spookyumbrella Report post Posted July 22, 2018 One half of the Tarots binary expression of archetypical sovereignty, governing comfort and succor, the healing power of the natural world, the fecundity of the countryside, the stability of earth supported by the passionate tides of water, and all that gently nurtures humankind. This is the safety of home and kingdom alike, the promise of enough resources to sustain you and your community, the assurance the fruitfulness of the harvest, benevolent protection, and the wellbeing of generations to come. Amber oudh, mandarin rind, and Florentine bergamot. Warm flashes of citrus peeking through an ambery cloud. Warmth in a bottle. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
LiberAmoris Report post Posted July 22, 2018 The Scepter of the Empress may be my favorite from my last order. The mandarin rind and bergamot are so beautifully bright and energetic, and the amber oudh gets in there and dirties it up juuuuust the right amount. The oudh is definitely detectable here, but it's really different against citrus notes which pull so strongly against the animalic smell of oudh. My favorite stage is drydown, when everything mellows and the citrus dies back a bit—this ends as a orange-amber skin scent on me, with the oudh just adding a bit of complexity to make things more interesting. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
samanare Report post Posted July 31, 2018 Deep amber oudh with a strong spike of bright citrus. On me, the amber is the strongest note, but when I stop and take a good whiff, the orange is right there, almost rivaling the amber. I'm personally more of a citrus fan, so I like this, but am not in love with it. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dementia_divine Report post Posted August 3, 2018 (edited) In the decant: Soft amber, slightly darkened by the oudh, with lots of citrus. The combination of the amber and mandarin rind make me think of the amber and blood orange combo from The Geisha and the Samurai HG that works really well. Wet: Soft amber accompanied by lots of citrus. I get more mandarin rind than bergamot, but it does not have the perfume-y quality that one might expect from an orange rind note (at least, not at the moment). There’s almost a creamy quality to the amber combined with the citrus, which I also get from The Geisha and the Samurai HG. I am really enjoying this thus far. Dry: The citrus has calmed down somewhat, so the amber and oudh are more prominent now. The combination of these two notes makes me think of Hesiod’s Phoenix with citrus instead of vanilla. After a while, the citrus becomes very faint, and this ends up being a golden amber and sweet oudh scent similar to scents like Hesiod’s Phoenix and Implacable Beautiful Tyrant hair gloss with just a tinge of citrus. Verdict: This is lovely. I just wish the citrus had decided to stick around longer! I am not sure if I need a full bottle of it since I already own Hesiod’s Phoenix (I’ll give it a full-day test just to be sure), but I am definitely going to hang on to my decant! Edited August 3, 2018 by dementia_divine Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Casablanca Report post Posted August 3, 2018 Out of the gate on my skin, the Scepter is a soft, golden-amber citrus dirtied with a little oudh. In the citrus blend, I can pick out the bergamot, and the rest smells more like sweet orange to me than like the slightly bitter and green King mandarin note I've gotten from Asp Viper and a few other blends. The blend of the citrus notes is pretty, though softer than I expected. I think I am used to blends that are more Woo double mandarin nose poke! The oudh leans animalic, but it doesn't quite yell POUDH like the oudh of Bestla and Nevertheless, She Persisted did. For that I'm basically grateful. By drydown, the bergamot has faded, leaving a faint orange-mandarin impression coloring a more potent amber oudh. Oudh is actually the strongest note on me thereafter. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
donkehpoo Report post Posted August 4, 2018 Wet: Bright mandarin and amber, with a little oudh. (Disclaimer: Oudh is one of those notes that doesn't always work well on my skin, so I'm hoping it stays more in the background.) Dry: As I feared, the oudh has taken over and kicked out any type of citrus scent. All that remains now is the amber oudh, which is borderline powdery. While it's not bad by any means, it's not really for me. I wish the mandarin would have stuck around longer! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
zankoku_zen Report post Posted September 7, 2018 Mandarin with oudh. The bergamot amps up the weird white musk tendencies of the oudh, and it ends up a citrusy powdery screech on me. Good throw and wear length. Oudh, get it together, damnit. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
