Review: 10 Scents from Conjure Oils' The Ghost of Hallows Past: Resurrected 2014 Collection

I'm done reviewing my 2nd batch of Conjure Oils scents! This time, the scents I'm reviewing is from the The Ghost of Hallows Past: Resurrected 2014 collection. This collection isn't as weird as the Dark Cinema collection I reviewed before, which I was slightly sad about since it's so fun getting weird, way-out-there type of scents when you've tried too many perfumes. For my Dark Cinema review, you can head here.


These scents are also decants from Ajevie and I can't recommend her decant circles more. Head here to check it out!

So here's my review, as usual, they're done blind until the TL;DR's written. If anything in the notes surprise me, I write an overview.

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A Gypsy Flame 2014

"Bonfire smoke, spun sugar, warm caramelized popcorn and candy coated apples."

It's a burnt, papery vanilla cake-like scent. I can only describe this scent as "papery" since it has a light dryness that just has this paper-like quality to it. The vanilla bit was threatening to go sour on me for the first 3-5 min, but luckily it stayed vanilla. There's a bitterness to it that can be either coffee or burnt marshmallow.

As the scent wears on, the bitter bit leaned more towards burnt marshmallow on me. Not toasted, burnt and completely inedible. It has that cloying sweet scent burnt marshmallows seem to have too.

Smells awesome, definitely shouldn't be eaten.
Cool photography by Kyle Dreier. 

I tried this out on my friend to test out if the bitter burnt marshmallow/coffee part was just my skin chemistry. He got the same scent bitter scent, but it leans more towards over-roasted coffee on him. The vanilla is a bit more cloying on him too, and the "papery" part smells more like perfumed paper.

TL;DR: Burnt vanilla-marshmallow cake.

Overview: Tried this again and still can't get the apple, it could be the sour part in the beginning. The cloying cake-like smell is the most prominent, and I guess it's made up of the spun sugar & caramelized popcorn notes.

Update Sep 30, 2015: After a year of aging, this is GORGEOUS! The burnt bit has gone and it smells more like cotton candy and moist, green apple cake with melted marshmallows on top. It's sooo beautiful! The cotton candy is actual cotton candy too, not the crazy searing Aquolina's Pink Sugar type of sugar note. As the scent wears on, the marshmallows smell more toasted and starts to dominate. Definitely age this!

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Hell Broth 2014

"Black coconut, almond blossom, toasted patchouli, nutmeg, beeswax and bubbling green sugar cane syrup."

Ok, there's patchouli in here but I'm not sure what else. It ends up smelling like a thick Asian dessert broth, with patchouli. There's also something off in the background -the closest description I can give is waxy concrete. Either way, if they're aiming to create the scent of a broth that'll probably punch a hole through your stomach, they've succeeded.

TL;DR: A heavy Asian dessert broth with extra inedible ingredients added in by a crazed chef.

Overview: Not sure how almond blossoms smell like, but almonds, coconut & sugar cane can definitely be found in a lot of Asian desserts. I'm actually impressed they got the waxy scent in, since I'd imagine it's a pretty hard scent to capture. I have no idea what's causing the concrete part. 

Update Sep 30, 2015: Oh wow, now it smells less gourmand and more of a wearable perfume! The scent has definitely gotten lighter and I'm getting clean, light rich coconut. There's almost a floral sweetness to it. It's so beautiful and definitely a scent you need to age.

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Killer Klown 2014

"Spun sugar, vanilla-white greasepaint, molten marshmallow and cherry-syrup blood."

Artificial cherries. There's some vanilla in it so it smells more like kids' plastic toys scented with a cherry scent, rather than Nyquil. At first it smelled exactly like the the cherry "baby food" that came with the Baby All Gone doll I used to have:

Is it just me, or does that doll look creepier than I remembered?

Image courtesy of yeahflashback.com

Then the plastic part got stronger and stronger until it smells like how I imagine a fake, made in China knock off of that toy would smell like. Well, gotta give it to them, it smells like a toy that'll send your kid to the hospital if s/he's dumb enough to chew on it. Killer Klown is an apt name for that toy.

TL;DR: Plastic cherries.

Update Sep 30, 2015: The plastic bit is gone, and now it's this pretty, powdery artificial cherries. If you love that artificial cherries note, you'd love this.

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Mara 2014

"Bo tree bark, Indian sandalwood, thousand-petaled sacred lotus blossoms, warmed honey and pure vanilla absolute."

This starts of smelling like a floral bar soap and then a fizziness enters. It's one of those thick, lotiony, clean florals that always makes me think of serene, elegant socialite moms –light enough to be youthful without being young, deep enough to be elegant and complex without going heavy. The type of florals in this makes the fizziness smell more lighthearted instead of childish.

Unfortunately, after 20-30 min it got heavy. It's still gorgeous –sensual, heady, musky florals –but definitely an older scent. It's like the socialite just aged 20 years.

TL;DR: Heavy, heady, musky florals.

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Murder of Crows 2014

"The softest touch of black leather feathers, oak splinters, acorn, crumbled leaves and baked apples drizzled in brandy all illuminated by creamy vanilla moonlight"

Leather, ink, wood and a blue note. Makes me think of an old writing desk that looks like this:

You just know it comes with a leather seat, and a quill & bottle of ink will not look out of place there.
Image courtesy of wayfair.com

I tried this out on my friend and he and his girlfriend fell in love with this scent. Here's their quick descriptions of the scent:

Him: Wow, I like this. This really goes with enjoying really good whiskey. It smells like a really good whiskey bar –those old school ones. You know what I'm talking about –the ones with antique books. (he's referring to the ones that are usually dimly lit, has leather seats, wood panels, antique books for decoration, and makes you want to show up wearing an ascot)

Her: This is what I want my library to smell like!

TL;DR: The perfect library/study/whiskey bar.

Overview: I suspect the apples blending with the brandy and vanilla is what's causing the ink smell. 

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Ol'Scratch 2014

"Thick slices of oven-fresh pumpkin bread slathered with butter and served with fresh cream and a drizzle of treacle"

Initially, there was the smell of vanilla/caramel/cream going sour on me but that disappeared in about 3 minutes. The scent I'm left with is a creamy, buttery gourmand. If you want a straightforward, creamy, buttery gourmand scent, this is it. No fall spices or anything else muddling it. Just straight up creamy, butteriness. I get hints of wet, soggy pumpkin here and there, but it never really took over on my skin. If your skin amps up that soggy pumpkin smell, it may be something to watch out for.

Around 40 min, I smell traces of fall spices but it's too faint for me to really notice.

TL;DR: Creamy, buttery gourmand.

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Succubus 2014

"African violet, sugar soaked vanilla, benzoin, coconut milk, triple cream, Egyptian sandalwood musk and red currant."

That's it. I need this in full size. It smells like sweet, candied blue florals (most likely violets, from experience).

Not sure if you've tried this candy, but all the candied blue florals scent smells exactly like this.

I always love the candied blue florals scent, only what makes this unique is that this is just sweet, without the powdery bit. It's a small difference and hardly matters, but I'm finding excuses to get this because I love candied florals.

.....aaaaand right after I typed that, the powdery bit came in. (about 20-30 min into the scent)

Ok, it's too much like Possets' Bouquet a la Marechale, which I already own a full size in. I sniffed them side by side and Succubus is heavier on the candied part, while Bouquet a la Marechale is a bit heavier on the cool floral bit. They're slightly different, but close enough to each other that I can't justify buying a bottle of Succubus when I already own Bouquet a la Marechale. The candied bit makes Succubus seem like a "younger" scent than Bouquet a la Marechale too. If you tell me to pick a favourite between the two, I really can't. I love them both equally. Must. Resist. Buying.

TL;DR: Candied blue florals.

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Vortex Tunnel 2014 

"Sweet funnel cakes defiled by chaotic swirls of vanilla ice cream, topped with corrupt caramel syrup and washed down with hootch."

Perfumed caramel. This ends up smelling like an ice cream parlour at first, where you can smell one of those clean, clinical-looking room scent with the scent of ice cream cones and burnt caramel. The clean room scent is the most overpowering though, and there's also a sunblock smell. Definitely an ice cream parlour by the beach, filled with people slathered in sunblock. And it'll look clean and clinical like this:

It'll definitely have that clean, almost office-like smell.
Image courtesy of gourmetgoro.blogspot

I'm not sure why this is a fall scent since it just reminds me so much of summer. Or at least fall in LA, where it's still warm enough to go to the beach and walk around in your swimsuit (as long as you're not from a tropical country like me, and prone to freezing).

TL;DR: Clinical looking ice cream parlour by the beach, during summer.

Overview: Hootch apparently smells like sunblock.

Update Sep 30, 2015: Oooh...now it does smell like an ice cream parlour. It smells like caramel ice cream over freshly baked waffle cones. There's this hint of a clean, cheery cherry sort of scent that makes me think of ice cream parlours and it's just gorgeous! I love it!

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Witching Hour 2014

"Spiced pumpkin, falling leaves, a black velvet cloak to pull close for warmth and a frankincense candle offering for the spirits residing in the nearby cemetery."

My first impression was: peppers in the wind. There's also a baked goods or baked pumpkin sort of scent in the background. The peppers is that slightly tangy sort of peppers and threatened to go full sour on me every now and then. Eventually, the tanginess does die down and this just becomes an extra sharp and spicy sort of fall spices on some Thanksgiving dessert. 

TL;DR: Extra sharp & spicy fall spices exploding in the kitchen, with Thanksgiving desserts in the background.

Overview: I'm really not sure what's going sour on me. Maybe it's part of the spiced pumpkin going wrong.

Update Sep 30, 2015: Yup. It's still savoury and sour on me. I feel like it's a perfumed version of a bell peppers salad. Not for me.

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Yuki-Onna 2014

"Wind whipped sugared vanilla snow, black orchid, ginger tea and ume blossom."

Artificially sugared florals. The artificial sugared bit is that artificial sugar note that I personally find a bit searing (sixteen92's Black Sugar & Black Violet's Sugar Clouds has this too). The florals are a mellow sort of florals that temper the searing part of the sugar note, but I hate that particular artificial sugar note too much to like the scent.

TL;DR: Artificial sugared florals.