The Governing Dark’s Begun

[galahad]

It freezes - all across a soundless sky
The birds go home. The governing dark's begun:
The steadfast dark that waits not for a sun;
The ultimate dark wherein the race shall die.

 

Death, with his evil finger to his lip,
Leers in at human windows, turning spy
To learn the country where his rule shall lie
When he assumes perpetual generalship.

 

The undefeated enemy, the chill
That shall benumb the voiceful earth at last,
Is master of our moment, and has bound
The viewless wind it-self. There is no sound.
It freezes. Every friendly stream is fast.
It freezes; and the graven twigs are still.

- Hilaire Belloc

The steadfast dark that waits not for a sun: opoponax and myrrh, gum Arabic and frankincense, blackened juniper and bitter agarwood.

In the Bottle:
Juniper, resins and a tinge of agarwood

On the Skin:
The juniper is forward but pleasant. Eventally the frank and opoponax come forward to merge with the juniper and tame it somewhat

On the Drydown:
The agarwood adds a rich resinous woodiness. This dries down to a golden resin with a juniper overlay. If juniper isn't your jam you might want to reconsider purchasing this one but I quite like it and some age would benefit

[lizabelle]

Something about this reminds me of...cola? The resins are recognizable, and I can sort of pick out the juniper as a gin-like note. I was expecting more of a woodsy juniper-resin combo, but on my skin this turns into something light and bubbly. I don't hate it, but it's nothing like I expected! I may let it age before swapping it away, though--it seems like the type to age very well.

[zankoku_zen]

Juniper, myrrh, and resins. This smells like a gin-based resin blend. Medium throw and wear length.

[mandragora369]

In the bottle: it smells beautifully in the bottle, incense and juniper.

 

Wet: incense and the tangy juniper, which I love.

 

Dry: my skin sucks this up, first I can still smell the incense and a little tangy, but short after I hardly smell anything, it completely fades.

[Little Bird]

A bitter, watery green that reminds me of celery, the scent of tarry asphalt on a hot day, and wafts of sweet incense smoke.  This isn't really what I was expecting based on the notes because all of these notes usually play much better on my skin.  The green part disappears after about 5 minutes and then it's sweet incense and tar with sour smokiness.  Interesting, but I regret blind buying a full bottle of this because I don't think that I'll actually wear it again...

[scentedbythesun]

I do find this wearable, though unique. Smells exactly like it's description which I love for the artistry of bpal. The poem is also very fitting for the times were living in. Glad I have this one.