Lightning Struck a Flock of Witches

[Seajewel]

A crack of ozone slicing through blue benzoin, indigo musk, tobacco, and opoponax.

[DiesMali]

In the bottle: Sharp, chemical, and weird.

 

Wet on my skin: This goes on smelling pretty weird, but don't be scared (like I was the first time I tried it)! The initially startling "crack" of sharp ozone and crackly electricity-smell mellows out pretty quickly, and it's actually a pretty cool scent progression. Immediately, it's that sharp electrical ozone and cool, medicinal benzoin, and I don't know HOW they managed to bottle the scent of a crack of lightning, but they did it. 

 

Dry: As this dries down, it mellows out pretty quickly into something dark and moody. That initial blast of chilly-electrical ozone-benzoin lasts for maybe a minute or two, and then roll in the blue clouds of indigo musk, tobacco, and opoponax. It's very much a grey-blue scent on me, and although it isn't in-your-face aquatic, there is an aquatic feel to it due to a hint of salty tang pairing with that ozone. The blue benzoin in this is definitely one of the medicinal, "chilly-vanilly" benzoins when paired with the ozone. That said, I actually bought this primarily for the indigo musk, which doesn't disappoint! It's a sweet, dark, smooth musk that is a somewhat rare treasure in BPAL releases, and I don't even really know how to describe it to anyone who hasn't tried it before. The tobacco in this is sweet and dark, like the tobacco in Hellfire, and the opoponax serves mostly to blend in with the benzoin as a sweet resin once everything's settled in to the skin. 

 

Overall, this is probably leaning toward the masculine side of unisex, and iI can't stop sniffing myself as I sit here in this cloud of "dark, cloudy blue." There have only been a couple BPAL releases since 2015 that might even be scent cousins to this, so it's also something that might appeal to folks looking for something a little unusual that is neither foodie nor floral. 

Edited October 26, 2022 by DiesMali

[marared]

This one is a bit odd and I've had a hard time putting my finger on it, even after letting it sit for a few weeks. It is definitely cool blue and airy, but I don't really get the ozone or the opoponax. Vanilla is there, yes - this particular vanilla reminds me a bit of Ghosts of Aldershot without the mint. I think "medicinal" is the right description here, but I've never gotten that from benzoin, so maybe it's the tobacco giving that particular impression on my skin? After about 10-15 minutes or so, there's the tobacco - it gets darker and more masculine, but there's still that creepy blue zing underneath.

[DiZZysTARdust]

i was nervous about this one because i’m not a fan of ozonic scents. but i love tobacco and no overall hard nos in the note list so i went for it. if you’re like me and don’t do the ozone-y scents, don’t worry. i think it must be combining with the tobacco to create a very “classic cologne” vibe. i could seriously see this in a board room

[roseus]

In the imp this is sweet but snappy ozone and blue musk. The blue musk is charged, it almost has a fruitiness to it. When it hits my skin I think of blue cotton candy for a moment, before the sweetness starts to simmer down. The resins start to peak out giving the scent more of a base. As it wears I get a bit of tobacco. Overall sweeter and less ozoney than I anticipated, but still a very interesting very blue scent! 

[zankoku_zen]

Sweet ozone, perfume, and a whiff of tobacco. Medium throw and wear length.

[ghoulnextdoor]

This is unexpectedly fruity! But not a fresh, juicy harvest; this is more the fruity aspect of tobacco, sticky dried cherries, the intensely golden bronzed honeyed sweetness of dates, and even a bit of dried pineapple. As it wears, there’s a lovely incense of vanilla and hay, a mingled smokiness of a scented broom whose bristles singed when lingering too close to the hearth, a domestic ritual of ashes and small, satisfying work. It’s a scent that makes me think of this thing (but much lighter on the cinnamon.)

Edited March 20, 2023 by ghoulnextdoor