Hermia

[SmileCat]

HERMIA

How low am I, thou painted maypole? speak;

How low am I? I am not yet so low

But that my nails can reach unto thine eyes.

 

Pink pepper, golden amber, honeysuckle, and passion flower.

 

Can I feel some love for Hermia? Not only does she have my affection for being short like me, but she's an AWESOME blend in the Illyria collection.

 

When I first opened the imp she was all sticky sweetness and pepper. Amber and honeysuckle make for one syrupy scent! The pink pepper (PINK pepper, more awesomeness) lends a touch of zing; Hermia's no wilting flower. If I huff deeply I can pick out the passion flower behind the rest.

 

On my skin the passion flower really starts to come into play and the stickiness mellows out. I think I have found a true floral love in passion flower. There's a roundness to it that doesn't play high in your nose like a lot of florals. No nostril tickling here. There's a tinge of the fruitiness like, well, the fruit to it.

 

This scent makes me smile. Really, all-out, dimple-producing smile. It's...bouncy and in love with life. To that end, this scent rates a BOTTLE NOW from me. Passionate, fiesty, sweet in love Hermia, you are beautiful.

Edited September 15, 2007 by Shollin

[Keslynn]

In the imp, Hermia is actually kind of foody to my nose. It's a floral with a crisp edge, which I think my odd nose is translating into an almost lemony cookie kind of smell. Yeah, I don't know how that works. It's a nice fresh scent though.

 

On my skin, Hermia is spicy and soapy. The spiciness is reminiscent of Shub soap, but oddly enough, this turns soapier than that. It's a warm waxy smell like many of the Yankee Candle fall scents. Because of the pink pepper and honeysuckle, I was hoping that it would be a spicy floral like Aries. Unfortunately, I'm not getting any of my beloved honeysuckle and the spice is more gingerbready than peppery. I think the amber might be what's going funny on my skin.

 

Verdict: My skin chemistry is doing very strange things with Hermia. Alas, I think she's off to the swaps.

[shelldoo]

Pink pepper, golden amber, honeysuckle, and passion flower.

 

in the vial:mmmm yummy pink pepper, andthe fruitiness of passionflower

 

wet: strong pink pepper, and something that reminds me of saffron or sandalwood.

 

as it dries this has a strong amber note, it is reminding me slightly of the lion, the peppery smells adds a new demension to the lion and there is a hint of sweetness form the passionflower. not getting honeysuckle from this, but i adore it greatly

[dronzeka]

MMMMMMMMMMmmmmmmmm! This is so lovely!

 

It's very pink -almost sort of coral or fuschia (in my head, not in the imp!). I definitely get the pepper, but again, it's pink - it's got a little bit of softness, not that harshness of black pepper. A spicy zing, but not harsh. The honeysuckle and passionfruit combine for a beautifully sweet fruitiness, grounded by that golden powder of amber.

 

Gorgeous. MUST have this in a big bottle!!

[shadesong]

In bottle: Honeysuckle-sweet, with a bit of a kick.

 

On me: Deeply sweet - with the pepper woven inextricably through it, like a lacy red petticoat under pastel skirts. Hermia, too, is little but fierce, and this scent reminds one of that. This is a sweet spice, the less in-your-face kid sister of Bengal.

[ladybird]

I have a running joke with an old friend of mine that I'm Hermia and she's Helena, because she's tall and pale and I'm small and dark. So when I saw that there were Hermia and Helena scents, I absolutely had to get them - and I absolutely had to try Hermia first.

 

Hermia in the bottle is extremely subtle - ever so faintly flowery, with a little peppery kick to it.

 

Wet, I get an almost citrusy note - sweet, but not sugary, and with a little refreshing tartness to it, like fresh-squeezed orange juice. And the pepper is still there, giving it just enough of a kick.

 

Dry, it's even more subtle. Nooo, Hermia, don't leave me! I've been waiting for a scent named after you for so very long!

 

...but I shouldn't have worried. It's now quite a while later, and Hermia has come back. It's a lovely cloud of sweet orangey spice. I'm not sure what kind of scent alchemy has happened here, because there isn't any orange listed in the notes. I wonder if it's the combination of honeysuckle and the powdery tone that amber always gets on me?

 

I seem to have been the first to get orange rather than pink from Hermia, but I don't mind if she's a little idiosyncratic for me. I still love her This will be a great scent for a warm summer day.

Edited June 13, 2007 by ladybird

[harmonyfb]

In the imp, this smelled of a spicy amber. Wet, this was gorgeous - all smooth amber and a little warm spice. Unfortunately, dry, the pepper amps up until it smells like strong ginger, and nothing but. I'm hoping that it will mellow and bring the nice warm amber scent back with a little time.

 

Alas, an hour later, it's still all loud, spicy pepper and nothing else. No amber, no honeysuckle, no nothing. ::sigh:: I'm so disappointed. Damn my body chemistry!

 

ETA: I tried it again the next day, and damn if it didn't stay in that gorgeous spicy amber phase! Looks like I'll be buying a bottle of this, but only wearing it at certain times of the month.

 

ETA2: A week later, I applied it and smelled...flowers. WTF? The amber was completely absent; instead there was a spicy floral scent. This is an amazingly changeable perfume.

Edited June 23, 2007 by harmonyfb

[edenssixthday]

Hermia - Oooh, SPICY! Floral and spicy is my first impression. As I sniff it, I accidentally get some on my lip, and man, does it burn! But on my wrist, it smells delightful. I can't stop sniffing! As the blend dries down, the pepper note mellows out a bit and the powdery amber becomes evident. At this point, it's just a gorgeous floriental fragrance. The honeysuckle isn't very strong and while I don't know what passion flower smells like, I'm guessing that's the dominant floral note that I'm smelling and if so, it's really pretty. Sadly, my skin sucks this scent up like crazy and after 30 minutes, I smell just the faintest trace of spicy amber. Still, it's really gorgeous and I think it would be really pretty in a scent locket, although probably spicier than it is on my skin.

[Lunaratu]

This starts off with a very gingery-peppery blast but then the sweetness starts to round this out beautifully. The pepper melds with the sweetness of the florals to create this gorgeous waft of scent.

 

This is truly lovely and a good GC back-up to my bottles of Pink Moon 2007. I am so glad I got a bottle of this right off because I can see myself wearing this quite often.

 

This is a creamy blend of spicy and sweet notes with a clean tone to it that is a more mature version of Pink Moon 2007—very appropriate for Hermia and being girly with a kick. yum!

 

....and then it initially dries a bit soapy--which makes me want to and then half an hour later it becomes a warm, spicy, but sweet amber that is comforting with some sauciness to it that I love. I'm definitely gleeful about this scent and I'm hoarding my bottle for now!

Rating: 3.5/5

Edited October 9, 2007 by Lunaratu

[sarada]

It's taken me a couple of days to get around to seriously testing this one, which really jumped out at me in the imp but I knew I had to test it without anything else confusing my nose. Pink pepper is the only kind of pepper I think I like, because it's not super hot and doesn't burn my skin. It's just sort of spicy and warm, and really smells very gingery. Perhaps the honeysuckle is encouraging that, but it's just got a great, ginger-spice kind of thing going on, a very sunny fresh smell. Amber as always is warm and beautiful, giving this tremendous throw and staying power.

 

Fans of Shub might enjoy this if they've ever wanted their spices playing in the garden wearing a pink bonnet. Just barely floral, a tad nectar-sweet, a golden bath of amber light, but overall the feeling is one of alert, bright spices. This one's gonna be huuuuuuge. You have to try this is you like spicy scents and even though there's no ginger listed, I'd say if you like gingery scents you will like this.

[parasolfringe]

This is beautiful!

When I had just received the bottle, all that came out was pepper, but now that I've waited a few days it's different and I'm very glad about that. It did remind me of Bengal, but not so much anymore. For me it has something in common with Frou Frou from Possets, my favorite fragrance ever. It has that some pink feeling but much spicier with less creaminess.

I feel like I'm surrounded by a pink glow! A girl with a light, flowing dress walking through a forest with exotic pink flowers turned bright and golden by the sun. I definitely agree with who said this scent was a coral pink, and it's glowing gold. I probably smell passion flower with pink pepper the most, with amber tying it together--I'm not sure whether or not I smell honeysuckle. It's sweet and syrupy and slightly creamy with spice.

It's girly but with quite a bit of kick to it. This is the scent of a spitfire who was "a vixen when she was in school" but is also the most beautiful girl in Athens!

My skin seems to swallow up scent quite a bit and while this has faded a little in a short time, it's still very present. I completely doused myself with this this morning and I don't regret it one bit. I'd like this to be my signature scent!

I bought this because I played the part in high school and was pretty much obsessed with it (everyone else wanted to play Helena but I knew Hermia was the cool one), but I'm so happy I can look beyond the inspiration and love it! So often I only keep things for the name or the concept, but this one is twofold!

[bombus]

There is a sultry aspect to this that I was not expecting, but I am quite happy to have found. The pink pepper is spicy with the sweet of the honeysuckle and passion flower it is so balanced, this is going to the top of my wish list.

[sihaya09]

Peppery floral amber. Kind of like a slightly lighter Hymn to Proserpine. The only difference is that it starts with a bright honey note instead of a tangy pomegranate one. Indeed, the drydown is nearly identical, and overall much warmer than it starts. It starts prim and sweet, and ends a full-throated siren.

[taramarie]

Hermia's definitely a spicy floral, but on my skin, the spice is cinnamon instead of pink pepper and the floral is just passionflower, no honeysuckle. She started out very light initially (and I slathered), but she's gotten a little stronger now that it's been an hour. I really like the combination of cinnamon and passionflower, but I wish the passionflower was stronger. If Hermia weren't a MND scent, I pass her on but since she is, I'm willing to keep her around and see if she gets stronger with age.

Edited June 20, 2007 by whiterosepetals

[Summerpixy]

Peppery, spicy, slightly creamy floral.. Pretty, but it doesn't feel enough like me to warrant a bottle. I bought it without even looking at the ingredients because of the name, and I'm not disappointed.

[euterpe414]

Ohhhh, this is lovely. Rich, peppery, syrupy sweet floral. I definitely get the honeysuckle and passion flower all spiced up by the pepper. Very very lovely. The amber sort of grounds this blend a bit, keeping it from being toothachey sweet. I really love this and am glad I bought a bottle unsniffed. This reminds me a bit of a summery version of Chimera.

Edited June 23, 2007 by euterpe414

[LadyCrow]

In the imp: Peppery and almost citric. No idea where I'm getting that!

 

Wet: What the heck is this? A really odd combination of the peppery and... what? This smells really strange with my chemistry for the first few minutes it's on. I was almost afraid that the Rose Note That Doesn't Love Me was in this someplace.

 

Drydown: Ah, now this is more like it. I admit I was hoping for a lighter, GC version of Mi-Go Brain Canister, but what happens instead is a creamy amber base with the passionflower and pink pepper floating above it -- enjoyable in its own right. I don't personally get the honeysuckle, although maybe it spent itself fighting whatever was going on in the wet stage. I'm not feeling an urgent need for a bottle right this second, but as one of what seems to be a growing (or not!) legion of short, dark, fierce women, I'm really pleased that Hermia has her own scent.

[modernsaints]

I sort of want to do a study seeing if there is a correlation between "being short" and "loving this perfume"!

 

I am short, and I really enjoy it. The amber plays really nice - it provides a perfect base for the bright spicy pepper, and the flowers never get floral, just round and sweet and delicious. There's some unnameable tang to this that makes it... something else, and while I am unsure whether I'd ever use a 5ml, I definitely need an imp.

[naeelah]

Oh, I LOVE this!

 

This doesn't seem to morph much one me -- if anything, it just becomes a little less fruity and more floral as it wears -- so beginning to end, Hermia is cute and feisty.

 

There's a sweet, almost fruity quality at the top. Under that is a sweet, happy floral note, and at the bottom is golden amber. I don't get anything powdery from the amber, which is a relief! And over it all is the soft prickle of pink pepper. The pink pepper is very nice. It's not abrasive or angry, it's just spunky.

 

Throw is a little light, if I just put on the usual amount and don't slather, and life seems maybe a little shorter than average. After 2-3 hours it's fairly close to the skin, for me.

 

I love this! Definitely a candidate for 5 ml! It's so perky. (And for the record, I am 5'2".)

Edited June 26, 2007 by naeelah

[Emma2403]

In the bottle: aw, I like it! Spicy citrus (yeah, I know there is no citrus listed) and amber.

 

On my skin: spicy amber. It might get a little bit too "hot" for me, I'm afraid.

 

After a while: there's passion flower now... it's still very spicy. I can't say I don't like it but I'm not used to wear such fragrances.

 

Verdict: I'll have to retry. I cannot make my mind right now.

[The_Merf]

In the imp: Foody? Eh? Am I being misled by Knave of Hearts? No, I don't think I am--there is a sweet, sweet food note here. I don't think it's the honeysuckle; I have plenty of honeysuckle blends and none of them smell like this--is this the amber and the passion flower?

 

Wet: Good God, this is really sweet going on the skin...it's like lickable sugar candy! Very pink, as others have said (though I'm not getting anything remotely peppery from this blend).

 

Drydown and wear: I really think that the floral I'm picking up on is the passion flower (I say this because it does smell a bit like my passion flower tea). Passion flower can almost have a sourness to it, and that's what actually emerges on the drydown, so this scent does a really interesting journey from super sweet to a bit of a sour floral with the sweetness at the edge. I like the passion flower note, but the sweetness is really cloying, so I think I'm going to have to swap the imp.

[Thaleia]

Like Hermia, I too am short and brunette, so of course I had to get her first of all the new MND scents. This blend has got to be something like the lovechild of Pink Moon 2007 and Hymn to Proserpine, which are, incidentally, two of my favourite scents. It's not as heavy on the amber as HTP, nor as dark purple; the floral isn't straightforwardly 'happy' like Pink Moon, though the hint of peppery spiciness plus the simple clean floral smells almost like a carnation note to me. If I were to assign this scent a colour, it would be a rose-pink dusted with gold.

 

Yes, Hermia is a warm, assertive floral, with a fieriness tempered by warmth, whose beauty lies in the simplicity of the individual notes and the complexity of the way the notes come together. She's definitely a girl who can make all of the boys fall in love with her. And the girls, too, apparently - she's joining my list of favourite blends.

[supremegoddessofall]

Ooh, pretty! Amber and honeysuckle are the dominant notes here for me. Bit of a sophisticated powder note, too.

[yeahbutnobut]

Hermia

 

In the imp: sweet pepper and…orange? I see where the citrus comments come from.

Wet on skin: I swear I smell cinnamon here, as well as peppery amber.

Dry on skin: oh, this is gorgeous! I smell the passion flower straight away, it smells almost like passion fruit in here but also very much like the flower itself. The pepper is fabulous, crackling gently, spicy and warm with an almost lemony-citrus scent, just like the pink pepper in Trick #2. I can't smell much of the honeysuckle but there's that wonderful golden amber behind it all. It also reminds me of cinnamon/cloves and oranges, or Constant Comment Tea.

After a while: someone compared this to Morocco and now I see why…I'm getting a hint of the same creamy-musky carnation goodness I got in Morocco, only this time with added pepper and amber. This is so beautiful! It's still very spicy and sparkling, the scent dances like a little golden flame, and it is very approachable and gentle too. I think I smell a little bit of honeysuckle now. The amber has the almost chai tea-like quality that it had in the Lion, and I love that.

Then the amber turns into that wonderful sweet fruity amber from Hymn to Proserpine, it has almost cherry or plum like overtones to it at this point. Damn, this is delicious. The carnation I smelt before comes out a little more after some time, mingling with the luxurious fruity peppered amber and spicing it up a little more.

Eventually the spice tones down and it becomes smooth, sweet, sugary amber, like Hymn to Proserpine, but more youthful and floral.

Verdict: damn, why didn't I get a bottle of this straight away? BPAL amber is like kryptonite to me, it makes me all weak and wobbly at the knees, I can't resist it's golden sweet scent, the way it 'glows' off my skin. And this scent is packed with amber. I was worried that the floral notes would turn on me, but they didn't. This is the most beautiful peppered amber scent, a younger, more feminine version of Three Gorgons. It also reminds me at times of other amber beauties like the Lion, Mouse's Tale, Mr Jacquel and Hymn to Proserpine, and even Morocco (not amber, but still), though what makes this one distinct is the pink pepper. What a lovely pepper-not too sneezy, just perfectly spicy, even a little citrus-like. It crackles warmly and playfully through the scent with fruity passionflower and a hint of honeysuckle…there's even something to it which reminds me of carnation. The drydown is glorious amber, decadent and bordering on almost plummy (think Snake Charmer plum-amber!) territory, a sister to Proserpine. A bottle of this is going on my next order…I think this is my favourite Shakespearean scent so far! (btw I am tall…but I'm not crazy about Helena, and I love this…)

Emoticon rating:

Is it a keeper? oh yeah. One imp won't suffice!

If you like this, try: Mouse's Long and Sad Tale, The Lion, Hymn to Proserpine, Three Gorgons, Morocco

Edited July 6, 2007 by yeahbutnobut

[sookster]

straight sniff from imp is sweet honeysuckled pepper nice!!

 

once applied this the amber comes forefront...soft and creamy...

 

the throw is average and the blend is quite lovley