Sheol

[suki]

The final burst of the soul’s light and joy before passing into the depths of the earth, and into the cords of Sheol; Sheol, who is never satisfied, and who makes wide her soul to all. Vibrant gladiola, graceful stargazer lily, triumphant iris and bright heliotrope flare, and is finally made somber by heavy copal, a drop of labdanum, and tonka.

in the imp: i honestly don't know what i'm smelling, besides saying it's "sweet" and "dark"

wet on skin: same, with some old-lady-perfume florals getting in the mix.

dry down: it's all rich florals now, much like my grandmother's sisters wear.

in all: to use something my friend murphy would say, it's like a thousand old ladies have been distilled into this one little bottle. now, i am not much of a floral fan, i am VERY picky about what i like in that regard. but that's what i have to say about this one. if you, however ARE a floral lover, try it and you may fall in love.

[isisonearth]

Imp: Resinous. The copal really dominates with just a hint of the florals. I can smell the spicy sweet of the stargazer lily.

 

Wet: Beautiful collection of flowers. The iris is perfect along with the stargazers. There is another that smells very bright and fresh that must be heliotrope. The copal and tonka give it atmosphere. It is a little bit somber.

 

Dry: In the dry down the notes begin to lose distinction for me leaving a sweet dusky purple scent.

[catwoman30]

Ok=maybe I have a mislabeled imp, but upon first applying this smells EXACTLY like Lush's Tramp shower gel and dries down to a spicy, resiny scent-no florals at all....WTF?????

[jehrichardson]

Richly sweet - if molasses and rum were made from flowers.

 

I'm not generally a florals gal, but this is nice. Very nice. This might be the floral for non floral lovers out there. The copal, "labdanum", and tonka are really doing an excellent job here.

 

I likes.

[milo]

This is a soft whispy floral on me. I'm generally not a floral gal, but I'm finding anything with Iris works well with me and kind of makes a blend "ethereal". This is no exception, and I love the softness of the blend. There is a bit of powder vibe here, but I kind of like powder so that's OK. There is a bit of sourness here, but it is well balanced by the sweetness of the florals. Nice!

 

ADDED Nov. 8:

 

already reviewed.

Edited January 1, 2010 by Shollin

[djsiberia]

wow...holy florals...hello headache. now complete with sneezes

 

[donnatron]

Imp: White rum. SRSLY.

 

Wet: OMGSOMUCHRESIN!!! I put this on without looking at the notes and thought it was frankincense but I was mistaken. This is copal. A bright, distinct copal over a lush floral and with a touch of dry, tonka sweetness. I can sort of smell some of the lily but none of the florals are particularly strong.

 

Dry: This is glorious. Soft, smoky, sweet resins kept damp and humid by luscious flowers. The heliotrope sort of rises to the surface and adds a brilliant yellow floral to the overall scent. It's a surprisingly sexy scent considering the ingredients. Smells like I have been marinating in amazing incense.

 

Throw: Strong.

 

Overall: I love it. I don't know if it's just because nothing has really grabbed me lately or that I'm deeply in love but this is not just going into the "Tried and Reviewed" bin. It is getting used up.

[Balame]

In the Imp: Earthy and a bit dry after a long breath (don’t worry, I’m not asphyxiated yet). Getting the copal (resinous) and tonka (sort of like a clovey vanilla) mostly.

 

Wet: A little smoky, but this is lovely. Sadly I don’t know what most of the florals smell like individually, but uh. They’re nice. I hope this stays the same on its drydown because it might be a favorite now – thank you BPAL for the frimp. Gosh, how to describe. You’re someplace distinctly Middle Eastern in flair, a temple of sorts. It’s dark but the golden lights from the candles, playing off the vivid oil paintings on the walls, lend a warm atmosphere to the area. Tendrils of smoke from incense curl around a woman standing before you. She has long, luscious black hair and eyes that seem to glow in time with the shuddering flames. She turns to you, her gaze calculating but not unnerving. The woman doesn’t say anything, but she doesn’t need to. You’re here because you were drawn to newly departed souls lingering near their last ties to the living world. You’re here because you were drawn to her. An undertaker, an enigma. And yet there’s something so inviting… you long to feel her embrace, but refrain from moving any closer. “Not yet,” she speaks. A whisper and a command. Then she’s gone, leaving only the scent of mourning flowers in her wake.

 

Dry: It must be the labdanum that makes me appreciate the understated femininity of this, because I’m normally very anti-sweetness, but ambergris (which is supposed be similar) is one of my favorite notes. I still have no idea which florals are doing what, but they’re amazing. Not musty or overpowering at all. In fact, this is very light on me – the scent itself is dark but it’s “close to the skin”. Don’t leave me so soon, Sheol!

 

Verdict: In truth this a five, my only issue is that it has a throw radius of about an inch and the staying power is so-so. I’ll just have to slather a bit more in the future; shouldn’t be an issue because a bottle is on the horizon. I think this will work for people of varied tastes, but as a heads up - those who have a niche obsession with anything reminiscent of temples/churches/cathedrals, etc (like me), this is a great choice.

 

Rating: 4/5

 

[QueenFae]

I'm not a big fan of gladiola. This has a very heavy gladiola note in it, with a bouquet of thickly perfumey florals in the background. It has a lazy, hazy cloudy sort of feel to it, and reminds me of a sleepy bride . It's a pretty strong smelling floral blend. I think this would be quite lovely on the right person, but definitely not for me.

[rayvn1]

Sweet, thick, and dark. Hard to pick out individual notes other than a vague hint of floral that's begun to be corrupted by rot. Interesting scent. I probably have such a twisted and dark mental image since the name's so close to Shelob

[Venneh]

Got this as a free smelly in a recent swap. I get a sweet floral with a darker undertone. Not quite sure what to think just from the smelly, might imp this to get a better idea of it.

 

EDIT (3/5/10): This smells like an alcoholic drink I had once, Zombie, I think it was. Going to apply this lightly. On my skin, there's definitely a resinous aspect to this, with a sharper, sweeter aspect, which I think might be the gardenia on me. We'll see what happens. Dark and sharp floral, not really for me.

Edited March 6, 2010 by Venneh

[Leopard403]

Lily, you betray me! That "drop" of labdanum takes over this whole blend, and all I smell is smokey incense.

[Yoginispirit]

whoa- this smells just like a talcom powder I used to have as a child. It kind of smells like a powdery pink sweet pea. Where's the darkness and incense?

 

Weirdly, I kind of like it.

[HamletsKeeper]

An oriental chest rub, kinda of like Tiger Oil. That is all..

[SophieCedar]

Sometimes if a perfume is good and impactful enough, my first reaction is an uncontrollable "OOOOOOOH...".

 

Yup. Got that on this one!

This is my new favorite. All notes stay exactly in order. Very melodic, sensual, and just awesome. Lovely glowing golden flowers and resins. It absolutely radiates!!!

[musichappens]

Sharp resinous floral. As it dries down, I am picking up on a little bit of dirt and grass in the far background. It also seems to be more perfumey on my skin than it was in the vial. This is a beautiful blend that gets sexier and sexier as it dries, but I'm not too sure I'll need a full bottle just yet.

 

ETA: Strike that last comment, I need a bottle of this stat!

Edited March 14, 2010 by musichappens

[undream]

dark & biting, a sharp herbal scent that hits me way high up in the nose. this one is so peculiar, &i'm really not even sure how to describe it. it is cool & prickly, dusty, and again, biting somehow.

 

i like this one somewhat, but it's not really me? i may give it another try, but it's likely off to swaps for sheol.

[lou77]

I think the lab description for this scent has it spot on: the rich floral bouquet (of which I mostly pick out the gladiola) is most defintely 'made somber' by those notes resinous notes.

 

I really admire the skill it takes to put together a big voluptuous floral and still make it melancholy. It is a very womanly scent, serious and dignified, mysterious and very grown-up.

 

[Vega]

Disclaimer: My nose is completely untrained and I've an abysmal scent memory, so my impressions are just impressions. I try to wear a scent several times before making a review.

 

Lab-fresh imp.

 

In imp: Alcoholic! Some reviewers say "brandy", I'm inclined to agree.

 

On skin: Very bright, sparkling, shimmering, in an orange-gold way. The whiskey/brandy note is completely dominant. It settles and diminishes very slightly as it dries, and I start detecting something very deep and dark underneath -- something inorganic and mineral, maybe warm stone. I feel like I'm just smelling the radiant surface of a very deep scent, but can't quite detect or give a name to the depths. Unfortunately the brightness remains the entire time and smothers out any subtlety or depth.

 

Verdict: While I can appreciate how the scent evokes its Lab description, the bright alcohol note is overwhelming and really not to my taste. I'm keeping it in hopes of eventually teasing out the various notes, but Sheol ultimately goes to swaps.

Edited April 25, 2010 by Vega

[angelicruin]

Dark, resinous floral. Some hint of sweetness and it does have a certain boozy quality to it as well.

[Tess]

In the bottle - Wow, this is really full of heliotrope, which the copal and labdanum being present as well. The heliotrope almost smells bubbly, as odd as that is to say. There is some gladiola giving the florals some power and I think I can get a hint of the lily in there. A very unusual scent so far.

 

Wet - This is not at all what I think of when I think of Sheol...

 

Drying - I have yet to get even the barest hint of tonka, but the labdanum is coming out full force now. Also, the floral is being bloody dominated by the iris, which is unfortunate. It's giving me that "labdanum dust" feeling in my throat. (I don't know how better to describe it, but it often happens with that note.) Overall, I've yet to see how this relates to Sheol, which is a drab and gloomy place to be.

 

Dry (2 hours) - This is just utterly gone. I can get the barest glimmer of floral copal, but it has faded to such an extent that I need to huff my wrist to get anything at all.

 

Overall - Well, it just doesn't fit my image at all. Which is good, since I didn't really like it all that much, anyway.

[meredevachon]

In the imp: Pollen. I'm not sure I'd ever thought about pollen having a scent separate from the plant it comes from, but when I smell this, my brain says, "pollen," so that's what I'm going with.

 

Wet: Florals, wet and juicy florals.

 

Dry down: Light and sweet florals, but deceptively so. There's more power behind them than is readily apparent.

 

Dry: Goes to potpourri, still very much florals, but now more like dried petals in a bowl with fragrance or essential oils added to make the scent stronger. Strange how it smelled wet when the oil was, and very dry once it had dried, but that's what it did for me.

 

This many florals? Not my thing. But I have a friend who might like it.

[Ashenrook]

In the Bottle

Hmmm... Resins. The copal and labdanum, no doubt. But there's a smell that I just can't seem to place... it almost smells fruity, but I'm pretty darned sure it's not a fruit.

 

On Skin: Wet

...What in the. Okay, I smell a lot of familiar scents, namely florals, like the gladiola and the lily. Oddly, there's no real resins yet, but there is the sense that something is being burned... like incense. Well, that must be the resins then... But they are, uh, oddly spiked with something. That fruit smell I mentioned is here and it is like I just stepped into a metaphysical store that is burning cherry coughdrop scented incense. Not exactly pleasant...

 

While it's not cloying like Jezebel was on me, it's not exactly subtle. Being there's only one note I have yet to have interacted with until now, it's safe to say that it's the heliotrope that is acting up on me. And judging from it being nicknamed the "cherry pie plant", I'd say it's a good assumption...

 

On Skin: Dry

Well... the Heliotrope is starting to back off a little and it is taking on a very different tone. The shop is gone and replaced with...a retirement home. Yes, Sheol has taken on this very distinct old lady smell to me, but...not the good kind (the sort with the classy old fashioned flowers and what not). No, this smells like medication, baby powder, and...dare I say...death. While the latter is kind of apt for the theme of Sheol, I do not want to smell like Grandma's Last Stand.

 

Afternotes

Still much the same, but now the heliotrope is starting to get feisty again. And by feisty, I mean acrid. Alas... I think I have made a new floral enemy today. *grimaces and ticks off Heliotrope on my "DO NOT WANT" scent note list*

 

Verdict

On an American scholastic grading scale, I would have to give this a D.

 

At first I wanted to give Sheol a C, or perhaps even a C-, but... no. The more I sniff at my wrist, the more severely I scrunch up my nose with disgust. The heliotrope just threw a wrench into the gears and really mucked this up for me. I'm really sad at this because it had so much going for it for me. Resins? Lily? Iris? God yes. But no... Sheol and I were not meant to be.

[ajansuz]

This was a frimp from the lab.

 

In the imp: I gave it a good huff, and it immediately started triggering scent memories for me of my Grandmother and her friends. Something very old fashioned, old lady. Another few huffs, and I felt it had to be lily. My Grandmother adored lily perfumes, powders, you name it. It was in her house and bathroom, and it always smelled that way. There was resin under it, but for me that floral floated to the top and dominated.

 

Wet: I also happen to amp lily. The heliotrope kept it from being pure old lady, though. Even wet it's not a strong scent. I have to get close to notice it.

 

Dry down: It started to get a little more complex. I can finally pick out a little iris, and there's something faintly spicy. Mostly, though, it's still just way too much old lady floral for me to want to wear. I do appreciate the walk down memory lane with my Grandmother and her friends. I'm not quite ready to join them on a permanent basis, though. If you like pretty, old fashioned florals, this should be right up your alley.

 

EDIT: OK, I really didn't give this enough time. After about three hours, it became something just positively GORGEOUS. The copal and tonka suddenly decided to wake up, and the heliotrope beat down the lily. The throw was nice, and I really could not stop sniffing my wrists. My husband smelled my neck and said, "Yum." I guess if I want to wear this out, I should just apply it early to get past little old lady. Worth the wait.

Edited January 28, 2011 by DarkSinestra

[calivianya]

I received this from a great forumite.

 

I am not a huge fan of florals, but I wanted to try this to see how they'd interact with the copal, labdanum, and tonka. Wet, this a floral. It is *very* floral, but not a bright happy floral. It is rich and spicy. Based on a previous review, I might keep and age my imp just in case it turns into beautiful resiny no-floral goodness, but as of right now it is going in my swaps box.