GEHENNA (Autumn 2011)

GEHENNA
Red Musk, Dragon's Blood Resin, Burning Wood, Somalian Myrrh, Egyptian Musk

Offered as part of the Autumn 2011 Collection in Perfume, Glace, Ganache and Whipped Soap

Gehenna is a very dark fragrance with red musk as the dominant note, followed by rich Dragon's Blood. Smoke from eternal fires billows in the background followed by a subtle addition of resinous myrrh. Egyptian Musk rounds out the sharper notes of the blend and contributes to a lighter, less ominous dry down.

On cold sniff and initial application, Gehenna is strong, powerful, rich and musky. The smoke is more detectable at this stage. The scent evolves to showcase the red musk and dragon's blood in the foreground. After journeying into Gehenna for an hour or so, a halo of Egyptian musk emerges from the darkness - tempting the senses with its white light and calm resonance.

(reposted from my SS Fall contest blog)

I don't really have that much knowledge as to what types of musk smell like what, but I have to say Angela did some wonderful blending with this scent!

Anyone who enjoys her Dragon's Blood perfume will most certainly like this one. Even if you're not a lover of Dragon's Blood, the blending of this scent makes it much softer and not nearly as strong as it is by itself.

Cold whiff is mostly the Dragon's Blood to me (which I happen to love). The funny thing was I thought to myself "Why would Angela make a scent that is so close to one that she already has?". Well, immediately after applying it, I totally understood. This blend starts out on your skin with not only the Dragon's Blood, but also a musk (which I assume is the Red Musk). She mentions that the initial scent is more musky with the DB kicking in later, but it seemed the opposite for me. It could possibly be that my nose detected the DB first because that was the first scent I could identify. After being on for a few minutes, this scent REALLY blooms. The Dragon's Blood calms down and it opens up all types of scents from musk to a smokey resiny incense. The final drydown hours later is a lovely soft musk.

These types of blends are why I'm such a Solstice Scents addict. Comparing Angela's Dragon's Blood to this scent really shows how much of a master she is at her craft. This scent will definitely be worn quite often!

I am so in love with this scent...I dare say it is my all time favorite SS scent!!! It reminds me of a blend of Nag Champa, Drangon's Blood and Musk. It is very lovely without being too strong. I love Angela's Dragon's Blood perfume as well, but I do find it a little strong at times, so this is the perfect alternative!!! I am only hoping that this will become general catalog....PLEASE

I received Gehenna as an extra free sample since it was my first order, and I initially thought I probably wouldn't love it. Dragon's blood is not a scent I tend to go for in perfume, I usually prefer scents that wear closer to the skin and aren't so 'in your face', I suppose (I do like the smell, just not on my skin).
Saying that, I was pleasantly surprised to find that Gehenna has grown on me a lot. While it is a strong scent, I really love the dry-down muskiness. Gehenna lasts for ages, too! I put it on after a shower one morning, and I could still smell it on me the next morning very strongly (and I only use a very small amount). Needless to say, I ended up ordering a full size!

Love, love, love! It is dark and intrigueing. Red musk is the dominant note. And I love it. I am a big musk fan. As a teenager I only wore White Musk (haha). This red musk is much more spicy and sensual. The Dragon's Blood is sweet and spicy and yes also mysterious and sensual. This is a very sexy perfume! Oh yes and there is a hint of smoke there as well. When this perfume dries down it turns more smooth and sweet, with hints of vanilla, sandalwood and patchouli.
Another new favourite!

Hoping I'm not being out of place to mention another etailer, but if you like BPAL's Scherezade, you'll love Gehenna. It's a very sultry red musk/incense blend.

Good observation, Rinster. I have Scherezade, but I prefer Gehenna. Scherezade can be a bit overwhelming and chaotic (as I think most BPAL scents can be). I am going to have to get a second bottle...

Love this scent! I didn't think I would like it based on the description, but had ordered the autumn sampler. I tried it and couldn't stop smelling my arm! I orderd it in the perfume, whipped soap, and glace. It is a great warm incensy scent that has a bit of cleaness to it on me. I just love it! It has shown me it pays to try everything, because sometimes you never know when you will love something! this is a must!

Red musk often has a wine and nag champa incense-like quality to my nose, and I get that here, sort of like a hint of fizzy grape soda (but not that sickly sweet or cheap) and a whiff of nag champa incense smoke.

Gehenna makes me think of red musk spilled over crisp white paper & silk, with a swirl of exotic incense in the background. It's clean, dry, and incensey... smells both exotic and sophisticated to me. Very lovely.

Sometimes I really hate my skin This should work for me, it really should but my skin does something terrible to it and turns it overbearingly strong and perfumey. If this comes back next year I'll be trying it again in case slight batch variations make a difference. I adore red musk and dragon's blood and the other reviews make it sound wonderful so it can only be my skin chemistry at fault here!

This is a beautiful perfume but I won't get a full bottle because it's not my thing. I have no idea how any of the notes smell like so I won't talk about that. The sillage is great and it does last pretty long. I do love the dry down and I think this is a really interesting perfume. I am new at this perfume thing and I have no idea what patchouli or red musk smells like so this is a learning experience for me.

This one immediately caught my attention with the name, then Dragon's Blood and Musk. Musks usually do well with my body chemistry. My first thought on the sniff “Wow, this is a sultry scent.” After application I get a bit of a “bite” to the smell. More of the Burning Wood comes out and morphs into the Myrrh and the musks taking over. At the first sniff it was all Dragon's Blood but then this blend changes into a complex fragrance that I smell different notes each time. This is gorgeous. It's the subtle sexy blend that would take a minute to wrap around someone else's nose.

Ghenna is definitely much like Dragon's Blood older sister. She is sexier, more feminine, darker and slightly heavier, and more red? I just get red from this scent. I don't even know how, but it invokes that color in my head whenever I get a whiff of it. It must be the red musk, I guess. Upon initial application, I get a lot of Dragon's Blood and the Egyptian musk. On the dry down, I get a lot more red musk and it becomes more and more feminine on me, and less like incense and Dragon's Blood. I felt like it was a little backwards compared to the description, but my skin chemistry is different than everyone else, so of course it will morph differently on different people. I really liked this one, it is definitely dark but still maintains that feminine quality.

There is a classissism about this fragrance that struck me the moment I put it on. It is musky and warm and my initial thoughts are that it is somewhat feminine in it's softness, but on a longer wear I suspect that I have mistaken intimacy with femininity as so many musks are unisex in nature. It is somewhat subdued and subtle as it dries down and the musk becomes more 'skin' like. I like LittleBird's analogy to silk as there is a conceptual link to the luxury, cleanness and refinement of the fabric and the feel of Ghenna. It is not though a crisp silk fabric, but one that has been warmed and softened by wearing on the skin. It is as feminine as a silk blouse and as masculine as a silk shirt. It is an invitation to more intimate moments.