Maenad

[polydactyl]

Orgiastic mayhem in the extreme: sweet strawberry and orange blossom distorted by carnation, black poppy and hibiscus.

Sweet, fruity, and slightly smoky - gothic strawberry, I'd call it. Not an artificial berry fragrance, it's subtler and more natural. The orange blossom, carnation, and other notes give it a dark complexity, but it's still a very youthful scent. This maenad is definitely a teenager in thick, black eyeliner.

[tinyvulture]

I like this, but I feel like I’m too old to wear it because it seems very innocent and little girl-y. It’s a sweet (but not too sweet), delicate, cheerful strawberry scent on me. Makes me think of picking strawberries on a sunny summer day. I can’t detect any of the floral notes.

[yummysushitoo]

At first, there's a confusion of smells, but once it dries a little, I get the hint of strawberry, and orange comes through. I also smell a floral, which must be the hibiscus. I've never been able to smell carnations or poppies, so that's a big mystery to me .

 

A little later, and the strawberry and orange come through to the forefront. There's a tiny hint of floral in the background to temper the fruits, which makes for a pleasant combination.

 

I really like this. A nice scent for summer, with the fruits and florals. I would say it's appropriate for day or evening.

[dcmo]

Maenad is girly, fruity, sweetly floral and almost candy-like. I do pick up the grape vibes that someone else mentioned, even though there aren't grapes in this oil. I picture this as a bright purple. Maybe its the hibiscus or poppy that reminds me of grapes. Sorry not an expert nose at picking out individual notes like many of you are.

 

Funny thing is I've got quite a bit of attention today from some males which is interesting seeing I've wore Come To Me, and Follow Me Boy and the like with no reaction. I wear Maenad and I had a very cute guy following very closely behind me sniffing loudly this morning. Once he realized he was caught he smiled and winked. Very cute!

 

This has excellent staying power on me as well. Six hours later and still going as strong as when I first put this on. I think this is the first scent that I haven't completley agreed with Shrieking Violet on, which suprises me since I find normally I echo her thoughts exactly (although she puts it so much more eloquantly than I do!!)

 

Definitely a keeper and sneaking it's way into my top ten as the day goes on!

[Obesa_Cantavit]

I love this, but as another reviewer mentioned I feel too old to wear it. It smells very youthful and girly to me. I can smell the strawberry and I would swear that there was some sweet apple in this too, although it doesn't mention any in the description, it seems so light, fruity and innocent, but has a darker almost menacing undertone which makes the fragrance a most appealing dichotomy. Unusual and contradictory, I may get a bottle just for those days when I do still feel footloose and fancy free.

[k00kaburra]

In bottle: Strawberries and sharp orange blossom, with black poppy darkening and twisting the sweeter berry note. No detection of carnation wet.

On me: Definitely a darker strawberry. Sweet strawberry is the strongest note, and unlike some of the other strawberry fragrances (Bon Vivant, for example) it doesn't have even the slightest hint of artificial fragrance. It is a chaotic strawberry, with the orange blossom equally strong. Very fruity, but not in a typical "cucumber melon" sense. Even folks that normally are not a fan of fruit should try this; itis quite unique and I imagine quite a few people would be surprised at how much they enjoy it.

[Orodemniades]

I'll write a longer review later (damned work), but on skin this is a dead ringer for Lush's Cereology soap! Which I love! Yay!

 

A week later: Well, I still like it, but it so does not smell like Cereology during and after drydown it's not funny. But, initially, I swear that it does.

 

Swiped along one wrist, I found Maenad quite overpowering for the first 30-45 minutes or so, but then it dries down a lovely strawberry incense scent. However, it's not a perky, bright pink fruit scent, but more dark, as someone else put it, a Gothic Strawberry...more of a head shop scent than JC Penney, if you know what I mean. I don't know if I'll wear it out of the house, but I do like it.

 

Oro

Edited June 15, 2005 by Orodemniades

[harlequin]

Hmm.. I don't pick out any of the sweeter notes in this. Poppy and Hibiscus are definitely strong with this one. Okay.. now that I've sniffed it again in the vial, I get i hint of the sweeter notes, but they are nowhere to be found on my skin in any stage. Though on the darker side to me, it's actually very perfumy-floral, which is a no-no for me, alas.

 

Of course, I hadn't really realized this was in the Diabolus section (or I forgot.. which is just as likely).. silly me. Off to the swap pile, I guess.

[OriginalWacky]

Bottle (Imp): Smells like fruit.

 

Just On: Fruit, with evergreen. It goes pretty bitter on my skin.

 

An hour or two later: It mellows down to a sweet fresh fruit scent that is quite lovely.

 

Around 6 hours: Much more like fresh fruit than anything else, and it's starting to fade away.

 

12 hours: It's pretty much gone.

 

Overall: It starts out with some bitterness... then it turns to a lovely sweet scent that I could sniff for hours.

 

After reading other reviews: It wasn't really strawberries that I was smelling per se, but I'm gonna bet that was the fruit I got.

[modesty_blaise]

Disappointed!

 

I didn´t get any fruit or sweet candy, all I got was INCENSE... and a strong one at that. Just to make it perfect I can´t stand incense and it gives me a headache. I had to go scrub it off, and the positive aspect of Maenad would be that it was veeery stubborn and long-lasting

[olympia301]

 

I thought that Maenad was an old fashioned sort of a scent. I think they really would have worn something that smelled like this in Ancient Greece. It is pleasant, but I cannot pick out the carnation or orange blossom for the life of me. It settles down to a smooth pretty sort of 1950's face cream fragrance and stays there. This one may not win a prize for original essence but it is a real good old time scent which would really be good with costumes from the 1890's on back. I liked it but I guess I am just too modern to say I want to own it.

 

One nice side effect of reviewing Maenad is that now I know how to spell maenad!

[sun_set_bravely]

Maenad

 

In Bottle: Sweet but with a serious kick. I smell some jalapeno pepper undertone in this one. There's also a bit of musk in there.

 

Wet, On Skin: Ooh, this is wicked! It wavers between being sweet and peppery and mass-produced perfume. I'm not sure what this wants to be. I'm not getting any of the strawberry, sadly. The orange is strong. Whoa - did I just smell a rice cake? On second sniff, my hunch is confirmed. I'm wearing a rice cake on my wrist right now.

 

1.5 Hours on Skin: It's faded dramatically. The pepper-kick is almost gone, and there's only sweetness left. It blends well with my skin; when I sniff, I smell a little sweetness wrapped up in my own scent.

 

Drydown: It's very faint now, and smells a bit like Play Doh. I love Play Doh, so that's a good thing.

 

Conclusion: Fun for spicy occasions, but will need frequent reapplication.

[Lycanthrope]

In the Bottle or Imp:

Whoa. Smells just like one of my favorite incense fragrances of all time, AIRS Dragon Cloud. Has a very swirly, fruity-floral topnote that seems to be composed of lots of exotic white flowers, with a very strong berry-fruit aroma underneath.

Wet, on Skin:

More Dragon Cloud, but it's fading, the florals getting forcefully shoved out of the way by the powerful red berry and sweet apricot. There's a hint of herbal, but mostly just sweet at this point.

Drying Down:

...unbearably so. My gosh, I'm starting to smell like a giant strawberry.

Over Time:

...sigh. It went simple and too sweet on me. I liked the start.

Final Verdict?

Swap pile.

 

ETA. Whoever said this smells like Cereology... yeah, it does... freaky! I may have to keep it (and let it settle on me for... 1 h ) after all...

Edited July 7, 2005 by Lycanthrope

[Ajila]

Wet on me this was quite a synthetic smelling sweet floral mishmash that was practically head ache inducing. Fortunately it dried quickly and when it did it was a pretty strawberry and orange blossom combination that was very more-ish. Once that intitial blow to the nose has gone this is a very lovely blend.

[puck_nc]

This was a blind purchase off LJ, but I had hopes for it once I read the description.

 

In the bottle: Yuk! A very harsh and astringent blast of citrus. All sour orange. I'm not sure I want to put this on!

 

Wet: Okay, it's not quite so biting, but it's still a very strong citrus tang. Be patient...be patient...don't wash it off yet...

 

Drydown: Okay, finally the flower notes are emerging and I can smell the carnation and hibiscus that were the reason I wanted to try this. But the fruits keep it so sticky and sweet that I know I won't wear this again.

 

Final verdict: It's so not me. Too young and too in-your-face for my liking. Sold to a fellow addict.

 

Shannon

[Phaedra]

This was a freebie included in one of my recent orders. Wet it smells a bit musty and fruity. It goes on as strawberry but with some bitter note to balance out the sweetness. After a couple of hours it develops a smokey quality and reminds me of strawberry incense. This is an interesting fruity and herbal blend, really unique.

[lissamc]

Wet: Not sweet. Hard to pick out what I'm smelling. Oh wait, here's a bit of strawberry starting, but it is dark. Getting thicker and sweeter as it sinks into the skin.

 

1 Hour: Strawberry chapstick wafts as I move around. When I've got my nose to my wrist I can get the orange mixed in, deepened and sharpened by some of the other notes. The chapstick reminds me of some of the scents from my childhood, and the orange mix is more complex and nice. Neat.

 

2 Hours: Fading. The chapstick is mellowing down. Sweet, but not sickly sweet, with some depth. There is a kind of incense overlay.

 

3 Hours: Sweet faded incense.

 

6 Hours: Pretty much gone.

[zankoku_zen]

I have high hopes for this one!

 

In the Bottle: Strawberry sweetness... and something else.

 

On Skin: Strawberry with a hint of bitterness, which I'm either going to attribute to the carnation or the black poppy. This is a nice counterbalance, I was going to worry if it was overly sweet. It's deceptive. The strawberry fades quite fast on me as other florals come to play... florals I don't think I have sniffed before.

 

On Drydown: This scent fades fast from my skin. The strawberry is gone and I think I'm mainly smelling black poppy and hibiscus, and perhaps the orange blossom, but I really can't tell. It's floral but there's a certain darkness to it.

 

Verdict: I had worried that this might be too sweet or innocent on me and it doesn't. However, it fades so fast from my skin that I would have to douse myself in it. So off to swap.

[empi girl]

Whoever said this smells like strawberry incense, I agree. It smells like strawberry, with the carnation and poppy adding a fuzzy, spicy, incense quality to it. Interesting, but not something I'd wear often.

[telesilla]

In the bottle: Pickle juice. Really. Ew. Don't get me wrong; I like pickles, but not as, you know ... perfume.

 

Wet: Sweet pickle juice. Oh boy.

 

Drying down: Orange blossom and carnation. Better than pickles.

 

Dry: No pickles anymore. *is relived* Spicy orange blossom. I don't get strawberry or the other florals. It's actually kind of masculine in a weird way, sort of a gents version of orange water.

 

Later: Alas, all the spiciness has faded and all my skin is hanging onto is an orange blossom/strawberry smell that's actually kind of ordinary and way too young for a 42 year old.

[Carmencita]

I got "Maenad" in a swap.

 

In the bottle it is reminiscent of "Vice" with a citrus smell.

 

On me in all stages it is sweet strawberry. It smells like a plastic Strawberry Shortcake doll my sister had when she was little.

 

The florals I can't smell at all individually. They just seem to add a little complexity to the strawberry scent.

 

I know a lot of you didn't like it, but I love it! I can't stop smelling my wrist. It's a very 'young' and innocent scent, reminds me of playing games when I was little, and for some reason of the 80s.

 

Probably going to get a 5ml of this.

[quimerula]

It starts with an odd, ugly note on my skin.

 

I get a strong and fruity scent, and I can pick the poppy, the strawberry and the orange blossom.

 

It's fresh and sweet, but my skin ruins it.

[erikasilverstein]

I've tried this twice, because it sounded so delicious.

 

Unfortunately, I get the same nail-polish remover smell I am getting from Strawberry Moon (which I have also tried multiple times in the hopes that it will grow on me).

 

In the bottle, it's very sweet-sticky strawberries, with an anstrigent undercurrant.

 

On my skin, it takes a while for the nail-polish-remover element to wear off. By the time it gets to a wearable sweet-spicey-slightly 'green' stage, it's faded almost completely.

 

Oh well. Swaps it is.

[Little Bird]

Maenad was too much strawberry for me to handle, even though it only lasted for about an hour on my skin. It was a bad hour.

 

At first this smelled like something sharp and bitter layered over strawberry. Like a strawberry that was poisonous and had thorns. Then the sharpness fades and a burnt smell comes out. Orange blossom always smells like burnt orange peels on me.

 

I can definitely see the strawberry incense scent that everyone described in the drydown... but I don't like it. It's sickeningly sweet and smoky on me. This is just too much fruity sweetness.

[Avery]

YUM!

Okay, now this one I hadn't expected to like, based on the reviews... I got to try it at the same time as Strawberry Moon, but I actually like this one more! To my nose and peculiar skin chemistry this does indeed smell like "gothic strawberry" (as a previous reviewer mentioned)... it's sweet, and while it doesn't smell *quite* like fresh cut strawberries, it doesn't have the plastic-y smell that I (sadly) got from Strawberry Moon. And while strawberries connote a "purity", it must be the poppy coming out and giving this it's dark bite. I love it!

 

Wet it is stronger, and hints at more depth and dark florals than straight berry. Carnation is lending a bit of spice here, but it's definitely an undercurrent and not a major player.

 

This softens dramatically over time, but retains sweet mystery, even when it's almost completely gone (after a couple of hours). Maenad is a definite winner in my book. I am for sure hanging on to this imp, and depending on how my sampling frenzy goes may go in for a bottle.