Cerberus

[Shollin]

... A deep, rumbling scent, warm, soft and as cozy as a dog by a hearthfire, but with a fierce and feral soul: deep chocolate, deeper musks, with a dash of fig, bittersweet walnut, and the wild essences of juniper berry, cubeb and rum.

First sniff: Hmm. Deep and dark, faintly chocolatey, and there’s the tiniest hint of cough syrup floating around the outside.

Wearing: Why on earth does Cerberus smell Caribbean to me?! I suppose it’s the rum… but I keep getting flashes of being holed up in a dim hole-in-the-wall bar somewhere in the islands. And again, after I check the ingredients, I recognise fig as the strongest note, but somehow I can never pick it out when I don’t know it’s there. It didn’t grab me immediately, but it’s interesting enough that I need to try it again.

[xochitl]

This is a lovely scent on my skin, just shy of being a "I love it" it is more a "Like it but don't need it." The chocolate and musk blend beautifully and the juniper berry lingers for a long time on my skin, giving the musky blend a brighter note that I like. I think it is this slight "lift" that makes me like it so much. I'm not sure what it would take to make me go over the top on this one. Nice. Not great.

[Caitfish]

Juniper berry and fig TOTALLY dominate this blend in the bottle and definately for the first few moments on me. It reminds me of the "lemon" phase of Vinland - which is really just amped up loganberry. Luckily, just like Vinland, the juniper berry chills out as the musks start to warm up. I definately get walnut, but it's beautifully blended, not too bitter and not at all rancid. Just nice and... nutty.

 

After a while it becomes a lovely fig/bit o berry/walnut/musk blend - though I never get any cocoa, which was what I was so looking forward to in this. It's very lovely, though I swapped for this decant I don't believe that I will be purchasing a 5ml.

[phaedrine]

This is a lovely, warm, sweet blend, but dark and rich at the same time.

 

Both in the vial and on my skin, I mainly get fig fig fig, with perhaps a dash of walnut, a dash of dark chocolate and the sweetness of the rum.

 

It gets sweeter as it dries down, but stays warm and very comforting.

[Penance]

Origin:

 

The Oblation Caravan circular swap.

 

First sniff:

 

Chocolate and rum are the first two things I smell, but if I breathe shallowly, I get fig and juniper as well. I don't normally care for chocolate (either eating it or smelling it) but this is nice enough. Very cozy smelling.

 

Wet on skin:

 

Much lighter than in the bottle. Once it's on me, the juniper takes over but there's also a bit of chocolate and fig in the background here. I wasn't expecting a huge rush of juniper, but I like juniper so it's okay.

 

Dry down:

 

This reminds me of something, but I can't remember what. Honestly, it smells like some sort of cleaning product on me, but that's likely the result of my skin chemistry since I get that from a handful of other BPAL scents. Underneath the cleaning product smell is walnut (which I despise), musk of some sort and a tiny, tiny hint of chocolate.

 

The bottom line:

 

Cerberus is not for me, but I'm glad I got to try it all the same!

[Pixie-elf]

In the Vial: Cherry Cough Syrup...

 

Wet: Cherry Cough Syrup with something a little....darker... in it.

 

Dry: Cherries, a bit of Chocolate, and fig, are what I can smell and that's it...

 

Conclusion: While it's nice, I won't be buying a bottle of it. I don't really like it, I would wear it, so this is off to be swapped, too...

[shelldoo]

in the bottle and wet (for about 30 min.) lemonhead candies which made me think i was insane as the description doesn't list any citrus...i do not like teh wet stage at all

 

dry: ahh this is worth the wait (i think) it is a deep, chocolate, rich blend very very beautiful i like it alot

[k00kaburra]

In bottle: Nutty. Chocolate and fig. It's very rich, like a decadent dessert. Something with whipped cream and nuts and fruit, soaked in rum and drizzled with chocolate on top.

 

On me: An animal jumps out when I dab it on. The dessert disappears immediately, although the chocolate drizzles are still lingering. The combination of juniper and fig seems almost lemon-like to me; at any rate, this fruit strengthens but there always seems an animal in the background; a dog lying on the floor at your feet or a cat perched on the back of your chair. It grows smoky and continues to sharpen.

[couscous]

Another gifty imp

 

When i opened up cerberus, I was shocked by how much it smelled like the chocolate covered cherries I eat. Chocolate cherries with a strong, bracing shot of booze- yes, this one is boozy!

 

I squished up my nose and recoiled from the strength and sweeteness, making a mental note of how Cerberus was going in my "dislike" pile, but as the day went on I kept opening the imp and smelling it. It was so different, so unlike anything else, that i kept sniffing it. Every time I sniffed it, I liked it more.

 

Today I wore it. I love it.

 

I've had my nose at my wrist all day.

 

Almost immediately after the chocolate cherry note, the fig note comes out and dominates for a while. The fig is even sweeter than the cherry, if you can believe it, but its unusual and earthy enough to give you a completely different impression. Finally the whole blend calms down and melts into one very soothing dry-down, the barest hint of spiced rum on the skin. It's spicy, decadent, and sophisticated- not at all what you'd think a chocolate cherry figgy perfume would be.

 

Cerberus may start out like spiked candy, but it ends like an expensive liqour. If anyone eats those queen anne cherries, they'd be well prepared for at least the beginning notes of this.

 

Big bottle to be ordered within the week

Edited May 4, 2005 by couscous

[Reinaluna]

Cerberus, This is another blend that was not as good as I thought that it was going to be. When first applied I get this sharp citrusy note, then it does mellow and I get a little chocolate and maybe a small hint of fig. In the end I cant really smell a thing , I have to really push my nose into my arm to get anything. This one found a good home with queenb.

[warmfuzzies]

well, i have to say this was a *HUGE* disappointment. it wasn't horrible; not even bad...yet, just not what i was hoping. i'm assuming that was the cubeb, cuz i sure didn't smell any of the components that i recognized (chocolate, fig, walnut...) or it could've been the juniper berry...it was a tad forest-y. nice, but not great. *sigh* i was soooo let down

[magikfanfic]

In the bottle: Um...well...that's interesting. It smells mostly like chocolate and musk to me with maybe a little bit of run in the background. It's not the most pleasant smelling thing all concentrated like that.

 

Wet: Chocolate and rum with a slight rummy background. Once on it's actually kind of nice even if it's pretty masculine for me. There's a hint of walnut in there, too, so that it smells like a really decandent chocolate cake with rum in it.

 

Dry down: The fig is starting to peek out around the edges of this giving it a slight sweet smell as opposed to the very foody smell it had taken on. In fact now it's more of a walnt/fig scent, which makes me sad as the chocolate cake smell was nice while it lasted. Yeah, fig and walnuts. A very dark kind of smell without being bitter. Just nice and calm but not really me.

 

Dry: Still fig. In fact now it's mostly that fig scent with the hint of walnut in the background. It's not...I'm not the biggest fan of fig. In fact this blend s giving me a slight ache in my stomach so I'm going to wash it off now.

[darkling]

Cerberus is hard-core juniper berry on my skin. There is the faint sweet undertone of fig and something rich that may be the walnut.

 

I don't pick up any hint of the chocolate or rum but the juniper berry is so sweet and strong that I don't care.

 

I love it!

[tinyvulture]

in the bottle i get dark cherries, black licorice, tobacco smoke, lemons, and some kind of sweet candy smell. the overall impression i get is sweetly alluring but with something unknowable and sinister going on underneath.

 

unfortunately, on me it goes all lemon. citrusy scents and me don't mix. i'd almost keep this just so i could keep sniffing it in the bottle.

[Muppetk]

I really really wanted to like this one. It sounded really good. But the initial scent had that same overwhelming feeling that Grog has for me. (It felt like being punched in the stomach.) I looked up the notes and sure enough, rum was in the list. I forced myself to not wash it off because I could smell good stuff underneath it. The problem was, the rum scent didn't go away on me for about an hour. My hand smells gorgeous now, but I can't stand the initial hour of overwhelming rum. Oh well. I guess this is a trader.

[LiberAmoris]

Cerberus is the first Oblation blend I bought, as I just HAD to have it based on the incredible ingredient list. I was really surprised that it wasn’t a bit sweeter---I think the walnut and cubeb give it an odd tang that initially took me by surprise.

 

Wearing it, my skin doesn’t change it that much from the scent in the bottle, but I think I was able to adjust my imagination a little bit and enjoy its dryness and warmth. For me it’s a very rich blend and very boozy, and I definitely smell both the earthy and bitter components of the walnut.

 

Cerberus is very evocative of a dog somehow, as there is something both comforting and feral to it. It’s like running my fingers through the thick hair of a dog---it has a warm animal smell to it that I find really compelling. I will have to be in the right kind of mood to wear Cerberus, but when I am, it will be perfect.

[joseybird]

At first the blast of sharp juniper and bitter walnut scrunched my nose--I don't like juniper! But in drydown the scent mellowed to a yummy musky dark chocolate so I think I'll be keeping this one.

[inkstone]

Courtesy of the Oblation Caravan!

 

In the imp: Sweet musk.

 

Wet: Still musky. I'm unsure about this stage. I don't really like it.

 

Drydown: Fig, walnut and berry.

 

Final thoughts: The drydown is very nice. The initial stages I'm not too keen on.

[brownbat]

My experience with Cerberus was very odd. I completely thought that I had been given a mislabeled imp, and it took a sniff of a second cerberus imp (from the oblation caravan) before I was convinced that it was the right one.

 

The first times I tried this I got absolutely no chocolate scent. It was a lemony, smooth scent, kind of like lemon curd. I finally smelled a wee bit of chocolate, but it was hidden under an herby green note. I think this is quite yummy, though it isn't at all what I expected.

Edited April 6, 2005 by brownbat

[Digital_Hypoxia]

Hard candies, rum, and hints of chocolate.

 

It morphs quickly but not drastically. It’s sweet without being heavy (like the aforementioned candies) and rummy without being overbearingly boozy.

 

(Rum and I are not such good friends anymore)

 

The chocolate is more of an accent, not too strong-which is just how it should be.

 

Its well rounded and warm. I ordered two bottles. My bank account hates me

[grrrlennyl]

at first: there is a lot going on here. i get some sweetness that is both nutty and chocolatey, and then something else that is more musky. very different.

on: sweet, but not very heavy. i think i may smell a hint of apple.

half an hour later: this smells like the lemon strawberry shortcake doll.

2.5 hours later: a bit sharp and soapy.

6.5 hours later: faint, but sharp and a little powdery.

overall: i really, really like this. i may get a bottle.

[requieminblack]

First sniff out of the bottle- This smells like black licorice to me.

 

After 10 minutes- Why does this smell like licorice? Except for the musk, I love all the ingredients listed but I don't detect any of them. I want dark chocolate and rum damn it!

 

After 30 minutes- It must be the musk ruining this for me. I despise musks. After the licorice phase this went all musky on me. Yuck yuck yuck. Someone else described this as smelling like wet dog. I wouldn't go that far, it doesn't quite smell like that but it is a strong 'animalistic' scent. This is a wash off.

 

Summery- Swapping asap!

[cormeretrix]

another le scent that didn't like me. when, oh when, will i ever learn?

 

this one started out as a dark lemony scent with a tad bit of walnuts in it.

 

then it just turned into lemon oil furniture polish.

 

but an EXPENSIVE brand of furniture polish.

[ismene]

This smells like candied lime peel on me. There's a hint of berry every now and then and a bit of rum when it's wet, but really, citrus candy. No bitterness, no curry smell. There's no touch at all of chocolate, fig, or musk, which is odd because those notes are usually very strong on me. Not what I expected, but I like it anyway.

[anmorata]

Cerebus:

Wet: Ooh, this is odd. At first sniff, I get something that reminds me of Robitussin in the bottle. Upon application, it morphs into some sort of chocolate covered fig cookie with walnuts on top.

Drydown: The intensity fades, and I'm still getting a chocolate/walnut/fig waft, with a hint of.. citrus?

Long-term wear: This is a very interesting scent, but I can't see it as a personal scent for me.