ghoulnextdoor

Through the tiny gabled window of a dollhouse attic, a secret scene unfolds: a miniature lace shawl lies draped across a trunk, its delicate stitches dusted with what could be petit four crumbs, could be breakfast cereal marshmallows - fairy-sized sweets scattered by some forgotten child's hand. Beside it, pearly mothballs like strange sugar drops rest among cobwebby linens that exhale their milky-musky-powderiness. From a diminutive crystal perfume bottle in the corner, phantom florals and delicate vanilla mingle with dust motes in the afternoon sunlight, the whole tiny world held in perfect, timeless suspension.

Nevertheless, She Persisted is all warmth and edge, a richness cut with a chipped blade, a silver that's earned its patina, illuminated by a cresting shard of dawn. The scent blooms like resin warmed by just enough light to see by, bittersweet, gentle as prayer, steady as stone. It moves like metallic honey, like quicksilver caught in amber - inexorable and incandescent, a sliver of sunshine given weight and anointed with purpose. Beneath its surface lies something unflinching and resolute, like steel threaded through silk, like granite veined with gold, like a sword of thunder wrapped in a ballgown.

(2024 version) I don’t know how I’ve been reviewing these Halloween scents for so long, and yet I have never talked about this one. Perhaps it’s because it’s been lurking in the shadows, biding its time, waiting for the perfect moment to reveal its true nature. And that nature? It’s not what you’d expect. The coffee is strong and smoky, a dark roast rebellion against the expected sweetness. This is not the sticky-sweet pumpkin syrup bomb of your coffee-chain drive-thru order with your name spelled ridiculously wrong (ugh, poor “Keighleigh”). Instead, imagine a barista witch concocting a potion of bitter mysteries and autumnal secrets in a cauldron of burnished copper. Vanilla bean smoke curls around the edges, more felt than tasted, while cinnamon and nutmeg whisper spicy nothings from the shadows. A ribbon of milk weaves through it all, not to soften but to complicate – binding the realms of wake and sleep, summer’s fading warmth, and winter’s approaching chill. Raw sugar lingers as an afterthought, crunching softly like leaves underfoot or the last grains of sand in October’s hourglass. This is a PSL for those who find comfort in decay and seek beauty in the turn of seasons – a not-too-sweet (ultimate compliment) toast to endings that taste like new beginnings, the best, most perfect, most WEENDERFUL TIME OF THE YEAR.

My smeller’s notes are somewhat different than the listed perfumer's notes: honeydew, rhubarb, & honeysuckle preserves, a translucent shiver of ginger leaf, a rosebud preening, its reflection glassy and cool in a pool of still rainwater. Fresh, clear nectar, lush and swirling in a prismatic jelly jar, balancing on a small tray carved of young, green wood.

Did I hear a blackberry giggle? And why did it sound so chilling, soulless, and evil? A chorus of tiny, wicked voices rises from the brambles, their sweet menace carried on a gentle breeze. The scent drifts lightly, deceptively airy, its delicate touch belying the weight of ancient malice it carries.

The pores of the earth yawn open, exuding an inky miasma perfumed with earthy autumnal spices and sweet brown sugar musk. This glazed, glistening cascade of aromatic sap gleams under a harvest moon, a glossy pool of honeyed incense golden and thick, an aromatic oil slick of resinous warmth and syrupy darkness. From the viscous depths, a pumpkin-headed silhouette emerges, its hollow eyes glowing with ancient malice—an old god awakening to reclaim its hallowed home.

This impression of chlorinated florals, aquatic honey, and a slight mineral effervescence is not at all what I expected... although I think this is going to be a summertime favorite! This is a midsummer fever dream, foamed with flowers, pearled with light. Narcotic petals lounging poolside: honey-sweet poisonous blooms take a dip in cerulean waters at high noon in mid-July, and they’re floating on neon pool noodles and drinking slightly flat but icy-cold Topo Chico. For those who appreciate such things, this one reminds me a bit of the long-discontinued Danube.

A farmers market fruit basket tumbles into the washing machine, emerges an olfactory apparition. High-thread-count luxury cotton sheets, spin cycle séance, rustling with tales of anemic fruits transfused with linen-fresh detergent. Bedclothes drift through air heavy with warm humidity and the powdery tang of fabric softener, an olfactory bedtime story of fruits gently haunting your freshly laundered linens. The faintest ghosts of apples and oranges, their essence diluted yet persistent, phantom orchard memories woven into fabric and suffused with the comforting musk of clean laundry.

This is a very creamy blend, but also very ...earthy? Velvety ribbons of milky jam weave through wobbling mounds of coconut custard. Lumpy dollops of an almost figgy milk jelly jostle jiggingly aside pillowy palm sugar flan. But there is also the starchy nectar of sweet rice, beans boiled in fruit syrup, and the subterranean, geosmic sweetness of mashed tubers. This fragrance has all of those things...plus a tiny spoonful of salty, nutty, browned butter.

Monstrous vegetation breathes a verdant miasma, its exhalations heavy with the weight of countless eons. In the same space, the same breath, the other eye observes a study in boreal archaeology: a drift of dead branches, ancient pine cones, desiccated moss. Tendrils of primordial green intertwine with crumbling stone, suspended in time. Undergrowth, thicket, and canopy exude a vast murky viridescence, revealing a mirror world where forest and ruin reflect endlessly, an unsettling symmetry of growth and decay.

An unexpected autumnal breeze; crisp leaves carry secrets of golden fields. Honey-tinged sunlight clings to weathered bark, earthy roots anchor fleeting warmth. Tattered pumpkin rind scrapings compost with the sweet decay of fallen foliage. Deceptively fresh, almost cheerful, yet a ghostly chorus lingers in wind-stirred branches - a chill, whistling echo of summer's fading warmth.

A spectral chill in frosted glass; anise and verbena spark with eerie luminescence. Icy tendrils spill over the rim, a fog that bites at curious fingers. The elixir shimmers, a cold vapor suspended between tipple and mist - green herbal whispers and sharp, aromatic secrets swirling in misty limbo.

Pureed gourd flesh and nutty, toasted grains steep in dusky, caramelized sweetness. A slice of pumpkin bread devoured at a forsaken crossroads, where a witching-hour deal is yet to be struck.

Velvety pigments and wine-darkened lips, inky midnight fruits, rich, jammy, plummy, plush malaise-as-a-lifestyle-choice kisses.

The earthy, euphoric scent of autumn rises from a carpet of fallen leaves, their colors a blanket of umber and gold spread beneath rusted wrought-iron gates. Wisps of aromatic steam curl from an abandoned mug on a weathered stone bench, mingling with the garden's fading sighs. At twilight, a crisp breeze rattles the trees, carrying a jolly, vegetal brightness that disperses the melancholy haze like a peal of laughter at an unexpectedly inappropriate joke! A moment, a reflective pause between seasons, rich with the comforting warmth of autumn and the lingering mischief of the departing summer, the last chirp of a cricket giving way to the first croak of an autumn toad.