Death and Life Completed

[shelldoo]

 

Death and Life Completed, Gustav Klimt.

Grey amber, carnation, lemon balm, hydrangea, Chinese peony, white sandalwood, cypress, juniper, cedar, hibiscus, and African daisy.

 

in the bottle:florals, carnation, peony, and juniper.

 

wet: the carnations is the frontrunner atm, but i also detect sandalwood and cedar.

 

this turns in to s fresh floral boquet, complete w/ carnations and surrounded by other gorgeous florals. i am not really getting the woodsy notes, just a hint of sandalwood this is predominantly florals.

[Heavenlyrabbit]

Of all the Salon III's, I only kept 4 and this was one.

 

It stands out because it has the evergreen notes but they don't dominate.

 

Although I like many Evergreen notes, my skin chemistry amps them and very little else comes through. Ended up keeping very few winter blends cause the differences were just too subtle to justify keeping them all.

 

Anyhow, this is exceptional in that I can smell Evergreen AND the Florals.

 

They stand in contrast to one another, so perhaps Death is the Evergreen and Life Cycle is the Florals?

 

Very well executed. And it amazes me that Evergreen here is in the background for a change.

 

I can pick out the Carnation (just a touch spicy), assorted florals and then the Evergreen.

 

Oh, and the Peony doesn't funkify on me as it usually does.

 

All in all, a highly recommended Salon blend.

 

Trying to find a comparison I guess maybe House of Night (one of my enduring favorites)

Edited May 27, 2007 by Heavenlyrabbit

[clover]

This is one of my very favorites from the new Salon series, as well. Appropriate, as it's one of my favorite paintings ever.

 

It's a difficult scent to desribe, because all of the notes blend together so seamlessly. If I really concentrate, I can say "Oh yeah! That's a hint of juniper!" or "Oh, that spiciness must be the carnation" or "the gray amber must be giving it that smooth base"...but if I didn't have the list of notes, I wouldn't be able to pick a single one of those out.

 

I don't know if I would even classify it as floral, or resiny or sweet. It's just golden and smooth and a little bit bright. The juniper and cypress really do an amazing job of just brightening up the scent without overwhelming it.

 

Really, really lovely and beautifully composed - I can see this being a new favorite.

[supremegoddessofall]

Barely there. Loosely floral with just a hint of citrus undertone, and also a tea-like quality.

[euterpe414]

This is a very strong carnation on my skin, with a faint background green and peony. Like someone else mentioned, I really like the juxtaposition of the floral with the green (green meaning cypress, juniper, etc.)- it gives a certain vibrance to the florals.

 

I somewhat wish that carnation was not so dominant and let the other notes shine through more on my skin, but I love carnation so I can deal with it All in all this is a great blend, and carnation lovers simply must give it a try. I will definitely buy a bottle when I have used up my imp.

[dawndie]

Wet: barely-there antiseptic herbs

 

On skin: lemony florals, not strong or overpowering

 

Half-hour later: sniffing up close is dry and dusty amber and cedar, but further away is a very pleasant waft of "juicy" flowers

 

In conclusion: an interesting mix of slightly citrussy florals with a dusty woodsier base. This isn't an up-close wrist-huffing scent, as the dustiness felt like it was really drying out my sinuses. I am really enjoying the waft though, it's lovely.

[black_and_bloom]

Wow - this is nice. Different in a good GOOD way. I love the carnation, which is the dominant note for me, and the lemon balm and grey amber and noticeable too. The cypress and juniper are subtle base notes - not overpowering at all - and give this scent a chill counterpart to the warmth of the carnation and amber.

[Lunaratu]

Mm, within just a couple of minutes the warm carnation definitely comes out on this one yet there’s also something just very very slightly woody about it as well. The warmth of the carnation is very similar to the almost sugary-carnation nature of Pink Moon 2007 (which is my favorite scent) but rounded to be made deeper, darker, and more mature. This also smells more like a, well, perfume.

 

The carnation fades a bit however over time on the skin but wafts carnation as I move. I happen to be a carnation lover so I’m very tempted to up this to a bottle simply for it being such a predominantly warm carnation scent yet there’s enough woodiness in this that I think I can hold off for quite a bit.

 

This dries down to stick close to the skin however so it is a very subtle scent but definitely both warm carnation floral with a tinge of dry woods. I think this is definitely a carnation lovers scent but more for the cold months--very pretty and grounded.

 

Rating: 4/5

Edited October 9, 2007 by Lunaratu

[gwynethr]

This is one of the few of the new Salons that I'm not impressed with. On me, it's pretty much just like a store-bought, perfumey perfume. I can't pick out any of the notes I love most, and am not even getting a type of fragrance at the top -- nothing woodsy or floral, just very perfumey in a way I don't like.

 

Fortunately it doesn't have a lot of throw or lasting power, so it's not like it's flat-out sharp or nasty. Just not for me.

[forspecial_plate]

When I tried this I didn't have the description around so I had no idea what notes were in it, except I knew there were a bunch of flowers. So...to me it smelled like a glittery, golden floral scent. At first I thought it faded really fast but then something resiny (I see now it must have been the amber) comes swelling forth and lasts for a LONG time. Thinking back, I couldn't really pick out any of the notes individually except maybe the amber. I just kept thinking it seemed like a golden scent. It's something I like and will wear again, and try to pick out more notes, especially the sandalwood which is a note that I love.

[edenssixthday]

Death and Life Completed - This opens up with a strong, resinous amber scent, but quickly fades into a subtle woody-floral scent. The dry, arid sandalwood comes out just a tiny bit, and I'm surprised that I don't detect the carnation or the lemon balm at all. While this is mostly a woody scent, the woods don't overwhelm. It's almost like when you're in the woods and you see a fallen tree that has been completely covered with plant life -- in this blend, the wood is there, but it's covered with flowers, yet it's the wood that gives it its form and shape. It's quite lovely, but very, very subtle and on me, very much a skin scent.

[Blood onmy hands]

This is another Salon blend that goes to generic floral perfume on my skin. At first there's a sharp citrus-like note and a hint of spicy-green carnation. After a couple minutes, this dries down to floral perfume. Perfumey, sharp, chemical-florals with an undertone of dry powder. Bleh.

[for_the_nonce]

This smells very, well, perfumey. However, it's a nice perfume and does fit the painting rather well. It's a slightly juicy, floral perfume, if that makes any sense. I don't pick up any lemon balm, sandalwood, or any of the other woody notes. Hm... I don't see myself reaching for this often, but it is pretty.

[yeahbutnobut]

Death and Life Completed

 

In the imp: a soft lemon balm with herbs and woods.

Wet on skin: the lemon balm is strongest, followed by cedar and juniper.

Dry on skin: now I smell the amber, reminiscent of Lyonesse and Bat Woman, a slightly sharper and muskier amber than usual which mellows after a few minutes. This is surprisingly nice. It's a lemony-herbal scent on top of a layer of gentle woods, with a bare hint of floral. I can't really pick out anything specific apart from lemon balm and woods with a balmy, smooth layer of amber and a hint of spice from the carnation. The overall scent is sombre yet also warm and soothing, and very subtle. I swear I smell rosewood/ho wood here even though it's not listed-must be the other woods reacting with other notes. This reminds me of Polyhymnia.

After a while: mmm, now I smell more of the carnation. I love the new carnation that Beth uses, it's spicy and sweet and warm, and in here it has an almost peppery/nutmeggy aspect. Now this smells like Pink Moon's more serious older sister. I also get a hint of hibiscus, like the petals used to make tea. It then turns into a soothing sandalwood and cedar scent, a wooden scent with a golden-blushing layer of spice and sweetish amber. It's so well blended that nothing sticks out too much, everything just melds together really nicely. It smells almost comforting at times. The lemon is gone now.

Then something wonderful surfaces. Is it the grey amber and sandalwood? it might be because now I get a hint of Lyonesse to this. That wonderful mossy yet sweet amber scent with a pink-golden aspect and a lovely woodsy base. The amber is much richer now and merges with the carnation to make a truly delightful scent. This then turns to…rose and vanilla, of all things. I have no idea where the rosy vanilla scent comes from but it is so gorgeous-reminiscent of Monna Vanna and Hope, with a hint of Séance. The vanilla/amber then slowly dominates the 'rose' and makes it smell remarkably like Possets Frou Frou, which I love. Almost like pure vanilla extract with amber and sandalwood.

Verdict: I wasn't expecting to love this as much as I do, I was expecting an austere and heavy wood scent with a similar feel to the Ars Moriendi oils, a melancholy scent. But this smells more like a celebration of life's warmth triumphing over the stillness of death. The woods are strong but they aren't overwhelming, they are a nice, reassuring, firm base for some beautiful notes-like delicate lemon balm (one of my favourite kinds of lemon notes), a beautifully spicy and exotic carnation scent and a delightful, rich amber. It starts off reminiscent of Polyhymnia, a studious and earthy scent with a lemony overtone, but then morphs into a spicy-amber-woodsy-floral scent with vanilla like nuances. There are times when the golden-pink scent of sandalwood, amber and carnation, and a hint of moss and cedar, just glows, really glows, off my skin, it has surprising throw, and is startlingly beautiful. I just love this drydown so much. I'm surprised at how much this scent has grown on me-I was definitely considering keeping this in imp form, but the drydown is glorious enough to warrant a bottle purchase.

Emoticon rating:

Is it a keeper? definitely the imp…maybe a bottle in the future.

If you like this, try: Polyhymnia, Pink Moon 07, Bat Woman, Queen Alice, Winter of our Discontent, Lyonesse

[Ajila]

In the bottle – Predominantly the juniper with a flurry of florals

 

Wet on me – A bundle of soft powdered blooms

 

Dry on me – Warm sensual spices, my guess is that it’s the combination of the amber and the carnation, but whatever it is this is a gorgeous skin scent, which just draws you in

 

Overall – One of those blends which doesn’t have much waft, but when you get close it grabs you by the nose and you just can’t stop sniffing

[alicia_stardust]

I get a lot of carnation at first, but after a while all I can smell is a combination of lemon balm, juniper, and cedar. While I do like those notes in other mixtures, the three together just doesn't work for me. Don't get me wrong, this is a lovely blend and I adore this piece of art by Klimt. For that, the scent is worth trying.

[moon_lemming]

This oil is knock-down gorgeous in the imp and first on. CARNATION FTW. While it's wet and for the first twenty minutes dry, Death and Life Completed is a warm, sweet carnation. Underneath the carnation is something that sort of smells similar to vanilla, but I think it may be the peony combining with something else. Maybe the amber, but amber is usually death (no pun intended, hee) on me, so I'm not sure. I can pick out a teensy bit of lemon balm, but luckily none of the woods are coming out.

 

Sadly, about twenty minutes in, the grey amber in the blend -- I think -- decides to smack me upside the head, and ew. It starts to behave maybe ten minutes after it shows up, but I'm not sure whether I like the final product.

[n3m3sis42]

I bought a set of Salon III imps from a lovely forumite about a month ago, but haven't gotten around to trying any of them yet because my backlog of imps is getting ridiculous! Today, I decided that the idea of "Death and Life Completed" really spoke to me.

 

In the imp:

It smells a lot like something my grandma used to wear. I don't mean that in a derogatory way, because she was a very cool woman and I wish I'd been grown-up enough to appreciate her as a person beyond just "grandma" before she was gone. So really, kind of fitting for this fragrance to remind me of her I guess.

 

Wet:

Florals (I don't understand florals enough to pick out which ones), a lemony undertone and maybe the sandalwood. I did smell the cedar for like half a second when I first applied it, but it seems to be gone for the moment. I don't think my skin and cedar get along, but I'm hoping that all the other notes in this blend will make it okay. Okay, definitely smelling the amber as this dries down a bit more. I think I love amber, so that's okay. Scentwise, this does still remind me of my grandma, but not in an "Ew, I smell like a grandma" sort of way. More in an "I hope she's somewhere watching me and smiling" sort of way. This is hands-down the strongest emotional response I've ever had to any BPAL so far.

 

Dry:

For me, the carnation really starts to come out by the end of the drydown period. Carnation is one of the floral notes I can usually pick out because it's so prominent in blends like Pink Moon (which I quite like). I'm still getting a good bit of sandalwood and amber, too. It's really a beautiful combination and for once the cedar doesn't seem to be wreaking havoc with my skin chemistry.

 

I'm pretty sure I'll need a big bottle of this now.

[Miss Lynx]

This one sounded promising, with as many woodsy or resinous notes as florals, but alas, it's not for me. I get no sandalwood, amber, cedar, or anything else I might like, just high sharp perfumey badness.

 

It's very sharp and very sweet, and not even so much hyper-floral as just hyper-perfumey. It's got that high, sharp, synthetic-smelling edge that so many commercial perfumes do, which is the number one reason I can't stand most of them. In BPAL scents, I usually tend to associate that with ozone, but ozone's not in here, so I don't know what it is.

 

All I know is I really wanted to wash it off after about five minutes. Oh well.

 

Grade: D

[Delirium1009]

This starts out as a very nice white fresh floral scent. After just a couple of minutes the sandalwood comes out and warms it up, and the carnation adds a slight spicy note.

 

After wearing for a while, this smells more strongly of sandalwood and carnation with a powdery flowery undertone. It’s very pleasant and slightly warm and spicy, but still has a touch of flowers which keeps it fresh.

[Loligo]

The opening is just generic "perfume", but after about half an hour it becomes something amazing that keeps my nose glued to my wrist. If I had to describe it (which I guess I do now ), I'd call it a cool, floral vanilla; looking at the note list, I think it's probably a magical combination of the amber, carnation, lemon balm and peony.

[bombus]

another great carnation one! The amber and carnation combo is too wonderful for words.

[filigree_shadow]

A very faintly lemony floral at the beginning... and it reminds me of tea, for some reason. There's a crispness to it. Maybe that's from the juniper? I'm not sure. I don't really smell any carnation, but the peony is lovely. Mostly I can only smell the floral notes right at first, and then it doesn't seem like a floral much at all. It changes a lot.

 

It ends up smelling like a dry, slightly sweet sandalwood and amber combination. I was looking forward to finding out what grey amber smells like (I was thinking maybe smoky?) but I can't really tell. It does smell perfumey, as amber often does on me, but it doesn't seem hazy or smoky. I'm glad that it's not turning powdery on me like black amber does.

 

Although I like the scent, this isn't one I'd buy a bottle of because I put on quite a lot for a test but I can barely smell it. If it were stronger I think I'd like it better. It smells great as a skin scent but I like to be able to smell my perfume without having my nose right on my wrist.

[zankoku_zen]

At the beginning, this is very floral but toward the end of the drydown, I get a more woodsy/resinous scent with cedar playing a more prominent role. This does make me think of a blooming garden, and how it 'dies' and transitions more into 'earth and woods' during the winter months.

 

There is however a rather sharp note lurking about, like a little prickly thorn, that I'm not too keen on.

[batsy]

In the vial: Brightness. Like woah. Sandalwood and some florals.

 

On the skin: Lemony with amber. It's quiet nice. It doesn't smell like Pledge! As it drys down the hibiscus, various woods, and hydrangea come out to play. Very lovely!