In Time of Plague

[samarablackcat]

Adieu, farewell earth’s bliss!
This world uncertain is:
Fond are life’s lustful joys,
Death proves them all but toys.
None from his darts can fly;
I am sick, I must die—
Lord, have mercy on us!

Rich men, trust not in wealth,
Gold cannot buy you health;
Physic himself must fade;
All things to end are made;
The plague full swift goes by;
I am sick, I must die—
Lord, have mercy on us!

Beauty is but a flower
Which wrinkles will devour;
Brightness falls from the air;
Queens have died young and fair;
Dust hath closed Helen’s eye;
I am sick, I must die—
Lord, have mercy on us!

Strength stoops unto the grave,
Worms feed on Hector brave;
Swords may not fight with fate;
Earth still holds ope her gate;
Come, come! the bells do cry;
I am sick, I must die—
Lord, have mercy on us!

Wit with his wantonness
Tasteth death’s bitterness;
Hell’s executioner
Hath no ears for to hear
What vain art can reply:
I am sick, I must die—
Lord, have mercy on us!

Haste therefore each degree
To welcome destiny;
Heaven is our heritage,
Earth but a player’s stage.
Mount we unto the sky;
I am sick, I must die—
Lord, have mercy on us!

– Thomas Nashe

Blackened roses against a backdrop of velvet opoponax, bitter clove, and tobacco absolute.

Wet, I get a quick blast of dark, voluptuous rose which quickly turns into clove. I think the opoponax blends in with the rose to give that deep, dark thrumming. I know that the tobacco absolute has a tendency to sink to the bottom of the bottle, so I am not sure if I rolled the bottle enough, as I am not getting any.

Dry, still dark rose/opoponax/clove with maybe a tad of tobacco close to the skin. This reminds me of the lines from the poem: Dust hath closed Helen's eye and Taste death's bitterness (although this isn't bitter, per se). A fitting scent for the name; dark and brooding.

[VioletChaos]

In The Bottle: Thick, caramel-y tobacco. The tobacco note from such hits as Red Lantern, in fact. At this point, I get nothing else.

 

Wet On Skin: Still, just mostly the caramel tobacco.

 

Dry Down: Sadly, this is little more than tobacco single note on me. Opoponax makes the tiniest back-door entrance smelling like an afterthought of leather, but is gone again. Maybe it needs to age a bit?

 

In All: High throw- go easy with application, folks! - and super rich and heady, to be sure. I'll test again in a few weeks to see if anything shifts, but if it stays just as tobacco, I'll likely swap, as I already have a store of the Tobacco SN to last me.

[lapetiteflower]

Wet and several hours out of the mailbox: It's something dry and biting...

After a few days of settling: Wet, it's still got that dry bite, but as it dries down it's all heeeeey Dark Queen of the Night! A blend of almost-wet-fresh-but bordering of drying rose with a delicious layer of clove against a backdrop of sweetened tobacco. Glorious!

[LizziesLuck]

I am dying for a good rose/tobacco combo, hoping this might finally be it!!

 

Wet: Mmm, so much tobacco, and it's SO GOOD. Hints if syrupy sweet rose (but in a good way!).....we're off to a good start here. The opoponax is giving it that syrupy feel, I think, but it's not taking over like it sometimes does. I LIKE this.

 

 

Dry: This is a sultry, somewhat seductive scent, but not really overly sexual. I love the way the opoponax gives the rose a syrupy vibe, and the tobacco doesn't dominate, but gives the whole blend a smoky feel. I am not really picking out the clove, but I think it adds a certain something I can't really describe. I like this a lot, and can see wearing it on a sultry summer night.

[Megalovania]

This one made me want to get all tragi-poetic. Right in the bottle I'm smacked in the face with this powerfully dark, dirty scent. I don't mean dirty in a sexy or straight "dirt" way... More like "unclean and attempting to mask the grime with strong fragrance." I know that sounds dreadful but bear with me, I mean that in the best possible way.

 

On my skin that description remains true and it's because of the almost syrupy quality of the tobacco. It’s floral but with no pretense of delicate femininity whatsoever. That isn’t to say it’s strictly masculine either; as long as you can tolerate this thick, heady blend of notes I'd say this is very unisex and anyone can wear it. I’m probably influenced by the theme but this scent is old world: sickly sweet, almost oppressive, somehow sinister. Death rides in on a pale horse and it’s like these notes are trying to cover the evidence of his arrival, like a desperate attempt to ward of toxic miasmas and save the living from plague. It won’t work, but it does make death smell sweeter.

 

This perfume doesn't change much as it dries, but it does soften a bit and loses some of its initially harsh tobacco edge (which is what stood out strongest on me). As of now I’m not entirely sure what opoponax smells like but I absolutely get blackened roses smothered by clove and tobacco. It's potent with great throw. Spooky and highly evocative, one of the creepiest blends I own. I love it.

Edited May 9, 2016 by Megalovania

[zankoku_zen]

Silky clove and tobacco, with a touch of red roses. In some ways this reminds me to the BPTP Red Rose blend, partly because of the clove, but there's WAY more tobacco in it. I'd actually see this aging fantastically, and I'm curious on how this will smell a year from now. If I had patience, that's what I would do. The tobacco note is that chewy sweet tobacco like from the French Tobacco SN that everyone seem to be crazy about.

 

I may have to find more of this.

[Convallaria]

My second lab tobacco/opoponax/rose blend and the result is similar. (Even though the other was "tobacco tar".) It's pretty much "old ashtray" on me, and it stays that way longer than The Top. There's an occasional hint of rose but sniff again and it's gone. Opoponax can only be sensed in last stages of drydown. Clove seems to enhance tobacco more than anything. I'm not happy with it, but I'll wait to see if aging will mellow it.

Edited June 27, 2016 by Convallaria

[lizabelle]

I'm shocked this doesn't have more reviews, because it is a masterpiece. I'm having a bit of an experience here--I seriously think this is going to unseat Devil's Night as my favorite BPAL ever. It starts out earthy and spicy from the tobacco and clove. I don't know what opoponax smells like on its own but it's in most of my favorite "dark" perfumes, so I guess it must be that slightly sweet velvety note in the base. Having ordered this bottle three weeks ago now I forgot what the notes were and I could have sworn it's geranium in here instead of rose--it's a bright, fruity, almost peppery/lemony rose that seriously is a dupe for geranium. (My secret: despite the approximately 300 perfumes I love including rose, I actually prefer geranium.) Over time the rose slowly starts to fade, and it's almost like smelling it die. That sounds terrible but the end result is an almost chocolatey, velvety dried-rose-petal smell that is utterly exquisite. I'm getting so many backup bottles. I'm in love.

[honey musings]

this is a lovely oil! 

i've found that it is very heady and strong in a perfect way. i wear it when i want to stand out. it smells the same in the bottle as it does on the skin to my pleasure. 

 

it's a strong tobacco note sweetened slightly with rose. the rose comes out more as it dries but doesn't force away the tobacco. 

[theseagrows]

i received a frimp of this, yay! it smells like tobacco and roses along with the velvet opoponax...definitely velvet, because there is this luxurious note along with the thick chewy tobacco and dark roses balancing out those more intense notes. the rose softens after about 15-20 minutes and gets a bit powdery, which i personally enjoy. the tobacco adds quite a gorgeous element to the powdery rose. after 45 minutes+ it's a clear dewy rose single note on me. i like it but i miss the first stage a lot. it's pretty though.

Edited February 21, 2020 by theseagrows

[lipstickonmyteeth92]

 

In the bottle: I get a super heavy blast of rose over top of the bitterness of clove, it smells dirty but not in a bad way.  

Wet on skin: Rose is very heavy along with the tobacco, it's very sharp and the clove peeks out but I'm not getting the velvet opoponax. It has a whisper of a sweetness which I hope will soften it a bit more. 

Dry: ASTOUNDING. So sweet, heady, and intense. The rose softens and the tobacco and opoponax mingle and turn into this velvet dark sweetness. This is amazing. It's dark and just so dreamy. Such a rich scent and I can't wait to see how it ages. 

I love that with BPAL I can find complex florals that I adore, as I find lots of other brands just focus on the "baby powder" part of florals. 

[Jenesis]

Blind bought this and I'm SO GLAD I did. This may have to be backupped ASAP.

 

Heavy, heady rose at the top, with a dark 'dirtiness' underneath - not scummy filthy dirt, more like fresh-turned earth dirt. The tobacco lends a dustiness to stop it being too heady. It mingles down to a rich, 'velvet' (to quote from above reviews) rose with a deep undertone. Got the seal of approval from the other half too so must be good!

[groovyrooby]

Received a decant of this, and it is promptly going on my next order.

 

This starts as a floral, almost funereal - that too-fresh and sharply sweet, almost saccharine, flower arrangement. As it developed, it reminded me of Lazy Daisy, floral and cottony, with less of the sour note I get from that one.

 

Once the tobacco kicked in - holy moly this is my jam! Smoky, spicy with a little bit to it, it just kept getting spicier! Like a High Strung Daisies carnation floral spicy. Really beautiful. I love it. I need it. 

[Bassmastadroog]

Blast of soapy rose and a smidge of tobacco. If I try to make out the individual scents I can detect them, but the scent leads with absolutely overwhelming soap.

 

After a moment, clove starts to warm the scent. Clovey tobacco comes through with an antiseptic backdrop of soap. Gets my sinuses a bit.

 

It dries down to something that resembles Zombi, with the dried roses and dirt.

 

It’s very funereal. It’s honestly not bad, and it evokes a very dark and deathly presence. A very well dressed woman with unknown intentions, shrouded in mystery would wear this. 

[a_bear]

Dark rose and syrupy tobacco with a faint hint of clove. The rose is more prominent when freshly applied, then the tobacco really takes over. I expected it to be a dry scent, but it's the opposite.

[LavenderCoffee]

I've had this bottle since December 2020 and I only realized I never reviewed it when I wanted to compare it to one of the 2024 Lupers (Roses, Pearls, and Onyx). 

 

In the bottle and freshly applied, I get a big hit of dark rose, but as it settles on my skin, rose takes second place to tobacco, which reigns throughout wear. Opoponax remains very much in the background, denying any wisp of resiny sweetness, and although the clove is equally shy, the 'bitter' descriptor of that note is apt for the scent overall. This is not a scent for the living, it is a perfectly dried funereal scent for the dead. Something for the lurking-in-graveyards genre of goth.