Ad Montes Oculos Levavi

[Smaragdina]

To the hills we raise our eyes…

 

A dark legacy: unbending teakwood and blood musk.

I'm first? Yeek! Bear in mind this is fresh out of the mailbox

In the bottle: This is SHARP (Sharpe, anyone? No?). On first sniff, I get very biting woods. On second sniff, there's the softer musk wafting around the edges.

Wet: I'm being smacked in the face by a metal-sheathed piece of wood (it must be the blood musk that's giving me the 'metal' impression). There's something almost SOUR going on here. I don't mean that in a negative way, I mean "sour" in the sense that sour candies are sour, but it's... where is that coming from? What the hell did I just put on my wrist?

Drydown: Whoa, this morphs quick, and in a good way. The punch-you-in-the-face metal/wood vanishes and I'm left with a very smooth, dusty musk scent. Almost sweet. It reminds me very strongly of some Lush scent. I'm still getting flashes of that cold sour-y bite, especially in the throw. I don't smell wood. In fact I keep huffing my wrist trying to figure out WHAT I'm smelling.

Dry: It keeps morphing! The sour-candy note is nicely married to the sweet musk now. Good throw: I'm testing four Crimson Peak scents on my wrists and hands right now, and this is the one I keep getting whiffs of as I type. It's gonna take me a while to decide how MUCH I like this, but it's nice!!

[Haltija]

This one is incredibly strange but yet I cannot stop sniffing while it's on.

 

I agree with the two previous reviewers in saying that it is extremely woodsy, almost metallic in a sense. I get this bitter, biting and very sour almost medicinal thing happening when it's wet. When it begins drying I almost get the faintest hint of......... cinnamon? I know cinnamon distinctly and that's seriously what I smell, what a odd little thing. The blood musk smells like red musk to my nose. Truthfully it almost smells like a little spicy version of The Forbidding Foyer on me, interesting.

 

I definitely don't need a bottle of this one but I want to keep my decant to see what aging does to it.

[annemathematics]

in the imp, the scent is a high and bright cologne.

when applied, the cologne aspect dies down quickly and I smell a bright, light wood and a rich musk.

 

this musk is adorable. it's like a little gothic teddy bear musk. a tattered and faded red velvet teddy bear musk. with some expensive, beautifully carved and slightly varnished fancy woodwork.

 

the throw is nice but it fades quickly, something experience has taught me will improve in a month or so. future bottle buy.

 

[Poenari]

This has notes that I love, so I had high hopes. On my skin, the teakwood is noticeable and the blood musk gives it a slightly spicy tinge. It is exactly as I had hoped, although my skin tends to eat it up. After an hour I can barely smell it. I really want to upgrade my decant of this to a bottle, but I will have to test it again. If it continues to fade so quickly on my skin, I will be disappointed because it's so perfect in every other way.

[Atrous]

I've tested this twice.

I made the mistake of testing this right out of the mailbox (on a very cold day) the first time. It was sharp and sour in an unpleasant way. And, it was amping spices to the point of being overpowering.

 

It's had about two weeks to settle for the second test. This time its so much better.

Its a morpher

On first application its heavy on the Teakwood with a metallic haze. As it dries, the musk comes out more and more accompanied by some spiciness. I'm getting some subtle florals too.

Once dry the floral aspect all but disappears. Its a perfect marriage of teak and musk seamlessly blended into one another. Just the right amount of metallic and spicy elements - not too much.

The musk has a bit of a green musk feel to it. There's an interesting depth for a scent with only two notes listed in the description.

 

The only downside is that, yes, it does fade rather quickly. I love this scent but, because it disappears, I'm on the fence about a bottle. Aging and another test are in order to see if it retains some longevity.

[zankoku_zen]

Teak, black musk, blood musk. This one smells like the darkest and most foreboding of all of the Crimson Peaks I've tried. Fairly masculine and the entire combination actually smells to me like blood soaked black leather. Good throw, good wearlength.

 

Blood soaked black leather.

[sprout]

Teak wood and blood musk perfectly melded. Initially the teak dominates, the musk on drydown. I didn't smell anything extraneous to the listed notes: no metal or blood. Teak wood is it's own thing, it smells like well polished, hard wood furniture: Slightly sharp and high end. Blood musk is less skanky than red, less citrus than black, and not high pitched like white. It strikes a balance between red and black, more like the feral musk in Baby Goat or Coyote, but slightly more mineral, and it hints of blood, like iron or red clay. It suggests these things, rather than smelling like them.

 

Perfect! Very bpal. Very woody. As I'm a woods and a musk girl, this is my thang. Bottle worthy.

Edited December 20, 2015 by sprout

[porcelina]

oohhh i love the blood musk note in here. it's like an ever-so-slightly metallic red musk over a delicious teakwood background. so sweet, dark and musky. i love it!

[Little Bird]

I enjoy blood musk, so I enjoy this scent. It's sort of like a less warm, more smooth version of red musk with a bit of cinnamon spiciness and a metallic edge. The teakwood also smells dark, smooth and, well, like wood. Dark and sexy.

[LizziesLuck]

Wet: Dark, woody, a little spicy. Sexy. The musk in this is sweet and heady. There's something almost resinous about it. I am loving it so far. It's hovering just on the edge of masculine on me.

 

 

Dry: This is really good. The musk goes a bit powdery, but in a way that I like. It's very dark and rich. I do like it a lot, but am having a hard time imagining wearing it. I would love to smell it on a guy too, I think it's fairly unisex.

[tinyvulture]

Teak, my goodness, I've always had a thing for you, but you're even more darkly elegant than usual here, mixed with sultry blood musk which is all sweet, resinous warmth. It's a dope pairing and also somehow reminds me of Indian restaurant incense. Ha!

[AirimirOfGondor]

This is super nice! Blood musk is one of my favorite scents - it just seems to be perfect with everything! :3

 

Wet, this is very sharp, kind of astringent and a little cologne-y, with a twang of metal.

 

Dry, it is more mellow; softly spicy, with a smooth sweetness. It is kind of subtle, but complex.

 

For some reason I keep thinking of cork, or maybe a wood-drying rack - one that has a whole lot of different kinds of wood on it.

 

It doesn't seem to have much throw though - I need to stick my nose really close to my arm to get anything. I just put it on maybe 5 or 10 minutes ago, so I guess I'll have to see how long it lasts.

 

All in all, I don't think I need a whole bottle, but I'll definitely use the decant I have.

[Cali]

First impressions: camp in elementary school. Woodsy and something which resembles vetiver.

It gets pretty sophisticated and slightly sweet on drydown, but fades a lot on me unfortunately. If I had the money, I'd still get a bottle though as it's once again a beautiful blend, soft and dark, from the crimson peak collection.