Nyarlathotep

[Surreal]

And it was then that Nyarlathotep came out of Egypt. Who he was, none could tell, but he was of the old native blood and looked like a Pharaoh. The fellahin knelt when they saw him, yet could not say why. He said he had risen up out of the blackness of twenty-seven centuries, and that he had heard messages from places not on this planet. Into the lands of civilisation came Nyarlathotep, swarthy, slender, and sinister, always buying strange instruments of glass and metal and combining them into instruments yet stranger. He spoke much of the sciences - of electricity and psychology - and gave exhibitions of power which sent his spectators away speechless, yet which swelled his fame to exceeding magnitude. Men advised one another to see Nyarlathotep, and shuddered. And where Nyarlathotep went, rest vanished; for the small hours were rent with the screams of a nightmare.

Brooding, yet electric: the scent of buried secrets, roiling nightmares, the essence of the Crawling Chaos, the Father of Knives and Locusts, the Hunter in the Dark. This is the blackest of ritual incenses charged with flashes of ozone.

Wow! I can't believe I'm the first one!

In the bottle: citrusy with slightly heavy undertone.

Wet: Much more citrus (not lemon, maybe lime. I'm not really good with scent notes.) I'm beginning to smell the incense and the tang of the ozone.

Dry: This is a dark, mysterious scent. The citrus has calmed down and the incense has moved to the forefront. I can still smell the ozone but it blends so well with the incense. This seems like a masculine scent to me and I like it very much.

Now I'm off to dab some on my male friends and drag them to write a review as well.

[Eldritch]

In the bottle: Intriguing. I expected something unfortunately heavy and incensey--myrrh, resin, manlymanlydark. Instead, it's a glistening sliver of granite. Dark and hard, but not abrasive or hot, cool and menacing.

 

On skin: When I first put it on, I caught this waft of sweet that made me think--berry currant? I'm not so sure now, but it's still glistening black. Not black in the rawrdarkspice way, but more in the void of light. It's got a surprisingly sweet note to me and a touch of lime. Juicey. Juicey black? How very peculiar. I keep on getting this image of a nugget of glistening black ebony. Surprisingly non-incensey, which is a blessing for me.

 

Dry down:Huh. Is that a smash of red berry in my black? There was a wierd sniff back there that threatened to go musky for a moment, but now it's gone and I'm left with...ebony and crushed red petals. Very subtle yet striking.

 

Over all: This is a nifty interesting scent. I could see this being my black suit and corporate boardroom scent. It stays very closed and close to the skin. It's a very held together, in command, subtle and elegant scent. Not at all what I expected from a Lovecraftian scent, but it's quite lovely. I'd originally ordered this imp as a gift, but I may end up just keeping it myself.

[Scylla]

In the vial: Citronella--it reminds me of Yuki-Onna on first whiff

 

Wet, on my skin: A bright, shining citrus, with something dark and incensey brooding in the background. To me, it evokes a total eclipse---the sun cloaked in darkness, yet bright around the edges.

 

On drydown: The citrus fades away and the predominant note becomes the ozone. The incense is heavy, but it meshes nicely with the ozone note. This definitely strikes me as a men's fragrance. I'll have to put some on my husband.

[ChupaChup]

Nyarlathotep is nothing like I expected it to be. I thought it would be a dark, ashy, burnt kind of scent but it's really lovely. Definitely citrus at first (bergamot?), the incense is there but it's not overwhelming. As it dries down, the citrus abates and the ozone appears. Definitely would smell great on a guy

[isyche]

Nyarlathotep is black, lemony, myrrh-y at first sniff. The ozone/aquatic is definitely noticeable, but it's like a thin sheen over something dark. I totally get the “shiny black” description - it's a mysterious glistening shadow sort of smell.

 

It's not me (a guy might be more able to pull off wearing this regularly, though) but I will keep it in case I ever need to smell like the Crawling Chaos.

[Nadirah]

Nyarlathotep smells to me like the really good frankincense as it is burning, almost lemony but not a citrus. Its dark and I find it to be unisex, it smells really good on me and I would love to smell it off anyone else as long as thy're chemistry is willing

I got this imp in a swap and I ordered one with my Yule order I will be keeping them both! This is strong and you don't have to apply a whole lot of it for it lasts really well.

[Penance]

Origin:

 

Lagniappe from the Lab.

 

Preconceived notions:

 

I've been waffling about this one for a while because of the mention of lemon in the reviews, so I'm hoping it's not so lemony on me. I love ozone and incense, so I'm glad I got a chance to try this without taking a risk.

 

First sniff:

 

Oh, wow, this is really unusual! I can definitely smell that metallic tang that means ozone and the incense notes in this. It's a very unusual combination, but not in a bad way by any stretch of the imagination.

 

Wet on skin:

 

Ozone...it's almost lemony smelling but with a background of incense smoke. I don't like lemon, so I'm hoping this veers away from the Lemon Pledge territory once it's dry. Right now, the lemon smell is becoming quite strong as it sets on my skin. I can still pick up the incense in the background, but the lemon is really overpowering it right now.

 

Dry down:

 

There we go, the lemon has disappeared and now it smells like ozone and incense again, but with an underlying aquatic sweetness that I recognize from several other BPAL aquatic scents. I was worried about this one while it was wet, but now I really like it again. I'm one of the few big fans of true ozone and I love incense/resin scents, so Nyarlathotep is right up my alley, even if it is a combination that I never would have imagined would work.

 

The bottom line:

 

Very unusual. Ozone and incense smoke are the quintessential odd couple that just seem to work together. I love this in the bottle and once it's dry, but I could do without the wet stage.

[Kaowolfie]

Nyarly-dear (Don't ask. ) starts off as RAIN with a slight hint of frankincense, especially if I've accidentally put on too much. (Half a swipe of Nyarly is more than enough on my skin, apparently.) It's so gorgeous and wonderful.

 

After a few minutes, it starts drying down into a wet, drizzly scent, with the frankincense coming more and more to the forefront -- this is about as dried down as it gets. It's a slightly ominous smell, but at the same time, I love it. It gives me my favorite parts about rainy days w/o the god-awful facial pain rainstorms give me, topped off with sweet, yummy frankincense. It does seem like an odd combo, but mmm. I need me a bottle.

[Ishtar]

Add me to the list of those who expected Nyarlathotep to smell completely different.

 

On my skin, the wet stage is all lemon and ozone, with an underlying softness/powderiness that reminds me of white musk. It wears very fresh and clean. Interesting but nothing like the description: somewhat chilly and cruel, yes, potentially dangerous, maybe, but black and brooding, not at all. Let's give it time to dry down and see where it takes us.

 

Ah, after 30 mn, this begins to change significantly: the lemon has completely disappeared and here is the incense coming through. The ozone is getting stronger and now I can feel the menacing/electric bipolarity of this blend. It is sharper and more masculine than in the early stage. Not what I would call a dark scent, though.

 

Nyarlathotep is a pleasant surprise for me. I usually am not a fan of ozone scents, yet I quite liked this. After complete drydown it gets a little too electric and masculine for me to wear, though, but I would recommend it to anyone who likes fresh, clean scents

[Electra]

This is a very, very changeable scent on me. I won't be ordering a bottle (and will probably swap my imp, as it's not really me), but I like it a lot more than I thought I would.

 

Wet: Anise? WTF?

 

Drydown: For about half an hour this smells a lot like Morocco on my skin. Clean and softly spicy.

 

Dry: Much, much, stronger. A strong, dark incense. Church incense. This is actually what I'd expect Cathedral to smell like, though I haven't tried it - it smells exactly like a Catholic church.

[surf-tormented]

Yeah, people have said it before...shiny black. Sunny black, I suppose. The imp was just bursting with flavor and exploded across my bookcase when opened. Exploding with shiny black scent.

 

I don't really like the beginning flashes of bergamot/citrus or the "Rain" type smell, I have smelled in many another oil. By the time the dark incense shows up, I am not very interested. These Diabolus oils, like Lilith and this one, end up almost sunny and joyful on me, not what I am expecting at all. Be darker, dammit.

 

The citrus is now hanging over the resin enough for me not to like it. I think I need citrus or I need resin, not the two together. It confuses me nose.

 

Still, I may keep the imp, just for kicks.

 

I'll try it again in the future after I have just bathed and see if it has the same effect.

[Shollin]

First sniff: A storm-on-the-air scent with a hint of R’lyeh’s grapefruit.

 

Wearing: Nyarlathotep is fresh but dark. Definitely a stormy sea, with low purple-grey clouds threatening more rain to come.

[voodoobaby]

I admit that I ordered this based partly on the name (I'm a Lovecraft fiend) and partly on the mention of incense. When the reviews started coming in and mentioned citrus, it was that rather than the Crawling Chaos that scared me. It ended up pretty friendly, but the rest of the blend later on was a different story.

 

In the bottle: Murky grapefruit, if you can imagine.

 

Wearing: Hmm. It's turning to lemon rind on my skin, with something making it smell fuller and deeper. Maybe fifteen or twenty minutes after application, the incense notes start coming out...and why do I smell leather? It might be that I'm wearing a leather jacket, but I've never smelled leather in any other non-leather scents when wearing the jacket. Still, it's not bad. I was expecting something darker, but it's not bad. That is, until...

 

A couple hours later: Clean laundry with extra fabric softener? Crap. I liked the incense/slight leather/citrus phase, but this is odd. I think I still smell something like myrrh, but there's Downy too. For me it's very clean, and kind of dark lavender color. This scent is not for me, as it just doesn't strike me as very interesting. It will go off in a swap with someone who likes fresh scents.

[phaedrine]

Mmm, Lovecraftian scents! I'm a sucker for anything Lovecraftian.

 

Nyarlathotep in the bottle is sweet, warm and incensey. Not the same as Schezerade or Cathedral at all, but still smells like something I'd burn in my apartment.

 

On, it stays very incensey and warm golden-brown. The ozone creeps in, keeping it very fresh and clean. I can see where some would get fabric softener, but really, this is the fabric softener of the Elder Gods!

 

A keeper...I don't know if I like it enough to buy a bottle, but I do like it enough to buy another imp when this one runs out.

[leapylees]

I'm really not sure what to make of this. In the bottle it smells lemony but in the first hour of wearing it, I found it had quite a wet plastic scent. I can't define it more accurately than that. Now that I've been wearing it for about 5 hours, the scent has calmed down and it reminds me of aftershave on a leather jacket, or something metallic. It has an odd, 'shiny' scent. Conclusion - I'm not sure I get on with ozone.

 

Sorry, this is a really vague review as the scent reminds me of 'things' rather than giving me notes.

 

ETA: Got it! I knew it reminded me of something. It reminds me of the smell of people who have been working with solder, a scent I associate with my late father who was an electronics engineer. Yes, definitely the sweet metallic smell of solder in there somewhere.

Edited January 17, 2005 by leapylees

[Macha]

Ah, Nyarlathotep! My boyfriend and I are both Lovecraft fans. Indeed, the main reason he became interested in BPAL was because they had this fragrance. So we ended up ordering a 5ml of it, untested.

 

In the bottle: Strong, dark incense, a citrus note, and the brief flash of ozone. Interesting.

 

Wet, on skin: The lemon takes center stage for a while. I have a bit of trepidation, as the last lemon scent I tried turned to Pledge on me, but the incense will not allow that to happen with this lemon. I don't smell any bergamot (which someone else mentioned) just the smell of lemon juice, frankincense and myrrh. I find myself think of someone sitting down and writing symbols on paper with lemon juice, so that it dries invisibly and can only be revealed by fire.

 

Dry, on skin: The lemon doesn't fade to complete invisibility, but it does step back like the sun ducking behind clouds. Dark rolling incense and the faint tang of storms fills the air, and it's really quite lovely to have such a palatably evocative feeling from the scent. The ozone and incense work together better than I would have expected. The incense is dark, so much so that it flirts with the chocolate-like richness I adore. The ozone and citrus never let the scent fall too far though, and give it a bit of chaos and edge. The power of suggestion is a wonderful thing of course, but I couldn't help but feel that this perfume inspires a certain sort of calculation, and even has a certain Machiavellian air to it.

 

Conclusion: I really enjoyed this. This perfume didn't make me feel sexy or beautiful. It made me feel smart -- cunning. I found Nyarlathotep to be an invigorating, empowering scent that I would absolutely wear again, particularly if I wanted to feel powerful, calculating and manipulative.

[TheDarkMother]

I have so been looking forward to reviewing this one! I'm really hoping that the horror writer in me will just gush with ideas from this one!

 

In the Bottle: A dark orange and and cloves mixture, maybe with some musk or amber in there as well.

 

On Me: *droop* Lemons. ARGH! *shakes fist as sky* Why do you torment me so, you stupid body chemistry?! THE CRAWLING DARK SHOULD NOT SMELL LEMONY FRESH!!!!

 

*Ahem* Sorry about that. So...where was I? Ah yes, lemons. That was what it smelled like on me. Although its actually morphed already into a darker and smokier blend. The lemon is still slightly in the background, but now there is a musky, smoky blend that I can only describe as the smell of destruction long after the physical evidence is gone. This is the reminder of violence from before, perhaps the hint that the cycle will once again start soon.

 

Even with the lemons this scent is just awesome! I will have to buy a bottle of this one when the imp runs out! This is very, very nice.

[Witch's Dagger]

Nyarlathotep

 

I can’t remember if this was a freebie from the lab, or if I ordered it *blush*

 

Preconceived notions: Finally! Something that sounds both “dark” and “stormy”.

 

In the vial: Very green, with a jolting, electric aquatic streak.

 

On me: This is very citrusy and herbal - crushed, pungent herbs marinating in orange juice.

 

In 15 minutes: Still pungent herbs in orange juice, but it’s not as strong now. Also, there seems to be something soft and sweet that I recognize from other scents as being dark musk. It’s rather similar to Haunted in this way.

 

In 30 minutes: All of the notes are still there, but they’ve deepened, and the musk has come out more. The citrus does add something sharp that seems reminiscent of lightning - the pith of the peel - sharp and biting. The other part of the citrus, the lush orange, does keep this from being a dark scent in my eyes. I’d put it somewhere in the muted area, certainly not bright, but neither light nor dark. And perhaps I’m biased by the scent itself, but this is red-orange in color. Not the color I associate with storms.

 

In 1 hour: No change from what I said 30 minutes ago.

 

Overall: This is very nice. I probably won’t get a big bottle of it, because in general, I’m not fond of citrus scents. This is, however, probably my favorite citrus scent, and I like it more than Haunted. I’ll be keeping my imp.

 

Edited because I've been spelling acquisition too much, and thus spelled aquatic as "acquatic" Gah!

Edited February 26, 2005 by Witch's Dagger

[Countrymouse]

This was not at all what I expected from the description and other reviews. On me it is not lemon/citrus or incense at all. Rather it smells light and fresh, just like air after a warm, spring rain. It's nice. I probably won't buy a big bottle, but will use up the imp.

Edited March 8, 2005 by Countrymouse

[sheepzeit]

I agree with chupachup here, in that I thought this scent would be a smoky, ashy scent. However what I got from it was 100% pure unadulterated fresh cut POTATOES. I have no idea where it came from but it was exactly the noseful I get whilst peeling and chopping potatoes in the kitchen. It's flat and starchy. After a while the scent turns to fresh-cut-potatoes-with-lemon, so off to the swaps it went.

 

I don't think I agree with incense notes.

[pkwench]

Nyarlathotep was one that intruiged me from the descriptions, the reviews, and just the general coolness of its origins. How happy to find it as a freebie imp from the lab, then. There is, definately, something citrus happening, but it's more citrusesque than straight up lemon or related fruits to me. Predominate, for me, is the ozone and incense-which is the combination that intruiged me so and caused me to want to try this. It's a strangely fresh scent with this niggling and dark incense undertone. I love it. It's another imp sampled that I'll add to my bottle list. Thanks, Lab!

[anmorata]

Nyarlathotep:

Wet: Smells like what I think Egypt would smell like after a thunderstorm. I suppose that's the ozone. And then the lemon peeks in. It almost smells like lemon Pledge.

Drydown: Where did the scent go? I seriously smell nothing on my wrist. It's hiding.

Longterm wear: On drydown, this scent almost completely vanished, despite heavy application. There's hints of a rain smell here and there, but that's it. I really expected this to be a lot heavier.. color me surprised.

[Northernminx]

I’m not sure how this managed to be ozone and incense all at once, but it did. Incredibly complex and intriguing, this was a very fresh, earthy but open scent. Clear and cutting while still grounded. Lovely.

[helarctos]

Yow. All I get is citrus from this. At the same time, I know the ozone scents can tend to smell citruslike on me.

 

It's heavy heavy grapefruit. I don't smell any incense.

[tinyvulture]

most ozone scents turn sweet on my skin. this one does, a little bit, but not as much as others, so I can still wear it. it’s not lemony on me at all, yay. the clean, crisp scent of the ozone contrasts with something slightly burnt and smoky – in a good way. it’s like ashes leftover from a campfire. overall, this scent is very “outdoorsy.” it reminds me of camping out in the woods during a storm, which was probably not intended, but I dig it.