Hand of Glory

[Scylla]

Beeswax, dry leather, black pepper, saltpeter, nutmeg, Mysore sandalwood, and oak bark.

I just don't know how to describe this. It fits the inspiration so perfectly - a desiccated hand, yellowed and rough with sinew, dripping wax, and the sulfuric stench of a lit match... The bark note is dead on. Independently of reading the notes, I was thinking that I smelled bark. Indeed! It grows smokier after a few minutes. The hand, full of unholy mischief, does more than light the way; somehow, a fire starts. Parchment and dry leaves go up in flame; black ashes and soot scatter.

Several hours later, the smoke and decay are gone, leaving behind a soft, mellow beeswax.

This is an eerie, disquieting scent and quite an experience to follow through its various stages.

Suileach's review fits my feelings about Hand of Glory EXACTLY.

I love the concepts of all the Wunderkammer scents, but this one... it is totally dead on and evocative--and it FREAKS ME THE HELL OUT!

[Eemia]

Amazing. At first there is a slick sweetness that stops just shy of creamy. It's very thick but it stays close to my skin. I can smell the leather notes underneath. I love leather. And I love how it's topped by all that sweetness. The sandalwood is soft and appears stronger the longer it wears. But the wax stays the strongest. This never feels masculine, but it has that nice borderline masculinity that I go crazy for. It's very different from anything I've tried before.

 

This keeps reminding me of those paraffin facials. Or at least it reminds me of the feeling of getting one. They put a layer of paper-thin cheesecloth over your face and then layer the wax over it. Your skin feels slightly suffocated and encased, but it's so decadent. There's a feeling of claustrophobia, and the fear of being swathed in coatings of wax. And when you reach up and touch your face, because it's impossible not to, the contours of your facial bones are mirrored in the wax. But it's all hard and sleek. It's freaky, but the anticipation of peeling it all off soon is exciting. Weird, but that's what keeps coming to mind.

 

I can definitely see how this could be addicting to wear. I am loving it more and more as I keep trying it. I need a bottle.

[sookster]

straight sniff from bottle is sweet, leathery nutmeg...wowza !

 

once applied this gets really medicinal! i swear there is a hint of absinthe in there...

 

i don't really get any of the beeswax...just lots of leather and pepper...woody and hot....

 

very unique~~

[kakiphony]

In the imp: Pungent, sharp, almost cleaning product woods over the top of a sweet, resiny beeswax. I think I smell Murphy's Oil Soap?

 

Wet on skin: A hint of sulfur against woods and the beeswax. Much nicer than in the imp.

 

Early dry down (10 minutes): The woods amp on me and take on a musky, dry, men's cologne smell. The beeswax fades very quickly. This is pleasant and J expresses approval, but I think it may be a bit too masculine for me. I need some sweetness with my dry.

 

Late dry down: This continues to get dustier and more dry on me as it morphs. I get the slight powder that sandalwood often gives me (I usually get more powder from sandalwood than I do from amber). It's a very masculine scent and very, VERY dry. The beeswax sweetness didn't last much past the wet stage, and if it added much depth gto the scent on me this would have been dust without it.

 

Not my thing, but it's purely a chemistry issue I think.

[midnight_aeval]

This is a complete morpher for me - out of the vial and onto my skin it's pungent, black pepper and saltpeter. Ick.

 

After about 2 hours I started smelling this incredibly sweet smell and wondered WHERE it was coming from. Apparently it was the Hand of Glory I applied earlier. Strange, it smelled like Honey SN. Odd when there isn't any honey in it at all

[septima_pica]

Absolute smoky beeswaxy evil awesomeness for the first half-hour -- and then it's powder. There must be black musk in here somewhere.

 

Kalirren still likes it on me though, so I won't swap quite yet. Maybe I'll try layering with No. 93 Engine to get the beeswax back?

 

ETA:

OK, I was about to swap this away when I suddenly remembered that I'd been on my period when I first tested it. I'm wearing it again today and it's miles better -- the unfortunate powder stays in the background and gives that glorious beeswax note some room. Smoky, leathery, sandalwoody candles. Whew. (I still don't get any of the nutmeg or saltpetre, though. Maybe I'll try it with Laudanum?

Edited July 20, 2008 by septima_pica

[Bagfish]

In the imp and fresh on, scary leatheriness, definitely smelling the saltpetre, but within five minutes this morphs into a sweet, smoky vanilla'd beeswax that seems to have absolutely nothing to do with the scent it has when wet.

 

This is the first BPAL leather scent that has worked on me and I think it's going to be bottleworthy.

[jizatt]

This is not scary on me at all =) I get the beeswax for sure, which goes a little sweet on me too, I get the slight leather after its dried, and the spicy from the pepper. Its almost cinnamony after I've had it on for hours. Love this one and definitely considering a bottle.

[Eros]

I tend to avoid blends with leather because it very often causes a headache. Beeswax...had to give this one a chance :]

 

In the vial and first applied there's a slightly waxy, almost sugary leather coming through. Nutmeg and wood in the background and the sugary scent has morphed into soft & creamy marshmallow. No pepper or saltpeter to speak of, really. To my nose, the leather and beeswax don't come through as individual notes, it's more like they came out of the same master flask, if that makes sense, and together they = marshmallow. Reminds me quite a bit of Tombstone, actually.

I like this but haven't decided whether or not I need a bottle. We'll see

Edited July 21, 2008 by Shollin
Removed Lab description --Shollin

[Hayet]

This is really amazing. I was a little weirded out at first by the leather, but I find that I keep going back to it and each time it's better. Dark, smoky, sweet, burnt caramel, honey, sandalwood....And that weird, almost plastic-y asphalt scent in Pumpkin Smash that turned me off there, but I'm utterly in love with it here. If someone smashed a pumpkin on the antikythera mechanism, I think you'd get this scent.

[Ilex]

Wet, its just generic men's cologne to my nose. Reminds me of what a lot Greek dudes were wearing when I visited there a couple years ago.

 

On for a little while... sicky sweet. I think I got a whiff of cocoa, but that's crazy given the notes. To sum: very honeyed, mildly waxy, no nutmeg or smoke. And only a bit of leather keeping things interesting.

 

Honey and leather. Not a bad combo per ce, but I don't like smelling so sweet.

 

Ugh, its kinda cloying after 20 minutes and its getting in my mouth somehow. Blechy. Time to wash this off with some alcohol.

 

This is reminiscent of Black Annis somehow to my sensibilities, in the cloying stage. Not sure what's up with that.

[Champagne]

Smoky, leathery and sweet just applied on the skin, It`s so faithful to the original concept that I feel nauseous and sick(I googled too much the hands of glory pics maybe). On the drydown one hour later only the beeswax remains, with a tiny tiny hint of leather in the background that doesn`t let it become too much sickly sweet.

Good length and a ride to freak show rather that a perfume.

[lameir]

The beeswax drydown on this is fantastic, strong but not overpowering, and lasts for ages. Unfortunately, to get to that stage I have to make it through one and a half hours of pungent, evil SALTPETER with a dash of nutmeg.

 

I concur with everyone who's said this is ridiculously evocative, and I'm tempted to keep my imp just for the novelty, but I don't think I'd ever wear it. :/

[oakmoss]

Shoe fetishists, here is your dream blend!

 

Honestly, I love beeswax and all the other good things, but they are completely absent for me. All I am getting from this on my skin is shoe. New shoe, at least -- it's like opening the box of a new pair of nice leather shoes and (when no one is looking) taking a big whiff. Nice for a shoe, not so nice for a perfume. There is something vaguely sickening about it, it's making me a little queasy. Definitely not for me, alas.

[lapetiteflower]

this one is my favorite out of my decants i got, and the one i will definately get a bottle of. wet it is reminiscent of O, upon drydown it is a lovely blend of beeswax candles, warm sweet sandalwood (not the dry pencil shaving sort...this is smelling more and more like a sandalwood blend i wore about 17 years ago that the guy i was dating at the time said smelled like trouble...in a good way) and something (saltpeter?) strange lurking in the background that teases my nose. plus the concept of the hand of glory is cool, in an oogy sort of way. i've been thinking of how to make a faux one to add to my home decor...

[euterpe414]

Lovely, lovely beeswax. This blend reminds me of the smell of those beeswax tapered candles that they sell in health food stores, along with the faint smell of spice and wood in the background. On my skin, I don't get anything leathery, and the blend stays the same from drydown until it disappears. I have been so impressed with the Wunderkammer blends, and this one is definitely up there in my list of favorites. I don't really have much else to say except that it is probably the most perfect beeswax blend I have ever smelled. Much, much love for this one.

 

Edited August 7, 2008 by euterpe414

[Little Bird]

Hand of Glory is not what I was expecting. I expected it to be dark and woodsy from the leather, sandalwood, and oak. I thought that it would be spicy from the pepper and nutmeg. And it's nothing but super-strong, sickly-sweet honey musk on me. It stays that way for hours. It doesn't change at all on my skin, except to go just slightly powdery in the drydown.

 

I don't care for a strong, super-sweet honey scent, so I wish that some of the other notes were present on my skin...

Edited February 24, 2010 by Little Bird

[lilacea]

Hand of Glory is, for lack of a more eloquent turn of phrase... fucking scary! Oh boy, it is not for the fainthearted. Heavy beeswax (I didn't even know you could make beeswax smell this stong), lots of leather, a touch of pepper. It really reminds me of something dead. You know what it reminds me of? It's the kind of smell you'd imagine in the movie Hostel, where they visit the torture museum, dank and dark and dead.

 

Edited to add some further impressions: for all the initial scariness of Hand of Glory, this really does mellow down into something quite wearable! Once that initial blast of omg in your face beeswax and leather subsides, there's the subtle spice from the nutmeg that comes out, and a kind of honeyish vanilla sweetness. The leather and beeswax does stay on though, so if that's not your thing you might want to skip it altogether, but it becomes softer and a bit more bearable as time wears on. This is one blend that I think ageing will really do some justice with.

Edited August 29, 2008 by lilacea

[zankoku_zen]

I definitely get the beeswax and the leather - and it makes me think of a candle burning. If the candle was made of desicated body parts! It's spicy and warm, sort of the same vein of Pickled Imp. But definitely a candle.

[Nimthiriel]

Initial impression:

I get a waft of black pepper, leather and what really does remind me of saltpeter in chemistry class. It's a ruthless scent, fiery but not warm!

 

First on:

Mm, sandalwood – and a touch of nutmeg, saltpeter and leather. It's a softer scent as it warms up on my skin.

 

Dry:

After about 10 mins, it's a strong leathery scent with dry sandalwood and hot black pepper. It's a scorching scent! Dry, hot, fierce and completely without mercy,

 

It gradually fades to only leather and sandalwood. I'm disappointed that I didn't get any beewax or bark.

 

Finally:

It wasn't what I was hoping for, but I might hang on to it...

[kawaiiferreto]

In the imp and wet this is all beeswax. Overwhelming beeswax even. It has quite a bit of throw. It also has a tinge of bitterness to it; I'm not sure where that's coming from (I'd say the pepper except that pepper LOVES me and goes spicy, not bitter.)

 

It stays much the same for the first few hours, but later... WOW. The beeswax turns more into powder and honey and a light hint of wax (I think it may have been the wax that was the bitter note.) The sandalwood lends some extra powdery warmth. I never can pick out the other notes. I wish the nutmeg would perk up.

 

I like this after it's been on for a few hours, but I can't decide if that makes it worth keeping. I wonder if aging it would make it stay that way all of the time. Choices choice. I'll make final decisions after the end date for CD is released.

[maewitch]

Hmmm, I haven't done a review in a while, I realized....but this is the perfect blend to break me out of my laziness.

 

Wet, this is a slightly sweet leather, with a woody dryness, almost smokiness that I associate more with the oak bark than the sandalwood. There's a hint of something a little musky, but it's predominantly leather, and it makes me think of a leather corset - something worn by a dominatrix, carrying some of her scent. As it dries, the leather note fades discreetly into the background and the sweetness of the beeswax comes to the forefront, supported by the spice of the red sandalwood.

 

I have to admit that leather is a hard note for me to get used to wearing, but it plays very well on my skin. And the drydown to this is just gorgeous.

[AEris]

Honeyed beeswax, leather, nutmeg, and sandalwood. The beeswax starts out dominant, but is soon overshadowed by the leather.

 

lilacea mentioned the movie Hostel, and that does it for me - Too Scary! Ack!

 

Honestly though, this blend is very appealing on my skin, albeit a little flat, somehow.

 

4.1 out of 5

[caffinatedangel]

imp - Smooth, creamy, something tangy.

 

Wet on skin - Medicinal, sharp, pungent.

 

Drying - leather & medicinal. + spices. It's making me feel a little nauseous. Making me feel how I do when I get carsick o.o. Like I'm dizzy and overwhelmed. Too much variation, I think.

 

More dry- The medicinal sharpness eases up a tad, or I get use to it. The leather is a really sharp biting leather note. I like the pepper, though. I can also sense the beeswax giving it a sort of creamy feel. I'm going to blame the saltpeter for making me feel crappy. But it got overtaken as the deeper notes start to unveil themselves and soothe this out into a mellow but spicey, warm blend. Nutmeg is soft on me, complimenting pepper. Saltpeter seemed to have taken a chill pill. Beeswax is an unoffensive scent to me, really mellow. As more time goes, the sandalwood and oak bark seem to replace leather as the backbone of the scent. Making it a really deep and full incensey (good way) and complete scent.

 

Overall: Don't sniff for maybe 5 minutes, then relax and enjoy the drydown of curiousity.

 

I just can't decide if it's worth keeping or getting more of if the first few moments make me ill o.o

[meeow712]

In the Imp: A very light incensey type blend? I couldn't pick out any specific notes.

 

On me: A very dirty vanilla, as if vanilla were in a mud fight and just got down and dirty with it. It is very dry, and there's a resin in this that I can't place, but that might be the sandalwood. It's not the usual sandalwood note, however. Now that I look at the notes, I am also detecting the dry leather.

This is a very strange scent, not an every day scent, but it is very different from anything else that I've smelled - in a very good way.