Nosferatu

[Belladonnastrap]

We've finally caved in to years of requests for vampiric scents. As soft as grave dust and as dry as a breath drawn within a long forgotten crypt, this is Nosferatu: desiccated herbs and gritty earth brought to life with a swell of robust and sanguineous red wines.

When I got my mammoth LE order I decided to review some of the new scents first as there are already reviews of the Halloween stuff. Nosferatu instantly sprung to my mind since so many people had been clamoring for it and the weather outside is perfect for it.

First sniff
Oh goodness. Sweet, fresh herbs drenched in a decadent red wine. A bit pungent yet seductive. If it had a colour it would be deep bloodied burgundy...a red so dark its almost black. Mindblowing.

Wet
I'm absolutely flabbergasted. A very dark feral scent but there's a cloying sweetness that just has me sniffing my wrists over and over and over again. The red wine in this prevents the earthiness from overpowering and making you smell like a freshly tilled grave. It's WONDERFUL.


Drydown
Is it possible to get drunk on a scent? This dries down into an exquisite heady sort of scent that oozes sensuality and dark lust. The herbs provide a base preventing the sweetness from becoming overpowering (a bit of a role reversal from when its wet) and lend a sort of mysterious, "don't fuck with me vibe" to the overall scent.


Aftermath
I started shuddering as I wore this, it gives me a feeling in my stomach of absolute wanton lust and desire. I can't explain it. It's so decadent and yet there's a sense of WRONGNESS to it. Beth has perfectly captured the whole romantic aspect of a vampire. I'm amazed and SO buying a 5ml during the next Lunar update.

[FireInCairo]

This reminds me of Demeter's "Dirt..." but- it's TWISTED! It's very earthy...but with strange undertones of florals..very dark florals... It almost like earth mixed with petals. I really love this. REALLY love this....

[alizarin]

I don't know how, but Nosferatu manages to smell like dust and decay and still smell sexy.

 

It's very herbal on me, like an herb garden that's been overturned for the winter, mingling with the dirt. But the wine puts this undertone of life beneath it, it's a very intriguing scent. I wish the wine came out a little stronger on me, I shall have to try it again.

[Lorencita]

This is truly an amazing, sexy scent! I will copy and paste what happened today when we opened our huge LE package...

OK, my fellow BPAL'ies... I just recieved my gargantuous order! My mother and I started opening all of them so excited. I came to Nosferatu... OMG, it is such an interesting scent, I dabbed a small drop on my mom... she smelled it and said "It smells like death!" I smelled it "It smells like an actual funeral pyor" (not at all in a bad way) I went on to the next bottle, I noticed my mom with her head turned to the side, and she was crying so badly, shaking, & couldn't breathe! I was so scared & I didn't know what to do. I asked her what was wrong.... she just said "I cant get out of that place!!!" I could hardly understand her at this point! I asked where? "Your fathers, funeral" Later, after I tried to calm her down & getting her a glass of water... she could speak & told me what happened to her. She told me that when she smelled it, she was taken back, very phisicaly to the funeral, but she was the only one there... she couldnt leave and was starring at the coffin! SO FUCKING CRAZY! This has never happened with any scent association before! My father died 27 years ago, 3 months after I was born, and I have NEVER seen my mother like that! I am truly amazed at Beth & co. talents, they are truly one of a kind! My mother actually thinks that this happened for a reason, and she will try to wear this scent again, when she is more prepared! Just wanted to let you all know our experience with this really unique & beautiful blend!

I really like the earthy, craziness of it! It is really chaotic, yet comforting... so hard to explain. All I can really say is that Beth & co. are truly amazing at this craft! I love every minute of wearing these scents! Thank you BPAL!

[Astburygrrl]

I'm usually not one to jump to review a scent but this one has got me reelin' head over heels in lust, lust, LUST! Grrrrrr!

 

 

In the bottle: Heaven. This smells like sweet dirt..its saturated w/ a sense of time, very ancient.

Wet on skin: The dirt is still aggressively standing afront...I get a sense of forboding, w/ swirls of moss and decay growing rampant on neglected headstones.

Afterhours: I feel entombed with this scent all around me, the haunting earth note, and the scent of a wooden casket, rotting and splintered, steeped in death.

There is something out there..hunting, seeking, taunting me..and I cannot wait for it to find me.

 

 

 

 

This is definitely in my top 10. Must order 5ml asap.

Edited November 9, 2004 by Astburygrrl

[Nepthys]

Wow -- this is just magical. By far it is my favorite so far of my BPAL earth scents. This goes on like deep, moist, rich earth mixed with spilled wine, and then dries out to a cooler, almost arid whiff of dry earth, dead leaves, with a faint blood red sweetness. This is intoxicating. What's odd about this is it fades fairly quickly from the application spot, yet seems to float around me. Kind of spooky, that.

 

Big bottle, no question. One of my top five.

Edited November 11, 2004 by Nepthys

[darkling]

In the bottle and on my skin, Nosferatu smells like a dark crypt untouched for centuries. It would almost be grotesque if not for the hint of wine and an undelrying sharpness that is likely the herbs.

 

It is pleasing in a macabre fashion and I could not stop sniffing it.

 

I have the feeling that it would be quite complimentary with Zombi as the earthy tones are similar.

 

The only down side is that Nosferatu did not last more than a couple of hours on my skin. I would need to reapply throughout the day.

[xoe]

Nosferatu is a very strange experience for me. At first it is very similar to Zombi, but with wine thrown in. But then...then... it smells like blood. Not like dragon's blood resin. But like actual blood. It's a scent that catches in the back of my throat. It makes me think of the time I was in a bicycle accident and smashed my face into the sidewalk, scraping my face, breaking my teeth and cutting my lip. That smell of the blood on my face brings it all vividly back to my mind.

 

But it also smells sexy.

 

Very strange.

[JazzieCazzie]

IN THE BOTTLE: Very odd. Not like any other scent I could really put my finger on ... the closest I could come was red wine and vinegar salad dressing, just something very tangy.

 

I did a double-dab on each wrist, afraid to do more than that ...

 

WET: It goes on a little sweeter and a little less tangy. An herbal grassy scent came right to the forefront, something like a scent I used to wear in my teens that may have been called "Grass" or something like that (hey, give me a break, my teens are a long time ago and I burnt out many a brain cel in the ensuing years!)

 

DRYDOWN: This scent is very interesting, how many changes it goes through on me ... upon early drydown it's almost sweet and candyish, though maybe more like candied fruit (raisins or cranberries). The more it dries, the sweeter and more pungent it gets. Plus an aura of warm summer late afternoon.

 

This isn't hugely "me" as a scent, I can't see it being a signature scent for me or a big bottle purchase, but it is interesting and I can see keeping the imp and using it occasionally ...

 

Also, it wears off very quickly. Within a few hours, nada. Unlike yesterday's application of Black Dahlia which lasted from 8 a.m. into the wee hours.

[inkstone]

In the vial

I snagged an imp of this from the kind Clover, because I was interested in seeing what it smelled like. Curiosity will be my downfall, I swear. In the vial, it smells like moist earth mixed with wine. I've never smelled anything quite like it.

 

Wet

Hrm, my chemistry's having a fit with this. Boo. It smells like dirt, but the alcohol in the wine comes out a lot. Unfortunately, it's only the alcohol, so I'm not getting any of the nice body that previous reviewers have. It smells like someone spilled rubbing alcohol in top soil. Boo on my stupid skin.

 

Drydown

Okay, so the alcohol smell is gone and it's almost entirely wet earth. I can smelled the dried herbs mixed in with the dirt. Actually I smell kinda like I've been working in the garden all day, planting seeds in top soil and have the residue left all over my hands and arms.

 

Final Thoughts

I think this scent is very evocative of its name. It reminds me of deep, dark underground crypts where you can smell the decay in the air, dried herbs under your feet and soil scattered around you. Association-wise, it makes me think of that scene in Buffy Season 7 or Kill Bill Part 2, where Buffy & the Bride are in the coffins and they have to dig their way out through the earth to get out of their graves. The death association is very strong. This isn't a very "me" scent and it didn't play very well with my skin, so it'll be going into the swap pile in the hopes it'll find a good home. But I am very glad I got the chance to try it.

[diabolique]

in the vial, this smells exactly like zombi to me, only it's a bit darker. it's very light and herbal, a murky green color that has a tinge of something dark brown behind it.

 

on my skin, it sweetens up considerably, with what i assume is the wine (even though i can't smell it). this even hurts my stomach like zombi; i wish i knew the notes in this so i would be able to avoid whatever's hurting my stomach. it's all perfectly fine and well, though, because i don't think i'd wear something like this very often. all facts considered, though, i much prefer this over zombi if i had to pick between the two. i suppose vampires just have a sweetness to them that zombies will never be able to touch upon.

[Shollin]

First sniff: This scent is very confusing. I can’t tell whether it’s dusty or juicy, earthy or fruity – it smells like a chalice of sweet red wine spilled in a dusty crypt.

 

Wearing: Wet on my skin, the fruity juiciness is definitely more prominent, but the dust always lurks darkly just behind, a reminder that the Nosferatu’s semblance of life is bound to the grave. I like the wine-scent enough to keep it, as it stays in the foreground – the dustiness is a bit unsettling.

[Ina Garten Davita]

I found this as a little surprise in the bottom of a yarn box from supervillainess. Thanks

 

First Impression: Green, straight up bright green and herbal.

 

Second Impression: This isn't the black and blue bloody scent I was expecting. Nosferatu is very green, herbaceous with just the lightest spritz of red wine. A bit of the dusty dirt comes through on the drydown, just a bit.

 

Final Analysis: It's lovely. On my skin this scent is more of a poncey, girlie vampire dancing in a field of greens...like say Tom Cruise as Lestat rather than the Bella Lugosi's dark and frightening Nosferatu.

[darkitysnark]

Nosferatu

 

In the bottle:

I don't know how the lab does it, but I smell wine in here! Dark, red, decadent. The next sniff pulls out crushed, decaying flowers. A funeral bouquet that is brown around the edges, stalks dried into shrivled twigs.

 

Wet:

This one seemed medium thick, so I stuck with one swipe on the wrists, one on the neck/collarbones. As this blend blossoms under my own body heat, I can pick up all sorts of conflicting notes: sweet overripe fruit, the bitter sting of incense resins, a faint soap/clean/aquatic note, and a smooth floral over all of it. I'm not too good with flowers (other than identifying obvious rose and jasmine notes) so I can't pin point which flower this is, but it's a calm, benevolent overseer to the rest of this rustling variation.

 

This scent isn't what one would traditionally call "foody"; nevertheless, I am oddly compelled to nibble on my wrists.

 

Drydown:

Earlier today, the sky was a solid, winter grey. As I walked toward work, a few raindrops splashed around me. Now, just thirty minutes later, the sky is black and flashing. Rain is coming down hard on the morning traffic. This is kind of how Nosferatu is reacting to my skin. At first, innocuous if a bit melancholy. A few minutes later it's woken up, and it's thrashing and vibrant and alive.

 

I'm not getting much waft now, about two hours in, but can still pick it up strongly if I wave my wrists around my face. The clamboring notes have settled into an uneasy peace. A dark fruity note (I'm guessing it's the wine, though it no longer screams "wine" as it did in the bottle) holds hands in the back seat with charred incense while this mature floral is driving, check back every once in a while in the rear view mirror to make sure no monkey business is going on.

 

Conclusion:

I'll update later with notes on lasting power. Currently I really like this one, but am concerned by the sudden drop off in hour two. Might just be ol factory fatigue. This has all the malevolent earthiness of Brimstone coupled with the adult floral otherworldliness of Queen Mab.

[Penance]

Got an imp of this from Mrs.Black.

 

First sniff:

 

Wow, this is surprising...I expected more red wine than this. I'm getting cemetery loam with a hint of red wine, which is just fine, but not at all what I was expecting. This smells the way I imagined Zombi would smell with the addition of red wine. I really like this, but I can see a lot of other people not being very happy when I wear it.

 

Wet on skin:

 

The wine picks up a little as soon as it hits my skin and I get a faint hint of herbs along with the loamy scent from in the imp. I love loamy smells and red wine, so this is very appealing to me although I can tell right away that my mom hates it. Of course, she hated Zombi, too, and I loved it, so I didn't expect much different.

 

Dry down:

 

Nosferatu has settled down into a soft wine and cemetery loam scent that I find very appealing. It's not sour the way a lot of wine scents are on me, more rich and red and deep. Unfortunately, it fades very quickly on me, but I don't mind having to reapply every couple of hours.

 

The bottom line:

 

Nosferatu really lives up to the name. It's a very gothic sort of scent, dark and brooding and mysterious, and one I'm sure wouldn't appeal to everyone, but for me it's a winner.

[silverangel]

First thought: DIRT. Once I reach beyond the dirt I get the wine, which is juicy and ripe smelling and a bit fherbs behind that. It's a crypt, it's the romanticized graveyard. It's kind of sexy in all the wrong ways. I'm not sure if I like this or not. I'll wear it to work tonight and decide.

 

Okay so after wearing this all through work, I actually like it. The dirt fades and it passes and once it does it just lingers in the background, like a girl hiding in the bathroom of a party. You know she's there somewhere, but you don't notice her much until you look for her. Otherwise it's this twisted slightly juicy slightly dry wine taste. It definitely had to grow on me and I almost put it up for sale tonight, but no, it will be staying with me.

Edited December 23, 2004 by silverangel

[sheelanagig]

I have to jump on this one and review it while my sinus medication is working. This is just too intense a perfume to not rave about....

 

This is not something I would have ordered. I got this in a swap from the lovely FireinCairo, and I'm so glad I offered up O for this!

 

in the vial:

VERY Zombi-esque. Damp earth and dead petals, herbs and decay. But oh, the wine... the wine, the wine, the wine. The wine is dragging the scent down, pulling the sharp twang with it. It is a deep caress, the Vampiric Kiss that Anne Rice writes so eloquently about, and that has haunted my daydreams, fantasies, and night terrors since I first read her books years ago. ::sigh::

 

drydown:

It begins to get, well, weird for me here. This scent is SO evocative... I can't find words for it. It's just a tremor in a bottle. I can almost, in the far background, smell a clean, almost aftershavey scent, and that mingled with the wine and earth is oh, so sexy to me.

Someone mentioned that this oil brought to mind Lestat, but this is the scent of someone, something, much stronger... more arrogant... more lovely... more in control of mind, body, and spirit than Lestat. And that is saying quite a lot.

 

wearing:

It's mellowed out, sort of spent and clean, juicy and dark... mmmmm.

 

verdict:

Nosferatu is Blood Countess's Immortal Beloved... and extremely evocative scent full of passion and intensity. I only WISH I'd had a bottle of this back in my younger, club hopping, man hunting days. I probably would've had a lot more fun.

Edited December 30, 2004 by sheelanagig

[sarada]

I love, love, love this.

 

It's odd that it's clear in the bottle because in my mind it's the deepest plum/red color with just a hint of dark brown. Although I am not a wine drinker I love the lab's wine scents and I don't care if they give me a Breathalyzer test when I'm wearing it in the car, I adore this blend. I can only wear it on overcast, rainy days with a bit of a chill in the air for some reason, though. It is not a sunny scent, and that is just fine!

 

The cemetery dirt smell that is in this, Zombi and some other blends brings a very specific image to mind of a graveyard in a 1930s film...the dirt wafts up with the wine in the bottle, as if you just uncapped a bottle that had been covered with dust and half-buried in damp earth for decades. Uncapping the bottle, you get a breath of musty, dusty wine and soil, and then the overwhelming, heady aroma of a vintage wine. When I apply it to my wrists, the wine takes hold and is interwoven with powdery berry scents and a whisper of rose (that's probably how my mind interprets the herbs). However when I apply it behind my ears, my hair catches it and the scent stays true to that first waft of dirt and wine in the bottle -- I love both the initial and drydown scent, but I REALLY love having that zombie earth smell clinging to my hair all day. I feel like I just crawled out of the mauseoleum. It's wonderful.

 

I'm still hoarding imps of this because it's kind of a once or twice a month scent for me -- those spectacularly grey days, or darkest nights, where I want to feel like I'm out looking for a limb to gnaw on.

 

Spectacular. All of the vampiric scents are spectacular. I want all of them in bottles eventually so I can just line them up, look at them and uncap them and sniff them all day long.

[voodoobaby]

Let me just say that this was in my first order; I keep my oils in a cigar box, and whenever I opened the box this really nice fragrance always popped out above the rest. I just discovered today that the scent I smelled was Nosferatu.

 

In the bottle: Yup. Herbs, dirt, and red wine, in that order. The herbs are sweet, yet pungent.

 

Wearing: It's tart! It smells like those sour crystals on Sour Patch Kids might smell with some greenery and brownery (dirt) mixed in. Just the sourness, not the whole candies. I think the tartness must be the red wine. The dirt runs and hides very quickly. It remains just enough to keep it smelling damp and dark. On the other hand, it smells dusty. You know, kind of like a vampire--it's dead (dusty), but at the same time there's something keeping it alive (damp...OK, weird analogy, but it seemed appropriate for the name). Also, am I crazy, or do I actually smell flowers? They are dried, though, and have lost most of their fresh scent. I have to agree with the others, this is very oddly sexy, in a sort of necrophiliac way.

 

Later: Bye-bye dirt. Darn, and I was enjoying what little was left. Ah well. Also, just a couple of hours later, bye-bye perfume, period. Maybe it's just my skin chemistry today, as I wore New Orleans earlier and it faded very quickly as well. Overall, though, I like it, if just for being so unusual. I will keep the imp, for sure.

[surf-tormented]

Graveyard grass, freshly cut. Reminds me of Goth Rosary's Graveyard but a little higher on the grass smell, which I love. It lasts a long time on me, put some behind my ears last night and it was still strong when I got up.

 

It has a bit of sweet floral and earth to keep it from being overpowering. If I didn't have some Graveyard stuff from Antisally I would definately buy this. Those in the market for a good wash/oil combo should buy this and then Goth Rosary's Graveyard. They would go together wonderfully.

[tinyvulture]

To me, this is a sad but dignified scent. It smells of old dirt and grass, like from an ancient crypt. There's also the faint scent of dry flowers left at a grave long ago, so old they would fall apart at the slighest touch. I also smell tart red wine in the background.

 

At first, the dirt smell was almost too much. It made me feel sad actually! So I didn't want to wear it and make people around me feel sad. But after fifteen minutes, the flowers and wine came out more (especially the wine) and balanced the dirt smell, and then I liked it. I would wear this whenever I'm in a serious, solemn mood.

[Northernminx]

Dignified, a little creepy, a little sensual. This starts off sweet earth and spilled red wine, dark and earthy and rich. As it dries down there's a faint herbal smell that comes in that I can't place. It's still fairly sweet, just a little bit floral and adds a sort of wistful melancholy to that original richness. Gorgeous and lovely, but it sadly doesn't last long on my skin. Off to swaps despite loving it.

[isyche]

Hmm, moss and dirt and herbs and grass. Nosferatu is greener than I expected and sort of smells like a dewy fresh-dug garden, with the dirt and leaf smells, which is nice enough, but I smell no wine at all! Where's my vampiric sexiness? Darn.

 

I'll try it again, maybe it'll work better another day.

Edited February 10, 2005 by isyche

[wolfie13]

I agree with isyche's analysis of the scent - this scent is a lot more green and florally on me than I would have expected - reminiscent of zombi, maybe, or wolfsbane?

 

I don't get any "sanguinous wine" or "dusty" feel from this at all.

 

It's nice, but not what I expected and doesn't jibe with my chemistry so much.

 

But for anyone who had a similarly disappointing experience, but still wants a "vampiric" scent - try Dracul! (totally different type of scent, but still vampire-evocative, really like it)

[Will]

Wow. This imp really made an impact on me.

In the bottle: Mostly green notes and something sour / tangy like red wine and vinegar?

Initial application: This is a very unusual scent. The dirt and earthy notes popped out immediately, but with the sour / grapey notes around it and the hard metallic notes it reminds me of spilled blood. This makes me very uneasy. I don't find it sexy so much as VERY unsettling.

On drydown: The sour wine tang and the herbs persist very strongly. I got some on the hem of my sleeve of my bathrobe and even the next day it was wafting.

Overall I found this a very disturbing, unsettling scent. I suspect that was exactly what was intended but I definitely will not be wearing this one again. If you are looking for something creepy and edgy though, give it a try.