Crossroads

[Ryvre]

The forks of the road: an in-between place, sacred and tangibly magickal in innumerable cultures and faiths. This scent is dark with mystery, taut with power. A chill twilit garden of blooms over dry earth and mosses, heavily laden with incense and offertory herbs.

This is very floral, but not as sweet as many florals.

Wet, I can't smell the incense at all.

The incense comes out a bit as it dries, but it's kind of dusty/powdery.

After an hour the incense is gone and it's all floral again.

[ariansdreams]

First Sniff (in the imp): wet dirt. It smells like the air after a rain. Fungusy, and damp.

 

Wet: incense and wet dirt.

 

Dry: This is nice smelling, but it isn't very sexy. It smells wet and clean. I think I'll be swapping this.

[fiddledragon]

Scent in bottle: A marvelous deep mossy herby floral. I can't pick out any distinct notes yet.

 

Scent on me:

Wet -- I think that's jasmine, and what's maybe frankincense? It's still very earthy and mossy.

Dry -- Mossy and earthy and floral and resins.

 

Conclusion: Yum! It's incredibly well-blended, well-named, and very me. A bit too floral for everyday wear, though.

[cranberry]

This is from imp that I’ve had for a long time.

 

In the imp I get smells of dirt, moss, then flowers and a smidge of herbs. The predominant scent is loam and soil.

 

On the skin, wet, the dirt, moss and dust disappear and I get flowers, possibly gardenia or jasmine, or maybe both. It has kind of an Aveda type smell, which I love. It’s a beautiful floral. It's a lot more lush on the skin than in the imp.

 

As it dries, incense peeks it way in. The strong jasmine note remains but it’s blended with other element tempering it a bit.

 

As it dries further, I’m picking up a dusty, smoky note; that was a total surprise, I didn’t expect that!

 

Overall, I like it but I'm not sure if I need a bottle or not. I tried it when I first got it and I think I got more earth, incense and moss, and I fell in love and immediately wanted a bottle. Many months later I'm getting mostly a beautiful heady floral. If you're a jasmine fan try it! I will hang onto my imp though.

[Neely]

In the bottle: florals, Jasmine to more accurate. At least it smells like Jasmine to me. this does not bode well.

 

Wet: Jasmine, with the funk Jasmine has.

 

Dry: Jasmine. I get no earth, no moss, no herbs. Just Jasmine. Stoopid skin!

 

30 minutes: stinky Jasmine. I left it on in the name of scent review, but I would have washed it off a long time ago otherwise.

 

Conclusion: as with anything having jasmine, and/or most other florals, it isn't for me. My skin just amps the floral and doesn't let go. I smell like I have been mugged by hundreds of flower pots. It would be one thing if I amped florals in a nice way, but I don't. I am disappointed, Hecate smelled awful on me, so I hoped Crossroads (her venue) would at least work. It would have been useful for ritual purposes. Alas, no.

 

Rating 1-5, on my skin this is a 1.

[Eunice]

In the bottle: A tangy green, like someone cut up a thick leaf. Very fresh and spring-like.

 

Wet: Spring during a rainstorm!

 

Dry: Still very green with a floral sweetness. I'm not getting any of the dirt but I know it's there somewhere. I expect it to pop up from out of all that floral. Faintly powery but not in a bad way.

 

Overall: This is one I love to smell but not something I would wear often since I'm partial to incense notes. Such a happy and positive scent!

[Nekomata]

Lab frimp!

 

In the imp: Very musty and dirty, dry scent.

Wet: Musty florals, still very dry. Moss is very apparent after the dry down. This has a very strong throw.

[AliBabble]

this was a frimp from the lab, which i always appreciate, and which are always fun to try. however, crossroads is problematic on me. right out of the vial, it struck me as too intense - too sweet and heady. on my skin, it is more interesting and pleasant - the moist earth smell, and assorted mosses and flowers - is that really jasmine? i usually love jasmine, but this one feels kind of abrasive, or jagged somehow. maybe it's something else - magnolia?... the whole smell is odd: it's intriguing and evocative...a little spooky. but it threatens to make me sneeze, there's something in it that irritates my nose. almost a moldy, sickly sweet smell. that said, i'm enjoying the images crossroads is conjuring up, but i'm not sure how often i'll wear it, as it's really intense on me. maybe on a moonlit walk through a graveyard sometime? it's hard to say...

[urraca]

In the vial this has the smell of something very dead that I have noticed in a few other BPALs. On, that fades immediately, which is a very good thing. It is a dark scent, darker than I like, but underneath the darkness it smells, of all things, a little like Tzadikim Nistarim, one of my favourites.

Edited May 11, 2006 by urraca

[xith]

I'm getting all sweet flowers here. Either the moss and earth is hiding or I'm just not recognizing it. It hasn't changed much, so far. Started sweet flowers, still sweet flowers.

[HennaFairy]

bottle:

very earthy, with floral and herbs

 

wet:

herbal and earthy, touch of floral.

 

dry:

this kindof reminds me of a graveyard… but it's cool! It reminds me of my trips to the aran isles for some reason, wild herbs and flowers, dirt, and just a hint of the ocean behind it all…. Later it turns into much more incense, wish it stayed like it did earlier, but still nice!

 

overall:

loving it more early on, still nice though

 

rating: 7/10

Edited March 1, 2007 by HennaFairy

[Rhowan]

In the vial was earth, incense and herbs. Wet on my skin it is pure floral - Odd since usually in the vial and wet on my skin smell the same.

 

As Crossroads dries down the floral is still the prominent note but I am catching a hint here and there of dry earth. No other notes to be seen.

 

Completely dried down I am standing at the Crossroads - this is a perfect blend between heaven ie: the florals and earth ( dirt and moses) with just a tiny hint of incense and a bitter end note of something herbal.

 

Conclusion? While I find Crossroads intriguing and and perfect balance, my tastes run more toward very earthy oils like Death Cap. If you can't wear a dirt note and want to then Crossroads is it! Very nice! Great throw, long wear too!

[Elrianra]

This is smoky and dry in the bottle, the florals, mosses and earth make a dusty base that the herbs lay on gently - dried herbs, nothing green in it - and the incense layors nicely over the top like a sheer covering. (Lace curtains perhaps) Once on me, this gets a little greener; the florals and herbs mix over the earth and mosses while the incense is wetter and heavier, cloying over the rest in a sheen of allure. Dry, the greens have settled - cool florals, dusty mosses, pale herbs and a thin veil of incense and smoke; this is a temple blend that also reminds me of shamans or medicine men. Warm, the herbs and incense lighten and literally warm this while the florals lighten softly from twilit to late afternoon. Very oddly, this scent lightens as though experiencing dawn and not twilight at all. After a few hours, this is just a faint florals and mosses blend that eventually just quietly slips off entirely. A very subtle and complex blend, this is heavenly.

[grrrlennyl]

at first: dry, with something slightly burnt in the background.

on: dry, but with an earthy sweetness to it.

1 hour later: dry and a bit burnt. like the smell of leaves burning far in the distance.

2 hours later: this smells almost floral. very light and dry, though.

3 hours later: a very dry floral.

overall: this is an interesting scent, but not something i would wear.

[eviltemptressdq]

i smell the ground. LOL. grassy dirt. Now, while I do like this scent... it is a bit much for my allergies, it seems? Making me a bit sniffly... and, honestly, it isn't really "me" anyway...

 

*off to the swap pile*

[olympia301]

 

Dirt and flowers. Crossroads have always been a strange and creepy intersection a place where you have to make choices, now what are you going to do? Well, you can be sure whichever road you take, you will have regrets but you might have joy as well. I can think of plenty of crossroads where I changed my mind and look back on the experience shuddering to think what would have happened if I had just plodded on or missed the chance to change. So, this scent makes me think about that. Dirt for mortality, flowers for a chance at life and betterment.

[sookster]

straight sniff from imp is light fruity jasmine....

i know me and jasmine all too well....

 

applied this is mostly moss and jasmine...helluva strong sucker...

potent....after a bit of time the jasmine calms down ...slightly

 

still going strong after 30 minutes...equal parts of jasmine and earthy moss...

 

unfortunately not for me

[Diana]

Wet: very perfumey-floral.

 

Dry: The floral is bright & sweet; it's almost citrus-like... I think this is magnolia maybe? There are some slightly earthy/mossy notes in the background.

 

After a bit, some of the incense notes come out. They're soft and powdery, quite like the incense notes of Sybaris. They obscure the moss notes, but not enough of the florals, which stay fairly bright.

 

An interesting blend, but a bit too floral for my tastes.

[karengypsy]

In the vial: Herbs, woods, light spice

 

On me: Very earthy and herby. It's very light at first, and then all of a sudden, I can smell the incense. Mmm. I'm also picking up florals - a light scent of rose, perhaps, and maybe something else. It reminds me of sitting on a rock in a forest clearing, with big trees all around me, flowers growing here and there, and a softly-smelling insence burning. It's a happy, green smelling scent ot me.

 

Verdict: I love this scent and will definitely wear it again. Big bottle? I don't know - will have to give it a few more tries. So far, I really like it.

 

Rating: 5/5

[portalkat]

This opened up as a very strong floral on me, perhaps jasmine and rose. It finally mellowed after about 20 minutes and I could smell the mosses. Finally I could smell hints of the earth note which smells a bit dry, although not dusty dirt. I was hoping to smell the incense, but that never showed up. It ends up mainly as a light herbal floral and reminded me a lot of house of night.

 

With the exception of the initial blast of flowers, this is very light and does not seem to last very long on me, nor does it have much throw.

[kunoichi]

In the vial, Crossroads is a scent of sweet floral and green things together, quite a nice scent. As it goes on my skin, the floral starts to fade, yet the sweetness and the green things stays, and it the scent of newly turned soil starts to make itself known beneath it all. This scent still smells of soil and green things (probably the moss as it reminds me somewhat of Bayou) even after a few hours; it’s sweet and green over soil.

[theseagrows]

this has jasmine or honeysuckle in it i think (whidh i dislike), because for most of the beginning it's all i can smell. after it fades a bit the mossiness comes out more and it becomes more subtle.

 

it's just kind of 'eh' on me so i will be swapping this one.

Edited July 6, 2006 by theseagrows

[edenssixthday]

Crossroads - This is a scent that I wouldn't normally wear. It was thrown in as a frimp by the Lab. Wet, it smells of dusty dirt and dead weeds. I really, really disliked it for the first 30 minutes I wore it. Then it mellowed out and now, about 3 hours later, it's really nice and doesn't smell of dirt, but of fresh herbs, and the tiniest hint of jasmine. Jasmine usually takes on a life of its own when it touches my skin and becomes completely overwhelming, but the jasmine in this is just the perfect amount that I can enjoy it without it consuming my life! While I don't plan to wear this again, I think this is a scent my sister would adore. I'm going to give her the rest of this frimp and see what she thinks of it.

[shirasade]

This was a frimp, and one that made me happy because it was on my wishlist (although the incense made me hesitate to order it).

 

Imp: Oh dear, there's the incense. Not my kind of scent at all, it's too dark. There's also a hint of moss, however.

 

Wet: The incense retreats, making the wet moss come out stronger. I can also begin to smell flowers. A forest at midnight, or maybe a graveyard at dusk, mist over headstones and flowers.

 

Dry: Herbs almost replace the moss, the flowers turn sweeter. Still a cool, dark scent, exactly like the description (actually, it's never been this accurate for me before). Quite a staying power, too, but on me it turns into an old lady's potpurri after a while.

 

Overall: Beautiful mysterious scent, but definitely not me, I'm afraid. It doesn't feel right on my skin (probably the incense). Pity!

[Caltha]

Crossroads

Incensey, fruity, jasminey and soapy. In the same sweet incense/oriental jasmine soap category as The Caterpillar, but I much prefer The Caterpillar. Crossroads is rather dull. And yes, I know there's supposed to be herbs and grasses and earth and stuff in it, but nope. Well, alright, maybe some wet earth clashing weirdly with the jasmine soap.... A bit too cool and moist and flat for me, I prefer my scents cosier and warmer and more fullbodied, and The Caterpillar is that version of this scent to me. Crossroads is so cool I get a hint of metal out of it. I also get... dried apricots?