Murder for Murder, Blood for Blood

[galahad]

"So. I got to say it, because nobody else here will. We are at the center of this place: a land that has no time for gods, and here at the center it has less time for us than anywhere. It is a no-man's-land, a place of truce, and we observe our truces, here. We have no choice. So. You give us the body of our friend. We accept it. You will pay for this, murder for murder, blood for blood."

Black oudh, patchouli, opoponax, black pepper, and blackened cacao.

In the Bottle:
Rich, dark oudh with a pepper kick

On the Skin:
Intense oudh and rich resins with an almost fruity sweetness. This does have a bloody quality without going into red musk territory. The black pepper gives a spicy kick.

On the Drydown:
A somewhat linear drydown, just getting drier as it settles into the skin. I could almost swear that there was jasmine in this. This is a decadent and powerful scent which will be spectacular with some aging.

[Megalovania]

Oh my god I *wish* this smelled as good as I'd hoped, nay, expected. I love dark, murky, creepy, heavy, resinous perfumes, especially when made by the Lab. But oh ho ho, not this one. Straight out of the bottle this was Dirty Used Cat Box. Fresh on my skin it continued as Dirty Used Cat Box. I refused to wash it off before seeing if any morphing would occur, but boy was that a struggle.

 

When I initially read the notes I knew I'd love this because I love all of them. But smelling this hot mess made me recall that sometimes opoponax reminds me of cat litter. Fresh and clean cat litter, mind you, with that dusty kinda-floral scent it sometimes has. I'm not sure how accurate that is to opoponax since I've never sniffed it in isolation, it's just the note I've seen in common whenever I find a litterbox perfume. Usually I'm all for it when mixed with the right stuff, but this time it went off the deep end into "oh noooo aaaugh" territory. And if u/galahad is correct about secret jasmine hiding in this blend, that explains why it came off as the infinitely worse Used Litter (jasmine is the MOST TERRIBLE THING on my skin).

 

Fortunately, this jaunt through hell doesn't last forever. Maybe 15-20 min later the filthy edge wore off and this smoothed out into something a little more expected: a super dark and grimy, very thick scent. Eventually settles into a dryly resinous, blacked woody thing, which I take as the patchouli showing force (but not overwhelmingly so, there's good balance here). Extremely bold, extremely powerful, a little frightening, and would be super sexy on the right person. This is Boss Battle status. But holy god, I just can't do that initial litterbox smack in the face. Hopefully that chills out over time.

 

EDIT 2019: as other reviews have pointed out, and as my nose has improved since first trying this back in 2017, I've since learned that the black oudh is definitely the cat poo culprit. If secret jasmine is in hear than that's bad for me too, personally speaking, but watch out for this particular oudh! If the stanky stuff isn't your jam, this one is not for the faint of heart!!

Edited June 14, 2020 by Megalovania

[ltrittipoe]

I love, love this one.

 

 

I agree that there is jasmine in this - or that something combines to make jasmine to me - it is a darker, dirtier version of OLLA's Hal on my skin, which is one of my favorite jasmine blends. I get the same type of jasmine as from Hal, but where Hal is sweet, bright, and creamy, , this is dark, spicy and resiny.

 

There's a spicy kick from the pepper, and the patch is dry, and the oudh is resinous - which balances out the sweetness of the jasmine. I don't get any cacao from this, unless it it just adding a hint of sweetness in the far background.

[zankoku_zen]

Pepper, oudh, and patchouli. This smells like dirt, and lies, and blood. I blame the oudh. Good throw and wear length.

[Little Bird]

I first tried this without remembering the notes, and thought that it smelled like really good pencil shavings (must be the woody oudh) and melting dark chocolate. Opoponax lends a thick, dark, resinous sweetness. I smell hints of black pepper, but it's mellow and rich rather than sharp, and I don't get much of a patchouli impression, but perhaps it lends to the richness of the cacao. This winds up smelling like a more rich and dark chocolatey version of Velvet on my skin, or a plum-free version of Tarantula Fascinator.

 

I quite like this one.

[LizziesLuck]

Wet: Chocolate, patchouli and feces (aka oudh). Nuff said.

 

 

Dry: Ugh. Oudh. Poo. WHY???

[sarandipitee]

This should be amazing but the oudh is going straight to smelly poo territory on my skin.

 

It gets a little better as it mellows but it’s still stinky on me. Off to frimps.

[LavenderCoffee]

Testing a decant.

 

I've been on a bit of an oudventure lately, and was excited to get a chance to test drive this one. Freshly applied, it was a bit woody and scratchy, but it settles into bold, peppery oud. I love how dark and rich this is, and would definitely consider a bottle. Wear this if you need to do a revenge.