The Haunted Palace

[sarada]

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 my first DiMV scent to try, though hopefully I will be getting some more very soon -- I had no idea what to expect based on the notes for this. Fruit and rose scents mainly only work on me if they are combined with amber, so this does sound promising. Red musk is one of my top five notes of all BPAL. Heliotrope is one of the only florals that I like consistently. And gardenia is one of those things that usually ruins a blend but sometimes, for no reason, it absolutely works!

As it turns out, everything is working together in this blend, just as I had hoped! It's like a cross between Florence and Queen of Spades. It has the fruity amber of Florence, but a much deeper, stronger incensey kick to it like Queen of Spades does. Oh, or it's like Kunstkammer the way I had hoped it would turn out on me...thick, deep, dark fruit (the orange is strong at first but fades quickly and feels almost berry-like) and resiny amber.

Every note in this seems to be coupled with another scent that is its perfect match. Golden, orange light trickling in and falling on dusty antique surfaces. A strange scent for a Haunted Palace, but it smells regal, antiquated and lush, like tattered red velvet curtains and tarnished gold candelabras.

I love scents that take notes that I normally don't like (gardenia, vanilla) but somehow combine them in a way that makes a completely unique new scent that works on every level. I really hope I get a bottle of this for Christmas! If I don't, I'll order one! Edited December 28, 2005 by Shollin

[AngellicMystique]

A grand feast, frozen in time.

 

This scent was beautiful on me, the blood orange was conspicuously absent and everythign else blended gorgeously. Then the blood orange hit. Desolation does not begin to describe... Well, at least it matched both the description and the spirit of the poem...

[WidgetAlley]

Decanted for me by the lovely astrozombiegirl over on the alchemlab LJ. So much loff! (Caveat lector: I put some Dublin on to help me sleep last night, and the white musk in that lasts absolutely ages on me. I can still smell it on my wrists; I don't think it's strong enough to affect The Haunted Palace, but your mileage may vary, and all that.)

 

In the Imp: Mmmmmm, light and yummy orange, with an extra sweetness in the background that's making a bit like orange candy. The heliotrope? There's a depth to the scent, a velvety feeling.... I was going to say, "It almost smells like there's musk in here!" And then I realised. There is. The fabled red musk. I think it's the combination of the amber and the musk that's giving it that rich, heady undertone. No vanilla, gardenia, or rose just yet.

 

Wet: The wetness of the orange dried out as soon as it hit my skin, and it becomes much more an orange rind than the fleshy fruit. I'm getting a tickle of soapy rose, but oddly enough it works. There's a subliminally clean and warm sensation to this: the musk, no doubt. As it starts to settle down, lovely touches of vanilla come out, and a slight spiciness that must be the gardenia. I can't pick out the amber specifically, but I know it's there somewhere, making things glow. Something about this is very festive, almost Christmasy. It's a soft, but bright, jumble of notes: oranges and reds and golds.

 

Dry: If I bury my nose in my wrist, it's predominately amber, red musk, vanilla with a hint of orange.... but the throw is all warm, round vanilla and a touch of rose. This is sparkling, translucent, beautiful and almost fragile. It hugs close to the skin, and is present without being overwhelming. I expected decadence and grandiosity, but instead The Haunted Palace is truly lovely: both gorgeous and sincere, and that makes its fall, not justified, but melancholy. This is not the scent of licentiousness, not of Sodom and Gomorrah, but an encapsulation of the phrase, "All good things must come to an end." It's uplifting, but delicate as well. Beth put it perfectly: "The moment before the ruin, frozen. The scent of captured glory, of glowing pearls and rubies, of golden sunlit joy and regal grandeur...."

 

The image that lingers in my mind is early morning sunlight, shining through the high, solitary window of a castle: illuminating the rich reds of the wine still on the table; the glint of gold thread woven in the tapestries; the grand clothes of the courtiers, who lie peacefully on the floor, their eyes fluttered shut-- not dead, but asleep, as the thickets of thorny rose bushes climb the walls outside, shutting in the perfect tableau until someone should come to rescue them, and restore them once more to their former majesty.

 

I'm not sure I'd wear this enough for a 5mL; it could never be an everyday scent for me, but I'll treasure my Imp. This is a masterpiece.

[oakmoss]

Trying this for the first time without reading about the notes, I interpreted this blend as warm and richly spicy, rather like a deep red cinnamon-potpourri softened by amber and vanilla. Just delicious, though not foody. The floral notes came out much later, very softly and well-blended, no one flower speaking up more strongly than the others. My overall feeling about this scent and its name is that this is like walking through that haunted palace in its emptiness, breathing in the scents that have been muted by time and loss -- celebration, light and warmth, comfort, all the spiciness of rich life left hanging faintly on the air in empty darkened rooms. A thoughtful and beautiful perfume, and one that I am definitely buying more of.

[Diana]

Wet, this is reminiscent of Kunstkammer. It has luscious, bright, juicy orange notes.

 

As this dries, and wears throughout the day, the orange is still there, but just lending a juicy fruity note to the cacophany of floral notes. Floral notes that I actually like! This reminds me quite a lot of Blood Rose, because of the wet, lush rose notes, and a bit like Bearded Lady because of the vanilla note. The vanilla doesn't really stand out, but it just lends something to the mix. It's sweet and pretty and yummy.

 

Another win from the Demon in my View series!

[sophia_helix]

The description is a list of all the notes that everyone else loves and I have to watch out for -- rose, amber, vanilla, musk, etc. It's lovely for the first minute, but then it got pretty cloying (damn rose/amber!) Later it evened out to something with a little more sophisticated softness, but it's very faint. Sadly, a swap, I think.

[moon_lemming]

Of course I had to get a couple of the "Demon in My View" scents, as a tribute to my Poe phase. I picked this one, even though the components didn't seem like my normal picks, mostly because of Macha's review, which made it sound like vanilla was one of the stand-out notes. I adore vanilla. So I tried it, and it is seriously one of the best florals I've ever worn. It's beautiful. I haven't been really concentrating on picking out notes lately, but this oil smelled warm and sunny, and fits the poem perfectly, as long as it's meant to be the glorious moment before disaster.

 

Actually, it's really creepy if you think about it that way. But god, what a gorgeous scent. I'm keeping it.

[Aredhel]

Rating (on skin): 2/5

Summarised in a word or two: Orangey rose.

 

In the imp: Amber, juicy orange, gardenia and a wee bit of rose.

 

On skin, wet: Oy; rose. Orangey rose, but most definitely rose. My skin amps up rose something awful, so I've not got high hopes for this just yet.

 

On skin, dry: Orange-tipped, faintly spiced rose, but rose all the same. Not over-powering, but by far the dominant note -- beyond that, I get nothing but a bit of spice and orange. It reminds me of a craft store, minus the strong cinnamon.

 

Conclusion: I had hoped for a lovely, musky, vanilla-laced orange amber, and that the rose would behave itself. No such luck; it just turns into a general craft-mall kind of scent.

[Laurel the Woodfairy]

I was thisclose to buying a bottle unsniffed, since this poem appears in my very favorite Poe story ("Fall of the House of Usher") and contains many notes I love. But then I saw the heliotrope and decided to wait for an imp. Heliotrope is the only thing worse than jasmine on me.

 

Beautiful color in the vial! Rich red/orange, like flames.

 

Ooo, rose and orange together! Reminds me a little of Masquerade; this could have been Masque of the Red Death if this were the Poe stories series. The vanilla comes out under the orange for a sweet creamsickle effect. It keeps blooming into more varieties of sweetness. Sweet floral, sweet foody. But there is just a tiny hint of yuck-sweet that's got to be the heliotrope. It's not strong enough to prevent me wearing and enjoying the imp, but an imp is enough.

[Nadirah]

This smells bright, almost sunny to me. Its hard for me to pull out any other scent than the Orange and heliotrope. After A while I smell the red musk, this is beautiful. As it dries down, it evokes the images of the sun going down, of the twilight ~just before it gets really dark. I'm not a big fan of scents with Orange in them, otherwise I think this is a very enjoyable scent, but for me the orange makes it too fruity.

[theseagrows]

i had great hope for this one- i love complex florals. i think i mostly smell the blood orange, gardenia, tunisian amber and toasted vanilla. it's the last note that i dont like- if the vanilla had a less 'toasted' quality to it, and was a more sugary vanilla, i think i'd like this better, but the toastiness overwhelms the rest of the scent on my skin.

[tarotgirl99]

Glorious and lush fruity floral richness...am I the only one who is reminded of Freak Show?

[Sheila]

This is indeed a glowing orange-red scent. In the bottle, it smells like a sweet orange. On wet, it reminds me of Jezebel--ORANGE and something sweet and powdery. As it dries down, a floral note comes out that I don't like. I wish I knew what it is--maybe heliotrope? Whatever that note is, it smells a bit like dirt to me. Besides that note, I also get just a hint of rose. Luckily I don't notice the gardenia. There's a bit of amber at drydown also.

 

I'm not sure about this one yet. I'll have to wear it a few more times. I'll try it in my oil burner--I'll bet it's splendid as a room scent!

[mexicat]

I was really disappointed by this I was SO EXCITED when I read that description,Orange and Vanilla!Yay! It started out beautifully,with that juicy Orange,then it disappeared,never to return.Strangely,it never got to Vanilla on me,but turned into a nice powdery floral.I never could pick out any particular note,just a smooth blend.Pretty,WAY better than commercial perfume, but there are so many other lovely florals here.I want my Orange !!!!

[jemz]

The last of four imps I bought from someone on the boards (whom I can't remember off the top of my head. :-( )

 

In the imp, strong citrusy scent.

 

Wet, whoa! A huge burst of musk and vanilla.

 

Drying down, the orange note hovers under the many layers for me. I think my skin tends to amp up amber and musk but this scent reminds me of Sol which I love. It's very resiny and musky and quite warm. I think I would love wearing this when I'm off snowboarding and getting whiffs of this to warm myself up while waiting for the ski lifts.

 

The rose never appeared and my skin adores the rose scents, so I'm a tad disappointed with that.

 

It truly is a beautiful blend and smells wonderful on me. I'm just not sure if I would wear an entire bottle's worth. I think I'll just treasure my imp and maybe hunt down another imp down the line.

[dawndie]

Out of all the Poe scents, this one was jumping up and down and screaming, "Buy me!"

 

In bottle: Lots of juicy orange. I'm leery of the citrus scents, not because they're not great but because they disappear on me.

 

On skin: Blast of orange, but almost immediately followed by a soft creamy YUM. I'm leery of the "creamy" scents too, because they sometimes go sour (Milk Moon, grr), but the citrus keeps it from doing so.

 

Half-hour later: Dead ringer for Alice, creamy roses, with an added teeny bit of orange. Alice is one of my all-time favorites, it's a great comfort scent that I'll put on at any time. I can't say enough nice things about this; it's a creamy soft floral, it lasts forever, it's calming and peaceful.

 

In conclusion: Lovely and wonderful

[lady_pandora]

There are oranges and then there are oranges. This one and Akuma both list blood orange, but while Akuma is a light, Dreamsicle/Bubblicious sort of orange that's perfect for summer, the first sensation I get from the Haunted Palace is spiced orange, candied in honey and booze perhaps?

 

This spiced orange is absolutely sublime. It smells like Christmas somehow, and like that scene in "The Eve of St. Agnes" when Porphyro sets out all the goodies for Madeline. Perfect for a hothouse touch of summer in the middle of winter.

 

After about an hour, my skin amps the amber to the starring role. The orange is still around, but I have to really sniff for it. A casual sniff is reminiscent of Brisingamen; I have to put wrist to nose to pick out Palace's orange vs. Brisingamen's apple. But still yummy, as amber is great on me.

 

As this is no longer available, I think I'll save it for special occasions; Brisingamen is more readily available and after about an hour theyre both Amber McAmberness. But Palace's first hour is enough to make me weep.

[harmonyfb]

In the bottle: A wave of amber, so strong it makes me a little ill.

 

Wet: More of the amber, now giving me a big ol' sinus headache.

 

Dry: Amber and roses. Thank goodness, the strength declined instead of amped up, but bleah! My nasal passages are still inflamed, an hour later, and I really do not like the scent. Really. Do. Not.

[mandragora]

In the vial: Blood orange. Juicy, spicy citrus. Interesting.

 

Wet on me: Citrus morphs quickly into a powdery floral. Red rose with a kick of amber. Hmm, not a fan of rosy scents.

 

Drydown: Dries down into a gorgeus blend of vanilla, orange and musk. Whoa! This is quite a lovely and happy scent. I'm glad I waited it out.

 

Verdict: Quite a cheerful scent behind the name. I think I'll be keeping the imp.

Edited January 26, 2006 by mandragora

[zankoku_zen]

Thanks to the lovely lj user kamyra for the imp!

 

In the imp: Intense brooding florals

 

On Skin: Floral overload. I get rose and a hint of gardenia. I hope gardenia behaves because she and I don't get along at all. There is a touch of sweetness to it, which could either be from the vanilla or the heliotrope.

 

On Drydown: The florals tone down quite a bit. Now its like a deeper version of Spellbound (the combination rose/red musk).

 

Four hours later: I can finally smell the orange! It smells like orange tea!

 

Verdict: The four hours later is beautiful. I love the orange smell. However, at the beginning I'm vastly overwhelmed by the floral notes. The drydown is too similar to Spellbound and Lust (granted, Lust has a bit more of an edge).

 

I guess my skin loves red musk too much to let it play well with the others.

 

Again, I'm in love with the four hours later part but its not a scent I would wear constantly.

[Chrysantza]

In the bottle: smells like a Creamsicle, or orange sherbet

 

On me: A citrus I can wear! I'm sure it's the amber and red musk keeping the citrus pretty and orangey and not "cleaning products." It's vanilla/orange/gardenia atop amber and musk, very sweet, bright and sunny. It reminds me, believe it or not, of Katharina - the same musk/fruit/sweet floral. And like Katharina, it's sunny, sparkling and lively. The Palace is haunted by playful kittens.

[LittleGreyKitten]

Mmmm. This is a beautiful scent. It's got to be the amber and red musk sweeping me off my feet. The florals are blended so well I can't pinpoint any specific one- definitely no rose standing out, though I do like rose- but wow, the scent itself is delightful. The orange also seems so fully blended I can't discern it specifically. It does capture decadence and a golden pinnacle, I think. Very nice.

 

It does remind me of something else by BPAL, mostly when it's wet, but I can't pinpoint just what. I thought maybe it was Jacob's Ladder, but not really.

 

I'd give it a 5 out of 5, I'll definitely be wearing this one a lot.

 

Edit: The thing it reminds me of is Tarot: The Sun. It's not identical, but it must have some note or two in common. Of the two, Haunted Palace is my favorite, though I like The Sun quite a lot too.

Edited February 6, 2006 by LittleGreyKitten

[thesibylqueen]

*The* most delicious scent I've had in a while! I don't get any citrus (too bad!) but this amazing warm vanilla-y amber that is just heady and sexy and comforting and delicioius! There is a faint floral hint that catches my nose occassionally -- this is a very teasing scent! But I love it -- I can't stop sniffing my wrist!

[arabella]

First Impression: Ambrosia and nectar.

 

Dries down to: Bright and sparkling fruit compote topped with whipped cream.

 

Additional Comments: This is another one where the sum is so much more than the total of the parts. For once, the rose is hiding in the wings instead of insisting on being center stage and the gardenia and red musk are supporting players, allowing the amber, toasted vanilla, heliotrope and especially, the blood orange to really shine. I'm so glad I got a bottle of this.

 

Lasted: Several hours (an added bonus for me).

 

Rating: 4.5 out of 5

[bellis]

Mmmm blood orange. Slighty berryish and tart and juicy. The amber and vanilla are soft but lovely. This sticks pretty close to my skin, but stays for a good while. A lovely, bright scent.