Great Grey Witch

[kikithepirate]

Orris root, Roman chamomile, white sugar, ambergris accord, and cimarrón.

To me, this is just sort of a generic sweet/herbal/citrus scent. It's nice enough, but nothing special.

[forspecial_plate]

I couldn't find any pics of a grey witch moth, but the black ones and white ones are so pretty and impressive, I was really attracted to this perfume. Also, orris is a note that I wish worked better for me, because it seems so elegant and classy, but usually it turns to fuzzy powder. This time is no exception.....the scent is all fuzzed out and powdery, kind of all mashed together, but not horrible. Orris is one of those notes that, for me, just takes over the whole blend (not always). So I smell a lot of sweet powdery fuzz and I can't really pick out any other notes. Like I said, it's not a bad scent, and since I first started wearing bpal I am a lot more tolerant of some powder in my scents.......still, this isn't something I'll reach for often.

[windbourne]

I have been waiting very, very patiently for this to arrive, with much anticipation and glee, because so many of the notes are ones I love so very much. Ambergris? Check! Sugar? Check! Chamomile? Check! ...and so on.

 

So today, I opened up my bottle and sniffed, and it's kind of sharp and awful upon an initial snoofling. I was not dissuaded, however, as I've often found that ambergris accord smells a bit sour, and doused my wrists pretty thoroughly with it.

 

First impression: Well, I can see what people mean by sugary cereal. It totally cracked me up. It's like Serpent's Kiss, which smells like ketchup on me for the first short while or so, then mellows out. It smells like food! But not foody-food, the sort you'd want to smell like. Just...food.

 

On the initial application, the sugar is very strong and moist, with a pretty strong greenish floral/herbal note that, on me, fades pretty fast. The chamomile stays a mild yellowy undertone for a while, then fades to the background as the orris, very strong and silvery, comes out. As it dries, the ambergris turns up and -stays up-, rendering the whole, with my skin chemistry a lot like Dream of a Fisherman's Wife Light. WHICH IS AWESOME. There's still a light grayish dustiness left, and the sweetness of the sugar sticks with it the whole time, so if you're not a fan of sweet scents, this one may not be for you.

 

Overall: It starts out pretty bright and tart and shiny, but it mellows out into a gorgeous silver gray beauty of a perfume.

 

Throw is minimal, it's a really cuddly, close-to-the-skin perfume. Seems to have a decent wear-length; I might consider rollerballing it for multiple applications throughout the day, as I love the way it changes on my skin. I would wear this to a movie, or to a dance, or to a bar, or on vacation, or ...anywhere, really. I'm pretty sure I can even wear it to work, which, as I work with a few people who are sensitive to certain scents, is great. I think it'll be more of a warm-weather scent for me, though, as my skin will amp different things when I'm cold, but, eh. Worth it.

 

Final verdict: HELL YEAH. It was everything I hoped it would be. <3

[ami226]

Wow. Very sugary. Reminds me a bit of Signior Dildo I believe. Must be the orris? It is starting to smell strangely lemony. A very sugary lemon with a hint of something dusty (I think this is the orris).

 

Really not for me.

[thebirdofhermes]

In Vial: Chamomile orris. Very dusty and powdery, with a tinge of sour ambergris. Almost lemon-y, but I know that's the chamomile.

 

Wet: Light, powdery, sweetened chamomile tea. Has a strangely aquatic, almost rubbing alcohol but not quite sort of note. I assume this is the ambergris. It feels like the smell of ice; smooth and not exactly noticeable until it gets to the back of your nose. Very subtle. The orris is combining with the sugar to make an extremely sweet almost-violet. Hmm.

 

Dry: Distinctly chamomile and smooth ambergris up close, although the throw (which, on me, is a good 12 inches) is more the sweetness and slightly lemony aspect of the chamomile. The orris is a strong powdery almost floral background to the entire scent. It's subtle, and quite soothing in it's own way. Bottle worthy? Mayhaps. I'm trying to limit myself to only the Metamorphoses that really work, so I need to finish testing the other seven to know for sure if this is one of the best, or merely okay. It would be a nice bedtime scent, however.

[Blood onmy hands]

I would have guessed that there was lemongrass or verbena in this scent, because it's mostly an herbal lemon smell in the bottle and on my skin. I can't pick out any of the listed notes, except for maybe the white sugar. The drydown is all sweet, creamy, lemon candy.

 

Lemon candy wasn't what I was expecting from this scent at all, but it's nice, simple, and pleasant. After a couple hours, it's like creamy lemon candy + the cool, vanilla-violet powder of Staged Moon Landing.

Edited July 14, 2010 by Little Bird

[gypsyjolie]

Yes, this does smell like sugared cereal - like Fruit Loops, that slightly lemon-y highly sugared, slightly powdery smell. It gets more herbal (chamomile) and less "fake lemon candy"-esque as it dries, and gets softer and more baby powdery (orris?) and still stays very sweet. This is a comforting baby skin type scent. Decent throw for such a soft scent.

 

[milo]

This ends up being a 'gentle', lemony blend. Yes, it is kind of like a Lush shop. 'Natural', is the word that brings mind to this scent. Soft, sweet lemon, not overly citrussy, it's actually very much like Crib Girls to me, only instead of the honey, it is sugar that sweetens the blend up. I like it, but it really doesn't seem like something I'd wear. Maybe to bathe in, but not perfume.

Edited July 15, 2010 by milo

[SophieCedar]

Wet: It has the lemony-ness of Dorian and the chamomile and lightness of Door, with the addition of powdery orris.

Drydown: morphs~ the chamomile burns away and the lemon mellows. orris stays constant and I get that sugary cereal smell others have mentioned. Fuzzy silver sugar! Interesting and comforting.

[capncait]

when i first put this on, i was thinking... what's the citrus in this? i tested Great Grey Witch on one arm and Rosy Maple on the other, and to compare the two, while GGW has a citrus tang, Rosy Maple is like... a blast of berry lemonade. This mellows into a powdery, sweet scent with the slightest hint of something herbal (chamomile for sure). This is really really pretty... but I think its just a tad to powdery in the end for me to really fall in love.

[Andrea912]

Oddly, I'm drawn to this...none of the notes talk to me, except the ambergris accord (I'm a total whale sperm whore!!) but I really really like...maybe the chamomile I smell with the ambergris, I don't know...creamy yet a touch of spice and...not dirt, but terrain...

[pandorasmuse]

In the decant: Interesting. There’s stuff I’m not super-familiar with here, but I like orris. And sugar.

 

Wet: More aggressive than I usually like. No sweetness at all.

 

Drydown: I do smell a bit of the sugar now, and the orris.

 

Later: Froot Loops and baby powder. Sad. No good on me.

[sunlitgarden]

Great Grey Witch

 

In the imp, it smells a little lemony-astringent. On, it's lemony with a greenish herbal note as well, and some sugar sweetness. The general "green" note seems to be resolving itself into the chamomile with a bit of salt from ambergris. I am getting lots and lots of wafts of sugar. The overall impression is a bit like a bakery, or sugared herbal tea, even though I wouldn't exactly call it foody. Unfortunately I'm getting a bit of the Lemon Pledge edge I got from Phobos. Lemon isn't even listed in the notes, but it's going SuperLemon on me.

Edited August 6, 2010 by sunlitgarden

[zankoku_zen]

On wet, I am surprised how 'powdery' and 'sour' on me this is - I think its a combination of orris and ambergris. As it dries, the sugar and chamomile have a chance to come out. It's much more pleasant after about an hour. There's something slightly fuzzy about this blend.

[musichappens]

On my skin this is predominately sugar and chamomile, which is both yummy and relaxing. There also seems to be an ever so faint amount of citrus (mostly lime) that tries its hardest to peek out, but never fully manages to do so. I think this will be a great scent to alternate TKO with before bedtime.

[Delirium1009]

In bottle/imp: Herbal and slightly spiced with a touch of sweet violets.

 

Immediately on skin: This smells like an herbal tea, mostly chamomile and citrus. It smells almost like the leaves of a lemon mint plant. There’s also a fruity violet-like undertone, which is definitely the orris. It’s a touch sweet, but not overly so.

 

After a little while: This scent isn’t as citrus-y anymore. It’s mellowed into a dry orris and herb scent with just a hint of tea and a touch of sweetness.

 

Overall Impressions: This scent is very pretty, but much too herbal for me. Mostly it’s an herbal scent with hints of tea and fruity orris, and is a bit on the powdery side. It’s a little sweet, but more herbal and almost creamy than anything. Interesting, but not something I’d wear.

[crebbsgirl]

Lemon and sugar. It's a bit of a creamy scent, and there is definitely a powdery violet tinge here thanks to the orris. Not for me.

[isisonearth]

Gentle and pretty but so barely there on me. Faintly floral chamomile tea.

[thekittenkat]

In the bottle: very well blended if any note dominates, it's the chamomile.

 

Wet: and there's the orris, getting all powdery already!

 

Dry: here's the ambergris also. Of all the Moths and Butterflies, this one was the one I was expecting not to like, based on my problems with orris, which usually turns to powdery nasty violets on me. This scent didn't have the violet change, but it did become dry powder, mostly because of the ambergris. It's like a hot summer day, when everything's drying out, because we're in the middle of a drought. Not always pleasant, to say the least!

 

It's one for the scent locket, so that I can enjoy the chamomile.

[Ashenrook]

In the bottle

It's very bitter and...citrusy? There's no lemon in here, is there?

 

On Skin: Wet

Wowzers. The witch just comes screaming out of this bottle with strong lemony wings, leaving a shimmering cloud of sugar dust in her wake. There's no lemon in here and I know it's not a bad reaction since the lemon doesn't smell fake and amped. So... I guess it's the cimmaron.

 

Apparently, after looking on the interwebs, cimmaron is another name for Mate (as in the drink). Yep. That's the lemony culprit then.

 

On Skin: Dry

I will admit... I was rather afraid that with the strong lemon was going to be a constant theme, but the witch calms down slowly and lets out her more delicate side. The drydown is a lovely bouquet of chamomile and orris root (which is playing nice on me, thankfully) and it just gives it this beautiful dustiness to it. And I don't mean the bad "something has gone bad on you" sort of dust.

 

I... I really like this.

 

Afternotes

Just beautiful chamomile, sugar dust, and a hint of cimmaron in the background.

 

 

Verdict

On an American scholastic scale, I'd give this a B+!

 

Possibly even higher than that. The more I think about it, the more I find myself liking it. Now I'm sad that I never got around to getting a bottle of this, but I will hunt one down!

 

Another future review might be forthcoming.

[rayvn1]

I get a very light, sweet blend of soothing chamomile with lots of sugar and dusty orris notes Pretty!

[grrrlennyl]

The Great Grey Witch

 

On: Sweet, but hard to get a hold of. Very airy. Beyond pretty.

1 hour in: Incredibly soapy and powdery.

5 hours in: A very woody scent. A bit powdery.

Overall: This is really pretty on me at first, but I don't like the dry down.

[Gin]

As soon as I put this on, I said to myself, "I've made a huge mistake." It was so grey-dusty-orrisy, I wanted to wash it off. I didn't, though, because moments later it turned to lime sugar which is awesome! It's now dried down to a sort of combination of both. I'm no completely sold on it, but I'll keep the decant around for a bit and see how I feel about it in warmer weather.

[starfish327]

in the imp: something sharp...and then...meat?...and then nothing

 

wet: immediately a blast of sharp citrus. much better. i like the lab's citrus notes as general rule. i'm going to guess that it's something close to blood orange.

 

dry:...there's got to be orris or violet in this, and my chemistry must have shifted, because while i identify the note, it's not going horrible dirty skin on me like normal. this is the second blend this week where it hasn't done that. the longer it's on, the more the citrus burns off and leaves a vanilla/violet. the violet's threatening to go sour but something in there is keeping it in check. the sugar comes out a lot more and it keeps shifting between sugar/herbal and the vanilla/violet.

 

it's a lot prettier than i remember last summer. i remember not liking it enough to not want to write a review but for whatever reason my decant was still in my box. either the year's aging or my rather severe shift in eating habits has aided this one, a lot.

[AmyO'Shields]

I've had this since the update last year, and I was surprised that I hadn't reviewed it! I wore this yesterday for a while, and I love it.

 

Wet: almost a funky smelling chamomile...strange...

 

Drydown: the most beautiful combination of Sugar, Chamomile and Vanilla. I'm forgetting which notes are actually in this blend, but that's what I smell. SO good. I have a teeny bit left in my roller ball...it will be reserved for summer days that are just too hot to go anywhere.