Dead Man's Hand

[EvilKitten]

... Our Dead Man’s Hand is the quintessential western scent: dusty rawhide and oiled leather.

Ohmygod.

I sniffed this, and immediately I was on horseback. I could hear the creaking of the saddle, feel the reins in my hands. Just that smell of well - worn leather.. but not just leather.. it's like dusty leather that I associate with tack rooms and horseback and when I was much younger and rode in horse shows.

And I only have an imp. Must. Get. More.

[transhumanist]

I can only agree - dried down, this scent is pure leather, very impressive. I'll definitely be wearing it when Laura arrives back in the country tomorrow.

 

Wet, but fortunately not for too long, it had a hint of fish...

[Nadirah]

Wow, this is the scent of a saddle! I also get what smells like money, since so many wallets are made of leather. This is pretty straight forward, money, leather, saddle. A bit odd for a perfume but I like it.

[cookie]

Yep. Pure leather/suede! It'll make a great layering scent, me thinks.

[tinyvulture]

Exactly like leather. How is that possible? I think there’s also a hint of fresh cut grass. My man smells like such a cowboy when he wears this. Although it’s too masculine for me to wear by itself, I’ve found that it smells freakin’ awesome when paired with Tombstone!

[Muppetk]

Huh. This is different.

 

As someone else said, this is very much single-note leather on me. It starts out very light on me which had me confused as I was expecting something more overpowering. So I put on bunches more and still light. 10 minutes later it was much stronger. Oops.

 

I looooove playing poker, so had to try this, but I'm not so sure it's me. It has, however, made me much less nervous about trying other scents with a leather note.

[Ina Garten Davita]

It's no big surprise that leather is not one of my favorite notes, but in the bottle this smells really good. It smells *exactly* like the leather in a brand new car and the leather shop at the mall. It's really amazing how that true to life scent has been captured in this little, tiny blue bottle.

[fallow deer]

Crikey! This scent totally knocked me out, and not in a good way! It smelt just like one of the leather shops in Camden, or the inside of a new shoe.

 

Very very strong, and disconcertingly 'wet' smelling, as if the leather was very fresh and new.

 

My boyfriend tried some on his hand and we both agreed it wasn't really wearable outable. But then we live in the city; perhaps such a raw smell would be easier to wear in the country.

[Scylla]

Wow, the first sniff of Dead Man's Hand reminded me of the Stride Rite children's shoe store! Pure leather. I love the way leather smells! I would say this is pretty much a single note leather.

 

This would be wonderful to layer with other scents--it will really add character and depth to some other scents. I am so glad I have a bottle!

[Belladonnastrap]

Howdy ya'll. This scent smells like the saddle of a horse after it's been worked to death on a ranch. That pure scent of pure leather with a bit o rawhide and something that screams OLD WEST. John Wayne should have smelled like this.

 

 

Basically take an old leather shoe. Sniff it. That's Dead Man's Hand. Amazingly true to life. Whereas it's not really great smelling on me, I'd imagine it would smell FAB on a guy. Rawr.

[shriekingviolet]

Initial Impression:

Dusty leather, straight up.

 

After Wearing It:

Wow this scent is dead on. This scents reminds me *so* much of the smell of the leather saddles and bridles I dealt with when I took horse back riding lessons as a kid. My instructor was a family aquaintance and taught me to clean and care for the everything after we had brushed down and groomed our hourse after a ride. This smells so strongly of well worn leather, saddle soap, the oil we used to keep it supple and the strong smell of Oklahoma red dirt that was beaten into the floor of the barn and was worn deep into the grooves on the saddle. It's very different from the leather scent I remember from Loviatar and De Sade. Those scents were strong, sharp and almost astrigent. That was sleep, black leather, put on for show. *This* is broken in and well used brown leather that has soaked in all of the smells it's been exposed to in its travels. It definitely is a very western scent in that sense, it comes from the days were horses were the practical choice for transportation and people had to choose their clothes well because they had to last and last even after much abuse. It's a very masculine smell, unapologetically dirty with the smell of animals lanced through.

 

Final Thoughts:

This scent is marvelous in the way it captures an idea, truly masterful. Not sure if I'll keep it though as it's waaay too masculine for me and I don't think I'd use it as a room scent. Glad I got to try it though. Dead Man's Hand is something you have to experience to truly appreciate how well Beth does what she does!

[chai_girl]

I scored an imp of this and fell in love. I didn't buy the bottle because leather scents usually smell really fake to me. Of course, I should have known Beth better than that.

 

To me, this smells like a well-worn leather jacket...not sweaty and stinky...but the gentle musky scent from being worn for years with shiney patches at the elbows and around the pockets. It is a very comforting leather scent.

 

I put a dab of it on a guy friend and I had a really hard time keeping my hands off him...what does that say about me?

 

Now to score a bottle of it.

[sihaya09]

This shot to the top of my list on first sniff. Leather and rawhide, sweat and dust. This, to me, is like liquid pheromones.

 

Not only did I score a bottle for myself from Andrabell, but I gave the 2.5ml bottle I got from Eowyn to the bf with specific instructions that he wear in often, and he'd be rewarded with fantastic sex.

 

That is all.

[Digital_Hypoxia]

I was very lucky to get this from a fellow forum member; I initially hedged at the description (I’ve been around too many cowboys), but decided it would make a great gateway scent for my boyfriend.

 

So I had to try it too.

 

Oh…my…God!

 

It does smell exactly like a tack room, right down to hint of dusty horse and saddle oil (very reminiscent of my old Crosby after a dose of Lexol).

Horses/ leather is probably the single most emotionally evocative scent for me; needless to say, I love this.

 

He’ll have to wear it often

[Shollin]

Thanks to scourgeotheseas for the decant!

 

First sniff: I don’t know why, but I was expecting a De Sade clone. Dead Man’s Hand is much lighter and softer. It reminds me of a stable, not a biker bar.

 

Wearing: Yup, this is the leather scent I need to try on my guy. De Sade was too cold, but this… this has promise. I could also see putting it in the oil burner to make my apartment smell like a stable – not the sweaty horse smell, not the hay or the sawdust or the stalls, but the scent of the tackroom, of the saddles and bridles, that soft, smooth, dusty-coloured leather. I don’t think it’s something I can get away with wearing, but I do like it quite a bit – I used to ride when I was younger and the tackroom scent is very nostalgic for me.

[Nemesister]

this scent is pure leather.....now as a vegetarian i thought i might find this unsettling, but i bought 5ml for himself anyway as he is a biiiiiig clint eastwood/spaghetti western fan so might appreciate the western name!

 

He has an old, tan suede jacket that he refuses to take off in autumn. dead man's hand smells like he does when he wears it. it's a comforting, warm smell......his reaction was that it 'smells of new shoes' lol...he's right

[joe's user]

While some may say this smells like leather, I'd for one like to whole-heartedly disagree. As soon as I smelled even an inkling of this smell, my first thought went to me beating the crap out of an old keyboard that was giving me trouble. Ahh, yes; the first destroyed keyboard. It also smells like an old 56k modem, after a through beating when it decided that it wasn't "connected"; connect my ass....

 

It also smells like an old apple computer being beaten in with a baseball. Some people think of leather; I think of old technology being beaten.

[tropicalstorm]

first off joeuser. Too funny.

 

I can't add much to the reviews of this scent, because it smells just like Beth's description. I can't believe how good Beth is a what she does. Inspiring, I tell you. My love for this scent was a perfume turning point for me, the moment when I knew something about my tastes I did not know before; I freaking love masuline scents. This is a dry, dusty rawhide, amazingly true to life. It's really comforting and grounding on me- I was lobbying at my statehouse a few weeks back and stuck with only my bottle of DMH for scent. It wasn't exactly my first choice, but it really pulled through- I was cool and collected through out the day.

Love it!

[supervillainess]

It's no big surprise that leather is not one of my favorite notes, but in the bottle this smells really good.  It smells *exactly* like the leather in a brand new car and the leather shop at the mall.  It's really amazing how that true to life scent has been captured in this little, tiny blue bottle. 

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

 

At this point I'm just echoing everyone else but... OMG I smell like new shoes! This is definitely pure leather, I'm not getting any other notes. But it's a yummier more sophisticated leather - where De Sade is more raw.

 

This reminds me of my childhood in Dallas, poking around in boot stores with my parents.

[dawndie]

I ordered a bottle simply for the name and description, as my maternal grandmother grew up on a farm near Deadwood. We took a trip with her years ago, and the fondest memories were traveling through the Black Hills, going to the nature preserves and watching the buffalo.

 

The leather smell is very clean and refreshing -- DH came into the room after I put some on, and he thought it smelled like "water from outside." Like when he's watering the lawn.

 

This isn't a bottle I'll be grabbing to wear every day, just when I want something simple and natural. Or when I want to smell like hose water.

[OriginalWacky]

Bottle (Imp): Oooh, this smells like a tack room, as I've been told. I don't sense anything but leather in this, much stronger than my initial leather scent from De Sade.

 

Just On: Oh, this IS leather in a bottle! A leather store, tack room, saddle shop kind of leather smell. I'm hooked.

 

An hour or two later: Though it has faded some, I can still smell nothing but leather.

 

Around 6 hours: A faded scent of leather. I can see this layering beautifully with a lot of other scents. I really like this one a LOT.

 

12 hours: Still that last bit of leather scent, and I really like it. I'm *so* glad I got to try this.

 

Overall: I love the smell of leather, so I love this scent. Yet another example of Beth's creative genius. How does she bottle these scents so perfectly?

 

After reading other reviews: Yes, this is leather, and I love it. I wish I had five bottles of it. The only thing I can wish for now is something that actually smells like horses (this is the tack room, I want the horse!).

[DameBecca]

This will be one of the shortest reviews that I have written so far.

 

I rec'd a 5ml of this from quantumspice in a swap. I was so excited to get it, being a HUGE Deadwood fan. How could I pass this up?

 

I couldn't agree more with everyone...it's like a single note leather. I feel like I have my nose pressed against a saddle. I looooooove it!!!!!

 

It doesn't change at all from bottle to skin to drydown. I will love this on a man but for me, it will be an around the house, comforting scent or it will be layered for "going out" use.

[Witch's Dagger]

Dead Man’s Hand

 

Preconceived notions: Nothing with Leather had worked on me, but I’d just ordered De Sade when this came out. Eventually, I decided to try this, too.

 

In the vial:

Pure leather. Just leather. Maybe a little dust, but mostly, just leather.

 

On me:

Like De Sade, this stayed constant the entire time. Just pure leather, brown suede.

 

Overall:

If De Sade didn’t exist, I’d probably keep this, since the leather is so accurate. But I like De Sade better, and they’re close enough that I don’t need both. I’m going to try to swap this for a bottle of De Sade (since my De Sade is in imp form).

[k00kaburra]

In bottle: There used to be a western lifestyles store in downtown Campbell that my boyfriend doted on. It closed down a few months ago, but this scent immediately takes me back to it. The scent of all the leathers in that store as you stepped inside immediately surrounded you, and smell just like the liquid in this bottle.

On me: This is wild leather, mmm. What I mean is, this is the leather miniskirt stomping down the runway and this is not a leather Gucci purse. This is leather that was made to do some tough labor; this is leather for cowboy boots and saddles. Cowboys wear this, all right. There's almost a layer of dust here, and the green scent of stomped grass clinging to the edges. One damn sexy scent!

[stardreamer]

First, I join the chorus: yes, this is a pure single-note leather scent.

 

Beyond that, it seems that everyone has their own associations, and so do I. To me, Dead Man's Hand smells like walking into a leathercraft shop. This isn't aged leather, nor finished leather (the Wilson's Leather mall-shop smell) -- it's raw leather, tanned hides and blanks all over the shelves waiting to be selected and stamped or carved or stitched, suede and rough-finish and smooth-finish and hair-on all mixed together.

 

The staying power on this is very good; 12 hours after application I can still catch a faint tinge on my wrist, and I didn't apply it very heavily. I'd hoped that this might be ONE scent that R. wouldn't mind wearing, but no such luck -- he says he doesn't like the smell of raw leather. *sigh* Oh well, I like it!