Haunted

[bicyclette]

A mournful, poignant scent, thick with foreboding. Soft golden amber darkened with a touch of murky black musk.

Ah, Haunted! I love it. I got an imp from a swap and I've been wearing it as a "going-out" scent ever since. The musk jumps out at me initially, strong and clean, but then it warms up and mellows out into sweet ambery goodness. This one got a lot of compliments and makes me feel incredibly sexy whilst wearing it. In the imp my first impression is a note that reminds me of my mother's Tiffany perfume, but that disappears almost immediately on my skin when the amber comes through. Beautiful.

[The_Merf]

In the imp: Exactly what the description says--amber and musk.

 

Wet: Very true to the smell in the imp. Neither note dominates on my skin.

 

Dry-down and wear: This is a very interesting result. The amber and musk have gone soft, but not powdery. On my skin, this scent is not as strong as I thought it would be--I'm having a hard time finding the test spot. It has really soaked into my skin and is 'highlighting' it. Even though the musk note doesn't usually dominate my skin, it seems to have the edge on the amber in this blend. This is another one where I will use the imp up and then have to decide whether or not to get a bottle. I do love the warm effect this has though--very autumny!

[teaketcha]

Smells like baby powder crossed with "La Petit Mort" (which I didn't like) on me. I don't like it now that I have it on. Sorry, haunted, off to swaps.

[Smurf]

Very true to the description. Very dark and sophisticated with prominant amber and subtle musk. I think I like it better when it was wet but it's a keeper anyway.

[czuba]

The lab sent this as a frimp with my latest order.

 

In the imp- had almost a medicinal undertone, clean with a "bite" of something

 

On Skin Wet - Tangy: lime and cardamon

 

On Skin Dry- After a few minutes: back to smelling clean, kinda like a powdery citrus

 

Really never got the amber or musk on me. Haunted made a better showing on the husband. Also as someone lese mention the scent really morphed on both DH & I, at times after about an 1hr or so it have almost a sharp metallic bite to it.

 

Probably will swap it or give it to a friend.

[Finny]

Lovely dark musk over amber. Then the curse of amber hits, and it becomes a powdery musk.

[Heretic]

In the vial: Kind of...syrupy, but not totally sweet. What is that?

 

On my wrist, wet: Oh no! Lemons! And something kind of powdery-- must be the amber. Musk? What musk? This is all furniture polish and dust.

After 20 minutes: No. This is just wrong. Powdery lemon. What does this smell like? Some J.C. Penney fragrance that my grandma got me when I was a teenager...Heaven Scent or some such little-girly smell. Haunted is obviously not reacting to me the way it does with other reviewers here. Only a miracle can save the drydown!

After an hour: Play-d'oh!! Now with lemon and powder! This is a nice enough smell, but it's so not me at any point in my life.

[gingersnapp]

The amber is still creamy and golden like other ambers I've worn, but for some reason the black musk is making it powder.

 

I smell like grandma.

[Bagfish]

Haunted was a frimp from dpoulsen21 - many thanks!

 

On me, this lives up to its name: I am being haunted by the smell!

 

I can hardly smell this oil in the bottle. This is a first for a BPAL oil cos normally the smell jumps out at me and I don't actually usually like the scent in the bottle, I have to wait for the dry-down to appreciate it! Anyway, I can hardly smell it in the bottle.

 

When first applied, it instantly becomes very lemony, which I wasn't sure about. It then morphs through a powder stage.

 

I tried this on about three hours ago and went away to cook dinner. When I finally got round to thinking about Haunted on my arm, I had a sniff and there was a glorious sweet, musky amber. Very much in the background, and on me a 'skin scent'. I have just slathered on some more (a lot more) and its doing the lemon powder thing at the moment, I'm hoping it will get over this stage quickly and move back to the lovely sweet musk haunting me by wafting up occasionally.

 

I like Haunted, its a lovely "quiet" oil on me and is definitely a keeper!

B

Edited January 26, 2006 by Bagfish

[perpetua]

This one smells totally different than i was expecting.

On my skin it is all citrusy. lemon, lime, with a little amber and something woody... but mostly lemon is all i get.

I have noticed my skin does this to several blends.

Although this is just a hypothesis, i think my skin is very acidic. Notes that are acidic or lemony go nutty on me.

I have a feeling that aging this bottle will help, as I just recieved it from the lab today.

[astridclaire]

I wanted to adore this one because I absolutely love amber. Unfortunately, the musk in it completely overpowers the amber and all I get is a powdery old lady smell.

 

 

I might take the suggestion of another reviewer and age it awhile. Perhaps with aging the amber will get stronger.

[bifemmefatale]

In the bottle: Mmmm....I love amber. It has a sugary, creamy sweetness which almost reminds me of Dreamsicles or St. Joseph's baby aspirin, for those of you old enough to remember it. The musk is just sitting behind it, so far. On, the amber blooms into its full, warm, almost citrusy sweetness, with a hint of spice, and the black musk adding a resinous, mammalian depth. Now I know where I was getting that solder rosin note in Iago from, but it works much better here. I *like* this one.

 

10 minutes later: Damn. It's going baby powder on me, although it works better with the amber than it did with the leather in Iago. Guess my skin just does not like black musk much. I still like it, but it's not as sexy as it was when I put it on.

 

1 hour later: The baby powder has faded back to a proper true musk, smelling like warm clean skin, with a hint of the amber's lingering candy sweetness. Yay. This one doesn't have a lot of throw, and it fades pretty quickly, but I think it's a keeper.

[Sheila]

I love amber, and I love musk--so naturally I love Haunted.

 

This is a deep, dark, sad scent. It perfectly matches the winter we've been having in the Pacific Northwest--grey and wet. It's also strangely alluring, in a gloomy way. It's like a grey cloud surrounding me.

 

(And whenever I wear it, I sing Poe to myself all day--a good thing in my book. ).

 

ETA: And it gets deeper and...sadder...as it ages.

Edited February 3, 2006 by Sheila

[Silverstrike]

Oh no, no no no! This one sadly did not agree with my skin chemistry, although it shouldn't have been that big of a surprise since I haven't found a BPAL amber OR a musk (any variety, really) that agrees with me. In fact, this reminds me of another scent I've smelled before in middle school, but I can't remember the name of the perfume. And then it goes powdery on me. Off the imp goes to a better home.

[Brianne]

In the bottle:

Smells like incense

 

On me:

Wet, it smelled a lot like frankincense to me, because it had that sweet resiny thing going on. But, then it quickly morphed into a very lovely and strong amber. Once it's dry that musk is a great partner to the amber. This is a little sweet, and very golden. It IS going a little powdery on me though, which is the usual for amber.

 

Final note:

Very pretty and nice! I think I'll keep the imp but probably won't buy a bottle since amber gets a little too powdery on me. Sweet and surprising though!

[smallvoice]

This is actually warm and soothing to me. I think I'm really going to enjoy using the imp. I do get the references to Shalimar, which is nice because that's all my mother would wear when I was a kid, up until her asthma wouldn't allow her to breathe it in anymore. The musk is keeping the amber from being overwhelming on my skin, and vice versa... so it's really well balanced for me. I like it.

[xith]

When this was wet I was sure there was anise in it (weird, huh?), but as it dried down it became a definite amber. This is a really nice sweet amber. I can't pick out the musk, but maybe that's what's giving the whole thing a deep, well rounded feeling.

[Magda]

I love musk and amber, and musk and amber love me. They do delightful, enchanting things on my skin. Because of this, Haunted was a no brainer.

 

Though, now that I've tried it, I suspect that musk and amber don't love me as much as they said they did. They were lying to me before. They only pretended to love me to get in my pants get on my wrist.

 

Or maybe my skin chemistry's just off today. Haunted turned directly to Lemon Pledge and stayed that way for more than an hour, until I washed it off, feeling defeated and slightly betrayed. Oh, fickle amber and musk! Why have you forsaken me?

 

I'm going to try this again because I'm convinced that amber and musk will really, truly love me if I give them a second chance.

 

ADDED 7/28/07:

 

In the vial and wet on my skin, this smells like lemon furniture polish, which is strange since musk and amber both usually work very well on me.

 

Five minutes later, it's lemon furniture polish in an old lady's house.

 

Ten minutes later, it's lemon furniture polish in an old lady's house and she's wearing powdery perfume.

 

All day long it's just...variations on lemon furniture polish. And I wanted so badly to love this.

[Torrilin]

I thought for sure I'd reviewed this, but apparently it got lost in the forum shuffles. That's ok tho, because the original review would've needed an edit .

 

In the vial: a citrusy edge, but not an identifiable citrus. just a tiny tiny whiff. amber, lots. motor oil.

 

On my skin with lotion: sweet, warm, covered in warm, sexy smelling oil, with rich thick black fur all around. very sensual. This is fairly one dimensional, with almost no morph.

 

On my skin without lotion: sweet, warm, smokey, powder, skin covered in sexy smelling oil that was applied using a thick black fur wrap - sheared short for maximum fuzziness. It changes a lot throughout the day. Sometimes it's smokier, sometimes it's heavier on the amber.

 

Haunted has Notions. It would like you to be dressed up and going on a date, after which you and your date will screw each other's brains out. Failing that, please be dressed up. Ok, if you won't be dressed up will you please be nekkid? Please? Haunted will also delicately scent everything you own with itself, so that unless the item has been washed several times since you wore it and Haunted together, you'll be getting whiffs of Haunted throughout the day. It really wants to be a signature scent.

 

It's really growing on me. I'm not sure it's bottle-worthy yet, because it's *very* strong. If I apply more than 3 tiny dots, one behind each knee and one on the back of my neck, I'm overpowered with scent. For the whole day. If I were to try and apply from a bottle, I'd almost certainly get too much, and too much Haunted is overpowering . Just the right amount of Haunted is close to perfect... especially if I want the creature's attention. For daily wear, I find the best solution is use Haunted to add depth and throw to The Lion. They like each other, and The Lion softens Haunted so that you don't end up drowning in scent.

 

Kalli

[Caltha]

Haunted

I really like this, it's quite exceptional, I haven't smelled anything like it and yet it's vaguely "vintage", suits the name. First, there's a blast of citrus, sharp and fresh like lime peel (I love lime) but at the same time it has body, it's not one of those simple fresh citrusy things. As it dries I get an odd but pleasant mixture of vanilla sauce, spicy wood and limey freshness. Perhaps a tad plastic but still very nice. Now I'm curious to read what's actually in it...

 

Edit: This is so weird! Amber and musk? It has nothing I usually like in it and I'm normally no good with resins although musk and amber are my "good" resins while stuff like patchouli and myrrh are the bad ones... But where on earth did I get the freshness from? Citrus? Ah well, at least I'm not the only one...

 

Edited March 29, 2006 by Caltha

[sarahj]

Haunted

 

in vial: strong amber

 

wet: amber plus a faint hint of musk, slightly soapy

 

dry: still slightly soapy and now powdery, too

 

verdict: not for me...off to swaps

[moon_lemming]

Sweet and deep in the imp, Haunted stays sweet on me with a kick that, like Brianne said, reminds me of frankincense.

 

As it drys, it morphs into a lemony dark and musky amber with a little . . . menthol? weird . . . in the background. It's not unpleasant, but it's not for me. I like my lemon scents brighter.

[storme]

In the imp: gentle, warm black musk. this seems really light to me.

 

On me, wet: musky amber over a generic sharp perfume smell - and there's something citric and light but sweet behind it, like candied lemon peel.

 

On me, dry: man, that citric bite is getting stronger and more zingy. There's a sweetness and a *slight* powdery edge behind this too, which I think is the amber reacting with my skin weirdly. The musk just stops it from becoming too sweet and sugary a scent, though.

 

Verdict: If that lemon scent was a *bit* less like the smell of lemon drops, I would be snapping up a big bottle of this. As it is, I'm keeping the imp around - the amber plays pretty well with the musk, and that lemon smell stops it from being too heavy on me.

[Rhowan]

Haunted is beautiful. The sweet amber hits the nose first followed up by the sorrowful black musk. Haunted evokes an image in my mind of a darkened hallway in an very old house with a sorrowful image in white floating in the darkness.

 

Haunted is very aptly named. It has a duality that is both light and dark, joyful and sorrowful. Haunted has a pretty good throw to it and an ok wear. You might have to reapply once during the day. This is defintely a 5ml. bottle. Haunting indeed.

[indicolite]

Musk takes advantage of my skin and shouts its name to the winds. That is fine by me, as I love musk. With Haunted, amber and musk changed places again and again - like a procession of ghosts in a dark cemetery. I can see where it got its name. Cold musky, warm amber, cold musky, warm amber. I will be placing an order for 5 mL as soon as the bank balance permits, and for now, carrying the imp everywhere with me, for when the mood striketh.