In Xanadu did Kubla Khan
A stately pleasure-dome decree:
Where Alph, the sacred river, ran
Through caverns measureless to man
Down to a sunless sea.
So twice five miles of fertile ground
With walls and towers were girdled round:
And there were gardens bright with sinuous rills,
Where blossomed many an incense-bearing tree;
And here were forests ancient as the hills,
Enfolding sunny spots of greenery.
But oh! that deep romantic chasm which slanted
Down the green hill athwart a cedarn cover!
A savage place! as holy and enchanted
As e’er beneath a waning moon was haunted
By woman wailing for her demon-lover!
And from this chasm, with ceaseless turmoil seething,
As if this earth in fast thick pants were breathing,
A mighty fountain momently was forced:
Amid whose swift half-intermitted burst
Huge fragments vaulted like rebounding hail,
Or chaffy grain beneath the thresher’s flail:
And ‘mid these dancing rocks at once and ever
It flung up momently the sacred river.
Five miles meandering with a mazy motion
Through wood and dale the sacred river ran,
Then reached the caverns measureless to man,
And sank in tumult to a lifeless ocean:
And ‘mid this tumult Kubla heard from far
Ancestral voices prophesying war!
The shadow of the dome of pleasure
Floated midway on the waves;
Where was heard the mingled measure
From the fountain and the caves.
It was a miracle of rare device,
A sunny pleasure-dome with caves of ice!
A damsel with a dulcimer
In a vision once I saw:
It was an Abyssinian maid,
And on her dulcimer she played,
Singing of Mount Abora.
Could I revive within me
Her symphony and song,
To such a deep delight ‘twould win me
That with music loud and long
I would build that dome in air,
That sunny dome! those caves of ice!
And all who heard should see them there,
And all should cry, Beware! Beware!
His flashing eyes, his floating hair!
Weave a circle round him thrice,
And close your eyes with holy dread,
For he on honey-dew hath fed
And drunk the milk of Paradise.
Through sunlit caves of ice, roses unfurl amidst dancing waves of serpentine opium smoke and amber tobacco, golden sandalwood, champaca, tea leaf, sugared lily, ginger, rich hay absolute, leather, dark vanilla, mandarin, peru balsam, and Moroccan jasmine.
VetchVespers –
In the bottle, I get a sweet, boozy leather scent that is very nice. There’s a bit of a cologne feel and a tad bit of nutty warmth. Perhaps the massoia bark? This leans masculine to my nose, but I think could easily be worn by a woman.
On my skin I still get leather and the sweet cologne feel, but I also get some funkiness creeping in. I think I’m going to blame the wool as I’m not familiar with that note and don’t really have issue with anything else listed. It smells kind of… swampy… So I smell kind of like a sexy swashbuckler with nice leather boots covered in muck after he’s run around in the sewers, which I guess is pretty darn fitting!
An interesting scent, but doesn’t shine with my chemistry.
hlinspjalda –
In the vial: Sweetness with opium, bay rum, and something almost floral.
Wet: Oh golly, I could bury my face in this coat and huff it forever! MMMmmmm, bay rum!
Drydown: Oh yes, delicious bay rum but sweet (I guess the opium?), and I definitely get the impression of being wrapped in that coat. Nomnomnommmm.
This was wonderful throughout, from the spicy start to the soft musky vanilla-like finish. On my skin it’s truly fabulous, something like a sexy version of Port-au-Prince without the almond.