Tavern of Hell

[mooncityminx]

White gardenia, ambergris bouquet, lavender fougere, orange blossom, melissa, tobacco flower, coriander, ebony wood, ylang ylang, absinthe and aged whiskey.

In the vial: Oh woah, strong and dark

Wet: lavendar, something resinous, something clean

Drydown: gardenia, lavendar and something very dark. The notes I listed sound feminine, but this is not light or airy at all, this is dark. Is that magnolia? I think that is magnolia. Magnolia is one of those unique florals that don't smell very floral to me, and the lavendar is astringent. And the gardenia is clean. So all in all this is reminding me of a very gentlemanly aftershave. Not that the right woman couldn't pull this off.

[kelpsoda]

Wet, this is a bright blast of gardenia.

 

Dry, it gets darker. I get a hint of the orange blossom, lavender and alcohol. I'm having trouble identifying anything else - it's well blended.

 

The floral is a bit too overpowering for me, but I like the complexity and depth.

[rayvn1]

This was one of the first BPAL's I ever tried and it is pretty much solid flower on me. Nice, but not really my style.

[Dark Alice]

This is a dark, woodsy, lavender....however it is a very clean scent. The gardenia is really tamed by the lavenderand tobacco flower. I definitely see myself keeping this imp...as it smells wonderful...but it is not bottleworthy.

[angelicruin]

Sniffing the imp, it's gardenia, wood, and tobacco.

 

On my skin, gardenia is still dominant, but I can detect a glimmer of the orange blossom. The woodiness is gone and tobacco note is very faint. As it dries more, I can now smell the lavender note.

 

Drys down to just floral on me. OK, but not really me.

[magikalbrownies]

im smelling loads of lavender and tobacco on my skin...seriously antiseptic and STINKY at the same time...

 

ha i dont know how to explain it.

 

overall: if i had to classify this itd fall into the incredibly odd scents...not buying it

[lunareclipse]

I get an aggressive floral slap across the face, sweet and nectar-y: GARDENIA! and lavender with a whiff of orange blossom. The darker, subtler wood, spice, and booze notes are lost, subsumed in the overwhelming rush of the florals.

 

Which is a shame, as I'd love a coriander-ebony-absinthe-and-whiskey perfume with undertones of floral scents. As it is, I think Tavern of Hell is Not For Me.

[alyssredfern]

Sharp and sweet in the bottle. Gorgeous. On my skin it's floral with a sugary undertone. I have no idea what most of these notes are, but I adore the gardenias in it.

[Diva Urd]

I was frimped this in a swap, and was thrilled since this was on my wishlist! Thanks so much again!

 

In the imp, this is a very boozy-smelling floral. The whiskey is clearly apparent.

 

On me, it's very sweet, sticky flowers with a hearty, sharp whiff of whiskey. The floral sticking out the most is the ylang-ylang, which I almost always seem to amp. As it starts to dry down, the scent fades quite quickly. Uh-oh...

 

And yes, it happens: After 45 minutes, the scent is nearly completely gone. I applied some more because I thought I dabbed on too little the first time, but 45 minutes later, I have the same result despite slathering.

 

This ain't good enough to douse myself in, I'm afraid. Back it goes into the swap pile.

[BuxomM]

It's mainly floral(lavendar, gardenia) and wood.

[topazphoenix]

This has gardenia, but it's not the sickly powdery gardenia death I'm accustomed to...the lavender fougere tempers it. Unfortunately it becomes aftershave-ish in the process.

[ralenth]

Imp: Green and gardenia and a bit antiseptic. Something sinister seems to lurk in the background.

 

Wet: Green floral, definitely tobacco flower here.

 

Drydown: Come back, tobacco flower! A little powdery, but soft, blended green scent.

 

Dry: Gardenia and a soft shade of green. Throw is medium.

 

Overall: I hate when I feel vague in reviews, but this one was difficult to pin down. I was hoping for more of the dark woodsiness, but it is a well balanced green floral.

Edited October 21, 2009 by ralenth

[Invidiana]

On me this came out to two things: lilacs and wintergreens, even there is neither lilac nor wintergreen listed in the notes. On their own and mixed with other notes, lavender and anise each turn out lovely on my skin, but I think the combination of the two just went all wrong in this case and turned into a thick fog of Easter lilacs and wintergreen mints Again, both lilac and wintergreen are lovely notes on thier own and in the right blends, but in this case the bouncer at the Tavern of Hell kicked me out.

Edited October 28, 2009 by Invidiana

[Acushla]

Out of the bottle: very dark and rich but there's a cleanness there as well. I can tell this one is quite complex and I'm really loving it.

 

Upon application: changes a lot in a fairly short amount of time! It starts out with just a dash of something sweetish at the back and then I get a patchouli scent fading in (my untrained nose can't pick out which scent might be at work here, but it smells like straight-up patchouli to me.) Normally I can't stand patchouli but there's something else tempering it and I actually quite like it.

 

Drydown: this quiets down after about half an hour and I really have to stick my wrist in my face to sniff; after an hour it's even more subtle. It's been about 6 or so hours now and I'm starting to get that dreaded perfumey-headachey note that I hate so much (might that be the ambergris?) but it's not terrible.

 

Overall: sadly this basenote really isn't my favorite, but I have a feeling I'll be keeping the imp around at least.

[revinn]

Wow, so many notes listed, yet all I can smell is WHISKEY. It's beating me over the head, and I can't put it on my skin. Anyone who has read any of my reviews or posts about boozey scents knows how much I LOATHE them. So I can't do it. Blurgh. Swap box.

 

Out of 10: -23456. BOOZE.

[Seismogenic]

I'm starting to notice a trend that I try the oils more related to things like Hell and vengeance and torment when it gets closer to finals. It's not necessarily that I deliberately wait to try them until I have a project due, but among the pile of untested imps, they are just plain more likely to get picked at this time of year.

 

In the imp: Gardenia, a bit of citrus, and some less distinct things that are dark and smooth.

 

Wet on skin: Whatever citrus I was getting in the imp is gone now, but the gardenia is still in full force, and I think I'm getting the ylang ylang now, too. There is still a darker and drier backdrop, but I'd characterize this as a white floral right now anyway.

 

Drydown: Freshly dry, this is still largely a sweet floral, though it's veering away from being a white floral specifically. The darker backdrop is becoming a little more clear as involving wood, and slightly smoky wood at that. At one hour in, the balance is generally the same as when freshly dry, though the overall intensity is much much less.

 

Five hours later: Very slighty woody.

 

End of the day: Even more slightly woody, to the point of being nearly gone.

 

Overall: To be honest, I don't think I'm getting much tavern in this, nor much Hell. On me, this is largely a floral with an indistinct dark backdrop. The backdrop is well-blended and interesting, but never terribly prominent on my skin. I would have liked there to have been more of it, but ah well. I think I'll be swapping this to someone whose skin likes it better.

[lwhitesel]

None of the florals really come through, although there's a hint of lavender and citrus. This is strong! -- and I think it's the ambergis and ebony that make it dark, woody, and spicy. Doesn't morph at all, and stays on for a long time.

 

This has a little too much of the "hippie" (really? no patchouli? really?) about it to be something I'd wear to work, but it makes me happy and I often wear it on weekends. I think it's going to age well, too.

[starfish327]

i only tested this out of a friend's imp box because i had it ordered and i was afraid that i'd hate it.

 

in the imp: it's...meh. it reminds me of axe a little bit. it smells like something that's a knock of something that wants to smell like the theme. oh no. this doesn't bode well for my imp in the mail.

 

wet: more meh. it smells like a knock off cologne.

 

dry: OH HOLY HELLS THANK THE PERFUME GODS FOR MORPHING. my friend flat out gave me her imp after smelling it on me. this is rich deep sexy and powerful. it's edgy. it takes on this very warm and almost leathery note without it being leather. there's something that smells like it should be boozy but it's not. i don't remember registering floral in it, but at the same time i remember thinking that this wasn't a guy scent at all regardless of what i was getting initially, this is the type of thing that i can see on one of the big name flappers and society girls during the interwar period- this is a great gasby type scent all the way. i adore it for that- i'm totally obsessed with interwar america.

 

so now i have two imps of it and those imps are probably going to spawn a whole clan of tavern of hell imps if i'm not careful.

[meaganola]

Ick. It wasn't much upon application. Then I started getting tiny wafts of absinthe and orange blossom as the day progressed, but they were buried under this weird feeling of having the back of my throat coated with guy-friendly soap. And this doesn't *smell* like soap, but that's the feeling I end up with. I can practically *taste* it. This feeling/taste is just something I can't get past to even put it in the oil burner like I usually do with scents that I don't feel like wearing again but think would be nice as a room scent. Do not want to cross paths with this one again.

[SophieCedar]

Warning: this smells soapy in the imp and wet.

Give it a chance because when it opens up, it truly is unique and lovely. The tobacco flower and gardenia are solid mainstays. This is quite intoxicating in a floaty drifty summery way. What a pleasant surprise!

 

Update: ok I think I blew my nose out on my new bpal shipment that day...now I smell the gardenia and lavender, orange blossom and oak. I'm glad I tried it again! I like it much better this time around and it's turned into a keeper. A dirty filthy lovely keeper.

Edited February 21, 2010 by SophieCedar

[Brianne]

Definitely a morpher on me - it goes on very tangy - for lack of a better word - and pungent, but definitely not floral. It has an oddly bitter quality to it at first. As it dries, it establishes itself more as a floral and becomes a heady and strong white floral bouquet backed by the masculine hint of whiskey. Predominantely floral though.

 

Goes on strangely bitter but morphs quickly into a white floral bouquet with an edge of soapiness and a faint masculine/spiced whiskey behind it.

[impolight]

:::TAVERN of HELL:::

 

Here is a firebreathing wag of a perfumed oil!

Tavern of Hell does not disappoint in it's depiction of high-spirited iniquity and discombobulated subterfuge where even the tallow candles seem to mock rosy-cheeked naivete radiating from your best go in a Marilyn Manson T-shirt and patent-leather boots.

No imagination is necessary to discern the booziness and the colorful indignities of Tavern of Hell...

Here lies the fragrance of rough-hewn wooden tables that have absorbed every manner of fermented concoction along with the soury sweat that accompanies lickety-lipped pelvic thrusts of social graces.

In every corner is the promise of corruption or bodily harm...

In this establishment, teeth are optional...

There is also a hint of assertive perfume, but you refuse to make eye-contact with the girl sitting across from you who thinks that crotchless panties look... Sultry.

Tavern of Hell is to be worn with flourish and gusto. Unapologetically.

This would be THE talk of the Towne at a Pirate Faire of sorts.

Tavern of Hell has a nice, humid floral element to it... Like a Magnolia in the verge of liquefying. There is also a hint of new leather to this fragrance, giving the whole thing... Swagger.

On the skin, Tavern of Hell sweetens/dirties up quite nicely. The hips unhinge and there is this quixotic vision of Jack Sparrow in greased boots on the set of Saturday Night Fever trying to water the flower on his... lapel... with Rum.

There is a wee swirl of incense in here somewhere, giving this just the right measure of gleeful condemnation.

The Tavern of Hell is a fun shade of amber and bronze, off-white, and terra-cotta.

This scent would rock for any HellCat or Sick Boy...

Tavern of Hell gets a 5/5 for it beautiful and fearless originality.

Drink up!

[Venneh]

In the imp, this is a strong, dark, almost resinous floral. There are two things that worry me with this blend - the lavender fourege, cause lavender can take a blend to absolutely nothing on me, and the tobacco flower, which somehow turns into my father's cologne.

 

On my skin, the tobacco flower appears to be coming forward along with the lavender, which appears to be taking things into a slowly fading dad's cologne. Hrm. Yep, gone in less than four minutes. Damn lavender.

Edited February 19, 2010 by Venneh

[voorishsign]

I'm not sure why I'm trying this. There's enough florals here to send me running for the hills, usual, but I am intrigued by the fougere, the coriander, the ebony wood and the booze. Let's see.

 

In the imp - sweet, resinous booze.

 

On wet - wow, intense! Wood, whiskey, coriander, ylang ylang. Very few florals. I hope it stays this way.

 

Drydown - Oh no. It just turned into a world of 'meh'. Everything I liked - the booze, the spices, the wood - have up and left, leaving only flowers and a faint whiff of alcohol. Not my thing. I wish it could stay wet forever.

[sarielswish]

In the vial, it's all gardenia and orange blossom. I'm can't even put this one on. It's already starting to make my head hurt.