A Countenance Forboding Evil

[sarada]

Thy gloomy features, like a midnight dial,
Scowl the dark index of a fearful hour.

Patchouli, ylang ylang, blood orange, and vetiver.

I do so love the patchouli/vetiver scents. Woody, glossy, and slightly burnt -- sweet upturned earth, scorched or scattered with incense dust. This blend has some pretty forceful components and I think it might cause some to back slowly away, but if you like patchouli and vetiver, do give it a shot. The blood orange gives it a glossy sheen that makes me think of whorled wood, polished to perfection and set in the wall of a smoky study. It is a striking, powerful scent, but carries itself with dignity.

I'm not a fan of ylang ylang really but I don't particularly smell it here. Perhaps, as in Tisiphone, it matches so well with the patchouli that together they become something else -- fragrant, crumbling earthy incense. Still, the vetiver glossed over with throbbing orange is the main player here, set against the dark backdrop of the other scents. Patchouli slowly moves to the foreground as it dries, emerging from the shadow. It is fairly simple overall but makes its point quietly without a lot of fanfare. If you like these types of scents as much as I do, you'll want to try it.

[tamburlaine]

In this most recent update of GC scents (Aug/Sept, 2007) there is a common thread of inspiration owed to two somber 19th Century English poets. Samuel Taylor Coleridge's famous "Kubla Khan" has now been captured in a Bewitching Brews blend, and so have two poems by his very distant acquaintance, Thomas Lovell Beddoes. The Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab has given "The Phantom Wooer" a scented incarnation and so too with "A Countenance Forboding Evil", which is a succinct but nevertheless eerie and moribund piece in keeping with Beddoes' preoccupation with death and the beyond.

 

Like all of BPAL's blends that are dedicated to poems, A Countenance Forboding Evil moves through the nose with a subtle cadence. It morphs more than other blends, because like a poem it must have a clear beginning, middle, and end. I got an imp of this to try because, first, the idea of having "a countenance forboding evil" is an irrestibly delicious concept, and second, because I was happy to see a relatively obscure literary figure have perfumes named after his work. Third, I wanted to know what ylang ylang and blood orange do when they get together.

 

In the imp: Phwooow... patchouli and vetiver. If any scent in my nose is forboding of a certain nastiness, it's vetiver. The "beginning" of this blend is true to the title of the poem; the woody and herbaceous note of vetiver recalls the soil of a graveyard. Ominous as hell. This creepiness is supplemented by an unrestrained patchouli note.

 

On my skin: A pleasant transformation; the poem goes on. Blood orange is the heart note of this blend, and A Countenance Forboding Evil turns into something that, to me, smells like chocolate-covered orange slices -- but only for a second. The mix of the earthy patchouli and the sensual citrus of blood orange come together to create a simple but rounded core. The initial sweetness of the blood orange eventually fades into the woody patchouli/vetiver component, and in the drydown this blend proves that its dominant component and base note is indeed a woody/animalic patchouli. I cannot distinguish the ylang ylang specifically, but I know it's there, playing a component in the base and middle and holding the blend from becoming too chypre.

 

This blend is relatively straightforward, but in its earnestness it is like the two lines of its poetic namesake. Its "gloomy features" are the patchouli and vetiver that dominate it, but this face is a human face, and though creepy, the blood orange is there to lend a slight quantity of goodness and light if only for a second. After fifteen minutes, the "fearful hour" has approached and the melancholy and dark soil have all but swallowed up that which cannot perceive the evil of the earthly and human world.

 

I recommend this blend if you're a fan of classic "headshop" patchouli or dry woody/citrus blends.

Edited September 22, 2007 by tamburlaine

[edenssixthday]

A Countenance Forboding Evil – Anything with vetiver in it smells wretched when I first apply it. But give it time to dry down and holy moly, dried-down vetiver loves my skin so much that whatever scent it’s in is sure to become a favorite of mine. Sure enough, once this dries on my skin…. OH YEAH!!! This is gorgeous. The vetiver is still the top note, but right below it is a boatload of blood orange that sweetens up the entire overall scent, and especially lends a sweetness to the patchouli that makes it blend gorgeously with the vetiver. I don't smell ylang ylang at all in this blend, which makes me quite happy since that's a note I rarely enjoy. Vetiver blends tend to be very gravely and husky on me, but not this one – it’s a total paradox, but it’s sweet and bright in its darkness. This one will be getting much wear. As with all vetiver blends, it has the perfect amount of throw and long staying power on my skin.

[theshapeshifter]

I think this may become one of the great 'love it or hate it' BPAL blends. Personally - I LOVE this. I'm a major vetiver and patchouli fan, and these are definitely the star players here. I don't particularly notice the blood orange or ylang ylang, except that they perhaps add to the 'roundness' of the blend. It's earthy and definitely dark - 'forboding' is certainly the right word. This is a strong candidate to get upgraded to a 5ml!

[sookster]

straight sniff from imp is "holy patchouli and vetiver batboy!"

 

amazingly once i apply this the blood orange is the first note

that simply pops up forefront!!

 

i can't say i get any of the ylang ylang note but the combo of orange/patchouli/vetiver

is excellent...i love the lab's darker blends and this is no exception! thank you beth

[supremegoddessofall]

Lots of patchouli and vetiver. Not getting much of the ylang ylang at all, and (thank goodness) no trace of the blood orange.

 

Score: 3

[hypatia]

I like vetiver, but the Lab's vetiver is sometimes too strong for my chemistry, and makes me smell like scorched earth. Countenance is strong dark vetiver with patchouli around the edges, and for the first 15 minutes or so it's kind of scary. Then it settles down into something less grim and more "tall, dark, and sinister": vetiver with its harsh edges toned down by the blood orange, which is bright and cheerful in contrast with the other notes. I can't really detect the ylang ylang, and the patchouli is very subtle compared to some of the more patchouli-heavy scents I've tried.

 

Overall impression: Yay! A vetiver I can actually wear!

[themerrybaker]

A Countenance Forboding Evil has one of the coolest names to answer when someone asks you "what are you wearing?".

 

Although I am a vetiver lover, and have come to appreciate patchouli, and like ylang-ylang - my chemistry turns this into CEDAR CHIPS on me.

 

And I don't care. Keeping the imp anyway because of the name.

[Miss Lynx]

On first contact, the patchouli and vetiver very much dominate this scent -- it's heavy, earthy and dark. But as it settles in a bit, the other notes make themselves felt a bit. They don't stand out, but you can tell there's something leavening the heaviness a bit and adding some sweetness.

 

I should perhaps mention that ylang ylang is normally one of my most hated notes. My skin amps florals in general, and high sweet florals like that in particular, so usually any scent with ylang ylang in it ends up smelling like there's nother but ylang ylang there. Definitely not the case here, though. I'd guessed that the patchouli/vetiver combo could dampen the ylang ylang onslaught if anything could, and apparently I guessed right.

 

I really wish the orange stood out a bit more, though. Orange is usually really nice on me, but here it's just a faint overtone adding a touch of brightness to the heavy dark whoompf of the dominant low notes.

 

On the whole, a little too heavy for me. I like a bit of patchouli or vetiver to deepen an otherwise too-light or too-sweet scent, but not when they're as dominant as they are here.

 

Grade: C+

[LadyCrow]

In the imp: Pretty much straight patchouli.

 

Wet: Dark, gritty patchouli, reminding me of Malediction, made even darker and grittier by the vetiver.

 

Drydown: But wait, what's this? A blast of brightness and citrus -- aha, the blood orange/ylang ylang combo! I smell like a very Gothy orange. You know, maybe a sort of dark, burnt one.

 

Five hours after initial application, the orange and ylang ylang are still going strong in the throw, leaving the patchouli and vetiver much closer to my skin, but very much present -- it's a tart, Gothy orange.

 

Unlike Goblin, the other recent "patchouli and something else" addition to the GC, the patchouli is much more in the background, allowing the other notes to come out and play. However, the combo wouldn't be the same without the dry, dark earthiness of that and the vetiver. I think there's a lot of good synergy going on here, much more than I would have predicted from the listed notes. For some reason, this ends up as a "warm" scent on this rather chilly day -- which is totally fine with me.

[porcelina]

bleearrghhh. burnt, dirty patchouli, and literally nothing else. nooo thank you.

[n3m3sis42]

In the imp:

Strong woods... not usually a good sign for me since the Lab's woody notes and I do not get along.

 

Wet:

(I'm sorry for this!) Wood and Pine Sol. Okay, I'm guessing that the "wood" in this is actually the patchouli/vetiver combo, and the woodiness does calm down after about 5 minutes. However, I'm not getting even a hint of the blood orange and while I don't know for sure what ylang-ylang smells like, I'm pretty sure I am not smelling it here so far.

 

Dry:

This is really almost all spicy woods on me, but as it's one of the few woody-smelling blends that actually doesn't go horrid on my skin, I might just wear it a few times and see how I feel about it.

[Little Bird]

First sniff in the vial, I see that this has the type of vetiver that I hate in it. Smoky vetiver that smells like charred mesquite bbq. It's too sweet and makes me think of burnt bbq chicken.

 

And it's the same on my skin. I don't get the patchouli or blood orange at all, this is allll vetiver on me. Burnt, woody, bbq-ed vetiver. The ylang ylang pops out a bit after a while, but it's just a perfumey and metallic essence underneath the vetiver.

 

I'm ushering this imp of vetiver straight to the swap pile.

[filigree_shadow]

Yowie zowie. Hello, vetiver! It makes an interesting combination with blood orange. I kinda like it. I'm not sure if I can smell much patchouli in there, though. The vetiver gets slightly less strong as it...

 

...OH NO! The Muppets "Time in a Bottle" sketch is on right now! I can't associate that with this scent. This scent is too EEEEEvil. Quick, I need to wrap this up.

 

Mostly this is a very dark scent, and I can't smell much of the orange after it's dry, mostly just vetiver and patchouli. It's a lovely combination for people who like vetiver (I usually do).

[septima_pica]

Octopod: This is vetiver and patchouli most of the way. Ylang ylang emerges for a little bit, becoming quite strong, then dissipates. Smells like the inside of a sauna for probably an hour or two. No sign of the orange, ever. When the vetiver finally dies down, the ylang ylang is still there, and the scents are finally balanced. When this happens, it's pretty awesomely old-school gothy smelling, but probably won't want to wait for it.

 

Kalirren: VETIVER. Drying down: VETIVER. Eventually the orange (sweet orange, like in Xiuhtecuhtli) shows up a little bit. Overall: smells like Chinese herbal tea, which is possibly a good thing if you want to smell like Chinese herbal tea.

[odalisque]

This was lagniappe from the Lab and my man tried it on (cuz he liked the name ) without either of us knowing what was in it.

 

Until I came here today I was dead sure cherry must be one of the notes, because it smelled powerfully like cherry cough syrup both in the vial and on him. We both went "Bleargh!". Swap pile for this one.

[megank4]

Hmm, perhaps this is not the best time for me to be reviewing new scents, as my nose is all wonky from a developing cold, but this smells okay to me. Perhaps my officemates disagree, I don't know. This reminds me of Azathoth. I would like a little more blood orange in this, but otherwise it is okay. Will have to try again when my nose is up to snuff.

 

-tried it again, one week later, after trying (and washing off) Highwayman. In the imp, this smells slightly moldy to me. Now that my nose is working a bit better, I don't think is for me. When I need some vetiver, I think I will stick with Azathoth.

Edited January 24, 2008 by Megank4

[hkhm]

imp: vetiver. this is just like a vetiver single note to me.

 

wet: this is a brutal patchouli scent, burnt by vetiver turned glorious by the blood orange. i never would have expected to want a bottle of this.

 

dry: strong patchouli with just a hint of vetiver and a blazing streak of orange. bottle-worthy.

[ClareN]

What edenssixthday said above bears repeating: scents with vetiver can smell harsh when freshly applied, but they usually dry down to something gorgeous. I love a nicely done vetiver scent, I've tried lots of them, and A Countenance Foreboding Evil is a standout.

 

It has a sweet, nutty vetiver stage at the start; a little later orange comes out, and there's a gorgeous smoky note; by the drydown it's all earthy, dark, sexy patchouli and vetiver. At this stage it's similar to another favorite of mine, Umbra, which also contains patchouli and vetiver. Like others, I didn't notice any ylang ylang. I think anyone who likes the darker, resinous scents will adore this.

[djsiberia]

at first i kinda didn't like it, but now that i'm sniffing it after fading a bit, i can really tell it has more patchouli than the other ingredients. smells like me when i have an angel/aveda firmata build up on my clothes/sweater. yup. thats what it reminds me of - i couldn't quite put my finger on it at first, but that's really what this is - my clothes after a few days of build up of angel (thierry mugler scent).

 

a bottle is in order

[blktauna]

I just got an imp from the lab. It started off a bit seaside salty before settling into lapsang souchong tea, with a bit of salt in the background. No orange though. Still, I sort of like it.

[ryokokoro]

I can smell the vetiver and patchouli super strong as it dries, but once it sets, it smells like pungent wet nail polish! Noooo! I'm actually amazed at just how much it smells like whiffing a bottle of nail polish. Won't be making this into a bottle, sadly.

Edited April 6, 2008 by firewoman

[gypsysingleton]

Sharp and highly concentrated Patchouli and Vetiver - I was hoping for more of the orange - smells like hubby's shoe trees. This will not translat to a bottle purchase.

[savage_rose]

It smells like I've just poured rancid gasoline on my wrist--even my cat just ran out of the room. Patchouli and vetiver, and BURNING...this is terrible.

[diamondstars]

I wanted to like this one, I really did.

 

Not good, though. It smelt of cheap soap. Y'know the ones they have in public toilets on the bad side of town?..