Carfax Abbey

[billaguru]

The scent of abandoned places, of desolation and emptiness: heavy woods and thin dusty herbs touched by the wafting incense of a nearby chapel.

The bottle came the same week I got a buncha hand-me-downs from my enabler, most of which were heavy with vetiver. So I was a mite disappointed when I opened the bottle and smelled…more friggin’ vetiver!

But I gave my snoot a rest, waited a couple of days, and fell smack dab in love. This is one of my fave BPAL scents yet. Creepy but crisp, the cool that fills dark, dry places; the scent of flowers grown stunted and strange in sunlight that lasts mere moments before being swallowed in shadow; the heaviness of usurper woods scrawling up, around and through stone long lonely for the warmth of men.

Wow. This became one of my beddy-bye scents, its sibilant muskiness ably bearing me into the oneiric lands. I’m already used two-thirds of my bottle, and I’m freaking out that I gotta wait another six or seven months to see if it gets brought back. Any suggestions for a similar scent?

[naeelah]

I ordered this as a fan of incensey fragrances, and because I was just curious what it was like.

 

It turns out it's exactly like the notes. I'm truly amazed at how well this captures the feeling. It's not the type of fragrance I normally like to wear, but I couldn't stop sniffing it and saying "Wow!"

 

Dry, this scent is predominately herbal, set in a dusty, long-forgotten wooden room. And yes, there's just a faint hint of incense, as if the residue of masses that ended long, long ago. The herbal blend isn't at all medicinal, but very dry.

 

I won't seek out a bottle of this unless I fall in love with it in an oil burner, but I will definitely keep the imp, just because I'm so in awe. Really a fantastic scent, if it's your bag.

[Extispex]

This is incredible! This is the kind of incensey fragrance I was searching for when I tried Cathedral (which went all wrong on me). There aren't enough adjectives to describe the beauty of Carfax Abbey.

 

In the bottle, its more green than resiny. It has an outdoorsy, wind-swept feeling.

 

Wet on my skin, woods and herbs predominate with just a hint of churchey incense. Its so gorgeous and evocative - it really is like standing in a wood or a copse of trees, but the hint of incense draws you toward sanctuary.

 

As it dries down, the incense grows stronger. You are drawn inside the church, and the scent of wood and garden waft gently through the open doors, carried on a crisp breeze.

 

OMG this is top ten material. Precisely the scent of an isolated church or abbey, nestled in a wood.

[batsy]

In the vial: boozy herbs.

 

On the skin: Oh there's the woods! And lots of herbs. Oh and dust, I don't know how Beth makes dust a scent but she's brilliant at it. This is very manly scent-wise, rather lovely. The incense starts to pop on the drydown, and the meloncholy scent of the woods and subsequently earth, is brilliant. Yay!

[GoldenRubee]

Two summers ago, I went on a trip to Europe with my husband to see not only the sights, but to visit some of the castles. When I first smelled Carfax Abbey, it immediately took me straight back to these castles. What a nice memory! Wearing Carfax Abbey reminds me of walking through the grasses and meadows and then entering the dark, murky castles where you can almost smell the long ago dusty books and sweet incense. I don't smell any herbal note at all but that may be because my bottle is older and aged nicely. This is a definate keeper and will be well loved!

[Neely]

In the bottle: incense, lovely smokey incense.

 

Wet: church incense with stone.

 

Dry down: church incense with stone. I love this!

 

30 minutes: incense with a light fresh feel.

 

Conclusion: this one is horde worthy. It definitely did not get ordered enough. I love incense scents, so I knew this was no brainer. It has only improved with age.

 

Rating 1-5: this is a 5.

[harmonyfb]

I'm not sure what I was expecting; but this smells like dust. Dry, it smells specifically like a bottle of men's cologne covered in a thick, choking layer of dust. Very, very evocative.

 

Soooo not for me.

[starwild]

This is SO GOOD.

 

It's dry, dusty, abandoned, yet incensey and a hint of sweetness. It's like a European counterpart to Oxymandias.

 

Unfortunately, it only lasts a very short time on my skin, and doubly unfortunately, my imp spilled in shipping. Nooooo!

 

I may have to hunt down another imp of this.

[Gwydion]

I was quite excited to see this one. It's one of the order of the dragon ones I really wanted to try. Imagine my disappointment to discover that all I could smell at first was vetiver with some herbal edge to it. The florals strengthen on contact with skin. (I had an accident and dripped some on my hand. The incence is faint, but present, doing something heady with the vetiver. If you like vetiver and flowers? It's probably okay.

[Shollin]

First sniff: Dusty, dry and desolate, with a bit of evergreen wafting in through the shattered windows. The Abbey reminds me quite a bit of Séance.

 

Wearing: Dry and wooden and empty.

[Magpie]

I've held off on trying this one of my decants because it unsettled me a little. I can smell the very faintest hint of incense and florals, but really hardly obvious. There is defintely a slightly woodsy smell to it, not quite sure what it is, and overall dry and dusty. Well done to the lab on encapsulating the smell of old stone buildings with a slightly sinister hint. If it was even colder, had a touch of chilly wine and a slight hint of varnish, overlaid with a bit of inappropriate fresh florals, it would essentially be the smell of churches I have been attending for most of my life. It all meshes together nicely, as well, so it becomes difficult to pick out individual notes. There's one note I really recognise, but I can't place it.

 

Very little throw, but it shouldn't have much throw.

 

Drying improves it and melds the scents together better. So ancient and so dusty, so much space filled with air that hasn't been stirred for centuries...

 

Some people have smelled vetiver in it, but I can't really, which might just be how it plays on my skin (I tend to pick out the sweeter notes and I dislike vetiver-heavy scents).

Edited February 5, 2008 by Magpie

[olive]

Dry, spicy, powdery woods. An autumn night encapsulated in a bottle, I love it.

[stillalive]

It smells distinctly like Pantene Pro-V... Hm. I think it's the incense and floral combination. Not my thing, but not horrifying like Cathedral was on me.

[zankoku_zen]

This one is a dry, dusty, woody scent with an herbal edge to it.

 

Meh.

[rayvn1]

This is fantastic if you like the incense blends. Dry, dusty sandalwood-type incense. Like the decaying wood in an old church. Amazing! I will hoard this imp and keep an eye out for a bottle. Woodier incense than Midnight Mass, but equally good

[Nachtwulf]

I got this when it came out, decided it went to plastic on me, and tossed it in my swaps box. And there it has lingered for... cripes, three years now? Or thereabout.

 

But I just moved, I found my swaps box again, and went back through it. I don't know if this is a case of it mellowing with age, or mebbe my nose is different now.... but this is indeed just like people say.

 

I like Cathedral. But Cathedral is a warmly lit chapel with pews polished by the buttocks of centuries of parishioners, and staffed with quiet little monks in soft floppy robes.

 

The Abbey on the other hand, hasn't seen a worshipper in years. The wood has crumbled with dry rot, brown leaves have blown across the floor, and the roof has fallen in leaving the altar open to the sky.

 

I think that's what was 'plasticky' about it before; the pine/cedar/whatever notes involved are fussy and don't always behave. It's not -pine-, per se... nor the familiar sharpness of cedar, it's softer and quite sweet. But it's edged with vetiver, which brings in that 'gloomy woods' thing, and then underlying it all is the incense. Nose to skin, it's not that wonderful, but it has a lot of throw and -that- is marvelous. I like vetiver, as long as it's blended well enough, and this is a marvelous autumnal scent. If you want something for Halloween that doesn't smell like the bottom of a candy bag... this is definitely near the top of the list.

[sunlitgarden]

This is the first review of Carfax Abbey here in about two and a half years. So, aging may well play a part in any differences in my perception of this scent.

 

In the bottle: deep woods and resins. I definitely get that ancient, abandoned feeling. I detect a hint of cedar, but it's not doing the pencil-shavings/Home Depot thing like Cathedral did on me (but this is much more aged than Cathedral was when I got it.)

 

I'm not sure this is something I want to wear as a skin scent, but I'm still skin testing it. Wow, I love this. Woods, incense, with the herbs making it a bit sweet. It definitely smells old and dusty, like a long-abandoned attic full of books. I've been searching for an old book holy grail scent for a while, and I think this might be it!

 

Edit: The sweetness really comes out as it dries. After about an hour, it's a very sweet incense. This blend is more wearable than I was expecting it to be, which is great because I really enjoy it

Edited April 27, 2012 by sunlitgarden

[Ordo_ad_Chao]

I got this scent with high hopes, since some woodsy notes have been gorgeous on me, and the reviews sounded ever so promising.

 

However- wet, this is a bit repulsive to me.

 

And dry, it stays that way.

 

It's got a sharp but musty green to it, and I would never guess there were woods or incense in it without the notes. I'm beginning to realize I have a consistent dislike of anything with herbs or herbal in the notes- piercing pungent green is just not for me, and will overwhelm anything else that might be in the blend once it touches my skin.

 

Gorgeous concept, horrid on my skin.