Morven, the Strong Man

[persianmouse]

Oh, I like this.

 

This is a manly scent for a manly man who does manly things in a manly manner.

 

It goes out and arm-wrestles tigers for fun. This scent doesn’t open doors, it kicks them down, even if there’s no reason to, even if its an automatic door. This is the kind of scent that goes out to strip bars with Minotaur and Velvet Bandito, but he always treats the strippers with respect and will beat the crap out of any hooligan that tries to start shit with any of the girls. This scent sings the theme song from Men in Tights. This scent, if personified, would be Bruce Campbell. You know all those Old Spice commercials with the manly men doing manly things and eating golf balls? They’re based on this scent’s average weekend. This scent drives a Ford Thunderbird that runs on broken dreams (which is a big hit with the environmentalist crowd). This scent sits in its study and reads Ernest Hemingway while wearing a cravat and silk smoking jacket. This scent knows how to fight with broadswords, and keeps one in the trunk of his car in case battle ever breaks out, he is prepared. This man is swinging some serious trouser snake. This scent had to get its cod-piece custom made, as The Cod-Piece Hut didn't have any big enough; it's made from shark teeth and adamantium (fuck yeah, he gnawed off Wolverine's claws in a bar fight, SNIKT that, you brooding amnesiac motherfucker), and is big enough to cradle three ferrets. He plays Hungarian Dance No. 5 on his car radio as he leans out the window shooting evil ninja assassins with a crossbow and steering with his junk.

 

But it is not, and this is key, cologney. But it is manly. There’s clove. And cedar, maybe? The rest is just manly man.

 

[Eutectic]

OMG this is the smell I love most from clove cigarettes. Just when you open the pack, not lit but clovey and tobacco and sweetness. Oh this is just diabolically wonderful. I want to hold my hubby down and attack him with this. It is just RAWR!!!

 

I will be making a multiple bottle stash of this when it is released, HOT DAMN!!!

[ivyandpeony]

Swarthy, almost a little scary in the bottle for me - I tend to be a fan of girly scents so this took a wee bit of courage to skin test. But Morven is much nicer on the skin. This could be a cousin of Velvet Bandito with its spicy clove and smooth woody notes. I was expecting metallics or harsh vetiver, but this scent is warm, almost resinous. For my personal tastes, I might have to layer it with something sweeter to make it sweet and feminine enough for me - my skin has no natural sweetness and this is on the dry and masculine side, although there indeed is nothing cologne-like about it, just warm, smooth and gentle spices. I think this will be a real winner for lots of people - men and women alike.

[fairnymph]

Terrifying, in a word. Like being clobbered with vetiver (the dark, gritty, sooty sort) and maybe some woods and spices and a WHOLE LOT of 'musk' that to me smells like the stench of an unappealing man. this one was an instant-wipe off, bc it literally made me feel nauseated within seconds.

[myth]

Masculine, dry, spicy. Clove over wood, with resins.

 

I need to test this one again next time will call leaves me some arm space, because I thought I liked this at first. But then later smelling it in dry down I thought there was something a little funky in there. It could've been mixed up with other stuff though. So... a retest is in order.

[raisin]

This goes on very tough and spicy, and settles into something that's mostly nutmeg on me, with some clove, dried tobacco and some kind of manly cologne. It's a little autumnal/Christmas-y in terms of the spices, but not especially foody. Certainly a Strong Man scent, in a very classical, man-with-a-leopardskin-tunic-and-waxed-handlebar-moustache kind of way.

 

It's gorgeous, and I think I'll be wearing it more often when it gets colder. It's really a fantastic blend. I hope I'll be able to find a bottle someday!

[cfrancesca]

I get spicy carnations, clove and as it begins to dry, I get a hint of very soft, smokey, slightly sweet resins (possibly myrrh). After a few minutes, I'm starting to get this manly spicy musk (the cloves are much lighter now) and leather. The scent is similar to The Byronic Antihero but with cloves and a lot less carnation, it also reminds me like Clockwork Couture Male in the dry-down. I'm not a fan of cloves but I may have found the only clove scent I can actually wear.

[Invidiana]

Holy Old Spice on steroids. This is heavy, spicy and incredibly manly. There are lots of dark resins in here, but of the more masculine variety that tends to be more cologney than the thick and sweet type I tend to lean toward. Lots of spice is in here as well but not the baking type, more the I-am-man-and-I-will-smite-you type. CLOVE and lots of it. All these are backed up by masculine woods, some type of smoky sandalwood and possibly black cedar since I'm not getting the hamstercage cedar chips I got from Sacrifice. There could possibly be some chypre or something in the background adding to the cologney feel. It reminds me of my uncle. I'm glad to have tried this but could never pull it off.

Edited September 26, 2011 by Invidiana

[ljaylh]

First up - thanks to the lovely Mellifluous for sending me a tester of this!

 

So when it first hits my skin, Morven gives off a really strong "man's cologne" smell.. and I went "eeewww" because cologne smells are not my friends. But a few minutes later when the oil has dried down.. it's really very different. I get the spicy musk that previous reviews have mentioned, and maybe a hint of clove but I might be imagining it (that'll teach me to read reviews before doing my own!). There is a woodsy tone to it, and it goes nice and dry/dusty after a while which makes me wonder whether it's got some sandalwood in it.. or a red amber, maybe?

 

Anyhow - it's interesting, and overall quite nice, but not for me. Morven is now moving on to a new home so that someone else can enjoy him

[zankoku_zen]

Warm cloves, musk, smooth vetiver and sandalwood. Morven is awesome. I get the same woods that you do in Bed of Nails, but throw in cloves instead of metal. It's smooth, strong, and manly. So in some ways it does remind me to Velvet Bandito - but with a cleaner and more classy profile.