Mme. Moriarty, Misfortune Teller (2006)

[motdakasha]

Mme. Moriarty, Misfortune Teller

Red musk, vanilla bean, pomegranate, patchouli leaf and wild plum.

 

In the bottle:

Rating: 4

Notes: red musk, patchouli leaf, wild plum

Comment: I'm afraid the patchouli is going to be overpowering.

Wet on skin:

Rating: 4

Notes: red musk, patchouli leaf, vanilla bean

Comment: Definitely a more masculine scent on me due to patchouli, but it's not as bad as I thought. It's also not as fruit as I hoped.

Dry on skin:

Rating:

Notes: patchouli leaf, red musk

Scent Intensity: 4

Comment: As I suspected patchouli became the main note in this for me. Not my style but not too dirty-hippy smelling. Occasionally I'll catch a brief waft of vanilla or red musk.

Misc:

Duration: +5 Hrs

Keyword(s): musky

Color: Rusty nails

Smells like: N/A

Edited July 1, 2008 by Shollin
Fixed BPAL tags --Shollin

[lostluckkitten]

Very juicy, almost overripe plum is the first note I get. Very loud and up front. The red musk lurks beneath it, sweet and almost cloying, but not quite. The patchouli leaf is nowhere to be found, at least not in my lab-fresh bottle.

 

The vanilla bean adds a warm, soft, almost custard-y edge to it, and I can detect the fruity-floral pom hiding behind everything, just barely peeking out.

 

This dries into thick, yummy vanilla bean with a fruity backdrop. Must age more before I pass final judgement, but I like it very much. Not ZOMGLOVE, but seriously considering dating for a while.

[Suu4LC]

In the imp I get smacked in the face with PATCHOULI. And some musk. Maybe some other stuff, but mostly PATCHOULI. Yech. I really hope I get the other notes on my skin, but I think this is going to be a patchouli nightmare on me.

 

Ok, on my skin I do get more of the red musk and plum, but this is just way too patchouli heavy for me. I'm going to give this some time to dry down completely, but darn, if the patchouli was more of a background note I could see myself liking this.

 

On full dry down it really settles into something far more complex than that first sniff. The vanilla bean really sweetens this up, and gives it a creamy edge that definitely takes this out of "hippie" patchouli range. The longer this has been sitting on my skin, the more it has been growing on me.

 

There's something kind of sexy and mysterious about this. Musky sweetness without being too foody or too dirty. The vanilla really makes this blend into something special. This wouldn't be bottle worthy for me because I don't LOVE it and it's still a bit patchouli-heavy for me, but I enjoyed testing it and can see why it is so popular!

Edited June 20, 2008 by Suu4LC

[etienne]

Mme. Moriarty is such a gorgeous soft and sexy blend. I get a lot of patchouli, plums and Snake Oil-style spiciness with the vanilla bean giving this an utterly beautiful, soft and slightly creamy base. This is a very grown up, sexy scent. I feel like it envelopes me into something soft and luxurious - perhaps red velvet.

 

This is fast becoming one of my signature scents and I know I will be hoarding several bottles before the Carnaval leaves town!

[coldandsleepy]

So I could have sworn I'd already reviewed this, but maybe it was on that day when all the posts got eaten...

 

Mme. Moriarty breaks my little heart. It does something almost no perfumes, BPAL or otherwise, have ever been able to do to me: it makes me like vanilla in conjunction with my skin. That villainous vanilla, which has ruined countless otherwise wonderful scents for me, plays polite here. It's gentle and beautiful and clean smelling on my skin, and I love it.

 

The red musk in this is just breathtakingly beautiful too. I like the juicy touch added by the plum and pomegranate. If the scent stopped here, I'd be swimming in it. And my heart wouldn't be broken.

 

But the patchouli. Oh, dear me, the patchouli. Though patchouli is one of my least favorite notes in existence, I can usually handle it in BPAL scents. But the moment MM hits my skin, it's like I'm being haunted by a gang of screaming patchouli demons. It is so loud and so harsh and so at odds with the rest of this scent. Sigh. Dear patchouli,

Edited June 28, 2008 by coldandsleepy

[Indigo78]

The bottle-scent of this is nothing like the skin scent..nothing at all. Very medicinal. On the skin this becomes so, sooo rich and spicy...and thick. I get the Snake Oil references. It dries down to a soft, darkened room scent. I really don't get haunted by patchouli here...In fact, the blend is really sweet and plummy and very close to being just foody on me. *sigh* Confusing chemistry 'o mine.

 

Don't know yet: With so many who love this scent, I won't give up just yet: for now it goes to the "age and see" box.

[eatingthesea]

at first blush, there is definitely a medicinal quality to the mme. that is really quite confusing and off-putting. in fact, before discovering other reviewers have systematically found the scent medicinal initially, i began to suspect i got part of some weird "wrong" batch of the stuff and was really dismayed! i mean, after applying, i'd take a few deep huffs, which left my nostrils tingling, much like they do after inhaling eucalyptus fumes or somesuch. whoa. i'm not too familiar with red musk -- is this typical of it? i do not know. but what i DO know about this scent is that the medicinal introduction completely sloughs off after some time and morphs into this wonderful, deep, deep-red, juicy yet creamy scent that is quite gorgeous and, i must say, yummy. i am not terribly big on fruity scents, but this one works for me since it has the wondrous vanilla bean thrown in. it is a lingerer too...after putting this one on, i have to expect to be wearing it the day through. while i do like patchouli, i don't love it, so i'm glad it doesn't park its heavy butt all over the other notes. this scent is a really good example of a BPAL oil where all the notes do their own thing, contributing to the graceful dance that is mme. moriarty, in equal measure...a work of art. i understand the widespread joy this scent brings.

[Dark Alice]

When I first bought this bottle, I could only smell patchouli and red musk. However, I let this bottle age for six months, and now OMG....Vanilla Bean, red musk, with very little patchouli and my new favorite note wild plum!!! Honestly, the sweetness of the vanilla bean and red musk is what I had hoped for in Snake Oil. I am now wearing it to bed and in love with myself. I am so sad that this will be leaving us soon. However, all is not lost. I have a back up bottle of this and will have at least a few more before the Carnivale rolls out of town!

Edited July 2, 2008 by Dark Alice

[djsiberia]

when i first tried Mme. Moriarty, i didn't really appreciate her and so i let her decant sit for months.

 

then i purchased a bottle of crypt queen. yummm

 

fast forward to a month ago...i re-tried Mme. to determine if it was bottle worthy and WOW...this smells like crypt queen on me.

 

i just got a fresh bottle and there is definitely a noticeable difference. i think i like both fresh and aged Mme. the aged has a more balanced smell...the wild plum & pomegranate are more tame and the vanilla, musk and patchouli are coming out to play more.

 

i think i need to get a couple more back-ups

[isisonearth]

In the bottle I get mainly patchuoli and musk, very smoky and rich. The scent is very deep...I think the fruits are lurking at the bottom.

 

Wet it is a bit more incensy.. the vanilla tempers the patchouli enough for me to enjoy it.

 

As it dries the pomegrante and wild plum start to be more noticeable. It never really becomes fruity though I had hoped that the fruits would be more noticable. It remains dark and mysterious...more sultry than I would normally wear.

[Katherynne]

yeah hi. I may need to get a backup bottle of this before all is said and done.

It's a very creamy, plummy patchouli for me. It's lush! I love it.

Wear time is okay, not great but not ridiculously short. I suspect applied in hair and such it would have much more throw and wear longer, so I'm stoked on that.

[tativa]

every time i wear this, i love it more and more.

 

This is the first scent I have needed more than just a backup bottle for... I'm saving up for a mostly Mme order before CD leaves.

[Czarina]

Sexy sexy sexy. The musk, vanilla, and pomegranate boss the patchouli around so this isn't just a head shop scent.

[Champagne]

I tried an aged imp I suspect, cause it`s an amazing balance of fruity vanilla and musk. The pachouli in the wet stage doesn`t stay on my skin and disappear completely, thanks mr Pachouli! I love it!

[Kabooki]

This is another one that I needed to try due to peer pressure .

 

The Imp kinda scares me, it smells dark and makes me think of dark shops full of unique nicnaks

 

On my skin it starts to morph from pomegranate to patchouli to read musk. Its dark, fruity, spicy, and incense. Its like she has multiple personalities all trying to come out at the same time.

 

As it dries down it starts to get sweeter, but still has this wonderful darkness that I am slowly falling in love with.

[darharper]

I broke down and bought a bottle of this unsniffed. I fully expected to not like it fresh (as many people had the same experience). I wasn't sure if I would like it at all, really.

 

In the bottle, I picked up hints of fruit, but, mostly the patchouli. I like patchouli when it is a balancing note, but, I don't like it when it takes centre stage because I it gives me a headache.

 

I carefully applied just a wee bit and Instant juicy red fruits with a woody dark tone lurking underneath. OMG, this is gorgeous!

 

As it dried down, I was busy, so, not paying much attention. I was playing tug with the dogs, so, my body warmed up and the most amazing smell enveloped me. The lovely fruits, a musky veil, a woody undertone, and VANILLA! Dry, Mme. Moriarty is fantastic! Sultry! Gorgeous! And it just gets better with age? OMG, I MUST HAVE MORE!!!! Two bottles in my next order should do it.

[Lavada]

I swear that, before I ever saw the Mme.'s dark oil, that a woman sitting next to me on a bus was simply drenched in it. I was utterly hypnotised by the smell that I missed my stop until she got up and off at hers. As a memory, it wasn't really that memorable (more of a 'you had to be there' moment, you know?), but I was instantly transported to that bus ride the moment I opened the decant.

 

Unapplied and wet, it's a... redder Snake Oil, if that makes sense. It smells dark dark dark wine red. But, considering my history with Snake Oil, this is fairly discouraging. It's really quite strong too, so I couldn't forget about it (even if I had given up on it) and I'm glad for that... because this dries down into a sultry cloud of awesome.

 

The fruits have a spicy-musky edge to them, and the whole shebang is deepened by the most gorgeous vanilla. I can't pick out the patchouli as patchouli, but I suppose it's the reason why this lingers for so long on me.

 

Massive throw, impressive wearlength. Bottle for sure. Two?

 

ps; if you remember a shifty-eyed asian girl not so inconspicuously sniffing at you on a bus long ago, do let me know!

Edited July 25, 2008 by Lavada

[lucyintheSkywithDemons]

I received my bottle of the Mme today... and I am hooked...

 

This is made of awesome.. everything blends together so well and

the patchouli adds a amazing edge to it .. wow.

 

First on it smelled like a swimmingpool - chlorine and "used" water ( uhmm.. well.. ) - and on it first

smelled like you just got out of that swimming pool and lay yourself drying in the sun.

 

Then the notes show up... wow again .. and it dries down to gorgeous vanilla - subtle patchouli - plum with a lil spicy red wine .

 

Gawd - I loves me my Mme ...

 

Ratings : 4.5 of 5 ( 5 only ever given to Hunter Moon 2004 - so that means a LOT ! )

[twilighteyes]

I haven't let this age yet, but already it is almost certainly going to be love.

 

The patchouli reminds me a lot of Dark Delicacies, which I love. It starts out with patchouli, musk, vanilla, and plum... fades to a smooth warm vanilla musk.

 

Sadly it only lasts about four hours on my skin. I'll need to try her out in the scent locket.

 

I'm thinking that she will be on the back up bottle list regardless, but she's so good while she lasts.

[mazaru]

Soap. Curse you, skin chemistry!

[innocent]

I've been holding off on reviewing Mme. Moriarty. I've applied and sat down at my computer at least four times now, ready to review - and couldn't do it. I just can't decide how I feel about her. I'm mostly getting the musk and patchouli, with occasional faint whiffs of vanilla. She's much drier than I expected and that makes me unhappy. However, my bottle is very new, and reviews seem to indicate that aging with help balance everything out.

 

I think I'll hold onto her a few months and see how I feel. If I decide she's not for me at least there should be plenty of people willing to love her in my steed.

 

I'm glad I got a bottle though, I didn't realize they came with a tarot card and that's awesome! I collect tarot decks (don't read the cards though) and it's cool to have my own Mme. Moriarty card.

Edited August 8, 2008 by innocent

[AmyAngel]

I could have sworn I'd reviewed this already, but it looks like I haven't.

 

I got this in February of 2007, my first bottle ordered from the Lab. I remember opening it and taking a sniff and thinking "Whoa! Alcohol!?!" It was a really strong almost-alcohol scent that made my eyes water. I then tried a tiny bit on my skin and it was kind of rubbery and not-so-great. I later worked out that red musk is usually kind of rubbery and unpleasant on my skin. I was disappointed that my first bottle purchase was a dud. I really did not like Mme. Moriarty, but, as it was my first lab bottle, I decided to keep it, at least for a while.

 

I put it away, and once in a while would open it and take a sniff - the eye-watering alcohol started to calm down eventually, and I tried another skin test. It still wasn't good. Better than it had been, but nothing I could stand to wear, and still just not-right on my skin. I tried it again a few months later, and it had improved a bit, but still was not wearable.

 

Several months later, I tried it yet again, and suddenly it was kind of nice! Not necessarily something I'd wear, but nice.

 

Now, after over a year and a half? It's my FAVORITE! It's wonderful, rich, sexy - not too over the top to wear to work, but perfect for going out. I'm getting more fruit, a rich groundedness, and everything in it has blended perfectly. It's still strong, though not knock-you-down strong like it started out, so I only wear small amounts at a time. Even so, I'm planning to get at least one more bottle before the Carnaval goes away, and the new bottle(s) will be placed in the back corner of the drawer with the Snake Oil bottle, to age to perfection.

[binaryfaerie]

Mme. Moriarty smelled almost completely like patchouli when I put it on. However, as the day wore on, the patchouli faded and I was left with a warm and spicy scent. It's been about twelve hours since I first put it on, and it's still going strong. The spiciness has faded and I'm left with mostly red musk, vanilla bean, and faint spices.

 

Overall, I think Mme. Moriarty is a pretty nice scent, but it's not a "me" kind of scent. I would love it on someone else, but it's not the kind of thing I want to wear myself.

[Victory]

I got to test the madam at a Meet 'n' Sniff, and wow. This has red musk? Red musk? The musk that turns to rabid peanut butter on me? It smells NOTHING like peanut butter. It's amazing. I don't know how old the oil I wested was, but it takes years of aging to get rid of the peanut butteriness of red musk to go away, and I didn't even get a hint of it. Amazing. Freshly on, there's a bit of a jumble of notes, possibly anchored by the patchouli leaf, but it almost immediately calms down to a blanket of musk on my skin. I didn't detect the plum or pomegranate, and can only guess that the vanilla bean was blended with the musk to make it so different from what I expected. I am so pleasantly surprised!

[TereFaerie]

The red musk is the forerunner in this one, but something is turning sour and I'm not certain what.

Practically all I smell is red musk, a purple fruit smell and that weird sourness.

I'll have to let this one sit and give it another try in a week, but I don't think I need a bottle of this one.