Melancholy Inferno

[Threemoons]

An emo conflagration: tomato leaf, black pepper, coriander, burnt cedar, and crimson musk.

 

Okay, BPAL's Tomato Leaf Note is one of my faves, and even though I amp red musk like an absolute fiend, and have a lot of other red musk BPALs, I had to get this one for the tomato leaf.  WORTH IT!    In the bottle:  The burnt cedar and black pepper notes are what first hit you, which to me is a great sign as in the musk is NOT a bully on this one.  On, wet:  The gorgeous tomato leaf immediately starts to unfold and rise to the top of things.  I love BPAL's tomato leaf note because tomato leaves, when crushed, are sort of like if a plant could sweat...think clean sweat, its astringency is there but also a real cleanliness.  From then on in, the magic really starts to happen.  This one has low to medium throw on me but a long wear time, and it undergoes an interesting morph along the way.  As the top notes of the tomato leaf die down, the coriander steps up, but both that and the leaf keep things vegetal rather than smoky or floral.  The cedar stays in the background and is really more like fresh cedar bark rather than a cedar keepsake trunk or such.  Then, as the day goes on, the red musk gradually creeps up, and slowly turns the whole thing gently to a cool floral on me...not quite quite any one flower, not spice, and not woody...never really "sweet" but floral, maybe crushed wildflower petals?  Anyway, if you are a tomato leaf note fan, you need this in your life.  It's also a tame starting point for folks wary of red musks.  

[zankoku_zen]

Tomato leaf, whiff of black pepper, cedar, and musk. This is a HELL TOMATO LEAF. You get that garden freshness from the tomato leaf combined with something that should be smoldering in a hell. Slightly manly. Good throw and wear length.

[Lucchesa]

I don't even remember what update Melancholy Inferno is from.  I received it from the Orphanage -- many thanks!!! -- and was interested primarily for the unusual tomato leaf note.  I love that smell!  But all I really get here is charred red musk.  I laughed when I read the first review describing it as a tame starting point for folks afraid of red musk.  My vial or my skin must be the exception.  Red musk and burned wood -- I really wanted that tomato note so badly!

[DizzyGinger]

Tomato leaf is my favorite scent of all time, so I was really looking forward to this one. Unfortunately, to my nose it's pretty much all ashes and red musk, as the previous reviewer noted. It's intensely powdery and smoky, with none of the fresh green I associate with tomato leaf. I can't stand powdery fragrances, so I gave it to my boyfriend hoping it was just my body chemistry and maybe he'd amp more of the tomato leaf, but sadly, no, still pure powder. 

[Llanval]

like the two reviewers above me, the red musk stomps on all the other notes, and I don't get that bright peppery tomato leaf I love so much. I'm starting to realize that musk and I are not friends, which makes me want to stomp all over things too! Musk just goes powdery on me 9 out of 10 bottles - the black musk in Black Forest killed that scent on my skin, it left almost NO SCENT in under 30 min, and I KNOW Black Forest is a deep, strong forest scent. Any kind of musk, tho brown and green seem to hold up okay, just mutes the notes immediately, and then muffles them all down to almost nothing: waxy/powdery impressions of what each note might have intended to develop into. weirdly enough, I don't have that same problem with the red musk in under the foot warmer. hmm.

 

...still like it though, and glad to have tested it. this inferno isn't choke-you-out powdery, just soft downy waves of vaguely melancholic greenery.