Centzon Totochtin

[Em-]

The Four Hundred divine rabbits of the Aztec pantheon that preside over parties and drunkenness. Bittersweet Mexican cocoa with rum, red wine, and a scent redolent of sacrificial blood.

Blood and Chocolate.

That's what this is...and it is absolutely divine.

This is dark, bitter cocao, not some whimpy milk choco bar. And the blood - it's iron tinged and dripping.

This blend is not for the faint of heart or those who cannot revel in the macabre. But it is absolutely wonderful if you can.

[Brianne]

In the vial:

A very soft powdery cocoa

 

On me:

This is much softer and much less sweet than I anticipated, and I'm certainly not disappointed in the least. It's a very interesting scent. It is mostly a wine scent to me, it's slightly sweet and fruity but not overwhelmingly so. That cocoa adds a lovely bit of warmth too and it's not so much like milk chocolate as it is like a powdery dark cocoa. There is a warm "redness" underneath this scent that is very hard to describe. It's not musky and it's not spicey - it's just warm. I imagine that's the "blood" but I just can't pinpoint what it is note wise.

 

Final note:

This is just lovely, I absolutely love this - it's like if Xiutecuhtli had a young, soft, girly cousin - it's that exotic feel but definitely feminine with a sweet, fruity edge.

[Meg]

In the bottle: Wine and cocoa, it smells like a boozy chocolate. There's a tangy bitter scent in the background.

 

Wet: There's rum in there too, and cocoa - reminds me of a rum and raisins chocolate I used to eat, yum.

 

Drydown: I keep on thinking I'm smelling tobacco in here, though it's not listed in the notes. The cocoa lingers for a moment, mixed with the wine and rum. Then slowly the wine note becomes dominant and comes out stronger. It's still followed around by this nearly minty and spicy tobacco smell, the blood perhaps?

 

Overall: There's an amusing private joke that goes with this blend. A while back, my best friend and I wrote a silly song about a very drunk guy seeing a rabbit and getting pushed by 5000 rabbits off a cliff. When I read the description of this blend, I couldn't stop laughing - must've channeled some Azteg gods, that night. So, our song has a scent! Or this scent has a song (a very bad one, unfortunately). It's not my favourite scent ever, it's yummy but a bit too foody for me, and somehow it smells a bit masculine, too. But there's no way I'm giving this one up, hee.

Edited May 15, 2006 by Meg

[moon_lemming]

I expected this one to be very chocolatey, but at first it's more like spiced hot chocolate with a swoop of sweet red wine. It dries into a gorgeous dark cocoa. This might be the one GC chocolate blend that I can wear. I'll see how often I reach for it before committing to a 5ml, but I'm certainly leaning that way.

 

eta: CT fades on me in about three hours; I think it might be worth reapplication though.

Edited June 5, 2006 by karen

[Eunice]

Amazing!! This has foody ingredients but doesn't smell totally foody on me. There is a bittersweet cocoa and some sweetness from rum but I'd swear there was tobacco leaf keeping this from going foody. I got this as a frimp and am so happy I did! Centzon Totochtin goes on my large bottle list!

[Myaru]

This was a freebie in my last order, and I had high hopes for it. Alas...

 

In the imp and wet on skin: fruity with a hint of bitter chocolate

 

Drydown: mostly a sweet, pipe tobacco type scent, which could be due to the wine notes, which I hear are sweet. Not too familiar with them, myself.

 

After a while: it stays more or less in the drydown phase. I think I'd like it better with more chocolate. It lost the chocolate and wanted to drown me in sweetness - so it's nice for a little while, but not for me.

 

Too bad! I liked the idea.

[kunoichi]

In the vial, this is wow!! It is a dark chocolate smell, that jumps out to make sure it’s presence is felt! There is something more than dark chocolate there, like the chocolate is swimming in a base of red wine and other dark things. On my skin the red wine comes out to play, dark and with a hint of the bittersweet cocoa... it’s probably wine mixed with rum, but it’s a strong, dark and brooding boozy smell with maybe with a metallic tang to it. After a number of hours, this transforms into a gentle smell with a slightly cocoa-like base... not really sweet, but the cocoa lingers ever so slightly like a breath of dark chocolate on the skin.

 

It’s definitely a scent for a girl who wants to be wickedly naughty!

[karengypsy]

In the vial: Cocoa powder.

 

On me: Still cocoa powder. I don't think I'll wear this by itself - I much prefer it as a layering scent. It works nicely layered with Tenochtitlan.

 

Verdict: definitely a keeper, but I don't need a bottle.

 

Rating: 3/5

[Melantha]

When I first sniffed this in the imp, I loved it.

 

Then I tried it. While it is nice, there is something about it that SO doesn't work on me. I"m not sure what it is; it seems like I should like it, but I keep having to turn my head away. Maybe it's the cocoa?

[Naamah_Darling]

Holy rabbits, Batman! That has a kick! It smells like chocolate rum cake! Delicious! There's a touch of fruity sweetness that's probably the wine, but it's very understated.

 

When I put it on, the rum smell overwhelms the cocoa, and then the wine comes pouring out. There is another note in this that emerges after a moment or two; hard to pick out of the seething cauldron of rum and wine. It's a knife-edge note that's somewhere between incensey, herbal, and metallic, and my first instinct is to recoil. No, it does not smell like blood (I smell a lot of blood, so believe me when I say that this is not a blood smell), but it does hit the same spot in the back of my mouth/nose that blood does if you get a good dose of it in your mouth. It does smell strong if you get right up on it. But it's fascinating. I can't stop sniffing it. It doesn't actually smell revolting, it just smells . . . very, very unusual. This must be the "blood" note. It doesn't smell like dragon's blood to me, either, though there might be a touch of that also in here with the wine. Dragon's blood just doesn't have that metallic stink to it.

 

The blood note backs off after a little bit, and the rum has gone to honey, the wine to something fruity and depraved. The chocolate is there as a warmth, but it's not dominant anymore. This is very similar to Blood Kiss. But where I said Blood Kiss is a teenage girl, this is her older brother who has the same questionable habits. More grown up, less sweet. A rather mean boy with a newly pierced tongue. Smells like brandied chocolate sauce over berries, and then kissing a guy with a bloody lip. It's as much a taste as a scent.

 

An intense, throaty scent that's all booze and honey. Overripe, gorgeous, and made for the kind of freaky sex that has you spitting on one another and tearing up the sheets.

[strawberry_star]

I love wine scents, but I don't like chocolate scents. So I was hoping that this one would fully amp up the wine and leave the cocoa and "blood" (dragon's blood perhaps?) subtle...

 

Sadly this was not the case. The "blood" mixed with the wine turns a bit like cough syrup on me and then mixed with the cocoa is kind of a sickening combination. I sent it off to a friend, hopefully she has better results with it.

Edited July 5, 2006 by strawberry star

[valentina]

In the imp, Centzon Totochtin smells very chocolate-rum. And I'm really surprised how light-colored the oil is -- I was really expecting something very dark, but it's a pale amber color. When I first applied it, it was all Mexican chocolate and coffee. Very rich and intoxicating, a bit like a cup of coffee with Ibarra chocolate and a bit of kaluha stirred in. But after a half-hour or so, my skin ate the chocolate-coffee smell. Is this any surprise, that my body eats chocolate and drinks coffee? No -- that's what I do all the time, so why wouldn't that happen with a fragrance?

 

What is left is a scent that totally trips my brain over into associations with the smells of a Mexican grocery store that I go to when I buy Ibarra chocolate. I swear I can smell chili powder and Mexican vanilla and stewing meat. I think I'm smelling the booze-wine-blood scent of Centzon Totochtin, but I'm simply at the Mexican market, and I probably start smelling things that probably aren't even in the blend.

 

I really wish the initial elements of this smell would linger longer, but I also suspect that it might be more of an autumn-winter smell for me, and it's July as I write this, so I'm holding on to my imp and trying it again.

[Galatea]

In the Imp: Chocolate-covered cherries with spices.

 

Wet: Wow, this is so different. The cocoa takes the lead of course, but there is cinnamon and something woodsy too. Woodsy = Coffee? There is definately a hint of coffee about this blend.

 

Dry: The cocoa continues to get more bitter, and the red wine is very dry smelling, oaky even. The most surprising note is the blood; it actually smells coppery-acidic. Then all of a sudden I get a background note of something like vetiver, oh no...

 

Throw: So good my husband thought I was cooking something, and I wasn't even in the same room with him!

 

Overall: This starts out so wonderful and intriguing, why did it have to end up smelling like cocoa, wine and vetiver? This would have been a perfect blend had the vetiver just stayed the hell away.

So sad now...

 

Rating: + (one mark better than neutral because it smelled so good at first)

 

[cranberry]

In the imp, this smells like cocoa and booze. Once applied, at first it’s cocoa but that morphs into a foody, incensy smell that reminds me a bit of Sugar Cookie. Maybe it’s the rum soaked aspect of it. Yes, I think it’s the rum. This smells pretty yummy and I’m so glad that the GC Swap finally enticed me to try this.

 

Dang, after this has been on a bit, it begins to smell like clove cigarettes. There’s that hint of smoke which is so strong it burns the lungs. I’m thinking that must be the blood note but I’m interpreting the combination as a clove. I remember smoking these and how yummy they tasted, but also how they made my lungs feel. This is a hot and spicy kinda scent, very strong and overpowering. This is an unusual scent. After it’s been on a while, I’m almost getting a lemon or lime not similar to that in Torture King. Interesting. There is definitely a citrus element in here. It’s subtle but there. Also a touch of vetivert.

 

Overall, this has been an amazing scent to try and I’m so glad that I finally did. It’s dark, sexy, incensy, edible. Yummy!

[edenssixthday]

Centzon Totochtin - is (on me, at least) all about dark, bitter chocolate and booze -- I don't smell the wine, but the rum comes through loud and strong. The chocolate is not the typical sweet, artifical "foody" chocolate. It's the scent of real, bitter cocoa. The scent whisks me away and reminds me of my Central American travels 11 years ago -- and that was even before I knew Centzon Totochtin was an Aztec reference! It's a truly fascinating scent, and very complex. I really really wish I could like it. It's a "grown up" foody scent -- nothing pink pom pom high-school princess about this particular foody scent at all! However, I can't wear it. It's just way too warm, dark, and heavy on me. Fortunately, I was able to swap my imp away and my "loss" was another BPAL-lover's gain!

[urbanruralferal]

ah ha ha! This smells like a hippie oatcake on me! First I smell the dates, and then the oat flour, and then a little bit of carob powder in there to spice it up. Definitely beige food!

When it is quite dry, I begin to smell smarties candies blended in with the oatcake.

 

Not my kind of thing.

[Voleuse]

Yum. This is such a rich, rolling scent. The cocoa is familiar and warm, but the sweetness of the blend comes from the wine. This is gorgeous--dark and hovering, but a little elusive as well.

[maijasu]

Wow, this is strong! I smell cocoa the most, and it has an almost coffee-like quality to it. Later, the booziness comes out, but it still smells mostly of dark, spicy, expensive cocoa. This would be a great winter scent, so my imp will be sticking around until then.

[Miseraya]

In the imp: Tezcatlipoca with booze and less balls. Interesting. Drunk cocoa powder. I'm a little concerned about the red wine, hopefully my skin doesn't turn it into Robitussin or Dimetapp.

 

On the wrist, wet: The cocoa smell fades quickly and it's replaced with a sour wine smell.

 

On the wrist, dry: Dimetapp. Bugger.

 

Final Analysis: My skin hates red wine and almost exclusively ruins it. Off to the swaps.

[Babylon]

Oh god, I've found a new love.

 

This is gorgeous, a sexy, drunken chocolate.

 

It pretty much stays the same on my skin for hours. Sinful dark chocolate, throbbing with red wine and rum. At the very end of your long, leisurely sniff, right as you're stopping inhaling, you can smell the hot blood.

 

This really works as a sexy scent on my skin instead of things like Snake Oil and Smut. Maybe I'm just a monster. Who cares. Must get a bottle, asap.

Edited August 4, 2006 by Babylon

[fairy]

This was fine until it dried. Then it started smelling like cigarette smoke. Which is weird because in the bottle it smelled like chocolate coffee

[euterpe414]

Wet, all I smell is cocoa and booze. In fact, the smell took over my imp box, which is a nice thing!

 

I am totally in love with this scent. It seems like it will be perfect for chilly nights when I need a comforting scent. As it dries, it is very smoky and rich. All of the notes, except for the blood, are very easily detectable, yet perfectly intertwined. I feel comforted and protected when I wear this (if that makes sense) since this is such a bold and powerful scent. To make a comparison, on my skin, this smells like a majorly amped up version of Devil's Night (i.e. Devil's Night is Centzon Lite, or something), so if you loved Devil's Night, you probably will like this.

 

I think that I may need to sneak in a 10ml of this at the last minute! I am finding more and more that foody/rich scents are very comforting (more than food) and relaxing to me, and this is no exception.

[indicolite]

Sweet holy Excolo, those bunnies are powerfully smelling of cocoa and booze!

 

They do have a "take over everything" quality, the Centzon Totochtin.

 

But I do not think I like them. If they were edible, I'll eat them in small qualities, but those bunnies are so strong they are getting a little nauseating.

 

Swap box for the bunnies, sorry.

[margravine]

This is exactly as described by the lab. The initial scent is the deep, dark cocoa. Then the rum takes it sweeter and it's almost like a flavored coffee scent. Very odd. Once the wine kicks in things are a little calmer scent-wise, but it's so very much about joyously silly, drunk rabbits. I'm not sure how often I'd wear it since I generally don't want to smell like rum. It's fun though.

[grifyn_whiffs]

IN THE BOTTLE: The rum in this one knocks you down, takes your car keys and goes on a little joyride. But don't judge a scent by its top note, especially not this one.

 

WET: Holy Molé. There's that bitter Mexican chocolate playing with the rum now, but the rum makes it almost overwhelmingly, deeply sweet and wine gives it an edgy tang. It's definitely exotic.

 

30 MINUTES LATER: The wine note has faded into the background, and what emerges triumphant is a perfect blend of the cocoa and the rum.

 

ONE HOUR LATER: The overly sweet aspect of this one fades on drydown, thank goodness. I ended up with something Aztec, old, rich with legend and ritual. I keep getting a sense of something orange… again, not a bright citrus note, but maybe the faint smell of a chocolate orange.

 

THROW: Low to medium.

 

COMMENTS: This one made me feel aloof and mysterious. Usually, I'm just aloof.

 

This one also, even more mysteriously, was a powerful aphrodisiac. At the flaring of my nostrils and the dilating of my pupils, the husband blinked fearfully and said, "Uh-oh."

 

Add this one to the "warm" list with: Snake Oil, Magus and Hearth 2005. I can already tell that blends that fit into this category are going to be my lasting favorite.

 

NEEDS TO BE REFRESHED: This one didn't have a lot in the way of staying power. It seemed to fade to faint after just a couple of hours. Strangely, this one seems to become the scent of skin. That's got to be the "blood note" playing games with my chemistry.

 

PURCHASING: Will eventually have at least a 5ml of this just to keep the husband on his toes.