Haute Macabre

[Madame Mew]

Oak leaf, bourbon vanilla, almond husk, and black leather accord darkened by a 13-year aged black patchouli.

 

All almond up front, but ends up smelling leathery and yummy after it dries down. I am going to try this again with one of my more patchouli forward scents to see what happens!

[strick9]

Fresh out of the mailbox from the Haute Macabre restock! So excited.

 

In the bottle: lots of almond sweetness up front backed by worn-in leather and some patchouli. It's very heavy on the almond, which honestly I like. Slight hints of the bourbon vanilla as well. I think the oak leaf is mixing with the leather and making the leather old, rather than new. I really like how this smells in the bottle, but was hoping for more patchouli.

 

Wet: its super sweet right now with almond and bourbon vanilla. slight peeks of everything else. The almond starts to mellow about 5 minutes after application, and this 13-year aged black patchouli starts to come forward. On me, it's lighter than i would have imagined, and has almost a floral nature to it. Man, its super beautiful. Once it's dry, the almond has truly just become a top-note; what i can imagine is oak leaf and patchouli constitute the middle (the oak leaf makes this smell a bit like a cloudy damp fall day/evening. This isn't aquatic though- its more like wet leaves) and the leather/bourbon vanilla make this just downright sexy.

 

Some might consider this a bit masculine because of the leather and oak leaf, but i think this scent is a truly super-sexy unisex fragrance. I can't wait to wear this for a full day to get a feel for it- right now it's going in my favorites row.

[cassiejaynebunk]

i thought i would hate this because i usually hate almond, but after the initial slap of marzipan, a rich black leather comes out, and on the dry down, i get the vanilla and patchouli. a lovely blend.

[Aveya]

Got samples of these

 

Imp : Almond & hints of fake leather.

Skin initial: Seriously black leather. Slick and almost wet.

Drydown: Dirty dark earthy leafy ~ all blooms up giving a glorious backbone to the leather and almond. Becomes seriously black leather. I can see it, I can touch it. It's definitely in the Dominatrix leather realm. The longer it sits the more the patchouli settles in. Longhaul this becomes patchouli, leather, and skin-close vanilla scent.

 

I really really irrationally love this.I just don't have a decent place to wear it. WAY too dominatrix on me to wear to work without cocked eyebrows. Going to be a Girls Weekend Out scent for me. Unisex truly. Powerful on anyone.

 

Verdict: Dee & Banshee Beat BDSM session

[torikitty]

I don't pick up almond and patchouli as much as everyone else. The leather immediately jumps out at me, with a sweet dirt/earth note. It's kinda like if you had an old leather jacket, and decided to jump into a pile of leaves and then make dirt angels. It's sweet-ish, but I can see a guy pulling this off. I'm guessing that's the oak.

 

It's really pretty. It's a must-have for leather lovers; however, I can get my leather needs from Perversion and other leather blends I have. I would think that earthy lovers and patch lovers who don't have a leather blend can enjoy this.

[Cali]

A SUPER herbal on me, sticky and green wet - however that vanilla comes out real soon on application, and there's something almond-y, but not too bad that it causes a death-note reaction in me, it's quite delicious, actually! 

[supreme_c0rt]

Wet --- a punch of screechy sweet almond, marzipan. Chemical black leather trailing behind. I don't terribly love it at this stage. BDSM Marzipan. But I can tell it's going to downshift into something good.  

 

Dry -- Sure enough. The almond starts to calm down and the leather comes out to meet it. It still has a weird chemical bent to it. Black leather almost always does this on me. But it's being met by a creamy sweetness. 

 

Settled in at cruising altitude -- the chemical edge wears off and the notes start to melt together. It's sweeter than what I usually go for but this really came together nicely. There's a coolness to the scent. Vanilla almond milk ice cream, spiced with patchouli and finished with a hard slap of black leather. Sweet and soothing but dangerous. A black and white contrast. It takes some time to get there, but when it does it's worth the wait. Gorgeous. 

 

The mood is sophisticated, dark, and mysterious, like high-fashion power goth. 

 

Big throw and longevity on this one, noticeable even when resting quietly, not moving.

 

Leather lovers should try this at least once. I'm going to put this in the neighborhood of Antikythera Mechanism (for the creamy, sweet,  almost root beer float thing), Scholar's Tower (for its smoky-sweet-spicy masculine bookishness) and Spanked for the bitey leather. 

 

I'm impressed so far with the Haute Macabre collabs. They hit the tone they aim for, and this bat approves. 🦇

Edited August 5, 2019 by supreme_c0rt

[Lucchesa]

Wet:  vanilla!  Creamy almond vanilla.  I am a lover of marzipan, so this is right up my alley.  Then as it dries down, the leather emerges in a big way, and the almond starts to bow out quietly, so the leather marzipan stage doesn't last long on me.  What I end up with is vanilla, leather and maybe a hint of oak, but I never actually get much patchouli.  Supreme_c0rt likened this to Antikythera Mechanism and I agree, it's like AM with leather instead of tobacco.  Not much throw but that's typical of me; good wear length.  Kind of a femme leather blend, though perfectly approachable for either gender.  Haute Macabre is a beauty!

[tailoredshirt]

I bought a bottle of this when it was first released, stuck it in a box, and only just found it again! It's embarrassing how often I do this. So this is 7 years old. 

 

When I ordered this, I was focused on the vanilla, leather, and wood, so I wasn't expecting the almond to be so prevalent. In the bottle and wet, it is a creamy almond-vanilla with leather. The leather is smooth, not much of the chemical bite that I expect from black leather, although that might be from aging. 

 

As it dries down, the vanilla overtakes the almond. I can finally get a hint of patchouli but it's subtle. I wasn't sure how I felt about this when I first applied it, but even then I couldn't stop smelling my arm. It's a great variation for my vanilla-leather collection. 😊 

[feyofthefellwood]

I love leather as a note and like almond, but am learning I'm not super keen on the two together. (I also tried a leather-almond blend earlier this year from another house and it just wasn't my thing. I think the contrast with the leather makes the almond smell sweeter to me?). However, once the almond settles down the leather-vanilla-patchouli combo here is eyes-rolling-in-back-of-head good. Sort of dark and gritty but smoothed and elevated by the vanilla. I don't think I'll bottle this one, but I'm glad I got to try it!

Edited April 29, 2020 by feyofthefellwood

[Threemoons]

Just revisited a 5-year old bottle of this.  It was fabulous when I got it, but now it is an absolute showstopper.  On me it's all sexy black leather and deep, dark, black patchouli.  The other notes give it a sort of expensive cologne vibe.  This is such a badass, masculine scent!  I feel like a total badass biker girl in a black leather jacket and riding leathers even though I am sitting here in my sox, undies, and a BPAL T-shirt.  

[Jenesis]

Talk about a wild swing - I took a chance on this (brand new from HM). In the bottle I get boozy almonds, like rum-drenched marzipan-covered cake. Fresh on, the almonds stay but the deep leather and patchouli come out on me (the booze thankfully takes a bit more of a backseat). The vanilla starts to rise to the top. It actually has vibes of 'O', but darker and more complex. Absolutely lovely!

 

Addendum: I love this on skin but not in a scent locket. That heady patchouli note right under my nose, and without the skin chemistry, just gave me a headache. Wear-only!

Edited March 25, 2021 by Jenesis

[witchytwitchygirl]

When this one first arrived, it was a headache in a bottle. I don’t like overly sweet, and the almond plus the vanilla was all cherry syrup to my nose. I swore I would hate almond forever and ever and ever, until I let the bottle rest and I changed my mind. I don’t think almond will ever be my *favorite* note, but something about the way this has settled together is just so sexy and gorgeous. I was hoping for patchouli and leather to stand out more, but alas. I find it very femme fatale, and save it for date nights when I want to feel particularly dangerous and desirable.

 

I do find that wearing this with the HM hair gloss makes the woody and leathery aspects stand out more. The hair gloss is certainly a totally different scent experience (I almost like it better), but they mix well together.

[doomsday_disco]

This starts off strong on the oak and almond on me, but then the almond calms down, and it morphs into mostly a black leather, patchouli, and oak scent. There's a skin musk-like aspect to it, too, that I think could be the bourbon vanilla, but nothing in this reads as sweet on me after several hours of wear, and I usually need some sort of sweet note to get me to appreciate most scents (especially ones with heavier notes like leather or patch). So this ended up not being for me, since the almond didn't stick around, and the bourbon vanilla wasn't a main player, but I'm glad I got to try it.  

[Estamets]

Despite being a heavy-hitting leather, I find this scent soft and comforting. It’s husky and grounded, but there’s a lightness to it that floats in a way that makes me think of amber (without the metallic tone my brain attaches to actual ambers). The vanilla, leaf, and husk turn this into a friendly and elevated soft brown leather on me. 
 

I don’t get any patchouli, but maybe I don’t know what aged black patchouli smells like 🤷🏼‍♀️
 

I absolutely adore this scent. It does remind me of the As Above / So Below pairing, with less floatiness.