The Haunted Palace

[lorajc]

In the greenest of our valleys
By good angels tenanted,
Once a fair and stately palace -
Radiant palace - reared its head.
In the monarch Thought's dominion -
It stood there!
Never seraph spread a pinion
Over fabric half so fair!

Banners yellow, glorious, golden,
On its roof did float and flow,
(This - all this - was in the olden
Time long ago,)
And every gentle air that dallied,
In that sweet day,
Along the ramparts plumed and pallid,
A winged odor went away.

Wanderers in that happy valley,
Through two luminous windows, saw
Spirits moving musically,
To a lute's well-tuned law,
Round about a throne where, sitting
(Porphyrogene!)
In state his glory well-befitting,
The ruler of the realm was seen.

And all with pearl and ruby glowing
Was the fair palace door,
Through which came flowing, flowing, flowing,
And sparkling evermore,
A troop of Echoes, whose sweet duty
Was but to sing,
In voices of surpassing beauty,
The wit and wisdom of their king.

But evil things, in robes of sorrow,
Assailed the monarch's high estate.
(Ah, let us mourn! - for never morrow
Shall dawn upon him desolate!)
And round about his home the glory
That blushed and bloomed,
Is but a dim-remembered story
Of the old time entombed.

And travellers, now, within that valley,
Through the red-litten windows see
Vast forms, that move fantastically
To a discordant melody,
While, like a ghastly rapid river,
Through the pale door
A hideous throng rush out forever
And laugh - but smile no more.

The moment before the ruin, frozen. The scent of captured glory, of glowing pearls and rubies, of golden sunlit joy and regal grandeur: red rose, Tunisian amber, blood orange, toasted vanilla, heliotrope, gardenia and red musk.

This is another one I just tested and have not worn, so this is subject to change. I expected this to be heavier, but it is fairly lightweight. The blood orange is apparent when wet. After it starts drying down, I get a melange of amber and gardenia with a slight vanilla tinge in the background. This is very well blended. It's not heavy on the red musk either, as I sometimes can't wear Red Musk and it's too heavy on me but this scent must not have that much in it, as I don't get that heavy feeling. I really like this. I may need to purchase a 2nd bottle of this one.

[Macha]

Label:

 

In the bottle: Flowers, very much floral, with something very warm and vanilla floating in the background. Hmm...not sure about this.

 

Wet, on skin: The blood orange top-note blooms as it hits my skin, a all-too brief but glorious burst of juiciness and warmth. I can't tell it won't last, and this saddens me. But what can you do? Darned fugitive citrus notes.

 

Dry, on skin: In the car, my boyfriend tells me that I smell "incredible" and when I press him for a description, he says "like walking through the flower gardens at Descanso when they're in full bloom." When I told him what I was wearing he laughed and said: "Really? This seems far too happy for that -- unless the ghosts are trying to bait a trap." And he's right -- this really is a very bright, joyous and happy fragrance.

 

The vanilla note is fairly strong, sitting very well with the rose and gardenia. And — joy of joys — the rose is NOT going weird on me. It is definitely predominate (I have a chemistry that amps rose) but not overpowering, not soap. It's well blended, well grounded, happy, sweet.

 

Conclusion: Very nice — a wonderful and unexpected addition to the collection of rose scents that I can wear. Yay!!!

[Undine]

Hmm, this is a joyous perfume, as Macha said again, but then again it's the moment before the ruin, when the golden banners float, the pearls and rubies glow, and sweet voices serenade the wise king. The picture that this scent evokes is very clear.

 

On first application the blood orange is strong, a sweet citrus--no surprise, as I tend to amp up citrus. The gardenia lends a heavier note and the vanilla lends sweetness. On drydown the rose appears more. Like most BPAL roses, it's fairly sweet and juicy, although not too horribly so. (I generally prefer a very dry rose.)

 

I'm having a hard time deciding what I think about this! It's floral, but not floral. The depth of the florals used, and the amber, vanilla, and musk keep the scent grounded. But it's certainly heady. And it absolutely does not turn to soap, which most floral scents do on me.

 

I think that, overall, it's too sweet for me. I say that about a lot of blends, though--I seem to have a very "dry", woody, herbal and "natural" taste in perfumes compared to many. But this may be a very good scent for those who generally don't like florals, or for those who often have Rose Issues of one sort or another. It's regal but fun-loving (now there's a sort of oxymoron!), a young princess dancing at a ball while the yellow banners still float and the choirs still sing.

 

On my scale, a 2.5 out of 5.

[coulrophobe]

In the bottle: Orange. Piles upon piles of sweet, juicy oranges. I honestly cannot smell any other notes. Lucky for me - I like orange.

 

On: The orange note is still quite dominant, but as the blend dries down, I catch tiny whiffs of the other notes. The vanilla, amber, musk and heliotrope warm it up, and soften the citrus edge, making this blend rounder and richer than other orangey blends, and there's a bit of gardenia peeking through.

 

And... I'm simply overjoyed that I can't really smell the rose unless I really, truly think about it and focus on isolating the note. My skin usually amps of any kind of rose to out-of-control levels, so I'm always a bit leery of rose blends; it was the only note that made me question whether this blend would work on me, and I'm so happy that my fears were unfounded.

 

This is a vibrant, cheerful red-orange scent, glowing with warmth - I'm going to enjoy this when the weather gets dark and dreary.

[hangingfire]

In the bottle: Creamy orange -- dare I say, a Dreamsicle? -- with florals and amber around the edges. Very rich and bright.

 

On, wet: Ah yes, my skin does love the amber. Now it's primarily amber, rose, and gardenia. The orange and vanilla is more of an accent now, rather than the primary scent.

 

Drydown: Creamy, rich, floral amber, with the orange as a sweet spiky note throughout.

 

This is a real winner. I think it might actually edge out Brisingamen as my favorite amber scent, although Brisingamen is more AMBER. The Haunted Palace is more than that -- just a gorgeously balanced mixture of floral, fruit, amber, and vanilla. I love it.

Edited October 18, 2005 by hangingfire

[Imbrium]

Immediately on, this is citrus and then something powdery and floral.

 

Then, the rose sort of blooms behind it all.

Hours later, this is very different. It kind of ... rounds out into a warm vanilla. The citrus is gone, the powdery amber is disappearing, slooowly. The rose is still there; in fact, I think it's the most prominent note at this point, even though it's a very light rose.

 

Sadly, the red musk never appears; now that I'm finally figuring out how gooood Beth's musks smell on me, I was really hoping to smell it in this blend. As it is, this is nice, though it's still a little powdery for my taste.

[empi girl]

Rose and blood orange at first, equally mixed. There is a hint of heliotrope in the background, briefly, and a little warmth from the amber. I don't catch the musk or the vanilla specifically. I too was hoping for a more prominent musk, since I love red musk. It is a very rich, sensual fragrance, very apt for the theme.

As it is, I like this blend, but don't love it. It is the blood orange that isn't quite working on me. I'm going to let this one age a bit and try it at a later date. I have a feeling it will age well. I hope so, since I was really looking forward to this one.

[Ailine]

This went from oranges with a sandalwood chaser to gardenia powdery ick on me. I hate it when good oils turn bad on my skin. I love it wet, but I had to wash it off once it dried. My chemistry just really amps up gardenia.

[CapricornSister]

I liked most of the notes from the description and this didn't let me down. On me it's slightly sweet, and I agree with the 'creamy orange' assessment...all in a good way! It must be the vanilla underneath the blood orange.

 

On me the vanilla takes over a bit, with the orange more in the background. The amber is also saying hello at this point. I like this!!

 

Overall, this is gorgeous I need another bottle!

[olympia301]

 

Oranges, just like others have said, but these are high toned oranges, not screaming orange skin which is cheap and volitile. Then there is a perfumy sort of a background which comes through. I think it is the heliotrope. I can't smell the roses, I am sure they are here but in such a small amount, they act as bit players in the background helping to make this a suave and engaging blend. Very sophisticated and "dry", I would say that The Haunted Palace is a gorgeous scent and has made it into one of my favorites.

[gangstaknitta]

I was soooo looking forward to this...in the bottle, it smells sweet and a little juicy. It is very much a girly floral to my nose. On my skin, it smelled liked candied orange slices and a bit bubble-gummy. It smells delicious, like my kitchen after baking gooey, fruity sweets. I like to smell it, but not smell like it. It goes powdery on me on the dry-down and the Hubba Bubba note wouldn't go away.

[Reinaluna]

The Haunted Palace: The blood orange and heliothrope come out in this one a lot when it is first applied. Then the amber starts to seep through. The drydown I get a little rose, gardenia and some vanilla. This is very nice, and it is almost like a translucent aroma like Moon Rose. Another beautiful BP masterpeice!

 

 

Later on: I dabbed a little more of this on tonight and Im getting more of the musk with the amber, vanilla and gardenia. This blend to me, is the fraternal twin of Gypsy Queen, with the same incensy waifts but different.

Edited October 23, 2005 by Reinaluna

[LiberAmoris]

Yep, The Haunted Palace is gorgeous. Ripe redolent oranges, lush red roses, and sweet heliotrope and gardenia---with vanilla and amber and musk at the bottom. The oranges melt away over time, leaving a second skin ambery floral that is just gorgeous.

 

I have to agree with other reviewers, this is one infectiously happy blend. Bright and flirtatious, it's a decadent tumult of good cheer in a bottle. I don't think I could be gloomy wearing this one!

[shelldoo]

in the bottle: blood orange, amber, a touch of vanilla

 

wet: creamy blood oranges

 

as it dries it is a sweet mish mash of vanilla and blood orange, amber grounds it giving it an etheral quality, and rose just peeps up to say hi everyonce in a while. but the musk. the musk is what makes this scent for me. and i am not one to look for musk as a must have.but this needed the musk to compliment, to perfect. and it does indeed touch perfection

 

this is sexy, warm, juicy, almost lickable

Edited October 23, 2005 by shelldoo

[Thorne]

Lovely bright blood orange is the top note, and it's a strong one. This is what I hope Kunstkammer would smell like.

 

The orange fades, as do all citrusy scents, but what replaces it is so delicious, I don't mind at all. The drydown is a warm, sweet blend of tonka, amber, and vanilla, and I just adore it.

[Nightgaunt]

Haunted Palace deserves its popularity. It's a red-gold scent, warm, regal, and joyous. I especially like it during drydown, when the amber and vanilla move to the foreground.

Hell, I'd be tempted to buy these oils just for the labels! Each one is different, and all are beautiful.

[Loligo]

Ah well. Vanilla, heliotrope, and gardenia are all good on me, and all the other notes in this scent are sometimes good, sometimes bad. Alas, this time they lean toward the bad. Not the "Augh! Get this off me!" bad, but they just never quite mesh with each other or with my skin. I get strong, tart orange and equally strong rose, and they just sort of battle each other out for several hours before they both slink off to lick their wounds, leaving the field to a red musk & amber drydown with faint hints of vanilla.

 

ETA: I don't know if the perfume just settled in a bit over the past week, or if my skin chemistry is having a better day, but this time the amber and vanilla did a much better job of keeping the rose and orange well-blended with each other. This time, HP was a much less jangly experience. Many people seem to experience the orange burning off quickly, but for me, this time I'm noticing that there's an effervescent tartness, like a spritz of orange zest, that lingers through the whole drydown.

 

Still not an ideal blend on my skin, but I'm getting more of the bright, cheerful lushness that other people are talking about.

Edited November 1, 2005 by Loligo

[aidenraine]

Wow, this is truly delectable!

 

Wet I'm smelling something like Snake Oil- the vanilla and the musk combined. It's rich and seductive.

And then there's the orange-cream layer, nice and sweet, but tempered by the musk.

 

Wow... delicious.

 

Everything is hovering in perfect balance. I'm not sure this reminds me of anything haunted so much as a deliciously perfumed boudoir.

 

 

You know, if Snake Oil and Kunskammer had a love child....

[wickedgoddess]

Origin - a decanted imp from a lovely forumite.

 

This sounds so lovely, but both rose and amber are notes that frequently turn to powder on me, so I am a bit leary of this., After one sniff however, I fell in love, and knew I had to take a chance.

 

Wet - Oh this is so beautiful! Rose, amber and orange combine to make this rich golden scent.

 

Dry - oh no, I am getting traces of powder already. This will break my heart if it doesn't work on me.

 

OMG, after less than half an hour, the powder goes away, leaving a glorious orange amber scent behind. Yay, I can wear this!!!! I am getting a bit more floral now. I think it's the gardenia, because I love gardenia. I think I am getting the tiniest bit of vanilla too. The red musk never makes an appearance, which is a shame, because it would be a welcome addition to theis blend.

 

This would make my top 10 if not for the brief powdery note, because on anyone else this would be absolute perfection. As it is, I will treasure my bottle when it arrives.

 

On the wickedgoddess scale of 1 to 5, with 5 being best, this rates a 4.

[tempete]

When I first read the description for Haunted Palace, I thought that everything sounded perfect... except for the gardenia. Unfortunately, BPAL's gardenia note has a very distinctive sharpness that for some reason, sets my nerves on edge. So naturally, since I had the highest hopes for Haunted Palace out of all the Demon in my View scents, I can smell the gardenia.

 

Initially, Haunted Palace is a bright, sunny mix of orange and heliotrope on my skin. The orange eventually dissipates, leaving the heliotrope to carry the scent into the next stage. The drydown is a mix of gorgeous amber and vanilla, but with a faint but unmistakable whiff of the gardenia note. The evolution of Haunted Palace reminds me somewhat of Bearded Lady, as they both dry down to floral-tinged amber-and-vanilla scents on me, though of course Bearded Lady lacks the evil gardenia note. If I couldn't detect the gardenia note, I would probably get a bottle of Haunted Palace just because of my love of amber and vanilla. However, since I can smell gardenia, and given that the drydown of Bearded Lady works so much better on me, I will have to wear Haunted Palace a few more times to see if how much the gardenia note annoys me.

[cupide430]

The Haunted Palace

 

Sweet and a bit juicy. A candy, sticky sweet. Almost grape-y. It has a deeper almost musky undertone but this is overall very sweet with a warmth to it. There's just the tiniest hint of spice here. It reminds me a bit of Madrid and some of the other sweet winey scents though this doesn't have wine listed as an ingredient.

[PurringPulsar]

The Haunted Palace

 

In the imp: oh, wow. A glowing golden amber-vanilla-orange scent. Fruity, sweet, sticky and decadent.

Wet on skin: still orange and amber, but now the florals come out. Please gardenia, play nice for me…

Dry on skin: wow!!! This is beautiful! This is a glorious floral scent-a rich full rose with a fabulous gardenia that actually smells like gardenia and not acrid nastiness (yay! This one didn't turn to ick on my skin!) with sweet heliotrope mingling fabulously with vanilla and amber, an orange tang and a delightful red musk backdrop. This is unbelievably magnificent!

After a while: this scent is so feminine and very voluptuous, sumptuous, decadent. And the vanilla-heliotrope-amber-musk combination now brings to mind the wonderful Hollywood Babylon! But with a beautiful rose scent added. In fact, it's like Hollywood Babylon meets Spellbound. I can't get over how good this is!

Verdict: I had such high hopes for this-all the notes in this sounded magnificent-I was just a bit worried about the gardenia. The great thing is the gardenia is of the wonderful variety. The even better thing is this scent totally exceeded expectations. It is a truly glorious, beautiful, feminine and voluptuous scent. Rich decadent floral notes, with sweet vanilla and amber and magnificent red musk, and a little bit of orange. It's reminiscent of Hollywood Babylon and Spellbound, which I love. I was debating about whether to get a bottle. Now I certainly will because it really is fabulous. Beth, you never cease to amaze my nose.

 

Edited November 5, 2005 by yeahbutnobut

[erikasilverstein]

The Haunted Palace starts as a rich, juicy citrus with hints of florals.

 

The blood orange fades pretty fast, and I'm left with a spicy, slightly powdery citrusy floral. Reminds me of the florals in Alice. I'm not a fan of flowery scents, but Alice and this are pretty!

 

The vanilla amps up gradually, and adds a creamy element to the mix.

 

Lasts fairly long (if it gets me through the train ride to work, I am impressed).

 

Very well blended...not of the notes really stand out, and they all compliment each other nicely.

[slave1]

The rose comes to head first, with a very sweet background note… I’m thinking the vanilla? I’m not much of a rose fan, but this is so elegant and commanding. This scent screams royalty and elegance. The Tunisian Amber (one of my favorite notes) gives a beautiful warm bed for the other notes to lie on. The orange is soft, not too ripe. The heliotrope gives it’s trademark sweetness and tames the tartness of the rose and gardenia. A very beautiful scent.

[Little Bird]

The Haunted Palace is hands down my favorite of the Demon scents that I've tried so far. Ruby red and amazing. The blood orange is dominant at first, super sweet and juicy. Then the rose gets stronger and it is the best rose that I have ever smelled before in my life. A full, spicy rose. I don't even normally like florals or citrus, but this is moving up to my top ten of favorite BPAL blends.

 

The drydown just keeps getting better. The vanilla and amber come out and make this just completely swoonworthy. I can't even begin to describe how wonderful this blend is, I would never be able to do it justice. I am so glad that I got a bottle, and I think that I will buy a few more bottles before it disappears.

 

Best rose fragrance ever, with the perfect amount of sweetness.