Thanatopsis

[phedre]

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

In vial: Juniper berry and pine gum overwhelm everything else.

wet: sharp moss and juniper. This smells like a damp forest.

drydown: something sweet is coming out. The musk? The juniper and pine are being calmed by it. I like this a lot better than most of the pine blends. Later, the musk comes out and twines around the pine and jasmine. I like this a lot more than I expected to.

[Ajila]

In the bottle - Hard earthy Juniper.

 

Wet on me - A slightly sweeter version of the juniper in the bottle.

 

Dry on me - Earthy, sweet, cleamy, sexy musk.

 

Overall - This is why I should always try everything that passes through my finger tips. I would never have chosen this blend, but it's so sexy it's destracting, I keep sniffing myself

[Rat The Unloved]

Initial Impressions: Sweet, piny, frail notes with dark Myrrh.

On the Skin: A spicy, dark, myrrh-like scent with sharp angles of Juniper.

Dry: Spicy, red, and pungent. A fairly masculine scent which has strong Juniper and Myrrh scents. To my nose this smells like a Myrrh fragrance oil that I used to simmer almost constantly. It stands as my favourite BPAL scent to date.

Mature:The scent becomes softer, more mellow, and less pungent. The nose-tickling abilities of the Juniper fade into a sort of soft, papery, scent.

Several hours later: This scent, once it begins to fade, fades quickly. A lingering, trace, amount of the scent will remain for days (if not scrubbed off), but it's barely there. A ghostly impression of evergreens and resin. To me this suits the "funerary" vibe perfectly.

Over all: A beautiful, bewildering, scent. It's manly but it smells perfect on me. It's supposed to be Juniper and yet the main note I detect is Myrrh. It's funerary, but somehow joyful. It's dark, but crackly like fire.

Buyability: As my favourite scent I plan on buying a full bottle of this as soon as finances allow.

[SeaLady]

Ayummm. This was a frimp from the lab (thanks lab! )

 

This is foresty - pine and juniper! In the imp, with a little musk.

 

On me, it's a sexy beasty musk party, with very light pine and juniper. Musk, musk, musk, I love musk This on me is very much like Satyr on the Boy, but lighter and not quite as masculine. I would agree that there's something myrrh-y, that sweetens it subtly. This is definitely a new favourite!

 

I also love the poem. I was afraid it would be depressing (I'm a bit afraid of the funereal oils), but it's beautiful - just like the scent!

[bulletslc]

frimp from the lab....THANK YOU LABBIES!!!!

 

In imp-Pine

 

On wet-Pine and juniper

 

On dry-Pine, juniper and a warmth in the background that must be the musk.

 

As this dries the musk comes out more and blends with the pine. I like this alot.....Makes me think of being in the deep forest with an animalistic state of mind.....might need to be big bottle in the future.

 

Hmmmm....got a bottle of Wolf Moon and it smells very similiar....think I'll hold off on buying Thanatopsis since Wolfy and I are getting along so well.....One pine/musk scent is enough for me, I think!

Edited April 11, 2007 by Bulletslc

[forspecial_plate]

I found this to be very pleasant and wearable, which shocked me a little, because I had such a visceral reaction to Golden Priapus. The juniper seems to be strong in both, and for a while I thought I hated juniper, just because of Golden Priapus. But here it isn't bothering me, I actually like how it smells with the musk.

 

It actually doesn't strike me as being really 'piney'. It's more of a sweet, fruity juniper berry scent with the other notes supporting. I would call it gender neutral, but that's coming from a guy, so there ya go. : )

[Jilara]

This reminds me of Tombstone a LOT. And Tombstone is one of my favorites! But instead of the heavy cedar in Tombstone, it's a mellow pine and juniper. Instead of vanilla for backing, this has musk. It's like a lighter, more mellow answer to Tombstone, for when you don't want to be as aggressively desert-y.

 

Tombstone is one of my favorites, and I see this one as becoming another. Much as I love Tombstone, it can be very aggressive, and this one is so soothing and charming. It also helps that it has the title of one of my father's favorite poems!

[TrueStar]

When I smelled this in the imp, I thought it was going to be way overpowering for my tastes. I put it on anyway and wasn't like it for the first ten minutes or so. I smelled like a Christmas tree.

 

Given time, it softened up and I could smell the musk coming out as the pine faded a bit. It smelled more woodsy. In fact, it started to grow on me. It's a little masculine, which I like. It was long lasting too, right up until I went to bed.

[sedona]

This was a frimp so I had no idea on application what was in it!

 

In the imp - Mmm, resin/wood with a touch of sweetness.

 

Wet - Sweetness disappears to leave the same resiny/wood but with a pine kick that is almost menthol.

 

Drydown - A lovely resiny pine with a touch of musk to hold it altogether. I think I've discovered a new juniper in both this and Golden Priapus seem to like me, even though they are both masculine scents

 

This would be perfect for a day outdoors hiking

[nightchild80]

I got an imp of this from my first newbie pack.

 

In the Imp (wet): Pine heads out first and juniper soon after. Really sharp on the nose.

 

On facial cotton (dry): Juniper comes out first. Pine seems to be hiding. The sweetness of the musk only makes its first appearance after 5 mins and only if you cautiously sniff it lightly. Any hard sniffing and the juniper comes round to hit you on the head.

 

On me: My skin amps the musk and it's coming off like a thick molasses sweetness. Unfortunately, it's bordering on the sickeningly sweet scent of 'snake' powder (something my mum made us use when we had chicken pox). I am having no luck on the woods and musks...

[prettybird]

Another scent that I was very much looking forward to.

 

In the bottle? Disappointing. Too sharp, with too much pine for me.

 

On skin? Oh. Oh oh oh. I take back anything bad I ever thought about you. Please forgive me, baby. I was young and reckless, and those other scents didn't mean anything to me, I swear. The juniper comes out, and it's so sweet and it makes everything just so. The blend is just absolutely perfect love. It's so comforting and warming, I feel like I'm protected when I'm wearing it. It vies with Bastet for the most comforting oil I own. Baby, don't ever change.

 

Perhaps I could buy this in a gallon sprayer?

[Medici]

In the imp: Predominantly musk and pine.

 

Wet: Musk and pine, rich brown/orange in colour. Decidedly woodsy.

 

Drydown: Loads of juniper and musk. Very rich, very "earthy." Reminiscent in some ways of Hexennacht/Hunter Moon, but I think it's more of a mental association for me as opposed to something that I can directly scent off my wrist. It's in that family, though. I like it. I'm actually a little surprised that it's not more masculine, I think I could pull this off with little fuss.

 

Verdict: The imp's a keeper. The musk note in this adapts wonderfully to my chemistry.

[JennyGardener]

Thanatopsis is a grand old forest, probably at the treeline of an ancient mountain. It's not so piney that it hurts my nose. It has animals in it. I enjoy taking my time with Thanatopsis.

[naiade]

It smells mostly juniper, then pine to me - not that much musk. It's a bit too masculine for lil ole girly me. It's still a pretty fresh and clean scent, though.

 

I like wearing it at night to sleep - I find piney scents very comforting. I'll use up my imp for this purpose, but I rather doubt I'll invest in more of it.

[aquazoo]

Hairspray right away!!! Like some rare, oddly-scented flower. Then back to the hairspray again.

[CrazyPretzel]

In the imp: pine and musk.

 

Wet on me: pine is still dominant; there's something sharp and sinus-clearing in here that reminds me of eucalyptus. Maybe it's the juniper. Actually it seems rather sweet.

 

After a few minutes: Christmas trees and a sweet, musky scent.

 

Drydown: A slightly strange union of clean, sweet juniper and pine on the one hand and animal musk on the other.

 

I prefer Black Forest and Slobbering Pine to this one, but really I love all of the pine blends. Thanatopsis strikes me as more masculine than the others. One of these days I'll have to wear all three of them to compare them properly.

[madeleine]

Thanatopsis smells like Christmas. The way the pine and the amber combine remind me of Christmas trees and incense, and the juniper is a sharper note like the cold weather. So it's beautiful, but much too masculine for me. And I don't want to go around worrying I might be set on fire.

 

Gorgeous and definitely worth a try, though.

[Gwydion]

They aren't kidding about the pine. It smells exactly like the trees I useed to play amoung as a kid. I was always getting sap all over me. I can pick out the juniper and musk if i try, but really, it smells like forest, and and maybe cat in forest. There's nothing wrong with that, but it just doesn't say Death to me.

[Ilex]

Sweet Tarts. Sweet Tarts of Death, I guess, but I'm not really getting the death theme in this scent, I'm afraid. No earth at all. The musk seems really similar to that of Fenris Wolf, which also went sweet on me. Yoohoo, pine? Please come out, I'd like to visit with you! Sigh, there is a hint of pine, eventually, after an hour I'm catching a little whiff of it here and there, but its drowning under the strange sweet tart smell, which seems to be going a bit vanilla? Weird. This one is just not playing nice with my picky chemistry, or its an old imp that's gone off. But it did disappear in an hour, pretty much, so I didn't have to live with it long.

[MaidenGenevive]

Thanatopsis

 

Sharp juniper slightly mellowed by the musk. The pine is warm and also helps mellow juniper's astringency. At times, I notice a quiet hint of dirt. This scent was chosen in my search for the perfect tree blend, which nothing can compare to Black Forest (I think my search is over).

 

[ 3 - Like ]

[erraticprophet]

Initial Impression: men's cologne. I can't remember which one, but it reminds me of a cologne my father's friend used to wear.

 

On Wet: very earthy, juniper comes out strong, some musk, something sweet I can't put my finger on, and a hint of pine

 

On Dry: juniper and musk, it's all mellow and soft, but there's the barest hint of powder to it

 

Final Impression: this is a gorgeous scent. It's like a walk through the woods.

 

Rating (on a scale of 1-5): 4

[SarahScent44]

In the imp, this is pine - a real pine, not "pine cleaner" like you get lot of - as well as juniper.

 

On my skin, it's musk over the scent of forest - nice.

 

When it dries, it's mostly musk with just a hint of pine. Very subtle - very nice.

[TrailerTrashPrincess]

impsniff: sweet woodsy-pine with juniper and...

 

skinsniff: oh em gee, this is the Premature Burial in the forest. how, since there are no similar notes? i have no idea. but this smells so much like my beloved Premature Burial, but with a foresty twist.

 

i'll have to try this one again in a few days, just to be certain, but in the meantime:

[AEris]

This is much softer than I expected, the musk seems to be dominating rather than sitting in the background.

 

Thanatopsis is basically musk with a hint of pine and juniper, and it blends to an air of something almost floral from the herbal greenness.

 

It's not bad, but it does seem a little grief-stricken. It's also a bit masculine for me.

[melrose]

First on: Pine, mostly, but just enough Jupiter to take the edge off - which has the unfortunate consequence of making the scent smell like Pine-Sol instead of fresh, clean, invigorating pine.

 

Near drydown - pine+juniper+musk+my skin chemistry=vetiver. This is not a good thing.

 

Far drydown - nice. Spicy, powdery, musk. Unfortunately, it faded to nothing quite quickly.

 

So, that's a no.