The Wild Men of Jezirat Al Tennyn (2016)

[LizziesLuck]

You are shocked out of the torch song’s melancholy mood by shrieks, hoots, and yowls. You move to your left, and see that instead of a stage, a gigantic iron cage has been hung, hovering a few feet off of the ground. Elaborate, delicate silver sigils are engraved upon huge iron disks that have been mounted to the sides of the cage, and they flicker and spark whenever one of the wild men touches the iron bars that imprison them. The backdrop depicts a blistering volcanic eruption, spiked with thick luminescent bolts of lightning. Several beings are held within the cage, male and female, spanning every age. They flash their razor-fanged smiles at you malevolently as they anxiously crawl, pace, and stalk the length of their prison, stopping occasionally to pose and preen as they gossip with one another in an unrecognizable guttural, grinding language. Their tattooed skin glows an angry crimson, curving horns protrude from their skulls, and their eyes blaze with unholy light.

Fiery, primal, and precociously diabolical: red amber, Spanish moss, Indonesian patchouli, ambergris, sweet ambrette seed, red pepper, two cloves, and vanilla flower.

Wet: Clove - sweet and a little smoky. Not overwhelming, as clove often is on me. This is soft and alluring. This is a dry soft of spice. The amber is sweet and grounding.

Dry: Dry, slightly sweet, slightly dusty clove, with amber underneath. There's not a ton of complexity to this on me, despite all the notes. I do, however, like it a lot anyway. I love that even though clove is still dominant on me, I haven't amped it to high heaven like usual. This is warm and exotic. It's almost smoky. I can't stop sniffing it, it's very intriguing. I may do a full day test, but I feel like at least a partial bottle is in my future. Also, I adore the name.

ETA: I haven't tried the original release, so can't compare.

[annemathematics]

happy happy
joy joy

because of my joyous chemistry, sometimes red pepper in perfume makes me think I'm wearing chutney. and sometimes clove amps in the drydown in an acrid way that must be washed off with the most thorough of soaps. neither of those things are happening here, and I'm pleased as punch that I went for a blind bottle on this beauty because it's a fantastic unisex spicy red amber blend. A little bit fiery and a little bit dry, but mostly smooooooooth as all get-out.

Edited June 27, 2016 by annemathematics

[zankoku_zen]

Oh god. This actually smells much better on me than the previous incarnation. I get a ton of cloves, amber, ambergris/moss and a touch of patchouli and vanilla. Like a hotter, manlier version of Voodoo Queen? Yeah, its that sexy clove note. At this point, whatever clove that the Lab is using is totally working for me. UNF.

 

Sadly low throw and wear length, but I may need some of this in the future. mr. zee_zee totally has to test this one.

[Little Bird]

I like this version of Wild Men so much more than the previous one. The previous version went dirty and sour smelling on my skin, where this is so smooth, warm, and lightly sweetened. I'm mainly smelling the red amber and clove with a bit of patchouli and a gourmand sweetness from the vanilla flower (the clove & vanilla flower mesh together for a scent that's like baking cookies that are starting to burn around the edges, but sexier). Red amber is warm, sultry and resinous, and not turning to baby powder at all. I love the patchouli used in this too. It's a chewy, dark, sweet, almost damp sort of earthiness.

 

I'm having a hard time describing this blend, because it is so SO good. Sort of like vanilla & clove cookies roasting over some warm, resinous, sexy amber with dabs of patchouli that's sweet and earthy-damp-tobacco-esque. A little masculine-cologne-like as it dries down, but sweet and dark and certainly not a traditional cologne.

 

Sweet, resinous, clove. Amazing. I want backup bottles.

[Convallaria]

Surprisingly sweet based on what you'd expect from the notes. The reviews were a forewarning, but I still expected the spices to be at least somewhat sharp. The drydown is sweet vanilla. No moss, no fire and not the kind of diabolical I was picturing. Overall low throw. I guess I should search for the old one.

Edited June 27, 2016 by Convallaria

[Casablanca]

Preconceptions: This sounds red. I'm not sure how Indonesian patchouli is for me (I mostly avoid the patch), but this rest of this sounds winning.

In the bottle, I smell red and amber, but bottle sniffing limits everything.

On my skin, the blend's lovely spice and more subtle qualities open up: I get red amber and spice mostly, with a well-blended earthy backdrop. Spanish moss always smells earthy and welcoming to me -- it reminds me of fig in that way. This blend smells red and spicy-brown with a band of muted green here and there, and it's lovely.

Over a couple hours, the spice grows on me. It's a good blend: spicy without going all festive holiday.

[Cali]

Hmmm... It's like the sea rat mixed with the old Mme moriarty but slightly greener and dryer.

Holy morpher batman!! I was super in love with it just now but as it dried the lush reddishness, that sticky warm goodness is nearly completely gone, and now I'm left with a slightly woodsy mix of spices. Still... very good for sure!
But I was way crazier about it on first application. N'aw.

 

What's good about it is that I learned that whatever is in here (I'm guessing mostly the red pepper) is a good replacement for saffron. I nearly freaked out for a bit there thinking this note was in here (though... knowing in the back of my mind that it isn't)... and it definately has those qualities... without making me sick! Yay!

[Lucchesa]

I never tried the earlier version of the Wild Men of Jezirat al Tennyn. This one is sweet, spicy, and clove-dominant on me. The patchouli is very smooth; don't let it scare you away if you are not a patchouli fan. I think the moss and ambergris kind of keep it in check. I'm not head over heels in love with this, but I like it a lot.

[doomsday_disco]

My decant is from 2019. I never tried the original.

This one starts off as a spicy moss scent on me. I get lots of moss with some clove and red pepper. There's a burst of spice for a moment, but it ends up mellowing out. Then the ambrette seed joins in, lending its muskiness to the scent, and after that, the red amber jumps into the mix, making this a lightly-spiced resinous, musky, mossy scent on me. The vanilla did not show up on me, sadly.

This is nice, but not something I could really see myself reaching for.

[theredkilt]

This is a beautiful spicy moss, delicately clad on a bed of amber patchouli. I can discern the clove, but it behaves beautifully and doesn't scream at you.  This blend is a bit reminiscent of A Wild and Naught Girl, yet it's much more gentle and calmer than the latter.

If you prefer quiet smokey clove scents, try it.

[lilyluxe]

This perfume is definitely one of my all-time faves. The ambergris and pepper give it a delightfully magical feel. It's almost got a hot and cold sensation to the way it smells. I was a bit scared of it in the bottle, because the pepper is strong enough to tickle my nose!

I put off testing it for a while, but holy cannolis I am glad that I did. 

As it dries down, the pepper drifts into the background, and this becomes a wonderfully unique spiced amber. The vanilla lends a bit of smoothness to the blend. I have far too many amber perfumes in my collection, and this one shines above them! This really does smell like demon magic- sultry and a bit scary! I typically struggle with clove and avoid it because it usually either overpowers or does... cat pee things. It behaves really well here and stays smelling like proper clove until the perfume wears away. I get pretty good longevity from this one, more than most amber based Bpals I have tried- lasts a good 6 hours. 

The patchouli doesn't seem to be particularly wild in this one, but I am a terrible judge as a huge fan of all forms of rank patchouli lol.

[starbrow]

Oooo she spicy! I have been craving spicy scents lately (a hankering for Weenies, perhaps?) and my selections to test from my box of LEs has not been disappointing me. First it was Mopey Boar, which is one of the best things I've smelled in a while, and now The Wild Men of Jezirat Al Tennyn, which continues that same energy. Blindly smelling, I got CLOVE, ginger, and soft patchouli, with a nice smokiness and heat. Looking at the notes, it totally makes sense. TWO cloves, red pepper (it was reading as ginger to me), and patchouli, plus smoky ambrette seed.

 

The balance here is incredible. This is definitely for clove fans, but it's a dry, softly crackling clove, rather than a stompy one. (Your mileage may vary if you're clove-sensitive.) The stomp comes from the fiery red effects of the red pepper and the red amber (which perhaps has a touch of the spicy red elements of red patchouli). It's bold and vibrant, stimulating to the senses, tingling like ginger. There is perhaps some cinnamon here? If so, it's not stompy cinnamon either. 

 

And in contrast to all the spices, a layer of sweetness pervades beneath. The amber is sweetly glowing, the vanilla flower is an appealing floral interpretation of a scent that usually goes foodie (but not here), and even the ambrette seed has a smoky sweetness to it. It's that combination that is giving me slight Snake Oil vibes. Obviously quite different, but the spices plus vanillic sweetened resins may appeal to Snake Oil fans.

 

All in all, this is amazing! A Limited Edition that's always available and always gothy-spicy-fierce! 

 

I would wear this while: donning my fiercest red dress for a night out. Or just living my best life.