Atrous

This is my favorite of the Haute Macabre scents!

Dries down to a dark and mysterious scent. Musky, black coconut is at the front with an dark, earthy resinous base. The cardamon lends a bit of spice to round it out.

This one's a keeper along with the rest of the Haute Macabre line.

I'm going to have to try layering them as some of the reviews have suggested.

I'm a big fan of the original HM so I knew I had to get her younger sisters, As Above & So Below.

So, I tested all three of them side by side.

I agree with some reviewers; there are similarities between HM and AA.

As Above dries down to a slightly lighter fragrance than the original. Where HM ends up a creamy almond/coconut/leather with a hint of earth; AA dries down to leather, earth, and a sharp almond scent with woodsy, floral undertones.

Really love this blend for days when I want something lighter but I still want the leather (usually I amp leather like crazy, but not with AA). Most certainly keeping the bottle.

Decant: Why am I smelling Dark Chocolate? Weird. Maybe there is something wrong with my nose?

Wet Stage: Still Chocolate...But wait. Oooooh! There's that lovely Patchouli. I'm getting a hint of spices too, but not in-your-face spices. These are mellow. Very nice.

Dry Stage: Damn, what is it with the chocolate scent? I've never tried a scent with either Raw Coffee Beans or Himalayan Spices, so maybe this is how those notes translate on my skin. The chocolate is more of a dark and bitter variety. I get a wee bit of coffee and a huge dollop of cream; all sprinkled with a beautiful, toned-down spice blend. The scent is rounded out by a base that is smokey and earthy so the blend doesn't get too foody. This is a fantastic scent. I'm going to have to get a bottle before the update goes down.

In the decant: More of a feeling than a scent. It feels cold.

Wet Stage: Light musk, moldering wood and stone.

Dry Stage: I would say this qualifies as one of those White Noise fragrances. It's evocative of a cool, dark, abandoned building. It has a vaporous ethereal quality to it which does make this a haunting scent. Been waiting for a scent like this. I love, love, love!

In the decant: An autumn harvest of fruit

Wet stage: Pretty much the same except apples come to the top. They smell like Macintosh apples.

Dry stage: This doesn't really morph at all. It's not a scent I would use often but I will keep the decant to experiment with layering. Overall, a very nice scent.

In the Decant: Yep, Snake Oil

Wet Stage: Snake Oil with pumpkin and spices.

Dry Stage: This one doesn't morph at all. Which is great because I love this scent from first sniff. The pumpkin scent doesn't appear to be a fresh pumpkin but rather more of a pumpkin pie. Unlike other reviews, I am getting a pretty strong vanilla rounding everything out. I need to get a bottle and a backup of this before it's all gone.

Ooky is an apt name since it's kinda a Kooky scent.

In the bottle: unidentifiable baked goods and candy-ish.

Wet stage: Morphs from super duper pumpkin spices into almondy smelling dough.

Dry stage: An astounding metamorphosis into spicy, autumn, creamy, sweet baked goods with almond slivers on top. And, it smells like it just came out of the oven. How is that possible? YUMMY! I seriously want to nibble on my wrists. Smells foody and warm and sexy!

Oh my F***ing God! Delicious!

Surprised I haven't reviewed this until now. TGSOW was the first frimp I ever tried from the lab, immediately fell in love, and bought a bottle. Now I'm glad I waited. The oil has aged nicely into a dar copper, syrupy thick liquid.

In the Bottle: Mandarin and Red Musk heaven

Wet Stage: This morphs quite a bit. While the Mandarin and Musk are always present I get a hint of something medicinal (not in a bad way). It must be the 5 herbs of conflict that's causing the medicinal smell. Saffron and Black Tea come out next pretty sharply and then fade into the background.

Dry Stage: Everything comes together. The scent takes on a sweetness that I attribute to the Cocoa. Tonka comes into play softening up what might otherwise be a scent that is too sharp.

Verdict: I love this scent more now that it is aged. I get why this is called The Great Sword of War. On my skin the notes seem to 'war' with each other bright and astringent vs. dark and mellow. Huff it once and I get all bright citrus. Huff it a second time, I get musky sweetness. Huff it a third time and I get smoky tea and herbs. This scent is strong and has tons of staying power. A little goes a long way.

In the wet stage Thanatopsis smells just like Czernobog but lighter. That's fine because Czernobog is one of my top three scents.

The problem is the dry down. While Czernobog goes all dark, sexy musk on me; Thanatopsis just dries out and practically disappears. What little I do sniff is very cheap cologne. Too bad.

Really surprised I ended up loving this. I tried the original Alice not long ago and didn't like it at all. It's the carnation, you see. I amp it like crazy and it ended up destroying Alice for me.

What's nice about Alice in the Pumpkin Patch is that the pumpkin mellows the carnation to the point that it's not only tolerable but pleasant.

Wet: Way too strong. Cloves come on like a Mack truck and run me over. I'm also getting a bit of the 'copper-colored feathers', in that I get faint whiffs of feathers and something metallic.

Dry: Still strong but the clove dies down enough to let the other notes play. Notes play really nicely together. Overall, I get dark, smokey incense and (this is the odd part) spice cakes . I really, really love this. A beautiful autumnal scent with plenty of throw.

This is the first time I've been around for Weenie update. So many I'm intrigued by so I scaled down my list and placed an order.

I got:

Dark Pumpkin Mead - Sounds delicious. all the notes are winners for me.

Hell-gate of Ireland - Couldn't resist all the dark notes.

Samhain - another one where the notes work

September Midnight - my birth month so had to have it. love Chypre!

Snakes in the Pumpkin Patch - Snake oil + pumpkin. Nuff said.

Noctiphobia - No notes! Decided to take the risk.

Out of the Song of Nature scents, I expected to like this one the least. I amp carnation and jasmine like crazy and coconut often goes wonky on my skin.

In the Bottle: Sweet and slightly fruity.

Wet: Mainly coconut and floral. Wet, the scent is sorta dysfunctional. The individual notes really butt heads and the floral notes are a bit noxious. I'm getting nervous this scent is going to go the way I expected it to...Bad.

Dry: Huzzah! The scent has morphed quite a bit. Coconut certainly stands out as the dominant note and it's a lovely, creamy coconut. I'm so happy that carnation and jasmine decided to behave. The floral notes have a very tropical feel to them. I can smell both the mango and blackcurrant swirling throughout the blend. Underneath all of this is a slight sharpness poking through but not too aggressively. The overall feel of the scent is tropical...warm and languid.

Half of the notes in Epibulia are normally death notes for me, so I'm very pleased the scent came together so well.

This may very well be my favorite Song of Nature.

Bought a bottle unsniffed because I love all the notes except Black Licorice Root. I've never tried anything with licorice but was willing to give it a try since anise is a great note on my skin.

In the bottle: Can't pick out any individual notes, just dark and masculine.

Wet on the skin: The same but now the sandalwood and patchouli are coming out with something cloying in the background. The wet stage is not good. It's actually a bit offensive.

Dry on the skin: Really morphs into a beautiful, subtle scent. Licorice come out in a pleasant way; just enough to make this interesting. It plays well with the orange, lemon, and jewel-toned fruit. Sandalwood and patchouli move to the background, creating a woodsy base. I see this more as a unisex scent. Bright and sweet on top with dark undertones swirling throughout.

Never would have tried White Rabbit if the lab hadn't frimped me. I was afraid I'd end up smelling like fresh linens.

Boy was I wrong.

Imp: Mostly honey and ginger

Wet: While wet, I don't detect any individual notes just a general lightness. I can already tell this is more of a spring scent. I'm a bit disappointed at this stage because there is really nothing there.

Dry: Wow, this one morphs on me. Each note springs to life one after the other as WR dries down. First, black tea then milk, honey, vanilla. After about a half hour a hint of ginger and pepper appear and way in the background fresh linens create a nice base. I'm thankful that all the notes play so well on my skin. The best way I can describe WR is innocent and charming like children having a tea party. Absolutely beautiful!

I love the idea of this thread! I'm not replying to any of the old posts because I don't know if it's ok, since the posts appear to be several weeks old -- however, if anyone is still open to new suggestions feel free to say so.

 

I spend a lot of time daydreaming and having FEELINGS about art, but you wouldn't guess this at first glance. I have all the traits of the stereotypical Aries. Additionally, despite the fact that I'm quite geeky at heart I would never call myself a "geek" and I have no patience for dry intellectual conversations. I wear a lot of black and dark colours in general and mostly dresses and heels. I'm obsessed with history, art, the sea (everything about it), poetry, wine, and decadent 19th century novels. I listen to almost every genre of music as long as it's enjoyable and interesting, but I have a soft spot for 1970s glam rock, post-punk, and cabaret-type music (and obscure twee bands but you didn't hear that from me!).

 

Any ideas?

Hi Butterbeer -

This is fun. Someday I'll have to try it myself. In the meantime...

Given all your interests and likes, Horreur Sympathique, Bordello, and Tombuer popped into my head.

You mentioned your obsession with the sea - R'Lyeh and Y'Ha-Nathlei are both beautiful aquatics.

Personally, I associate Aries with Le Lethe because two of my very good Aries friends got me hooked on the scent.

Hope some of that is helpful.

A frimp from the lab; I waited until I had nothing new to test to try this one. I was hesitant to try AM because of the teakwood and tobacco notes. Never tried anything with teak and was afraid it would make the blend too masculine. Tobacco is hit-or-miss, sometimes it can be a bit much and run masculine.

Honestly didn't expect to like it but, OMG, is it AMAZING! It's more of a unisex scent, thank goodness.

This scent smells like someone smoking vanilla flavored pipe or cigarillo in an old, Victorian-type study. The scent of heavy,

wood furniture and cloying, smokey vanilla hang in an atmosphere surrounded by books, papers, and antiques. It's sexy, smart, and sophisticated.

I must have a bottle of this!

In the imp: Pine and citrus

Wet on the skin: Pine and a sharp mint or eucalyptus. Kinda reminds me of Black Forest.

Dry on the skin: Musks come out on the dry down and I'm getting a bit of snake oil but darker. The mint is faint but it's there. Murky, earthy musk with a bright note. I think the bright note is the citrus coming out again. Absolutely love this scent. Not too light and not too heavy with a moderate throw. Really surprised - I thought this would be too dark. Have to have a bottle. Did I mention I love this scent?

Recently, I was sick for two weeks. During that time everything I tried to put on - all my most beloved scents - smelled horrible to the point of feeling like I was going to throw up.

Now that I'm better all my favorites are favorites again.

Something unusual might be throwing your chemistry out of whack. Maybe try your imps again in another week or two and see if you get a different result.

This is intriguing!

I have to agree with Luna Azul and have to add Death on a Pale Horse, Scales of Deprivation, Ultraviolet, Kumari Kandam, Nephilim, The Black Tower, Arcana, and Tintagel

I'd definitely recommend trying Great Sword of War if you like the notes involved - it's not really like any other red musk blend I've tried. It's a very interesting blend of the tangy/bright citrusy top over a darker semi-foody base.

 

Floria, I love citrus and foody scents - Yum! Very excited about placing my next order (runs to go place order this instant)

Deliciousness - Hope you like it!

Just found this thread. Yes. I have been hiding under a rock

How cool to have a scent recommended to you based on a personality description!

Hopefully, I can someday share my educated opinion on scent recommendations, but until that time, maybe someone could do mine?

 

Here it is:

My sign is Aries, Chinese year of the monkey. I'm a pessimist (although I like to say realist), creative (art degree: read stay at home mom). I love to dance (mainly ballet and zoomba, if zoomba is even considered "dancing"), sensitive (which totally sucks with the creativity thing because I hate criticism). My favorite color is blue (associated with the need to control or be in control). Sarcastic (but only occasionally now; I've gotten much softer with old age and my medication: aka happy pills). I feel socially awkward, but if I get to know someone or a small group of people, I'm outgoing and possibly even obnoxious.

Okay, so this is the first time I've made a recommendation based on personality...bear with me

1) based on Aries being associated with war + need to control = Great Sword of War

2) based on contradictions (not meant to be offensive, btw) you describe sensitive/creative socially awkward/outgoing = I thought of Nephilim.

Yet another frimp I didn't expect to like. Mostly because there is a whole paragraph of components in it. I was so wrong. This is a truly lovely scent. Nephilim is the right name as it oscillates between chilly air and sweet earthiness. I get fleeting whiffs of spiciness, florals, and fruit but they are all so soft and subtle. I can't believe how well so many notes play with each other.

I got Arcana as a frimp and didn't really expect to like it, but my, is it nice.

It's a light herbal and floral scent tinged with lemon. Ethereal is the best way I know to describe it. There are no dominant notes to Arcana but a swirling mist of all the notes. Very calming. I can see wearing this after a stress filled day or apply right before sleepy time. This scent goes straight to my must buy list.

In the Imp: Cinnamon!

On my skin: Medicinal and cinnamon. I kept sniffing at my wrist because the scent reminded me of something and I couldn't pinpoint what. About an hour after application, I sniffed at my wrist again and suddenly...Tiger Balm It's died down a bit but still, Tiger Balm. That's too bad. I had high hopes for this one.