The Decrepit House

[spiresinthesnow]

THE DECREPIT HOUSE
During the whole of a dull, dark, and soundless day in the autumn of the year, when the clouds hung oppressively low in the heavens, I had been passing alone, on horseback, through a singularly dreary tract of country; and at length found myself, as the shades of the evening drew on, within view of the melancholy House of Usher. I know not how it was; but, with the first glimpse of the building, a sense of insufferable gloom pervaded my spirit. I say insufferable; for the feeling was unrelieved by any of that half-pleasurable, because poetic, sentiment, with which the mind usually receives even the sternest natural images of the desolate or terrible. I looked upon the scene before me—upon the mere house, and the simple landscape features of the domain—upon the bleak walls—upon the vacant eye-like windows—upon a few rank sedges—and upon a few white trunks of decayed trees—with an utter depression of soul which I can compare to no earthly sensation more properly than to the after-dream of the reveler upon opium—the bitter lapse into every-day life—the hideous dropping off of the veil. There was an iciness, a sinking, a sickening of the heart—an unredeemed dreariness of thought which no goading of the imagination could torture into aught of the sublime. What was it—I paused to think—what was it that so unnerved me in the contemplation of the House of Usher? It was a mystery all insoluble; nor could I grapple with the shadowy fancies that crowded upon me as I pondered. I was forced to fall back upon the unsatisfactory conclusion that while, beyond doubt, there are combinations of very simple natural objects which have the power of thus affecting us, still the analysis of this power lies among considerations beyond our depth. It was possible, I reflected, that a mere different arrangement of the particulars of the scene, of the details of the picture, would be sufficient to modify, or perhaps to annihilate its capacity for sorrowful impression; and, acting upon this idea, I reined my horse to the precipitous brink of a black and lurid tarn that lay in unruffled luster by the dwelling, and gazed down—but with a shudder even more thrilling than before—upon the remodeled and inverted images of the gray sedge, and the ghastly tree stems, and the vacant and eye-like windows.
—The Fall of the House of Usher, EA Poe

An architectural doppelganger reflecting a ruined soul: dilapidated planks of mahogany and cypress wood perched feebly on a grim foundation of long-dead leaves, black musk, patchouli, galbanum, tobacco absolute, fragonia, and oakmoss.

The scent of sweet, sun warmed, aged wood, with a smoky, musky, autumnal kind of backdrop. Its not sharp like fresh cut tree, or dusty and prickly like sawdust, nor does it have any mildewy aspects. Its sweet and heady and actually not very decrepit at all.

[Dark Alice]

I didn't want to try this one but all of the notes seemed like they should work...I was so right and SOOO WRONG! It smells like black smoky wood on me with a hint of something sweet. Barely there sweet but definitely blackened wood and smoke and something sweet. Not bad... but definitely not for me.

[krissstephens]

I love it, this is by far my favorite of the new Halloweenies that I've tried. It's in my top 10. I think the oakmoss is amazing, it's just the perfect amount, not too mossy but just right. It's the perfect wood scent for me, I was afraid the cypress would be powdery but it isn't at all. 5 out of 5.

[Geminirubyshoes]

Wet this is sweet, musty oakmoss. I definately smell a smoky quality that is maybe the black musk? Not too strong on the patchouli front. Drier it's still sweet, but smoky wood and a little bit of dusty spice. Like the downstairs of an old finished basement.

This kind of reminds me of Samhainophobia. I may need to snag a bottle of this before it goes away.

[cfrancesca]

Ooh, I like this...it's a little odd at first but settles into a nice smokey, woody, musky, spicy scent. The tobacco absolute, woods and leaves are great in here. I find it's a very complex, masculine scent.

[sfsassy]

This was a surprise hit out of the weenies for me. I love it. It's a very mellow smokey scent. Leans a bit masculine. But overall, it's a real winner.

[bellevivre]

This feels like Nephilim, but on a chain-smoker. I get all the lovely dark, rotting, rich earth and spiciness, but there's this pervasive smell of like, a cigarette smoker's breath... It's mellowing now, been on about 10 minutes, but it's so much like Nephilim to me I think I'd rather just have Nephilim from the GC

Edited February 26, 2011 by Shollin
Removed Lab description

[zankoku_zen]

Sweet, sunwarmed woods. Wood, leaves, hint of tobacco.

 

On the right guy, this would be the sex. This is warm, masculine and inviting. I am going to go try this on mr. zee_zee... STAT!

[Iceblink]

Mahogany, musk, faint tobacco, leaves, oakmoss--there is as others have said something slighly smoky here too. It's very atmospheric and evocative but I think it would smell better on a guy.

[Little Bird]

The Decrepit House isn't as dark and earthy as I was expecting it to be. It's more of a woods blend than an earthy one (I can't smell much of the oakmoss, leaves, or patchouli, especially as it dries down) and the black musk gives off a smoky feel. I would have guessed that there was teak and pine in this, but that's probably the mahogany and cypress that I'm smelling. It's a dark, slightly sweet, slightly powdery woods scent. It reminds me of The Antikythera Mechanism a bit, if AM were less sweet and more smoky.

 

I like this, and my husband really liked it as well and is probably going to steal the partial bottle from me...

[edenssixthday]

The Decrepit House - I agree with Little Bird that this has an Antikythera Mechanism vibe to it, but nearly as sweet. It's very heavy on the black musk, oakmoss, and pathcouli. It's definitely a woody scent, and very dark, heavy, almost scorched in its pungentness. I feel like there's got to be vanilla in it, but that could be because of the AK association I have with it. It's a bit on the cloying side for me, but I still kind of like it. I think I would wear this if it weren't so heavy on the black musk, which rarely works well on me. Still, it's tempting, because it's *so close* to being awesome on me.

[angelicruin]

Heavy, smoky musk and wood on my skin. This is just too heavy a scent for me to find wearable.

[milo]

On, very strong masculine and woody. This kind of reminds me of Interfector, only with less tobacco and sweetness. I think this is much too masculine for me, still I wondered what was smelling so good here at the keyboard, and it was me! I get a bit of spice here too, and though it is nice, I doubt I would ever wear it again. I bet it would smell absolutely amazing on a guy though!

[patina]

I get a bit of the cypress that was in Raven Moon, though of course there's no vanilla or chocolate in the House. It is sweet, though! Sweet, musky, woody, with an almost (but not quite) spicy smell. It's not for those who don't like wood or are bothered by a little bitterness or a lot of smoke in their perfume.

 

EDIT: This review isn't quite right, because I realized I'd accidently layered this over The Unsteady Gravediggers. Alone, on the drydown, it's thick, choking tobacco in the back of my throat. Ugh. Not a favorite.

Edited October 1, 2010 by patina

[ami226]

On the skin: Interesting. Smokey and slightly woodsy. Definitely getting a strong wood scent. Getting a slight powderiness that I normally associate with black musk. Definitely isn't overpowering though. I feel this one could be quite popular if given the chance/on the right skin.

[Schmoozy]

Mahogany and cypress are sweetened by musk and fragonia. It smells quite sweet, yet there is a smoky quality to it, thanks in part to the tobacco and patchouli. While the patchouli is earthy and blends in really well, it is neither overwhelming or typical. I am amazed that I kekeep huffing myself, and at this point unsure what I think of it. I don't hate it, but it's not instant love either.

[whisperstilled]

In Decant: Warm, oddly herbal wood. There's something in this that reminds me of my grandparents' house, and I can't figure out what. Strangely sweet. I definitely pick up the tobacco, and almost no patchouli, thankfully.

 

Wet: Sweet wood with a layer of herbal topnotes mixing and mingling with the tobacco. This is one odd scent.

 

Dry: As the scent dries it deepens and becomes more earthy than sweet. The moss starts to come to the fore and calm down the cloying tobacco absolute.

 

This scent is, for the record, much nicer as it dries. At first I thought we really weren't destined to get along, since the herbal notes were so odd, but this dries down to a slightly cologney, masculine, woody base. I don't know what it is I'm smelling that's grounding this so well, but by the time it dries individual notes aside from the tobacco are hard to pick out. The black musk definitely does rear its head on the skin, and the woody, sweet tobacco quality of the rest of the scent keeps it from becoming as harsh as it usually does. This is a total unexpected hit for me in the drydown stages, 4/5.

[SophieCedar]

Wet: definitely pick up on the oakmoss, cypress, and something sharply citrusy.. is that the fragonia? Digression: Ok... so I looked up fragonia to see what this mystery element is about.. I guess it's the only essential oil to be trademarked, by a french Dr that found it to have anti-inflammatory balancing effects. Fragonia is apparently something newer to the market from western Australia (ooh exotic! thanks Beth!) and has a perfect chemical ratio 1:1:1 for balancing and lighter than eucalyptus but still refreshing. THAT'S what I'm smelling! ah HA!! anyways...

 

Drydown: The tobacco is prominent for a moment then slinks back behind everyone else.. strange! This balances out to something familiar that I can't place my finger on. Definitely something atmoshpheric. The leaves, galbanum, patchouli, and black musk comes out more and the oakmoss stays around (nice! that's my favorite!)

[crebbsgirl]

This starts out a little crisp and dark. It sweetens at it dries, and actually becomes a lovely autumn scent. I actually really like this. On the surface its tobacco and dried leaves, and the patchouli and black musk drift through. I quite like this.

[aquazoo]

A little bit of dust and a lot of warm. Woody. Beautiful, masculine, strong like beams.

[filigree_shadow]

This smells like a deep, rich, and kind of dry blend of musk, patchouli, and oakmoss, with something sweet over the top that reminds me of vanilla. It's really nice. Doesn't smell old and decrepit at all. Smells kind of luxurious to me.

 

I think it's a tad too masculine for me, personally, so I handed the decant over to my husband to try. On him the cypress is a lot stronger. HA! This one smells better on me. This is seriously like one of two out of all the BPAL oils we've tried that smells better on me, with my weirdo skin chemistry.

[thekittenkat]

In the bottle: The black musk and tobacco are dominating.

 

Wet: Rather much the same as when I sniffed it.

 

The dry-down: Got this for the bf, as he's such a fan of Poe. (I am also, but this sounded like such a masculine scent.) Finally I'm getting hints of the woods and the oakmoss. I think he will like this.

[strahlend]

I get mostly the black musk, patchouli and tobacco I think. It's musky/woody and surprisingly sweet. I like oakmoss but it doesn't seem particularly pronounced here. This blend works so beautifully that I think before I use up my bottle I'm going to look for another black musk & patchouli blend - hopefully in the GC.

[HerbGirl]

This has been one of my favorites since it came in the mail in September... Galangal+Patchouli+wood/leaves= amazing!

 

In the bottle I ALMOST FEEL like I smell lavender...but I don't...'cuz it's not in here...

 

On me I smell a bit of patchouli, some wet-ish wood, a wallop of Galangal, some musk and tobacco. I don't really ever smell the oakmoss (and I am a huge fan): this is one of those perfumes where you don't need to smell every component - it's a perfect blend.

 

The Decrepit House morphs A LOT. Each girl needs a turn on top!

 

The Galangal retreats a bit over the next hour...and then I can't pick anything out...which is awesome!

 

This perfume lasts just over 4 hours on my skin (which is pretty amazing - most tend to disappear after the first 2 hours or so) and I love every stage of its morphing.

 

I always think I smell Lavender when I open the bottle, so one day I decided to wear Under the Harvest Moon right next to The Decrepit House on my wrists. It was absolutely amazing.

 

Fragonia? Er... I looked this up (had never heard of it) and immediately understood this perfume and why it works the way it does on me:

 

"The odour is described as "a pleasant fresh cineolic odour with a hint of a citrus note (which becomes more pronounced after a few minutes)mixed with a slight spicy cinnamon tonality and sweet balsamic undertones. The dry down is very faint being sweet, soapy and woody balsamic." (copyright Tony Burfield 2004)." (from Pap.erba.rkoi.ls .com)

 

The Decrepit House - 5+/5 Absolute Love. Top 3.

Edited February 25, 2011 by Shollin
Removed Lab description

[Redillon]

Opening the imp: A nice wet, woody scent. Actually, a POLISHED woody scent. As if you were to polish an old piece of furniture.

 

On the skin: The dustiness comes out and the woods are blending with the dark musk. I like it. I get a hint of the tobacco.

 

Dry down: Dusty wood with a base of candle wax. My skin turns black musk into wax. I really wanted to love this! My skin turns so many wonderful scents to wax.

 

EDIT!

After trying this scent many more times, I found I really love it, waxy or not. I think I'm addicted!

Edited June 17, 2011 by PuppetMistress