Stańczyk

[doomsday_disco]

An icon of Poland’s history and culture, Stańczyk was King Sigismund I the Old’s court jester at the height of the Rebirth and his wit, intelligence, and eloquence is venerated to this day. His fame and influence – and the mysteries surrounding his life – are such that some consider him a myth. Jan Matejko’s depiction of Stańczyk is lush and shadowed, rife with despair and ill-omen, and so is our perfume: scarlet silk, spiced rose petals, well-worn red leather, Oman frankincense, labdanum, dried cherries, and blackberry wine.

[Geminirubyshoes]

Oh my lordt, this is SPECTACULAR!

 

If you love Behind the Veils, Berry Moon or any juicy/fruity wine types, you will love this. The dried cherries and blackberry wine are the first notes that hit me when I put this on but the drydown is amazing spicy-rose frankincense. It’s a very red scent. I get zero despair but all the lush. 

[Madame_mina]

Oh this one is super cool and I like the way it morphs. I am NOT a gourmand but this one is pretty great. It is juicy— when I applied it it was immediately like a spiced grape popsicle. Not sticky, but like very juicy (too sweet to be a wine IMO). The frankincense comes out as it warms up and rose takes a super back seat and just provides a softness to the underlying sinister scent. It’s so weird, there are two currents here- a superficial sweet and goofy scent, and a brooding burning dark red scent. Two at once? 
 

edited to add it did turn slightly baby powder on me. Dang, I wasn’t expecting that. 

Edited May 2 by Madame_mina

[AEris]

Love this! It starts with a very fruity burst of juicy sweetness, a hard candy vibe that smells deep red. The depth below the fruit is harmonious, alluringly sexy without being heavy. Honestly swoon worthy!

[abejita]

I love the scent of cherries—all kinds, from tart to sweet—but I am sort of picky about what I like them paired with in perfumes. Something about the dried cherries and blackberry wine just marries so well, making both even better. This is a multi-layered scent that goes through most of the notes and then dries down in an interesting mix of silk/leather and dark, rich fruit (the rose is somehow part of the fruit), and a velvety resin base. I love it.

[roseus]

In the imp this is so fruity and juicy, all cherry and blackberry wine. The cherry is gorgeous rich and sweet with that slight bitter edge, so true to life. On my skin I get the other notes, mostly spiced rose and a bit of leather, but the cherry goes a few steps torward cough syrup. Overall the scent is still very nice, but cherry just doesn't play very nice on me unfortunately.

[Ennikar]

One day out of the mail (I'll update this review if rest changes it drastically). This one was a risky buy for me; I'm not big on fruit scents but do occasionally find a blackberry that sparks joy.

 

In the bottle and wet: cherry hard candy. It smells like cherry, not any other fruit, but there is something artificial about it at this stage. The leather starts to raise its head soon, and in this stage there is some "darkness" to it - the cherry is still sweet, but the leather gives it a deeper base. Later, the resins and blackberry dimensions start to come out more and some combination of those things gives the impression of smoke. Again, the rose fits in well and I can find it if I look, but this is a fruit scent with some leathery and resin-y dimensions and definitely not a rosey one.

[Cali]

Oh Stańczyk my beloved. 

This could've gone two ways but this is SO pretty.

Sexy soft leather, strong cherries, spiced wine and a dark sensuous tinge to it - this is a sexier, darker mme moriarty. Great throw and stay. 

[groovyrooby]

I never would have chosen this for myself. Silk? Leather? Wine? So many things that I never would've expected to work for me. But I was frimped a sniffie and lo & behold this is wonderful stuff! Goes on sweet & fruity in a resin-y way, almost bubble gum, like Thieves Rosin. It's rich and sweet tart. It seems the dark fruits + frankincense + labdanum combo is a winner for me, because this reminds me of a lighter, more floral version of The Wish, which I also adore. I went ahead and ordered myself a bottle and thanked the frimper for the surprise. I LOVE being surprised! And this defied my expectations. It dries to a powdered sugar-y dark fruit incense. And none of my usual troublemakers are causing me any trouble here. At best, they blend with the versions that I love - leather with the frankincense make it aromatic, wine with the dried cherries give it that rich fruitiness, and silk with the rose petals makes it a sensuous floral. Gorgeous.

[Fancyfetus]

I blind bottled this one because I knew it had to be a winner. 

 

In the bottle this is very sweet. If you're familiar with the lab's cherry note this comes as no surprise. It's that candied cherry in thick syrup smell. As always, once on the skin it calms considerably. 

 

Next I get those spiced rose petals and red leather mingling with what is now a much less sweet cherry. The frankincense here is really holding this all together into something sophisticated and alluring. I get a bit of blackberry wine but only around the edges. 

 

All in all this actually feels like a perfect Yule scent. I've been wearing it a lot for holiday get-togethers and it's become a contender with Krampus as a dark, sexy holiday scent. It's the perfume you wear to lounge fireside in a velvet dress and lace stockings, blood red lipstick a bit smeared from feasting and drunken mistletoe kisses. It imparts an aura of power and confidence as well, to me. Juicy, luscious, and just a bit brooding, all wrapped up tight in red leather. Gorgeous.