Shadow Witch Orchid

[yeahbutnobut]

Shadow Witch Orchid

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.

 

In the imp: I’m not too familiar with the scent of orchid, but the scent I get here is a gorgeous one-a heady, sweet, exotic floral. Slightly similar to jasmine and lily, I think, but darker.

Wet on skin: still a rich, full floral, it smells ‘purple’ and swirling, and very sweet.

Dry: this is beautiful. This is a full bodied, complex floral, which is gentle and light yet dark and shadowy; it’s sweet, rich, heady, intoxicating, very feminine. It’s a bit like some other floral scents I’ve smelt, but I can’t remember which. It’s also a very exotic scent, in a tropical way, and brings to mind the colours of dusk and twilight.

After a while: this scent wafts around me like crazy! And that’s a good thing. It stays quite consistent, doesn’t morph too much though I think over time it’s become a bit sweeter, and it smells a bit vanilla like now. I can’t get over how lovely this is.

Verdict: this is a wonderful floral scent, heady, spellbinding, and mysterious. It’s lush, deep, and very complex, with a hint of lightness, but also balanced by a dark sweetness and possibly a bit of vanilla. It seems to me like a ‘dusky purple’ scent, mesmerising and voluptuous, feminine and sultry. I never realised that orchids smelt this good! This is one for the big bottle list, I love it.

Edited January 19, 2006 by Shollin

[Alchemy21599]

I received this as a gimp from the Lab.

 

In the vial: Tropical floral top note deepened with white musk.

 

Wet: Wow! A tropical paradise! Tropical florals with vanilla and white musk. Moderate throw.

 

Dry: This is fantastic! Soft tropical floral with white musk. Moderate throw. Lasts well, it is still lovely after 3 hours. I think this may be my new favorite BPAL!

[Julilla Regina]

I really like this one a lot. There's something about orchids. It really smoothed out on my skin once I had put it on. It's light, yet very grown up. It's a little sweet without being candy-ish. This is definitely a very "I'm a woman, and oh so very sexy *and* posh" kind of fragrance. If you're into florals, go for this one, it's really lovely!

[Emu Nymph]

I'm normally not one for hevy florals but this one is very nice. I'm not sure if I'll get a bigger bottle of this one. But it does make me feel kinda sexy.

[sarada]

I have no idea what orchids smell like on their own...all florals just smell "like flowers" to me and I can only differentiate a tiny handful. So orchid is another one of those "hmm, smells like flowers" things for me. Hothouse flowers, though, that sort of dense, heady, not-too-sweet nectar scent that suggests humidity.

 

But smelling this I can probably get a sense of what orchids should smell like. And that's not too bad! It is, however, another floral that just smells kind of "yellow" to me. I feel like I must have been smelling orchid in a lot of blends I've been trying lately.

 

I can't really wear floral blends but I like to smell them. This does not give me a headache so that is a good thing. It's a musky, heady, humid hothouse flower but not a piercing perfumey "flowery" floral. I'm going to use this to try to train my nose to recognize orchid notes but I don't know if I could wear it. Lovely name, though, that's for sure!

[sarahmarie]

Now, normally I am not a flower person - but Shadow Witch Orchid isn't really flowery. It's a smooth, rich, tart/sweet scent that just happens to be associated with a flower. I don't know what orchids smell like in "real life", but this is certainly what I would *imagine* when trying to think of what one would smell like. It's rich and deep and clean on my skin. If I had to compare it to something I'd smelled, it would be nice baby shampoo, but mysterious. Mysterious baby shampoo, for the witch babies among you. (I generally try to avoid drawing comparisons to other smells, especially when they're generic-sounding products, but I couldn't avoid calling it mysterious baby shampoo! Plus, this is like, the best mysterious baby shampoo you'll ever smell. )

 

I love Shadow Witch Orchid and I'm thinking this is going on the big bottle list. How exciting!

[urraca]

Mmm, orchid. I had no idea how lovely orchid was until I discovered BPAL. My favourites are Queen Mab and Regan, and Shadow Witch Orchid is right up there with those two. It has a slightly lighter feel than the others, and I almost wonder if there is some lily in here too.

[VenusFlyTrap]

This an amazing, sweet but voluptuous floral. Lovely for both a room scent and to wear. Way more complex than a single note.

 

This is one that I will definitely be wearing!

[Laurel the Woodfairy]

What a fantastic description! The orchid has a clean, white-flower quality to it; I love the comparison to witch baby shampoo! Shadow Witch is elegant but quite light on me, with a slight "fizzy" edge, which I associate with the moonflower in Luna and others.

[Shollin]

First sniff: Ohhhh, this is phenomenal. Dark, soft, purple and heady. It’s the sort of flower that wouldn’t draw your eye in the woods, because it’s not bright and flashy, but the scent would make you hunt for it.

 

Wearing: It’s warm and velvety on my skin, still very very purple and the tiniest bit sweet.

[bristlecone]

I used to work in a flower conservatory that had a pretty good-sized orchid collection. One of the orchids was this lovely, glowy pale purple that was almost phosporescent. I can't remember if that particular orchid had a scent (some of them do and some of them don't), but that's what I envisioned when I tried this on. It's very purple. And strangely enough, something about it smells like grapes to me. Maybe I'm just making that association because of all the purple-ness.

 

It's lovely and very much unlike any other floral scent I've smelled (BPAL or not), but for some reason, I'm not seeing myself wearing it much. Something about it makes me feel a little uneasy and on edge, and I wish I knew why. Maybe I'll see how it does as a room scent.

[Aredhel]

Rating (on skin): 1/5

Summarised in a word or two: Perfumey.

 

Preconceived notions: I love orchids, but orchid notes in perfume don't tend to work with my skin, so.

 

In the imp: Oh, orchid.

 

On skin, wet: Orchid! Soft, velvety, white-purple orchids. Very fresh, and cool. And yes, I get ylang-ylang, but it's not strong at the moment, so it's not interfering with this lovely, almost musky orchid.

 

On skin, dry: Ugh, ylang. Not unbearably strong, but not pleasantly weak, either. Besides that, the orchid's taken a perfume-counter nose-dive on me. It isn't uncommon with florals to me.

 

Conclusion: I love orchids, but as I've said, they have a way of ending up as musty, Neiman-Marcus-y perfume counter-type scents, and SWO is no exception.

[themerrybaker]

Shadow Witch Orchid is about as sweet, heavy, and dark a perfume as I'll wear. It has a bit of green to it to keep things from becoming cloying. It has a good amount of throw, last most of the day, and works for "feminine mysterious" moods.

[theseagrows]

let me premise my review with saying i don't really know what orchids smell like. to me this is a dark purple-pink scent with some green added. it smells so so so familiar, i have been smelling my arm trying to figure it out, and i THINK it's the betsey johnson perfume i wore in high school, that had little pink flowers drawn on the bottle. i can't remember if the perfume had a name, or if it was just called 'betsey johnson', but shadow witch orchid definitely reminds me of it.

 

this is floral but in a dark way, it's not light or cloying, but has a sweetness to it, like a lot of other reviewers have said. i find it kind of sexy too. i may consider a big bottle of this.

[atropine]

oh, this is gorgeous. not as overpowering as regan, but sweet and lasting- a very 'nice girl' scent, and one i could quite happily wear most days.

 

sadly, this was one of the imps i tried on my mum, and she liked it so much i gave her the imp and a promise of a bottle in my next lab order. at least i have someone to split orders with now

[arabella]

First Impression: A dusty, subtle evening floral - almost a cross between lotus and iris.

 

Dries down to: Stays the same.

 

Additional Comments: This is what it is. If you like orchids, this is absolutely lovely - a great, everyday scent. It takes me back to Hawaii - being on the beach after sunset and just smelling the air.

 

Lasted: Several hours.

 

Rating: 4 out of 5

[nancybridget]

This is a green, dry floral. I'd say there may be some jasmine in there, but not too much so that it takes over. Maybe a drop of carnation as well.

 

It's very subtle, and smells a bit like the orchids I have when they are in bloom. There's also some spice in here - perhaps a drop of black pepper.

 

A nice fragrance for someone who does not want to overwhelm the senses.

[juniperus]

Bottle: heady, sweet floral, very intense

Wet: more clearly an orchid

Dry: duskier, more subdued.

Later: still very fresh and floral, almost-sweet, but subdued enough that it's a reach-out-and-grab-ya floral. pretty, but not a scent I think I wear particularly gracefully. alas.

[Nepthys]

Everyone else has described this so nicely I haven't much to add. It smells old-fashioned and flowery to me, something an old movie star would wear with lavender satin... like Norma Desmond in Sunset Boulevard. Honestly for all its prettiness, this creeps me out. It's like something from a long-lost era.

[provocateur]

in bottle: omg!orchid! I love orchids.

 

on skin, wet: beautiful, soft dusty orchids. This smells just like a couple of the actual orchids I have hanging around my place.

 

on skin, dry: hey?! where did it go? it's very, very faint at this point, and I can't even decipher what is peeking out or anything. how sad.

 

Very disappointed that this beautiful blend turned into pretty much nothing. I guess that's the ethereal part of it. 3/5

[lady_pandora]

I'm seeing a lot of reviews where this got dry and dusty, and it is with great witchy glee that I report that my fears of dusty perfume were not realized!

 

This is a lovely, sensual scent; the orchid is dripping with rain and full of nectar. It's almost foody on me. Yum.

 

I love these simple florals this time of year.

[zankoku_zen]

A lovely frimp from ellemir. Thanks love!

 

In the imp: Orchids. One of my aunts has orchids in her house and it smells like them... except stronger.

 

On Skin: When applied, it's very wet and heavy and lush. It smells deeply of orchids in the moist jungle. It's very purple in my mind.

 

After a few minutes, I can smell something sweet and something musky to it.

 

 

Verdict: It's a bit heavier than what I am used to but I do tend to like florals. I like the fact that it smells so much like an orchid. It's a very sophisticated perfume and I would say more like evening out. It's very seductive and mature and very "come hither".

[cranberry]

I’m not too sure what orchid smells like, but if this is it, then I like it. Or rather, I think my mom will like it. Once applied, this is a heady, sweet, floral blend. It is sweet and lush, humid and moist to me. Maybe it is the power of suggestion, but I’m also getting a little bit of a grape smell and in general, this oil smells purple. The scent does seem as if it would easily be a component in commercial conventional perfumes – for some reason Amarige by Givenchy comes to mind. Because it has such a strong, “I am here and anyone who doesn’t like it be damned” quality about it, it reminds me of the perfumes from the 1980’s, all of which had that loud, brash, in-your face quality.

 

I really think my mom would like this one, so this could be a good gift order. I’m going to be keeping my eyes open for orchid blends from now on.

[The_Merf]

In the imp: Orchids, baby! I have a foot scrub with that has orchid extracts, and while this isn't quite the same smell (the oil is lighter).

 

Wet: Just lovely--this represents the deep and husky qualities of orchids. However, there is a heather-y ness to this as well--this is what I wanted Glasgow and Bewitched to smell like!

 

Drydown and wear: Stays true and full. I have a complicated relationship with orchids (they are a recurring motif in my dreams) and I have sort of adopted the black orchid as my standard (and yet have I tried Queen Mab yet? Of course not!), so I had high hopes for this scent. They are met. I will clutch the imp and wait on some of the other orchid scents I have on the way to decide if I want a bottle.

[sookster]

straight sniff from imp is extremely alcoholic and the tiniest touch of floral

 

whoa!! once applied this is pure orchid...with a slight touch of fruitiness ... quite pretty indeed and so different than i had expected...i will surely will cherish my imp