Molly Grue

[tartsquid]

MOLLY GRUE
Molly said something strange then, for a woman who never slept a night through without waking many times to see if the unicorn was still there, and whose dreams were all of golden bridles and gentle young thieves. “It’s the princesses who have no time,” she said. “The sky spins and drags everything along with it, princesses and magicians and poor Cully and all, but you stand still. You never see anything just once. I wish you could be a princess for a little while, or a flower, or a duck. Something that can’t wait.”

She sang a verse of a doleful, limping song, halting after each line as she tried to recall the next.


Who has choices need not choose.
We must, who have none.
We can love but what we lose —
What is gone is gone.


Schmendrick peered over the unicorn’s back into Molly’s territory. “Where did you hear that song?” he demanded. It was the first he had spoken to her since the dawn when she joined the journey. Molly shook her head.

“I don’t remember. I’ve known it a long time.”

The land had grown leaner day by day as they traveled on, and the faces of the folk they met had grown bitter with the brown grass; but to the unicorn’s eyes Molly was becoming a softer country, full of pools and caves, where old flowers came burning out of the ground. Under the dirt and indifference, she appeared only thirty-seven or thirty-eight years old — no older than Schmendrick, surely, despite the magician’s birthdayless face. Her rough hair bloomed, her skin quickened, and her voice was nearly as gentle to all things as it was when she spoke to the unicorn. The eyes would never be joyous, any more than they could ever turn green or blue, but they too had wakened in the earth. She walked eagerly into King Haggard’s realm on bare, blistered feet, and she sang often.

An angry little beetle with her own kitchen beauty: fig, sesame, hazelnut, and cooking spices softened by rice flower.

The fig is the first thing that jumps out to me in Molly Grue - it's definitely the dominant note on my skin, followed by the kitchen spices joining in merrily and pushing it from fruity territory into foody, a bit like baking tarts but without the smell of the pastry. The sesame peeks out as it dries down, tempering the sweetness of the fig and giving it a more earthy feel. For those worried about hazelnut, I can't detect it at all, but your mileage may vary, especially if it's something you amp.

It's not a particularly complex scent on me, and it actually reminds me a bit of a candle scent. It's almost all rich fig with a little depth. I don't know if I would immediately associate it with Molly the way that some of the other scents were strongly evocative of their character.

[gniwle]

I like to associate my bpals with something I already know, so I have to say Molly Grue smells a bit like a blueberry poptart in the imp. The fig jumps out first on my skin, turning the poptart into a fig newton. Underneath that delightful fruitiness is wonderful spiciness. It smells almost like cumin, honestly. That sounds like it shouldn't work when it's all written down, but this is gorgeous... and I generally don't like fruity smells at all.

 

I'd give this baby a 4.5/5, with a .5 reduction for its short life on my skin. I've got to try this one in my oil burner!

 

 

Edited because I can't spell!

[edenssixthday]

Molly Grue - Considering I dislike both fig and hazelnut scents, this is surprisingly nice! It opens up with a big blast of hazelnut with the sweet, meaty fig right underneath it, but after about 10 minutes, the hazelnut dissippates and the fig settles down, but even better is that the sesame and rice flower become noticeable, and since I adore those two notes, it turns out to be much nicer than I originally anticipated. I have no idea what the "cooking spices" in this scent are -- if I hadn't seen that in the ingredient list, I wouldn't have guessed there would be anything else in the blend, so whatever they are, their gentle and subtle. While this certainly turns into a nicer scent than I had anticipated, the fig is definitely present, and since I don't care for fig scents, I'll be passing this one along.

[saralaughs]

Fig. Definitely fig. Too bad I do not like the smell of figs. It's definitely 'meaty' as was said above. I'm not getting many spices, if at all but the rice flower is really nice and does soften it up a bit. Not floral at all though.

[countessmouse]

Figgy pastries at first before settling down to a nice, spicy figginess. I really didn't get any hazelnut, which is probably a good thing. Too bad the throw is so soft on this one because I really like it!

[zankoku_zen]

Figgy pastry! I get a ton of figs and cooking spices, and clove is definitely one of them. It's pretty, delicious and... makes me think of fig newtons.

 

EPIC. WIN.

 

I think I need a bottle of it.

[blu°]

This is sweet and gentle. A bit more foody than my usual taste, but held in check probably by the rice flower.

 

I love fig when it's tempered by herbs, woods, incense, florals or other less foody notes. This is a bit too much on the sweet side for me, but I might enjoy it on occasion. Not a bottle purchase for me, but if you like gentle, foody sweet scents, give it a try by all means. As far as sweetness is concerned I'd compare it to scents like Velvet Unicorn, Agapé, etc. A bit more "brown" in feeling than those, but equally gentle and sweet.

[Teaotter]

Wet: Nutty! I wouldn't say hazelnut if I didn't have the notes in front of me.

 

Drydown: The nuts disappear behind a fruity sweetness. Again, though, I wouldn't be able to identify it as fig without the notes.

 

Dry: I am getting the dark sweetness of fig and a light floral note on top (the rice flower? I don't know that one). The nuts and spices fade into a creaminess in the background. It smells more like pie filling to me than pastries. I was hoping for more from the hazelnut and sesame. Very light throw.

[Little Bird]

I wasn't sure about Molly Grue at first. The sweet spices go on a bit cheap smelling and remind me of craft store potpourri. But, after about fifteen minutes, the spices calm down and this settles into a nice foodie scent. It smells like pie crust on me, with sweet, woody fig, hints of toasted hazelnut, a touch of sweet spices, and a creamy edge from the rice flower. It's overall something like a sweet, spiced, nutty pastry with a light fig that sticks around in the background.

 

The scent lasts all day on me, but doesn't have a lot of throw. I'm glad that the spices mellow out and aren't overwhelming. All in all, I'm glad to have a bottle of this, though it's probably something I'll reach for more in the autumn months.

[Invidiana]

Something in this comes off like corn chips wet, I kid you not. I'm thinking it might be the sesame. As it dries down, the corn chip note all but disappears and some lovely sweet sticky fig and warm hazelnut come out with the soft creaminess of rice flower. The hazelnut gives it a toasty nutty backing to keep it from getting too sweet. I actually don't get too much spice out of this, which is good because sometimes I can amp some spices like no tomorrow. It's a really cozy scent that I can see being great for autumn. Winner!

[wishingwell]

This is my absolute favorite scent right now.

 

As some others have stated, the first whiff when it's wet seems almost like potpourri. As it's drying, on me, the spices really come out -- so much so that, on my first try, I was tempted to go wash it off. I'm glad I didn't, because about 15 minutes in.. out comes the fig, and the creamy rice flower, and it just smells so sweet and light and delicious. After about an hour, it reminds me of cinnamon/hazelnut, ice cream and graham crackers.

 

The throw is very light.. one reason why I really love this scent. I don't want everyone in a building to smell me; I want a scent that is inviting once someone special is close to me. However, I do wish it lasted longer. I have to re-apply it at least once if I want to wear it all day. I still give it a 5/5 though because honestly.. it's so close to perfect that I don't mind putting it on more than once. If I could find something that would last all day but smell very similar, then I might re-think that.. but for now, it's my top scent.

[Dgrrrl]

Fig, fig, fig, and rice flower. Mid-range throw, but fades out very quickly into almost nothing. A faint hint of rice flower remains which is not my favorite scent. I was excited about this one because I like herby scents, but I didn't catch them at all. Even if it remained figgy over rice flowery, I'm not sure I'd dig this. This particular fig seems fussy and over-sweet to me.

 

Not my favorite in the Last Unicorn line (which otherwise, has been a BIG hit for me.)

Edited December 8, 2011 by Dgrrrl

[lohengrin]

In the vial: Mostly cooking spices. An undercurrent of almost sweetness, but it's too faint to really narrow down.

 

On skin, wet: Straight up cooking spices.

 

On skin, dry: Still just cooking spices.

 

After an hour: Same as before. Never got any fig or sesame, which I was really hoping for.

[vanilla323]

This is a favorite of mine now.

 

Very sweet and happy fig on me. With a slight bakery note. I love the attitude this scent has. Its subtle but definately intriguing. Pretty bottle too.

 

EDIT: Sold off because the throw was so light

Edited March 24, 2014 by Ichigo

[rhubarb3point14]

Molly Grue is mostly fig and hazelnut on me. For some reason, it makes me think of the word "biscuit." It has a lot in common with Eden, but whereas Eden feels green, Molly Grue is definitely cream-colored.

 

I adore this. It's soft and beautiful and kitcheny without being overly sweet.

[ajansuz]

In the imp: Straight up frosted pop tarts.

 

Wet: Fig newtons instead of pop tarts, or possibly even porridge with fruit bits in it.

 

Dry: Spiced fig newtons. It's a pity I don't enjoy smelling like food, because this is about as close to a cookie interpretation as I've ever smelled in a perfume. If you're a lover of foody scents, give this one a try. I think I'll be using this one as a room scent instead.

[mymymai]

In the Imp (ITI): It smells like warm hazelnut bread to me.

 

Wet: On my skin, the hazelnut and oddly astringent rice flower are most prominent. If I concentrate, I can smell the fig underneath it all. It’s less appealing on my skin than it is in the bottle.

 

 

Dry: It has dried down to fig and sesame after several hours. However, an our into the dry down there is a bit more of the rice flower present, and perhaps just a hint of clove.

[ami226]

On the skin: Hazelnut, fig, and chili? Huh. This smells like spicy nut bread right out of the oven.

 

This just isn't for me. I really wanted to try it, but the smell of hazelnuts and walnuts usually makes me feel kinda sick.

[midnight_aeval]

In the decant I was almost scared away! There was a chile/cumin/something note, and yes, that corn chip smell. The smell of all that not nice stuff went away after about 10 min. The scent got better as it dried down. Sweet scent with baking spices. I just don't know about that the wet stage of this one... would probably keep me from wearing it.

[neuilly]

I'm a big fig lover (carnal is amazing), and this does not disappoint! Fig is the main note for me, but the rice flower is also definitely there. I don't get much spice but there is a feel to this one that's a little more grounded and edible. So lovely.

[Jennifurious]

I have a tendency to amp nuts to the point were they become cloying and overwhelming (Is there a "That's what she said?" joke in there?.....), so I had some reservations about Molly Grue. No reason to fear at all! I am obsessed with figs and this is just magnificent. It's all fig on application. But not a fresh or green fig, it's thick and concentrated and juicy like a jam or a paste and so very lovely. Eventually the rice flower peeks around the edges and becomes the second star of the show. Round, plump fig mixed with light, milky floral. LOVE IT.

[somacat]

I wanted to like this so much because Molly Grue is a personal heroine. This smells just like a candle as mentioned by previous poster. It's even waxy. I wish the BPAL fruits didn't go so waxy and cheap candle wrong on me but they do. This is also extremely sweet in in contrast to the Molly Grue of the book who is far more complex, bitter, ironic, clever, and finally soft rather than sweet. I would have loved some dark woodsyness for a character who ran away from being a lady to live in the woods with outlaws and who makes a rat soup thinner than sweat.

[ScabbyLucy]

Hmm...apparently fig smells like apple to me. The small, tart apples that grew on a tree in my childhood home. It even has the slight rancid smell they got from being on the ground (but that's gone after a minute). Then the cooking spices show up, and this smells like a pot of some delicious concoction of the two cooking on the stovetop. A very warm, domestic, earthy sort of feminine.

[milo]

Soft, savoury and spicy at first. Dries to less spice, and more fruit. It actually smells like white wine to me, white wine single note actually. I can't even drink the stuff let alone wear it. Not for me.

[DiesMali]

In the imp: All fig.

 

Wet on my skin: Dried figs and hazelnuts, with a hint of the cooking spices.

 

Dry: This is predominantly fig on me, but I love fig and it smells great on my skin. Next is the hazelnut, with just that hint of cooking spices. It's a very foody scent on me, and is actually quite reminiscent of the whole wheat Fig Newtons. I love those, and now I want to go buy a package of them. This scent makes me hungry. It may be a bottle purchase at some point, too.