The Worm Shall Revive Thee With Kisses

[Lycanthrope]

THE WORM SHALL REVIVE THEE WITH KISSES
But the worm shall revive thee with kisses;
Thou shalt change and transmute as a god,
As the rod to a serpent that hisses,
As the serpent again to a rod.
Thy life shall not cease though thou doff it;
Thou shalt live until evil be slain,
And good shall die first, said thy prophet,
Our Lady of Pain.

Bourbon vetiver, oakmoss, and pomegranate.

So... weird...

Starts off this very dischordant blend of dark dark vetiver and moss, with the fruity blast of pomegranate. On the skin, the pomegranate turns more to candy, like candy dipped in vetiver oil.

Oh, no... not playing well in my skin, it's both syrupy sweet yet fundamentally spicy and gritty. I'm not sure I'm liking the two together, it smells on my skin at least like a scorched pomegranate.

Sorry!

[crimescenecleanup]

This is a very complex vetiver - sure it has those mellow warm grass-straw-and-wood-like notes that make for such a lovely base in many perfumes, but this is also earthy, dirty, smoky and unapologetic!

 

Those who fear the smoky goodness of VETIVER, beware. This one is aggressive. And I love it!

 

It is perfectly blended with the moss, which adds just a hint of cool greenery, and the pomegranate, which is adds a hint of sweetness. I would not have recognized this as tart pomegranate, it just comes across as candied red fruits to my nose.

 

If this is what scorched pomegranates smell like, remind me to throw some on the grill next time I have a barbecue.

[zmulls]

Well I'm a vetiver lover, in most cases, but this was a little too extreme for me. I think saying that the vetiver was dirty and unapologetic was right on the money (and "dirty and unapologetic" can be quite arousing under the right circumstances).

 

My skin tends to dislike fruits and florals. Florals are always repellent on me, and fruits are iffy. (The melon in Ogun is a fruit that plays nicely on my skin, for instance). But the pomegranate doesn't come through for me. When the vetiver wore off, it left behind baby powder.

 

So, on me (a guy with a little extra swarthiness, chemically), I got nasty vetiver and not much else, with a sad aftersmell.

 

I'm afraid this one will be an unloved one for me.

[Caper]

This one is amazing. Fruity, and earthy (not soil, just grounded) with a hint of moss.

 

It is like everything that I love in a blend. Which probably means that it won't be very popular since I tend to be an outlier with some of my tastes.

 

I don't really get heavy vetiver from this, but maybe that is because it is tempered by the sweetness of the pom?

 

Either way, I'm definitely getting a bottle with my next order.

[mymymai]

ITI: It's a bit more earthy than I had expected, which I think is the combination of the vetiver and the oakmoss. There is some sharp artificiality from the pomegranate the second after I smell the earthiness.

 

Wet: Slightly soapy pomegranate and smoky vetiver bourbon. I'm not getting much oakmoss on my skin at this point.

 

Dry: After some time, I get mostly powdery vetiver and just an impression of artificial pomegranate. This is a pass for me.

[thekittenkat]

In the decant: Okay, that's strange. I smelt the vetiver before I popped the cap, and once I sniffed the decant, I got a faint pom note where the pom had gone off, and something bitter was wafting up behind it. Not liking that at all, frankly.

 

Wet: Btw, very dark brown oil in colouring, reminding me of the big wooden box filled with compost and black dirt that my grandfather raised his fishing worms in. Now, sharp, sour, and bitter on the skin, with the sourness probably from that spoiled pom. Icky.

 

The dry-down: Well, it takes a while, but the pom reversed course, and became unspoilt, but is rapidly being buried by the vetiver, as in SN Vetiver. Not my thing.

Edited March 19, 2013 by thekittenkat

[Little Bird]

The lab's pomegranate note never works on me. It's a strong, bitter, powdery scent that's reminiscent of sweet tarts candy, but more bitter and less sweet. I get that note paired with a smoky vetiver and it just smells harsh and odd to me.

[zankoku_zen]

VETIVER AND OAKMOSS DEATHMATCH.

 

And the bad vetiver, smoky bacon and a hint of dankness.

 

BAAAAAAAD.

[milo]

Lots of juicy pom at first, I'm surprised, as vetiver seems to be a note that dominates most of the time. After a bit, ah, there it is, though it's not a gritty vetiver, like the Haitian, or maybe it's different from the vetiver. There is no pom to speak of now, just a soft, smoky vetiver, that fades pretty quickly I might add. I don't mind this, but it's rather masculine, and a fast fader. Interesting to try, but not me.

[marared]

A decant has been sitting in my box for the last three years, and I don't remember what I thought when it's fresh (I did buy it because I love vetiver and oakmoss), but boy do I like it now when it's aged. I can only baaaaaarely detect the pomegranate - there's a slightly fruity blast when it first comes out of the imp, but it vanishes quickly. It's milder than the SN Haitian vetiver, but it's still smoky, and I guess if vetiver smells like bacon to you, there's a hint of bacon, but I don't really get that on my skin. It's just lovely aged vetiver mellowed out with a hint of wood and barely any fruit. I'm pretty sure I need to track down a bottle now.

[ralenth]

This scent has very minimal throw, but is a delicious, mellow vetiver that is thick, dark and smoky. It last for a long time on my skin, but I tend to amp vetiver, so this is unsurprising.

[Failmingo]

In the bottle this is rich and dark, and the combo of earthiness and fruitiness really could tilt toward the stench of decay -- but this only nods to it, as a faint gesture of acknowledgement. There's a stillness and coolness to the bottled scent that's suggestive of the absence of life's creature comforts, although it's quite vivid in other ways. 

 

While this is quite a bit different than my all-time fave BPAL, The Great He-Goat, there is enough overlap with the pomegranate and vetiver combo to point my brain in that direction... and I love that! The crackling smokiness of the vetiver blooms on the skin, lending a brash warmth to the oakmoss, but then -- lest all this like spread out of control like a brushfire -- the pomegranate stickily enfolds and grounds the other notes, imparting an sullen infernal hue, like a scene viewed through a deep red stained-glass window. Very seductive!

 

To me this is a lustrous fall scent, hinting at mysteries and reveling romantically in notions of death and decay, the way we play at embracing the darkness while it's still relatively comfortable -- before the full reality of winter's desolation sets in. I could almost swear I smell the "smoked ginger" from the He-Goat scent in this, in Worm's dying gasp; whatever that is, it's worth sticking around for.