Megaera

[Venneh]

Orris, black amber, bergamot, plum and grapefruit.

In the imp, I'm getting orris, black amber, and plum, I think. On my skin, this is orris, black amber, and then plum and bergamont, with a bit of grapefruit. Hrm. We'll see what this decides to do. Dries down to orris and black amber, giving it a second skin test to get a better sense of it.

[DifferentDances]

Imp: Black amber and very astringent grapefruit.

Wet: The amber warms up the scent and the plums and bergamot make a surprisingly bright entrance.

Drydown: Mostly warmed bergamot. This smells like tea!

Dry: So weird - the throw about six inches from my skin smells like my mom's perfume. Up close...tea.

 

My rating: 2/5

[milo]

Very fresh, plummy floral. I find a bit of unpleasant dustiness as it dries. There is also a bit of tartness here, like a plum that is not quite ripe. I find the notes don't really meld all that well together on my skin, there's the tart plum, and the musty iris, (I think), and they seem like separate entities. I wish I got some black amber, but alas this blend is not to be with me.

[grrrlennyl]

On: Bitter grapefruit and fruity plum.
Half an hour in: The black amber smells like vanilla on me right now, and the whole scent is just sort of smooth and sweet.
5.5 hours in: This is darker now. Still sweet and smooth, but with a bit of powderiness to it.
Overall: This is pretty, but not very interesting on me.

[Reki]

Wet: Mr. Bubble! How I've missed you since my childhood!

Dry: Light, powdery purple fruits. It's still a tad soapy, but no longer an exact dupe of Mr. Bubble.

[filigree_shadow]

Pretty plum and bergamot, definitely some orris in there, with a slightly powdery grounding of amber. I pretty much always like plum, and I like it in this. Usually with the fruity florals, plum plus floral notes are my favorite ones. This one isn't a WOW on me, but it's very pleasant.

[imaginepageant]

Review from 2005.

 

In the Vial: Grapefruit! Sweet pink grapefruit, possibly made that way by the accompanying plum, which I can also catch. I have no idea what orris smells like, but there is a definite floral in this, so that must be it. The amber is nowhere to be seen. This is a bright, sweet, fruity, feminine scent.

 

Wet: Oh, there's the amber, and the grapefruit and plum all but disappear. The brightness turns into warmth, the fruit into powder.

 

Dry: Still powder, and very floral, and the amber is there to darken it a bit, and a slight hint of fruit has returned. A few minutes and it smells a bit watery, like blooms floating on a still pond.

 

An Hour Later: Powdery old lady floral. Yep.

 

Overall: How I wish this had stayed grapefruit! But alas. Off to the sale pile.

[Monday]

In the bottle: Orris! Lovely orris.

On my skin it evens out into a fruity/ perfumey scent. The orris is still there but the plum and grapefruit make it fruity somehow. It has a lot of throw.

It reminds me a bit of some scented erasers I had when I was a kid. I'm on the fence about this one.

[sparkleyturtle]

This smell is definitely fruity. The citrus is strong and has the plum behind it. I also catch the strength of the amber behind it. Even though I love citrus, I just don't know if I could wear it.

[_shell_bells]

I received this as a frimp and loved it so much I had to get a bottle. I have to admit I don't like it at all wet but I LOVE it when it dries down. It's hard for me to pick out any one note because they all blend beautifully. I guess I would describe it as a musky plum. This is the only plum scent from the lab that has worked on my skin. If it was a color it would be a deep dark rich purple. It's a warm fragrance without being super heavy. I'll wear it as a night out perfume. It's a grown up woman scent for sure. It reminds me a little bit of Poison. A scent I wore forever ago. It's not as strong but it has some of the same notes.

[aleciarivas]

I love amber scents- however, many of them turn to powder on me after awhile, and this scent which I was so in love with at first did the same thing. I'm a huge fan of grapefruit so I was excited when I smelled this in the imp and also when I first put it on. But in the long run the black amber ruined this for me... sigh...

[punkinpie]

In the imp: boozey fruit

Wet: I smell very strongly of fruit snacks for about half an hour or more.

Dry: The top note is gone and now it smells really pleasant. I'm guessing it's the orris and amber. It stays pretty close to the skin but lasts for hours.

 

I do really like the dry down but I'm not sure if I want to endure the PURPLEness of it in the beginning.

[mymymai]

In the Imp (ITI): It’s a very clean scent. Plum and orris root are most prominent at this stage.

 

Wet: Yes, plum is certainly the dominant note, although I can vaguely smell the bergamot if I concentrate.

 

Dry: Lovely bergamot-soaked plum and hints of black amber. It’s wonderfully complex, spicy, and exotic.

[yakiguri]

Grapefruit dominates yet another blend, and not in a good way. The combo of it and the plum turns Megaera into Lip Smacker-esque plasticky fruit. Not for me.

[Scorianelle]

Word of the Scent: Juicy

 

First Sniff: Fruit! Stone fruits that are sharp, not sweet.

 

Second Sniff: It's figgy and juicy with a high and windy feeling.

 

Wet: Definitely fruity. The plum dominates but it has also warmed up a lot.

 

Dry: It's sweetened up heaps (as all scents do on me). Honeyed plum and wine is what I'm getting. It's not bad but definitely not for me. I'm getting a headache.

 

Throw: mild to medium.

 

Colour association: Nut Brown and Plum Purple.

[kythe]

Sort of a tart hard candy that morphed into fruit gummies and faded very quickly.

[mymel0dy]

In the imp: Fruit punch. Sweet make fruit punch scent. The kind with no real fruit juice.

 

Wet on skin: Same fruit punch scent as in the imp.

 

On drydown: The bergamot come out and is strong. Warm earl grey tea on me.

 

Dry: The bergamot is still there but now it smells more like earl grey soap than tea.

 

Conclusion: I was so hoping that the plum and grapefruit would stand out, but they were overwhelmed but the bergamot and the orris turning to soap on me. It's not bad, just too soapy for me to want to wear.

[Veronica]

In the bottle, this is soft amber and ripe fruit. On me, it's warm, amber-y plum. After a few minutes, another note comes out--the bergamont I think, but maybe the orris--slightly herbal and soapy. Fully dry, the soapiness goes away and I get a sweet, powdery plum over amber base. This reminds me of a warmer version of Black Pearl, alas not for me.

Edited February 19, 2015 by delighted

[GoddesShel]

Just the sort of fruity/floral vibe I loooove. This is just lovely on me, and just went on the big bottle list.

 

I get the grapefruit and bergamot on opening, then it settles down and the amber and orris smooth things over. I never get much recognizable plum, but I think it's in there adding some juiciness to the blend as it warms up.

[cameroncrazed]

I can't believe that I haven't already reviewed this one! It's so lovely.

 

Wet in imp: orris and plum. It's all creamy red fruit.

 

Wet on skin: creamy citrus. I know the cream note is the orris. I'm getting primarily grapefruit and very little bergamot, but it's a mellow grapefruit instead of really biting and sharp like some other grapefruit scents.

 

Dry on skin: I'm getting mostly plum and orris with a touch of amber to round it all out (very close to the "wet in the imp" smell). The citrus notes have totally disappeared. It's absolutely beautiful on my skin. There's a touch of soapiness to it, but not much - but it's enough that I associate this scent with "clean". I've been wearing it a lot lately - it just screams "Spring is here!" to me.

Edited April 23, 2015 by BellaKatrina

[loubric]

In the imp it's juicy slightly spicy plum, almost like a spiced fruit cake!

On me it's a sweet, wet, juicy freshly cut plum! It's soft, warm and feminine. It has a slight clean, herby undertone. Lovely.

[kscha2017]

One of my favorites, my go-to "purple" scent. A very sweet, dark, warm plum is prominent. Behind it lies a hint of exotic spiciness which reminds me of Snake Oil. I get no hint of grapefruit, bergamot, or amber but perhaps their combination with orris is what my nose is translating as SO-ish spice. This is rich, deep, regal and powerful. A bold and long-lasting scent.

[Casablanca]

On the wand, I just want to pull back from this one: it smells awful. The whole makes me think of carpet cleaner, which doesn't make sense, because I never use carpet cleaner. To try again: the plum is potent but unappealing, even though I like plum. It seems to clash with the citrus and also with a heavier base note, the amber... well, it clashes with all of it.

On my skin, the notes all come out swinging. This may be Megaera, but I'm thinking of Eris: the discord. The orris casts a powdery shroud over an angry plum and the other notes it fights with. The amber is there, adding an uncomfortable warm fullness to the plum.

Once it's dry, I mostly smell orris and an artificial plum.

[lizabelle]

This is bizarre, because on my skin this smells like a lotus single note. I have no idea what's causing it, but this smells fakey bubblegum in the same way lotus always does on me. The orris is making it extra powdery, but otherwise I can't pinpoint what the problem is. I love the other notes, usually, except amber, so I guess this version isn't working for me. Not a favorite.

[renfair]

I love bergamot and grapefruit, so I was looking forward to trying this imp out.

First Sniff Impression: Kind of a watery, syrpy citrus

Wet in Vial: I think the plum is giving me that "watery" note. At the moment it's not a very interesting scent to me. I checked another imp I have, and it seems consistent.

 

Drying Down on Skin: For some reason, I thought this would be a "stronger" scent. It's VERY subdued, and I'm not a fan so far. The orris and plum are combining to a watery, sort of bland violet smell. I can't get the bergamot at all, and the grapefruit is barely if at all present. -- After a bit of dry down, at least some of the "watery" smell is going away. The plum is a little stronger, maybe enhanced by the black amber. I wish I could get more bergamot cause there's like none to me.

Dry on Skin: This gets a little more interesting as it becomes fully dry. It's definitely a bit heavier (not heavy, but more like it has substance instead of being watery). The plum is richer, maybe because of the black amber, and it feels more like a plum fragrance than the faint smell of an actual plum, if that makes any sense. The grapefruit is a good support note in the background. It now smells like a really nice, non-chemical Bath and Body Works lotion, but with about a fifth of the throw something like that would have. It's nice, sweet, rich, and subtle.

 

Conclusion: This one evolved enough into an attractive fruity floral that I'll keep an imp of, but I don't feel the need to hang on to the other two imps of it I have. I'm just not sure what exact occasion I would wear it for. Maybe applied a little more strongly than I usually do would help it to carry more.