Zombi

[Lunasariel]

Dried roses, rose leaf, Spanish moss, oakmoss and deep brown earth.

 

In the imp: Primarily rose, but a kind of rose that reminds me of English Rose, a drugstore perfume my mom got me for christmas when I was about eleven - it was cheap (which was good, because at eleven I didn't know good perfume from a hole in the wall) and inoffensive (which was also good, because I pretty much doused myself in it for like a week), but slightly synthetic-smelling. There may be some hints of moss, dirt, or something salty way deep down at the base, but I have a sneaking suspicion that's me just trying to smell the listed notes rather than what's actually there.

 

Wet: Like lady_pandora said: sour roses, but not necessarily in a bad way. I mean, the roses themselves are okay, but there's a hint of something kind of unsettling/off-putting at the back...which turns out to be probably the dirt. At this stage, my boyfriend said that this smells like Sally from The Nightmare Before Christmas, which...given the listed notes, is actually pretty spot-on!

 

Dry: Fairly linear - the rose goes drier and drier, taking on a sort of musty, preserved quality. But it does stay rose as far as I can tell - the dirt note never does develop, at least to my nose. (Although my boyfriend said he could smell it distinctly.) It's unusually short-lasting, too, with maybe 4-5 hours' worth of wear time.

[KakashiMorph]

In the bottle: Deep brown earth and Spanish moss (one of my favourite lab notes) greet me happily. It is like "Deep in earth" but without the flowery uplift (geranium).

On my skin: Sweet,dark green Spanish moss and earth mix comfortably. I can't discern any rose leaves or dried roses yet, but I think they will show up eventually. I think I talked too soon since it is only a couple of minutes later when I can pick up the roses, although they smell more like slightly dehydrated roses rather than completely dried ones. In another 10-20 minutes all I can smell is the Spanish moss with a hint of the earth underneath.

Drydown: Spanish moss. I thought I might get something extra, but if I do it is not happening tonight. Good thing I like Spanish moss then.

Edited March 24, 2015 by Kashi

[Veronica]

I get a straight, full-bodied but wearable rose. Very pretty and floral, no wet or aquatic quality and no dirt.

[DiesMali]

In the imp: Wet, loamy soil.

 

Wet on my skin: Wet soil with an oddly metallic tang.

 

Dry: That metallic note remained for a time, and I realised that it was actually the dried rose petals and leaves interacting with the other notes in this. This is a scent of damp soil and dead plants, and has an almost fungus-like or mildewy quality to it. Very strange, and I think I'll have to wear it at least once or twice more to decide whether not I like it.

[d0gbones]

In the imp: Synthetic... nothingness?

Wet: Something really sharp and sour, which I think is the Spanish moss, and slightly rosy.

Dry: Rose, but it's definitely dry. It amazes me how different "rose" can smell in a blend and I don't think there's a BPAL rose note I don't love. The sharpness has dried off to a lovely mossiness and the soil rounds the whole thing out to this amazing earthy-standing-in-the-woods-ness. The soil's not as prominent as in Deep In Earth, but it's definitely there. This one was a frimp, I doubt I'd have bought it because it sounds so similar to Deep In Earth (which I adore) but yes, I definitely needed both in my life.

[paperdollsandbpal]

This is probably the most unique of the current scents I own. The best way that I can describe it is if you were on a bed of mossy soil, threw a bunch of roses on top and started stomping on them. I get that tingle in my nose that happens whenever its about to rain too. I was thinking of giving it to my mom because she loves soil smells... but its so unique...so I'm going to keep it

[LizziesLuck]

Fabulous dirty rose....oh how I love it!

 

But I noticed it's out of stock on the site....and that worried me. Doesn't mean it's getting discontinued, does it? I can find nothing anywhere in announcements about it being discontinued, but half the time I search and things don't come up...lol. Anyone hear anything? Do I need to start hoarding?

[owlfeathers]

This is one of my favorites and wish I could wear it more. On me, Zombi smells like dry earth and dried roses, dead but calm and not at all menacing, and it lasts all day. Just as I think it's gone, I'll move a bit and suddenly the dried roses are back.

 

Unfortunately, it's also how I found out I amp rose to ridiculous heights. Even barely touching the tip of the wand to my wrist, I'll hear complaints hours later about how someone must be soaked in perfume. Curse my chemistry. Still, I'm constantly tempted to buy more to use at home because it smells so wonderful. I'd love it as an atmosphere spray.

[Lilah Wrote]

Found this in my box of imps! Yay.

 

So, first things first... while bpal scents all tend to have a very long throw for me.... this one did not. At all. Applied around 7:30 am, literally almost gone by 10 am. So that's disappointing.

 

But....

 

While on, and while still throwing, it has a very rich, floral (the rose) and wet, damp earth scent. Overall it's very sweet. The earth note is something you kind of have to know is there to smell it (I say this because my coworker commented that she liked my perfume, that it smelled like flowers. When I told her the other notes in it she was shocked.)

 

I do really like the damp earth note, but it doesn't linger enough for me to buy any more of this. Dry-down eventually gets sort of powdery, then vanishes.

[TarynPage]

Wow, wow, wow. Extremely earthy smelling. I think this smells much more dark and like wet earth than Deep in Earth does. Especially on my skin. I definitely pick up the roses, but to me, they are an afterthought, which is just what I wanted.

 

In the vial: Deep, deep, earth. Wet flowers. Rain. Salt.

On my skin: More rosey, but covered in mud. Glorious!

[freyasfae]

Zombi has to be my favorite dirt and rose scent now! I tried Deep in Earth which I did really like, but Zombi beats it because the rose is more prominent (probably because Deep in Earth is rose geranium). I adore the BPAL earth note and the sweetness of a classic red rose, it's perfect. I need a bottle!

[PrinceofcatS]

I smell some kind of plant that smells like pee. :C But my friend insists I smell like roses and wet bark and that my being outrageously sick has made my sense of smell off, so I don't know.

[kscha2017]

This is one of the first frimps I received from the Lab. It's what made my nose realize I loved the scent of dirt so much that I wanted to wear it. Back then, when it was fresh from the Lab, I don't recall much, if any, rose or moss offsetting it - just a general "something herb-like" mixed in. I tucked the frimp into the box I designated for samples I wanted to keep. Now, a couple years later, digging through the box for something to wear to bed, it called my name. It has aged into the remarkable for not only the strength of the parts, but also the sum. It is red roses wilted and drying. It is damp green moss. It is earth that has been turned over, perhaps containing a stray splinter or two of wood and some bits of ragged cotton. It is slightly mournful, slightly menacing, slightly horrifying ... like that photo and story of the real zombie woman in Haiti ... but, as this is only perfume, that's a good thing. A bottle or three must be added to my collection.

[Cali]

Mmm. There's something strangely sexy about this.
It's like being in some sort of damp underground passage with the roots of whatever is above your head, sticking out.

I don't know if I'd need a full bottle (who knows, maybe in the future) but this is surely beautiful.

[Lambent]

Not for me, personally. It smells of damp, dirt-covered roses. It might make a nice oil to burn for a morbid sort of atmosphere.

[squidhearts]

I can't believe I haven't reviewed this one when I bought a full bottle ages ago.

 

For me, this is ALL DIRT, no roses. I'm very okay with that.

 

Wet: Damp, green, mossy, but with an edge of something a little too typically perfume-y, but only for >30 seconds.

 

Dry: Still smells damp and green and like fresh rain--not the white florals of perfumes with names like rain, but the actual smell of wet dirt. I agree that this is strangely sexy and like being in an underground passage with roots hanging above you. Not dusty at all. However, I think what I call "dirt" is really the Spanish moss. Every other BPAL dirt note I've tried hasn't work at all for me, but this one does...which makes me thing it's actually the moss. hah.

 

Overall, this is one of my favorite scents ever. It needs to be aged, though. When I bought my big bottle of Zombi I was SO disappointed, but I suspected it was just a matter of time and I was right. Like a month later it was wet and gorgeous.

[roseus]

While on the quest of the rose of my life I have eyed Zombi warily. Dirt never sounded that appealing as scent to me (even though I love the earthiness of scents like dead leaves and patchouli). But I have been frimped this so I gave it a go!

 

In the imp: moss and earth. Damp, green, and dirty.

 

Wet: Still damp and earthy, but with a soft english rose in the background.

 

Dry: A distinctly dry rose scent up front. Soft and not sweet, as others have stated. There is something green too but not as damp as before, I'm thinking the rose leaf and moss combo. I can also faintly get the dirt underneath but it's actually very pleasant.

 

Overall: This is something I'd see myself wearing in the fall, but I do very much like this scent. I am unsure if I need a bottle as of yet, but I'm very much leaning towards it! This has renewed my fervent quest for roses.

[Casablanca]

Wet on my skin, Zombi leads with an assault of crushed and dried roses, damp dirt, and the decay of greenery turning brown underfoot. This is a perfectly blended me-repellent.

The rose note subsides quickly on me, but lingers on as the faint ghost of a dead rose. As Zombi dries, the mosses come to my rescue: especially the lovely Spanish moss, a note that often gives me an earthy sort of relaxed feeling. It behaves like fig in that way. Unfortunately, the dirt and rotting plant matter still stand in the way of the blend becoming enjoyable.

This was fine to try, but it's not for me.

[claudia6913]

I'm doing a 30 Scents in 30 Days on my blog and today is Zombi!

 

My initial sniff from the vial is deep, moist earth - brown and fertile, perfect for worms. On my skin the moss and oakmoss come out and give it some greenness along with that rose leaf. I now have a rose bush in my yard and so I can say with confidence that this rose leaf is so very, very true to life. The rose leaf doesn't hold much of an actual rose scent in it, but when you rub it you get a softer greenness from the leaf than you would from something like a blade of grass. So, I kind of hope I'm not the only one that finds things like rose leaves and sniffs them to compare to perfume notes. But if I am, oh well! I just find it fascinating!

 

Over everything you get those dried roses, crunchy and yet somehow they still retain a trace of the fragrance they had in life.

 

The earthiness is strong and at times almost overpowering all the other scents. This is more like being in a forest and over-turning a moss covered rock. Your senses are immediately assaulted with the musky earth that hasn't seen the light of day in who knows how long. On your fingers you get a touch of the mossy scent from disturbing it. Over everything there is this soft, dry floral fluttering about.

 

After the wet stage, and after that drydown phase where it's still wondering what it wants to be, you get to the full dry down, where the scent has warmed on your skin and melded with your own personal scent and it does what it will do - and I love it.

 

On my skin it is this softly brown scent, earthy and musky. Over that is that luscious green scent that can only be oakmoss. It gives it a cologne feel, but I love it. And over all of that is this gorgeous and soft rose scent. It is brown, green, and pink all wrapped into one. This does not overpower as the dry down did. If I could just go from wet to this glorious scent I would be all over it. Perhaps setting this one back to do a bit of aging will do it some good.

 

The throw on this blend is fleeting - sometimes it comes to greet you, other times I find I have to sniff around the spot I put it to really get a sense of the blend. When it does choose to waft around it's mostly a mossy scent with a hint of floral, whereas on my skin I get more of that earthiness. Overall though I'm quite happy with this scent and it will most likely be added to my "eventually get a full bottle" list. For now I'll enjoy this little sample.

[Bassmastadroog]

Zombi: Dirt in the imp! I love lab dirt. I'm venturing into roses recently and realize I do like them, it is possible! I got super excited so I ordered a bunch of rose imps, but this one came along free with a big order! Applying, this really smelled familiar. I think it might be the Spanish oak moss. It really softens the dirt up into something fancier. The dried roses are really beautiful. Like a high end perfume, but not of this world variety.

 

It's an extremely evocative scent, to me, unless stating the obvious funeral like quality, I also think of a dark rainy city at night...and I'm thinking about getting a full bottle, it's just so fancy and dark! I think it's incredible and a must have for rose lovers, so I'll have to add it to my newly planted rose scent garden!

[torikitty]

Unfortunately, I can't do the roses, it's nauseating to me. However, I am impressed with how the roses do actually smell dry, and the earth and moss are hiding in the background to provide context. This reminds me of one of those sachets you'd put in your underwear drawer. In the dry-down, the overpowering rose smell does lighten, and seems to blend well with the rest of its earthy counterparts. It's well-done, too bad I can't enjoy it.

[Beary Strange]

This smells exactly like the description to me/on me: dead roses and dirt. It makes me think of a grave flower arrangement that's been left to rot.There's also an undercurrent of what to me smells like dead leaves, but I believe is the moss. The rose smell is almost too strong, to the point that it burns my nose while it's wet but it's less intense in the dry down and the dirt comes more to the forefront. I think I may need to dilute this for the sake of my nose when I wear it, but I do definitely like it.

[Coldfire]

Imp: Moss and green leaves and earth
Wet on Me: and here comes the rose again...amping on my skin like no'one's business....(sung to Here Comes The Rain Again)
Drying Down: I keep on trying to make Rose love me and it keeps on being the one that gets away. alas...to trade.

Dry: hateful hateful rose

[BridgeKeeper]

This one is quite nice. It smells exactly like a dried bouquet of white roses from my baptism that I kept for 10 years. Yep, smells like those when they crumbled apart And I couldn't keep them anymore. My SO says it smells like soap, not bad, but not particularly appealing either. I'll au least be using up the imp.

[lizabelle]

Please note that the imp I'm testing is aged--I don't know exactly how long, but it has the old logo.

 

I wasn't sure what to expect from this one, but because it has rose and because so many people seem to list it as a favorite or a must-try that I was pretty excited to get an imp of it in a swap. It's sharper on my skin than I expected, and the moss is strong. Like, really strong. This is sharp, wet moss on a foggy day when all the scents around seem amplified. The rose is there and velvety but kind of peppery at the same time, if that makes sense. Maybe it's the rose leaf? There is an earthiness throughout and I'm finding the whole thing oddly addictive. I can't stop sniffing myself, even though I haven't decided if I actually like it/want to smell this way. Might require a few more tests before I'm sure.