R'lyeh

[Alseides]

The sunken city of the Great God Cthulhu. A hellishly dark aquatic scent, evocative of fathomless oceanic deeps, the mysteries of madness buried under crushing black waters, and the brooding eternal evil that lies beneath the waves.

This is so... waaaah! I instantly felt all bouncy and happy upon sniffing this. This is great. I wouldn't expect the great Cthulhu's resting place to smell like this, but ... pink ripe grapefruit and ocean water.
What an unlikely combo, but it's so... wow. Favorite for me! I was so lucky with this batch of imps. :]

[Miseraya]

In the imp: Ack, thick sweet yicky lily. Am I the only person who smells lily in this?

 

On the wrist: Cloying, heavy lily.

 

Drydown: Sour, thick lily smell.

 

Not for me. Swapped.

[abejita]

This is one of the few BPAL scents that I absolutely disliked. In the imp, all I could think of was rotting, squisy grapefruit. On my skin, it was more intensely rotting citrus. Definitely not for me.

[mspixieears]

I don’t like aquatic scents generally but this is probably the nicest aquatic scent of BPAL’s that I’ve sampled thus far. It’s definitely dark though I couldn’t pinpoint why I get that from the scent! I wouldn’t wear it again but I’m glad to have tried it.

[daiconharuko]

In the bottle: I smell sodie-pop!

 

I have no idea what grapefruit smells like, so I don't really know how this compares to it. It smells like a slightly citrus incense with a hint of salt. I really like this.

[Gwydion]

Subtle and pleasantly spicy. Very aquatic, but managed to smell a bit like spiced bananas. I once thought I smelled this and realized it was the wind blowing through the woods and across my fish tanks. It’s actually an abiding favorite, though it’s hard to explain why it is so madly appealing.

[lainevierge]

I didn't really like this scent at first but it slowly grew on me. I can't distinguish any of the notes, but after a while it ends up turning in to a very powdery smell on me. I save my imp to wear on rainy days because somehow I can tolerate the smell better if it's humid out.

[Ravenclaw79]

In the imp: Citrusy, in an air-freshener sort of way.

 

Wet: Ooh, THERE's the aquatic. Aquatic with a hint of citrus. I don't get this "hellishly dark" description, 'cause there doesn't seem to be anything dark about this one at all, not so far -- it's very bright, like a sunny day on a boat.

 

Drying: I'm starting to have a contest in my head -- "Tempest? Danube? Love child of Danube, Tempest and a grapefruit?" It's watery more like Tempest, but it's sweeter and more powdery kinda like Danube. Far from "hellishly dark," I could see this one being a good pick-me-up on a gloomy day. It's sort of in the vein of Clinique Happy, a little, without the obvious alcohol-y-ness. It's worth keeping the imp, I think, but I probably wouldn't buy a bottle.

[porcelina]

i like this! it's dark, cold water. i guess maybe i like aquatics a little more than i thought.

[alicia_stardust]

R'LYEH

 

This... this is freaking awesome! It took me a while to pinpoint what I was smelling but it is a dark and brooding, EVIL grapefruit! On a more serious note, though, this is a very dark aquatic that speaks to murky depths, evil, and chaos. I can't believe I haven't taken notice of this one before now! I need more!

[Czarina]

I loved the concept of this scent so much. I am very disappointed to report that it is merely blandly pleasant on me. No grapefruit, no aquatic, no evil and darkness.

 

It smells like a generic floral scent with a dash of sandalwood thrown in. This makes no sense to me, but there you have it. I just can't get brooding darkness out of this one. I wouldn't wash it off my wrists, mind you, it just doesn't smell interesting on me.

 

Below average throw and wearlength.

[AEris]

strange....I guess I can see why people smell grapefruit, but I get a sharp, spicy lily with a sweet hint of something syrupy. It's an aquatic lily scent on me. Fresh, almost a hint of fruit I guess.

 

Interesting, but a bit astringent as a perfume.

 

ETA: Wait, I do get citrus here after it dries down more. It also seems to become a little generic somehow, like something I've smelled before. It's reminding me of Elizabeth Arden's Sunflowers.

Edited November 25, 2007 by AEris

[suileach]

In his house at R'lyeh, dead Cthulhu waits dreaming...of grapefruit.

 

Juicy pink grapefruit, cold salt water, and a hint of creamy ambergris.

 

Unexpectedly lovely!

 

The grapefruit is the primary note at first, but after a while the salt water and ambergris come out - chilly and spicy at the same time. One of the few aquatics that works on me. I am so glad to have been gifted with an imp of this!

[hkhm]

imp: spicy grapefruit aquatic.

 

wet: the grapefruit here is swoon-worthy! it's spiced and rich and wonderful.

 

dry: grapefruit spiked with spices. two bottles are going into my next order.

[KaliVerra]

OCEANIC GRAPEFRUIT FIZZZZZZZZ!!! This is divine... very much on the *clean* side

[ChloeKEvil]

This one smells yellow to me. Murky yellow, not bright. It's spicy- I keep swearing I smell cinnamon, but my nose isn't well trained yet. It also smells like grapefruit, especially close up. It isn't a happy scent to me, it's got an edge of sharpness.

 

I'm going to wear this as the scent of my Malkavian LARP character. It just seems appropriate.

[greyroses]

IN THE IMP: Grapefruit. I don't like grapefruit. Not sure I even want to put it on. But I like aquatics, whatever that has to do with grapefruit, so...

 

WET ON THE SKIN: Grapefruit & the palest white musk. A wave of very fresh water-scent has washed over this, though, after about 2 minutes. Grapefruit still poking out now & again, becoming stronger after 10 minutes or so, eventually challenging & overtaking the water, then receding gracefully after about an hour.

 

DRY: A mild, pleasant water scent, vaguely soapy but not too...more "clean" than "lathery soap"...& the very faintest undercurrent of grapefruit is adding a nice sharp citrusy "glow" to balance the water--not at all grapefruity. Low throw & medium duration--about 8 hours or so.

 

VERDICT: Hellishly dark it is not, but it's just the sort of aquatic I've been looking for. I'm keeping it & when it's done I shall definitely be buying a bottle!

 

(this is my first keeper, BTW, after long searching!)

Edited February 8, 2008 by greyroses

[Ajila]

In the bottle – A sharp acidic scent followed by sea water and a lot of ginger

 

Wet on me – Dark grapefruit

 

Dry on me – Ok, so apparently brooding eternal evil is a warm, spicy, comforting blend with a slight woodiness to it

 

Overall – I quite like this blend, but it’s not going to be a favourite

[donnatron]

Imp: I get aquatics and citrus.

 

Wet: My skin hates this with a violent passion. I put it on and it smells like stinky feet that have been in the ocean all day.

 

Dry: I made it to five minutes before I couldn't bear to keep it on.

 

Throw: Average.

 

Overall: I'm excited to wash it off so I can go review something else.

[lacyjae]

I recently received this, and I was oh-so happy to get it. Collecting all the Arkham scents has been my plan from day one, as the thing that drew me to BPAL in the first place.

 

In the bottle, it was love. It smelled citrus-y and deep and fantastic and gorgeous. My immediate response was to yell at my boyfriend, "If this is what R'lyeh smells like, I WANT TO GO THERE NOW! IA! IA!"

 

So I finally tried it yesterday. Because it was so awesome in the bottle, I didn't do a little easy-to-wash-off wrist test. No, no. I did wrists, neck, clavicle, and hair.

 

Then I got on the bus to go to work.

 

Hmm.. it smells like.. like.. that sweet sweat smell. I wonder who that... wait.. no..

Oh, gods. PLEASE don't tell me I smell like sweet sweat. - Yep, it was me, smelling of sickly sweet sweat. I'm not sure how to describe it, summer sweat? night sweat? Nauseating, either way. Utterly depressing.

 

It remains gorgeous in the bottle, but very obviously does NOT work for me. My heart is broken. Perhaps a solid or locket will work. :/

[persianmouse]

R’Lyeh smells like the unholy lovechild of a pine tree and an apple tree. But in a good way. Go and get your freak on, trees.

[savage_rose]

No, R'lyeh? Yes, R'lyeh. For some reason I have to say this name like I'm a valley girl saying "Really".

 

In the imp, this is a spicy, zesty aquatic. On, that's still there, but there's some kind of floral amping. No melon, no grapefruit. Sigh.

[ravenfeathers]

i tested this and reviewed it in my blog a long time ago and didn't bother posting it here (i'm apt to do that with frimps, for some reason; it's like my brain won't admit they exist because i didn't order them).

 

sniff this is... sniffffff... cranberry and evergreen! it's CHRISTMAS!!

 

*reads lab description*

 

A hellishly dark aquatic scent, evocative of fathomless oceanic deeps, the mysteries of madness buried under crushing black waters, and the brooding eternal evil that lies beneath the waves.

 

...

 

...

 

orrr.... CHRISTMAS!!

[nightchild80]

In the Imp (wet): This imp is so full, it's not funny. Try carefully lifting the imp cap off a very full imp without spilling and you could easily go insane with the feat. This doesn't have the same edge as most of the BPAL aquatics I've sampled before and borders on being syrupy musk laced in bergamot (?). Definitely some citrusy sweet fruit. The oil is also a medium amber, similar to golden syrup.

 

On facial cotton (dry): The scent smells completely different from the imp. It's definitely an aquatic, but not like Dirty (more soap) or Olokun (more bite). This aquatic brings to mind lush orchard trees after a refreshing rain, with a subtle hint of tangy sweetness.

 

On me: R'Lyeh does not have as much throw as Olokun or Dirty, so I would have to put a lot more on or just wear it for my own pleasure (vs perfume wearers who spritz for everyone else to smell). I'm loving the sweeter citrus (bergamot? grapefruit?) notes, but there's something else in it - a coying floral that could be lily, which if any heavier, might make me gag. Fortunately the saltiness is keeping it in check and balanced. It's certainly one of those scents I'd love to drown in.

[Indigo78]

In the imp I get grapefruit a day or two past its prime. Not crisp, but still zesty. There's also a darkness underneath that I can't identify.

 

On the skin wet, a sour note emerges that never really leaves. I get the aquatic notes, but they are all wrong on my skin. On me, this is murky, stagnant water with hints of citrus. Beneath it's surface lurk malevolent bottomfeeders, as they search for sunken slices of over-ripe grapefruit to feast upon. Weird? Yeah. A little off? Indeed. But that is exactly what R'yleh is to my nose. Weird & off.

 

This one is off to a more loving home.