Krampus' Chains

[patina]

Black licorice and rusted musk with tobacco absolute and myrrh.

Sniffing, lid shut: Some kind of fusty musk. Not good.
Sniffing, lid open: Smooth, vanilla licorice, nothing else.

On: Tobacco. Orange and vanilla flavored tobacco. And licorice. It's hard to tell where the tobacco stops and the licorice begins. The orange isn't sharp. Maybe it's the 'rusty musk' in the scent description? I know tobacco isn't supposed to be foody but I get a faint cloud of warm vanilla tobacco wafting around me and I want to eat my arm right now. So. Good.

Not recommended for people who hate licorice, but if you really like tobacco and don't mind licorice (or you're actually a licorice fan like me), this is excellent.

 

Edit: on the drydown, I'm starting to think the orange might all have been in my head, but it did smell very much like a light orange note mixed in with the tobacco.

Edited December 24, 2014 by patina

[Ordo_ad_Chao]

In the bottle and wet on my arm, I actually made my "ew, why did I get this again?" face. It was all - stale tobacco in a rusted tin, maybe?

 

But once it's dry? ohhhhhhh. Oh, my. I don't get any orange here at all. This is a lovely licorice, faint and light, much like Le Pere Fouettard. It clings to darkness and shadows, heavy and dragging, and more than a little evil. The tobacco is tempered by the musk and myrrh to give an aura of sweet, heavy darkness and candied whispers. This has made me all but swoon.

 

Here's the thing- tobacco notes usually hate me. French Tobacco SN was horrid on my skin. This, unlike almost any other tobacco note ever, works. It blooms and blends into a whole scent experience where the notes are nearly indistinguishable from one another. If you're someone for whom tobacco doesn't usually work, and you liked Le Pere Fouettard for its dark licorice, you may love this.

[Allumina]

KRAMPUS' CHAINS WHY DON'T YOU LOVE ME. My chemistry destroyed this one. All the notes in this were so incredibly exciting, except myrrh, which is a death note on me, and which I someone ignored in my lust for licorice. Unfortunately, the minute this hits my skin the myrrh takes over and turns straight to baby powder, with a strength and intensity that's impressive. I catch the faint note of some delicious, fancy tobacco underneath it, but barely. I briefly wondered if maybe I just smell myrrh differently, so I dabbed a bit on a handkerchief. ...it's definitely my chemistry. The handkerchief smelled of lovely tobacco and musk, with a hint of powdery myrrh in the background.

 

Super sad because I adore licorice scents. Stupid chemistry. If your skin doesn't destroy things, it's probably gorgeous though.

[zankoku_zen]

Licorice, orange tobacco, and rusty metal. Krampus Chains, you are so confusing on me. I get a ton of licorice, and as it dries both the orange, and tobacco come out. After about 40 minutes, I get rusty metal in the background. This one smell vaguely masculine to me, but in general just really weird. Low throw, average wear length.

 

Licorice, orange, and metal.

[annemathematics]

when the trading post update arrived, and opened with that adorable art and THIS SCENT, I knew I was in trouble.

I love licorice...and tobacco...and musk and myrrh always bring something to the party. this was a blind bottle buy and I'm so happy I went for it, as it smells amazing! it's quite cologne-y, with licorice as the bright top note and a rich and chewy base of musk, resin and leaf.

 

theres' something about it that reminds me a little of hellboy (although that scent didn't quite do it for me) and lacus mortis (which I do enjoy, although this is much much lighter and easier to wear).

 

this. thank you, goblins!

[Gwydion]

In bottle: Fascinating. Licorice dominant, but beautifully blended with the strong musk and gentler tobacco. The myrrh pops, but plays well with the others. There really is a hint of rust about this. This is really different from other licorice blends I’ve encountered, being a musk/incense blend rather than foody. Weirdly sexy. Wet: Somehow completely different on my skin. I think we’ve wandered into the land of accidental accords where my brain mis-parses components, so odds are you won’t experience this. If I didn’t know better, I’d think this was a citrus blend as there is a tartness to it. The rust becomes blood. The licorice, tobacco, and myrrh swirl together by some strange alchemy to make something…almost floral, as if a carnation was licorice instead of spice, if that makes sense. The musk and blood say rough sex to me. It’s sweet and disturbing and darkly sexual all at once. It does stay licorice dominant, and with time the disturbing dials down to a licorice floral sexy. Dry: Licorice stays stong with a sexy musk undercurrent.

[milo]

I love me some black licorice to eat, but not necessarily to smell like it. This one is heavy on the metal, which is not a good thing, as metal does not smell pleasant on me, rather tingy, and abrasive. After a bit, the licorice comes out, and it's making me want to go out and get those licorice pipes, or the strong Aussie black stuff. Once the metal calms down, it's not too bad, but too masculine for me to wear, and besides I have plain old Krampus, who is pretty awesome. No need for more.

[Elspethdixon]

Aging must do something amazing to this blend, because I got relatively little licorice or metal/rust from it. On me, it was primarily a cozy/snuggly tobacco/myrrh, with the myrrh doing that soft, powdery thing myrrh sometimes does on me. A hint of licorice/anise was there at the beginning, and I could detect some metallic notes trying to peek through occasionally, but for the most part, Krampus' Chains were the softest brown-velvet-lined padded leather cuffs. Apparently, bad children really just need a nap, and Krampus is going to gently cuddle them to sleep.

[Lucchesa]

I agree with the previous reviewer that if you like myrrh, Krampus' Chains has aged into something snuggly and delicious.  The myrrh has definitely taken over the aging process.  I got no metal or rust note and maybe the faintest bit of red musk.  The tobacco is more of a chewy sweet warmth than a definite tobacco note.  But I was here for the licorice, and I got plenty of that, not overwhelming but a subtle complement to the myrrh.  It's smooth and creamy and unisex, with a little throw (more than my skin usually allows me) and good wear length.  Very nice. 

[DiZZysTARdust]

definitely agree with the last few reviews. very snuggly and powdery. i assumed the rusty musk would be a red musk but sniffing the bottle it seems like it may actually be more of a black musk based on how powdery it smells (black musk on me is very powdery). i’m guessing that’s also the myrrh coming through.

 

on at first is very warm, powdery, and golden. not in a baby powder way, i agree with other reviews calling it “snuggly”. i’m not getting an orange note myself. i also don’t detect much of the tobacco chewiness. 

 

as it dries the powderiness tones down just a touch, just enough to allow some of the licorice to come through without becoming licorice candy. it’s not too sweet, it actually kind of cuts through the snuggliness to give kind of the vibe of metal/rust coming through.

 

i adore this. definitely much less scary than i was expecting based on previous experience with the scent krampus that is very bold, woody, and red musky. this is a much gentler, quieter krampus wearing a christmas sweater