Haunted

[tartchef]

A mournful, poignant scent, thick with foreboding. Soft golden amber darkened with a touch of murky black musk.

Ugh. The Dread Pirate Amber strikes again.

When I first discovered BPAL, I had really good luck with amber scents - they went lovely & deep & resinous on me. 4 years later, though, my chemistry's obviously changed, because all my former amber flames are going up in giant poofs of sickly sweet powder.

Haunted shouts amber before I even open the imp. Once on, the black musk & amber do a merry dance, kicking up clouds of powdered sugar so thick I can taste it. Throw & staying power are, of course, tremendous - I can smell it coming into a room I vacated hours ago, and it's still lurking on my wrists after a night's sleep & a hot shower.

If I were feeling more patient, I would try layering this with something - maybe a salty red musk, or something with a zippy lemon or tea note - anything to help cut the sweetness. At this point, though, it's double-bagged & in the Swap It NOW pile.

[Czarina]

Imp: pretty color. Incense-y

Wet: chocolate incense.

Dry: amber and musk and a hint of cocoa bean.

 

This smells sensational on me, a little like the original Youth Dew but without the acid note.

[Gwydion]

Actually, it is thick with something. Musk, mostly. It's definitely got a femme fatal thing going on. I can totally imagine Theda Bera wearing this late in her silent film career. The amber lightens the musk a little, and the effect is pleasing, but not very me.

[Iceblink]

This is so sweet! Sort of an amber incensey blend. It's hard to pin down so I'm surprised to see that there are only two notes here. I'll need to wear it again to decide how I feel about it but so far I like it a lot.

[TheOneTheyCallLuna]

In the vial: Lemon-Lime Gatorade??? I know that once it's on this one's gonna morph into something beauuuutiiifull, though. BPAL always does!

 

On, still wet: Ohhh, scrumptious! Luxurious warm amber musky goodness! There's still something a bit lemony though?

 

Drydown: Okay, now the lemons are gone and this is soft, delicious, sensual and....haunting. I don't find this extremely creepy or foreboding a scent at all...although it does get a bit darker and more incensey as it really dries, a little wispier and more mournful. Overall, I find it is sensuous, sexy, feminine and ethereal...I love it! This will get a lot of wear! 5/5

[porcelina]

sweet, smoky and resinous. i've begun to think that there isn't an amber blend i can't wear, and apparently black musk loves me too. this is dark and earthy and sexy and musky and sweet and mmm. i LOVE it.

Edited October 30, 2007 by porcelina

[forspecial_plate]

I was real curious about this scent, not just because of the reviews.....seems like lots of people are reminded of different things when they wear this.

 

For me, I knew it would be powdery, and it is. And it smells just like what it is.....black musk and amber. But oddly, the powdery-ness doesn't bother me so much. I like the throw more than sniffing up close. The amber seems slightly spicy. Other than that, not much else to add. It is what it is. It kind of works for me, but it's not something I will wear a whole lot. I do like it enough to hold onto the imp.

 

A couple hours later, it started to remind me of Snake Oil. Snake Oil has a powdery note that comes out pretty far in the dry-down, and Haunted did the same thing. It smells like the same note, and I think it's the amber (but I could be wrong).

 

Edit.......Hmm, almost 2 years later, and I think this is the same imp.....I tried it again and wow, I didn't like it at all! Very powdery, and something about it seems papery for some reason. I no longer smell the Snake Oil relation that I did before. It was just bad this time, which I don't get because I like amber, and black musk is not horrible (but admittedly, sometimes powdery.....but not like this). I guess it was just the combination of notes that went wrong. Oh well, plenty of other scents for me to love!

Edited September 8, 2009 by Forspecial Plate

[erraticprophet]

Initial Impression: amber and musk

 

On Wet: amber and musk. Yum!

 

On Dry: more musk thank amber, all yum!

 

Final Impression: I'm in love!

 

Rating (on a scale of 1-5): 5. Definitely a big bottle purchase!

[akiko]

This *should* have worked on me. Alas, it did not.

 

Imp: amber & musk; a sort of incense smell. I liked it in the vial.

 

Wet: This smells exactly like the bottle of hand lotion I have at work (Freeman Peace at Hand, sunflower & vanilla sugar.) I'm not terribly fond of it, unfortunately.

 

Dry: Baby powder. Bleh.

 

Because it reminded me a bit of Pit & Pendulum in the vial, I attacked my SO with it. Before we left for work, it had gone powdery, but on him there was more of the musk. He said he didn't like it much, either.

 

So unless I try a scent locket or something, it'll be off to swap. Sad.

[meredevachon]

In the imp: Medicinal and sharp.

 

Wet: I get the amber & musk now, but overlaid with a fake-y citrus, like lemon-scented cleanser or something.

 

Dry: The lemony tang goes away after a while, and I'm left with a wonderful musk rounded and softened by the amber. I couldn't stop sniffing myself.

 

Overall, decent throw (which for me means not a lot), average longevity, and a wonderful scent. I love it.

[gchris]

In Vial: Strong Perfume!

 

Wet: Still perfumy, not as strong. The golden amber begins creeping slowly.

 

Drydown: Strong Amber with a bite of musk

[marimarguerite]

I have tons of imps, and Haunted is the first one I've loved enough to buy in a vial. It fades down to a soft, musky, powdery scent. It reminds me a bit of Guerlain's Shalimar, except that Haunted doesn't give me sneezes or a headache like Shalimar does, thank goodness.

[Delirium1009]

In bottle/imp: Powdery amber, and dry musk.

 

Immediately on skin: Yep. Amber and musk! The amber is light and warm, and the musk is dry and very deep. There seems to be something else here though… frankincense? It’s slightly spiced and golden, so maybe it’s the golden amber itself. But whatever it is, it adds a slight sweet spiciness to this which is rather nice.

 

After a little while: From a few inches away, this is softly sweet amber and musk with a bit of spice, but closer it gets a little dry and the sweetness gets overpowered by the black musk. It’s a very strong scent, and deep… and very very dark.

 

Overall Impressions: This one is sort of nice on me. Almost wearable I’d say, but it walks a thin line between warm and musky, and dry and annoying. There’s almost a honey like depth to this at it’s best, but at it’s worst it’s very powdery, dry black musk. It’s a finicky scent.

[VioletChaos]

in the bottle: sweet but sombre.

 

wet on skin: this is really dark. a dark, thick musk to be precise.

 

dry down: a rich musk, this is a great wintertime scent, for the darkest of solstice nights.

 

in all: really dark, really rich without being cloying. a good one to have if you're moody or live in a colder climate.

 

 

Edited July 14, 2008 by VioletChaos

[voodoocatwoman]

Mmmmm... this is exquisite.

 

In the imp and wet, the most excellent amber caresses my nose and makes me sigh.

 

Dry: Amber is my love and musk is a close second. This scent is husky voiced sexy.

[donnatron]

Imp: Clean musk. Kind of gentlemanly, kind of neutral.

 

Wet: There is a citrus feeling to this that comes through loud and clear. It kind of startled me because I thought I had the wrong scent in the imp.

 

Dry: The musk is dominant on me, but it's made warm and spicy by the amber. A really balanced scent.

 

Throw: Good. Musk isn't a scent that should be shared by everyone in the room, so it's nice and close to the skin.

 

Overall: It's very nice. I'll definitely use my imp up, but I'm pretty sure that if I miss my imp, I'll get a replacement imp in its place. I can't see this having too heavy a rotation in my scent wardrobe.

[archaeopteryx]

I'm still fairly new to BPAL and don't have a very developed nose, but I do know that I love this scent. It's the first one I've tried that has begged me to buy a bottle of it when I have the extra cash.

 

First impression when I sniffed it in the imp was that it was way too strong. I put it aside.

 

When I finally got around to trying it, I first noticed a powdery scent. Powdery in a good way, though.

 

After about five minutes of wearing it, I began to notice the musky smell. Nice. The amber added a bit of sweetness that toned down the muskiness. I found myself trying to surreptitiously sniff my wrists all day at work. Haunted seems to work amazingly well with my chemistry, and I can easily see this becoming a regular scent, as opposed to ones that I only pull out occasionally.

[DarkClarissa]

In imp: Sweet citrus. Smells like...mmmm...what is that smell....oooh I know! LEMON SHERBETS! Takes me back to my childhood!

 

Wet: Still very lemony, but not too sweet.

 

Dry: Still totally lemon sherbets with an undercurrent of coconut. Good throw.

 

Verdict: I really like this one, but I'm not sure why, it doesn't evoke any of the feelings that I thought it would. And I'm not a foodie smell person, but it feels really upbeat and happy on me with a slight wistful memory of my childhood attached. I'd have to be in a very positive mood to wear this. I don't think I'll buy a bottle simply because I think that I'd get fed up with the whole foodie feel for me, but its very pleasant.

 

Marks out of 10: 8

[bellacalla]

I Haunted. It's mostly amber on me - very sweet and warm and a little bit powdery. I expected it to be darker based on the musk and the name, but it's more like cozy warmth to me than anything dark. Reminds me of the glow of a fireplace in a dark room.

[ElinaMakropulos]

In the imp, Haunted smells lovely, very honey-like and similar to aged O. However, on my skin it turns to powder and smells very, very much like Guerlain's Vol de Nuit and L'Heure Bleu. Lovely scent, but not what I expected and not bottle-worthy, as I already have the two Guerlain scents. If it had kept the honeyed note it would have been heavenly, and I'm going to hold on to my imp to see if age helps it at all.

[elphaba]

Just now got around to trying my imp of Haunted after quite a while, so this is probably at least a year aged. It's gorgeous, a deep, round womanly scent. It's sexy without being in-your-face about it, sophisticated without being overly complex, and it lasts forever. I think I put this on around noon and when I went to bed at midnight, it was still strong enough that I fell asleep surrounded by its warm glow.

 

The amber does go a little powdery in the drydown, but the musk serves its purpose and keeps it warm and grounded (this is no Bath & Bodworks lotion, that's for sure). The effect is less airy olden halo and more rich, gold damask tapestry. Beautiful.

[DARKBEAUTY28]

Oh wow, at first I was like "eh, this one is just okay". I then put the imp I have up for sale on ebay. I went to work out and while I was, this super sexy rich scent wafted up to my nose. It was so gorgeous! I then stopped my work out and hurried to ebay and cancelled my auction. Wow Haunted is a keeper! It smells like a slightly richer, more amber-y Snake Oil. I bet this one is a hit for attracting men! May soon become one of my favorite BPAL's.

[SarahScent44]

In the imp, this is dark, mostly black musk - if I didn't know better, I'd say there was patchouli here.

 

On my skin, it's still patchouli-esque - all the musk, none of the softness or light that I associate with amber.

 

When it dries, there's a better balance of the amber and musk - which makes for a very strange smell. Very good match to the concept, but not something meant for me to love.

[stardreamer]

In the imp and fresh on: Apricot??! There's no apricot in this!

 

Drydown: Still smells like apricot, with spices. Reminds me of Siren, but I like Siren better.

 

Long-term: Okay, now it smells like amber sweetening on my skin. Staying power is average; after 10 hours, it's mostly gone.

 

Bottom line: Meh. Not going to be a top favorite, but amber scents in general work well for me; I'm really surprised that I didn't like it better. This is at least worth keeping and using up the imp.

[Lamia]

This reminds me a lot of Calvin Klein's Obsession. So rare to find a really choice amber that works on my skin.

 

MMMmmmmm