The Chapel 2008

[dawndie]

You come to a building that seems to have been hastily erected from splintered wood, stone, and plaster. Flickering light from within sparkles out through blood-tinged chunks of glass that have been wedged into the arch entrance. You push open the thick velvet curtain that covers the mouth of the building and look inside. The chapel is small and cramped, and the air is thick with heavy incense, bitter wine, sulphur, and the coppery scent of blood. A massive stained glass window is set against the back wall, glowing brightly.

In the center of the room, a groveling figure is crouched before a woman draped in purple-black clerical robes. The woman's eyes are filled with righteous hellfire, and she extends a hand in benediction to the man who has fallen prostrate at her feet. He murmurs, "Libera Te Ex Caelum", and she gestures for him to rise. As he gets to his knees he winces in pain and moans in a strange expression of ecstasy, and you see small horns growing from his skull.

Black incense, bitter wine, brimstone, and blood.

In bottle: gritty dirt

On skin: wowee, this is a dark blend. The incense is as black as charcoal, smoldering on a stone altar

Half-hour later: sweetens up a bit with the wine, but this is the scariest, spookiest wine blend I've ever tried

In conclusion: this blend sounded almost too dark for me, but I'm hypnotically lured by any wine blend. This one is a great combination of the sweeter wine with the pitch-black eeeevil.

[sarada]

I agree heartily with the first review, and I was drawn into this dark stained glass chapel by the promise of dark wine and unspeakable rites...but so many wine blends become a powdery berry or an overwhelming Grape Ape on me that I did have a vague worry that I'd wind up with another berry blast when I was hoping for unspeakable darkness.

 

This one is all unspeakable darkness, and I love it! This is the really gorgeous deep rich bloody wine I was hoping for, splashed on a gritty, dark background of charred stone and blackened wood. I feel like people should cross themselves when I walk by wearing this. I don't smell anything resembling blood (it does give a nice metallic tang to some blends it is listed in) but the wine is extra super dark bloody red. Initially the more smoky and burnt notes are prominent but as it dries they soften and it becomes a rich, complex earthy smoky wine scent. It speaks of altars and sconces and braziers and light flickering off statues in dark corners, cracked stone and black cloaks. I want to go watch movies with words like "Torture Dungeon," "The Castle of..." and "The Abominable..." in the title when I wear this!

[savage_rose]

Vetiver alert! Vetiver alert! You know, the "Lucy from Peanuts" note? Always holding out the football, and rarely letting you kick it. Yup, that one.

 

Well, it's alive and kicking here in The Chapel, just when you thought it was safe to like wine and incense blends. It's straight up Vetiver at first, strong and menacing. But after I scrub as much off as possible before my nose commits hari kari, I can smell...wine, and a rich red sweetness. Under asphalt and toxic fumes.

 

Ah, Chapel, I almost like you. I want to like you. But...no. What's that, can we be friends? Um, no. And don't call me, I'll call you.

[Brianne]

I didn't buy this one because I usually find myself liking resinous blends but not loving them. I got a sniffie of this though and I have to say I think it's quite nice. Again though - I like it, don't love it. It is pretty dark but also has a bit of a foody edge. It's resinous and dark and incensey but... there is also this sweet, lightly spiced foody note in there that takes the edge off of the darkness I think. I like that combo and it works well in this scent.

[coldandsleepy]

Okay, I picked this up because I love incense scents and resin scents and I was like oooh, an EVIL church smell, I gotta have that!

 

I have not yet managed to bring myself to apply it on my skin. It smells SO. MUCH. LIKE WHISKEY. I thought this might be one of those things where my nose is just way off base, but I had the spouse sniff it too and he agrees that it smells "like a delicious aged scotch." He likes scotch. I think it tastes like soap and smells like burning. Unless The (Whiskey) Chapel changes in an unbelievably dramatic fashion, it's not going to get wearable for me.

 

That said, I am sure there are people out there who like the smell of scotch-- if that's you, then I strongly urge you to get a sniff of this stuff.

[slave1]

THE CHAPEL

 

In Bottle: Deep dark incense

 

On Skin: This defines the color deep, dark red. It is so very extreme! The incense is smoky and fills the room, the base with it’s sticky resin. The wine is old and has gone bad. The brimstone is ashy and hot and finally the blood is thick and congealed. The mood this scent evokes is like no other. Wow, it really just transports me. I think that is a sign of a truly successful blend. Sadly, it’s not my thing… I couldn’t see myself really wearing this. But I do love experiencing it and would love to smell it on someone else, or try making a sachet or scented fan with it. Because I love it much more as just a subtle whiff… Very strong throw and long wearlength.

[sookster]

straight sniff from bottle is dark, indeed....

a very similar blend to samhainophobia or samhain...both of which are favs...

 

once applied i get loads of anise with the deeper, darker notes ... thick, complex and pure love...

 

this perfume could not have been named more appropriately

[tdiym]

I got this as a decant from the new Carnavals, and as soon as I smelled it in the imp, I knew I was going to need bottles ot this!! I totally love dark fragrances, and this one is no exception.

It starts out on me with the wine-y, sourish smell (which I love) and dries down into a deep, sweet, sort of cedary, woody smokiness. It instantly made my favorites list.

I'm going to have to stock up before CD goes away!

 

October 2011 update

I pulled this out last night and had forgotten how much I loved it and still do. It has aged very well and still has that soury-wine which I thought was labdanum until I looked at the description. To me it's smelling like patchouli and labdanum now, still my all time favorites. I am so glad I hoarded got a back up bottle of this!

Edited October 13, 2011 by tdiym

[filigree_shadow]

Hmm. Vetiver and wine, plus a rather chemical-smelling haze. Eek. My skin has some problems with wine scents fairly frequently, and I don't think it likes this one. It has that acidic, bitter scent like wine after it's gone off. This one's not gonna work for me.

[alicia_stardust]

This is deep, dark, swarthy, and a touch menacing. There is a definitely vetiver-like tone, dark and intense, with a bit of incense and a dark pool of bloody, juicy wine. This is an excellent dark, menacing blend and it is very, very intense. I bet it ages really well.

[Lycanthrope]

Oh man, is this one dark.

 

It's vetiverish at the start, over this pure essential distillate of EBIL. Yes, my hackles are raised, this is essence de menacing, bien sur. It really reminds me of something in GC Smokestack, a sort of clean, dusky grittiness touched with that sharp bite of vetiver, and if there is wine in this, it's dry, dry, dry.

 

Combines beautifully into the scent of scared religious fervor.

 

Oh man. Yikes.

[Little Bird]

I just got a decant of The Chapel, because I was pretty sure that it wasn't going to work on me (wine & brimstone are not favorites, and I even have trouble with certain blood and incense notes). This scent actually smells worse on me than I thought it would though. Something about this smells very harsh and chemical-like (almost like rubbing alcohol, but darker) on my skin, especially at first. Then there's a dank, gritty smokiness from the brimstone, followed up by a sour, sickly, rotten fruit sort of smell from the wine. It's a dark and gritty scent on me. Reading over the other reviews, I suppose I can also pick out a dark earthiness that might be vetiver.

 

The Chapel is sort of the worst of all its parts on me. The brimstone is gritty and dirty smelling, the wine is sour, sickly, and rotten, and something else adds an extra flavor of dark, smoky harshness. It's probably an appropriate scent for its story & artwork, but it's not something I could actually wear as a personal scent.

[darkblade]

It starts out dark. It's sharp, but not a smooth sharp blade.. it's one that has jagged chips in it. I'm starting to get burned wood. As it dries, the wine notes come out.. yes, it is a bitter or slightly off wine, but it actually is behaving as a wine, which doesn't usually happen on me. \o/ I'm not getting -anything- like Samhain, though.

 

After a bit, the wine sweetens up a little. Slightly smokey, and aha, there's the granite..

 

About an hour later, it's doing the bits I find awesome in Brimstone, with touches of wine and incense.

 

A few hours later, it's mostly gone. However, this is the fourth new oil to do this on me.. I think I might be dehydrated.

[alexandra]

The Chapel is amazing. I punted for an unsniffed bottle as I loved the idea of it and I am delighted.

 

In the bottle: Oooh, deep and rich - like Green and Black's dark chocolate and cherry liquidised with a dark spice and a sploosh of mellow brandy.

 

Wet on the skin:The Chapel oscillates between deep, sweet, blood-thickened wine and swirling incense on my wrist. Then in pipes, like an infernal church organ, the smell of copper and acrid burning, but only for a few minutes. I feel powerful, like a high priestess. Ahem.

 

Dry: Still has depth but it has settled now into a deep fruit wine, like the home-made elderberry wine a friend of mine makes, with occasional blasts of incense and blood metal.

 

And?: The Chapel is addictive and delicious. It is not scary to me, or that dark, instead it depicts the mouthwatering and sensual temptations of sin and devilry. An S & M blend, or maybe just for grocery shopping, walking tall, with a sinful secret wrapped round me.

 

Stunning.

[nekogrrl]

In imp: very incensy

 

Wet on skin: Incense with a sharp tang which almost makes me sneeze

 

Dry on skin: Almost.. meaty. Meaty with a whiff of sharp/salty.

 

Not my thing.

[starwild]

Imp: MAN that's scary and dark. I'm almost scared to try this.

 

Wet: Bitter, sour wine. A rush of brimstone. This smells like licking the floor of an alcoholic blacksmith's shop would taste.

 

Dry: Kind of rotten and stinking and all evil. There's no way at all this is going to work on me. I kinda knew that when I ordered a decant, but thought I'd try anyway. But it might be a great scent for the right occasion, such as a costume party.

 

Ugh, I have to wash this off. At least I'm safe from needing a bottle!

[twilighteyes]

I was very excited about this one. Incense! blood!

 

Instead I get WINE and SMOKE. I don't mind campfire type smokey blends, but this was more like cigarette smoke on me. Can't stand most wine blends.

 

Nothing reflecting on Beth for my scent phobias -- it's all me and my preferences. Sadly for me, not a keeper.

[lapetiteflower]

this smells like hell. kick-you-in-the-head death-by-vetiver with rot and something medicinal lurking underneath. once it dries down (for a long, long time) you get more of the incense...a dark, infernal incense tinged with brimstone...that isn't entirely unpleasant. but would i really want to suffer through that i've-rolled-in-wet-dead-things smell to get there? i think not...

[naeelah]

As a fan of incense scents, I was definitely intrigued by this. I am determined to find a brimstone blend that works for me.

 

The Chapel starts out like many dark incense blends before it. Soft, sweet, fuzzy resins that gradually darken as it dries. It takes at least 15 minutes or so of drying for the full complexity to open to my nose. From a distance, it still has the same sweet, fuzzy, dark scent -- a little like young Al-Azif, minus the maple. But when you look closer, you realize the foundation is extremely ashy and gritty -- the brimstone. In the darkness of the smoke, I think I can pick out traces of vetiver, but it is not overwhelming, even to my extremely vetiver sensitive skin and nose.

 

The sweetness is almost like bubblegum, and it's making this scent a little bizarre for me. Part of the sweetness seems to be from the wine. There's a grapey, boozy quality, but I believe it's also part of the blood component. The oil itself is a dark orange, and it probably contains a little dragon's blood.

 

And it's STRONG. I put on a dab on the back of my hand and it's screaming "HELLO WELCOME TO THE CHURCH OF SATAN WOULD YOU LIKE SOME CANDY HERE TAKE A HANDFUL!!" It's like, party at the brimstone pool! Whooo!

 

It's growing on me, but it's way sweeter than I wanted it to be and doesn't seem to be working out. In the end, it's like dragon's blood wine and charcoal. Pretty neat, but not quite what I wanted.

[ClareN]

Not a chapel, a pub. An old pub where the wooden tables, walls and floors have been absorbing tobacco smoke and spilled alcohol for at least a century. Beer mostly, but a little wine, and faded smoke and antique wood.

 

Extremely evocative, almost frighteningly so. As I say, it's not so much a chapel to me, but I'm definitely getting a feeling - a scent memory? - of being inside some dark building with a possibly disturbing history. The wine doesn't turn to strong grape candy like wine notes often do; it's subdued and bitter, not sweet. There is something almost sour about this scent, like, again, spilled beer. (I think this is the way my nose is interpreting the combination of vetiver and wine.)

 

If you're looking to smell like the inside of a pub - and I know that some people do love that scent - go straight to The Chapel. It's fascinating, but so very not something I could wear.

[AEris]

WOW this really smells like wine in the decant!! Wet, I swear there's ethanol evaporating off my skin!

 

After it dries down, it's more of a spicy, incense blend. The wine note is still there - a very dry red wine. I smell a hint of vetiver, and for some reason I'm also reminded of mulling spices.

 

This is a little pungent for me, but if I smelled it on some mysterious man-beast I hope I could hold myself back!

 

3.6 out of 5

[Nachtwulf]

I was kind of hoping for Cathedral's dark, twisted brother. This is much more like Brimstone, however... in fact, I barely get any of the 'wine' qualities people have been reporting. It's gritty, sooty, harsh, and difficult to handle for me... and I'm one of those weirdos that LIKES vetiver. (I like Czernabog and Death Adder both!)

 

This, to me, has much more in common to a crowded, smoke-filled pub in Britain than a dark chapel filled with blasphemous rites... but... I'll probably keep trying it in hopes that it'll grow on me. I like the -concept- lots?

[lacyjae]

I want to admit that my first review of this was on my friends-only livejournal, and I'm a bit embarassed by what I wrote but I figure first impressions are everything, right?

 

Oh gods, how much I wanted this. It's almost sexual how much I get just from reading the notes. And oh, oh, The Chapel gives exactly what I need. It's sharp, bitter, stinging wine, heady incense, and dark, acrid smoke. It's like hell, a sin so sweet... I amp the wine, I think, and it's similar to Blood Kiss, if the kiss was smouldering and on the way to damnation.

 

Thankfully I get no vetiver out of this unlike some others, but it's definitely a strong scent. It is NOT something I can just wear - only nights, and only nights when I want a little sin. But for that, I think, The Chapel is perfect.

[PurringPulsar]

The Chapel

 

In the imp: deep rich mature wine. And woods. No vetiver. Reminds me of the rich boozy smell of the wine cellar I visited when I was in Spain.

Wet on skin: oh, this smells just like the deepest, richest red wine. And I mean spot on like wine.

Dry on skin: holy crap it’s like I’ve spilt red wine on my arm! I mean, this smells just like a rich merlot (it’s very much like Wanda), or maybe stronger, probably a port. I can smell the alcohol here, so much so that I wouldn’t wear this for a driving test. For now, no blood or incense, but I do get a hint of something like polished mahogany or ebony. It smells like red wine spilt on a fine wooden table.

After a while: mmm, this smells even more like wine now, but I also get hints of incense. in fact, now it smells like mulled wine! For some reason I get a hint of clove in ‘blood accord’ scents, and it shows up here. I still smell that ebony-like woodsy base (this reminds me of Riding the Goat), and at this point, I am getting lots and lots of myrrh too. The incense notes are dark, like rich black resins, but they don’t smell charred…they smell aged. Like ancient resin, like what you’d find on a mummy. Blackened by time, not fire.

The scent gradually changes, the wine note tones down and the incense comes forth. And what gorgeous incense. It’s the same blackened myrrh but now I smell frankincense too, and something almost like beeswax church candles, a soft scent of smouldering and some of the incense turning to ashes. I love incense, so this stage has me huffing my arm like mad.

I don’t really get much vetiver-just a tad maybe but it is subtle-but then the scent smells a little bit less like resins and more like bonfires, probably the brimstone note. I also smell more of the ‘blood’ at drydown, which in here is a wonderful fruity-musky-clove accented with raspberries and red wine, and a touch of metal.

Verdict: this scent first started out as single note red wine, but then turned into one of the most gorgeous wine-soaked incense scents out there. The wine note is so genuine at the start, boozy, the kind of scent that goes straight to your head! I am impressed at it’s accuracy, but wonder if it’s drowned out the other notes. Thankfully, these other notes then surface, the incense really comes out and mixes with the wine. I love how old-smelling the incense is in here, rich and resinous with a hint of wood. The wine and incense are enhanced by the blood and brimstone respectively. The blood accord with it’s fruity red/metallic/spicy/musky tones plays very well with the wine, the smoky smouldering brimstone mingles with the incense. A wonderfully dark, sinful and intoxicating incense and wine scent, which I imagine will age wonderfully.

Emoticon rating: and

Is it a keeper? Mmm, oh yeah. At least two bottles please.

If you like this, try: Wanda, Parliament of Monsters, Ligur, Valentine of Rome, The Contract of Theophilius, Mort de Cesar, Blood Garden

Edited September 1, 2008 by yeahbutnobut

[Miss Lynx]

Whoa -- this is one very heavy scent. My first thought was that it's sort of like the bastard offspring of Cathedral and Centzon Totochtin, because it's got that sticky, rich but slightly rank, blood-and-booze scent of CT layered over incense, but that still doesn't quite do justice to it, because this incense is really evil-smelling.

 

Looking at the above, it looks like I'm saying it smells bad, but really it doesn't. I think I kind of like it. Though maybe I'm just weird that way.

 

After settling into my skin for a little while, the different notes blend together a little better, and it's really interesting then. Very incensey, but in a deep, dark, sinister way. Maybe a bit like what Malediction could have been like if it didn't smell, well, awful on me. Or maybe more like what I would have expected Al-Azif to smell like before I actually smelled it (compared to this, Al-zif is positively sweetness and light).

 

There's a touch of something almost leathery underneath it, and a very slight element of sweetness, but of a dark, faintly unsavoury sweetness, like overripe fruit. Oddly, there are similarities to several scents I don't like (Malediction I already mentioned, plus a touch of Samhainophobia and maybe Graveyard Dirt), and yet I find it more likable than any of those.

 

All in all, this really conjures up (so to speak) the image it's supposed to. BPAL have done a lot of scents that are supposed to redolent of evil magic or dark cultists, but I don't think they've ever hit it quite so squarely on the mark as with this one. I think it may be tainting my soul -- and I'm kind of enjoying it.

 

It's definitely not something I'd wear every day, but I think I'll hange onto my decant for the times when I'm feeling seriously evil.

 

Grade: B/B+