batling

This rested about 9 or so hours before I skin tested, so please keep that in mind!

I nabbed this because it screamed to me as a unique Halloween fragrance and living in desert-y Los Angeles, I don't get true "fall" weather until MAYBE late October to mid-November. I also thought I could wear this when Summer hits and Halloween decor gets dropped--peak halfway to Halloween goodness.

In the bottle, its musky, dusty and petrichor-adjacent.

Wet on the skin, you get that big, bombastic creosote note. It's something so distinctive that its hard to really miss. Slightly damp greenery initially then it becomes muskier as it settles. After a bit, it gets dustier, like kicked up sand, and woodier for sure. There is something warm underneath, kind of mineral-y but not coppery. Almost like rain dappled concrete or dirt.

This isn't high noon desert fragrance but more like Autumn nightfall in Death Valley.

I want to preface this by saying that this rested from the mail for only like.. 9 hours or so but here we go!

In the bottle, its clove and a perfumed incense-floral.

Wet on the skin, the clove is very apparent. It's even kind of prickly on the skin. It kind of mellows out and blends into the incense note, giving it a headier quality than Constellation. Constellation, to my nose, is perfume-y clove because of the Egyptian musk but its "sweeter" than A Melancholy of Goths. AMoG is more incense and floral, less "bright" than its Haute Macabre sibling.

The warm clove stands out again on the dry down, giving it a soft bite to the scent while retaining that sort of powdery hairspray note that isn't screechy thanks to the champaca I think. If you know, you know.

It's a very strong. potent scent and I only needed one dab. If Constellation is a scent I'd wear during Summer and Thorns Clove Cigarette, which is a warmer, smokier clove, is a scent I'd wear during Winter, then A Melancholy of Goths would be something I'd choose for Spring and Fall-- before L.A. gets hit with sweater weather at least!

two impressions! 1. fresh out of the mail & 2. 24 hr rested.

1. this one did not come to play. the pine pitch is kind of green and bitter and camphorous, like it has that same menthol like quality when it tickles the back of your throat when you smell it? i can get whiffs of clove and something else, but in the vial and wet on the skin, its just a pine pitch party in my nostrils. the dry down.. is still mostly pine pitch. jfc. pine pitch PLEASE, i wanna smell the other notes! after a little, the clove becomes more noticeable to my nose and i'm getting whispery little hints of powdery dragons blood. i mean, in the end the pine pitch does chill out but unfortunately, the dry down isn't worthwhile for me atm.

update: the drydown isnt bad! i like that its.. spicy dragons blood, but the opening made me contemplate my life choices. do i want to sit through that for the drydown??? i don't know! i dig the experience even if it mollywhopped me.

2. in the vial, the pine pitch isn't as aggressive or acrid as it was the other day. wet on the skin, i still get that bitter green quality but i think its actually mellowed out quite a bit thanks to the warmth of the clove here. clove can be biting and it works well at telling the pine pitch to calm the fuck down a little maybe? i get some whiffs of the dragons blood as it wears longer and the pine pitch is now marrying and seamlessly blending in with the clove. the dry down is intense dragons blood which is leaning a little bit powdery on me but not as powdery as other dragons blood fragrances i've tried. i think this will be a polarizing scent for a lot of people but right now, i'm somewhere in the middle. it makes me curious about what this will age into.

update: the dragons blood isn't as powdery as it initially was which i'm thankful for. the warm clove has some lovely staying power which i'm vibing with. my only issue is that the dragons blood is doing that thing where it becomes overwhelming to the senses when i sniff too deeply, giving me a minor headache. i'm not sure how to feel on this, but i'm going to hold onto my decant and see what happens.
 

update #2: i tried this again and i.. really enjoy it now? perhaps its the power of suggestion, i'm not sure, but a friend said it smelled like "resin cola". i /love/ cola fragrances so curiously, i retested my decant. and.. yes, i get it. i actually get it.

the pine pitch isn't nearly as assertive as the first two times i tried it. the pine pitch and the clove, interestingly, give it an effervescent, kind of bubbly quality which gives me that quintessential "cola" vibe. the dragons blood gives it that sweetness, a touch powdery, on the dry down. its more floral than fruity to my nose. i cannot stop myself from sniffing my wrists, which i think says a lot.

i can see this aging into something spectacular, and right now, its certainly a very unique fragrance. i think this is an upsize for me.

my first actual review on the forum!

i broke this down to two impressions. 1. fresh out of the mail & 2. 24 hours rested.

1. in the vial, its dry and chocolate-y. wet on the skin, its not as cacao forward as I initially expected it to be. sure, you get that whiff of dry chocolate but it has a pretty, smooth slightly amber-y quality? the sweetness seems tempered on the skin. the dry down is lovely. the tonka bean really works well here, and truthfully, right now, i don't pick up much patchouli. the sandalwood is probably somewhere in here, adding to the tonka bean. i can see this aging into something really beautiful.

update: after a bit, its all tonka bean, sandalwood, and a hint of something woody because its not powdery but it smells more like a lux designer fragrance. the kind that probably lingers on fur coats.

2. second time around! still chocolate-y in the vial. wet on the skin, nowhere near as cacao forward so that tracks from the first test. i get more of the sandalwood and its tickling my nose in a warm, peppery kind of way. the tonka bean and sandalwood give this scent a vintage perfume kind of vibe. perhaps something you'd sniff at a boutique of some sort. timeless, elegant. the patchouli is not very noticeable, if at all, to my nose. its possible that it might become more apparent with some aging but i'm not quite sure. the dry down has more of a woody, dry quality with the same classic perfume aura as before. the cacao is here and its noticeable, but its more of a delicate velvety sweetness than anything particularly gourmand.

update: glowing, sexy tonka bean and sandalwood with a soft woody note. vaguely sweet cacao fluttering in the background. all tied together seamlessly. gorgeous.