Shadow Witch Orchid

[lorajc]

Orchid tubers have been used extensively by witches in their love philtres, both to promote amorous attention and the attainment of true love, and, conversely, to wither misplaced passions and sever romantic bonds. This perfume is a dusky orchid, subdued and ethereal.

This again is a very unique plant/floral blend that is very hard to describe. I've only tested on a small area and my sinuses are acting up, so this will be very brief. This is indeed very subdued. I really like it but it may be a little too light for me. I will need to slather this one to be sure. If you like unique, subdued, ethereal scents and like orchids, but you're looking for an orchid scent done "Beth" style this may be exactly what you want! I find it to be strangely fruity, but just ever so slightly. I don't actually think it has fruit in it....but I think the blend is tricking me into smelling something slightly different. This is a very mysterious and intriguing scent. I didn't think I'd like the Garden scents too much, as I'm totally ignorant to plants and flora, but I rather like this and Baneberry so far.

[Undine]

I wasn't sure exactly what orchid smelled like when I ordered this scent. When I smelled it, I said, "Oh, so that's orchid!" It's very familiar, but very hard to describe. I'll try, though...

 

"Subdued and ethereal" captures it very well. It's exotic and very wet- or watery-smelling, not incredibly sweet. It reminds me of lotus, I think. I would also call it "heady," not in that overpowering manner of gardenias--it's not that strong--but because it's so distinct, very consistent, and when you smell it you are sort of distracted from all other smells. It is not at all a typical floral, however. No soap here!

 

I would assume there's other stuff besides orchid tuber in here, but I couldn't for the life of me tell you what, except perhaps lotus.

 

Throw is medium to low, although the "heady" quality I described above makes up for that somewhat. Staying power is similar.

 

This is an utterly unique and fascinating scent that is very evocative of its name. It makes me think of wet jungles, but it is much less fruity than some of the "wet tropical" BPAL scents (Machu Picchu, for instance). I could especially see wearing it during the summer or during a fancy evening out where one wanted to be mysterious and attention-attracting. (A masquerade?)

 

For me, it's a little much. Something about it is just a little unsettling to me--my nose doesn't like it, I think. It's not sharp, but it makes me a little queasy. But I may revisit it when it's warmer out, and not so rainy!

 

On my scale, a 3 out of 5.

[amrita]

On application, this is a candy sweet floral aquatic, with spicy green notes floating over the top. My skin sucks it up; I can't smell it unless I put my nose a couple inches away. I would call this a "hot aquatic". As it dries, it warms up and becomes sweet, green, mysterious, steamy.

 

In the end, this is too perfumey for my tastes-- but I but it will not be too perfumey for many people. The floral notes in this blend smell slightly like jasmine if I really think about it, but without the sharpenss I associate with blends in which jasmine dominates. I have smelled species orchids in a greenhouse before, and I remember their fragrance being soft, mellow, and very sweet-- so maybe this is an accurate rendition!

[LiberAmoris]

I ordered an imp of Shadow Witch Orchid even though my skin's had uneven luck with the Lab's orchid note. Wet on my skin, it's a strong, sharp orchid with ylang ylang. Uh oh. But as it dries, the orchid becomes creamier and sweeter, with an slight sliver of what smells like honey. It retains an edge, which seems very appropriate.

 

An hour later, it's a soft and dreamy orchid, tropical and lush. Another lovely RG blend.

[wickedgoddess]

I love orchids, it's my favorite floral note. I've already found quite a few BPAL orchid scents that I love though, so I originally only ordered an imp of this. One sniff of Macha's bottle however, and I ordered a bottle of this the next day. I am hoping this smells as divine on me as it does in the bottle.

 

Wet - A light, sweet orchid scent. I think I smell vanilla in here, but I am not sure.

 

Dry - at first this starts to fade, and I am crestfallen. But then it roars back to life, stronger than before. Not to say this is a strong scent, it's light, airy. It's not the black orchid of Queen Mab & Phantom Queen, this smells different. The longer it dries the stronger the vanilla comes out, at least I think it's vanilla, but it could very well be the orchid itself. This is light, ethereal and yet not so soft that it threatens to fade away. I officially love this, want to bathe in this, and want to have it's impie babies, which is something I rarely say about a floral scent. The longer I wear it the more gorgeous it becomes. This is what I hoped Regan would smell like.

 

On the wickedgoddess scale of 1 to 5, with 5 being best, this rates a 5.

[Thorne]

Wow, that is some orchid! And, yes, I smell ylang ylang too, which gives the super sweet orchid some sharpness. It comes on insanely strong, but fades to a lovely soft warm floral pretty quickly - within 15 minutes or so, on my skin.

 

On a personal note, it kind of reminds me of my grandmother - not in an "ewwww! old lady smell!" kind of way, though. When she was in her 50s and 60s, my grandmother was a woman of adventure, taking many trips every year to exotic locations - Hawaii, Tahiti, the Alps, Africa...this reminds me of the way she smelled then, completely confident, feminine, adventurous, and a little wild...but still my grandmother. Exotically comforting, if that makes any sense.

[shelldoo]

in the vial strong strong orchids

 

wet: yeah very strong orchids, almost overwhelms me

 

there is something very lightly green, and yet the orchid is beating it down, showing it who is boss. something i learned is orchids induce headaches if i sniff them up close. beautiful, etheral yes, and great for someone who likes light florals

[AliBabble]

this is pretty...very tropical (not tropical fruit, though...) - like big, lush, jungle blooms. it is light, though. effervescent, a bit. and it's got a green leafiness, when first applied. i thought of ylang-ylang too...(i don't know why ylang-ylang gets such a bad rap around here, i think it's pretty intoxicating, actually). anyhow, shadow witch orchid surprisingly doesn't have much "shadow" or "witchiness" for me...it's more like being on a carribbean vacation...light and refreshing...sort of uplifting, actually...like lazing in a hammock with a big orchid tucked behind your ear...

[QueenFae]

A strong, sexy, unbelievable orchid. It's sweet and unusually potent for a floral. There's nothing delicate about this one, it's an in your face orchid scent. This reminds me a bit of a beautiful passion flower perfume I use to order from Bermuda. I really like this, I was expecting something darker, but this is surprisingly bright and tropical, very feminine. I will certainly enjoy my imp, and I might even entertain a big bottle, as this is probably one of the best florals the lab has ever made.

[astrid]

Being a fan of orchids, I had to try this and ordered a bottle! This is a rather complex scent...floral, in a sultry feminine way while also being soft. I keep getting very gentle hints of sweetness to powder to cinnamon... there's something in here that reminds me of one of my Chaos Theories (from the 1st round) and an old imp of Formula 54 (this imp of F54 was *way* before she released it as an LE). It reminds me of lipstick, the remainder of a scent on a silk scarf and of warm tea. I know strange combination..or not maybe. I do like this and am curious how it will age throughout the day. Really interesting!!

[coulrophobe]

I've had a hard time picking orchid out of blends, so I was looking forward to a scent that was predominantly orchid.

 

On me, Shadow Witch Orchid is a very wet, lush floral, with a "fruity" aspect that's similar to lotus (not that it smells like lotus per se, but there's a similar quality). As it dries on my skin it becomes creamier; it's almost a floral-fruit-honey smell, with a bit of tang to it... it's making me think of tropical flowers with slightly underripe pears (which is how I like 'em - tart and crispy).

 

My verdict: SWO is unusual, exotic and feminine; it doesn't quite smell like anything else. Very nice!

[grrrlennyl]

at first: a musty, beautiful orchid.

on: sweet and lovely. i adore this.

half an hour later: beautiful. faintly sweet and simple. it's musty, too, which makes it a bit heavier. lovely stuff.

1.5 hours later: sweet, almost candy-ish and floral.

2 hours later: still that lovely, sweet, musty orchid.

overall: i got a bottle of this on a whim and i am so glad that i did. i'll definitely be wearing this one a lot.

[Blood onmy hands]

This is like a less complex version of Phantom Queen on me. Orchid is one of my favorite florals (perhaps the only floral that I really love), and it is rather hard for me to explain what exactly it smells like. It's sweet and slightly fruity, in the way that a very juicy pear might smell.

 

It stays true and sweet for about 8 hours before I can no longer notice it. Decent throw, but very soft.

 

I might get a 5 ml of this one someday, but Phantom Queen is similar enough that I'll use up my bottle of that one first.

Edited April 21, 2006 by Blood onmy hands

[Voleuse]

On first application, this is mostly ylang ylang on me. Huh. I don't dislike ylang ylang, but I didn't expect it.

 

As it dries, however, the ylang ylang fades to the background, and something sharp and green takes its place. It's very tropical--I think I can smell the orchid, but there's also something fruity in the blend, as well. Lush and sweet.

[AlaskaSnows]

Wet: Soap and a white mixed floral.

 

Dry: A sweet, fruity well rounded floral. It is rather vague, I can't pick out many elements of this. It is pretty, but probably too sweet even for me.

Edited December 10, 2005 by AlaskaSnows

[malanna]

I was really expecting the orchid in Queen Mab, but this is really unlike that orchid. This smells soft and sweet, yet a bit soapy. I'm not sure how to describe this in terms of notes, but after two hours, this smells like a sweeter version of this clear soap by a major soap brand--maybe Soap Naturals (or whatever it's called--that is sweet and slightly floral. Overall, this is too vague for me.

[hologhost]

I am not a floral girl. I picked this up as one of a bunch of interesting items on the swap forum. So I apologize, but my floral nose isn't good enough to really describe this. It does smell trpoical to me.

 

I will say I love it, love it, love it. I will be buying a bottle. And it has major staying power - possibly the strongest I've had from BPAL. I can smell this on my clothes DAYS later when I go to wash them. YUM!

[LadyWilde]

My skin tends to amp sweet florals to a high, screeching, headache-inducing pitch. . .and this was no exception. I was hoping that it would be lighter and more "subdued," but on me it just turned incredibly sweet and perfumey, and I had to wash it off.

[Northernminx]

I adored this one. A delicate, complex but sweet floral. I'm a huge floral fan but cloying florals really put me off and this was definitly not one of them. I can't say I've got any other florals like it - unique, delicate, mysterious, definite keeper.

[oceandessa]

This is breathtaking!

 

This is not an orchid that I have ever smelled before. It's musty yet airy, kinda dry. It has a very similar biting quality to Pele and Al-Araaf, even though they have no common ingredients. If you asked me what colour this scent is I would say a translucent pink-heathered grey. A very gentle floral, one that lets your skin shine through it.

 

I love it!

[SeaMonkey]

This is a soft, yet sharp orchid scent. I'm not sure if I'm getting ylang ylang, or if its just the reaction with my body chemistry. It is pretty, I can't really explain this scent. Its greet and soft, but its also sharp and dusty

[harmonyfb]

Nothing. But. Plastic.

 

Bleah. Off to the swap pile.

[olympia301]

 

This one is really hard to describe. I think I am smelling neroli in the blend but it all comes together so well that you can't pick out single notes. I have smelled this sort of thing before, but can't quite put my finger on it. There is a freshness to it (perhaps a green note, but a very small one in the background). It doesn't resemble Queen Mab or Phantom Queen or Regan at all, this is an entirely different sort of an orchid. There is definitely a perfumy/soapy scent to Shadow Witch and it would do very nicely for the floral fans out there, no question.

 

In terms of the non-scent aspects of this one: the name is outstanding, the bottle art is absolutely wonderful (one of Macha's very best regarding: images, fonts, layout and execution), the presentation of bottle/art/and concept is a real winner. Just as an art object, it is a winner from every point of view.

 

The icon is a Tacca Chantrieri which is not an orchid but one of the most exotic plants you could grow. It is also known as the "bat plant" and takes over a year from planting the seed until you get a blossom like the one in the icon, IF you are a very very good gardener.

[isyche]

I love the orchid in Phantom Queen, Regan, Queen Mab, and Magdalene, so I really wanted to try Shadow Witch Orchid. It's lighter than those, not the same note -- very close to the skin, appropriately subtle and shadowy, elusive, hard to identify. It doesn't immediately smell floral on me -- it's more of a honey-ish warm sweetness, one of those me-only-better scents. I don't get sharp and green or soapy at all.

 

At first I was unimpressed, but I keep smelling my hand and it's really growing on me. I think it could be a good everyday alternative to the heavier orchid scents.

Edited January 4, 2006 by isyche

[aidenraine]

Just opening the imp to sniff this left a glorious smell on my fingers. It's definitely orchid, but almost an orchid candy. It's like violet candy as a representation of violet.

 

On my skin it stays true. Wet, it's very strong, but doesn't get up my nose the way many florals can. It's barely a floral for me because, well, I LIKE it. It's the kind of floral that's slinky and purple and smells like a dimly lit room with heavy velvet curtains. It reminds me of some kinds of sweet incense.

 

Oh god, this'd make a lovely bath scent. It reminds me so much of BPAL jasmine, and of Lush's Fairy Jasmine. It's not obnoxiously present. I can smell it when I lean in a bit, but it's not carrying too far. I feel like I should be wearing something slinky and seductive.

 

At least I'm wearing purple.

 

Verrry nice, says the floral hater (or so I thought.)