Dance of Death

[supremegoddessofall]

The catalog says:

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

 

Smells a heck of a lot like Chantilly. Which is one of my favorite scents. Very elegant, very floral, with a smidge of alcohol undertone. Not really getting patchouli.

 

Score: 5 out of 5

Edited November 10, 2007 by Shollin

[kraken]

In the Imp: I'm not exactly sure what to make of it. I can smell that patchouli note that I don't like, the thing that tickles the back of my throat with sourness. It smells vaguely alcoholic, not drinking alcohol, but the alcohol base used in other perfumes.

 

Initial Wet: How strange, I get a green woodsy scent, with a tinge of something like pine resin. It's not unpleasant, but unexpected. The musk is very forward.

 

Initial Dry: The violetness of the orris comes out and the musk fades into myrrh. It begins to aquire that warm dry scent of myrrh that I love from Velvet.

 

Drier Dry: The patchouli and myrrh blend into a warm, dark note that lingers just over the sweeter violet note.

 

I think I'm in love with it, though I have to try it a few more times to be sure. The morph from the wet to the dry is a bit strange and I want to make sure the musk doesn't go wonky on me. This would be Velvet's older, wiser, perhaps jaded, sister.

[blackfelicula]

In the bottle: When I sniff the imp of Dance of Death, I smell patchouli and myrrh. Mmm.

 

Wet: The musk shines when I put it on. I also get a powdery, dry scent that is just a bit spicy. I bet that’s the orris. The orris and patchouli meld beautifully, leaving the musk and myrrh to dance in a swirl of delightfully rich darkness.

 

Drying down: Interestingly enough, the orris takes the lead. Woody, dry, with a touch of spice. The other notes are present, but playing a supporting role. It really is quite beautiful.

 

Dry: Dance of Death reminds me of a gorgeous incense I had at one point: woody and resiny, rich with musk. The notes do have a “dancing” quality to them, at times one or another taking the lead, the others in stately formations around it. I want a bottle already!

 

Later: The orris and musk are going a bit powdery. I like powder, though, so that is fine with me. The myrrh and patchouli are quieter now, but it is still a delicious blend.

[fordkl]

One of my all time favourites!

 

In the imp - Dark, sinister, brooding. Spicy incense.

 

Wet - A lovely mix of patchouli and myrrh with the dryness of the orris.

 

Dry - Whiffs of 'parmaviolets' (ye olde UK sweetie) - very nostalgic & this is the reason orris is now one of my favourite notes. The patchouli is gorgeous and not overwhelming.

 

10/10 - a definate keeper. One for gloomy moods. (in a nice way)

 

Season - Winter

[vacpl]

I'm pretty new, so I'm not yet up to the whole wet/dry, etc. on most reviews.

 

Very nice scent on, however the patchouli is definitely a 'dirty hippy' one. Very dark, and I can't decide if I like it on me or not. Some whiffs I do; some I don't.

 

Mostly, I get the musk (which I love. It's nice and deep), and the very dry orris. No hint of the myrrh at all on me.

[Alchemy21599]

In the vial: gorgeous! Myrrh, patchouli spiciness and a wee hint of violets.

 

Wet: This is really beautiful. The violet note is more pronounced on my skin than it was in the imp.

 

Dry: I really enjoyed this scent for about two hours and then it turned powdery. Powder=Sadness.

[Emma2403]

It's a frimp. I would never have ordered this out of the notes listed because I don't like patchouli, and black musk may play tricks with my skin chemistry as well.

 

In the bottle: wow, that's strong! LOTS of musk and then patchouli. Dark scent for sure.

 

On my skin: applied very carefully because it was so fiery in the vial… well, it's pretty much the same. Prominent musk accompanied by patchouli. Not bad, but well, any hippie perfume smelled like that. (I don't get the earthy note at all).

 

After a couple of hours: pure patchouli, yuk.

 

Verdict: not for me.

[girl_android]

This was a frimp from a forum sale, not something I'd necessarily pick out myself, but I'm game to try anything at least once!

 

In the imp: There's something familiar smelling about this. I had a test sniff when my package arrived at work, and my first thought was ... cola syrup, or sarsparilla, or something like that. Definitely patchouli, and something sweet and dark. I'm figuring the something sweet and dark is myrrh.

 

Wet on skin: There's something vaguely medicinal in this. I still think sarsparilla. I might be weird. At the moment, this doesn't strike me as a scent to suit the season moving into summer ... then again Melbourne's just turned on some weather that has us turning the heating back on in the house.

 

Dry on skin: I'm getting something that makes the back of my throat go a bit dry when I take a sniff. There's still that medicinal thing going on, although it's reminding me more of linament, or the smell that bandaids get when they've been sitting in a box with salves and tinctures and other miscellaneous things. I don't actually thing that's a bad thing. Must be my obsession with putting things in boxes.

 

For some odd reason I do quite like this. I can't think of an occasion that I'd be able to pull this out to wear (maybe ... if Halloween were more popular in Australia, and I wanted to go dressed as a mummy, or a skeleton bride, or something undead), but I'm glad I got to have a go!

[oh_the_horror]

Sometimes this smells like pure baby powder and violets on me. Sometimes it smells like dark, deep and spicy baby powder and violets on me.

 

I can't wear this one at all. I went through a brief period of liking this because it reminded me of those yummy Choward's violet candies. My boyfriend told me I smelled like his grandfather.

[talula_fairie]

oddly, even though I do like myrrh, I've found myself not liking BPAL myrrh. Maybe it's because it's stronger than the myrrh I am used to, which I have in the form of a frankincense and myrrh body lotion. This smells like strong, strong, STRONG soap on me. It's very similar to Penitence in smell, but this is even stronger. With my chemistry, it's awful -almost floral- sharp, strong, soap. It gave me an intense headache and lasted FOREVER, it wouldn't even scrub off. Such a shame, I really wanted to like it. I love the idea behind it, anyhow. Lady death was death for me, indeed.

Edited December 16, 2006 by talula_fairie

[mmmitchell]

I recieved this as a frimp, but given the notes, I'm sorta surprised I haven't ordered it on my own.....I do patchouli!

 

Previous reviewers have compared this with LUSH's Tramp, and I definitely get that comparison. This is a lusciously "green" patchouli blend on me. I get a wonderful clove/violet waft occasionally that must be the myrrh interacting with the orris. It also reminds me strongly of Blue Skies and Fluffy White Clouds....the patchouli/myrrh combo has the same resonance with me. I can see using this added to a bit of unscented skin after a BSFWC bubble bath.

 

The oddest thing about this combination is that the drydown says "sandalwood" to me....a bone-dry sandalwood. But that's nowhere in the scent description. On the other hand, I don't get a strong sense of the musk, either, so maybe that's what's drying down to "sandalwood" for me.

 

Not as long lasting, or as much throw as I'd like....my skin seems to eat this up. But this is a very nice scent, definitely a Big Bottle Contenda. I'm still, however, ISO my ultimate swoonworthy BPAL patchouli goodness scent. This could rank right up there, though......

[CrystieSC]

This one, in the bottle, is a little too perfumey for me. But I don't smell the patchouli, and since I don't care for patchouli that's a good thing. So I decide to give it a shot anyway.

 

On my wrist, it gets even headier. Too heady, and I feel the beginnings of a headache.

 

This reminds me of Lush's Tramp shower gel. I don't care for Tramp either, unless I'm in the mood. But I know, as rabidly popular as Tramp is, this is perfect for some people! Unfortunately, for me, this one needs to be swapped.

[neuilly]

As usual, the patchouli completely takes over everything on me! It's also a very dry scent...maybe a hint of dry wood? And a dash of spice. But mostly patchouli. My skin chemistry strike again!

[Elemcee]

Dance of Death is a very dry scent. I do get the picture of ancient, yellowed bones on a desert floor. There is nothing bright or wet or youthful about this scent.

It's a bitter scent, too, and there's a sadness, here.

 

After a while, it develops into something slightly sweeter, and feminine, but still dry as a bone. There is a trace of the Lady Death in the air.

[filigree_shadow]

Dance of Death was my favorite scent of the Funereal Oils category for the first several months that I was into BPAL. Then one day out of the blue I put some on after not wearing it in a while and had a reaction like: "Ugh! How did I like this?" I shoved it to the back of the imp box and was prepared to wash my hands of our whole relationship.

 

I've just pulled out the imp to try it again, and I'm glad to find out that I do like it after all. It smells dry, sad, and dark. I like the orris in this that's making it seem a little papery -- kind of fragile. It's slightly powdery, but in this scent it smells right. It's nice with the dark musk, patchouli, and myrrh. It's surprisingly sweet for being such a lovely eerily deep scent, and it smells perfect on this cold winter's night.

[melrose]

On, wet: I'm eating peanut butter in the woods.

 

Near drydown: Bone-dry. I love dry scents, but this is a bit much, even for me.

 

Far drydown: Wonderful. Dry, slightly sweet, woodsy, and spicy. I'm so glad I waited it out.

[sea_of_flame]

Dry - Whiffs of 'parmaviolets' (ye olde UK sweetie) - very nostalgic & this is the reason orris is now one of my favourite notes. The patchouli is gorgeous and not overwhelming.

 

I KNEW there had to be someone else on here familiar with these - on me, Dance of Death is a dead ringer for Parma Violets.

 

Even when still wet, it's exactly that crumbly sort of powdery, pastel-purple soapyness. Bleh!

 

I'm going to re-try it having read the reviews, since some people have listed an initial violet scent that matured into something else, so maybe I was too quick to judge - but the initial scent certainly isn't good on me...

[SultryWolf]

In the imp: Marvellous dusty resins.

On: Patchouli, tempered by the black musk, and myrrh, nicely balanced. Similar to Malice, which is a bit sweeter.

[inurbanus]

I was a little scared to try this, because for some reason I thought it would smell like Black Forest or Hades, both which did not do well with my body chemistry. I'm really glad I did, though.

 

This is a dark, elegant smell--exactly what Lady Death should smell like. It's also very sensual, in an earthy sort of way. My nose keeps picking out sandalwood, even though that's not listed in the description. I'm getting a little bit of dryness now that I'v been wearing this awhile, but it's not really noticeable.

 

I'd definitely wear this again, maybe even buy a large bottle of it.

 

4/5

[forspecial_plate]

Okay, so....I understand that there are some different myrrh notes in bpal scents. I think this must be the same one that's in Penitence. For me it smells very sweet and powdery, and dominates Dance of Death. For the first 30-60 minutes it's nearly all I can smell in this blend.

 

After a while the myrrh calms down a lot, and I think I can smell the other notes emerging, mainly orris. It's still a very dry and powdery scent, on the sweeter side, and just not my thing. I may try it one more time just to be sure.

 

Edit: On second try....I forgot I already reviewed this. Mostly myrrh at first, a little less powdery this time. The myrrh has an herbal and dry aspect from the patchouli and orris. Then the musk starts coming out after about a half hour. This has echoes of Lycaon and Typhon. I'm not crazy about this although I feel like I should be. Not my favorite of myrrh scents.

Edited March 20, 2007 by Forspecial Plate

[CiCi]

First whiff-very dry myrrh

After half an hour it really started to amp up and the patchouli and spices totally took over my body. Everything warmed up and blended so well together. The dryness disappeared and a sweetness replaced it. By just reading the description I would never have tried it or even ordered an imp of it. But the labbies know best! They sent me a frimp and now its on my "must have" list.

[Browneyes]

Imp: I sniffed this yesterday before bed without knowing the notes, and thought: booze, wood, musk (I now realise the wood was probably the patchouli)

Wet: Ooo rich and sultry. Is this what Lady Death smells like?

Dry: This is a gorgeous combination. Patch, musk, myrrh and a teeny-tiny bit of orris. Surprise hit.

Don't know if I will use it much, but I definately like it.

[Iceblink]

I get that woodsy note at first--is this orris? Hmm...but then here comes the myrrh, and I LOVE this myrrh. The patchouli is sweetening things up a bit. Verrrrrry sexy and dark, this one.

I'm not sure if I'd wear it. I like Petit Mort, Sloth, and Chimera for my myrrh needs. But this is a gorgeous blend.

[Extispex]

In the imp, musky myrrh. Very dark, almost spicy.

 

Wet on my skin, I get my usual 'patchouli blast'. BPAL's patchouli always blasts me in the face when I put it on, with a deep earthy aroma, then fades into the background. When the patchouli fades, oh wow. This is a true beauty.

 

Myrrh and patchouli cling heavily to my skin, enriched by a hint of musk; and the orris just adds this spicy violet scent. I can detect the notes but they're beautifully balanced and play well with one another on my skin. Dark and heady with a hint of the melancholy. Can it be that I've finally found an Ars Moriendi fragrance that agrees with me?

 

Oh yes! This goes on the bottle wishlist for certain.

[500ml]

I definitely get a lot of patchouli from the vial, it's a dry woodsy scent. It dries down to a rather warm wood scent with most of the patchouli leaving. Shame, I love patchouli. Overall I find it's a pleasant scent, but not sure if I'll ever get a bottle.