Arachne

[Medici]

...A gossamer scent, as light as a spider’s footfall, touched with sighing mists: pallid flowers, dusty woods and soft herbs.

 

I have had this imp for the longest time, and... I never reviewed. Wow. I think this was actually from my very first purchase over a year ago.

 

In the imp: Soapy fruit! Oh dear... this imp might be very old indeed...

 

Wet: Salon Selectives Shampoo from 1992. I sh*t you not. It's a fruity-floral that is really powdery. No herbs as of yet have come round.

 

Drydown: It gets a little herby, and only a little, as it wears. It is predominantly a powdery, sweet to the point of being cloying floral on me. Fifteen minutes in and it smells like shampoo again.

 

Verdict: Not my steez. Off to the swap with you!

 

(Edited to add description.)

Edited April 13, 2006 by Medici

[juniperus]

Bottle: Sweet, almost candy-like, but soft.

Wet: Sweet remains, a hint that's a floral but still something else giving that candy-effect. Almost little-girlish.

Dry: Light, powdery floral sweetness. That almost pixie-stix sweetness still present, can't figure out what note is getting this reaction from me. No woodiness at all.

Later: It's gone plenty powdery on me. Very light, it's more hints of itself rather than a presence on its own. And still quite sweet and young..almost Love's Baby Soft young - this smell's young enough for Emma, except she'd pour it out on the cat or something equally bizarre when her med wore off so she'll get no impies for a long, long while.

[gwyllgi]

I can't quite put my finger on this scent. It smells like its description: gossamer, a bit dusty. It's certainly a unique scent, fleeting and teasing, never quite letting itself be caught. It's like trying to pin down a dream.

 

As such, I can't really identify why I don't like this.

 

The scent's pleasant enough, floral and slightly herbal, not too powdery or too sharp. It smells delicate, as though even the act of smelling it might shatter it. It's a bit soapy, but that's hardly a detriment. It really is a nice scent, but it for some reason just doesn't jive with me. It's nice enough that it deserves someone who can truly appreciate it.

[littlefarmgirl]

In the bottle this is really fruity.

On me, this is cleaning chemicals straight away. It may change, but I doubt it.

[mirutai]

In the imp: Wet, sweet fruit. What? What about the soft, pallid florals?

 

Wet: OMG LOTUS. Sweet, sugary bubblegum. WTF?

 

Dry: By no stretch of the imagination can this be described as “pallid” on me. It’s all sweet, bright lotus. I am bemused. Lots of other forumites seem to have had the same experience, though.

 

Since I don't like overly sweet scents or lotus, this is not one for me!

[fiddledragon]

Wow...I'm enjoying reading how different this is on different people's body chemistry. This was part of the GC Swap O' Doom, otherwise I'd never have ordered it. Silly me!

 

In the vial and wet on my skin it smells of mainly faint sweet citrus, maybe lemon. Once it dries it deepens and becomes very dusty and earthy, with some white-but-not-sharp florals and dry woods and an odd almost musky smell. It's lovely and very much not my usual thing, but I really like it. Appropriately enough, it reminds me very strongly of the dirt and wood shavings and that sort of invertebrate-critter smell from the terrariums my family's pet tarantulas live in.

[provocateur]

in bottle: a heady, thick sweetness, and something akin to cherry candy. (I had to double check the imp to make sure I had it right.)

 

on skin, wet: somewhat akin to Luden's Cherry Cough Drops.

 

on skin, dry: it fades to an odd plastic, sweetly burnt cherry powder.

 

conclusion: What the...? 1/5

[misfitroxy]

VERY bright white floral to start out with. And something that smells like fresh cedar in the background.

 

The flowers mellow as it dries, but the cedar amps and smells more and more like pencil shavings to me. It starts turning very chemical after a while, like a powerful cleanser that can't decide if its base note should be forest-fresh or meadow-breeze. Ugh, and now it's turning into cat urine and natural litter chips.

 

Totally and utterly not for me, which is disappointing because I really love the description for this one. Off to the swaps goes Arachne!

[edenssixthday]

Arachne is a beautiful, feminine fragrance. It’s a lovely, soft woody-floral that reminds me a lot of Theirry Mugler’s Angel. I don’t really know what else to say about it except that it’s got a moderately-light level of throw (I do catch the occasional waft of the scent when I’m moving around), and the staying power isn’t that great, but it’s really, really pretty. I’m going to hold on to this one and probably get some use out of it this summer. I think it’s a perfect soft, subtle, pretty scent for spring (and now that I’m thinking about it, I’m thinking I’m going to try layering it with my Enraged Bunny Musk – I could totally see that combo working well together!)

[Eunice]

There is something sweet and fruity in this right off but I am unsure what it is. The florals make the scent very white and crisp. After a while I get the bubblegum scent others are picking up on. Too sweet for me.

[Galatea]

In the Imp: Exceedingly light, like very fine wispy strands of spider's web.

 

Wet: The lightness is still there, but now has an added bit of dustiness to it.

 

Dry: The longer the wear the more it smells a bit like laundry detergent or fabric softner. It's not really a soapy smell per say as much as a clean, just washed, yet slightly flowery emanation.

 

Throw: This has a surprisingly good throw for such a light seeming scent.

 

Overall: I really like this one, but I don't know if it likes me. I got a really bad headache directly after putting it on. This could have been a coincidence, or it could have been an ingredient in the blend that did it. I will have to retest.

Edited June 28, 2006 by Galatea

[oatmealneko]

It started off with a weird sweet dirt note to it... some herbs, some greenery, reminded me of Nosferatu (w/o the wine note). Then floral soap soap. It might have been partially due to Eris being on my other arm, but it was still fairly floral soapish on me.

[valentina]

In the imp, Arachne smelled very similar to Yggdrasil -- a woodsy, herbal scent, but definitely a northern hardwood forest. Once it was on my skin, I got the whiff of that hardwood forest again, along with herbs. I kept thinking of Yggdrasil, so I put a swipe of it on my other arm so I could compare the two. Upon drydown, Arachne isn't as bright, verdant and herbal/floral as Yggdrasil. What I am reminded of is a field on the edge of a hardwood forest in the fall, with dried grass, drying wood from fallen trees, crisp fallen leaves, and crushed herbs and flowers that have the distinctively dried-but-still-fragrant quality. If Yggdrasil is that forest in the full bloom of summer, Arachne is the same forest and an adjoining field during a warm day in October.

 

I think if you're a person who loves the smell of the outdoors in autumn, Arachne would be a perfect scent. I take a whiff of it and I see a sunny October afternoon!

[neuilly]

Beginning: Gossamer is a great word do describe this. I also get a nice fruity scent out of it...it's not listed but that's the smell I get anyway. Light florals help to give it the gossamer feel.

 

 

Later: Unfortunately it turns into dryer sheets for me. The fruit bit is completely gone. I even get a slightly bitter note in the background....probably my skin chemistry.

 

 

 

Off to swaps!

[czuba]

Procured: Frimp

 

In the Imp: soft and fruiy with a ghost of something floral (lavender?)

 

On Skin, Wet: initially sweet and fruity, turning into drysheet floral on dry-down

 

On skin, Dry: "Juicy Fruit" sweet...not for me

[steffanina]

Arachne-

 

In Bottle: An acetone sweetness. (The person who said "Juicy Fruit Gum" knows what I'm on about.)

 

Wet: That acetone scent blooms strongly at first, but recedes quickly into an undertone of sweet. A fresh soapy smell.

 

Dry: Not that exciting. That acetone sweetness lingers and I fear in greater quantity it might give me a headache.

 

Overall: A little interesting, but I don't think I'll come back to it much. I might swap it out.

[aimeceleste]

I thought this was fragrant, feminine, and sweet. It was a nice, light, but complex scent. It also wasn't too herbal for me, I tend to avoid green and herby scents.

[sofaking6]

Imp: sweet, fruity and aquatic. I get more of a banana-type fruit than citrus or berry. It smells familiar but I can't place it. Persimmon?

 

Wet: fruity with a little wood spice in there

 

Slightly dry: very sharp herbal, the fruit is entirely gone and this is just bright green

 

more dry: smells like a fence!

 

5 minutes later: gone.

 

Arachne is great, it's kind of an experience or activity more than an all-day perfume to wear. It morphs a ton and all of its phases are appealing and interesting. I would like to see it linger more on one of the pre-fence phases, but what can you do? This is the most active scent I've tried on to date. Like a spider spinning a web.

[nancybridget]

Lemon, strawberry, and perhaps some peach blossom. To me, there's also a lily or two mixed in with some grass. It's pretty and familiar.

 

ADDED Feb. 27:

 

Very soft aquatic scent and very familiar for some reason. I can't place the sweet, clean aroma, but I'm thinking it reminds me of a beauty product - something from Avon from my childhood. A face cream. I think there's a cucumber note that I love in here.

 

Just for the clean, herbal, cucumbery scent memory, I may need a 5ml of this lovely.

[Katherynne]

I am in LOVE with this one. It's dusty, herbal, crisp and faintly sweet on me. I get the sweet note others have been describing but it's nothing overbearing. As I keep sniffing my wrist as it wears a bit it is turning to a more "clean" kind of dryer sheet-ish smell, but I adore that type of smell.

 

Green is a lovely word for this blend.

 

Depending on how long it lasts I will buy a bigger bottle.

[klavierbarrette]

imp: ylang ylang, wtf?! lol

skin, pretty much the same.......wait for it to dry........i get the herbs, perhaps the mists, yet to get the woods. i like it this way though. =D

[bristlecone]

This is an odd one...

 

In the vial, it's herbal, almost minty. It stays that way on the skin for the first 15 minutes or so. Then it starts smelling almost... fuzzy. Like peach fuzz, though it's not fruity. (I never get any fruitiness from this.)

 

In the final stages, it smells like the same florals that are in Night Gaunt.

 

I like this, but I probably wouldn't go out of my way to acquire a bottle. It reminds me of other scents that I already own and enjoy more.

[sofiaviolet]

This is a sweet, soft floral. Not very substantial, as I expected. It's lovely but on me, it's not anything special. Arachne fades quickly.

[supremegoddessofall]

Very soft and delicate. Light florals and herbals, but nothing particularly distinctive. No rose. Maybe lilac?

[impadua@aol.com]

Arachne is the first scent I have found in Bpal that feels/smells like my garden in the early morning. Kind of damp. kind of loamy, a little herby, a floral that doesn't overtake you, and, I think "gossamer" is the perfect description the combination. Nothing seems to overtake anything else, just morphs into each other.

 

A quiet scent. Glad I have a big bottle of this.