Believe

[Franny]

Shadow was in a dark place, and the thing staring at him wore a buffalo’s head, rank and furry with huge wet eyes. Its body was a man’s body, oiled and slick.

“Changes are coming,” said the buffalo without moving its lips. “There are certain decisions that will have to be made.”

Firelight flickered from wet cave walls.

“Where am I?” Shadow asked.

“In the earth and under the earth,” said the buffalo man. “You are where the forgotten wait.” His eyes were liquid black marbles, and his voice was a rumble from beneath the world. He smelled like wet cow. “Believe,” said the rumbling voice. “If you are to survive, you must believe.”

“Believe what?” asked Shadow. “What should I believe?”

He stared at Shadow, the buffalo man, and he drew himself up huge, and his eyes filled with fire. He opened his spit-flecked buffalo mouth and it was red inside with the flames that burned inside him, under the earth.

“Everything,” roared the buffalo man.

A scent of compression and release, of heat and faith, of plunging through the jet-shadowed darkness of uncertainty. The heart of the land: roots plunging ever deeper into thrumming black soil through the graves of faith, disillusion, and skepticism.

This scent makes me feel like I am in the scene. When I first put it on it smells like hot earth and the smell is all around. That sounds weird but I think this is a little weird, especially right away. It doesn't smell of just soil, it is more than that. As it dries down it becomes spicier and richer and I feel less like I'm sitting under the earth with the Buffalo Man and more like it happened hours ago and the scent has lingered and become something more complex and interesting. This is really wonderful.

[zankoku_zen]

Hot smoky vetiver, buffalo grass, and earth. In alot of ways, this also smells like it should be some sort of ceremonial blend. And if you needed Graveyard Dirt, I think this could probably work in a pinch. It's a deep earth and smoke blend, with some grass thrown in. It dries almost to an incense. On wet, the vetiver is particularly aggressive, but then it transitions to an almost smoked buffalo gras smell (ie - fire in grass), and you get the peaty earth.

[Lydialove]

This smells a lot like Tombeur to me! It's got a stronger vetiver ( which I love in both it's grassy and smokey forms. This one is a nice balance between both) note to it along with a whiff of dirt. I'd swear Tombeur's bitter almond is present.

I look forward to testing this one again.

[Little Bird]

I love parts of this, mainly the parts that smell like soft, vanilla-ish, warm dirt (like Death Cap) and roots. But there's a harsh, vetiver smokiness that I don't love, and something that smells like hot asphalt. I enjoy the natural, earthy tones, but not the industrial, harsh, sooty tones.

[patina]

That's definitely some vetiver there. It's not chemical on me, but it's fairly smoky. I also get the deep, thrumming, resonant, almost resinous dirt from Alviss. There could be opoponax here? That could be what smells like asphalt but almost grapey.

 

At times the vetiver can be a little overwhelming, but I love the parts where it steps back a little and allows other elements to appear. It can be almost suffocating at times, comforting at other times. Just like being under the earth.

 

Edit: Soapy undertones eventually.

Edited July 13, 2017 by patina

[Lucchesa]

I love this! The gorgeous spicy earth note, smoky vetiver, grassy vetiver, something evergreen twining through it all. Believe seems to capture all the power inherent in the natural world. It has great throw, which is rare on my skin (at least for scents I like...) and is lasting very well so far.

[supreme_c0rt]

This was an oppressive scent on me. Even from a fair distance the scent gave me this sense that I was being suffocated, like being buried under a pile of hot wet towels. The prominent notes were a blast of hot dirt, animal fur, dirty patchouli/vetiver, and burnt molasses. There is an asphalt note here too. There are bits about the scent that I enjoy (but which I can't identify) but the feeling of being smothered or buried alive is rather unpleasant. It takes a while for it to subdue, then it turns into something hard to pin down, simultaneously alive and dead. Like old book paper and black potting soil.

 

It takes a very long time to wear down to a comfortable volume, but once it's there I like it much more. The vetiver is easiest to ID, in fact it's quite similar to An Excerpt from Speculum...etc etc from the Liber collection.

 

Not sure what I'll end up doing with it, but it is certainly evocative.

Edited February 27, 2019 by supreme_c0rt

[doomsday_disco]

In the bottle: Dirt, moss, and what I think may be some oak. Very earthy.

On me: Hot, spicy dirt and vetiver. But it's a softer vetiver, not the smoky campfire kind. I also get patch, and I agree that there is some kind of asphalt or gravel note at play here as well.

It ends up cooling down after a while. The vetiver is the main player, but I also get something like petrichor and fur from this.

It's definitely an interesting scent experience, and I am glad to have tried it, but I just cannot see myself reaching for an earthy vetiver scent.

[Mad Maudlin]

Right out of the bottle this hits me with that super sharp smoky vetiver edge, the same note that is the main component of The Burying Ground (my precious love) so if you are looking for that scent this one may be a good substitute. It has the same smokiness and earthy base, though Believe also mellows out a bit with that beautiful sweet dry grass note. I love this scent, definitely a keeper. 

[torischroeder9]

In the decant: Wet, nutrient-rich earth. I would have high hopes for seeds planted in earth that smelled like this. 

 

On my skin:

 

Wet, it's immediately grassy vetiver, which is at least the good kind on me. As it dries, the dirt comes back out, along with what I can only describe as a spicy root smell. It's a lot like transplanting a whole plant, carefully digging it out of the dirt and pulling it up, roots attached, earth clinging to them. 

 

I don't usually like dirt scents, but this is surprisingly nice. The throw is a little low on me, and it's not quite my perfume style, so I don't think I'll seek out a bottle -- but it's nice just the same.