Hauntings

[Beccah]

 

Hauntings

A gorgeous ethereal scent… elegant sandalwood and myrrh languorous on a bed of sweet musk, sprinkled with powdered sugar and haunted by a ghost of pumpkin spice traveling within a puff of smoke.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

Magickal Meanings of Ingredients:

SANDALWOOD ~ Love, exotic, sensual atmospheric; aphrodisiac. Healing, spirituality, exorcism.
MYRRH ~ Stimulating, soothing. Powerful guard against evil.
MUSK ~ Self-confidence and strength, sexual attractant, heightens passions and arousal.
SUGAR ~ Attracts love, luck, sweetness and riches. Lust inducing, wishes granted.
VANILLA ~ Aphrodisiac, inspires happiness, playfulness, sexual arousal, lust, vitalizing.
ALLSPICE ~ Luck, health, prosperity, money.
SMOKE ~ In addition to the attributes of whatever is being burned (resins, woods, etc), smoke is for cleansing, purification, renewal, consecration, concealment and celebration. It is also the foremost mode of communication from this world to the realm of spirits and the gods.

[hearts]

This is one of my favorites of the Weenie bunch. It's somewhat similar to Apparition. Very sheer... Its ghostly... A veil of smoke. This seems warmer to me than Apparition though. It's a very skin hugging scent. It's definitely a "white" but I'm into the warmth that's there too. Like warm vanilla sugar smoke. I'm thinking the allspice is giving off the impression of heat to me.

Edited October 9, 2015 by hearts

[Wanderlust]

I cannot wait to try this one!

[Raq On]

the smoke note is scaring me off. I'm going to order a sample though. The rest of the notes are just too good to pass up!

[xev]

I'm guessing the musk in this is white musk, which tends to overpower my nose--it has a fuzzy, numbing, scattering kind of effect. At least right now, it is hiding all the other notes. I just put it on about 15 mins ago.

 

Raq on, don't be afraid of the smoke. Even with the white musk so prominent, I can tell the smoke accord is very pure and clean -- not a pipe or bonfire kind of smoke at all.

[rain_dancer]

I'm feeling mixed feelings about this. I'm also getting warm vanilla sugar smoke, when I really wanted heavier smoke and musk. After a while the spice comes through but under it I can smell the sugar and vanilla going to powder on my skin. I was hoping for something darker and smokier going by the season and the name, since this is just getting more powdery by the second I'm going to put this in my "eventually will trade or gift" stash..

[vladmyra]

I'm curious- I haven't had the opportunity to snuffle this yet, but I wonder how it might compare to La Sylphide? I know this one has more notes in it, and doesn't include the ylang ylang or nutmeg (although nutmeg is in allspice I think). I kind of get the impression they might be somewhat similar in feel to one another though.

[luna65]

Mmmmm! I love the myrrh in this - because I am a myrrh lover - but it's a sort of sheer sweet resinous aura, it reminds me of Elixir of Silver, but not as weighty. It is ghostly because you can't quite put your finger on it after it dries down, the elements keep shifting.

It is actually haunting your skin!

[Wanderlust]

Luna, yes, exactly.

 

I am dizzy with the intoxication of this. At first there was a sweet, near-anise quality as the sandalwood, myrrh and vanilla musk swirled 'round like aether. It drifted throughout my nasal cavity, straight to my brain pan and into my mouth and throat. I opened my mouth, breathing deeply, savouring the flavours and textures produced by adding oxygen. Somewhere, a whiff of smoke became fog. I closed my eyes and let myself go where this haunting would take me. A long hidden hooded grey velvet cloak appeared. Tucked into the hood, a dainty pair of grey-green pearl buttoned, velvet and lace gloves made by delicate hands. Items lovingly placed in a trunk and stored away long before you or I had been imagined. All this time, waiting for adoring eyes to be cast upon its grandeur, discovered via a magickal potion in a wee vial.

Edited October 18, 2015 by Wanderlust

[Beccah]

I'm curious- I haven't had the opportunity to snuffle this yet, but I wonder how it might compare to La Sylphide? I know this one has more notes in it, and doesn't include the ylang ylang or nutmeg (although nutmeg is in allspice I think). I kind of get the impression they might be somewhat similar in feel to one another though.

They're very similar in the vials. Hauntings smells a bit warmer to my nose.

ETA: I have them both on now. Ok, they don't smell at all alike to me on my skin. They both have a similar feel, but Hauntings goes in a warm, slightly spicy direction, while La Sylphide is cool, smooth & elegant.

Edited October 18, 2015 by Beccah

[vladmyra]

Thanks for the comparison Beccah! I thought this one might be warmer, but am glad to know they have a similar feel, as I adore La Sylphide and am so instinctively drawn to this scent. Sounds like this could be the autumnal cousin of la sylph.

[johnsonlisa90012]

I really like this so I am going back to buy a FB. . .I echo what everyone else said. .. it is definitely spicy and deep but not like incense. . .the smoke is very interesting with the spice. .. .the myrrh is very prominent on me and makes this a little masculine coupled with the sandalwood. In the first 10 minutes, the sugar is pretty non-existent. I'm pretty sure this will smell better on my BF than on me! But the sweeter aspects starts to come forward albeit they do not really alter the spice and myrrh. If it is too strong, I can see layering with a little more vanilla.

 

It's a moody scent but in a weather type of way vs. emotional. Makes me want to sit at the window and watch rain. It definitely feels like the day when the season changes to winter (which is barely one day at all here in So Cal). It reminds me of living in Seattle and having real wood fires and conversation on cold nights. It's super atmospheric to me vs. introspective.

 

I like it (especially as I sit here in another 80 degree day absolutely wishing for the smell of fall and winter).

[Black Cat]

Fantastic review, JLisa (and Wendylynne and Luna and, well, everyone!)! This is the first one I tried and it really is quite stunning! It has a darkness to it while at the same time the texture is smooth, light and airy. And I have NO IDEA how Mara does this, but this one has movement. It's curling up and away from my skin; when I hold my hand to my nose I swear that I can *feel* a current as I sniff!

 

Also, despite the smoke, it has a cooling quality to it. It makes me think of the way ghost hunters describe "cold spots" in haunted houses.

 

I think the allspice is genius and taking it out of what I thought might be familiar vanilla, resins and musk territory. Just.... really something!

 

ETA: This also has strong sweetness to it! The sugar note is quite prominent, a fascinating contrast to the resins.

Edited October 20, 2015 by Blackcat

[Wanderlust]

Don't listen to the voice. Don't believe a word she says. She lies. She lies.

 

I wore this again today. Must say that I found it even more gorgeous than I had previously. How is that possible?

 

I promised myself I would not buy anything but the sampler. I promised. I did. Did.....

That's past tense, isn't it?

 

Edited October 20, 2015 by Wanderlust

[Cherise]

This was my favorite of the samplers, when I first tried it I had on 4 other scents and it was phenominal, I had to go back and try it by itself to make sure it was Hauntings that got my attention over the rest. But when sampled by itself it lost some of it's effect but still my favorite an airy sheer vanilla myrrh. I wonder if it was amped up from the aja, cops or levitation when I tried it initially w other scents. As lovely as this is by itself I bet the right boost will send me over the top again.

[phergineer]

Out of all the October new releases, my hubby likes this best. In the vial, it reminds me of medicine, having a bitter note, but on my skin it softens. I can see this paired with SWS, perfect for the office. I'm considering a full bottle.

[StacyK]

I agree^^ This scent has two faces. It could be an evening scent. But, could definitely be a power work scent too. Also, on my skin it is fairly masculine. So for night I'd do something really sexy like Sexpionage or LFN. It would be great at work with SWS, Leather or Dom.

 

A big surprise winner for me.

[johnsonlisa90012]

I am wearing again tonight. It morphs and fades quickly on me so I think it's gone but then hmmmm I get a whiff out of nowhere and it is back. This is really intriguing as a scent. It's really captured me. The only other scent that grabbed me like this was LP Gold where I couldn't get enough but that is in a preferred scent genre for me. This is not a Frank n myrrh kind of holiday smell. It is so sophisticated and complex.

[Wanderlust]

I'm wearing Hauntings again today. Completely captivated by this scent..potion.

Edited October 26, 2015 by Wanderlust

[belle-ville]

This is so masculine on me!! I'm loving it. I don't even know how to describe it. I don't smell smoke yet... If anything it may be a touch of very clean, clear smoke, more airy than smoky. I also get a hint of the allspice... It DEFINITELY is elegant. A sweet, clean musk with just a touch of vanilla and allspice. I think i don't know what sandalwood or myrrh smell like loooool. MUST put this on the bf. I may also have to go full bottle but we will share!!

Hum. About an hour in, this is getting more feminine. Probably too feminine for him to wear, but I'm still going to try it!!

Edited October 30, 2015 by belle-ville

[belle-ville]

Well the bf liked this! He didn't think it was too feminine... Although it smelled slightly smokier and spicier on him, it was still a sheer, sweet musky vanilla on him. I might go FB and share with him... Hmmmm...

[The Baroness]

I dabbed this on and thought: "Hmmm, haven't I smelled this before? Isn't 221B very similar?" So I pulled out my sample of 221B and to me they are very similar, but when I checked they don't seem to have even one note listed in common! So I'm confused, but I stand by my initial feeling. For me, Hauntings is very similar to 221B: well-blended and sophisticated, although not as overwhelmingly chic. Maybe 221B's shyer, sweeter little sister. An elegant, ethereal fall scent, I love it!

[Blanche]

To me, this feels very similar to Feed the Flowers. I need to put both on and compare. I like this so far. I applied a while ago, it is dark and intriguing.

[IndieAna]

Hauntings first applied is rich, dark, woody. The bitterness of myrrh, is quickly smoothed out with the warm spices. The balsamic quality intermingles with the musk and smoke. The fragrance is blended beautifully, no note is too loud. Slowly the scent simmers down to a powdery, more sweetened perfume on me. Elegant and a joy to wear. I have experienced some sensitivity on application points, but it's not enough to stop me finishing my sample.

[Blanche]

I must say that I was wearing it today and got a little rash on the neck where I wore it. But I still love this scent and will wear it nevertheless.

Edited February 18, 2016 by Blanche