Destroying Angel

[sarada]

One of the deadliest mushrooms to ever pop through Gaia’s soil. Papery white notes evoke the grace of this fungi, grounded by thin, crisp soil.

I am very excited by the mushroom fragrances that are popping up in the garden, because I imagine they will be kind of musty and dusty, earthy -- sometimes moist and damp, sometimes dry and dirtlike. Destroying Angel is one of the dry, dusty ones, but not without some sweetness.

Actually it is very, very much like The Rat King from the Yule line of 2005. In the imp it is a light, slightly sweet dirt/soil smell, sort of Graveyard Dirt and then some, but it sweetens on my skin. Dust and pale woods are two things that definitely come to mind, hence the Rat King comparison.

Today is a little bit colder out than spring should be so I can't get the full effect of how this warms on my skin...but so far it is staying strong and not fading away like a crushed, powdery dried mushroom. I am leaning towards a full bottle of this although it is very similar to the Rat King, but it is a little less sharp and there is no musky bite.

A glorious, pale sweet dirt scent.

[coulrophobe]

I agree with Sarada that this is very much like Rat King. Unfortunately, Rat King got the "Aaaiiieeee, get it off me!" reaction!

 

To me, Destroying Angel has a bit of a sourness to it when in the imp; on my skin, it just smells like pure, dry soil. It's not a scent that goes very well with my chemistry or my sense of aesthetics, so not for me - but soil-scent enthusiasts may really enjoy it.

[nineveh]

Thirding the Rat King similarities here. This starts out very powdery and white, and a sharp green note emerges as it dries. I get dust instead of dirt, and a very faint whiff of the pickly scent from Thanatos.

 

This could be nice if you're looking for an unusual sharp scent, but I already have a bottle of the Rat King, so I don't need to keep this.

[shelldoo]

this is definitely a dusty dirt type note but it also has a sharper edge to it.

 

this is earthy, dusty, slightly musty, did i say earthy....it does smell what i expect a fungi scent to smell like.

[filigree_shadow]

I sniffed it in the imp and thought "Oh no, this is going to be like Zombi, just dirt dirt dirt." But it's not. Yes, there is an unmistakable soil smell to it, but it's sweet. It's not that pungent oakmossy dirt scent. Reminds me of loam.

 

As it's drying it definitely gets an acidic characteristic -- probably the pickles nineveh was picking up on. But then it moves into a combination of something exceedingly sweet and powdery but darkly musky as well.

 

For some reason I often think of scents in terms of music. If it's really sweet it seems high-pitched, and if it's dark and deep it's low-pitched. This one is a soprano and bass duet.

 

But it's not comfy or calming at all, so unfortunately it's not for me. Very interesting and well-done, though.

[bristlecone]

In the vial: Smells like a patch of moist earth in a shady spot of a garden.

 

Wet: Still smells like dirt... and mushrooms. Which is funny, because I didn't take the "papery white notes invoke the grace of this fungi" part of the description literally. I'm not totally sure if I find the mushroom part appealing or not, but it sure is interesting.

 

Drydown: The mushrooms subside and I just smell the dirt and something lightly perfumey that I can't identify. But I wish I knew what it was. For a dirt scent, it's surprisingly clean.

 

I really like this and I'm glad I invested in a bottle (my first General Catalogue bottle ever).

[Penance]

Preconceived notions: I had to have this one if only for the name, but the notes sounded perfect for me, dirt-lover that I am.

 

First sniff:

 

Earthy but not loamy really...sort of a light, soft earth note with something that really does remind me of fresh-picked mushrooms...that sort of white, slightly fungus-like scent. I'm sure that sounds bad to some people, but it's really not. It's definitely different, but I really like it!

 

Wet on skin:

 

Pretty much the same as in the bottle, only slightly stronger on the earth note and not as strong on the fungus. Destroying Angel is light and ethereal but at the same time dirty and loamy, like the forest floor. It's a contradiction in scents but it works. I'm sure this wouldn't be a scent for everyone, but I really like this.

 

Dry down:

 

Soft, dusty dirt and not much else. Destroying Angel is a truly wearable dirt scent. It's not as intense or as in-your-face as Graveyard Dirt but not too light, either.

 

The bottom line:

 

I can see this being a dirt scent that works for people who don't like dirt scents as well as for us dirt-lovers who just want something a bit lighter to wear for a change.

[Alchemy21599]

I had to try this because of the name.

 

In the vial: sharp and earthy.

 

Wet: there is a definate tang that is very interesting.

 

Dry: fresh, overturned earth in a hemlock forest. It is a scent that I like, but I wouldn't wear it as perfume.

[themerrybaker]

No dirt on me (at least from Destroying Angel). I get dry, white blend with great throw and decent staying power. This one is so nice, I just can't stop snuffling the inside of my elbow.

 

 

 

Arrgh. Truffle Pig instead of cleavage gerbils!

[zenvodunista]

dark moist loam. the rain hits the leaves of the trees above, and slowly drips in great globules down to the ground below.

 

darkness.

 

the crust moves, and the most blinding white mushroom begins to break through the top crust of living earth. thick scent of mushroom, and the rich soil that clings to it.

 

the scene fades to one of fresh white linens on a newly made bed.

 

n.

[aedes]

I'm amazed at how much this smells like mushrooms! Damp, fresh earth and white mushrooms all the way. Seriously, you could smell the white button mushrooms in the produce aisle if you wanted an idea.

 

You wouldn't think this would work for perfume, but I think it's very wearable on a person who likes earthy scents. It has all the earthy element but with a freshness and cleaness you wouldn't normally find. I'm pleased with the concept, though it's not for me.

[Meg]

In the bottle: I think it's vetiver, and I can smell mushrooms. It smells very fresh and astringent.

 

Wet: White mushrooms pop out through the fresh scent of vetiver.

 

Drydown: There's a spiciness to this, and it smells extremely clean, astringent even. The mushroom becomes rather faint after a while, which is a pity because it's a lovely note, and when the mushroom's gone, I'm left with a cologne scent - perhaps there's neroli in this? It's slightly citrusy.

 

Overall: This isn't what I expected - it's rather cologney, fresh and clean, and while it does remind me of freshly chopped mushrooms and their slightly astringent smell, it doesn't evoke anything much except for aftershave, which is a pity. I didn't smell any soil, and I wish the mushrooms would have stayed longer.

[Blood onmy hands]

This is another scent that smells completely different now when compared to how it smelled in 2006.
It used to smell of dry, black dirt with a papery, white mushroom and hint of white floral perfume.
In 2012, my new bottle of this doesn't have any dirt smell to it at all and smells like soap and something like harsh woodsmoke and sharp white floral perfume. It's a scrubber...
2016 frimp.. this smells like a hint of wet, black dirt and a ton of dirty ashtray smell with perfumey, soapy floral. Blech.

Edited June 8, 2016 by Little Bird

[LiberAmoris]

I love the name of this blend, so I was already somewhat predisposed to enjoy it. On me it's a blend of subtle earth notes and a dry white floral (paperwhites?) that's quite elegant. This reminds me of a perfume my mother used to wear for years and years---something by Clinique.

 

Destroying Angel is very refined, and I can see myself using up the imp on special occasions. And I might have to buy a bottle at some point because it brings up such lovely memories of my mom.

[cupide430]

Super fresh and crisp smelling with a strong damp wet dirt note and also a sort of light cologne note. The cologne note strangely reminds me of Pert Plus. How bizarre. There's some sort of duel going on here between the fresh cologney notes and the dirt. This is more interesting than most dirt/earthy scents on me, but definitely not a me scent.

[quikslvr]

Yup, earth. And fungi. Dead on. At first. But that doesn't last long.

 

It morphs into this dry white floral--I think I'm smelling a hint of lily in there. Light, balanced, but ultimately and definitely floral. And florals and I don't always get along. In its favor, it wears very light (though I did test with a light hand) and I find it has a magical sort of depth (for a floral--but remember this is me, the non-floral-liker talking).

 

Not really me, unfortunately.

[desu]

While it smelled rather interesting in the imp, on me it turns into a strange, spicy unplesantness. It smells like a mushroom spritzed with some sort of perfume.

[AliBabble]

being a lover of all things mushroom-y, i gave this a shot. not usually a fan of dirt smells, this one is alright - the initial fungal mushroom smell is what i like most. the paper-white perfumey notes eventually take over a bit too much on me, making it a little "generic perfume-y"/hairsprayish...but there's still a touch of the earthy mushroom scent. an unusual combo of freshness and earthiness - the mushroom scent itself is lovely, though fleeting.

[Memnet]

This one reminds me of Zombi, but without the roses. It is a sharp, sort of dirt scent.

[ladytaga]

In the bottle I loved the dirty smell (I am a big fan of graveyard dirt)

but once it dryed down on my skin it turned to a perfume smell..I didn't enjoy it and it wasn't anything special. It was just a sort of cheap perfume.

I wish it didn't turn on me but I have 2 graveyard dirts sooo I guess I am dirty enough.

[GemmaCat]

At first I get a scent of true damp soil followed by wet linen. The latter is very fresh and bright, and the combination with the soil scent is very unusual, but also very pretty.

 

I'm undecided about this one so far, and will have to try it again.

[Eunice]

I love the dirt scent in Death Cap so I couldn't wait to try Destroying Angel. This is just as dirty but it's a lighter scent. There is also a bit of a tang to the dirt. This reminds me of the smell fo a dirt celler. This also has a white floral to it but I'n not sure what the flower is. Destroying Angel is even better than I had hoped. This is definitely going on my next Lab order!

[grrrlennyl]

at first: dirt.

on: dirt. not as dry and black as graveyard dirt.

half an hour later: odd. when i sniff this on my wrist, i get a pain in my temple.

2 hours later: dirt and something papery.

overall: this just isn't for me. i definitely like graveyard dirt much more.

[juniperus]

Bottle: dirt. not damp dirt - dry dirt.

Wet: ok, whatever those papery white notes are they are making me wheeze.

Dry: *cough* *wheeze* *cough*

Later: deadly?? - hell yes. asthma attack!

[Brianne]

In the vial:

Dirt - not the fresh smell of dirt either, that sort of bitter dirt smell

 

On me:

Very dirty smelling. Fungi definitely comes to mind. No offense to those that like this, I just can't imagine why someone would want to smell like this. I enjoy a good dirt scent, but there is something off about this dirt - it has a pungent, bitter smell to it - like the note in Mandrake. I keep thinking of weeds when I smell this.

 

Final note:

Way too bitter and "earthy" for me!