Nephilim

This review is based on the bottle I just purchased in the sale. I also have a sample from maybe 4-5 years ago. I won’t compare them wrist to wrist but when I tried my old sample last week, the overall vibe I got was stone, patchouli, and something vintage, like if you took Youth Dew by Estee Lauder and took out the oriental notes, and replaced it with stone. From the bottle I just purchased: Dark stone, dirt, patchouli! Smells black and grey. Like you’re digging in the dirt beneath a mausoleum. Smells like a vampire’s home! If they lived in a basement (True Blood), old stony palace (Dracula), or inside a mausoleum in the dirt. I think my old sample might’ve been a little bit richer in its depth, but I’m guessing that is just from the aging process! This is for goths and dark souls.

I, too, bought Nephilim (a sample) for the sale; it has the same dark, shadowy vibe of Estee Lauder Knowing, but Nephilim is crunchier and greener (due to more of a focus on the patchouli in Nephilim) and more earthy, and less mossy or woody than Knowing. Nephilim also smells more modernized for modern tastes, and not as "vintage-y" or "old ladyish" as Knowing. Nephilim is much more unisex than Knowing, too. Only after several minutes does a mineral/kerosene/diesel note appear, but on me it isn't strong. On my skin, Nephilim is all about the patchouli and earthy notes with only a hint of minerals and not-synthetic-smelling oud. Update: after a few hours, the patchouli is still going strong (which is a good thing if you enjoy patchouli, which I do), but it was becoming a bit "monolithic" to me, so I just now liberally applied Caravan (also from Alkemia) which is kind of monolithic spice, and the two sit together beautifully. The drydown of Nephilim lends some grounding to Caravan. Together, they are very autumnal. Nephilim on its own is like working outside all day in the chill, damp, fall weather; and together, they are like coming inside (with your damp jacket still on) to a cozy, warm, well-lit house where family and loved ones greet you happily.

Everyone comparing this to a vampire mansion is completely correct. It's a very cold and ritual-evoking scent. "Goth" is the perfect descriptor. Keeping you at a distance and intimidating you with terrible power. There's something dusty and ancient in there.