R.M. Renfield

[Tess]

Unhinged: moss, cumin, patchouli, Balsam of Peru, and neroli.

I really have no idea what drew me to this scent. Maybe I wanted a break from my normal scents or something. It's truly beyond me. I'm not one for "insane" oils, but let's try it.

In the bottle - The balsam is mixing with something really, really badly. It reminds me of dirty floor cleaner, how it smells after a large floor has been mopped.

Wet - It's not nearly so strong on my skin and I can tell that it's a combination of the balsam with the neroli and the patchouli that are going south. The cumin isn't present, that I can tell. The moss IS there, making it wetter and darker.

Drying - This really is a weird one. The balsam is the strongest note by far, With the other notes darkening the scent. The image I get is from the movie "Seven" where the police find the personification of sloth in the room with all the air fresheners. I'm not sure how I feel about smelling like that.....

Dry (45 minutes) - Well, it's calmed down somewhat, but it's still not what I'd describe as "good smelling." It's the same as is during the drying phase, only slightly weaker.

Overall - I could see this smelling good on someone else, in particular someone male. With a deeper, muskier body chemistry, this could be fabulous. As it is, though, it's no good on me.

[Em-]

Very sour, green and mossy. I don't really get much of the spicyness of cumin or patchouli - mostly I get a mossy men's cologne sort of scent. I don't dislike this, actually, but it is not really me. I am definitely going to have to try this on my husband, because it has the potential to be quite wonderful.

[Naamah_Darling]

Oh! This is so not even close to what I was imagining!

 

In the bottle, it's a friendly, lively scent. The patchouli is the base note, kept from filthy skankitude by the cumin's spice and the juicy green of the moss. It's all tied together by the neroli, an unexpected tangy floral that takes this from kooky to pretty.

 

On, this is like watching bugs fight. Fascinating, and so hard to tell what the hell is going on! This is the same moss that's in Zombi, for instance. It's very earthy, dank, and green. The patchouli is behaving itself, blends beautifully with the moss for a rich, loamy cologne smell. Cumin and neroli are an unlikely but delightful pair, giving it a sort of slapdash charm.

 

The throw is not sugary, but it is a sweet scent, pleasant and friendly. Closer, that's where the patchouli's dirty tinge starts making itself known. This is masculine, but easily a scent that women could wear. It's earthy and green in a mossy, mulchy way, a growing and sort of primordial scent that's not animal but rather vegetal.

 

I love it. Unexpected, strange, and certainly the unlikely hero of this series. I've never smelled anything quite like it.

[Syzygy]

Um. Well. Renfield is certainly unusual. This goes on green, mossy, and dank. Just sniffing this makes my lungs feel heavy with damp air. There's a chill here, something a little high pitched that really does evoke the image of a bug-eating lunatic keening to himself in a cold, dark, damp cell. There is artistry in this blend, and while I can appreciate it, I am not enjoying it. It takes almost an hour before the cumin creeps in like a crafty thought and takes the swampy edge off the moss and patchouli. The neroli doesn't show itself to me. It ends up being a fairly inoffensive blend of cumin and moss, but I don't like it enough to sit through an hour of feeling like I'm breathing bad air. Hats off to those who can wear this and make it work, because it's truly unique.

[QueenFae]

First impressions: Sharp, earthy, strong, mossy, herbal, brown. This is an unusual one, I'm having a hard time identifying what notes I'm smelling. When this dries down a bit, the patchouli decides to show itself, and it becomes a bit more pleasant smelling. The intial stage is very sour and peculiar. There is still a strange sharpness to the dry down that is not really agreeing with me. The neroli perhaps? It smells a bit old and musty on me. This is a strong scent; definitely dark and masculine.

 

This is not quite right on me.

[julesofdenial]

I actually did get a decant of this back in.. oh, November or so. But after a test of it, I decided it was much, much too crazy for me. Unhinged is right- a sniff of this certainly brings to mind madness, possibly because of all the somewhat conflicting notes layered together.

 

But, I bought a lot of LE imps that included this, so I figured I'd give it another test. And I am very glad I did. Yes, it's edged with madness, but now that I sniff it again I realize that at the heart of this is pure neroli, and smells precisely like LUSH's Alkmaar soap- one of my favourites. The cumin and moss add earthiness and spice, giving it a bit of a masculine twist, though I'd definitely call this gender neutral.

 

I can only imagine that wearing this after washing with Alkmaar would amp the neroli even more, and I can't wait to try that. For all that it's crazy, it's also weirdly comforting, and I'm just thrilled that I decided to give it another go.

[filigree_shadow]

Wow. Not what I was expecting. I thought this would smell like an odd, confused jumble.

 

Instead it smells like a deep earthy patchouli, and the Balsam of Peru smells great with it. It's so unusual. If I smelled this on someone I would probably stop in my tracks and turn my head toward the scent. It smells almost exotic to me, and definitely alluring.

 

I would love for my husband to wear this. (I have a feeling he won't like it, but I'll convince him to at least try it.) I also think women can wear this just fine. It reminds me an awful lot of chypre scents, and I've always liked those.

[voodoobaby]

In the bottle: Ooh, that is NICE! It's very masculine and cologne-y, but not screamingly so. I think all (or at least most) men should smell like this.

 

Wearing: Uh. Oh. Wow. As soon as it hits the skin, it goes from quiet and thoughtful to explosive and, well, insane. Unhinged is a bit of an understatement. It feels like there's something...wrong with it or something. I get a really bizarre feeling from wearing it, but I kind of like it. It's unsettling in the best way, and certainly not unpleasant to my nose. I think the neroli adds to the unsettling bit--I can smell it jumping out from the rest of the notes, and while it feels out of place, it still smells terrific.

 

As an observation, have you ever seen Jacob's Ladder? Remember the one scene with him being wheeled on a gurney to the hospital room, and there's a series of mentally unstable horrors going on around him? That's the image I get from wearing this (weird, right?). That said, I love Jacob's Ladder, and I really like this blend. I want to wear it out and see what others say, which won't be too hard because the throw seems to be fairly strong. Props to Beth for conjuring up such an evocative scent.

[Gwydion]

In bottle: This one’s appropriately weird, sort of aftershave and moss with something softer, maybe its the neroli? It has a sea breeze feel to it too. It is slightly sharp, but not unpleasantly so. There is a faint spiciness to it. Obviously, my sample is rather old, so may not well reflect early reviews. Wet: Wet stone, sea breeze and things growing on it. The cumin and what I’m guessing is the balsam comes out. There is something very faintly floral or possibly citrus, though that’s not the right word to the blend. Again, I’m not that familiar with either Balsam of Peru or neroli, so I’m giving impressions It is darkly and very green. It suits its concept well, though there are clear indications of the effects of age on the blend. Dry: A lingering scent of moss, cumin, and the thing I think is balsam. Very nice.

[stillalive]

it's a bizarre spiced thing that reminds me of sniffing a spice cabinet... a little incensey? sort of like sitting outside by a campfire mixed with a spice cabinet.

[zankoku_zen]

This one is odd - but I get a greenish kind of cologne - something kinda sharp, but green, and overall masculine.

 

Crazy loonie bin it doesn't smell like.

 

A little unhinged? Perhaps.

 

But if a little crazy smells like this, I think I can cope with that!

[rayvn1]

I agree with zankoku zen - not too surprising since I got this decant from her It started out warm, soft and subtle but as it dried the scent became higher and higher pitched until it's this shrieking sharp, cold and green scent. Almost astringent smelling. I like this but it is pretty darn unhinged. Can't quit thinking of Tom Waits as Renfield in the Bram Stoker movie and this is a good smell-representation that

[asciident]

Wet: Musky leather. Where am I getting leather from?

 

First on: Super masculine. Ew.

 

Dry: Suddenly it's all neroli. WTF?

[milo]

Pretty much a sour, powdery jasmine, with a bit of bitterness thrown in. Not for me.

[stellans]

What ever reason possessed me to buy this bottle has fled, shrieking into the night. When I applied the teeniest dot of it to my arm this morning, I immediately looked around for the Orkin man: this was pure bug spray on my arm. All I can think is I was obsessed with completing the Order of the Dragon set, because surely if I'd tried a decant of this I would have known it wasn't for me.

And that one, teeny little dot of perfume? Would. Not. Come. Off. Srsly.

p.s. I finally got rid of the smell by a heavy application of baking soda paste. Whew!

[Monday]

On my skin wet: Sour moss and powder

On my skin dry: Sour moss, powder and green balsam.

 

This isn't doing anything for me really.

[patina]

I had to try this one.

 

Applied, it's super moss. A whole roomful of dry dark moss to sink into. I can't smell the patchouli or balsam separately. (But then I'm not very practiced picking out balsam.)

 

The spicy, bitter orange smell of cumin and neroli balance out all that moss very well. With certain chemistry, I can see this turning too sharp, even turning into body odor, but somehow it behaves itself. That almost never happens when I wear sharp scents. After a while the patchouli becomes a bit more noticeable.

 

This is actually nice for a chilly day. I wouldn't go so far as calling the scent unhinged, but it suggests wild misery without actually making me feel unhappy. (It helps that I find oakmoss comforting.)

 

As the other reviewers have said, it tends towards men's cologne. It isn't absolutely amazing, but it is good, very interesting and uniquely evocative.

[Nicnivin]

My husband is very fond of this scent, but I just can't warm up to it. At all.

That "madness" described by others basically translates to bug spray and foot odour with a hint of cat pee in a dark, wet cave, at least to my olfactory system.

 

I'd have to lump this in with Troll as a scent that's rather fascinating, but nausea inducing.

[nathanielhebert]

It's very sharp in the bottle, and slightly "Orkin Man" in its leanings; which is apt for the character. Reminds me of boggy camping and German aftershave, circa the 80s. Possibly the "strongest" scent in my collection, which also had a lot of bite to it before mellowing out over time.