The Pit & The Pendulum

[LittleGreyKitten]

I was sick — sick unto death with that long agony; and when they at length unbound me, and I was permitted to sit, I felt that my senses were leaving me. The sentence — the dread sentence of death — was the last of distinct accentuation which reached my ears. After that, the sound of the inquisitorial voices seemed merged in one dreamy indeterminate hum. It conveyed to my soul the idea of revolution — perhaps from its association in fancy with the burr of a mill wheel. This only for a brief period; for presently I heard no more. Yet, for a while, I saw; but with how terrible an exaggeration! I saw the lips of the black-robed judges. They appeared to me white — whiter than the sheet upon which I trace these words — and thin even to grotesqueness; thin with the intensity of their expression of firmness — of immoveable resolution — of stern contempt of human torture. I saw that the decrees of what to me was Fate, were still issuing from those lips. I saw them writhe with a deadly locution. I saw them fashion the syllables of my name; and I shuddered because no sound succeeded. I saw, too, for a few moments of delirious horror, the soft and nearly imperceptible waving of the sable draperies which enwrapped the walls of the apartment. And then my vision fell upon the seven tall candles upon the table. At first they wore the aspect of charity, and seemed white and slender angels who would save me; but then, all at once, there came a most deadly nausea over my spirit, and I felt every fibre in my frame thrill as if I had touched the wire of a galvanic battery, while the angel forms became meaningless spectres, with heads of flame, and I saw that from them there would be no help. And then there stole into my fancy, like a rich musical note, the thought of what sweet rest there must be in the grave. The thought came gently and stealthily, and it seemed long before it attained full appreciation; but just as my spirit came at length properly to feel and entertain it, the figures of the judges vanished, as if magically, from before me; the tall candles sank into nothingness; their flames went out utterly; the blackness of darkness supervened; all sensations appeared swallowed up in a mad rushing descent as of the soul into Hades. Then silence, and stillness, night were the universe.

The depths of despair, a dark Ecclesiatical triumph: the incense of the Inquisition.

The Pit and the Pendulum smells almost exactly like Al-Azif to me. Both have MAAAAJOR throw- like I suspect yards- and are piercingly sweet yet dark incense aromas. There's some extra note in P&P that relates it to the other Maelstrom scents (I think Beth often puts something in each one of a set of LE scents to relate them, I noticed it in Lupercalia too). However it is so very much like Al-Azi I may not keep it, plus I don't wear Al-Azif a ton anyway. I find Al-Azif a bit sweeter, and P&P a bit spicier. For me I'd give it a 3 out of 5, though if you like incense blends go for it. I just have many I prefer, and this is one I feel uncomfortable wearing in public due to how strong it is on me. Your mileage may vary, though, since my skin amps incense to all hell and sweetens it a lot too.

[sarada]

The Pit & The Pendulum is exactly halfway between Midnight Mass and Al Azif in the bottle, as far as I can tell. On my skin, it's mostly like Midnight Mass.

 

If you missed out on those, or can't get enough of them, this would be the one for you. If Al Azif was too sweet, this would also be a good one for you as it isn't quite as strong in the sweet department. It might be a little too much like them, though, if you feel you have enough in your resiny incense collection.

 

For me, I can't get enough. If you haven't tried either of the aforementioned LEs by the way, this one could be described as: thick, dark, slightly sweet, slightly smoky resins. It's a glittering, thick resin but it's so very thick that I think you could trap prehistoric insects in it.

 

Although I'm moving it into my LE Top Ten, it's going alongside Midnight Mass as a tie, because it is too similar to really separate them, at least so far in my sniffing experience. See also: Cathedral, Penitence. You cannot go wrong with it if you like this kind of thing.

[sookster]

straight sniff from the bottle this smells dead on to my beloved cathedral....

once applied it is all about the incense....lovely......

 

i had to do a side by side comparison and oddly enough cathedral and

this scent are identical.....no ifs, ands or buts.......i have never had

this happen with any bpal scents before......must be my chemistry (??)

weird...

[jewelbug]

Imp: Really sweet golden creamy incense. Kinda reminds me of the sweetness of myrrh.

 

Wet: Wonderful woodsy, myrrh-laden incense. This isn’t smoky to me, like I feared, and its not a dry powdery incense like some others I’ve tried, more of a creamy damp thick incense. Very nice.

Drying: The blend gets drier, a wee bit dustier, but its still not the dusty incense that I’m normally scared of. Its sweet and thick and powerful--heavy, almost syrupy. It is resinous, woodsy, golden, creamy and sweet. Like an old world cathedral, gilt, with sun shining through the stained glass—not one that sits idle, but one that is still active. This is very ritualistic, but to me it is good natured, rather than sinister.

 

Overall: Perfect incense. Not too smoky, not too dry. Sweet like myrrh, and golden and inviting. Lasts well, and has moderate throw, and faded to a barely there skin scent by 7 hrs.

[Court Analyst/Strategist]

Wet, when first applied: The Pit & the Pendulum goes on based heavily in rich, darkly looming incense with a warm, resinous core touched by an edge of smooth wood. There is frankincense in here, as well as a note of bittersweet herb-like quality at the very edge of the scent that I can't recognize. I was surprised at the depth this scent holds over Midnight Mass, through I can see similiarities. I enjoyed Midnight Mass, but I love this. The main difference between this and Midnight Mass is that Midnight Mass applied and dried on my skin chemistry as a dominantly resinous scent with a minor incense component, and this is much more strongly incense-based and has much more leveled resinous components. The Pit & the Pendulum is what I would term as a much more atmospherically dark scent over Midnight Mass, and brings the color grey to mind, but a deep, pulsing grey with a darkened haze wrapping around it. There is something I find wistful about the mood of this scent. There's not much change from the wet stage to drydown, but I can say this scent does become smokier and the frankincense blooms slightly more deeply after its dried 10 minutes and onwards.

 

This seems a gender neutral scent to my nose, and I find it a much more wearable scent than Midnight Mass, mainly because I find The Pit & the Pendulum to have more harmony and depth to its notes.

 

Throw: 7/10. The Pit & the Pendulum first applies rather heavily but mellows and smooths within minutes. This is a scent that wafts, not one that overwhelms.

 

Overall Rating (score): 8.5/10. I predict this to become my signature incense scent. The Pit & the Pendulum is beautiful, elegant and atmospheric. I will definately be purchasing a second 5ml of this.

 

Court

Edited March 10, 2006 by Court Analyst/Strategist

[mandragora]

In the imp: Dark, creamy incense.

Wet on me: Softly sweet resin with a woodsy feel.

Drydown: Golden, thick and heavy smelling incense.

Verdict: Beautiful and smoky. This would be perfect for incense lovers. It's not me though.

Edited March 12, 2006 by mandragora

[UploadedLobster]

In the bottle, P&P smells almost exactly like Al-Azif, my number one favorite scent of all time from the Arkham series. It seems to be the Lab's basic cluster of 'dark incense' notes, very myrrh-y and cedar-y. I am in love at first sniff. <3

 

Initial scent bomb: Same as the bottle, hurrah! Resins and woods without the sweetness of frankincense coming through yet.

 

Dry on skin: Still smells like the bottle, and is pure incense joy. It's dark and sharp at the same time, perfect for the name. The frankincense is starting to waft up through all this dark stuff. It's still completely sexually marvellous. A completely sexually marvellous evil church. Yes!

 

3 hours later: Gone, alas. I need more. The frankincense gradually climbs to the top of the scent and stays the longest, with the other stuff lending it depth.

 

I need to swap for some more of this stuff. Hallelujah!

 

 

Lobster Rating

Better than: a comfy chair

[Shollin]

First sniff: Pure cedary incense. There are a very few incense scents I can wear and make them work, and most of them are softer than this one, so I’m not sure how it’ll do on my skin, but here goes…

 

Wearing: It reminds me very much of Midnight Mass. Maybe a little brighter. It never went unpleasantly sharp on my skin as incense sometimes can, but it doesn’t quite stack up to my incensey Holy Grail (Al Azif) so I don’t feel compelled to keep it. Glad I got to try it though.

[Blood onmy hands]

In the bottle this reminds me more of Al Azif’s smoky qualities than Midnight Mass’s smooth, sweeter incense. It’s also a bit sharper than Al Azif.

 

I am awful at describing incense blends. On me, The Pit & The Pendulum takes on a slightly burnt quality, but not in a bad way. It’s the smoky haze that you get from burning incense. After about 15 minutes, I can smell a dusty cedar-ish wooden note behind the incense.

 

This is like an old wooden church with incense burning inside. Nice, but too woody for my tastes. It’s strong on me for about an hour, but fades quickly after that, leaving behind a faint trace of smokiness.

 

This is more smoky and powdery than I would have liked. I really love Midnight Mass, and I like Al Azif... this one is my least favorite out of the three.

 

ETA: With some aging, this does take on more of Midnight Mass's smooth, slightly chilly sweetness in the bottle. However, on me and the boy, it kinda smells like violet baby powder with just a hint of cedar. On the boy, it is especially powdery. He also thought it smelled very soapy to him throughout the day.

Edited May 3, 2007 by Blood onmy hands

[zenvodunista]

incense.

 

my nose is too unsophisticated to smell the difference between this & Cathedral, or this & Midnight Mass, or this & any other churchy incense perfume.

 

then again, it tends not be my "thing". i keep thinking it will be, but it never is.

 

this will go to a new home to someone who can appreciate it!

 

n.

[Reinaluna]

The Pit & the Pendulum: Very nice incense blend! I thought that this would be just anothe Midnight Mass but no, this on is sweeter and a little creamy. I get what I think is mostly the myrrh note but it is a very nice sweet myrrh. Im glad I have a bottle.

[Meg]

In the bottle: Dark and bitter incense, I think.

 

Wet: It disappears and I don't smell very much while it's wet. Slowly, I start getting smoky notes, a rather spicy but bitter kind of incense.

 

Drydown: Dark, bitter smoke... not much else. It's rather light, and I can't really distinguish any particular notes.

 

Overall: Hard to describe, but pretty one-dimensional, and not particularly pleasant if you're not an incense fan.

[Laurel the Woodfairy]

I think this is a wonderfully clever interpretation of the theme, much better than having it smell like rats and a dungeon. I haven't tried Midnight Mass, but Cathedral remains my #1 incense blend--Pit/Pendulum is a little milder and sweeter than Cathedral on me, but similar. As others have said, there's a creamy touch of myrrh. I don't think I would wear it, but it'd be a great room scent--it smells similar to some of my incense sticks but without the smoke.

[slave1]

In Bottle: Incense

 

On Skin: This reminds me of Midnight Mass and Cathedral… pure incense. I’m not a fan of incense scents, they usually go very dark and smokey on me. This scent is very thick, you can almost see a stick of lit incense in front of you, the smoke curling up into your nostrils. I sense resin and myrrh, very dark, golden and warm. Not exactly what I imagine when I think of the Pit and the Pendulum, but quite interesting. A must for anyone who enjoys incense scents.

[aidenraine]

The Pit & The Pendulum is my favorite Poe story, so I HAD to try the blend named for it. I actually pictured something a bit like damp basement but I'm glad it doesn't smell like that!

 

A very dry, smokey incense. This smells like incense and wood burning simultaneously. It is definitely very close to Cathedral. I get a very faint sense of something like balsam, or perhaps it's frankincense.

 

I do know it's familar!

I imagine this would be a great blend to use for meditation and yoga. It has that ritualistic vibe to it.

On my skin it becomes a sweet incense after a while.

[Neely]

In the bottle: dark musty incense, very nice!

 

Wet: dark musty incense. Please, oh please don't morph!

 

Dry down: deep dark incense, heavy and woody. It didn't change on my skin, but stayed true to its beautiful dark self. I am in love.

 

30 minutes: still dark, deep woody, musty incense. Ahh, incense, how I love thee, let me count the ways. When this is gone I will have to try Cathedral and Penitence.

 

Conclusion: Deep woody, musty incense. Truly incense of the Inquisition! But NOBODY EXPECTS THE SPANISH INQUISITION! Sorry, a little Monty Python humor, couldn't help it. I do love this. Nice job lab!

 

Rating 1-5 on my skin, this is a 5.

[blu°]

This is really very similar to Cathedral. But sharper, almost liquoricy, a bit like whatever lends that Vodka note to Midnight Mass.

It's woodsier than Midnight Mass and more resiney than Cathedral.

The associated colour is rather Cathedral-esque, although more dense and dark.

I guess I like Midnight Mass better, so I'm not sure I'd use this much. It's still nice, though.

 

Later on I was having some really dark associations from it, with the inquisition connected to it and all.

It was like I could feel that fat trace of sadism of the inquisitor's/torturer's smile running trough the scent. It made me feel quite a bit uncomfortable, but I'm not sure if that was the scent on itself or rather my mind's overblooming fantasy.

[yeahbutnobut]

The Pit and the Pendulum

 

In the imp: smells like Penitence! Yup, I'm sure there's frankincense here, and there's also a sweet note behind it. It's gorgeous…

Wet on skin: mmm, frankincense! And I think there's myrrh here as well, and a sweeter note. It reminds me of Midnight Mass, Cathedral and Penitence.

Dry on skin: ohh, this is really good. I love incense scents, and this is lovely! It now smells a bit like a cross between two of my favourite LE incense scents-Midnight Mass and Al Azif! It has MM's frankincense, dry smoke and 'church' feel, and AA's sweet, sticky, dark, myrrh based incense, with hints of Penitence, Aureus and Cathedral. It's really nice-I don't find it threatening or imposing, but it's darker in tone to MM and Penitence. And the dark sweetness is almost sinister, but in a good way.

After a while: the frankincense tones down but still remains in the background, adding it's sharper, brighter resinous touch to the scent, and yet allowing the dark, sweet, sticky resins behind it to come forth. Now it really does smell like a sharper Al Azif, and now a smoky scent creeps in, so it smells more like incense burning than fragrant unlit resins. Every now and then, the frankincense comes out a bit more, a bright, slightly spicy scent surrounded by shadowy, smoky sweetness. I think there may be a woody note here, like a polished cedar or pine scent. it's still a lovely deep incense scent, though it does smooth out over time.

Verdict: I may not be a churchgoer (though I may visit them for pure sightseeing reasons), but I adore the smell of incense, and I love the Lab's incense scents. This is another one I've fallen for. It is the lovechild of Midnight Mass and Al Azif with hints of the other incense themed blends. I can pick out frankincense and dark, sticky myrrh, and also some other incense/resin notes that are sweet, dark, and smoky (amber? benzoin? opopanax?), and also a hint of dry, smooth wood. The deep, sticky base (reminiscent of Al Azif) adds a darker tone to this than is found in other incense scents. This is another wonderful mixture of resins and smouldering incense notes that I will need to get a bottle of, but just one bottle this time, due to it's similarities to other incense scents…but I think it's my favourite scent in the Maelstrom range so far.

[arabella]

First Impression: Nougat.

 

Dries down to: Quietly fades and gets muddy.

 

Additional Comments: I don't know what kind of incense this is but it's very benign - almost wispy. It isn't offensive but it just doesn't do anything for me.

 

Lasted: A couple of hours.

 

Rating: 2.5 out of 5

[QueenFae]

I haven't tried Cathedral, but I can definitely see the comparisons between this an Al Azif; they are very similar. This is a strong, resinous scent, that seems to be leaning toward masculine. It's a bit woody on me, and almost has a piney quality on my skin. The smoky/incense note is really unique and commanding; not quite "head shop," more like "ritual sacrifice." This one is really nice, and if it's like Al Azif, I suspect it will have quite a bit of throw and sticking power. I'm not sure if I need a bottle, but I'll definitely ponder my decant for awhile.

[Nekomata]

Very sweet and inscensy, I don't know what it smells like exactly. It almost reminds me of tea, stragenly, with cream.

[Diana]

I also can see the similarites between Al-Azif & Mightnight Mass, which were two of my favorite LEs.

 

This though, it's more heavy, the resin seems to me a bit woodsy, and has an almost earthy quality to it as well. It's like someone threw a bit of greenery in the mix. It's got a rounded sweetness to it, from frankincense or something similar, but not "sweet" in the sugary context.

 

If you like heavy, resinous incense smells, you'll love this.

[Ajila]

In the bottle - Patchouli.

Wet on me - Patchouli and sandalwood and something green and sweet.

Dry on me - Sandalwood, sandalwood and more sandalwood

[feline.by.design]

Whoa! Upon applying The Pit & the Pendulum and taking a sniff, it's as if I'd stuck my head in a wooden drawer or armoire! I quite fancy it, actually, as it doesn't smell too dark or dank, just incredibly woodsy.

 

Minutes pass, and the woods seem to get lighter, but still quite lovely. Definitely a scent that trancends gender lines, or at least I think so. But hey, my boyfriend and roommate are currently watching Danger Mouse episodes, so let's see what they have to say...

 

Brent, the boyfriend: "That smells like those soaps from the 80s. You know, the circular ones that you squeeze." (Hunh?!)

 

Shawn: "I don't wanna smell your arm!"

 

(a small amount of cajoling)

 

Shawn: snnniffff "Aw! F***, I'm glad I did that! That smells good."

 

Well, from this escapade I've learnt that The Pit & the Pendulum is quite a nice scent. Also, my boyfriend has a weird way to interpet scents. I'm quite sure this will definitely be something in the heavy rotation, as I don't quie have anything like it. I didn't care for Cathedral personally, but I enjoy P&P. Perhaps one bottle isn't enough.

 

-doreen

[Voleuse]

Strong and bittersweet incense slams into me on first sniff. Yikes! It's golden and smoldering, but it's potent. I'm always on the fence about incense blends, and this one is unfortunately too strong for me. Off to swaps!