Skuld

[tinyvulture]

Ylang ylang, honey, Egyptian and Arabian musks and labdanum.

I found a description of ylang-ylang that says it is “similar to jasmine, with spicy clove in the background” and that is what I smell here, mixed with rich, full-bodied honey. The weird thing is that I usually can’t wear jasmine, but this smells pretty damn good on me. So bring on the ylang-ylang! Plus, I smell something that I also detect in Snake Charmer – must be the labdanum. It’s warm and sweet, kind of fruity like a plum. I want a bottle of this.

[Loligo]

Wow, I have been having a run of good BPAL luck recently! This is beautiful: rich, sticky honey with something fruity in the background, and just enough musk and resin to ground it. The ylang-ylang is overwhelming at first, but tames down quickly. This is exactly the sort of smell I was hoping for from Honey Moon or Hetairae, but didn't get. And I do think this is an appropriate smell for an Excolo blend, because to me honey is a very, very primal scent, one of those ancient cultural touchstones from deep in the Indo-European past.

[sophia_helix]

Same from in-the-bottle to drydown on me -- cloying grape-musk. That gross raisin-scent is exactly how Delphi turned out on me. I think ylang-ylang is a no-no for me, and even though I love honey in some blends (Tiger Lily!), as often as not it will ruin a scent for me in combination with certain elements.

 

Pretty long-lasting. Of course.

[Undine]

I too got the grape smell. I wonder if it's something about how the labdanum and ylang ylang act together. When I first put the scent on, it was very strong, and I thought, "Oh, wild grapes." Or Concord grapes. Yum. Sometimes the scent veered close to Jolly Rancher, but it was never really too much. The whole time the honey hung out underneath and reminded me of Delphi--a significant part of the scent, part of a pair, but not the only significant "player."

 

I've recently started applying moisturizer wherever I put on a scent, right before I put on the scent, as throw/lasting power of BPAL is generally very minimal on me. With this treatment, Skuld lasted all day, although by the end it was just light honeyed sweetness.

 

My husband thought it just smelled sweet on me, and did not smell the grapes. But sometimes I think he is insane.

 

I liked it very much, but don't have it on a bottle list, because I like Delphi's smokiness and Hetairae is my honey sexpot blockbuster, and because of the veering-towards-Jolly-Rancher. But I think it makes a great autumnal, harvest, or Mabon scent with that smell of wild grapes.

 

On my scale, a 4 out of 5. Maybe even a little more.

[Voleuse]

This one's almost overpoweringly sweet when first applied. The honey blooms brightly, then the ylang ylang, with the musks as an undertone. I have no idea what labdanum is.

 

The honey fades a little, eventually, which is good for me, because I'm not the biggest fan of honey. It's still a really heady scent, though, warm and sweet and insinuating. Like the sun wrapping itself around you. And after a while, a bit of floral begins to emerge. Interesting.

 

Much too sweet for me, but it's a beautiful scent if you like honey.

[iriedanym]

When I first popped the lid off the imp, my first thought was "grape soda". I looked up what the notes were for this scent, and nope, no grape. Once on the skin, it still smelled grape like, but now it has a lovely honey and ylang ylang mixture. The Arabian musk is subtle, and not overbearing (thank goodness!) I adore this scent as much as I was hoping I would (I read the manga "Oh My Goddess" which has the three Norns in it and I've always liked Skuld)

[em_h]

Skuld is rather like Hetairae without the patchouli, so the overall effect is sharper, less sweet despite the honey, and a bit less like a Lush store (though still kind of), and never developing the smokey quality of Hetairae. Somewhat conventional-perfumey in the later stages, but there are also wafts of musk that are nice. I don't love it, but I like it okay; though the ylang-ylang was oddly persistent on one wrist, and got on my nerves after a day.

[maewitch]

Ylang-ylang is one of those floral notes that tends to settle high in my nose and in the back of my throat, making me feel irritated and nauseous. If I smell it from far away it can be ok, but it's definately not a nose-up-against-wrist snuffling kinda note.

 

But in this blend it's so muted that I can barely pick it up. What I'm mostly getting is a candied honey and slightly spicy musk. It's actually quite lovely, sexy and sweet.

[brownbear]

mmmmmmm

Honey. I love honey and ylang ylang and musk. mmm In the imp it is a little bit harsh with a weird bit of fake fruit, but that fades on my skin. This is very soft and faint. It smells softly sweet. I just wish it lasted a bit longer.

[SeaMonkey]

Wow, this is SWEET

 

like, really really sweet.

 

In the vial its honey and ylang ylang with a tiny bit of grape.

 

On the skin it smells like honeyed grapes and sugar with a little bit of musk.

 

I just can't get over how sweet this is. Its like I dipped a grape lollipop in sugar then smeared it all over myself

 

ADDED Dec. 25:

 

Very very sweet honey. It reminds me a bit of bastet when it first goes on, as I seem to be getting an almond note

[elphaba]

The first time I wore Skuld, the only impression that stuck with me was "spicy," which was odd, given the ingredients. I tried to be a bit more careful in my observations this second time around.

 

In the imp, Skuld smells heavily of ylang ylang.

 

On my skin, the ylang ylang fades enough to allow in a sweet honey scent--raw, complex honey and that's when the spiciness comes out. Not a hot spice like cinnamon or cloves, but a light spiciness with a hint of mintiness every now and then. This has to be the labdanum and it's gorgeous.

 

The musks are very light and haven't gone stinky on me in four and a half hours I've been wearing this blend. Skuld is a very soft scent, but it's managing to stick around quite well.

 

I don't know that I'll be ordering a big bottle (my husband didn't like it one whit), but I'm going to be hard-pressed to give up my imp. I can see this as a very relaxing sleeping scent and, with the sweet ylang ylang and musk, I suspect it would blend quite well with Lush's Butterball, although I don't have one handy to sniff side-by-side.

[malanna]

Grape! This is grape juice! After several hours, my first impression when I sniff my wrist is of grape, but if I sniff more closely and take the time to break it down, I can smell the honey, and a bit of the ylang ylang. Well, at least this makes writing this review a lot easier.

[TrinitySydney]

This was a frimp (thank you, Lab!) and it is IN-ta-desting!

 

This oil is playful and hard to describe, so the best I can do is this:

 

Imagine "O" is a woman and she takes a bath in grape koolaid mixed with cranberry juice.

 

Ayup, that's Skuld. Honey, Grape and Cranberry. I don't get a bit of ylang ylang, which is a good thing since ylang ylang and I aren't impressed with one another.

 

Oddly though, even if my description doesn't sound flattering, I rather like the fragrance. I think however, I'd much rather have this scent in a room candle than on my wrists. Perhaps I shall collect a few imps of this and make a candle.

[Miss Lynx]

The notes all sounded good to me apart from the ylang ylang (a pungent, screamingly high floral that hits me like the olifactory equivalent of nails on a blackboard), but unfortunately that's what totally dominates it on me, at least for the first while. It's not unlike Hetairae in that respect, and in fact if I hadn't just tried Hetairae yesterday I might have found this one more interesting.

 

But like that one, it's an all-out ylang ylang attack for the first while, and then eventually settles down into a mostly honey-ish, reasonably pleasant scent. It's basically like an un-spicy Hetairae. And since the spice was about the only thing making Hetairae interesting once the ylang ylang had faded to manageable levels, that means Skuld is unfortunately kind of bland. It's basically light (no labdanum evident), sweet (a little too sweet), and not very interesting.

 

Grade: B-

[byrdie]

vial ~ a sweetness that only super-sugared Hawaiian Punch could produce. woofah.

 

wet ~ still sweet, but there's that incense-like mustiness beneath it that I tend to get from the Lab's Voodoo Oils. As a matter of fact, I'm tempted to say that this is a calmer version of Aunt Caroline's Joy Mojo.

 

drying ~ Huh. It's almost like this super-sweet oil was cut with something similar to strawberry incense: the earthiness gives it a desperately needed base, but it's not trying to argue with the sweet top note.

 

drydown ~ still nearly bubblegum sweet (huh, it reminds me a bit of fig -- but I just read the description and there's no fig in this), but more powdery than anything else.

 

dry ~ the sweetness and the powderiness are combining into a girly perfumed powder. There's still some berry in it, but this is becoming the sweet of wine rather than candy.

 

fade ~ yep, girly perfume powder.

 

5ml ~ Naah. I'll keep the imp, but this isn't making me smell scrummy.

[amrita]

My notes say:

honey! sweet, VERY sweet and floral from the ylang ylang.

this is punch you in the face honey. hm.

and, GRAPE.

what a useful review.

 

That is really the essence of my experience with Skuld. I am an incense/wood/resin type gal-- this is way too sweet for me to wear!

[Meg]

In the bottle: Honey and something quite resinous, labdanum, perhaps. There is something reminiscent of grape juice.

 

Wet: Honey and I think this is ylang ylang but I've never smelled it before. It smells spicy and a bit sharp. The smell goes into "second skin" mode and disappears, but I know that's just how musk acts on me.

 

Drydown: mostly honey and I think ylang ylang. It's very soft and pleasant, with a slightly spicy tang. The musk of course smells slightly soapy, but it works with this blend. Funnily, despite the honey, musk and ylang-ylang, I don't find it really sensual... there's a slight coldness to it, a slight bite that keeps it a bit aloof. I'm guessing that's the labdanum.

 

Overall: This smells less mysterious than the other two Norns, more like a regular spicy/honey perfume than a mystical experience. The spice is a little bit overwhelming for me, as my skin tends to amp it terribly, and I can't really concentrate on what the perfume is supposed to represent... Skuld is the Norn of the future, and it's quite an optimistic future she paints, with the honey and spices. It's a pleasant heady perfume, maybe a bit too heady for me. On the plus side, it's one of the rare musk perfumes that didn't turn to soap on me.

[grrrlennyl]

at first: very pretty. sweet and floral, but not too much so. i think the musks and labdanum are a nice touch.

on: sweet, but not cloying. i can smell the ylang ylang and some of the honey and musk. lovely.

1 hour later: lots of ylang ylang. there's an almost lotus-like watery feel to this, too. very pretty.

2 hours later: much sweeter now. i'm mostly smelling the honey, but the musk is keeping it a bit more powdery. honeys sometimes go weird on me, but this one is nice.

3 hours later: soft, powdery honey and musk.

4 hours later: a warm honey scent with powdery musk.

6 hours later: still warm and sweet. wonderful.

overall: i absolutely adore this. i'm not sure i'll buy a bottle, but i'll be keeping my imp.

[Chrysantza]

I wanted to like this, as I love ylang-ylang and musk, but alas. On me, Skuld turned to nail polish remover. I suspect the labdanum, as I amp up resins liek whoa. At any rate, it was pure chemical and I had to go scrub it off.

[lookingglass]

Being.

warm, pulsing...

the sweet pounding of

life wafts on the air

around the fresh memory

of the flesh

so new

surrounding the soul

so ancient...

 

 

Must...have...a...big...bottle.

 

Skuld is everything I wanted and more. A delightful skin scent; not the blatant sweet sex of O, but definitely in the same category... slightly more transparent...

If O is a deep, warm golden honey color, Skuld is it is like the color of creamy white flesh itself complete with the hint of blue veins beneath, and the pink flush of the cheeks. This is a tiny bit floral, but the clean musks make this scent fresh, yet so sensual. Wear this everywhere...it stays close.

Edited December 25, 2010 by lookingglass

[tarotgirl99]

In the bottle and initially on my skin this is honey with a fruity accent. Since I am a honey girl, this made me just reel from pleasure.

 

Sadly, within a short time the honey went south...and all I could smell was cotton candy (grape cotton candy, at that).

 

I will try this again, but I am so sad. Baby, baby...where did my honey go?

[loves_requiem]

weird...everyone else is getting cherries or grapes...

 

im getting apple cider from an apple orchard, and dark dark honey...good god this is gooooooooooood.

 

i mean REAL good.

 

it smells like late summer/fall and the boy you like on the field trip to the orchard is beckoning you from behind the cider shed...

 

really sweet and kinda innocent in a love in the summer dirty way.

 

not that I have ever done ANYTHING in an orchard...ever...really. I swear. *blush n giggle*

 

later the apple scent tones down and i can see where the dry grapeness comes in, lke a good dry wine.

[herongale]

reaction: When this dries down it is actually a very pleasant honey fragrance, sweet and almost alive. But before that it's a riot of unacceptably sweet candies. This does not make me think of the Norn of classical mythology. This makes me think of the overly-endowed anime character of "Oh! My Goddess." I am conflicted, because I really want to like this fragrance because conceptually, it is very "me." However, it's too much like an indistinguished, clumsy young nymph of the Lolita class.

 

verdict: This is the kind of fragrance that would have best suited me in grade school, when I was nourishing my Narnia fetish. Now? I think I'll pass.

[AlaskaSnows]

Very nice! This is sort of a medium strength fruit and honey, with a touch of spices. I think the imp will be enough, but it is a pleasant, rich scent, though I find the fruit note too candyfruit for me.

Edited March 7, 2006 by AlaskaSnows

[LittleGreyKitten]

Bah, this is one that did the exact opposite of growing on me- I grew sickened by it after a while, enough so I am rewriting my entire review. Luckily before I'd ordered a bottle. It was weird- I really loved it the first two times I wore it, and after that it was like it went immediately off on me. This is the first time I've experienced the honey antipathy that others have expressed- too strong, too sweet, too cloying. I usually do well with honey, with the major exception of Honey Moon, but this was too much sweetness for me. Maybe it's the combo of both honey and ylang ylang. Too much sweetness.

 

For me, 2.5 out of 5.

Edited March 29, 2006 by LittleGreyKitten