Pride of Wisdom

[Altaira]

As I spoke, rage sparkled in my eyes; the magistrate was intimidated. “You are mistaken,” said he. “I will exert myself, and if it is in my power to seize the monster, be assured that he shall suffer punishment proportionate to his crimes. But I fear, from what you have yourself described to be his properties, that this will prove impracticable; and thus, while every proper measure is pursued, you should make up your mind to disappointment.” “That cannot be; but all that I can say will be of little avail. My revenge is of no moment to you; yet, while I allow it to be a vice, I confess that it is the devouring and only passion of my soul. My rage is unspeakable when I reflect that the murderer, whom I have turned loose upon society, still exists. You refuse my just demand; I have but one resource, and I devote myself, either in my life or death, to his destruction.” I trembled with excess of agitation as I said this; there was a frenzy in my manner, and something, I doubt not, of that haughty fierceness which the martyrs of old are said to have possessed. But to a Genevan magistrate, whose mind was occupied by far other ideas than those of devotion and heroism, this elevation of mind had much the appearance of madness. He endeavoured to soothe me as a nurse does a child and reverted to my tale as the effects of delirium. “Man,” I cried, “how ignorant art thou in thy pride of wisdom! Cease; you know not what it is you say.”

The pride of wisdom: Roman chamomile, rosehips, ginseng, and fig.

In the bottle: Bright, fresh, lightly herbal rose.

On skin: pretty much the same, stays true on drydown. But pretty much stays mostly rose with the chamomile and ginseng adding a fresh herbal quality. I don't get any fig from this.

Rosehips (the fruit of beach roses) are one of my favorite scents in nature. I was hoping for a bit more of that and not just "rose" from this blend. I'm thinking this might work better for me layered with something beachy, like R'Lyeh.

[Invidiana]

I think I liked the proto of this one better than the released. While the proto was all deep dark fruit this one is a tad too herbal for my tastes. I do like the rich and tangy fig note very much but at least on me the chamomile keeps battling it for dominance along equally herbal rosehips and ginseng; the three of them together remind me of the metric tons of chamomile tea that got poured down my throat whenever I was sick as a kid. If you do like chamomilie, you might want to give this a whirl as it's a very prominent note here.

[Rho]

My decant of this leaked in transit, so I'm reviewing based on what I smell out of the empty.

 

The fragrance floating out of my decant is bright, but somehow muddled. A wispy herbal spectre. I also detect something round and sweetish; probably fig. Nothing particularly "rose" shows up.

 

Too bad I can't skin test this oil. It doesn't smell half bad.

[strahlend]

Started out all chamomile gorgeousness and for the first two minutes, then my skin amped the rose. It's a very genuine and gentle rose, but it's taken over and dominated this scent. This happens with me and rose though. I loved the chamomile opening, it was beautiful.

[Ah Xia]

Bright and beautiful rose (like Rose Red, but fruitier) balanced out by the herbal dryness of chamomile--something very summery and fruity and elegant about this blend. It reminds me a bit of the discontinued GC Despair, which had rosewood and chamomile in it.

[milo]

Light and musky, it kind of smells like herbal tea with musk. Nice to try, but not really my thing.

[Lethran]

In bottle: Lots and lots of rose hips. I’d put chamomile second, with result being very herbal tea. I’d put the fig at distant third, and ginseng present, but mostly serving as an accent, rather than a distinct component. Wet: More interesting on the skin. Somehow, the chamomile and rosehips work very well together to an unusual effect. The other elements provide good support. My skin does nasty things with both rose and chamomile, but this very nearly works. I skin tested by accident, but it turned out worthwhile. Dry: Softer and paler, mostly rose.

[zankoku_zen]

Figs, chamomile and a hint of roses. This is a floral figgy scent that would work deliciously as a lotion. It's a tad too sweet for me though.

[Incendiare]

Fig and ginseng in the vial, although my first impression was something more berry-like instead of the fig. The chamomile is a bit sharp and medicinal here, but very fresh and lively at the same time. Wet, the chamomile kind of goes all over the place. It pairs nicely with the ginseng, together creating a sense of assertiveness. The rose hips, on the other hand, show up after a couple minutes and take sides with the figs. Both counterbalance a bit of that sharpness spewing from the chamomile.

[Dark Alice]

Wet: The fig is gorgeous on me. Just stunning.

 

Dry: The fig disappears sadly then ginseng and chamomile come out and blend into a generic blend of what smells like flat chamomile tea.

 

No. Bueno.

[thekittenkat]

In the decant: Rosehips backed by ginseng.

 

Wet: Much as when sniffed, but with a hint of chamomile.

 

The dry-down: Everything has combined into a well-blended scent, but the rosehips are still the most obvious note. It's rather more herbal now, but the ginseng gives a hit of spiciness, and the fig, not a very loud note, is more present in the fruity sweetness that's mostly the rosehips. Very nice! A possible order and back-up.

Edited February 6, 2012 by thekittenkat

[Blood onmy hands]

I like fig, but this is all about the rose and chamomile on my skin. It starts off with a very perfumey red rose and dries down to more like a sweet tea rose with sharp, dry, herbal chamomile layered over it. I'm not a fan of the lab's chamomile note, as it always smells sour and off to me. Sweetish rose with sour, dry herbs.

[monocainsheresy]

This is entirely fruity with the rose hips*, so I'm a little disappointed. I was expecting this to be more like Lawful with the chamomile and fig and go more herbal.

It's very fresh, juicy, and summery, and quite a nice scent, but not something I would go for if it wasn't a blind buy.

*I don't know what ginseng smells like, so i cannot tell if it is present in any noticeable amount

Edited August 29, 2018 by monocainesheresy