Search the Community
Showing results for tags 'Ligeia'.
Found 10 results
-
A thunderous passion, conceived in obsession and nurtured in the bowels of delirium, that grasps in desperation through the darkest shadows of the ether. An unwholesome smoky musk, dark and sweet, laced with Virginia tobacco, honeyed black currant, and red patchouli. Gosh... this one isn't quite what I expected but that's not a bad thing in this case! Wet: The musk is definitely up front here with the black currant ( ) and red patchouli playing supportive roles. The tobacco is right behind them rounding things out. Drydown: Everything is starting to blend a bit now into a lightly sweetened musky sort of beauty. Maybe it is the namesake but this screams out Poe to me. It is dusty, musky, evocative and has a slightly old time mood to it. It isn't quite in the category of the "whoa throw!" heavy hitting favorites of mine like Snake Charmer (I can smell her on any article of clothing days later) or Mme Moriarty... but the throw here isn't fooling around. I get the feeling I will still be able to smell some remnants in my hair tomorrow morning. Later: I sort of feel like this is what Eat Me would be like if it went back in time and hung out with Poe in some smoky den. Strange description perhaps but that sweetened black currant in Eat Me just rose up and smacked me in the face. I merely smiled. I'm not regretting this impulse buy one bit. No way. Now to convince myself that my storage is already too full and I don't need any back up bottles.
-
A spectre’s poison: unknowable strange toxins dribbled into warmed red wine. In The Bottle: A *very* strong wine. It's got an edge of grape juice to it, like the kinds of home-brew wine my Sicilian neighbors made when I was a kid. But make no mistake- this is boozy as hell. Wet On Skin: The kick lessens slightly but the grape remains. I'm also starting to get some of the warmth that was ever present in Gluhwein, which I adore. Dry Down: I get a trace of those unknowable toxins, but they are in the background, like a sinister shadow, or a disturbing afterthought. It's what prevents this from being too foodie, for sure. In All: Medium throw and rich. I would wear this on wintery evenings for sure, and if Glugwein is any indicator, this will surely age in a fine way. It's almost so pure that it could be a Wine Single Note- which means I anticipate layering options well into the future. If you're a fan of the wine note (as I am) then you don't want to miss out on a bottle of this. <3
-
Of such passion, I could form no estimate: sanguine red musk, red benzoin, wild plum, vetiver tar, and Indonesian patchouli beneath a still pool of sheer white musk and vanilla-gilded lily. The Tumultuous Vultures of Stern Passion is such a wonderful surprise. I was seriously worried about the vetiver tar, because vetiver just doesn't do it for me, and 'vetiver tar' sounds like pretty strong vetiver. I can definitely smell it here, and for those who are really sensitive, it still may too much for them, but I personally think it's absolutely beautiful in this blend. It adds something rooty, earthy, green, almost citrusy...that comes down like a slender green spike through the other notes swimming around it. The red musk is mellow here, with the benzoin adding a resiny, woodsy base. The patchouli is very subtle. The plum brings sweetness and a bit of tartness. The white musk and vanilla-ed lily add a lighter, floral layer that gives a lot of depth and complexity. At times I catch a phantom note of very faint leather and I'm not sure what could be causing that, but it's not at all unpleasant. The lily and vanilla actually come forward as I wear this one, peaking about an hour after application. As with the other Ligeias I've tried, this feels like a classic, well-blended perfume that an Art Nouveau heroine would wear. I'll treasure my bottle.
-
Sweet opium smoke, neroli, yellow bergamot, and piquant, strange star anise. Sharp and soapy at first application, not unpleasant. Drying down is opium backed by citrus. Opium scents feel very sophisticated to me, this is no exception, but it has a nice brightness from the neroli. I was hoping for more bergamot, but I suppose it and neroli are fairly similar? There is a bit of a laundry aspect to this scent, especially during drydown. However, it mellows into a gentle opium scent with a tiny, almost Jasmine-like edge to it. I am very much looking forward to seeing how this ages! It's different from anything else I have in my collection and I'm glad I took a chance on it.
-
A haze of tuberose, pale jasmine, vanilla orchid, and lily, with a faint jagged edge of opium tar. Decant: Something piney/bitter that must be the opium tar over light florals On: Flowers are strong and beautiful at first but then something turns really soapy. I don't have a lot of scents with tuberose or lily, so I'm not sure how they behave on me. Jasmine is one of my favorite notes, and it's playing nicely here, though quickly overwhelmed by everything else. I'm not sure I get any vanilla orchid. Sadly, it's getting to be just bitter, strong soap. Verdict: I'll try this again and see if it's still super soapy, but I'm guessing my skin just doesn't do tuberose and/or lily nicely.
-
The scent of Ligeia reborn: black tea leaf fougere with black sandalwood, opalescent vanilla, osmanthus, 18-year aged Indonesian patchouli, and the suggestion of ancient incense smoke. This. Is. Magnificent. I will try my best to do it some justice. This is deep dark patchouli with the roundest, most gorgeous vanilla I've ever encountered. It's rich and thick like pudding, I could feel it in my mouth. I know that sounds odd, but I swear it's true. I don't know if it's the fougere or the osmanthus adding a type of floral sweetness to the mix but it's a lovely addition. I've read several reviews alluding to an overwhelming anise note. I don't get that really. It's more of an insinuation. I actually think it's from the blackness of the patchouli mixed with the sweeter elements. Very evocative of its inspiration. This perfume is simply a beautiful revelation. I'm in love. It is just that damned good.
-
Rich vanilla sandalwood elegantly distorted by oudh, labdanum, scarlet saffron, and pink pepper. In the bottle: The vanilla sandalwood and pink pepper notes stand out to my nose. The combination of the pink pepper mixed with the sweetness is somewhat reminiscent of High Strung Daisies. It's kind of like High Strung Daisies and Mouse's Long and Sad Tale had a baby (but without the floral notes). If I inhale really deeply, I can smell the saffron and a hint of the other resins as well. Wet: The vanilla sandalwood is quite prominent, as well as the pink pepper. (If you aren’t familiar with pink pepper, it’s almost bubblegum-like but with a bit of a peppery kick.) The other resins are present, but they seem to be content with background roles at the moment. (I can smell them more in the crook of my elbow than on my wrist.) Dry: The pink pepper and vanilla sandalwood notes reign on my wrist, but the oudh and labdanum are more prominent there now (and are quite prominent in the crook of my elbow). I also get more of the saffron note in the crook of my elbow. Verdict: I love vanilla and pink pepper like whoa. I also love it when vanilla is paired with resins, so I knew I would love this one. I plan on ordering a back-up bottle when the Yules go live. It is rather feminine and pretty. *ETA (edited to add): a description of pink pepper.
-
A disorienting eddy of French lavender, black tea, orange blossom, sharp green tea leaf, pink flowering thorn, and a blot of inky resins. Disclosure: Normally, I don't go for scents that have lavender in them, as I find the scent too medicinal for my tastes. But the other notes in this were all so compelling that I blind-bought a bottle. Let's see how that worked out, shall we? In The Bottle: Wow. This takes off, right out of the gate. The lavender is there, and yes, it's a strong French one to be sure. But the black tea, green tea and orange blossom are all in the mix, too, making it, at this stage, what I'd been optimistically anticipating: the smell of drinking tea in an English garden (emphasis on the 'tea' part!) Wet On Skin: I am generally not much for florals- they never seem heady enough for me, being a foodie-and-resins kinda girl. But this is just unfolding into something too beautiful to ignore. At this stage, it's *very* heavy on the tea notes with the lavender stepping a bit into the background and the orange blossom acting as a bit of a 'sweetener' for the tea- like orange blossom honey, without the honey Dry Down: Staying true to the end, drinking tea on a glorious spring day in a verdant garden. In All: Low to medium-low throw, this is mostly a top-note scent. Whilst I feel certain that I will wear this plenty come spring time, this scent also reminds me fondly of walking in the medicinal gardens of the Mutter Museum in the dead of winter. Make no mistake- this is a straight-up floral. But it's extremely complex and layered. I'd say it's a floral both for fans of the genre and also for this of us that usually don't care for them. SO glad I got a bottle of this!
-
A claustrophobic thicket of yew, cypress, and drooping oak grown wild with dense mounds of bittersweet nightshade, gleaming white foxglove, creeping black ivy, clusters of marshy false morel and fly agaric, and a smear of crushed, overripe baneberries. I appear to be the first reviewer - I wish I had a more profound review to contribute! I generally tend to like the "green" and woodsy blends, and I'm enjoying this one, though I don't feel it's really dramatically different from similar BPALs, such as Bayou. (Though I don't own any Bayou and sniffed it just once a long time ago, so I'm not sure the comparison is valid.) To me, the florals predominate somewhat, with the nightshade note reminding me a lot of the angel's trumpet from Rapunzel (angel's trumpet is a nightshade). But whereas Rapunzel has a more simple green backdrop, Verdant Decay brings in the cypress/yew evergreen resins, and the "mushroomy" note that, indeed, smells a lot like real mushrooms to me. The cypress/yew did not jump out at me at first but emerged more on dry-down. (Bear in mind, though, that I have a high threshold for resinous woods.) I like this; not sure I need a bottle. I like most of the notes here but it's seeming like the mushrooms might be a little too far front in the long run. To me they're more "foody" mushrooms and not quite in harmony with the mood of the other notes. I'll ponder further.
-
The stirring of another’s heartbeat within your chest, the vacuum of a stranger’s breath within your lungs: Laotian oudh, carrot seed, white orris, and bitter raw frankincense chilled by elemi and eucalyptus blossom. Mix carrot seed and oudh into any blend and I'm going to jump on it, but let's see how it works with the more chilly notes here. First thing to hit my nose on application is what I love best - a beautiful woody, softly balsam-like oudh and carrot seed, combining to smell like those root cellars dug underground before the days of refrigerators (my great-grandmother had, and my grandmother still has, such a root cellar, so this evokes some childhood memories for me). I can barely, barely smell the frankincense and eucalyptus blossom as it dries, and neither are sharp or as cold as I expected. On the contrary, they're a perfect and subtle showcase for that gorgeous oudh and the rooty-sweet carrot seed. Thankfully, I get no orris at all, since that's ruined more than one blend for me. The frankincense and eucalyptus blossom come out a little more on final dry-down, but still don't manage to take over the oudh and carrot seed, just enhance it. This is all I hoped it would be, and I might need a back-up bottle.
