The Premature Burial

[LittleGreyKitten]

For some minutes after this fancy possessed me, I remained without motion. And why? I could not summon courage to move. I dared not make the effort which was to satisfy me of my fate — and yet there was something at my heart which whispered me it was sure. Despair — such as no other species of wretchedness ever calls into being — despair alone urged me, after long irresolution, to uplift the heavy lids of my eyes. I uplifted them. It was dark — all dark. I knew that the fit was over. I knew that the crisis of my disorder had long passed. I knew that I had now fully recovered the use of my visual faculties — and yet it was dark — all dark — the intense and utter raylessness of the Night that endureth for evermore.

I endeavored to shriek-, and my lips and my parched tongue moved convulsively together in the attempt — but no voice issued from the cavernous lungs, which oppressed as if by the weight of some incumbent mountain, gasped and palpitated, with the heart, at every elaborate and struggling inspiration.

The movement of the jaws, in this effort to cry aloud, showed me that they were bound up, as is usual with the dead. I felt, too, that I lay upon some hard substance, and by something similar my sides were, also, closely compressed. So far, I had not ventured to stir any of my limbs — but now I violently threw up my arms, which had been lying at length, with the wrists crossed. They struck a solid wooden substance, which extended above my person at an elevation of not more than six inches from my face. I could no longer doubt that I reposed within a coffin at last.

And now, amid all my infinite miseries, came sweetly the cherub Hope — for I thought of my precautions. I writhed, and made spasmodic exertions to force open the lid: it would not move. I felt my wrists for the bell-rope: it was not to be found. And now the Comforter fled for ever, and a still sterner Despair reigned triumphant; for I could not help perceiving the absence of the paddings which I had so carefully prepared — and then, too, there came suddenly to my nostrils the strong peculiar odor of moist earth. The conclusion was irresistible. I was not within the vault. I had fallen into a trance while absent from home-while among strangers — when, or how, I could not remember — and it was they who had buried me as a dog — nailed up in some common coffin — and thrust deep, deep, and for ever, into some ordinary and nameless grave.

As this awful conviction forced itself, thus, into the innermost chambers of my soul, I once again struggled to cry aloud. And in this second endeavor I succeeded. A long, wild, and continuous shriek, or yell of agony, resounded through the realms of the subterranean Night.

Oppressive darkness, expressed through black orchid and patchouli, smothered by wet soil, a coffin's teakwood, and the funereal gloom of cypress.

Premature Burial is kind of Smutty around the edges. It starts off very, very wet dirt in the bottle and wet on the wrist, but it dries to a lovely musky, sweet scent that sweetens even more as it dries. It still smells a bit like dirt but not as strongly, and the dirt scent is more like an earthy, deep, dark scent rather than a big pile of wet dirt as the bottle aroma suggests. I do like it more than I expected; I'm not a fan of dirt smell usually but this actually works. It's certainly interesting and much more wearable than expected. The tinge of wood is actually noticiable, and really lovely, though it is faint. I don't really sense cypress; I'm pretty sure the sweet note is orchid. I kind of feel like Beth is doing variations on the Smut theme... which is fine by me!! It just has an edge that reminds me of Smut, and I don't know what it is; it's not a twin or anything, but I just feel that there is a note in common (which I like quite a bit). For me, 4.5 out of 5.

[Ganguro_gal]

Well on me this is very, ver similar to Zombi minus roses & decaying leaves.. On my skin, one drop makes me smell like I rolled around in wet dirt & flowers.. but I mostly smell like wet dirt but I don't get the *slightly* sour scent I get from Zombi.

[sarada]

Curses -- I lost my review of this and will have to rewrite it from memory.

 

I love this scent. Before receiving it I had written my ultimate wish list for what I wanted in a scent: wet greenery, moss and earth...or "sweet, earthy greenery." This is that scent. The closest comparison I could make would be to Grundy soap by Villainess -- a glittering, sparkling earthen jewel encased in moss and lush dark green vegetation.

 

The orchid gives it just a hint of the greenhouse...a faint whiff of a heady bloom, but it does not make the blend floral by any means, to my nose...it just gives it a pleasant fragrant jolt.

 

I am a freak for earthy scents -- they are among my absolute favorites. Yet it's very hard to find the right balance for my taste. Burial was too sharp and green, too rosey. Zombi seemed right at first but the roses again did me in. Nocnitsa smelled like lime candy to me. Graveyard Dirt was far too faint to wear regularly.

 

This is more like a greener Penny Dreadful, really -- but where Penny Dreadful seems like a brown-red clay-purple scent to me, this is definitely brown and dark green. Moist, dark, loamy soil, you can practically feel it squish between your toes when you sniff it. It is a humid night and there is a garden just out of sight where wan orchids lust after moonlight. It is not a scent of death though, it is a scent of dark life, stirring at night or just out of sight.

 

This is definitely an all-time favorite, and I cannot possibly limit my Top Ten favorite LEs to a mere ten any more...there are just too many that are too good!!

[Mountaingrrl00]

Looks like I will have to order a bottle or two (or more) of this rich, unique oil. The earth scent really is wet - wetter than the earth note in Zombi, Jazz Funeral, etc. I think the patchouli contributes to the vibe of earthiness and the hint of decay, while the cypress gives it freshness.

 

I held off on ordering this because of the orchid, but I needn't have feared: the floral element does not overwhelm or go wrong, just adds a subtle dimension of sweetness.

 

More prominent is the teakwood, which is dry and sophisticated and very true. I love this note, and it's so well-framed in this blend.

 

Thanks to Astburygrrl for the decant. You were right, this one is definitely for me.

[sookster]

this is zombi's younger, more youthful sister

 

the most predominant note in this blend is the earth followed by just a hint

of floral....also has a light or airy quality to it....

 

this scent fades fairly quickly....

[SeaMonkey]

Patchouli and cypress, with Black Orchid over the top to sweeten it. Its very earthly and green. Sort of like Penny Dreadful's rough hewn brother.

[Meganaut]

In the bottle, this had a definite scent of freshly turned, wet earth with a top note of light, sweet flowers. It stayed pretty true to the bottle scent on my wrist.

The dirty scent is very green and sharp. The sharpness may be the teak and cypress notes. At first, this smells like two separate scents, one wet earthy scent and one light floral, but as it dries, the notes seem to blend together into a rich mix of woods and orchid.

I really like this one. Something in here reminds me of Demeter's Wet Garden, but it's been a while since I sniffed that one, so I may be mis-remembering.

I can't wait to wear this out and have someone ask me what it is.

 

-Karen

[Brienze]

That one was a big surprise to me; I figured it was an automatic reject cause I'm not into dirt and I saved it for last to try, but it's really nice.

 

Wet, it isn't knock-you-down-at-50-paces earthy like Gnome, but it wafted definite dirt for about 15 minutes, then mellowed to a kind of wet spiciness. There's no mention of cinnamon in the notes, but that was the impression I got -- and actual cinnamon is very hit or miss on me, since I got Big Red gum out of Three Witches, and cinnamon red hots followed by parsley out of All Night Long. Maybe black orchids are spicy, dunno. I didn't get noticeable patchouli, either, which was fine by me. The Maelstrom seems to be the LE Series Of The Disappearing Patchouli on me, cause it didn't come out on my skin in any of the blends it's listed in.

 

The spiciness that followed the wet dirt gradually fades, and the scent lasts perhaps 3 or 4 hours on me. The waft seems pretty minimal.

 

Rating: 5 of 5 when compared to its dirt-bearing brethren, 2.5 of 5 overall

 

Bottle: probably not, but I'm keeping my imp. I tend to find that the LEs I like are analogous to a GC scent I like, only better. For example, Spirits of the Dead is a better Embalming Fluid, Holiday Moon a better Neo-Tokyo, etc. But the general catalog has tons of spicy scents so there's no need to hoard an LE for the same purpose.

[Magda]

In the bottle and wet on my skin, it's all earth and...algae. It smells like the lake I grew up on during the muggy height of summer, climbing up the steep banks, grabbing a handful of grass and dirt and laughing as we slid back into the water, green with algae at the shoreline and slimey on the rocks. After about fifteen minutes I get the scent of damp wood, which I interpret as dock planks since it reminds me so much of the lake, then it becomes the wet teak of a sailboat. It takes another fifteen minutes before the cypress appears, and there's barely a hint of flowers--I wouldn't know it was orchid if I hadn't read the description, it's just a dark floral to me, rounding out the scent.

 

You'd think a premature burial would be unpleasant, but I love this scent. It's humid and rich, more wearable than I expected such an earthy scent to be. I ordered this bottle on a whim, just thinking I'd sample it and then probably swap it for something else, but no way is this going in my swaps box. I'm keeping the 5ml and I might just order another one since this is something I never want to run out of.

[mandragora]

In the imp: Wet dirt, like a freshly-tilled lawn or flower bed. I also smell wood.

Wet on me: Faint but dark smelling floral and slight hints of the patchouli.

Drydown: Strong floral note (black orchid?) comes to fore, cradled by the smell of soil and wood. There's a sharp green smell that rises now and again.

Verdict: Lovely earthy scent. I'm quite surprised that I like it.

Edited March 12, 2006 by mandragora

[jewelbug]

Imp: The very first second of sniffing, this is a sweet floral, and then it’s all dark, moist earth. I love how Beth does that! Her earth scents intrigue me.

 

Wet: A sweet, clean floral, and then soil—roots and all. I can practically feel the small bits of gravel, the loamy earth, and the stringy pale roots of nearby trees. And while it smells of dirt and wet darkness, it’s quixotically clean-smelling—like freshly broken tree branches. There is a sweetness to it like old magnolia/honeysuckle perfume (Disclaimer: I suck at identifying florals—this is to say like an aged perfume of a southern belle).

 

Dry: This stays mostly true to the wet phase, but the later in the drydown the earthier notes fade to a midnote so that the sweet clean floral smell is more prominent. At this stage, it’s light and pretty, rather than dark and gorgeous. Still a wonderfully natural smell, like a walk in the woods when the blooms are fresh. Lasts 8+ hrs with good throw.

 

Overall: I’m enamored with this one. Beth’s soil blends leave me in awe. I will have to compare this to some other earth blends I have, but I think there is a good chance that I’ll be getting a bottle of this.

[Inanna9]

I think I've discovered my signature scent.

 

This is pretty, pretty dirt. It's darkest earth; moist, sweet and spooky, but uber-feminine thanks to the orchid. I can't tell you how happy I am that the teakwood behaves itself, as I usually amp wood notes until I smell like the inside of Home Depot. But everything works in perfect harmony and the effect is gorgeous and creepy.

 

Love!

[Blood onmy hands]

In the bottle, this smells like a little 5 ml full of black potting soil. I cringed.

 

On my skin, this is really fascinating and lovely. The Premature Burial actually became one of my favorites out of the Maelstrom (no match for Berenice, but still gorgeous in its own right).

 

First on it is perfumey dirt, grasses, and dusky black orchid. I kept seeing a hazy dark purple whenever I closed my eyes and sniffed my wrists. It was very strong too, lots of throw with this one. I think that what I liked most about The Premature Burial is that it is so sweet on me. Black orchid is one of the few florals that I really love, and it is showcased very well in this scent.

 

The dirt smell didn’t bother me as much as it has in all of the other blends that I’ve tried. It was more perfumey and sweet here, and was wonderful mixed with the black orchid. After a few hours, the dirt smell faded completely and I was left with nothing but sweet florals.

 

I tried this one on my mother as well, because she also loves orchids, and she fell in love with the scent right away. I may have to buy another bottle for her

[zenvodunista]

on me: this is Zombi, but with Orchid instead of Rose. the cypress and cedar behave themselves -- this is the first blend with those two notes where i don't amp them to destroy everything else. humid loam, this makes me want to dig. it fades quick to a light orchid -- refreshing -- with traces of dirt underneath.

 

the BF smells great in this as usual. my bottle is now his. not that i mind

 

n.

[lysithea]

This is the lovely soil of Queen of Clubs minus the fruitness.

Quite beautiful and comforting - just like Mother Earth - except when one is being prematurely buried alive, I would imagine.

[Athena's Owl]

imp: oh, smelling the dirt. oh my yes, indeed. and that... is that the cypress? something green and strangling comes to mind. I don't catch either the patchouli or the black orchid yet.

 

wet: on my skin, the dirt goes back, and here comes patchouli, no wait, the dirt was just stepping aside to let it through. wow. this is interesting. this smells the way I hoped crossroads was going to smell.

 

and it's not sweet at all. it's earth and moss and patchouli. not a whiff of the orchid yet... but that's okay.

 

I'll need a bit more time to see what it develops into. but OMG yay

 

and I think if I need this to be sweet, I can layer a smidge of something sweetly floral with it, and it will be wow (whoo, caught a waft of that woody green just now...)

 

20 minutes: now it's spent some time on and this is the dirt scent I've been trying to get but could not. Yay!

 

later: now I get orchids. beautiful. They'll pry this bottle out of my prematurely buried fingers.

[Meg]

In the bottle: GRAVEYARD DIIIIIRT! Okay not quite, but it's the closest to my nose. There's a cypress note that makes it slightly sharper, and a floral hidden in there, probably the orchid.

 

Wet: Divine! Earth, orchid and cypress, it's like Medea and Graveyard Dirt met and had kids - have I mentioned that those are two of my favourite BPALs?

 

Drydown: Still dirt and cypress, with the dark orchid floral. It's extremely refined dirt, hmm! Unfortunately the earth note dwindles quite fast, it always does with me. I'm left with mostly cypress and orchid, and wood notes at last. And ooh, the earth note gets a second wind and comes back, sometimes, with patchouli. I'm not a big patchouli fan, but it's a nice mix...

 

Overall: I've tried many earthy perfumes in the search of the perfect one... I think this might be it. I really love the mix of rich orchid and cypress with the earth notes. Hmm! If only the earth didn't evaporate so fast... *sighs longingly*

[slave1]

In Bottle: Dirt

 

On Skin: Interesting that I decided to review this scent right after Black Orchid. I can actually smell the same notes from Black Orchid as well as a slight woody note. And like Black Orchid, it also reminds me slightly of Zombi. The patchouli is light, nothing to extreme which is of course a good thing in my book. The dirt/soil is the most dominant note by far. Wow, I feel like I am buried… scary! Slightly creepy, the scent of the flowers from the funeral, the wood from the coffin, and just a general dark feeling. It has a very light throw which is interesting and medium staying power. Not really me, but a perfect scent to fit it’s description.

[aidenraine]

I love patchouli, so I had high hopes for this blend.

 

Unfortunately, I am getting my beloved patchouli but oh, no, it's dirt! It's the dirt of Graveyard Dirt come to poke me again. Aieeeee I hate the smell of dirt, especially paired with wooden notes. (I got this as part of a decant set, but I might have curiously ordered a bottle anyway, despite knowing I didn't like some of the notes. Does that make me a BPAL ho' ?)

 

I am getting a sweet note underneath the aforementioned dirt, which is probably the orchid coming out. I'm not actually sure I can place what cypress smells like off the top of my head.

 

Goodness this is a strange scent. I wonder if you hadn't told me to expect dirt, if I would have... it gets so sweet so quickly on my skin. The sweet is tackling the dirty and subduing it... but the result still isn't good on my skin.

 

The end result, over time, is actually cherry cola mixed with dirt. Very.... eccentric.

 

This story scared me as a junior high student. My English teacher would play a recording of it to us on Halloween. 3 years in a row.

[fiddlehead]

Premature Burial

 

When I first put it on, I immediately thought, "hmm, like Penny Dreadful. Probably don't need it". The next few times I tried it I realized that though they both have a dirt note, Premature Burial is more...complex. Penny Dreadful is soil and a type of old fashioned floral perfume that reminds me of something you might find in a drugstore. The orchid in Premature Burial smells more transparent and natural smelling to my nose than the floral notes in Penny Dreadful. Also, I can really smell some kind of wood in Premature Burial, guess that would be the Teakwood. And a touch of Cypress if I really sniff hard and pay attention.

 

So, I think I'll probably get a bottle. It's more subtle than PD and by the end of the day all I can smell is a light waft of orchid, which is very nice. Plus, a girl can't have too many dirt scents, if you ask me. Keep 'em comin', Beth!

[blu°]

Ok, this was the first imp of the Maelström decants that I've tested. I had sniffed all the others before, though, and something sharp and minty had gotten into my nostrils , thus they were not at their height of performance, I guess.

 

Freshly applied:

Now, this is really potting soil, like what you use to plant flowers in. There's this slightly mushroomy thing, but this time not greyish and dusty but mixed into rich, dark, fertile soil.

 

It radiates flowery. Orchid. How absolutely pretty is this!?

 

This is the so far bestest dirt-combo I've smelled. The ingredients harmonize really well... this soft, dreamy thing of orchid together with the smell of earth. Gorgeous.

 

A bit later:

Whoa, it's gotten quite heady, really. At this point I'm thinking that I need a bottle of it.

 

The scent is somehow totally incensey. I think teak was another note I really like.

Also, this is really sparkly incensey, and quite delicious. Sweet, too, but fizzy and earthy and good. I have to get moving and see how this develops wearing. I'm in love. That orchid sweetness underneath... wow.

 

Still later:

Ok, the orchid sweetness might be a bit much now. It's now turned to have that certain 70'es-perfume of some auntie-vibe as Morgause and similar scents transferred to my nose. Oppressive, indeed. It's still incensey and sort of breezy, but very heady. Very very heady. Quite feminine, I couldn't imagine this being worn by a bloke, really. Green. High air humidity. Wet loam.

 

I'm not really sure if I can/want to wear a scent like this. Maybe I should go out with it for a while.

 

Well, for me, the orchid in this could be a bit less strong. The scent did turn really oppressive after a while, very Southern Belle/green house alike.

I'd have liked it better if there had only been a tiny trace of orchid in it, I think. Just enough to turn the dirt note into fertile soil, but not so much as to lend that green house effect to it.

 

I still like it, but I don't think I'll get a bottle.

[harmonyfb]

I'm sad to say that I had such a strong negative reaction to this scent that I could not bear to try it on my flesh. It smelled of grave dirt, and not in a good way. ::shudder:: My daughter tried it on, and lo and behold, it smelled...like patchouli. Seriously weird.

[arabella]

First Impression: Cold dirt.

 

Dries down to: Gets colder and bleaker.

 

Additional Comments: This one is simply too depressing for me.

 

Lasted: Overnight.

 

Rating: 1.5 out of 5

[yeahbutnobut]

The Premature Burial

 

In the imp: fresh wet soil. I love that wet earth smell, like the garden after a hard rain. I also detect a hint of sweet orchid.

Wet on skin: wet, deep soil and a gentle floral, and a hint of wet wood.

Dry on skin: oooh, I like this. The main notes here are the soil, wet, rich and fresh, with the sweetness of orchid and a hint of wet, grey wood which is starting to decay. I don't get much patchouli or cypress-I think in here, they are all blended into the general earth scent. I get a slight hint of greenness though which is almost like moss or decayed leaves. The soil note is light, like that of Penny Dreadful or Graveyard Dirt as opposed to the thick, heavy, decomposing soil of Zombi. It smells exactly like my garden's soil.

After a while: over time, the green note seems to get stronger. It's a decayed, dark green note, and reminds me of warm mushy leaves saturated by rain. It may be the cypress as it's also quite woody. The soil and orchid notes are still there though, and I like the way the orchid lightens the whole scent-in fact, I think orchid is becoming a new favourite note of mine…

After two hours, the scent loses its wetness and now becomes a dry, green, almost harsh woody smell with wisps of orchid streaming through. This woody scent is a bit reminiscent of the 'pale burnt reeds and wood' reaction I got from a few random BPALs, and smells almost like the wood is drying, but not burning…it's also a little bit hollow, empty and ghostly as a scent.

This does fade, leaving a gorgeous soft orchid drydown.

Verdict: even though the story that inspired this scent, and the concept of being buried alive as a whole creeps me out big time, this scent is very pleasant indeed…I adore the dirt and orchid notes in here. the soil note smells just like my garden after a summer shower or after it's been hosed on a hot day-moist, fresh, earthy and lovely. The orchid is beautiful-it reminds me of Queen Mab's orchid and Shadow Witch Orchid, both favourites of mine. It's a full, rich, sweet floral scent. there is an odd note here that stops this from becoming a bottle purchase-I'm not sure if it’s the cypress or teak or a combination/reaction of several notes, but I get a hollow, dry, almost harsh green woody note here which is a bit dissonant…but I suppose it's also quite fitting. It also adds a sense of emptiness and something ghostly to the scent. but it was a strange scent…and I usually like woody scents. If this scent had been more on the soil and orchid and less on the green/wood notes, I may have bought a bottle.

[GemmaCat]

This is fresh, moist potting soil. It instantly brings to mind all the times I've planted bulbs in the Spring.

 

On the drydown, however, it gets a sharp note (possibly the cypress) that causes my head to get all achey and fuzzy feeling, so it's not one I can really wear.

 

A fantastic earth scent, though.