Goneril

[friendthegirl]

White geranium, calla lily, cedarwood and black orchid. A gentle floral bouquet masks a sinister and black-hearted core.

I can't pick out any particular notes yet, but it does smell very sinister with a dark tinge.

[Thanatopsis Azraelis]

I like cedar and I like florals, so I figured I'd give this one a shot. I wasn't disappointed!

 

It's exactly like the description says. On top, there's a few sweet floral notes that blend together rather uniformly, and under that, an unexpected, darker cedar note. This scent has *depth*.

 

And it smells nice, too. It smells a bit like dial soap when totally dry on me, but other than that, it worked with my chemistry well enough.

[roisnoir]

Wet: Almost citrus in brightness. This would be an amazing soap.

Dry: I thought this was just going to be another nice light scent, but not a standout, but I was *wrong* - this is divine. There's a lemon-like intensity to it. Fresh and clean. It'd be perfect for days that no matter how often you shower, you still feel gucky.

I need to try this as a room scent, too.

[Ina Garten Davita]

First Impression: Sweet florals with a smooth woodsy backdrop.

 

Second Impression: This kept getting sweeter the longer I wore it. The cedar was ever present, keeping this from getting sickly or seeming innocent.

 

Final Analysis: After several hours a the woodsiness turns sharp, but not in an unpleasant way. This is one beautful blend.

[Koumori]

Goneril put me in mind of daffodils, a bright spicy spring floral. The cedar comes through upon drydown, making for a very intriguing blend. That said, I don't seem to be having much luck with the staying power of my latest batch of Imps, and Goneril is the worst offender of the bunch - it's gone within just a couple of hours.

[jj_j]

Really lovely. Cedar, but not overpoweringly woodsy at all.

 

I second Thanatopsis Azraelis's review - it really sums this one up for me, aside from the part about me really wanting a bigger bottle.

[Becky]

I love this scent! when I first sniffed it in the imp all I got was the cedar note. then for about the first 5-10 minutes I had it on it was all cedar as well, but then it morphed into a wonderful beautiful scent. the cedar faded into the background and the florals came out. not heavy florals, but soft sweet, woodsy florals. I would never have picked this one out on my own, so thank goodness for freebies! I love this fragrance!

 

ETA: for some reason when I put this other places than my wrists (neck etc) it turns to bug spray! if I sniff my wrist I can smell the lovely scent reviewed above, but all around me is a haze of mosquito repellent! it does not make me happy.

Edited June 7, 2004 by Becky

[MissAnthropy]

First whiff: Whammo... black orchid. First note that jumped out at me right off the bat. The calla lily was a definate under-tone, and the granium? I didn't really notice that.

 

On: Again... whammo with the black orchid! YUM! What a sensual scent. The description of the gentle floral bouquet masking the sinister and black hearted core - perfectly worded, except for me... in reverse.

 

An hour later: 2 words: STAYING POWER. The lighter hints have faded down, and the black orchid is standing pretty much on it's own now, and it's fantastic. It's downright decadent, and attention grabbing.

 

I would buy a 5ml of "Goneril" - mayhaps, because of that black orchid strength. All in all... a great scent.

 

 

-Leslie

[fallow deer]

This is a strong, bold, confidant floral. I couldn’t really pin any of the notes down, but I didn’t really give myself enough time to be honest.

 

I can't say what it smelt like on my skin since I couldn't bring myself to put it on.

 

Goneril really smelt like a perfume that a businesswoman in a power suit and heels would wear for a meeting, and from whom I would wince away if she stood too close on the tube.

 

Its stylish, but simply not me.

 

Swapped!

 

-fallow deer

[paperdoll]

Initial Sniff:I really smell the cedar in the bottle. Woodsy and floral - and a little sharp.

 

Wearing: I really dislike this when wet. The sharp, woodsy tones knock me over for the first half hour, until the sweet black orchid takes over. This is lovely when dry, as the cedar provides depth and grounding for the ethereal florals,

 

Final Impressions: This reminds me of an older, wiser Queen Mab. The drydown is very similar to that scent but with more depth. Nice, but a little too close to powdery for my style.

[Effluvia]

in the vial: The image of being surrounded by giant, monster sunflowers!!

 

wet, on my skin: ...Soil? Soil and a slight licorice-y floral scent.

 

drying, on my skin: I’m getting a lemon-scented black rosiness smell mingling with the smell of mulch. I feel like I’m at one of those outdoor flower nurseries directly after a rainstorm when you can smell rain-soaked mulch and wood chips and flowers and the sun’s peeking out of the clouds.

 

Sigh. This is a glorious creation, as usual.

[Shollin]

First sniff: A grey veil drawn over soft cedar in the morning mist. Goneril isn't overtly floral, but the greyness smooths out the sharpness cedar usually has.

 

Wearing: The topnote is faintly sweet and very light, and the cedar is still firmly underneath. It took me a while to figure out the geranium – it isn’t a scent I expect to encounter in perfume, but it plays well with the cedar. It’s a softer, paler floral than I generally like, but it’s very pretty and I found myself sniffing and smiling all evening.

[Donnababe]

First Sniff

 

Greenery.

 

Drydown

 

More green than floral with a sharp aquatic feel.

 

After a While

 

The floral note does get stronger but I can't pick out the individual flowers and can't shake the aquatic element. It's weird how I don't smell any wood at all.

 

Final Verdict

 

Too harsh and sharp for me, I prefer warming, sensuous blends. Sadly, this does little for me.

[miss apple]

"sinister and black-hearted core" is right. This oil turned positively foul on me. It was an extra in one of my orders and something I probably wouldn't have thought to try. In the vial it smells woodsy but not so much cedar and defintely nothing floral that I can detect. When I first put it on it retains that woody quality but starts to darken and after about an hour it turns so evil that I have to wash it off. This is the first time I've had such a reaction so I'm not sure which element doesn't agree with my skin - I'm thinking it's the cedar. At any rate, this will go into my swap pile.

[tart]

The cedarwood came out very strongly on me. Even after Goneril dries and fades, the cedar is still prominent, never allowing the flowers to come out and play.

[Lucretia]

let me start off my saying that I really enjoyed Goneril and I could see myself wearing it to work or other formal situation.

 

In the bottle: Very strong floral woodsy smell. Afraid that it will be a little bit too "old" for me.

 

First on: smells very floral but harsh. something in it reminds of that smell that's left on your hands after handling metal objects. I can see how some people get a citrus smell out of it.

 

Few hours on: Starting to really like it now as it has started to tone down a bit. Cedarwood is coming out strong, almost smells like an antique wooden cabinet that's been stuffed full of flowers. I'd say the geranium is strongest of the florals

 

Smells very elegant to me, almost like a traditional floral perfume, but the cedar gives it a definite edge. Seems to work very well with my chemistry as it seems a very natural scent on me, nothing jarring or obnoxious.

 

5 hours later: Almost gone now, so I'm going to reapply. Faint smell of powdery flowers with a dash of cedar.

 

I really, really liked this one and I could see myself getting a 5ml for work type events.

Edited August 13, 2004 by Lucretia

[nevermore]

In the vial and for the first minute or two on my skin, this smells oddly like dill pickles. After it dries though, Goneril turns into a lovely combination of geranium and cedar wood, with the orchid showing up after a few hours. I really love this one (after the dill pickle smell fades). It also has quite good staying power, for a floral anyway.

[reina]

I've just recieved an imp of this thanks to Caserina69, and i tried yesterday. I have to say first that I have a little bit of the flu so my nose may not be in full working order... from what I could smell:

 

this is strong. very strong. the geranium amplifies on my skin, I have a feeling that this is what made Lush's Black Magic massage bar too powerful.

 

I put just one swipe of the wand on. a little goes a LONG way on me. so the first few minutes, while it's wet, it wasn't all that pleasant. made me even a little queasy.

However, not to the point of having to wash it off.

 

when it dries it softens up to something that reminds me a bit of freshly crushed coriander seed - rosy, lemony and something else there. it's as if rosewood was mixed in with a drop of lemongrass and a little floral in a supporting role.

it transforms into an exotic, special scent. I like this. I can imagine wearing this to an evening out.

[Lux667]

In the bottle: A very lush floral with definate green and orchad notes, it's almost a little overpowering.

 

Wet: Still very floral and now, musky. Reminds me of Opium or Chloe Narsise(sp) which worries me a bit because I dislike both of those scents immensely for the headaches they inspire.

 

Dry Down: Less musky and more floral with good staying power. The two top notes on me smell like carnations and roses though I know that's not actually what is in the perfume. It smells very similar indeed to Demeter's 'Funeral Home' perfume.

 

Verdict: I like this one but its a perfume for specific occassions and not every day. I don't think I'll swap but its not going to be in my top five.

[Electra]

This one isn't working for me - I'm getting mostly sharp, acrid cedar with very little floral component.

 

Up for swap it goes!

[Northernminx]

In the bottle, a bitter floral scent.

 

In wearing this, the cedar note and black orchid are the strongest scents for me. There is a light floral overnote to this but it's not too sweet or bright as the cedar both mellows and darkens the blend. A very fitting scent for goneril as on first sniff it's quite pleasant but then seems to leave you a little uneasy. This one hasn't stayed very well on me and as it's lovely but not so lovely that I'm gushing i'll pass it on.

[Astarte]

The cedar is the predominant note in this scent, the florals just cant battle their way through even though I can catch a glimpse of them.

 

Again like most cedar containing scents this one just doesnt work with my body chemistry and its hard to get to the florals. Its a pity as I love the fruitiness of calla lily's normally.

[grrrlennyl]

at first: uh-oh. something smells a little pickle-like in this one. i hope it's better on.

on: salty pickles. however, it seems to sweeten a bit, plus there's a bit of flowers coming out.

1 hour later: much lighter. the salty/pickly scent is gone. mostly flowers, but not any one scent in particular.

3 hours later: floral at first, and then a bit salty. however, the pickle smell is gone, so it's actually kind of nice now.

overall: a very odd scent, at least on me. however, i kind of like the oddness, once the pickle smell disappears. this one will be swapped.

[pkwench]

Goneril

 

Vial: A little bit of something medecinal, a little bit of bitter wood, and maybe a tinge of mint.

 

Wet: It's suddenly, just very, very GREEN!

 

After 10: Still green and now very, very floral with that kicked up herby thing going on.

 

After 20: It's floral. Very fresh and now the cedarwood is creeping out, which helps it a lot, but it's still predominately floral on me. To be fair, I have Carnivale on the other hand and I love it so much that I think it ruined my nose for this one. LOL

Edited September 29, 2004 by pkwench

[VorpalBunny]

Goneril was on my wish list for a while because calla lily and orchid are some of my favourite flowers, so I wanted to try it. Out of the bottle: very perfumey. First on: light, sweet, touch of cedar floral. After I wear it awhile, it just becomes a nice, slightly sweet floral, with good staying power. I wouldn't wear it as an everyday scent, but I like it when I'm in the mood for a floral scent.