The Steeple

[Gwydion]

THE STEEPLE
Aylesbury, MA
Specializing in mycological delights and housed in a converted church that was once dedicated to Saint Anthony the Abbot, this charming hideaway sits high atop Zaman's Hill and boasts a lovely view of the abandoned village below.

Otherworldly fungus, Provençal herbs, and dark, shadowy woods.

 

In bottle: It does smell like woods, fungus, and herb garden. It’s dark green crushed vegetation and surprisingly perky herbs. Wet: Gentler and a touch chalky on the skin with the fungus rising to more prominence. The scent of crushed vegetation holds it’s own within the new balance. Dry: It’s generally softer as the more volitile bits burn off. It ends up mostly powdery fungus, random herbs , and one sharp ivy note. Not bad, but not as interesting as it was.

[edenssixthday]

The Steeple - The herbs are the strongest note. This is very, very green and very heavy on the herbal notes. There is a soft touch of woods that's almost dusty, and I don't really smell the fungus note at all. I actually find this scent incredibly intriguing, even though it's not at all my typically preferred type of fragrance. It makes me think of the rainforest in the Pacific Northwest for some reason. I think people who love green scents and herbal scents will potentially really love this one. The throw is very strong and the staying power is about average.

[reynardine]

In decant: Rooty, herby scent

 

Wet: Very herbal. Touch of woods in the background, one of which is giving me allergy issues.

 

Nope, have to wash it off. Allergic.

 

[Saya]

Very green, very herbal. This has a strong throw and lasts forever. It's not bad as green scents go, but not super interesting. Since I'm not a huge 'green' fan I'll pass on this one.

[MamaMoth]

Goes on very green and planty, with a bit of that "mildew" note familiar from other BPALs. It's very cologney right now.

 

The cologneyness of it eases off as it dries, and the dusty fungus aspect gets a little more prominent. The super-greenness of it morphs into a more woods-and-plants kind of smell.

 

It's ok. Not offensive, but not outstanding to me. It definitely falls into the category of stuff that I like, but it lacks that something that would make it a standout.

[voodoocatwoman]

In the imp, this is very green and herbal. But when it hits my skin, it turns sweet.. more of a sweet grassy scent than floral, but I can almost imagine that I detect a heady floral in there, like night blooming jasmine or four o'clocks. Underneath is the scent of vegetation, but the overall effect is quite pleasant.

[Little Bird]

This reminds me a little bit of The Adoration of the Mi-Go and Garden Path with Chickens, but it's not as watery-clean or sweet smelling as the former and not as floral as the latter (it's not floral on me at all, really). It's like a dryer, darker, not-as-sweet Adoration of the Mi-Go. I digress.

 

The Steeple smells like green herbs and moss on rocks, with a hint of a perfumey, clean edge (going a little bit into laundry dryer sheet territory). I get a dark, damp wood smell in the bottle and on my skin at first, but the dry down is all green herbs and mossy stones.

 

If you like pure herbal scents or perfumey-green scents that are a touch soapy-clean, then you'll love this. It's not really working for me, though.

[thekittenkat]

The Steeple is pretty much as advertised. It's green, made up of notes of fungi and herbs, and something dark lurking in the depths. I kind of like this, but can't see wearing it much. As it dried down, something sweetish came out. This could be a scent that one wears on sunny hot days when one is wishing for a cool day that's damp. If I check into this hotel, can I leave?

[fairestrocza]

In the Bottle: Uh oh. Irish Spring Early Warning Sensors are going off. Maybe some decay (fungus) in there too.

 

Wet on Skin: Fresh, but yay! A slight sweetness is holding the Irish Spring at bay.

 

While Drying: Almost but not quite floral sweetness (must be the herbs), fresh, more light-hearted than I would have expected for the Miskatonic Valley - maybe this lovers retreat is a good idea after all. There is something in here that I am associating with the misty note from The Black Tower, but not as prominent as it is in that blend.

 

After a Little While: The herbs provide a sweetness without becoming cloying the way many florals do on my skin. It has the effect of a floral, without the Bad Things that often accompany actual florals.

 

Final Thoughts: I was pretty excited about this one… and disappointed with the smell I got as I was decanting. But on the skin, this is lovely. I was hoping for Herbes de Provence - what I got was better… not as specifically identifiable as HdP, and probably a better scent as a result. The throw is low-moderate, fading fairly quickly to a skin scent (light application - a heavier hand might alter this) after a couple of hours.

The Steeple earns a 3.5/5 on my skin (though The Boy rated it 4/5).

 

(edited for typing fail)

Edited March 3, 2010 by Rocza

[voorishsign]

In the bottle - fresh, herbal, green.

 

On wet - I smell the woods and the herbs most of all. A very natural, beautiful green scent, lighter than I expected.

 

Drydown - here comes the fungus! Which is nice, because I like that note. It goes very well with the herbs, and almost makes this smell like cooking vegetables, but not in the weird way but in the pleasant way. Like I'm cooking a mushroom stir-fry with Gordon Ramsay . . . in the woods.

 

Interesting smell. Maybe not bottleworthy, but still a keeper.

[cfrancesca]

Very interesting, this reminds me strongly of the background scent in Nosferatu, not as "dark" though. It's a very well blended green/herbal and I'm also getting a little dirt.

Edited March 11, 2010 by cfrancesca

[musichappens]

All I seem to be getting is sweet grass and herbs. The throw and longevity of this blend is amazing, but unfortunately its not a scent for me.

[MeiLin]

In the decant: Sharp decay, as opposed to the warm earthiness of Death Cap. Hmmmm.

 

Wet: The herbs are predominant, then a smell of decayed wood. Lemon balmy, perhaps? It's the sweeter sort of decay, not the earthy kind. It reminds me of that Literary Vampire that smells like flesh, without the horrid sweetness of that rot note.

 

Dry: Light, a little lemony, undistinguished.

 

Verdict: If you like Dirty, you'll probably like this. It's not to my taste.

[ami226]

On the skin: Eeeew! Just as the description states! Very.... mildewy. Ick...

[angelicruin]

I'm getting herbs and fungus on my skin. Pass.

[zankoku_zen]

Hmmm - green but in a different way. I get a slight mushroom note (which I find intriguing), herbs (lavender and I think it may be rosemary...) and moss (a little dank earthy type).

 

Interesting, to say the least.

[fairnymph]

Extremely pale, nearly colourless yellow oil. Surprisingly light, airy and misty, with a faint tinge of herbs - rosemary and marjoram and basil peek out a tiny bit if I sniff really hard - and a suggestion of darker depths which smell suspiciously like frankincense. This reminds me of a more herbal Dunwich. No fungus, thankfully, other than maybe a little dust.

 

Still light and ephemeral - otherworldy indeed - and with a substantial clean, rainy aquaticness on my skin, reminding me even more strongly of Dunwich, especially since the woods have emerged more clearly, and they really smell exactly like the woody notes in Dunwich, smooth and light but a little dry, and sort of reedy and papery - I get the image of reeds growing in a river quite strongly. The rain note has a mild sweetness I find it always does, and likewise this note always smells a little generic to me, like cheap rain-scented incense or other such products. I still don't find any fungus at all. I do get a tiny hint of sweet citrus (orange?) rind, very faintly. The air smells like just after it's rained and its still completely overcast with more rain to come.

 

This stuff has a lot of throw - even though it's light in feel and not potent in the bottle, it is on my skin and I seem to amp it, too. Now 20 minutes later it's calmed down a bit and morphed quite significantly into a light, sweet, hazy & dewy scent with some definite sweet citrus - it's not juicy, and it has a slight bitter edge so I'm guessing it's a rind of some sort, but it feels pink or orange to me - sweet orange seems most likely, but pink grapefruit is also possible, and there could be a blend, since at this point the scent has coalesced so seamlessly I struggle to pick out individual notes. I think I may be interpreting the basil note as citrus, upon further reflection and sniffing. There is a strange, slighty soapy tinge from the 'generic rain' note, which has mostly dissipated thankfully, and now mostly just keeps this blend feeling clean and light.

 

Something here I suppose is meant to be musty and represent fungus, but to my nose, it reminds me exactly of the light green, wet stone note from Julia Stone - or maybe like lichen on granite? This grey-green note, the only note that stands out clearly in this otherwise unified blend, is like an ancient, elemental ether-energy, as if it were itself an entity, surrounded by a softly-sweet, basil/citrus-infused and damply misty aura, contained in a smooth wooden box carved of something like white sandalwood and etched with a simple design without lifting the blade from the wood until the work was complete.

 

Beautifully crafted and something I'd love a partial bottle of to sniff and treasure.

[Schmoozy]

 

Dark woods mingles with sweet herbs. It' damp, green and slightly musty.

Pretty but not bottle worthy. A decant will suffice.

[Bamels]

The scent flies out of the bottle and up my nose! I smell moss which I assume is the fungus and a slight sharpness which I think is the herbs. On and wet (and all over my laptop!) it smells sharp and clean, it reminds me of cleaning a bathroom but in a nice, clean, fresh sort of way. I was expecting something darker than this. The herbs seem to be the dominant note on me and I'm pretty sure one of them is lavendar and it reminds me of bubble bath. It's starting to soften as it dries but I can't say I'm too keen on it, as much as I like clean bathrooms I don't really want to smell of one.

[strahlend]

I really liked the concept, maybe too much. Perhaps my expectations were too high. I thought it was going to be an unusual scent, but it's quite tame and harmless. On me it smells light green and herbal-clean and a little soapy. There are lots of great scents in this genre, this one is nice too - but it doesn't really stand out or speak to me.

[theseagrows]

unfortunately, this smells pretty terrible on me. sour, green and herbal, like old rotting leaves or something. i can't really make out any notes, just know it smells icky.

 

eta: a few hours later it smells like a sweet floral that's pretty innocuous. not really bad or good, still, much better than the initial stages.

Edited April 15, 2010 by theseagrows

[aquazoo]

Moldy and woody. Actually this is kind of decent. It's a little cabin where herbs are drying, in spite of the drizzle outside.

[kikithepirate]

In the imp, it smells herbal and fresh -- almost tangy.

 

On me, this is just soap. Nothing else.

[surf-tormented]

Pros: It smells like a very fancy French soap!

 

Cons: It smells like a very fancy French soap!

 

If you like herbal French soap, you will love this.

If you don't, pass it by.

 

But it is what it is. Fancy herbal soap. No bad mildew, no fungus, just fancy French soap!

[DraloreShimare]

In the vial – An astringent herb/wood blend.

On the skin – Brighter, like pine trees and vines. Very green smelling, almost minty, but it’s not mint that’s coming through.

Dry – Still smells like a pine forest, but a slightly faded one.