The Sword of Surtur

[Lycanthrope]

Iron and fire: red-hot ginger, fossilized amber, prickly poppy, red cedar, cubeb, star anise, and scorpion pepper.

This scent is very hot. Crimson red oil. I can feel my nostrils singe a little smelling it.

On my skin, it's immediately spicy and I get a whiff of pepper rind, like in the Mayan/Annatto/Pepper chocolate scent. That fleshy warm pepper foodiness. This goes away pretty fast. Anise and cedar are there to add a very potent dry twangy chord to the overall scent. This amber is not sweet, but there is that powderiness on me. Ambers tend to go sweet on me, and this is starting to go that way. I get no poppy, but I'm notoriously bad at finding that note in perfumes.

It's very jarring, doesn't quite mesh into one thing on my skin. I can't tell if this is trying to be purposely cacophonous, but it's doing a good job of being very fragmented and chaotic. I smell more fire than iron.

Over time this is trying to settle into a spicy wood. It is not melding well with me, but if you like warm, woodsy resins and are okay with ginger, I would give this a whirl.

[Balame]

Metal, oil, spice and... hairspray?

 

Oh Surtur, you started out so nice. I was happy that the ginger and pepper weren't burning my nose. Spicy but smooth and muted, sort of similar to how Three Cocks keeps its clove in check with musk/copal. But when I first put on SoS I mainly get metal. Glorious metal.

 

It's the metal I love from Robotic Scarab amplified and heated up. The scent that gets on your hands after working on a car engine. Hot and slick and tangy. It's super realistic and I love it. The ginger is a little gingerbread cookies to me since the amber sweetens it slightly (would have preferred one or the other), so it feels somewhat out of place, but man is that iron good.

 

This is not a heavy scent despite what the notes might make you imagine. It really does evoke a sword. A metal object isn't going to smell strongly, but I smell the hot air around it and a spiced oil burning on the blade. Yes, a flaming sword of badassery!

 

For about 30 minutes.

 

Then it all goes downhill for me. The metal dissipates and the amber/ginger takes the lead. Okay, a bit more perfumey than before, but it still feels strong and mature. But whoa, what is that chemical note crawling to the front? It's... it's ozone. So much ozone. OH GOD WHY IS IT ONLY OZONE THIS IS GINGER HAIRSPRAY DEATH NOOO–

 

And scene. So yeah, I was sad about this. I wasn't expecting to like SoS but I did during its wet stages, so it was disappointing when it went all astringent ozone on me. I actually enjoy ozone and imagine it was contributing to the airiness I got before, but it just gains far too much prominence later on.

 

I would say people should try this if they like ginger and/or metal and have a good history of their skin chemistry not ridiculously amping ozone.

[Monster]

When I first apply Sword of Surtur I get a big blast of fresh ginger. It's like the white hot tips of flames licking my skin. As it dries, the ginger quickly subsides revealing the pepper notes and what I think is the poppy. It's hard to dissect this scent, when I try, I find it's not as enjoyable to smell. I'm going to start over…

 

Once I reset my brain and try to smell just the images of fire and iron, that's when the true beauty of Sword of Surtur comes out. I agree with Lycanthrope, this is disjointed and jarring. I think it's meant to be that way, fire is inconsistent and unpredictable, as are the red notes in this perfume and the way they contrast against a base of iron metal. I can smell warm flames wrapping themselves around shining metallic notes. As it dries, the iron notes cool the flames. The final dry down is a gently warmed iron note on my skin.

 

You guys need to at least try this one once. The images this perfume creates is really intense and beautiful. As far as notes are concerned, if you like Djinn you'll probably love this one. I probably won't wear Sword of Surtur as a perfume but I'm going to treasure my imp.

[hexnut]

THE SWORD OF SURTUR

 

In Vitro Lemony, and not very sweet.

 

Wet Immediately on it was sharp, lemony ginger, which over the next few minutes lost the lemon smell and became true fresh ginger root, pungent and almost bitter. I have complained reported here before that BPAL's ginger turns to citrus on me, so I was delighted to smell the real thing. Ten minutes after application my wrist began to itch; I had used more oil than usual, so I blotted off the excess with a tissue, but the itch continued for at least ten more minutes. Fortunately there was no lingering pain and no redness, so this seems to have been an irritant but not an allergen.

 

Drying Still slightly bitter ginger root, fading slowly. At the half hour mark the scent finally began to sweeten up, and at forty-five minutes I got a hint of the dreaded plastic note but fortunately it didn't last. Finally, later in the day and when the scent was almost gone, some of the other components dared to come out and made this sweet and nice.

 

 

This isn't the first time an oil that I brought home has behaved quite differently than it did at Will Call, but I refuse to be discouraged. The ginger is painfully strong and sharp - appropriate for a blade! - but I think The Sword of Surtur will be a great one for combining with sweeter scents that could use a punch, and it should age well.

[skyelyric]

It morphed! Thank gods, the first day I got this it was oddly mock-citrus, reminiscent of those towelette things in the foil wrappers. Not unpleasant, but definitely not something I want to smell like, as a general rule. It had a little bit of the same juicy, fresh-cut ginger root I get from Nanshe, but that's about it.

 

Retesting today, a few days after I got my decants, I get the heat and sharpness. That fresh juicy ginger now makes a beautiful clean base for the spices, and the combination of pepper, anise, and probably the cedar give a very cinnamon-like impression to my nose. The amber's trying to sweeten this up, but I'm not sure I can smell the poppy at all. Overall this is an enjoyable, very spicy scent that stays close to the skin.

 

eta: tried it today in the crook of my arm, and Boom! skin reaction. Alas, off to swaps.

Edited March 29, 2014 by skyelyric

[Magycmyste]

In the imp: Hmmmm, my oil is a dark golden amber, not red. Unless Lycanthrope was describing the scent, not the actual color? Anyway, from the imp, I'm getting sweet cinnamon and star anise, with a touch of spice from the ginger, and maybe the pepper.

 

Wet on skin: Same on my skin. The anise is getting almost frankincensey. And after reading about cubeb, I think that's where the cinnamon scent is coming from.

 

Dried down: Pure spice. This is gorgeous. It's both hot and cool at the same time, like a core of ice in the center of a flame, if you can imagine that.

 

Throw: I can smell the spices about an inch or so away from my skin. But I'm not wearing much.

 

Verdict: ***** Yes, I want a bottle. I just need to figure out if I need a backup of this. I don't think I'll be reaching for it too often, but I definitely want to have it on hand.

[velvet]

The initial stage, i smell a delightfully glittering ginger and.. it feels like a citrus note, but it must be a combination of other notes. I like this stage a lot, but I am skeptical due to all the other issues I've had with the LE's lately.

Entering the middle note stage I smell the star anise, but I happen to love this note, so far so good.

[JazzieCazzie]

Purchased two imps in a decant circle.

 

IN THE IMP: Super-foody, as in Chinese food. Unique and unusual, with the anise shoving itself to the head of the line moments after opening the imp. . I don't think it's something I'd want to wear but I am testing it for the sake of "you never know" ...

 

Dabbed in crook of arm.

 

WET: Massively gingery. Not good ginger, like Shub, but stale Chinese food ginger. And then soapy. And then full-on anise. And then soapy again, but with an "I'm trying to smell like the outdoors but am only achieving a bathroom-cleanser-that-says-it-smells-like-the-outdoors-on-the-label" soapy.

 

And then I am in so much pain I forget about trying to make notes, and look down and see a huge red blotch on the crook of my arm three inches in diameter ... I don't think I've had that kind of BPAL reaction since Malkuth.

 

DRYDOWN: At first it's not awful. But the more it dries the more it becomes an absolutely horrible-on-me soapy mess. I don't think I've wanted to wash something off this much since Sacred Whore of Babylon.

 

OVERALL: Well, it's not that bad ... oh, who am I kidding? It's that bad. On me, anyway. One of my new Bottom 3 ever.

 

On a scale of 1-5, a 1 only because I don't go lower than that.

[Allumina]

This was the surprise winner of the Ragnarok decants for me, which I wasn't expecting since amber and I don't get along. On, the main note is cubeb, but it settles down to warm, non foodie spices. I like spicy scents that don't smell like pie or Christmas, so this was a winner for me.

 

The second time I applied it though, I slathered and got the itchy, red wrist that others have gotten, so I'm wavering on whether to get a bottle or now.

 

ETA: I'm pretty sure the cubeb in this is Litsea cubeba (aka may chang) not Piper cubeba. May chang is a very bright sweet lemony smell, not a peppery smell.

Edited April 3, 2014 by Allumina

[Astarial]

This is all ginger in the imp - strong and ferocious and raw, like taking a big whiff of fresh ginger root.

 

Once on the skin, it sweetens with some of the poppy, I think, with cubeb and amber giving a hint of spiciness and a hint of creaminess. As it starts to dry down, the scorpion pepper comes and shakes its tail at me - it's like eating a hot pepper, but without any of the tears. Kind of a weird sensation.

 

Once dry, it veers almost toward fruit loops - it's spicy, but it's sweet and warm at the same time. Amber kicks in again, luckily, which tugs it back from fruit loops and gives it a kind of milky quality. Quite different from The Three Cocks, which is also spicy but with a very different mental feeling - whereas that one is more like smelling tins of spices in someone else's unused kitchen, this is more like the warm smell of cooking going on as you sniff.

 

That's not to say it's at all foody - it isn't. While the cinnamon and clove in Cocks definitely make me think of baking spices, Surtur isn't any spice combination I'd think of cooking with. It just.. has this inviting quality that makes me think of cooking.

[Gwydion]

In bottle: This is unusual. The anise sings when combined with ginger and amber, turned particularly heady when you add in poppy as well. The cubeb (a kind of pepper) and scorpion pepper give this sting. The cedar is understated and ties things together. The effect is dangerous and spicy. Wet: Lemon drops? Apparently my skin is really fickle today. Given time, the ginger, poppy, and peppers fight their way free of the accidental accord and the anise follows a bit after. It’s a little vase and lady’s profile for me, flipping back and forth as my focus shifts between the proper elements and the accidental tart citrus. It does eventually settle into an anise dominant scent with amber, ginger, cedar, and poppy support in order of strongest to weakest. The peppers are less distinct but still giving the whole thing an interesting edge. Dry: Anise dominant with ginger and amber support, kissed by peppers.

[Zii]

ITB: Offputtingly foody. Lots of ginger.

 

Wet: This smells like really high quality candied ginger that still has it's really peppery kick. There is something very sweet about this that's taking me aback slightly, though the scent itself is quite pleasant.

 

Drying: Amber! That odd note under the ginger is the amber! The amping of the amber has made it a little bit like red hots, though the ginger lends it a sophisticated rather than dime store feel. I am stunned that I am getting none of the cedar as someone who amps cedar, but the ginger and amber are way dominating this, with a little kick of spice from the pepper.

 

Dry: This is getting dustier and sweeter. It's clinging to that Red Hots feeling, but now there is a faint hint of lemon. This is a very snuggly sword, and I can see myself wearing this a lot on days where I need a pick-me-up.

 

So far this is the sleeper hit of my Ragnarok decants!

[zankoku_zen]

Oh Surtur, I knew we weren't going to work out. I get mainly ginger, cedar and pepper. And heat. This is like a hot, heated spice.

 

Yeah, totally not for me.

[milo]

I thought that this one would be loud and aggressive, but this is not the case. Smells rather fresh and airy. Red ginger usually overpowers a blend, but here I think it just adds to the freshness. Slightly fruity, gingery and airy, like walking through a mountain pass with fresh ginger and berries. Rather nice.

[tinyvulture]

This starts as a nicely spicy ginger blend. There's a citrusy note (cubeb?) that I don't care for, but the sweet amber and warm ginger are valiantly trying to temper it. There's nothing hot and spicy about it...sorry, scorpion pepper!

 

20 minute later -- the citrus won that battle. Off to swaps you go.

[ShadowEtienne]

I was too curious not to pick this up when I got the chance, and honestly, slightly to my surprise, I adore this!

 

Resinous ginger is what the entire scent is based around on my skin, reminding me of the ginger chewy candies, the ones that aren't really that sweet but instead are delightfully punchy ginger. They've been covered in tart spicy peppers and my beloved anise, and it's like nothing I've ever actually smelled before while also somehow smelling exactly like the the spices in a Chinese grocery. 

 

I love this, I'm glad I took the risk on my curiosity.