Shadow Pictures

[zankoku_zen]

Parchment and hay absolute with black pepper, smoked oud, frankincense, vetiver, and patchouli.

[starbrow]

A couple weeks old, Shadow Pictures is an odd duck. I get lots of the pickly/cucumber whiff that book notes can sometimes have, and some of the "footy" oud from Red Oud & Balsam. (Your mileage may definitely vary, as we probably all know that oud is completely subjective!)  As it dries down, there's a pinch of black pepper spicing things up, and the hint of some pretty woodiness that gradually emerges, little by little. 

 

I love every single note listed, but this is somehow missing a lot of notes for me. I don't smell hay (one of my favorites!), I don't smell the lab's divine frankincense or silvery vetiver, and even the patchouli is kind of missing in action. All that's left is pickle paper, foot oud, and black pepper. Hmm.

 

I feel like either my nose or this blend can use some settling! I think those who enjoy a prominent black pepper will enjoy this one. It's nicely backed by woods. Low throw, but I wasn't enjoying the whiffs I was getting for the first few hours, so I think it's got to go.

[Casablanca]

This one doesn't show up as anticipated. Black pepper and pickled cucumbers is an apt description for how this reads on my skin. (Book pun not intended, but I'll take it!)

In early drydown, I find the smoked oud, which makes me think of chimney sweeper socks — a bit footy and sooty, perhaps, but not fecal.

 

The cucumbers fade but the pickled quality lingers.

 

I can tell this one isn't quite working for me.

[zankoku_zen]

Pepper, vetiver, patchouli and parchment. This smells like spicy paper. Great throw and wear length.

[VetchVesper]

I actually really like this one. "Book" scents don't generally seem to work on me, and a lot of times I get a cucumber note. That's what I'm getting here too, but it's actually quite nice. I'm getting fresh, sweet cucumber, backed by sort of a powdery wood pulp smell. I'm guessing that's the frank, but it smells brighter than normal and the vetiver is downright grassy.

 

Really interesting and no pickles or "footy" for me.  Very green. I do wish the fragrance lasted longer though.  Seems to fade in less than 4 hours on me. I wonder if ageing might improve this. 

Edited May 19, 2021 by VetchVesper

[Lucchesa]

I agree that this is an odd duck. I’m getting that tinge of cucumber that the other reviewers described, which makes this more of a green scent than the shadowy bookish blend the notes led me to suspect. The vetiver is the grassy kind, not the charcoal kind, paired with a gentle frankincense. I’m not making out any oud or patchouli, and I tend to be anosmic  to the pepper note. Shadow Pictures faded fairly quickly on me. It’s quite nice but not quite what I was hoping for. 

[roseus]

In the imp: dark but not heavy. Swirling, a bit grassy, with a sharp camphorous streak running through.

 

Wet: Camphor gone. Smooth, smoked beeswax and black pepper. Bit of light green cucumbery note.

 

Dry: Peppery parchment and oud. Deep and smooth, a bit smoky. I get a bit of grassy vetiver as well.

[rivetted]

my boyfriend described this as a "fancy japanese spahouse" scent, and after some consideration i have to agree with him. 

i don't think i was quite into it at first, but i do like it more now.

 

there's the fresh cucumber water at the spa, smoke & light incense, a bit of a "greenery" backdrop.

 

i left this one at my boyfriend's for him to try, but i may steal it back 👀

gender-neutral scent, leaning towards the masculine side perhaps.

[sunreachesout]

i really scored the chemistry lottery on this one. i have no idea how, but this smells So fruity on me while wet, almost like blackberries and watermelon with the greener vegetal notes in it turning sweet and sage-like. i know people have said it smells like cucumbers on them with how grassy and fresh the vetiver comes across, so maybe i wouldnt think of it as Fruity if i were more familiar with single note blackberry and cucumber and vetiver, but thats the association i have with it right off the bat. once the fruity blast chills out, i get such a nostalgic rush of something that can only be described as rain and incense. very sparkly, very resinous, very spicy. Lacquered. Antique. i am getting Zero 'pickle' or 'foot' notes; maybe the oud and pepper adds a sharpness like something that Has been pickled, but its not A Literal Pickle to me. when it all dries down and comes together, i really do get a sense that this smells Very Literally like the image the scent was made to emulate: the dryness of the spice-infused paper screen and open flames amidst the soaking wet shroud of a pitch black pouring night. so, so gorgeous. 

[Llanval]

this bottle is a heartbreaker for me, as it's so soft and subtle.  Nothing really leaps out either in the bottle or on my skin.  I get a dry whispering leather with a dry but not too sharp parchment note.  Behind that note is everything else, including the smoked oud which does not go footy or pickle-y on me at all.  But nothing else comes out to play. Everything is so subtle and quiet.  If I'm very still and breathe very deeply, I am taken to both my grandfather's ancient wood workshop and to a shinto monastery high in the mountains, with rushes on the floor, a lit lantern and a bowl of freshly ground ink. But it's so quiet it's just not bold enough, and doesn't have a lot of staying power.

 

Maybe in a while I'll see if I can track a full bottle down, but I'm very very sad this didn't become something else on my skin. 💔

[MamaMoth]

freshly applied, i don't get any cucumber exactly, but the paper has a bit of grassyness... kind of what freshly-made papyrus smells like in my imagination. 

 

it settles down into dry, peppery, slightly woodsy/pulpy paper, with a smoky perfumed chord from the oud. 

 

as time goes on it becomes a little resinous, as a gentle frank and patch bloom out.  the hay is apparent now too, bringing a breath of sweet dry grass. 

 

it's very smooth, understated, and a touch fancy.