Gothic Horror

[sunshinedaisybliss]

Morbidly romantic, thick with murky melodrama, untouched by the centuries, and dust-rimed: Byzantine incense, benzoin, myrrh, bitter clove, spikenard, oud, and ancient balsam.

Well.. unfortunately this is a floral version of baby shampoo on my skin. It's quite warm and slightly waxy, but.. shampoo. I was not expecting this, I'm looking for the incense and oud and benzoin and "darkness".. nope, can't find 'em.

I won't be needing a bottle of this - it's nice, but not what I was hoping for.

[Asafoetida]

In imp: Bitter, bitter clove.

 

On me, wet... still mostly clove, but the incense is creeping in.

 

Drying down, there's still a lot of clove... but also the hint of incense and droolworthy myrrh. Very dark and beautiful, I'm in love. I don't get ANY rose from this, and if there is rose my skin usually finds it. Just something sharp and dark and yum.

[zankoku_zen]

I had hopes for the clove, even the bitter kind, but this is too resinous/incensey for me. It's got a great 'Church', 'dark' and 'gothic' feel to it - and if you like incense/resinous blends, give this a whirl.

[papermaker]

I get faded rose and a soft citrus. The longer I wear it there comes myrrh and incense with very little balsam. Once it dries it kind of all swirlks together without the citrus. This will be in the rotation qjuite a bit in cooler weather.

[Lamia]

This is a smoky soap on me. Applies pleasantly, but after drydown doesn't smell great.

 

The throw is delightful, however, and if I can restrain from sniffing my wrist (yeah, ha ha, good luck with that) I smell very nice for a little while.

 

This is an EXTREMELY quick fade on me, so because of the quick fade and the smell on my skin, it goes to the trade bag.

[crebbsgirl]

Ok, I don't get ANY rose from this at all.

 

Wet this was sticky balsam and oud. The clove started out a little sharp as it hit my skin, and there seemed to be a touch of funk to this. As it dries, the benzoin and myrrh come out, adding a vanillic resiny depth, which goes just a touch powdery. It's a fairly dark scent, and the term gothic captures it perfectly. I like this, but I think it could stand some aging to mellow out.

[Dark Alice]

This is a wonderful light powdery incense on my skin...with the barest hint of rose. I love it!

[milo]

In the imp, this is very nice, an incensey blend with a touch of floral. On, the incense disappears, and the rose comes out. I'm thinking my skin loves rose, as I get nothing else. At least it's not a sour rose, kind of a "Hope" like one. Still, I don't need a bottle. Meh.

[blu°]

When I saw this compared to The House in one of the first reviews, it made my initial excitement at reading the notes cool down a little, as that blend was a weird sour dusty one on me (Pulcinella & Teresina was another one in that category for me).

 

I'm glad I could swap for a bottle, since it turns out, Gothic Horror doesn't go sour and weird on my skin. On the contrary, it's really pretty.

 

I'd rather compare it with Blasphemare Reliquary. Gothic Horror's frankincense is a lot less dense, though. Where Blasphemare R can be almost suffocating, the frankincense in Gothic Horror is well-balanced against the other notes.

 

Also, the rose/rosewood note in GH is fantastic! I have to hunt it down with my nose through the incense, but when I smell it, it's the most refined, sweet thing. It also combines beautifully with the other notes in the scent's throw.

 

I think it's the oud that gives GH a backbone. A delicate streak of something more substantial that also holds some sweetness.

 

Verdict: Will cherish my bottle and possibly look to swap for a back up.

 

ETA: Just remembered, that at one point during my testing this yesterday, I had the idea it might have the tiniest drop of a berry/fruit note in it together with the rose or rosewood. Some reddish-purple-pink note, possibly with a dribble of citrus, too?

Edited October 9, 2009 by blu°

[boxinghelena]

Ugh! I'm really annoyed. Gothic Horror is utter baby powder on me. I hate the smell of baby powder. I must keep a track of the components in this blend to avoid in the future. Rats & Bats!! I was hoping this would work on me.

 

[greenranger]

For the first couple hours this was mostly ROSE and incense. About two hours in I started to smell something a little smokier, and the rose began to fade.

 

At about hour three I have a dusty incense scent with a bit of smoke and a hint of rose. One wrist is more dusty than the other. The wrist that doesn't have the majority of the dust has more myrrh.

[reynardine]

In decant: a little perfumey

 

Wet: Ooooh, this actually is rather nice. There’s a sweetness to the dry background.

 

Drydown: Now more of the clove and balsam seems to be coming out. Maybe a touch of incense. Still that sweetness that I like lurking around.

 

Later: Dries down to a light scent, sweet but not too sweet. Very unusual scent. Not sure if I’d get a bottle or not (must test again), but I do like this one a lot!

 

[voodoocatwoman]

Ooh, this is very pretty- it is a lilting and soft fragrance, but there is a razor sharp edge to it in the background. It has a powdery quality as well. Has a Victorian feel, if that makes any sense.

 

I like it.

[Geminirubyshoes]

Gothic Horror....I had to have this just for the concept of it.

In the bottle its VERY dusty and incensey to my nose, but when I wear it, it turns sweeter and boast as Ysabel becaause it evokes that same velvet - dress smell to me. Pretty good staying power, mild throw. I like it!

[edenssixthday]

Gothic Horror - This is mostly dusty incense and oud on my skin. I don't smell any of the sweet benzoin or my lovely, favorite myrrh, or any clove of any sort. It's just a dry, incense scent, and a pretty generic incense at that. I do get a Gothic church feel from it, like standing in a 13th century Gothic cathedral that contains the ghosts of the scents of bygone centuries.

[grrrlennyl]

Gothic Horror

 

On: Mostly dusty, with a hint of incense and wood.

Half an hour in: This is really interesting. The wood notes aren't going funky on me, and the myrrh is such a wonderful earthy scent. It's also nice and dusty. So evocative.

1.5 hours later: This is much lighter now, but still a dusty wood scent, with a hint of incense. I'm getting the benzoin more now.

2.5 hours later: Yeah, definitely more benzoin, but still a dusty wood scent, too.

6 hours later: Sweet woods and dust.

Overall: Just lovely. I didn't think I'd like this based on the notes, but it smells really great on me.

[revinn]

Dusty, dying roses on an old, crumbling concrete slab. Kind of smells like a graveyard. Very evocative of the genre!

[imaginepageant]

In the Vial: Sweet incense, with some woods in the background. This smells juicy and red, somehow. The benzoin has a much foodier feel than I'd expected from this blend.

 

Wet: Oh yay, it's going powdery. On the plus side, the clove then comes out to spice things up a little, the incense gets smokier, and the benzoin gets sweeter.

 

Dry: I'm getting the rose note that other reviewers have mentioned. But, it's nicer, and much weaker, than most rose notes are on me. It's a lot sweeter, in a wilting, decaying way. Also, the powdery feel has faded somewhat, but it does smell like sweet baby talcum powder. This blend isn't evoking any images of gothic horror, but rather of a warm, cozy nursery.

 

An Hour Later: It's gotten much more resinous, which I like. The rose has gone away completely, but the benzoin is still sweet as sugar.

 

Overall: I'm convinced that the "rose" note in this blend isn't actually rose, because my skin amps rose like no tomorrow and that didn't happen here at all. In any case, this was a much softer and more feminine blend than I'd expected from Gothic Horror. I don't love it, but I quite like it, and can see myself wearing this when I want something prettier and girlier than I normally wear.

[OctoberGwen]

I am a big fan of gothic horror, both in films and literature, and this scent personifies that genre so well. This is what I'll wear when I'm using my favorite tarot deck, the Bohemian Gothic First Edition.

 

Crumbling castles, giant urns filled with faded roses, dusty velvet draperies, candles burned down into pools of wax, dark shadows, overgrown gardens, a long sigh in an empty room.

 

Love it. Not an everyday scent for me, but perfect for that certain mood.

 

ETA: And the label art is fabulous!

Edited October 17, 2011 by OctoberGwen

[stellamaris]

I freaking love this. This is incense heaven, without any wood or leather or other horrors.

Some flowers, mostly resins. Love this.

[catalyst]

I'm confused about something. There's no rose in the notes anywhere, unless I don't understand what "Byzantine incense" is, but the first page of reviews is talking about how there's tons of rose in this.

 

What?

 

I got no rose. Which is good, because I don't want any rose. There's something bright yet musky in there that could maybe be mistaken for rose? Maybe there's some dark musky rose in the "Byzantine incense?" Maybe they changed the formula and backed off on the rose, or it depends on the batch?

 

Whatever the case, this seems very unisex to me, and I like it a lot actually. I don't do florals. But something unisex with a little bit of floral in the background is all right, which is what this is on me. I agree with voodoocatwoman, it has a sharpness to it, but it's a good herb and resin sharpness that I like, along the lines of Licwiglunga.

 

I get incense, resins, herbs and maybe a sweet wood. When it's totally dry and the heavier notes are gone, it goes a little powdery, but it's a unisex powdery that I don't mind. It's not one of those lingering notes that goes "cheap cologne" at the end (like whatever did that in Antony that ruined an otherwise perfect scent for me).

 

The imp's a keeper. Might look for a bottle, not sure yet.

Edited September 22, 2012 by catalyst

[RobberBaroness]

I want to love this scent so much- it starts out smoky and warm and mysterious- but after any time at all, it turns to bubblegum on me. I don't know why or where that comes from, but it's not what I want from a scent called Gothic Horror!

[Lucchesa]

I like Gothic Horror a LOT better than Psychological Horror! It's a lovely mysterious incense with lots of myrrh. I'm not getting much in the way of rose, which is fine. My initial impression was of a crumbling monastery, ancient penitential rites, a desperate heroine. No throw at all on me, but it lasts a long time. Lovely!

[theseagrows]

at first i get all incense and balsam. it definitely smells musty and dark, like an old cobweb-strewn cellar with vampires at rest. after about 10 minutes i get tons of powdery myrrh and some rose. this is giving a similar feel to vamp goth, i believe, and i like it a lot!

[doomsday_disco]

In the decant: Definitely a resinous scent, although it’s brighter than I expected!

 

Wet: I am getting rose, which I see some other reviewers have gotten from this as well. I wonder if it is part of the incense note? This is all about the rose and resins on me.

 

Dry: It is now a dusty, resinous rose scent, with the rose calming down (but never going away) after several hours of wear.

 

Verdict: Aww, I was hoping for resins and clove. Instead, I got resins and rose. Not really my thing, but it was nice to get to try this!