The Sleeper

[coulrophobe]

At midnight, in the month of June,
I stand beneath the mystic moon.
An opiate vapor, dewy, dim,
Exhales from out her golden rim,
And, softly dripping, drop by drop,
Upon the quiet mountain top,
Steals drowsily and musically
Into the universal valley.
The rosemary nods upon the grave;
The lily lolls upon the wave;
Wrapping the fog about its breast,
The ruin molders into rest;
Looking like Lethe, see! the lake
A conscious slumber seems to take,
And would not, for the world, awake.
All Beauty sleeps! - and lo! where lies
Irene, with her Destinies!

O, lady bright! can it be right -
This window open to the night?
The wanton airs, from the tree-top,
Laughingly through the lattice drop -
The bodiless airs, a wizard rout,
Flit through thy chamber in and out,
And wave the curtain canopy
So fitfully - so fearfully -
Above the closed and fringed lid
'Neath which thy slumb'ring soul lies hid,
That, o'er the floor and down the wall,
Like ghosts the shadows rise and fall!
Oh, lady dear, hast thou no fear?
Why and what art thou dreaming here?
Sure thou art come O'er far-off seas,
A wonder to these garden trees!
Strange is thy pallor! strange thy dress,
Strange, above all, thy length of tress,
And this all solemn silentness!

The lady sleeps! Oh, may her sleep,
Which is enduring, so be deep!
Heaven have her in its sacred keep!
This chamber changed for one more holy,
This bed for one more melancholy,
I pray to God that she may lie
For ever with unopened eye,
While the pale sheeted ghosts go by!

My love, she sleeps! Oh, may her sleep
As it is lasting, so be deep!
Soft may the worms about her creep!
Far in the forest, dim and old,
For her may some tall vault unfold -
Some vault that oft has flung its black
And winged panels fluttering back,
Triumphant, o'er the crested palls,
Of her grand family funerals -
Some sepulchre, remote, alone,
Against whose portal she hath thrown,
In childhood, many an idle stone -
Some tomb from out whose sounding door
She ne'er shall force an echo more,
Thrilling to think, poor child of sin!
It was the dead who groaned within.

Night-blooming jasmine, opium poppy, wild rosemary, Calla lily, oakmoss and crypt musk.

In the bottle, I can smell something sharp and pungent, almost "spiky" smelling - that's definitely the rosemary! The sharpness persists when the oil is wet on my skin; it's an assertive and somewhat disquieting smell to my nose. I often see the term "feral" used in the description of musky scents, and for once I actually am finding a musky scent "animalistic" rather than clean or warm. I think it's the combination of the rosemary's sharpness and the "crypt musk" - wet, this oil is a little to pungent for my skin to handle!

The Sleeper mellows considerably on drydown, for which I am thankful - the rosemary fades and blends with the other notes, and the florals make a subtle appearance. There's a slight smoky/spicy feel to it, which I'm thinking might be the opium poppy. It's really quite lovely, now that the rosemary's playing nice! I'm having a hard time pinning down the crypt musk, other than as an underlying warmth; musk fanatic that I am, it's driving me nuts that I can't isolate it. I'm thinking perhaps it's a bit like black musk, but more dusty.

In all, a very complicated and definitely a morpher on me. Fascinating!

[Scarlettfish]

I have to agree that this starts off very sharp - definitely the rosemary coming to the fore initially. However, it is not an overwhelming sharpness, but is actually rather lovely. Almost brittle? I can't really describe it all that well, but it is very distinctive.

 

Upon drydown, the rosemary remains, but the jasmine, calla lily and what I think is the opium poppy come out. It is a subtly spicy, musky floral scent. I agree with the above review that is almost smoky, but there is almost a white musk feel to it as well, which might be what 'crypt musk' smells like. The jasmine, for those who are scared of it, does not dominate, but is just lurking there with the other notes. It is really well-blended and complicated.

 

Absolutely love this. First of the Demon scents that I have tried and I am very, very impressed

[UltraViolet]

In the bottle

I smell menthol or peppermint. I just do. I has to be the rosemary.

 

On

I still smell menthol or peppermint even while on my skin so I must be the rosemary. I'm surprised the Jasmine is not that strong, I was concerned but I didn't need to be because it's a soft jasmine. The oakmoss is also not as strong as in other BPAl blends that have oakmoss in them. The Sleeper smells herby, green and camphorish or maybe like something that has pennyroyal in it. Makes it nice to breathe.

 

30 minutes

It dries down to a more dusty floral.

 

Throw:

average

 

Scent category:

Green/Herby/Floral

 

Summary

This is green as TIA's "Dunwhich" is green, and spicy herby with just a touch of Jasmine.

Crypt musk. Who knew?

 

Purchase again?

No. I like Undertow just a bit more for this kind of scent. But this is a pleasure to smell.

 

1-5 rating (5 being best)

3

Edited November 28, 2005 by UltraViolet

[shelldoo]

in the bottle: sharp, herbal, rosemary

 

wet: the jasmine just will not play fair. jasmine hates me. i was hoping since it was night blooming it would behave. but nope it gets that harsh jasmine bitchslap that kicks my arse and makes me cry mercy.

 

as it dries: the jasmine is still the little dominatrix bitch of the blend but, she is at least allowing the others to tramp around, i can detect a hint of lily and a breath of musk. i do believe the jasmine and rosemary are having a jello wrestling match of gigantic proportions. everyone else is caught up in their drama and kind of wondering around trying to stay out of harms way.

 

all in all not as bad as it started off. but i don't know if i am woman enough to take the beating the jasmine dishes in teh beginning with

[Little Bird]

I'm glad that I just got a decant of this one. It's way too much floral for me to handle. It starts out smelling a bit sour and herbal, which I'm guessing is the rosemary.

 

The drydown is one of the most horrible headache-inducing perfumes that I've ever worn. This is hyper musky smoky jasmine and soapy lily. It turns on me and smells a bit like floral hairspray

 

I washed this off after about a half hour, and I could still smell it on my skin throughout the day and many repeated handwashings.

 

Strong musky jasmine-floral.

[wickedgoddess]

Wet - jasmine and rosemary. Rosemary is one of my favorite scents and I have been disappointed that I haven't found a BPAL blend with rosemary that works on me. I have a good feeling about this!

 

Dry - Wow, the jasmine settles right down. This becomes soft and warm, I can see why it's called The Sleeprt. It makes me think of snuggling up under the covers on a gray and dreary day. . I smell something delicous underneath it all, something musky. That must be the crypt musk. Mostly though, this is about the rosemary, and I love, love, love this blend.

 

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

[tempete]

The Sleeper turned to earthy-smelling soap on my skin and for that, I blame the night-blooming jasmine and Calla lily. It's too bad, because I was so curious about the crypt musk.

[Loligo]

The initial notes are resinous rosemary and a pure, sweet floral that is probably the lily plus something else; this is a strange and lovely combination. But soon the night-blooming jasmine starts doing the same thing as its day-blooming cousin, and I am all congested and sneezy. Once the jasmine burns off, the musk comes out, and I do not like this musk. I see why it's called crypt musk -- there's something sweet and dusty to it that makes me think of rot.

 

I feel kind of bad, writing all these so-so to negative reviews for the Demon line, but then, I took a chance and got decants on a lot of things I wouldn't normally try, so I guess it's not surprising.

[Northernminx]

Rosemary is sharply herbal and present but softened by a touch of lilly and oakmoss. Oddly i don't get much jasmine in this save for a faint spiceiness beneath. This is complex and intriguing but not quite me so I probably won't be keeping it as it's a bit astringent for my tastes.

[LushNatty]

In the bottle: mostly jasmine, some lily, with a hint of mint (not sure where this is coming from, but it’s there).

Applied: freshly on, it is still jasmine and… eucalyptus (that was what I thought was mint in the bottle, and I still don’t know where it’s coming from). Nice, though. The minty/eucalyptusy thing fades the further I get away from my skin and it smells like jasmine tea. Yum. Actually, it reminds me a lot of Lush’s Noriko soap, even though it doesn't actually smell like Noriko (I checked).

As the minutes go by, it gets more herbally, and then the lily REALLY develops. Not a particularly strong throw, but enough so that you know it’s there. It’s a bit powdery, but I like that—I generally think that jasmine and lilies smell like that, and those are my two favorite florals.

In keeping with the overall concept, it’s a very romantic scent. Very feminine, too, and delicate and fresh. This is definitely a scent I need a big bottle of....I'm thinking, until the drydown hits about an hour and a half later.

Now for some reason it has morphed into kind of a general "floral perfume" smell with an herbal undertone-- kind of like this solid perfume that my grandmother used to have from Avon when I was really little. Wow-- I wasn't expecting that, at all. It happened so gradually I didn't even notice it.

On a scale of 1 to 5: 5 before the drydown, then 3.

Edited November 5, 2005 by LushNatty

[Galen]

unfortunately, jasmine likes my skin too much and overwhelms all the other notes. And when I say 'likes' I mean that it smells heady & floral and then quickly passes into heady & plastic on me...

[cupide430]

A bit earthy and quite strong in the imp. Once it hits my skin it becomes a sort of round almost fruity tinged floral. It is all night-blooming jasmine, heady and strong. It gets a bit lighter and a touch powdery as it dries, I think that might be the lily coming out.

[AlaskaSnows]

Wow this is a real kick-you-in-the-nuts smell. It's a salty slightly incense-y wood. Almost sandalwood-y. Not too dry, thank goodness. It's got a tinge of floral, but it's barely there. This is almost a single note, this wood. It's interesting, but I won't be wearing it. This is same in the vial as wet, has an incredible throw, and lasts forever.

[sookster]

i am on a continual quest for any of beth's blends with jasmine....

i know there just has to be "one" out there that will suit me and i

wanted it to be the sleeper....i was so hoping this

would have worked because of all the other incredible notes....

 

alas, jasmine totally overcomes every other scent in this blend

and that is all i get....a very heady, thick, sharp jasmine and

nothing more......dumb ol' chemistry

 

back to the drawing board i go...

[PurringPulsar]

The Sleeper

 

In the imp: light, sweet, sparkling jasmine.

Wet on skin: now the rosemary comes out, adding a green herbal twist to the jasmine-lily scent.

Dry: whoa…this is a sharp scent, the rosemary adds a green and bitter edge to a deceptively sweet and floral scent. I don’t know where the crypt musk is, but I think I can make out the moss, and a bit of poppy even though I am not 100% familiar with this note. I’m not sure if my nose is acting funny (it’s a bit sneezy thanks to the cold weather) but it seems to be fading a bit.

After a while: no, it’s not fading any more, it’s actually smoothing out, and strengthening. The rosemary isn’t too strong any more, now the floral notes have balanced out creating a cool, chilly, slightly sweet scent of white flowers. It’s very pleasant, but also quite ghostly. The musk, if that is what it is I am smelling in here, is very pale and cold in scent, it’s a gentle white musk but with a chill which befits it’s ‘crypt’ description. It’s quite a pretty scent overall.

Verdict: I am surprised at how pretty this scent is. After a blast of sharp herbal rosemary, this scent eventually calms down into a very pleasant sweet jasmine-lily scent with a cool musk, and a hint of something dry and wispy. It’s ghostly and ethereal, much like many of the Demon scents, but this one has a ghostliness of it’s own, cool and dry, yet light and gentle at the same time, very feminine and dreamlike. It’s a lovely scent, though I am undecided on whether I want a bottle as I have many other jasmine-musk scents I prefer, but I like this a lot.

[k00kaburra]

In bottle: Musky in that icky animalistic way that always seems to follow when poppy or oakmoss are blended with musk. This smells heavy and somewhat ominous.

 

On me: Hella nasty, like rotting flowers in a murky swamp. Possibly a very dirty animal farted too.

Sorry, that's such a crass, crude review. But this scent hates me! And I hate it! We share our loathing of each other completely.

Half an hour or so has passed, and thankfully the nastiness has ebbed a bit. This is still a heavy, overbearing fragrance, but at least the jasmine has come to dominate and the poo-gross-something note has disappated. Still isn't anything I'd ever wear tho'.

[Diana]

I'm rushing to write this, because I've only had it on a few hours and it's fading fast. Or maybe that's the point? doot doot doooooo

 

In the bottle, it's almost pure jasmine. Going on wet, it's much the same; heavily floral. The flowers are all that I can smell for the first hour or so. They aren't super heavy in and of themselves, they are just the main component that I can smell, jasmine being the only one I can pick out with any certainty. I can sort of pick out what must be the wild rosemary, but it's very faint and not super strong, like regular rosemary is in some of the other blends.

 

As this wears, the jasmine & floral notes tend to dissipate and it becomes a bit woodier smelling. I must be getting the oakmoss at this stage. I can't really discern any musk, but this hasn't lasted long, so I cannot say for sure.

 

I actually like this a lot. The jasmine isn't too sharp & overpowering and the drydown is nice. I'm going to have to try this again and pay more attention to the drydown to see if I can pick up on any of the missing notes.

[zenvodunista]

sadly, something in this is kind of funky on me, I'm pretty sure it's the "crypt musk". A lot of musks don't work on me, and this is another one. If Devil's Night smells good on you, this one will too. If it makes you smell like a sweaty frat boy, pass on this. stupid nose and skin chemistry!

 

n.

[Galena]

Wow.

 

this took me back to my first time....

 

because this is a lot like Mata Hari, to me. not in that it smells the same, but because it just took me straight back to the moment I opened the bottle and took a sniff, and was lost to the lab.

 

in the same way, this is warm and sophisticated, expensive smelling and unique.

 

this on me after the initial drydown, a really spicy, posh, resiny floral.

 

I kept grabbing my own wrist for a sniff, when I was out yesterday.

[SevenSins]

In the bottle: Sharp, herbal/green floral.

 

Wet: This is gorgeous! A little strong, but well blended.

 

Drydown: Softer now. Jasmine is coming through, so is the poppy. And the rosemary has mellowed. Nice! Love the musk!

 

Later: Fades quickly, but only to a point. It fades down to a subtle scent without losing anything, just softens.

 

This one is a keeper! It's on my list to buy more! Thank you Beth

[LiberAmoris]

The Sleeper is a really curious blend. Frist applied, I get loads of rosemary and jasmine. The poppy and lily don't really emerge for me until after 20 minutes, and on the drydown I smell the oakmoss and something musky. And yet, it's really well blended, so only in retrospect did I realize that I was smelling all of them at once.

 

For some reason though, a combination of notes here is smelling like a band-aid on me. It's a plastic, sterilized note that I'm guessing is just my weird skin chemistry acting out. It's a shame, because I love rosemary blends and had such high hopes for this one.

[The_Merf]

I received this over a month ago, and it has taken me this long to review it. I have worn it multiple times, and I can't decide whether it is too soft for my liking, or just right. However, I think the fact that it makes me think, as it were, so much is a good sign.

 

In the bottle: This smells very clean. I don't usually like clean scents, but there is a softness to this. This smells very much like how I imagine Glasgow (a scent on my wishlist that I have not yet been able to try) would smell.

 

Wet: This fades into my skin very quickly, and it is difficult for me to detect. The jasmine is not dominating the blend--save Morocco, I find that I have to buy LE blends to get jasmine and sandalwood that does not overwhelm everything--which is nice. I wish I could really smell the poppies, as that is what drew me to this blend in the first place.

 

Dry-down and wear: This lives up to its name; there is a fuzziness around the edges to this perfume that is indeed sleepy (I wonder how this will compare to the upcoming Sleepy Moon?) and very comforting. It's a contradictory perfume--the best phrase I can use to describe it is "a warm cool scent." The jasmine, rosemary and oakmoss are strongest here.

[Voleuse]

On first application, this is both sweet and herbal--the lily and the jasmine are predominant, but the rosemary is also evident. It's creamy and just the faintest bit sharp. There's also a musk note that's downright animalistic, which doesn't quite fit with the rest of the blend.

 

As it dries, this becomes mostly jasmine and musk. It's a little sharp, but much nicer than I expected, given my first impression. Definitely complex, and it does, somehow, feel dreamlike.

[gingersnapp]

Usually I am thrilled to see oakmoss as a component, but something went really wrong with this blend. At first, it was all calla lily... a very creamy floral. But as it dried it wreaked havoc on my sinuses and allergies. I think that's the crypt musk. It's a very... moldy, sharp, greeen smell, and it's very, very strong on my skin. I can tell the oakmoss is in there a little, and the lily is still somewhat evident, but that mold smell is driving me crazy. Too bad.

[Inanna9]

This starts off very strong--medicinal even--upon application, with an overwhelming herbal-citrus note that I know is rosemary but my nose keeps trying to tell me is lemon. At least it "smells" yellow-green to me. *shrugs* Not very helpful, I know.

 

Nevertheless, after a bit, I come this close to writing it off, but I get distracted (two rowdy boys will do that once in a while )on my way to the soap and water. And I'm so glad I did, because this has such a pretty drydown. The sharp rosemary is just a nice herbal tang in the background of what is really a lovely, dusky floral. Not a cloying floral, just understated, with a soft musk.

 

This might literally be a 'sleeper'--I'll have to try it again before I make up my mind about a big bottle order. It's more subtle than the others, but may end up as one of my favorites.