Nosferatu

[homunculus]

We've finally caved in to years of requests for vampiric scents. As soft as grave dust and as dry as a breath drawn within a long forgotten crypt, this is Nosferatu: desiccated herbs and gritty earth brought to life with a swell of robust and sanguineous red wines.

At first this is bitter and herby. Very bitter. A bit like stamping through wet undergrowth. There's a sort of fizzly, crackly edge to it that makes your nose tingle. The sweet fruity wine note takes a while to warm up and then peers out over the plants and soil. This is the only BPAL perfume my husband has ever noticed (so far) ... "Are you wearing some amazing perfume type thing? It's like raspberry ripple ice cream!" This was from afar - then closer he thought it was more complicated - maybe fresh raspberries and crushed greenery.

Can't make up my mind about this one - it intrigues me. It also varies a lot according to my menstrual cycle, taking on a sour note when there's actual blood. How much more vampirish could it get?? Very interesting and makes me want to try the other 'earth' scents. Edited March 4, 2008 by homunculus

[Lavada]

For a scent encapsulating one of the most well-known ageless creatures, this sure fades fast on me.

 

Oh, but damn is it beautiful! Muted wines floating over... the colour green grey. The silhouette of an elegant man (at least a man-shaped being) taking a stroll in the graveyard at the earliest dusk; this is what Nosferatu brings to my mind.

 

Sadly, it only lasts 15 minutes before slinking off into the shadows.

[iiinterstate]

oh goodness...reading the description Nosferatu doesn't seem like something I'd like, but I was way wrong.

 

herbs and sweet wine with a base of lovely dirt scent is what I get.

As time goes on it becomes less sweet and DEFINITELY more worthy of the name Nosferatu. Its dark and delicious, but not too heavy.

 

This is quite different from anything else I have in my collection... I might need a bottle.

[bellacalla]

It starts out all grass and moss and dirt one me but slowly the wine comes out and it takes on a sort of sweet yet dusky and dark scent. It is addictive - I cannot stop smelling my wrists when I have it on and it makes me feel totally sexy, but in a completely different way from something like Vixen which is more blatantly "sexy" on me. Nosferatu is more of a languorous sexy, if that makes sense. For some reason it is just associated with the word languorous to me. I love this - it makes me want to bite my own wrists!!

 

 

ETA: It fades really fast - I thought it was because the first time I tested it I didn't put much on - but after a full wear it faded super fast too. I still love it though.

Edited April 14, 2008 by bellacalla

[VioletChaos]

in the imp: yep. green grass.

 

wet on skin: green grass that has been watered with sea water.

 

dry down: same.

 

in all: well, as far as a vampiric scent goes, i'm afraid it falls short but! if you like green grassy scents, this is a total keeper.

[ImperatrixMundi]

It really smelled like an old, dry, dusty vampire that was asleep for the past five centuries.

 

The imp is quite old, it still has the old BPAL Phoenix logo on the back, and there is not much left of the wine notes, just something vaguely fruity over dry earth. The dust smell was impressive, however I dont intend to smell like dusty old Nosferatu.

[lacyjae]

I got a couple mystery imp sets from Salendire, and Nosferatu was one of them.

 

My first sniff impression in the imp: woah, loam and dirt and freshly turned leaves on a grave, and.. mint?

 

I tried a dab on my wrist. All I get is fresh, wet dirt, with maybe some graveside flowers mixed in. It's dark, old dirt, but wet. Just dirt. There's no wine, no herbs, no dusty or dryness or blood or lust or anything. Just deep, wet earth.

 

 

It's nice, but not something I could wear. I don't think wet earth is really a perfume kinda scent for me. I wish I got the lusty, sexy, wine notes.

 

 

edit: I took a sniffer to work and had my co-worker smell it. She said she smelled flowers of some sort, and alcohol - like a strong strong drink. She said it smelled nothing like dirt to her.

Edited May 1, 2008 by LacyJae

[fairnymph]

Sniffed in imp: Strong soil, hint of sweet herbs, and dry, acidic red wine.

[FelinePulse]

In the Imp: mmmmm This smells like berries.

 

On my skin: Berry soap. With an almost headache inducing sweetness.

 

Not at all what I was expecting.

 

My chemisty does not like this one. Drat.

[savage_rose]

As the imp went on, I thought, "Dirt. Watery dirt." But as it dries, a faint note of flowers comes out. It smells like dirt soap! You'd think that would be a paradox, but it's not .

 

I like it, but it's not something I'd wear often.

[dansemacabre]

Initially it smells very earthy and herb-y. It's almost has a faint smell of sickly sweet dampen earth. But not in a bad way. I am a bit perplexed by this one. I can't quite pin down if I like it or not. It smells kind of old, in an ancient kind of way, like I've just unearth a rare forgotten imp. The final dry down, I really like, it's sweet but not in a fruity, foody kind of way. It's VERY earthy and I normally HATE earthy scents. It's almost like being engulfed in withering flowers. Very interesting picture this one paints. I love to see this used as a body lotion moreso than a perfume.. I think that's what I'll do with this imp -- give it a new life.

[kittycatpurr]

In the imp: Huh. Well, that smells herb-y, then sthweet. This better not be all grapes. Now it's blowing up, and filling the apartment with a fruity wine smell. Ugh. Call me Buffy, but I was convinced I could have a meaningful relationship with Nosferatu. You'd think a vampire could cough up more DIRT. And the grapes are blowing up so bad, it gets baggied and moved to swaps.

 

My co-worker, who had loved Zombi (like I did), smelled more dirt in this than I did. She ended up taking the imp.

[goblinshark]

OK, so I have read a ton of reviews on this site and frequently I see people mention that things smell like dish soap on them, and that this is a bad thing. I was always like, well, I think dish soap smells pretty nice, I can't imagine why this is so universally hated!

 

And then I tried Nosferatu.

 

And it is EXACTLY that Palmolive dish soap smell. Exactly. And I hate it!! Now I get it.

 

Luckily this smells amazing on my boyfriend, and it was a gift for him anyway.

[galahad]

In The Bottle

A touch of earth and rose with something else in there to round it out

 

On Application

Dirt and forals including rose and night blooming flowers

 

Dry Down

This is the first time I can pick out the wine note in a blend and I like it! I am not really sure about this - I love the dirt and wine but the rose undercurrent is not to my liking. As long as it doesn't come to the fore, this will be OK. That's better, this finally dries down to dirt and wine. A must have.

 

Rating (0-5)

4.5

 

Full Wear Test

Fantastic. Just needs a bit of a touch up part way through the day. Love the earthy scent which seems to last for ages on me and really love the winey note. The rose is bearable. Another bottle! I managed to spill the imp in my office, so I am going to be experiencing this one for a while.

Edited June 29, 2008 by galahad

[stillalive]

in bottle: reaaaaally sweet and kind of... red? it must be the wine.

 

wet: still really sweet but a little sharp and bitter now, too.

 

drying: still sweet, a little bit earthy now too. All I can really smell is dirt, wine, and a little bit of herbs?

 

10 minutes later: nothing. Just the faint scent of wine if I work really hard at smelling wrist.

 

If I ran into Dracula, I'm pretty sure this is what he would smell like. Not going to get a big bottle of it and not something I like on me, but it's an interesting scent.

Edited June 25, 2008 by systemaurora

[circe_blue]

Wet: herbal-y, mostly floral. Just a hint of the red wine.

 

On skin: Still floral though now it's sweeter. Not sickly sweet, something's there to ground it (the "dirt" note?). Also, for some reason I'm getting ginger from this-not spicy ginger but the fresh element of it.

 

Later: more dirt notes, but now I also smell something "dry".

 

 

This Nosferatu oil is masculine in a sleek, old money kind of way. He's more likely to take you to the opera than stay in for pizza and beer.

This is quite lovely actually, though due to the sweet herbal-ness of it, it's a no-go on getting a bottle.

[quigza]

In the vial: burgundy & rose

 

Wet: burgundy, rose & grit... yes, grit. I have no better way of describing it

 

Dry down: The wine kind of fades to that scent of the wine glass after a red wine has been drank. That and something green, and more dirt notes. The rose is very faded in the background

 

Aftermath: There's just a touch of grit & faded wine.

[caffinatedangel]

Nosferatu was a scent that when I read reviews, I fell in love and wanted it to work on me so well.

 

In bottle: Wine, airy, watery, sort of a fresh scent. "as dry as a breath drawn within a long forgotten crypt" - this is right now certianly a breath. But a breath from the breeze itself, slightly magical and ancient.

 

Wet, On skin: Same as bottle, but added a darker earth tone. As if the magical breeze on touching my skin has become alive. Nosferatu lives through me.

 

Drying: The airy and wateryness sort of step back, merging with the wine and becoming more solid. The herbs show themselves with a tangy sweetness. Earth is present.

 

Dry, after a bit: My skin eats light notes and leaves behind dark deep musty notes. In Nosferatu, it is devouring the tang of the herbs, and leaving behind the sanguine wine and earth notes. Using the Earth tones to add my musk into. It works out well.

 

Emotions: I feel not like a cliche mindless dead vampire. There's no blood, no decay, no dusty gross old. It's the smell of a women freshly rising for her nightly routine. Powerful, fully expecting a royal court to come at her call. It's sophisticated, deadly, dark, but yet light in a breezy and womanly way. As it dries and time passes, the earth gets mustier and gains a bit of grit, the wine starts to vanish moreso, but only via the bright tones. Wine is still present inside the dirt, but with the grit as well.

Lasting?: Previously I had reviewed this after putting it on quickly and running off for a family trip to the zoo. I didn't get to appreciate it like I wanted. However, about 9 hours after applying it I was at the zoo, sweaty and miserable, and caught a waft of wine. Nosferatu was more or less reactivated by my sweat, and what perfect timing. Everyone with me was sweaty and disgusting. I was sweaty and powerfully seductive. Though I lacked any decent targets. The giraffes weren't impressed.

 

Overall: This is a dark scent, with light wine, almost floraly (in a dark deep rose sense, faint but just almost) notes on occasion that peak and tantalize. It's very regal and royal, and was very feminine on me.

 

But, having spilt it on my desk I can see what happens when applied to cheap maple. It goes the opposite way: More wine, more tang of herbs, and earth becomes a background scent. So changes are some people will have a more tangy experience with it, as light notes vanish on me.

 

I also think on a male this could smell divine. while the wine turned slighty rosey and darkly feminine on me, on a male I could see it adding just a touch of romance to their impression. Not anything like Dee, where a man would be solid very potent male. But a very sensative and cunning, feminine, vampire-y male.

 

Ugh, that shall be the test for my next boyfriend. Do they smell good in Nosferatu? If they do, it may just be a forever keeper. lol

 

Rating: A

 

last thought: Delicious. I ramble, but I loved this wine note. I'll have to find more.

 

 

edit: Re-applied and re-reviewed because the first time was so shaky. This is now the more updated version

Edited July 12, 2008 by CaffinatedAngel

[filigree_shadow]

I have trouble with dirt/earth scents basically always, but I wanted to try everything in the BPAL GC – just in case! – so I’m trying this one.

 

Uh… yeah, I could have safely given this one a pass. The dirt note in it is far too overwhelming for me. It’s not a pretty dirt (like in Zombi) or a lush black fertile dirt, it’s kind of an acidic dirt. I wouldn’t wear this myself, and I don’t think I’d like to smell it on someone else, either. This just isn’t the sort of thing I like.

 

I wish I had the type of skin chemistry that would allow me to wear a dirt/earth scent. Any dirt/earth scent!! Just one would be nice! No matter which one I try, basically all I can smell is dirt. I was testing 6 different BPAL oils on my arms while I was testing Nosferatu, and while I was sitting here typing all I could smell was earth from Nosferatu. It lasts forever, too. Two hours later, I still smell like dirt. All the other notes from all the other perfumes I had on have faded out, but the dirt is still going strong.

[plunderparlour]

wet-this smells like my garden when we dug turnips up from the moist earth. dry- this smells like earthy turnips on me and then fades fast. weird.

[simpsonmeredith]

The name says it all. Despite reading the Vampire Chronicles this summer, this one doesn't do it for me. I feel like all my reviews end up being about something sexy or sensual. This is about as far away from that as it gets. I'm sorry, I couldn't keep this on for the dry down, I barely lasted 10 minutes and had to scrub it off. Change my shirt. Shower. Exfoliate.

 

Sickly sweet wine poured over decaying flesh. The wine is the most prominent note but the decay is there (and it smells like decay, not dirt on me) hiding in the background trying hard to disguise itself.

 

I wish I could appreciate this but it wasn't meant to be.

[Kabooki]

I put this on and was like "wow this smells like soap!" I started to read the reviews and was like "Wait a second what are these people seeing/smelling that I'm not?!" so I have been reading and sniffing and finally found others that smell the same thing I do. It smells like dish soap, a slightly sweet dish soap mind you, but dish soap nontheless!

 

Into the swap pile you go you evil clean vampire you!

[Kimbernunk]

This was interesting. It was all sticky red wine in the imp (like a red wine made out of Concord grapes which I've tried once at a tasting and which was, I assure you, revolting). I dabbed it on and it suddenly turned to the scent of thick-stemmed plants being trampled in freshly turned up dirt, with a heavy tone of (a thankfully much drier) red wine on top -- rather like people had been dancing around a tombstone at an Irish wake but were drinking Pinot Noir instead of whisky.

The problem: 10 minutes in I started to develop a headache. 20 minutes in I figured out exactly where the headache was coming from and had to wash it off.

 

Verdict: will have to pass on to someone who doesn't get the headache.

[Iceblink]

Wet=the earthiest, dirtiest dirt EVER. Like playing in the dirt!

Dry=dirt, with a green herbal tinge and a bit of wine. This certainly does paint a picture in scent but it smells very, very weird on my skin.

[Delirium1009]

In bottle/imp: Warm, rocky earth and wine.

 

Immediately on skin: This is a surprisingly warm scent. I think the dirt note in this is the same as the one in Death Cap, which I found nice but a little odd for me by itself. It’s ruddy and earthy, but also strangely warm and almost comforting. Along with this are subtle, green herbs and thick red wine.

 

After a little while: This has morphed into a thick and fragrant red wine and warm earth scent. The more I sniff it, the more I think that the Death Cap note in the background might be more like Black Opal. It’s an earth scent, but it’s not really grainy or dirty. Anyway, this has become rather sweet but not too thick or wine dominated. It’s actually nicely balanced. A clean, earthy wine scent, I’d say.

 

Overall Impressions: This was a nice surprise. I expected, well, gritty earth; maybe patchouli, or vetiver, but instead this scent has a clean, ruddy earth note that’s quite pleasant and wearable. This is mixed with red wine that’s not too thick, and gentle herbs. The earth note reminds me of Death Cap or Black Opal (without the vanilla of course)… I can’t really figure out which one. This is a lighter, earthier wine scent without being too heavy or too gritty, despite the description.