The absolute darkest scents? dark, ghostly, haunting, scary,

[Akurarei]

I haven't seen this scent mentioned in this thread, so I'll mention it.

 

BLOOD KISS.

 

For me, it was so creepy it literally gave me goosebumps and gave me the impression that someone was standing too close to my back for the 30 minutes I wore it.

 

I love the vanilla and cherries that BPAL produces, but Blood Kiss did not exhibit either of those scents for me.

Instead it reminded me of being in an old rickety house full of cobwebs and no lights - right down to the windows being boarded or covered somehow. It even went so far as making me feel downright 'hunted' in the house by some ill spirit or person.

 

I will never wear this scent again.

I don't mind a good scare once in a while, but to be as transported as I was when I tried Blood Kiss is far too overwhelming. It was a bright sunny day and 9:30 AM - I should not have been dragged into a horror movie over a scent!

[Rouge]

Nyarlathotep was just too gribbly for me. I had to swap him for something else Which is rather a shame as he's my favourite Lovecraft character.

[crimescenecleanup]

The absolute darkest BPAL scent I've ever smelled is Azathoth. It smells like an HR Giger painting, to me. Seriously. I have a Giger print hanging in my house, and if it had a scent, it would smell like Azathoth. Like infinite spookiness, heaviness, darkness, and madness. And maybe tentacles. Or impossible geometry.

 

Tombstone on me was the driest, dustiest, most desolate graveyard scent I'd ever smelled. Seriously, it's the scent of dust on dry stone and wood. Of all the "graveyard" and "soil" scents I can think of - Burial, Nosferatu. Zombi, Danse Macabre...They all have this hint of life to them - flowers, or mosses, or decay - something living clinging to something dead. Not tombstone. This is a truly dessicated, devoid of water or life. It's also one of my favorites! : )

 

The only scent that ever creeped me out, though, was "O". It smelled like...like the sex industry to me. Like some incense that's burned in strip clubs and porn shops, or a box of old playboys with the scent of the perfume samples folded inside the pages still wafting up. Or the mix of sweat and sugary perfume and alcohol that came off of two really unhappy girls I used to know who worked at a local fetish club.

It wasn't so much the smell of sexuality as it was the smell of exploitation, if that makes any sense. It felt...sinister.

 

It seemed to conjure up this image of defenseless, yielding sexuality, which i guess is the point!

 

It was a really strong scent and an equally strong emotional association, and it just didn't want to wash off. Not a scent that contains what one would traditionally call "dark" notes, but definitely scary, to me, at least.

Edited July 18, 2007 by crimescenecleanup

[crimescenecleanup]

Oh! I totally forgot. A couple others to add to the list of recommendations that others have already mentioned...

 

Lampades kind of turned my stomach. It wasn't that it was a bad smell, rather it was a very unique smell that I just found it incredibly er...off-putting. Same with Black Annis. Both have these underlying musky, smoky notes that just give me the heebie jeebies.

 

Destroying angel is lovely - with a strong soil note, cold and minty. But definitely on the spooky side.

 

Niflheim, on the other hand, makes me really happy. It's dark and aquatic, but to me it comes across as a very clean, sexy men's cologne on it's drydown, with just a hint of spice.

Edited July 19, 2007 by crimescenecleanup

[hackess]

Sea of Glass put me in the most melancholy mood when I tried it on. It was the kind of reaction I expected from Ode to Melancholy.

 

I used to wear Nosferatu often, but the red wine notes turned to blood on me after a while and it icked me out. Strange, because I usually have no problems with blood/raw meat/etc.

 

The Castle gave me the creeps. It's one of the only blends that's put pictures in my head. I started seeing stone walls, desiccated towers, cobwebs and dust. Then I got the copper taste of blood in my mouth and wondered if I'd blacked out and drained someone.

 

Any churchy scents - Cathedral, Hymn, The Cracked Bell - put me ill at ease. Something about the incense.

 

Dr. John Seward was all medical supplies: latex gloves, rubbing alcohol, astringent. If you've seen the remake of House on Haunted Hill, there's the creepy doctor spirit wandering around, right? This scent made me think of that spirit.

 

Puck turned my stomach. Civet is a disgusting note.

[Medici]

Grandmother of Ghosts for autumn, bar none.

 

The Ghost for the summer, Ephemera, the Reaper and the Flowers. Anything that's laced with ivy is what I'll reach for. (Those blends remind me of Victorian Garden Cemeteries, Highgate in particular.)

[Lupelele]

hello,

i´m new to BPAL scents (but not new to perfumes in general):

could you suggest me a deep, dark, mysterious scent?

i love morocco, but it´s not very dark - at least to me.

when reading reviews of BPALs, i thought maybe i´d like sin.

but i hope you can make more suggestions which ones i need to try!

thank you

[minilux]

Hmmm...I guess it depends on what kind of notes you generally like. If you like patchouli, I would suggest something like Dance of Death, or if you like florals, maybe something like Black Rose or Black Dahlia. Recently I tried the Smiling Spider which might also be along the lines of what you're looking for. Mme. Moriarty is also lovely, though I find it to be a bit sweet from the vanilla. I'm interested to see what other people suggest...good luck!

[Lupelele]

minlux, thank you!

i like most types of fragrances, but one can´t pull off is rose - if rose is amongst the notes, it´s okay, but when it´s a soliflore rose scent, then it´ll get overwhelming on my skin.

very fruity scents aren´t for me, either.

i like vanilla scents as long as they aren´t too gourmand.

dance of death sounds great as i like patchouli. i also will look for smiling spider (loverly name!) & mme. moriarty!

Edited September 20, 2007 by Lupelele

[minilux]

Lupelele - Since you like patchouli, you might also want to try Greed, Crowley and/or Masquerade. I personally don't find them "dark", though, because I think it takes a little extra something to cross the line into what I would call dark territory.

[ImperatrixMundi]

Hello Lupele!

 

We seem to have some similiar tastes - I get the same thing with rose and dont like fruity and gourmand vanilla stuff. Bubblegum smells are not for me either.

 

I am still looking for the perfect dark and mysterious and patchouli blends. Dance of Death is very nice, it has a very smooth and deep quality that I like but is not in your face patchouli.

 

Oblivion is really dark but was a bit too heavy and opressive to wear.

 

Czernobog is creepy but does not work with a lot of peoples skin chemistry.

 

At first I thought everything BPAL makes is dark and gothic and so on but whow, I went wrong there! Most of the other stuff I tried was not so dark after all.

 

My present hope are the Halloween scents, but I still have to try them.

[Lupelele]

imperatrixmundi, bubblegum-smell isn´t for me, either!

i wrote down all of your suggestions & have to find some more reviews about them.

there are sooo many BPALs, it´s pretty hard to find the "right" ones...!

[polesiren]

Newbie here but already I can say that I had an "effect" from "Les Fleurs du Mal" (the flowers of evil...) that if I hadn't experienced it,I wouldn't have believed it!

 

My head swam,I had a "vision" of being someplace dark and forboding and honestly,although my husband noticed the scent and liked it a lot,I washed it off later in the day as it was seriously causing me to feel dis-connected and troubled...almost nauseous and paranoid,very unlike me.

 

The imp is in a pretty wooden box on my dressing table but is still annoying me,LOL! Is this odd?It's just a drop of of scent,I know...

 

I live in a lovely 100 yr. old stone farmhouse that DOES have a bit of a "history" but has never made me feel strange in the slightest (and I tend to be very "tuned in"...)

 

This scent made me feel like someone was watching me...I still can't believe it,the imp must GO!

[ImperatrixMundi]

Bluebeard is dark in a more mood evocative way. Bluebeard smells like white cold anger at first. The kind of anger than just overtakes someone and makes them think about drastic measures. It's abusive. About thirty minutes later, it's all good and smells great. But those first thirty minutes are kind of edgy and dark.

 

This is so true. Bluebeard is sharp and bitter at first, then it mellows a lot but somehow it remains a very malicious and menacing scent.

[JennyGardener]

I find Black Annis positively evil! You know that feeling you get when you're lost in the woods in a deep dark cave, and you are just sure someone is watching you? And then you stumble upon a pile of dry bones and blood-soaked earth? And then you feel hot fetid breath on the back of your neck? Yeah, that feeling. The one where you are about to be eaten up and there's NOTHING YOU CAN DO ABOUT IT!

[simona]

Well, I find Death Of Autumn pretty dark, especialy in the dry-down, when the black amber comes out, it brings to mind a stormy november night!

Malediction and Burial are very evocative, too, in my opinion ( and still I like this ones a lot )

[waffelo13]

I'm limited in the scents I've tried, but to me Dark = Schwarzer Mond, if you can find some.

Since you're a fan of patchouli, that's a bonus!

(Come to think of it, I haven't worn this in ages - bet it has aged nicely...)

[fiddlehead]

Black Annis does it for me. I wear it on rainy, cold days and it fits so well. Dead leaves, moss, and of course the civet which blends with the anise to create something really cold and creepy. It makes me think of walking a deep forest path and kicking up the wet leaves and brushing against interesting smelling plants. Catching a whiff of something wild and alive that I should probably do my best to avoid...

 

Heh. Blood Kiss, on the other hand, reminds me a cosy kitchen where someone is baking something sweet and spicy. Something with cloves and fruit and vanilla. Funny how scents can suggest such different things to different people!

[lookingglass]

Well, I find Death Of Autumn pretty dark, especialy in the dry-down, when the black amber comes out, it brings to mind a stormy november night!

 

OK, rub it in that you have yours already!!!!!!

 

Blood Countess made me freak out. I am not easily freaked out. I was obsessed with Elizabeth Bathory (the scents namesake) and music from the era, but the scent itself... I couldn't wear it. Oh, hell, I have to try it again now!

 

Sin is dark, hot, dirty, and a little sweet. Love it.

 

Haunted is dark for sure, but smells kind of like puppy-poo-poo on me after a while. Horrible...horrible! I HATE that it does that on me, and it is probably just that I was traumatized by the puppy who is now my dearheart Lestat...

 

I digress...

 

You might like Black Opal. It is "shiny" black, to me. A favorite for the summer because it seems sleek and not heavy.

 

Snake Oil, of course, is dark and sexy.

[Lupelele]

black annis seems to be right up my alley as i love civet

the description of the death of autumn sounds great, but then i read some of you only get vetiver.

i know, it´s all about skin chemistry & i like vetiver - but only in small dosis.

[VelvetSky]

Seance scares the crap outta me. For some reason, that faint cigarette note seems spooky.

[fountaingrl]

I'm going to echo the Death of Autumn recommendation. It is a 'dark' and somewhat ominous scent, but not a 'scary' or hunted scent. It smells like wet leaves and crisp air and a fire somewhere in the background.

 

OTOH, the only scent that I have worn thus far that has had me creeping myself out? Was the 13 from July 07. It smelled like chocolate covered iced malice. Like someone who brings poisoned brownies over in a bandana-lined basket, to welcome you to the neighborhood. I kept wanting to back away from myself. I wore it twice and got rid of it.

 

Body chemistry is everything with BPAL tho, I read the review that has Tombstone as dry and dusty, and on me? Root Beer. Nummy nummy, like a perfume oil version of LUSH's Sonic Death Monkey. SO GOOD.

[fiddlefox]

So far from what I've tried, dance of death also makes me feel uneasy. Danse macabre just feels evil.I like death cap, it just smells earthy to me. I haven't tried blood countess yet and I really want to. I love tombstone and it does smell really dusty and old. So many more to try....

[polesiren]

I am rather new but so far "Wanda" has totally left me cold...she smells like the bar after closing time when you're picking up those cruddy-ashtrays that whiskey has been dumped in along with the ciggies and of un-washed bodies doing the nasty,LOL!

 

Smells like desparation at 2:00 am and you know what I mean!

 

Glad I sampled her but she will not be touched again...

[theshapeshifter]

For dark, my new discovery is A Countenance Forboding Evil. It's VERY well-named.