The Last Syllable

[Seajewel]

Photos pinned to cool plaster walls, discarded papers, a web of strings, a mirror, a doll, singed straw, scattered books, and unfurled magnetic tape.

[doomsday_disco]

At first I get a blast of cucumber, and it reminds me of the Lab's Crumbled Wrapping Paper SN and some other book scents that have a fresh paper note instead of a dusty, dry type. Over time, the cucumber fades and it becomes drier and more paper-like, and I swear I also get the cool plaster walls and some magnetic tape?

 

It's not something I'd choose to wear, but it is a pretty neat scent experience.  

[Casablanca]

Acrid cucumber is my first thought; then this develops a chemical note that reminds more of glue and turpentine. This is definitely the smell of a product that bears a warning label to only open it in ventilated areas.

 

It doesn't get better.

[Failmingo]

I've been sitting with these since they were in the prototype phase. It's been a unique journey because neither of these blends (the other being 'TIS STRANGE, I'm gonna crosspost my review there) are something I would normally reach for on its own, but layered together there is a strange effect that is intensely pleasant to me.

 

In the bottle THE LAST SYLLABLE is musty, damp, papery, almost institutional. It truly smells like studio space in a loft or warehouse. To me that's an exciting and almost mystical scent, the  potent combo of reference materials, art supplies, and empty space. Agree with others that this is more "new books" than "old books," although the humid plastery note really keeps this out of a comfy and cozy contemporary setting. Kind of like shoving your face into a cardboard box of newly-printed pamphlets that has been left in a crumbling old storage unit. (Incidentally, the little Cycladic babydolls featured on the label actually were formed out of plaster, painted to look like stone. So it's very fitting that they ended up repping this scent!)

 

On the skin it all seems to calm down a bit, and that's when I start to get old paperbacks. I can't really detect the singed straw, it must be a very minor component. I probably wouldn't think "mirror" at all, except when I compare it to some of the other BPAL blends that are "glassy" I can trace the continuity between them. This is an intense "sense of place" perfume that strikes me as both contemplative and kind of creatively energizing; it ultimately wears pretty close to the skin and isn't super long-lasting. 

 

It appears to have very little in common with 'TIS STRANGE ("Both bog and castle, moor and battlefield, chivalry and nightmare: scarred leather armor, moss-covered stone, shadows upon shadows, and billows of black incense.") which also aspires to a "sense of place," namely the backdrop for the story of Macbeth. So it's time as well as place that separates them, and in the bottle 'TIS STRANGE kind of sets me back on my heels. It has a singed quality, definitely the incense smoke set aloft on the kind of bitter freshness that the moss imparts. The leather is trackable but kind of subdued. I'm a little surprised at how warm it seems, given the darkness in the description, but on the skin you get a sense of the inky, scorched darkness that's revealed as the smoke lifts, like descending a winding castle passageway lit by torches. The scent is definitely martial with a real melancholy and unease to it, and the incense isn't like a sacred church blend -- more like a funky pagan brew meant to expunge evil spirits. I get something almost spicy sweet, like cinnamon or dragon's blood? This one has a bigger throw of the two, for sure.

 

Now's the part where I cross the streams, and layer them. It would seem these two don't belong anywhere near each other, but there is something about how the incense and leather IMMEDIATELY ages the paper in the book smell, and how the industrial studio space is IMMEDIATELY warmed and dried by the smoke and spice. Together, they create one of my favorite scent experiences in recent memory, blurring the Old World with the New World in a way that strikes me as distinctly occult. I can barely tell where one ends and the other begins, and that's a good layering experience, friends! In term of "sense of place" I'm now reminded of that kid in The Neverending Story hiding out with a book in the school's attic amidst all sorts of insane theatrical rubble. And of course, since I'm wearing twice as much perfume, it hangs around with me quite a bit longer.

So that's my combo review. And here's a reminder that the show these are inspired by -- "The Last Syllable" by Independent Shakespeare Co. -- can be accessed for free right here: http://www.iscla.org/the-last-syllable

 

 

 

[katharina]

I definitely get cucumber or some other melon adjacent scent right off the bat.

 

It then turns into a very chemical laden scent, that makes me wonder how many brain cells are dying with each sniff. It smells like a photography studio or an art studio of a collage artist who uses a lot of rubber cement. There's a faded scent memory from when my mom was an art director at an ad agency and I would go to work with her. She'd have me collage with scraps of paper leftover from projects. This was back in the 80's when designs were done by hand, images carefully glued down and type was rubbed on, using this cool rub-on material. Lots of acrid glue, industrial papers, ink, and chemicals. 

 

I don't think I would choose to wear this scent, but my mom is coming to live with me and her memory is starting to fade. I wonder if this oil will bring her back to her glory days in the art world? Back when she was young, not too far away from her art school years, living in Phoenix and starting to raise a family while working...I'll probably keep this around for her.

[zankoku_zen]

Acid cucumber, leather, and spooky plaster. There's almost a touch of motor oil in this. This reminds me to a Day Burned White, but sans ghost cocaine dust, and more like dark inky attic where something creepy is going to slither out from the shadows and take you. Spooky. Medium throw and wear length.

[Just Kitten]

I love this so much! It smells like a new book you open for the first time. It’s nostalgic to me because it reminds me of school. It’s amazing that Beth can create the smell of a paper. It does smell like cucumbers when it’s wet. But that goes away quickly. It’s very similar to Papier Mache Ghost which I also love. ❤️