Horror Unthinkable and Unexpected

[The Poison Queen]

The man who had brought me now squirmed to a point directly beside the hideous flame, and made stiff ceremonial motions to the semicircle he faced. At certain stages of the ritual they did grovelling obeisance, especially when he held above his head that abhorrent Necronomicon he had taken with him; and I shared all the obeisances because I had been summoned to this festival by the writings of my forefathers. Then the old man made a signal to the half-seen flute-player in the darkness, which player thereupon changed its feeble drone to a scarce louder drone in another key; precipitating as it did so a horror unthinkable and unexpected. At this horror I sank nearly to the lichened earth, transfixed with a dread not of this nor any world, but only of the mad spaces between the stars.


The mad spaces between the stars: oakmoss, myrrh, vetiver, rectified cade, ravinsara, wild verbena, and neroli.

In the bottle: Vetiver and verbena with an undertone of the juniper cade. Very interesting.

Wet: Mostly lemony verbena, actually very pleasant without being pledge. I get a hint of the neroli and the vetiver stays low in the background. This is a very dark oil in physical color!

Dry: Much the same as wet, but maybe with a hint of the oakmoss. Really a very interesting scent, glad to have a bottle.

[Roogna]

wow lemongrass!!!!!

ok, I like lemongrass, but this is a LOT....makes me wonder if the mosquitoes will stay away

it drowns out all other notes...I must amp it b/c I just put a little on with a toothpick and wham. lemongrass party

[Atrous]

I wasn't expecting to be too impressed by this but it's nicer than I thought it would be.

This dried down into a dark and sweet smelling incense with lemon and herbs.

I'm glad I have a decant.

[zankoku_zen]

Evil neroli and lemongrass. This lemon verbena seems like its been eating... well poison woods and herbs. This is the lemongrass that grows in a witches' garden. The kind of witch that eats children.

 

Lemon verbena, aquatic oakmoss and dark, smoky vetiver.

[vthesiren]

In the bottle, this was mostly vetiver. On my skin, there's a slight herbal/earthy undertone that comes out with time, but I amp the lemon verbena and neroli notes to heck and back.

 

Reminds me of Elaphospyris.

 

Hours after application, it dries down into a very earthy, almost nutty scent. I'm not sure if I'm keeping this one.

Edited January 12, 2014 by vthesiren

[Zii]

In bottle: Lemon verbena. That's it. Maybe a bit of the neroli, darkened with the other notes, but very lemony.

 

Wet: Bug spray. Badger Balm bug spray. That smell, with lemongrass and beeswax, is this scent. Not at all a bad scent, but it's that exact herby lemony scent that reminds me of summers in Vermont.

 

Drying: This scent is getting a bit disquieting. I think maybe the vetiver is rearing it's head, but it's certainly not the vetiver I'm familiar with. It could also be the oakmoss, but it's very smoky for oakmoss. Maybe both of them together?

 

 

Dry: Herby, sharp lemon with the oakmoss and vetiver distant back notes. This is very much a scent experience for me, and while it is never unpleasant, I'm unsure if I'd ever wear it.

[annemathematics]

the vetiver, myrrh and oakmoss combine a rich, grounding, beautiful base. the ravinsara and verbena provide dizzying notes that fly about in a chaotic flurry. the madness comes from the pull between these two. I love this scent but I have noticed that wearing it puts my mind in a rather agitated state. it's brilliant.

 

 

I imagine that listening the music of erich zann would be a similar experience, and please note that I have only read the story, never smelled the bpal scent, so I'm not comparing perfumes but commenting on the balance of beauty and crazy. horror unthinkable and unexpected provides both.

[Ethaisa]

Wet this is all lemon and vetiver, and I'm not a huge citrus fan, so it's rather unpleasant. I get hints of the myrrh anchoring this blend, but as it dries it's mostly the jagged edge of the ravinsara that takes over. Only a little bit of oak moss. An interesting study in contrasts, and he final dry down is really nice, an overall feel of herbs drying in a earth-floored cottage - just not sure its worth with everything that comes before.

[milo]

Pretty yucky at first. The vetiver is dominating, and it is not combining nicely with something kind of sour. Maybe that's the oakmoss? Dry, rather pretty. No vetiver, just a soft, clean musk. Nice, but no upgrade necessary.

[KakashiMorph]

In the bottle: Vetiver! And some acccmpanying nutty pleasantness.

On my skin: More vetiver! I have come to like and appreciate this alcaline scent. A couple of minutes later I spot a lemony note trying to come out. Neroli maybe?

Drydown: Vetiver. :/ It is almost like a single note, I didn't get any of the other lovelies which is a pity because I love oakmoss and myrrh.

Edited February 26, 2014 by Kashi

[fisharescary]

In the imp: pickle-y!

Wet on skin: wax and skin musk and lemon and hints of sweet...cocoa? vanilla? just sweetness? and still a hint of pickle. A little bit of smokiness too.

 

It's fairly strong and very interesting. Despite the fact that my description isn't very flattering, it isn't actually bad, but fairly bizaare perhaps.

 

Sniffing the drydown, it smells to me like the exact moment that a big lemongrass-scented beeswax candle is extinguished.

[theseagrows]

i got this as a frimp in a swap!

 

it's all vetiver at first. i like vetiver sometimes if it is blended with the right notes (for me) but it isn't doing much for me here. i do get the lemongrass shortly after applied to the skin as well. then the lemongrass comes forth with the vetiver backing. i think i get some neroli too? ahh i don't really know. the vetiver and lemongrass kind of dominate over the other notes, which just make a mish mash in the background.

[aquazoo]

Green & weird! Verbena, that explains the lovely lemon. It’s growing on me!

[splendidissima]

A frottle from the Lab, with the 2013 label!

 

In the bottle and wet, this is very nope for me - so much vetiver, dark and smoky! I do like lemon and lemongrass notes, though, so even though they're being drowned by dankness at present, I have tried it.

 

Dry: better? More herbal, and there's a little hint of the lemon. Still, it's not really my thing - though it does encapsulate the feeling of "lichened earth" in the description, and a sense of something heavy and dark, looming.