Uruk

[Suu4LC]

A city of mystery, wonder and majesty, said to have been built by order of Gilgamesh. Thick bitter almond and heady night-blooming jasmine with saffron, cinnamon leaf, red patchouli, river lilies, bergamot, fig leaf and the sacred incense of Inanna.

Oh Uruk, what in interesting scent you are!

In the imp all I got was very strong bitter almond. Way too thick and syrupy for my tastes. The almond was overpowering with just teensy hints of cinnamon and patchouli.

On the skin it starts morphing immediately. The almond note falls aside to make way for the cinnamon and the incense. Then the patchouli. Then, there it is, the jasmine. The jasmine becomes the strongest note to me when this dried. Sort of a spicy sweet cinnamon jasmine. Very complex!

I really didn't think i'd like this, but it's growing on me. This may have to be a full bottle purchase one day!

[MaeKitty]

Wet: Almonds. Bleh. Oh, and a bit of jasmine and patchouli.

On Me: Wow, this one fades really quick. By the time I got to work, I could barely smell it. The almond dies down completely (YAY!), but so does everything else. I really do love this one anyway. The spices and incenses just blend together beautifully. It feels like a nighttime scent. Beautiful. I wish it wasn't so weak on me.

[vampkat]

Wet: Hmm..I have no idea what is jumping out at me, bjut it's being held back by the patchouli

Dry down: ICK My nose is being assaulted by patchouli

Dry: GET IT OFF!!

ZERO

[forspecial_plate]

*sigh* Lily strikes again! This started as a very interesting, perfumey almond scent (I like almond so this is a good thing). Just a few minutes later, it turns very soapy (or what I think of as soapy). Piercing and unappealing. I'm almost positive lily is the culprit because on my skin, some lily notes stomp down all the other notes and shout, "I'm gonna SOAP YOU UP!!!". This blend isn't quite that bad....I can smell the other notes trying to come forward....but it's not working. Oh, well.

[seamor]

Wet: Rose. That kind of sickly candy rose I get sometimes. Candy rose with baby oil. Oh, *checking description* it's jasmine? Wups! Okay, then, sickly candy jasmine with baby oil. Sickly candy jasmine and maybe some water lily. Yeah, pretty sure I don't care for jasmine …

 

I'll wear it for a while and see what happens.

 

Dry: A kind of sweet vanilla-ish scent, faint and close to the skin. No incense. Maybe a very faint whiff of red patchouli mixed in there, but maybe just my imagination.

 

Not at all what I expected, and almost gone after only an hour. Just as well, since I wasn't enjoying it overmuch.

 

*sigh*

[donnatron]

Imp: Almond-syrup scent. Smells like Hecate's biker boyfriend.

 

Wet: HELLLLLOOOOO ALMOND! The almond just flashes through like lightening and then it's gone, leaving a delicious dry incense-y scent. I am getting the patchouli and the incense the most heavily. Me likey.

 

Dry: Delicious. A well rounded, soft incense blend with touches of floral. If Dee and The Caterpillar have taught me anything, it's just to embrace the incense. The incense apparently has it bad for me.

 

Throw: I slathered myself in Hanging Gardens earlier and then put this on the back of my hand. I can smell it loud and clear when I get up close but otherwise it's in a cloud of HG. Probably decent on its own.

 

Overall: Do I REALLY need a vast collection of incense-based blends? Yes. Yes I do.

[Dracoo9]

The discription of Uruk seemed perfect till I read the incence part. Damn. Incence always goes funky on me.

 

When I first put it on it actually stung a little and I was worried that it would be the first scent I have to run to the bathroom and wash off. Even now, typing this it still kind of stings but is tolerable. I just get cinnamon and incence notes and its somewhere between air freashner smelling and soap.

1/5

[CrazyPretzel]

Uruk opens with a blast of almond (which is not particularly bitter, by the way!) but that soon settles down. The first other discernible note is saffron. With the cinnamon and red patchouli in there, I can't quite figure out why this smells as *clean* and *fresh* as it does, but there we are. Maybe it's the lilies and bergamot doing that.

 

The jasmine in this is a little powdery but it is not heady or cloying, so those who don't like jasmine will probably still be able to wear it. I also don't get a strong scent of cinnamon from this at all. It's a fresh, sweet, slightly powdery blend with a bit of incense sparkling away in the background. Kind of nice! I'm going to keep my imp and wear it some more to see how it goes.

[Kitrona]

In cataloging my imps, I found a need to retest most of them. This is one of the first to be retested. When I saw the description, I thought, 'Aww, crap, I didn't know it had jasmine. Oh well, I'll try it anyway.'

 

In imp: Very almond.

 

Wet on skin: Still very almond, though some of the other notes seem to be pushing their way through.

 

Drydown: This is a deep scent, pretty nearly the opposite of Bess. The almond's definitely the predominant note, but some of the others are definitely there. So far, the jasmine has been absent, thank gods.

 

Verdict: Woohoo, a blend that hasn't been (so far) ruined by jasmine! I really like this, all dark and deep and musky... 'heady' is a good description.

 

Later: Ew. Something went horribly wrong and it now smells rancidly too-sweet. *sigh*

 

My husband's Verdict: "Kind of musky-ish, sort of reminds me of a fruitier Velvet."

Edited April 20, 2008 by Kitrona

[Alarine]

Had to make my first review post for a favorite.

 

Imp: Very spicy and dry at first; mostly spices and incense and patchouli and a little citrus, for the first test. The second time, I noticed the bitter almond and spices first, then the rest.

 

On my skin at first: Spices/incense/patchouli/mmmm. After a bit, the jasmine and lilies showed up, and everything else was still strong, and there was a hint of something aquatic, too.

 

After about six hours: It stayed really nice; got a little faded and powdery - almost dusty, really - from the jasmine and perhaps the lilies. It stayed pretty balanced; I could still smell most of the listed notes, surprisingly, and nothing really took over.

 

Both times I've tried it, I could smell it for 10+ hours, it didn't morph much, it was surprisingly calming, and it did make me think of (the much nicer-smelling side of) walking around in a very old city.

 

Definitely planning to get a bottle of this lovely one.

[ladyver]

have to first confess that i am a almond fan, so i bought a bottle without testing as there was pretty high chance i was going to like this one!

 

bottle: yep, bitter almonds.

wet on skin: almonds.

drying: almonds, patchouli, spot of saffron, cinnamon & incense.. patchouli starting to dominate, but before i need to worry the other flowers and almond are definitely there. interestingly, while the patchouli dominates when my nose is on my wrist, the almond has throw and that's what i notice while doing household chores.

 

almost 2 hours later is is beautiful almond scent back up gorgeous blend of all notes. it has more depth/darkness than my other almond purfumes so a great addition

[savage_rose]

It's mostly almond, so of course all I can smell is powder and a light, musky spiciness on my skin. It's too light without the almond...but in the imp, it was nice. I might use this as a room scent.

[Lamia]

In the bottle, it smells like old lady. Fresh, it's DELICIOUS, gold and almonds. Drydown is quick, leaving one disappointed. Uruk is like finally getting that yummy boy in bed, and finding out that he not only doesn't give head, but he's a minute man.

 

*sigh*

[gchris]

Interesting, not sure what to think. Smells almost like a dark carbonated bererage without the bubbles, but mixed with toilet cleaner.

Now It has faded into something light and gently perfumey.

[goblinshark]

there is some ingredient in a few of the oils I've tried that really does not agree with my skin; no matter how nice something smells in the imp, it turns into cardboard and cheap air freshener on me. Whatever that is, it's in Uruk. I haven't checked to see if they have any notes in common but Caliban reacted exactly the same way on me even though it smelled really nice and green in the imp. Dangit.

[mgrazulis]

In the vial: Almonds and fig

 

Wet: watery lilies, jasmine and patchouli in a soft smoky resin

 

Dry: the almonds tame down quickly, this blends into a gentle cinnamon, bergamot darkness. The jasmine is there, but never dominates!

 

Verdict: once this dries after an hour or so--it becomes next to impossible to distinguish the notes. It becomes very dusty and light on me. Not much throw, my skin is sucking it up. This may be one that I have to re-apply to make it last. I like the smokiness, though!

 

Mid-afternoon to say: this gets much deeper as the day goes on. The bergamot and jasmine move forward, the almonds in the backgrounds still.

 

Although I like this one well enough, I am satisfied to keep my imp.

 

Edited July 22, 2008 by mineralfairy

[anguissette]

I was very happy this worked on me. I have a thing for the ancient near east so Uruk caught my eye right away. Unlike patchouli, red patchouli and I get along marvelously. This was strongly incensey but in a good way, in my opinion. Probably won't get a bottle, but will use my imp at the right times, and wouldn't mind another imp or two if they came my way. I'd be interested in trying it out as a candle/room scent too.

[zankoku_zen]

This one didn't work out for me. I think part of it was the jasmine, which was very sharp, and it was bitter, almost acrid, incense.

 

Yeah, stinky and the bad kind too.

[mylogicsaysburnsendmeaway]

This was one I so wanted to love with gorgeous notes and a great story. To start with it is beautiful bitter almond and jasmine. During drydown I get a little yummy fig, incense, patchouli, saffron, and cinnamon. But this blend fades to powder quickly, and has a very low throw. Someday I will try to age this to get the incense and patchouli stronger, so there is not such a powder drydown. As it was I saved the bottle of this I had sprung on unsniffed by mixing in a little Anny Bonny. To add insult to injury, on top of the nummy notes not lasting, with the sweet powdery drydown I had a few people ask if I was wearing Chanel.

[Iceblink]

The almond-and-jasmine combination didn't work for me in Salome and it's not working here either. They work together to smell absolutely dirty and unclean. I do smell a bit of patchouli in there but it's mostly just that unwashed almond aroma and...yeah, no.

[EauQue]

In the Imp: almonds, oh yeah

 

Wet at first: Almonds.

Then lilies/jasmine.

 

Half-wet: Oh yeah! My friend bergamot is here! B and I are bestest buds! Almond is practically gone at this point, and it's only been 10 minutes.

 

5 minutes later - a hint of cinnamon! This is definitely a surprising morpher of a scent!

 

5 minutes later - the incense - this is a SUBTLE version of Hot Topic on a good day ( I mean that with absolute sincerity and truth! Take the usual HT incense fragrance and mute it down.... it's nice!)

 

5 min late - FIG

 

Dry down result - I'm not sure. Everything I was really liking is gone.

 

I might try it again another day, but I think I will swap this one.

[arithmetock]

I got this as a frimp, which is good because I never would have tried it otherwise. I'm not sure I like patchouli, and frankly almond scares the hell out of me. Though the almond is strong in the bottle, it mellows out once it's on my skin. After that, it's mostly just jasmine (which I love). I wouldn't get a bottle, but I'm definitely enjoying the imp.

[hlinspjalda]

In the vial: Marzipan with saffron and bergamot.

 

Wet: Deliciously marzipan and saffron, with bergamot and something floral I can't identify.

 

Twenty minutes: Pungent headachy floral now (is that the lilies?), with a lot of other sharp notes. Where's the almond, the saffron, the incense, the patchouli? Argh! I've had good luck with night-blooming jasmine before, is this going to go wrong on me?

 

One and a half hours: Fail. No point in going any farther with this one, it's bitter and headachy. Too bad, I really wanted this one to work.

 

I think it's the "river lily" note that killed this one for me; every other note works on me just fine, and it was an unfamiliar floral that did me in.

[voodoocatwoman]

Mmmmm... wet this smells like almond. On drydown, it turns into a sultry incense. There's jasmine in the background. Cinnamon too. (and one other something I can't name) I just wish that it lasted longer. It is gorgeous!!

[tajana]

This was just tragic! I was looking forward to elements of this scent... I love almonds, saffron, cinnamon, incense, and patchouli is often good as well. Alas, as soon as I sniffed the imp I began to feel less optimistic. Jasmine. Jasmine, jasmine, jasmine... my sworn enemy. On my skin, I smelled the incense, patchouli, and other flowers, as well as a little bit of almond and spice, but the most prominent note? Skewed, warped jasmine. My skin warps this particular note to a headache inducing, horrifying hybrid of old lady and wet dog, and amps it to the exclusion of all the other notes in Uruk.