Danse Macabre

[Meg]

An allegorical expression of the ineffable, indisputable triumph of death, generally expressed in medieval artwork as a violin or flute-wielding skeleton leading a procession of dancers to their graves. Black cypress with oakmoss, frankincense, oude, and a sliver of toasted hazelnut.

In the bottle: Cypress, mostly, and oakmoss maybe.

Wet: Still pretty pure cypress and... frankincense? Something slightly sweet and tangy.

Drydown: Cypress, frankincense and oakmoss, I think. It smells very woody and a bit smoky, and I can vaguely smell the hazelnut somewhere in the background. Something smells a bit plasticky in there.

Overall: A very dark scent, with lots of rather harsh evergreen, and a touch of smoke and the slightly plastic hazelnut that makes me think of bones, somehow. It fades rather fast, unfortunately. I quite like it, it would work well to create a dark woodsy atmosphere. Edited September 12, 2007 by quantum spice

[The_Merf]

In the imp: Almost exclusively cypress.

 

Wet: Very strong cypress, though not nearly as bright as the cypress found in scents like Medea.

 

Drydown and wear: I had a feeling this was going to be a morpher, and I was right. As the oil starts to dry down, the frankincense emerges, and what I guess is the hazelnut comes out as well. Sadly that most complex stage does not last long, and we're back to a frankincense/cypress combination.

[smallvoice]

Tested thanks to the GC swap quikslvr arranged!

 

In the imp Danse Macabre has this rush of a sinus clearing woodsy scent. It's not minty in the least. Huh. On my skin it's more of the same, and it's all sort of generic. Something in it is giving me a slight headache. It's pretty, but not for me.

[Miseraya]

In the imp: Green? This smells like something very familiar....

 

On the wrist, wet: There is definitely something very familiar in this scent. Right away this is a spicy scent for me, with a hint of... floral??? Musky too... I've got it! This reminds me of something my mother used to wear in the late '80s, early '90s (when I was little).

 

On the wrist, dry: This one is tough. It's definitely spicy, musky and floral, but I can't narrow it down to specific notes.

 

Final Analysis: I think I will offer this to my mother and see what she thinks. I am not a spicy, musky, floral sort of girl. This either reminds me of something she used to wear (which is why I am offering it to her) or Shalimar, which my grandmother used to wear. All in all it was a beautiful resinous smell, but not my thing.

[hologhost]

I'm getting lots of cypress. Green, with a sour medicinal note. Kind of like cleaning fluid. There's a peppery smell here too.

[steffanina]

Danse Macabre-

 

In Bottle: A little strong-musky.

 

Wet: Woo! Hugely evergreen-mint. A very outdoorsy scent.

 

Dry: Omigosh, it's all but gone, ten minutes later. My skin swallowed it!

 

Overall: Fast-fader, too bad.

[supremegoddessofall]

This is probably going to be very rich. *sniff* Hmm...this is actually very clean smelling. Other than the frankincense, I don't know that I can pick out any individual notes. It's pretty delicate. It reminds me of something, but I have no idea what.

 

Score: 4 out of 5

[fiddledragon]

This is almost entirely woody cypress on me with just a hint of the other notes adding complexity. My skin tends to amp woods out of all proportion. I quite like cypress, but it's not something I'm likely to wear all that often. It might be a lovely room scent, especially in winter.

[arachne]

This was a frimp's ear (free imp's ear), thanks lab!!

 

Wow, this stuff really wakes you up. While extremely sharp in the vile (makes my eyes tear!) on it's refreshing, green and crisp. To me it's quite masculine and I gave it to my husband. He is digging Danse Macabre immensely. It smells really great on him.

[audesapere]

In Imp: Woodsy

 

Wet: Piney and dark

 

Dry: Masculine and outsdoorsy.

 

Very nice, but too masculine for me.

[Briar]

Scent: Danse Macabre

Out of the Bottle: something piney - maybe fir, and the barest hint of floral under it

Wet: much stronger on the fir, maybe a eucalyptus now too - the floral is lost under the sharper scents

After a While: Okay, here it is lunch time. I noticed earlier that the piney notes burnt off and left behind this powdery, musky, very soft scent. A bit like the sweet end of violet. Unfortunately, I washed my hands and accidentally got the water on my wrist and nearly washed all the scent away. I'll have to put it higher up on my forearm next time. I can still smell it a little though.

[Lunaratu]

frimp from the lab! I do so love these free samples--it makes me try things I would never have even considered (even though the list is still long since I'm still fairly new to bpal) and like the first one I got, I really like this frimp!

 

Wet: It’s almost too strong but I am dedicated to try it out anyhow…

 

Initial Drydown: hmm, interesting. This smells exactly like this cedar incense box I have which houses some very expensive frankincense and myrrh incense that was a gift years ago. It’s very woody yet smoky, resinous, and full of incense. It’s a warm scent. Not my usual thing but very nice all the same. Something I might wear when hitting the books since it feels like a deeply academic/scholarly scent.

 

Later: hmm, definitely woody—but a good type of wood. Something slightly spicy and warm. Very natural. It’s like being in a very old library in a church. I’ve done some work with old medieval illuminated manuscripts and something about this scent is reminding me of those books. I believe it’s the combination of certain woods with the incense. It’s a wonderful image I now have of this beautiful old manuscript hand-bound and so meticulously painted, gilded, and wrought with calligraphy so that it will stand the test of time with only slight yellowing to the vellum belying its age. It’s a peaceful and scholarly image that makes me think this would be a wonderful scent to wear when deep thinking is needed.

 

Verdict: will definitely keep the imp but I’m still trying to decide if I want a bottle of it: it seems like something I’d use rarely anyhow even though it’s pretty. Also, it disappears very quickly on my skin so I would definitely need to slather and even then I wonder if my skin would just drink it up quickly still. I really do like it though—it makes me feel all safe and warm and studious. Like curling up in a big arm chair in a brightly fire lit room with a book—all warm coziness, literary associations and all. One of my favorite things to do.

 

Throw: very low. I can only pick it up when I’m very close to area I applied it.

 

Rating: 3.5/5

Edited October 9, 2007 by Lunaratu

[Jenesis]

Bottle: An "average" scent. A pleasant blend, but nothing outstanding.

 

Wet: Still a smoky blend, rather "everyday", no one individual note seems to stand out.

 

Drydown: Aah, that's better! Woods work well on my skin and Danse Macabre is no exception. The woods go to the "base" of the scent with the sweet frankincense over the top.

 

Dry: The hazelnut comes into play. A rich, earthy, woody base underneath sweet frankincense and glittering hazelnut.

 

Throw: Hardly any, which is a shame, although I only tested it on the back of my hand. Would probably be better if applied more liberally and in more places.

 

Verdict: This could be my signature "Earth" scent! It feels very cozy and warm.

[melrose]

I wish I got the earthiness other posters have mentioned. First on, it's sharp - woodsy and herbal. Later, those are the main notes, but there's a hint of something else - it's so faint I barely know how to categorize it, but it's not earthy, maybe ever so slightly floral.

 

Not for me.

[phedre]

In vial: Dirt. Fresh, clean garden topsoil.

 

On skin: there's a sharp, vegetal scent, like carrots being pulled out of a garden.

 

Drydown: This is still mainly topsoil and vegetals, but an interesting smoky scent has emerged, like a campfire.

 

Not for me.

[jiggahava]

Oude(Agarwood) and cypress are the first notes I get when I apply this to my skin. They are dark, rich and woody to the EXTREAME. Not an everyday scent, and it's too woodsy for me at first, like smelling the bottom of a dark wooden chest. Then the frankincense makes it softer, a tad more incense and powdery-like. Much nicer than its first stage. Now I smell like wood with a tad of incense. Nice, but not something I'll reach for very often. I'm waffling between keeping the imp and swapping it. It would make a LOVELY room scent though. We'll see. The throw is almost nothing, but then again I didn't apply that much.

[PersephonesChild]

I got this as part of a random imp pack. It's not a scent I ever would have picked out for myself, since I'm not really interested in frankincense. It's certainly very different from any other scents I have. I get a really strong sense of pine-- this smells very much like pine pitch to me. I can't really smell all that much else in it. I'll probably swap this.

[poisons_sanity]

This smells like something woodsy and deadsy. Reminds me of something decaying in the forest.

But, sometimes I just like to smell like death.

[funkmoppet]

Frimp from a generous Ebay seller. I dabbed it on before checking what's in it.

 

Wet - Whoa! Stabbing cypress up the sinuses! So much so I almost got a headache. But it grew kinder on the dry down and became a fabulous, dark woodsy scent, and I thought I might have stumbled on a winner.

 

Nooo - thanks frankincense. You almost had me going there! Almost thought you'd behave, but nup.

 

Skin hates resin and I really really need to stop trying things on before checking for resins. If it's any consolation, my imps of Dragons Musk and Blood Amber went straight into the swap box untested. Learning curve go!

[modernsaints]

In the imp: OH HOLY JESUS WHAT IS THIS, IT BURNS, I WILL NEVER SMELL AGAIN. Daaaayum, that is strong, girlfriend.

 

On me: I... it is less bad. In the sense that having a chainsaw shoved into your foot is less bad than having it shoved into your face.

 

If you have ever had braces removed - you know that whirring thing they use to scrape the bonding material off your teeth? You know how it makes that weird sort of whirring noise, and it is accompanied by a horrific smell of burnt ceramic and enamel and God-knows-what? Mix that with some burning hair thrown in for good measure. Wow. Fucking wow. I do not even know what the hell did it to me, whether it was the cypress or the oude, or an unholy combination of those, or what.

 

Macabre, what.

[fiddlefox]

Good god! black pepper, that's all I'm really geting here... not really me.

[Severuslovesme]

My skin really amps up the frankincense of Danse Macabre, and I don't love the resulting scent. It's a shame cause I really like the smell in the bottle.

[filigree_shadow]

I think this is a masculine scent, which is a shame because it smells damned good on me. I don't usually like cypress and frankincense goes too sweet on me, but they're both behaving themselves in this one. It has a deep dark woodsy scent hazed over by some smokiness. Very little throw, though. Like, next to nothing.

 

I tried to get my husband to wear this but it wasn't his cup of tea, so I guess the imp will get passed along. I'm kind of sad about that, though, because I like this one.

[porcelina]

there is a weird herbal note that reminds me of nero and makes me want to gag. i don't know what it is but it just smells awful to me. there is also something sweet but this bitter herbal note is overpowering.

[waternight]

In the imp: Very dry and woodsy, but a sharp, crackling woodsy. Most woods go creamy on me, but this one stays dry and prickly and I love it. I also smell frankincense.

Wet: The cypress really blossoms on my skin, blending with the frankincense. The result is fricking gorgeous and addicting. It's dry, woody, and sharp, and NOT sweet (I tend to amp sweet notes), and I need a bottle.

Dry: Same as wet, but a bit softer. LOVE.