Motley

[suki]

Black currant, rhubarb, mushroom, champaca, and myrrh.

in the bottle: strong sweet/tart rhubarb, champa and a hint of myrrh. doesn't sound like they would necessarily work together, but at this stage, they DO.

wet on skin: same, with the champa becoming more incense-y by the second. which i LOVE.

dry down: champaca is absolutely the dominant note, but that doesn't mean it's overpowering. it's not. the rhubarb actually keeps it in place rather well, balancing it, making sure it doesn't become too much to bear.

in all: i *know* this is going to age brilliantly. but even fresh, this oil is beautiful- tart, incensey and totally compelling with a surprisingly low throw, this oil is perfect for right now, when the trees are just starting to come to life and the air hoveres between cool and warm.

total. love.


Edited May 25, 2009 by VioletChaos

[hkhm]

bottle: a strong tart scent, i know i'm smelling the rhubarb but there is an undertone of something mushroom-y.

 

wet: this scent is very unusual, the mushroom gives this bright, tart scent an earthy feel. that fades after a few minutes and i'm getting a warm champaca scent in it's place.

 

dry: tart champaca. though this doesn't really smell like rhubarb, it has a rhubarb tartness. very playful.

[angelicruin]

Sniffing the bottle, it reminds me a bit of Robitussin.

 

Wet on the skin, it's fruity mushroom. Dry it's nearly all champaca and myrrh on my skin.

 

Think this one needs to settle and age a bit before I make my final decision whether I like it or not.

[freneticfloetry]

In the bottle: Cough syrup. Did someone slip cherry into my bottle?

 

Wet: Cough syrup. This could end badly. Why currants, why? We've always had such a love affair before.

 

Drydown: Oooh, it's doing something interesting. Pretty, even. Losing the sticky-sweetness.

 

Dry: Oh, heavenly. The mushroom and myrrh have come to the forefront almost entirely, making this earth and incensey, with a sweetness behind it that keeps it from going to powder. With my nose to my skin, there's a whiff of something that makes me nostalgic - almost the old Fashion Fair lipstick feel that I get from Venom.

 

This is absolutely gorgeous.

Edited April 17, 2009 by freneticfloetry

[Rheliwen]

This is a strange beast and the strongest of the bunch. It's definitely a concept scent and not one you wear to smell beautiful. I actually quite like it though and could see wearing it out on a normal day.

 

I don't normally like rhubarb. I hate rhubarb pie, but I enjoy the smell nice enough. This smells like rhubarb mushroom pie slathered in champaca. The latter can create a real chalky feeling to a scent and it does it here but the currant and rhubarb are adding a balancing level of sweetness. And there's definitely an earthy fungii scent going on as well. Not quite food, not quite dirt, it simply is incensed shrooms. I don't know why but I like it

[twilighteyes]

In the bottle: Odd. Mushroom-y. What the heck, I'll try it.

 

On skin: IT BURNS!!! Ow ow ow, get it off!! Also, major instant nausea which turned into a migraine, even after scrubbing this (and a few layers of skin) off. That was around 8pm. It's 2:30am. Still not feeling good.

 

Never had a reaction like that to a BPAL oil before. But I don't think I'll even be able to sniff it from the bottle again without wanting to hurl. I don't know if I just ate something bad and this scent had the unfortunate luck to be applied at the same time when I started to feel ill or if I'm feeling ill because of a reaction with the fragrance. I'm not allergic to anything in it... I love mushrooms and rhubarb.

 

very annoying, my body.

[Heavenlyrabbit]

I love incense blends in general. BPAL has some amazing spins on that genre and this is top of the list for "Different".

 

The Mushroom is there but with enough around it to just give an Earthy feel. When testing Destroying Angel I remember thinking it was nice but I'd never want to smell like that. So this is a blend that allows me to wear something related.

 

Kind of a Sweet-Sour thing going on at the top which is obviously from the Currant and Rhubarb.

 

Who would have thought we'd have a perfume with RHUBARB!

Edited April 17, 2009 by Heavenlyrabbit

[norskette]

In the bottle this smells like sweet jelly bellies, on my skin it quickly goes to earthy mushrooms (portabella!) and then becomes a masculine cologne. It must be the mryhh and champa that I am getting throughout the dry down. Decent throw, this really turns into something lovely on my skin!

edit: hours later my skin still emits a strong essence of musky glory! This has turned and stayed really resinous, and absolutely beautiful. No powder on me at either, thankfully. This one is a keeper, glad I got the set of 5mls.

Edited April 19, 2009 by norskette

[msbcozad]

Motley

 

Oh my god. My wrist smells like a sushi restaurant.

 

No, seriously. Motley, on my skin, smells like the blend of ginger and wasabi and spicy mayo and fish (but not fishy-smelling fish) and green tea and rice and seaweed.

 

That's the most unsettling thing ever.

[Dark Alice]

Wet: this smells like a strong version of Cherry flavored nyquil

 

Drydown: I smell bitter, stale, mushrooms and cherry flavored nyquil. EW...Must Wash Off Now.

[greenranger]

It starts off all myrrh and sweet berries...and then the mushroom comes out.

 

and then hides.

 

and then comes out.

 

Seriously, it isn't staying stable for two sniffs in a row.

 

By itself, I really don't know about this one...however as part of the set?

The set together is delish.

 

[Blood onmy hands]

In the bottle... I dunno about this. It smells like cherry cough syrup and evil. It's like the kind of cough syrup that they try to mask with wayyy too much sweetness, so it turns into a cloying mess.

 

On my skin, this is still insanely sweet at first. The currant and rhubarb smell like they got drunk and gorged themselves on sugar until they exploded. Thankfully, the champaca and myrrh rush in to clean up the scene. The champaca + myrrh smell like a really sexy, sultry, incense, which is beautiful & interesting over the intensely sugared fruitiness.

 

This is surprisingly lovely on me, and quite a unique fruity-incense combo.

 

All in all, I like and would wear all three of the blends in this set (on their own, not layered together).

 

Mixing Marotte, Coxcomb, & Motley together (I mixed a couple drops of each together in a vial): Smells like musk and fruit. On my skin, the combined musks seem to amp up and this is a very warm scent. There's a hint of pear and redcurrant drowning underneath the musks. As it dries down, it's warm musk and baby powder, which is weird, because neither of the three original scents went powdery on their own :/. After a half hour, this is powdery musk and an earthy, burnt rubber smell. Like the Red Rose/White Rose set, I much prefer the scents separately. Separately, Marotte, Coxcomb, and Motley are all loves for me. Together, they morph into an uber-musk that just smells cheap and strange on my skin.

[CreamyJade]

In the bottle: Almost like sour berries.

Wet on skin: Tart blackberry, champaca, light myrrh.

Dry on skin: The mushroom & rhubarb add an earthiness to the berries&musk that makes it really interesting.

Final thoughts: This was the one that I was the most excited about, and while it doesn't disapoint, I don't feel a crazy "must hoard" feeling. I have yet to mix all the Le Mat scents together though, which should be a fun experiment!

[Delirium1009]

In bottle/imp: Tangy fruity sweetness and something cloying and earthy.

 

Immediately on skin: This is an odd scent. As I sniff it, I get black currant and rhubarb at first (tangy and fruity), but then the base is dirty, cloying mushrooms. This isn’t working on me at all.

 

After a little while: The mushroom note fades a bit as I wear this and it becomes a sweet tart fruit scent with a light background of deep myrrh as time goes on. There’s still a bit of the mushroom though, and it’s quite cloying to my nose.

 

Overall Impressions: This is odd. I didn’t expect the mushroom note to smell like actual mushroom, but it does. The currant and rhubarb are bright and fruity in this, but I can’t get over the cloying mushroom.

 

[femmefatale]

Intitially, this is straight up CURRANT! Holy cow. It's sweet and yummy but pretty much all currant, all the time. After a little while I get a hint of incense and something earthy and slightly...off (which I am assuming is the muchroom). It's still a sweeter scent though and reminds me a bit of a lotion (or perhaps candle?) I used to have. Very nice, though not exactly me. I'll definitely keep the decant though.

[zankoku_zen]

Ah Motley, what a disappointment you are! Really, the mushroom is come and gone... and the intersection of the currants and rhubarb leaves me something sickly sweet and fake.

 

In fact, it sort of smells like a port-a-potty freshner. You know, that weird sweet smell that is supposed to mask all the other odors, but doesn't? Yeah... that one.

 

Damn you skin chemistry. Damn you.

[AliBabble]

in the bottle, motley smells good to me - fruity - the blackcurrant and rhubarb, with a hint of the mushroom, which gives an odd tinge to the fruitiness, but not unpleasant. it's almost candy-like to my nose, but with a bit of mustyness. don't know why, but this reminds me of an indian grocery...there is slow morphing, as the champaca and myrhh come out - at this point, the blend really, - well - blends! and i think the combination, while unusual is very pleasant, and quite evocative. i don;t know - i find this one a really nice change of pace - people who like candied fruit scents - but not overly sugary ones - should try it.

[Lamia]

I was dreading this one, as I despise mushrooms as the vilest of all evils. However, Beth being a GODDESS, she has managed to sneak mushrooms into my food without me noticing LOL

 

This starts magnificently, like sweet fruity candy. It does fade to a chalkiness, reminding me of some great candy that you adored when you were a kid and found in a little dusty corner bodega, but when you stumbled upon it as an adult, discovered that it wasn't nearly as good as some other remembered sweets.

 

This starts great, but turns chalky. The imp is sufficient.

[mejuxtaposed]

Wet: Well blended, I can’t pick out a single note but the smell is earthy, dark and a hint of spice.

10 mins: Spicy incense.

½ hours: Dark incense.

1 ½ hour: Once in a while will get a waft of mushroom but it’s not overpowering.

2 ½ hour: Slightly fruity, mostly earthy no more spice.

 

Nice, but I'm not into the earthy scents. If you are, pick a bottle of this up!

[marared]

First impression: Motley's a LUSH! Smells like he's soused on sweet currant wine while rolling around in a bunch of champaca. It's a very purple scent, in the same family as Penumbra, but MUCH sweeter. Too sweet for me, really, although it does get incensier as it dies. Interesting, but not a keeper.

[fairnymph]

Rhubarb and Black Currant are making sweet, sweet love, so entangled in each other that I can't make out where one begins and the other ends; they are truly one. Their coupling fills the air with the aroma of real, not candied or fake, but juicy, fresh, real strawberries. As their pleasures build, their complementary rhythms stabilise, and they emerge individually briefly. Rhubarb, tarted up gleefully, gently rides the more traditional and staid Black Currant.

 

Just as I identify them, decaying Mushroom ninja grips me so fiercely, envelops me so utterly in his musty folds, that I can't detect anything else afterwards. I especially want to discover some lovely Champaca, and I'd even welcome bitter old Myrrh at this point - but alas, Mushroom Ninja won't share me. If I cautiously creep towards the scent and move back as soon as I spy Rhubarb & Black Currant intertwined, I can evade Mushroom Ninja - but I can't properly ogle the happy fruity couple, so what's the point?

 

Maybe if I leap right into the fray, things will be different. *holds nose, slathers copiously* Oh, god! now Mushroom isn't even bothering to sneak up - he's outright raping Rhubarb & Black Currant, marring their copulatory beauty, thrusting his dusty, rotting spores into any available opening. He has permeated them completely, and the once gloriously gleeful gays are now victims in a sadistic, grotesque threesome.

 

Like a car crash or that goatse meme, it's horrifying but I can't tear myself away. I blink, or glance away now and then, but my gaze returns each time. Champaca and Myrrh, similarly mesmerised, draw nearer. Even tiptoeing in and hunching her shoulders a bit, Champaca can't dim her innate loveliness, and as she approaches she gleams more and more brightly, like a candle as it gains wick.

 

Myrrh is the crafty sort, in that I never know quite what to expect from him. He's unpredictable in timing and appearance. In all incarnations he is old and wizened, with a long beard - a misshapen, scarred sorceror. I suspect he knows the secrets of ancient Egypt, so even though he scares me a bit and I don't enjoy his company - I wish I did. He seems so wise, if gruff in his ways, and I think he could teach me things.

 

Here Myrrh's experience shows - he waits until Mushroom has spent himself and rolled off Rhubarb/Black Currantm, though the sadist's stench still fills the air, but passively, or maybe I've acclimated. Alas, Mushroom has beaten down his victims beyond repair. Trauma and misery have united them more than ever; they cling to each other and raise their heads limply now and then, but collapse weakly each time from the exertion.

 

So Myrrh rolls in, and though he has taken his sweet time, he's not pulling any punches now. As he strides up, his heavy cloak unfurls thick fumes of black smoke which prickle my eyes and cloud my vision - both a pro and a con, in this case. Champaca has stronger glamour than I, and the noxious vapours seem to swirl around her without quite touching her. Somehow, she's able to stand apart - she's thrown off her gown and her pale curves glow like unicorn horn. I try to touch her - it's almost compulsive - but Myrrh's bitter smoke bites at me and the sticky residue of the earlier rape coats my skin.

 

This is so not my type of scene.

Edited April 28, 2009 by fairnymph

[catattack]

Imp: Cherry cough syrup

Wet: Cherry Luden's throat drops

Drydown: The cough drops are taking on a

dried dog urine scent.

WTF!? Stupid skin.

Overall: I am bummed that none of the LE MAT scents worked on me. It seemed like everyone was loving them all except for me.

[WinterLeigh]

I hate to say this, but it smells like a clean public bathroom to me.

[iiinterstate]

First it is currant/rhubarb, then the mushroom appears... then it fades... then it comes back...a hint of my beloved champaca, then mushroom again. It's not a BAD scent, just sort of weird and undecisive. There are moments when it's a really beautiful balance, all fruit and incense and an earthy scent from the mushroom, and I love THAT.

 

The drydown is much less mushroom and a lot more champaca. No cough syrup for me. I love earthy notes so so much, and mushroom is a creative way to incoporate it into a blend. Motley has promise for me!

 

I don't doubt this one will be better with some age on it.

[Seismogenic]

When I tried this at Will Call in April, my initial reaction was, "This is really weird." This reaction, however, was all I needed in the way of encouragement to try this for more than the span of one Will Call. I mean, mushroom and rhubarb? How does that work in a scent?

 

In the imp: Very tartly sweet (I think that's rhubarb plus currant) with an indistinct earthy background.

 

Wet on skin: Still predominantly a tart sweetness, almost like some sort of super sour berry candy. The earthy aspect is very vague under all of that.

 

Drydown: Freshly dry, the sour berry candy aspect has calmed down a lot, almost to the point where it's now background to the earthy notes. I recognize myrrh now, and there's something unfamilar-yet-familiar that I'm guessing is the mushroom. By one hour in, the rhubarb and currant are pretty much gone, and the myrrh and champaca are the most prominent notes. There's still a bit of mushroom there, but it's not in the foreground and never has been.

 

Five hours later: Still quite evident, as a blend of myrrh and champaca.

 

End of the day: Fainter, but far from gone. It's almost exclusively myrrh by now, though.

 

Overall: My assessment from Will Call remains - goodness, this one is weird! It is a good kind of weird, but weird remains my main adjective for it, especially in the earlier stages of drydown. The mushrooms, though they snuck in there at first, are indeed mushrooms, true to life, though I think they are a large part of the weird factor, as is the tartness of the rhubarb. The weird decreased with the wearlength, though, and I thought the end stage of myrrh and champaca wasn't nearly as exciting as the earlier stages. I totally enjoyed the novelty of the weird factor, but I suspect it might be precisely that it's novel that I liked it as much as I did. I'm not sure I'd actually wear this often if I had more of it.