The Agony of Loss

[themerrybaker]

French lavender, cedar, armoise, white sandalwood, awapuhi, and the smoke of burning love letters.

After writing a parody of "How Doth the Little Crocodile" and dropping a broad hint for "Passion", I found out I "Lost" instead.

This blend smells of citrus, lavender, and cedar as described, though.

Not for me.

I guess I'm just not lucky in love.

[gingersnapp]

I am always impressed with just how the Lab Goblins are able to read my mind. This was the description I related to the most and the list of notes that I really, really loved.

 

And it does not disappoint. It is sweetly sharp and romatically dusty musty. The lavender is there in the forefront, but it's somewhat fruity in addition to its signature sharpness. The sandalwood grounds it on me with pale, dry perfection and the cedar is another gorgeous woody note. I don't know what armoise is..... a quick Google search later and I see it is wormwood / absinthe!!! LOVE IT!

 

And I'd even swear I could smell ancient papers burning. It is dead on.

 

Wistful and melancholy, icy but warming and soothing at the same time.

 

Hooray! I love it and it's perfect and for once, I don't feel like I "lost" out.

[shelldoo]

in the bottle: lavander and sandalwood

 

wet: lavander, sandalwood, and awaphui..actually kinda shampoo like in nature

 

this is a very clean, fresh scent. not quite soapy, but fresh for sure. actually i kind of enjoy it although it isn't my normal mo. the lavander is not as prominent as it was in the beginning it is mostly awapuhi, but i do detect a bit of sandalwood also.

[Blood onmy hands]

In the bottle this is herbal, slightly sharp lavender and a hint of something smoky. On me, the 'burning love letters' bit goes into full bloom and this is ultra smoky. It's not smoky in a resinous way or anything... it really smells like burning paper. The lavender amps up after several minutes and takes over the blend.

 

A really strong, herbal lavender with an unpleasant smokiness to it. I might smell a bit of clean sandalwood in here as well, but it's mostly lavender and smoke.

 

I'm not really liking this one much. I can't see myself ever wearing it as a perfume... and I wouldn't want a room fragrance that's this smoky either.

[sarada]

I love smoky lavender (Old Scratch, Gaueko, etc.) so I'm very pleased to have this one, particularly because the sandalwood takes it into an even woodier and more incensy territory.

 

I'm put in the mind of my old college dorm room, burning lavender incense while an undercurrent of other, woodier, smoky incenses still lingers in the air and I gaze wistfully out the window at a rainy day.

 

Not sure of what armoise or awapuhi smell like but there's also a touch of something slightly sweet mixed in here, a bit of white floral nectar in the background.

 

Smoky lavender loves my skin and twirls around me in a heady, herbal incensy haze. This is quite splendid for me!

 

ETA: I reapplied this yesterday to continue enjoying it, and it really is the epitome of the sort of herbal, smoky lavender that I love with a woody, incensy base. Definitely seek this out if you like things like Old Scratch. Or even Bitter Moon -- it reminds me of the refreshing, herbal qualities of that blend with the same feeling of fragrant smoke on a grey, cold day. The woods are subtle but gorgeous: I can sense the deep green-tinged cedar and the dusty dry sandalwood beneath the pale purple-green herbs.

 

There are only a handful of scents that I'd put in this category of smoky, herbal, incensy lavender but it is a marvelous combo and absolutely perfect for solitary contemplation and quiet, cloudy days.

Edited February 14, 2007 by sarada

[valentina]

On me, The Agony of Loss starts out sharp as a blade! I get a lot of very herbal, fresh lavender -- not the dried variety, the freshly-crushed variety. I also smell cedar, but I tend to amp cedar. That element lasts about 15 minutes, and then the lavender mellows and the sandalwood and smoke become much more apparent. I can also get a whiff of sweetness from the awapuhi in the background -- not that much, but just enough to soften the blend a bit more. What I get is a visual of someone going on a camping trip by themselves, sitting out among the cedars and tossing herbs, a few dried flowers and old love letters on the fire built with aromatic wood.

[midnight_aeval]

This one stings my nose I am having sinus problems right now and when I put it on I literally felt like I couldn't breathe- the scent was just that intense.

 

It's been on my skin for about 30 minutes now and it smells like a smokey lavender.. it's really nice now, but that first half hour is deadly! Maybe I'll try it again when I don't have a head cold.

[slave1]

THE AGONY OF LOSS

 

In Bottle: Lavender!

 

On Skin: Yes, the lavender is the leader here, very much in the front. Followed by the woody cedar and sandlewood. This scent seems a bit more masculine than the other 5. Very earthy and outdoorsy but also tranquil. The smoke compliments this scent as well. But sadly, the lavender and I don’t get along, it’s on eof the notes I’ve never been a fan of. It’s just too sharp for me. While I can see this being a pretty blend, it’s too much for me and gives me a little bit of a headache. But if you like sharp, clean woody scents, you’ll love this one for sure. Strong throw and medium to long wearlength.

[tempestteapot]

Lavender.

 

That is all.

[prunesnprisms]

I liked this, although the best I can do to describe it is 'dryer sheets' or 'clean linens'. I guess that's the cedar coming out in a way that isn't normal on me.

[eviltemptressdq]

well, I was part of a decant circle for all 6 Inquisition scents (run by my Enabler, the wonderful HennaFairy), so I will review them all!

 

Loss: Ok, well this is the one with the EVIL Lavendar. And, yes... on first sniff that is ALL I get. And lavendar is the one thing I absolutely abhor (sp?)... so, umm... I have to admit that I did not test it on my skin But my Enabler loved this one, so I swapped it back to her. hehe.

[harmonyfb]

In the bottle, the cedar is very strong. On my skin, it's all about the lavender and some sort of sweet smokiness, with almost a bit of citrus. This is a very old-fashioned perfume, very feminine and delicate (ergo, not for me). As it dries, the citrus moves forward, but it's pleasant and sweet, not bitter or overpowering. It has medium throw, and the throw is all lavender - the citrus only becomes apparent up close. It smells to me as though it would be the perfect scent for a weeping lover, lying in her dressing gown, head bowed over her faithless lover's thoughtless note of farewell.

 

(After discovering that awapuhi is white ginger, I realize that's probably what I'm smelling as citrus.)

Edited February 22, 2007 by harmonyfb

[LauraB]

Cedar makes me nervous. Normally it amps on me something rotten and I just smell like a freshly sawn plank (not really my thing). I am really surprised to learn that there is cedar in this. On me, it's a lovely light delicate scent - I can smell sandalwood and lavender and something else. I would never have expected it to work from the description, but it does!

[melissadragon]

The Agony of Loss:

 

Imp: Cedar! And other things I don't know. Seems masculine to me. - applied to middle of right forearm

Wet: Mm, lavendar and sandalwood, it's a bit sweeter now.

Dry: Mostly sandalwood, still some lavender, something sweet that I can't identify, no smoke at all.

Verdict: It's kind of on the edge, but ... Keeper.

[little_galaxie]

Oh, this would be so beautiful if it wasn't for the damned SMOKE. Lavender, cedar, all notes I love and work on me. *Le sigh.*

[hackess]

Imp: More lavendar than anything.

Initial application: CEDAR! Lots and lots of cedar. Something vaguely sweet in the background - the awapuhi??

Drydown: Ginger heavy over the woodsy smell - kind of reminds me of cedar sawdust.

 

It's kind of pretty, but not for me.

[QueenFae]

This is a surprisingly commanding, sharp, direct scent on me. It is mostly lavendar and smokiness on my skin. There is a tiny hint of cedar and citrus in the background. This is very clean and cool smelling, I'm rather surprised that I like it, but I do.

 

This has quite a bit of throw when first applied. I haven't worn it long but I imagine it will be pretty long lasting. This is something I would like to wear to sleep at night, this would be lovely on either of the sexes.

[supremegoddessofall]

Definitely a dry scent. Some lavender, a touch of sandalwood. Pretty good.

[storme]

In the imp: sweet lavender and white woods, yum yum yum.

 

On me, wet: incredibly faint sandalwood and lavender.

 

On me, dry: lavender and pale woods and a faint green scent that's a bit aniseedish. The smoke is only a very faint tinge.

 

Verdict: Hmm. I like this, and it's the clearest greenest sandalwood I've tried yet, but I think it's too faint for me to want to wear it often.

[edenssixthday]

The Agony of Loss - Wow. So here I am, thinking this would be my least favorite of the Agony/Ecstasy blends because of the lavender, cedar, and smoke. Turns out, it's my favorite. Yes, I love it more than even Passion! This is not at all the type of scent I would normally wear, but there's something about it that grabs me and even though I can distinctly detect the notes I don't usually like, I can't stop sniffing myself and can't get over how beautiful this is. It's a very clean and fresh blend, reminding me a bit of F5, actually. It also seems quite unisex to me. The first notes I detect are the lavender, cedar, and sandalwood, all perfectly balanced, bright, and crisp. As the blend dries down on my skin, those three notes actually move to the background and I can smell the awapuhi and smoke. The smoke initially blends with the sandalwood to give off a scent that reminds me a lot of an incense note, but as the sandalwood recedes, the smoke becomes a distinct note of its own, that's subtle and subtle. The awapuhi really starts to come out at this point, and the scent becomes distinctly tropical and makes me want to get right up and fly over to the Islands. This is a gorgeous scent -- clean, fresh, floral, a touch smoky, and remarkably fabulous. I can't believe I thought I wasn't going to like it!

[wikkidraven]

this one gives me a slight headache. far too much lavender for my tastes, just doesn't agree with me.

[Naamah_Darling]

Yet again, I have to look things up. Armoise is mugwort, and allegedly has a green and herbaceous scent. It's a member of the Artemisia, or wormood, family.

 

'Awapuhi is a relative of ginger from Hawaii.

 

The smell of this in the bottle is strange. Lavender dominates, with touches of cedar and some other juicy, herbal note I suspect is the mugwort. On a longer sniff, there is a subtle hint of spice.

 

The smoke comes out once it is applied, and it is pretty fierce. This smells like a small fire to which herbs and sweet grasses have been added. This is strongly, strongly herbal, and very green.

 

I like it at once. It has a rather bitter, wistful quality. Something about it smells like the campground we used to frequent, like walking through empty fields and crushing plant stems, smelling the wild grass. The throw is almost evergreen, almost reminiscent of juniper.

 

How odd, that this should smell so exactly like part of my childhood. How very odd.

 

Once it's settled, it's extremely herbal and dry, mostly lavender, but there's that mugwort, and some strange, almost floral spice note. The sandalwood isn't very strong at all.

 

I like this; it goes too lavender on me for me to wear it, but I think I could use it as a room scent. It's gender-neutral enough that a man could wear it, soft enough for a woman, but it's not really sexy. It's a thin, tight-lipped scent, herbal and attenuated, that has nothing of warmth or sensuality in it at all. Agony of loss? This is more like bitter pain.

[yeahbutnobut]

The Agony of Loss

 

In the decant: woodsy-herbal-green and oddly fruity lavender.

Wet on skin: mmm, this is interesting. It's now really woody and lavendery, but with a feel of incense.

Dry on skin: this smells really nice. It actually reminds me of something from Lush, one of their lavender ballistics, it's a soft woodsy lavender incense scent with a hint of something floral, lemony and spicy to it-I have no idea why it's lemony-spicy or floral but there you go. The smoke of burning love letters isn't as apparent as I expected-far from it being a burning paper scent, it mingles with the fragrant sandalwood to make a lovely incense scent, whilst the cedar gently enhances the softly fragrant wood feel of the scent. To me this is less of a burning and bitter scent, and more like a wooden chest where old love letters are stored, fragranced with lavender sprigs and sandalwood chips. There's even a hint of something like a tropical white flower to this, like plumeria or something Hawaiian, as well as a soft greenness, like soft wet leaves, herbs or moss.

After a while: this becomes even more beautiful with time. The lavender fades but the scent becomes brighter and softer, still woodsy but also more fruity and floral notes with a soothing backdrop of herbs and smoke. I get a feel of sunlight shining through leaves through mist. There's something very calming about this scent. I don't know why but this reminds me of a perfume or a room scent I remember smelling in France as a child, maybe it was a perfume or a lotion or a room freshener/scented candle or even the scent of something one of my aunts used to wear. All that I know is that it smells familiar. (according to the above review, it seems it's not just me who gets childhood memories from this scent!)

The scent becomes softer, more floral, and even comforting, there's a hint of powder to it now, and it brings to mind a warm scented blanket. It feels reassuring. I think this would work as a sleep scent.

Verdict: I was very surprised by this scent-I was expecting herbal, moody, woody, smoky and burnt, or maybe something forest-like. But I got something truly glorious-incense, gentle soothing lavender, and a glowing core of a sunny fruity-floral I can't identify. At first the lavender is strong, but it's not overwhelming, but a soft lavender with a gorgeous woody background. This sandalwood-cedar scent smells warm, dry and solid, a nice firm background for the herbs. But then I get a wonderful scent which is almost lemony, almost flowery, almost tropical and lush but not quite…is this lemony-herbal softness the armoise? Is this unidentified exotic floral the awapuhi? I don't know but I love it-something about it seems to jog a pleasant memory that I can't grasp, but it's a happy memory. It smells bright and calming. The burning love letters was another surprised-far from smelling like charred paper, it gave the whole scent an incense like aspect (especially with the sandalwood) which made it even more perfect. Far from being the melancholy, bitter, harsh scent I expected, this seems almost like a scent made to soothe feelings of loss, like a warm hug, it comforts and relaxes, this is one of those perfect calming fragrances that make the agonies in life a little easier to bear. Beautiful!

Emoticon rating:

Is it a keeper? yes! So glad I won a bottle on Ebay!

[juniperus]

bottle: smokey floral; gentle, which I didn't expect for some reason

wet: the lavender is so subtle, and the sandalwood...almost translucent

dry: oh, this is ethereal, wistful, soooo beautiful. and the cedar isn't amping - woo!

later: in time this is just deeper and more wistful, so lovely. if all my losses smelled this nice I wouldn't complain as much...

[alicia_stardust]

My skin usually amps lavender. I do like lavender, but I have to be in the mood to wear it because I generally associate it with sleep and relaxation. However, The Agony of Loss has such a gentle vein of lavender in it that it won me over.

 

Beyond the lavender I can detect some soft herbs and woods, and beyond that there is a touch of smoke and something that makes me think of "dust". It really does evoke the image of burning love letters and the ache of loss.