The Ghost Children

[lookingglass]

In the perfume, I also tried to capture the blue-violet-white of an afterimage and the silence of a snuffed candle. The scent is dry with age, taut with loss, grief, and heartbreak, and sorrowful in the unspeakable desolation of simply being forgotten.

This is breathtakingly beautiful, and so how I would expect The Ghost Children to smell.

Out of the bottle, it's green and herbal, almost citrusy, quite like the Apothecary. It quickly dries down, though, to a Ouija like scent, white roses, with bits of tart green stems, Victorian and natural. It's floaty and fresh, very innocent smelling...just tiny flowers for a while...nothing heavy or too dusty to weigh it down. It never goes sour like some florals can, and is not soapy. Dried out, it reminds me of White Light in how soft, and glowy, while still being creamy (maybe a bit of wood?) it is. There's a bit more knowing in the end, a depth, and richness. It is a very fresh but full perfume, delicate yet not so innocent... like a posy, wrapped in a fading blue ribbon, carefully tucked away in a box. It does smell faded quite quickly after application. It's brilliant, really, how that concept becomes captured.

I was not so secretly hoping that this would be a close second of our beloved, departed, Antique Lace, but alas, it is not; her characteristic vanilla musk is absent. I do adore the Ghost Children, but they are closer kin to Ouija (without the wintergreen note that can sometimes be present-I am therefore, actually preferring it over Ouija!). These babies have found a home in my BPAL box.

Now, to hunt for their eyes... Edited August 18, 2013 by cupide430

[Xue_Bai]

In the Decant- Crushed flowers in the garden! Only oddly missing the dirt. High and clean.

 

Wet- Much the same as in the decant.

 

Drydown- Loses much of the green aspect, while the florals develop beautifully. I can’t pick anything out of the florals, but it’s a mesmerizing mix. There's a sense of dustiness now too, but it's way far below. It never goes soapy, but it is quite sharp on me for quite awhile. But it is very much a scent of loss, while also whispering of childhood. It does fade fast, though what remains lingering very very close to the skin is a perfect afterimage: softer and lighter than the original, but capturing the same feelings. It reminds me of a scent I've experienced before, but I can't remember just what.

 

Overall, it's lovely, but not really my thing. Glad to have the decant, but I won't spring for an entire bottle.

[Nemi]

I think The Ghost Children is a beautiful scent.

 

It reminds me a little bit of Ode on Melancholy? I guess that could make sense.. Something about both scents feels "gothic". Not sure what note it is that makes it this way for me.

 

Smells like sad flowers and something else. Lovely!

Edited August 21, 2013 by Nemi

[SophieCedar]

My 1st impression was "scrubbed vegetables". Something about the snuffed candle and green mix said that. As it dries down this becomes a calm, silenced scent. Description is accurate. I truly like this. Low throw. I can see the comparison to Ode on Melancholy.

[RiverPoet]

In the bottle, it does have that 'dry' aspect... like a dried bouquet with baby's breath. Once on, it brightens up considerably and goes quite green on me. As it dries, it develops a sweeter note along with white florals, passion flower and aloe. Very innocent and light; not at all soapy or powdery. Quite lovely on a warm day, but needs to be refreshed after a few hours.

[Dark Alice]

This has one hell of a strong floral note when wet! It's white. Not gardenia, it's like a white ghost lily but my skin amps it to high heavens!!!! And just when you sniff your arm the third time anticipating something strong again...it goes POOF! And becomes this light, ghost like lily scent. Very sad. It reminds me of the lilies that were at the funeral home when my Dad passed. Not a fan...but I do adore the concept!

[ObliqueRed]

Wet: green, green, green, wet crushed green everywhere.

Dry: it becomes a little sweeter with florals and a sort of whiff of something minty.

 

Overall a cool and wet scent. Really nice for summer.

[zankoku_zen]

Crushed greens, white roses, and lilies and a touch of sweetness.

 

This blend reminds me to some of the Ars Moriendi blends, in the sense that it is chilly white florals with melancholy and nostalgia hanging around them in giant swirls.

[milo]

Wet, orris with a touch of white Florals. Dry, soft, powdery orris with a touch of citrus. I really like the drydown phase.

[Monday]

I get a lot of astringent greenery when it's wet. There is a lemony floral behind the grassiness though which amps as the greens meld into the background. A pretty floral is trying to drown out the greens but it's not quite successful, it's turning rather soapy when dry. The Ghost Children has a good throw.

[doomsday_disco]

In the decant: White florals with a touch of greenery.

 

Wet: Same, but the green aspect is more prominent on my skin than it seemed to be in the decant. It's not soapy!

 

Dry: It really stays the same, but the scent is a lot fainter and slightly sweeter.

 

Verdict: This is not a bad white floral. I'm glad that it isn't soapy, but it's not really me.

[tharsei-thanate]

Wow, this is really really good on me. Beautiful, sweet, lush white florals with very well-behaved greenery (sometimes green can get high-pitched on me but it's not doing that here). It's not morphing much at all and there is no soap or powder as it dries. Just lovely, almost mouth-watering florals and greens throughout. :heart:

[JuliskaMarie]

In the bottle: I can't pick out any individual notes, but this fits the description quite well. Although I think it smells more like the perfume of an adult female ghost, rather than ghost children, it is most definitely a ghost perfume!

Wet on skin: Slightly more "solid" feeling, but still very ghostly.

Dry on skin: Like the lady of the house's room in an old, long-abandoned, haunted mansion. Dusty lace, faint antique perfume, dry (floral scented) soap, snuffed candles, old potpourri. Mysterious & ghostly!

After a few hours: This has faded a lot, which really adds to the ghostly feel of it! There's only a hint of it now, like a ghost (still the ghost of a woman, not a child) has just floated past you. Very cool!

Verdict: It's not the kind of scent I'd wear on a daily basis, but I'm sure I'll get a fair bit of use out of it! This perfume is REALLY pretty & very evocative!

[Little Bird]

The Ghost Children would be at home with most of the florals in the Ars Moriendi collection. It's a very somber, quiet, cold, damp floral with wet, green stems and a clean white floral, maybe lily, that turns soapy on me in the drydown. Like a damp bouquet of white funeral flowers and a hint of soap. I don't get anything like candles, beeswax or smoke.

[AraliaShine]

This one's difficult to describe. It's simultaneously green, blue, and pale, while being warm on my skin and ly chill

on the air.

 

It definitely has a dusty, haunting quality as if all of the elements are shades of their former selves. If I try to separate them, I

can sense the greenery and flowers-- my mind says early springtime, but crushed underfoot. Everything blends well into a soft,

slightly powdery aura of what feels like orris with possibly a teensy hint of a parma violet pastille that has long since crumbled.

Good throw at first and then it fades mysteriously in and out, returning with a waft just when you think it may have vanished

completely.

 

I like this one way more than I was expecting! Going to have to seek out more ethereal florals-- it may be a new ...

 

 

ETA: There is mint in this, but it's elusive. Occasionally I would just catch the edge of a whiff and wonder if I'd washed my hands with peppermint Bronner's and not rinsed it all off. It's woven in so well with the other components that it really just imparts the feeling of a cool draft-- the persistent recurring kind where you struggle to identify its source.

Edited May 6, 2018 by AraliaShine