Dunwich

[AlectoNox]

When a traveller in north central Massachusetts takes the wrong fork at the junction of Aylesbury pike just beyond Dean's Corners he comes upon a lonely and curious country.

The ground gets higher, and the brier-bordered stone walls press closer and closer against the ruts of the dusty, curving road. The trees of the frequent forest belts seem too large, and the wild weeds, brambles and grasses attain a luxuriance not often found in settled regions. At the same time the planted fields appear singularly few and barren; while the sparsely scattered houses wear a surprisingly uniform aspect of age, squalor, and dilapidation.

Without knowing why, one hesitates to ask directions from the gnarled solitary figures spied now and then on crumbling doorsteps or on the sloping, rock-strewn meadows. Those figures are so silent and furtive that one feels somehow confronted by forbidden things, with which it would be better to have nothing to do. When a rise in the road brings the mountains in view above the deep woods, the feeling of strange uneasiness is increased. The summits are too rounded and symmetrical to give a sense of comfort and naturalness, and sometimes the sky silhouettes with especial clearness the queer circles of tall stone pillars with which most of them are crowned. Gorges and ravines of problematical depth intersect the way, and the crude wooden bridges always seem of dubious safety. When the road dips again there are stretches of marshland that one instinctively dislikes, and indeed almost fears at evening when unseen whippoorwills chatter and the fireflies come out in abnormal profusion to dance to the raucous, creepily insistent rhythms of stridently piping bull-frogs. The thin, shining line of the Miskatonic's upper reaches has an oddly serpent-like suggestion as it winds close to the feet of the domed hills among which it rises.

As the hills draw nearer, one heeds their wooded sides more than their stone-crowned tops. Those sides loom up so darkly and precipitously that one wishes they would keep their distance, but there is no road by which to escape them. Across a covered bridge one sees a small village huddled between the stream and the vertical slope of Round Mountain, and wonders at the cluster of rotting gambrel roofs bespeaking an earlier architectural period than that of the neighbouring region. It is not reassuring to see, on a closer glance, that most of the houses are deserted and falling to ruin, and that the broken-steepled church now harbours the one slovenly mercantile establishment of the hamlet. One dreads to trust the tenebrous tunnel of the bridge, yet there is no way to avoid it. Once across, it is hard to prevent the impression of a faint, malign odour about the village street, as of the massed mould and decay of centuries. It is always a relief to get clear of the place, and to follow the narrow road around the base of the hills and across the level country beyond till it rejoins the Aylesbury pike. Afterwards one sometimes learns that one has been through Dunwich.

Dry, skeletal woods and moist marsh, dripping with the perfume of bog lilies.

My imp of Dunwich was a gift from the lovely and generous chopchica.

This will be a short review for now, more to be added after I've tested it a few more times. A forumite requested a review of this one over in the Springtime in Arkham thread so I thought I'd whip one up for her.

Wet: pure aquatic, that oceany tang.

On the skin: I'm getting less salty now, more ozoney, like Tears or Sea of Glass. A blue-green sort of smell. There's this great, soft tang to it that I really like. It is reminding me of a cross between Tears and New Orleans. Not too heady or thick, though, sort of a light clean scent. There is a white floral coming out in the drydown, perhaps those bog lilies making an appearance. I can't smell any skeletal woods, but the marsh is there.

Conclusion: Maybe an exceptionally clean marsh with white flowers floating in it. With storm clouds overhead. And a hint of fresh turned earth nearby. Nice!

[jj_j]

I've got to agree that this is clean, blue-green water.

 

There's only a little salt tang to Dunwich when I put it on, and it switches to ozone very quickly. I love that AlectoNox has said it all for me, because I sometimes feel like notes morph on my skin in ways that lead to a different scent than everyone else gets. This one seems to be staying true to it's original intent, and I like that.

 

I wouldn't have thought of lilies, but the slightly soapy - and I mean that more in a clean lather sort of way, not in the "smells like a bar of guest soap" way - and wet floral is a very good thing in this blend.

 

There's a nice zing to this - it's actually very energizing and ... well, professional. I think I'll save my imp (courtesy of the fabulous Chopchica, as well) for a job interview I have coming up. It's green, but it's not leafy, and it's bright in a "sparkles off the water" sense.

 

I'll definitely be ordering a bottle!

[UltraViolet]

In the bottle

dark green

 

On

Ooh, dark green and woodsy but with an unexpected crispness.

For those lush fans, this is like "Tramp" with a light clear brightess to it and no patchouli. I am really surprised how well I like this. I bought this because i'm a fanatic of the book mainly.

 

30 minutes

It's still the same only less so.

 

Throw:

medium

 

Scent category:

Woody/Cyphre/Green

 

Summary

I like this as much as Mi-Go. This smells exactly as it sounds on the description; woody, green (dark green) and crisp. As it dries it has somewhat of an aqueous feel to it.

 

 

Purchase again?

Heaven help me, Yes.

 

1-5 rating (5 being best).

3.5

[shelldoo]

crisp, clean, aquatic, turquoise.

 

this smells alot cleaner and fresher then i had imagined when it dries it is very light faint clean watery smell.

[Macha]

There seems to be a lot of confusion in regards to Dunwich and Kingsport, two scents in this series which, on the surface at least, are both aquatics of a similar vein.

 

Being blessed enough to have both these bottles in my possession, please allow me to assure people that they could not be more different. Sure, they're both aquatic, but to me it is like comparing the Pacific Ocean to the pond in my backyard -- H20 is the limit of their similarity.

 

In the Bottle: I would say this is a very green aquatic, moist and mossy. Although I'm really looking for it because of Alectonox's review, I'm not smelling any ozone at all to this, and none of the ocean tang of Kingsport. To my mind, this is still water, water that doesn't move around much.

 

Wet, on skin: It hits my hand and goes soapy, which I believe is likely because of those "marsh lillies" although it could just be moss, which sometimes does this as well with my chemistry. I can't say I much like this stage of things, but I will persevere because I love the concept so much.

 

Dry, on skin: Ah, now that's better. This has turned into a deep, woodsy, damp scent. It's spot on for reminding me of a marsh, with every connotation of that: the crisp clean smell of night, moss dragging from the trees, stagnant water and the faint sweetness of water flowers...or corpses. Oh, such a dangerously unsettling fragrance, so perfect for Dunwich.

 

Conclusion: I find Dunwich and Kingsport to both be extraordinarily evocative of the literary locations they reference, and Dunwich is a town in decay, where it can be dangerous to wander off at night. Every play World of Warcraft? This is the smell of Darkshire. It really is everything I had hoped it would be.

[wickedgoddess]

Origin - a decant from a lovely forumite

 

Wet - a lemony aquatic.

 

Dry - I smell the lillies now, and ozone as well. The lemony note disappears completely on dry-down, and it truly becomes a marsh full of bog lilies. There's quite a bit of throw on me…I can literally feel this floating under my nose, even though my wrists are busy elsewhere. In fact this is so strong, it's beginning to make my eyes water. As is the case with both Whippoorwill and Miskatonic Universite, this is brilliant in terms of creating an environment. I'm glad I got to try this, but I'm not a big fan of aquatics and it's becoming obvious that this doesn't like me at all. Off to the swap pile.

 

On the wickedgoddess scale of 1 to 5, with 5 being best, this rates a 2.

[Shollin]

Thanks to chopchica for the decant!

 

First sniff: Standing on a cliff over the angry ocean, under low, heavy clouds. It’s a far cry from the fresh-air sea scents… Dunwich broods, even more than the previous stormy-sea scents. Something is not right here… this place harbours secrets.

 

Wearing: Brooding is the word… the clouds lift a bit when it dries, but overall it's very dark.

[gingersnapp]

This is an interesting blend. The dryness of the woods breaks through to hit my nose first, very much like the woods in Dragon's Bone to me. But it is also murky and wet smelling, kind of how I wanted Cthulhu to be on me. It definitely smells as if I am wandering aimlessly, lost in a deep dark bog where the sunlight only gets through in small dazzling cracks, blinding me and sending me further in to get even more lost.

 

It's salty and woodsy and still a bit masculine, but not so much that I can't bear to wear it.

 

I think I will need to give this one a little more testing before I make up my mind on whether it stays or goes.

[Northernminx]

Darkly aquatic, but not oceany, more like a pool of still, dark green and blue water. I love this as it does what Lady of Shallot does on me and never once goes powdery or light, just stays cool and liquid and dark. While Kingsport and I didn't get along overly much, Dunwich and I are in love and planning elopement. As this dries it's very softy and faint, but still aquatic with a touch of lilly and dark shadows and cool woods. Mmmm so very soothing and mysterious.

[northatlantic]

In the vial: tangy, a whiff of ozone. So many of my faves begin this way

 

Wet: oooh pretty. Sharply green and I agree with the people who said this is freshwater, not ocean. A still pool full of greenery.

 

Drydown: The lilies peer out over the green water for about a half hour--and then the coolest, weirdest thing happens; it turns brackish and alive. Like, the wet stage is dawn, when eveything's fresh and cool, but as it heats up on my skin it gets a "lake-y" smell, of things drying and decaying and it does smell like the slough out at my grandparents' lake house. It's a really wild effect, but as it progresses it gets this weird metallic tinge on me, something starts going overripely sweet and it's just a little too real. I think I'll keep my imp for meditations on watery things, for ritual purposes, but I can't picture this as a daily wear scent for me.

[ladytaga]

In the bottle I hardly smell a thing...then on the skin this flower smell comes jumping out. For some reason it sort of reminds me of cat liter...I think in an hour it should be faint enough that it doesn't make me think of that. Since it does have a water/aquatic background it feel that is trying to bust out....

I have waited a little and yes it doesn't make me think of cat liter anymore. It has mellowed out a little and I could see this being an everyday scent.

[OriginalWacky]

Bottle (Imp): This smells green and dark.

 

Just On: Green, dark and fresh. A strange combo, yes, but it seems to work.

 

An hour or two later: This is still pretty green, and I'm getting a bit of flowers.

 

Around 6 hours: It's starting to fade, and it's about the same scent, just lighter.

 

12 hours: It's all gone now.

 

Overall: This is a very nice scent, well blended, and fits it's name, in my mind anyway. I don't get the watery part, or the wood, but somehow, it smells like I expected it to.

 

After reading other reviews: I really don't get a lot of aquatics in this, not like othes did. I don't necessarily get wood either. It still fits it's name, and I'm still pretty impressed with it. It isn't quite my style, but it's lovely nonetheless, and I'm glad I got to try it.

[darkling]

I loved the idea of a scent that smelled like a marsh. The reality was not as appealing.

 

Dunwich smelled like a bog. Dark water swirling with moss and bits of twigs and dying flowers. It is murky and dim. Oppressive and damp.

[k00kaburra]

In bottle: Lilies and salty wet mud. This is another of the surprisingly clean scents in the Springtime in Arkham series.

On me: Sparkling water, indeed. This is a very light fragrance. The lilies are bright and true; such a relief! I can't stand the lilies in a new fragrance at Bath & Body Works called desert lily, and I was worried that it was lilies I disliked. Apparently, it is only my work's blend I cannot stand; this is quite lovely and bright.

[chopchica]

Misty and watery with just a tinge of lily and salt. Aquatics are hit or miss for me, and this one is a perfect hit. Overall it's a surprisingly fresh smelling blend, with an intriguing hint of complexity. It's cooling on hot summer days, and warming on gray rainy days (not that there are a lot of those in San Diego).

[Sistinas]

a review of Dunwich

 

Vial ~ grassy, mossy, llke being in a forest meadow, I believe there are

some florals in there but atm, I am not able to pick out which ones

Wet ~

 

Drying ~ my this is morphing on my quickly, it is turning very floral

 

Dry ~ after 15 mins this scent has dried on my skin and I wish I could pick

out the the florals in this, it does smell beautiful and yet it is not too

sweet, well at least not to me. Ah I read a review, the floral I am smelling

is lillies, I am curious to see how well this will last on me.

 

Fade ~ Half an hour later it is fading fast, very hard to detect that strong

beautiful floral that I picked up earlier.

 

Final thoughts ~ I really loved the scent and it ability to morph, unfortunately

it has not lasted as long as I would like, but I will still keep my bottle.

 

on a scale of 1 to 5 (5 being highest) I give it a 4

[magikfanfic]

In the bottle: Kinda wet and light in the bottle. I have a feeling this might be the kind of scent that fully blooms on skin.

 

Wet: Lilies covered with salt. Ozone. Wood notes of droom. Dunwich and I are not meant to be. I can tell after three seconds.

 

Dry down: Ozone and wet woods with lilies. Lily notes mostly hate my skin and these are doing the same thing that most of them do, they go waxy and kinda funky. It's not the horrible rotting floral of doom I get with some, but it's not something I want to go around smelling like. And the ozone increases. I've got one aquatic that works on me because it's lush and sweet despite the ozone. This is nowhere near Thunderbird bliss, however. Ozone and wet wood. Wood notes do hate me with a passion usually. This isn't setting off my allergies, but it is a little too masculine for my tastes. I'll go drop it in the boy's imp box and see if he likes it.

 

Dry: Ozone and wood notes with that musky lily smell. It's kinda...it's nice but completely not me.

[Red_Hot_Mama]

Dunwich

 

I've been sooo looking forward to this blend! My skin loves aquatics & lilies, so this was a no brainer.

 

Surprise!

 

Dunwich goes on stunningly beautiful.

 

Wet, lush but in the end it reached out & me over the head.

 

I felt like the personification of the little cartoon guy who inhales deeply & is lifted off the ground, little feet fluttering. Then he turns stiff as a board, falls over & is shown clasping a bunch of lilies.

 

Oh well, perhaps I can swap it for Kingsport.

[Little Bird]

I've put off reviewing Dunwich out of all of the SiA scents because it is my favorite and I don't know how to do it justice. I didn't think that I would like this either. It was only by accident that my boy and I got into a fight right before the scents were taken down and he felt bad so he bought me this out of guilt... lol.

 

This is kind of green, kind of salty, kind of grapefruity. This isn't really floral or soapy on me. No ozone. No rotting flowers. Not even a really wet/aquatic fragrance. Perhaps a swampy forest. Mostly hanging mosses and mud. But it's pretty, really. It isn't what I expected Dunwich to smell like. It isn't dark or threatening to me, moreso a comforting, quiet forest with rays of sunlight peaking through the moss clad trees.

 

So... yes... Dunwich is my favorite of the series and I am so glad that I have a bottle of it

[Barb25]

I've been putting off trying Dunwich until I finished reading The Dunwich Horror. That took an incredible amount of willpower let me tell you!

 

In the bottle - mmmmm, a very clean aquatic scent, not salty at all, just fresh and pure

 

On me - wow, this is freaking gorgoeous! The lovely pure aquatic scent is joined by fresh grass and greens, a little bit of earth, and lillies very faintly in the background. It's clean and pure and refreshing and uplifting and absolute wonderfulness.

 

I love it. Frankly, I'm really impressed with the SIA scents, and extremely thankful, as I am now reading Lovecraft and really enjoying it!

 

(edited to fix spelling)

Edited August 6, 2005 by Barb25

[Kittyflop]

I'm surprised at how few reviews of Dunwich there are, compared to the other SIA's. Beth really nailed this one. The scent transports me straight to Dunwich. It's damp and marsh reeds and stillness. The lilies float over the aquatic greenness in just the right balance.

 

The throw is good, as is the staying power. It stayed with me for a good 6 hours, with a light application.

[QueenFae]

Definitely smells like a bog with the faintest breath of flowers. There's an earthy, marshy, mossy top note, and it's complimented by a sweeter, greener undertone, like damp flowers in the morning. It's a green/brown scent for me, and a bit on the masculine side. Not really for me, but beautifully emcompasses it's name.

[fallow deer]

Dunwich definately has an aquatic and ozone tang to it that reminds me somewhat of Thunderbird.

 

Underneath, there does seem to be wet mossy notes but the lillies in Dunwich seem to overpower the other notes making it rather too soapy for me.

[aidenraine]

To me all scents purporting to represent water or the ocean smell the same, from the ones found in the drugstore to the higher quality BPAL interpretations.

 

 

Dunwich (which I am now calling my dog, whose name is London and doesn't deserve this indignity) smells of spring flowers for me.. while wet it was typically faux-oceanic, now it is a sweet floral, very pale. If I really smelled this out of the window of my car I'd be tempted to slow down and inhale deeply, not shudder at the disturbing ambience of a wrecked village.

 

It's ... changing to a dark green scent as time passes. I feel as though I am smelling the green stems of fresh flowers, and a bit of the earth. One of the greener scents that I ever have smelled. A touch of fresh cut grass.

 

(Maybe halfway between Lush's Tramp and Soap Sod.)

 

This is why I insist on trying even BPAL scents that sound like I'd hate them.... because I tend to loathe florals and aquatics and ... I like this imp enough to keep it! Madness.

 

 

Followup thought- be patient with it and wait for the green!

Edited August 24, 2005 by aidenraine

[Caltha]

Dunwich

Got this in a swap with elenmenal.

 

In the imp I thought this smelled like Bayou (logical association I guess) and I was scared it would be like a "masculine" version of my beloved Bayou, without the floral sweetness, and that I would love it and have to hunt down more of it. I'm kind of relieved it wasn't. On, it's surprisingly light and fresh. Not really swampy at all, but cool and refreshing like water. Only it smells very artificial to me, like schampoo rather than water. Yeah, a lot like a whiff of someone's newly washed hair. As it dries I might get some really faint woods/herbs/spices and I thought I caught a whiff of citrus in the throw, but that might be the Severin I put on earlier today. It's a very cool scent, and while I like them in theory I like the warm and creamy kind a lot better on my skin. Also the cool/fresh/light kind tents to smell a lot more generic on/to me. I might keep the imp for days when I want something cool and refreshing, I haven't decided yet.

 

Edited: I retried it and put some more on and this time I got some more lily sweetness, especially in the throw while the skin scent was still more schampoo-fresh. It does remind me of a lighter, fresher Bayou, a "young" version rather than a "masculine" version. I will definitely keep the imp.

Edited September 8, 2005 by Caltha