Sheol

[coulrophobe]

The Hebrew Underworld, the Abode of the Dead, the Pit. It is as forbidding as the grave itself: a joyless and dolorous cave deep with the bowels of Earth that every man, saint or sinner, must travel to upon death, where his soul finds rest in the silence and dust.

For the living know that they will die, but the dead don't know anything, neither do they have any more a reward; for the memory of them is forgotten. Also their love, their hatred, and their envy has perished long ago; neither have they any more a portion forever in anything that is done under the sun. Go your way””eat your bread with joy, and drink your wine with a merry heart; for God has already accepted your works. Let your garments be always white, and don't let your head lack oil. Live joyfully with the wife whom you love all the days of your life of vanity, which he has given you under the sun, all your days of vanity: for that is your portion in life, and in your labor in which you labor under the sun. Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with your might; for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in Sheol, where you are going.
Ecclesiastes 9:5 - 10

The final burst of the soul's light and joy before passing into the depths of the earth, and into the cords of Sheol; Sheol, who is never satisfied, and who makes wide her soul to all. Vibrant gladiola, graceful stargazer lily, triumphant iris and bright heliotrope flare, and is finally made somber by heavy copal, a drop of labdanum, and tonka.

In the imp: Lots of florals (though I can't distinguish any in particular), and a hint of tonka. Very fresh and light smelling.

On: This one changes a lot with my chemistry. It's dominated by a familiar-smelling floral that I always have trouble placing -- I think it's heliotrope, though there's also kind of a dusty, pollen-y note I associate with jasmine in there. The lily creeps in a little as it dries, but not nearly enough for my tastes.

Unfortunately, while this one doesn't actually trigger my pollen allergies, it has a smell that I associate so closely with pollen that I'm getting a bit sneezy. Sadly, not for me.

Edited to add full description. --Shollin

[Heretic]

In the vial: Sophisticated ladies' perfume.

 

On my wrist, wet: Heady and fruity with a bit of dryness.

 

After 20 minutes: A bit of fruit and nut. Reminds me of a very toned-down Sacred Whore of Babylon without the sweetness.

 

After an hour: Wow. Sheol is a very complex blend. Eventually it dried down to a slightly sharp floral with a lot of body. Very well-blended, so it's difficult to pick out individual notes. Definitely feminine, but not a "pretty floral." Sheol means business. I quite like this once it's dried down.

[zillah37]

Sheol:

 

Okay, so I got this totally because it has labdanum and tonka. I wasn't that keen on the idea of the flowers, but I got it anyway. Plus it's Sheol! The Hebrew Underworld!

 

In the bottle, it is floral, but it's floral and amber. I always get amber from labdanum which is not a bad thing at all.

 

On my skin, it's really a soft floral that's dominated by the labdanum. It's a floral Snake Charmer actually. *drools* This is really a very complex, beautiful blend. It's feminine, but it's got this edge to it. Sheol is not your mother's floral perfume. The iris in this - mmm. So pretty. Iris and labdanum and tonka.

 

The verdict, this is really pretty. It's definitely a women's scent, but it's not light and super-flowery. However, it's starting to stuff me up and trigger a bit of a hayfever like feeling. Darn. I'm not giving up on Sheol though! It's too pretty to let a little thing like allergies get in the way!

[sarada]

I'm trying this for the copal, but I like resins in general, generally like tonka and I am fond of heliotrope. I have no idea what this is going to smell like.

 

In the imp: hmm, a dark floral perfume, but very mellow. It makes me think of the color of dark amber or a pale golden brown.

 

I was just sniffing candles at the mall and determined that iris is a floral note that I like, and there aren't any florals in here that bother me so far, even though I can't pick them out.

 

On my skin....oh, oh my. Copal is definitely coming out. I love copal. A very dry resin, this smells like it smells when it is burning. Like gold dust, in a way, but a deep and dark gold. There's a slight woodiness in the background. The florals are all arranging themselves neatly on top of this.

 

A collection of flowers in a dark, somber building. A memory of joy. The flowers are like pale, scattered shards of stained glass in a room that is vast, solemn, dark, formal, dry, dim. It is not "perfumey" to me, and the dry resiny base really works wonders with my skin. I will have to see if this changes considerably after it dries down. I don't know if I can really get a full idea of where this is going and what it can do with just one wearing.

 

This is great to experience, and even if I wouldn't find many occasions to wear it I think it is a beautiful piece of art. A great blend for contemplation.

[shelldoo]

in the vial: copal? labdanum. resinous not getting any floral.

 

wet: i think i detect tobbacco flower here, or maybe one of the florals is combining w/ one of the resins to trick my nose into thinking tobbacco flower

 

as it dries: sheol becomes more floral, yet a grounded floral, usually i amp up lily and it isn't really showing up so i am a happy camper. this is more resinous then floral, though i do detect a bit of what i am associating w/ iris. more of a grounded tuber type scent. this is dry, complex and sophisticated. copal is the front runner, and i am thinking the tonka is mixing w/ the iris to create something i am really confusing w/ tobacco flower. this is beautiful, dark, and not nearly as hot as i assumed sheol would be. actually i am thinking this one is my favorite of the newest batch of releases and i simply need a big bottle.

 

eta, after a couple hours, this has become very much similar to the lion, i adore the lion, and this is just becoming better and better.

Edited April 10, 2006 by shelldoo

[filigree_shadow]

Oops, this is kind of a sour floral on me. And it's giving me a headache. Hunh. This is the first BPAL that has ever done that. It's strong, too. I think I'm going to have to was this off...

[LittleGreyKitten]

Note to self: heliotrope is always a bad thing on my skin. Always. If it is noticeable, it eats every other note in the blend and creates The Flower From Hell. Sadly, that would be be Sheol. Not inappropriate perhaps, but very much not something I want to smell of. Oh well. I neeeeed most all of the Orishas in full size, so perhaps it's not a bad thing really. Can't want everything!

 

For me, 2 out of 5.

[slave1]

In Bottle: Strong perfumey

 

On Skin: Extremely extravagant floral, bright but with a base of darkness. I love it! Very sexy! It is slightly sour… in the floral notes, but the copal, labdanum and tonka sweeten it right up and give it the perfect base. This is very perfumey, not a light or subtle scent at all. The heliotrope gives a very *slight* bubblegummy note, but nothing sickly sweet. I think this blend is gorgeous. I put this in the same family as Venom, Perversion and Voodoo Queen… dark but also slightly sour and heady. Not incensey at all like Voodoo Queen… but that beautiful pungent beginning that screams seductive woman. It morphs into it’s own scent which means I need a bottle of this as well. Strong throw but it does fade quicker than I’d like…

Edited November 18, 2006 by slave1

[PurringPulsar]

Sheol

 

In the imp: a dark, sweet floral scent. I think I can smell lily, tangled in rich resins.

Wet on skin: the floral scent becomes a little bit brighter, and also drier, and quite piercing.

Dry on skin: mmm, this is an intriguing scent. There's one note here that is a bit sharp and dry, almost burnt, and it reminds me of gardenia…could that be the gladiolus? Other oils with gladiolus don't do that to me. But apart from that I can smell the rich depth of lily, a touch of sweet heliotrope and iris, and a deep, dark resin layer with an undertone of tonka. This darker background has hints of smoke, it smoulders like incense…I'm wondering if that's copal, and maybe that could be the cause of that sharp, smoky scent I first attributed to gardenia?

After a while: after about five minutes or so, this sharp note really tones down to become one with the rest of the fragrance, and the blend is gorgeous now. It's a wonderful mixture of floral and resin with a tonka base. The floral notes are well balanced with the resins/tonka, with a fantastic stargazer lily note, that is the star (ha ha!) of the blend. there is something here that prevents the scent from being too smooth and calm-a crackling smokiness, almost spicy, quite sharp.

After an hour or so, this smoky sharpness is almost completely blocked out by this amazing scent of labdanum, tonka and lily; it's dark, sweet, heady and quite sophisticated.

And then, oh yeah…it's doing that smooth, almost musky floral drydown that I sometimes get with labdanum scents. It's that almost autumnal smoky smooth musk, usually flavoured by fruits, or in this case, flowers. It's got a lovely incense like depth to it as well.

Not long after that, it switches again…to a lovely sweet muted floral scent, I can now smell the powdery iris and heliotrope more now! It's still got that hint of labdanum to it, but now the notes are very well balanced indeed, more so than at other times.

The final stage of this scent as a mix of the two previous stages, but lightened up a bit. Smooth labdanum/tonka, with a little hint of floral.

Verdict: this is a fascinating scent, an interesting blend of bright heady florals with the dark sweetness of resins and tonka. It morphs a lot, letting each of the notes have it's fifteen minutes, literally! It starts off sharply floral, with deep lily and a little bit of something which reminds me of gardenia. Then it moves through phases of floral headiness, deep tonka-enhanced resin, smoky incense, powdery iris, musky labdanum and so on…it shifts and changes. I like this scent a lot but that odd gardenia-like sharpness at the beginning prevents me from loving this scent, despite the other notes being wonderful. I'm not sure if I'll be needing a bottle yet but I'm holding on to my imp.

To sum it up in a smiley or two:

[Little Bird]

First on, Sheol is all sharp florals. There is also a hint of something sweet that reminds me of fruit in the background. It doesn't smell like any one fruit in particular, just has that vaguely nondescript fruity feel to it.

 

After 15 minutes. Smoky florals and spicy notes. I can't pick out any one note in this, it's just a jumble of perfume. It reminds me a bit of the department store florals that I tend to stay far away from. Too sharp for me.

 

After a half hour. A lot of the sharpness has faded and Sheol has sweetened up considerably. It smells a bit golden and incensey, and also has a smooth tonka note to it.

 

Sheol isn't so bad in the drydown, but it's really not something that I could ever wear. It starts off with way too much sharp/smoky floral.

[Voleuse]

This is actually quite heavy on me, resin and faint florals. It's not dark, but it's thick, if that makes any sense. Gooey sunlight and sweet smoke.

 

As it dries, the floral notes actually fade away, until all I get is amber. It's nice, but not for me.

[AliBabble]

being a non-religious jew, i had never heard of this jewish underworld thing... but it's the weirdest thing, when i smell sheol, i get memories of old synagogues and jewish holidays like sukkoh with golden hanging fruits...

i love this scent, although on me it is rather subtle. i get a shining, golden feeling from it, and can't place the notes very well, other than perhaps the heliotrope. i love heliotrope: it smells old fashioned, and powdery (in a good way). i wore this one to bed and slept great: it was soothing, and dreamy. i guess i do sense the labdanum and copal, but they are dreamy and subtle on me. this is well blended, complex yet understated, and an unusual scent with a golden sheen to it.

[maewitch]

Gorgeous.

 

There's at least two notes in this that are usually iffy on me: heliotrope and lily. They behave themselves in this, however.

 

Softly floral, warm without being too rich or sweet, this is a gentle promise, a hint on the breeze. This is golden and hazy, and makes me think of waking up to dawn sunshine filtering through pale curtains, the windows left open to invite the fragrance of the garden.

[arabella]

First Impression: A smoky floral

 

Dries down to: A subtler version of the same smoky floral.

 

Additional Comments: I think it's the copal that I could do without in this blend. It's a very different floral which would be perfect to wear to a funeral or a board meeting and it's interesting enough to use occasionally.

 

Lasted: 2-3 hours.

 

Rating: 2.5 out of 5.

[desu]

In the imp: Sweet florals gently weighted down. This scent smells a little sad to me.

 

On the skin: A certain spiciness springs to life on application, but overall, Sheol is just kinda "blah" on me. It's not weakly slinking off, and yet it feels like it wants to do so much more on my skin.

[provocateur]

in bottle: floral. sweet but not clingy. there's a hint of copal underneath.

 

on skin, wet: gladiolas! irises! copal and some tonka and labdanum.

 

on skin, dry: the florals fall to the wayside and it dries down to something beautiful and warm. It primarily stays copal heliotrope and labdanum.

 

conclusion: this is an amazing surprise. usually florals of most any type and i hate each other. 5/5

[puck_nc]

Origin: Imp ordered from the Lab

 

Initial Thoughts: I was a bit afraid of the tonka and copal, but I adore stargazer lily and thought I'd give it a go.

 

In the Bottle: A rich, deep floral. I can't pick out any note, but the whole is interesting. Although I sneezed mightily a couple of times after sniffing it.

 

Wet: My impression is plummy flowers with hints of musk. I'm guessing the latter is the copal and that the tonka is that deep scent.

 

Drydown: It lightens slightly for me into flowers warmed by the sun. I still can't pick out any one note, but the effect is pleasing.

 

Verdict: Gonna hang onto this one and experiment some more.

[Merlu]

Sheol smells exactly like a Lush store. Every product in a Lush store seems to smell a little like this before you actually take them out of the store.

 

But other than that, it smells like warm, smoky and resiny flowers.

It's both bright and dark somehow.

It's perfectly balanced and not too heady.

It's a beautiful blend, and it's a different floral, so I'd recommend it for people who usually hate floral blends.

[sophia_helix]

I'm the opposite of everyone here -- Sheol is strong, spicy resins on me at first, reminding me a lot of Snake Charmer, before it decides to go floral. It's sweet and rich and very sophisticated, and I like it a lot, although it reminds me slightly of something my grandmother wears. I like her perfume, though, so it's not really a bad thing.

 

I'll hang onto the imp, at least, for times when I need to be dressed up and smelling like it...although that's not what I expected from a perfume named after the underworld.

 

Edit: Why do I never wait long enough to review? After two hours and a shower, this perfume still screams GRANDMA'S PERFUME. Not that it smells like some stuffy old grandma, mind you -- just like the particular, resinous, sophisticated perfume my grandmother's been wearing for at least twenty years. Now I just wonder what the hell notes are the same, since I've never had this happen before. At any rate, it's far too familiar and distinctive for me to wear.

Edited May 23, 2006 by sophia_helix

[Elrianra]

In the bottle, the copal and labdanum make a heavy dismal base while the gladiola and lily hover in the middle it is the heliotrope and iris that rise to the top of this in tonka-warmed breath of cautious joy. Once on my skin, the florals really light up into an airy blanket while the tonka and labdanum do just enough to soften the copal to a sulking base note. As it dries, the florals go slightly powdery while the base notes flare up into a smoky veil. As it warms, the incense notes become even more pronounced and the florals fade to a back seat in this - vaguely there but shy and soft. After a time, the powder/smoke tone dies down and leaves a dusty floral blend that reminds me strongly of dried bouquets. On the die down, it's all soft florals and tonka's vanilla-pepper tones again. This is sweet and friendly and I love it very much.

[Aredhel]

Rating (on skin): 1/5

Summarised in a word or two: Flowers.

 

In the imp: Stargazer lily, iris, heliotrope and labdanum. Eep.

 

On skin, wet: Smokey and very floral, but oddly pleasant. I've smelled something similar to this before, but I can't place the what, where or when.

 

On skin, dry: I love the copal in this, but the floral notes are becoming too much for me. It's smokey, thick and dark, but it's also intensely floral; hot, heady lily, iris and heliotrope. There's still no trace of tonka.

 

Conclusion/Notes: I was idly hoping for a rich copal-tonka blend, but floral notes rarely let other notes breathe, so I'm not surprised at the result. Not me, and it gave me a bit of a short headache.

[aidenraine]

Wow, I was actually surprised to see the list of floral ingredients, because on my skin there isn't very much floral at all. I am instead getting a sweet incense, something very nostalgic. It's delicious and rich. It almost has a touch of fruitiness to it. I can't say I smell any of the components- that's a first!

 

It just gets darker and more incenseny on me the longer it sits. I'm enjoying it... it almost reminds me of sweet head shop incense...er... but in a good way!

 

It seems to me fans of scents like Urd may be pleasantly surprised by this one. That is, if they smell the incense and not the florals.

[Eunice]

I cannot make out a single individual ingredient in this. Sheol smells green, floral and acidic on me. This is really quite lovely and another addition to my large bottle list!

[olympia301]

 

Thick, rich, dark, and sweet Sheol has a part with is a charmingly nostalgic flirt with the past. I can smell flowers in here and an almost overwhelming perfumy scent which makes me think of the human aftermath of a death in a very kindly way. I found Sheol had very good throw and staying power.

[septima_pica]

I was eager to try this one, but it's not quite what I was hoping.

Barely floral. A touch of bitter. Mostly sweet copal and spicy -- lily spicy, if you know what I mean. I can't smell the cello-note of tonka at all, regrettably, although I can tell there's something lending depth to the sweet incenses. This is an impressively non-floral floral, more reminiscent of Anubis than of anything else, but in the final accounting I like Anubis better. Sheol, like so many other things, is just a bit too classy for me.

 

ADDED 8/7/09 (aged):

 

Wait, this has flowers in it? Fooled me.

 

When it's wet in the imp, I can smell a tiny bit of the stargazer lily, but that is gone instantly once I apply it. I find that this smells rather like Gaueko without the lavender, actually -- it's got loads of smoky dusty incense, some sweet resins underneath. Definitely no flowers at all. If I were to try and predict the notes from how this smells on me, I'd probably say something like "burning copal and frankincense, patchouli, red musk, tonka".

 

Impressions: dark golden brown, polished, almost temple-like incense scent, with hints of the dusty sweetness of decay. Exceedingly somber. I like this a lot.

Edited September 28, 2009 by septima_pica