The White Witch

[ClockworkMoM]

O brothers mine, take care! Take care!
The great white witch rides out to-night.
Trust not your prowess nor your strength,
Your only safety lies in flight;
For in her glance there is a snare,
And in her smile there is a blight.

The great white witch you have not seen?
Then, younger brothers mine, forsooth,
Like nursery children you have looked
For ancient hag and snaggle-tooth;
But no, not so; the witch appears
In all the glowing charms of youth.

Her lips are like carnations, red,
Her face like new-born lilies, fair,
Her eyes like ocean waters, blue,
She moves with subtle grace and air,
And all about her head there floats
The golden glory of her hair.

But though she always thus appears
In form of youth and mood of mirth,
Unnumbered centuries are hers,
The infant planets saw her birth;
The child of throbbing Life is she,
Twin sister to the greedy earth.

And back behind those smiling lips,
And down within those laughing eyes,
And underneath the soft caress
Of hand and voice and purring sighs,
The shadow of the panther lurks,
The spirit of the vampire lies.

For I have seen the great white witch,
And she has led me to her lair,
And I have kissed her red, red lips
And cruel face so white and fair;
Around me she has twined her arms,
And bound me with her yellow hair.

I felt those red lips burn and sear
My body like a living coal;
Obeyed the power of those eyes
As the needle trembles to the pole;
And did not care although I felt
The strength go ebbing from my soul.

Oh! she has seen your strong young limbs,
And heard your laughter loud and gay,
And in your voices she has caught
The echo of a far-off day,
When man was closer to the earth;
And she has marked you for her prey.

She feels the old Antaean strength
In you, the great dynamic beat
Of primal passions, and she sees
In you the last besieged retreat
Of love relentless, lusty, fierce,
Love pain-ecstatic, cruel-sweet.

O, brothers mine, take care! Take care!
The great white witch rides out to-night.
O, younger brothers mine, beware!
Look not upon her beauty bright;
For in her glance there is a snare,
And in her smile there is a blight.

Love pain-ecstatic, cruel-sweet: gold-flecked honey amber pulsating with red musk, patchouli coeur, bourbon vanilla, inky vetiver, pomegranate rind, myrrh, blackened violet leaf, and blood red rose petals.

This is such beautiful (and unexpected for me) scent! I was not initally drawn to this scent (violet leaf and vetiver are typically enough for me to run far away). But, at will call I threw caution to the wind and tried it. A little while later, I found myself searching my notes to figure out which beautiful scent was wafting off of my left wrist. This is a dark, ripe rose, but it does not smell like rose alone. I get a dark, rich, sweet scent wafting off, yet closer to my wrists the rose becomes more noticeable. The violet is not noticeable at all, and the vetiver is only a minor player which keeps the scent from getting too sweet. On me, the red musk, honeyed amber and rose are dominant. Other notes provide depth and a darker, sexy vibe. On me, this feels like a darker sister to Eldritch Dark. They do not smell the same at all, but give me a similar, rich vibe. This is not a newly blossomed rose, but a deep red fully bloomed rose that beckons you closer.

[bheansidhe]

Right, so, basically, this is an olfactory interpretive dance of Theda Bara's eye makeup in Salomé:

 

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/ca/Salome%2C_1918_-_Poster.jpg

 

Right there, with the smoulder and blowsy and beautiful and dark and probably a tiny bit evil.

 

Also almost every note that hates me ever, so that's as useful as my review can get.

[ModderRhu]

This is like Diet Third Charm. Yummy red musk with some drier, dirtier ingredients. Smells just like Third Charm but with none of the lasting power. Less than 2 hours on my skin when I tested at NYCC. All the other scents I tested lasted over 12 hours. If you loved Third Charm but found it to be a bit too much or too heavy, try this.

[lapetiteflower]

I've got White Witch on now, post shower....initial thoughts, it's in the same vein as Third Charm (which I adore!), it's a fruity incense...like the corner of your favorite head shop where they have the Gonesh stashed, and the strawberry and the more resiny incense smells are all mingling together? If you aren't into fruit scents, though, don't let this scare you...I'd categorize it more as leaning towards an incense blend with a lightly sweet fruitiness.

[Atrous]

This one's a big disappointment for me. Out of the oils I got I thought this would be the one I loved.

Out of all the notes Violet is the one I'm least familiar with. Everything else should work on me so I think it's the violet that's coming in and ruining this.

I get an overpowering, biting floral that beats the other notes into submission. It's quite nauseating.

I'll give this some time to age and retest but right now i'm crying a little.

[sunqist]

I'm really conflicted about this! It goes to soap, but its like a really nice, French triple milled soap. This feels like one I'm gonna haul out every couple of months to see if I like it yet. But. It goes to soap. That's not really something that changes. Beautiful for people for whom rose does not go soapy!

[mooncityminx]

I just got this in the mail, yesterday, so it may not be settled, yet. But it already smells awesome. So, I am going to review it anyway.

 

At first this starts out smelling exactly like Mme Moriarty, a favorite of mine. I think it is the red musk. Even unaged, this smells wonderful, sort of like incense, to me.

 

But then, at that point where Moriarty would be all BAM patchouli and currants, this becomes soft resins and understated floral elegance. It's so well blended, that I don't know what I am specifically smelling. Resiny goodness abounds.

 

I got this, thinking it would age beautifully. But I want to wear it now, because damn.

[EphemeralFey]

Purchase: Directly from the Lab

 

In the bottle: Beautiful dark, sweet, resiny herbal! The only individual notes that I’m picking up on are the Vanilla, and a bit of the vetiver and rose at the end.

 

Test Area: Inside crook of elbow

 

Wet: I’m getting some of the pomegranate and more of the rose! The vanilla seems to have taken a back seat, but that amazing dark, resiny herbal scent is still very present!

 

Dry down: It is a juicy, slightly sweet pomegranate with a deep dark cloud of incense goodness following right behind it. Dear god, I hope this doesn’t change and lasts! I’m getting a pretty average throw right now.

 

1 hour later: The juicy pomegranate has mellowed out and become a supporter to the final dark, sweet, creamy resiny goodness this scent has settled on. The only note I can really pick out from this deliciously dark and sexy perfume is the Vanilla. It’s not strong, so I think the other notes are keeping it grounded. Still an average throw, but it's going strong!

 

Thoughts: OMG it’s a pomegranate scent that is working just like I hoped! This is what I really wanted Persephone’s Decent from HoG to be, dark, sexy with just that hint of sweet juicy pomegranate to keep things interesting. A little sad that the rose wasn’t a bigger player, but not enough to deter from my love of this perfume! I may need a back-up bottle…

[Arden Ivy]

Decanted by Mellifluous. 5th BPAL

 

In imp: Dark, fruity, smoky. Not getting much rose, or amber.

 

Wet: Incense. By far more than anything. The red fruit is definitely juicing it up. I do get a hint of green, but only on the very end of the whiff. Kinda rosey, kinda musky, but very red. Not a bright red, however. More like a maroon.

 

One Hour Later: Much more rosey, but still dark, fruity and incensey. I don't get much vanilla, but I do get some powdery amber in the background. You really have to huff, though, because as others have stated it really blends together. The green from the wet stage isn't here, as far as I can tell.

[Laurel the Woodfairy]

Nom. Nom. NOM! That's the sound I made huffing my own wrist with White Witch on it. I'd forgotten the notes and expected a white floral (that's Witch Bride; I got both at the same time). This is one of Beth's delicious but sophisticated gourmand scents--that delicious and distinctively custardy Bourbon vanilla note, sexy red musk, and plenty of other well-blended foody notes that are harder to pick out. This is a very sexy witch, which I will wear when feeling like one myself!

[claudia6913]

This is just pure delight with a hint of bad in a bottle. I got so many compliments on this the first time I wore it - more than any other BPAL ever. The patchouli is there, but not overwhelming. The amber and red musk dominate the wet stage, but then they begin to play nice and the myrrh pulls out the rose and some sweetness from the pomegranate. Overall I'm completely in love and am dying for another bottle!

[riddel]

Hallo thar, rose. You're so bee-yoo-tee-full. This is such a warm, sophisticated rose scent. It smells dark and expensive. I love the pop of tart pomegranate and the light hint of patchouli. This is a scent fit for Persephone Herself.

 

It reminds me of both Spellbound and Mme. Moriarty, Misfortune Teller without smelling exactly like either of them.

Edited November 10, 2014 by riddel

[cherrycherry]

This is a major hit for me. I was drawn to it because of the red musk (I loves me some red musk) and though I was curious how it would work with the other notes, it turns out I am not at all disappointed. I can totally understand the comparisons to Third Charm too. On me, it's like Third Charm with roses and vanilla.

[Lani]

This scent reminds me a lot of The Tears of Lilith, unsurprising because both have honey, red musk, and rose. It's a heady, sweet, yummy floral with a touch of tartness from the pomegranate and the smooth, soft, slightly powderyness of myrrh. Really, really nice.

Edited November 11, 2014 by Lani

[wretchmuffin]

I've got White Witch on now, post shower....initial thoughts, it's in the same vein as Third Charm (which I adore!), it's a fruity incense...like the corner of your favorite head shop where they have the Gonesh stashed, and the strawberry and the more resiny incense smells are all mingling together? If you aren't into fruit scents, though, don't let this scare you...I'd categorize it more as leaning towards an incense blend with a lightly sweet fruitiness.

What she said.

Wet, this smelled very precisely like a gumball, but dry it was strawberry-incense head shop sense memory. Evocative (for this 70's kid), but I'm not sure it's a wearable blend for me.

[somacat]

I agree; this is very headshop fruit incense or early 90's pier 1 imports on me. It's a little bit nauseating. Hopefully it will dry down nice or will settle with age.

[loubric]

In the bottle/imp I smell soapy sweet violet/rose hard candy.

On me it's very strong and very musky ... I hope the dry down is a little less intense. Rubbing it into my skin makes the sweetness of the rose come out and I can make out some hints of the vetiver. It slowly truns to a soapy soft fruity incense. I'm undecided if I like it or not.

[quickdrawkiddo]

I'm not sure what scared me off from buying a bottle of this unsniffed (probably the rose), but it's turning out to be the surprise hit of this year's Weenies for me. Maybe because this has two notes that I tend to amp (rose and red musk), it's much more balanced than I expected. I generally go for the drier, woodsier red musk blends, whereas this is more floral and womanly. I would say "feminine" but this has a grown-up, powerful lady quality to it, rather than a light girlish floral. The honey and vanilla come out more on the drydown but it's still far from being a foody scent. I'm really enjoying this and might need a bottle

[PumpkinGuts]

I expected this would be a sibling to the sought-after Mme. Moriarty, but they smell completely different to my nose. The high-pitched, fruity tang of the pomegranate that I get during the wet stage really reminds me of Lampades. Pom, red musk, and amber dominate the scent the first couple of hours, with just a suggestion of rose. It dries down to mostly (a fantastic) myrrh on my skin. It should be called The Red Witch!

 

Red fruits aren't really my thing, but I can see this being popular.

[Mountaingrrl00]

Red musk is the star of this scent, and everything that surrounds it makes it more delicious and huffable. It's like Smut and Queen of Clubs had a sexy royal baby. I love it!

[Nepthys]

I'll admit, I really wanted a perfume called The White Witch. Alas, this doesn't work on me. If I sniff it up close, it's quite pretty and I can pick out the rose and amber and musk; but just going about the course of my day, I feel cloaked in a overbearing head shop incense smell.

[LiberAmoris]

The White Witch really does smell red! When I saw the note list, it was an instant buy, but I was a little worried about the vetiver. But the vetiver is completely in check, adding just a bit of dark sharpness, like a delicate, sharp thorn on a rose. Wearing it is like working through a cascade of reds: red musk, pomegranate, red rose, with patch and violet leaf attendant. The bourbon vanilla adds sweetness. It definitely has an incensey vibe—the red musk, patchouli, and amber give it a pleasant 'blurriness'—but if this skews hippie, it's one upscale hippie.

[Balame]

At the base of this is a rich, wet rose and pomegranate which reminds me of the same mix I liked in La Mort! (Mon ironie dépasse toutes les autres!), though it’s lighter and not as intensely powerful.

The red musk follows up with the addition of a lush amber. I’m not picking out the violet, which is a good thing since it hates me and makes me think of rotting things.

Overall this is simultaneously pretty and vampy, but not my style. Still too floral overall, although the amber/vanilla/pom combo is really freaking good.

If you’re a rose fan I think it’s definitely a must-try.

[zankoku_zen]

White Witch to me is predominantly pomegranate, red roses, red musk. On wet, I get a touch of the violet, and as it dries the violet touch is supplanted by myrrh. This one seems like a complex pom blend to me. Decent throw, and average wear length.

 

This is a deeply feminine blend. The kind of witch you know does magic, but only the good kind. There's something almost motherly about it but I think its the combination of red roses with the myrrh that makes me think of that.

 

Pomegranate, rosy, womanly.

[milo]

Hellion is that you?? I'll have to do a side by side and report back, but imp to bottle smells quite similar, and I thought of Hellion right away when it touched my skin. Definitely red, not a white blend, not sharp, just warm, spicy and inviting. Red musk is well blended, juicy pom and something spicy. This is a lovely blend, and if I didn't already have Hellion, I'd consider a bottle. WIN!!