Say that the men of the old black tower,
Though they but feed as the goatherd feeds,
Their money spent, their wine gone sour,
Lack nothing that a soldier needs,
That all are oath-bound men:
Those banners come not in.
There in the tomb stand the dead upright,
But winds come up from the shore:
They shake when the winds roar,
Old bones upon the mountain shake.
Those banners come to bribe or threaten,
Or whisper that a man’s a fool
Who, when his own right king’s forgotten,
Cares what king sets up his rule.
If he died long ago
Why do you dread us so?
There in the tomb drops the faint moonlight,
But wind comes up from the shore:
They shake when the winds roar,
Old bones upon the mountain shake.
The tower’s old cook that must climb and clamber
Catching small birds in the dew of the morn
When we hale men lie stretched in slumber
Swears that he hears the king’s great horn.
But he’s a lying hound:
Stand we on guard oath-bound!
There in the tomb the dark grows blacker,
But wind comes up from the shore:
They shake when the winds roar,
Old bones upon the mountain shake.
A sepulchral, desolate scent. Long-dead soldiers, oath-bound; the perfume of their armor, the chill wind that surges through their tower, white bone and blackened steel: white sandalwood, ambergris, wet ozone, galbanum and leather with ebony, teak, burnt grasses, English ivy and a hint of red wine.
c-j-allison –
An interesting and intimate fragrance! It smells like the big jar of dried roses I keep for tea. The rose note is definitely tempered by a nice woody, faintly smoked scent. I’m not a huge fan of the blue/menthol element personally, but it mellowed quickly on my skin and it works to tie the floral and wood elements together nicely. Without the blueness, this would just read as generic floral.
It doesn’t throw super far, so it’s a very cosy and intimate perfume. It has fair staying power on the skin.
The overall impression is high quality incense, which is very pleasant. It definitely reads as mysterious, historical, wistful, fancy.
karissamckalameja –
I feel like Dita Von Tesse would wear this, it’s a powdery light floral scent. The first time I smelled it I was like idk about this but as the day went on it morphed and it is really nice. I like going out of my comfort zone for fragrances and this one was a fun one to play with.
Claire –
I find myself fascinated by this scent but I’m not sure it’s one I would necessarily want to wear regularly. There’s definitely a menthol scent to it and it really does smell “blue” and “wispy.” I think that must be the blue lilac it mentioned. It absolutely conjures an image of a Victorian-era room, so it’s very effective in that regard! I think only a small amount needs to be used otherwise it can definitely be overwhelming.
Deanna –
This is such an interesting blend. It seems to morph every time I sniff at. At first, it’s mostly floral with an insency almost smokey note. As it dries, the floral notes come out more. Now the roasewood and teakwood are coming out to play, with the floral notes in the background. I don;t normally like heavily floral blends but the sweetness of the rosewood and teakwood balance it out nicely. It’s a beautiful light scent, and a huge morpher.
dinnercakes –
What I love most about this scent is that it seems to change. Sometimes I get this almost menthol scent from it. Other times, it’s powdery and floral. I’ve noticed that in the full-size, it seems more balanced than the imp I received before. I’m really glad I took a chance on the full-sized.
christopherjaycraig –
This is my first review for BPAL. I recently purchased about 6 samples and I’m currently wearing OUIJA today. It’s a floral, but more like dried flowers. I do get the whole “seance at Madame Leota’s parlor” vibe from this. There is an antique Victorian mustiness to this scent, which is perfect….old wood, dried flowers, dust. I’m not getting an old lady, powdery-ness or makeup scent with Ouija, but it is olde smelling and light, it’s not big projector, and sillage is light to moderate.
annelehr23 –
This reminds me of the 1940s-1950s French perfume samples that my grandmother would bring home from the thrift store when I was a child. If you’ve ever opened up a vintage bottle of perfume that has gone all thick at the bottom of the bottle, you know what I mean. It’s the most glorious smell ever! Ouija has that scent!
Jade –
This is definitely a floral perfume with plenty of high notes, but not really anything to round off the sharpness of the floral scents. On paper, the lilac and rose comes across the clearest to me.
Reminiscent of a summer garden, the flowers coms across cleanly, like a floral soap. Used sparingly, this could be rather nice. Too much, and it could very easily be an over-powering “grandma perfume,” as I call it.
Not my taste, but as far as floral scents go, it’s not bad either.
Nuri –
I have other rosewood perfumes from BPAL which I love but this one is not one I will be running out to buy again. I’m not sure what it is but something reads menthol like to me. Oh well you can’t win them all.