Zombi

[Meg]

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

This is the first BPAL scent that really grabbed my attention. Something that smells like death? An absolute must-try!

In bottle: red roses, dirt and moss mixed together, smelling fresh, as if it had just rained on an upturned grave.

Wet: Lots of roses, they overpower any other scent at first.

Drydown: Zombi dries down to a rather powdery scent, clearly smelling of dry roses now. The earth and moss are subdued, they waft in and out of focus from the background, reminding us that this isn't a happy rose - it's a mourning rose from a cemetary. It also reminds you of dust - as if a bouquet of red roses had been left in a musty attic to dry out.

Overall: I adore it. I wasn't sure if I'd like roses on me, but this one really works. For those who are looking for a melancholy perfume, it's perfect. It creeps into your nose in wafts from time to time and creates a great atmosphere: the roses are sobered by musty undertones, making it a quietly, sad perfume. I probably don't make the earth/moss scents come out as strongly as other people, considering that some people say that it makes them "smell like the dead" - I didn't have that impression at all, I just felt that I smelled of earthy dry rose. This has immense staying power, too.

[Dark Seraphim]

Beautiful earth scent mixed with rose. A perfect combination. Does fairly well on my skin as the throw is strong and remains a decent rose. Doesn't seem to last as long as other scents though.

Still, it is a great burner scent. Works for me. 9/10.

[Voleuse]

In the vial, this smells exactly like a bowlful of dried rose petals. On first application, however, there's also mossy, earthy wet scent--exactly as described. The name is a hint, but this is very evocative of an old cemetary, a little wild on the edges, and the earth squelching a little from a recent rain.

 

Over time, it gets a little mossier, muddier even. The roses are at a distance, now, and they're decaying. This is an incredibly mournful scent. I'm not sure if I like it, exactly, but I am impressed by it.

[merebrillante]

In the vial: Green, like a vegetable patch in summer.

 

On the wrist: Still green, but more of the roses are coming out, giving it almost a metallic feel.

 

Later: Gone in sixty minutes.

[furygrrl]

In the Imp: Yup. Just like the reviews previous to mine have mentioned - smells like roses and dirt.

 

Wet: More roses and dirt, only stronger. I can feel my nose wrinkling - some other scent is swirling into the mix and taking precedence, something...metallic? Mineral-y? It's sharp and kinda yucky smelling - though strangely familiar - whatever it is.

 

Drydown: Roses. Faint dirt and/or moss. Something else I can't place. Something...stinky.

 

Overall: I'm too much of a zombie fan to let one test decide whether or not this blend will work on me. I'll give the imp another go in the near future, but will admit that I'm not exactly digging the smell currently wafting up from my wrists.

[magdalene]

in the bottle: dirt. With some roses.

 

wet on skin: THIS is what Burial should have smelled like! In my head, anyway. The roses keep the earth smell from smelling too...umm...earthy. And the dirt keeps the roses from being too sweet.

 

dry: you got your dirt smell in my roses! You got your rose smell in my dirt!

[aedes]

Yup! Dirt and roses! It's interesting, and I think I'll hang onto it despite it being outside my normal scent sphere... thing. It's like a more wearable, more feminine Burial. I almost didn't let my guy smell it on me because he hated Burial, but he loved Zombi. Told me specifically to keep it. So there you go! Would probably be better in spring or fall. I think.

[fiddlehead]

Dirt, moss and roses, very well balanced to my nose. The smell of this reminds me of kneeling in the wet dirt and planting a rose bush in my yard. I can even smell the moss on the big oak tree! It wafts up at me all day, scents my clothes and makes me very happy On rainy, gloomy days it evokes a wistful, slightly melancholy vibe and on sunny days it's like a herald of Spring. There is nothing I don't like about this scent, and my husband love it on me. And now that I have a 5ml I can stop worrying about using my imp up!

[nekhbet]

In the bottle: Something sharp and sour... vinegar?

 

On me: Dirt and vinegar. And no rose.

 

I'm sad now. I may cry.

[silver_springs]

I wanted to like Zombi. I really did. Ever since being introduced to BPAL, I've been interested in trying this scent. And then a couple of days ago I get a frimp of it from a lab order.

 

On me Zombi smells like generic household cleaner. Very chemical. Nothing at all like the description. And it wasn't anything like I was expecting. Needless to say it did not work on me. So off to the swap it went. Hopefully it'll work for someone else.

[Mary Mayhem]

I've really been into the dirt scent ever since Nosferatu. I wanted something like Nosferatu, only different. (I still love me some Nosferatu!)

 

In the bottle:

Not much of a smell at all. I smell the dirt i smelled in Nosferatu, only cleaner. No floral scent:

 

On skin - Wet: I'm really not getting much of a throw from this. I smell a bit of the dirt with a bit of rose. Not in the least floral. A very light frangrence.

 

On skin - Drying: I smell a bit of citrus tang, it's nothing offending. It's actually nice. The rose starts to lift up a bit, it's a very very very light rose.

 

This is a very dry, chillly scent. There's absolutely nothing warm about it, but it makes me smile non the less. It's actually a bit bright. There is some citrus in there, and at times it can go detergenty (depending on my outlook, I think) and at times it can just be the mix of the rose and citrus. They're fighting each other on my wrist right now, close to my skin, citrus, wafting - rose. Not much dirt left after the dry down.

 

I dig this. Not as much as Nosferatu, but this has it's own groove, and I like it.

 

I'll edit in an hour after final dry down.

[smallvoice]

Love the name, and the description, and the concept of the category. I so desperately wanted to love the scent; alas, it was not to be. When something with a "dirt" note touches my skin, I need a shower and I smell like I've been dusting a very dirty house. Now, in the case of Zombi, that house may have flowers in it, but the flowers simply don't make the dust worthwhile. I really would like to find a sort of "dirty" scent that works on me, though. I really wish this had been the one.

 

(Just imagine...

 

"Your perfume smells great! What's it called?"

"Zombi."

"No, really. What's it called?"

"Zombi."

"...oh."

 

le sigh)

[Mountaingrrl00]

The dirt smell in this (which I also get in Graveyard Dirt and Jazz Funeral) has become my favorite BPAL note. As someone who grew up in a very dry climate, it evokes the rare and magical smell of earth that is damp and fertile.

 

There's a vegetable element to this - a smell of decay and new life, like turning a compost pile in the Spring. I'm reminded, too, of a neighbor's root cellar where I liked to hide when I was little.

 

I get a bit of wet stone from this, too. The rose isn't too prominent on me, but gentle and dry, with just a hint of sweetness.

 

This works beautifully with my chemistry - I can hardly believe how good I smell.

 

The throw is medium, which is how I like it for an everyday scent. It doesn't last very long, so I'll want to carry a vial of this with me.

[moon_lemming]

I have nothing new to add to the reviews -- Zombi is freshly turned earth (EARTH, not just "dirt"), dried roses, and moss. As it dries, the roses pop a little.

 

Definitely something you have to be in the mood to wear; I'm keeping the imp. I'll have to see how much I use it before I decide whether to get more, but it's too interesting not to have around at all.

[PrettyPenny]

Yep! Wet dirt and dried roses with a slight perfumy background. When I first put it on, it made me a little naseous, but as it dried I began to really like it. Zombi is definitely not something I could wear everyday, but it's difinitely worth trying every once in a while.

[Heretic]

In the vial: Wow. It smells like dirt.

On my wrist, wet: It really does smell like fresh, moist, overturned earth with the faintest faded rose poking through. I live across the street from a cemetery where I walk my dog in the evenings. I know this smell very well.

After 20 minutes: Roses in the ground. Amazing. These are not fussy, pruned, prize roses from a lady's garden, these are melancholy, discarded blooms left to die on a grave. And for all that morose imagery, it's a beautiful, full smell that is blooming delightfully on my wrist.

After an hour: What an utterly beautiful bit of alchemy Zombi is. Fresh earth and faded roses at twilight. Simply gorgeous. I just ordered a 5 ml of it.

[Naamah_Darling]

This is utterly wonderful, even in the bottle. Because it is so strange and complex, and almost dirty in the bottle, I wasn't sure about it at first sniff, so I tucked the imp away to wait for another occasion. Now that I have time to sit and consider it on its own basis, I'm getting roses and turned earth, and a green, loamy scent. This is gloriously earthy and rich.

 

On, the roses come bursting out, not a green rose smell, but a dark red one, underscored with the most utterly dank peat-moss smell. This is like closing your fingers in fresh-turned earth. A leafy smell gradually peeks out, but doesn't become overwhelmingly green. It's still all earth and roses. Amazing. Like nothing I've ever smelled.

 

I definitely want a bottle of this – the perfect balance of bright and dark. Hands plunged into fertile earth, rose petals in the mouth. Rich shade and silence.

[Prolixity]

In the bottle: Old dried roses, soft and herbal.

Wet on skin: Soft clean roses ... and fresh dirt. o.o

Dry on skin: Ohhhh, this is lovely. Like sticking my nose in a real rose, one of the huge, fragrant old-fashioned kind.

Over time: I'm not getting much of the earth and moss. Just big, fluffy, soft, dry rose.

Overall: Most of the rose scents I've ever tried either go to powder on me or get suffocatingly powerful. Zombi has settled into a nice, soft, delicate, true-rose scent, with that lovely rich earth note underneath. I don't need a bottle, because I don't wear rose that often, but it's a definite winner. 4/5

[deadite]

This is my favorite BPAL scent so far. What sealed the deal was when someone told me I smelled like a graveyard but in a good way...hehe

[grrrlennyl]

at first: lots of dirt a hint of moss.

on: dirt! tons of moist, brown dirt. there's a touch of rose, too.

1.5 hours later: just barely a whiff of rose and a whiff of dirt.

2.5 hours later: gone.

overall: ok, so...i'm keeping this one because i adore it while it lasts. i'll definitely need to keep reapplying, though.

[septima_pica]

So I bought this one on the advice of many of y'all here on the forum when I was looking for dirt. Thanks very much!

 

Upon application, it has a peculiar cloying note that I can't quite figure out and don't much like. However, this disappears by the time it's dry, leaving a really nice mixture of roses and swampy dirt - not quite the same dirt as in Nosferatu, in that instead of damp sweet dirt, it's sodden and mossy. The roses are soaked too, and crushed...there's just enough of the cloying sweetness left to suggest their incipient decay. As time goes on, though, the dirt fades and leaves only roses. The ultimate effect is less of the swampy moss-roses it was earlier, and more like my parents' rose-garden after rain - roses blown, wet, falling to the wet clayey ground. Mostly rose, though.

 

I like it, but not as much as I liked Nosferatu. Keeping the imp, but not buying a bottle. The quest for more dirt continues...

 

Edit: You know, this one is growing on me. A lot. As in, this is the best rose I've ever smelt. The dirt and moss make the rose smell so much more real and juicy than any of the other roses I've tried. I didn't think I liked rose until I started wearing this; it was always too girly and perfumey. This one's real, the way roses smell on their own.

I think I may need a bottle of this; I find myself choosing it frequently and trying to conserve the imp. Also I salvage and dry cut roses whenever I can, and this gives a truly uncanny effect when you put a drop of it right in the heart of a dried rose -- it's such a live rose scent that it smells like a rose zombie!

Edited March 28, 2006 by septima_pica

[abbycomix]

My good friend gave me hers after I tried it on and coudn't stop raving about it. Yay! This is the first BPAL dirt note I've ever smelled and whoah! It really is just like dirt at first. Magic! But soon the dirt faded into a very nice rose. I tend to prefer fruit over florals, but this is a standout rose for me! Also, love the name...

[Memnet]

When I first opened this all I could smell is dirt. Not a great beginning as I'm not overly fond of the dirt scents. I put the lid back on and vigorously shook the bottle. Once well shaken...in the bottle...the scent of roses with the moss scents is an almost medicinal, plastic scent. Wet on my skin, the plastic and medicinal scent morphs almost immediately and becomes a rose scent. The other scents stay more in the background but they add a different tang to the rose scent. On total dry down, this takes on a scent that reminds me of a rose that had been lying in the dirt, picked up from the ground, brushed off and pressed between the pages of a book where it had been for years, becoming dry and lifeless... but to whomever opens the book, still offering up its rose scent, mixed with just a hint of earth.

 

A rose scented oil with a uniqueness all its own. It's nice.

[pale]

In bottle: roses and wet earth. not mud, but very damp, fresh turned rich soil.

 

On me: dried pink and red rosebuds, more wet earth, and a little bit of moss. The earth notes soften and then the roses come out more. But these arent the pillaging roses of something like Yerevan. Mellow, with a bright edge to them but not overpowering. One of the few BPAL florals that seems to work for me. On a scale of 1-10, definitely an 8 or so. Am considering a 5ml for sure.

[MissMorbus]

Zombi

 

A frimp from the lab.

 

In bottle: Dirt with some roses.

 

On skin: The roses really come out to play on my skin. It is the same rose I smell in London. The dirt is still there. It reminds me of rose bushes that are freshly planted, even though I have never planted a rose bush. I don't enjoy wearing a strong rose scent, but I really do like this scent. I like rose in a small amount, as in I like a good whiff of it every now and then. I think I would end up with a massive headache if I tried to wear it. I am thinking about putting it on a cotton ball in some musky old drawers I have in my house. This scent would be perfect stored in an old wooden box or drawer.

 

ETA:

 

Hmm...I was just re-reading this, and realized perhaps what I need to do is find a really woody scent and layer it with Zombi. Hmm...I will keep that in mind.

And also, I panicked just a little when I used my imp to make a quick sachet sort of thing for my yarn drawer. Perhaps I will have to get a bottle for home use. I will put it on my list, but I'm going to wait to see if I like what it does for my musty old yarn drawer.

Edited March 11, 2006 by MissMorbus