The Ghosts’ High Noon

[VetchVesper]

Sir William Schwenck Gilbert

A swank affair: moss and dead leaves – amber-gilded, wrapped in balsam and cracked leather – crowned with mums, with a shard of gleaming, bone-white orris root.

Alas, The Ghosts' High Noon is a bit of a disappointment for me. I was wanting amber, balsam, and leather, but this is predominately a "dead leaves" scent in the bottle and on me. It reminds me a lot of last years "Dead Leaves, Black Pepper, and Sandalwood." Perhaps my nose is getting a similar dryness from the orris as it does from sandalwood? It gets a creaminess to it as it dries down, but it's still very much dead leaves, and dead leaves just aren't my jive. That said, it smelled really nice when I tested on my husband, and if dead leaves work well on you, this might be really nice. My chemistry just isn't bringing out much complexity. To the swaps page!

[sprout]

This starts with a strong Dead Leaves note, bell peppers is how my nose reads it but no matter it quickly settled into something resembling dead leaves. The leather gives it a pungent edge.

 

For the record, my skin noms leather, so if there is any present, it never had a chance.

 

Drying the balsam lends a hint of green and resin but orris is the star. This is Bone dry but sweet and ethereal, like a ghost hug.

 

The Dead Leaves aren't too sharp or screeching. The balsam suggests evergreens were once present. This evokes dry bones rattled by ghostly drafts in an abandoned barn. I couldn't pick out the mums or leather but I think they add to the impression of high Plains.

 

Concept nailed. If you enjoy orris, this will likely satisfy, but if you wanted leather, there isn't much here. I can layer, as I have more than a few cowboy leather scents so I'm okay with that. It takes a metric ton of leather to detect it on my skin so I'm not surprised but I do wish this had a touch more.

 

I will be keeping my bottle and besides, the artwork is adorbs.

[Aviatrix]

This is, on me, more forward as a leaf scent than any of the Dead Leaves scents I have tried!

There is a whisper of leather as well, especially on wet, but it fades relatively quickly on me. Behind the leaf note is a wistful floral note and something deep and green that must be the moss.

Like many of these outdoorsy scents, I wouldn't want to wear it as a perfume, but I will keep it to use in my oil burner and see if I can give my room some autumn-ness.

 

The throw is fairly light, though.

[zankoku_zen]

Moss, amber, and mums. On wet, the mum note is stronger. It dries down and the moss starts popping out, as well as the amber, balsam and a touch of leaves. For me, this is a mossier, more aquatic version of Belle Epoque. Medium throw and wear length.