Destroying Angel

[pastrydeity]

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 don't get a dirt scent at all on this one; on me it's all floral, maybe with a faint undertone of musk. It's a bit more mainstream-perfumey than I was expecting, but it's lovely, and it's stayed with me through an entire work day without fading to nothingness.

[QueenFae]

This is a very sweet, herbal scent over a rich, deep earthy brown. There is a definite dustiness to the soil note; it's more like aged, dried dirt, like you'd find in a basement. This certainly conjours images of evil mushrooms; very evil mushrooms! This is a lighter scent that you have to be close up to smell. Not my type of thing, but very interesting.

[storme]

In the imp: hmm, a sweet-sharp alcoholish scent mingled with dirt.

 

On me, wet: sweet, perfume-soaked earth. Man, it smells like clay soaked with perfume.

 

On me, dry: yup, perfume-soaked earth. Reminds me a lot of Zombi, really.

 

Verdict: Enh, I didn't end up keeping Zombi around, so I doubt I'd use this. Swap.

[CiCi]

Destroying Angel is a very sweet cloying herbal perfume scent that does not go well with my body chemistry. It was very lovely in the bottle but once applied, took a quick nose plunge. I have to agree with Queen Fae that there are very evil mushrooms in this fragrance that seem to grow when applied on my wrist. Off to swaps!

[Aiglet]

In the imp: This smells sharp, almost acridly herbal. I was sort of leery of trying it, because it smells like one that will give me headaches, but I can always wash it off..

 

Wet: The "acrid" smell goes away, and it starts to smell almost sweet. It went through an oddly floral stage, too, but always with the dirt note keeping it interesting.

 

Dry: The dirt actually goes away almost completely, leaving me with a light floral that's actually wearable. If your skin chemistry does what mine does to this, it might be a good choice for a more "traditional" perfume that isn't quite as boring as it could be.

 

I suspect that people whose skin doesn't "eat" the dirt note will have a really different experience here -- I can tell the dirt is there, but it never comes out on me. Even Zombi doesn't have any dirt in it after about five minutes on my wrist.

 

I don't particularly like florals or herbals, so off it goes anyway.

[cvelis]

Sweet, loamy earth with light floral note underneath. Lovely! It's a scent I would wear when I don't want anything but I touch.

[Miseraya]

In the imp: May I just say... This. Is. AWESOME. I hope it stays like this on my skin, oh please, oh please. This smells just like dirt and mushrooms. It's wonderful!

 

On the wrist: Huzzah! This is the best smell ever, it's Zombi with mushrooms instead of roses. It's rich thick loam with fresh fungus sprouting up after a rain. It's like falling over and landing nose first on a toadstool. I'm in love.

 

Dry: It sweetens up a bit and mellows out, but it's still wonderful. Not much throw, not much staying power, but this is a big bottle for sure.

[prettybird]

Another free one.

 

In the bottle: ...Oh my. Perhaps creating mushroom scented perfume wasn't such a wise choice.

 

Wet on skin: This is so very odd.

 

Fifteen minutes later: This is so spicy. It's so... strange.

 

An hour later: Oh, I could really wear this. It's so different that I don't really have a frame of reference for it. Definitely a unique scent. I don't get much of the dirt smell, just a slight undertone of dustiness.

 

Three hours later: Gone! What a shame. I'd get a bottle if it lasted longer, but as it stands, it's not really worth it. A keeper though!

 

Edit: I was so wrong about this scent. I don't know what changed, but the disappearing act it had been pulling stopped altogether. This is one of my favorite daily wear scents now!

Edited November 23, 2007 by prettybird

[Extispex]

Dirt! And just a touch of something else.

 

But mostly DIRT!

 

And this is not a bad thing, no not at all. I've become rather fond of the rich soil note found in Nosferatu and Zombi. Its funny how many of us are all too happy to get out of the shower, all nice and clean, then slather ourselves with something that smells like dirt.

 

I'm just loving Destroying Angel. After the initial DIRT of the wet phase, the drydown is much more complex than I expected. The earth note is still there, but things are definitely sprouting from it. This is a very deep, rich life scent.

 

And this is another of those frimpies from the lab that I probably never would have bought for myself. To 5ml or not to 5ml, that is the question.

 

I probably will.

[steffanina]

Destroying Angel-

 

In Bottle: Rained-on earth, loamy and mossy.

 

Wet: Peppery notes come out in the earth.

 

Dry: Interestingly, this turns sweet and floral on extended wear--it morphs dramatically and it's a great effect.

 

Overall: I really like!

[neuilly]

Rich slightly wet dirt...really the only bit that reminds me of fungi, I don't really smell the fungi but the dirt evokes it nicely. There's also an odd floral note on top which I wasn't expecting - white and a little bit green. Intriguing but I'm not a dirt note wearer. So happy to have had the frimp though!

[aquazoo]

Sweet start. It's lovely, subtle, a good every-day scent. It's turning slightly sour, not bad yet. It fades out again.

[tinyvulture]

sweet, rich dirt is the main note here. i guess maybe it smells like mushrooms too – mushrooms caked in dirt. the soil is so sweet, almost cloying. i like that sweetness in Penny Dreadful, but i feel like that’s a more complex scent because of the perfume notes. here, all i smell is the dirt.

[Allumina]

This was one of those scents that confused me. Usually I'm not big on florals, or "perfumed" notes at all- I picked this out because I read reviews that mentioned dirt. Wet, this gave off a superstrong “perfume” blast with an undercurrent of dirt, but luckily this fades quickly to dirt with some sharp, strange floral notes that smell surprisingly good. I find this perfume sexy, though I have no idea why.

[porcelina]

smells like crumbly, dried-up dirt with something sharp underneath. it's not terrible, but it's not something i want to wear as a perfume, either.

[hkhm]

imp: this smells almost exactly like both october 2007 and november 2007 smelled to me. that sharp, nose-tingling scent.

 

wet: this is like a slightly sweeter version of october on my skin. like if october has some faint, sweet florals added. very earthy.

 

dry: like and earthier version of october. still quite sharp, but more earthy.

[septima_pica]

(aged review)

 

So I bought a bottle of Death Cap and an imp of Destroying Angel and kept them both around for a year. The first became way more awesome, the second...well...

 

So Destroying Angel was mostly spicy floral dirt to begin with. Now the dirt's almost entirely gone, which is really weird -- it's almost completely unlike mushrooms in any way, even more than it was to begin with. Notes I can smell? Well, something coniferous, a mild floral, and something that reminds me of cucumbers or maybe underripe cantaloupe. No dirt at all, regrettably -- it appears to have done a runner sometime in the last year.

 

But more crucially, it's evoking a really strong scent memory. I think my Papa must have used a soap or cologne that smelled exactly like this, because it sure does smell like him. And the funny thing is, it didn't originally.

 

Yeah. I don't need to wear this, but I'll keep it around. I'll put it in the drawer with the bottle of Chloe and smell them when I wish Nana and Papa were still around. Funny thing, that Proustian memory.

Edited December 12, 2007 by septima_pica

[voodoocatwoman]

I've read the reviews. I wish I could report that I like this fragrance. Unfortunately, it smells like bug spray in the imp, wet AND dry. That is the only way I can describe it. I found it harsh, acrid and sharp. Incredibly unpleasant. It's the first that I have had to wash off. Yuck.

[Jackdaw]

First time I sniffed it in the imp, I nearly dropped it; I can't get anything from it but hospitals, for some reason- alcoholic, hygenic, and painfully sanitary. My sister says it's less all that and more just chemical-y, though- I guess I'm just weird.

When it's wet the hospital's faded; it's still really harsh, though, and turned chemical-y.

At the end of the day it's faded into something nice; all that's left is the dirt and maybe something a little floral.

 

If it hadn't have taken twelve hours to get to the dirt, I'd like Destroying Angel, but as it is I'm going to pawn this off on someone.

[suki]

in the imp: dirt, fresh-tilled and warmed by the sun. no joke.

 

wet on skin: wow! it's *totally* mushrooms! this is one of those 'how-DOES-she-do-it?!' moments for sure.

 

dry down: the dirt comes back, strong and sweet, with the mushroom just hanging out in the back ground.

 

in all: for those that like the unusual, this is a keeper. me? i like my foodies, but, uh, not THIS kind, i guess

 

 

 

ADDED Jan. 13:

 

in the imp: yup. that's dirt and fungus, alright.

 

wet on skin: same.

 

dry down: same.

 

in all: a lighter version of Worm Moon, this one doesn't make me retch with it's strength, but it's not exactly something i want to smell like, personally. with a soft throw and the unmistakable scent of white fungus and gentle dirt, get a bottle of this if it sounds like a treasure to you- it will be.

[alicia_stardust]

This smells like a nice, moist patch of dirt; fresh, wet, earthen. It has a sort of calm to it, though, and I find that it's not as heavy or cloying as most earth/soil fragrances are. As it dries, I get a touch of sweetness which is a very nice addition to this blend.

[ranyart]

I got this as a frimp at a recent Meet&Sniff.

 

Wet, this smells like dirt and little twigs. There's a powdery headiness that feels "perfumey" more than it actually smells that way, as if I can see white fumes coming off of my hands. That white perfuminess seems to be growing as the oil dries.

 

I'm not sure about this... I love things that smell like dirt, but the "papery white" part of this fragrance makes this feel a bit too light for me to wear. I really wish this fit me better, because it's a lovely scent. Hopefully I can pass this imp on to someone who's better suited to it, but I'm sure I'll sniff the imp a few times before then.

[grashopper8]

Weeeeeird!

 

Mushroom perfume???!

 

In the imp, it smells like grass, but if I think about it, it smells like mushrooms, just super-concentrated.

 

On my skin, it smells almost floral. Paper-white? Does that mean Narcissus?

 

Weeeeeeird!

 

Not for me, but truly original. It ends up smelling strangely clean. I almost like it, but it's just so Out There....

 

3.3 out of 5

[sirsaber]

a frimp from the lab.... maybe I have an untrained schnoz but to me,besides the wonderful smell of soil (which reminds me of spring) I smell a hint of roses in there...unless shrooms smell like that. I actually really like this scent. It almost reminds me of a cellar that had a lingering bit of herbs in it.

 

It has become part of the want a 5 ml of list.

[donnatron]

Imp: Freaky. It evokes standing over the button mushroom bin at the co-op.

 

Wet: This goes harsh and musty on me. It must have some sort of moss note, because it is amping up like crazy on my skin.

 

Dry: Dank, moist, decaying earth. I can't really separate any of the notes from one another. This is an exceedingly dry (in the dry vs sweet sense) scent.

 

Throw: It's moss(ish?). It's me. I reak.

 

Overall: I can see the appeal of this in its own way, but it's just not my style. Swaps or I'll be lazy and just give it to my sister.