Eshe, A Vision of Life-In-Death (2006)

[Heretic]

Moving counter-clockwise through the room, you come upon the next stage. The backdrop is shredded, and seems to have been torn in a fury. On the remaining half of the canvas, you can barely make out a faded illustration of the sun setting over a pyramid. On the center of the platform, an elaborate golden sarcophagus has been set upright and propped up towards the edge of the stage. Beside it, upon the ground, sits a hooded lantern. A woman's image is painted on the front of the sarcophagus, and upon the gold limned body, a tale is being told in hieroglyphics: scenes of murder, carnage, and grotesque, mad passion. Although you do not know the language, the inscription upon the tomb translates within your mind, and the words burn behind your eyes as if they were written in blood and fire: “The Guardian will never part the veil for her soul. Mighty Sutekh, have pity on us all.” A thin, dark-skinned man wearing a linen loincloth climbs onto the stage. His form is frail and withered, he is impossibly old, yet his long, straight hair is as black as the night skies. With solemn, reverential gravity, he slowly moves the casket lid aside. Within the box, you see a skeletal figure wrapped in stained, ragged cloths, draped in a mauve cloth. The dark-skinned man bends low, and lights the lanterna magica. From within the glass, images begin to form, and glowing alchemical symbols cast their eerie light onto the mummy. As the lights touch the creature, the desiccated body swells, and with horrific, agonizing slowness, a woman's form begins to appear within the wrappings. At her chest, the rotted wrappings burst, exposing sinew and the glinting white bones of her ribs. Her hands reach towards her face, and with a screech of agony and eons-long rage, she tears the gauze from her glittering black eyes.

The perfume of life-in-death: embalming herbs, black myrrh, white sandalwood, black orchid, paperwhites, tomb dust, and Moroccan jasmine.

In the bottle: Resinous
On my wrist, wet: Sweet sandalwood and myrrh made sweeter by the paperwhites and jasmine. I hope these white flowers don't take over.
After 20 minutes: Oh my. This is gorgeous. The most delicate parts of the white flowers and myrrh rest on a sandalwood base. There is no sharpness to this blend and only a touch of powder.
After 40 minutes: I am in love with this scent. Everything has blended together in to a soft, intimate scent with a touch of sweetness. If a scent can hint at melancholy, this one does exactly that. I can't believe it has white flowers in it. Eshe is feminine blend that does not fit into the categories of resinous or floral, but lies somewhere in between. I'll get a second bottle of this one.

[phedre]

In vial: Jasmine and sharp herbal notes. A touch of orchid.

 

Wet: Sandalwood and orchid, the herbs have faded a lot.

 

Drydown: Wow. This has morphed into something gorgeous. There's almost a caramel tone to it, though I don't know where that comes from; it's just very rich. The jasmine and orchid are nicely in harmony, and the sandalwood and myrrh are keeping everything toned down.

[edenssixthday]

Eshe, A Vision of Life-In-Death - The "tomb dust" in this scent definitely scared me -- made me think of The Rat King. And sure enough, it opens up with a strong dusty scent, but very quickly turns into a gorgeous, deep floral. The jasmine is barely there, so people who are afraid of jasmine (like me!) don't be afraid of this one! This scent reminds me a lot of Shroud and would fit beautifully into the GC as a Funereal Oil. The staying power is very impressive, and the sillage is impeccable -- I catch lovely, soft wafts of it, but it's never overwhelming or strong. It's just so beautiful. Yes, I like this one a lot!

[Little Bird]

Something about Eshe really bothers me. I think that it might be that the picture and the story make me think about battered women and abuse. The bones poking out, withdrawn posture and the violent story make me a bit nauseous & sad inside. That creepy, unhappy feeling lingers when I wear this scent. I have this same issue with a lot of the Funereal Oils.

 

Trying to put aside my personal bias:

The fragrance itself is an okay herbal-floral, but not something that I would ever choose to wear. Jasmine here has something of a green, herby feel rather than a yellowy sweetness. It’s not the overpowering jasmine that I am used to. The whole fragrance has something of a dry, light, papery feel to it.

 

The herbal jasmine stays at the forefront, with a background of very light, slightly powdery sandalwood and a moreso perfumey floral note (which is odd, because black orchid usually smells sort of juicy and sweet to me).

 

Light, powdery, herby floral. Paper-thin and delicate. Not for me...

[PurringPulsar]

Eshe

 

In the bottle: oh, this is gorgeous. A dusty sandalwood base with herbs and beautiful heady flowers.

Wet on skin: whoa, dusty herbs aplenty, but with hints of flowers and myrrh.

Dry on skin: oh wow, this is really good. Really good stuff. The dusty herbs over sandalwood and myrrh that I get her reminds me very slightly of Carfax Abbey with the flowers of Black Moon, but also of Shroud. I get a feel of linen, but not the freshly laundered linen note I'm used to, but aged, desiccated linen made in a time before long washing powder, which has absorbed the fragrance of resins and herbs, against a sarcophagus of pale, fragrant wood. Over it a gorgeous jasmine note (the Moroccan variety is one of the jasmines that works wonderfully on me) and a hint of orchid, and a slight perfumey tone lent by the narcissus.

After a while: this is a very dry floral, which is appropriate for the theme of this scent. The narcissus is much stronger now, it smells like dry petals, with dusty wood and linen and just a smidgen of myrrh. I'm amazed that it really does smell dust, and old too…the flowery notes are very sophisticated though, deep and rich. There's almost a hint of wispy smoke to this, maybe from the myrrh, which adds a shadowy aspect to the scent, but it also reminds me somewhat of opium. It reminds me so lightly of Darkness now, but not as heavy or overwhelming. It is very mysterious and beguiling.

The end scent is very much a papery, dry, yet smoky and deep scent of myrrh and dusty flowers, mainly paper-whites and jasmine with a hint of smoke. It reminds me of Chrysanthemum Moon for some reason, but without the mums, musk, ginger, or whatever that note was that turned rancid on me…it seems like the sandalwood turning more incense like now as it sometimes does. And just before this scent fades away completely, a glint of something like amber (the myrrh?) glimmers through the dry papery flowers momentarily, like a flash of gold from some forgotten buried treasure in the dust. This sweet resin note is lovely, whatever it is.

Verdict: who could have thought smelling like a mummy would be this good? That's the reason I bought this-I have a great track record with Egyptian scents, and it would be so great telling everyone I smell like a mummy (and watch their reactions) but of course, I don't want to smell of 3000-year-old dead flesh. And thankfully this scent is fantastic. It is like some amazing mix of Black Moon, Carfax Abbey and Shroud at first, blending dust (how does Beth bottle the essence of dust?) and sandalwood with a covering of warm herbs and heady blooms of jasmine, orchid and paper-whites, with the smoky shadow of myrrh lurking behind. But amazingly, I also get a feel of linen from this-dry and faded, absorbing the scent of incense, one could imagine this is the linen used to wrap mummies. This is the scent of death, but the flowers and herbs within the linen-like notes smell very alive, very rich and warm, at first, before becoming drier and mingling into the dusty wood, linen and myrrh. The drydown is of dust and wood with almost like wispy incense smoke that seems to have lingered for ages, with dry narcissus petals and a gorgeous resinous myrrh note underneath. The scent is old but not old fashioned, it has a dry, ancient feel to it but with a grown up and classy blend of flowers to give this scent a little bit of life and sophistication. I really love this stuff-definitely something to wear next time I go to the British Museum.

Emoticon rating:

Is it a keeper? I'm going to stockpile this scent! Of the two Egyptian Freaks of the 13-in-1, this one's my fave.

If you like this, try: Shroud, Carfax Abbey, Nuit, Anubis, Black Moon, Darkness, Chrysanthemum Moon, Ozymandias

Edited February 3, 2007 by yeahbutnobut

[QueenFae]

First impression: light sandalwood, orchid and jasmine gently brushed over by a smattering of herbs. The sandalwood and the jasmine are on top, but the orchid is certainly noticable as well. I really like both the jasmine and the orchid notes in this; lovely enough to be feminine, but oddly sinister as well. This has light throw/staying power.

 

I really like this more than I thought I would. I am always amazed at the way in which Beth can make a blend, "creep and crawl," and this one certainly does. It's very feminine, but dusty and complex at the same time. I don't think I need a bottle, because these notes never last on me, but I do like this one just the same.

[The_Merf]

In the bottle: This smells very nice. I can smell the dusky orchid and the thinness of the sandalwood and dust notes. I don't really pick up on the herbs, myrrh or jasmine.

 

Wet: This is a very dry scent, and I'm surprised orris isn't on the list of notes. Again, I detect the orchid and a thin floral that is probably the paperwhites and sandalwood mixing. It's very much like the bottle, but as one might suspect, it is a very light scent.

 

Drydown and wear: I've had this happen before, but I can't remember with which perfume. The herbs and myrrh are mixing together to form a somewhat stale scent that is overwhelming the rest of the blend. There is a slight jasmine edge to it, and the dustiness of the scent (and the orchid, which I love) is quite overwhelmed. I think this one is going to have to go off to swap.

Edited February 14, 2007 by The_Merf

[savage_rose]

It doesn't smell like much in the bottle, a bit resinous and dark, but on my skin...it smells like an ancient, dark perfume. Sweet, but also undercut with the bitterness of age-old secrets. Okay, maybe that's just me. But this smells so rich and intricate, it's reminding me strongly of the Salon blends. Very interesting, very beautiful.

[Brianne]

In the bottle:

generic cologne

 

On me:

Right away I'm getting a slightly funky smell from jasmine. Even with all these other notes, jasmine just does NOT work on my skin. Stanky. The myrrh gives this kind of a masculine, incense vibe to it.

 

After this is dry on my skin, this is - strangely enough - predominantly myrhh and jasmine. However, the sandalwood has come out a bit and makes this sharper and more woodsy. But it's still pretty much myrhh and jasmine.

 

For the first time, there is a BPAL blend with "dust" as a note and it does not go horribly wrong on me. The downside is that another note that I have trouble with DOES - jasmine. There is an underlying funky quality to this blend on me, and none of the other notes can get past it and the myrrh.

 

Final note:

I'm sure other people will have very different results than me if they don't usually have issues with jasmine. If it weren't for the jasmine, I think this would come off as an incense floral.

[Em-]

This is a werd mixture of wet and dry to my nose - perfumey and herbal. Part of me really wants to like it, and another part is recoiling from something...ah, there's that pesky jasmine. The jas is not overpowering in this, but it's enough that this blend is just off for me. It smells oddly masculine in a way that doesn't quite appeal (this from someone who loves the Wildmen and the Living Skeleton, go figure), but I'm going to send this over to my husband's box for a couple days and see what happens.

[euterpe414]

This scent really vascillates on my skin. One minute it is an herby, somewhat creamy scent, and the next minute a sharp floral. It keeps changing between these two and won't settle down! This also has a lot of throw on me, to my dismay, because as I type this I keep getting whiffs of something sharp and off-putting.

 

I suspect that the jasmine is what is toying with my nose this way. It has done it before, and no doubt will do it again. Although, the herbal scent that I get sometimes is really quite gorgeous- very light golden in feel and somewhat incensy. Perhaps if this were in a scent locket it might fare better on my skin and become the scent that I like all of the time.

 

 

Oh jasmine, why must you toy with me?

[Laurel the Woodfairy]

With so many notes, I don't quite know what to expect from Eshe. On me, though, the jasmine is more subdued than usual (thank goodness)--the other florals seem to keep it in check. Still, this is a sweet floral, with that slightly cloying, *sad* vibe that I got from Eternal. In fact, if you like Eternal, try this! It wasn't really to my taste, though, and neither is Eshe, although there's a touch of herbal that helps a little.

[TheIceMaiden]

This is an interesting scent. It starts off sandalwood, myrrh, and herbs, then the florals join in. I can't pick out the individual floral notes. Eshe fades quickly to a faint herbal-floral scent. I don't get any dust, and although that is probably a good thing I was curious about what "tomb dust" would smell like in a perfume.

 

Eshe is a pretty scent and I like it. I'll keep my decant but I don't see myself needing a bottle as I wouldn't wear it often. The artwork is one of my favourites in Act III. Both the picture and story remind me of the character of Cleopatra in Anne Rice's The Mummy.

[Alchemy21599]

In the vial: orris and heady florals.

 

Wet on skin: orris, orchid, a whisper of myrrh. The jasmine is behaving itself.

 

Dry: really gorgeous. This is a dark floral, but it isn't cloying or heady. The orris and sandalwood blend beautifully with the floral notes. I think this scent will be my first big bottle purchase from CD III.

[supremegoddessofall]

Mostly orchid and really rather lovely. It's dry. I get the other florals behind it, too. Touch of sandalwood and myrrh. Not really getting the herbals.

[grrrlennyl]

at first: herbs and incense.

on: a sweet orchid and dry herbs.

2.5 hours later: sharp, dusty, and incensy.

4.5 hours later: much, much sweeter. dusty flowers.

7 hours later: a sweet, powdery floral.

overall: this is pretty and develops in a really interesting way.

[waternight]

In the imp: Sandalwood and myrrh, with a sweet hint of flowers.

Wet/Drydown: Floral! Lovely, heady, white florals. Sweet orchid spiced up a bit by musty jasmine. I don’t know what paperwhites smell like, but underneath the sexy, spicy jasmine/orchid combo is a light, delicate, white floral, though it’s more of a feel than a scent. It’s light, though, and plays second fiddle to the jasmine/orchid. There’s a dryness to this blend, which I think is the sandalwood. I’m not getting anything herbal, nor much myrrh. This blend is sexy, but classy-sexy.

Dry: Lovely white floral, with a dry, sandalwood base. A keeper!

[Miss Lynx]

This has a few appealling notes, but on the whole, sounded too floral to really work on my skin, and indeed, when I tried a dab, the florals quickly overwhelmed everything else.

 

It's a nice scent as florals go, and on someone who liked that sort of thing would be great, but on me scents like that turn into Screaming Floral Death. Or Screaming Floral Life-in-Death, as the case may be. This one doesn't do it as badly as some, and shadows of what it could have been do remain, but not enough to make it wearable for me.

 

Grade: C

[slave1]

ESHE A VISION OF LIFE IN DEATH

 

In Bottle: Herbal resins

 

On Skin: The herbs come out right off the bat, very sharp and slightly medicinal. There is also a gorgeous resinous note here, the myrrh. Wow, and the florals give a extreme elegant feel to the scnet. This reminds me of Egyptian royalty. The jasmine is kepy in check by the clean sharpness of the other notes so it’s not cloying at all. The tomb dust does make the scent slightly powdery but not enough that it’s too dry. A clean and beautiful scent. Light throw and medium wearlength.

[kraken]

In the Bottle: Sharp herbal resins backed by floral sweetness.

 

Initial Wet: Very light white flowers.

 

Initial Dry: Er... gone.

 

Drier Dry: Just as I was about to give up, a dusty, powdery scent appears. It's myrrh and sandalwood with just a hint of herbs behind it.

 

The final scent is nice, but very light with no throw at all.

[Naamah_Darling]

How is it, when I order these things, I manage NOT to see the words "orchid" and "paperwhites?" I know neither orchid nor narcissus work on me, and sandalwood is usually foul as well. Why do I keep trying?

 

This is a pretty scent. That is why.

 

Normally, white flowers are very fleshy and rich. However, here, the herbs and myrrh keep them crystalline and cool in the bottle. It's anyone's guess whether this exceedingly pretty and delicate floral will survive the onslaught of my feral chemistry, but it's worth a try.

 

This is floral with a hint of bitterness from the white flowers, and also from the herbs. The jasmine is lovely, but it's in the back seat here, behind the paperwhite and orchid, both of which are delicate but strong.

 

This winds up soapy rather than powdery, which is a nice change. It stays floral throughout, and the myrrh and herbs never really alter its essential flowery paleness.

 

I do recommend this for people who like florals. I still don't think it's a good bet for someone like me who can't usually wear them, but it's a lovely scent nevertheless. Reminds me a lot of Fallen and Hades, actually, only much nicer.

[vylit]

The myrrh and orchid are by far the strongest scents in the imp and on my skin, but after ten minutes or so, it turns very spicy and powdery, though I have no idea what I'm smelling exactly.

 

It's definitely more spicy than floral, and while I don't like the scent, it's very... it's an incredibly dry scent and it smells like it should given the concept.

[blu°]

Eshe for me is a difficult one - quite complex and a big morpher...

At first it's overwhelmingly sharp, almost medicinally sharp, slightly soapy and cold from the embalming herbs (I cannot wear Embalming Fluid) and probably the jasmine... This floral/herbal sharpness just sits on top of the scent and overpowers everything else for the first hour or so. It's not a headach-inducing floral kind of sharp, more the herbal-soapy kind, a bit like tea notes usually turn out on me. Thin, papery, cold, soapy, sharp, to name some adjectives.

 

I then lost track of the scent for some time, until suddenly I noticed a rich warm resinous something wafting up from my skin. That must have been about 2 to 3 hours after application. Eshe had lost all her sharpness and now had dried down to merely the resinous and woody base notes. I really love this stage, but the scent had become quite weak at this point.

 

Overall, I think this is a classy perfume. Very complex, with a surprising turn. Maybe if I'd wear the embalming herbs a bit better, I'd be totally in love with this scent.

[Meg]

In the bottle: rich florals, myrrh, sandalwood...

 

Wet: jasmine pops out, very dusty. Myrrh also emerges, very beautiful. There's something tart, possibly the paperwhites.

 

Drydown: cool and dusty with embalming herbs and hints of florals and myrrh incense hanging around... now I feel like I'm in a pyramid, walking into a tomb. I get the very dry sandalwood, jasmine and orchid floating together with the paperwhites... it's a very calm, quiet scent, and at the same time, piercing.

 

Overall: the white sandalwood never fails to make me think of bones, which works out great when looking at the art for Eshe. The myrrh smoke make you giddy, and the flowers are heady. I rather like this, but it goes too perfumy for my taste after a while, between the sandalwood and paperwhites.

[LadyCrow]

In the imp: myrrh.

 

Wet: Deep, deep flowers and resins.

 

On skin: Heady and resinous. Only after a considerable amount of drydown did the sweet sandalwood take over, maybe with a touch of the florals and herbs left at that stage, but this is delicious all the way through.

 

I admit I have a hard time associating the good smells in Eshe with the description. If this is a mummy, she seems unusually fresh, like the ones in Terry Pratchett's Pyramids who break out of their tombs.