Lear

[Ravenclaw79]

A regal, commanding scent, but poignant. White cedarwood, blue sage and bay leaf.

In the imp: Bleh ... it reminds of Death of Autumn a little, in a bad way.

On the skin: The "bleh" went away quickly, thank goodness. What I'm left with is ... wood, I guess. Maybe wood and a bit of sage. I cook a lot, though, and I'm not getting a clear "sage" or "bay" out of this one. I'm not getting "cedar," either, but I think that's 'cause I'm used to red cedar, cedar closet cedar. It smells like if cedar and pine had a baby and it mated with oak, if that makes any sense at all. But yeah, pretty much all I get is wood. I like wood, but this one smells a little too manly for me to want to wear.

[SarahScent44]

In the imp, I get sage and bay - very strong, very medicinal.

 

On my skin, there's a whiff of cedar there, but it's still mostly very strong sage.

 

When it dries, it's still too strong and too medicinal. Not for me.

[Jackdaw]

Lear's my favorite imp so far- not only do I like it, but I get compliments on it. I wear it nearly every day, so I guess it's a signature for me?

 

In the bottle it's really strong and cedar-y, just as I hoped it would be. Can't really smell anything else, though.

After putting it on it's still very cedar, but it's quiet enough that it's more like I've been out in the woods than like I've got anything on.

At the end of the day it hasn't changed much, if at all. It's also to the same quiet strongness that it was before.

[suki]

in the imp: cedarwood, strongly. hmmm.

 

wet on skin: yep. cedarwood. it reminds me of smelling freshly sharpened pencils in grade school.

 

dry down: more cedar. nothing but, not even a hint.

 

in all: not a fan of cedar, so off to the trade pile with this one!

[Ajila]

In the bottle – Sharp cedar

 

Wet on me – Cedar, something slightly rubbery and a slight musk

 

Dry on me – It gradually fades down to a pleasantly sweet herby musk

 

Overall – I was surprised by how much I liked the dry down, but I doubt it is something that I would wear often

[persianmouse]

Lear smells just like the wood chips I lined my hamsters cage with as a child. I guess that would be the cedar, but there’s also a very small warm smell of a living thing, like a hamster in there. Not really musk, just a smell of life. Very small life. I would like it on a man, but I don’t know if I like it on me. It also lasts forever, whether you want it to or not.

[fairnymph]

Sniffed in imp: Very strongly herbal-woody. I can smell each of the signature notes distinctly. Masculine, without a doubt.

[savage_rose]

This smells like pepper SN on me...I can't smell anything else. At all. And I think it's making me hungry...

[SilverSerenity]

All I get when I smell this is pencil shavings...

[taramarie]

In the bottle and wet on my skin, Lear is just cedar. By the time it dries, the cedar is gone, leaving behind the bay and sage, which are very strong. It's like sniffing a spice rack. Interesting, but not me.

[zankoku_zen]

Sage and cedarwood, with an overlay of bay. Oh yes, very masculine. Woodsy and herbally dark.

[Saya]

In the Bottle

This is a strong blend. I think my nose has just been assulted by cedarwood and sage. I almost don’t want to try it out now.

 

On My Skin

Hmm...not really liking this a whole lot. The cedar is pretty strong and the blend just isn’t coming together for me (if that makes any sense). It reminds me of how woodchips smell. I agree with the poster who said it smells like pencil shavings too. So far I’m not a fan.

 

After a Bit

An hour later and the woodchip smell is still going strong. This blend hasn’t changed since I first put it on my skin.

 

Rating 1-5 (5 being the best)

Scent – 1 Throw – 3 Longevity – 3

Over all – 1

 

Final Thoughts

Not something I’d ever wear. The woodchip scent never changed or faded. It reminded me of a pet shop. Yuck!

I didn’t care for this blend at all! This imp is going to need to find a loving home where someone will appreciate it much more than I do.

[rayvn1]

I think on the whole I like Lear. I often crave wood scents and when that mood is upon me I will reach for Lear. It has the unfortunate psychological effect on me though of smelling just like a freshly cleaned and filled box of our kitties' (and my) favorite litter Mountain Cat. I can't say I ever thought it would influence my nose and brain to affect my perfume smelling, but I guess smells go pretty quick to the memory realm.

 

But I like it! As long as I remind myself this is like cedar furniture or cedar trees or cedar ANYTHING except cedar cat box

 

Worked well as a base for a touch of Doc Constantine too.

[Iceblink]

Leathery cedar, and I know there's no leather here but I SMELL LEATHER. Very woodsy and masculine. Terrific throw; I have one little dab on my arm and it's wafting all over me. Might be great for a guy but not me.

[goblinshark]

In the imp, wet on my skin and on the drydown, this is straight up cedar on me. A comforting scent, but I'm not sure how much I want to smell like cedar.

[obsidienne]

Pure cedar chips with a little bit of bay.

 

As a perfume... so not my thing. As a room freshener, sure!

[cymbeline]

Swap test!

 

Smell alike: Dried sage in my kitchen

 

Color impression: bluish dark silver

 

On me: It quickly gets a salty note because of the sage. It’s a really sad scent indeed, a bit far-away and empty (because of the cedarwood?)

 

Wearing: Herbal tends to run away on me and this one did the same. Too bad it was interesting even if I don’t think it’s a fragrance I’d appreciate as a perfume

[toomuch]

Very masculine. Green, woody, proud.

[ouch!]

This smells like wood and tree sap, with a herby undertone. The Bay is prominent too.. It reminds of when I was a kid climbing trees in the School fields at the back of our road.

It smells quite dusty and it doesn't have tons of throw. It's not really me at all...

This I think would be better as a room scent, or..on an older gentleman.

 

Unusual to say the least!

 

 

[Rianna]

I got this as a frimp in December. I tested it then, but it took me this long to work up the nerve for a second test to confirm that it wasn't just a bad skin day.

 

In the bottle: The sage really stands out to me. I am not a sage fan at all. I rent the basement in a house, and I once came home to find out the owners had burned sage as part of an Imbolc ceremony. It took hours for the waves of nausea to pass. This doesn't bode well for the skin test.

 

On me: Wet and dry, the notes clash with my skin chemistry in a big way. The result? Oddly enough, it smells like dill pickles.

 

I tried to get the DH to try this one, since woods tend to love him. After sniffing me, he flat out refused.

 

Verdict: This one just isn't for me. Bad associations with one of the notes and, well, pickles! Such a pity, since I love Shakespeare and really wanted to enjoy this scent.

[Seismogenic]

I'd like to be able to say that I wanted to test this one specifically for Shakespeare reasons, but alas, I have to admit that I'm not familiar with King Lear beyond the very basics of plot. The notes were what intrigued me here, and a mention of this scent in that recommendations thread about desert/southwest oils certainly helped me along in wanting to give it a try.

 

In the imp: Light, dry, a little gritty, and a little sagey.

 

Wet on skin: The notes are pretty distinguishable from each other, particularly the cedar and sage. That doesn't stop them from smelling good as a combination, though. The overall feel is definitely still light and dry.

 

Drydown: Freshly dry, this is still mostly an interplay between the cedar and the sage, with the bay leaf taking a (still present) back seat. It hasn't changed much at the one hour mark, though it may be a little more homogeneous. At this point, there seems to be a sort of warmth to the dryness.

 

Five hours later: Still pretty much the same mix, with cedar the most prominent, then sage, then bay. It's all pretty faint by this point.

 

End of the day: Gone.

 

Overall: Well then, it's the Mojave! This really does remind me of soft desert sediment and harder rocks with sage growing on them, all sitting in the sun. It's a pale dusty landscape steeped in sunlight, not unlike a place where I did fieldwork last year. I guess it's not a fully literal representation of that landscape - except for the sage - but maybe more of an impressionistic one. Lear is a soft but present scent, and I like it a whole lot. Definitely will be getting use out of this imp, if not more than that...

[March]

Got this one as a frimp in a sale from ladyjc!

 

Lear is almost purely cedarwood on me, or 'pencil shavings,' depending on your proclivity for drawing. However, there seems to be a certain 'hollowness' or 'spaciousness' in this scent - I don't know how to describe it otherwise, that really reminds me of the sage, even though I don't think I actually smell it.

 

I really like this scent, as a stand-alone and also because I think its potential for layering is pretty good!

 

 

[Leopard403]

*rubs nose vigorously*

 

I'm sorry, I can't even review this thoroughly: Sniffing from the imp literally made me gag. Eww.

[liquidtrance]

Cedar springs out in full force as soon as applied. Very woody. But there's something that's attempting to temper it. From a distance you can smell it, probably the sage. Much rounder and a little sweeter. Up close, though, this is all cedar all the time. The cedar begins to get a little softer from the herbs, but not much. Still VERY cedary.

[djsiberia]

this is very herbal. i can pick out sage and cedarwood...