Zombi

[diamondstars]

Dried roses, rose leaf, Spanish moss, oakmoss and deep brown earth.

This smells like dirt and roses. I love roses but the dirt note is way too prominent in this unfortunately.

(Edited to add scent description). Edited March 31, 2009 by saracakes

[riflmom]

Wet, there's freshly dug dirt with a small hint of the rose. Very nice!

On dry-down, the rose is amping up quite a bit. Not flower-shop roses, but dewey petals on the ground.

 

I think I like it, but was hoping for more of the earth/moss... Let's see if it changes as it ages.

[puellacaerulea]

In the imp, Zombi is *very* earthy -- I almost can't make out the rose for all the earth and moss notes. The moss is almost overwhelming; almost a moldy sort of smell (as you might expect from the name).

 

Just after putting it on, the rose notes start to get stronger. As other reviewers have mentioned, it's not a flower-shop sort of rose, but more like dried or crushed rose petals. The earth and moss are still the strongest notes, but the moss is no longer overwhelming to the point where I'm reminded of mold.

 

As it dries, the rose notes keep getting stronger while the moss notes die down. The end result on me is basically a very earthy rose scent -- something that evokes roses in a garden after a heavy rain instead of a florist's. The moss note is there, but is much more subtle and works well with the damp earth notes. It also lasts quite long, almost eight hours on me. After about six hours I had to get fairly up close and personal with my wrists to smell it, but it was definitely there.

 

Overall, I'm not sure yet if I'd buy a full size of this, but it's something I'd wear again. I'd recommend this to anyone who likes BPAL's rose scents, especially if you're looking to try something darker than the usual floral. For comparison's sake, a non-BPAL scent this reminds me of is Demeter's Wet Garden, but without all the additional floral notes.

[ShadowsDance]

In the imp Zombi smells very earthy, with just a hint of rose.

 

On me it's deep earth, freshly turned dirt.. but it's mostly roses. At first the roses were actually fresh, wet, heavy roses.. but as time goes on they become drier. It reminds me of entering an old mausoleum in a graveyard, one that's filled with dried dead roses.. You can still smell the moist earth and such from outside, but the roses are definitely at the front. It's interesting, this scent is not truly wet or dry, but is somehow both..

 

I didn't think I would like this, much. Roses so rarely work on me, and while I love earthy scents I already have so many.. but this is a truly wonderful blend. It may even become my main earthy scent.

Edited April 16, 2009 by ShadowsDance

[milo]

I should know better to even put an oil on my skin that contains a dirt note. I guess some would be happy to amp dirt, but definitely not me. The rose was there initially, but scattered into the background in fright I think. Not for me. Off to swaps.

[Tallen]

I tried this the other night and I think I like it quite a bit...

 

First impression: Smelled strongly like freshly mown grass and damp earth...with a spicy undertone.

 

Dried: The grassy smell has gone, leaving a sexy, spicy scent, almost like sandalwood incense. I really like it at this stage.

 

On the whole, I'll definitely wear this again. Different.

[kelpsoda]

Huh. I get very little dirt from this. There's a bit to begin with, but then it turns into pure rose. Unfortunately, rose doesn't do well on my skin.

[Dianora]

Wow. This is pure perfection in a bottle. I'm so glad I took the plunge and bought a 5ml, because I'm going to be wearing this alot. In the bottle, this smells like a slightly sweeter version of Graveyard Dirt, rich and earthy and just gorgeous. When it goes on, it continues on as GYD's twin sister for about five minutes before the roses show up. Oh, the roses! They are fresh, dewy and luminous! The mosses and greenery add a touch of spice to this simple scent, making it really shine. My nose is pretty much glued to my wrist.

 

I knew I'd love this, as roses and dirt are probably my two favourite notes, and I'm so very, very glad this is a GC. This is glorious.

[donnatron]

Imp: Dirt. Lots of wet, mossy dirt.

 

Wet: No more dirt. Only rose here. A very nice, powdery tea rose. I can smell a very, very faint hint of the dirt in the background.

 

Dry: This winds up being a pleasant combo of rose and dirt. A bit metallic but overall a sort of interesting, offbeat rose scent. The dirt and moss add some needed depth to the rose and make this a bit more debauched than a straight up tea rose would be.

 

Throw: Average.

 

Overall: I like it okay. It's calmed down since I first received the imp--it was All Rose All The Time. Now I like the balance and can see wanting to smell like this every once in awhile but not enough to justify a bottle.

[sylvanusurban]

In bottle: I can smell the dirt note! Strange.

 

On me, wet: Not too different from the in-bottle smell, so far. Smells like dried roses and dirt.

 

On me, drying: I can smell the moss now, along with the roses and dirt. I don’t know that I’ll want to smell like this on a regular basis, but it’s really interesting and well done. It smells like a box full of old memories and secrets. Intriguing and mysterious and old.

 

Later: The dirt smell is receding, leaving behind the dried rose. The smell might be turning a bit soapy? Finally it fades to the same vague sweet smell that many of BPAL’s scents seem to share in their late stages.

 

Verdict: I don't know how often I'll want to wear this, but I'll keep the imp around -- this is a neat scent. Maybe I'll use it to scent some of my boxes or drawers.

[Lamia]

Without having checked the ingredients, I tested and went "Ha, wet dirt, what else would Zombi smell like?" (Besides rotting flesh, of course, for which I am most grateful that THAT note was omitted!)

 

This wet earth, but not sodden miserable clay or thin sticky mud, it's cheerful rain-soaked loam. My guess is that it's the rose that cheers this scent up lol All earth, all the time, with a smile.

[Seismogenic]

Considering this is thought of as one of the quintessential BPAL dirt scents, there's really no excuse as to why I've waited this long to try it.

 

In the imp: Soft black dirt with wilting rose petals.

 

Wet on skin: Very fine-particled black dirt, a bit dusty, with the slightest bit of rose.

 

Drydown: Freshly dry, the predominant notes have swapped places. This is now mostly a subdued wilted rose with a backdrop of soft black dirt. At one hour in, it's mostly the same - soft subdued rose over soft dusty dirt.

 

Five hours later: Faint wilted rose petals. The dirt seems like it's still hiding back there, but only if I sniff really hard. The whole thing is pretty faint.

 

End of the day: Gone.

 

Overall: I can't honestly say I associate zombies with roses, but then again, these could be the sort of zombies that end up taking over Victorian novels or something. But yes, the balance here was skewed far too much toward roses for my hopes, and not nearly as much dirt as I would have expected. While it's definitely an appropriately wilty rose scent for the context, I suspect I will still be swapping this.

[redward]

Zombi

 

My first BPAL fail, so of course, I just spilled the imp on my mouse pad.

 

In the imp: dirt and roses

 

wet: roses

 

dry: roses

 

Why is this a fail? The rose smells like rotting things to me. Like the sickly sweet fruit rot smell. I love rose, but not this one. I shall have to watch out for other blends with this particular rose note in them and then avoid them!

[topazphoenix]

Whoa, this smells exactly like dirt and roses. It's amazing what the Lab can do! I can't get over the dirt note. It's just so...different. Not pleasant or unpleasant. Just clean dirt, wet after a rain, with roses. I mean, I don't have anything against dirt but I don't go around with my nose stuck in it either. Right on application it was like a host of the undead were walking around...but now the dirt note has faded into clean, nearly indiscernable sun baked earth, and the roses got sweeter and slight more powdery. Smells kinda like a garden! The whole concept of this blows my mind! How incredibly awesome. I hated the dirt note in Nosferatu but this one just works.

[sarajane]

For a dirt scent, this is gorgeous.

 

It smells like dirt after a rain, and slight rose.

 

It's very pretty. It's a testament to Beth's skill as a perfumer.

[jennytheonly]

For me, this one is just overwhelmingly ROSE. On skin the rose almost completely overwhelms the nice dirt smell, and since I don't like florals, this is so not for me.

 

But, if rose is your favorite, this would probably be lovely, since it's a dried, sophisticated kind of rose - something different.

[tajana]

Wet, it's light, bright, and clean take on green. Mossy, but illuminated. As it starts to dry down I get a hint of freshly turned earth, right after it's rained. The combination of moss and rained on earth smells natural but very clean. At this point, I am really enjoying the smell! I was hoping that the dried roses would be more well behaved on me than fresh roses, and they are, to a degree... they don't go oppressively powdery, but there's an oddly sour aspect to this scent that becomes clearer and clearer as it sits on my skin, and I can't help but suspect the rose is responsible. After about half an hour, Zombi has faded to crushed rose petals and clean moss. After an hour, it's all rose with an earthy undertone. Not for me, sadly!

[claudia6913]

Eek, roses! Here's hoping I don't get earth turned with baby powder! In the imp is a sharp dirt smell.

 

Wet on my skin, the dirt definitely comes to the fore with an undercurrent of floral. It's much softer and lighter than I thought it would be. I guess I expected a heavier moist dirt smell. This isn't moist dirt, it's dry dirt running through your fingers at the graveside.

 

Luckily the roses aren't turning to baby powder. Perhaps it's the fact they are dry? I hope so. This is a nice scent, reminiscent of being at my grandmothers. She has potting soil, dirt, and plants everywhere. I like it a lot. Not bottle worthy, but would like to have an imp or two lying around.

[Molls]

in the imp, almost pure dirt. I put it on though and the roses really started to come through. Not my favorite rose but I think it's nice enough to keep the imp.

[Spork]

In the imp it's lovely, dirt with just a hint of floral, not specific enough to say 'rose' though. On skin...well, roseroseroseroseROSE and later, ROSE! with a touch of rose. Well, I amp roses, so what did I expect? had to give it a try though!

[Tanya]

Wow! Something of a surprize. The wonderfully generous lab threw in quite a few imps with my last purchase. I popped this on thinking it would be so-so. What I get is a wondrfully fresh rose garden scent- earthy and clean. Definitely a 5cc purchase. Makes up for the fact that my newly purchased 5cc of Le Serpent Qui Danse went to my best pal as it just didn't work.

[angelicruin]

On my skin, I get very rich soil mingled with soft rose. The dirt note definitely keeps the rose in line. If you are a lover of earthy scents, this is definitely one to try.

 

I'm not one for dirt scents, but I have to admit that I don't mind this one on me at all.

[Nightroad103]

I've had my imp of Zombi since October, and it is one of my more frequently-worn oils. I plan on getting a 5ml of it when I place my next order within a few weeks.

 

In the imp it smells very strongly of roses to me, with the hints of dirt and moss.

Wet on, it's still very rose-y, which is not something I like.

Drydown, the moss and dirt begin to take some forefront, and once it's dry it's a nice blend.

 

It takes a bit for the rose to settle out on me, but usually within an hour or so it's more a moss-and-dirt scent with some rose.

 

Or, if you like, Zombi in five words: Dirt and roses - love it!

[HKB]

MMM smells just like a rose. Some roses smell kind of lemony to me, it smells like that. I've tried a lot of blends with rose, the 'rose' note has to be the most versatile, varied note. Sometimes its a musty rose, sometimes a soft tea rose, sometimes they're acrid and don't work. The rose is in this is one of the best I've tried.

[impolight]

:::ZOMBI:::

 

This fragrance oil is just plain rad.

Although Zombie-chic is conspicuously in vogue, and ZombieLand was a spectacular movie, THIS stuff is easily associated with what someone might particularly expect with Zombies in the more traditional or classic sense.

This is the mountainous heap of blood-red roses adorning the marble archway of the mausoleum...This is the moss-covered inscription, the mouldering lapels, the dusty corset, the bewebbed kiss.

This isn't the hyper-color, hi-speed, splatter-craft of modern day legacy... THIS is the eerie, heart-pounding, skeltal-treed, thunderclap of timeless, gothic horror.

The Rose in this oil is HUMUNGARGANTUAN!!! The moss here complements perfectly, adding just the right degree of tangy sharpness to give this an almost metallic resonance.

On the skin, Zombii is much the same, only bigger; filling the room with a presence seemingly from beyond.

A diabolically yummy fragrance for him OR her.

BPAL has done it yet again.