Catherine

[rayvn1]

Named for the ambitious, vengeful poisoner Catherine deMedici, who used perfumes to perform her dark deeds. A sinful blend of orange blossom, rosemary and rose... allegedly the exact perfume she utilzed in her work.

I usually get strong doses of orange blossom or rose when they're in blends, but the rosemary is really dominating here. Strong, forcefully herbal and sharp to the nose. Good scent, but I'm not sure how often I'd wear it. It would be when I'm feeling villainous that's for sure

Edit to add scent description Edited September 4, 2009 by rayvn1

[MellowCello]

At first whiff from the vial Catherine struck me as a citrus-menthol scent. On my skin the smell changed into something very very herbal. but as it began to dry down it began to smell incensy, a type of incensey smell that brought me back to some fond memories. I just had to test it again because oils often change their minds about how they want to smell on me after i first test them. Everything was exactly the same except that now I was able to pick out just a hint of rose, not too much. It still smelled of that wonderful incense. I must say that i find this scent very relaxing and ultimately very pleasant. I'm glad someone was kind enough to send this to me. I might find myself buying a bottle of this when I have some extra money to spend.

[hkhm]

imp: pungent rosemary.

 

wet: i don't get any rosemary, orange blossom or rose here. this smells like eucalyptus! and it is incredibly strong.

 

dry: the curse of the soapy rose has settled. all i smell is sharp, soapy rose.

[reynardine]

This will be kind of a strange review. I got Catherine as an imp years ago, ADORED IT, and bought a bottle. 10 ml, because I loved it so much. This would have been in, oh, 2005, so I'm still working on the bottle because I don't slather much. And I never reviewed it. So I'm going to try to remember my old impressions and now give some impressions of how it has aged.

 

First impressions:

 

In bottle: Very sharp. Authoritative scent. Heavy on the roses.

 

Wet: The rosemary starts to come out. Still very strong roses.

 

Drydown: Now we're getting a bit of orange blossoms, but just a touch. And the scent stays fairly strong, for hours. A little goes a long way.

 

Four years later:

 

In bottle: Still sharp, much more rosemary this time, though. The roses have faded.

 

Wet: Rosemary. Roses are coming out to play, though. And the orange blossoms are still there as well.

 

Drydown: It's a much softer scent than it used to be. More subtle, absolutely gorgeous, rich floral/herbal blend. Brilliant.

 

If you didn't like it before, hold onto it for a year or so and try it again. You might be pleasantly surprised!

[ianastar]

Right away this repulsed me. It's like a very strong furniture polish. Once I read the description, I could kind-of, sorta, maybe get the rosemary.

 

This is headache inducing strong. Is that what she use to poison people with? Because I could see why they would die from it. Whoa mama this is strong.

[angelicruin]

Very strong rosemary on my skin after initial application. As it dries, I pick up the orange blossom note, but surprisingly the rose remains elusive. The rosemary is amping too much on my skin though for this to be viable contender for a bottle. I think I will pass this along to someone else who may enjoy it more than I.

[starfish327]

in the imp- rose and alcohol.

 

wet- rose and something that smells like rubbing alcohol.

 

dried down- spicy rose.

 

this has incredible lasting power on me though. i applied it for testing at 11 am and i could smell it easily at midnight.

[thebirdofhermes]

In bottle: Very pale straw-like colour. Sharp, almost smells like there's alcohol in this. Mostly a pungent sort of rosemary, with a hint of something else.

 

On skin, wet: Ah, there's something almost citrusy sweet floral. Hello orange blossom. Oh yes, you're beautiful on me, aren't you? Oh yes you are! I love youuuuu. Not a lot of rose, but it's just kickin back in the base of the scent with rosemary, chillin. It's playing a lot nicer on my skin than I anticipated from the bottle. Very lovely. Light throw, however. Not sure if it's worth a bottle, yet, but maybe another imp...

 

On skin, fifteen minutes later: ...Where'd it go?! I'm putting my nose to my wrist and getting maybe a breath of orange blossom and a smidge of rosemary. It's gone. Absolutely gone! Did my skin eat it? Do I need to apply more?

 

On skin, wet, take two: Right. Applied unscented lotion and slathered. Let's see.... oh good Lord it smells like pungent rosemary and alcohol now. Well, while I appreciate it doing the usual thing of smell the same on my skin as it does in the bottle, I liked the morphing better. Oh, wait, it's drying now and slowly taking on the orange blossom.

 

On skin, fifteen minutes later, take two: Hey, it's sticking around this time. Nice. Still no throw, which is a bit disappointing to me, but at least it's not disappearing. Don't like that I apparently need lotion with this one despite my not at all dry skin, though. It's nice enough that I think I'll hang on to the imp and maybe try it at another time of month to see if it changes (although if my track record with other scents is anything, it won't), but I don't need a bottle.

[milo]

Wet, this is a very strong, pungent menthol blend. As it dries, the menthol, (I'm assuming it's the Rosemary) takes a back seat, and the rose comes out of the sour variety. I get no orange blossom, sadly, one of my favourite notes, just a soapy, sour rose. I do tend to amp rose, so this may work better for someone else, but for me, this is a fail.

[Venneh]

In the imp, this is ROSEMARY!!! Like Aperotos Eros, light application. Turns into orange blossom and rose on my skin, happily, but thus far, it's not going to be anything much. And it goes straight to soapy rose. Ehh.

Edited February 17, 2010 by Venneh

[lunchboxmonkey]

On me, this starts off with a very herbal rosemary, with a tart orange scent lurking in the background. I'm not getting any rose at all. As it dries, the tangy orange starts overpowering the rosemary, and its not a sweet, juicy orange, its more like an orange rind - slightly bitter. I think that if I got any rose it would sweeten it up, but the orange is dominating here. Its definitely feminine, but its a haughty, bitter lady, and not inviting at all. I could certainly see this scent being great for projecting a cold confidence, but its not me at all.

[superpopkid]

Floral, bitter orange soapiness. Strong memories of how my great aunt used to smell...like dial soap, hairspray, and perfume with orange blossom It was sweet to be reminded of her, but I can't wear this.

[Soniadevi]

It's funny to see such mixed reviews about this scent, and I can say it certainly leaves an impression, good or bad! In my opinion however, of all of the scents I've sniffed so far (I'm touching 60 scents now, yaaay!!) I LOVE LOVE LOVE CATHERINE!!!

 

I'm amazed that so many people cannot smell the orange blossom, but having noticed a lot of confusion coming from people about a citrussy minty type smell, I realise that not many people know what orange blossoms smell like: to me, this is ORANGE BLOSSOM SUBLIMATED, and I absolutely adore it, the rose gives a sweet gentle softness, and the rosemary adds character, a spike of something sharp. Both notes pull the different aspects of orange blossom in two separate directions, yet combine them together in the end- it's a perfect combination and I cannot thank Beth enough to have resurrected this ancient recipe so masterfully. I cannot go on about how amazing this smell is, but then I guess it goes with my "chemistry" so perhaps I'm lucky.

 

I must admit, over the years I've noticed that people tend to either love or hate orange blossom, and I know someone who hates this smell on me, but that doesn't stop me from wanting to buy a full bottle!

 

This goes well with the astringence of Catherine de Medici, you can certainly imagine the poisoner vibe- I like to really immerse myself into the context and the purpose with which a scent is made, and I really can see a plotting scheming powerful lady, all dressed in brocade and velvet... But then again, removed from that context, I find this scent delightfully sunny, fresh, and VERY UPLIFTING, as in I just feel happy and beautiful when I wear it, and even my boyfriend, who hates most strange smells, finds this lovely!

 

One things for sure though, when it comes to ones opinion of a scent, I have found that you have to try it yourself, because the reviews can be helpful, but they can also be quite misleading. If I had not received this imp free, I would never have wanted to try it based on the reviews- goes to show that you never know!

 

FINAL VERDICT: FULL 5 ML BOTTLE. AND ANOTHER WHEN IT RUNS OUT. AND ANOTHER, AND ANOTHER, AND ANOTHER!!!

[benthic]

When I first put this on, AGGGGHHH. Rosemary! All rosemary, astringent and herbal and just, ugh. It was awful. The story is, I had a bottle of a blend that did not work on me at all, and someone offered me Catherine for it, and I looked at the notes and went, "Rose! Orange blossom! I will love this!" So I agreed to the swap. Testing it for the first time, I regretted it pretty fast, because it was just as bad on me as the other blend. Just straight-up herbs, and not the kind I like. So disappointing.

 

I didn't wash it off, though, and about half an hour later I happened to have my hand to my nose, and--! Lovely rose! Rose with a hint of herbal and orange to it. It's actually really nice--who knew? After that initial WHOA CHICO, it settles down into a rose blend I can handle and enjoy, as the rosemary fades into the background, sharpening the blend and giving it some depth. Not bad at all.

 

The rose is very similar to the rose in Pride, and, ultimately, that's why I'll swap this away; I like this blend, but I have a bottle of Pride, and with Pride I don't have to wait half an hour to enjoy what I'm wearing. I am pleasantly surprised by how this turned out after leaving it on for a while, but rose is my favorite note, and as such I have enough rose in my repertoire to not really need to hang on to this one.

[megank4]

Navette!

 

This is the first thing that came to my mind when smelling this.

Navettes are a speciality of this region, and are small hard cookies shaped like boats and flavored with orange blossom and a little bit of anise I think.

Nice, but don't really want to smell like a cookie.

[Mountaingrrl00]

Instant nostalgia for me: This smells very much like my great-aunt's favorite cologne, 4711. My auntie was an androgynous lady, and this is definitely an androgynous scent. For me the orange blossom is the most identifiable note, with the rosemary freshening it and the rose muting the individual notes a bit. I'm looking forward to wearing this on hot days and reminiscing.

[animalcule]

Yay, this smells like Bess without the overpowering grapiness! Just what I always wanted.

 

This is beautiful. I always fall for the simple blends it seems. Catherine is softly floral, but grounded by the sharp rosemary. Very clean and refreshing without being soapy. Not getting anything that brings 'incense' to mind which is good because 'incense' ruins blends for me. Also not getting anything menthol or medicinal but that's to be expected for me as my skin amps sweet and tones down most herbal notes.

 

Also it's consistent over time and lasts for many hours. Bottle purchase for sure.

Edited July 21, 2010 by animalcule

[Argentwolf]

I tend to amp rose quite a bit, but the rose here is very nicely tempered by the rosemary, lending it an earthier, herbal tone. I would therefore recommend it to people who otherwise dislike/would be afraid of rose, because it reaches such a nice balance, here.

[voorishsign]

I don't expect much here - but I have a policy of trying out all frimps

 

Much as I suspected, this doesn't really work that well. Rose and orange blossom, which are at least thankfully tamed slightly by the rosemary. Not my thing, but worth a try for rose lovers who want something slightly greener and more medicinal than usual

[KesHiro]

In the imp: Musky orange blossom. Oh my God, it's 4711! It's the original Santa Maria Novella! My two pre-BPAL favorites! Squee!

 

Wet: The same as above!

 

Drydown: And the rose is taking over . . . crap.

 

Dry: Rose single note. Damn it.

 

As usual, my skin amps the rose. The good news is that it works in my hair, so it'll get put to good use.

[ofthegood]

When I first sampled this imp, I was blown away by the strength of the wet scent - roses, floral, green, a bit herbal, all very strong. I buckled up and dabbed it on. It mellowed a bit, but it's definitely one of those scents with lasting power that you keep smelling whenever you move. Alas, I didn't really want to keep smelling it. The dry down was soap, roses, and the orange blossom (which isn't a note that I particularly enjoy). I never really got an identifiable whiff of rosemary, which I do like.

 

It has an overall haughtiness and heaviness on me - and that's not me. I can see the dark and sinful aspects, and the cloying heaviness of poison. It's not my cup of tea, but it would be a great scent on the right person. I may keep this imp to wear with my red velvets and brocade at renfaire.

[SophieCedar]

Wet: strong astringent wet rosemary essence and rose. It's putting a tang on my tongue. (tang on my tongue? ok what is up with my verbiage today. this is the second time I've spit out something that sounds like it came from a Dr. Seuss book..)The rosemary starts to mellow within the 1st 30 seconds and rose comes forward very strongly with a slight orange blossom in the background.

 

drydown: this goes soapy on me and I can't loose the soapy bitter tang in my mouth. The orange blossom is translated to a sharp citrus dryness. It's sweeter side is lost behind the medicinal rosemary and strong wet green rose. If only Catherine was fond of portwine or sweet cakes this would balance. I would feel almost bad if I blended this with a sweet or musk considering the power and presence of it is the original intention. I'll hold off and try again some other time.

[frecklestars]

In the bottle: strong rosemary just barely sweetened with orange blossom and a hint of rose. it's not particularly friendly in terms of the mood of the scent, and smells quite dark. a little bit like strong bath salts, with a powdery finish.

 

On my skin: an even stronger rosemary, again with that powdery orange blossom finish. again the barest trace of roses, which I wish came through stronger b/c it might mitigate the orange blossom and rosemary better. an interesting blend and slightly regal/standoffish somehow. however, the longer I wear it, the more powdery it becomes. now it reminds me a bit of smarties candies. probably just my skin chemistry, doing its weird thing again.

 

Last thoughts: I don't like orange blossom on my skin, because it turns into powdery bath salty nastiness, so this one is far from my favorite. but I can appreciate the elegance and feminine strength.

[ajansuz]

In the imp: Very strongly medicinal, to the point I involuntarily jerked my head back from the scent. Orange blossom lay faintly beneath that. No rose at all in the vial.

 

Wet: Orange blossom and rose both tend to amp on me. This is no exception. There's an almost menthol odor beneath both, but that very quickly fades away altogether.

 

Dry down: This is smelling a lot like Jezebel on me without the sweet honey. The rosemary is completely gone. It's orange blossom and rose in equal measure.

 

Unfortunately, after about an hour, the rose goes soapy, so now it smells like decorative bathroom soap. It's a pretty, pleasant scent, but if I wear perfume I want to smell like perfume, not like perfumed soap.

[Honey]

The rose in rosemary..

 

 

Imp: Strong, herbal and soapy. It doesn't really smell like the fragrant rosemary to me that I use in the kitchen. Maybe the rose is just overpowering. See, what I deemed to be soapy was merely the rose.. I guess I cannot smell one without the other (like some people, for some reason, mix up almond and cherry).

 

Wet: Tart, dark, even mossy. Very deep green. A bit acrid.. like burned rosemary. Ah, after a few seconds, a great rosemary note appears, overpowering the rose now (which is good).

 

Dry: Smells.. sharp, herbal and green with a slight dash of bitter orange and a hint of soapy rose. Smells a bit.. waxy, dusty and sour to me.. somewhat unpleasant.