All Souls

[funkmoppet]

... An incense blend that invokes the higher qualities of mercy and compassion, mingled with the soft, sugared currant scent of offertory soul cakes.

When wet, this is biting incense and sour, boozy dried fruit. There's also a nail-polish remover smell to it which isn't fun.

The wet smell seems to just go on and on. I get no cake. The dried fruit fades and what smells like indian spice takes over. For ages this one had me going Couldn't work out if I liked it or hated it.

I was really hoping for cake...

Dry, this smells like every generic Indian knick-knack/jewelery/clothing store I've ever walked into. Specifically, it smells like standing in front of the incense rack. Not really getting any sense of All Souls from this that I recognise.

Shame. But I'm very "meh" on this one. Edited September 25, 2007 by Shollin

[furygrrl]

In the imp: Sweetness, a lick of butter, and a sharpness that reminds me of nailpolish remover.

 

On wet: Hmm...even though this doesn't share any notes with Dr. John Seward (that I'm aware of, anyway), with the not-so-pleasant, sweet, almost flowery-butter thing going on right now, I'm instantly reminded of that blend.

 

Drydown: Again, as with DJS, the drydown is a vast improvement. The sweetness has deepened and even darkened slightly (it's somewhat plum-esque to my nose), the butter has finally abated, and there's a vague spiciness underneath it all. Not exactly what I was hoping for, but not bad, either.

 

Overall: Even though I'm not a foody grrl, I was expecting more of a straight up cake scent - an *evil* cake scent, actually, with the addition of the incense. All I ended up getting, however, was a holiday candle-like incense (the fruit and spice combo can sometimes go that way on me) after the icky butter stage. I'm rather let-down that this didn't work on me - not only had I been wanting to try it for ages, I assumed it would become one of my new favourites. Sadly, my skin chemistry says otherwise. 2/5

[MissLily]

In the bottle: hot wonderful cakes coming out of the oven, with a spicy background note.

 

Wet: A bakery next door to a church.

 

Dry: If anyone hears of a vacant apartment in the same neighborhood as the bakery and the church, please let me know, because this smells like home.

[heysunshine]

In the bottle I smell a bit of the delicious currant cake smell. Put it on and it is instantly biting, dry, stinky incense that makes me want to wash it off immediately. Still I let it dry (you never know what it'll turn out to be like!) But No cake Maybe a bit of flour? (weird) but nothing yummy to be found in All Souls on my skin.

Edited August 15, 2007 by heysunshine

[voodoobaby]

First things first: THIS SMELLS LIKE NAG CHAMPA! Nag champa and sweetness and sandalwood and deliciousness. With perhaps a bit of an ambiguous spice...and there might be something slightly floral, I can't really tell. It's sooo nice. Kind of dusty or powdery, but still very sweet and earthy. I definitely get more incense out of it than cake, but the foodiness is definitely there. However, All Souls is very light, so if I want to positively reek of delicious Indian incense (which I do) I'll have to slather. But it is sooo nice, and is definitely a new favorite resiny blend for me.

[alicia_stardust]

All Souls is mostly cake on me, with a touch of dark and smoky incense that wafts over it. This is perfect for the first hour, but then the resins from the incense turn slightly bitter and dry. This is almost perfect for me, but my skin chemistry messed up the ending.

[Trish]

This is soft and sweet, and there is a sort of cake smell to it, but it's very soft. There's also very soft incense.

 

And yes, the operative word here is soft. In fact no matter how much I slathered on it was barely discernable once dry and gone within 30 minutes. But while I could smell it was lovely! Just soft sweet light foody incense.

 

Gorgeous but oh so fleeting!

[Ambelies]

First things first: THIS SMELLS LIKE NAG CHAMPA! Nag champa and sweetness and sandalwood and deliciousness. With perhaps a bit of an ambiguous spice...and there might be something slightly floral, I can't really tell. It's sooo nice. Kind of dusty or powdery, but still very sweet and earthy. I definitely get more incense out of it than cake, but the foodiness is definitely there. However, All Souls is very light, so if I want to positively reek of delicious Indian incense (which I do) I'll have to slather. But it is sooo nice, and is definitely a new favorite resiny blend for me.

 

Yes! That is EXACTLY what I got from it. It is a beautiful incensy, comforting scent. I feel like when I wear this stuff I'm all wrapped up and comforted. It's my favorite scent, I think.

[spessartine]

I was hoping for more incense from this, and maybe a dark currant note, but what I got was nealy all cake and butter. Yuck! Not me at all.

[Rheliwen]

2007 version.

 

I had always wanted to try this since it first came out. I decided I was going to take the plunge this year should it come back.

 

I am immediately reminded of a less refined Midnight Mass. It's resiny incense is very similar. Add on sharp currant, an almost vetiver quality, and some dry biscotti and you get All Souls. It's resiny sweet but not at all comforting. It's sharp and a little aggressive to my nose. While it smells nice, I'm not too sure about it yet.

[taramarie]

First on, All Souls is intense. Incense and currant cake, strong and demanding to be noticed. Dry, it mellows and softens. I like this, but I don't think I'll need another bottle this year.

[Meg]

This refers to the 2006 version of the blend.

 

In the bottle: Sweet incense.

Wet on skin: Frankincense liek whoa. Also, a slight berry note.

Drydown: It's very soft frankincense, perhaps with a breath of tonka? It has a nice smoothness to it. Then it becomes very very sweet, not foody at all, just very sugary frankincense.

Overall: Frankincense blends waft a lot for me, this one is no exception - so, good throw. I'm sure it's good if you like frankincense, but to me incense blends like this all smell the same (Meshkhenet smells nearly identical, to my nose). That, and I have an allergy to frankincense means that I'd never wear this.

[Akurarei]

All Souls 2007

 

In the Bottle:

Heavy heavy incense - and nothing else.

 

On my Skin, Wet:

Still heavy incense, but with a sugary fruit note in the background.

 

On my Skin, Dry:

Incense and sugared currant.

in that order.

 

Verdict:

I really, really like this blend.

I greatly enjoy an incense blend if done well. All Souls 2007 is one of those blends!

(Also, currant and my chemistry have a BBF clique thing going on - so I figured this one would work out well. And it sure did!)

[Megara]

All Souls 2007

 

This is quite a morpher on me. It starts out very sweet, and very cake. Not so much currant, or insense.

After wearing for awhile, my skin amps the insence to almost a single note degree. Very "burn-y" and sweet, kind of this music/insence store we used to go to when I was in high school. It's got incredible throw on me as well. I keep wondering what's burning, and then realize it's All Souls.

Edited September 24, 2007 by Megara

[savage_rose]

2007 version

 

2006 smelled like incense and fruity cake. This smells like sweet, delicious perfume with wine undertones. They smell so similar in the bottle, but so different on! Ohhh, this is fabulous.

[valentina]

I am reviewing the 2006 version of this scent... I'd always shied away from this scent because I'm not really that into fruity or foody smells. Then I started reading reviews and thought hmmm... In the imp, I get strong incense, with more pungency than sweetness. I had the same reaction upon initial application, and I do think that some of the pungency comes from the currant element of the scent. For about 5 minutes, I get a slightly bitter incense smell with a little sweetness. AND THEN. The pungency burns off and the sweet, warm, smokiness takes over. It's like someone is burning incense that has pinon and cedar in it while they're in the kitchen baking sweets. An absolutely spot-on evocation of All Souls Day, and very beautiful and mysterious. I really love this scent, and I am glad I finally woke up and tried it!

Edited September 23, 2007 by valentina

[hellomoonglow]

Ok, let me say that when I read the description of "offertory soul cakes" on the website description, I was skeptical that I might not like it. But this is sooooooo nice! Definetly something I'd want to wear in autumn. I'm a scent/seasonal kinda gal. Can't wear the light stuff unless it's spring, or the heavier scents unless it's winter (you get the picture). This is very incensy, but not overly strong. Reminds me of a head shop. I like it a lot and should probably buy another bottle before it's outta here!

[n3m3sis42]

In the bottle:

Butter, and something else.

 

Wet:

Mostly incense, something like nag champa. The drydown for this one seems to be reallllly slow, but after it's mostly dried, it's a soft blend of champa and currants.

 

Dry:

Champa and currants, very smoothly blended. I think I like this.

[jade_starlight]

All Souls 07 is really very nice. It's all warm, soft incense on top of something slightly sweet and cakey. Very, very nice.

[shelldoo]

07 all souls.

 

in the bottle sweet, incensy, hint of fruit.

 

wearing this is like being in a hippies kitchen. the hippie is baking a delicious white cake, placing a touch of currant preserves in between layers and the whole time the kitchen is permeated w/ soft, wafts of incense. it stays close to my skin but wisps around me intriguing me when i catch it.

 

i keep thinking if cheech and chong were married, this would be what their wives kitchens would smell like when they came home after getting the munchies

 

 

love this one for sure

[Eemia]

This is for the 2007 version...

 

This should have worked on me but unfortunately I'm not crazy about it. The initial stage was very strong and smelled like heavy incense and an oddly pungent fruit note. It almost went to sour on my skin right away. The sweetness was off-putting too because it smelled like cake batter, which made for an odd combination with the incense. It almost seemed like I made a mistake putting on my fragrance. Like my clothes held hints of old incense while my skin was covered in cake scented lotion. On my skin it just doesn't feel whole.

 

From the description I thought I would love this....I usually get along with incense, and the sugary cakes had me sold. I don't hate it by any means, and it isn't awful smelling where I had to wash it off right away. It just isn't quite right. I will hold onto my bottle to try again later. Maybe after it ages a bit it will smell better on me.

[CrazyPretzel]

In the bottle: spicy, buttery cake that reminds me an awful lot of Pumpkin Queen! Also champa incense and a little bit of currant.

 

Wet on me: Mmm, instant spice amplification. I can smell ginger and maybe cardamom (and those might be what's making me think Pumpkin Queen).

 

After a few minutes: Rich, dry-smelling incense and sweet spice cakes, just like the description says. They mix wonderfully together. I'm not getting any currant or other fruitiness from this. The sweet nag champa scent grows stronger as time passes.

 

Drydown: Sweet cake and nag champa with nose-tickling spice. Really delicious!

[vegasblueblood]

2007 version:

 

Immediately on applying, I got a very soft fruity scent mingling with incense but the incense quickly took over. I think as it dries, the sugared currant scent will re-emerge. This is truly evocative of compassion and mercy, it has something in it that is just really gentle. It reminds me of being in a church that has a very peaceful vibe, not an imposing vibe. The incense is beautiful and so is this blend. As I'm typing, the soul cake note is starting to emerge, intertwining with the incense. Gorgeous.

Edited September 26, 2007 by twistedophelia

[portalkat]

2007 Version

 

 

I find this very different than the previous releases. Upon application, the currants and offertory cakes are still here, but as it develops, the incense and resin notes become more pronounced. At that point, it reminds me a bit of Minotaur or Midnight Mass sans the floral note. I like the balance of the components better than the the other releases. The foody notes are still present, but the incense wafts through and I think that this is just beautiful. This is a lovely blend of foody and resin.

 

9/28//07 - I've been wearing this a couple of days now and I just wanted to add that I smell the currants and cakes a bit more than when I first tried it, however the incense is definitely stronger than in the past, which suits me just fine. Even though I have multiples of the 06, I will need multiples of this as well.

Edited September 28, 2007 by portalkat

[radishbaby]

Review for 2006 Version :

 

In the Bottle : I can smell only the incense at this point. There's something vaguely chemically about the incense oil The Lab uses to my nose but the years in storage seem to have mellowed this one out quite a bit.

 

 

Wet : I can hardly smell this at all! A very, very light ghostly incense is hanging around but that's it.

 

 

Dry : I can smell it a bit better now - very sweet incense and a shadow of something that smells akin to coco in passing. This smells exactly like sugared cakes if someone wafted them over some incense.

 

Later : FINALY! The scent has showed up! This is still rather light but its absolutely beautiful - incensey and sweet in a very somber way. Yum yum.

 

Over All : Poorest throw I've ever encountered as a whole to be honest. Thi is a truly lovely scent I only wish it had more power to it.

 

 

Worth the Big Bottle : Yes. Poor throw or not this is really yummy.