Darkness

[vikitty]

Bottled gloom; the essence of oblivion. Blackest opium and narcissus deepened by myrrh.

This is totally not the type of scent I wear -- anything with myrrh and opium makes me heave -- but I have a whiff anyway. Very dark and gloomy. Not like me at all.

Up for swap it goes~

[crebbsgirl]

This was a pretty heady blend, very attention grabbing, and a little goes a very long way. On me, I found it resembled the closest thing to a department store fragrance I've yet tried, and that's not something that appeals to me. The narcissus and opium really take the foreground in this blend. The myrrh wasn't as apparent on me. I was a little saddened, because normally opium and myrrh are big hits with me.

[zankoku_zen]

I think the floral smell that I get, which is sharp, greenish-white and fumey is the narcissus. I think it was very similar to Pride. In this blend however, the 'fumes' aspect is compounded by opium, it's got that fog/smoke quality that I remember from the Poisoned Apple. But in this case the fog/smoke is very murky, very dark.

 

It's more wearable than I thought it would be, but at the same time, scarier because of that. This is what a creature of the night would wear, like a vampire or succubus. It's pretty, and then you realise, it's also scary as hell.

[voodoocatwoman]

Yum! Darkness is a deep and mysterious scent. The opium and myrrh are tantalizing and heady, while the narcissus adds a powdery touch. This is a lovely winter fragrance.

[mooncityminx]

In the vial: Wow. Smokey leather?

 

Wet: Soapy smoke, but it's not like woodsmoke or anything like that. *is overwhelmed*

 

Drydown: I think this smells a little bit like leather, but I'm not sure. The association I'm getting is a cowboy. This is seriously seriously masculine. Maybe a little too masculine for my tastes, even on a man. And yet there is a slight floral there, but it comes across as more clean than anything else. It's not quite soap anymore.

 

It's like meeting a cowboy, and at first impression you're thinking "There goes one manly man," but then he opens the door for you and calls you "ma'am" and it dawns on you that he is actually a gentleman too. This is that cowboy's cologne.

[Coldfire]

 

 

 

 

Imp: oooooo such a deep dark narcissus.

Wet on me: okay the Myrrh catches up to the Narcissus now.

Drying Down: some powder notes are trying to come through

now. Is it the opium or Narcissus?

Dry: this is baby powder over resin. I had high hopes but it’s

mostly baby poweder. Oh well glad I got to try it!

 

[Ceri]

In the vial: A mysterious, heady and spicy scent.

 

Wet: It smells like I've stepped into a room full of smoke from a lovely incense. I love it!

 

Drydown: Baby Powder. Baby Powder. Baby Powder.

 

Overall: I'm disappointed with the drydown, but I will definitely give it another go.

[lothien]

I finally have a whole bottle of this one!

I thought I would try another Lab opium, since I love The Caterpillar and wanted something with the opium a little more to the forefront, so I grabbed an imp of Darkness. "Blackest opium" calls to me!

First of all it's "darkness" and I'm a big fan of that. ^^ and I get a nice beeswax-candle-smoke smell from myrrh, so I figured this might be a tasty combination if the narcissus worked for me, and yeah, testing turned to wearing and my little imp went way too fast, so I was forced to restock!

I get the hairspray smell folks are talking about right out of the bottle, but it is gone instantly giving way to succulent narcissus, and then my sweet, smoky myrrh and opium. Not one I would particularly want to apply and jump into a car full of people, though. Once the narcissus settles down, it's heady and thick and exotic, myrrh and opium near the skin with whiffs of the narcissus.

And while it seems like a close scent, I have a feeling it throws more than I think it does. But I love it. I will just have to restrain myself and not reapply when it seems I can't smell it anymore...

 

[asciident]

Wet: Musky, which I think is the opium here for me.

 

First on: Unchanged. I'm thinking this might be too masculine for me if it doesn't soften at all.

 

Dry: Still unchanged, still too masculine.

[annlandru]

I wasn't sure about this one when sniffed from the bottle - something very sharp. But on my skin it softens and I am liking it very much.

[Gwydion]

In bottle: This is very strong, very womenly sexy. I am surprised there is no black musk. The narcissus is not entirely fortunate apong all that opium and myrrrh. T my nose it reads as impuirty and I must repeatedly remind myself that it’s narcissus, not unwashed hands. Dry: Gah! Apparently, my skin amps narcissus and the result, is smoky burning opium and well fertilized flowers. I am inclined to blame my skin for the inauspicious amping, so take this with a grain of salt. The thing separates into disparate parts on my skin and goes to war Dry:It is less combative on the dry down, morphing into an opium heavy floral that suits me not at all but would probably be quite sexy on someone else.

[femmefatale]

This is a very classy, womanly scent with an edge to it. Like a business woman who wears super sexy, naughty underwear beneath her suit.

 

It's a somewhat sharp floral with a hint of smokiness, though as it dries down it softens and becomes a bit powdery. I actually like the drydown more.

It's very pretty, though not exactly me, so it'll be on it's way.

[sunshinedaisybliss]

This is a very classy, womanly scent with an edge to it. Like a business woman who wears super sexy, naughty underwear beneath her suit.

 

Yep, this.

 

I am extremely thankful for getting lucky with the skin chemistry for this one. I can smell the floral, but it's dark and mysterious - quite subtle, not bright at all. It has gone powdery after about 30 minutes.. but a beautiful velvety incense kind of powder - smokey, and musky, but the myrrh is keeping that incense vibe from getting too strong.. it's a lovely balance. After about an hour on my skin it has mellowed out a lot but not changed, just softened.

 

I should mention that I'm testing this from a cobalt bottle and I think it dates back to around 2005, so mine probably smells very different to what you'd get from a fresh imp, I suspect that with age the narcissus has succumbed to the opium.. so if you're on the fence about this one - put it aside for a while and see if you like it better a few months from now.

[Bluestocking]

In the imp: Smoky, dark, slightly astringent floral. Not overly sweet at all. I get mostly the gloomy myrrh and fresher narcissus, with an overlay of the smoky quality from the opium. It is a deep, dark, majestic sort of scent, very womanly. It also has a tinge of something funereal about it, which certainly fits the category.

On, wet: Tangy, very true-to-life narcissus with an undertone of the myrrh, but it's all wrapped in the gauzy, dark smoke of the opium, which makes this both sensual and just a little bit sleazy or dangerous to me. It really is a lightless fragrance (how does Beth do that?), and it makes me think of black and white and noir.

On, dry: The narcissus is sweeter and more perfumey now, but it's still backed by the gloomy myrrh and opium, which have blended together into a dark, smoky, slightly incence-y haze. The opium is also slowly, surely turning sweeter on my skin. It really is a noir perfume to me: the scent of a tough-but-high-class dame's floral perfume, mixed with the aroma of exotic illegal drugs and a gumshoe's cigarette.

Later: Smoky-sweet opium and narcissus, with just a bit of bite from the myrrh. It's a really thick, sweet, dark perfume now—I can practically see the clouds of opium smoke. By this point, it's really something more than the sum of its parts, really well blended and sexy.

Overall: This one just gets better and better as it evolves. It's striking when first applied, but when it all comes together in a smoky, darkly floral whole, it's beautiful. It's a cool, dark, sexy and mysterious sort of perfume—maybe a bit too cool and dark for my personal preferences, but I admire this just the same. It's very classy, very feminine, but it has a no-nonsense, powerful edge to it. Like I said, a dame's perfume!

 

 

[Veronica]

This is floral, but with a slightly band-aid background scent(?). The opium comes out more as this scent dries, giving it an exotic air, similar to sandalwood, but I can't get over the band-aidness the opium is causing.

Edited May 15, 2009 by delighted

[stellans]

This blend starts with a bit of sourness which almost calls to mind a bad jasmine reaction, but it passes quickly, thank goodness. The opium may not be a favorite note, but in this blend it seems to work quite nicely with the narcissus (this I do like) and the myrrh (and this I like as well). The sourness I mentioned before gives way to a very nice resin (the myrhh) which is not in the least spoiled by the narcissus; rather, the light floral note serves to lighten the myrrh just a bit, which in this case was needed, IMO. This blend definitely lives up to its name, as it definitely calls gloom to mind, but it’s a lovely blend for any season.

 

Oh, and mine is a cobalt bottle, at least as old as 2005... I don't know how I'd react to a newer version.

Edited May 10, 2011 by stellans

[liquidtrance]

Ooo, dark florals. Heavy, a little unsettling to the nose. Definitely the darkest florals I've ever smelled. Heady and deep. Somewhat familiar poppy, but deeper. Something much more familiar to BPAL is amping up as this dries… The narcissus/poppy smell is there (heady, cloying) but up close it might be the myrrh that is changing this from something enigmatic to something familiar and not adored. From a distance though it is pretty fabulous. Even as I write this though, the close scent is less obstructive. Unfortunately, it seems to also be going rather powdery on me. Losing its dark edge and getting much more stale smelling, and less potent. From a distance the poppies are still ass kicking good though. Once fully dry, its a heady, soft, and dark floral. Somewhat reminiscent of my mom's perfume, too. Fine scent. Not quite me, but not necessarily to be sent off to swap either.

[rayvn1]

Eep This started out really nice - I like the lab's opium note very much. Something went wrong though (maybe the myrrh?) and within a few minutes it was powder central. Too bad!

[pseedie]

~~darkness~~

 

I tried.....truly, i did try. I couldn't get past the smell in the bottle. There was something really REALLY bitter smelling in this....almost a lily smell to it. As I'm having a tummy problem recently, decided not to give it to my wrist to absorb, in case my nose didn't change it's mind. I a generally not a fan of heavy incense blends, so when I went to type this info in, I wasn't surprised to see several notes that took my wee nose hostage. This one goes into the swap pile....to my friends that love heavy duty fragrances!

 

ADDED July 26:

 

~~~Darkness~~~

 

ok, let's try this again...... oh no...

 

GAAAAAAAAAAK!!!! BITTER!!

 

(well that was the end of that!)

Edited September 17, 2009 by Shollin

[Graphica]

in the bottle: Clean scent, reminding me strongly of sandalwood. Slight smokiness. Pleasingly warm and dry in a resinous kind of way. Something smooth running behind.

 

on wet: Incense. More incense. Truly, incense. But somehow not obnoxious.

 

drydown: Still sandalwood-y. Still incense, with a hint of sweetness behind; a kind of fresh, floral sweetness that isn't perfume-y, but more warm and heady.

 

one hour later: The slightly resinous, dry quality has returned, but I can't pin a scent on it, it's more of an impression. The light but warm and heady floral is still there. This is turning into what I would think of as perfume in a more classic sense, but not like any perfume I've smelled before.

 

end of day: Dry, resinous floral, with the floral barely in evidence. The dry quality is more pronounced, to the point of making me feel like I have a catch in my throat. Gives me the urge to drink water. I believe that the dry, resinous quality comes from the same component that I was reading as smoky while still in the bottle.

 

compared to official description: I don't get the morbid bleakness suggested by the official description; but then again, I'd be hard-pressed to describe the smell of oblivion.

 

notes: I'd have to say that, overall, I like this, but being ridiculously picky, I'm not convinced I want it. It doesn't scream "wear me!"

 

I commented in my last review that I don't know the scent of myrrh well enough to identify it. I wonder now if the slight smokiness I smelled in the bottle would be the myrrh, since Velvet had a smoky quality to me and also contained myrrh. Having said that, the smokiness wasn't pronounced, and may have snuck in later as more of a dry warmth.

 

A number of times during the day when I was moving around I picked up a wafting scent which made me think of mock orange blossoms, but I could never smell it on my wrists, only when my hands were moving around at a distance. Except for the odd waft every now and then, this stayed exceptionally close to my skin, but didn't fade completely. Another potentially good second-skin type scent I think, but not for me.

Edited July 13, 2009 by Graphica

[Suu4LC]

Very deep indeed-deep dark opium incense in the imp-I actually think this could maybe be a neat room spray, but I am not sure I want to smell this dour personally!

 

Yep, very dark black incensey/opium/floral scent. This actually dries down to be rather lovely-less doom and gloom, and more dark, mysterious and sexy! Like a sexy evil fortune teller dressed in swishy black clothes.

 

This isn't really a "me" scent, so I can't see myself picking up a bottle, but for what it is, it is very beautiful! I still think it would make a gorgeous room spray!

[tacey]

Not as similar to the On Darkness (Yule 2008) as I had hoped. I get a LOT of narcissus out of this -- very perfumey. If the 'darkest opium' is present it's very different from the other opiums I've learned to identify. Myrrh may be present underneath, but it's not contributing much, yet. Would likely work better with skin that kept the narcissus more in the background...

[aquazoo]

A little floral cat pee, to start, then it blooms into something better. It blends in nicely with the skin, a dark alluring floral.

[BuxomM]

It's a bit sweet, floral and powdery.

[claudia6913]

I'm very intrigued by this scent from the description alone. I love the opium note in Languor. This is black as black can be in the imp. The scent can only be described as a pure lack of color. On my skin though it just .... disappears? What?! Oh, there it is. Hello nose touching skin just to get to the scent! Weird. As it dries, it has a bit more of a throw than, well, the nothing it had when wet. It is deep and dark and languid. I like it, but wish it had more of a throw. Oh yes, the more this dries, the more I like it and can't stop sniffing my wrist.