Clockwork Couture: Female

[myth]

Leather, golden amber, vanilla orchid, Spanish moss, Oxford clay, and tonka.

ETA: the original description on CC.com said, "the female scent has notes of violet and lavender" which was obviously not the case at all, but I wanted to leave that part in this review so it would make more sense, because I was responding to what I thought was in it.

I am quite surprised by this scent! Based on the semi-description above [ETA: this refers to the original, incorrect description] I really expected to hate this. [i nabbed it before ANY descriptions were up, natch.] I am the anti-floral girl, the bringer of floral DOOM, the Destroyer of Flowers.

I don't smell violet. Or lavender? I can take lavender in certain circumstances but usually BPAL's is too harsh for me, and I don't get a lick of it out of this. And violet is possibly one of my worst florals ever; it always smells like screamingly sharp chemicals. So wut?

Instead, this is light, pretty, and slightly sweet. Something about it reminds me of the blends with marshmallow notes in them, because there is a delicate light white sweetness, very clean and pure, running through here like a strand of spun sugar.

If I get really close I can in fact smell florals underneath the sweet. So either I'm madly amping something BESIDES florals for a change, or that description is so incomplete as to be nearly useless, or testing this on immediate arrival is causing some weirdness that will shake out as it settles. I dunno. I will come back and edit this review with better info as it develops, because I expected to be putting this one up for swap immediately and instead I can see it needs more in-depth evaluation.

For now it is quite light and pretty, almost foody with the sweetness [but not foody, just sugary I guess] and it is making me long to run barefoot through some slightly damp spring grass while wearing a pretty cotton dress.

I'm gonna go lie down. Edited February 22, 2010 by myth

[angelicruin]

Well, I'll go next on my interpretation of Female...

 

When I sniff the bottle, it's very light, feminine, sugary. Reminds me a little of cotton candy.

 

On my skin, I'm getting sugared violets----a little reminiscent of Faith----and something else that seems like a soft vanilla note. This ends up being a sugared vanilla violet scent on my skin.

 

I'm getting absolutely no lavender with this and I always amp Lavender. So if there is lavender in this blend, it's the most subtle lavender note I've ever encountered.

 

The sugar and vanilla notes that I smell on me keep this from really being a floral-heavy scent. So floral-haters should not necessarily be scared off so easily. It's sweet, but not at all foody. Very light throw and fades quickly on my skin, but I do love this and plan to keep my bottle.

 

I'm curious too to see the official description of this scent once posted, because I just cannot smell ANY lavender in this and I tried for almost 2 hours before it faded to almost nothing.

[lizzyshoe]

I'm anticipating flowers, but that's about it. Here are my thoughts:

 

In the bottle: Wow that's sweet. It's confectionary, like the marshmallow the first reviewer mentioned. I think it smells like an orange Creamsicle. It's mostly creamy and the orange is soft, not tart at all.

 

Wet: Some ambers? Definitely a really really light orange in there. And maybe a hint of milk (a super-tame version of the Phantom Cow milk note)

 

Drydown: More creaminess. I don't smell any flowers or lavender, but maybe that's just my nose.

 

Dry: Just a hint of light sweet musk here at the end. It's a very soft pretty fragrance.

 

Overall thoughts: This would be appropriate for everyday wear. It's feminine and girly, but not a powerhouse scent. This dry reminds me of the softness of…Mouse's Long and Sad Tale, I think. Yep, just did a side-by side, and the dry stage of this scent is somewhere between Mouse's Tale and The Phantom Cow (again, much tamer milk scent) with a touch of light creamy orange. Not a hint of flowers, but I like this. I think I'll be keeping it!

 

ETA: Yikes! On freshly washed skin this is gone within an hour. Not a sticker, this one. Still, an extremely gentle and pleasant scent.

Edited February 22, 2010 by lizzyshoe

[cfrancesca]

This is a creamy vanilla sugar musk, it does smell like marshmallow and I get a little amber too (sugary amber). It reminds me a lot of the creamy base in Underpants, I was going to say the base in TKO but it's not as sweet to me.

 

If I smell really hard I can detect a faint lavender or some flowers but they are barely there, I also get a little bit of a dirt note but only when I sniff really hard, lol, but it fades. It's beautiful and I think it will be also be nice for layering with other scents.

 

Conclusion it's mainly a soft, creamy, vanilla marshmallow musk. I love it!

 

Only downfall is it doesn't seem to have much throw, it's very much a skin scent, or else it would be have been heaven for me.

[CitizenBree]

I'm a big fan of violets and a somewhat fan of lavendar so I thought this was going to be perfect for me. But I agree with everyone else, this is not very floral.

 

It is very sweet and creamy. I just got around to smelling/testing O and Snake Oil so maybe it's stuck in my nose, but I get the creamy sexiness from them in this scent. Maybe it's just vanilla?

 

Lavendar for me is more of a mood enhancer, not something I really wear as a daily scent. Like the others, I can't smell it. When I take a really deep sniff, I get some herbals at the tail end that could be the herbiness of the lavendar. But it's NOT the lavendar you think of when you think of lavendar.

 

Overall, it's mostly sugary. I do love that.

 

[fairnymph]

Sniffed: Sweeter, richer - more tonka especially, but the vanilla is much stronger also, creating an overall intense, heavy vanilla. A hint of almost soapy-floral powder, *JUST* like Antique Lace and XCDL13, which this scent reminds me of greatly.

 

Wet: This starts to dry quickly and the leather begins to amp immediately - it's the slick, chemically-powdery-plastic De Sade/Spanked style, alas. It's now on par with the vanilla and tonka, with amber still just behind. The latter definitely has a perfumey quality and has gone a bit powdery, but so far bearable. It sort of merges with the clay note which is totally unique and really exactly like clay. The Spanish moss is more..herbal, almost a little bitter, and dry - it reminds me of a sage note.

 

Dry: Vanilla & tonka were fighting the leather for a short while upon full dryness the former notes have one out and amped greatly, making this very sweet, heavy, and rich in a way I find nauseatingly cloying. It's now a tad more buttery-foody from the tonka than AL & XCDL13. The clay has amped a bit and is a fascinating note, absolutely textural. The amber is more perfumey, but not any more powdery fortunately. And while the leather has faded greatly, it's still too harsh for me. Also, this particular moss note, one I've never liked, has gone more musty as it usually does and it combines very poorly with the sweet richness.

 

Later: This morphs a bit more - I get more clay, amber, and moss - and one of these turns very, very earthy-musky, quite strongly, on me - I think it's the clay/moss combo. The amber never goes truly powdery, though it's still too perfumey and golden-warm for my tastes. The cloying, sweet, rich almost butter-foody tonka and vanilla (tonka really foremost) still dominate, but less strongly than earlier - the leather has returned a bit and is almost as strong.

 

Summary: Heavy, too-sweet and too-rich TONKA with a more ethereal vanilla note just barely outpower the earthy-musky clay and moss & perfumey, faintly floralish amber and slightly sharp black leather. It ends up being quite balanced in terms of all the notes being clearly present, and I do like how the vanilla orchid is when it soften in later drydown, as well as the interesting clay note. Moderate throw that fades quite substantially. Feminine, but not nearly as intensely as Male is masculine once this fades and loses so much of the initial vanilla.

 

Like Male, a total failure for me personally but a blend I expect to be quite popular.

[ami226]

On my skin: A sweet vanilla with a hint of something that I think must be leather. Instant love!! A very rich sweetness! It does not have a strong throw though... I am not getting any floral or moss.

 

After a bit, the leather gets a bit more noticeable on me. This is a smoooooooth leather. But there is still a lot of vanilla to keep this blend sweet! This kind of reminds me of what Bow and Crown of Conquest smells like on the SO! Only BACC is a bit stronger. I am really liking this one!!

 

This is sooooo good, but so faint! Well, I guess it has only been 24 hrs since I received my bottle, but I thought that was enough time for it to settle.

[Suu4LC]

Hmm. I am torn on this one. I originally purchased it when I believed it was going to be a violet/lavender mix, and clearly it is not. BUT, I do love most of the notes that are actually in it. In the bottle this is a delicious very sweet creamy vanilla/tonka scent, which I loooooove. The problem is that leather note. As soon as I saw leather in the description I knew I might be in trouble because I'm just not a fan.

 

This is why I am so conflicted! It does smell good on me-I love the vanilla/tonka-it's girly and creamy and gorgeous! And actually, the leather works pretty well with that-kind of gives it a sexy underlying roughness. The leather note is clean, which helps, but still...I'm just not sure I dig it-from far away it smells amazing but up-close the leather is really strong.

 

Gonna hold onto this one and see how it ages-hopefully the leather will mellow out just a bit and then I think this will be perfect!

[edenssixthday]

This scent is gorgeous. Absolutely stunning. It's exactly what I hoped Sachs would be, but wasn't. It's a sweet vanilla and leather scent. I can't identify the other notes at all -- it's all vanilla and leather, and it's a beautiful combination of both. The vanilla goes a little "plasticky" on my skin when sniffed up close... so I just won't sniff up close.

 

P.S. It layers gorgeously with CC's Male blend, too.

[London]

The imp is very curious smelling. Vanilla muddled with amber and tonka.

 

It reminds me of the vanilla lace powder my mom used to get from Victoria secrets, when the oil is wet.

 

Dried down this smells really similar to Liz on me, but with no smoke. I like it!

 

Edit: An hour or so later..it was sort of mouse's sad long tale..but softer, without the strong floral note.

Edited February 27, 2010 by London

[musichappens]

This started out as very sugary on my skin; the vanilla seemed to overpower everything else. As it was starting to dry down, the leather and amber began to peek through and start to mix with the vanilla. And then, much to my delight, the vanilla then slowly transformed from "OMG SUPER SUGARY!" to something a bit more delicate. I'm typically not a fan of vanilla or leather, but this is absolutely beautiful! I think I'm going to need to find a bottle.

[ralenth]

Wet: Sweet, spun violet candy floss with tinges of smokiness underneath.

 

Drydown: Why hello there vanilla! This reminds me of what I thought Sachs would smell like. The vanilla is super sweet, but thankfully not cakey.

 

Dry: CC: Female is kind of like the dainty version of The Bow & Crown of Conquest. It's delicate with a tad bit of apocalyptic menace. The throw is pretty minimal on my skin.

 

Overall: Bow & Crown is one of my GC favorites, so I'm not sure that I need both of these in my arsenal. I wouldn't turn away a lady if she turned up on my doorstep, though.

Edited March 3, 2010 by ralenth

[zankoku_zen]

Amber and violet powder, translucent vanilla and semi plasticky leather. My skin also eats this up. 30 minutes after being applied, it's gone.

[cuervosueno]

A very kind forumite sent me a bit of this, and I put it on, having no idea what was in it.

 

This is what I thought was in it: sugary vanilla patchouli. It reminded me a bit of Mara Fox's Sugared Patchouli, in fact.

 

Though there was something else nagging at me that seemed familiar.

 

When I saw the note list, I was both, boy was I wrong, and also a ha! Because of the leather! of course, leather! But often BPAL leather amps to the exclusion of everything else on me, and this did not do that. Now I say it smells like sweet, sugared patchouli and leather. I say this even though I am aware it doesn't make much sense given the notes, but this is what it smells like on me.

 

Nice, but not a must-have.

[Venneh]

Got a decant of this from fairynymph, can't wait to try it out.

 

In the decant, I'm smelling a very soft, gentle feminine scent, can't pin down the notes, thinking sugared vanilla. (How did they get violet and lavender out of this?) On my skin, it's a wonderful sugared vanilla with the leather coming out. Oh god. This may be just as good as Liz, if not better.

Edited March 6, 2010 by Venneh

[beachbabealways]

Ok when I first got the decant yesterday my allergies were acting up and I could barely smell anything but last night before I went to bed I put it on. Hmmmm it smells so familiar. I think about it and I just know I have something that smells like this. I'm surprised I could go to sleep. Upon waking I realize what it is.

 

On my skin it smells like the vanilla & two ambers in Mouses Long Sad Tale meets the whip leather and gaufrette in Le Pere Fouttard. This smells like a much lighter LPF.

 

So if you like MLST or LPF then you will like this. It's just not as strong as the other two blends.

Edited March 10, 2010 by beachbabealways

[saralaughs]

Initial application was straight Liz on me. Wet it is very much sweet vanilla flower with leather. The vanilla slowly deepens and intensifies as it dries. As it does, the leather takes a back seat, like way in the back. The amber then enters the picture in a big way and basically almost steals the show. Normally, I wouldn't have a problem with that but some of the Lab's amber notes go really, really powdery on me and this happened to be one of them. POWDER+a bit of vanilla/orchid/leather (in that order) really doesn't do it for me.

 

Thing is, I'm in a weird place in my cycle so I don't know if it's my chemistry or not. Without that POWDER, I would love it so I may just have to track down a bottle.

 

*shrugs*

 

It was a mixed bag.

[fisharescary]

Wow. For the first time in a while, what I got matched the description. Kind of. And almost nothing like other reviews.

 

On me, start to finish, this is pretty much straight-up well-oiled leather and cloves. I think the clay must be what contributes to the 'well-oiled' bit, although I had to really sniff to suss that out. Cloves must just be the closest thing I've sniffed to...I don't know which of the others. Tonka hasn't done this before. Perhaps Spanish Moss, despite the name, is spicy and not green?

 

Anyrate, this makes me think of a kind of blend I can't usually wear. Follow Me Boy, Prurience, Sed Non Satiata, to name a few lying around here for rehoming. They're dark and spicey and musky and they say "I R SRYS WOMAN. I R SEXY." but on me they just kind of scream incoherently and bludgeon me into a headache.

But today? Today I've been introduced to their slightly fresher, sweeter, laid-back cousin, who's regarded as a bit of an oddball, but hey, she's family. And we're hitting it off SO FREAKIN WELL.

 

I'll be enjoying my imp, and one day when the rush has died down a little, I should hopefully be able to own a bottle.

 

Throw is average. Staying power is pretty good. After 13 hours, it's still faded and less intense, but I can still smell it a few inches off skin, which not too many do.

[heathercaley]

Once applied, I get vanilla, like Antique Lace. It's lovely and feminine.

 

Once it starts to dry down, the leather pops through. This is what I wanted Liz to smell like (blast those florals!!) I can smell a bit of the leather in the background. The moss isn't very prominent. If it's there, it's probably playing a supporting role to the leather.

 

No clay, or any dirt really. The tonka is naturally sweet on it's own, so it's blending in with the vanilla perfectly.

 

Overall, this is a beautiful vanilla leather blend. For those of you who wanted Liz to be less flowers, more vanilla and leather... this is for you!!

 

Throw is moderate.

 

I love it!

 

 

Verdict? Liz and Antique lace's younger sister

[Lorelai1945]

OOOH! Vanilla! In the bottle this is yummy vanilla-y goodness. It has almost a bit of muskiness. When wet, I first get a straight shot of vanilla- it's a slightly flowery, sweet girly vanilla. It reminds me a lot of Mouse's Long and Sad Tale. As it dries, the leather comes through to the forefront, but the vanilla remains there to keep it in check and from becoming too masculine. This is one of the few leather blends that hasn't gone too strongly leather on me. The longer it is dry, the more it reverts back to the MLST vanilla. I love this and am so glad I snagged a bottle when I could.

[Geminirubyshoes]

I love this so much.

I definately agree with previous posts that there is a distinct similarity between Female and Mouse's Long and Sad Tale, they share that same sweet, creamy vanilla tone. But with the leather mixed in? Perfect. It does smell a tad earthy, I think the Tonka grounds the other notes in this. This is sexy, warm, smokey and alluring. Pretty decent staying power too. It's going to be hard to hoard this but I am going to try to get a backup bottle when possible.

[gingiemay]

Smokey sweet leather, vanilla and amber grounded by tonka. It fades after about an hour on me, though... it's beautiful and soft with a tough undertone from the leather. I get no moss or clay. I wish this lasted longer as it's really beautiful. I'll treasure my decant, though!

[tziporra]

Tried this at a Meet n'Sniff (thank you Twilight!) and I loved it. So I ran back home and ordered it. When it came I couldn't remember what I loved. Wet, it was exactly Thierry Mugler's Angel on my skin - all vanilla and headache. Now, I bought Angel just like everyone else on the planet, which is why I avoid vanilla blends like the plague - I smelled myself coming and going, as it were.

 

Dry, though, it's a different story. The notes are much more balanced, and I just adore the clove and leather and amber. But I'm still conflicted. I still get oodles of vanilla, and maybe it's still too much (how's that for a lot of "stills"?).

 

Let me think about it some more.

 

Best,

 

Tzi

[dixiehellcat]

I just got home from a trip & found this lovely waiting for me! In the bottle, I smell vanilla, leather and amber. Wet, I get a hint of something flowery, but not much. Now it's dry & I get mostly vanilla and leather. Overall, I love it! (how weird is it that I don't like foody scents as a general rule, but I really like vanilla in a lot of things?)

[girasol]

In bottle: Soft, sugar-spun florals. Sooo pretty!

 

Wet: The leather comes charging out and things go all scary for a few minutes. Thankfully, it calms down after that.

 

Dry: The florals are light and lovely in this, and are blending well and not overpowering. The vanilla is creamy and wonderful, and the leather is underscoring the lot with a warm smokiness. The amber does not seem to be bringing it's powdery doom to play on this scent, so hurrah!

 

Verdict: I think it's love.