Centzon Totochtin

[Jerre]

Centzon Totochtin:

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.

 

Generic dark baking chocolate: no sugar or salt added: just chocolate. If we sweetened this up, it would probably be Bliss-like or Lump of Coal-like. Slightly more of a humid scent than Tezcatlipoca. Too sour for me!

[crazyredhead17]

I've loved the description of this scent since I was first enabled, and finally ordered an imp of this last month.

 

In the imp, it's a warm chocolate with something darker underneath. Wet it was a very deep, very strong dark chocolate with a hint of booziness to it.

 

As it dried, it went to flowers with a side of powdered dark chocolate. I could have tolerated that, but I get a headache everytime I sniff myself. No wine what-so-ever, which is sad.

 

If I wasn't clearing out my unloved BPAL to make my upcoming move a bit easier, I'd probably keep this one, but I can't say I'd wear it often when there's other chocolate-y scents I love. Off to the sale pile.

[Iceblink]

Red wine and dark chocolate are two great things that taste great together, but do they smell great together? Not on me!

Also I try to never wear a perfume I can't spell.

[steffanina]

Centzon Totochtin-

 

In Bottle: Wow, coffee and cherry and something burning, but not a bad burning smell. Like something's being toasted.

 

Wet: The toasty smell comes out stronger. Woody. So far I like. Here comes some more of the cherry smell.

 

Dry: The wood-resin-sweet smell of this is interesting. It's a little too sweet, though. The closest I can come is that it's like burnt Dr. Pepper on my skin, which is not completely unpleasant. This one's conditional, but I might try it again.

 

Overall: I want to like it more, but it's a little too sweet.

[fiddledragon]

On me, this smells like hot stone, chocolate, and blood. The blood I'm assuming has a violet component, as that's what violets do on me, but I have no *clue* what's doing the hot-rock thing, especially as that doesn't seem to be what its' supposed to smell like. The rum never pokes its nose out, which makes me happy; rum is one of my least favorite smells.

 

But the whole blood-and-hot-rock thing is *really* creeping me out, especially after studying Aztec religion for class, so this imp is going to go away now.

[blackfelicula]

In the bottle: To me Centzon Totochtin smells like a mix of butterscotch and chocolate with the same peanut-butter-like scent I found in Blood Amber. When I set the open imp down to type, I could suddenly smell rum.

 

Wet: The cocoa is coming out more. The blend is smelling less like peanut butter and more like tobacco. What smelled like butterscotch is now a boozy rum.

 

Drying down: It is spicy and bitter, yet it is also foody and sweet. I am not quite sure what to make of this blend yet. I am pretty sure that if someone could make and market a “chocolate incense,” this is what it would smell like.

 

Dry: It is a dry scent, a unique combination. This is spicy too, energetic. It is earth and fire in a combination that I am finding hard to ignore. It is not turning into a candle on me like other rum scents I have tried. It is rich. I could picture wearing this to a ritual and getting a lot of power off it.

 

Later: It is fainter now, drier and sweeter. Spiced chocolate is the predominant scent, though it is complex and intriguing to my nose. If I had judged it based on its in-the-bottle scent, I would not have put it on. Yet this is a blend I will return to.

[birdiefu]

In the bottle: Boozy sweetness

 

Wet: Hmm, sweet and foody cake. Not quite what I was expecting.

 

Dry: Cake with some light spices- cloves and a touch of cinnamon? Deep red wine is in the background and some sort of earthyness.

 

Overall: Foodier than I usually like, but once it drys a lot it's not too bad. Right on my foody threshold and I might wear it once in a while. I'm dissapointed that I don't get any chocolate, though .

[astridclaire]

On wet: This definitely smells like cocoa powder but it's rounded out by the dragon's blood which is sweet and almost cherry like.

 

Dry down: Wow. This really dries down into an interesting mix! This is the first BPAL wine note to actually smell like wine on me and I love it. The cocoa has taken a back seat but it's still there and I get just a hint of the rum and blood. I'm pleasantly surprised by the throw this has too. I put a dab between my cleavage and a dap or two on my wrists and I have this lovely cloud of wine/cocoa/rum warmth around me. This is strange for me because dragon's blood usually has no throw at all on me.

 

And the funniest thing? I made my boyfriend take a sniff and he said, "Mmmmm... smells like warm whiskey!" Considering that whiskey is his liquor of choice, I'll probably be wearing this to bed with a silk nightie on from time to time

[lanablade]

In the imp: Woah. I get so many smells from this it's hard to distinguish. Definately chocolate. Something sharp, and something spicy, and then just a touch of something sweet, which must be the rum.

 

On Wet: No chocolate, which I've learned my skin refuses to bring out. (Not a bad thing in my book) Definately sweet rum, and a hint of something spicy.

 

Dry: Rum and a touch of wine, and still that something spicy. Someone mentioned Dragon's Blood, and I have to say that if that is what it is (and I can kinda see where they'd get that impression) it's much calmer and well behaved than it usually is on my skin.

 

I like the idea of this one, and I don't hate the scent, so I'll probably be just fine with only an imp.

[luna65]

Thanks to silverlilac for the imp.

 

Imp: The cocoa note is very sweet in the vial, with a bit of a boozy undertone, but not sharp or sour, so I'm figuring it's the rum.

 

Skin: The red wine gives me a resin-like association, something like dragon's blood except not as sweet (as others have also noticed). Just a suggestion of potential sweetness, but more that overall character of fullness and complexity. The "blood" accord has an interesting salty note when it first appears and the blend keeps bringing one or the other quality to the fore depending on the moment; this is quite wonderous and strange.

 

Drydown: This has amazing sillage on me, people nowhere near me were commenting on the scent in one particular instance. The chocolate returns after a time, underneath the other elements, and makes a nice contrast to that evocation of salt. This blend makes me swoon, because it demands. . .sacrifice. I can't articulate it any better than that, and therefore this scent recalls its' inspiration perfectly.

[Quiara]

I smelled the chocolate at first, but very quickly my brain was bombarded with the thought "wineygrapeychocolateBLOOD!" The wine was too grape for my tastes and sat rather badly with the chocolate and I couldn't get beyond the overwhelming impression of blood floating over the whole thing. All in all, not my thing.

[supremegoddessofall]

Very chocolate, but kind of a strange chocolate. It's a spiced chocolate. I get the booze, too, and the overall effect is the Lindor chocolate that is supposed to be amaretto. Not my favorite of the chocolate scents, but not bad.

[Mianjo]

In the imp: Mmm...smoky chocolate. A bit of the leather, too.

 

Wet: More intensely chocolatey. Something sharp, which could either be the blood or the wine, or both. Spicy, somehow. So far, so good.

 

Dry: LEATHER!!!! SPICY LEATHER!!!!!! My skin totally ate that yummy wet scent and amped up the leather and blood, which turned to spicy leather on me.

 

Overall: No thanks. I wouldn't mind smelling this on someone else, but it's not my thing. If only it had stayed as it was wet...it could have been a contender for one of my favorites.

[forspecial_plate]

This just goes to show, I can read descriptions and notes until my eyes cross and still can't tell what's going to work and not work for me.

 

Centzon Totochtin came as a freebie from the lab and it's quite an amazing scent. Starts with cocoa, which often doesn't work for me, because it can turn dusty. Then some sweet, dark, fruity wine comes forward, blending with the cocoa, just for a few minutes. And finally dragon's blood resin comes out, I'm almost sure of it. This note threatens to take over, which it does in other blends, but never quite steps over the line. I'm not sure I really got the rum, seems to be a supporting note for me. A couple hours later the cocoa seems to get a second wind. I can tell that dustiness is almost there but the other notes keep it spicy and rich, and almost sweet but not quite.

 

What's amazing is that wine, cocoa, and dragon's blood resin (if that is truly in this) are three notes that usually turn me off. That's why I wouldn't have gone out of my way to try this. But they come together to make something deep, dark, sexy, almost smokey. The throw is just right...strong but not too strong. I honestly thought I was getting tired of the darker blends but I guess I wasn't! This isn't an every-day scent. I think it's for special occasions, or maybe just special moods.

[maansloep]

I bought this scent for the description.. Mexican chocolate, wine, and blood.

 

When I first open the bottle, I immediately smell ripe red fruits.

 

When I apply it to my skin, I feel and smell the sensual dark chocolate, with a hint of something darkly spicy.

 

After it dries a bit, there's more of a light spice and fruit scent, but you can still detect the chocolate. It's a lovely, complex mix.

 

Of all of the BPAL scents that I have (only in imp form), this is my absolute favorite. What's great is that my boyfriend loves it too. We both find it to be a very sensual scent. Whenever I wear it, his nose keeps relocating to my neck, which is not a bad thing!

Edited January 18, 2007 by maansloep

[filigree_shadow]

This smells mostly like red wine on me, but yay for the cocoa! It's the perfect combination with the red wine because the dryness of one complements the other. It's also sweeter than the other red wine blends I've tried, which is a plus for me. It smells more like fruit than strictly like wine, to be honest. It's a little bit grapey, but not like grape juice or anything. There's definitely a boozey aspect to it.

 

I like this one.

[baranoouji]

[frimp from filigree_shadow]

 

On me, no chocolate, no cocoa, nothing remotely related to a nib. But I've noticed that BPAL's cocoa note does strange things on my skin.

 

However, the wine and blood smell is there, which while true to life... kind of freaked me out a bit. I felt like I had accidentally bitten my tongue all day, and kept checking to see if I had. To avoid that weird "did I injure myself?" train of thought, I'll probably send this to someone else.

 

Thumbs up for the "verity" of the scent!

Edited February 20, 2007 by baranoouji

[glass_cat]

This was another freebie from the lab for me. I'm beginning to really look forward to the frimps as the best parts of my orders, because really... BPAL's catalog is so huge that I never can recall all the scents. There are a lot that show up that don't even ring a bell with me, and Centzon Totochtin was one of those for me. I was completely intrigued when I read the description though, so I'd been looking forward to a chance to try it.

 

I'm getting where I really have a tendency to compare new BPAL scents I try to others that I already know and love, and if I were to do that with this blend, I would describe it as the love child of Tezcatlipoca and Bordello, two of my all-time favorites. The dark cocoa in this is just lovely, and the sweetness the wine and dragon's blood notes add to this is a lovely compliment to it. It's something I would recommend to people who enjoyed Tezcatlipoca but didn't feel it was feminine or sweet enough for them. I'm not sure what exactly this scent has to do with hundreds of divine rabbits, but it's lovely and very unique, which is always a plus with me. I'd bottle it if I didn't already have similar scents in bottles already.

[lightgatherer]

Mmm, honey! This is odd given that there isn't a honey note listed in this, but I swear I smell honey very clearly and strongly. The dragon's blood starts to come out more, and I get a bit of the rum. The chocolate and the wine may be in there, but they're lurking in the sweetness of the dragon's blood. I like this scent, and I think I may need a bottle at some point.

[goth_huntress]

Bittersweet Mexican cocoa with rum, red wine, and blood.- 10

This is wonderful. Rich cocoa goodness, made sexy and bittersweet by the addition of the rum, wine and blood. It is flat out delightful. I think a guy could wear it too. I know I'd follow any guy wearing it around.

[jessiesquash]

For some reason this scent reminds me of something, although I'm unsure what it is. I usually shy away from anything with wine in it because it usually smells like grape soda on me but this is really interesting. It evokes scenes of debauch; bitter chocolate, wine and blood. It's sexy and hot-blooded. Now if I could only figure out what it reminds me of.......

[Ahania]

This smells like when I make Ibarra and add rum and cayenne. It's a strong, dark chocolate, made stronger and a little harsher than it would be on its own. Wine often goes sickly sweet on me, but here it adds just enough. My first impulse was to douse myself in the entire imp, just to get more. Straight to the top ten list, and my next order is going to have a bottle of this in it.

[porcelina]

In bottle: Deep, dark chocolate. I normally hate chocolate-scented lotions, scents or candles, but this is the real deal.

 

Wet: Deeper, darker chocolate! I pick up the wine, too- it makes it very rich and rounded. If I didn't know there was supposed to be wine in here, I wouldn't be able to say what it was, but the overall effect is delicious. It starts to smell kinda like coffee after a few seconds- really good coffee.

 

Dry: Still chocolate, though less rich. I get a LOT of wine now and a vague coppery scent.

 

Overall this is fantastic, although I don't think I would use it as a personal scent.

[djuna]

alright, this scent is absolutely bizarre, and I mean that in the best way possible--

In the imp, and wet, I get the darkest, rawest cocoa--there's no milk here, just bitter chocolate, and maybe a hint of the wine and rum.

As it dries, the wine and cocoa sort of recede, and what I think is tobacco comes forward--it's very dry, and smooth, and aged somehow. Sort of smells like the inside of a cigar box, next to a very old leather chair, in a dark wood-paneled room. All of these things should add up to something I hate, but somehow it works.

And when it's dry, if I take a long whiff of it, I swear I can taste blood--there's that weird coppery taste, like when you bite your tongue.

I have to admit I'm kind of enjoying that part.

[vylit]

When it was wet, I couldn't smell much other than the cocoa, and while I like cocoa, I'm not a big fan of foody scents. It's not a sweet cocoa, though. It's more like Mexican chocolate, which has cinnamon but isn't as sweet. As it dried, the smell of cocoa mellowed, the rum came out, and the scent... deepened and turned almost smokey. There's also a sweetness, but it's not a candy, food-y sweetness.

 

It's a lovely scent, but not something I could see myself wearing.