The Mark

[theshapeshifter]

White sandalwood and white leather, bourbon vanilla and bourbon vetiver.

Am I first? (apologies to the mods if I get the protocol wrong)

In the bottle: Sinister vanilla.

Wet on skin: The vanilla and vetiver predominate - I was curious about this combination, but I LOVE IT. The vetiver is more smoky than green/murky as it can sometimes be (maybe this is the difference with 'bourbon vetiver?)

15 minutes in: The sandalwood is coming out a little more; the leather is still sort of lurking in the background. The sandalwood is giving the scent a dry, powdery (not baby powder!) character now.

I will update if it changes significantly with further wear. I'm hoping it doesn't go *too* powdery, because so far it's very sexy. I'm surprised I'm the first to review it!

 

Update: It did not go any more powdery, I'm happy to report. It was interesting, because after several (10?) hours The Mark was quite faint if I deliberately tried to sniff my wrist, but it was still mysteriously hovering around me. This scent is not as in-your-face as one might expect with a leather/vetiver combo - very wearable and not 'too sexy for work'. It will be interesting to see how this one ages. I like it a lot!

Edited February 21, 2016 by theshapeshifter

[Little Bird]

Faint, blackened, ashy vetiver with the vanilla and powdery white sandalwood giving it a delicately sweet scent that's reminding me of coconut husk. Woody, warm and lightly sweet. For a vetiver scent, this is surprisingly light.
After 5 minutes, this smells like a lighter, watered down version of the GC blend The White Rider. Powdery white sandalwood and buttery suede leather with vanillic tones.
After 15 minutes, it has disappeared entirely, even from the points where I slathered.
Absolutely no throw or staying power.
Half a year later, this is even lighter and heading to my swap pile.

Edited September 12, 2016 by Little Bird

[Dark Alice]

First off...vetiver. Good Grief...*wet*

 

As it dries the vanilla comes out....but it is barely there on me. Oddly enough, the white leather isn't strong here either which is odd b/c I amp leather. The sandalwood has softened this up quite a bit so I am left with a smooth sandalwood, light vanilla with a wisp of white leather scent on me.

 

Not a true fan but I am glad I got to try it.

[Tramp]

The Mark, this was the last of my luper bottle buys that I tried. I left it for last because I was all wussy afraid of the vetiver. Dumb of me. Yes in the bottle and first on it is all VETIVER but after 5 minutes it mellows out and is all gorgeous dry vanilla sandalwood. The vetiver just makes it a deeper, richer scent. Totally win.

[Honor]

I didn't think I was going to want a bottle of this at first; but by the end of the day, I wound up changing my mind.

In bottle: Smoky leather and sandalwood. There’s almost a peanut-butter smell from the sandalwood. This isn’t unusual for me; for some reason my nose thinks some forms of sandal wood is peanut butter.

Wet on skin: The peanut-butter disappears(yay), and it's all sandalwood with a musky quality.

Drying: The leather emerges! Suddenly very leather heavy, with a “smooth” soft base. The leather dominates for about an hour though.

Dry down: (about 2 hours after applying) The leather is still really prominent, with the sandalwood and a hint of smooth vanilla underneath.

Throughout the day/overall: The Mark remains leather forward after dry down which is surprising as my skin tends to “eat” leather. The sandalwood and vanilla meld together beautifully to create a soft, smooth base for the leather.

The village is moderate, it stays a bit close to skin. Duration is ok, at least 5 hours. By the 6th hour it starts to fade.

Overall this more complex than I originally thought it might be, the sandalwood tricked me! I’m curious to see how it ages, and I think I might need a bottle!

[zankoku_zen]

I am hoping this works out on the hubby, because its subtly manly sexy. I get vanilla, white sandalwood and leather. And it smells phenomenal. Decent throw and wear length. Definitely a masculine sandalwood/vanilla with a touch of leather.

 

Dead on for sinister, sexy vanilla.

 

UGH. SO GOOD.

 

...

 

Wait, this is horrible, horrible, sinister vanilla. You'll all hate it. All of you. Just send your untouched bottles to me. I'll safely dispose of this.

[theseagrows]

i get vetiver and vanilla at the outset. this is a strong, smoky vetiver. something smells almost nutty, but i think it's just the vetiver. i get hints of the sandalwood a couple minutes later. the vanilla gets stronger and warms this up nicely. this is reminding me strongly of another BPAL but i can't place it right now. it seems to be mostly vanilla and vetiver with a hint of sandalwood. nice, but not amazing on me.

[Convallaria]

I tested it on skin and cotton.

 

On cotton: At the opening, woods come out to play. It's smoky and masculine, not sweet at all. Vanilla comes through several hours later, but it's still predominantly sandalwood+vetiver.

 

On skin: At the start I can smell all four quoted notes at the same time, at about same intensity. The impression is from afar is still smoky masculine, but it feels much more complex (and androgynous) when sniffed closely. In drydown, vanilla takes over gradually. Both phases last long.

 

Overall: Will wear on skin, probably won't be using it in aroma jewelry.

[blacksambuca]

This is such a sexy scent. To me it's strong, rich vetiver throughout, from the bottle to the wet and dry stages. As it dries the softer elements emerge more, with the vanilla and sandalwood supporting the vetiver and leather. If you're a vetiver fan, you NEED this in your collection.

[Coldfire]

Decant: powder-y vanilla and dirt
Wet on me: sandalwood and dirt
Drying Down: vanilla leather sandalwood, comforting
Dry: this is love. warm and sweet but not sugar sweet with that leather lurking lustfully in the background. Keep!!

[bookandbroom]

I'm genuinely shocked this isn't more popular. Don't be afraid of the bottle smell - in the bottle this smells like nail polish remover to my nose! But once it's on, and had a few minutes to settle, it's evil vanilla smeared on saddle leather. It's actually borderline TOO sweet for me, which is probably just my vanilla-insane chemistry. I want more vetiver, but it's smothered under the sweet aspect of leather, and all that evil vanilla. It's pretty hot, in a bad-boy-smirking-at-you-from-the-back-of-the-bar way. If you like leather, if you like vanilla, if you adore leather and vanilla: try it. Let it get past the damp phase. You won't likely regret it.

 

SIGH.

[lookingglass]

So. Much. YES! The is beautiful, earthy, dank, leathery, vanilla...a homage to bondage. Slather. Yum. Lasts for hours.

[artisjok]

Heavy leather and white sandalwood grinding against each other, with vetiver dancing wickedly around them.

It’s a sharper than I expected, maybe because I’m not getting much bourbon vanilla. 
Everything melts into a softer scent with time... I see the vanilla peeking out, though it stays subtly in the background. The vetiver tang becomes the most obvious note. 
I think the scent is too dry for my tastes. Sandalwood is often that way for me, so I’m not too surprised.... It’s a great cowboy-type scent, and I could see it being fabulously badass on someone else! 

Happy to have finally gotten the chance to try this leather. 
 

This has massive wear length on me!

Edited June 8, 2020 by artisjok

[supreme_c0rt]

Wow this is stunning. Two Sheep and Two Goats but with the perfect amount of sueded, shaggy leather to give this a sexy, rugged kick. It's cozy and nibbly and suits me to a tee. I would love to find a bottle of this someday. 😍

[alyelle]

In the imp: Vetiver up front, pushy as ever; hidden in the background is a sweet and sultry vanilla and a little bit of smokey leather.

 

Wet: Vanilla and vetiver, splashed over with bourbon.

 

Dry: Quite short in terms of its lifespan, which makes identifying all the stages of morph tricky. I aged it in the hope that the staying power would improve but it looks like 6ish hours is the upper limit on me.

 

Stars: ★★★