Wings of Azrael

[omly]

Azrael is the Angel of Death, marked as the last being to die in the Apocalypse. Though a harbinger of doom, his duties are an act of mercy: he curtails human life before world-weariness and despair destroys our spirits. Warm myrrh swirled with a bittersweet blend of violet, Lily of the Valley, juniper, cypess and cajeput.

Wings of Azrael seems heavy on the violets to me, but then I tend to be sensitive to them. Suprisingly this was not nearly as floral and feminine as I thought it would be. The myrrh and cedar give some more depth, and there is a lovely herbal quality. I just can't get past the violets though (not a big fan).

[Faerykin]

Wings of Azrael

 

Swiped across wrists and along collarbone.

 

Initial Wet (8-8:30am): Violet with a rich, sweet backdrop. Very comforting.

 

Initial Dry (8:30-10am): This warms up to a thick, sweet violet floral. It is difficult to pick out the individual florals under the violet – but they are there, and they provide a nice, almost spicy, warmth.

 

Throughout the Day (10am-on): The myrrh slowly comes forward to morph this floral into more of an incense-blend. It is still warm and thick.

 

This grows increasingly thick – and there is a pressure at the back of my head that is equally increasing. This has become a very heady incense type of scent. I don’t think it’s gonna work for me – off to Swap.

[anshara]

The Lab's description

 

WINGS of AZRAEL

Azrael is the Angel of Death, marked as the last being to die in the Apocalypse. Though a harbinger of doom, his duties are an act of mercy: he curtails human life before world-weariness and despair destroys our spirits. Warm myrrh swirled with a bittersweet blend of violet, Lily of the Valley, juniper, cypess and cajeput.

 

In the imp: Wow, Juniper with a side of Juniper and a Juniper kicker.... And it's got this slightly medicinal edge.... methinks it's the combination of Cypress and Cajeput... This is worriesome

 

Dabbed on fingers wet: medicinal Juniper, but only for about fifteen seconds

 

Drydown: Almost immediate with this one and WOW NOW THAT'S MORE LIKE IT!!!!

A harmonious subtle mix of Lily of The Valley and Violet gently warmed by Myrrh. The Cypress and Juniper combine to give this one a tangy green basenote... LOVELY

 

10 minutes-and onward: The Lily of the Valley and Violet are becoming softer and feathery but not fading.... I love this scent it's staying basically true to the initial drydown which is lovely!!! Not fading but becoming a quiet dignified yet breezy presence, Thanks to the Juniper and Cypress

 

Final thoughts: A complex yet soft floral that makes it's presence felt by saying the right things at the right time... Nothing more nothing less... Methinks having washed dishes before applying is to blame for the worriesome wet stage, but it faded almost immediately, and I'm decidedly in love!!!!

 

-Miriam

[Shollin]

First sniff: Hmmm. I didn’t know it was possible for a scent to be woody and bright at the same time.

 

Wearing: Lily of the valley pops out immediately, bright white flowers over the wooden base. It was nice enough – more floral than I expected – but didn’t really leave much of an impression, and there are so many scents I’m madly in love with that this one is going up for swap.

[Gin]

Green and woody, this reminds me of Scorpio at first, with the violet, juniper, and cypress, but not quite as deep or jewel-green. As it dries, it becomes even lighter and more floral until that's all that's left--a faint violet and the Lily of the Valley.

[Witch's Dagger]

Wings of Azrael

 

This was in my “discontinued scents” order

 

Preconceived notions: This was one of my choices for a “dark, ethereal” scent.

 

In the vial: Yes - dark ylang ylang - dark and ethereal.

 

On me: Still ylang ylang, but I can smell something deep and dark in it, that’s coming out more strongly - something vaguely buttery, yet, as I said, dark. Oh, yes, that’s right the dark part is the violet, and the other must be the myrrh. I am getting the piney-fruitiness of juniper in there as well - I think this is one of the first scents I’ve actually been able to smell juniper in. And there’s still that heady, buttery darkness from the other combinations. This isn’t as dark as I’d hoped, but it’s so good it doesn’t matter.

 

Later: Violet. Pure violet. Luckily, I like violet.

 

One hour later: Violet

 

Overall: I wish the complexity of the initial scent stayed with me, but this one goes pure violet on me. Not bad, but it’s not as interesting as I’d like, especially since I have a violet single note already. I’ll keep this imp, though, and consider it an Extra Special violet!

[Morgan]

In the vial: Floral. I smell violets, pure violets.

 

After 10 minutes: Still floral and the Lily of the Valley is coming out.

But there's something bitter in the background. The Myrrh maybe? I was hoping this would be a little sweeter.

 

Final Impression: Sadly, just not for me. It got very bitter to the point where I actually had to wash it off.

[Sheila]

This should be a scent I love--myrrh, violet, and lily of the valley are some of my favorite scents. But, even though I love the scent of violets, my skin doesn't. It amps up the violet so I can't smell anything else, then turns the violet into dust. The same thing happened to Queen Gertrude and Le Serpent Qui Danse too--I love them in the bottle/at first but then the violet goes wrong. If you have good luck with violet, though, this would be lovely. Off to swaps.

[shelldoo]

i am slightly embarrased to say i got this one w/ my first imp purchase and never tried it since it is a floral and well i didn't *think* i liked florals so now i decided to go thru imps and get rid of the not me ones, and i come upon wings

 

in the vial: hmmm violets smells kinda like my sybaris (in my top 2 scents)

 

wet oh yeah baby that is the ticket those r some gorgeous violets

 

dry it has a violet and slightly peppery smell, possibly myrrh, i do not get any lily thank goodness as lily usually gives me a headache this is another 5ml one for me

[paperdoll]

Initial Sniff: Flowers, herbs, and juniper in the vial. Very nice.

Wearing: When wet, this smells like a posh men's cologne. I can't really distinguish the notes until it dries down. Upon drydown, the violets and Lily of the Valley dominate, while the myrrh warms and the juniper and cypress balance.

Final Impression: This is wearable, even though it contains two notes that don't normally work on me (violet and Lily of the Valley). It is a floral that isn't really floral, a myrrh scent that is light, and a woody scent that isn't really woody. A brilliant blend that I'm sure is absolutely fantastic on the right person - because I am the wrong person and it really ain't that bad on me!

[anmorata]

Wings of Azrael:

 

Wet: Heavily lily.

Drydown: Softens into a light, white floral. I'm surprised that the juniper isn't stronger, as it's usually the first thing to jump out at me.

Longterm wear: Very white floral, very ethereal. I don't know that I'd wear this often, but I really like it. I'll probably keep the imp, and decide later if it's a big bottle scent.

[Sara]

I can totally smell the myrrh right away before swiping, not bad, not bad, I like myrrh.

 

Unfortunately, this blend bursts into florals immediately upon hitting my skin and all myrrh is lost. Florals are ok sometimes, you know, when they add to stuff; but my skin just magnifies them beyond my toleration. poop.

 

Overall this has a clean, sweet quality to it that's nice...just not for me, damnit. When will my search for the perfect "me" scent end??

[Redon]

This starts out as straight strong juniper on me, but quickly that fades back and lets a bit of the cedar, lily of the valley and violet show through. It ends up as a green floral with a hint of juicy resin. Very fresh and clean but not soapy or overly flowery.

[pekeana]

This was a slightly woody floral. It wasn't unappealing, but I'm not a big floral person. It would be good if I could get over my aversion to florals, though.

 

No one floral note really stood out to me -- the combined floral effect seemed at once metallic and milky, all with a woody undertone.

[helarctos]

On me, Wings of Azrael morphs from an unremarkable floral to a field of soothing herbs. It truly evokes the feeling of being wrapped in the angel's comforting wings, to sleep, perchance to dream.

[Finny]

Violet candies, spicy myrrh, and spicy florals.

 

I like this, the florals are very light, the myrrh is creamy and spicy. And violets are my friend, I always get violet candies from them.

 

I don't know if I'll be going to get a 5ml, as it is very close to Faustus to me, and while I like this one, I love Faustus.

[aritei]

Like many of the other reviewers, this one came out like curry on my skin. I don't know why! I loved the violetI could smell in the imp too.

[slave1]

In Bottle: Sharp and pungent juniper.

 

On Skin: The juniper and cypress stand out. Now the violet comes to the front followed by the sweet Lily of the Valley. The violet makes it powdery. The myrrh warms it up and gives it nice depth. Again, florals aren't my thing to wear... I'd like this as a room spray.

[yummysushitoo]

Put it on. Smells all right, not something I'd really go for, though. Might be the..... OW!!!! BURNING!!! And then I washed it off.

 

I don't have any clue what could have caused the sensation of burnination, but I'm not going to test it again to find out. My skin is too sensitive.

[olympia301]

 

My new favorite of the BPAL violet scents, Wings of Azrael is more floral and less harsh than any of the others I have tried. Here the Lab went for beautiful and it is indeed beautiful. The drydown has little if any of the harshness I associated with the other violet scents, just the poetry of the flowers.

 

Azrael is the Angel of Death, the last man standing at the Last Judgment, a sad thought, the last and The End of us all. Violet is a fitting tribute to a troubled but triumphant species, the Abraxas of Animals.

 

Just a note on violet, I have thought that the Lab's progression of violet scent goes like this: Saturnalia->Ultraviolet->Veil->Wings of Azrael. They go from heavy and harsh to powdery and beautiful in that order in my head.

 

The icon is Caravaggio's wonderful Eros, not the perfect Azrael, but those wings are indeed perfect. I think he'll do, for if nothing else we are capable of some pretty fierce love which might save us at The Last.

Edited May 16, 2005 by olympia301

[Galen]

wet on skin - some heady flowers; is it jasmine? or violet? ah yes, hello, violets! that sweet acrid burning note that can only be the way violets go on my skin.

 

a few minutes later - burning parma violets. I should just avoid violets. :sigh:

 

a bit later on - oh, poo. maybe it's just a cold day today and my hands are too frozen to let the other notes develop, but all I'm getting is quite dark violets.

[OriginalWacky]

Bottle (Imp): I have NO idea what I expected, but somehow this is pretty close. It's kind of fresh, breezy, sweet, and herby all rolled up and blended very well.

 

Just On: I can't quite put my finger (nose?) on what I'm smelling, but I rather like it.

 

An hour or two later: Is this ? It's pretty neat. Not sure it's a scent I'd wear a lot, but I'm glad I'm trying it.

 

Around 6 hours: This is blended very well, but it smells kind of like a sweet breeze. Maybe herbs on a breeze, some kind of sweet herbs, and a hint of flowers.

 

12 hours: Still the same pretty blend. My skin actually likes this one. And it seems to like me.

 

Overall: I can see ordering this one, because I really do like it. I'm so glad I got a sample to try.

 

After reading other reviews: Apparently I don't amp up violet, which is good. I agree that this is a fascinating scent in general. It doesn't get powdery, and doesn't go stale. What a beautiful mixture of scents this is.

[quikslvr]

Weird floral combo. Violet, I guess is what I'm picking up most, but it's mostly just odd to me. Dried: clean violet, and that's about all to me.

[Malista]

Wings of Azrael

 

Myrrh on me is smoky and often bitter or savory, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing, depending on what else is in the blend. I can live without the times it turns into something like curry or molé without the chocolate, but I’m not dead set against myrrh, is I guess what I’m saying, although I approach scents containing it with no expectation that they will work on me, so I don’t get disappointed.

 

Violets and lily of the valley are two scents I like in theory, but usually find overly sweet in a green sort of way (like cilantro, which I find skates right along the edge of smelling like decay, to me) and apt to drill small holes in my sinuses when worn. I love their scents in the wild, and often find perfumes featuring them to be – unfortunate.

 

So, what with one thing and another, I approached Wings of Azrael with something like skepticism. Still, I want to try everything, and I keep getting WoA in imp lots, so maybe the Universe wants me to come to terms with the Angel of Death.

 

If a scent could exhibit characteristics of a painting technique, Wings of Azrael would be demonstrating sfumato; that smoky blending from dark to light that gives Caravaggio’s paintings such depth and volume, and that Rembrandt made such good use of. First on I get a tremendous wet hit of the flowers mixed with the camphory, medicinal smell of the cajeput – this is a very bright scent, and I rather like it. Not sure why my sinuses aren’t going nuts, but they aren’t.

 

The juniper chimes in for a bit, but doesn’t take over the blend, which is nice. I don’t mind juniper, but it isn’t a favorite primary scent for me.

 

The myrrh comes up slowly under everything, along with the cypress, and here is where the sfumato manifests. The bitterness of the myrrh and the sweeter, still dark cypress add depth and volume to the brighter top notes. Violet is next on the darkness/lightness curve, then juniper and cajeput, then lily of the valley. Each note sort of melds with the next, so the overall effect is a soft, smoky shading from dark to light. The lily of the valley burns off fairly quickly, along with the cajeput, but the violet stays around, surfacing now and then to waft across the top of the other notes. Still, it’s a very well blended mix, and after half an hour or so it’s really not possible to separate the notes, although the effect is still rounded and textured.

 

In about an hour this has faded back to a smooth blend of mostly myrrh and cypress, faintly spicy, faintly woody, not sweet, but not bitter. I like it, although I find myself missing the violet. It’s a serious scent – no levity evident, which I guess makes sense given the inspiration.

 

Not something I will reach for to wear to work, probably, and I don’t know that I need a bottle of this, but it occurs to me that all the notes except maybe the flowers are used in aromatherapy for respiratory therapy, being expectorants among other properties they possess. I might dilute WoA with unscented lotion or a carrier oil and rub it into my chest on bronchial congestion days to see if it helps break up the catarrh. Beats the heck out of the smell of most things designed for the purpose.

[wickedgoddess]

Wet- floral with myrrh in the background. Mmmm….lovely.

 

Dry - decent amount of throw, and very floral. While I am not all that familiar with Lily of the Valley, I can tell that violet is front and center here. The myrrh is much lighter now; too bad, I love myrrh. Oh no, the violet is taking over now. I a getting very tempted to go wash this off, as it is way too floral for me. This started out promising, but now it's off to the swap pile.

 

On the wickedgoddess scale of 1 to 5, with 5 being best, this rates a 2.