Death of the Grave Digger

[Aldercy]

Snow, soil, opoponax and myrrh.

I can't help but think of this scent in terms of scents I've already tried. That doesn't happen that much, but Death of the Grave Digger is just so familiar, even though it has its own character. It reminds me of Ded Moroz, Old Moon and Baku rolled into one with a gritty layer of sweet myrrh over top.

The slush note is icy, with just a touch of translucent, herbal mint. It's backed up with slightly warmer (but shadowy) wood and resin notes-- evergreen and rich opoponax and myrrh. The evergreen is very tart and thin, with a faint halo of frozen, dark purple berries. The earth note is crisp and black, and extremely well blended with everything else, so I wouldn't really think of this as one of my "dirt" scents. And then there's this ethereal "blue," menthol-like quality floating around the edges of the scent that makes the more concrete notes come across as ghostly and far-away.

This is a super-complex blend with very distinct layers I can somehow pick apart. I really like the overall effect (not surprising, considering I have bottles of all the scents I mentioned above) and this will make for a very sophisticated winter perfume. Edited September 4, 2010 by Aldercy

[sunlitgarden]

Although the Salon scents have been discontinued for a few years, I got a frimp of this in a recent package from the Trading Post. Mysterious...Thanks Puddin!

In the imp: I smell dirt and a minty snow note. The resins here smell a bit like salad dressing vinegar to me. O_o

On my skin: Doesn't change much right away. Minty snow, dirt, and the savory/vinegary resin smell. That vinegary note does fade away as it starts to dry, and the mint also fades. I'm left with mostly dirt, snow (which still smells "chilly" to me even if not specifically minty), and sweet-smelling resins. I'm glad that this isn't the bitter sort of myrrh.

Overall this isn't really for me, but I'm glad I got a chance to try it!

Edited March 14, 2016 by sunlitgarden

[achildoftime]

I get a nice minty slush note out of this. There's a slight earthy tone to it, but it really is a delicate minty snow by and large. I don't really get anything else out of it. It's not a very strong scent. It stays extremely close and lasts a few hours without changing. I'd love to say more, but it really is just very straight forward. I wish it was a little stronger, though.

[Juliamon]

Received as part of a limited/discontinued imp pack from the Lab's etsy.

 

In the imp: frozen soil, pine needles, and incense

 

Wet: The notes go strictly in the order they're listed. I notice the snow note first, cold and kinda-piney kinda-minty, but mostly just cold. Too cold! Then it begins to melt and the soil is revealed, and it's definitely soil and not just dirt. Earthy but not dirty, y'know? And someone has lit incense in the soil, a beautiful resin blend that is warm and sweet and inviting me to come lie in the soil and rest.

 

Dry: The resins take over entirely and I love them, but within two hours it's faded to barely a whisper.

 

This was the very first BPAL I ever tried, loved right away (despite the short wear) and even after trying a few dozen others it's still up there in my top 3. I wish it wasn't discontinued, as it will make an incredible sleep scent in warm weather thanks to the effect opoponax has on me.

[Lucchesa]

I really wanted to love this because I love the painting, but this is the minty snow note that doesn't work on my skin (which I would have known from reading the reviews, but oh well, I wanted to try it). After a couple of hours, it's slightly minty dirt with some soft resins, but not worth getting through the wet stage for. Death of the Grave Digger is going to have to find a new home.

[doomsday_disco]

In the imp: Mentholic snow and dirt with some opoponax far in the background.

 

Wet: The mentholic snow is king on me, followed by the opoponax, which I am getting a lot more of on my skin than I did in the imp. There is only a smattering of soil at first, but it seems to be getting stronger over time, along with the cola-like opoponax.

 

Dry: The mentholic snow note ends up calming down after a while. The opoponax and dirt are a lot stronger now. After several hours, what remains is a powdery myrrh, lots of sweet opoponax, and a bit of dirt.

 

Verdict: I enjoy the Lab’s snow scents, love their dirt note, and was curious how the opoponax would come into play. Sadly, this is not one of the snow notes I really enjoy, and eventually the myrrh note made this powdery on me, but I liked the phase in between when I smelled like someone poured some Coca Cola into some dirt. I probably won’t hang on to this, but it was nice to get to try it!

[jiggahava]

Another imp I've owned forever and never reviewed. This starts out with a rich, wonderful dirt note along with the "cold" snow notes which come across as lightly minty. After a few hours, the myrrh and opoponax completely take over the scent. It's nice, but it doesn't project too far. Worth keeping the imp, as it's a good winter/fall scent.