Dance of Death

[Saya]

A gloriously elegant representation of Lady Death. Dry, bone-white orris, black musk, serpentine patchouli and our murkiest myrrh.

Patchouli really does ruin everything. Bleh.

[SophieCedar]

Exactly as described. The patchouli isn't that strong in this one. It's the black musk that I smell most strongly. The orris is amped too. Nice, dark, musky, dirty. Bad bad men wear this to bed.

[meredevachon]

Hm...thought posted my review for this earlier today, but I must've flaked.

 

In the imp: Sharp metallic.

 

Wet: Now it's more like I expected, mostly musk and patchouli.

 

Dry down: Patchouli's getting stronger, and as that's not my favorite... *shrugs* Metallic note's coming back too.

 

Dry: Patchouli and heated metal, and up until the point the scent faded several hours later, that's pretty much all I got.

 

Overall: It's not bad; it's just not me.

 

 

[undream]

powdery with a sharp bite, sweet and almost dirty. the throw is gorgeous, but i'm just not feeling the overall scent.

 

off to swaps.

[voorishsign]

A frimp from a forumite. Ars Moriendi as a line has never done me many kindnesses so I'm a bit afraid This is really nice though, actually, and quite dark. This is a black, dry, musky, resiny blend with just the slightest flare of patchouli, sacred and morbid, like a funeral reception in an ancient church. Creepy, but very beautiful.

[Yoginispirit]

This scent is very...Victorian or... old. Classy and refined but dark and mysterious like an expensive black gown that has been hanging in the closet of a haunted house. It is definitely an image conjurer!

 

It starts out like a dry dusty sandalwood (orris?) and then slowly the musk emerges. I think that was my favorite part. It does turn powdery but not in a bad sense. Even though the darkness remains, it still has a sweetness to it and verges on dept perfume territory but the incense keeps it in check.

 

I really like this but its not an everyday scent. It's almost too elegant if that makes sense. I would wear it to an opera or a Ball or a formal masquerade. Lovely!

[ElizabethOSP]

The more I wear this, the more I like LOVE it. Despite the whole Death vibe, this reminds me of something in my childhood. Orris does that for me. It makes me think of bubble bath! Soooooooo...Lady Death, lounging in a musk, myrrh and patchouli scented bubble bath, sipping very dry champagne. Smiling. Of course, I can't actually smell the champagne, because the Lady and her bath smell so very good, and their scent dominates one's senses. Heh. This is beautiful, earthy, sweet, and dry. I just got an imp of Dance of Death from the lovely opsgrl on ebay...going to have to get a bottle soon!

Edited December 29, 2010 by Shollin
Removed Lab description

[ajansuz]

This was a frimp. Sadly, exactly what I expected to happen happened to me. The black musk in this turned the whole complex, earthy, slightly sweet fragrance from the imp into straight up nasty baby powder within five minutes. Black musk, why do you hate me so?

[Ryokumuji]

No idea about the notes, I like to give my initial impressions on my frimps. This is... sort of sweetish. And there's something in there that's like... mentholated to my nose? It makes my nose feel cold sniffing it. The sweet scent sort of reminds me of bubble gum.

 

Okay, looking at the notes, I'm not sure what to make of it! This is a very interesting blend and that cold mentholated feel works for a scent called "Dance of Death". It evokes the image very well, in my opinion. I think I'd really have to be in spooky mood to wear this blend though. It's not as offensive to me, as patchouli and "dark" musk blends usually make me go "BLARG" for the most part. Although, now, it's giving me a minor headache.

[tallan]

Wet: Dark, dark green patchouli. A sliver of sharpness, then the warmth of the musk and myrrh.

 

Drydown: The scents bleed into each other and OMG OMG this is very close to Tramp, but warmer, fuller, a bit softer.

 

Oh dear, soap. Let's hope it goes away.

 

Dry: Soap's still around; I guess that's the orris. Soap and powder. Poo. I really wanted to love this. I'll keep sniffing my wrist, hoping it gets better. It's not bad, just not what I expected. I still like it, I just don't know how much I'll actually use it. We'll see, I guess.

 

Keep: Yes

Bottle: Probably not

 

--------------

 

Later

 

Worn: Okay, still a bit soapy when worn in greater amounts, but not as bad as I remembered. And anyway, it's not soapy-bad. I still like this, but this time it seems very similar to Robin Goodfellow, and I like Robin a whole lot more, so I probably won't have much use for this.

 

Reworn: Okay, this is nothing like Robin Goodfellow. Dance of Death is a lot darker, deeper and more solemn. The more I wear it, the more I love it. It dries down into this absolutely delicous dark green-brown scent, which I theorise is the patchouli and myrrh (update: I got some of the same with Black Forest, so the black musk must be part of it). It's lovely, whatever it is, and I think I'm going to need a lot of this.

 

Keep: Yes

Bottle: Yes

Edited January 7, 2011 by tallan

[Sedge]

I haven't gotten around to doing a full review/study of this just yet, but I've got to ask. Am I the only one who got the distinct scent of Choward's Violet Mints off of this? Which is good for me, as I love their smell, but hate the fact that they taste like soap-- and now I can wear them! *victory*

 

Also: there's patchouli in this? For reals? *bogglesniffsnort* I will never understand you, patchouli.

[HerbGirl]

Dance of Death = for me. I have found that Dance of Death is similar to Lucretia is similar to The Raven. I love all three, so this is exciting - even if two become discontinued, I still have one!!! Goddess help me if they get dc'd together.

 

I smell the Myrrh in the bottle, and on my skin it's an Orris fest and I smell sandalwood. Not quite as dry as I thought it would be, but seems to definitely be a cooler weather perfume for me (as most with Orris tend to be). It evokes a lovely violet/grey color when I close my eyes. This has been in my top 10 for quite a while, and I'm pretty sure it will stay there.

 

ETA: I just looked at the notes for this and I cannot believe there's Patchouli in it! I don't get any at all - and I love Patchouli. Maybe with some more age?

Edited December 9, 2010 by Herb Girl

[calivianya]

Patchouli's not my best friend, and honestly, neither is black musk. I'm not sure why I thought this might work on me, but oh well. The black musk is very dominant, and so, this is not a blend for me.

[Drarra]

This is my favorite GC so far.

 

In the bottle: I didn't know Death was so sexy! The black musk is amazing. Beautifully dry with warmth and a subtle hint of sweetness.

 

Wet on skin: Wet on me, it smells like the bottle. Only my skin is blending it and making it oh so delicious.

 

Dry: I think the musk and the myrrh make this scent on my skin. Combined with the orris, it turns into an incense type of smell on me. Not the word I would have selected, but when my dad mentioned it, he was definitely right. I can't get enough of this scent.

 

For me, this scent throws well, and it lasts. If I put it on in the morning, I can still smell it whirling about me when I go to bed. This goes remarkably well with my skin chemistry. I think it's love!

[strahlend]

I was just frimped Dance of Death recently and it's quickly become a Smell Of Interest.

On my skin this is a bunch of black musk - and I really like that. Before I looked at the notes I didn't know what it was that was rounding out this scent but seeing it's patchouli and myrrh does not surprise me because I really love those notes as well. I've been avoiding orris because I came across it in blends where I thought it was the dreaded powdery culprit, but here I'm not having a problem with it and nothing is turning super powdery. I don't know why this wasn't on my wish list, but now that I've found it I know I'll be on the lookout for more. Yay, another scent to love!

[Altaira]

Just... dry. No real scent at all.

[Ramen]

One of my birthday order frimps! This was sour and unfamiliar in the imp and I didn't think I'd like it, but I put it on anyway and got a complete 180 to dry powdered incense mixed with that fine dusty dirt you mostly find on baseball diamonds and isolated back roads when the weather's dry. Not bad at all.

[Gold Dust Kitten]

Imp: Stinky floral and funkiness

Wet: Patchouli and musk. It reminds me of the cologne a boy in high school wore (and how we'd sneak into his locker to smell his jean jacket)

Dry: There's something minty in this and it's turning powdery. Ughhh.

 

I liked the patch and musk phase, it was very masculine but yummy. I don't know what happened when it dried.

[Vega]

On my skin, Dance of Death is very dry and dusty, like dessicated bones. Slightly woody, almost burnt. The notes list is familiar but I don't recognize how any of them are playing into the scent. Although this is way too dry and burnt for me, it's not as harsh as other similar blends; in fact, it has a bit of body, and a shadow of elegance and refinement beneath the dryness. Even so, I don't like Dance of Death and have already swapped it.

[cinnamonster]

Hmmmmm, this has the same kind of smell as Black Pearl to me, same kind, not exactly the same... On me, it's very orris-y...reading the notes now I am surprised with the description of serpentine patchouli, that implied something dark to me but this has a very white feel about it. NOT the white feel screechy high florals have, but clean and white, like bone as the description says.

 

Black musk on me is talc. There is, thankfully, no black musk here to my nose. I'm not sure I will wear it again, but I can't figure out why. Maybe it's because I have Black Pearl. Worth a try if you like Black Pearl, or Cytherea.

 

 

Ooh, actually black musk is creeping out...aaaargh. That could be why I don't like it so much. It's making me feel a bit nauseous. Bah.

[Monday]

This has a gorgeous old feeling to it, I think the right word is eldritch. It was my first Bpal love.

In the imp: light patchouli and orris.

On wet: mentholly orris , patchouli and a hint of black musk the myrrh sweetens it a bit.

On dry: the orris backs away a bit and the patchouli and myrrh come forward. It has amazing throw.

It'll be interesting to see how this ages. Definitely bottle-worthy.

 

ETA: now I got more acquainted with musks I can definitely pick out the black musk in this. It's giving an almost Amber-like feel to the Orris. Gorgeous!

Edited June 7, 2011 by Monday

[Lanolin]

Got an imp of this in a destash, unknown vintage.

 

Freshly-applied, it's a little like a poorly-maintained antique furniture store. Very dusty wood.

Dry, the myrhh gets time to shine, and blends with the furniture store scent. So it's like a woman's estate sale furniture.

 

The imp only had a little left, and I spilt some when applying. I like this enough to use the last few drops, but probably not enough to seek it out again.

[Juushika]

In the vial: A dry white scent withI'd sweara touch of vetiver.

 

On me: Black musk as it hits the skin, dry and sharp as pepper. There may be some patchouli here, but it really feels like vetiverperhaps the myrrh is just that dark. Dries down to a dry, harsh, incredibly beautiful scent. I still get black pepper and vetiver, but that may be a reflection of the scent's texture rather than its notes. The black musk is potent, but pristinely dark rather than animalistic. It's a surprisingly straightforward and stable scent, but its bold harshness is far from simplistic. The catch is that it fades to a white pepper-ish pale dry spice within 1.5 hours, and is all but gone by 2.5 hours. Scent-color is smoky monochrome. Throw is moderate, and wear length is short.

 

Verdict: I'm not sure what magic makes Dance of Death so beautiful in the midst of its intense harshnessthis isn't an innocuousness, palatable scent, but it is striking, proud, and intensely lovely. It's a disappointment then that it has such a short wear-length, but the fact that the scent is so stablewith a straightforward drydown and no real morphingmay be its saving grace, because it could easily be reapplied. I still prefer scents with more staying power, so I may not reach for this often. But I will keep it around.

[JunkieCosmonaut]

This was a frimp I got in my last order. It reminds me a bit of sloth, (myrrh?) which I hated. The drydown had me smelling like woodchips, and I became disappointed. Much to my surprise though it went away and left a spicy violet scent. It's pleasant, but not for me.

[KakashiMorph]

Many thank yous to my snow fox, stariel for the imp!

 

In the bottle: I am not sure what I am smelling but I am guessing it is the orris because it's the only thing I am not familiar with. Also, a little bit of patchouli.

On my skin: The unfamiliar scent again - it reminds me a bit of..amber? it does remind me of bones - and woody patchouli. After a minute or two the black musk comes out to play. Mmmm, it's seducing me. The myrrh is a distant, almost sweet note in the background - compared to the rest of the notes anyway. After a few minutes the sharpness of the main scent - I'll keep calling it orris - fades away a bit and lets the myrrh and musk come out and play a bit more. It is elegant, reminds me of Victorian times and makes me want to wear my gothic clothing and go walking in late 19th century London - then again, quite a few of the lab's scents do that to me. Or maybe I just like that type of scents...

Drydown: In the end I am left with musk and brittle dry bones. It sounds like an odd thing to say, I know. I like it a lot though.