Pluto

[chapatti]

Covert Operations - Enigmas - Defiance - Psychoanalysis - Terror - Anonymity - Immortality - Sadism - Transformation - The Unknown - Discovery Of Error - Detection Of Injustice

First whiff: ...I... know this smell. I just know it! But what is it?
...Vicks vapo-rub, that's what it is - seriously, it's dead on, meaning it's probably got camphor, menthol and eucalyptus.

Drydown: the Vicks-like smell goes away quickly (the menthol part vanishes almost instantly), leaving way to something still cold, although not chilly like it was in the first place, and, frankly, indescribable.
I could say it's softly herbal, to the point that I can smell actual grass in it, it's medicinal, masculine, with maybe a bit of cedar, and an almost imperceptible, lingering sweetness.
I know I'm pushing the analogy too far, but oddly enough, it's almost threatening, yet soft and gentle at the same time.

Verdict: I was both eager and scared to try Pluto, as it is so prominent in my chart, and means so much to me, both in good and bad... and I'm under the spell of this blend. Again, the Celestial Specialness (™) is there in full force. It's eerie.

I don't know how I could rate this - let's say 6/10, purely scent-wise, but this blend, even more than the other Celestials, feels more than just a scent to me. Can't explain it ^^

[PurringPulsar]

Pluto

 

In the bottle: unusual yet familiar. I smell clean evergreens with an ethereal ozone note, almost soapy or like men’s perfume…a little bit of something dark and earthy at the base, maybe some pepper too?

Wet on skin: yup, this is gritty! I’m sure there’s a light pepper note-it has that ‘crackling’ quality and warmth I get from pepper.

Dry: whoa, this is an intense, gritty and rather uncomfortable scent on me. I’m getting a sharp floral acridity reminiscent of Evil Gardenia, though it may not be in here-I’m getting lots more pepper now. I also get a dry, dark, dusty note. It’s earthy, almost, but not like soil or damp forest floor or patchouli earthiness…this is darker, more mysterious, deeper…it makes me think of dark rocks dug up from the earth, coal and metal ores and black minerals, with a definite metallic bite. Yes, this is the smell of the underground, the underworld, even.

After a while: hmm, this smells very different to Hades but has a similar vibe to it, I think. Well, this is Pluto, after all, but it does seem to evoke the underground, darkness, intensity, minerals and metals…with a more pronounced veil of ghostly floral now, reminiscent of the narcissus in Hades. Maybe this is narcissus? It also smells much like gardenia. Still the scent of black pepper winds it’s way through the scent, adding a shadowy warmth. I also get a little bit of smoke to the scent.

After a while, the scent that remains is a ghostly yet edgy floral scent. I’m pretty sure this is narcissus, with the remains of the other notes still hanging around.

Verdict: this is such an unusual scent, but very evocative of Pluto, I think. Dark and intense, this scent is not something I’d wear but it does seem to represent it’s planet very well-this is a scent reminiscent of underground, with mineral and metallic notes to it that are so unlike anything I’ve smelt before…it really is a scent of the underworld. I also get a light floral, possibly gardenia or narcissus (or both) on top of these gritty black notes, and a definite scent of black pepper. This is not something I’d wear as perfume-it does go a bit acrid at times and smells so strange and not really a scent I’d wear, but as an oil with purpose, I think this will be fantastic.

Emoticon rating:

[jarvenpa]

I was very generously given a set of imps of all the celestials by zenvodunista (whose name I have likely not spelled correctly in the lateness--will correct later, maybe) (corrected, finally!). I have been working with the Planetary Oils as helps in focusing on specific planets while musing over forum charts (or my own) for a couple weeks.

 

I didn't seek out the lab's descriptions at all. My expectations were based primarily on my understanding of the planet's energy.

 

Thus, for Pluto my expectation was transformation.

 

I wasn't disappointed. Pluto starts out with a sharp herbal scent and a metallic edge, then goes to a woody, dry scent, that reminds me of the hills I used to hike in midsummer, where the grass is dry, and the rocks are burning in the sun (a brighter image than I'd generally suppose of Pluto, but okay)

And then the sweet and hearbreaking flowers come on.

And shift, and change.

It is as if you start with harshness, and end with a tremendous sweet (but not sticky sweet) power (perhaps it is the opium poppy note I loved in The Sleeper that blooms late on my wrists in Pluto, and lingers).

It is a powerful and complicated scent. Pluto is at my ascendant, so I have a fondness for this planet, and embrace Beth's remarkable vision of it with great awe and pleasure.

Edited July 24, 2006 by jarvenpa

[edenssixthday]

Pluto - When I first apply this scent, it smells strongly of camphor. Fortunately, that note fades within a few minutes, and a dry, woody scent upon drydown. Wet wood and air, come to think of it. The throw is amazing, even after the scent dries. The first time I wore it, I applied it, got in the car and drove to work. Parked in the garage underneath my building, got out of the car, and I caught a whiff of a really lovely fragrance and thought, "Wow, the garage at work smells like BPAL!" I instantly realized I'm a total dork and the scent I was smelling was just the scent of Pluto wafting around me. The scent lasts for hours, but after the first 60 minutes or so, the throw does start to decrease significantly. It's really not something I think I'd ever select to wear instead of all of the fragrances I'm head-over-heels about, but it's certainly not bad.

[aidenraine]

I don't have any particular feelings about pluto, aside from being intrigued by all of the planets in a general sense.

 

Wet on my skin I immediately smell incense. A strong incense, wooden and masculine. Behind that lurks a very herby mint that makes me nose tingle a bit to smell it. There is something slightly akin to eucalyptus/menthol/cedar in here. I feel like I am standing in a cedar closet with Vick's Vapor Rub under my nose.

 

And no, that's not entirely appealing.

It reminds me of some of the woodsy TALs. Not something that was meant to be worn as a perfume, in other words.

 

I am not sure, because of the wooden notes, that this captures Pluto for me. It just gets more straight-woody <--- as it sits.

Edited August 1, 2006 by aidenraine

[slave1]

In Bottle: Chemicals

 

On Skin: Eek, this smells toxic. Seriously, this smells like carpet cleaner… Resolve or something. My husband says it smells like antiseptic. For some reason the Celestial blends just don’t like me. There is a very metallic herbal in this and something slightly spicy. I also smell a wood of some sort, maybe fir? As the scent develops, it sweetens up a bit and loses a bit of it’s medicinal feel (thankfully). It becomes an energizing and stimulting blend. I might use it for aromatherapy but I don’t think I’ll wear it as a body scent. Strong throw and very long wearlength.

[strangemusic]

In the bottle: a slight pause, then a light pass of bracing, minty freshness, something like spearmint mixed with camphor... the effect is cold, distant, and tinged a hard, unforgiving blue.

 

Electric blue.

 

Underneath, the merest idea of muskiness, microns' worth; the mint quality is deepening, more like wintergreen, or perhaps... eucalyptus? Yes, I think this is eucalyptus.

 

On my skin: almost nothing for nearly ten seconds after application, then clear, clean, vitrine mints, more than one-- a gentle mint, and the stronger eucalyptus, but faint, as though wafted over a great, open distance. Delicate nano-bursts of sheerest musk, or water, with a fruity edge, perhaps? The more this dries, the more attractive this smells; a film of dried lemon zest intensifies the rare frigidity of this oil. At the very end, like slightly sweetened mint with whiffs of citrus. I can't get over how light a scent this happens to be, like chiffon.

 

C&P from me LJ, tra la

[storme]

In the imp: dirty menthol and vetiver.

 

On me, wet: lots of vetiver, over a mentholy-piney coldness.

 

On me, dry: oh, there's a softer sweeter minty note now, and the vetiver has calmed down. This is lovely and fresh and cold, very.. isolated and desolate in feel, very appropriate to Pluto.

 

Verdict: Aw, poor Pluto, no longer a *real* planet. At least it smells good. Probably my favourite of all the celestials I've tried.

[steffanina]

Pluto-

 

In Bottle: A little peppermint.

 

Wet: Woo, eucalyptus to the max. And then...something clay-and-pine.

 

Dry: Kind of light and pretty and minty, once it dries! It does not have remarkable staying power, though, and I'd have to love it more to use it more frequently. So, not likely to be a keeper for me.

 

Overall: Pleasant but not remarkable enough for me.

[supremegoddessofall]

Very herbal, but it also has some prominent neroli which is making me turn my nose - neroli and I are not friends.

[Em-]

(Based on original forumlation)

 

This is an herbal woody mint scent. My notes on this scent indicate that I'd intended to buy a bottle of this when it was rereleased. Wonder what I was thinking that day.

[Roses Ablaze]

Hee, I was so lucky to be able to get a full bottle of this when I did <3

 

I love this scent. It's metallic and dark, but not overpowering, and it makes me feel mysterious when I wear it. I don't smell the mint that other people seemed to be picking up on. It's pretty aged though (or so I assume since I just got it yesterday), so that might have to do with it. Unfortunately it fades rather fast, too. Too bad it was discontinued so long ago.

Edited March 15, 2007 by Roses Ablaze

[tinyvulture]

a cold, mechanical scent. i smell eucalyptus and oiled metal. i’m not sure how else to describe it. picture being in a chilly factory, the assembly line cogs grinding together, steam rising in the air... i can’t wear it, but i’ll try it on my husband. it might make me think he’s been working in the garage all day!

[Babylon]

a cold, mechanical scent. i smell eucalyptus and oiled metal. i’m not sure how else to describe it. picture being in a chilly factory, the assembly line cogs grinding together, steam rising in the air... i can’t wear it, but i’ll try it on my husband. it might make me think he’s been working in the garage all day!

 

Totally 100% right. Well-oiled metal, like the smell of a mechanic's garage. I also smell vetiver which is starting to amp on me. This is such a unique scent, wow!

[mgrazulis]

I suppose we should call this review "Plutoid" now, LOL!!

In the bottle: cedar, chilly air, mint, dried grass

 

Wet: becomes aquatic, bit of musk

 

Dry: Beautiful, icy forest; softly herbal but with an edge

 

Verdict: Strangely unusual. It is more masculine than others, but there is a sweetness to the dried sweet grass that is delicate and dry. It is intense, unworldly and dark. It starts off sharp, but blends down sweet. Reminds me that winter will eventually be back--a cooling thought for a hot, humid summer day. I'm glad I found this one on eBay. I think it will layer nicely with BPAL's Persephone scent Fruit of Paradise...

 

Edited to add--after 3 hours, this gets even better! Very woodsy, but dark and sorrowful. A great lingering throw!!!

 

[zankoku_zen]

Hm. I have to say that the word 'gritty' is very apropos, esp. on the drydown. On wet, it's almost peppery and I dare think that black pepper is a component, as it dries, I got something that smelled very strongly of bay (it put me in mind of Azazel actually) and sharp pencil shaving notes.... which means it has cedar. It's quite possible this also has a touch of vetiver.

 

Overall, it dries to a very heavy earthy kind of blend, masculine, gritty. It's not unpleasant, but it's not a scent I'd wear for the scent alone.

[MellowCello]

In the bottle it smelled like sweet medicine, but there was something about it that was making me feel sick. And that something is something that I've smelled before and something I used to smell a lot. I can't put my finger on it. I guess "enigma" is right! i'm still developing my sense of smell hehe. Regardless of how an oil smells in the bottle, I'll give it a shot on my skin since BPALs are known to morph much to peoples' surprise. But for Pluto, it was even worse on my skin so I had to wash it off right away.

[yamiko]

Poor Pluto, you'll always be in my heart.

 

Anyway. This is a very cold, almost medicinal scent. It smells of rocks and metal and ice. Very Pluto-like.

[Pixie-elf]

From Ebay.

 

Pluto is lovely. Woodsy, resiny, a bit metallic as some say, but kind of like a nice hug... Then again I'm devoted to his wife so I feel very comfortable with him.

 

It's definitely masculine, I think there's vetiver in it as I smell the same note as is in Block Buster from TAL. I'm very happy to have this bottle.