Die Pest auf der Treppe

[Silvertree]

A real lil’ creeper of a scent: dusty patchouli, opoponax, scorched frankincense,

white cedar, black fig, raw myrrh, vanilla tar, and black peppercorn.

[elissamay]

This one almost strikes me as a very posh cologne intended for a gentleperson of status, dabbed on the pulse points of a sinister demon. Like it's luring me down these stairs to see who in the world smells this fancy in this dark cellar. Surely noone who would blend spicy peppercorn with patchouli and vanilla tar would inhabit such a place as this? Oh, hello. Why yes, I'll follow you down this creepy descent. Nothing unusual about this in the slightest.

 

Try it if you enjoy well-blended cologney scents with a bit of dirty vanilla creepy vibe. The peppercorn really pops. I am enjoying it but I may see how it smells on my fiancé!

Edited December 26, 2022 by elissamay

[Casablanca]

Die Pest begins with a soft, dusty, black-peppery cedar and patchouli on my skin. It's an opening that leaves me curious how it will develop --- until it's obscured by a soft cloud of cologne.

 

I didn't anticipate cologne from the published notes list. Not my thing, and I do wish I'd known.

[patina]

This goes on a woody cologne, but as it warms up the vanilla tar softens the whole thing beautifully and now I have a vanilla-patchouli resin cloud around me. I love wood scents and this is just so good.

Edited January 8, 2023 by patina

[Lucchesa]

Die Pest is very much a cologne on me as well, which I didn’t expect but am not upset by, as I prefer unisex scents and leaning masculine is fine for me. It’s difficult for me to pick out individual notes like myrrh or fig here. Kind of a birch tar cologne with hints of patchouli and peppercorn, slightly softened by the vanilla. If you’re looking for something femme or in the sweet patchouli family, this is not your animal. 

[amokslime]

Oh, this is great! The trajectory on me is a burst of black pepper -> chic androgynous cologne -> soft resins and vanilla that feel like a skin musk.

 

The black pepper smells spicy and fresh, with that lovely fruity-indolic undertone I sometimes get from black pepper. But I worry that saying the scare words fruity and indolic will be misleading. It's totally fresh, savory, and spicy. It just has this extra blooming undercurrent that makes for a really interesting and complex introduction.

 

I'm definitely getting a full bottle.

[MamaMoth]

yes, there is a cologne quality to this (especially when first applied,) in the way the cedar is mingling with those dusty resins and some unsweet black vanilla. cologney is not always my jam, but there's something compelling about this one that i keep coming back to. i have a bottle, but i've really been monitoring a decant i also have, since they tend to mature faster. over the last couple of months i've grown more and more enamored as the vanilla tar has gained more presence. it's not the tarry sticky vanilla i originally imagined, but a pitch-black, dry, raspy vanilla with zero creaminess and very little sweetness. i am picking up what this vanilla tar is throwing down though, and i will likely be all up on that when it crops up elsewhere. 

 

deep, dusty incense resins, dry woodsy cedar, a prickle of pepper, and some spooky ass vanilla. i was unsure about it at first, but i'm glad i have a bottle now! 

[RoseThornAndOak]

I visited the Kittelsen House in Kragero, Norway, so had to try this. Actually got one of my favorite vintage tins for perfumes at the open air market in the village there.

 

There is this dark, dusty, spicy, woodsy, smoky unsettling feeling to this, like 'feelin cute, might burninate the peasants later' vibe. It's kinda sexy though. Very masculine, long haired metal dude.

Edited March 25, 2023 by RoseThornAndOak

[zankoku_zen]

Piney, pepper, cedar and vanilla fig. Medium throw and wear length. 

[Ennikar]

Wet it's strong, woody black pepper. Rich and dark, just a touch sweetened from the fig and vanilla. I can see where the "cologne" comments above come from; this is definitely more on the masc end but if you think of it as a cologne it's definitely a good one. Spicy-dirty-woodsy-vanilla.
I really like this one and wish my partial was bigger - the only thing stopping me from bottling is that the throw isn't that great, though longevity is good and it's still on my swap list because the little wafts whenever caught them were very nice.

[MolyH]

Peppery, dry patchouli and cedar smoke. Dusty, indeed! I'm not sure I get much frankincense, but I definitely get the scorched part out of this! Don't get me wrong, it's not unpleasant at all--this is an extremely fragrant scorched smoke. Very masculine leaning on me, though, I don't get any of the sweeter fruit notes, and that's speaking as someone who usually amps the hell out of vanilla.

 

I also keep catching something minty in this and it's driving me nuts. What is that?

[LavenderCoffee]

OK you know what? Yes. A real lil’ creeper of a scent. 

First few times I tested this on a wrist or a forearm it was just dusty and then it disappeared, so I put it back under the stairs (in the drawer).

Now that I've had it four months, it's starting to creep up on me. I have noticed it wears differently in different spots. In the crook of my elbow I'm getting the peppercorn/cedar/patch as well as some fig, and on my wrist I'm getting resins and a nice whiff of vanilla. I also got some on my shirt and that's where it smells dusty, but in a nice homey way. A surprisingly nice scent for a curious critter.