Little Metalmark

[MuskWitch]

Nagarmotha and sweet musk.

Little Metalmark, in the bottle, Hmmmm. It reminds me of something ...... and I get the musk. On my skin, a little bit woodsy (NOT pencil shavings or BBQ, which some wood scents do on my skin), sweet, and maybe musk. I like it. But I don't LOVE it.

After about 15 minutes dry time, still a nice scent, but I think my bottle will be plenty. I'll let it sit for a week or so and try it again, sometimes a rest will make a difference!

Wellllll, a little rest didn't make much of a difference. This is still pretty much a "brown" scent, musky, woodsy, a little bit of something sweet in there. I'm not sure if I'm glad I got a bottle or not. Time will tell. It isn't immediately a "swap" bottle, but it isn't a keep either. Try it again in a while and see what happens.

[MCS4096]

From what I found via Google about nagarmotha, I was expecting something a little more leathery or herbal... My first thought upon sniffing it in the bottle is that it must have some vetiver in it. Once on it opens up a bit and you get more nuances-- the fuzziness of the musk, a soft woodiness that's less like cedar in smell than it is like the softness of cedar wood to the touch... but I still think there's vetiver here because I get that slightly sour smokey burned-vegetation scent. I dont personally find it overwhelming here because so much is going on, but it is unexpected.

 

I'd say this is like the brown fuzzy musk from Brown Jenkins-- it almost has a hint of coconut husk like that blend has, plus a little soft wood and a dash of well-behaved vetiver. I think this will probably age very nicely and become more mellow with time.

[Lycanthrope]

I was very excited about Little Metalmark, and overall it's not a wow on me. I was particularly interested in Nagarmotha (Cypriol), which is described as vetiver-like, woodsy.

 

In the bottle and wet this smells sweet, so I can detect the 'sweet musk.' It reminds me a little bit of smoke, sweetgrass incense smoke. On my skin, the musk pops for maybe about five minutes before being gobbled up completely by a vetiver-like, very smoky woodsiness. The wood is dry feeling, crackly, like a smoother cedar, but without the sharp shavings-like aroma (no pencils!) The smoke continues to amp, so this gets more gritty over time. It does kind of dry down to a slightly sweet, rounded, complicated dry wood, not terribly powdery, and not as deep or thrummy as sandalwood... but similar.

 

I don't think I will need more than this bottle, since throw and longevity is quite good. I would say if you like Cathedral, anything of Beth's that is woodsy or atmospheric, or a more natural scent, you should try Little Metalmark.

 

I am, however, curious now about getting some pure Nagarmotha EO.

[poofie]

An interesting scent. I wasn't sure what to expect, but I couldn't resist ordering it. Wet on my skin, I almost got a kind of peanut butter smell, which was odd! After it dried, it's a little sweet, a little musky, and a little almost-leathery-almost-cologney-woody smell. Reminds me a bit of leather, a bit of sandalwood. I generally like it although I can't wear leather scents. It verges on masculine to me, which I do kind of like. Overall, I'm intrigued enough to keep it and see how it ages, as it's not like anything else I have.

[Alaeidrel]

I'm a little confused by this, honestly. It's pleasant... but it smells exactly like Atlas , minus the mallow. It's got the sharp, woody smoke I love in both Kit and Atlas, and a sweet musk... but then it dries down and is a complete dupe for both. I'm super confused. Guess I'm not keeping it...

[Zii]

This smells amazing in the imp. It's a soft warm and woodsy, almost leathery scent. But this is very much a sweet leather, which must be the sweet musk.

 

Wet, my skin almost completely seems to nom this. I get no throw at all. Adding a little more, I get a sweet, musky close to the skin scent. It's sweet and really nice, but it absolutely clings to the skin and has no throw at all. I dabbed a little on my wrist, and that seemed to help some. This is the first scent that I would really describe as an amplification of my own natural scent. It's warming up into this subtle but spicy scent with some cedar and something that smells like sweet leather, but must be the musk.

 

This is a scent that really needs to be put on my pulse points for it to throw much, but it's a really snuggly and calm scent which I like a lot.

 

-edit-

The second imp I got was much stronger, so it seems that the throw may have been a quirk of the bottle and not the perfume itself. The perfume is still amazing though.

Edited September 23, 2014 by Zii

[Balame]

This is soothing. It kind of smells like the desert after it rains. Like damp sand and all the little herbs and hardy plants suddenly getting reinvigorated.

 

Not to completely contradict Alaeidrel, maybe our skin chemistry is different, but for me this smells nothing like Atlas (and it's my favorite BPAL blend). It's not very smoky to me at all and instead has a sort of hazy, almost leathery tinge like others have described.

 

I’ve only smelled nagarmotha in Molly before, and here it’s just as nice. It’s an herbal and woodsy scent, kind of like a soft cedar bark combined with something sweeter like thyme. The musk is subdued and makes it gentle, but at the same time this blend gives a sense of anticipation.

 

I guess it’s not quite the desert after a rain, but the wetness in the air you smell right before the storm. Quite evocative.

[ReallyZeb]

In the bottle it smelled quite sharp and I worried, but once it has dried down it is sweet cuddly musk with a woody sharpness in the background. It very much smells of old hippy shop to me, slightly dusty and dry spicyness. I'd agree with Balame about it evoking the air just before it rains. It's beautiful.

[Little Bird]

This smells just like the vetiver that bpal uses that reminds me of mesquite bbq. It's like smoky, charred cedar planks with sweet bbq sauce. This is even more reminiscent of the bbq sauce part than usual, though, and is slightly less smoky. It starts off strong, but has faded away almost entirely by the 1 hour mark.

[Ilex]

Initially I'm sort of reminded of permanent marker smell. Harsh.

 

It quickly mellows though. Mostly musk, kind of oily almost. Cologne-y. A little old incense like. But somehow compelling. Its more complicated than I thought at first. There is something powdery about it. Hmm... I wish this was more herbal/woody on me, but the musk is really dominating and it is super sweet.

 

I really don't have a strong verdict on this. I alternate between finding it interesting and kind of ho hum. It did kick off a headache, but I don't know if that was the perfume or the weather.

[zankoku_zen]

Warm, woodsy musk.

 

This smells like old incense and intensely smooth sandalwood. Slightly Asian in vibe.

 

Deep, warm, woods.

[Astarial]

In the imp this is VERY musky. Sweet musk, a little bit nutty, but very strong. Wowza.

 

Wet on my skin, it's smoky, leathery, and musky. I'd say it's a very very wearable leather! Leather rarely works on me - it gets super chemically leather that just smells sharp - so I love it. It stays pretty stable while it dries, though my brain switches between interpreting it as "snuggly man smell" and "clean fluffy cuddly pet smell." There's something about it that evokes memories of my kitty curling up on my pillow right next to my face and breathing in her scent while falling asleep. It's definitely stronger than she ever smelled, and not really the same... but there's a strong animalistic association nonetheless. I miss my kitty dreadfully, so this was a surprisingly comforting (if also somewhat heartbreaking) sleep scent for me.

[ClockworkMoM]

On me, this dries as a light musk, with a slight woodsy feel to it. It is comforting and somewhat unisex. I rather like it, as it is quite different than other scents that I typically wear. I also think it might pair amazingly well with Chorion hair gloss!

[Magycmyste]

Well, I'm very curious about nagarmotha. Let's see how it plays on my skin.

 

In the imp: Well, I smell the sweet musk. Or more patchouli. I seem to be smelling patchouli in a lot of these today.

 

Wet on skin: Same as before. Sweet with a bit of incense.

 

Dried down: Same as before, but a little softer. And I am getting a bit of vetiverness (I think that's what the nagarmotha smells like)

 

Throw: Mostly the sweet musk.

 

Verdict: *** This isn't bad, but its not as special as I was hoping. I think I'll hang onto this one awhile, though, see if it ages well.

[Lady_Fire]

This smells nutty. Specifically, like peanuts. I can definitely smell the musk, but this weird peanut-y note overpowers everything else. There's something sweet in the background that I can just barely detect. This one is not for me.

[Caper]

I, uh, whoa. In the decant, this was woodsy and a little sweet. Fairly simple and did remind me a touch of Atlas. As soon as I put it on, I got a straight Harris Ranch, the dreaded section of I-5, nothing but cowpies. So weird!

 

I tried sniffing multiple times, but nope. It was to gagging levels. It did settle a bit to a woodsy ickiness, but then I scrubbed it off. This one is definitely not for me.

[Gateau]

Wet this smells like a blend of incense and sweet musk. It gets sharper, and then it's a dead ringer for whatever I associate with the Lab's leather note (which happens to be a note I don't care for). If you love it, though, you should definitely get this. Not for me, but i'm glad I got to sample it and pin down that association.

[milo]

Resins at first, kind of like a sweetened frankincense. After a bit, still sweeter, but it as faded somewhat. This is quite lovely, it is totally bpal. It reminds me a bit of Zenobia, the warrior queen from a few years back. I like this, but not sure how much I'd wear it, as I gave up Zenobia back in the day too. A decant would be nice though...

[mymymai]

• ITI: Hmm, that’ interesting. I certainly do get the impression of a light nutty, slightly masculine woody leather (the nagarmotha) on top of a much more unassuming, lighter musk. There is a bit more of a resinous, smoky tone than I had initially anticipated from just those two notes. It reminds me of smoldering frankincense while burning cedar planks for a tasty meal on a dusky twilight eve.

Wet: There we go, it reminds me of vetiver, but more resinous and with a touch of leather and tones of musk. Perhaps with just a smattering of a bright copper oil as well. Either way. I like it, although it does remind me of some of the Phoenix Steamworks type scents than something from the Metamorphosis collection.

Dry: Wow, the staying power on this one is impressing. I’m at nearly 24 hours and I can clearly pick out a really nice smoky resin. It’s like Vetiver SN, Smokestack, and Myrrh SN all combined to have a really gorgeous love-child.

[LizziesLuck]

Love musk! Gotta try it!

 

 

Wet: Wait, what the heck is nagarmotha? Ha ha. Reminds me of....vetiver? But different? Some kind of dried plant, at least. Interesting. Woody. Hmm!! Intrigued.

 

 

Dry: A really interesting scent, much different than anything I have smelled. It's sweet and woody and musky. I don't really think it's something I would wear, but I am glad to have tried it!