Dance of Death

[zankoku_zen]

A gloriously elegant representation of Lady Death. Dry, bone-white orris, black musk, serpentine patchouli and our murkiest myrrh.

This is so heavy and woodsy. I get a very heavy patchouli incense blend. Dark, penetrating, gritty.

Not for me.

[lookingglass]

Glorious Lab, frimped me with some lovies I haven't tried but totally should have! Thank you!

 

The woody patchouli dries down creamy and powdery due to the orris, musk, and myrhh. All of these notes smell somewhat bodily on their own; combined it's disturbing yet comfortable. It is a wonderful, dark, brooding, heavy scent that is just so compelling with a fresh, incensey top along with murky, wanton musk. The MYRHH! She feels quite a bit like Haunted, but darker and less "lemony"-more like violet rather than golden. It references classic fragrances like Chanilly and Shalimar, but much more modern and vampy. I love, love love, love it. I CRAVE it-I wear it from bed to work to parties. Some BPAL is situation specific due to longevity or feel, but Dance of Death (and Snake Oil) can go everywhere with me.

Edited October 27, 2012 by lookingglass

[Kakokoritsi]

I got this as a free sample in my package. [= Seeing the name, I was quite surprised that this was so nice and light. It's deep, it's dirty, but it's also feminine and could be worn anywhere. It's delightful. I wouldn't get another one, but it's a good scent. I can see why someone else would want more.

[crebbsgirl]

This was an incredibly feminine blend. The violet-like orris took a predominant position here, with a faintly patchouli undertone, while the musk was definitely more present. I didn't get much myrrh here at all. The overall effect was powdery and dry. It sweetened considerably on the drydown, getting almost cloying on my skin. In the end, not a blend for me.

[hkhm]

imp: orris with a bit of patchouli.

 

wet: patchouli and myrrh, very dark and mysterious.

 

dry: this dries to orris and musk. quite a change from the wet stage.

[Argentwolf]

It starts out sweet, feminine, and just barely resinous -- very sexy. By the end of the day, the patchouli has come to the fore, and is all that remains. I'm thinking that in the beginning I was detecting the myrrh and possibly the orris, so if you like any of those notes, go ahead and give Lady Death a turn on the dance floor. She's quite alluring -- though one dance with her is enough for me. Good eve, Lady.

[Banyangirl]

In the imp: Argh, this does not smell very good. Just... do not want. I'll give it a try anyway....

 

Wet: The patchouli and musk come out to play first on me, followed by what I assume is the orris and the myrrh. My roommate says it smells like baby powder. I really hope this morphs.

 

Dry down: Oo, I quite like this now. The patchouli recedes a bit, and the myrrh gets some play time as well. It's sweet and woodsy, and not overpowering.

 

On me, this turned sweet after a few minutes, and its stayed that way. I like it, maybe enough to get the 5 ml. We'll see how I like it after I've worn it a few more times. It's the kind of thing I'd wear when I wanted to be mysterious and sexy. 3/5.

 

Edit: It's very incense-y on me as the day goes on. I like it! Definitely a thumbs up.

Edited February 3, 2009 by Banyangirl

[nenia]

Finally tried this..& YES it really does smell very similar to Lush's Tramp shower gel... yay!

It's comfy and calming to me. I want to take a nice death dancey nap. ehe

[rayvn1]

I love this! Dense and dark and smoky. Luscious and menacing with a tinge of sweetness in its dirty heart

[Allumina]

Not for me, but interesting. Dark and grown up, elegant and ladylike. Powdery sharp floral with dark notes underneath. Picture dark lacquered nails.

[ShadowsDance]

I can't quite pick out any single notes from the imp..

On my skin the myrrh comes out more.. and the orris? It is a deep, somewhat dry scent. As I wear it, it lightens quite a bit though, and eventually turns into a very powdery scent. After about 15 minutes, it's pure baby powder.

[ImperatrixMundi]

I really never reviewed this? Dance of Death is my first BPAL. Not really the first but my first bottle, the first that really matters, so to say.

So this is still special and I am very much in love with my only blue bottle.

 

Scentwise there are greater things but I still like it. But this is very aged by now and I have no idea about the fresh scent straight from the lab. Right after application I can still smell the myrrh and patchouli but the patchouli is very smooth and in the background. Black musk and myrrh always go very powdery on me so it turns to a powdery orris scent upon drydown. Orris is great but I wish it would stay in the wet stage longer.

[milo]

This is a very ethereal scent. I'm discovering that I love these blends, and this is no exception. To me, it's a soft, incensey floral. somewhat powdery, but I do like powdery. Very nice!

[angelicruin]

Sniffing the imp, it's black musk and patchouli.

 

Wet on my skin, I'm smelling the myrrh, musk, and patchouli. As it dries, it goes a bit smoky on my skin. Not enough to knock me over, but more than I normally like in my perfume.

[ekolmus]

In the bottle: I'm having trouble describing what I'm smelling. It's musky and spicy, with a sour, uric note. *checks description* Oho! That's the patchouli and black musk I'm smelling.

 

Wet: Musky/spicy. There's an undertone of wet, decaying leaves... in a good way. Having gone back and read the description, I believe that's the myrrh and orris bringing the other two notes back in line.

 

Wet, 1 minute later: Warm, glowing death. Spicy, resinous, with a faint waft of fragrant leaves and earth. This is a feminine blend, but not a girly one.

 

Dry: This smells delicious. Really, really good. I can't stop sniffing it. The longer it sits on, the better it plays with my skin. It's a golden-brown scent, welcoming and soft. Lady Death indeed!

[claudia6913]

Definitely a scent I've wanted to try! So glad I got an imp of it as a frimp.

 

Wet and in the imp, I get a strong smell of Cherry 7-up (it took me a minute to place it, definitely a fruity soda). Not quite what I was expecting ... but not a horrid smell. I like the smell of Cherry 7-up (though I really don't like drinking it).

 

After a few minutes, I still get a faint fruity soda smell, but it's deepened with something darker and more sinister.

 

Half hour later and I still get that fizzy, fruity soda smell. Hmm. It's okay, but not at all what I was hoping for and not anything I'd want to wear. To the sell/swap pile. Actually, I might try aging this. I'm not sure how old it is, but it looks fairly new, almost fresh from the lab. Hopefully that will help some.

Edited August 3, 2009 by claudia6913

[topazphoenix]

I wasn't expecting to like this, but I do. The lab's patchouli is growing on me. This really is a "bone white" scent, very woodsy and sharp and clean and dry.

[Balame]

In the Imp: Yes, this is dry. Getting the orris and patchouli. To quote Baudelaire’s poem, “musk scented skeletons” is perfect.

 

Wet: Exactly like parchment on the brink of death. Like, if you so much as breathed on it, it would crumple into a million pieces because it’s so old and dried out. I feel like I’ve been wrung of all humanly liquids. And yet, oddly, I kind of like this. Probably because I have thing for musty old libraries, and this is relatively evocative of such a setting. It’s rather spicy too, which makes this more complex.

 

Dry: Quite woodsy now, but still oh so dry. Like a cedar log that’s been sapped of its moisture. I feel like this is more unisex than feminine, because it’s pretty, “You’d better listen to me,” though in an understated way. If that makes any sense.

 

Verdict: Very unusual scent, a little too much like a forest got transported to the Sahara Desert for me. If you’re into that sort of thing, though, go for it. Personally I think I would’ve liked this if it was more graveyard, less treeland, so I’ll keep exploring the Moriendi scents.

 

Rating: 2/5

 

[Ankica]

Orris powder orris.

Everything is in beneath it...

[malaliath]

Dance of Death - frimp from lab!

 

IN BOTTLE: Very dry indeed. I'm getting almost pure orris from this, with a hint of patchouli in the background.

 

 

WET, ON SKIN: More of the same bone-dry orris with the patchouli softly lurking underneath. There's something very sharp about this scent but it has the potential to work on me when dry, I think.

 

 

DRY, ON SKIN: There's a bit of glowing resin going on here ... myrhh. The orris is dying down to let the warm myrhh shine through, accented by the patchouli (but the patchouli is still soft). It's very evocative and does indeed conjure up an image of dry skeletons smoked through with myrrh incense.

 

 

LATER: I like this much more than I thought I would. The orris has died down and a lovely earthy myrhh/patchouli blend is out now, but it's a bit tooooo dark and dirty to be sensual. Still, a lovely dark fragrance that I imagine would also smell good on a male. I'll keep my imp.

 

 

[sarielswish]

In the vial, it's mostly patchouli and myrrh. So far, however, the myrrh isn't overpowering. We'll see how that pans out. Colorwise, I'm getting a brown-black, like potting soil. Very earthy.

 

Wet on my skin, it's myrrh and orris. The myrrh isn't sickening yet, though, which is a good thing. It reminds me of incense.

 

10-15 minute dry-down - Weird. It smells like soap. Not like Irish Spring or anything, but like the little decorative perfumed soaps you see in grandma's guest bathroom. I'm guessing that's the orris.

 

1 hour dry-down - Soap. Not an unpleasant soap, but soap nonetheless. If I wanted to smell like soap I'd wash my hands with the little 'do not touch' decorative ones at grandma's house. Also, the color tone has changed significantly - it's gone to a dusty rose/eggshell. Something I'd associate with old ladies.

[KesHiro]

Frimp in one of my orders.

 

Very interesting! I wasn't quite sure what to expect with this blend but it turned out to be quite nice. In the vial, I get patchouli, black musk, and something . . . floral? Maybe this is the orris? I'm not sure, but it's a nice mix and smells feminine without actually kicking you in the face with her spiked heels. Wet, I get mostly black musk with another note beating it back. I honestly cannot tell if it's the orris or the myrrh, but it is definitely not the patchouli. In fact, the patchouli has been completely swallowed up by the other notes, which is a rarity for me. The drydown phase is quite bizarre in that this suddenly switches over into a more masculine territory, with the black musk making this smell like high end cologne. It's not unpleasant at all and quite nice. Once dry, I actually get a spicy unisex myrrh fragrance that reminds me of incense.

 

The blend does indeed to an odd little dance on my skin . . . but I like it! I don't know if I'd actually wear it, hence the hesitation in putting it on the upgrade list, but I'll definitely keep the imp.

[Sinmara]

I wasn't too impressed at first - but wow, after a few hours of wearing the smell really starts to kick off - it's almost vanillary, very dark vanillary. At first the patchouli was overpowering everything else, but now it's worn off and the other notes are coming through.

 

Definitely a grower!

[ami226]

Very patchouli and myrrh. Whoa! After a bit, I get the black musk that is identical to the black musk in Black Temple Burlesque Troupe. Veeeeeeery powdery. Wafts nicely, but it's not for me at all.

[FathomBelow]

In the bottle and wet, this is very strong patchouli with almost nothing else. Then dry, the patchouli mellows and reveals the other components, very well mixed, that reminds me of chocolate, flowers, and dust (pleasantly so) all at once. It stays like this pretty much until it fades. It is indeed very dry. I like this scent quite a bit, as I like patchouli now a good deal more than I did before I started BPAL, but it doesn't really fit me.