All of their Heads Fell Off

[zankoku_zen]

Oozing cactus flesh, creosote, dusty boards, and gruesome globs of blood musk.

[batling]

This rested about 9 or so hours before I skin tested, so please keep that in mind!

I nabbed this because it screamed to me as a unique Halloween fragrance and living in desert-y Los Angeles, I don't get true "fall" weather until MAYBE late October to mid-November. I also thought I could wear this when Summer hits and Halloween decor gets dropped--peak halfway to Halloween goodness.

 

In the bottle, its musky, dusty and petrichor-adjacent.

 

Wet on the skin, you get that big, bombastic creosote note. It's something so distinctive that its hard to really miss. Slightly damp greenery initially then it becomes muskier as it settles. After a bit, it gets dustier, like kicked up sand, and woodier for sure. There is something warm underneath, kind of mineral-y but not coppery. Almost like rain dappled concrete or dirt.

 

This isn't high noon desert fragrance but more like Autumn nightfall in Death Valley.

Edited October 8, 2023 by batling

[bheansidhe]

All of Their Heads Fell Off: sometimes Beth releases a humdinger of a blend with such an off-putting name that I want to go around grabbing people by the collar and earnestly explaining that no, really, Wererat-Infested Sewer is an amaaaaazing room spray and not a fetid stench. All Of Their Heads Fell Off is not a slasher flick or a campy horror poster; it's a true Space Oddity of a desert poem. I literally keep getting wafts from my desk and wondering what the hell smells SO good and unfamiliar, and realizing it's AOTHFO.

 

If you've never walked in the Mojave or Chihuahua deserts, you might not know the smell of creosote bush. It's dry, like a cross between fresh pine terpenes, brimstone, and white sage, but lighter and more eerie than any of those. This is not a creosote-soaked railroad tie in the sun; not a gasoline smell (hello, Pumpkin Gas Can) but a dry, faintly alien wind.

 

AOTHFO is sweeter than I was expecting. It starts off at least fifty percent "cactus flesh," which smells like, well, edible cacti, like prickly pear and dragonfruit: green, sweet, watery melon notes. The creosote/dust notes are a distinctly separate waft that never marries the cactus pulp, but layers it like a sandwich. The "blood musk" makes the perfume the exact shade of a delicate rose. I'm not sure what it adds except an incense vibe? I don't get dragon's blood, but I'm not always good at finding that. It's startling how desiccating and yet liquid this blend is, like a gush of clear water through a concrete channel; it smells like slaking your thirst at a playground water fountain in summer. And a touch of desert smoke. I can't think of another BPAL that smells like this.

Edited October 27, 2023 by bheansidhe

[Liquid Sword]

Having watched narrated video about this fragrance on YouTube, I could’ve never imagined it to translate so well into a perfume. But moreover, I didn’t know a perfume can smell this cold.

 

First impressions in the bottle: Spicy and salty handwash 

 

On skin:

I don’t know enough about perfume or literature to make the best analogy, but the videogame Who’s Lila could smell like this.

There’s an attempt at deception with its sweetness, like someone pulling off a practiced standard yet hollow smile, but you can just feel the chill they emanate, and they know you know that something is so very wrong. You’re certain that in their humble wooden house, now filled with the dissonant smell of cleaning products used by hospitals, they have hid something very gruesome. But both of you prefer to act like everything is just fine.

 

So yeah, this is my interpretation of it after reading descriptions and tones of reviews about it. So it’s not the fairest review. All in all, it is a very cold scent that I can’t stop sniffing, and I’ve become more aware of that disinfectant smell in my life now.

 

Edited November 6 by Liquid Sword

[Biocarbons]

A mix of charred wood and tar. The cactus insides smell like aloe to me.

 

So it's a wood tar, blood and aloe mix covered with a layer of dust.

 

It's an interesting industrial smell, but not something I'd ever wear.

 

After it settles, I mostly get charred wood tar and cactus.

[Diesis]

So, as a preface… I did not think I ordered the “creosote” fragrance. HOWEVER, I’ve tried to pick one fragrance when I place orders that sound neat, but I would normally think not to. Mainly because I had been selling bottles that didn’t work out (may still do once we’ve moved).
 

The creosote one stuck out because I’d read the Halloween scents to my family in the car & all of them went “CREOSOTE!? In a perfume??” So I put it on my Wishlist & forgot about it. But I think reviews sold me on trying it. I’m so glad I did!

 

For me, while wet this smells like creosote . Like natural, strong, wood tar creosote. My mum said the same. But it wasn’t bad. However, after 20 minutes or so, it dries down into a nice wood tar & blood resin scent. It becomes subtle & strange & I really like it. 
 

May continue to buy one outlier as the last two now have been awesome.