As Above

[Mister Azure]

Leather drenched with white patchouli, oak bark, bourbon vanilla, bitter almond, and Moroccan jasmine.

 

A scent of false promise. 

 

Wet: I am hit with what seems like a strip of leather and something else that is harsh. So harsh that I cannot pick up much else. Which is disappointing so far. 

 

Dry: This does not improve on me. That hardness devolves into a very sharp antiseptic odor. A very strong antiseptic at that. 

 

Final thoughts: This is not a bottle for me. I even tried layering it with Alternative Facts since it is a very sweet fragrance but that did not help. Just smelled like melting plastic and antiseptic mixed together. I was so hopeful for this given the notes in it. I want to say it is the bitter almond that is making this a no go on me. Not sure in full however. Still, no thank you.

[supreme_c0rt]

Somebody up-thread quipped "urinal cake" and that isn't totally off. Freshly applied, there's something medicinal and almost bandage-like going on. It's not great. As it dries out, the leather and jasmine mix into something that reads like floral rubber latex. Floral silly putty. The vanilla is noticeable, but the latex/rubber thing is what stands out. Kind of like a scented barbie doll that's right out of the box. It's an odd effect. I'm not really into it, but I can't stop huffing it anyway. The silly putty smell is kind of weirdly nostalgic.

 

After about an hour or so the silly putty backs off and we're left with a complex, dark jasmine-vanilla that's actually really nice. I'll give this one a few more tests before I rule it out. 

 

EDIT: I tried layering it with So Below and most of the things I disliked about this one sort of fell away, and the good parts of each really shone. They really do work well together. 

Edited August 4, 2019 by supreme_c0rt

[monocainsheresy]

Smoked leather, OAK, patchouli, wisps of vanilla/almond, and a veil of jasmine. Oak is my favorite wood note and it is definitely the star here, so I enjoy this, though it is lighter than what I normally go for. I was expecting more almond given that it smelled like straight almond extract in the decant, but alas.

Nevertheless, this is very pretty gender neutral scent that I think could work in any season.

[Jenesis]

This is an odd morpher on me. Initially it's reminiscent of the HM signature scent; heavy patchouli with a touch of booze. There's a touch of something.. astringent underneath? Unfortunately it turns into bathroom cleaner on me. However I've only had this one a day, I'll let it age and come back to it after more rest.

[witchytwitchygirl]

To me, this is definitely “daytime Haute Macabre.” The leathery, almondy, vanilla-y oakiness is a winner in both IMO. The differences between the two are not huge (not sure I can tell the difference between black and white patchouli, for example), but this one is a touch lighter/more wearable which I imagine is partially the jasmine’s doing. I actually wish I got more jasmine out of this! And I pretty much always wish I got more patchouli out of everything, so no surprise that that’s true here, too. Still a beautiful scent.

[LavenderCoffee]

As Above has been in my collection with its counterpart for a year now, but I have not reviewed either - time to remedy! Although I must confess I usually wear them together, so even though I feel like I know them, smelling them separately feels a bit new.

Wet on my skin, this is all white patch, vanilla, and bitter almond, and the vanilla almond combo is decidedly non-gourmand. It's weird re-reading the scent notes now and realizing that all this time I thought it said white leather and not white patchouli, so maybe that is why I am wholly convinced that as it dries, the scent turns into white leather gloves, or a hat - the good guys wear white hats! Worn for awhile longer, the leather and oak ground the scent in a dreamy spot that tips said hat and says "ma'am" to a lovely hint of jasmine on her absolute best behavior.

 

Wearing As Above and So Below together seems to somehow tame and showcase the prominent notes from each: leather sidles up to copal, oak brings both patchoulis to the table in agreement, vanilla/almond/coconut relax alongside amber ...it's tremendous.