarity is the pine note - there's a certain earthiness that's present in them both.

 

This makes a wonderful head-clearing scent. I was awake much too early today, and I have lots of routine, dull stuff to do, and this oil has done a fantastic job of brightening me up.

 

I've been wearing it for about an hour, and the sharp pine scent has mellowed into a more gentle, sleepy musk-pine. I'm not getting any juniper at all, but I think that's because the sharp pine notes drowned it out when I first put it on.

 

Quite lovely.

[Penance]

Got a 5mL of this from lorajc.

 

First sniff:

 

Oh...my...God. Juniper and musk and pine? Can you say love at first sniff? This is gorgeously woodsy smelling! I love this already. It reminds me of the deepest reaches of a pine forest where even the trails don't reach. I wouldn't say this smells solemn. To me, it smells peaceful and calm and perfectly tranquil.

 

Wet on skin:

 

The juniper and pine are even more prominent on my skin, which is a wonderful thing since I love both of them. This reminds me of a mix between Loup Garou and Burial, two of my absolute favorite BPAL scents.

 

Dry down:

 

This, like Black Forest, goes slightly powdery on me on the dry down. I'm guessing it's the juniper that's to blame and it gets more prominent the longer it's been since the oil has been applied. I don't really mind it, but I wish that it wasn't there. It's not enough to make me dislike this scent, though; nothing can stay my love for juniper and pine. Nothing!

 

The bottom line:

 

If Loup Garou and Burial mated, this would be the kind of child they'd have. It's gorgeous and woodsy and tranquil smelling although I wish the dry down wasn't so powdery.

[leapylees]

In the bottle - Mmmm, wonderfully earthy and woodsy. I love scents like this. There's aomething I can't quite place but that might be the muskiness. I also detect a hint of furniture polish!

 

On - The musk seems to most apparent, but still very dark, earthy and woodsy. I get more of the juniper and musk from this than I do the pine.

 

After a few hours - this has turned too sweet for me. It smells like baby powder or marshmallows. I'm not sure about this.

 

Overall - I loved the way it starts out when it's wet and for the first couple of hours (dark and earthy) but after that it turns too sweet.

[Barb25]

I wasn't too sure of this one when I smelled it in the bottle, but the pine and earth scents are wonderful. I used it after taking a shower, I shampooed with Narcotick, conditioned with Jungle, and washed with Middle Earth Turns to Rock (all Lush products), then put on Thanatopsis. It was a combination made in heaven. I have still only tried a few BPAL scents, but I'm thinking about buying a bottle of this one.

[Diana]

I put this on last night about an hour or so before I went to bed. I'm trying to test out every imp I have (ha!).

 

In the vial, I got the impression of deep, dark piney scents. My initial notes on this oil was "oddly comforting."

 

Putting it on... HOOOOOOOEY LAWDY. The pine/evergreen scent is impossibly strong, almost to the point where it smells like eucalyptus! My cat tries in vain several times to lick it off of my wrists.

 

... waits ...

 

Ah yeah, it faded. It softens nicely into a tolerable amount of pine. The musk blends with it. It smells rather reminiscent of sandalwood to me. But I think I have an affinity for making everthing turn into sandalwood. It is my superpower.

 

The scent is rather on the masculine side, probably neutral-to-masculine, if I were to rate it. Not unwearable by women, in the least, but I think most girls tend to go for slighly softer scents (except ME, heh!). Overall, it's a rather lovely scent. Not something I'd personally wear everyday, or something I'd need in a bottle in any great quantity, but I like this imp.

[Will]

In the bottle : deep dark woods. . . a bit of resin and a faint herbal bite. Reminds me of Loup Garou, as others have said, but not as sharp. This is a fuller and darker scent.

 

On my skin: Intially a lot of tang from the evergreens, but there is a sweetness behind it that was not apparent in the bottle. I can begin to pick up a bit of musk in the background as well.

 

Drying down: The bite softens over time into a warm, piney musk. In my mind I see a quiet evergreen glade covered with fallen needles, and perhaps one or two animals asleep in the hollows of trees. A very restful aura to it.

 

I don't get the mediciney or earthy notes that others have described. Maybe it's my skin or perhaps I am not as good at describing it.

 

After about ten hours on my skin, all I am getting is a soft, slightly sweet musk. I can just barely detect the pine if I breath deeply. I like this very much, not to wear every day possibly, but I will certainly keep the imp.

[Splendid Molerat]

Thanatopsis is a sombre evergreen fragrance.

 

Makes me imagine a freshly planed, white pine box. It's strangely beautiful, but not a place I'll visit often.

[shelldoo]

hmmm earthy pine good musk not usually a thing i like

 

wet pine yup it is pine

 

dry: a bit earthier yet still fresh pine musk is hiding w/ no complaints from me about it this one is nice and yes outdoorsy i will wear it to bonfires and hikes and feel like i am a part of the earth

[regyt]

I just got this as a freebie with my order - thanks, o generous lab!

 

At first sniff, it was strong pine. Not as bad as Skadi (which was so piney that I couldn't handle it), but still, way too much for me. I tried it anyway.

 

Dry, it's much nicer on me. It became very dusty and woody, in a soft comfy sort of way. It sort of reminded me of how I used to wear my Dad's flannel shirts for warmth while I went on treasure hunts in the attack through his old books and comics and Mom's old art supplies, and at the same time I think that the person above who compared it to a glade covered in fallen needles was absolutely right.

 

This is actually really nice. I don't think I'll end up with a bottle, but I'll probably keep and use up the imp.

[Orodemniades]

Oo, another day, another imp!

 

Imp : very very piney, a touch medicinal

 

Wet: still piney, but more like how it smells when you're walking through a wet pine forest, earthy dampness underneath

 

Drydown: What is that I smell?! Reminds me of Avon's Skin So Soft, the green one, and I love SSS...

 

Two hours later... I reminds me of amber, but I don't know why. It fades very quickly on me, but that's okay, I'll just refresh.

 

Frequently.

 

ETA: So, it's months later and I've finally slathered on some from my big bottle. Starts off fantastically, but within two hours turned to soap. I don't know what happened between the imp I tried and the bottle, but, oh, I'm so bummed!

 

Oro, putting it on the big bottle list

Edited November 18, 2005 by Orodemniades