Verdandi

[Lucretia]

VERDANDI: NECESSITY

Deep herbs and apple with black amber.

 

I hadn't reread the description when I put this on, so I wasn't sure what I was expecting.

First off I am struck by a sense of musty herbs, not really crisp like fresh crushed, but more like dried herbs. Seems almost a bit aquatic for a second.

 

Then, I get apples! This is my first scent with apples and I really like it. Again, not crisp, tart or juicy apples, but a fully ripe apple. This blends wonderfully with the herbs. I can't quite put my finger on the amber, but I think it has blended in with the apple scent.

This smells very woodsy to me, something like a walk through a forest in the fall after a really heavy downpour and all the herbs and mosses are at their most pungent. It smells, indeed, like necessity to me. The things in nature which we need.

 

I dig this quite a bit. I dont know if it's a favorite, but i love how it reminds of a forest at the same time as smells musty and appley. Very nice all around, and it tones down quite softly. It reminds me of something more too, I dont know what, but it makes me feel very calm and comfortable.

[violetblue]

I love how tart this one smells - the apple note is straight up gorgeous. I am amazed that the amber doesn't take over in this one and the herbs, to me, do smell quite fresh. It's reminding me of something, but I can't figure it out, but I am getting a clean and tart smell from it. Very pretty.and almost powdery on me.

[lorajc]

Oh my goodness is this scent quite exquisite! I put a couple dabs of this on one of my inner wrists and The Lion on the other wrist. I couldn't smell it at first...I got a bit of a tart apple and that was that (damned sinuses) but then when my sinuses cleared (and I had forgotten about it), I kept getting whiffs of something that smelled so divine. I would move and get a whiff and I'm thinking "what smells so good in my house"...."it must be the Lush bombs I have sitting out on the counter to be split". Then I went upstairs and I smelled it when I moved my arm and realized it was the Verdandi. It was warm and slightly fruity but not intense. The herbs blend into the amber and make it a very soft luxurious blend. Warm and ever so slightly tart. This is to die for and I certainly must never run out of this one. This Cold Moon batch of oils is the best. I think Beth just keeps getting better and better.

[Diana]

Verthandi is one of the three Norns. She is usually represented as the Present or "becoming:"

 

"Urd is one called, Verthandi the next, and Skuld, the third. They mark on the wood, they ordain laws, they allot lives for human children, speaking their fates."

 

Urd means "became," Verthandi "becoming," and Skuld, "shall be." Their names come from a very ancient Indo-European root meaning "to turn, to spin, to become. "

 

Working through all three norn scents, today is Verdandi day!

 

Smelling Verdandi out of the bottle the first time, I got WOW APPLES. The next time I smelled it, it was more floral. And there are no floral notes listed. Wacky.

 

Wet and drydown, this is a clean smelling scent with an underlayer of fruit. It actually reminds me quite a bit of Frost Moon sans mint! The Black Amber isn't all that noticable to me (and I LOVE amber), but I think it contributes to the background "softness." The apple has a bit of tartness to it, but it's not pungent at all, just softly fruity.

 

This is fairly light, I wish it was a little stronger. But it is really soft & nice & refreshing, and to me a very "in the moment" kind of scent. Another hit for me!

[VorpalBunny]

Verdandi is the one Norn that doesn't agree with me. She is a little too green for my taste. There is a faint hint of apple, but really the herbs predominate on this one. It's not an unpleasant scent on me by any stretch, it's just not the kind of scent I like to wear. If you love barely-sweet herbal scents, this is definitely the scent for you.

 

Hmm, I wonder if this is some kind of psychological comment. Like I love the past and I love the future, but I am never happy with the present.

[nevermore]

I really enjoy Verandi. I think she'll be the most wearable out of the Norns (for me). It starts off with the same apple note as The Hesperides, but not as sweet. After a while, it dries down to a nicely herbal, slightly spicy apple - not apple pie/cinnamon spicy, but more apple tree + herb garden spicy, if that makes any sense. Anyway, that aside, I really like it. I think I may need a larger bottle for everyday wear. It's comfortable, and not too girly or sweet.

[allidavie]

I always try things before reading their descriptions because I like to be surprised (and I like to guess at the notes and then laugh at how ridiculously off I am). In the bottle Verdandi had the same sharp note that I detect in Somnus that I'm not a big fan of (though I use it anway because it works so darn well, but that's a whole other review). However, that note disappeared the second I put it on. I couldn't quite believe how great Verdandi smelled once I put it on - to me there was a strong toasted note at first, smelled somewhere between toasted almond and coconut and hazelnut, and then it morphed into this beautiful light floral. I'm usually not a big fan of florals, but kept thinking "I must be wrong and I really do like florals because I love this."

 

And now, d'oh, I see it was apple after all, not some elusive flower I'd never smelled before. Anyway, I adored Verdandi - I love the description of the Norn as "becoming" because Verdandi smells to me like February - "becoming" spring. It smells to me like an early spring version of Skadi, or Snow White becoming slightly, errr, more naughty and less snowy. A winner. If I didn't already have so much oil to go through it would be a big bottle for sure. Someday...

[Jasminepearls]

Yum, this blend is very sweet and green! I smell tart crisp green apples and a fresh herb bouquet!! The amber comes out much more on the drydown, making this scent a bit warmer. It turns a bit soapy, but in a clean way, like bathing in an ice cold spring.

This scent is lovely, I cannot wait to try the other two!

[Caitfish]

Like everyone else has said, this is a VERY tart apple in the bottle, almost verging on a kind of acrid scent, but not quite. It smells like a very tart apple juice with a shot of herbs.

 

Stays pretty true on. Not terribly long lasting - somewhere in the middle. A couple of hours strong with no reapply. It's definately warmed by the amber after a while - a tart, but still warm scent.

[silverangel]

by far my favorite Norn, this has to be a big bottle! It's mostly apple and amber which completely makes my day! And then there's the herbs backing it, making it a deeper scent. It's absolutely gorgeous! This is the apple scent I've been waiting for!

[Ina Garten Davita]

First Impression: Buttery apples.

 

Second Impression: The third times the charm. I struck out with the first two Norns, but struck gold with Verdandi. It's buttery apples and dark amber with a touch of sweetness and a touch of herbaceousness. I love this, it's definitely a necessity.

 

Final Analysis: A gem for the fall, this is going to be my autumn 2005 signature scent.

[phoefromelsewhere]

In the bottle: Sweet n fruity.

 

Wet: Very weird. I can smell the fruit, it’s bright and sweet but there is also a rotten mushiness to it. Like rotten apples.

 

Drydown: Oh, it’s ok now. Spicy and appley and only a slight mushy smell.

 

Finally: Nope. It’s settled into a rank sweetness and I just can’t handle it. *pout*

[xoe]

I tried Verdandi last night, not remembering what was in it at all. I was struck by how familiar yet strange was this scent. I kept sniffing it. I could tell there were some herbs, but what herbs I have no idea, and something warm.

 

Now that I know that there is apple and amber in this, I smack my forehead and say "of course!"

 

Quite good.

[miss apple]

Verdandi is a beautiful scent. While it shares a similar apple note with the Hespirides, Verdandi is warm and spicy whereas the Hespirides is cool and crisp. The black amber and the herbs temper the apple so it's not too sweet. This is a delicious, seductive oil and quite perfect for the beginning of fall - though that won't stop me from wearing it now

 

I'm very glad I have a big bottle on order.

[helarctos]

Apple cider and toasted nuts. Reminds me of an apple orchard where my family would go every fall throughout my childhood.

 

Such a foodie scent doesn't mesh with my image of the Norns -- I was expecting a more pronounced amber note -- but it's definitely delicious.

 

ETA: A cinnamon scent emerges after a long while. Still foodie -- or resembles autumn potpourri, with the orchard scent still pronounced.

Edited February 20, 2005 by helarctos

[feline.by.design]

Upon first application, Verdandi was kind of a sweet, fruity smell that I didn't quite take to. It didn't seem like an apple scent, more like a peach or apricot. Someone mentioned how the apple note is similar to the one in the Hesperides, a fragrance I didn't take to, either.

 

However, after about five or ten minutes of wear, the spices come into play. I smell like potpourri chips. What's interesting is that on my wrists I can smell the spice, but in the inner crook of my elbow I still can smell the apple note (it smells like apple now) that's sweet, but, possibly due to my skin chemistry, the apples smell spoilt.

 

Verdandi isn't quite what I expected. Perhaps if there was more amber and more spice I would enjoy it more. This would be a grand fragrance to experiment with in regards to home fragrance, but in the end, I don't think I'll be wearing it again.

 

-doreen

[darkling]

At first, Verdani is light herbs paired with ripe apple.

 

As it dries, the apple scent becomes artificial and loses all of its natural sweetness. The herbs combine exquisitely with the black amber, linking into a bright and slughly musky forest.

 

I have a history of fruity scents smelling strongly artificial on my skin. Sadly, apple is one of the main culprits and ruined this beautiful scent for me.

[OdetteOdile]

Apples and wine. My skin loves fruit scents and also loves most wine scents so this is a winner for me.

This smells to me like early autumn in Catskills farm country. It's apples under an apple tree, cinnamon in fresh apple pie, a country fruit stall by the side of the road with cinnamon-scented burlap patchwork dolls, fruity candles and fresh, cool air. Uncomplicated, happy autumn memories. I think a bottle of this for September would be wonderful.

[Nepthys]

A very pretty scent but I was wildly off on guessing its notes. For the first half hour or so, it smelled like half-briny aquatic/half-tart apple. Very nice but at the same time so distracting that I could never stop noticing it. Then suddenly the black amber came through and rounded and softened it out to a more traditional, feminine scent. This is lovely.

[chai_girl]

This scent started off in the spring with fresh herbs and a tart green apple scent. I was reminded of walking through the herb section of the farmer's market on a warmish morning sipping a cup of warm granny smith apple cider.

 

Then it moved into summer with the apple scent fading and the herbs drying down. There seems to be a bit of a floral in there and it is all being warmed by the golden scent of amber.

 

About an hour later it has settled into autumn. The herbs have a slightly powdery scent and the amber is still there to provide a golden glow. The apple seems to be in the background but it isn't as prominent and has more of a floral accent than a fruity one.

 

I like this one but not enough for a full bottle...mostly because I already have more bottles than I can possibly use in a lifetime and I'm becoming very picky about the scents I upgrade.

[Splendid Molerat]

Verdandi: Necessity

 

Food, water, shelter, heat, medicine. Verdandi opens with an apple, then is slightly aquatic, with a blond woodsy background, and a smoky blend of drying herbs.

 

I see this as a scent appropriate for gathering today what will be needed tomorrow.

[Finny]

Love this one.

 

It reminds me of Samhain, it has the same dry down for me, apple sweet patchouli.

 

It starts with a juicy fruity apple scent, then the patchouli and amber come out. It keeps the fruit from being foody. I love the amber in this one, it is deep and incensy.

 

It doesn't have all the nuances of Samhain, but it will keep from crying when my bottle of Samhain is gone.

[misfitroxy]

In the imp, I’m catching the sweet apple mixed with a nuttiness that’s almost peanut-like in depth/richness (it doesn't smell like peanuts, but it's reminiscent of that kind of flavorful warmth).

 

Once on, it reminds me of a caramel apple with nuts stuck to the outside. The fruit is more floral as opposed to juicy, which is probably the amber’s influence. It has the slightest bit of musk behind it, which heightens the apple’s lightness and keeps it at the forefront.

 

As it warms, it smells all the more like a luscious caramel, though not sickeningly sweet by any stretch. This would make a great evening scent for individuals who enjoy fruity blends but want something a touch darker.

 

Fully dry, it’s reminding me of a spiced/mulled cider candle that I own, and thus I think it would work great as a room scent as well. Very nice.

[LiberAmoris]

I agree this is definitely a deeper version of The Hesperides. The amber and herbs really enrich the apple, giving it a kind of throbbing presence. This is Eve’s apple; a complicated apple.

 

It’s also a pretty sexy blend. Sort of like the sexiest apple cider ever! I might try wearing this when I feel like a bit of a temptress. I love the scents that manage to be both relaxing and dashing at the same time---and this is one of those scents for me.

[Longstofly]

I don't think I've ever had a scent change so much on my skin as it dries down. Wet, Verdandi smells like crisp apples more than anything. It's slightly sweet and fruity but light. A couple of hours later all I smell is black amber. I think my skin loves black amber and scents like that. They always warm up nicely on my skin as they dry.