Wicked

[Usagi]

A paean to all the Wicked Queens, Evil Stepmothers, and other misunderstood villainesses throughout history and lore. Lends an aura of majesty, refinement, strength, and a deep, brooding malice. A sophisticated, womanly scent: rich myrrh and jasmine draped in the subtlest rose.

Wicked, in the imp, smelled very perfumey. I can pick out the rose and a little jasmine. But it's extremely well blended.

On me, drying down, this smells like a classic perfume. I envision some glamorous Forties star of the silver screen slipping this on before her film's opening at Grauman's Chinese theater.

Wicked is warm and dry, and somehow heavy. A very sophisticated blend of rose and jasmine that would be totally at home on an evil stepmother's wrist. Specifically, I'd say Snow White's evil stepmother-- the Disney version.

later(1 hour):

very faint powdery rose smell remaining

Conclusion: a really well done scent, if a little too perfumey for me.

Editted to add: BPAL description Edited November 23, 2008 by Usagi

[jehrichardson]

 

Jasmine, with jasmine and a side of jasmine.

 

I think there might be some jasmine in there too. Of course, that is nicely set off by the back notes and top notes of jasmine, but that could be jasmine too.

 

 

Okay.. to be fair, the jasmine is lovely, as it always is. It's generally too heady and floral for me, but I do like the occasional whiff. I'm not getting the myrrh or rose at all.

 

This is a nope.

[toomuch]

The best way I can describe this is full, round, womanly. In a bit it gets a sharp coolness that adds character. It's still womanly, but a bit distant, unobtainable. Kind of like I'll let you see it and know you want it, but I'm in control here. After smelling this, which was a freebie thank you very much, I realize that the full-bodied character of Athens is from the myrrh, not the sweet wine as I thought. For me Athens wins out over Wicked for a bottle, but I'll definitely use this imp. If you like full-bodied, give them both a try.

[Caerphilly]

In the imp: Heavy, dark, I get a woody or earthy note to it. Really heavy. And I thought I liked jasmine. But, as I've learned, night-blooming jasmine is different than regular jasmine.

 

Wet: Oh no! Get it away from me! I can't do heavy scents. Honeysuckle, lilac, and now jasmine. Smells like something my roommate would wear not me...I'm getting a headache. But I'm waiting for the rose....

 

Dry: There's the rose! It is very subtle though, but it's there! And it mellows out the heavy jasmine smell. I'm beginning to like it! Although it's still a very dark, and, that's right, wicked scent.

 

Overall: Not for me, not for me at all. Too heavy, even when it dries down. I like the rose, but really too heavy. A dab on my wrist is fine, but I don't think I could wear this on a regular basis.

[zankoku_zen]

This one is a heavy jasmine and myrrh blend, with just a drop of rose. Unfortunately, I get the dreaded cat pee from the sharp jasmine, so I'm going to have to pass on this blend.

[obsidienne]

It finally happened: I found a jasmine I like! And it has somehow opened the door for other jasmine blends. Yay!

 

This starts off very myrrh-jasmine. As it dries down, a soft, sweet rose pops up beneath the two, and the jasmine recedes a bit. I tested this at the same time as Nyx to get a feel for the differences, and the result of that test is that I call Wicked "the myrrh blend" and Nyx "the jasmine blend", because overall the myrrh takes centre stage in Wicked once it's all dried down. The jasmine grows more and more subtle to provide a dark floral roundness to the scent, and the rose becomes the brightest note, albeit very softly. That myrrh-rose stage seems prominent in early drydown... but at far drydown, it developed a wee plasticky note, which is a new experience for me with any of these notes. It may well have been hormones, though. That said, I'd get a big bottle of Wicked despite the possible plastic. This blend is gorgeous.

 

(edited to reflect updated perceptions of this blend)

Edited September 13, 2009 by obsidienne

[Bluestocking]

In the imp: Floral, but not girly at all—mature, I think, and quite haughty. Not as sweet as the presence of jasmine might suggest, either; the myrrh and rose unite to create a dark, piercing, ominous note, with the jasmine a very slight, sweet undertone—almost like it's fighting to be noticed.

On, wet: Just more of the myrrh and rose, dark and corrupted. This isn't a wash-off, but… I'm hoping for some evolution here.

On, dry: Myrrh and rose still going strong, although I'm getting some whiffs of jasmine as I move around. I don't get any when I sniff directly, though. (I wish! I'm not at all getting the heavy jasmine that others have mentioned.)

Later: Okay, finally after hours, the myrrh retreats into the background and the jasmine comes forward and combines with the rose into a pleasant, surprisingly sweet floral, much lighter than the early stages.

Overall: It's definitely a fitting scent for the concept—the early stage keeps making me think of Cinderella's wicked stepmother—but much as I love these three notes, I'm not sure I love the way they work here. The dry down is very pretty, but I'm not sure it's worth the hours of that off myrrh/rose combo, which is unpleasant, unsettling and oddly bitter. This also feels like an older woman's scent—it's just not me, thought it could be very pretty and regal on somebody else.

 

 

[Seismogenic]

This is the last in the enormous pile of frimps I received from December's Will Call. I know that it's actually based on wicked stepmothers and such, but I still can't help thinking it really ought to be green, and "Defying Gravity" gets stuck in my head. D'oh!

 

In the imp: Jasmine and bitter myrrh.

 

Wet on skin: Mostly jasmine. The myrrh has taken the back seat, though it still contributes some darkness/bitterness. Not getting any rose so far.

 

Drydown: Freshly dry, the rose has shown up to compliment the jasmine, though the jasmine is still in charge. The myrrh has further receded, though it's still responsible for the darker bitter undertone, as far as I can tell. At one hour in, this is some crazy strong stuff! The jasmine is calming down somewhat now, or maybe it's the rose becoming stronger. Either way, they've melded together pretty well. The myrrh is still background, but it's good and dark. Definitely a dangerous floral.

 

Five hours later: The jasmine is pretty much gone now, and the entire blend is in the process of transitioning from bitter to somewhat sweet. It's still a dark rosy myrrh, even if it is sweetening. It's also still quite present.

 

End of the day: Still surprisingly present, though it has morphed even more. Now, it's a sweet and rich mix of rose and myrrh, with no jasmine to be found.

 

Overall: I think this is another one where Beth completely nailed the portrayal of her inspiration. This is a strong, solid, and confident (if not arrogant) blend that is no-nonsense feminine and unquestionably dark. Its components seem innocent enough, but combined, well, I wouldn't want to cross someone whose personality matched this scent. My personality - and my gender - do not match, however, and so I will be passing this on to someone who's a little more Malicious Matriarch than I am. (Because I'd probably be a mad scientist, were I a villain. Yes.)

[CynicalPink]

Team up of the arm eating scents!

 

Imp: Jasmine and a bit of rose

 

Wet: ack! It's smokey! I guess that's Myrrh

 

Dry: Myrrh and powdery-grandma rose. Oh dear

 

Overall: Yeah no. Rose just took over this party and has no plans on backing down

[TheOneTheyCallLuna]

I've been procrastinating writing this review, mostly because after smelling this in the imp I really did not want to put it on. That's never happened to me before, and I hate writing negative reviews, but this...this is screeching jasmine in your face! On my skin, conditions do not improve, unfortunately, and it turns into (sorry!) jasmine and cat pee.

[miri]

In the wet stages and for the first couple of hours, I wouldn't have guessed floral. (I'm trying to test all my untested imps - a different scent a day. Reach in, try to remember if I've tested it before, sniff, if I like, apply (if I really like - like this and Kubla Khan yesterday - apply somewhat generously!). Look up notes afterwards.) I had a sweet, smoky, spiced but not spicy mandarin - if Carnal and Sin had a love-child, this would have been it.

 

After a couple of hours, it started to go more floral - I lost my mandarin and started to suspect rose. I've now got a rose, sweetened by jasmine and rendered very slightly smoky by myrrh.

 

I might try this in a scent locket as the wet stage was very nice, but I'm not a fan of the scent of rose (my boyfriend got me two dozen a few years back for Valentine's Day - I sniffed deeply and said in delight, "Yay - hothouse flowers! No scent!" They're very pretty and I like stroking them coz the petals are all soft and velvety, but the smell doesn't do it for me - from the blooms or on my skin).

 

 

[tragedy]

I amp roses. I amp roses bad. that being said, on me, this rose isn't subtle at all, but with the jasmine/rose combination I get a beautiful bright pale rose. This is definately a grown-up scent. Very sophisticated and beautiful.

[angelicruin]

Inside the imp, it's all jasmine.

 

Wet on my skin, still all jasmine and a little myrrh. Rose begins to emerge as it dries. Becomes more smoky as it further dries. Once dry, it's a soft myrrh with vague floral notes---can't really pick out rose or jasmine any longer.

[topazphoenix]

Wet: I am Jasmine, hear me roar! Dry: Rose dancing around a base of Myrrh. Not really that wicked.

[kattharia]

This was a generous frimp with my BERRY MOON order!

In the imp this was very strong and very perfumy, I was a little frightened, was this going to be another WANTON? That on was so strong on me DH asked me to shower!

On this has a goodly throw, but thank God it's not overwhelming. What I DON't get is rose, or jasmine, or myrrh, It's all blended together so well, I just get a nice perfume.

ANNND that's the problem, it's nice I'll prob. keep the imp, unless one of my girls asks for It but I don't really need a bottle

[rayvn1]

What the hell was I thinking? Jasmine... <sigh> When will I learn that it will almost inevitably ruin a blend on my skin... A very rich scent, but utterly wrong on my skin. Not good

[BuxomM]

It's rose with some jasmine, a dark floral.

[Monster]

LOTS of jasmine, almost ALLLL jasmine. This one gives me a terrible headache and....I need to wash it off immediatly.

[skylarkza]

In the imp: JASMINE

 

Wet: Jasmine and myrrh providing a heady blend of fragrance that is very feminine.

 

Dry: Rose and myrrh. I cannot help but think of a very enticing woman. This is a feminine scent without being sweet or innocent.

 

A while later: A sophisticated rose. Very feminine and grown up.

[donnatron]

Imp: Myrrh over a bit of jasmine.

 

Wet: The rose comes out and sort of pushes out the jasmine for awhile. This reminds me A LOT of The Obsidian Widow. Just a bit more reserved and definitely more elegant (I love The Obsidian Widow but there's definitely something a little rough around the edges there).

 

Dry: This is lovely. It's predominantly jasmine with a hint of rose and warm myrrh. It smells ungodly expensive and very classical. A close, skin warm sort of floral made very sensual by the jasmine. This is more of a nighttime/elegant night on the town sort of scent but you could probably pull it off in an office with the right kind of dress code.

 

Throw: Surprisingly moderate.

 

Overall: God that's good. I can't believe it's taken me so long to review this. It's a gorgeous, dark, womanly floral and I will definitely be thinking about a 5 ml. Really, really lovely blend.

[Venneh]

In the frimp, I get really sharp myrrh, first and foremost, and it makes me a little edgy. On my skin, it's pretty much straight up sharp myrrh, with jasmine and rose lurking underneath. Not really sure how my skin chemistry's going to work, but I've got a bad feeling on this one. It's the myrrh, really sharp, at first, but it dries down into a rose/jasmine blend. Eh. Swaps/sales.

Edited November 28, 2009 by Venneh

[boxinghelena]

Oh Wicked, how I hate you!

 

The description says..... subtlest rose, NOT TRUE! Most rose scents amp horribly on me to generic soapy grossness. That is all I smell, soap. It's so overwhelming, I had to wash it off. *shudders*

[Invidiana]

Alas, the jasmine which my skin turned to cat pee in Nyx, Bayou and New Orleans is back to haunt me again. It's not so strong as in the other three because the myrrh grabs it by the throat, and myrrh comes out gorgeous and sweet and smoky on me, but it's still a hint in the background that bothers me. If I want myrrh, at least I have Midnight Mass on the way

[SophieCedar]

Am I evil? I just say this because this scent works wonderfully on me.

 

Nothing took the spotlight or really meeked out on me. It just smells balanced and lovely. This reduces my fear of the dreaded rose. It stayed pretty true for a long time as well!

[DeltaCat]

This is a very strong very heady floral on me. Mostly jasmine with a little bit of rose. I have to be in the right mood to wear this scent. Otherwise it gives me a headache.