The Dead Can Hear and the Dead Have Sight

[rainbow]

A thin moon faints in the sky o'erhead,
And dumb in the churchyard lie the dead.
Walk we not, Sweet, by garden ways,
Where the late rose hangs and the phlox delays,
But forth of the gate and down the road,
Past the church and the yews, to their dim abode.
For it's turn of the year and All Souls' night,
When the dead can hear and the dead have sight.

Twisted creepers of dying ivy, winter roses, shadow musk, and black moss.

In the bottle this smelled like a generic slightly floral, slightly musky, sort of fresh scent- one with few discernible notes. Once it dries down, though, it becomes amazing on me. It also smells sort of like springtime. Reasonable, considering the ivy, rose, and moss notes. A bit odd, given that it's a Halloween scent. Whatever, I'm not complaining. I love what this dries down into. It's smooth, lightly fresh, a bit ethereal. I can see how it's sort of ghostly, but it's also still very springy and fresh air to me. It kind of reminds me of Poisson d'Avril. This is one of those scents where it's hard to pick out individual notes. I'm pretty sure I can smell some rose, but it's definitely wrapped and buried (heh!) in a variety of other smells.

Pretty, fresh, and pleasant.

[Aviatrix]

This is a beautiful mix of roses and ivy on me. I'm not sure what the shadow musk is supposed to smell like, but this doesn't strike me as a musky scent.

It feels lighter and more upbeat than many similar outdoorsy autumn scents, so if you're looking for something like that, be sure to give this a try!

 

I for one like this a lot. The roses get the right amount of balance from the darker ivy and moss notes, and the overall result on my skin is a mournful, autumnal elegance.

 

The throw is pretty good, too.

[sprout]

If you are a fan of Zombi, you're probably going to love this. The roses are somber and subdued, which is a new experience for me. The ivy and moss bring astringent balance to the sweetness of the roses. These smell like the flowers, very natural, not powdery or soapy. Some roses smell almost fruity to my nose but these don't, this is more of a white rose.

 

Drying, the balanced rose and ivy maintain a presence as the moss and shadow musk join the dance. This is a nice Musk of the not quite Black variety, fairly androgynous. The moss is a fuzzy base without the sour I get from oakmoss. I'm guessing closer to Spanish moss.

 

Overall, the composition is very balanced yet all the notes are well represented. The rose is a restrained floral, bringing sweetness and moisture to the dry ingredients, peppery ivy adding some astringency and likely keeping the rose in check, and moss and Musk providing a warm, fuzzy base.

 

If you have wanted a Rose that behaves itself, this could be the perfume of your dreams. If you collect Rose scents, you probably already ordered this. I started my review comparing this to Zombi, and this lacks the dirt and arid quality of that scent, it's more moist, if you will, but this would be quite at home with the Ars Moratoria line.

 

This may become a bottle purchase for me as I'm looking for behaved Rose scents and this is different from most of what I have, my previous Rose acquisitions tend to be the more fruity, jammy types and I like the ivy and moss here. This would be fantastic layered (I'd like layering with dirt or wood but incense or cake combinations would be interesting too) I'm wondering too how the musk will age, will this be like the loved Crypt Musk? Only time will tell.

Edited November 27, 2016 by sprout

[zankoku_zen]

This is like a high aquatic on me. I get ivy, moss, and a smidge of white rose. This honestly reminds me to Host of Air. Great throw and wear length.

[Casablanca]

Wet on my skin, a mingled moss and bitter-sharp green ivy dominate the blend, but there’s also a coldly sweet white rose and a little dark musk showing up behind them. The musk never really comes into its own on my skin, but it could have touches of vetiver and lemon myrtle. Not at the potency of black musk, though, if it does.

 

Once dried, I start picking up a beeswax note, too. Backed by a little musk, it’s giving the blend a smooth, ethereal vibe. By now the sharpness and bitter bite of ivy is gone. I had liked it, so I kind of regret that, but I’m also liking what the scent has morphed into. The ivy just smells dark green and dry, like an old garden, and a little peppery. The moss is softer by now as well. The rose also blooms in drydown, but stays well-behaved.

 

I like this. It felt like a gamble but I’m glad I went with it.

[Wilddog]

In the decant this smells sharp, green and faintly aquatic.

 

The wet stage is still sharp and green, but the aquatic smell is gone. Ivy and moss are the main players. There's some rose lingering in the background.

 

Dry, this is awesome. The primary note is rose, but it's not out of control. The ivy is still there but the moss has been replaced by the black musk. This scent definitely lives up to its name. It's like visiting an old grave in early winter, complete with the dying greenery. The wear length and throw are also above average.

[InaraRedCloak]

Date November 12.2016

 

 

The inhale on the bottle smells like cut flowers, a very flower shop scent, like the greens of a fresh bouquet. After holding the inhale, the slow exhale has a soft fresh rose and lily like scent. The next breath of fresh air pulls an echo off the scent and the green ivy and moss scent - like wet living vegetation comes through. To me, almost no musk from the bottle.

 

 

On skin wet: This is a fresh greens scent. Almost reversed from the first sniff off the bottle. The greens come first, rose on the exhale and almost no musk. This is still very fresh, it is not a heavy, dark scent.

 

 

Dry 30+ mins: The sharp green has faded to the background. The musk comes out finally and the moss ties everything together. This reminds me of gauzy lace - old lace - clean and wispy. The rose is a teasing scent under everything, noticed right before you exhale. The idea of flowers drying in a lace wrapped bouquet comes to mind; but there are still green scents, like life around old, quiet death.

 

 

Worn 3+ hours: The musk and rose scent settle in. The green is still there but more like the earthy greens This must be the moss. It's odd. In one angle (one side of wrist) I smell rosy musk like lace, I move my nose/wrist and I smell the moss. However just sitting around I still catch scents of cut flowers, yet when I bring my wrist close, I catch the lacy, mossy scent , almost like healthy moss on stone. The impression I get is a teasing scent of a drying bouquet while a burial shrouded dead creeps beside an ivy moss covered tombstone. This is a living cemetery at day.

Edited November 20, 2017 by InaraRedCloak