Sepulcher

[Damask Rose]

And so sepulchered in such pomp dost lie
That kings for such a tomb would wish to die.
-- Milton

Austere, majestic, and coldly beautiful. The scent of funereal blooms laid gently on cold marble. Calla lilies wrapped in rose and gladiola with the barest touch of sweetgrass and juniper.

This was one given to be free my Elizabeth so I didn't choose it and to be honest it's not really me. The main smell is of lillies, but like all the other floral scents I have tried, it fades really fast and doesn't smell particularly special. I do think she has captured that "cold marble" feeling very well though. This is a definitely a cold scent, if that makes sense!

[aileen]

At first: a fresh, green floral; good stuff.

 

Then: it quickly sweetens up on me. It gets too sweet and slightly powdery. Poop.

[amberbella]

It started out a bit too strong for my tastes but settled town to something much softer and cooler. It's very clean smelling, but not crispy clean, not sharply clean. There is a cool, clean sheets feeling to this. Like lying in bed on a lazy Spring morning in freshly laundered sheets...with the windows open. Very fresh and country.

 

This one is really nice, but not really me...I could easily keep it and finish the imp, but my curiousity for others urges me to swap this one.

[jj_j]

Something about the sweetgrass in this bothers my nose ... it just doesn't seem to fit in here. The lily and rose are a wonderful combination, and I even like the drop of juniper that's in here - it's very faint, so don't be discouraged if you're not a juniper fan; it's needed here to give that cold, crisp texture to the florals - but for some reason, the more I sniff my wrist, the less I like the herbal note the sweetgrass provides.

 

When I first put this on, my nose was able to separate out the sweetgrass, and I really, really like what Sepulcher is without it. After a few minutes, though, I can't keep the notes separate (and let's face it, the exquisite blending of scents is one of Beth's many amazing talents), and I have to take this off my list for possibility of future purchase.

 

Definite presence, though, and austere and cold are accurate descriptors.

[kcat]

When wet: strong floral, lilies I think

 

Dry: I swear it's ivory soap smell... of course, I think my nose is just pathetic at distinguishing smells.

 

2nd time: Yup, still smells like ivory soap to me. Maybe its jus a washed and clean smell. But, I think I really like it for some odd reason

 

Update: I'm hooked, I can't wait to go to bed so I can put more on. That said, I have been using this scent for sleeping, so don't know how well it lasts. Moreover, I think I would be uncomfortable with this as a daytime scent

 

kcat

[isyche]

This is another one that really matches its description - cold, austere, definitely.

In the bottle: I can smell the lily, it's sweet but not sickly.

On me: Dried grasses on a chilly day, or the remains of a wreath on a gravestone in winter. I love grass smells, so I quite like this - it's an interesting variation on the theme.

[Dianella]

Echoing the sentiments of the other reviewers, this scent does come across as cool and severe. Very spare, but I think I like it that way. It's turning soapy on me, but I really like the scent of soap. Like so much so that I was looking for a soap scent. This just might be it, actually.

Edited November 22, 2004 by Dianella

[Northernminx]

Chilled marble and cold dusty flowers. I was amazed at how light this scent was as usually lilly can be very strong on me. There's a faint wisp of rose on this and the lilly never really makes a huge appearance. This is a soft subtle floral that's more wistful and vague than a stronger floral might be. Very pretty, but faded quickly.

[Shollin]

First sniff: Cool, round floral, soft and flowing. Very promising.

 

Wearing: Something in this reminds me of the Plumeria lotion I used to buy from B&BW. Overall, Sepulcher is a very soft unpowdery floral, mostly rose when it dries. It’s pretty, but might not be “me” enough – I’ll try it again before I send it off.

[Azrhiaz]

Oh, I thought I'd reviewed this one already-- how did I miss it?

 

I'm very glad I ordered it on faith before it was discontinued. I've since received an Imp of it and I *do* love it, although it isn't for every day. It's the perfect embodiment of my beloved cemetary angels-- cold and beautiful and very, very sad somehow. The lily is most prominent on me-- I don't get any rose at all-- and it's a much colder lily note than the one in Tiger Lily. Perfect for the days when I'm sad and want to wallow in it, rather than snap out of it. Other reviewers have mentioned it fading, but this is one that lasts quite well on me. I catch whiffs of it on my sweaters where it hasn't even come out in the wash.

[Ishtar]

Sepulcher was mostly rose and lily on me, with something of an edge coming from the juniper, I guess. A severe and serious scent.

 

This being a Funereal Oil, I wasn't expecting it to be unreasonably chirpy and upbeat, but I must admit that this one felt rather forbidding and even left me a little depressed. True to its name and very evocative, that's for sure.

[TheDarkMother]

In the Bottle: A sweet lily scent. So far I really like it.

 

On Me: *faint* A gorgeous scent! The sweet smell of lilies placed on a loved one's grave, the intoxicating smell of gladiolis interminged. This is a funeral arrangement, I know the smell of this very easily as I've made them before. Hmm...not excatly a happy thought, but you get the picture.

 

This really is a dead ringer...err...no pun intended. I keep thinking about work though, so I can't give it the impression that it deserves. I'll get a bottle of this when the imp is used up.

[Gin]

The lilies are first, followed by what I think is the juniper and rose. This is cool and green. Eventually, it goes mostly rosy, but retains some of that greeness.

[k00kaburra]

In bottle: Cold and green...almost bellpeppery! It has the crispness and hint of spice that the vegetable has. Weird...

 

On me: It is completely different on the skin. It is definitely a cold scent, but all the florals are here, and the stems, and the leaves that are added as accents. Many others have described as soap scent, but to me it is too sweet and too cold for that. Just a bit too green, too - only a hint, tho'. It matches Beth's description to a T!

[pensive]

In the imp: gorgeous. Lilies, I smell.

On me, wet: Cold and chilly floral.

Drydown: ACK. Alright, which flower isn't playing nice? is it you, rose? lily? gladiola going gross? There is soap and a rotting flower on my wrist.

Verdict: Well I really do like the initial scent and would put this in a burner. it's sorta creepy, which considering its a funeral oil, I'm down with.

[UltraViolet]

In the bottle

very light floral

 

On

ooh, it's so alive, initially it was in the sam eorder as The Dormouse, very light herbally sweet floral. Now it's got this lemony pop that's coming from the juniper. It's definitely a lemony juniper on me now but there's a freshness occuring on a different leven which makes this even nicer.

 

30 minutes

It loses that juniper edge completely and is a light herbaly floral.

 

Throw:

average

 

Scent category:

green/ floral

 

Summary

Initially shy, the blend turns up the volume with the juniper.

Dries down to a lightly perfumey herbally blend.

 

Purchase again?

Yes. I like this a whole lot. It's different too.

 

1-5 rating (5 being best)

4

[OriginalWacky]

Bottle (Imp): Smooth, mildly sweet.

 

Just On: Mildly sweet hints of spice, quite smooth.

 

An hour or two later: It's cold.

 

Around 6 hours: Flowery, because it's soap now.

 

12 hours: It's gone.

 

Overall: It was ruined by my skin.

 

After reading other reviews: Well, it's full of flowers, and obviously my skin hates it.

[allidavie]

Very pretty white floral, as I sniff it in the imp (thanks OW ) but I smell lilies, which means that this is going to get ugly. Unsurprised to say that as lovely as this is, it turned to pure soap on me, the way all Lily scents do. I'm sure that any white floral/lily lovers would adore this though.

[Little Bird]

First on, this is a crisp bite of juniper with some rose and a green, slightly spicy scent dancing around it. I'm not sure that I like this.

 

Then... the lily does what it often does on my skin... and this smells like generic soap. After about an hour, that's all that I can smell.

 

Glad that I got a chance to try this one, but it doesn't work on me.

[glampyre]

I can definitely see how this fits into the Funereal Oil category. A very light, delicate incense wafting over dried flower petals on a cold stone altar.

[Voleuse]

This is a pretty floral scent on first application. We used to have calla lilies growing in our front yard, and this reminded me of them immediately. There is also, at first sniff, a hint of the gladiola. A cool, clean floral.

 

After a while, the rose starts to come out, but it doesn't dominate the scent--the rose and lily are quite evenly balanced. It is a little soapy, but not so much that I'm put off by it.

 

This isn't a brilliant scent on me, but I'm tempted to get the Resurrected version simply for nostalgia's sake.

[Medici]

 

(This is Sepulcher 2005 from BPAL's Anniversary Update)

 

In the bottle: Calla Lilly and gladiola. I swiped this yesterday, so I know for a fact there is marble under there. At first go, I was very, very excited. Slightly green and floral overall.

 

Wet: First goes the chilled marble accompanied by juniper - this strengthens as it begins to warm, dominating that cold slab entirely. It's very green in this stage.

 

Drydown: The gladiolas peek through next, and directly after that those delicate, white calla lilies. I don't know what my obsession with the calla lily is other than it's probably the one floral I can totally and utterly dig on any occasion. It's sweet without being over bearing and soft without being powdery.

 

As it wears the blend moves from that sharp green onset into something subdued and pale. There is a hint of greenery in the background that comes out to battle for dominance before the blend settles and the marble comes back.

 

I am exceedingly happy about the marble. I can't believe there's a note like that - I think it's damned near brilliant.

 

The floral dies down after a little while, and the juniper comes back out. Overall it moves between an herbal green to a pale white floral, slightly chilled and very quiet.

 

Being the type of gal who relishes the idea of a cooling mortuary slab - this totally makes my day.

 

Another 5/5 on Medici's Scale O'Love.

Edited December 21, 2005 by Medici

[QueenFae]

I love lilies, I had calla lilies for my wedding, and this scent reminds me so much of my bridal bouquet. It's pale and white and ghostly; a stark floral breezing through dim hallways. The rose and gladiola are such a faint but lovely complement to the lilies, they give it a clean, feminine feel. It's airy and haunting yet subtle and flowery, I like this one very much.

[elonweis]

Sepulcher - Anniversary Edition

 

In the bottle: I smell roses. Mmm.

 

Wet: Stark, cold, green. A young mossy rose. Like walking through an ice queens garden.

 

Dry Down: It tickles my nose. Slowly warming, but still with a certain distance. There's this faint spike of citrus oddly enough which keeps fading in and out. Makes me keep sniffing my wrist.

 

Have to agree with Queen Fae, the smell is beautifully clean but not comorting like Dirty.

 

UPDATE: Oh dear, turned to soap. T-T

Edited December 28, 2005 by elonweis

[slave1]

In Bottle: Lily and pine.

 

On Skin: Wow. This is quite the floral scent. Nothing gentle or dainty about this scent, it is in your face and very powerful. The Calla lilies are strongest, which is a nice change since rose usually dominates floral scents on me. The gladiola also is a powerful note and makes itself known right away. The juniper isn’t as strong as it seems when it’s in the bottle. On the skin, it’s barely there. The sweetgrass gives a nice green highlight and fans of “grassy” scents will love this. This is a beautiful elegant scent that isn’t for the shy or anyone who doesn’t want to be noticed.

After about 20 minutes, it turns quite soapy. Not my favorite... but still beautiful and clean.

Edited April 8, 2006 by slave1