Day of the Skulls

[Bagfish]

White sandalwood, beeswax, and frankincense crowned by hydrangea, rose, and kantuta blossoms, dressed with tobacco, cocoa leaves and flowers from the sacred Cactus of the Four Winds.

The rose in Day of the Skulls really overpowers everything else which is a shame because underneath the sour rose of doom lies something that bears a resemblance to the rich gorgeousness that is Khajuraho.

[gwynhwyfar]

This is another interesting oil ... not for me, but I DO like it.

 

In the bottle, it's chocolate, flowers, and something a little bitter/biting that I can't place.

 

On my skin, it's pretty much the same at least initially. As it dries, the bitter/biting note comes out and becomes stronger, but that does fade after a few hours. I like it, but there are other chocolate blends I like more. This is dark chocolate, not creamy milk/white chocolate.

 

Chocolate fiends, take note. Especially if you like your chocolate with friends.

[Scylla]

Day of the Skulls has rose in it?

 

You could have fooled me (or my chemistry!) I usually amp rose to the nth degree, making every blend with rose in it extremely rose-y and "Grandma-ish" as my husband would say. This doesn't do that!

 

On me, from start to finish Day of the Skulls is mostly frankincense, sandalwood and tobacco with some florals in the background that I can't quite place. I can see (smell?) the comparison that someone else made to Diwali.

 

It has a lot of throw and lasts a long time. I put it on at 6:00AM and it's now almost 10 and I can still smell an aura of Day of the Skulls. I hope I'm not wearing too much!

[Ohmaude]

Papery, white roses with sandalwood and frankincense and a lovely dusty cocoa base. A little like Dia de los Muertos.

 

This is all roses at the beginning but the roses fade and the beeswax and cocoa come through. So lovely!

[Rheliwen]

Initially, I really wanted this one...but then the reviews started to come in and they made it seem mediocre. I got it anyway.

 

I like it. It reminds me of a smokier Mict...name that cannot be spelled. The rose seems more like a sweet tea rose. The more I put on the darker it gets with the frank and tobacco coming out.

 

I can see how someone giving just an initial or cursory sniff would immediately go, "roses!" Just smell one more time and you'll find a lot of depth.

Edited October 27, 2008 by Rheliwen

[crebbsgirl]

Oh I had such high hopes for this. Unfortunately, all I get is honey slathered ROSE! (Yes, ROSE! Not rose, but ROSE!!!!) Sweet and heady, all rose, all the time. Poo.

[orchyd]

I very much agree with Scylla. I had no idea there was even rose in this until I re-read the description. This is definitely up there as one of my favorite scents.

 

I amp rose like crazy in every scent so far... except this one. The tobacco and chocolate come out BEAUTIFULLY. I ordered 2 bottles and am saving it for special occasions. It smells amazing!

[Ahania]

In the vial I get a little bit of rose. As soon as I apply it, the beeswax and frankincense take over, with a faint hint of florals underneath. I was worried about the tobacco since it tends to bother my allergies but I didn't get it at all. It is glorious and solemn, and reminds me very much of Kostnice, which I suppose makes sense considering the subject.

[tinyvulture]

a vibrant bouquet of roses and other cheery florals. i suck at describing floral blends, but i'd say there's something resinous about this, and also waxy. think of a candle that smells like rose incense! there's also a light dusting of cocoa, but i can't really pick out any of the other notes at all. it's really pretty, and has a moderately strong scent without being overpowering.

Edited October 30, 2008 by tinyvulture

[Jilara]

Bones and roses. It reminds me, on initial application, of Dragon's Bone, where the dragonsblood has been substituted by the rose note. Very skull-ish, with a garland of funeral flowers.

 

As it dries, the floral becomes more jungle-flowerish, and a vegetal note blends in. I wonder if that's the cocoa leaf? Still boney, but floral vegetal. It's a very light and dry scent, almost dusty, when fully dry. And it fades out quickly on me. Lasts barely an hour, and then it's gone. Like a comment on the ephemeral nature of life? Could be.

Edited November 3, 2008 by Jilara

[lainevierge]

This one changes each time I wear it, which makes me think it will age beautifully.

 

The first time it was very heavy on the florals. To be honest, I didn't like it as much as some of my other Halloween bottles, but it was very elegant.

 

The second time, I put it on with some unscented lotion and the cocoa really came through. I also got the rose, though not at strongly as the first time.

 

Now that my bottle is several weeks old, I'm getting a lot more cocoa from it, which I love. The beeswax is definitely light in this one, unlike in Ichabod Crane and I agree with the above poster who said it smells like bones. I do picture skulls when I sniff this.

 

I wish I knew more about white sandalwood and hydrangea so I'd know if I smelled them here and if I liked them. I love looking at hydrangeas!

 

Certainly a hauntingly elegant scent.

[Argentwolf]

This didn't strike me as a 'rosey' scent when I initially tested it, but now that I am re-sniffing it to jog my memory as I write this, I can smell the rose. It's definitely a very sweet floral scent...any incense is just peripheral, but I can detect the undercurrent of cocoa lurking at the very, very bottom of it all.

 

I think I'd agree with another reviewer above, and say that this is a smokier, foodier version of Mictecacihuatl. I don't think one needs to be afraid of the rose note...so if you like a hint of cocoa in your perfume, I think you could safely give this a shot.

[kjirstiben]

When I first put this on, it smelled of honey and flowers. However, after that initial intoxicating whiff, it settled on my skin into being pure flowers. Oddly, further away, I'm getting a beeswax (which to me reads as "honey") throw, but up close all I can smell is the flowers.

 

And then it started to do something that I can't quite put my finger on... the scent went kind of sour or stale on me. I haven't quite isolated what note it is that goes wonky like this with my skin chemistry, but I've had it happen a few times. I'm annoyed, because the at-a-distance scent of this oil is delightful--smoky, sweet beeswax--but every time I sniff my wrist I get sour-stale dead flowers.

 

I'm going to try this again, because I love the overall impression. Just having trouble on the specifics!

[PurringPulsar]

Day of the Skulls

 

In the imp: honeyed, sweet flowers. I smell beeswax, rose and another floral note.

Wet on skin: this is almost like Katrina Van Tassel, of all things…honeyed creamy rose.

Dry on skin: a gorgeous rich rose gilded with frankincense and honeyed beeswax, with a hint of extra sweetness (the cocoa?) and one of the other floral notes, with a sandalwood base and a hint of tobacco. This is splendid! It’s a lot more complex than KVT now, but there’s a slight similarity with the honey and rose, although this also reminds me of other honey-rose scents like Lady Luck Blues, and now also of the incense-rose scents (Rose Cross, Tabula Smagradina etc). Very rosy, a lot more than expected, but as a rose lover, this makes me happy.

After a while: eventually the rose is taken over by the most gorgeous sweet fresh floral note! is this cactus blossom? Whatever it is, it smells luscious and almost like orchid or champaca, a sweet white floral scent. This is covered in beeswax, and by this point the tobacco has also strengthened a little, now this smells a bit smoky.

The drydown is a mix of smooth honeyed floral with an almost hay-like sandalwood and golden tobacco overlay, with hints of rose and incense. really lovely!

Verdict: if Dia De Los Muertos and All Saints had a baby, it would be this. This takes the best of both scents and mixes them perfectly. There’s the frankincense-glazed rose of All Saints with the tobacco and chocolate and heady white florals of DDLM. It starts off as very rosy, with frankincense and beeswax adding golden accents. The scent then gradually sweetens and the floral changes into those exotic cactus blossoms (I think?), still with the incense sticking around. The tobacco (a paler, blonder variety than usual) and sandalwood with the luminous florals add a dry, bright, ghostly tinge to the scent at drydown. The flowery notes are not too loud though. This is really nicely balanced. I’m glad I have a bottle-I love rose and incense scents, and this is a really unique take on the theme.

Emoticon rating:

Is it a keeper? Yes!

If you like this, try: Dia De Los Muertos, All Saints, Rose Cross, Lady Luck Blues, Tabula Smargadina, Libra 07, Magdalene, To Helen

[hlinspjalda]

In the vial: Something tangy like honey, a breath of cocoa, and a tart note. Smells good!

 

Wet: Warm and sweet, the tangy note softens into floral. This is very pleasant.

 

Half an hour: The impression of tangy honey has developed and matured. I think it's the rose giving it the tartness. I like this very much and may have to get more if it stays this pleasant.

 

One hour: I really like this one. It smells rich, complex, sweet, and a little strange, all at once. I may need more.

 

Three hours: Oh, yes, this has stayed pleasant enough that I think I need more of it.

 

Five hours: More of this, please.

 

I bought a bottle, it's now my official Hallowe'en fragrance.

[Nimthiriel]

Initial impression:

This is very soft and gentle, very kind and comforting. Flowers, incenseand wax.

 

First on:

Roses, ugh. But with something soft and warm in the background.

 

Dry:

After about 10 mins, it'sall roses with a warm background scent I can't define.

 

It remains pretty muchall roses, with an almost melony fruityness to it.

 

Finally:

Blasted roses – theyalways ruin it for me.

[Lamia]

This was quite pleasant when first tried, light and charming. This morning, it started out sweet without being nauseating. There was a graininess to the sugar, it wasn't syrupy. Two hours after application, it's rather thin and reedy, like an aloe.

 

I don't get any roses, but this starts with some mild florals in the background.

[lookingglass]

This is not rosey on me at all, and I am one who amps rose and often makes it sour or soapy. Initially this is very sweet, almost peachy, in it's tropical flower/honey accord, complete with bits of green. I know there are flowers, but they're muted, like different kinds of floral honey. Drying down the scent becomes leathery, smokey, and slightly powdery from the sandalwood and resins. This is a floral I can easily do!

Edited August 25, 2013 by lookingglass

[zankoku_zen]

This one is a gentle floral, with alot of throw. I get white, breezy sort of florals with a hint of sweetness. Kinda tropical, but kinda arid as well. It's got a hint of honey and a hint of roses.

 

Pretty.

[Ajila]

In the bottle – Something vaguely like tropical fruit. With a lot of soapiness in the background

 

Wet on me – Rose and other flowers with a hint of the beeswax

 

Dry on me – Almost a honey sweetness with a dry intense incense. Oddly this is a scent that takes me right back to reading Lord of the Flies when I was 11

 

Overall – Literary distractions aside, the dry down is fantastic and something I will quite happily wear time and time again

 

[skylarkza]

In the bottle: It smells like a jungle... and roses. Roses in a jungle? Huh?

 

Wet: Sugary flowers! It smells like sugary flowers!

 

Dry: Ooh, the sugar is dying down to something almost smoky and the flowers are mellowing into an almost tropical blend that the roses are just managing to dominate.

 

A while later: Roses. And possibly honey. Definitely some other more exotic florals keeping it from smelling like my gran. Quite strong still - it has good staying power, and wafts up to my nose occaisonally to remind me it is there. Very nice.

[Ondine]

Wow. This baby's got throw. Unfortunately, as much as I like rose, this is like crazy-amped-up rose plus "white florals" and it is rapidly becoming nauseatingly sweet and cloying on me.

[Invidiana]

I've been skeptical of rose since I was 13 and had to put up with the stench of this body cream of my mom's that smelled so intenseley of old-lady rose that it made me gag. This , however, is a beautiful rose blends that is sweet without being cloying, with wisps of incense enveloping it in a sexy backdrop. Day of the Skulls was my first BPA rose blend, and thanks to Beth I'm no longer afraid of rose!

[rayvn1]

This is a floral on me, but tempered with the smoky frankincense and sandalwood. There's a hint of dark tobacco and in general it is a golden floral scent. Very nice, but not something I'll wear often.

[surf-tormented]

This started out floral on me and then ended up foody.

 

I don't like rose, but then it smelled really sugary after dry down.

 

Reminds me in a strange way of Dia De Los Muertos by BPAL, though I haven't bought a bottle of it in years or even know if they still make it as a LE. But it would be Dia with a more baked good sugar poured on top of it.

 

And this is all weird because I would think with the notes, it wouldn't end up sugary bread and honey on my skin at all.