Spirits of the Dead

[TrailerTrashPrincess]

A shuddering white scent, of ghostly breath and stony silence: dry tea leaf, linden blossom, papyrus, orris and coffin wood.

to note, this is a review of the Dark Delicacies retail-exclusive version.
i also have the original, and i'll get it out and compare them, later.

sniffed from the bottle: clean and sweet - like Dorian and Dirty and Storm Moon and Thunderbird.

on skin: this blossoms into a beautiful and haunting - and very difficult to describe - scent.
clean and pure but without anything soapy or powdery. i do get a dried-leaves type smell (i guess that is the papyrus or the tea leaves?) and the orris & linden don't so much show themselves as add some richness and a what-is-that? sort of element. if coffin wood is teak then that's what is adding the note that my brain translates into sweet-key-lime-pie.

[Laurel the Woodfairy]

This is really lovely, although I'm not sure if it was the old or the new that I tested at M n' S. Same formula though, right? It reminds me of Szepasszony, which I can't spell at all but I love it anyway! That's an underrated GC scent right there--clean, fresh, lightly floral, and just so delicate. Spirits of the Dead feels like that, but with the addition of tea. A really nice, green sort of tea, a bit like Embalming Fluid but without citrus. Lovely and appropriate anywhere.

[medvssa]

(Dark Delicacies version)

 

Clean but not soapy, light but not bright, neither dry nor damp, although fresh, very pale green but not at all sharp (but have in mind I kind of like sharp green notes) The tea in this one makes me think of green instead of black tea, and has a very slight sourness like that of citrus. A very balanced blend.

 

This is my favorite scent from all those clean and light I have tried so far; polite and understated, excellent.

[porcelina]

it's like sweetened green tea. sweet, clean and fresh with a lemony kick. very pleasant but definitely not "me."

[Ravenclaw79]

In the imp: Clean leafy-ness, like a fresh, green leaf off a tree.

 

Wet: Ooh, tantalizing. A little like soap, a little almost like citrus, like a faint orange-ness ... and a hint of wood in there, too. It's the kind of smell that should be soaking wet-feeling, like if being in a T-shirt and getting shot with a hose was a smell, but it's actually very warm instead, like a blanket. I can pick up the green tea in there, too, subtle and sweet.

 

Drying: It really is very soapy, but not in a bad way, and sort of powdery, too. It's really bright, with hints of green tea and warming wood. I may have to try this one again -- it's pleasant, but I'm sort of on the fence about it. Then again, there's something about it that reminds me of Ivanushka, and that was another one where I liked it just alright, then it grew on me.

[Miseraya]

In the imp: I'm getting a lemon tea scent out of this. Which is odd... but I really like it.

 

On the wrist: This is fresh, clean, green and citrusy. Like taking a nice hot shower with your favorite citrus body wash and then stepping out into cool spring air in a thin linen sun dress. Light, airy, fresh and clean.

 

Drydown: This is great, it stays pretty true to it's wet phase, but with a hint of light florals. A fantastic spring scent. Definitely a keeper.

[Lethran]

Confession time. I've been wanting to try this for months. This was before I realized that orris was poison. I bid on it because it was well below market without rereading the ingredients. Oops. I was rather hoping I'd get outbid, but no dice, so here it is. In bottle: yummy. Very Embalming fluid, Kumiho, and Johnathon Harker. Fresh, green, lemony tea scent. Wet: Unimpressive at first. All lemon. I'm guessing linden blossom smells citrusy. Who knew. My skin amplifies anything citrus, so your results will likely vary. The tea is present. I'm not getting that OMG eew orris response, so I'm guessing this degrades over time. unfortunately, so did the wood and papyrus. It's nice enough to wear, but I'm very glad I got it cheap. dry: The linden/tea combo fades down enough for the payrus, wood, and yes orris to show. The orris is very week luckily and the rest is pleasing though weaker than I'd like. I admit, I enjoy paper and wood scents and this has a cozy dry feel to it under the teaness. I'm liking it, though it's a little too delicate. Unfortunately, this doesn't last well. Over all, it's not bad but could be both worse or better.

 

The blue bottle is pretty though.

[SarahScent44]

(Retail-only)

 

In the imp, I'm getting the dryness of the orris, with tea and wood backing it up.

 

On my skin, I really like this - there's something light and fresh, which is completely unexpected from a Poe scent.

 

When it's dry, it's very light, very subtle, very sweet - a real winner.

[azhriaz]

Spirits of the Dead seems like a fresh green tea, with an almost citrusy tang. It's a very light scent, and doesn't take long to fade down almost completely on me. I'm guessing the papyrus is the last note to linger, because the only thing I can smell after it's been dry a while is paper!

[fairnymph]

In the bottle: Citrusy, delicately floral linen, piney-smooth tea, and dry woody notes. Surprisingly fresh, very clean, but with a suggestion of dryness to come. Unisex.

 

Wet: Tea (even smoother, dryer, less piney) and softer linden, slightly less fresh and citrusy. There's a planty sort of note, almost aquatic, smooth, kind of reedy, that reminds me of bamboo, or even aloe a bit - maybe the papyrus? In combination with a light oak note, it grounds the blend.

 

Dry: Hmm, somehow this has become MORE citrusy; I'm strongly suspecting there's some bergamot in this, on top of the natural citrus elements of the linden. The bergamot, tea, linden, and papyrus (which reminds me slightly, vaguely of oude) are dominating. The oak is more of a suggestion.

 

Later: The bergamot is holding so far! As are the sweet, floral linden, resiny-papyrus and smoothly green yet deeper tea leaf - to me, it's more of a green tea note. The oak has emerged a bit more; it's woodsy but too dry or masculine; just deep and rounded. Orris has finally come out to play, but is very light; it's a bit powdery and dry, but not overwhelmingly heady.

 

Summary: In the final drydown, this reminds me of a fresher (almost spicily so - fresh ginger perhaps?), less dusty version of The Phantom Wooer, or a cross between it and Kumiho. The citrus note lasts wonderfully, the linden provides lovely sweetness, it's almost honeyed, and the papyrus and oak bring wonderful resiny and woody depth to the whole blend. The tea leaf is very green - the same note from Shanghai and F5, piney and fresh, and actually amps over time. Orris adds the barest hint of dust. Even some sexy, mildly sweet musk has emerged! Amazingly unisex. Good throw but fades fast.

 

This is a wrist-sniffer, and would be lovely in warmer months as refreshing pick me up. I also think this would be gorgeous on the right man.

Edited May 17, 2008 by fairnymph

[LadyCrow]

In the decant: Whoamigod, LEMON. Real, fresh lemon, not pseudo-lemon.

 

Wet on skin: A green, leafy note that must be the linden comes up next.

 

Drydown: Several minutes later, the orris comes up and adds a nice, grounding earthiness. And yes, as earlier reviewers have observed, it seems odd to be thinking things like "nice" and "pretty" about a Poe scent! Not much throw, but I like the way it smells what I would call fresh without going soapy on me, as Thunder Moon did.

 

It takes me a little while longer to be able to detect the tea and the faint, faint papyrus. Even on a nose-to-wrist sniff, I'm having a really hard time placing the wood in this, which surprises me because normally I amp just about any wood.

 

Verdict: Although this isn't generally my type of scent, I like it because it's light and clean, but not banal or drugstore-perfumey.

[maribouquet]

Mmm, the tea note has that nice lemony scent that I like (is that the linden?). Very light and fresh.

[dluszcz]

I am amazed by how simplypretty this one is! In the bottle, this reminds me a lot of Mary Kay's Red Tea and Fig shower scrub/lotion/body spray collection. The minute it hits my skin, the fruitiness is gone, and it's all iced tea with citrus- a little lime as well as lemon- bright and fresh with the slight bitterness of powdered tea. This doesn't stick around for long. It fades and softens, adds a bit of cedary-paperness, and sweet lemon poundcake. A few hours later I have to work to find even a hint of lemony sweetness.

Very pretty and pleasant, but not much throw or wear-length.

[angelicruin]

In the imp, I smell the tea with lemon.

 

Wet on the skin, it's still predominantly lemon tea.

 

As it dries, the floral note of linden blossom comes out. I'm not smelling the coffin wood note though, maybe as it dries more I will...

[zankoku_zen]

Hmm... this one is prettier than I expected. It's this light, lemony sort of white floral with a brush of tea. There's a little cedar in the background, which sort of anchors it, but overall it's wispy and ethereal. Very light, very clean. Fans of Embalming Fluid or Shanghai should give this a whirl.

[V294]

I got this as a frimp and I could tell from the minute I opened it I would like it. It smells a citrusy at first, but that goes away after it dries on me. Then it smells similar to my beloved 51 but without the melon roundness to the scent and a bit weaker. It's a very pleasant sent and like most scents it fades rather quickly....stupid skin eating all the precious.

[rayvn1]

I received a sniffie of this in a swap and had barely enough to test, so that may explain why this scent is one of those "barely there" scents on me. Just a light breath of sweet perfume and flowers. There's a dryness to it that is probably the orris and tea coming into play. Nice, but not something I'll probably track down since I have Severin for my tea needs.

[Lamia]

Lemon and soft roses.

[Veronica]

A sweet, pretty white floral scent, reminiscent of Reaper, but less straight out floral and more lemon-y. Pretty and refreshing, I'm really starting to love it!

[jtb2008]

This smells a lot like the City in the Sea to me. This has a pretty distinct citrus note too. Its pretty lemony. I need more of this...

[raisin]

Still on the hunt for my perfect linden scent, and while this comes significantly closer than The Unicorn, that phase doesn't last long.

It goes on in a beautiful tea leaf and linden green, and then I got that dreaded lemon candy phase all the reviews made me worry about... but that only lasted a few seconds (thank god) before I was back to the linden and tea. So wonderful!

That, alas, fades all too quickly. At that point, I have a raw blonde wood scent that sticks around for hours. It's pretty and I like it, but I'm wondering if I can experiment to stretch out that initial linden fragrance.

 

Overall, totally fresh and great for spring/summer.

[Aldercy]

I'm surprised this doesn't have lemon listed in it... the tea must be a lemony tea. I'm also getting clouds of orris. It's a very dry, severe, old-fashioned scent. Not to my personal taste, I'm afraid.

[donkehpoo]

(2007 Version)

 

Wet: LEMON! And tea. Strong and yummy!

 

Dry: The lemon is a very faint note in the background now. Instead of being a strong lemon scent with a hint of tea, this is now a strong tea with a hint of lemon. (... Even though lemon isn't a listed ingredient in this blend. Where is it coming from?!)

I could wear this to work without fearing it would be too strong, but know I'd still smell great as well. Winner!

 

 

 

4/5

[SkySamuelle]

This was quite beautiful in the vial. I can't describe it as anything else than a 'ghostly white' scent - too bad on my skin it's a far too subtle of a presence.

 

It 's like the oil is truly pulling a ghostly act - the scent is here but not here at the same time, soft and light, evanescent and pale.

 

Peculiar, but not something I'll be wearing again, for the simple reason it dosn't strike a chord with me, even if it stays pretty and airy.

[mymymai]

ITB: I get dry tea leaf and linden blossom from the initial sniff. It's already a bit haunting, but beautiful.

 

Wet: The linden blossom is a bit clearer here, but the tea leaf and papyrus are not far behind. There is a faint powderiness from the orris root, but I'm not picking up any of the coffin wood yet.

 

Dry: After a few hours, the orris root becomes more apparent, but it still contends with the linden blossoms and the dry tea leaf.