Arkham

[Melantha]

A shadowy, unapproachable forest of maple, birch, dogwood, cypress and pine softened by a garland of New England wildflowers: bergamot, columbine, rue anemone, blue violet, creeping phlox, bloodroot, toadflax, and pixie moss.

In the bottle: Floral, with other notes that round it out, and make it wonderful. As I've said before, I'm *not* a floral gal, but this one is different. Maybe it's the woods that make it different from any floral I've smelled before.

Wet: There's that lovely floral again. The notes are so well blended that I can't pick out any particular one.

Dry: There's a sweetness to it now that reminds me of Pink Moon. I don't really get any woods, but that's quite okay! I love this scent.

I'll be hoarding my partial bottle.

[juniperus]

(from a sniffy, so this is an impression as there was not enough to try and savor)

 

At first sniff it's more flowers than woods, but I bet on it would go delightfully woody on me if none of the wildflowers I don't think I've encountered before amps or gives me headaches..so chalk this up to another I'm sorry I missed.

 

ADDED Dec. 11:

 

Bottle: very floral, esp. phlox..light and very spring.

Wet: more green undertones, and the violet is apparent. nothing of the forest itself.

Dry: hints of the woods, something sharp and dusky, maybe the cypress or the moss but I'm not quite sure. plus the florals, which are growing a tad sweeter.

Later: still fairly non-woody, a sort of general spring-flowerness is fading..pleasant, but not much presence on me.

[elspeth]

This is amazing! At first it smells really floral and I can see purple. It is sweet smelling and really strong at first. When it begins to dry down I can detect hints of the woods and it still smells great. I put this on before 9 last night and I can still smell it today. It has amazing staying power and just keeps on smelling great. This was a random buy and I'm so glad I got it. Now I just need another bottle.

[sofiaviolet]

I smell loads of pretty wildflowers. I can't indentify any of them because they don't grow down here in the deep, sweltering south. It smells gorgeous and I'm really regretting not bidding more on it on ebay.

[fairy]

Another amazing scent. Now that I can, I'll be getting a big bottle of this one. I dont smell pine...it's actually hard to pinpoint the notes. It smells like a damp walk through the woods. An enchanted forest lined with wildflowers.

[indicolite]

Arkham is very lovely on the drydown; however, whatever Beth puts into the Picnic scents to make them a little... ghastly-eerie flares up on first application and makes me almost not like it.

 

But methinks I can grow to like it. I am holding on to my imp.

[bristlecone]

No reviews in two weeks? Well, here goes.

 

In the imp vial, this almost smelled like a felt-tipped pen. I was a little worried.

 

When I dabbed it on, I figured out that the inky smell was probably the woods, and it was much less inky on my skin (the fact that I could smell the flowers at this point helped).

 

This would probably be a great scent to give to someone who doesn't normally like perfume and couldn't name a single note they might be interested in. No one note sticks out and it's completely non-perfumey. The florals are not at all heady. I'm surprised people are describing this as sweet, because it's anti-sweet to me, which is a good thing. The tree notes are not too dark or heavy (which is a relief, considering how cypress sometimes behaves on me). It's like opening a window and letting a breeze sweep the scent of fresh wildflowers into your house. It's also the kind of scent that someone who likes that just-showered feeling would probably enjoy, because it's very clean.

 

As it dries, I think I get something a bit resinous. I want to say it's amber, but that note isn't listed.

 

Very pretty. If you like soft florals with a woody background, you should check this out.

Edited December 5, 2006 by bristlecone

[aquazoo]

Hairspray, only in a good way. Stays consistent.

[AliBabble]

out of the imp, it doesn't do much for me, but on my skin it's better...pine and birch trees, lovely, outdoorsy-fresh, with something almost berry-ish in the florals...reminds me slightly of snow bunny, but softer, and without the snow...it's almost soapy, but not quite...the longer i wear it, the pine and tree smells recede, while the wildflowers come out stronger. i quite like this...it really does smell like a country village with lots of wild, overgrown plants. it's a little "cleaner" than what i normally like, but i'll use the imp now and again.

[supremegoddessofall]

This is a blue-purple floral, with a touch of something spicy. Very pretty. Not really getting the tree scents.

[maijasu]

This is a nice fresh floral. It doesn't turn soapy or old-ladyish at all. I like it but don't think I would wear it enough to warrant getting a bottle.

[slave1]

ARKHAM

 

In Bottle: Dainty violets

 

On Skin: Dainty is the word for this scent, it feels so light and fragile. Very floral and barely even there. The violet is strongest followed by the phlox. The bergamot is slightly bitter but not overwhelming. The woods soften the scent and distract from the light sour tone of the florals. The moss brings it all together with a nice earthy base. I can’t believe how soft this scent is, I have to strain to smell it, even after only 5 minutes of wearing it. If it was stronger I might like it a bit more, but being as light as it is, I don’t really feel like I’m wearing any perfume. Plus, it’s strongly floral which isn’t very me. Very, very light throw and super short wearlength. By the way it is nothing like the Discontinued Arkham (a completely different blend), just in case anyone was wondering.

[Nepthys]

This is like the violet cousin of Pink Moon and strikes me as an excellent perfume for Poison Ivy (the DC comic character) to wear. I can't stop sniffing this because first I pick up the light florals, then something kind of mossy and green, then it's wildflowers again... I am not one for florals but this is so perfectly balanced that I could easily wear this and not feel overpowered by flowers. I would wear this to the office or any event where I wanted a scent that was feminine and innocent without being too girlish.

[The_Merf]

In the imp: Very light and indistinct. There's some sort of green note there. Maybe looking at the list I'll say pine?

 

Wet: Woods and leaves, very green. Maybe a hint of floral.

 

Drydown and wear: This one fades quickly, but it does have that "New England fall at a prep school" sort of aura to it. It seems like a good companion to MiskU in that way.

[theseagrows]

strangely enough, this is not a very "me" scent, but something about it is intriguing me. i dont smell any of the pine or foresty notes at all, except maybe very distantly in the background. i smell a sweet floral, which reminds me of a less sweet and intense version of empyreal mist, which was far too strong for me.

 

i don't think i'd buy a bottle but i'll keep my imp.

[Alchemy21599]

In the vial: Violets, with a green note and a hint of moss.

 

Wet: Violets.

 

Dry: This is a very pretty violet scent, however I did not get any of the tree scents that I was expecting.

[The_Witching_Hour]

In the bottle: Floral right out of the gate but something is quite unique about this one. I usually don't go hog-wild over florals but this one really strikes me.

 

On my skin: I'm still shocked that the florals in this haven't turned me off! Maybe its the subtle woods that I'm getting starting to peek out in this stage?

 

Dry: it must be the violet that makes this scent so unique and a beauty of a floral. This scent has taught me that of all the florals I've always thought sabatoged scent experiences for me......violet is a huge reason to take a chance! Can't wait for the Spring to bring this one out again.

[Miss Lynx]

I am getting a whole lot more flowers than forest in this -- it's very, very floral-perfumey on me, at least initially. Not to an awful extent - the flowers in it are not your typical ones, and it does smell a bit unique, and fresher than most, but it's still a case of "Holy Florals, Batman!" at the outset.

 

Once it dries down a bit, though, the wood notes seem to come out a bit more, and begin to balance the flowers a little, toning down the sweetness. There's still an unmistakable perfuminess to it, but in a slightly unconventional way. You could wear this at the office without anyone thinking you were a complete weirdo, and yet it's still fairly distinctive.

 

Unfortunately, it's not really me -- there's a dryness to it that tickles the back of my nose a bit, and while I can appreciate the scent, it's not really the sort o thing I tend to wear, even when stretching my boundaries. I think I will likely just be thankful for the opportunity to have tried it, and pass it on to someone else.

 

Grade: C+/B-

[Lit Chick]

It's a very nice, very traditional floral - however the violet makes it turn ugly on my skin.

 

What I smelled initially was lovely, but violet turned it chemical.

 

Crazy good staying power (much to my dismay).

[tinyvulture]

a mix of several different wildflowers, interspersed with soft green herbal notes. and the woods – i’m not familiar with the individual notes like maple and birch, so i’ll just say that whatever woods i’m smelling seem very soft and powdery, like when you smell sandalwood incense…only this isn’t sandalwood. that might not make much sense, but really, the woods in this are soft and comforting and serve to tone down the bright florals. i’m not really a floral girl, so the woods saved this one for me. it just makes me think of being outdoors, walking through a park in the springtime.

[filigree_shadow]

This a pretty scent -- it smells like meadows of flowers. It's calming, pretty, and soft. There's an overtone of some floral note that's a bit too sour for me, but it isn't bad. This isn't my favorite floral, but I don't object to it as much as I object to most florals. It smells very natural.

[little_galaxie]

Wow...shadowy and unapproachable? I think not! On me, it screams SPRING! I get a very berryish smell from this, combined with soft, sweet florals. It's a bit soapy on me, but I like that here, it somehow *works.* This is my mood-lifting scent, and it layers beautifully with Posset's Christmas in New Orleans.

[le fey]

In the bottle:

Perfumey - a profusion of wildflowers, cool in tone.

 

Wet:

Mmm.... smelling the woods now, and can pick out the violets as well. Heady and cool, as if I'm standing on a shadowy path in the woods. The pine is strong, but the florals are keeping it from turning to Pine-Sol.

 

Dry (15 min):

As it dries down, the florals get stronger and sweeter, as if being crushed underfoot. The piney scent is moving to the background, and something spicy and green is coming out. I like this. It's bringing back sensory memories of time spent walking in the woods.

 

Later (30 min):

Drat. The pine and cypress are bubbling back up, and while it doesn't smell like Pine-Sol exactly, it's creating a sour taste in the back of my through and making my eyes burn. Just like Pine-Sol. I so wanted to love this, but that's going to be a deal breaker.

 

Verdict:

I'm so disappointed! This smells so good, but now I'm starting to feel like I'm choking and want to throw open a window to air out the room. On a more positive note, it's creating an urge to go clean something. sigh.

[porcelina]

green, woody and flowery. it smells like plants. i can't pick out anything in particular, nor is it especially evocative of a forest... it just smells like plants. (interestingly, i thought this might be an alright unisex scent because i don't get very much of the flowers on me, but i put it on my bf and it just turned straight to an overpowering floral scent- way too girly!)

[DifferentDances]

Imp: Too many scents, too nose-crinkly.

Wet on skin: .....new car smell?? What the hey?

Dry down: Medicinal trees.

Dry: Smells like an old pair of my dad's leather shoes from four feet up. Shoe polish, maybe?

 

My rating: 1/5.