Grandmother of Ghosts

[noumenon]

Mania, Roman Goddess of the Dead, Matron of Madness, Governess of the Ancestral Spirits, Bestower of Divine Frenzy. Her scent swirls with a high-pitched tumult of laurel, stargazer lily, splintered woods, peony, mandarin and white musk, and is spiked with pale pepper.

I never would have guessed this from the description, but all those wonderful ingredients blend into...mulberries! Which is funny, because that isn't even an ingredient. But the soft woods, and wonderfully plant-like smell of laurel, mixed with the sharp and tangy mandarin and lily remind me of those sour, earthy berries plucked right off their stems. It dries down into the wood and pepper on me, which is also really delicious. I really like this one.

[buzz23666]

I had such high hopes for this one for some reason.

 

Bah - no go

 

Wet - wood, pepper and a bit of the lily

 

Dry - I could swear there is frankincense in here as my chemistry hates it and turns this into an eccesiastical/cheap head shop smelling scent - which I DO NOT dig.

 

Bummer

[Briar]

Scent: Grandmother of Ghosts

In the Bottle: The very first thought that came into my mind was "super-floral Nag Champa." Something in several of these BPAL scents reminds me of Nag Champa somehow. On a second whiff, I get something rose-like and something musky.

Wet: Some note in this must be used in Kathmandu, because this reminds me strongly of Kathmandu but...dustier. I get whiffs of something piney - maybe cypress - and still that strong floral. It's quickly drying down to baby-powder, though... It is quite a "grandmother" sort of scent to me.

First Break: Sandalwood and baby powder. Like a Tibetan grandmother taking care of her new grandkid. There's still the barest hint of rose.

Lunch: Powdery musk, oh how I grow to loathe thee... I've got a soft, feathery, baby powder musk again. A lot of scents tend to do that on me... >.>

[Babylon]

This is a unique scent!

 

Wet: Predominantly laurel, wood, something that smells like moss, and a bit of orange. There's also a hint of soapy flower and peony in here, but I have to smell my wrist hard to even notice them.

 

Dry: Moss and the fresh smell of sage. Huh! It's good, though. Smells like a forest floor after a cleansing rain. It does smell a little like frankincense, too.

[supremegoddessofall]

A very peppery floral with light touches of musk. There's something in here that reminds me of neroli, in that it smells a bit sour and stale. Not getting woods at all. I'll give this one another chance, but I don't really think it's for me.

[akw]

Wet, this is a very light, pretty scent with the pepper and mandarin keeping it interesting. I don’t know what laurel or peony smell like so I’m not picking them out. Everything is subtle, and this is something I might wear when I want to be subtle. A quiet, just-for-me scent, or for an elegant tea.

 

I usually can’t wear lily, so either it’s a very small amount or the stargazer variety works.

 

After 30 minutes, except for the faintest hint of mandarin, it’s nearly gone. 15 minutes later, totally gone. Great potential, but just didn't hold up on my skin.

[Spastik_Kitty]

In the imp: Sweet fruit, this reminds me of Titania or Rosalind

 

First on: Yup, a little lighter, a little more floral, but very similar to Titania.

 

After a bit: Hmm, a wet, slightly powdery, earthy wood comes out now. Still slightly fruity and lightly floral.

 

A bit more: My skin eats this quickly, and turns whatever into cedar shavings.

 

Ahh well, I really wanted this to like me.

[tempestteapot]

I think the wood and the laural are the most dominate notes on me. A very dry floral woodsy scent. I like how almost dusty it becomes.

[mornatasare]

Wet, this was all dusty wood on me, with a touch of pepper. I can barely identify the florals, but I think they're what's giving it that crisp, clean feeling that is also a bit dizzying. Damn florals.

 

On the drydown, the dust and pepper bloomed a bit, but soon after this became positively headache-inducing. Sort of a wood-floral-bathroom cleanser combination. Ick. My skin chemistry must be very unhappy with something in here.

[dronzeka]

This intrigues me. In the vial I smell the almost pine-y forest scent of the laurel, with some of the lily (and possibly peony?). On, the laurel backs off, and just lends a deep undertone, anchoring the florals. I end up with a peppery lily with a kind of deep olive-green base - it's a darker floral than some. The pepper lends it a neat little zing to distinguish it from ordinary florals. I'm probably thinking this because of "Grandmother," but it does make me think of someone old and wise - not old-lady-roses-and-powder, but the kind of ageless ancient-ness of lilies in the depths of a green forest. I like it. I don't know if I'd buy a big bottle, but I'll certainly use this.

[storme]

In the imp: woody, dry florals.

 

On me, wet: wood, light florals and incense, but all very faint.

 

On me, dry: powdery, light florals and woods, too faint for me to really discern much.

 

Verdict: Enh, no, I think not. Swap-pile!

[theblackcloud]

It is odd and strange, I've been thinking about my grandmother a lot lately, she passed away a few years ago and in my order was a frimp of Grandmother of Ghosts. I know the frimp and my random thoughts have nothing to do with each other, but I was still happy to take a sniff.

 

My mind drifted off to the forest. A place covered in thick green moss, where the branches were thick and covered with leaves. Everything was dark and deep, almost to the point where one could get lost, though the feelings surrounding me were not; the feelings blossomed with light, those feelings made me feel calm and a little closer to getting home.

 

I rather enjoyed Grandmother of Ghosts.

[Rat The Unloved]

Initial Impressions: Bitter, dirt-like scent. Reminds me of crushed rose stems.

On the Skin: Fair, brassy, tones simmilar to a fine spice with small hints of florals. The florals are strikingly simmilar to ground clover (aka Henbit). NOTE: An unpleasant warming sensation accompanied application of this oil. It might contain something I'm allergic to.

Dry: Spicier, almost masculine scents come forward. Small hints of sweetness.

Mature: Dark, earthy, and spicy.

Several hours later: Light, loamy and slightly floral.

Over all: I actually really really like this one. Aside from the weird heat when I applied it it's alltogether a wonderful oil.

Buyability:Might be prompted to pick up a vial or another imp in the future.

[neuilly]

Straight off the bat is was pure wood on me...so not a note I enjoy. As time went on the wood got a powdery edge to it followed by some light fruit. The wood, however, remained dominant.

[dreadeddragon]

In the bottle: A green, woodsy dust

 

First on: The dusty scent has gone and I'm left with light green woods. It's very fresh and light, and not too soapy or floral as most green scents get on me. I really like it so far.

 

Drydown: Soap. Damn. A light woodsy soap, but soap none the less.

 

Overall: If the soapy factor hadn't appeared this would be a great springtime oil to wear. Unfortunately now it's off to swaps.

[melrose]

In imp: herbal, greenery, woods.

 

First on: very dry, woodsy, with a hint of spice underneath. Nice.

 

Near drydown: Woods, spices, incense. Tres yummy.

 

No far drydown; it disappeared. This makes it un-bottleworthy, but I will enjoy slathering the contents of the imp.

[The_Merf]

In the imp: I don't know exactly what laurel smells like, but there is a very herbal/woody note here (I don't know if it is just the listed wood note). There is also a lot of pepper in this blend.

 

Wet: This blend is almost exclusively pepper on me with a bit of resin/woody scent in the background.

 

Drydown and wear: The very strong pepper plays itself out after about 20 minutes, and while there is still a kick when you smell the blend, it's nothing like it was wet. This one is actually quite a morpher, as the floral notes are more prominent in the drydown, particularly the lily.

[Nia]

in the imp: this certainly smells as if it had a couple hundred ingredients. It's very complex and very flowery.

 

On my skin, it is still just as flowery. The mandarin and the flowers are perfectly interlocked, as if they were plaited together. The pepper is just enough to stop the other notes from being too sweet and too much. I can't really detect the laurel.

[MurderOfCrows]

In the Bottle: Biting. Sharp. Woody. Not a hit of the florals supposedly in it -- it's wood and peppers. Yeaaaaaaah, I'm gonna apply this, hate it, and put it up for trade.

 

On Wet: Peppered dry wood. There are no florals in there! My skin does tend to eat florals quickly enough, but... with the wood and pepper, well, that's all I'm getting at all.

 

Drying: ...oh look! Florals. They were hiding. Now I have tiny florals around this scent of old, dry wood and pepper. It takes over 30 minutes for the wood and pepper to fade to the point where this does have a pleasant floral scent-- but that screeching wood-and-pepper start up just kills this for me. I can't sit through that stage without my eyes watering. Which is sad, because once it's over this smells rather pretty, acutally. But -- not for me. Just makes my nose itch for nearly an hour!

 

Definitely going out for swaps. The point A from the Vial to the Point B to the completed mature scent is just hell.

[Trish]

I got this as a frimp from the lab which I was rather happy about. This was an oil that got my attention early on but I've never ordered, probably because I feared it would be too floral for me. I have no idea what laurel or peony smell like, and lily tends to be hit or miss with me.

 

In the Imp: Sweet floral with a bit of wood and pepper

 

Wet: The same, but softer.

 

Drydown: As it dries the woods become far more prominant, with the florals and pepper adding sweetness and spice respectively. I'm not getting the mandarin or musk at all. There's a little incense in there too.

 

Dry: Oh there's the musk! A soft musk that just lends warmth to the woody florals. I don't find this high-pitched or tumultuous at all, rather it's soft, warm and comforting, as well as a little melancholy.

 

After a while the woods fade and the musk takes it's place as the dominant note. Soft warm musky understated florals with a touch of woods. Rather lovely indeed.

[LadyCrow]

In the imp: Florals and pepper.

 

Wet: Sharp, crisp woods. My skin loves woods, and it's bringing those to the forefront right now -- subtly, and without the huge throw of some other woodsy scents, but they're definitely the top when this is freshly applied.

 

Drydown: Aha, the pepper and musk! I was kind of expecting this to remind me of some Lunacies from the listed notes, but the pepper is quite subtle, and the musk seems mostly to be amplifying the other notes for about the first hour; the sweet tang of mandarin lurks around the edges of the woods. Then, there's a very lovely morph into mostly a sweet white musk.

 

Nothing I need a bottle of immediately, but both stages of this are very likable. I don't care how weird her grandchildren are; I'm quite fond of this old lady! Subtlety is a hallmark here -- the scent is calmer than, say, Caterpillar, but still strong.

[Miseraya]

In the imp: Musky herbal Uh oh. I'm getting a lot of musk from this.

 

On the wrist: Nearly non existent. I get a slight bit of musk and possibly lily, but this is very faint. Starting to get a little stronger, and a bit of the wood comes out. Still primarily musk. As it starts to dry the scent becomes more present and I can get notes without having to fight to smell it. I'm getting lily, peony, a bit of mandarin and musk. The peony is gone almost as quickly as it arrived, taken over by the lily. I briefly got pepper, but only for a couple of seconds.

 

Drydown: Going peony musk now. Now the peony is gone again and lily has taken over, making this lily musk. Very much a floral musk at this point. Mostly lily, but a little tinge of peony. Lost all the other notes.

 

Overall: Big time morpher, not much throw, not much staying power. Too much musk and lily for me, but would be wonderful on someone whose chemistry plays well with those notes. I also think that it will amp whatever notes your chemistry likes to amp and lose the others, so bear that in mind with this blend.

[Neely]

In the bottle: light and sweet. It is so well blended in the bottle that I can't make out individual notes.

 

Wet: light and sweet, line fine antique lace from my great grandmother's scrap material box with remenants of a perfume still on it.

 

Dry down: on me this is light, slightly sweet, nor overtly floral, which is a good thing. I tend to smell like old lady, baby ass, or hard candy. But Beth always surprises me, scents I thought I would avoid with a ten foot pole have been lovely on me. So far, so good.

 

30 minutes: ok, so this isn't great grandma's lace from her out dated frocks, this is the lace around that nightie she wore when she was twenty and a hottie. This is sexy, very sexy. It does get slightly powdery on me, but not so bad that I would have to give this up for swap.

 

Conclusion: This is very lovely, and sexy. Big bottle, no, but imps yes. For when I want something light and come close and smell me big boy...

 

Rating: 4

[zankoku_zen]

In the imp: Green floral

 

On Skin: Green floral and I can smell a whiff of peony

 

On Drydown: As it dries it gets more incensey and earthy. In fact, now it sort of smells like some sort of soap and underneath, BO.

 

Verdict: Oh. my. This went REALLY REALLY wrong. It's like someone trying to cover up their sweaty skin with some clean smelling cologne... and it's not working.

 

I feel horrible for leaving such a bad review, but my skin chemistry apparently hates this blend.

[aquazoo]

Hairspray! Oh, there we go, the hairspray fades into a nice granny floral. Oooh, nicer things are coming up — is that violet and lily of the valley? Perhaps someone else will love it more.