The Stormhold

[thekittenkat]

Creeping moss, slick granite, murky vetiver, lightning-charged ozone, and icy rain.

In the imp: Ozone, ozone, ozone. Just like the air after the lightning strike happens near-by.

Wet: The vetiver is floating to the top, but there's also this sweet note; I think it's the moss. But the ozone is still very present.

The dry-down: I'm getting a sense of stone deep in the mix, so that must be the granite. And there might be a hint of the icy rain, but not much, alas. I was rather hoping for more of the icy rain. Still mostly ozone with a gentle top note of vetiver. Still, this is a lovely scent, somewhat gender-neutral and possibly bottle-worthy. It's too sweet to evoke the Stormhold for me, though. If it was less sweet and more wet stone, that could be the great castle hewn out of the living rock itself.

If you like Line Written, I think you would like The Stormhold. No berries, though. Edited August 23, 2009 by Shollin

[topazphoenix]

It's hard for me to identify ozone and rain scents, they all smell like fresh laundry. The Stormhold is a cool, soft, soapy, lilac-y kind of laundry. And yet it is reminiscent of the icy Stormhold, of rain, of the coolness and slight chill, retains a sort of slickness. Something to wear on a grey, rainy day.

[fairestrocza]

I was *so* excited when Stormhold arrived in the mail... and so disappointed when I tried it. The good news is that it works a bit better on The Boy, so it wasn't a total failure.

 

In the Bottle: Fresh, a bit soapy

 

Wet on Skin: (on me) Irish Spring Soap. (The Boy) Still clean, and a bit soapy, but more of a fresh-out-of-the-shower smell, and not as offensively single-note-irish-spring as I ended up getting.

 

While Drying: Powerful throw while wet. (on me) The Boy smells califlour (?!), then Irish Spring. I just smell the Irish Spring. (The Boy) Stormhold seems to sink in better and blend more with his natural scent. He seems to be picking up the lower notes.

 

After a Little While: (on me) Irish Spring. (The Boy) Mellows out a bit, still clean/fresh.

 

Later: The first time I tried this one, I thought the scent left me after a few hours, but I may just have started tuning it out. The second time I wore it, it seemed to linger for ages.

Final Thoughts: I think I need to dabble with more GC scents and figure out my chemistry tendencies before I run off and purchase un-impable blends. I wish I could pick up the imagery that some others have been able to detect in this blend. Stormhold earns a 2.5/5 on me and a 3.5/5 on The Boy.

[voorishsign]

I am excited. I am so very excited! While on a Mark Strong high I discovered Stardust via the movie some weeks ago and knew right away I'd have to recheck the Stardust line to see if there was an oil for Septimus. Alas, not directly, but there was The Stormhold, and the description sounded brilliant. So I did something I only do very rarely, which is order a bottle blindly. And now, after long waiting, here it is.

 

In the bottle: very complex. Ozone, light vetiver and something sweet.

 

On wet: ozone extraordinaire. I love ozone but so rarely is it so smooth. Very cool and wet, but deeper than the wet ozone of Lightning. It's icy just breathing it in. I am loving this.

 

Dry: Only the barest touch of vetiver. An outstanding blend. Not as dark as I expected it (the vetiver really is only very mild), and even though I'm deprived of my Septimus-specific scent, this represents the Stormhold brothers so wonderfully - cold, slightly dark, sophisticated and interesting.

 

I will slather myself in this for work today! Definitely a new favourite, I don't regret this purchase at all.

[tailoredshirt]

In the bottle: It actually isn't too strong in the bottle. Flowers, aquatic, rain.

 

Wet: Oh, it's definitely stronger on the skin. I still get flowers, and it is quite cologne-y. I actually don't think I know what vetiver smells like, so I'm not sure if I'm getting it or not. I also can't identify BPAL's ozone note yet, but it smells like "rain" so I guess I am getting it. I get a bit of the cold Vicks Vaporub feeling at the back of my throat, but it's not unbearable.

 

Dry: Rain, water, florals. It's like I'm out in the rain and a woman has walked by wearing too much floral perfume. As it dries, it actually smells like one of those Glade plug-ins, maybe called "Spring Rain" or something. Kind of a fake rain smell. An hour later, it still smells like fake floral rain scent. I also get what other reviewers are saying about this smelling like soap or laundry detergent. It's definitely that sort of scent.

 

Overall: Way more floral than I was expecting. As it dried, it started smelling like a floral-rain scented air freshener, soap, or laundry detergent. This didn't work for me.

[impolight]

:::THE STORMHOLD:::

 

 

 

Things got a little nutty at Bat's Day this year.

Overstimulation was the word for the day, and there were wads of stray currency that escaped from pockets and leapt into the till at BPAL's booth like salmon struggling up a waterfall...

It has to be said that there is exquisite taste in literature at Black Phoenix Alchemy Labs.

Stardust is just one of those books that takes fiction to an entirely new level; combining multiple elements and themes and putting them to work for the mind of one of the greatest contemporary masters out there.

Ah, The Stormhold...

From the Bottle: "Dream Home" would also be appropriate.

The Moss, Vetiver, Granite, and Ozone get all jumbled together and collide directly with brainwaves.

It makes your entire face tingle! The Stormhold is beautifully clean.

This could well be an ablutory chamber where one prepares for ritual...

The Stormhold is a liquid pewter with sparks of Mossy green at this phase.

Loving it in humungous ways!

More!!!

On the Skin: Amazingly, this gets even cleaner! The Moss is almost...Minty. Minty with a twist of Lime!

Neat!

The Stormhold has, without question, the CLEANEST, FRESHEST, version of Vetiver anywhere!

This is awesome!

The Stormhold kind of resembles a weird hybrid for a moment... If "Sunrise With Sea Monsters" and "The Coil" had a baby and washed it's hair in Vetiver baby shampoo... It would come close to this.

Thrilling and dark!

Quite the find!

The Stormhold is likely for Him.

This is a fortress of a fragrance; absolutelt nothing dainty or demure about it.

The Stormhold earns a 5.9 out of 5!

[renadams]

Got to sample this one from a friend's fabulous collection.

 

In the Bottle: A fascinating and unusual scent. Crisp, clean--the crackle of ozone that hangs in the air between lightning strikes in a desert storm. I sense rockiness, a dry, clean, natural scent (and gender-neutral) along with the sizzling of ozone after the flash.

 

Application: Wet application remained the same as the bottle, with a hint of rain on foliage.

 

On the Skin, First 5: First 5 minutes or so, the ozone tamed a bit and a soapier smell emerged. My friend likened it to dryer sheets--sort of a clean, fresh linen scent.

 

On the Skin, After 5 Minutes: The "dryer sheet" scent vanished and the crackling, sizzling ozone returned. It was clean and eye-opening, lingering on the skin just as nearby lightning lingers in the air. It is definitely reminiscent of the castle in Stardust. On a distant, lightning-struck peak, little vegetation.

 

On the Skin, Next Morning: I left this one on my skin overnight and in the morning, the sharpness of the ozone had faded into a baby-powder softness; an unidentifiable, slightly sweet, slightly flowery clean scent with no hint of rain or storm.

 

Final Thoughts:

 

Very interesting stuff! I am amazed that some perfumes can truly smell like weather experiences. It really reminds me of a desert storm. I have added it to my wish list.

 

 

[KissleMeNow]

This smelled of wet, stony, green things in the bottle, but on my skin it turned to soap. Most frustrating because I could smell the undertones, especially of granite and moss, but they were overpowered by the smell of detergent, and it didn't change very much as it faded. Apparently The Stormhold and my skin chemistry are simply not to be.

[elinox]

First Sniff: Fresh, clean ozone which makes me think of clean laundry (yay!).

 

Initial Wet Application: Ozone with a hint of green in it. It’s pleasant, but very reminiscent of Lightning so far.

 

Beginning Dry Down (first 15 minutes) & Dry: As this began the dry down, it’s going faint on me already, even after two heavy swipes with the wand. I think the vetiver is keeping this a mossy green mixed with breezy air on me, it’s nice and I like it so I hope it sticks around.

 

My Reaction: I can easily see, based on the description and other reviews, how this evokes a sense of a thunderstorm rolling in across the horizon towards the castle’s high, impenetrable walls which are covered in moss. However, while I enjoyed this scent for its ozone aquatic with some moss scent, it’s just too light on me. I’ll probably give this one more try, but so far its just too faint and too similar to Lightning.

 

Rating: 2

[Mufasa]

I really like it, but it’s way different than I thought. It starts out being super Irish spring but then settles into a very masculine, kind of musty man scent which doesn’t sound all that nice but I like how evocative it is of the stormhold and it would be amazing in a candle...