A Low Candle-Lit Room

[Trickster]

He beckoned me into a low, candle-lit room with massive exposed rafters and dark, stiff, sparse furniture of the seventeenth century. The past was vivid there, for not an attribute was missing. There was a cavernous fireplace and a spinning-wheel at which a bent old woman in loose wrapper and deep poke-bonnet sat back toward me, silently spinning despite the festive season. An indefinite dampness seemed upon the place, and I marvelled that no fire should be blazing. The high-backed settle faced the row of curtained windows at the left, and seemed to be occupied, though I was not sure. I did not like everything about what I saw, and felt again the fear I had had. This fear grew stronger from what had before lessened it, for the more I looked at the old man's bland face the more its very blandness terrified me. The eyes never moved, and the skin was too like wax. Finally I was sure it was not a face at all, but a fiendishly cunning mask. But the flabby hands, curiously gloved, wrote genially on the tablet and told me I must wait a while before I could be led to the place of festival.


Candle wax and waxen "skin," rotting leather and reeking damp wood, and the ashes of a yawning, cold fireplace.

In the bottle: What an odd smell... it's almost like sweetened condensed milk?

Wet: Similar, but more stale. I think what I smell may be the candle wax, the staleness is the ashes from the fireplace. It's the same sort of 'stale' I smelled in Death-Fires Dancing Over the Tombs - I think it might be the Lab's stone note?

Dry: Rather pleasant. The candle wax is definitely predominant. I don't really get much of anything else. It's a warm, sweet, waxy pleasantness.

[Lethran]

In bottle: This is weirdly delicious. The skin musk is strong. The wax note gives it body. The leather is soft, dancing in and out of view. There is a honey sweetness to the “rot” which is second strongest. There is a kiss of ash and stone. I really like this. It’s a honeyed, more dangerous cousin to Chanukah. Wet: The ash really comes out on the skin. The leather and the sweetness come together and become strong su8pport for the ash, with the skin musk bringing the sexy and the wax softening all the edges. It’s not like Chanukah on the skin much at all. Dry: Mostly leather with sexy skin musk and sweet wood in support. This really grew on me. I like it best after the ash burns off.

[Aviatrix]

Whoa, there is something in this one that turns downright nasty on me.

 

At first, I get mostly the stale fireplace ashes and a hint of the musk. Maybe a little bit of leather, but it's hard to say. As it dries down, however, it all goes sickly sour and actually leaves me feeling a bit nauseated.

 

I have never had this happening with a BPAL, and in the vial it actually smelled okay. I have no idea what went wrong, but I'm sad it did.

 

Maybe I will give it another try after I let it settle some more, hm....

[Deliciousness]

In the imp: Candle wax with something wet and moldering underneath (damp woods, maybe?)

 

Wet on skin: The mouldering does go away and I'm left with candle wax, a touch of leather (which fades quickly) and smoke.

 

Drydown: A very smoky candle.

 

This does have staying power, the scent lasted for a few hours before I had to wash it off. I found this blend became more smoky the longer it set on my skin, while the musk and leather burned off at the beginning. A very apt namesake for this blend, as it smells exactly like its title, A Low Candle-Lit Room.

[zankoku_zen]

Candlewax and broken in black leather. This is an ominous blend.

 

The one image that popped into my head was Alack Rickman as the Sheriff of Nottingham in Robin Hood's Prince of Thieves. He'd smell like this, worn in leather, with the beeswax adding a bit of sweetness that doesn't cover up the sinister side. So yes, MANLY.

 

But you know what, he makes it LOOK SO GOOD.

[BoneBone24]

Wet: Sweet beeswaxy goodness with a hint of something dusty.

 

Drydown: Very much like Light of Men’s Lives at first, and then a dank wood note comes forward to dance with the glowing wax note, which eventually tires and leaves the dance floor. Worn leather joins the wood, giving me the impression of an old forgotten chair discovered in the corner of a basement. Not to be forgotten, the ash kicks in too, forming a small pile just beside the chair. After a moment, a few limbs of play-doh flesh climb their way into the chair, yanking the honied wax back into the room on a chain.

 

Dry: As things settle, the wood takes prominence over a bed of rotting musky skin. Every so often a drizzle of wax or a poof of ash falls over this mixture, while the leather seems to remain locked in the basement. An experience in a bottle, that's for sure.

 

 

 

7 out of 10 bones

Edited January 17, 2014 by BoneBone24

[patina]

Really beautiful beeswax. Rather than being almost single note beeswax like The Lights of Men's Lives I can smell some bitter worn wood underneath. This is not as horrible as it sounds- the honeyed sweetness of the wax keeps the bitterness in check.

 

I like this a lot, it reminds me of sitting at an old writing desk by candlelight.

[tailoredshirt]

This one is a lot simpler than I thought it would be. On me, it is mostly just a sweet, honeyed beeswax from the vial to drydown. I get some leather throughout and a bit of ashy woods at the beginning, but mostly it's just the beeswax. Very pretty, decent throw.

[MCS4096]

I wrote a review for this the other day.. but it uh, seems to have disappeared

 

 

This is a perfect representation of a dusty beeswax candle. It's not freshly made, bright and clean, but it's still very very sweet. Dust has settled onto wax that has gone very slightly off. I don't really get leather here, or smoke, just dust and sweet beeswax. I agree that it does start out almost sickeningly sweet, but calms down.

 

It doesnt have much throw on me but it is a pleasant skin scent. The hint of decay/oldness is really only smellable to me up close to the skin, so what I get in the minimal throw is realistic beeswax. Nice and simple.

Edited January 27, 2014 by MCS4096

[thekittenkat]

In the decant: Something like a beeswax candle but sweeter.

 

Wet: Much as on cold sniff, but the leather is appearing.

 

The dry-down: Faint hints of the wood and leather. No ashes, thank goodness. This is mostly like a warmer, sweeter but non-fruity version of Candles Moon. I like it!

[annemathematics]

a scent of candle wax warmed by flame filling a small, insidious room. this wax is the wax from House of Wax, texas chainsaw massacre, any creepy, low-budget or classic dramatic old horror film. it's unsettling and evil and I'm glad to have tried it but too timid to wear it again. this would make a brilliant room scent in a haunted house. pretending to be cozy and trying to hide the threat of danger coming to get you.

[milo]

This is definitely a beeswax heavy blend, with a slight hint of smoke and honey. It reminds me very much of Hanerot Halalue (sp), another beeswax blend from a few years back. Hmm, it seems like the names are just changing with some of these Yule blends throughout the years, but maybe it's just me. Nice to try, but this really doesn't seem like a perfume to me, more like an atmosphere blend.

[porcelina]

A Low Candle-Lit Room is kind of an odd scent! First impressions are a blast of waxy sweetness. It's smells a bit like beeswax but a little plainer. There's a lot of musk which is slightly powder at first but gets better as it dries. I smell a hint of smoke but not very much leather.

It dries down to a mostly skin musk scent which wears close to the skin. It's pleasant but maybe kind of bland.

[CiaoBonefish]

Wet on Skin: This starts off pretty strong with the beeswax. It is golden and warm and sweet, sweeter than just plain beeswax like in the Lights of Men's Lives. It feels like it may have something heavier rounding it out. I can't really smell the wood, leather, and ash, but they seem to give the scent a bit of weight and a ton of throw. This was really strong!

Dry: When this first dries it is still that round golden beeswax scent with a ton of throw. At this point it is a little nondescript and perhaps a little much. After an hour or so, however, the musk, wood, and leather really begin to make an appearance. They give the scent a hint of dryness and smoke to it. It has an almost parchment quality to it mingling with the sweet beeswax. It is far more to my taste now and is less sweet and less powerful. It sticks a little closer to the skin.

Overall: I adore this scent, and if you like beeswax heavy scents this one will really appeal to you. The reason I tried this initially was because it has beeswax and leather. This is a favorite combination of mine because of Hand of Glory, and I was hoping it would smell similar. It does smell a little similar though this one doesn't have much leather in it, just a tad. In the wet stages the two aren't similar, but as it dries and sits on the skin I see more and more similarities. I love this scent! If you are looking for a sweet golden beeswax scent that has hints of musky smokiness and leather grounding it, this one is for you. I bought a bottle

[aquazoo]

Musky. Beeswax and leather, no rot at all really. Now I’m getting parrafin and the wood is coming up.

[bellumed]

Oddly sweet: not sickly, but certainly not candylike. The leather and candle wax smell just beautiful together.

 

Much muskier on skin, but it's really really nice. The wax is still strong. Maybe a little smokiness (ashes?) if I squint.

 

I am totally thrown! I never would have guessed this for a winner based on the notes. Shows how much I know, after years of testing.