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Showing results for tags 'Masque of the Red Death'.
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The external world could take care of itself. In the meantime it was folly to grieve, or to think. Ginger-squeezed champagne with crushed diamonds, orange blossoms, and peach blossoms. The orange and peach blossoms were calling me. I should have known better when it comes to champagne. It ends up smelling like a fancy cleaning solution on me. I get a hint of ginger, but the champagne really amps on me. I can smell the peach and orange blossom hanging out in the background, but I really have to take a deep whiff. This is such a clean scent, I think it would make a great atmo spray. Coming back to this a bit later: the balance between the champagne and blossoms feels a lot more balanced. And it seems like it sweetened up a bit. Still not for me, though.
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There was much of the beautiful, much of the wanton, much of the bizarre, something of the terrible, and not a little of that which might have excited disgust. To and fro in the seven chambers there stalked, in fact, a multitude of dreams. And these the dreams writhed in and about, taking hue from the rooms, and causing the wild music of the orchestra to seem as the echo of their steps. A blackened lavender mist, thick with opoponax, licorice root, and benzoin. ahhhhh this is one of those scents that's just so perfect, I can start circulating a conspiracy theory that beth made it just for me. lavender and licorice===the hottest dream pairing of 2018?? those two beautiful notes play and blend and support each other so well that they are my new blueprint for #relationshipgoals. the lab's opoponax is one of my favorite resin notes, and it adds its magical richness to this blend. with the name and the lavender, I had anticipated wearing this as a sleep blend, but instead it's become my go-to scent to wear out and about. this blend is one of those "little black dress/favorite jeans" perfumes that has me smelling elegant in any situation from fancy to casual. prob my favorite bpal licorice perfume. thank you, labbies!
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The prince had provided all the appliances of pleasure. There were buffoons, there were improvisatori, there were ballet-dancers, there were musicians, there was Beauty, there was wine. All these and security were within. Without was the “Red Death.” Gushes of black and red wine splattering damask rose and white pear, engulfed in thick clove incense. Ton of red wine and clove incense. Loads of wine. This is a very red wine blend. Whiffs of roses on the drydown. Good throw and wear length.
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And now was acknowledged the presence of the Red Death. He had come like a thief in the night. And one by one dropped the revellers in the blood-bedewed halls of their revel, and died each in the despairing posture of his fall. And the life of the ebony clock went out with that of the last of the gay. And the flames of the tripods expired. And Darkness and Decay and the Red Death held illimitable dominion over all. Darkness, Decay, and the Red Death: blood musk and black tobacco, birch tar and bleeding cypress sap. I'm such a sucker for tobacco. Even when all the other notes don't particularly call me, I'm still willing to try it for the tobacco. Wet: musk, perhaps of the red or blood variety. I don't really know the difference. I can smell the cypress in the background. Drydown: Oh, hello, tar. Why are you here to ruin this party? Darkness and Decay, indeed. Cypress is still hanging out, just kinda waving from the back of the room. Dry: The birch tar and cypress have combined to create this interesting platform where they work together to hold up the musk and hint of tobacco. In an oddly bright red, but in a dangerous way. I feel like this leans masculine on me, with the tobacco, tar, and cypress holding back any sweetness. The musk is slowly trying to round out these scoundrels, bringing a bit of sweetness. I didn't expect this sort of change. It's still too much tar and cypress for me to enjoy, though. Much later: It's sweetened up significantly. It ends up smelling like an slightly evil version of Smut on me. So, I guess there's blood musk in Smut, and I'm amping the musk here.
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But the Prince Prospero was happy and dauntless and sagacious. When his dominions were half depopulated, he summoned to his presence a thousand hale and light-hearted friends from among the knights and dames of his court, and with these retired to the deep seclusion of one of his castellated abbeys. This was an extensive and magnificent structure, the creation of the princes own eccentric yet august taste. A strong and lofty wall girdled it in. This wall had gates of iron. The courtiers, having entered, brought furnaces and massy hammers and welded the bolts. They resolved to leave means neither of ingress or egress to the sudden impulses of despair or of frenzy from within. The abbey was amply provisioned. With such precautions the courtiers might bid defiance to contagion. Imprisoned in frenzied joy: ribbons of raspberry and red currant streaming through thick goats milk. Wet: Same tart raspberry from Raspberry Sufganiyot mixed with red currant to give it depth. Deliciousssss. Dry: Tartness calms down and now I'm getting a bit of the goat's milk to smooth it out. Still quite fruity. Drydown: Becomes mostly red currant with the tartness of raspberry and a bit of milk with some goat-y nuttiness around the edges. Very bright, moderate to strong throw and average longevity.
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And the revel went whirlingly on, until at length there commenced the sounding of midnight upon the clock. And then the music ceased, as I have told; and the evolutions of the waltzers were quieted; and there was an uneasy cessation of all things as before. But now there were twelve strokes to be sounded by the bell of the clock; and thus it happened, perhaps, that more of thought crept, with more of time, into the meditations of the thoughtful among those who revelled. And thus, too, it happened, perhaps, that before the last echoes of the last chime had utterly sunk into silence, there were many individuals in the crowd who had found leisure to become aware of the presence of a masked figure which had arrested the attention of no single individual before. And the rumor of this new presence having spread itself whisperingly around, there arose at length from the whole company a buzz, or murmur, expressive of disapprobation and surprise –then, finally, of terror, of horror, and of disgust. Terror, horror, and disgust: a bowel-churning sweet clench of myrhh and green musk in a pool of suffocating black moss and a shock of white cognac. Call me crazy. This smells clean and fresh and herbal green with a white sheets background. Overall this could've been called Citrine Waterfall in a Serene Mossy Wood and I would've said "Uh Huh. For sure!". The myrrh comes out in drydown and stays meditational due to the cleaner notes. Quite relaxing actually.
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But to the chamber which lies most westwardly of the seven, there are now none of the maskers who venture; for the night is waning away; and there flows a ruddier light through the blood-colored panes; and the blackness of the sable drapery appals; and to him whose foot falls upon the sable carpet, there comes from the near clock of ebony a muffled peal more solemnly emphatic than any which reaches their ears who indulge in the more remote gaieties of the other apartments. But these other apartments were densely crowded, and in them beat feverishly the heart of life. Night-blooming jasmine and cereus reflected through ruddy musk and crimson amber. Jasmine, musk, and a whiff of amber. This one is a floral jasmine, with heavy red musk. It smells like dusty velvet jasmine. Medium throw and wear length.
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Red musk, saffron threads, molten honey, and tobacco oudh. Red, red, red. The Blood Red Window Panes HG smells like dark red incarnate. I would call this a red musk-prominent blend, but the other notes really get their fingers into it. The saffron and honey sweeten this and turn it sideways, and the tobacco oudh makes it smell decadent and perverse. It's a bit like if the Infernal Lover took a dose of debauched tobacco oudh and went out on the town. The oudh is definitely present, but I wouldn't call it overpowering.
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It was then, however, that the Prince Prospero, maddening with rage and the shame of his own momentary cowardice, rushed hurriedly through the six chambers, while none followed him on account of a deadly terror that had seized upon all. He bore aloft a drawn dagger, and had approached, in rapid impetuosity, to within three or four feet of the retreating figure, when the latter, having attained the extremity of the velvet apartment, turned suddenly and confronted his pursuer. There was a sharp cry –and the dagger dropped gleaming upon the sable carpet, upon which, instantly afterwards, fell prostrate in death the Prince Prospero. Then, summoning the wild courage of despair, a throng of the revellers at once threw themselves into the black apartment, and, seizing the mummer, whose tall figure stood erect and motionless within the shadow of the ebony clock, gasped in unutterable horror at finding the grave-cerements and corpse-like mask which they handled with so violent a rudeness, untenanted by any tangible form. The wild courage of despair: a screech of blood orange and a splash of blood entangled in a corpse-mask of tattered white sandalwood stained with balsam and a grime-crusted winding sheet. Blood, sandalwood, linen. This is mainly a blood/sandalwood blend. Medium throw and wear length.
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Black currant, rose otto, azure musk, and blue orris. Orris, with a smidgen of orris, and a faint trace of orris in the background. Seriously though; where is the black currant?! I thought I was losing my mind when applying this. I made sure to lightly shake my little decant to make sure everything was mixed... didn't make a different. Orris, orris, orris. Orris tends to equal baby powder to my nose, so this... isn't really ideal for me.
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Blackberry and sugared fig meat. Purple Window HG is very nice, surprisingly similar to Blackberry Sufganiyot if a little less sweet. It really captures “purple”! Moderate to strong throw, and great lasting power.
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Lily of the valley, osmanthus, white oakmoss, silvered orchid and ambergris accord. The White Window HG does smell white, like a white flower extravaganza. Lily of the valley (one of my fave notes), plus osmanthus and orchid—supported by ambergris and oakmoss. If you love white florals, don't miss this! It's really elegant.
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It was toward the close of the fifth or sixth month of his seclusion, and while the pestilence raged most furiously abroad, that the Prince Prospero entertained his thousand friends at a masked ball of the most unusual magnificence. Opulent golden oudh, red benzoin, and bitter almond. A very strong almond on wet, and it dries down to a golden oudh and resin blend. Medium throw and wear length.
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But, in spite of these things, it was a gay and magnificent revel. The tastes of the duke were peculiar. He had a fine eye for colors and effects. He disregarded the decora of mere fashion. His plans were bold and fiery, and his conceptions glowed with barbaric lustre. There are some who would have thought him mad. His followers felt that he was not. It was necessary to hear and see and touch him to be sure that he was not. The swirl of a thousand glittering vices: absinthe and laudanum, opium poppy and neroli, star anise and black currant, whip leather and iron shackles, gilded vanilla flower and King mandarin. This scent is WHOA in a great way. Complex, sophisticated, sweet oriental. So deep that it sucks you in. The whip leather is what ties all notes together. Fans of Loviatar should try this. I can't stop smelling it. Its all the opposites: clean, sweet, dirty, leathery, oriental resinous, feminine and masculine, every color under the rainbow... I'm impressed and forever intrigued.
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King mandarin, wildflower honey, cognac, labdanum, honeybush and blood orange. The Orange Window HG is like an orange-lovers' dream. The king mandarin and blood orange are in the forefront, with the honey. The cognac, labdanum, and rooibos trail, making this a bit boozy/resiny and adding a subtle tea note. I think this is my second-favorite of the Halloween hair glosses I've received this year, and would layer so beautifully with any orange-dominant perfume or Snake Oil.
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It was in the eastern or blue chamber in which stood the Prince Prospero as he uttered these words. They rang throughout the seven rooms loudly and clearly for the prince was a bold and robust man, and the music had become hushed at the waving of his hand. It was in the blue room where stood the prince, with a group of pale courtiers by his side. At first, as he spoke, there was a slight rushing movement of this group in the direction of the intruder, who at the moment was also near at hand, and now, with deliberate and stately step, made closer approach to the speaker. A sycophants polished stench: green musk fougere, lime, and rose-tufted wig powder. Bottle fresh from the Lab. In the bottle: A cool fragrance somewhat reminiscent of a men's cologne, as I had expected from the list of notes. But hopefully not too much. No particular thing jumps out at me. I check the list and still don't pick out any of the notes. Maybe a bit of lime, but even that isn't definite. Maybe some lavender in the fougere? This is a well-blended perfume that really just smells like itself, not like specific ingredients. It figures that when I get a first review, it would turn out to be a scent that is difficult to describe! On me, wet: Just like in the bottle, but cooler and sharper. Then a single lovely whiff of floral that is too quickly gone to identify it as rose. At 5 minutes: The hint of floral is back, faint but there. It seems to have settled in to stay for a while this time. It still doesn't smell like rose, but is nice anyway. The lime and lavender notes are also tentative but pleasant. There is a sense of greenness, but I have no idea what green musk smells like, so can't tell if I am smelling that. At 10 minutes: The overall scent is light, bright, and cool, very refreshing. Rather sparkly, even. Perfect for the warm day that we are expecting here today. It doesn't smell like a traditional men's cologne at all, yay! At 20 minutes: It is getting even prettier. A bit more floral-ish and feminine, but not strongly so. Is that the musk starting to gain notice? The cool sharp edge has faded away, making it softer (in character, not in strength) and slightly warmer. Strength and throw are both light, but stable so far. At 30 minutes: At first sniff, I notice that the sparkle is still there, although the sharpness is gone. The close-in scent is beginning to lighten. At 45 minutes: This is a consistent perfume, not a morpher. The differences I mention are subtle, not distinct comings and goings of different notes. It still smells much the same as in the bottle, but without the sharpness. There is still a cool vibe. It is now becoming powdery, as musk does, in such a lovely way. It's a green powder. Well, that makes sense. At 1 hour: Soft, light, gentle. Musky, greenish, mildly floral powder. At 2 hours: Considerably faded. Otherwise, same as above. Still cool, which is unusual this late in drydown. That's probably what is making me think it is just a little men's-cologne-ish again. After wearing so many different BPAL oils for so many years, I have kind of lost my sense of "masculine" and "feminine" in perfumes, unless they are at either extreme end of the spectrum. I suppose that's a good thing, but it makes it hard to describe them for others! At 3 hours: Faint men's-cologne. No trace of powder remains. At 4 hours: Very faint plastic. No problem, it's time to reapply anyway. Prominent notes: None that stand out Character: Light, cool, blended. Fairly unisex. I agree with the description of it as "polished." 4 out of 6 stars: Not particularly exciting, but quite pleasant and pretty
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Blue musk and cassis bud, wild chamomile, dried blueberry, and blackcurrant. Beautiful dried blueberry rounded out by Blackcurrant. IT's lovely.
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In an assembly of phantasms such as I have painted, it may well be supposed that no ordinary appearance could have excited such sensation. In truth the masquerade license of the night was nearly unlimited; but the figure in question had out-Heroded Herod, and gone beyond the bounds of even the prince’s indefinite decorum. There are chords in the hearts of the most reckless which cannot be touched without emotion. Even with the utterly lost, to whom life and death are equally jests, there are matters of which no jest can be made. The whole company, indeed, seemed now deeply to feel that in the costume and bearing of the stranger neither wit nor propriety existed. The figure was tall and gaunt, and shrouded from head to foot in the habiliments of the grave. The mask which concealed the visage was made so nearly to resemble the countenance of a stiffened corpse that the closest scrutiny must have had difficulty in detecting the cheat. And yet all this might have been endured, if not approved, by the mad revellers around. But the mummer had gone so far as to assume the type of the Red Death. His vesture was dabbled in blood –and his broad brow, with all the features of the face, was besprinkled with the scarlet horror. When the eyes of Prince Prospero fell upon this spectral image (which with a slow and solemn movement, as if more fully to sustain its role, stalked to and fro among the waltzers) he was seen to be convulsed, in the first moment with a strong shudder either of terror or distaste; but, in the next, his brow reddened with rage. “Who dares?” he demanded hoarsely of the courtiers who stood near him — “who dares insult us with this blasphemous mockery? Seize him and unmask him — that we may know whom we have to hang at sunrise, from the battlements!” Blasphemous mockery: blood musk and vetiver. Smoke and bloody musk. This is dark, brooding and a little disturbing. Medium throw and wear length.
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The “Red Death” had long devastated the country. No pestilence had ever been so fatal, or so hideous. Blood was its Avatar and its seal –the redness and the horror of blood. There were sharp pains, and sudden dizziness, and then profuse bleeding at the pores, with dissolution. The scarlet stains upon the body and especially upon the face of the victim, were the pest ban which shut him out from the aid and from the sympathy of his fellow-men. And the whole seizure, progress and termination of the disease, were the incidents of half an hour. Splatters of red musk, bruise-purple violets, vetiver, and pimento. Violets on wet. As it dries I get vetiver, pimento comes on strong, and its got a musky overtone. Huh, pimentos. I don't think I've ever smelled it as strongly as I do in this blend. To end, musky pimentos. Medium throw and wear length.
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But from a certain nameless awe with which the mad assumptions of the mummer had inspired the whole party, there were found none who put forth hand to seize him; so that, unimpeded, he passed within a yard of the prince’s person; and, while the vast assembly, as if with one impulse, shrank from the centres of the rooms to the walls, he made his way uninterruptedly, but with the same solemn and measured step which had distinguished him from the first, through the blue chamber to the purple — through the purple to the green — through the green to the orange — through this again to the white — and even thence to the violet, ere a decided movement had been made to arrest him. Death unimpeded: bone-white sandalwood, dry cognac, and chilled ambergris accord. Softly aquatic sandalwood with a whiff of cognac. This is an interesting aquatic sandalwood - sort of solitary, and sort of chilling. Medium throw and wear length.
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Lily of the valley, cedarwood, chamomile, vanilla orchid, white sandalwood, and polished oak. I love lily of the valley so was super excited for this atmo. And lily of the valley is definitely the star here. The cedarwood, sandalwood, and oak cut the sweetness of the floral and give this a woody base. The chamomile and vanilla orchid give it a slightly herbal edge/additional floral that skews a bit waxy and spicy. Super pretty!
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Jungle orchid, wild fig, bourbon geranium, twilight oudh, and pluot. The chamber labels are great IRL. This is STRONG. Yes, please. Mostly orchid with a touch of fruit. The Oudh is strong too but really pleasant. A bit of herbal from the geranium. Smells like a fancy British accent? Posh? Seems like it will hang around a while too.
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King mandarin, orange blossom, blood orange, leather, and teakwood. Straight up fresh orange juice with blood orange and wood. NO orange blossom or leather...just oranges. Fresh ones too. I don't know how Beth Does it, but she is AMAZING.
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Wild plum oudh and crushed violets. Ugh, I love The Violet Window HG. I love violet in general, so there's that. But the plum oudh falls like a purple shadow across the floral note in a way that makes this so huffable and addictive.
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Tea leaf, matcha, sheer juniper, and lime rind. The lime comes out strong, followed by the tea leaf and matcha. When it actually dries in the hair, it's much more of a matcha tea kind of scent. Not getting much of the juniper, which I don't mind, BUT I wish the lime would stick around in the hair a bit longer.
