kscha2017 Report post Posted December 13, 2018 Unearthly howls reverberate in the shadows of a darkened wood: black cedar, yew berries, juniper and frost-crusted moss, crushed beneath a shaggy spectral black musk. Frostbitten Malediction and Skadi had a baby in a pine forest. Love it! Goes on sweet, slowly turns dark. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
zankoku_zen Report post Posted December 17, 2018 Gin, moss, and a touch of wood and then the black musk starts to come through, and it ends up a spectral sort of musk. Icy and yet deep dark musk. Good throw and wear length. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
crimescenecleanup Report post Posted January 12, 2019 My honest first impression? This smells like flat cola, or maybe Dr. Pepper - very pleasantly so. I think it is the combination of the spicy juniper and the sweet/waxy yew berry accord that is giving that impression. It does not smell like cola the way that myrrh notes always smell like cola to me. This really reminds me that those cola kind of soft drinks were originally supposed to be medicinal tonics, but spiced up and flavored so that you would actually want to take them on a regular basis. This is like a bunch of conifer forest plants made deliciously edible. Very quickly the cedar asserts itself, and it is strong, and kind of a dusty, dry, aged quality. Like a fine hopechest. I love cedar, but this one is especially nice - it stays very true through drydown. I often have the problem of cedar notes fading quickly on me but this one sticks around. Some people like cedar to pencil shaving or sawdust int heir reviews, and I get none of that here. All through this, there is a heavy backdrop of black musk. I tend to like BPAL's black musk scents, and if I have to describe this one, I'd say it is sort of...smooth and oily smelling? I've never tried Streets of Detroit, but this is how I imagine it would smell, a sort of masculine, sexy-guy-working-on-a-car scent. The funny thing about black musks is that on the far drydown, they always seem to have this hint of lemon and clean skin and babypowder, and I love that. The start out masculine and drydown to something softer, edging towards feminine. Anyway. Somehow all of these elements - the spicy forest cola, the cedar hopechest, and that creepy fog of black musk looming behind it all add up to something very good. I'm always on a quest to find a good forest scent, I am so glad that I took a chance and blindbottled this. It doesn't smell exactly like a forest, but it definitely captures the spirit of a winter forest, which is even better. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Casablanca Report post Posted January 18, 2019 I had steered clear of this one myself, because yew berries, but I got to try a friend's decant of it last night. Yew berries. I catch a little moss and dark musk, but the yew berries stomp out everything else on my skin. This was much milder on my friend's skin. The yew just owns me. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
annemathematics Report post Posted January 23, 2019 this is a jolt of frosty evergreen when first applied. dries down to black musk (reminding me of unsweet red musk for some reason) strongly backed by cedar. this actually does remind me of wolves/wildpuppers in a snowy winter woods. I love it layered with 3rd lash; they play against each other wonderfully. moderate sillage/leans unisex. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Lucchesa Report post Posted February 20, 2019 Shattered Silence is a dark snowy forest scent that eventually mellows into a black musk with the evergreens in the background. It's all sharp evergreen branches at first, with a piney snow note and some moss, and it takes 30 or 40 minutes for the dark musk to begin to be prominent. On me the gin-like juniper note is the most noticeable, more so than the cedar or yew. Juniper is the only evergreen I don't love, so I won't be springing for a bottle of this one, but I'm really glad I got to try it because the concept of wolves howling in a winter is really beautifully expressed. Gender neutral, medium wear length though I applied sparingly. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
monocainsheresy Report post Posted June 3, 2019 This is pretty much what it says on the tin for me - cedar, yew, juniper, and moss in equal measure all under a blanket of black musk snow. A still, quiet, neutral scent. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
tinyvulture Report post Posted March 13, 2020 Cedar shavings warmed by black musk, which is cozy and calming. Earthy (but not dirty), close to the skin. Would love to put this on my husband and have a cuddle. It doesn't have much throw but it's nice. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
