Amaxophobia

[Nascargot]

Fear of Riding in Cars

 

Encased in a roaring tomb of vinyl siding, strangled by nylon bindings, arms bruised and battered by writhing bodies punching and pummeling—punctuated by wild cries of SLUG BUG and CALL BOX—and endless discordant choruses of 99 Bottles of Beer on the Wall.

 

Motor oil, a burst of exhaust, a faded tree-shaped air freshener, and crushed gas station chocolates.

Based on description alone, this is less an everyday scent and more of a marvel, not the most wearable but certainly impressive in terms of accuracy. That said, this is a very nostalgic scent for me. My father is what some might call a 'gearhead', and as such I was made familiar with the smells of everything automotive from a young age. This reminds me of all the times I was dragged into the garage to unwillingly assist with some project, and the smell that clung to my clothes thereafter. All the fumes without the headache; the smell of a busy garage or mechanic's shop. The exhaust note is strongest at first but the air freshener (pine, like the little tree-shaped ones) is apparent too. I also get a whiff of what smells like tires, and perhaps antifreeze as well.

 

This is not a casual scent by any means! I'd likely wear this to a racetrack, rock concert, or out drinking.

[LiberAmoris]

Amaxophobia is one of those blends where I’m speechless with Beth’s ability to capture a place and feeling. This smells like motor oil and exhaust. It’s absolutely dead-on, and on the drydown I get a smidge of the tree air freshener, piney and a bit soapy. The chocolate note is barely there, just a suggestion of it floating around the car where it’s slipped between seats.

 

Stunningly accurate. Not a blend that I would wear as a perfume, but one that I will keep to marvel over.

[VetchVesper]

Motor oil with a hint of chocolate. Yum? My nose gets the tingle of pine more than the smell if I sniff real deep. The camphorous pine gets stronger with wear and the motor oil becomes more woody. I'd bet on vetiver here. Definitely a dark, thick, masculine blend. I could see this being sexy in sort of a hard work'n man sort of way. Not for me though.

[zankoku_zen]

Motor oil and that pine car air freshner. This smells like car, scorched rubber and all. Actually, I imagine this is what Supernatural's Impala smells like. Dark, broody, and ready to rumble. Good throw and wear length.

[Lucchesa]

Amaxophobia is incredibly evocative of the description -- motor oil, artificial pine scent, right down to the stale chocolate. It was an interesting scent experience but not something I would want to smell like frequently, and my skin ate it up fairly quickly. If you enjoy trying oddball scents, you should definitely give this a try.

[torischroeder9]

In the decant: Artificial pine and cold exhaust. If you're familiar with both the smell of a summer road with the high, thin, shimmering exhaust of a number of cars and also the puff of exhaust of a single car as it warms up in a frozen driveway -- to me, this exhaust is evocative of the latter. 

 

On my skin:

 

As it dries down, the pine air freshener remains consistent while the motor oil and exhaust notes vie back and forth for dominance. It's almost astringent, almost grassy, almost smoky. 

 

About 15 minutes in, what it reminds me most of is the inside of a national chain tire store. I must be picking up something I perceive as rubber as well as the "clean car" (pine air freshener) and motor oil-type notes. 

 

This seems to be where the scent stays on me. 

 

While I echo the conclusions of Amaxophobia not being something I'd want to smell like every day, it's not actually an unpleasant -- or even that strange -- a scent on me. It doesn't smell like new car, but it does smell like some automobile elements that are new and clean. 

 

Throw is medium; wear length is likely the same.  

[FebruaryOwen]

Just received this decant through a swap!  I'm excited to try this on myself, and if I don't care for it, I have a friend who loves the smell of gasoline who may be interested.

In bottle: Gasoline, and a bit of cherry cough syrup?

On skin: Oh, yum.  Still got that nice hint of gasoline, but has a lovely smell of wood.  Reminds me of outdoor flea markets!

After a few hours: It smells mostly like wood now!

I like this; I'll definitely share it with my friend as he likes some of the more "masculine" scents the lab offers.  

 

[Casablanca]

Amaxophobia is unsettling in its accuracy.

 

Actual, specific crushed chocolates (with that thin, waxy "chocolate" that can get a little white around the edges if mushed? yeah), gasoline fumes (cough), motor oil, and new-car smell.

 

Ugh. I mean, shit got real.

 

If this isn't my kind of thing, my appreciation for the moment accurately captured is.

 

[doomsday_disco]

This started off as cinnamon and pine air freshener on me with the tiniest hint of chocolate in the background. I'm not getting any motor oil, but I wonder if the spice I am getting is part of the exhaust note? By the end of the day, it smells like a toned down version of red hots and pine air freshener, though.

 

This was fun to try, but I wish I had gotten the realistic motor oil and exhaust experience others had described instead of the mysterious cinnamon experience I wound up with!