The Illustrated Woman

[ElectraV]

Skin musk, smoky vanilla, pine pitch, patchouli, Indian resins, golden honey, and tobacco.

In the bottle: Pine

Wet: Pine, resin and patchouli. I think I can smell something a little sweet too

Dry: This dried to a gorgeous smokey musk with vanilla and something dark and woody in the background.

I didn't think I was going to like it from the bottle, but I'm glad I gave it a chance. It's a beautiful, sexy scent that I'm probably going to wear frequently.

[galahad]

In The Bottle

Light musky tobacco

 

On Application

Lightly piney (almost minty) and resinous and musk

 

Dry Down

Really amps up in strength as it warms on the skin. Wow, this really is a morpher. It goes through an uncomfortable stage where it almost smells like pineapple but then the vanilla smooths things out into a lovely creamy resiny scent.

Rating (0-5)

4.5

 

[LaurenO]

I thought I had reviewed this already, but apparently not. When I look at the notes now, it doesn't look like something I'd order, but my tastes have changed. When I first got it, it was totally nondescript - couldn't smell it in the bottle or on my skin. I took it out a few months later, tried it and bleugh. PINE. This, along with Samhain, is what made me realise that pine is a note of doom on my skin.

 

My bottle is about a year and a half old now, and I keep thinking that maybe I should give it another go, but then I remember the pine-induced nausea. I'll put it up for swaps, if I ever get around to doing a swaps post.

[Tallulah]

Beautiful

 

Have not had a scent with pine before but this is lovely. The pine mixes beautifully with the honey and tobacco, the skin musk is enchanting behind it all. I am so glad i finally got around to getting this.

[greenranger]

So.

 

Why did I wait so long to order some of this?

 

This is wonderful. The pine is fantastic. It's lasting a loooong time. This is beautiful and golden and resiny without being just like all the other resins I own and love.

 

The interesting thing is that the scent is more pine on my arms, and more of all the rest of the notes on the back of my hands. On my hands the skin musk, smoky vanilla, patchouli, Indian resins, golden honey, tobacco and the pine all blend into this splendid sweet golden whole. On my arms, it is more pine with just a background of the other notes.

 

Why did I wait so long?

[MamaMoth]

(decant)

 

I was unsure of what exactly skin musk smelled like before, but after trying The Illustrated Woman I think I can pinpoint it, as it pops out as the main component. It's in the same vein as the sweet, light, feminine musk that you'll find in popular musk scents geared toward young teen girls. Of course those smell nasty and sickly sweet, and the musk in Illustrated Woman is rich and true and lovely.

 

So, yes: mostly that sweet skin musk and pine pitch, which is deeper and more resiny, less woodsy than straight up pine. The vanilla is smoky and very light, as is the tobacco, and they really just adds a bit of dusky softness. However the vanilla does outlast many of the other components, and makes itself more known at about 5+ hours. It's really hard to pick out individual notes here, because besides the musk and pine, they all just mesh together in such a lovely way. Sweet and resiny and musky, in my mind a hazy golden green. But not heavy, as you might expect from reading the components. I can't detect the honey at all, so if you're afraid of honey, it might be safe.

 

It stays very true on me, the scent doesn't morph at all. And though it wears light and close, it lasts a very long time.

 

Overall, I like this scent very much. But that heavy dose of very sweet skin musk does carry associations for me of cheap drugstore perfumes. It's just my wacky brain making associations, this blend doesn't smell cheap in the slightest. But I'll have to see how well I can get past that before I see how often I wear it.

 

 

 

 

[gypsyjolie]

I was scared of the pine and patchouli, but I tried a decant of this after it has aged a bit and it is soft and woodsy and vanilla'ed after the first hit of pine topnote burns off. The patchouli blends with the musk, and the blend overall is lighter and more feminine/prettier than I expected. This has nice throw too, making a gentle aura around me from just a drop on each forearm. I think this is a bottle purchase!

[misscoldheart]

I got a decant of this to try, and was fully expecting to be completely illed out by the pine pitch. Fortunately and to my surprise, that part wore off quickly. I actually really like the way it dries down. Kind of sweet, kind of dirty, but none of the notes overpower it. They all just kind of work together in a way that is really lovely and definitely not what I was expecting at all. I don't think I would buy a bottle, but I am certainly happy to have a small amount of this!

[Vervaine]

This was the first 5ml bottle I bought untested, and I didn't regret it at all. Straight out of the bottle was a Christmas pine tree waiting for me that made me smile. On my skin, is warped almost immediately into honey and smokey deliciousness. Dried, it was incense in the form of a gorgeous tattooed woman standing in an ancient Irish pub, teasing you.

Every time I wear this, the daily comment heard is "What's that smell?!" from frantic people around me - usually the ones who don't know me. The people who know me well enough to know that it's the oil make a point to remind me that I smell like the local occult store and that it's a very, very good thing.

It was the first bottle I ever bought, and it was SO worth the money to be able to smell that on my wrist throughout the day. It's gorgeous, and it's a shame that it will be gone at some point.

[hkhm]

imp: pine pitch and honey.

 

wet: gorgeous! this is very brilliantly spicy (not hot spicy) with such a thick layer of vanilla and musk ... needless to say, i love it.

 

dry: as this dries, it turns to the most wonderfully blended scent. so well-blended i can barely distinguish the different notes. i will be needing a bottle!

[tailoredshirt]

In the bottle: Sweet musk.

 

Wet: Musk and woods, slightly sharp from the pine. It's still sweet, though. I really like it so far.

 

Dry: Still musk, woods, smokey sweetness. Vanilla amps on me a lot, so I'm really hoping this doesn't dry down to a single sickly sweet vanilla note, because this is really pretty so far.

 

And oh, this is so nice when it dries down. About 30 minutes in, the pine isn't sharp anymore, just cool and perfectly blended with the musky sweetness. And the sweetness is there, but it's not making me nauseous the way some of the sweeter blends do. I think the bit of patchouli helps dirty it up a bit. Please stay this way!

 

...and it does. It's so pretty and so complex, and it never goes sickly sweet on me. I love it.

 

Overall: Musk, woods, and dirty smokey sweetness, all under a cool layer of pine. A unisex blend, I think. I'm definitely buying a couple bottles of this!

[hlemonds]

I'm surprised I haven't reviewed this blend!

 

Illustrated Woman and I have a sordid past. I had a wee sniffie imp that smelled quite nice. So I decided to swap for a bottle. Well, unfortunately USPS utterly massacred said bottle. Upon opening the sad USPS plastic bag that they use for damaged packages, I was sooooo sad because it smelled ah-mazing. The actual bottle was nowhere in evidence, but it was pretty obvious that The Illustrated Woman had at one time resided in the envelope, because that's what I was smelling. At this point I surely didn't expect my swap mate to replace the bottle. This obviously wasn't her mistake. But she (very kindly) refused to take no for an answer. She ordered a fresh bottle from the lab for me. However, in the mean time, I was really wanting a bottle because my sniffie imp was completely gone. So I procured another bottle (of indeterminate age) via the forum sales. At this point the bottle I'm currently using must be over one year old. It is a thing of beauty. And the replacement bottle is safely cellared, awaiting the day that I need it.

 

Initially the pine packs a wallop. Having sniffed a fresh from the lab bottle in comparison to aged, I will say that the pine pitch note seems to back off a little bit with age. The pine remains the top note for the first 3 hours of wear or so, but it is backed by lovely smoky vanilla, sweet tobacco, and skin musk. It isn't single note pine, but the pine remains in the forefront for a bit, and I find it quite enjoyable. It actually gives this blend a rather cool feeling, which is very nice for these warm spring days. After the first 2-3 hours the pine begins to fade, allowing the patchouli to come a bit closer to the surface, and the skin musk is a bit more noticeable as well. On the insides of my wrists I get more of the patchouli and musk, on the backs of my wrists more of the vanilla, pine, patchouli.

 

Overall this is a really unique and pleasant scent. I feel uplifted when I wear it. The pine pitch in this blend is one of the few evergreen notes I really care for on myself. Others tend to go generic Christmas potpourri on my skin. This note, thankfully, doesn't do that at all.

[Aldercy]

Wow, the skin musk is a lot more prominent than I would have expected. I imagined the darker elements (tobacco, patchouli and resins) would have overwhelmed such a sweet, gauzy thing as skin musk. But the resins must be thin, translucent ones and the patchouli is nowhere to be found. The tobacco is just a wisp, much like in Black Lace. Luckily, I really like skin musk, so no problem there.

 

I love the combination of vanilla and pine and wish it appeared more often. This is a great blend of the two (creamy, non-plastic vanilla with a bite of bright, slightly bitter evergreen), all drenched in skin musk. It reminds me of something else I have in my collection... It's like-- OMG... WAIT... it's LIKE GIANT VULVA AND GOLDEN PRIAPUS LITERALLY MADE A BABY. Beth, you silly trickster.

[GeorgeJr]

I too was certain I reviewed this one . Will make up for that mistake now . The bottle I have is at least 1 1/2 years old , maybe 2 . As others have said , the pine is probably the first note to launch out of the bottle . But shortly after applying , the vanilla & musk come along & reign it in nicely . All the notes have a say in this one , no one note remains on top for too long . The patchouli & honey have a say in keeping the peace as well . I tend to amp honey , but not so much in this . This is a case on the pine keeping the honey at bay , for me . All in all a really great blend that most anyone should be able to pull off , but some may want to wait for cooler weather . It is not a light blend in the least . Great for both sexes as well .

[claudia6913]

In the bottle I get a sort of Pine-Sol scent - if it were to be soaked with tobacco leaves. I know I amp cypress to an insane degree, I wonder if the same will hold true for "pine pitch"

 

Wet on the skin, the pine comes out much more than I had originally noticed.

 

The longer it is on, the more the pine sort of ... lets everything else come through. It does have a "smoky" scent to it, somewhat heavy though.

 

Dry it's a sweet smoky pine scent.

 

This scent is a bit heavier than I thought it would be, but I like it.

[heywilma]

Brb drowning in a haze of patchouli. This is just interchanging patchouli/pine on me, I kept on waiting for the other notes to get their time in the sun, but they never peep through. Normally I amp musk, but the soonest I could detect anything was after five or six hours, by which time the whole thing starts fading away. Sigh.

[cecukemon]

Tried it twice - the first time I remember it as being somewhat sharp and underwhelming, but I was out and about and didn't pay much attention to my perfume. Yesterday I gave it a second try - and got rancid men's cologne. I wonder if the cologne part comes from the skin musk, as I had the same experience with The Girl. No sign of the honey and the vanilla. I had such high hopes for this scent.

[Venneh]

In the bottle, I'm getting pine and either vanilla or skin musk. Hm. On my skin, it's pine and patchouli. Hrm. Ends up drying down to a smoky skin musk vanilla honey, but it takes a few hours to get to that stage, and by the time it does, it's very faint. If I could just get rid of that initial stage, this would be wonderful.

Edited May 23, 2010 by Venneh

[Ryvre]

I was hoping for the vanilla and tobacco to be most prominent, but that was not to be...

 

Wet, this is an odd, dark scent. There's a strong patchouli covering something off.

 

Dry: Earthy, herby patchouli. I'm not getting any vanilla from this.

 

Dryer: A weird, foreboding pine.

[sarielswish]

In the vial, it's musky, resinous, and a little sweet. I'm actually pretty excited about this one. Here's hoping the honey doesn't take over and ruin the whole thing. Color, pick one.

 

Wet on my skin, musk, patchouli, vanilla, and pine pitch. Interesting combo. It's got an interesting sweetness on the underside. I like it so far.

 

10-15 minute drydown - I could see buying a bottle of this one. :-) I really like it. I think the hubby will too. Very musky, but sweet at the same time. The pine pitch dies off and I get mostly patchouli, vanilla, tobacco, musk, and honey. Nice.

[fieryredhead]

REALLY love this scent. Didn't get any of the Pinesol-ness thankfully; everything blended really well for me. Really have to sniff hard for the tobacco but it's there! Love the bottle art as well. Keeper!!

[annanwater]

This is very men's cologne on me -- but since I like that, I don't think it's a bad thing. The pine is very light on me, just present enough to ground an otherwise heady blend. I get mostly resin and tobacco leaves, with the vanilla and honey adding a sweetness, but not really present -- they blend in, rather than being among the notes I can pick out. I really love this one -- it's my go-to blend when I want to feel powerful and forceful.

[SophieCedar]

Whoooeeww. Glad this worked out in the end. Bought a bottle without testing a decant first...

 

Wet: strong strong smoky black pine pitch and tobacco.. where's the vanilla? There's a touch of skin musk and mushy patchouli. I tried this last night and this morning to make sure I perceived it the same way both times. Yup. The wet phase is truly bizarre.

Drydown: Everything sorts itself out here. Just needs time. The pine mellows and the patchouli brightens in the background. The skin musk becomes glowingly warm and the smoky vanilla develops a ton, too. I believe the smoke, added to the vanilla, the resins and the pine/patchouli just combat each other when wet. I can smell the golden honey too! The dominant notes in the dry phase are, in order: smoky vanilla, tobacco, golden honey, touch of resins, skin musk. The pine is so muted here that I can barely smell it. A bonus is that this has a lot of throw still, but in an order I love.

[lahdeedah]

(Near) Instant. Love. When I first smelled this in the bottle, I was pretty sure it wasn't going to be a winner for me. Pine and I have a complicated relationship, and it can turn sour and sharp on me in an instant. To my amazement, that opening note of pine burned off within a few minutes and my nose started picking up on something new...honey? (I had forgotten the notes.) Mmmm honey. Wait, what's that now? Patchouli? Mmmmm. Vanilla you say? Alright! This is one fascinating blend, morphing quickly through all of its notes like a quick change artist. The second time I tried it I paid more attention right off the bat, and I got a couple of plumes of smoke curling through the pine. What's that you say? A tobacco note that doesn't stomp all over the others on my tobacco-amping skin? Inconceivable!

 

After only a few minutes time, The Illustrated Woman settles comfortably into a skin-close sexy honey and patchouli and musk scent. Light, playful, and still mysterious. I really really like it. It's a lot like what I was hoping Judith and Holofernes would be-- that woman with a secret behind her eyes and the knowledge that she can conquer you without even trying.

[yakiguri]

I find The Illustrated Woman borderline manly, which is great since the more flowery scents are hideous on me and I gravitate towards the masculine. I smell mostly pine, resins, and tobacco on my skin, with a ghost of vanilla in the background to give it just enough sweetness and patchouli to ground it all. No honey, which is fine since honey can get nauseating on me.

 

Definite future bottle purchase!