El Amor y la Muerte

[GypsyRoseRed]

 

Clove, red sandalwood, orris, rose, opoponax, benzoin, and patchouli.

 

This was love at first sniff for me because, to my nose at least, this shares some notes in common with Voodoo Queen. The sandalwood, orris, benzoin and oppoponax are all definitely present and this would be in *perfect* if not for the rose. With my chemistry, rose hardly ever fades into the background and in this scent, it's constantly peeping through which is too bad since I don't like rose and it hates me right back. In spite of that, I bought a bottle of this, and I'm going to wear it because I think this scent is so unique and fab overall. On the drydown, it is very soft and pretty with wafts of that resiny, incense with rose. Really lovely!

[The_Witching_Hour]

GRR posted a very good review on this and I have to agree with the majority of her impressions!

 

For me, on initial application I sense the same feel as Voodoo Queen as mentioned above by GRR.

 

In the first portion of the drydown (after about 20-30 minutes) it seems the red sandalwood fights the clove and seemingly wins as I get wafts of clove but it never seems to surface, unfortunately. What a tease!

 

This is very perfumey in the drydown, which I can only attribute to the throw of sandalwood. Long lasting, INDEED!

 

My only wish was that it would have kept the original feel/smell of Voodoo Queen. Still, a gorgeous drydown and a perfume that sets it aside from others.

Edited November 9, 2007 by The_Witching_Hour

[ND¢]

The blending of the notes is very smooth on me-- no one dominates (though if one did, it would be clove. However, that's in a very good way- a grounded, not-sharp clove-- like if clove was your favorite pair of jeans. I think the rose actually mingles with it to create that loved, worn-in effect.) The scent evokes an old leather armchair, warm fabrics in shades of red, old dark wood without smelling like any of them. Rose usually amps/ is bad on me but the pairing here is ideal and keeps it well in check. No stand-out patchouli, no sneezy or soapy sandalwood, no outrageous kitchen-cupboard, only the sort of 'chord' that my favorite Salons seem to strike. This when aged will probably be sheer heaven.

[The_Merf]

When I put this one on, there are a jumble of notes looking for attention--opoponax, clove, red sandalwood, patchouli and rose (no orris, alas, which is one of my favorites). They don't really settle together immediately, but after a minute or two this is very smoky-resinous (opoponax); in fact, it reminds me of Lapsang Souchong tea just a little bit. Everything else has disappeared; perhaps there is the slightest breath of rose still detectable. The scent loses that tea-brown color and becomes a more basic resin smoke (this is really becoming a very churchy scent on my skin). There continues to be the slightest breath of rose and a tiny hint of warm clove when you take a deep sniff of the area, but it is very much a resin on me. This is another one that I'm going to have to let sit for awhile and see what some aging does to it. It's really nice, but not what I expected at all!

[sookster]

straight sniff from imp is patchouli and some clove...

 

once applied patchouli and rose...a little spicy kick...

 

note this is by no means a heavy blend...it stays very close to the skin...

 

i have to agree with the others reviews that i think this will age to such a beauty...

hence, let the aging begin

[Delirium1009]

In bottle/imp: Spicy, sweet, and earthy.

 

Immediately on skin: This scent has an herbal quality to it, now that I have it on… like dried herbs mixed with dirt. It’s not bitter, but it’s dry and earthy. The patchouli is definitely there, but it gives the whole blend a freshly-turned-earth type of undertone. The clove and sandalwood are present, but the clove isn’t as strong as I would have liked. Overall, this blend has a cola-like quality on me that I’m not really enjoying.

 

After a few minutes: The patchouli has gotten stronger, and the whole blend has warmed up considerably. It actually makes my nose feel a bit warm when I smell it (weird, huh?). I’m getting a little more spiciness now, but the cola feel is still bugging me.

 

Overall Impressions: I don’t like patchouli, and have found very few blends (like one or two) with this note that I actually enjoy. This, unfortunately, isn’t one of them. It’s a little spicy, very warm, and has a very herbal and earthy quality to it.

[Alchemy21599]

In the vial: spicy and sweet.

 

Wet: this reminds me of the scent of a funeral at an Orthodox church.

 

Dry: Wow, this scent totally morphed. The clove and patchouli are dominant and this scent has become very masculine. A very lovely dude-fume.

[slave1]

EL AMOR Y LA MUERTE

In Bottle: Clove and resin

On Skin: Very spicy, the clove jumps out at me. The resins are sweet and so velvety soft. I don’t get the Voodoo Queen so much as some people have said.. I can see similar elements, but I LOVE Voodoo Queen, and this one doesn’t do much for me. I think it’s because the clove is so very dominant and clove tends to go metallic spice on me and I don’t like it. I do love the perfumey side of this scent, and wish it could be more dominant. The patchouli is clean and actually works on me, horray! The orris, benzoin and opoponax are freaking gorgeous, they’re notes that almost always are pure love on me. The red sandalwood, is tame and kept in check. The rose is slightly sour, but it helps give a perfumey edge. I do like the scent, I just wish the clove would hide a bit more. Moderate throw and average wearlength.

[forspecial_plate]

So far, out of the new Salon blends, I like this one most. It's interesting that some are comparing it to Voodoo Queen......it reminds me a little of Doc Buzzard. Well, more than a little, actually. It's somewhat sharp and woody, and a bit resinous. It's emphatic.....you definitely know it's there! I think I can smell all the notes except orris.

 

For the first 10 minutes or so I really loved this. Then after that I thought it was a bit on the sharp side, and the clove was trying to take over but never quite did. I agree with all those who said this will age well, and this is my most likely bottle candidate of these.

[olympia301]

Me, too. Orthodox resins, clovey and well blended. I loved the drydown on my skin. I didn't get orris either, but I don't feel so bad because that seems to be a normal reaction. I actually believe that the orris is in there but it blends with the other stuff so well, and it's not a jump out and look at me kind of fixative; but you know it's there.

[slittlecrowrussell]

In the bottle this one smells like sharp, spicy resins. On the skin it mellows significantly into spicy clove and sandalwood with smokey rose playing tag between them. It's not a restrained and proper tea rose kind of rose, but its not a blood-dark red rose... more of a wild rose... wild roses on an altar where incense is being burned... There is a solemn quality to this scent and a quality of memory. Memories of past loves... and past lovers...

 

Even with the rose, this scent strikes me a very gender neutral... in fact, I think it would probably smell really good on the right guy... At times the clove-spice wants to get unruly, but the base notes seem to do a good job of wrestling it back into good behavior. I have a feeling that aging will round out any sharpness and amp up the smokey resinous qualities making this utterly fabulous. I'd say it's worth getting a back up bottle and putting it on a dark shelf somewhere for a year or so...

[n3m3sis42]

My husband bought me this! He asked me what I wanted for Hanukkah this year, adn I told him how to find the traveling Salon at Whole Foods. Yay!

 

In the bottle:

Musky and a little syrupy.

 

Wet:

It really smells like red musk, even though that's not one of the listed notes. After a few minutes, something sharp and sweet emerges, which I can't recognize at first but eventually makes itself known as rose.

 

Dry:

This fades a LOT as it dries, and will warrant slathering next time. It dries down to a spicy, musky scent with only a hint of floral. Like several others, I think this will age well.

Edited December 6, 2007 by n3m3sis42

[LadyMedb]

OK, so I smell like a goth club. But WHO CARES? This is gorgeous, like a more sophisticated Caterpillar, but not quite as sweet. The rose is haughty and sophisticated - very present indeed, but not in-your-face about it. The fresh clove balances out the smoky patchouli. Overall, the blend is warm, beautiful, and perfect for the winter - it even smells good, in small doses, on my husband. I will probably try to get a full bottle of this one.

Edited December 9, 2007 by LadyMedb

[theseagrows]

this is a warm, spicy resiny scent. the clove seems to dominate on my skin and the orris and rose add a softness. the patchouli must be supporting in the background because i can't really sense it here. this is woody and resiny on my skin with a bit of musk. i like it but don't love it, so i think it will go to swaps.

[alicia_stardust]

This is a deep, rich blend of glowing resins and dark clove. The clove and patchouli are the most prominent, with the rose not far behind. As it settles into my skin I get the sandalwood, smooth and fine. The resins add a nice incense quality to this. Long wear-length, wide throw. Lovely, and I'm definitely keeping this.

[dorothy humbird]

I think at this point I officially <3 incensy blends. This is a little dry, a little soft - for some reason it reminded me of I Died for Beauty, but much much more appealing for me.

 

When I wore this last night I could smell the clove giving a sweet spicy tingle over the other notes, and the rose softening the powdered smoke of patchouli and sandalwood. A lovely scent, and I'll be holding on to my half-decant.

[Bagfish]

Wet, this is sharp and dark - lots of patchouli, very masculine. On my skin it softens and the clove and rose come to the fore. Unfortunately I can't actually smell the benzoin which is a very favourite note of mine. It is still very dark and still quite sharp when dry though and reminds me quite a lot of Parliament of Foules. Don't think this one is for me.

[SarahScent44]

In the imp, I get clove, sandalwood... and something I don't recognize.

 

On my skin, this is a very sharp, medicinal scent, and I can't pick out any of the listed notes that I know.

 

It ends up very odd, and very medicinal, on my skin. I'll pass this along.

[myoubi]

IN THE IMP: Sharp, sweet, almost medicinal resins and herbs.

 

WET ON SKIN: Holy Batsecks, sweet clove! I LOVE clove, so this is a blessing for me. The sandalwood is present as well. This is a warm, sweet-ish, resinous scent.

 

DRYING: GypsyRoseRed was spot-on when she said this reminded her of Voodoo Queen. The clove, red sandalwood and maybe the patchouli are all there, but Voodoo Queen has an earthiness that isn't present in El Amor Y La Muerte. The red sandalwood comes out more and more as this dries. I haven't the foggiest what orris smells like, but I'm getting more sexy resins and patchouli as time goes on. The rose is there -- it's the sweetness in this blend, and I can smell it if I look for it -- but it's not a stomp-all-over-everything ROSE scent.

 

LATER: The sandalwood comes out more and more. The clove softens within ten minutes to a sort of gentle spiciness. This is a very smooth blend, notes don't stick out sharply and they all mingle together beautifully. It's a sweet, dry, incensy blend wherein the incense doesn't EAT EVERYTHING (a rarity on my skin).

 

VERDICT: I really like this scent. Don't see myself reaching for it very often, as it doesn't have the earthy groundedness that I love about VQ and Doc Buzzard, but I'm definitely glad I have two imps. 5/5

Edited January 4, 2008 by myoubi

[Eemia]

Swarthy and overtly sexy. I love the masculine edge. The clove is gorgeous and deep with a smoky tinge that keeps it from being even remotely foody. Spicy and yet it's not the first thing that comes to mind. The sandalwood is a close second in strength. It mixes with the rose and creates an interesting effect. It reminds me of the last drops of some old mixture clinging to the sides of a tinted bottle.

 

Yes....I love this.

[t_for_tau]

In the imp: smoky clove-sandalwood mrow.

On: opoponax, how I love thee and thy cola/resin smell! And SMOKE. And benzoin and patch. Yum.

Dry: Hmm, here comes the rose. It's a sharp and stanky rose, and it wants me to die. This has completely changed from first on, alas. Now it's a slightly acrid perfume scent, with rose. Like Lucifer, I need to give this ore time, to see if the rose backs the fuck off. Back the fuck off, rose.

After a while: Rose pot pourri. *Nice* rose pot pourri, but none the less...if this doesn't get a lot better fast, it's off to swaps.

[yeahbutnobut]

El Amor Y La Muerte

 

In the imp: spicy clove and patchouli with a perfumey undertone which is sophisticated, mature, and almost masculine.

Wet on skin: dark dusty patchouli and sandalwood incense with clove.

Dry: mmm, this isn’t bad, but I’m quite surprised at how much it reminds me slightly of Mama Ji! There’s a dry sandalwood-rose-spice incense to it which reminds me of Indian incense, there’s something almost hippy like about it but it’s more sophisticated. This one smells quite classy as well as smelling mysterious and exotic. It’s also a very dry scent, dusty and woodsy, but I like that. I can also smell hints of those gorgeous resins.

After a while: oh, this gets better. it gets richer, loses that slightly masculine-perfume scent it had before, the incense becomes less dry. The patchouli and clove are now rich, dark and sweet, the combination reminding me of the Smiling Spider. I can also smell the resins more now, which I love. There’s still a hint of dusty wood, but now this smells rich and deep and gorgeous.

It’s beautiful but oddly for a scent full of patchouli and resin, it’s a little bit faint after a couple of hours, closer to the skin than expected. I think aging will improve it’s staying power. Now I smell something a little musky, or maybe like labdanum or ambergris, in here.

Verdict: this is a gorgeous and rich scent of oriental sandalwood incense, deep patchouli and velvety rose bound together with resinous notes and warmed with clove. It’s almost like Wanton, but more complex. There’s a feel of something classic yet mysterious and also grown up about it. It feels old, like it’s been aged, and I bet that aging this scent will make it even lovelier. The scent is more incense-like at the beginning, but the resins and clove (and what lovely clove!) come out more at the end. The only complaint is that I wish it lasted a bit longer on the skin.

Emoticon rating:

Is it a keeper? I may get a bottle one day.

If you like this, try: Wanton, Mama Ji, Goblin, Baghdad, Coiled Serpent, Smiling Spider, Malice

[fountaingrl]

Oh now this is lovely! It is sweet but not cloying, rich, resinous, but distinctive from the other resin blends -- nothing else is like this. VERY GOOD.

 

The rose does something for the resins, it makes it softer and the blend is so seamless. At first I am really worried it is going to amp and be vomity, but it never does thank heavens! I love this and am definitely going to want a bottle. I will need to wear it a bunch more to be sure, but it might be in my top five incense blends.

[edenssixthday]

El Amor y la Muerte - Oh wow, this is really spicy, sexy, and sweet. I imagine this would smell great on my husband, too. It's predominantly a spicy clove blend, but it blends gorgeously with the resin/wood notes of the sandalwood and patchouli. The sweetness is mostly from the clove, although the opoponax seems to be lending the husky kind of sweetness that it usually does. I really love this blend. The throw is really, really strong and this is definitely an all-day wear kind of blend on me, which I attribute to the opoponax, sandalwood and patchouli. (January 08)

[porcelina]

the clove is too astringent and while it is overall well-blended it just doesn't work for me.