Ossuary

I am drawn to tis scent. Ossuary is the first I purchased from La Curie while in Tucson. The next day I bought three more. Ossuary is a kind, soft, cool and airy woodsmoke. Although it has a base of orris and a heart of violet, it is not sweet, but rather soft, like an Argentinian wine with good structure and a long finish (not a California wine which is too sweet). I love this La Curie line for its structure and tones without a fruitiness. I hate fruit, I hate vanilla/tonka. I love the feeling that any of the La Curie fragrance will take me back to the sun-baked trails of the Santa Rita hills and Saguaro. The blooming mesquite and spicy, herbaceous dessert plants, the dried woods, and the fresh cool mountain air. I could spray these and look at my Tucson photos and get a 4-D experience. And for a native lover, who likes florals and woods, this is the best blend that is very different than other fragrance lines, and never leans sweet, vanilla, fruity, or soapy. I also very much enjoy Odyssey and Cyllene, and my kids really like Incendo. Ossuary: Euphonious catacomb orris root, wilted violets, charred wood, dalmation iris, incense, palo santo, reverence Inspired by the Ossuaries of Europe Unisex - Eau de Parfum Release year 2013 Cyllene is not listed on this site, but is currently available: EDWARDIAN VANGUARD Leather, Bergamot, Frangipani, Night blooming horse reins, Jasmine, Parisian Gossip (a re-make of the beloved #1 fragrance from 2013) Release year 2017 (reformulation 2018) Odyssey: Crystalline Osmosis liquidambar, astroid sap, purified air, white vinyl, nostalgia, candied comet dust, utopian dreams Composed of fabricated galactic botanicals

Wilted violets and silence in an ancient catacomb. palo santo, orris root, charred wood, incense, balsam Inspired by the Ossuaries of Europe Unisex - Eau de Parfum At first spray, I smelled what I thought to be leather....which would've been fine cuz I love leather! After a few moments, I smell the charred wood mixed with earthy goodness maybe the Orris root. Almost like a woodpile you have burned down and just left outside. The rains come and stir the dirt up around it. Then, you decide to move it and get this delicious old charred wood smell, very earthy. In the mix, the violet approaches very low key but noticeable nonetheless.Incense is there but wafting. It's not overpowering. It's mysterious just kind of lingering about. This is the 2nd review I've left for La Curie and again, I'm VERY impressed! It's different, noticeable and mysterious. A close to Mother Earth scent. Highly recommend.

OMG, I love this perfumer and her incredibly creative scents. This is the 3rd one I've tried and I am hooked on her line. So unusual and not mainstream. Ossuary is not something I would've thought I would like due to the iris, which I have had a hard time with in trying multiple perfumes. But this is wonderful. Powdery, dry iris; incense and burned wood think damp ashes), almost a bit sweet. I don't know what Palo Santo smells like in real life, but I bet I recognize it now after smelling this amazing perfume. My only complaint is the longevity of Ms. Peterson scents, but I love them anyway. And I love not smelling like everyone else! P.S. It came to me last night as I curled up in bed.....similar to Bvulgari Black, which I love and have.

This is my second-favorite perfume by La Curie. (My first favorite is Cyllene–unfortunately there's no page for it!) The concept and execution are unique and compelling, (though I have to say, this smells much better than a real ossuary!) This is a dry, cool smell that is comforting while simultaneously evoking a romantic feeling of loss and funereal aesthetics. My only complaint is that the sillage of these scents is not super large, but I make up for it by overspraying.

This is simply one of the favourite, if not my favourite palo santo focused fragrance. Linear, slightly vanillic palo santo with support of orris root and resin. Not a masterpiece, but excellent in its simplicity. Got a full bottle. For colder days, perfectly unisex, 20+

I Adore Ossuary!! It has a heavenly, chalky, cottony, airborne texture that is so comforting but also intoxicating! Like a beautiful plush woman in a soft sweater. Bringing it to the full size collection for sure!

Le Labo Gaiac 10 with some iris and palo santo. I think I’ve reached my limit for this scent profile. 3 out of 5.

La Curie is probably my favorite out-of-the-box and off-the-rails perfume house...Incendo is a masterpiece that enjoy wearing during the Fall and Winter seasons...it's the best smoldering campfire fragrances anywhere. Faunus is a terrific gentleman's scents that, while not overly exciting, is a quality fragrance that is covertly interesting and overtly woody. Which brings me to Ossuary... ...Yes, I too was intrigued when I read the name on my sample pack and, at first sniff, this fragrance will knock you off your feel, strike you dead in place, and lock your bones in a wooden coffret; it's like you're the special guest in your own private Ossuary. I love this fragrance and appreciate the artistry behind it as Ossuary is both a straight-forward, yet, complex scent. I mainly get dusty/musty woods, balsam, warm spices and, occasionally, some fleeting hints of medicinal bandaids that can indicate oud. While my girlfriends did not object to my wearing this fragrance (she said it smelled like bandaids) it's a perfume for fragheads as it is not going to be well received by the masses. Again, I love this fragrance but it's only getting a like due to it being a little too out there. But I will be wearing Incendo this evening and I would highly recommend everyone ordering some samples from La Curie.

I am not the Queen of the Woody Fragrances. Really. I like to smell like incense and of dark, quiet places. I was gifted a sample of this, and when I tried it, the first thing that hit me was violet. Hm, okay - right? Violet's a wonderful, mild, watery floral to me - it has the powdery sweetness that I associate with florals (and how florals typically turn on my skin), but it's never enough to overwhelm the other notes of a perfume - and is just enough to give it that touch of lightness. From there, it turns to wood, wood, and more wood - I'm thinking it's the Palo Santo dominating over everything else. And that's the part that I'm not sure of. I don't lean towards woody fragrances, and while I want to dislike this one because it doesn't smell of anything that I usually wear, it works for me. It smells like money - not snobbish old money, or pandering new money, but luxury goods and confidence money. That's probably a strange way to put it, considering that this perfume is named after the dead. But even the dead can have money. The longevity is a major plus - a little goes a long way.

My final sample from the current quintet of La Curie fragrances, Ossuary is surely closest in overall impression to my last try, Larrea, in that it's a woody/spicy mix that, through the influence of violet and orris, rings rather leathery in the dry down especially. Fortunately, it's not too powdery or floral but rather the orris and violet are well-blended with trio of charred wood, incense, and balsam. It feels natural and even comforting. It's slightly masculine, surely geared toward colder weather, and overall quite pleasing, despite the morbid name. Performance is probably the second-strongest after Incendo, which still remains the mainstay of the line in my opinion in terms of both performance and scent profile. 7 out of 10

On my skin, this is violet and orris-forward. A very cold, almost powdery floral with a blonde wood layer beneath it. My first impression was the word "mysterious". Completely androgynous. Really transports you to a cold earthy cavern with wilted flowers. I adore the concept and think that it executes it extremely well. It's a bit complex for daily wear. I could see myself wearing this to a formal event or fancy outing. The cold floral seems good for winter. Edit: I've been sitting with this one for a while now, and I really do love it. It doesn't project very far, so I find myself smelling my wrists while working. It's perfect for a cold, rainy day--something about the rain outside brings out the cold violet notes beautifully.

Like other reviewers have mentioned burned palo santo dominates this scent, it reminds me of Lush's Breath of God, though not as intense and smoky. Another prominent note is the orris root which creates a powdery accord that makes this scent airy and creates an air of mystery. Unfortunately, the violet gets lost in the middle of these two intensive notes. It's barely noticeable and slightly sweet. I would recommend this perfume for the colder months and for those who love scents with a gothic edge. Perfectly unisex, moderate sillage, moderate longevity.

So glad I scrolled down and read the review that said the iris note in this feels a little cheap and flat–that is totally what makes this perfume fail to transcend for me, even though I do like it. There's lots to like here, but I do think something in how it's put together doesn't totally cohere for me–maybe it's those purple floral notes feel like they're a little more budget than the genuinely complex leather/wood that's happening elsewhere. Apparently this smells great *on* me, my wife loves it, so that's something.

A lovely, left of center woody fragrance. Palo Santo with a warm and dry starchiness.

Smoldering incense in a crypt filled with doll heads.

I’m having a really mixed feeling about this one. At the very first spray, my only impression was WTH! It smells like kerosene or something like shoe polish to me. Too aggressive. I can get the kerosene feeling for about the first two hours, but during that time, if I sniff closely, there are pure wood and smoky wood scent. After two hours, the kerosene thing’s gone and my hard-to-say feeling comes. It is so gentle and warm now! I love the scent and it helps calm me down. I agree that Palo santo is the bone of this perfume. The end note is such a pillow-scent to me. Ossuary is a just wood without any sweet or leather thing. I think it is quite masculine, especially the start. With its price, it is worthy.

Immediately, the powdery florals of the orris root, iris, and violent are sweet, but quickly tempered by the smoky spice of the incense and woody palo santo. Sadly it doesn’t project far. From a distance, it smells like the Met Cloisters, where scent of the sweet medieval gardens in bloom faintly entangles with the vacuous atmosphere of a museum... in the fantasy of Ossuary, there is woody, arid incense smoke filling hallowed halls and enlivening the artifacts. This is the sort of scent you’d image be applied to saints’ relics, something that would layer nicely with dusty bones and dehydrated flesh This isn’t a perfume for being alluring, it’s a perfume for being a goth medievalist.

Really nice scent but not for my on my skin. The palo santo is very strong

I'm new to fragrance and dove right into the deep end. This perfume opened with a mysterious, pretty, and sharp scent and then very quickly turned into a chemical-like smell. Another reviewer described it as similar to shoe polish, and I would agree. As it dried down, it became more dry and powdery, and had a very strong and distinctive note to it, which I assume is the palo santo. I would continue to describe it as "mysterious." After about an hour, I got quite queasy and overwhelmed with the smell and had to take it off. I enjoy incense-like smells but find them easily overpowering, and this fell into that category. My favorite positive about this scent was experiencing "dry" and "powdery" in a new way! I would recommend this perfume if: you enjoy unusual incense-y notes; you enjoy palo santo; you want to experience "powdery" in a way that doesn't smell like vintage cosmetics.

It smells like I stuck my arm in a barbecue and my flesh is now rotting. Probably the worst scent I have tried thus far. I know palo santo smells a bit strange but this was just too much. Don't even get any violet in this, just burnt palo santo, and it's quite frankly gross. Wouldn't even like it on a dude, it made me gag. Buy it if you want to smell reminiscent of bacon cooking in a barbecue, with a bit of mummification powder thrown on top.

Its been a while since I've burned actual palo santo wood. You can usually find the little wood chips at new age shops and the like, A marvelous scent, I would say kind of in the cedar family, but its really distinctive. Ossuary is heavy on the palo santo, I'd say about 80%, the rest is a base of tolu and possibly olibanum resin, and I do get a slight undercurrent of vintage women's makeup (the orris and violet). A bit oily on skin, which I take to mean high quality ingredients were used. This is full bottle worthy for any fan of palo santo wood, and definitely worth a try for anyone with a preference for woody fragrances in general. Long lasting and unisex.

Ossuary is a strongly smoky, almost charred palo santo at the opening, then gradually softens and becomes more powdery, almost ashy, thanks to the orris and violet. I agree with @ras.kel.5 that upon first spray, there is a distant similarity to Lush's BBQ bouquet, Breath of God. Crucially, though, Ossuary is missing the levity that BoG's melon note provides. In its later stages, it's slightly cold but sweet and meditative. La Curie makes evocative, very personal smelling fragrances, and Ossuary is no exception. It's left-of-center with its gothic leanings, but still beautiful and wearable.

A simple but very interesting work:dusty,a little earthy and slightly smoky at start,it develop in a floral played on couple Orris/Wood. The Iris Root act as a Violet support,adding a soil note. Palo Santo is present and realistic. This assembly of notes,give full credit to the fragrance name:I have the impression of being in a dark and damp catacomb. Going beyond the name,Ossuary is a well crafted floral woody scent,and it can be addictive. Sillage is moderate,longevity,a few hours It smell "nichery" and expensive. Kudos to Lady Peterson.

La Curie's Peterson is incredibly creative and talented. The inspirations for her perfumes are unique, somewhat odd, but absolutely spot on. Ossuary opens with Palo Santo, known as 'Holy Wood'. A relative of frankincense, it's aromatic and smoky. This combined with incense, orris root, and violets creates a dry, dusty smelling accord that suits its inspiration. It has an arid resinous feeling, like stacked wood dried over time, a symbolic replacement for bones. Sillage soft, longevity good. Enjoyed this woody incense homage very much!

You’ve dug up some cool dark roots of a palo santo tree. Charred the ends. Smoothed the soot all over your body in calming ritual. Finally, you take a nap in the sunlit mist. I’ll take 20. Edited a year later to add: I have a full bottle of this one now, and it's one of the most worn in my collection. Somehow the rooty orris even makes it wearable in the summer heat. Love love love.

on me this is really an incense and leather scent inky rubbery leather, wood smoke, damp and earthy unique for its category