Zombi

[Dark Sparkle]

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

There is something about this scent that is a bit *off*, maybe it's the rose, because it is so thin and dry. I really want to love this scent, but it is not really for me - the rose is just too dry, almost sour, and all I can smell on my skin is the rose .


It is a very evocative scent though, I can easily picture a decadent, somewhat vain zombie wearing this and even though I cannot picture myself wearing this, there is something that draws me towards this scent, it's beautiful in a weird, musty way, melancholic and otherwordly.

[tesao]

in the imp: erg. something literally SHOT into my nose. green. sharp. unpleasant.

 

on my wrist, wet: the same thing. that one note overpowers everything. i can't even smell the scent that i put on my other wrist. i can't smell my COFFEE. all i can smell is that POWERFUL green sharp as a needle smell.

 

on my wrist, dry: now the smell of dried roses appears. although i like the rose scent, the other one is still over everything else. i looked it up, just to see what i was thinking when i ordered it. i thought that i would like earth and moss. i think i was wrong.

 

i normally wait to see what the dry down is like, but in this case i simply couldn't. it was just waaaaaaaaay too much.

Edited May 8, 2005 by tesao

[Aredhel]

Rating (on skin): 0/5

Summarised in a word or two: Roses and dirt.

 

In the imp/bottle: Decaying roses and dirt.

 

On skin, wet: I can only describe this as... sweet dirt. Rotting roses covered in suagr and thrown in damp, freshly turned earth.

 

On skin, dry: Sweet, rosy earth. Unique, but terribly unpleasant.

 

Conclusion: There's no way on Earth I'd want to smell like rotting roses and wet dirt.

Edited December 17, 2005 by Aredhel

[Laurel the Woodfairy]

I *really* like Zombi, but not for the reasons I expected. I wanted it b/c I had heard it might be a bit like Havisham. It isn't, at least not on me, although the lovely dried-rose note would be appropriate for Miss H. herself. What was surprising is that both Brian and I got a strong iced tea note! He said it reminds him of Curve for Women perfume--which he likes b/c it's a bit unusual, as is Zombi. We agree it's gender-neutral; the dried rose fades into soft moss and earth quickly. And the curious iced-tea topnote, whatever may be creating that effect, makes it a surprise hit as a summer fragrance--perfect for chilling in your favorite graveyard hangout on a hot night.

 

[nineveh]

This starts out as an extremely sharp rose note that reminds me of hairdye. I get the feeling that it's the rose leaf doing that. I don't get much depth from this.

 

After a bit, the sharpness tones down somewhat, and I think I can smell the dirt. The scent is starting to get better, but there's something here that smells like aftershave. Despite the roses, this becomes a masculine scent to my nose. If the sharpness went away completely, I would probably like this a lot more.

 

I was really looking forward to Zombi, but I had pictured a calmer, darker, deeper scent. I hope that my forthcoming imp of Nosferatu will be the dirt scent for me.

[dreadeddragon]

In the bottle: Soapy dirt. WTF? How can something smell like soapy dirt?

 

First on: Oh, there's the roses. The soapy dirt is gone. In fact, everything is gone except for rose.

 

Drydown: Oh this is nice. I doubt I'll order a bottle, because I hardly wear florals and I now have this, Ouija & Wildfire, but I'm keeping it and might order an imp from time to time. The dirt and oakmoss calm the rose down nicely. I think I really like oakmoss.

[tinyvulture]

this reminds me a lot of nosferatu, as the main scent in both is dirt. but while nosferatu reminds me of an old, abandoned grave, this is more like a fresh, new grave. the dirt smells cleaner and greener. the dries roses make it a more feminine alternative to nosferatu. it’s somber, but also sweet and wistful. i’d love a candle that smells like this. the only bad thing was that it faded quickly – after 20 minutes all that remained was a faint rose scent.

[Janie]

Add another "just like the description" comment.

 

How on earth do you make an oil that smells of dirt? Just how does one do that? An interesting scent, one that is quite light, and yet quite earthy at the same time. I wish it lasted longer, but if wishes were horses ...

[Cagedflame]

My first scent. In the bottle, strong scent of rose, slightly powdery. Cut rose a bit past its prime.

 

On me, wet, it morphs into this gross, chemically scent that reminds me of some sort of household cleaner like Pledge and lemons. Ew. Stays that way for a bit after drying, then it's just strong (slightly chemical still) rose. In an hour or so, it's changed finally to what I was hoping for : a dusty dried rose.

 

This does definitely last. I put it on around 8 last night and it's almost 8am now and I can still smell it on my wrist.

[pickman's model]

Oh, I loooove this. It smells exactly like dry-ish recently turned earth and dried roses. To an almost disturbing degree.

 

When I first put it on, I was taken back to my favourite graveyard in July.

 

As it dried, I got more rose and the lightest "book" note.

 

I need a big bottle very, very badly.

[13bodies]

My first review! I'm a bit nervous here...

 

in the imp: Very strong rose scent. For a minute I thought I'd opened Lucy's Kiss instead. That calmed down after a minute and it now smells like roses and earth

 

wet: Still roses, but not too sweet. I can smell wet earth and a hint of dried leaves

 

drydown: I can't stop smelling my wrist! Dry roses with a hint of dried leaves and earth. One person here at work said I smell like the Christmas ornament boxes when she takes them out of storage in the winter. I love roses, but strong sweet rose scents tend to give me headaches. This seems to be the perfect compromise. And it lasts almost all day. Gotta get a big bottle now!

[k00kaburra]

In bottle: Dried roses and assorted mosses combine to form...apples? Man, my scent association is mad-crazy today. After the initial sniff my nose works again and the sense of apples is no more. Just dried rose petals sprinkled on the ground, probably over a grave. Mmmm. Disturbingly nice.

On me: I really like the way the rose scent changes when it's dried. There's a sweetness and a crispness that doesn't come through in the same way in fresh or wet roses. Meanwhile, the oakmosses and earth give this such a unique scent - floral, but not at all typical. Almost a bit spicy - there's a hint of some sort of tartness, a bit of something extra in the way oakmoss blends in with the rest. I don't care to wear this, but I do appreciate the blend.

[skjeve]

This is the fourth imp I've tried, and the first to really impact me. I am utterly in love with this scent! It's unique/different enough to capture my eclectic taste (honestly, how many people deliberately go about smelling like dirt?) and sophisticated enough to keep me happy.

 

I've worn it three times, to be sure my reaction is consistently the same, and it most assuredly is. The scent doesn't change much on my skin from the bottle, but there is a tiny shift in emphasis from earth to rose- very gradual, over the space of a couple of hours. I haven't noticed the particularly sharp/acrid note that a few other reviewers have- there is a bit of a high, green scent- almost a taste, oddly- immediately from the imp, but that's not noticeable on my skin, thankfully.

 

The first impression is similar to many others'- freshly turned earth, very wet; very rich. The rose emerges quite soon after that, particularly once applied to skin, and those two predominant notes remain fairly evenly balanced, the rose gradually edging out the earthy-scent as time passes. There is something else that I can't identify, hiding behind those two and peeking out now and again- perhaps the source of that initial greenish scent. Whatever it is, it adds a bit of mystery. I like it.

 

This scent reminds me of a graveyard or garden just after rain. It's a fresh and slightly mournful scent... wistful, I think is a better word. Thoughtful and quiet.

 

I adore this scent. Am counting my pennies to buy a 10ml; I think this is the daily scent I've been looking for.

[tropicalstorm]

In the bottle: dirty goodness.

 

Skin: Wet. The scent of deep, brown, wet earth full of decaying organic matter, almost like a garden in New Orleans that has gone to seed.

 

Skin: Dry. Still mostly a dirt scent. Usually rose is amplified on my skin but in this blend it smells more like dust.

 

Verdict: I like this a lot. Such an uncommon scent. I like to mix it with the different rose blends to amp the rose in Zombi. I put this my mineral deodorant spray, I find the scent balances out body odor really well. I have been meaning to buy a big bottle of this for while.

[wickedgoddess]

Wow! This just knocks my socks off. To me, this is the loveliest rose of all. Whereas Rose Red didn't work for me, this is just gorgeous. Roses and dirt; it smells just like my garden. The roses are rich and true and the dirt smell is subtle but grounding. This is dark, rich, fresh-turned earth, fertile and full of earthworms. But the rose is always front and center. My only complaint is that this is another scent that doesn't last too long on me. By the two hour mark it's only a memory. While I don't plan on getting a big bottle of this right now, I would consider it down the road.

 

On the wickedgoddess scale of 1 to 5, with 5 being the best, this rates a 4.

[RainyDayGrey]

In the bottle: Roses, and green earthy moss.

 

Wet: The dirt comes out to mingle with the roses and moss.

 

Drydown: This one doesn't change much. It's just a beautiful earthy rose scent. Good throw, pretty long lasting.

 

Overall: I was pretty intrigued by Zombi the moment I read the description. Love roses and dirt, and moss. I would have been down right shocked if I hadn't loved this one. And I do, it's now officially my favorite rose scent, and thats saying alot. I feel like a wonderfully smelly earthy goddess when I wear this. It's also good with a bit of Graveyard Dirt over the top if your wanting to up the dirt factor.

[olympia301]

Just does smell exactly like earth and roses. When you are working in the garden, you smell this scent around June when you have roses and (guess what) dirt. Quite a daring and successful blend. Dirt is "big" as a perfume nowadays, and Zombi lasts like crazy on me. somehow I don't get the moss, but maybe I haven't trained my nose to "get" it yet.

Edited June 18, 2005 by olympia301

[iliadawry]

Bottle: Enter DIRT and ROSES. DIRT and ROSES embrace. Fervently.

 

Wet: Enter MOSS (dir's note: cast small person). MOSS wriggles between DIRT and ROSES, prying them apart slightly and making them overpower one another slightly less.

 

Dry: It's warm and mellowed -- the notes are all still there, but they've mingled and smoothed out.

 

This scent is FANTASTC. Such a keeper.

 

/ili

[porcelain_doll]

Mmmmmmmm--nothing new to tell that hasn't already been said, but I'm putting my two cents in anyway! Initial sniff--roses, roses, roses. And dirt. Freshly dug dirt. I remember, when I was just getting ready to turn 13, I took some small, pink tea roses from the bush in our front yard and took the petals and placed them in a small dish. A sudden summer storm kicked up, and I went back inside. Forgot about the roses for the rest of the day, and when I went back out to "see" how they were, some of them had disintigrated. That's what Zombi smells like. If you sniff really hard, beneath it all, there's the slightest, just slightest hint of what could be ozone. I know it's not in the notes, but that's what I'm getting. Call me crazy--not like it hasn't been done before.

 

porcelain_doll

[anshara]

In the imp: Uh-oh earth very sour earth...... I think I might not like this.... But I have to give it the old college try, so on the skin in goes:

Wet: YIKES!!!! Amped up sour earth note, smells almost like rancid citrus, strangely enough......... I think I like it.

Drydown: nearly immediately (about ten to fifteen seconds) the sour edge mellowed and the moss comes out beneath aquatic roses.... WOW was my initial impression wrong.... I love the complexity of this. The roses give the impression of dryness without actually being dry..... There is a cool slightly damp sensation with every inhalation of the scent.... I am in awe. I didn't think that an earthy rose scent would be advisable for hot weather, but I had to slather this because every whiff is like a windswept graveyard at midnight after a storm... I'm cooler just smelling it.

[moukin]

This is a rather wonderful scent! It's amazing how well the feeling of earth and decay and burial are captured in this scent.

 

On me at first, the very deep, damp earthiness of it is a bit overwhelming, but the rose gradually starts to take over.

 

After all is said and done, the dried rose is the only thing left on me.

 

It's such an interesting scent, but after trying this and Nosferatu, I think I should stay away from scents that smell so much like real dirt/earth. It's not that I think it's a bad smell at all, just that I can't be too sure if I want to smell like it on purpose.

 

Perhaps I'm going about this the wrong way and ought to try these as room scents.

[Eros]

Another beauty!

 

Opening the imp~strong smell of saturated, musty earth.

On skin, very light at first, hard to get a sniff. Very light rose & moss. So, I put a little more on

 

After about 20 minutes it blossoms into a beautiful, deep rose in, again, wet, musty earth. Nice throw and stayed with me all day. Eventually turned into dead roses in a box(lovely!)...then later, water, from a clear running stream, to finally...a light musky...vanilla?? and musty rose.

The first 20 minutes or so, it reminded me a bit of my newest love, House of Night. A not quite grown up HoN.

Picture Lucy from Coppola's, Bram Stoker's Dracula. Dead, in her wedding gown. This is her perfume.

Beautiful!

 

At the final stage, definitely gender neutral. On a man, I imagine one who's elegant, graceful...dead...but so irresistible.

[~AmusedMuse~]

Maybe as an incense scent but this one I'm afraid I will have to stay away from

[SeaMonkey]

I was hoping it would be more earth and less rose, but apparently my body amplifies rose until everything else disappears. All I could smell was roses. I had to wash it off

[tempete]

Zombi smells of dried roses initially - it's most definitely dried roses, rather than live, lush roses. The earthy notes appear in the drydown and the dried rose note is relegated to the background. It's not as earthy as I expected, given the other reviews. In fact, it reminds me a lot of The Apocathery, except with the dried rose note instead of fig.