The Ragged Wood

[edenssixthday]

Lily of the Valley, star jasmine, benzoin, vanilla, plumeria, bergamot, Terebinth pine, juniper berry, and tea rose.

The Ragged Wood – This is an absolutely stunning scent. It’s my favorite of the entire Lupercalia 2008 update and the only one I ordered a bottle of. It’s a soft floral that’s dominated by the lily of the valley and tea rose, but right behind that is the crisp bite of juniper berry. This isn’t a typical fruity-floral, though, because the juniper berry is, to me at least, more woodsy than fruity. It’s a floral-forest type blend and very sweet with a pleasant hint of powder. The tartness of the juniper berry fades from my skin before the other notes fade, but it remains a lovely scent throughout its life on my skin. It’s got a short wear-length, but is well worth the reapplication. The throw is strong initially, but becomes more subtle within a matter of minutes.

[fairnymph]

In the bottle: Sweet, woody, floral. The pine and juniper jump out, as do the vanilla, benzoin and plumeria. Lighter bergamot, jasmine and rose, surprisingly. A hint of soapy cleanness. Feminine, a bit richly languid.

 

Wet: Woodsier, with the pine very much in control and juniper just behind. Also fresher, cleaner, soapier. Bergamot is much more apparent, while the florals are simply overwhelmed. Still a good bit of vanilla and benzoin sweetness. Unisex now.

 

Dry: Slow to dry. It becomes soapier - definitely at least partly due to jasmine. Amazingly, I have yet to get any LotV, which is usually amped on me. The pine and juniper are still in control. A bit of rose and plumeria are peaking through, and the sweet notes hold, so this verges back into slightly feminine zone.

 

Later: The evergreens, especially the pine, back down a great deal, while the jasmine has become unbearably soapy. The rose has amped quite strongly and beautifully, as has the benzoin, which has taken on an almost musky depth - or there is some musk here too.

 

Summary: The longterm drydown is quite different, mostly sweet resiny benzoin and deep vanilla (like vanilla bean, really) with a huge wallop of sexy, woodsy musk. And yet this is NOT too notably sweet, really. The pine, juniper, rose and plumeria are very faintly detectable, but everything else including the soapy jasmine so strong before - gone! Decent throw and great lasting power.

 

I find myself wanting a few decants to fill my empty bottle freebie, because the dry down is so intense and complex and unlike anything else I have. I was so pleased the lily of the valley didn't come out on me, as it's usually strong and unpleasant. Pretty unisex, too.

Edited July 25, 2008 by fairnymph

[filigree_shadow]

By all accounts, I shouldn't like this scent. Don't like any of those floral notes, and I avoid pine and juniper berry. The only notes in this scent that I usually go for are benzoin, vanilla, and bergamot.

 

Yet, for some reason, I like The Ragged Wood. Because of the pine in it, it has the sort of tone that I get from Yule scents without the cold/slushy note that those invariably have. The floral notes are light and not overbearing at all. The juniper berry sweetens up the scent a little bit without making it overly sweet. It's soft, pleasant, and pretty.

[hlinspjalda]

In the vial: Floral-evergreen. It smells dark green and cool.

 

Wet: Jasmine and juniper, mostly, with something else green and sharp. I can smell other florals struggling to come out.

 

Twenty minutes: A little headachy, but that might be the overcast weather. Warm and sweet on top, jasmine and vanilla. There's a more pungent floral beneath, I don't know what. The base is still sticky and blue-green but no longer smells like juniper. I have a feeling this one will develop further.

 

One hour: Much softer and sweeter now. Vanilla jasmine over something green that might be bergamot.

 

Two hours: Unidentified soft sweet floral (plumeria?), but mostly vanilla-y, with underlying faint juniper. All I can figure is that my skin does something weird when vanilla is involved, that it should dominate all these other strong scents.

 

Five hours: The vanilla/juniper is still there. Oddly, I find that the longer I wear this one the more I like it. Fitting.

[aquazoo]

The vanilla comes through first, with the flowers close behind. The pine and juniper give it a slight edge. Hmmmn, that edge may be going a bit salty.

[zankoku_zen]

Soapy lilies. I smell a bit of the lilies and the plumeria, but overall, it's got this fresh, breezy clean soap smell.

 

Pass.

[CynicalPink]

Another Yeats scent with juniper? Hmm. Sensing a theme

 

Bottle: Juniper, a teeny weeny bit of pine, and some soft flowers

 

Wet: Oh hello, lily my friend. You're smelling lovely with the juniper tagging along.

 

Drydown: Phase 1) Cool and earthy yet romantic at the same time. Smooth, light flowers with juniper and pine to back them up

Phase 2) Juniper deserves a medal of valor for it's brave fight in holding back the rabid plumeria that usually goes ape on my skin. Still sweet and pine-y clean. And is that vanilla I detect hiding behind the lily?

Phase 3) Soft, clean and loveable. I'm going to be all about this in the hot months

[Coldfire]

Decant: benzoin, juniper and jasmine

Wet on Me: Now I get bergamot joining the dance under my nose. Bits of plumeria popping in to say Oh Hai but very quietly.
Drying Down: More lovely dancing of scents under my nose. A gorgeous blend of all the scents and the pine and juniper are not dominating but playing nicely with others. No trace of the tea rose yet.
Dry: man…this one is a keeper. I like wearing flowers but I like sharper florals. This is a terrific blend of green and floral and it just dances on me!

[sarajane]

This is another beautiful, sparkling floral. The juniper keeps it from being straight boring floral, and I really like this scent!

[rayvn1]

This is a surprisingly awesoem scent! I love juniper and benzoin so I wonder if that's what does it. I have a really hard time pinning down notes in this one - very well blended. The only thing I worry about is how light it is. It disappears pretty quick, but it may be worth re-applying since it's so nice

[Wildbriar]

I picked this up at a recent M&S because in the bottle it smelled woodsy and fresh. On me the oil changes completely. I still love it, but it is very different from what I smell in the bottle.

 

In Bottle: I get mostly the pine and benzoin with just a hint of jasmine... delish

 

On my skin: quickly morphs to a light, soapy scent comprised mostly of vanilla and.... maybe plumeria (one of the florals but definitely not jasmine). I really love it but it is not in the least bit woodsy or piney on my skin. Much more of a fresh laundry scent that I never would have guessed could morph out of these notes. Very comforting and fresh!

[voodoocatwoman]

It starts off with a strong wood note (I didn't detect pine, specifically, just wood, if that makes any sense) but dries to a beautiful soft floral. It is lovely.

[Magda]

It smells so, so pretty in the bottle, but the second it hits my skin, the jasmine and pine start fighting it out to see who's the strongest. It's an epic battle. In the end, they both win, and I lose.

 

I frantically washed this off about twenty minutes after applying it, and what stayed in my skin went back to a pretty floral. It's like the soap my grandmother used to use, elegant and very clean smelling. Not soapy, but clean and fresh. I can tell there are flowers but I can't pick them out, and it smells a little like frost on green leaves.

 

I'm not sure how I'm going to wear this. Dab it on and then rub most of it off? Apply half of half of a drop? Put it on and wash it off like I did today? I'll figure something out, though, because despite my initial misgivings (and looming migraine during the jasmine vs. pine portion of the experience) I really, really like it now.

[Jilara]

I had gotten an imp of this in the original 2008 incarnation, and was sorry I hadn't gotten a bottle. Now I have a chance again!

 

Wet, it's an aquatic pine and juniper...the seacoast of Ireland? It's a fresh blast of rain and woods.

Drying down, vanilla comes out to blend with the pine and juniper, reminding me a lot of Thanatopsis, but with the slight background of citrus that must be the bergamot. Not so aquatic, now.

Dry, there is a distinct tang of bergamot blending into the pine/juniper, that somehow makes me think of autumn, and a slight creamy floral that wafts in and out, indistinct as to exactly what flowers I'm smelling. The creamy quality might be the vanilla and benzoin. As the day goes on, the woods start to fade and the florals linger. Seven hours after applying it, I can still smell roses and plumeria---a surprise since they weren't distinct earlier on. The citrus is entirely gone, at this point. Still the vaguest hint of pine, but it's almost all floral, at this point.

 

Maybe I'm remembering it differently, but I recall 2008 as having a stronger floral backbone. This is very pine/juniper forward, but I rather like that. Not hoarding, but still very happy to have this revival of Ragged Wood allow me to restock with a full bottle. It's a gorgeous scent, and very evocative of Ireland! (Well, if you ignore the fact that plumeria isn't very Irish...)

[PrinceofcatS]

I agree with what the person directly above me said, only on me I hate it.

 

This goes on soapy juniper, then some benzoin comes out and makes it less horrible (even though it's still a soapy juniper). I'm not getting any flowers, though I do think i got some bergamot. I've been bitterly disappointed in most of the Lupercalia scents I've tried this year and I was hoping this one might manage to be some kind of standout for me. Nope. Not at all. This is absolutely terrible.

 

EDIT: I was so disappointed in this one that I actually kidded myself if I wore it again it would be different. And it was??

 

I tried on The Ragged Wood again this morning and this time it went on juniper-pine and almost bubblegummy, so I was hopeful that would lead to more than just the benzoin. Today, juniper and pine smelled like the woods, not like soap; a clean and clear woods, not a dirty wild one like Ranger or something, but quite pretty. No florals were distinguishable on me from one another, but they were very much there, marrying the super evident, creamy vanilla and benzoin to the woods. This is like sitting in a forest clearing and smelling flowers off in the distance. It's very sweet, very pretty, very unusual. I think it suits the poem very well. This isn't what I expected at all, but after the horrible experience I had the first time I wore it I'll take any positive I can get!

 

This one doesn't smell great when I actually sniff my wrists, but it floats around me like a hazy cloud of woods and distant flowers and vanilla, and had great staying power. Let's hope it wears like this from now on, not like the horrible first time.

Edited April 5, 2016 by PrinceofcatS

[dementia_divine]

2016 version.

 

In the bottle: The juniper and lily are the most prominent notes. I can smell the rose, pine, and star jasmine as well. If I inhale really deeply, I can smell the bergamot, too.

 

Wet: The juniper and florals reign (especially those of the white variety), followed by the pine, bergamot, and then there's a hint of vanilla. Someone had said this was like a combination of Egle and Elf in the Lupercalia thread, so I went ahead and ordered this. I get more of an Egle vibe from this (due to the juniper and star jasmine) than Elf, and this is a different kind of forest than Elf (due to the floral notes that are present in this blend).

 

Dry: This smells different on my wrists and in the crooks of my elbows. It's a lot sweeter on my wrist. I get a lot more vanilla, creamy florals, juniper, and pine. It's lovely. In the crook of my elbow, I don't really get the vanilla. It's all tea rose, juniper, and pine. Alas, combination of the tea rose and juniper in that area come off as somewhat sour.

 

Verdict: Undecided. I enjoy the smell of this on my wrists, but in the crooks of my elbows? Not so much. I'll hold onto it for now and see if the vanilla comes out more as it ages.