The Forbidding Foyer

[Elilara]

Thick shadows hang heavy across fungus-smeared, dilapidated wainscoting, cobwebs hang like fine lace across sagging mouldings, rats scuttle past gaping doorways. The faint scent of brimstone, ghostly breath laced with cognac, neglected mahogany panels, and rot.

Oh wow! This is one of my 2 favorites from the Halloweenies. Warning: I didn't list much in the way of notes in the review, just mainly feelings...

Wet/in bottle: DUST! Musty, old, dusty, stone and wood. Walking through cobwebs and dusty fabrics in an old house. While it's brilliant, I didn't think it would be something I'd run to as a perfume, but it's fun knowing I can smell like dust on purpose...

After 30 minutes or so: Why, hello there... The cognac is starting to show up, very faintly. The dust is calming down and it smells very airy and ethereal now. This is what I wanted "The Ghost" to smell like. It's quite haunting! A little bit sweet, even.. maybe resin-y?

After an hour or so: Now it's starting to smell like someone who really loves this house has been cleaning it out, polishing the antiques, oiling the woods... Though, the cognac never quite got cleaned up fully. Oily, spicy, whispy, a work in progress but a labour of love.

Conclusion: A major morpher, very complex and evocative. I love it at every stage!!
I am still debating if I need a bottle- it's wonderful, but not something I'll be craving come spring time and a little goes a long way. Maybe I will haunt the swap forums just so I'll have a little more for next Halloween... Edited October 25, 2007 by Shollin

[cranberry]

When first applied, this was dry, woody, and sharp. As it dries, the sharpness recedes and this remains all dry wood, mildly sweet. I’m not sure I know what cognac smells like, but there are aspects of this blend that reminds me of Perversion. I suppose that’s the cognac as they both have boozy notes in common. The longer this is on, the better it smells. It's really a fantastic wood blend. The mahogany reminds me of sandalwood somewhat, which I love, so that's a definite bonus. It's still pretty dry, but that's ok. It's an austere scent -stark, clean, refined.

 

I haven’t tried many of the Haunted House blends but this is my favorite of what I’ve tried thus far. I think I have to get a bottle of this one.

[melange]

I love how the cognac fumes out and then disappears into the brimstone, just flavoring it a little as the woods rise up to join it. In the end, it's very atmospheric and I enjoy the ride, although there are other wood scents that do better on my skin.

[taramarie]

The Forbidding Foyer on me smells like mahogany and a little bit of cognac. It's nice but it's not really me. I'm hoping age will improve it.

[Northernskygal]

This truly does smell like dusty, decaying wood.. not in a gross way though... more in a.. sad but beautiful way. You know like when you drive out to the middle of nowhere and you see that one just.. huge house that you know at one point in time was truly gorgeous and vibrant and.. now it is just crumbling and a shell.. I imagine houses like that smell like this blend. I think there is a dribble of cognac, just enough to tickle my nose.. This is truly one of the more evocative blends I have tried, though it doesn't make a great body scent for me, as I usually don't do woody type of blends, it does capture a feeling and an image for me very strongly.

[DifferentDances]

Bottle: Oil paint and unfinished wood.

Wet: Oil paint and unfinished wood.

Drydown: Sour wine and unfinished wood.

Dry: Mostly unfinished wood with a mild layer of sour wine.

 

My rating: 1/5. Off to the swap pile it goes.

[yeahbutnobut]

The Forbidding Foyer

 

In the imp: polished mahogany with a hint of almost resinous varnish. Very much like Riding the Goat.

Wet on skin: mahogany, and now a hint of booze comes out, and also a hint of rotting mortar?

Dry: oh, I like this. It smells of old wood, dusty stone, a hint of booze and even a touch of incense. Mahogany is the strongest note, a deep brown and rich wood scent. A touch of cognac adds a deep boozy touch to it which is not sweet but also not too alcoholic. There’s also a hint of that dusty stone note I got in the Chilling Cellar. I’m not sure what brimstone smells like (other than sulphur) but I smell no sulphur here, nor do I smell the burning vetiver of the GC Brimstone. In fact, there’s something to this that reminds me of frankincense, and I do love that note so this makes me happy. This incense note also brings to mind Riding the Goat, but without the sweet sticky myrrh I got there.

After a while: now the wood has rotted completely. Surprisingly, this isn’t a nasty smell at all-but a pleasant, soft, crumbling wood scent with a hint of moss to it and a feel of slow decay. It smells crumbly and powdery, no longer the solid, strong mahogany of before, but of damp walls with flaking mortar and worm eaten wooden floorboards which could collapse at the slightest footstep. It’s very evocative and dusty and old, but surprisingly wearable. The cognac and incense notes, golden and smooth, still stick around.

There’s something to this which reminds me both of the Lurid Library and the Chilling Cellar…it’s a mix of woods and dust and incense ashes and mortar, I think. The scent gets more and more mineral in nature, a dusty, crumbly scent. I love Beth’s mineral notes, so I really like this stage. There’s a feel of something crypt-like to it at times, then it smells like a creaky corridor, and that library scent creeps in every now and then. There could even be a hint of musk…and then I smell dry autumn leaves (like those of Hunter Moon 07), probably swept in through the front door from outside. And then it smells really woodsy once more, but this is a faded, dust-covered wood. It reminds me of the wood scent I got in the Magical Omaha Haunted Mill scent, funnily enough.

And then after a few hours drydown, just before the scent fades off, I get the unmistakeable scent of patchouli under the woods.

Verdict: this is the scent that defines the Haunted House series-it smells like how I’d imagine a haunted house to smell, all parts of it-hallways, rooms, studies, lounges, cellars and indeed, foyers. Think Riding the Goat’s mahogany lounge scent, but in an older abandoned house that hasn’t been cleaned for centuries, dust gathered everywhere, floorboards rotting and ominously creaking underfoot. Another scent that evokes sound as well as images, this scent ‘sounds’ like the creak of the floor and thudding footsteps getting closer. This smells of gently decaying wood with dust and hints of stone and mortar, with a little bit of cognac, a patchouli undertone and even a hint of incense wafting through. Wonderfully atmospheric, eerily evocative, and it smells surprisingly good as a perfume! I love this one-not as much as the Library but I prefer it to the Cellar, I definitely need more.

Emoticon rating:

Is it a keeper? Yes! I think I need a bottle or two.

If you like this, try: Riding the Goat, Red Queen, Chilling Cellar, Lurid Library, Hunter Moon 07, Aziraphale, Carfax Abbey

[TrailerTrashPrincess]

sniffed from the bottle: the lumberyard

on skin: again, no change... i smell like freshly-cut lumber of varying types.

and yes, i'm a lumberjack and i'm o-kay.

[n3m3sis42]

In the bottle:

Woods, mostly.

 

Wet:

Really strong woods, the kind that normally go to pencil shavings on me.

 

Dry:

No pencil shavings, but it's all wood and I'm not sure that's something I'd wear often. If you like woods, this is for you.

[Czarina]

In the bottle: mahogany.

Wet: mahogany and brimstone. Very dry wood, no sweetness at all. I was expecting some sweetness from the cognac and rot notes, neither of which are coming out for me.

Drydown: the wood note is turning cedar-y on me, but it isn't quite cedar.

 

Very evocative scent.

[Ajila]

In the bottle –Very strong damp earth with a slight woody edge

 

Wet on me – The dry wood is now slightly stronger but the damp earth remains the dominant scent

 

Dry on me – Soft masculine woods with just a hint of alcohol

 

Overall – Whilst I like this blend the masculinity combined with the alcohol gives the impression of a traditional aftershave, which puts me off the idea of wearing it

[slave1]

THE FORBIDDING FOYER

 

In Bottle: Brimstone and wood

 

On Skin: The brimstone bowls me over in this blend and it doesn’t like me. One of my least favorite BPAL blends of all times is Djinn and that’s what I smell here, only with sweet woods and a bit boozy. The brimstone is heavily smokey… I think if I walked into a house smelling like this, I’d be worried it was on fire somewhere. It smells like being in a old den or office and leaning in and taking a deep whiff of the fireplace. In the background are the elegant ancient wood walls and the crystal decanter where the cognac resides. It is very masculine and very overwhelming. A nice mood evoker, but not a scent I’d wear. Strong throw and long wearlength.

[edenssixthday]

The Forbidding Foyer – This is a heavy and sharp wood & smoke scent. I don’t detect the cognac at all, unless that’s what’s making the scent slightly sweet, but I think that’s mostly the brimstone and “rot” notes. It has a sort of sulfuric scent about it and it’s not remotely pleasant to me, but I imagine those who enjoy wood scents, or even those who like the smell of old libraries and dusty hallways might enjoy this scent. I tend to go for scents that are more uniquely feminine, and this one’s not.

[olive]

Burning leaves, cognac breath and soft, rotting mahogany stained with mildew and wet oil paint. This scent so perfectly encapsulates the Haunted House series. It is not something I would ever wear but this would be such a great room scent around autumn.. especially with the fireplace on. Spicy and mysterious.

[gypsysingleton]

It is pleasant wood - I love to smell it, I'm just not sure it's a way I want to smell - After 5 minutes It does remind me of emptying out the full pencil sharpener in elementary school and I do like that nostalgia, I'll probably keep it for that reason. After 20 minutes the wood has softened up to a bit of a sweet mohagany a little sweeter than a brand new shoe tree like opening up a old cedar chest that hasn't been opened in years.

 

Verdict: Undecided...

[forspecial_plate]

What an odd scent! When first applied the musty/moldy smell is strong. It lightens up a lot as it dries, and I also get a hint of something nearly minty for some reason. The wood is soft and I don't get a lot of the cognac note. Just a dry, sweet, light woody scent.

 

I'm kind of on the fence about this one. It's not grabbing me in a big way, but I do keep sniffing it just because it's so interesting and different. My decant is kind of beat-up looking because of a stained label so I'll probably keep it around for a while, and try it again from time to time. I think it could grow on me.

 

Edit: I still have never decided if I really like this. It's old, old wood....dry with a layer of dust. The wood holds the long-ago traces of some kind of minty polish or wax. Very true-to-life scent. It's oddly comforting on a day like today, dreary and cold outside with a steady, light rain.....but warm and cozy inside, maybe reading a good book. This scent definitely has its place.

Edited November 15, 2008 by Forspecial Plate

[Lamia]

Oh my god I cannot even tell you how delicious this is - Cognac and chocolately darkness. NOMMM NOMMMM NOMMMMM

[savage_rose]

To me, this smells like camping, when it's very wet out...a hint of leafiness, dampness, a hint of campfire smoke. Very evocative, but not something I'd want to smell like all the time.

[Katherynne]

I have just gotten a bottle of this, so it's safe to say it aged a bit, eh?

OH MY GOD, it is AWESOME.

 

In the bottle it's sharp and potently dusty, with a hint of something slightly sweet underneath. On the skin it's the most gorgeously woody, smoky, dusty, tinged-with-sweet thing ever. I am in love with it.

 

I tried it on my sister, so once I try it on myself I can talk about throw and wearlength, but wow. What a worthy swap.

[whinge]

Reading back on older reviews, I don't think mine has changed much from age? Maybe I'm lucky, I've had these scents for a while now and am just getting around to reviewing them.

 

Bottle: Oh! Is my first reaction, straight out of the bottle there's a strong, dark scent, bitter and yet strangely inviting. It smells a bit like chocolate?

Wet: It's still strong and bitter, and I'm starting to smell the mahogany, which takes the mind blowing scent from before and makes it a little more rustic. I'm definately smelling the cognac and it seems there's a lone floral in there, or is my nose just sweetening up the rot?

Dry: It's a warm, dark scent that can devoure me whole. Very masculine with sweeter notes mixed in.

 

I love it. When I put my hand down to type the cognac from before becomes ghostly, hanging in the air for just a moment longer before fading.

[delicate_fangs]

The Forbidding Foyer in the decant smelled like a mildewed rug with stale cigarette smoke, like a funeral home from the 1950's, but once on, it smells of rotting woods, and paper, and mysterious dusty places, and cold stone. Huh! Might be too dusty-and-woody-and-stoney for me, but it's interesting.

 

Oh! Brimstone. That's what the stone smell is. Yeah, this is definitely stone. Spooky, too.

 

Later: it winds up being an unexpectedly sweet dry powdery scent on me. How very odd! Quite the morpher indeed.

[zankoku_zen]

Hmmm, this is like burning wood -except the trace of smoke is faint, and it's very sinister. The smoke does have that 'stony' edged.

 

It has this light, almost sweet overlay, until you sniff deeper and you get the acrid smoke.

 

Erm...

 

Spooky.

[kohaisama]

This has to be the easiest review I've ever done. It smells exactly like described from imp, to wet, to drydown. It's the old, forgotten about foyer of a haunted house that is still extremely creepy. The only thing I didn't get was the cognac. There was no morph and it has great throw.

[Monster]

In the bottle this smells like sharp, old polished wood.

 

On my skin this is is...unbelievably amazing. Wow.

 

The only notes I can pick out are old, polished wood. I dunno HOW Beth does it but...she does and I am thankful for her amazing talents.

 

I really can't describe this scent as a set of notes, it's one of those scents that you feel and visualize. This is like a moment in time, an old memory trapped in a bottle. I swear this smells just like my grandmothers old house in Quincy. She had a lot of old woodwork in her home, railings all the way up to the attic. This smells just like I remember her house smelling...the closets and the dark, dusty spaces. Playing hide and seek with my sisters, going "couch cusion surfing" down the stairs.

 

This is supposed to smell spooky but I find it to be nostalgic. It reminds me of all the times I slide down her giant banister as a kid and listened to the stories my mother used to tell me from her childhood growing up in that home. Gosh I miss that place. I've got it in a bottle now so I guess it's not terribly far away.

 

This one was really just a wonderful memory scraper for me. Smelling this dug up some things I thought I'd forgotten forever. Thank you, Beth! <3

[Lethran]

In bottle: unusual in the extreme. It is sweet and sharp all at once, dusty and dry, with an almost chocolatelike cognac bite. Wet: It smells of pine and mahogany wood and lacquer. The cognac is understated with a touch of decadence. It does make me think of houses, of woodword. The insence edge is a little startling, but the effect is both menacing and seductive, strongly masculine, but in a vaguely brillatine and stiff collar Lovecraftian way. This scent oozes and insinuates, it slowly materializes like an Edwardian ghost It’s whqat a Gorey illustration might smell like. Dry: OMG! It wears into a rich woody aftershave full of nuance and vaguely disturbing sensuality. It pounces out of the shadows, hungry for… something. The menacing undertow actually enhances the sexiness of this.