Horreur Sympathique

[donkehpoo]

The perfume of a hellbound soul, gleefully lost to iniquity: blood musk, golden honey, thick black wine, champagne grapes, tobacco flower, plum blossom, tonka bean, oakmoss, carnation, benzoin, opoponax, and sugar cane.

Wet: Wine! And something slightly floral in the background. Sweet, and lovely.

Dry: A faint wine scent. Fruity and yummy, but not unique enough for me to need a bottle.


3/5

[WidgetAlley]

Imp: Wine-y grape Sweet Tarts, honey, and resin. Reminds me a lot of Madrid or Blood Kiss.

 

Wet: Sweet wine, honey, red musk, fruity flowers, and rich resin. It actually works pretty well, which is unusual on my skin, and smells a lot like the amalgamation of all BPAL scents that hits you when you open your perfume box.

 

Dry: A dusty, incense wine-and-flowers scent that would, if I hadn't already sampled the BPAL oeuvre, knock my socks off. As it is, it's merely pleasant. I might use it as a room or laundry scent, or I might pass it on.

[Midnight Eris]

I ordered a sample of this one based on the description. The first time I smelled it, both in the imp and on myself, I was not happy. In the imp, it smelled like sharp, almost bitter wine. On me, it was the same. But I desperately wanted this to work on me, and I kept the imp instead of trading it because I wanted it to work.

I am SO HAPPY I did. Maybe it was the aging, maybe something else, but now when I wear it it blossoms to sweet, rich wine berries. While this isn't my absolute favorite BPAL, it is the most evocative I own; makes me feel like I have a mouthful of berries soaked in rich dark wine. Another thing I noticed about this - the way it smells is tied to my mood, in a way no other BPAL I own is. When I'm angry or negative, I smell a thick, bitter dirt along with the sweet dark honey wine. When I'm happy and all is good, it's just perfect.

I love this scent. It's next on my list for a 5ml bottle!

[Wheatflower]

I received this as a free imp with a previous order, and despite my aversion to fruit scents I decided to try it on for SCIENCE!

 

In the bottle: Fruit! With something musky and herby lying beneath the surface.

 

Wet: FRUIT FRUIT FRUIT. Cherries, specifically. I'm not sure where that comes from, unless my skin has decided that the thick black wine was made of black cherries.

 

Dry: Fruit! With a whiff of tobacco leaf. As I am not particularly fond of tobacco leaf, this didn't help.

 

Two hours later: The scent has nearly vanished, leaving only a faint trace of something spicy and herbal on my skin.

 

 

Very much not for me. I'm going to send this off to a fruit- and wine-loving friend to see if it works better for them.

[Sidhechaos]

blood musk, golden honey, thick black wine, champagne grapes, tobacco flower, plum blossom, tonka bean, oakmoss, carnation, benzoin, opoponax, and sugar cane.

 

 

 

Right off the bat I am remembering sitting in a garden that belong to a friend of my mother's and the two of them are sitting and sipping wine and my mother lets me try some of hers. I was probably 11 or 12 at the time, and this is that wine. I even remember what type of wine it was Mogen David.

 

Very rich, sweet, fruity fragrance and the Grapes have a definite hold but somehow do not morph into kool aid or bubble gum which I was afraid it would do, I'm not big on smelling like candy.

 

It does not take much of this to get one hell of a throw. I had dabbed one or two drops on each wrist and then smeared them into my elbow hollow and wow this one really travels. A friend had called shortly after I put it on and asked for an emergency ride to the drugstore. He got in the car and after a moment we both rolled down the windows and I explained I was testing a new bpal but did not know its strength. It has a good staying power as well.

 

even well into the dry down the strong wine scent continues to linger and it continues to have a very sweet nature to it, eventually on mild smoky incense tinge creeps in that you really have to work at picking it up. The florals sadly seem to get a bit lost in this which surprises me as carnation is usually howling like a crazed fox on my skin, but it just does not seem to be there for me to amp.

 

All in all it winds down to a sweet fruity wine with a very soft musk and smoky incense twinning through it. I very much like it although I think I need to put a sticker on the cap that warns to apply with a toothpick and be prepared it to last most of the day. I will admit in the first 15 minutes it is a little scary that you're going to wind up with grape candy of some sort, but that's the short amount of time and I already know that that passes.

 

This is one of those I would not mind having a bottle on hand regularly, I think it would make a fantastic fall perfume and actually would be pretty nice in the winter as well. It's a little strong for spring or summer and could very well attract bees.

[boomtownrat]

My imp of Horreur Sympathique went into the swap box when I got it fresh from the Lab because back then it was too heady and made me feel queasy. A few days ago I hit up BPAL.org/search for honey and plum notes and it was one of the results, which intrigued me. Knowing that other scents get a lot better with age, I decided to give it another try. Boy, am I glad I did. This has aged even better than Snake Oil, in my opinion.

 

Now it's wafting from my skin in a plummy, grapey, sugary, honey-wine haze that's not too strong and makes me feel like going to goth night immediately. It transports me to the '90s, to long nights of drinking, flirting, and dancing under dim, swirly lights in ripped fishnets and combat boots. It's all Floodland and Cleopatra compilations and Propaganda magazine and alt.gothic.

 

Having said that, I could wear it in almost any setting because, although it's deep and rich, it's not overbearing. Throw is actually pretty minimal after it dries.

 

This is one of the most evocative scents I've ever smelled and it's going on my bottle list for sure.

 

ETA, 4/24/2014: Last night I put this on for the first time in quite a while. I never did order a bottle, and that's a good thing. Age has really amped the thick black wine and champagne grape notes, which turns out to be a problem. Before it was even fully dry, I had to scrub it off with dish soap because something in it nauseated me. Wine and/or grapes were probably the culprits because that was all I could smell, and I've sometimes had problems with other boozy scents. I guess this imp is going back into my swap/sale box.

Edited April 24, 2014 by boomtownrat

[milo]

Sweet wine from wet to dry. I'm beginning to think I amp wine notes. I like to drink wine, but not smell like it.

[Magpie]

In imp

Very sweet, with an almondy scent that isn't too obvious and the wine-and-honey scent from Athens, with its bite. Also, spices and florals, but over all this is a very foody scent.

 

On, wet

The nutty smell comes out more and it reminds me a bit of shea butter. There's a bit of spice still, but not much. The scents mix and change prominence quite a lot. Delicious.

 

On, dry

Warm, boozy, spicy and sweet, very heady. Indulgent! I really love this. It’s like Hellcat but doesn’t make me smell like I’ve been quaffing before midmorning.

The musk means that despite an early strong throw, it stays close rather than giving everyone in the room headaches, but when it was fresh on, my significant other said he really liked it. My weird skin chemistry tried to play havock with this by making one wrist smell like nutty shea butter and the other all spicy, but the whole is so lovely it didn’t matter!

 

It’s lasted for a good few hours now, which included a walk (which usually makes my perfumes go away as I get overheated). I keep catching a scent of it and it doesn’t smell like it’s going anywhere, which is great. Yummy! A new favourite!

 

Hm...looking at the ingredients, I can't see where my idea of almonds or nuts came from. But it remains somewhat - the whole thing smells like delicious cake, but not in too obvious a foody way!

[BoneBone24]

Wet: Plum, booze, honey, and smoke. Dark, sweet, and luscious.

 

Drydown: More of the same, but lifted a bit by the oakmoss and champagne grapes. It’s oozing with decadence, like a room full of every imaginable vice. Each note is detectable, but they swirl together and form like-minded groupings. There’s the plum-wine-sugar on one side, and the tobacco-opoponax-carnation on the other. The honey-champagne-oakmoss dances above them and the tonka-benzoin hides in the corner. The blood musk vanishes and reappears at random moments and the whole thing feels like an orchestrated performance.

 

Dry: This is not the kind of scent that I go for, but I still have to give kudos for it being such a masterpiece. It’s decadent, boozy, smoky, and sweet, but somehow surprisingly well-behaved.

 

 

 

 

6.5 out of 10 bones

[GoddesShel]

(This may be mislabeled or a batch variation. I bought it from a forumite who got an imp of this, and then went for a bottle, but the bottle doesn't smell like the imp. Being the fortunate person that she is, she went to Dark Delicacies and checked - their bottle smelled like her imp. She says this is much lighter and fruitier than the imp version she got first. She renamed it Confounding Fizzy Fruit Punch, LOL, at which point I offered to take it off her hands, because I like fizzy fruit punch!)

 

Wet, though, I do get honey and wine. I can't say I'm crazy about the wet stage, but as it dries, it sweetens up and I get some carnation and tonka. Then the whole thing blends into a juicy purple/burgundy/merlot wine-y slightly smoky incense sort of thing that is surprisingly pleasant. I don't see this being an every-day-wear-to-work, blend though, it is drop dead sexy. It's very ....seductive. More like a "go-out-to-a-smoky-club-at-2-a.m." thing. Or a "throw on something hot, lacy, and black, and drape yourself across the bed while waiting for your lover to come home" thing. It is not a bright, punchy smell to my nose, - I can see this being the labeled blend, but maybe a "light" version?

[Morsigne925]

Got a sniffie of this one in a recent swap and it was enough to test, so why not?

 

Wet/Imp: Very very sweet wine. Definitely getting floral, too; unfortunately largely rose-smelling to me. This smells exactly like some of the floral handsoaps my grandmother gets from little shops. Ehhh...

 

Drying: Definitely straight up smelling like my grandparents house. Not a bad thing, but i don't really wanna smell like it. gonna pass this one on to someone who may love it!

[hammy]

In the imp - You may think I’m crazy, but this smells like chlorinated pool water to me.

 

Wet - More of the “hellmouth” vibe than I bargained for. Not as sulfur-and-brimstone as most of the hellish blends though. There’s an odd astringent quality to the scent. I think this is one of the honeys that turns gamey and powdery on me.

 

Drydown - The honey leaves, taking its helter-skelter attitude with it and leaving room for this scent to develop into a more complete, seamless version of itself. It still tickles my nose a bit. The grapes, wine and plum FINALLY show up and breathe some life into the mix. Now it’s fruity to the point of being floral, all on top of a sweet musk. This is dessert wine in a bottle. (Other than the usual bottle that wine comes in, that is.)

 

Verdict - This is far more pleasant than I’d anticipated. Still, I have better ways to get my grapes and wine.

[themeaningofV]

Frimp from the Lab.

 

In four words: Fruit Punch from Hell. Smells like the red drinks I used to have as a kid (Hawaiian Punch etc), the kind that would stain your mouth no matter how carefully you drank them. Incredible throw - well after drydown, I can't even sniff the other test patches on my arm without this wafting in and going, "But what about meeeee?"

 

If you like Bon Vivant, give this a shot.

[Veronica]

Lots of interesting notes in this one. Wet, I get the amber-y blood musk and sweet wine first and foremost, colored with sweet honey and spices. As it dries, the musk calms done and other spice notes being to appear. I smell like a red hot wearing some nice perfume.

[DiesMali]

In the imp: I forgot what notes were in it, but this smells like Bon Vivant's champagne.

 

Wet on my skin: Yep, champagne. *checks notes* YEP. I think the wine and champagne grapes combine to make this...champagne.

 

Dry: I'm going to need to age this, I think, because this is almost single-note champagne with a hint of tonka. I really hope the other notes in this come out, but it could just be my skin chemistry since it has really, really amped that one note in a couple other champagne blends. It's not bad in this one, but I'd like to smell the other lovely notes as well.

 

Edit: After several hours of wear, the strong champagne begins to fade and allows the other notes to come out, in particular the tonka, musk, and wine rather than champagne. It's actually quite nice at this stage, so hopefully that happens faster once the vial has aged somewhat.

Edited May 12, 2015 by DiesMali

[DoktorDandy]

In the Imp: Frankly, worried that it is off! But no, the oils often smell odd on their own, I need to keep that in mind. Funky, unpleasant. Feminine urine sort of hint- wooaahh I do not want to put this on.

 

Wet: Overbearingly feminine in a heavy, mature way, right off the bat. Speaks of desperation and slinky spangled evening gowns that don't quite fit. Cloying is a good word for this. There's a fermenting wild grape coming through here that I almost like, but it's mostly an armload of indistinguishable overblooming sweet florals and a heady honey mead.

 

Dry: Bath and Body Works gone ugly. It's not terrible but it fails to work on me. I wish there was something here to make the scrubby, grubby honey note sit down and behave and stop making a boozy fool of itself at the lounge. This has a diabetic tinge to it. Sad because I normally like honey and florals. Doesn't work on me- so I'm going to swap it out and hope it finds a happy home with somebody else sometime.

Edited May 24, 2015 by DoktorDandy

[ZubZub]

I'm terrible with notes, but I really wanted to talk about what this is like. I tried it a year or so ago and never quite wore it, so I tried the aged imp last night because I love the notes that go into it.

 

In the imp: Something disturbing and revolting, like rotting corpse, along with a whole lot of yum. So of course I put it on.

 

Wet: I can't really sniff it until it dries, it's quite overwhelming.

 

Dry: This is the beautiful woman who married the doctor and is now aging, and she's out back having a go with the gardener.

Scent Notes: Aspirational wealth, sex, a thick compost pile with hedge trimmings and old fruit, a birkin bag in the dirt.

 

I think it's really a gorgeous scent, but I can't wear it. I think it's the note that reads 'aspirational', I'm simply too lazy to rock that. Back to Shub-niggeroth and Crowley for me

[marilyn eyre]

Really gross when I first got it six months ago, smelled like old grape-flavored sour candy. But after I aged it, now it turns into this beautiful honeyed wine.

A keeper.

[Belladonna-Sauvage]

This to me is definitely very sweet candy, artificial fruity, a bit grape at first when wet but as it dries down it starts to turn a bit powdery and somewhat floral on me, I think it's the honey that does that to me.

Overall it's got a floaty throw, whifts of it keep begging me to sniff some more but it's not good enough for me to buy the full bottle, I'll keep the imp my gf frimped me & wait for it to age, I'm hoping that time will help this turn into something more appealing & maybe will work better with my chemistry.

I'll review this again once it has aged awhile.

Edited January 1, 2016 by Belladonna-Sauvage

[LizziesLuck]

Wet: The lab's effervescent champagne note....with sour smelly socks underneath. Or maybe smelly cheese? Something in there is sour and salty and not playing well with my sin chemistry, but boy do I love that champagne note sitting on top of it!

 

 

Dry: The funky smell goes away, yay! This is really sweet on me. While I do love that champagne note, I think the sweetness of the wine is ruining it for me. I'm really not getting any of the other notes, just amping the wine and champagne, and they're competing for dominance. The result is not something I really care for.

[freyasfae]

Mostly honey, wine, champagne grapes and plum on me at first, but then the other notes come in like tonka bean to warm it up and oakmoss to give it a touch of green decay, and the benzoin is not a problem in this. It does feel like gleeful decadence.

[gloame]

In imp, I get the weirdest hit of cheesy feet and champagne.

 

But everything always changes on my skin, and this one was no diff (thankfully). It smells orange and green. Bright, vibrant, fresh. Something in it is making me sneeze, but I like it anyway. The champagne dries up a bit, fortunately, because it doesn't do well on my skin. I can really smell the oakmoss and opoponax as it settles in.

 

This blend might be un horreur, but it's a playful, adorably evil one.

[alyelle]

Freebie with a recent decant order, lab origin, no clue as to age.

 

Imp: Dragon's blood resin (I assume it's actually blood musk, but it smells identical to the DBR notes in a couple of my favourite blends), tonka, and a faint aquatic overtone.

 

Wet: Champagne grape - which hits first, and so strongly I didn't need to review the description to know they were there - oakmoss and plum.

 

Dry: This fades gradually to a soft, rosy (in mood and colour, not scent) fruit wine. Quite pleasant, and classic BPAL. What I'd been hoping for when I bought Athens all those years ago.

 

Overall, a very long-lived perfume, some 8-12 hours, with a medium and ever-present throw.

 

Stars: ★★★½

[Lucchesa]

Horreur Sympathique reminded me at first of Bess -- the grapiness, I guess -- although it is less syrupy and medicinal than Bess, and I like it better. The blood musk grounds it nicely on my skin, and the play of other notes is quite lovely. I was hoping the carnation would become more present and identifiable, which it never did; on the other hand, I was worried that the benzoin would ruin everything, and it was imperceptible to me, so that's a win. It has a little throw -- I thought it was wearing very close to the skin, but I kept getting nice wafts of Horreur as I was walking the dog. Definitely a keeper!

[ianastar]

Wet - I am right away in love with this one. It is all flowers, musk and something sweet. It reminds me a candy with floral notes or as someone else mentioned like the smell of Kool Aid perhaps.

 

Dry down - this just keeps getting better and better. The throw and lasting power of this one is amazing. It hasn't really changed too much since I first put it on. Sweet/Candy, Florals and Musk.

 

I'm absolutely in love with this one. So unique to anything I already have so maybe this will be a big bottle purchase some day.