Anactoria

[stellamaris]

The scent of the throes of violent passion: entangled limbs, teeth on flesh, furiously grasping hands, the taste of blood and sweat. Golden amber, white honey, red currant, daemonorops, kush, and Arabian musk.

 

Oh wow, this is really really nice.
This decant is going to be a bottle.
It's lush and velvety, and the musk is not too aggressive.
The dry down is very incensey.
:wub2:
Edit : Oh My Faery Godmother. I need so many bottles of this...

[mermaidsdream]

Oh thank goodness, I thought I was going to be the first review for the 2013 Anactoria!

 

I'm not sure why I waited to try this until today -- I wanted to test out the Lupers sooner, rather than later, so I could figure out if I wanted bottles or not.

 

Oh.My.Word.

 

 

This is delicious. It reminds me of something else, but I can't quite put my finger on it. The amber, honey, and musk work very well together, and there's just a hint of tang from the currant. This starts out as someone else stated: a waxy honey, thick, resiny, with a hint of musk. It's deep, sexy scent that warms into something golden. It almost threatens to go baby powder on me, but never does. It's another one where I cannot stop sniffing my wrist (maybe it's the kush )

 

This imp will definitely become a bottle. I also suspect it's going to age spectacularly.

[Balame]

I love every single note in here except for daemonorops because I didn't know what it was. When I smelled this I wondered what was making it so icky for me, so I looked it up and apparently it's pretty much dragon's blood resin. BLERGH. No wonder I'm having issues, since that's one of my least favorite notes.

 

Too bad it messed everything up, because otherwise this would be quite lovely. It was very juicy sweet thanks to the currant and musk, with a real warmth from the amber and honey. It actually reminded me a bit of Nag Champa incense, but more cherry-ish, cloying and obnoxious.

[kolibri]

2013 version. Decant from malibusunny's Feb/Mar 2013 decant circle. 3rd scent tested (preceded by La Vita Nuova).

 

In the imp: Incense-y. Sweet. Powerful.

 

Wet: I can pick out the amber, honey and dragon's blood. Strongly spicy; I'm thinking that's the kush and musk. I'm getting zero current from this one. There's an interesting bass note that reminds me of dried palm fronds and salty beach sand.

 

Dry: Still no current, but the separate elements have blended together very well. The unified scent delivers on the promise of the description: blood and sweat, surrounded by a dense and closely-hovering nimbus of sexy spice.

 

Overall: The only time I got the current was in the imp; all of the more 'savory' notes came out on me. During the wet stage, I was worried that the dragon's blood would continue to remind me of the incense in a new age shop, but it got better with drying. It's still sort of stinky on my skin, but it adds something along the lines of the violence implied by its description. I'm intrigued by it, and I wonder how aging will affect it. Not sure if this scent works on me, but this is probably the most musky-spicy thing I've ever worn that I actually liked.

 

 

ETA: Much later, the dragon's blood stink factor amped, making me slightly nauseated - but after that spike, it then faded a lot. I don't think I could ever slather this one, I have high doubts for the success of a reapplication and I know I couldn't wear anything else until it faded from my skin completely. I'll probably keep this decant to pass around to others who enjoy this type of scent.

Edited March 20, 2013 by kolibri

[brilliantcat]

2013

 

Imp: Very red musk-like. It has a dirty, herbal component that must be the kush.

 

Wet: There's an oddly clean and soapy vibe to this, along with the musk and the "dirty" feel. I feel like it's going to be amazing once it's finished melding on my skin though.

 

Dry: Welp, it triggered my husband's allergies so it could end up being the best thing I ever smelled but I won't know because it's getting washed off. His health > pretty smellies. Kind of sad I won't get to see (smell) what it was like fully warmed up on me but good to know he's sensitive to it.

[milo]

I'm getting a strong floral at first. After a bit, red musk is poking it's head out, and I could swear there's amber here. It does kind of smell like a florally Snake Charmer when dried, but it does go powdery on me, and a bit sharp. Nice to try, but don't need any more.

 

eta: Just peeked at the description, and there was amber. It always seems to play nicely for me, but the florals here are a bit too strong.

Edited May 11, 2013 by milo

[themeaningofV]

2008 version. "The taste of blood and sweat," indeed - I was really enjoying the opening kush stage but now it's gone really sour and tangy on me. It fits the description a bit too well on me, and it kinda just makes me want to take a shower. Oh well!

[JazzieCazzie]

Not sure what year's version this is, but got as a generous extra in a swap because it was on my wish list!

 

IN THE IMP: Sadly, just kind of drugstore perfume to me.

 

Dabbed on wrist and in crook of arm.

 

WET: For me, just a slightly fruity drugstore perfume. More generic on my wrist. In the crook of my arm, slightly more complex.

 

DRYDOWN: Yeah, just doesn't work for me. Generic and unmemorable but, sadly, with massive legs. I still smelled like this 12 hours later. I'm guessing the red currant was the dominant fruity scent that took over on me.

 

OVERALL: I think people will like it enough, nothing offensive about it.

 

On a scale of 1-5, a 2

[Zii]

Wet: Musk, amber and honey are doing a sexy, sexy dance on my skin. There is something a little woody and powdery lurking in the background but it's a nice sort of spicy powder that I like.

 

Drying: This has been sweetened a great deal by the currant, but unlike a lot of red berry notes, this isn't going candy or overly rancid.

 

Dry: If there weren't notes besides musk, amber and honey, I wouldn't know to look for them and that is not a complaint in the least. it's spicy, warm and very sexy but not in your face.

[Marla Moreau]

2010 aged version.

 

I was so lucky to find a bottle of this on Ebay and impulse buy before testing!

 

Wet on skin to dry down: Mmmm.... very nice. Something in my nose is telling me I smell sharp blood, but it's in the background. The musk amps nicely on me, but is tamed by the amber and honey. Amber and honey are warming up... amber, honey, dragon's blood, and blood now. Loving this blood note! I can definitely tell it's there, getting that taste of metal in the back of my throat after I sniff my wrist. Good balance of sweet and musk, making neither overwhelming, and blood on top.

 

All the notes blend beautifully on me, to the point it's hard to pick out individual notes. I still smell incense and blood, I can pick out the musk, and over time a slight dry note which I think is the kush. It feels like sitting in an old Arabian harem after "festivities" have already taken place, hookah is being smoked and incense is gently burning, the smell of blood and sweat in the air. Sweetness fades over time, musk and blood, sweetness and kush comes back. Mellows out over time, the notes still playing, more dry grassiness coming out now with deep complex musk close to the skin, juicy currents sweetened lightly by honey, incense (amber) and blood. Decent staying power. 2 hours later and it's still morphing, powdery incense, blood note is integrating

 

Very unisex, very well blended, my skin loves all of these notes, definitely going in my favorites pile! Yum!

 

... a bit later and it's a sweet cigar. Just a sweet cigar, like taking a cigar out of the wrapping and smelling it. And it's amping, like WHOA, CIGAR. Hmm. That's odd... reevaluating.

Edited August 3, 2015 by MarlaMoreau

[LizziesLuck]

2013

 

 

Wet: This is so light on me. It's really hard to smell it at all. It immediately seems to just blend into my skin. I do get hints of amber and sweetness. Bits of musk. When I do catch a whiff, it's really pleasant, just very light.

 

 

Dry: This eventually gets stronger, and becomes a primarily kush and amber blend. Really quite nice! I will keep the low partial I have, and may try some decants of other years.

[maudlinrose]

2013 version:

 

I tested as soon as I received it and it smelled of flat playdough. No amber, no blood, maybe a little kush. And it faded so quickly! I'm thinking maybe its because I didn't roll the bottle and some resins tend to separate in storage.

 

I tested once more later in the evening, after rolling the bottle, and as soon as I opened the bottle I could smell the sweetness of the blood note. And it dried down to a beautiful powdery amber, with a hint of sweetness. I think long term aging could bring out the honey and sweetness of this blend even more. But the earthy, powdery amber stage its in right now is very wearable and lovely.

Edited September 26, 2016 by maudlinrose

[writergal969]

I'm not sure, but I think I have a bottle of 2008 Anactoria...? Will check when I get home tonight.

 

So, I was feeling impish today and I just applied a large amount of this prior to work, having never worn it before.

 

I gotta say, the risk was worth it.

 

I like it!

 

2 hours in, I've got a nice sweet-smoky exotic musk with lovely amber. And not too smoky, because scents like Liz and the First Krampuslauf Lilith from 2016 make me feel like I'm in a bonfire. Maybe just the smallest punch of currant?

 

I smell exotic and intriguing.

 

Funny story, I bought this because way back in 2005/2006 my World of Warcraft mage was/is named Anaktoria (purposeful spelling edit on my part) and I think my mage would have totally rocked this.