Memoriam

This was one of my favorites in the Curious Oddities sample pack, and my highest priority to get a full sized bottle of. It's hard to find a rose perfume that isn't too powdery or soapy, but Memoriam has a perfect, strong, realistic rose scent that doesn't overwhelm. The same goes for the ash and smoke; I was asked by two people when wearing this if I had been to a bonfire recently. There's also a hint of incense, not spicy, smoke shop incense, but sweet, more similar to rose incense itself. I'm curious if those who smell BBQ or spoiled grease got a bad batch, or if this is just down to skin chemistry? Either way, this one works on me. I love perfumes that intrigue and delight, and Memoriam fits the bill. I have a feeling it will work its way into my regular rotation soon enough.

To me, at least, this smells like a very heavy, funereal rose. Not a fresh, romantic rose, but like a rose laid across a coffin during a funeral, or a rose oil used in incense. I can smell something ashy, not as sharp as smoke, but cool and carbon-like. There's another scent I get, just a subtle whiff. It's like a new shoe, fake-leather type smell. Not bad, just something I smelled that wasn't listed in the description! I think that this is a very good and unique floral. It is mournful, gothic, and entirely beautiful, like a short story written by Edgar Allan Poe.

Love. Total bombshell. Discontinued but I imagine if you layered their single-note smoke and rose oils you'd get a similar effect. Love Alkemia's smoke note; all of my favorites from them have it featured prominently. Extremely linear but it works here. A date complained that it smelled like cigarettes when I walked in which made me enjoy it more. Meant to be melancholic, reminiscent of grief, but strangely enough it is just pure sex appeal to me. Few things make me feel as gorgeous. Incredible for going to bed.

Oil that is rubbed on the skin and becomes a kind of protective aura: aged roses, something antique, slightly musty or earthy in a good way, I smell some lily accord in the background, a thick broth of smoke and reminiscent sweetness. There is also something almost aquatic, almost fruity, like a pear? it smells like the punk of the Damned

This is really nice. It smells like incense to me - not the resinous sort, like frankincense or myrrh, but some kind of stick incense. It isn't headshoppy, but neither is it churchy; it evokes a single stick of incense burning in a large, empty room with the lights out. There's rose, of the dry/dusty variety, but smoke, ash, and something else - balm of Gilead? - are significantly more prominent. The ash is wood-ash rather than tobacco ash. This is the most ash-forward fragrance I've smelled, which makes it unique in an already small category. This scent best fits what I think of as a 'gothic' fragrance. It's not as dark as others I've tried, but the ash and roses give it a vaguely maudlin romanticism that fits with goth subculture. I don't know how often I'd wear something like this, but I am quite fond of it. I think I would've liked it a great deal in my late teen years.