Mourning Lace

[bluerose]

MOURNING LACE
A contemplation of death: fragile vanilla blossom with polished oak, bitter clove, frankincense, myrrh, and green cognac.

Very light and pretty. On my skin, it is an odd mix of non-foody vanilla and oak that works very well together. The other notes linger in the background but do not stand out beyond that.

[wendyb1063]

First impression: Really, really nice!!! Spicy! Sweet, but not cloying. This is fresh out of the mail box in a Wisconsin winter, though...

 

Second impression (5 minutes of wearing): I still really like it a LOT. I've been craving clove scents lately, and this one satisfies. The clove and vanilla together give it a carnation-like scent, not as creamy or smooth as say, Hod (one of my all time faves). It reminds me, oddly, of some wafer candy from my childhood? In a good way. I can see this will be a scent I will get cravings for...

 

If you like clove or carnation scents, you will like this, I think!

 

[LiberAmoris]

Mourning Lace is perfect for people who step into Reccs and say they're looking for a BPAL that smells a bit like clove cigarettes. The clove is wonderful here, and although it is well blended with the other notes, it remains distinguishable through the dry-down, at least on my skin. The oak, frankincense and myrrh work together to create a resiny, oaky base that's lifted from heaviness by the vanilla blossom. The clove warms everything up and adds an enlivening spice. I think I can pick up on the cognac—something that reminds me of wine—but it's not prominent.

 

ML stays close to my skin and hours later I get occasional wafts of what smells like a clovey skin-musk. There's something contemplative about it that seems true to mourning, but it also smells very comforting to me. I bought this for my boyfriend but I think we may have to share it.

[angelicruin]

Spicy clove and incense on me. Matches perfectly with my coordinating BPTP hair gloss, actually!

[CiCi]

Mourning Lace opens up with spices and oak and smells amazing. It is not overpowering due to the creamy vanilla making it's presence known and mingling softly with the frankincense and myrrh. The drydown is subtly spicy and elegant, lasting hours. ML will age beautifully and only get deeper and richer with aging.

[GypsyRoseRed]

On me, this is like the original Black Lace with a waft of cloves but much, much lighter in throw.

[suki]

In The Bottle: Mostly cloves and vanilla, but there's an under note that makes me think "Christmas!" instantly- I'm bet tin it's the frankincense and myrrh.

 

Wet On Skin: There's a softness to this clove that I didn't get from, say, The Smiling Spider, but I find that I'm liking it, it's a nice counterpoint to the sharper clove from that scent that I'm used to.

 

Dry Down: I feel like this reminds me of one of BPAL's baked confection or cookie scents, but with added clove to make it less foodie, more refined. I like it!

 

In All: Low throw, this scent stays close to the body. It's a good scent for those that find the pastry scents to be too overpowering in their foodiness. It's definitely lighter than I had anticipated it being, given the list of notes. I shall wear this in later spring, through summer, on evenings when I want both elegance and femininity. Glad I got it!

Edited February 10, 2012 by VioletChaos

[Blood onmy hands]

Mourning Lace is too dry and sharp for my tastes. It smells like splintered, dry, dusty wood with a sprinkling of baby powder, and then the clove isn't sweet at all, but more of a sharp, perfumey spiciness. Something also smells a bit soapy on me at first, and then the drydown is super powdery.

I don't think that this smells anything like the other Laces; it smells masculine, but also very baby powdery... Black Lace is one of my favorites, and I'm not getting anything similar from Mourning Lace. I definitely don't get any vanilla from this.

Mourning Lace reminds me of Fledgling Raptor Moon more than anything, but this is sharper than FRM.

Edited February 16, 2012 by Little Bird

[awesomeoverlord]

In the bottle, this is reminiscent of Black Lace but much lighter -- swap out the perfumey musk for clove and you're getting pretty close. My skin tends to amp wood notes, so the oak goes crazy for a little while, but calms down within half an hour or so a melts back into the blend. Aside from this brief period of oaky insanity, this stays pretty constant from bottle to drydown. I'm reminded of Bengal, maybe if Bengal had a brief love affair with Black Lace. Oddly, there's nothing that strikes me as mournful of death-related in this.

[Incendiare]

I imagined Mourning Lace to be a strong scent, much like Black Lace, but it's actually very light. Seems to be the trend with the more recent laces. In the bottle, it's clove and something sweet. The first time I cracked open the bottle and took a whiff, that sweet note translated as a faint marshmallow. As soon as I apply this to my skin, the sweetness disappears into thin air. The frankincense and myrrh come out and play with the clove. As Mourning Lace starts on its journey to the final dry down, the resins and clove meld into a cloud that reminds me of Djarums. It takes a good twenty minutes for this to settle into my skin once and for all and turn into a very true clove incense. It's a beautiful blend. I just wish it had a stronger throw.

[calivianya]

In the bottle, this smells almost exactly like Tattered Lace to me, except Mourning Lace has a little spicy clove to it too. Wet on my skin... what just happened? This went so masculine almost immediately. The clove became the most prominent note, backed up by oak and frankincense. Isn't this supposed to have vanilla blossom in it? I'm not getting any. This is positively smoky, and not in a good way. I like frankincense and clove as a combination (I love the hair gloss!), but I think the oak threw a wrench in that lovely combination. I've never smelled clove cigarettes, but this is what I imagine an ashtray full of clove cigarette ash would smell like. It is really sour and burnt-smelling to my nose. I am so disappointed; I really expected this to be a winner. I'm going to keep it a while before giving up on it, but I am really not crazy about this scent right now.

[megank4]

Wow, spicebomb! Spice-tastic!

I thought I would like this less than Pink Lace, but it is not the case.

Get mainly clove and tobacco.

Could maybe be a man's scent.

 

Hmm, makes me think of Vitriol d'Ouillet from Serge Lutens a bit.

[Sateki]

This scent is beautiful! I wouldn't call it mournful as much as it is nostalgic, attributed perhaps to the clove. It is very woody on me, similar in woodiness to The Antikythera Mechanism, though stronger wood, and no vanilla. The clove is spicy, but not overpowering. There is a faint hint of tobacco underneath it all. It is definitely not a sweet scent, and I could see this working very well on Mr Man. I definitely don't mind wearing it though, and will be keeping my bottle for myself. Beautiful, solemn, but not sad. Definitely love it.

[strahlend]

This is a warm, soft, clove with a faintly sweet musky base.

 

I really like this kind of clove, so I'm happy. It seems like clove is often in blends with booze or leather, but here it's pretty much standing on its own. Much more subtle than other blends with clove or cognac, but it is noticable and sticks around for a while.

 

I'm testing right out of the mailbox, so I'll update later if there seems to be a noticable difference.

Edited February 27, 2012 by strahlend

[ljaylh]

I get the 'fragile' aspect of the description for Mourning Lace - on my skin, it feels a little uncomfortable.. like it's hurt, it doesn't want to be touched. The vanilla blossom is very melancholy and sad - the clove, oak and myrrh are trying to keep it upbeat but it's still sad. Who knew a perfume could be sad.. I'm surprised.

 

On full dry-down, I find the clove perks up nicely - it's not overly clove-y, but it does have a top note of bitterness with a touch of sweetness that balances nicely with the oak and myrrh. Frankincense is lurking around underneath everything, but it's not very present to my nose. The green cognac is more fresh than boozey - it's the same kind of green in That! The Terror From Over There, but without the peppery wasabi. The clove + resins combo is nice, but I'm not finding it particularly enjoyable in combination with the green vibe - and it's just a bit too much clove for me.

 

This is similar in tone to Black Lace, but Mourning Lace substitutes the sexy for the solemn.. however I remember Black Lace was described as 'funereal elegance' and I guess that's what I'm picking up as the similarity between the two. Overall, I find Mourning Lace to be haunting and sad.. and uncomfortable. It's not even that I don't like it - I do, it's a lovely fragrance - I just don't like wearing it, it's kind of a little creepy and unsettling. This is possibly the weirdest reaction I've had to a BPAL so far.. but I'm curious to see how this one will develop with age, so I'm going to hang on to it for now.

[milo]

Right away I can tell this is the same clove as in Velvet Bandito. This is a good thing. It's pretty much sweet clove at first, then I'm getting darker scents, maybe the cognac and resins coming out after a bit. This is a morpher, and the clove and resins seem to be fighting for dominance, though I like both, I think this blend needs a bit more time to 'mesh', which is what I found Tattered Lace needed to do. It does remind me of 'Black Lace Lite' when the cognac and resins are in the front. I believe I'll be holding onto this one, though I do find the blend fairly similar to Velvet Bandito in it's clovey phase. This is a warm, comforting velvetty blend, like curling up in front of fire wrapped in soft gray velvet. I do not find this blend to be somber at all, more reflective. Win!!

[StevenBoatman]

I'm not terribly good at picking out individual notes, but here's my "visual" description of Mourning Lace:

 

 

It's a time long since past. Perhaps colonial America, or perhaps even Victorian London. A procession of black-robed people moves slowly down a cobblestone lane. At the front of the procession, six strong-backed men carry a long casket of highly polished oak that gleams in the fog-light. Behind them, leading the trail of mourners is a stately woman, garbed in somber black dress, with smokey-gray lace draping down from her hat. The lacework covers her face, hiding the details better even than the fog around you. Laced through her hat are small vanilla blossoms, and she carries around her a cloud of incense from the church the group has recently left.

 

The crowd arrives at the nearby cemetery. You sidle closer to the bereaved woman, close enough to smell her. As you step beside her, the casket is lowered into the ground, and the woman's calm facade shatters like glass. She begins to grieve-not in the silent, stately way of many people, but in a loud, gutwrenching sob. She sobs, and wails, and pleads with God to bring back her lost love. The flowers and lace fall into the grave thanks to the violent tremors that shake the crying widow. Suddenly, for an instant, the scent of the woman mixes with her grief, and it becomes cloying. You start to run, fearing that you might suffocate in the tangible heartbreak around you. But you don't flee. Instead, you get closer, and touch her briefly on the shoulder. She looks at you, and gives you....not exactly a smile, but something close. As she does, a few humble rays of light pierce the foggy gloom, and the grief that was so asphyxiating lessens, becoming a lighter feeling. You turn and walk away, thinking that perhaps you'll see the woman in black again someday, and you smile as you walk out of the graveyard, back onto the cobblestone road. As the funerary group fades from view you turn, taking a flask from your pocket. With a quick twist, you remove the cork, toast the group behind you, and take a quick sip of the delightful cognac within. The fog swallows you soon enough, and the scent of this misadventure is left to float through the air, alone.

[zankoku_zen]

Mourning Lace to me smells like clove cigarettes. HOT DAMN.

 

Sweet clove, swirl of smoke, wood and cognac. It should smell masculine but it doesn't. For me, the smell of clove cigarettes is nostalgic - late nights out, slightly buzzed, and angst.

 

To me, this is the equivalent of a Cure or Smiths song in perfume form. I feel like I should be reaching for black liquid eye liner now.

 

Dark, brooding, angsty.

[Iceblink]

This is an intense clove--sharp and medicinal! After a while I start getting the oak note; it really leaps out. The frankincense and cognac and vanilla are sweet but they don't do quite enough to soften that strong, hard clove on my skin. I do like some clove blends but this one is a bit too much. It might be a little more mellow with some aging, though.

[Innocuousmold]

Yum, this is gorgeous! Wet it reminds me of the smell of rich, luxurious cigars in a wooden box. The clove is really lovely in this and the vanilla gives it a subtle sweetness. I adore Mourning Lace! I'm so glad I tried it and must get more immediately.

[Drarra]

This is the first lace that has really caught my eye. All the rest have had notes that were too floral or too sickly sweet, and I knew they would go horrible places on my skin. Then I saw this one, and I needed to try it.

 

In the bottle: I smell cognac on oak with frankincense and myrrh wafting from somewhere nearby. There is a touch of the clove, just a touch mind you, as too much goes weird places with my nose. There a light, lacy sweetness weaving through all of this.

 

Wet on skin: There's a lot more spicy clove when this is fresh on my skin. The wood and resins remain just behind, but the myrrh has taken more of the spotlight than the frankincense. This is dry and spicy. But there's a touch of an alcoholic note there, which must be the cognac. After a couple minutes, I smell that hauntingly lacy note again.

 

Drydown: This does not last a very long time on me, 4-5 hours tops, and the throw is very light. The spicy clove is the first thing that dries off, which allows my nose to detect the frankincense. It smells like I'm sitting at a huge wooden table (in a paneled room, covered with a lace cloth), some unlit incense sitting across the room, swirling a huge snifter of cognac (as it dries, somehow the clove becomes a note in the cognac).

 

As another person commented, this blend smells fragile, somehow. I would never have pegged clove as a scent of grief, yet it works so perfectly here. As it dries, this scent becomes the grief that while it still cuts, you have spent too much energy crying to be able to weep any more. The tears are palpable below the surface.

[stellamaris]

I can hardly smell this, unlike Pink Lace, which I can smell from across the room.

When I can smell it, it's very nice. One place I can smell it is on my clothes, faintly.

 

OK so a few weeks later, I can smell this, but it is very faint. It is a wonderful smokey clovey light vanilla, with frankinscence, I don't know quite how to describe this, but the scent is very open, like it's wafting through an open window, coming in on a breeze. Surprisingly fresh. I like this, it's a nice soft scent.

Edited May 7, 2012 by stellamaris

[wishingwell]

Well, I liked this better than Pink Lace, but.. for some reason, all I really get from it is clove cigarettes and, oddly enough, allspice. I'm guessing this particular combination is just acting strange for me, but I kid you not -- the throw is all clove cigarettes, but up close it smells like a fresh jar of allspice.

 

I'm glad I got to try it, but it's just not for me.

[The Planet Queen]

Vanilla and clove....I love it. I'm in search of a bottle.

[Amaranthus]

This may be my favorite BPAL clove scent. The clove is dry and woodsy, and it works perfectly with the vanilla blossom. It fades after a couple of hours into a warm clove and myrrh scent. Very nice!

 

You may like this one if you like Priala, the Human Phoenix or Playful Wooden Mallets. Although Mourning Lace does not contain cinnamon, it reminds me of those scents because of they share a warm, softly spicy, woodsy character.

Edited July 5, 2012 by Amaranthus