The Perilous Parlor

[requieminblack]

A memory of pleasure passed. A ghostly rendezvous, delight beyond death. Faint echoes of laughter and the distorted music of a harp drift by, along with the scent of soft white pear and sweet vanilla.

Foodies scent lovers like me- you need this. OMFGWTFBBQ this is sooo GOOD!

Straight out of the bottle is is 'HELLO PEAR!!' But not just any old pear, the most ripe and juicy pear. The kind that is so tangy and sweet and juicy and drips down your face when you take a bite. The kind that smells so good your whole kitchen smells like pear. But wait, there's more. After I put this on my skin that tangy sweet pear got cut up and put into a biiiig bowl of vanilla ice cream. After a few minutes the pear fades a bit, just like it would if you were eating that bowl of ice cream and you picked out half the pear bits from the top and ate them first. And as it drys down the pear fades and you are left with yummy vanilla ice cream at the bottom of the bowl because all the pear has been eaten.

And the vanilla ice cream scent lingers all day long. Yes foody lovers- fruit and pear lovers. THIS is the one.

[copyshopclerk]

In the bottle: Sweet and juicy pear, but with a hint of something medicinal - kind of like the cherry Triaminic I got for colds when I was a kid.

 

On: Medicinal quality is only in the bottle - this is predominantly pear, ripe, juicy. Very sweet, but not sugary or candy-like. It's sweet and fruity. It takes a while, maybe 10 minutes, before the vanilla kicks in - and it's a lovely, creamy vanilla (and vanilla can sometimes get plastic on me but this one behaves). I'm getting something like almond in here too - kind of like Dana O'Shee.

 

Dry: Where'd the pear go? When this was wet I was very pleased, as the rest of my autumn fruity scents are apple or pumpkin and the pear was a nice addition, but I think my skin ate all the pear and I'm left with the vanilla. It's a nice vanilla, to be sure, but I was hoping the pear would be hanging around more!

 

I think this is one to test in the scent locket to keep the pear longer!

 

 

Edit: I put this in my oil burner today to see how it'd turn out and - it's phenomenally good! The pear and vanilla balance each other perfectly and it makes for a great room scent that'll be gorgeous and comforting on cold fall days. (and the label looks so cool, this might warrant a second bottle!)

Edited September 10, 2007 by copyshopclerk

[AliBabble]

i LOVE this! at first, from the bottle, i could tell i would like it, but it smelled a bit subtle and faint. i was expecting it to be perhaps overly sweet, or cloying - but it's not! on my skin, it blossoms, and like goldilocks says: it's just right. sweet, syrupy pears - but somehow, it's not too much. the vanilla seems to temper it, rather than sending it over the top. it's like a pear custard tart. it's almost got that mellow vanilla of midway - rich and subdued, at the same time. the pear drifts away rather quickly, unfortunately - since it's such a delicious phase. but the quiet vanilla i'm left with is just lovely.

[Ahania]

I don't think I can say enough good things about this. It starts out with juicy pear- more like baked pear than fresh, you know how it goes sweeter and mellower with cooking, that's what this does. The vanilla is lovely and warm, and it's strong without beating you over the head with itself. The pear does fade pretty quickly, and I miss it but the lingering vanilla is too pretty to mind too much.

[princessbeena]

In the bottle this smells like canned pears... with sweet sticky syrup....it's delicious....unfortunately once this hits my skin..the pear fades quickly and I'm left with a lovely vanilla....I may purchase another bottle of this since Beth doesn't seem to make alot of pear blends....I just wish it lasted longer on my skin.

[SlySionnach]

I must have fortunate skin chemistry because this is all vanilla-y pear on me, all day. It tends to last six hours plus, and the pear never disappears (though it does take a step back near the end of the day).

 

First sniff, it's definitely all juicy, delicious pear. The vanilla isn't even a component until it hits my skin, where it evens out quickly.

 

It's also one of the scents that get a reaction from many, many people. I must've enabled at least five others at work with this scent alone!

 

I feel so lucky that I love this, and the Twisted Oak Tree...because then I can order the whole Haunted House without minding the doubles *squee*!

[Hayet]

Wow.

This has the same evil vanilla note as Tokyo Stomp and all the other vanillas that don't work on me (I call it playdoh, husband calls it wax), and yet...yet....I just can't stop sniffing my wrists! And it lasts, and lasts.

 

Also rather indescribable for me. Sweet, but not juicy. It makes me think, "bubblegum princess" on me, but when my husband grabbed it from me and tried it on himself, it was pure deliciousness and nothing princessy about it!.

 

ETA: OMG I am so getting another bottle of this. Vanilla, I forgive you. This is scent perfection! And I can't wait to try the rest of the haunted house blends, as Atrocious Attic is equally evocative and lovely, despite being a floral theme (I like florals but have two zillion of them...)

Edited September 22, 2007 by Hayet

[Medici]

In the bottle: Spiced pear of d00m. This is gonna be fun.

 

Wet: Pears and whipped cream. (ZOMG so yummy.)

 

Drydown: Juicy pear and whipped cream, with a bit of vanilla powder. As it warms, the "creamy" factor supplied by the vanilla turns this into a totally delectable, warm, foody scent. There's the slightest hint of spice, which makes me think of pear upside down cake.

 

Verdict: Love it.

[lysithea]

The pear isn't the fresh, juicy kind. It's more like caramelized or poached. I can smell it when wet, but it recedes and adds a sweet edge to the underlying vanilla. It definitely has a creamy feel. I loved last year's Quincey Morris so I was really looking forward to another pear + vanilla creation. This does not disappoint. On my skin, it is fairly long lasting. In the end, settling into a warm vanilla skin scent for me. I can recommend this to fans of Black Opal or Quincey Morris (minus the leather and musk).

[jolarocknrolla]

OMG pear! that's all i smell at first, just wonderful sweet red pear, changing slowly to a sort of pear pastry. Not too sweet and sugary, the pear keeps it fresh and juicy with just the right amount of sweetness in the background. This is my husband's FAVORITE of the Haunted House set. to me, this is not a complex scent, and it's not much of a morpher on me, except that the vanilla is somehow riper and richer towards the end of the drydown. Utterly wonderful and absolutely necessary for the foodies out there. winner!

[DenMother]

Sweet Mother of God I found my holy grail!

 

This is soft ripe pears, covered with vanilla and sugar and laid on a bed of thin crisp butter pastry, covered with cream and then popped into an oven to bake at 180 degrees.

 

Large slices to be eaten, clothing optional. Pure and sinful.

[funkmoppet]

This is my second try at Perilous Parlor - yesterday my nose was still broken from flu, and it seemed to be all sweet-sweet-sweet to me.

 

Today, I can appreciate this one better. Yep, it's still sweet - foolish to expect anything else from a blend of pear and vanilla. The wet phase is syrupy and borders on cloying for me.

 

But dry. Ah. Dry is where this one really does its thing - a thing of mellowed foodiness with pie promises and a big poached pear on top.

 

This works. Oh how this works.

 

[euterpe414]

The Perilous Parlor is such a soft, enticing blend! The pear and vanilla mingle very nicely together, creating a mellow sweetness that only improves as time passes. The vanilla here is really soft and comforting. This is a great 'snuggly' scent- perfect for cold nights spent reading a book under the covers, but also appropriate for going out as the vanilla in this is undeniably sexy! Normally the BPAL blends with pear don't work on me, so I am incredibly glad this one does, as I do love my vanilla scents. PP lasts a long time on my skin, and eventually becomes a pure, soft strictly vanilla scent before it goes away. Definitely getting multiples of this one!!

[Victory]

The opening fanfare of the Perilous Parlor is all sweet pear. And when I say sweet, I mean sweet. Wow, I like sweet scents a lot and this was still almost tooth- gratingly sweet. I didn't recognize it as pear right off, and I might not have except that I remembered that the description is pear and vanilla, and once I remembered it was pear, sense memories of smelling pear scents from the Body Shop or places like that clicked in and I said, "Oh, of course. It's pear." I then remembered that one of my favorite oils, Pink Phoenix, also started really sweet and has pear, but as it aged, that sweet sweet sweetness mellowed out, so I have hopes. (On the other hand, Midwinter's Eve never settled down and I had to swap it. Go toward the Pink Phoenix end, Perilous Parlor. Have a PP party of mellowed sweetness. Ahem.) As the oil begins to dry down, the vanilla comes out a little and the pear and vanilla continue to trade flirty waves and come hither looks for an hour or so. At that point, the vanilla's made a big move and scared the pear off into the corner. The vanilla (not one of the ones that goes bad on my skin, happily, this one doesn't seem to be buttery to me) is the dominant scent when the oil's dry, though the pear does wink at me occasionally. This is a wearing on the day the oil arrived, so I expect the oil to settle in the next few weeks, but if this is the oil unsettled, it'll be marvelous once everything has calmed down.

[Megara]

This is a very light, sweet vanilla and pear. But like others have said, baked pear. Right after applying it is a sharp pear, but quickly dries down to a more mellow pear. Vanilla and pear take turns playing follow the leader throughout the day. At a point, I thought the vanilla may be the same as in Snake Oil, but I'm an expert by no means. It's creamy, yet not too sweet or cloying. It lasts nicely through the day, but I don't think it has a ton of throw.

[Delirium1009]

In bottle/imp: Juicy pear and musky vanilla.

 

Immediately on skin: This blend is starting out as a juicy pear, but a little musky and plastic-y as well. The pear note is very pretty and refreshing though.

 

After a few minutes: Thank goodness! The plastic note disappeared after just a few minutes. Now, about an hour later, the scent is fresh, realistic pear matched with creamy vanilla. It really is a lovely, fresh, creamy scent.

 

Overall Impressions: If the lab’s vanilla works on you and you like it, try this out. It’s a fresh, light creamy scent that’s sweet but not overwhelmingly so. It’s slightly musky as well, so it doesn’t get too foody. Overall, a gorgeous blend!

[jade_starlight]

I got a decant of this one on a whim, and it was one of the best decisions I've made. It's a lovely, sweet, juicy pear with a hint of vanilla to give it a bit of depth. It's absolutely delicious, and I want to eat my arm so badly right now it's not even funny. It is absolutely perfect, and I must have more.

[Iceblink]

So sweet and delicious you'd think your arm would be sticky where you applied it. This is BEAUTIFUL. It's thick, sweet pear syrup poured over the richest French vanilla at first. The pear does, as others have noticed, fade away fairly quickly...but the drydown you're left with is a warm, cozy, sexy-sweet vanilla with the merest hint of fruit, and it's to die for. Even if you're not wild about pear, this might be worth trying, because the pear is just a side note to the vanilla here.

I've got to get a bottle of this based on the layering possibilities alone. Perilous Parlor? Meet my bottle of Candy Butcher. Oh, and this is Bliss. I know you'll get along beautifully!

[fizzgig]

Much like everyone else, there is a sweet blend of pear and vanilla. My nose is picking up a floral note in the background that no one else has mentioned. I rarely have a scent stay true and my chemistry does weird things. Perhaps it is a musk that someone else has mentioned albeit a sweet one.

[KaliVerra]

I have found my FIRST, SERIOUS HOARDING SCENT!

 

This one is pure nummy-ness... good from first sniff to application to drydown to all gone! WOWZA. I'm totally on the same bus w/everyone that compared Perilous Parlour with baked sugary pears in a vanilla-laden graham crust... it is that good. I had no wonky stage at all with this lovely wonder (which is AMAZING for me with a fruit/vanilla scent!)... the DH wants me to slather it... he is in luuuuuuuurve w/it too! I even made him a spooky sachet for the edge of his bookcase

 

And the BOTTLE ART... ahem... a certain lovely miss M knocked herself out!!

 

A FULL, ROUNDED 5/5. Maor, pleaze...

 

xo,

Kali V.

[LittleGreyKitten]

Dang, this is GOOD. The most gorgeous creamy edible vanilla, and cooked pears. Not crisp ripe fresh ones, definitely like pears cooked in cream. The pear smell is strongest when wet, then it backs off when dry to mostly cream and vanilla scent (a gorgeous one). I will definitely have to try it in a scent locket, I suspect the pear will last best in there, not on skin. I can't get over how truly yummy this scent is... I was expecting some sort of "oh, I kinda get pear and vanilla, if I know what I'm looking for" sort of thing, not a full-on pear and cream deliciousness.

 

And. Is this a scent pun? Pear-ilous parlor? Cute!

 

I'll definitely be getting another, or two. Or three. I plan to bathe in this, for sure. I can only imagine how well it will age, too.

[Em-]

Mmmmmm. I've been wanting a pear/vanilla combo for a while, so The "Pear"ilous Parlor was a must have for me.

 

First on, this is riperiperipe juicy pear in a creamy sweet vanilla. Almost poached pear with vanilla ice cream sort of scent.

 

But as it wears, the sweetness fades and what appears to be a light musk comes out, grounding the blend and making it wearable even for us who don't necessarily like the uber sweet/foodies at the office.

 

Much much love!

[Miseraya]

In the imp: A very juicy pear scent. Sweeter than I was expecting though, I expected the tartness of a pear to come through, but this is the sweetest, juiciest pear you can get.

 

On the wrist: Almost immediately the vanilla starts to come through on this. I'm thinking poached pear at this point, like an expensive desert of poached pears and vanilla ice cream, the ice cream melting under the heat of the pears a bit. Very sweet and round, no edges or tartness to this.

 

Drydown: This stays a lovely pear and vanilla desert, but it's not really me. I was expecting a fresher, more fruity version of what this actually is. This is gorgeous, but I'd end up gnawing off my wrist if I wore this on th wrong day. I think I'll pass it on.

[heartlilly]

The pear in this is super sweet on me, thankfully the vanilla is there to calm it down a bit. It dries to a creamy sweet pear, almost like pie. It is delicious.

[jessiesquash]

I'm at a complete loss as to why I bought this but it's so beautiful that I'm glad I did! I'm not a foodie person but this isn't necessarily foodie. The pear is sweet but not overly so and the vanilla gives it a lovely creamy base. It's like sexy pear glaze with vanilla ice cream but you know, it's sexy. I don't know if this makes sense but it's also comforting. I can see wearing this on cold winter days. It would be perfect to wear during the holidays. I LOVE this and I'm so happy I bought it.