Yorick

[TarynPage]

Grave dirt, bone, decay, angel's trumpet, and moldering scraps of shroud: the essence of finality.

 

This scent reminds me of rotting wood. I feel like any mysterious antique shop smells just like this. It’s a lot more funky-smelling in the imp, but I like that edge to it. My parents had an old sailboat that would never actually float, and this scent completely reminds me of going underneath to bail out the water.

 

In the vial: Rot, wood, mildew, flowers

On *my* skin: Wet wood, sweet flowers, pine shavings, wet cloth

[d0gbones]

In the imp: sharp soil note

 

Wet: Rooty earth, like you're digging in the garden and some very light flowers.

 

Dry: dry soil and woody flowers. It's hard to describe, but it's very like the woods at the end of summer.

[Lunasariel]

In the imp: A light, white floral (I believe I recognize the angel's trumpet from Rapunzel) over a sour, paint-thinner sort of smell - probably the "grave dirt, decay... and moldering scraps of shroud."

 

Wet: Wow, is this a dirt note that *doesn't* go all compost heap on me? This is good, living earth, dark and rich, with hints of the flowers and plants growing from it. Not my usual, but lovely all the same!

 

Dry: Dry, woodsy, resinous florals, like pressed flowers kept in an old wooden armoire. Again, not my usual, but the BPAL psychics have proven accurate once again - this isn't something I'll reach for every day, but this scratches a very particular itch, and it scratches it well.

[Storebranddemigod]

In bottle: Dusty Musty Musky, like old uncared for houses and damp-ruined books.

 

Wet on skin: The same dusty smell, becomes dryer, with a distant background of incense.

 

Dry on Skin: This smells exactly like... old decay, to me. Not fresh decay, but old. Abandoned houses and dead leaves. It smells like wandering around the post-apocalypse, long after the fighting and dying has died down.

 

I love it. All dry and papery and dessicated and dusty. I definitely get a slightly fungi-ish smell off it, too.

 

I smell dead, but in a good way.

 

Full bottle at some point, I think. Not this order, but the first after I use up the imp.

 

[whisperstilled]

In Imp: There's the lab's soil note, softer than usual here.

 

Wet: Florals and dirt. Very, very close to the skin.

 

Drying: I agree with the 'woody earth' assessment. It's reminding me a lot of Mandrake, which I also tried today.

 

Dry: The lab's dirt note isn't my thing, but if you love Graveyard Dirt and Mandrake, this is the GC for you!

[Beary Strange]

In the imp: dirt, like straight up dirt is all I smell

Wet: dead leaves, dirt with a bit of wood and something that reminds me of Autumn

Dry: my skin seems to be amping some minor note that isn't listed but on my skin smells of spice. I'm picking up ginger, cinnamon, a bit of apple--it makes me think of spiced cider. The dirt is there as well. This scents reads very warm on me.

 

I don't care much for apple scents ordinarily (from the spiced cider it turns on me) but I actually really like this--it's so warm and autumnal. The only complaint I have is that the spicy apple scent smells much more like a room spray than a fragrance, so while I like it, I don't think I'll be buying a full bottle. It's too bad it's my skin turning it into spiced cider or I might be tempted to get one for my oil burner but looking at other reviews, it seems it normally smells of wood and dirt.

Edited November 21, 2016 by BearyStrange

[Coldfire]

Imp: musty dusty dirt
Wet on Me: still more musty dusty dirt
Drying Down: the musty dusty is dying down. in fact most of this is dying down, but whatI am getting is the scent from an old dusty drawer liner found in a chest of drawers in an attic. faintly sweet and old and dusty
Dry: faint dirt, and the old dusty hanky. I don't hate it, but it's not for me.

[gloame]

Smells like peat moss. Love it in the garden, less so on me. I dearly wish I could grab some of the ginger others are smelling. Maybe I'll let it age for a bit.

[ianastar]

Wet on the skin this was very earthy and herbal. Very strong herbal as a matter of fact

 

Dry down this became a softer version of what I got wet. Like gardening its an earthy, dirt like scent with the green of many herbs being cut and tended to.

 

Its not bad but I have stuff that is similar so I don't think Ill be keeping this one.

[Bones613]

This scent is beautiful on me. It starts as a very earthy scent, like rich potting soil, but with an undertone of spice. As it dries, the spice really emerges. Hours later, the earth has gently faded out and left the barest hint of spice. I'm sure I'll use the imp.

[achildoftime]

It's a very rooty and earthy scent. It's like spicy, rich soil I like for planting. There's a note that smells a bit like clay, as if I dug a little too deep. It's probably one of my favorite dirt scents I've tried.

[doomsday_disco]

In the imp: I'm getting dirt, that doesn't seem to be as moist as some of the other grave soil notes I've smelled, with something soft and powdery in the background – I'm not sure if it is the angel's trumpet, or if orris root plays a role in the bone note.

 

Wet: This is dirt dominant, but the angel's trumpet is right behind the dirt note. The dirt note does smell like freshly turned soil on my skin, even though I thought it smelled a little drier in the imp.

 

Dry: Soft soil, with angel's trumpet peeking through. There is a warm spice to the dirt in this scent, so it's warm, spicy dirt and a bit of floral on me.

 

Verdict: Well, the spice was unexpected! I enjoy dirt scents, and I found this one to be pleasant, but it's not one that I could see myself reaching for over other dirt scents (like Deep in Earth, Zombi, Burial, and All Hallows' Apple).

[Lucchesa]

Wet, Yorick is loamy black soil, deep and dark and rich and a little mysterious. As it dries I get the hint of a floral, not one I can easily put a name on, and the earthiness softens -- still recognizably dirt, but really lovely. It lasts fairly well on me.

 

I'm learning that I quite enjoy the Lab's dirt note. Zombi made me inexpressibly melancholy, and the foody component of Penny Dreadful didn't work on me, but Yorick is very wearable. As an earlier reviewer commented, though, it doesn't really feel like a going out scent. More of a stay at home and read Thomas Hardy scent.

[mmcfa2]

Dirty, green, bitter, and an underlying sweetness. Very much like digging in the garden! In the end ( about an hour later) It smells as if you brought the flower inside, and left the dirt outside. Lovely scent journey!

Edited March 20, 2018 by mmcfa2

[Juliamon]

This evokes the feeling of my mother's meditation group holding a session in her friend's garden shortly after they'd done a lot of work in it. Dirt, incense and spices, and someone's floral perfume. An interesting combination, but morphs on me between blasting the floral and throwing nothing at all. I can think of a great number of my mom's friends who would wear this well (though appropriately for the name, several have passed at this point), but not me. I definitely love the Lab's dirt note now though, and will be seeking out more blends with it.

Edited March 27, 2018 by Juliamon

[VetchVesper]

This smells good, like moist earth, at first. The sweetness grows, becoming slightly spicey with a hint of white floral, but unfortunately, it then turns into baby powder on me. Boo hiss. Dry earth and powdery florals. Not something I really need to hold on to, but not unpleasant. Alas, poor Yorick.

 

If you liked the earthy vibe of Crossroads, but it's a little too much upfront floral, or you can't do jasmine, this might be a good bet.

[torischroeder9]

In the imp: Dirt, a dry note I read as orris, and the floral of angel's trumpet. 

 

On my skin:

 

Wet, the angel's trumpet takes center stage; the dirt and bone are only detectable in the background. As it dries, the floral fades, and the dirt and bone become much more prominent. On me, the dirt is deep and rich but dry. It develops, and it's nice dirt -- and strong-throw dirt -- but as I am not really a fan of dirt scents, I do not have a highly developed olfactory sense for them. 

[RoseThornAndOak]

1 week fresh from the Lab. I get the dirt note first off followed up by a dry, incense note that makes this blend feel, very, very old. The boney note is dry, and the moldering shroud notes are almost papery like moldering, dessicated tobacco. It's not in an entirely pleasant way, but in a 'wow, this is actually creepy AF' sort of way. This makes me think less of Shakespeare and more of a vampire resting in almost sepian grey, ancient tomb with the walls crumbled to dust around him. Or maybe Gandalf in a library reading ancient texts. Beeswax may have been fused into the walls for hundreds of years. Very evocative. It reads slightly masculine but I still love it. I'm keeping the imp, considering a bottle. ❤️

 

For fans of Eshe, Antony, Zombi, Deep Midnight Perfumes The Crypt, or Whisper Sisters Haxan, although this really is its own scent. 

 

[Dancing Raven]

This is the scent that got me into BPAL. I hadn't heard of the company until about 2017/18. Until then, I searched for unusual scents among the mainstream. Sometimes you just wanna smell like dirt, though, right? This is what I had hoped Serge Lutens' De Profundis would smell like based off of descriptions. In desperation, I searched online for perfumes that smell like dirt, and my obsession with BPAL began.

Wet: spicy dirt!

It starts out like the damp potting soil type, not the dry type. I may or may not have done a happy dance upon first sniff 😁

It stays this way for a few minutes, and then it becomes more dry. I definitely get orris from this. I think there may be some angelica in here as well. In addition to the dusty earth note, I get the sweetness of orris, and an almost citrus tanginess. This isn't a simple scent. I never dreamed dirt could smell beautiful, but this is! Usually dirt notes are patchouli heavy, but this is a light scent. Not in terms of throw, which is very good - there's just a lightness to the scent itself. I don't get lilies at all, and the datura (angel's trumpet) is fairly light on my skin. To my nose, this isn't floral forward. The datura just adds a bit of heady sweetness to balance out all of the other notes. Once dried, sandalwood comes a little to the forefront. No decay, so if that part of the description scares you, fear not. It's dry, but warm and spicy at the same time. Truly a work of art. My only complaint is that it doesn't last long on my skin, but it's perfect start to finish, so I don't mind reapplying. 

5 out of 5 stars. 

[Rane.]

Dry, dirty in a good way, smells leafy, barely a hint of floral. As it dries the floral does come out a bit more. Nothing too notable for me about this one, doesn't stay around long either. However, I do layer it with Fenris Wolf often, & enjoy it that way.

Edited September 24, 2020 by Rane.

[fairybites]

 

Sharp, kinda alcohol dirt with some clay like bone and grasses. No floral notes on me and fades very fast within an hour. Love Hamlet so I'll probably keep this around for that or to layer with a scent that I want some dirt with. 

[Llanval]

Imp, aged two years: Rich, dark potting soil and a suggestion of sweet floral (guessing the angel's trumpet). A prickly spice that isn't spice and a hint of strange depths.

 

Wet: Blast of potting soil and thick clots of undisturbed parchment dust. The potting soil is neither warm nor cold, and is a true dead ringer for just the smell of dirt. Freshly turned dirt. There's a prickly quality to this stage, sharp and acerbic but not unpleasant.  This is the smell of a dark, cloister-like library; there's a candle on an ancient wooden desk and a large, weathered tome open, spine cracked and flaking with dust.

 

Drydown and Dry stages: Still dirt, rich and redolent, but now it is softer, father away.  It's a little lighter and more airy, but still that crystal clear and really well developed dirt scent. I do understand the mouldering description because decay haunts this scent.  But not the decay of flesh, just the decay of time, of form. There's a thread of old cloth here, just the hint of crumbling. The scent goes from a rich earthy loamy true to dirt scent to a wafting, prickly dusty earth scent.  The florals nearly disappear on my skin, and aren't prominent enough to do anything other than lift the scent out of that decay-like suggestion lurking in the background.  I wish the dry paper note was a little stronger.

 

I really like Yorik, much more after a year+ of aging.  When I first tested it, it was a blast of prickly dust and dirt.  I will definitely be picking up a bottle at some point in the future.  I love the smell of dirt and bpal has such a diversity of dirt notes, this is a great addition for anyone looking to smell like Shakespeare's ghost scribbling away in a gentle, dusty darkness. 

[Honey]

This is not what I expected at all!

There is a white, light floral with a white muskiness to it that is only slightly covered by a resinous, herbal... other.

This is not dirt or soil as I know it from other earthy or soily BPAL scents.

This is much nicer, cleaner and bleak as bones.

I wanted to gives this away but think about keeping it now that I gave it a chance by in-depth testing.

[crystaltongue]

This has the unfortunate distinction of being the only BPAL scent to actually make me gag. The mold smell was so overpowering and disgusting that I could not detect the other notes. I am guessing from other folks' reviews if I had been able to stand to leave it on longer that might have faded, but unfortunately if you are sensitive to mold scents, this probably not the scent for you.

[bygraveyardlight]

I adore Yorick with all my heart ❤️

The lab's deliciously rich, loamy dirt note- this is all you can smell in the bottle, but on the skin the note softens somewhat and this lovely gentle sweetness comes to rest underneath. I suppose that's the mold? Didn't know mold could smell so lovely and comforting! Smells like a mysterious, sexy grave digger who might also be a zombie? 

Edited November 24, 2022 by bygraveyardlight