Death's Second Self

[The Poison Queen]

Death's Second Self
That time of year thou mayst in me behold
When yellow leaves, or none, or few, do hang
Upon those boughs which shake against the cold,
Bare ruin'd choirs, where late the sweet birds sang.
In me thou seest the twilight of such day
As after sunset fadeth in the west,
Which by and by black night doth take away,
Death's second self, that seals up all in rest.
In me thou see'st the glowing of such fire
That on the ashes of his youth doth lie,
As the death-bed whereon it must expire
Consumed with that which it was nourish'd by.
This thou perceivest, which makes thy love more strong,
To love that well which thou must leave ere long.
- Sonnet 73, William Shakespeare

Yellowed leaves, pale frankincense, solemn amber, and ashes.

In the bottle: Crumbly autumn leaves.

Wet: Crumbly leaves with a hint of sweet amber. VERY pleasant, I like this very much.

Dry: Leaves and a touch of amber, with the frankincense peeking through just a bit. This is a keeper!

[SadariEvenstar]

I get dry leaves and ash. It settles into mostly leaves and a bit of amber, the staying power isn't the best.

 

Very similar to other leaf blends that I own.

[tinyvulture]

I adore all the lab's "autumn leaves" blends, and this is among the best of them IMO. The leaves have their natural bitterness, and the ashes add a sharp acridity. If you're afraid of strong charred/smoky/ash blends, I'll add that the ashes aren't overpowering here. They blend in really nicely with the leaves and enhance them. I'll compare it to A World Where There Are October's, since that's a recent blend the same family: Death's Second Self is less woodsy, but much sweeter thanks to the amber and frankincense.

 

Really lovely. I have so many leaves already but I may have to add to the collection.

[zankoku_zen]

Strong smoky autumn leaves. Sharp charred bitter overlay to the leaves, with a touch of amber and frankincense.

 

This one veers into manly on me, and if you were looking for a manly smoky cologne, I'd give this a whirl.

[Dark Alice]

This smells like fresh crumbly leaves and leather. Not bad. Not astounding...but not bad at all. I will keep the decant but won't need a bottle.

[AmyO'Shields]

I love this. It reminds me of layering Haunted over October. Good stuff!

[JazzieCazzie]

Part of my Yule decant circle haul ...

 

IN THE IMP: There's something odd and unexpected from this, possibly because I don't do "leaves" blends very often. It's sort of a fruity male cologne, not unlike a scent my dad used to wear.

 

Dabbed on wrist and in crook of arm.

 

WET: I get no amber or frankincense from this at all as far as I can tell, and they are two of my favorite scents. This is just nothing like I expected or recognize, which means it's either the "leaves" note or the "ashes" note and I am leaning towards leaves. Sorry I can't be more specific but I really don't recognize anything and am only coming up with "images" and evocations. Fruity, sweet, surprisingly fresh.

 

DRYDOWN: It stays very close to the wet scent. And I still can't put my finger on it. But I get images of grass and dew and outdoors, so I think this must be the leaves. I see them wet and slightly overturned like they do in the rain. Maybe a little floral as well?

 

OVERALL: I like this but not enough to keep it.

 

On a scale of 1-5, a 3.

[welcometothefamily]

In the Imp: Dry, bitter, crumbling leaves covered in a thin dusting of ash, pale and gritty.

 

Wet: Yellowing leaves and pale, ashy amber.

 

Drydown: It goes quite perfumey as it dries, and smells very sophisticated. I don't think I'm getting any ash now, it's mainly amber/frankincense with a hint of crunchy leaves.

 

Verdict: Hmm. I like it, but it's not really my style. I think I may keep the decant though .

 

3/5

[calivianya]

I am so disappointed! This was the scent I was most expecting to like, in fact I almost blind bought two bottles. I'm really glad I didn't now.

 

I love the Lab's leaf note. LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE I seriously can't say LOVE enough. I also really like frankincense and amber. So this was bound to be a win, right? Wrong.

 

I got my beautiful leaves and frankincense right away with just a touch of ash, but after about 10 minutes this became almost single note ash on my skin with just the vaguest hint of other notes in the background. Seriously. I wanted to smell like leaves with a subtle hint of ash, not like ash with a subtle hint of leaves. Oh well, now I know I amp the Lab's ash note...

[aquazoo]

Yellowed leaves, pale frankincense, solemn amber, and ashes. Wow, that starts out kind of harsh. Mellows down fast, into a tea scent. Warm and leafy.

[lucycat]

In the imp: Very green, like the stems of freshly cut flowers.

 

Wet: Still that same green. I applied this without looking at the notes, and before I saw leaves, I interpreted this as flower greenery. Specifically, early spring flowers, like narcissus. I definitely got a “yellow” impression. It’s a little sharp. Like other reviewers, I detect a similarity to A World Where There Are Octobers: I got green leaves from that.

 

Dry: After some time, I get a nice “cologney” scent from the amber and frankincense. I like this part, but I don’t like the earlier stages on my skin so much.

 

I wanted to try Death’s Second Self primarily because of its inspiration, so my decant will be enough.

[thekittenkat]

In the decant: Ashes and powdery amber--this does not bode well.

 

Wet: More ashes!

 

The dry-down: Basically, ashes. Nothing else. Disappointed.

[Ethaisa]

Harsh bitter leaves, almost overwhelming at first, with an underlying dustiness. Mellows considerably as it dries down, and the resins open up, and the dustiness gets more ashy, with a hint of leather. Not really what I was expecting, but I keep sniffing my wrist hours later, so I'll be keeping my decant.

[stellamaris]

I love this, with the leaves up front, and then the resins, it's beautiful.

[Ethaisa]

Second try on this one - still getting that leather note, not sure why. I find this very intriguing.

Edited February 3, 2014 by Ethaisa

[milo]

Vetiver/leaves at first. I'm wondering if the lab's leaf note involves vetiver somehow. Frankincense comes into play, so it's basically a resinous leaf. I like how the resins and leaf note smell together, they complement each other perfectly. That being said, I doubt I'd ever wear this scent, it's just too 'raw' and wild on me. Something sweet may make this more wearable, but it's just a sniffie, and it's not really worth tracking down more. I'm getting picky in my bpal old age, and only buy loves now.

[porcelina]

ooh i love that autumn leaves note, the same one as in October and some other autumnal blends. the ashes lend a smoky quality that makes me think of a cool fall day. there's a small bit of sweet frankincense. the amber lays low and i don't think i smell it at all.

it does start to smell a bit cologne-y as it dries, but i still like it. this is more of a fall scent than a winter one, for me, and i think i will have to wear it as the days get cooler in the next couple of months.

[LizziesLuck]

Wet: Dead leaves and ashes. So realistic! But not pleasant. Smells like acrid bonfire smoke - the kind you get when you throw something you shouldn't into the fire. Blech.

 

 

 

Dry: This is truly terrible on me - all bitter dead leaves and ashes. I like dead leaf notes with something sweet - I thought the amber would balance this on me, but no such luck. Not for me!

[Cali]

Reminds me a bit of Dead leaves, bourbon vanilla, and myrrh, but less outside-y. Perhaps slightly less crisp. There's something sweet in here, pulling all of the notes together. I won't need this, but it's a lovely blend!