The Cracked Bell

[CiCi]

A winters horror: smoke and stillness, faded incense and the metallic tang of blood.

I was given a frimp of this with a purchase on Ebay from a forumite. I have to say that I love this scent. From the description, I didn't think that I would because of the metallic blood blend. But this is gorgeous! The incense and spicy notes are quite soft and sweet. I do believe that there is amber in it that adds to the mystery. It is a very light fragrance-totally unexpected. This lasts a long time too! A must have! http://www.bpal.org/public/style_emoticons/#EMO_DIR#/wub2.gif

[LadyCrow]

At first, it smelled like nothing at all. Nothing. I was terrified that, despite the gold-orange color in the vial, this was going to vanish altogether and I'd be out the price of a LE decant. But I hung in there, and was well rewarded by a really subtle, enjoyable scent that, to me -- I get the metal and blood notes very strongly -- smells a lot like OotD: The Bloody Sword plus incense. There's a sweetness here, but it comes at a price. Intensely evocative; a great skin scent that got better as it warmed.

[Naamah_Darling]

This is smoky and sweet in the bottle, with a bright tang of something hard and glassy bottoming it. It's not traditionally perfume-y, it is in fact slightly masculine, but it borders on it with a topnote that is high and clear.

 

This one is hard to describe; it's a very subtle blend with a lot of interplay and action between its various notes. I'm definitely picking up frankincense or something, a very churchy note, but there's an odd bright note, which must be the metallic blood scent everyone talks about. It smells nothing like metal or blood, but it is cool, bright, and hard. I can't for the life of me identify it.

 

There's a rough similarity here to the Black Tower, which was also smoky with a hard and bright topnote, but this is not woodsmoke and leather, it's ecclesiastical incense. It's not particularly aggressive or tenacious, wears off fairly quickly, and has only modest throw.

 

I like this. I like this a lot. It's very subtle with a touch of poise, yet not overly refined.

[aClearInferno]

The Cracked Bell 2005.

 

.First impression

Light and airy in the imp, almost like ozone. Something sharp, cold steel and aftershave. Very soft incense on the skin, barest touch of faint flowers.

.Laters

Incense turns slightly smoky (lit by charcoal embers), reminiscent of a church funeral mass. Ozone/rain feel persists, with warm spice underneath. A hint of copper or possibly iron.

.Last

Beautiful. A warm, dense incense, still with a hidden, almost flowery scent. Best for quiet, cold days, for meditation and mourning.

Edited July 19, 2007 by aClearInferno

[Lethran]

In bottle: Women’s perfume and men’s cologne. I am surprised it hasn’t musk. Heady, more sex than horror. Wet: it really comes out on the skin. I do pick up the metallic edge and the faint tang of blood. It is mostly incense, and there is a smoky edge. It is a definite improvement. Dry: This really grew on me. It smells rather like mechanical phoenix without it’s dryness.

[hipslike___cinderella]

I snagged The Cracked Bell very quickly on the forum sales page, as it seemed like a rare thing I wouldn't come by often, plus, my oldest oils date back only to Yule '06, so I was really curious. I seem to have lots of luck with the lesser-popular Yules.

 

First, it's very mild in the bottle. It's a little elusive and hard to pin down, past a general "incense" feel. On my skin, it's just as mild. It makes me wonder if there was much more of a metallic tang before it aged. I recognize some of the smokiness that reminds me of Parliament of Monsters. Over time, I'm left with sweeter scent, perhaps what is left of the blood note. It's very pretty and I'll keep it, although I'm not swooning. It's certainly evocative and a still, dark, foggy night.

[Teggy]

I just snagged a bottle from the lab's eBay sales. I was really surprised to see the older blue bottle and label.

 

It's definately inscence and metalic, but there's something a little sweet about it too. It reminds me of Chintimani Dhuppa, but without the OMGPERFUME power that it smacks me with when wet. On my skin, it's on the verge of going plasticy, but thankfully it doesn't.

 

The only problem is that I keep sniffing it and now my stomach is feeling a bit bothered. Some scents just do that to me.

 

Overall, it's like Chintimani Dhuppa's brother...who may be a tranny. It's unisex.

[nightbiscuit]

There's a little bit of metallic sharpness if I look for it, but it's mainly just spicy Gypsy Queen incense.

 

I totally get the gypsy queen comparison, but I feel like The Cracked Bell is much milder and smoother in comparison. On my skin this scent is really warm, soft and rich.

I heart it. It's spicy and complex without being overpowering. I don't find it creepy at all! Mysterious, maybe.

I also love The Cracked Bell because it is teaching me about metallic notes, and how they almost immediately disappear on contact with my skin. Must be because I am so salty!

[filigree_shadow]

This one smells like dragon's blood and metal to me. The metallic tang is a bit hazy and not pointy at all -- I guess that's from the incense. It's sweet and it smells red to me, and that's probably why it makes me think of dragon's blood. It doesn't smell cold at all like many of the Yule blends do, nor does it smell stark. It's a warm scent with that metallic bite. This one is probably my favorite of the metallic scents I've tried so far.

[tartchef]

Just a quickie review before this moves on to its intended home:

 

Thick incense & red musk, a dead ringer for Scherezade, but with a touch of dragon's blood & something very faintly metallic. A previous review called the Cracked Bell a very still scent, and I totally agree. The sense of something massive & demonic in the shadows, utterly still but for a curl of smoke that catches your lamplight... You clamp your hand over your mouth too late, and with your stifled gasp a heavy-lidded eye opens, fixing you with a deadly, smoldering stare...

[gwynhwyfar]

I can't BELIEVE that I didn't review this oil yet! I guess it's time to go through my most-loveds and make sure that I really did write reviews for them, since I thought I had.

 

This is one of my favorite BPALs, though it requires a certain mood to wear. Like Blood Moon and Centzon Totochtin, I pick up something that smells like pure blood in this oil. Not dragon's blood, but that metallic, wormwood-base bouquet that smells like warm blood. Because I'm fundamentally a weirdo, I LOVE that scent.

 

Along with it, there's a deep, rich incense. Church incense, to be specific.

 

I said that this was a 'mood' scent -- it's kinda like ... 'do I want to worship in the vampire church today?' mood.

 

I keep hoping that it returns because I only got one bottle of it and that's almost gone. Maybe this year!

[Pookstrell]

Honestly, I could just cry. I tried a decanted imp of this about a year ago and loved it. I posted an ISO on the wnated forum ages ago to no avail. Today I opened the decant to sniff.. and oh dear god... the most gorgeous smell hit me. It has just aged fantastically. It reminds me of Blood Amber but sweeter, muskier and more snuffly. In 4 years of BPALing I have loved some scents, but this one has made me absolutely rabid for more. It just does the most wonderful things with my chemistry. And its an accursed LE! *stamps foot*

 

Wow, this oil really does something funny to me!

 

 

Edited: Since writing this review I've managed to hunt down 4 bottles - such is my love for this scent. I really don't understand why it isn't more popular!

Edited December 9, 2008 by Pookstrell

[themerrybaker]

They really should have just called it Crack instead.

(Along the lines of Snake Charmer and incense, hold the vanilla.)

It definitely rings my chimes.

[ouch!]

Wowzers, I've had an imp of this for ages now and am finally using it today. When I smelled this way back, from what I remember this smelled kind of like xmas, a bit resiny.

 

Now?

 

Oh my gosh..this stuff ages very well indeed. It's GORGEOUS! It kind of reminds me (As the previous reviewer said) of Snake Charmer. It's gorgeous, resiny...soft, no vanilla. It's like a grown up version of Snake Oil and Snake Charmer mixed together.

I don't get any of the metallic note, I think that's dissapeared with age. And has left behind a rich incensey yumminess that is hard to describe.

 

I should have definately got a bottle of this, and I think it's one of those oils that has slipped through the net.

 

*kicks self*

 

[Sweetie666]

In the imp - Cologne. Tangy and pleasing.

 

Wet - Incense and cologne, the tang is gone.

 

Dry - This got really smokey, like smokey...rose maybe?

 

Overall - Very nice, I smelly like a floral fireplace! Keeper!...may have to get a bottle of this.

[zankoku_zen]

I definitely get the musk, the metallic hint and the incense background. It might also have a touch of amber, and it reminds me to Herr Drosselmeyer but with more musk and metal.

 

This is like a tricked out version of Blood Amber.

[ralenth]

I was generously frimped this with an ebay purchase from a forumite. It's like robo-Snake Charmer, sans vanilla. This is ridiculously good. There just are not words for this.

[donnatron]

Bottle: Very light. Definitely metallic. A touch of blood musk.

 

Wet: I'm not getting much incense at all. This is a very light blood musk with a hint of metal. It reminds me of a gentler High Priest Not to Be Described.

 

Dry: I do love the blood musk. When this dries more of the blood musk comes out to play and this is light, a touch tangy, a touch dragon's blood-y and slightly incense-y. Pretty and definitely still.

 

Throw: Mild.

 

Overall: Sometime High Priest is a little too much man for me. On days that happens but I'm still in blood musk mood I've got that covered.

[DamnSatyr]

In the bottle: Metallic, and heavy incense.

 

Wet: The incense overpowers everything else.

 

Dry: My skin is doing nothing but amping the incense in this. I can't get any other notes to come out of it at all. Thick, overpowering incense.

[ajodasso]

The incense-like quality overlays the hint of metal beautifully. I can't smell anything like blood, but there's a definite metallic edge.

 

I hadn't expected this one to be so wearable, but resinous scents tend to play well on my skin.

[whisperstilled]

First review in five years! I guess not a lot of decants of this one are rolling around these days. In the imp, I get faded incense. Let's see how it does on the skin.

 

Wet: Soft incense and smoke. This is. Wow. Really nice. I'm actually shocked by how good this is. Soft, mellow frankincense and something faintly metallic. It reminds me a lot of Robotic Scarab without the shiny harshness.

 

Dry: This is hot sex, seriously. Resin and incense heavy blends usually score well with me, and this one is definitely above and beyond the usual. There's almost no throw on this baby, but I just don't care. It smells like raw heaven.

[lady_pandora]

Early on, I can make out red musk and what I think is the cola-y scent of opoponax, but it quickly swirls into a mix of church incense that I can't easily pick apart into individual notes. It's a little sweet, and a little metallic to add some weirdness to it, and is a completely gorgeous church incense scent while being totally distinct from Midnight Mass. I really like it! It feels old, and sacred. This is what I was looking for in The Mournful Influence of the Unperceived Shadow, which has a patchouli that kind of curbstomps the church incense on me.

 

I overamp red musk as scents age, so my time with this one may be limited, but I plan to make the most of it!

[artoria]

2017 version:

Sweet in the bottle, lightly incensed, and the red musk is very apparent. The incense grows more prominent on the skin, but the sweetness doesn't die down. Instead, a bit of something metallic, ever so slight, creeps in. The incense mixed with red musk is very pleasant and comforting. I's really different than Midnight Mass and Cathedral: smokey, identifiably incense, but soft -- not too spiced or pungent. The red musk has quite a bit of stamina, clinging onto my skin more than any other note in this as it wears throughout the day -- which is good, because I seem to really love red musk with my skin chemistry.

[LizziesLuck]

2017

 

Wet: Very subtle, slightly sweet, smoky incense. It's quite magical. It's slightly musky, but I find it more of a "blood musk" rather than a true red musk. The musk stands up to the incense, but doesn't overpower it. The incense comes out prominent on me.

 

 

Dry: A very faint, incense skin scent. I expected this to be much stronger. I can barely smell it at all, even nose to skin. Hints of the musk remain, but sadly this is just to subtle on me.