Death

[k00kaburra]

In bottle: Very earthy and dark. Death makes me think of the graveyard dirt that we are buried in after his visit. It is also a bit sharp, as if dry grasses are poking up out of the grave, which has fallen into disrepair.

 

On me: On the skin it's almost a bit nutty, as if walnuts or hazelnuts have been hiding behind the patchouli. It's a bit spicier now; I definitley don't get the dirt association as strongly now. It is not at all an unpleasant blend; there is almost something calming about it. I know I wouldn't wear it, but I think it captures Death perfectly.

[Little Bird]

Death is a very strong/evil blend on me. It is VERY woodsy throughout the 2 hours that I wore it, before I scrubbed my wrists raw trying to get it off

 

Smells very much like cedar, maybe with sandalwood. But it's a burning wood. Definitely smoky and ashen. And there's a bit of a soil smell in the background. Burning wood, ash, and dirt. It makes me think of a bonfire in the middle of a muddy plain. Mud as far as the eyes can see. It's dark and desolate.

 

This is pretty dark and unpleasant to me. One of the few Tarot Oils that I don't want to keep around.

[aidenraine]

Very woodsy when wet. I feel like I am strolling through the woods in the autumn (which I just was a moment before applying this). It's not unlike Temple of the Horned God, actually. They must have a similar note, which I am guessing is vetiver.

 

This strikes me as a very masculine scent, which generally means I should like it. Although there is something sweet lurking between the musky woods I am kind of ambivalent. I keep thinking: "Oh, I've smelled this before. I have this blend somewhere."

 

It is grounding, I'll give it that, but it's not the rebirth aroma that I was expecting.

 

As it dries it gets that earthy-herbal-sweetness that I enjoy in woodsy scents, but it's still not very exciting!

[Orodemniades]

Sandalwood? It's very very dry, but not sweet. There's something else in here, too...frankincense? Something woody, at any rate. I can honestly say I don't care for this. It's so dry the inside of my nose feels like paper, not a pleasant feeling.

 

So. I think I'll wear this only when I'm working with the card, it's too...yucky (sorry!) otherwise.

 

Oro

[feline.by.design]

:::takes a quick look at some of the previous reviews:::

 

Oh.

 

Well, I must be a weird one, because I found Death to be *the* perfect "wet woods and earth" fragrance I've been looking for. Hexennacht? No thanks. Nocnitsa? Erm, not really Capricorn? Disappointing (my rising sign is Capricorn). I received an imp of Burial recently, which I haven't tried yet, but in all honesty, nothing can top Death for me as being the woodsy earth scent of my dreams.

 

It is a masculine fragrance, so if you don't want to smell in the least bit like a man, just click your web browser on over to another review. Go on, click those pretty fingers elsewhere. For those of you left, who are either men or aren't afraid to potentially smell like one, let me tell you that Death is fantastic. Normally I can have some issues with cedar, The World being one example. I like my cedar as a part of something, and it's a part of something fantastic in Death. The fragrance evokes a wetness of a recently-rained-upon cedar forest, mingled with fresh, dark earth and a sort of sweetness that keeps the oil from being buried in its earthiness. Patchouli is noticable, but not in a "hit-you-over-the-head-with-hippie-passion" sort. The oils blend together really well, and play off each other to create a whole scenery. One minute, I can imagine myself walking through a dew-kissed forest, the next scene transforms to me being inside a newly made coffin as moist, black earth is being shovelled over.

 

Okay, the latter image was a bit morbid, but hey, it's Death we're talking about here.

 

Interestingly, I don't get the impression of doom and decay commonly associated with the idea of death. Rather, Death smells like it has a whole lot of life. There is no dryness, nor dullness, in this scent. When given time to think over this, it's really interesting how Beth has really kept the Death Tarot Oil still connected with the life cycle. I've never had any bad feelings towards the Death card, recognising its necessity in the renewal process. The energy in Death seems very much like a reflective, meditative sort, calling for us to pause and think about what we do, also helping as a grounding force.

 

This fragrance is oddly comforting and calming, but doesn't work too well as a sleep aid for me (I tried). Still, even if I never use this oil in ritualistic purposes (which is likely), I'm tickled to finally find an ideal earthy fragrance that I would wear on a daily basis. This is what I wanted Capricorn to smell like. Lucky for me, Death is a part of the general catalogue (whee!), so I can pick up another bottle when needed.

 

-doreen

[SeaMonkey]

This is very very dark, and woody. Its like a damp wood, with a touch of decay

[ArwenNightstar]

Tarot - Death

 

I've never done this before so any corrections would be welcomed.

 

I just got my very FIRST imp from Alicia_Stardust for a Tarot reading swap. I stalked the poor mailman until he went LOOKING for any package from me.

 

I opened the imp and took a deep sniff.

 

DIRT! Spicy dirt and yummy things. Patchouli, pepper, tickle the back of the nose. 2:43pm

Then I put it on. Hmmm..Floral something and a bit sharp still. I like it better in the bottle but it is not bad right now. 2:44pm

Two minutes later the patchouli/dirt is mixing with the floral in a really nice way. I adore patchouli so this is a great scent to me. 2:46pm

 

2:47pm.. a bandaid aroma is now coming from my wrist. Which is interesting since this is Death. I work with the Tarot and want to use this scent for meditation with this card. I will post on that as well. Bandaid smell is subsiding.

2:50 (seven minutes into this first sniffing episode and my co-workers are staring!) Mostly spicy flowers now. Still a bit ...mossy maybe?

 

Over all I like it very much. I will have to run it past the nose of Sonj though. I like to wear scents that attract her. :-) Wonder if Death will do it for her. LOL

 

ADDED Jan. 12:

 

Well pooh! Sonj's nose ran back up inside her head and swatted at my wrist furiously. Death did not do it for her! :-)

[desu]

In the bottle: Spicy and earthy. Definately picking up patchouli here.

 

On my skin: Hard to pick any notes out besides cedar. It's woodsy, earthy, and damp.

 

Later on: Mostly petered out now.

[Shollin]

First sniff: Sharp wood and dark vetiver.

 

Wearing: I don’t think I’ve managed to write a decent review of any of the vetiver-heavy scents… they hit my skin, they turn to swamp, they go in the swap pile. Sorry, Death.

[Heretic]

In the vial: Sharp, dark.

 

On my wrist, wet: A heavy, hard scent, with dark green and wood. I 'm fairly sure I can smell vetiver in here. Not unpleasant but something that slightly repels. My nose does not want to linger here.

 

After 20 minutes: What a transfiguration. Now I smell the soft notes of something newly green and soft. A powdery note rests beneath.

 

After an hour: Death smells nothing like it did an hour ago. All the sharpness and heaviness is gone, and I'm left with a clean, soft, green scent with a bottom note that is musky, warm, and alive. This is gorgeous and I must have a bottle.

[Memnet]

In the bottle this smells strongly smoky to me...it almost reminds me of charred wood that is left over from a camp fire, or in a wood stove. There is something mingling with the smoky smell ( I assume the smoke smell is vetiver), which has an almost medicinal scent (I wish I was more familiar with the various components Beth uses, well hopefully as time goes on I will learn). I do think that I am catching a faint hint of earth scent too. Wet on my skin the oil takes on a sort of smoky, leathery scent. After it has dried down, the smoke and leather moderate considerably, and Death becomes soft and slightly powdery on me.

 

An unusual blend; it won't be a favorite of mine, but I do like it.

Edited February 24, 2006 by Memnet

[dreadeddragon]

In the bottle: Vetiver, patchouli, and other dark earthy scents.

 

First on: It smells very much like Sloth, but with a citrus in it as well.

 

Drydown: It hasn't morphed very much, though the citrus is a bit harder to detect. There's a bit of woods and moss as well.

 

Overall: This perfectly describes the card. The earthy scents capture the death of something beautifully, while the latter scents spring up out of the former ones, when you had no idea they were there. Perfect.

[elphaba]

Wet on my skin this smells like, I swear, mildew. I only manage to keep it on because I know that the Death card symbolizes a rebirth, so I'm sure this must get better...eventually. And it does change. The mildew goes away and is replaced by what strikes me as an eye-wateringly powerful floral backed by some kind of wood. It gives me a headache. Death is so not for me.

[edenssixthday]

Death - This is predominantly vetiver on me with a hint of patchouli and some other sort of wood -- cedar, perhaps? I think there may be a drop or two of dirt/earth in this blend, as well. I feel like this is definitely not something I can wear as a fragrance as it's way too dark, gritty, and makes me feel dirty and unwashed and ... well, sawdusty. After about an hour, I realize that both the woody and dirt scents have completely disappeared, leaving behind the dark, gritty scent of nothing but vetiver -- and I absolutely love it at this point. The throw is really strong when first applied, but once it dries down, it sticks very close to my skin, but it lasts the rest of the day.

[juniperus]

Sharply woody. I suspect vetiver is here, as it Does Not Play Well on my skin. Amping. Gaah.

Edited August 30, 2006 by Juniperus Intrepidus

[nightbird]

I'm going through my tarot deck, one card per day, to help me learn the cards better. I'm testing the tarot oils for my card of the day at the same time - after all, scent is strongly linked to memory!

 

this oil, in the imp, smells very strongly of vetiver (a note I try to avoid). I put a little bit on one wrist anyway... I've played around with BPAL enough to know that the smell of the oil in the bottle often does not match the smell of the oil on your skin.

 

it smells smokey - and is there wood in there? cedar maybe? I can definitely smell the vetiver still.

 

not a scent I particularly like, but I agree that it's very fitting for Death.

[Mountaingrrl00]

This was one that distinguished itself among the oodles of bottles I encountered at a Meet & Sniff recently. It's just so richly woody at first sniff. It reminds me of a cool, dark forest. Others are undoubtedly right that the predominant notes are patchouli and vetiver, but it has a different feel from the patchouli-and-vetiver of Malediction. There is balsam or something like it in here - a soft, not sharp, evergreen scent. And some kind of resin is here, contributing to the richness. Grounding, comforting, earthy, natural, deep ... I like this very much!

[Miss Lynx]

This is one of the ones I got for Kettu's birthday imp pack, but it didn't work for her because the vetiver was too strong -- she said it smelled almost like single-note vetiver to her. Vetiver is usually OK on me, so I gave it a try.

 

In the imp, the first thing to hit my nose was patchouli, not vetiver. On, I could pick up the vetiver and I think also some myrrh, and something a bit smoky. It's very much an incensey scent on me, and slightly reminiscent of Saturn. Initially, I could smell something a bit sharp and almost acidic in it, but that note, whatever it was, faded quickly, leaving behind mainly a dry earthy incense scent.

 

It's definitely dark and earthy, but not in a bad way at all. I think I remarked to Kettu at one point "This is kind of like what Malediction could have been if it hadn't been completely evil."

 

So all in all, not bad, and pretty appropriate for the card it represents, but I don't think it's something I'd wear much, especially when I have several other incensey scents available to me.

 

Grade: B-

[bloody sore]

Death . . . This is by far my favorite oil. This is pure me in a bottle.

Dark and mysterious and musky and I find as it starts to age (the bottle I have is already at least a year and a half old) a sharper metalicy something is starting to come through. I like it as it seems to add to the . . . hostility of the scent, though others don't find it as pleasant; a coworker remarked the other day that I smelled like paint. I also find that it doesn't go sweet and floral like many other reviews have commented, it fades and gets a little softer, but I've still yet to find the sweet. And I'm rather glad about that.

[supremegoddessofall]

Wet leather with a smidge of aquatics. Somewhat dusty smellilng, too. This is warm and comforting somehow. Not what I was expecting Death to smell like at all.

[jasmine]

When I apply it, I find this scent is spiced, but cold. I tend to have phoenix associations with the Tarot Death card, and they're not present here -- or, at least, not in the resurrection phase. This is definitely more of the falling phoenix than the rising one.

 

After a bit, it stops being quite so cold. Now, it's a harsh, spicy scent that I wouldn't choose as a perfume... definitely a dark odor. There's something incensy, and I think there's a trace of plum in here because I recognize a touch of the funkiness that plum normally does on my skin. The result isn't outright unpleasant, but it's certainly not pleasant.

 

Now I think I have some sort of wood, but not pine or cedar... cyprus, I might hazard. It's just a layer under the incensy, spicy smell. Imagery: this suggests fires and sticks of incense burning in memory of the dead.

 

Side note: by this point, this scent has gone quite masculine. There are some scents that I smell and think, "Hmm, not much on me, but I'd love smelling it on someone else." This isn't one of them.

 

For me, this "Death" seems like it should have gone somewhere in the Funereal Oils category instead of the Tarot blends. Instead of being transitional and transformational, it seems permanent. Your mileage may vary.

[theseagrows]

this scent evokes a lot of imagery for me. this reminds me of a damp forest like others have said, and not of death necessarily, but it smells very familiar. i smell herbs, wet woods, vetiver, and leather. maybe a touch of patchouli too, but it's not strong. it is very comforting and natural in some way, not scary or dark to me at all. i often don't like earthy scents, but i just adore this one. it really reminds me of a forest and is absolutely beautiful.

[filigree_shadow]

A very dark and dank scent. I associate this smell with vetiver, but I'm not sure that's what it is. It's gritty and a little bit woodsy. This smells very masculine to me.

[ECAmber]

Wet on the wand and straight on the skin: OUCH. It's not just death, it's the process of dying. Very earthy at first, very sharp, lots of woods and green. And if I keep inhaling slowly it turns into ammonia in my nostrils. This is bitter, has a bite and is a bit too strong.

 

On the dry down: a sweetness that was not at all present is suddenly here, bags dropped at the front door standing at the threshhold. Interesting. Everything else is there too, just kind of standing in the room wondering if she'll come in.

 

Further in: The bitterness, bite, sharpness, woods and greens are back. The sweetness is a wallflower. The wallflower in a room with death, which means she's present but mostly dried up with the petals falling off. Still really strong.

 

Fading out: I wouldn't know. I gotta wash this stuff off. OUCH.

 

 

Final opinion: yep, it's death and the process of getting there. Medicinal as I kept thinking that this is woods and earth, with a hint of spice all getting brutalized by ammoinia and formaldehyde. Gotta give credit where credit is due: this is exactly what I imagine death to be like. I have to say that it didn't do diddly to aussage my fear of it.

[flyingpizza]

Men's cologne. Old spice deodorant. Not for me. *shudder*