Penny Dreadful

[TulaMontage]

Also called Gallows Literature. A dime novel rife with melodrama, horror, madness and cruelty; a ten cent analogy of vice and virtue in conflict. Soft perfume evocative of noir heroines over rich red grave loam.

I can sum this scent up in 3 words - Dirty Gingerbread Poppet.

In the bottle this is soft and whispy graveyard decaying florals with a deep dirty undertone.

Wet: Thank goodness the florals waft away. This has turned into a heavy hot, damp soil scent with a particular snap which I can only describe as gingerbread.

Dry: Slighty sugar coated gingerbread sprinkled on top of freshly dug up earth. It's a complete paradox of a scent but I adore it!

I was frimped a beautiful 2ml bottle of Miss Penny in a recent swap and I am over the moon!

[anardana]

I had no idea this would be so fabulous!! It is warm and yummy and spicy. I was afraid of the "soft perfume" in the description- but I would never describe it like that! It is neither soft not perfume-y, which is a good thing in my opinion.

[donnatron]

Imp from Mamacat.

 

Imp: This smells like Prince Edward Island. My mouth goes dry when I smell it because I just imagine all that red dirt in my mouth during a windstorm. I'm so-so on dirt scents, so this is an adventure!

 

Wet: Mmm, there is a beautiful sweet, soft floral-vanilla developing here. The perfume reminds me of the "long faded perfumes" note from Antique Lace. A beautiful soft floral and a nice sweetness. The dirt lends a really good base note.

 

Dry: The dirt softens a bit more so this smells more feminine. It's perfectly evocative of real penny dreadfuls--if I had a moustache I would be twirling it right now. It's really, really unusual but so gorgeous. Definitely a head-turning scent.

 

Throw: Good. The "perfume" note throws further than the earth.

 

Overall: I really like this. I sort of wanted to try it for the hell of it, but now I'm quite taken with it. I'll keep my eyes open on the forums or note to remember it on my next lab order.

[voodoocatwoman]

All I get is patchouli and amber. No dirt. No vanilla. No anything else. Just those two. And that is OK by me.

 

ETA: I just went back and tried this again. BOY, was I wrong about the dirt. It's in there.

Edited July 15, 2008 by voodoocatwoman

[lilirose]

I really didn't expect to like this. It's been sitting in my imp box, being passed over daily, for months now.

 

Well, I was wrong. I do like it. In fact, I love it.

 

It's a little foody, but I can't identify exactly why, and it's not an edible-foody. It smells like earth without being dirty in the slightest, nor really dusty. I'm pretty sure I smell a touch of patchouli, though it's very non-hippie patchouli. And maybe cinnamon? I don't know what the heck is in it- in fact, it's the first BPAL I've tried in months where I couldn't identify any of the notes for sure.

 

This is what I needed today. And I think it may be 5ml-worthy. I wish I hadn't ignored it for so long.

[Katherynne]

Oh my GOD.

 

This is earthy and sexy and spicy with ginger. I was expecting to like this based on the grave loam note, but wow. I'm surprised by how utterly amazed I am by it!! I agree that it is very feminine and head-turning. I was worried what "soft perfume" meant, but wow. It's spice and exotic and I definitely feel sexy wearing it! I can't stop huffing >_>

 

I think I may have to get a 5ml of this one.

[thelaurenator]

OH MY GODDDDDDD.

 

This goes STRAIGHT to my NUMBER ONE FAVE.

 

This is GLORIOUS. GLORIOUUUUSSSS.

 

Delicious red dirt, amber, vanilla, sweet ginger and clove, and yes, even a hint of the dreaded patchouli... but I LOVE IT in this!

 

I NEED MOAR. NOW.

Edited July 24, 2008 by thelaurenator

[cam]

My first thought: Caramel corn. I also get some tobacco, and a dirty earthiness that I love. I also get a very light, subtle floral note of the kind that I like -- not too sweet. On wet, the tobacco is much stronger at first, but after a couple of minutes it calms down and is quite true to the bottle scent on, although there's an added complexity. I really like this one. May have to snag a bottle.

[puddingirl]

This one sounds interesting but I can't quite remember why I chose it, maybe it was a freebie? Anyway, sniffing the bottle I can smell damp earth (the grave loam?), but with a slight spicy sweetness, it smell odd but lovely. I want to sniff some more! Yum, that combo shouldn't work but it does.

 

When on I can smell the earth quite heavily, which really isn't a problem! There's a teeny bit of ginger coming through, but thankfully for me it's sweetness is counteracted by the earthiness. As it dries the ginger comes through a bit more, but the loam is still holding fast, yay!

 

Once dry I can see why people say it's Shub's little sister. I hated Shub, so much so that I had to wash it off. But Penny, well a different story entirely! The buttery sweetness of the ginger in Shub isn't here, in it's place is the beautiful earthiness. It works so well. I'm not sure that I'd buy a bottle of this, but I'm sure it will have it's uses.

[Malaul]

This is my first time trying an Earthy or dirty scent and wow

these are soooo not for me

 

When I first smelled it in the imp, I pulled my nose back like someone just thwaped it.

It smelled to me like how my neighbors basement smelled after it flooded and they left to drain and dry out on its own.

 

I really wished I hadnt put it on but after about an hour the nasty slimy smell faded and it was like someone had baked a gingerbread cake down stairs in hopes to dry it out and cover up the smell at the same time.

 

Its like the zombies of gingerbread pasts is trying to crawl its way back up to the land of the living.

 

A very unique scent, but not one for me

[skepticism]

Vial: Rich, buttery scent combined with vanilla and ... clove? I really don't want to try this on, but I'll do it anyway.

 

Wet: Sugary vanilla. Very rich.

 

 

I had to skip drydown on this because sugary vanilla notes make me wretch. It smells as if I'm wearing cake batter. Ick.

[femmefatale]

In the imp I thought "Ewwww, smells like cheap drugstore perfume". I almost didn't try it. This is why you shouldn't jusdge a perfume by first sniff.

 

It begins dry down to a an earthy sweet/spice scent with the slightest hint of perfume. It's actually very nice, though light. I think I have to slather it on a bit more.

 

As it dries further "zombie gingerbread" is right. LOL

 

I definitely like it, though I'll have to try it a few more times before deciding on a bottle.

[gingiemay]

Wet in imp - I definitely get the grave loam, plus a kind of old-timey cologne smell. The loam is almost dusty.

 

Wet on skin - A dusty, almost yeasty smell coupled with the same cologne I whiffed earlier from the imp.

 

Dry on skin - Others report foodie elements to this oil, vanilla, cinnamon, etc. I don't get any of that, just the same dusty loam and my grandma's cologne.

[birdiefu]

Yesterday I was trying Death Cap on one hand and Shub on another and just loved the waft of both of them together. That is what I get with Penny Dreadful! This is dirt/vanilla and gingersnaps.

 

In the imp, this does smell a little off putting, as the earth/dirt note smells very separate from the foody part (which smells almost sickly sweet). When first applied, those elements are still pretty separate, but as this dries the foodiness settles and the dirt relaxes to a smoother earthy feel.

 

The final result is a warm and rich earthy base layered under spices (ginger and clove?) that are tempered with just a touch of vanilla-like sweetness. Very nice, as I would never have thought food and dirt went well together, but there you have it!

[Caerphilly]

In the imp: Soil. Some sweet candy in the background.

 

Wet:Still soil, but there are obvious florals coming out. Roses definitely, maybe honeysuckle. It's a bit smoky, and as honeysuckle turns smoky and dirty on me, I assume it's honeysuckle. But this isn't dirty. It's smoke that's fading.

 

Dry: The soil is barely there, but it is still lingering as the hours go by. The roses are predominant now. I still smell some sort of candy or sugar.

 

Overall: I don't like it in the imp at all. Too much soil. But on me, it morphs quite a bit over the hours and I like it more and more as the hours go by. More floral than I was expecting.

[Iceblink]

Wet: this is dirt. Mmm dirt.

Dry: spicy and sweetness layered over the dirt. A strange combination but it somehow works. As others have said this does have a hint of Gingerbread Poppet and Shub about it. Very warm and spicy! Not at all what I was expecting, but I like it.

[Gaidig]

In the bottle: Slightly sweet and also woody, like leaf mold. Damp earth in an old cemetery with drifts of decayed leaves and dried crumbling rotten branches.

 

On me: Sandalwood and cinnamon. Amber? Spicy and autumnal. Hot tea with a stick of cinnamon. Not at all like in the bottle.

 

1 hour+ later: quality potpourri

[Ravenclaw79]

Harsh and woody and dirty, dirty like dirt, like potting soil. Interesting but not for me.

[Seismogenic]

This was a frimp from septima_pica, a dirt scent handed from one geologist to another. Hehhehheh! I'd been considering trying this one at some point anyway, precisely because of the dirt note, but it hadn't made wishlist status yet because I was a little wary of "perfume evocative of noir heroines." I am glad the opportunity presented itself for trying this without me having to make a decision!

 

In the imp: Though none of the notes describe it that way, it honestly smells kind of spiced-cakey to me right now, with some vague sweet florals.

 

Wet on skin: There is still something oddly sweet about this that I really can't figure out. It's maybe a little gingery and a little dusty. I'm not really getting loam.

 

Drydown: Freshly dry, it's getting a little more distinctly earthy, but there's still an iced spice cake kind of thing going on that doesn't make much sense to me. Someone left the cake out in the dust, oh noooooo! An hour later, it's definitely still spice cake in the dirt. Smells like good cake, and good dirt.

 

Five hours later: Still going strong with the sweet spice cake in the dirt. This hasn't morphed since the one hour mark, nor has it faded much.

 

End of the day: It's still there! It's still dusty cake: maybe a little more dusty than cake at this point. It's faded some since the five hour mark, but it's still very far from gone.

 

Overall: This was very much not what I expected. I thought it would be something more along the lines of Kumari Kandam, with the earthy notes most prominent and carrying the faintest bit of noir heroine perfume. I did not expect the balance to go the other way, nor did I expect noir heroine perfume to smell like spice cake. Penny Dreadful is pretty darn weird in that way! Being the geology geek that I am, I was hoping for more dirt all along. I'm not really sure how I feel about the cake. I like to eat cake, but the jury is still out on how I feel about smelling like it.

[zankoku_zen]

This one is a soft perfume, with a nice dirt note... but after two hours, the perfume goes powdery and the dirt disappears. So it ends up being perfume and baby powder. Grrr...

[isisonearth]

Imp: Spicy with a touch of dirt.

 

Wet: Nice warm gingerbread sitting on dirt.

 

Dry: Still a spicy, bakery type smell. The dirt is less prominent as it dries.

 

Overall: It has a nice warm gingery scent. Nothing really floral like I expected. The dirt note is just off putting to me though and at the same time it is too foody for me. Off to my swap pile.

[GhillieDhu]

Imp: Dirt! and a little patchouli

Wet: DIRT!!! (As expected. Dirt notes always amp like mad on me, then disappear after twenty minutes.)

Drying: Spicy patchouli with cinnamon and a little dirt.

Dry: Still patchouli and spices. (Ginger and nutmeg?) Maybe a liiiittle bit of amber. A cousin to Shub, but I'm not getting any vanilla or sweetness from this, thank goodness. Dry, warm, and much more like the kind of gingersnaps I prefer.

 

Verdict: Keep the imp. Maybe a bottle at some point, but not right away.

 

If you like this, try: Clemence, Samhainophobia.

[crebbsgirl]

On me, this was earth with soft florals. It went a little musky on me, which dirt scents tend to do. I really liked this though, as there seemed to be a spice to the dirt that was a little unexpected. The dry down stayed much the same, and still with a faint floral note here. Overall the effect was comforting, which was completely unexpected. I need to test this a couple more times but I think I will be getting a bottle in the near future.

[awesomeoverlord]

Hmmm...I'm very pleasantly surprised. I should say this was a frimp and I panicked when I read the "soft perfume" in the description. This is sweet and earthy (I detect patchouli!) with just the right amount of spice. Too dirty to be something I'd wear, but I'm glad I got to try it.

[tajana]

Instant favorite! I was excited to try this one, and it did not let me down. Penny Dreadful, when I take a deep whiff of my wrist, is rich and warm, earthy and spicy... there's some nice patchouli in here, and some tasty spices... gingerbread dirt! Yay! I love ginger, and it's incorporated into such an unexpected way here; the spices would be delicious if isolated but with everything else this scent has going on it's not foody at all. (I loved Shub, but it really did make me smell like a giant ginger snap; this has a similarly round and rich spicy-ginger note, but with added earthiness and complexity!) The throw is huge! But it's not aggressive...it's very soft, with a definite floral element but it's neither sharp nor heady nor soapy, just very soft, like crushed petals in a garden, and the floral notes disappear almost completely after a while, so there's nothing to fear if you normally stay away from flowers. The waft also has a slightly smoky, almost dusty (not in a bad way) quality and a dose of soft candied spice. This is really wonderfully executed! I love love LOVE it! My imp will not be enough... I NEED to get a big bottle of it sometime soon.