Wilhelmina Murray

[dreadeddragon]

Tea rose, white sandalwood and a flurry of pale, virginal blossoms, smeared with a smoky, blood-soiled blend of myrrh, hyacinth, Daemonorops resin, dark musk and blackcurrant.

In the bottle: Floral with a bit of currant and some myrrh.

First on: The currant is slightly stronger than the floral blend, and unlike others, the sandalwood and myrrh are really noticeable. It's fairly strong on me and I can't stop sniffing it.

Drydown: This is similar to Brides of Dracula, only more sad and listless than seductive. The scent really hasn't changed much, and it's still pretty strong.

Overall: I swapped for this unsniffed based on the reviews. For now, I'll keep it, though it won't be one of my regular scents.

[Eemia]

I have been wanting this for so, so long. I am so glad my mom sent this to me as a gift. It is beautiful, wistful, and mysterious and I love it so much.

 

This starts out as a very smoky, sweetly resinous blend that is only barely touched by rose. To my nose it's mainly sandlewood and a vague floral I can't place. It's dark though, and very warm. The florals are not overpowering or stuffy, but very gentle and faint...like small white flowers would be. There is only the tiniest breath of the blackcurrant...it's there for a minute or two then disappears. At this stage it's nicely strong and has very good throw.

 

It stays pretty much the same as it dries, if slightly more resinous. I think the myrrh is lovely, sort of unexpected too. It clings to my skin and is the dominant note as it starts fade away. The rose has become a little more obvious as well, and it is absolutely tea rose...that sort of dry, brittle rose that smells timeless.

 

This is easily going to be a favorite of mine.....it exceeds all my expectations. I expected this would be more proper and ladylike than it is....thank goodness it has a darker personality. I will probably wear down the bottle quickly.

[DifferentDances]

Just a smidge of this lovely lovely scent goes a long way. Elegant, slightly chilly, and deliciously feminine. SO happy I got this off a forumite.

[squintywitch]

In the bottle: grown up, incense and roses.

 

On my skin: Not much in the way of roses. Faint tea rose, myrrh, sandalwood.

Dry on skin: Alas, smells like rose incense sticks and soap. Not one that works on me.

[storme]

In the imp: gosh, that's very pretty. Soft smoky florals and sandalwood.

 

On me, wet: rose and sandalwood and a musky resin. I *like* this so far.

 

On me, dry: Alas, it fades fast. All I can smell a while later is a tinge of a resinous rose.

 

Verdict: Bah, this was lovely, but it just wouldn't stay around to play. Ah well, skin defeats will, again.

[alicia_stardust]

This is a very innocent and virginal floral scent. I get mostly rose and a light, wafting feminine scent. The myrrh comes out but only just barely, and my skin seems to skip over the rest of the darker notes.

[Tulliver]

Ooooh, this is my Mina. This is MY Mina.

 

I find it very hard to be totally coherent about this one because it's just SO perfect. I wanted to love this, I was prepared for heartbreak, but she surpassed all my hopes in one glorious burst of smoky hyacinth.

 

It's bright, it's light, it's a VERY proper Victorian lady with the ever-present STUNNING hyacinth backed up by the merest hint of tea rose and very faint blackcurrant.

 

But there IS that delicious wanton undertone to her which works so very very well. In fact I'd had the scent on for a while and a friend asked what it was. So I told her and she had a closer sniff and picked out the smoky "undertow" to it, which I actually couldn't smell at the time.

 

It's beautiful. Utterly and totally beautiful. My ambition in life now - well, one of them ehehehe - is to gather just as much of this to me as I possibly can.

[darkblade]

Bottle: (Imp) Strong.. something. I dunno.

 

Wet: Iiigh bad floral.

 

Dry: Generic floral.

 

Verdict: I have enough florals that I like better.. swap/sell pile.

[radishbaby]

In the Imp : Flowers, resin and myrrh. Damn this has me scared - I'm really interested in finding out what those Daemonorops reson parts smell like but myrrh has this habit of sticking to me like glue and killing everything around it. Oh well here goes.

 

Wet : Hm, tea rose with a hint of sandalwood, the flowers are very sweet and pale, not overly sugary but they're mellowing out the myrrh and the musk. This blend holds several dreaded ingrediants for me so I was hesitant about trying them together but this smells pretty nice so far and shows no hint of turning into sandalwood soap so far.

 

Dry : Hm, this is starting to tingle. 5 Minutes Later : This is starting to burn! Ack! But as soon as I got to the sink the sensation had disappeared - strange! Now this smells like a generic antique ladies perfume. Like the rest of the OotD scents I've encountered so far this is totally well suited to the character its been set to but nothing in particular is striking me as really outstanding. Very nice and soft.

 

Over All : Well it burns like fire for about 3 minutes and that's all I'm going to say about that.

 

Big Bottle Worthy : No

[zankoku_zen]

I was hoping for the blackcurrant to be a major player in this, but again the rose dominates. It starts out as a rather virginal, white flower sort of rose, and as time passes and it dries, it becomes muskier and darker. Blood-tinged indeed.

 

As a Victorian romantic concept, and an embodiment of Wilhemina Murray's character and novel development, this is spot on. Bravo Lab!

[Shollin]

First sniff: I get almost nothing from the bottle but a wisp of linen shroud. All the deeper notes seem to be hiding.

 

Wearing: Soft white flowers on my wrist, and the sadly short-lived waft from my neck was all blackcurrant. The darker side that drew me to this scent, the myrrh and the musk and the resin, is nowhere to be found.

[Magpie]

When I recently ordered a complete Order of the Dragon decant set from a friendly forumite, I thought I wouldn't like this much, but Mina does appeal to me. I'm a big fan of nice florals, but often find them too simplistic and hunger after something more unusual (perhaps trying to become something more than my usual sweet-little-blonde persona!) but in The Order of the Dragon, I have found that the three 'female' scents (The Brides of Dracula, Lucy Westenra, Wilhemina Harker) have been beautiful, grown-up and complex on me. They all have the appeal of florals, but are more complicated, with a more knowing edge that I feel is entirely appropriate. My only problem is that, to me, they smell very similar, despite sharing few or no notes in common.

 

In the bottle, Mina is mostly sweet but with a slightly complicating undertone. On, it swells into a beautiful honeyed floral with occasional other scents peeping out. I hadn't realised its strength, and have put quite a lot on, but despite my earlier warning signs of a headache (neck aches etc.), this doesn't push me into a headache in the same way as Helena did the first time I wore it. I like, but then it goes through an odd metapmorphosis after its dried, so that I can pick out the myrrh and musk quite strongly sometimes, and then it smells almost aqueous (which is far from a bad thing for me - one of my favourite scents is The Lady of Shallott!) and possibly slightly powdery as an after-smell. It morphs constantly for the moment, different scents coming to the foreground each time I sniff it. I'm really not very fond of 'currant' scents of any kind, so I'm glad that on me, this is hardly noticeable.

 

In conclusion: I like this, contrary to my expectations. It is a fitting part of the triptych of female scents in OotD, though it's a less sophisticated, younger Mina than most modern interpretations would have it. Appropriately, Lucy and the three Brides are more sexually aware, but Mina has an interesting sophistication and is rather less ethereal and otherwordly.

[Heeroluva]

In the bottle spicy with a bit of metal and smoke. Wet the metal and spice go away but the smoke mixes with light floral tones. It ends a bit musky, but a nice feminine scent. Very pretty and not at all overwhelming.

[yewberry]

Groping for sandalwood and finding only (ACK!) lily. Very pretty, very skillfully-blended, and very much not for me.

[stillalive]

an almost imperceptible scent on my skin... not quite as lovely as Lucy Westenra, but very gentle and floral.

[pinkstardust420]

Sweet, resiny flowers....sugary almost! Very nice!

[fairnymph]

Sniffed: Light amber oil. Dragon's blood, myrrh, and sandalwood. Lots and lots of the latter two. Where are the other flowers (other than the gross DB ones)?

 

Wet: A little blackcurrant, the gritty sort, but still MYRRH, soapy dragon's blod, and dry, almost dusty sandalwood. Maybe a tiny bit of soapy rose. This is oddly nutty/grainy...really strange.

 

Dry: The DB has gone quite soapy/piercing, and is melding with the rose that has amped a bit. I think there is a bit of soapy/heady jasmine, too. The myrrh has calmed down and the sandalwood smoothed out.

 

Later: Wow, morphing. The rose and sandalwood are saving this with their delightful clean purity, but I can still smell the myrrh and db, despite the fact that they've faded. The blackcurrant has turned into a pleasant wild-berry note, and some delicious musk has emerged.

 

Summary: Dry down is all dark, heavy delicious musk and sandalwood, tinged by myrrh, blackcurrant, rose and other florals. I'd love it without the damn myrrh, which is a nagging note I can't ignore. The sandalwood is a bit dry/woody/dusty, but bearable.

[Veronica]

This started off a little sticky-sweet due to the myrrh, but soon developed a musky, smoky note? I desperately want to like this scent, because I love Mina, but I think I might have to pass on this.

 

EDIT: On second test, wet this was a white floral, then gained a slightly smokey note that added sophistication and complexity to the scent. I really like it, but I'm not sure if I'll wear it...maybe to business interviews (though the smoke might through some people off!) The smoke fades and blends with the floral into a spicy, incense/musk scent, giving it a hauntingly beautiful feel.

Edited May 20, 2010 by delighted

[Lamia]

This started as a weary floral, and turned soapy. I tried to wash it off with Dr. Bronner's Peppermint soap, and it GOT STRONGER.

 

Hm.

[slayheim]

Let me say, I was terrified this would be horrible on me. Everything thus far with tea rose in it has ended up smelling sort of musty and given me a headache when put on (though I long for it whilst in a bottle!). This one was one I was afraid of, because I figured it would be amazing and it would end up making me feel dizzy.

 

On the contrary! This is a winner!

 

It's a very dignified scent. Very Mina-like, even! It's the epitome of a classy Victorian woman to me. I can't quite tell the scents, but I know I enjoy it. It has a little bit of a soapy smell on me after a while, amidst the light floral that I get.

[donnatron]

Imp: This is quite complex. I mainly get the tea rose with a faint hint of dragon's blood. The light florals are present as is a little furry edge of the dark musk.

 

Wet: Sweet, candied tea rose with an undercurrant of musk. Light hint of currant. The sandalwood and musk are balancing each other out as they can be... odd on my skin

 

Dry: I don't think I quite appreciated Lucy Westenra fully until I smelled Wilhelmina Murray. The two work together fabulously as a set. Both are ethereal floral musks but Wilhelmina is a little more grounded and earthy from the black musk and dragon's blood. Lucy is sharper and juicier from the blood orange and a little more feral, despite the dark ingredients in Wilhelmina. Wilhelmina's scent is very dark but not brooding, more languid. The rose and dragon's blood are the top notes backed by the sandalwood and musk with the faintest tart bite of the blackcurrant. It's very sweet and warm and very feminine on my skin.

 

Throw: Mild.

 

Overall: I'm glad to have tried it because it really is a beautiful companion to Lucy Westenra as well as a beautiful scent on its own. The light throw and minimal wearlength makes me think I probably don't need a bottle of this but I'm happy I got to try.

[mari4212]

Wet: Soapy florals, possibly lily, as lily often goes soapy on me.

 

Drydown: After a bit, a combination of a tea rose and some incense starts to develop. A little while after that, the dragon's blood peeks its head in.

 

This is a lovely blend for someone else, but it didn't end up working on me at all. Another one to toss into the swaps box.

[rayvn1]

Hmm I get the pale flowers and dusty resin and just a hint of the blood note. This is very faint and smoky on me. Makes a great scent picture Not one I'd reach for often, though.

[Suu4LC]

In the imp, this is a bit hard to get a handle on-its a sharp, bright floral.

 

On my skin, this is a pleasant, slightly sweet floral, a bit powdery, and with an undertone of something darker-dark myrrh and musk.

 

Unfortunately, on me this dried to sort of a bland, incensey floral. Not as complex as I had hoped. Not bad or unpleasant, just unremarkable and reminds me of other bpal blends I have tried and passed on.

[cfrancesca]

I'm getting a smoky, woody floral with myrrh, dark musk (black?) and currant. As it dries I start to make out some of the blood note and bit of rose (which has a tinge of soapiness), the musk slowly starts to amp and turns slightly powdery.