Morella

[Court Analyst/Strategist]

Sage with orris, Florentine iris and a drop of civet.

In the Wet stage, Morella is soapy with sage at its edge. Unfortunately, the florals quickly set to work to do a number on this one and the iris takes over nearly entirely (my skin chemistry both hates and amps iris), and even mutates the orris (orris can be finicky on me also, but is usually the victim of another notes manipulation rather than being the culprit of turning itself into powder)! This is really too bad as I was looking forward to loving this blend. Drydown is strongly powdery soapiness, which I can find pretty interesting in minimal amounts, but this is almost completely powdery soap. I can detect the smallest drip of civet, and its surprisingly enjoyable. The civet gives depth to this scent rather than overwhelming it like the note usually seems so determined to do on my skin chemistry. A note of sage is still here, but is barely detectable unless I actively search for it in the sea of rampant iris and orris. Sadly, any notes I would otherwise enjoy in this one are too bogged down by the iris to recover this blend for me.

Broadcasting Strength: 6/10. Doesn't broadcast very far at all, but does linger for a couple of hours at a steady level of scent.

Rating (scent): 5/10. This one really had potential in my eyes, but the iris decided to be unkind to me and overwhelm the blend. However, I'd still reccomend this to people who's skin chemistries are not arch enemies of the iris, because I would have really found Morella to be a truly lovely blend if that note hadn't been there (or had been replaced by something else).

Court

[QueenFae]

Usually I'm a fan of civet scents, but the civet is not on top in this blend. It's a very herbal, sagey blend. It almost smells like violet on me; that dark, earthy floral tone. I guess sage doesn't like my skin very much, or maybe it's the orris. I had high hopes for this one, but I'm glad I tried an imp before I bought a bottle. I can see how this would be really nice on the right person, though.

[sarada]

Morella was one of the first BPAL scents I ever tried, as a frimp, two years ago...at the time I hadn't developed my sniffing abilities so I didn't know what was in it (though I could have checked on the site, eh?). I remember thinking that it was violet...and I had satisfied myself that it must be mostly violet.

 

I still actually think that I smell violet but that must be a combination of the purpley-smelling iris and the soft, dusty orris. I definitely smell sage and I love the lab's sage. It is a lovely pale green aromatic herbal scent, really just like the scent of true sage, warming in the garden or drying in the sun. It is strong at first but quickly supplanted by that dusty/soapy violet scent.

 

I do not like civet but I do not smell it here. I don't positively hate civet, but I'm not fond of it, because it tends to just stick to everything once I open it up and positively dominates a blend when it is heavy in it. Nope, I don't smell it. But sage and this violet iris/orris scent would evaporate very quickly without something to anchor it down and I guess that drop of civet must be helping to keep the blend together and help it to disperse and soak into the skin. So yay!

 

Not really a sarada scent for general wear but I like it, and wouldn't mind putting it in, say, a shampoo or something...if I ever got around to doing things like that!

[Nekomata]

Another swap. Wet, I find this to be sagey and crisp; a very light scent. It stays light on my skin takes more a floral/iris-y tone. I think I will put this in a oilburner or a bath. Very nice and clean.

[Ajila]

In the bottle - Dark green, herby, the sage I guess but softened by the orris.

Wet on me - Green, slightly soapy sage, with mint? and lemon? in the background.

Dry on me - A soft white, musky floral, nice, but not for me.

[sophia_helix]

Hmph. I'd been pining for this since before it was resurrected, based on the notes. But the iris/orris turns to soap, and the sage/civet smells like something greasy and herby cooking in a Middle Eastern restaurant. Not a good combo for me, and it's back to Florence as my only standby iris scent.

[Voleuse]

This is musty herb on first sniff, with a hint of warm musk swathed around it. As it dries, the scent actually becomes greener, fresher than before. The floral comes into play as well, but the sage is predominant.

 

While this is a lovely scent on its own, alas, it reminds me of the waiting room for a dentist's office. I'm not sure why.

[girlmadasbirds]

nothing but a generic soap scent. definitely not for me

[Diana]

I thought this was going to be the dealbreaker of the Maelström scents. Actually, it's quite nice. I usually can't wear iris because it ends up overwhelmingly loud & screamingly cloying, but it's a nice soft floral blend. The iris I think is in part tempered by the softer, sweet, powdery orris, and there's just a touch of the herbal essence of the sage. I'm not really smelling civet at all, which is probably more here in a fixative sense rather than a scent component.

 

This is really nice & clean smelling. Not as fresh & wonderful as Berenice, but I can actually say that I would definitely wear this again.

[Mary Mayhem]

In the Bottle: Bubbles!

 

On wet: Light floral and a little herbal. Sage? (I don't read this stuff before I post because it messes me up.. it's keen to see if I was on or not later. )

 

I think Sage makes me sneeze. Lovely, not for me.

[fiddlehead]

Morella reminds me of old-fashioned dusting powder. The kind you used to be able to buy at the drugstore that came in a flat container with a big dusting poof with which to apply it. Sometimes my mom would let me use hers and I loved the feeling of it!

 

I can smell a soft flower, which must be Iris and a bit of sage in the background. But this scent is just not for me. Way too powdery.

[cranberry]

When I first put it on, it smells light, tangy and fresh. I smell sage and light powdery florals – mainly iris with touches of orris. I don’t smell any civet, it remains a soft, gentle scent.

 

As it wears, it doesn’t change too much. This is really pretty. It’s quiet, refined, subtle and subdued. This would a great scent for body powder or linen spray. It stays close, not really any throw to speak of. If you slathered I still think that someone would have to be close to get a sniff. There’s something special and sexy about scents like this. It’s definitely a second skin scent. Last time I tried this I remember that it didn't last long - we'll see how it wears this time.

 

I’m torn between ordering a bottle or not, I don’t know that I’ll use it that much but I actually like this quite a lot.

 

eta:

 

so I'm trying this again through the civet sniffing circle. god, I love this scent! what I am smelling most are the sage and orris. simply lovely - this actually reminds me of a great lotion I got from Ginger's Garden, the scent of that lotion and morella are quite similar. I'm guessing they both have sage and orris.

 

this smells smooth, slightly powdery but not in a bad way at all, a touch of sweetness, and so fresh and pure. this is a very different type of scent from what I normally wear, but I think I need to track down a bottle. everytime I wear this I remember how much I like it, and it's perfect for those times where I want to smell unobtrusively good.

Edited July 17, 2008 by cranberry

[Electra]

Morella is beauiful. I thought that Berenice was going to be the hit of the Maelstrom collection for me. Not so. Berenice didn't work on me at all, and I like Usher a lot, but I love Morella.

 

I'm going to be total crap at describing this. All I can really say about it is that I don't pick out any specific notes, and certainly not civet. They blend together really seamlessly. The overall scent is clean, somewhat sweet, and a bit powdery - not baby powder powdery (which I don't like), but gentle. It's a soft, inoffensive scent - would work well for office wear - but it's PRETTY. Morella is one of the few scents that's made me think "I wish I smelled like this naturally."

 

Final note - unlike most BPALs, it wears off on me very quickly. Almost every other oil I've tried lasts all day on me. This one I can apply at 9 AM and have to reapply at 3 PM because it's completely gone.

[gingersnapp]

I have to admit, I was fairly terrified of this because of the controversial (in terms of stink only) civet. But it's actually very pretty.

 

It's creamy and green and herbal at the same time, and softly floral. I think that the throw is all sage on me, and the orris and iris are lilting gently in the background. I don't really get any civet, but the day is still young.

 

All in all, I'm relieved and also pleasantly surprised.

[BrightRedScream]

In the vial it's floral, but has a slight spice...also a bit of a woodsy/musky tone to it.

 

Wet on my skin - I get an herbal/green/floral type of smell but as it dries down..something else comes out, and I'm not sure what I think of it. It's creamy almost...soft..very soft.

 

It's powdery, light and clean....

After dry down on me though, it's soapy and I really don't like it

 

Oh well - to the swap/sell pile.

You'll make someone very happy little imp I'm sure of that!

[juniperus]

Bottle: sage and iris, mainly.

Wet: the iris comes out on top, with a burst of sweet. the sage is at the rear, just a hint.

Dry: gentle florals, the civet making an appearance, sage gone now.

Later: gentle and subtle lighter floral. wistful, somber, very pretty. And it has decent staying power - I like it, but my daughter may snatch it - she's grabbed my Queen Mab and Asphodel imps!

[gwyllgi]

When I first put this on, it was a lovely, soft sage over a hint of floral. Since sage usually hates me, I was thrilled by this - finally, wearable sage!

 

And then it dried.

 

I now smell like Mr. Bubble.

 

I'm suddenly missing the old Mr. Bubble, with its stylish cardboard box that inevitably got wet when I was too lazy to measure the powder out first. The new liquid formula just isn't the same.

 

As a scent, it's not quite what I was expecting, but is nevertheless pretty and interesting. Mr. Bubble isn't something of which I would've expected to like smelling, but it's a scent that makes me feel young and buoyant, without being something overly little-girlish. It's got decent throw and staying power, without being overwhelming. Overall, I like this one quite a bit; I'm certainly glad I took the chance on it.

[moon_lemming]

Wow, Morella is pretty. I hadn't even noticed it on the Maelström page, to be honest. I had no idea it was originally a BB oil, either.

 

The sage in this blend balances out pretty evenly with the iris, and the overall scent is green and fresh and herbal. My last/only experience with civet was in Satyr, and I was afraid Morella would have that dog-food afterglow, but it must be very light in there, because I can't smell it at all.

 

It's not something I'd wear on my skin often, but I think, like sarada suggested, this would be an excellent scent to add to your shampoo or conditioner. I may just try that myself, or more likely, try a few drops in my hair.

[brownbear]

I am so happy that the civet doesn't take over on this one. Civet is usually too heavy and strong for me. This is an interesting scent and I don't think I've smelled any other BPAL oil like this. It's more sagey when wet. Once it dries though it goes kind of cereal on me. Whole wheat cereal. The healthy, good for you adult cereal, not the sugary kid stuff. odd

[grrrlennyl]

at first: very fresh and almost a bit sharp. interesting.

on: odd. i can't really pick the notes out on this. it's woodsy, herbal, and green with a definite sharpness to it.

1 hour later: smooth and soft. powdery and slightly sweet. this seemed sort of kitcheny at first to me, but now it's just simple and lovely.

3 hours later: a soft, sweet, powdery floral scent, with an almost candylike feel to it.

overall: this is really pretty and not at all what i expected.

[edenssixthday]

Morella is a simple and pretty scent. Sage is the dominant note and it reminds of driving through New Mexico high desert after a summer thundershower, when the sage is wet and the air is full of scent of green summer sage. Just lovely. This is also the first scent with iris in it that doesn't go sour on me. The iris lends a lovely floral quality to the blend. There is the tiniest hint of muskiness, which I am assuming is the civet. The scent has fabulous throw for the first 30-45 minutes, but at the 1 hour point, it is very faint, sticking close to the skin, and by the 90 minute point, the scent is almost gone, and at the 2 hour point, all I can smell is the faintest touch of civet when I sniff really close to my arm. It's a beautiful blend, and if you don't mind reapplying regularly, it could be a really beautiful perfume.

[RavenVelith]

In the bottle: ....I can't tell if I like this or not. It smells kinda...menthol-ish which is probably the civet or sage? I dunno. But kinda...sweet. This is strange.

 

Wet: Smells like...sweet flowers. I don't smell sage. Don't smell the civet anymore. But...This isn't too bad.

 

Dry: Yeah. Sweet floral for sure. It's really nice.

 

But I don't think I'll be keeping this one.

[karengypsy]

In the bottle: Very light. Sage.

 

On me: This is ALL sage at first. After it starts to dry, I can smell the iris, and what must be the orris. The civet is truly a drop - it barely stands out.

 

Verdict: This is a wonderful, light scent. It doesn't have much throw and doesn't have great lasting power, but I like it enough that I don't mind reapplying it. Glad I have a bottle!

 

Rating: 5/5

[filigree_shadow]

Before I realized I was a civet-loving pervy, I was afraid of anything that had civet. And of course now I’m kicking myself for not getting a bottle of Morella when Maelstrom is up just because I was scared away by the civet.

 

It’s a little stinging at first, but it warms up into a very pretty floral -- the orris/iris is the sort of floral note that I like, the sage makes it a little green, and the civet keeps it earthy. It also goes through a stage where it smells a bit like citrus, but thankfully it doesn’t last long. And then there’s a stage where is smells vaguely like vegetables.

 

But overall I think it smells grown-up, like a sophisticated woman’s perfume. It’s definitely the sort of scent that keeps making me want to sniff my wrists.

[Orodemniades]

It's very rare for me to try and oil and immediately think 'yuck!' but this is one that my skin pretty much hates. I would have liked to have washed it off but I did my forum-ly duty and persevered!

 

Having said all that, I can't put my finger on what I dislike about this, there's something menthol-y in the back of my throat. There's a floral I used to wear...like a plastic-y lilac with 'stuff' - oh, I don't like it.

 

Dry, it's the same but as powder.

 

Overall: not for me.

 

Oro