Johnathan Harker

[QueenFae]

A respectable gentleman's scent: lavender, iris, white tea, verbena and white sandalwood.

This is almost straight verbena on me; very very citrysey/ lemony. A very crisp, bright, clean, yellow scent. Very strong lemon with a shimmering white sandalwood in the background. I think this would be nice on a man or a woman. It's a strong scent, especially when first applied.

This isn't quite my thing, but it is a nice scent just the same.

[zankoku_zen]

In the imp: Citrusy/lemony... must be the verbena

 

On Skin: Verbena is very predominant, I get a small hint of tea and something else.

 

Drydown: Verbena, tea and something slightly musky, and very masculine.

 

Verdict: I wouldn't be able to wear this one... but I'm going to try it on the husband. I think he might enjoy it. Will edit later with his impressions.

 

ETA: On the boy, it starts out as a very stringent lemon blend and then turns into a funky musk. There is something component wise that doesn't work with his skin chemistry. I think he would have liked it better if it smelled on him what it smelled like on me. Neither of us is a fan of how it smells on him.

Edited June 19, 2007 by zankoku_zen

[DifferentDances]

Bottle: Green. Green. Like the juices of mown lawns.

Wet: Green green green. With a slightly soapy lemon edge.

Drydown: Whew! Sweet, sharp lemon!

Dry: Subdued lemon verbena. That's all. ETA: Well, once it fades (which it does, rapidly), the tea note comes out stronger. Still, it's very, very faint and soapy.

 

My rating: 2/5. It's not an unpleasant scent. I think I just amp lemon verbena. *sigh*

Edited July 28, 2007 by DifferentDances

[Lethran]

In the bottle: the tea is strongest, along with what I suspect is the verbena. (Process of elimination.) it is reminding me a little of Herbert West and Kumiho. It's got an Embalming Fluid vibe. I would not call it a gentleman's scent; it is too androgynous for that. It smells clean and asexual. It smells like high tea at an iron table in a very early spring garden, very green and full of growing things, but not specifically floral. I am not sure why this is meant to embody a London lawyer, though. Perhaps i am missing something. I would have picked this for Seward instead.

[Tulliver]

Mmmm, lovely. Tea and verbena and sandalwood and something just a little grassy but not overwhelmingly so. It reminds me a little of both Embalming Fluid and The Apothecary - but it lasts a good deal longer than either of them on me, which is a Very Good Thing Indeed.

 

I'd have got this anyway since, while the misspelling of his name on the bottle makes this Literary-Nazi Virgo twitch (sorry, but it does *shamed*), there was no WAY I couldn't set out to collect the entire Order of the Dragon series, whether I liked it or not.

 

Happily for me, they're all hits so far. In fact this is only beaten to "best blend in the series" by Wilhelmina Murray - which is how it should be. *grins*

 

I love it mightily, superfluous "h" or not.

Edited December 2, 2007 by Tulliver

[Shollin]

First sniff: Mmmmmm. White musk and soft lemon.

 

Wearing: Very, very lemon, a bit blurred and soft-focus around the edges. It gets a bit dry-woody as it dries.

[for_the_nonce]

This is a very refreshing lemon scent, with a hint of tea. It smells like *real* lemons, not cleaning-supply lemons. It's a bit masculine, but not too masculine for a girl to wear. It just doesn't smell... flowery or airy; it's got a distinct presence. Someone frimped me this and I'm glad- I like it a lot, though I never would have sought it out based on the notes. The only downside is that it seems to fade fast and stick close to the skin, but it's nothing a good dose of slathering wouldn't solve!

[savage_rose]

This smells like lavender, lemon, and tea. With a hint of something almost berry-like. It smells very unisex to me, and ever-so-slightly sweet. Lovely!

[stillalive]

if not for the lavender, this would be my new ideal spring/early summer scent. As it is, the lavender gives me a horrible headache, but I like it enough I might slather it on my bf or oldest brother.

[fairnymph]

Sniffed: Light yellow oil. Sharp, dry, white. Clean and herbal. White tea, verbena and sandalwood reign. A little bitter and medicinal, and a touch powdery from the hint of iris.

 

Wet: Gentler, though still pretty herbal and bright. Lots of verbena and sandalwood - and some vetiver? I think? More iris on my skin, even less lavender (much lighter here than it often is), and the white tea note smells more like green tea to me.

 

Dry: This reminds me of Shanghai a bit with the tea/verbena combo, and the iris sort of stands in for the honeysuckle. Whoa, the resemblence really is increasing as this dries. Verbena is super strong, and the tea note is definitely GREEN, with a bit more powder from the iris.

 

Later: More of a white tea note, now - in addition to the green tea note. The verbena has calmed slightly and a bit of sandalwood has come back, along with a hint of lavender. Iris is pretty powdery, but in a nice way. Think Black Pearl.

 

Summary: White and green teas with verbena, iris and sandalwood. Very clean and light and soft on final drydown - a little femme, though - not really unisex. Decent throw.

[Schmoozy]

 

The older this gets the better it gets. A clean, masculine blend of lavender & verbena, tea and sandalwood. It is soothing and soft, yet at times it is bright and slightly gruff. Although I orginally purchased this for the hubby, I just can't seem to part with it.

[Lamia]

Awful - the worst sort of citrus-based men's cologne. Eventually loses the cologne and just smells of icky citrus.

[stellans]

Verbena is the one form of a lemon note I can bear, if it is moderate. Jonathan Harker's verbena does not start off as moderate but with a verbena vengeance! Mercifully, it calms down soon enough after application that a wash-off is not triggered, and soon the more calming notes of lavender, iris, and white tea can be discerned. The sandalwood is so subtle as to almost non-detectible, though, which is a shame since I love sandalwood. Taken altogether, this is a very pleasant scent, and very unisex in my opinion. The verbena gives a more masculine edge while the lavender and iris keep it gentle and feminine. 2 of 5 stars for this blend.

p.s. The misspelling of his first name drove me nuts at first; then I finally just let it go and even spelled it on my icon the same way.

[voorishsign]

In the imp - bright, clean, gentlemanly and fresh! White tea and sandalwood. Tidy and pleasant.

 

On wet - Verbana is strongest, lavender second. The tea and sandalwood remain in the background for now.

 

Drydown - Lavender is strongest on the drydown. A gorgeous, neat, minimalist scent, just the thing for a well-scrubbed gentleman about town. Will definitely put this to use

[starfish327]

definitely lavendar in the imp. something else underneath it, another floral, however masculine type blend.

 

something amps up very sweet and almost citrusy on the skin. the lavendar pulls back but it's still there.

 

touch of white musk (i'm guessing it's white musk that gives me problems) because i'm getting just the slightest suggestion of sour skin.

 

not nearly as masculine once dry, and i'm not sure that i like this one enough to want to keep it around. at the same time there's the citrus sweet thing that i like about akuma and vice. think it goes to a second round of testing before i decide.

[catalyst]

I actually bought this imp as part of a recent order with someone on the forum, because the notes are all things I like, including verbena. Unfortunately, the verbena dominates this to the point that most of the other notes are buried or lost completely. After a couple of hours, it's faded down to where you can actually get a bit of the non-herbal part of the lavender and white sandalwood, which gives a little bit of a powdery effect. Not a feminine or baby powder type of thing, but more like how musk gets sometimes. Still gender neutral, but only barely.

 

It starts off as very sharp, because of both the verbena and the lavender, and stays sharp for most of the duration. The lavender in it is like freshly cut lavender right off the bush, a pungent herbal, not a feminine perfume-type lavender. Johnathan Harker is nice, and I'll use up the imp, but I'm not going to look for a whole bottle.

Edited July 19, 2012 by catalyst

[The Poison Queen]

The boy didn't like this! So I snagged it and gave it a go!

 

In the bottle- Bright citrus with a sharpness to it, almost like Neroli.

 

Wet on skin- Definitely orange blossom on me, sharp citrus with a bit of green to it, with the undertone of strong lavender.

 

Dry- Earl Grey tea! It must be the verbena combined with the white tea, but it's lovely, and is VERY much what I expected Severin to smell like! And a hint of candy to it, a lovely sweetness that has a very big throw on me, and almost none on my fella! I peeled his red "I claim thee" sticker off the top and am sticking my pink one on! This is a keeper for me!

Edited November 28, 2012 by The Poison Queen

[theredkilt]

this oil has such a short life span. On my skin i get verbena and white tea, but i disappears in less that 1 hour

[ObliqueRed]

Very herbal from the lavender and lemon verbena, but my skin amps the lemon into something sharp and headachy. Alas!