In The Belly of The Beast

This perfume opens with an aggressive roar of leather and slowly becomes more polite over time. I'm used to the lighter, gentler notes presenting themselves first in most compositions before melting into a rich leather base, but this composition flips that classic formula in reverse. The experience of wearing this fragrance is like waking up in the stomach of a leviathan, clawing your way out, drifting through the ocean, and eventually washing up on a peaceful shore. The initial spray is leathery, acrid, dark, and intense: these are the bowels of the creature and the terror that comes along with realizing you’ve been swallowed whole. The scent of the ocean lingers gently at the edge of your perception as a reminder of where you came from. Next, the strangely soft and musky embrace of wool... there’s a coziness in here, after all. The thought of “maybe it’s not worth it — I’ll just give up and allow myself to be digested” crosses your mind, but your desire to see the sun again wins in the end. Costus represents the sweat from your struggle to escape while the bracing citrus elements of pomelo, elemi, and Hercules club suggest your vigor and determination. You tear at the creature’s abdominal walls in a desperate frenzy. At last, you are free! That earlier scent of the sea returns with a rush, now tripled in strength and filling your senses. The vast expanse of the ocean extends in all directions as you scramble onto a large piece of driftwood and hope the currents are flowing in your favor. Lichen scratches your face while your body lies heavily against the wood, sopping wet and exhausted. Fate smiles upon you as your makeshift buoy runs ashore. Drenched in seawater and whale innards, you stumble onto land. Flowers bloom around you and towering sequoia trees shelter you from the sun. You have survived. A theatrical and thoroughly evocative experience. I can see myself comfortably wearing this in just about any weather aside from a humid summer day. If you can get your hands on a sample of In the Belly of the Beast, don’t pass it up!

You are a Viking wearing a tunic, leather belt, trousers, boots, cloak, and pouch. You're returning on a longship from a successful battle while the crew celebrates. Suddenly a storm sweeps the boat away and everyone else is lost. After floating at sea for hours, when you thought you would join the fate of the rest of the crew, the tide carries you back to your farmstead as the only survivor. You hug your family and they all wear beautiful wool clothes and they were so worried about you. You tell everyone the battle was a success. But at what cost? If you found Sea My Love by SHL to be underwhelming, then this one is for you. Dark, masculine, woody, leathery, and marine with immense depth, this fragrance is cinematic and unforgettable. Every layer reveals something new from the storm-tossed sea to the smoke and grit of battle to the warmth of home. A true standout.

Reviewing on the limited edition version. This might be one of the strongest fragrances I've ever smelled. Salty, woody, resinous & aquatic all at once with touches of fruit, earth & leather. Bold & loud yet also complex, multi faceted & ethereal. I love salty/mineral notes as well as harsher oud noted, and I'm really loving this one a lot. For the casual person, this definitely would be considered "challenging". Tbh I'd say the same for most of the fragrances from this house. That being said, these scents are undeniably phenomenal quality & accomplish their intended goal perfectly. Conceptually these scents function more as wearable art than just another pleasant smelling perfume. Through various familiar notes, these scents are transportive in a way I can't say I've experienced from many other houses. Telling a story through scent.

have you ever been inside a hollister store or an abercrombie & fitch store? thats what this smells like or at least that's what it reminded me of. ive been wearing it more and more and it has grown on me a lot. It's sharp on the nose which might be annoying for some. it's deep, not musky, more like ozonic. I didnt expect this masterpiece by toskovat, not gonna lie, it smells like something jean paul gaultier would release, like for that particular audience yknow what i mean? but nonetheless i love it. it's the perfect fragrance for the upcoming sping / summer time. The woody elements are so nice and mature. the difference between this and megamare is the presence of musk. i believe that megamare is super musky and sweet. this has no sweetness.

This is most challenging scent i got so far. Opening is STRONG with animalic odor combined with beautifull mulberry touch that goes through air. The closer you get to someone the more they will sense sharp almost ground defending animalic smell. Dry down is balanced between upper desciption and the leathery/wool with pinches of sea salt and hasish. Oud is here in plenty versions and its pushing the whole perfume through the room. Its the scent that make you nose blind after few hours but everyone around you will notice it. When you wear it in few differentiated occasions it fits in each one easily. Smell: 10/10 (Masculine/Wild/Bold) Projection: 9/10 (few meters 5h+) Longevity: 10/10 (10h-12h)