Mme. Moriarty, Misfortune Teller (2006)

[hereunto]

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

I bought a bottle of this unsniffed because of all the glowing reviews I've read. When she first arrived, I was so excited to FINALLY smell the hype ... and I was a little disappointed. At first. I know better by now not to form opinions based on first sniff alone. What in the bottle smells overwhelmingly of red musk and patchouli morphs into a gorgeous spicy pomegranate-plum hanging with her patchouli leaf friend on my skin. It's phenomenal (and always puts the hubby in the mood when I wear it). My only complaint is that I wish she hung around longer. My skin seems to love her as much as I do.


I wasn't expecting to love the Madame this much, but I do. Boy do I ever. She's become my go-to scent and I've already ordered a back-up bottle from the lab. Somehow I think a few more might find their way to me before the Carnaval leaves for good. I can't be without her.

[girasol]

Well, well - how things have changed for the gal that thought she only liked soft, light scents! After being bowled over by Snake Oil (against all expectations), I decided to start exploring some of the richer, gutsier scents.

 

Mme Moriarty is another winner! In the bottle it smelled sweet and sensual, and dry on my skin it is musky and complex, with a soft spiciness that I really like. It also immediately attracted unsolicited compliments from the man of the house, which is quite a result - our conversations about BPAL generally go something like: Me - "Do you like this scent?" Him - "Mm. It's nice."

 

So, in short, the Madame is a new favourite of mine.

[undream]

first on, the madam is a warm & lightly powdery scent, comforting, beautiful. over time it becomes more complex, deeply sweet & sensual, dry, warm & incensy; the dark and smokey dwelling of the resident fortune teller, the light scent of herbs wafting in from her open window at twilight. oh, this is love.

 

i don't get any of the pomegranate or plum notes, unfortunately, but it is just so gorgeous despite. however, i did think that i was out of my mind for repeatedly believing i smelled tobacco in this, but an earlier reviewer mentioned it as well, saying it was the patchouli leaf, so yay!! my nose nails another note.

 

ultimately, a dark & sexy scent. one i will definitely wear on nights i am feeling particularly witchy.

[lahdeedah]

Winner! We have a winner!

 

Mme Moriarty is pretty much exactly what I expected based on reviews and description, which is quite a relief since I sprang for the bottle unsniffed. It's really evocative and should be a permanent signature BPAL-- it's what I think of when I think of the brand. It's dark, sexy, smoky and mysterious. I get a well-blended pomegranate and musk under a veil of smoky patchouli. I'm feeling like donning a silk headscarf and some giant hoop earrings and gazing into a crystal ball....

 

The only drawback for me is, like some others have experienced, my skin seems to be drinking her up. I put a fair amount on to test, and it's faded severely in less than an hour. But that's how it is with gypsies and carnivals, right? One minute they're there, and the next minute they've packed up the tents and the caravan has moved on to the next town....

 

Edited to add: I'm also glad to have finally found a "smoke" note that doesn't ruin blends for me. I want to love tobacco, but I've learned it is a note of doom for me--- so this patchouli leaf must be sought out in further BPAL experiments.

 

 

Edited March 26, 2010 by lahdeedah

[pixiedoo]

I bought a bottle of this unsniffed based purely on the glowing reviews and due to the fact that I love some of the individual notes and I am so glad that I did.

 

It is the most amazing, sexy complex scent and I think my favourite of all I have tried so far.

 

Mme. Moriarty is a wonderful balance of sweet, sultry sexiness coupled with a dark, brooding mysterious muskiness that is blended with absolute perfection.

 

It is exactly how I have always wanted to smell if that makes sense......like I have described my dream perfume to someone and they have made it especially for me.

 

It is scent heaven and perfection in a bottle. It has attracted many compliments from both men and women and I have had people come closer for a better sniff!!

 

I have one bottle and I need more!!

[odalisque]

This scent succumbed to the Red Musk curse for me. It was a jumbled and really obnoxious WHY HELLO THAR, I AM PERFUME. HOW ARE YOU TODAY? I had to wash it off.

[Dharklady]

In bottle: Vanilla musk with just a hint of patchouli and the sweetness of fruit.

Wet: The tang of musk is mellowed by the vanilla, the two fruits are a light complement to the blend but hard to pick out on their own.

Dry: Light and mysterious. I was expecting a more intense bouquet then what the soft fruity/vanilla musk that I’m getting.

Notes: It’s subtle and well blended. Not going to displace any of my current favorites but worth keeping around for when I want a lighter blend.

 

[tailoredshirt]

Hmmm...I had high expectations for this scent, based on popularity and the notes. I confess I'm a bit disappointed. <img src="http://www.bpal.org/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/icon_sad.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid="" border="0" alt="icon_sad.gif" />

 

It starts off patchouli and musk, with a bit of fruit rounding it out. It's mustier than I like. I'm a fan of musk and patchouli, but I like it more when it's rounding something out rather than being the first thing I smell. After a while, I get less of the fruit and a bit of vanilla underneath. I wish there was a bit more vanilla to smooth out the patchouli and musk. I don't love super sweet foodie scents, but I do like vanilla as a note to tone down muskier notes and make them smoother and creamier. And usually I do amp sweet notes, including vanilla, so I'm surprised that's not happening here too.

 

Anyway, after about 1.5 hours, the smell is pretty faint, mostly musk now with a bit of vanilla. Nothing remarkable on me, I'm afraid. I might keep my partial bottle for layering though, and do a little experimenting with some vanilla scents.

 

ETA: I think I was having some chemistry issues the first time I tried this, because I love it a lot now. On me, it is somewhat spicy fruit fleshed out and supported by the vanilla. Musk and patchouli are in there too, making it sexy/dirty. I love it. It lasts forever and stays pretty true throughout, just mellowing out a bit and getting sweeter the longer it's on my skin. I often catch whiffs of it on cardigans I've worn recently and it's lovely. I get compliments on it all the time.

Edited October 10, 2012 by tailoredshirt

[Molls]

I had a decant of Mme Moriarty long ago, and I swapped it away. Recently I joined a decant circle on LJ and ordered another. It may be because this is fresh, but on my skin, it's doing the same thing that Arcana's layering note of Nepalese Amber did - it smells like paper. I'm going to try to keep this decant around and see if it gets better as it ages, but I'm kind of disappointed...

[heywilma]

Not all that many Carnaval scents have worked on me so far (on one hand, yay for my wallet, but on the other... ), and it took a second test for Mme. Moriarty to like me, but it's totally worth it. She's like incense and old things and dried flowers – the plum comes out really nicely, and for once, the musk isn't amazingly powerful on my musk-amping skin.

 

Bottle purchase time!

[Jazzi]

First of all, I have to admit that the imp I got (and very much appreciate; I don't want it to sound like I'm complaining) is from 2006, and is therefore close to 4 years old, so this review is for the aged oil, not for something straight from the lab. Please take this review with a grain of salt.

 

The bottle smelled lovely, like an occult bookstore to my nose. This could be the fact that it was packaged with Dorian (which is basically bottled essence of the pagan/occult bookstore in my town), so I tried not to base too much of my opinion on that before I put it on.

 

The oil was a little thicker than others that I've tried, and left a faint yellowish stain on my skin that faded quickly. One of my wrists is still a little sticky and shiny; the other is dry.

 

This has a very strong throw. I applied it only to my wrists and I can smell it quite well, even though my wrists are at least a foot from my face. However, it has not been on for very long, so I don't know if this will fade or not.

 

To me (I haven't seen anyone else saying this) this smells like cat litter with a faint background of vanilla. I don't mean that as a bad thing, necessarily. It smells like cat litter right out of the bag, not cat litter that's been used--which is dusty, I suppose, just not the sort of dusty I was expecting. It does remind me of my cat, though (something I like), and if cat litter is meant to help improve the smell of your house, I suppose cat litter itself doesn't reek ... Though it probably isn't something I want to smell like ever again.

 

There is a bit of spice and a bit of vanilla, but mostly it's just cat litter and the sort of musk you smell in Walgreens and go "Ew." Maybe it shouldn't be kept for so long, maybe it just isn't made for my skin, but I definitely have not had the success that others raved about in this forum.

 

For future reference, does anyone know what that cat-litter-esque scent is?

[SophieCedar]

This started off with patchouli dominating at first then morphed to more of a red musk pomegranate plum snake oil. It's smoky, spicy, VERY RED, not too wet. Like it but it's not performing the magic it seems to do for others. It turned a little cough syrupy on me at drydown. I'll keep it around in hopes that it will eventually agree with my skin. I am in my 30's after all.. the age decade where body chemistry goes bonkers!

[fieryredhead]

I decided i needed to start doing some testing again before bed each night & my Mme. Moriarty decant was the first one I grabbed last night. She almost derailed my plans to test more than one scent as I LOVE this! I had avoided trying it because i was worried about the fruit notes but i hardly get any of those. They are there... but far in the background. This is exactly why I love BPAL so much; the scents are so complex!

 

Anyways! I get the red musk & the patchouli but I think they are smoothed out a bit by the vanilla and fruits. A really sensual blend; probably not the best idea to wear to work today but i couldn't help myself with slathering up again. I am thankful that she is still for sale straight from the lab & plan to get myself a bottle! Or 12.

[MCS4096]

I finally ordered a bottle of the Mme. -- giving into the peer pressure of how it's everyone's favorite blah blah blah

 

It's nice, and I certainly like red musk, and it has that "tried and true" feeling but I wasnt Blown Away. It reminds me a LOT of Snake Charmer Res (never tried the original). I get a lot of the fruity (deep, red) aspect from Mme. Moriarty and the patchouli is well blended and not at all gritty, just dark. Clearly fits into the same niche as Snake Oil, Snake Charmer, aged Smut etc.

 

 

[rinster]

Eep!

 

Count me in with the other posters who suffer from the Moriarty Menthol syndrome. In the bottle I smell patchouli and fruit, but on my skin it's pure Carm-ex. Help! Can anyone who has experienced this tell me if this goes away with aging? (The bottle, not me.)

 

This is my misfortune, indeed!

 

[sarielswish]

In the vial, sweet and musky and just slightly medicinal. Color, dusty black.

 

Wet on my skin, I'm anxious to see if aged red musk plays any more nicely than fresh. Oh, my. Mme. Moriarty is very persuasive. I like this... Now to see if the red musk agrees with me.

 

10-15 minute drydown - Holy Patchouli! It's sweet and resinous and I love it. It reminds me of these black patchouli scented candles I used to buy that I adored.

 

1 hour drydown - Hrmm... I dunno if I'll be able to wear this. The red musk is starting to amp. I quite like it, but it's starting to take on an overly heavy medicinal quality I've started to associate with red musk and my body chemistry. We'll see how this goes.

 

2 hour drydown - Ok, I think Mme. Moriarty has won me over. I need a bottle of this one. The notes are playing well, which is what I was worried about, and I think after some aging, she'll work quite well.

[capncait]

A sniffie of Mme. Moriarty was so thoughtfully included in a package from a forumite.

 

I know I should have waited a few days to let it settle, but straight out of the mail box I pulled her out, and gave her a big huff.

 

and my jaw dropped and i literally said out loud, "YES".

 

she is worth all of the hype. she is beautiful. enchanting, really.

 

 

 

ETA: NO! NOOOOOOOOO! I got the guts to try my tiny sniffie on my arm and all i can say is NOOOOOOO! i still have been working on figuring out what notes spell D-E-A-T-H on my skin... I noticed I got the same rank-astringent-cologne scent out of Ysabel (which i was excited for too!). Could it be the pomegranate? THIS IS TRAGIC. i WAS in love.

Edited July 11, 2010 by capncait

[Venneh]

In the imp, I'm getting red musk, plum, and pomegranate. Hrm. On my skin, this is red musk, patchouli, and pomegranate. Hrm. We'll see what the Mme does. Ends up turning into a juicy pomegranate and vanilla, going to give it a second skin test to see what it ends up doing, may end up testing it against the tester of the proto I have coming. Yeah, this is going to need the test against the proto, and I'm not quite sure if I like the pomegranate/vanilla combo.

Edited July 13, 2010 by Venneh

[Gold Dust Kitten]

I guess the red musk is what's making this smell like perfume-y Snake Oil on me? I'm not really impressed right now, but I'll let her age...

 

 

Update 8/27/10:

I tried it again a week or two after my initial test, and it went horribly pencil shavings on my skin. I was going to sell the bottle because I wasn't feeling the love. Then I tried it again and like, whoa! It's pretty delicious. It still has a little cedar but I think as it ages it's going to turn into a plummy Snake Oil.

Edited August 28, 2010 by mxtine

[brettashley]

Finally got around to testing this today. I've been kinda afraid to, because of the patchouli, but I figured everyone else had to love it for a reason.

 

Wet, in-vial: When I open the imp, I immediately think of Snake Oil, which is a decent enough scent on me, but not the most amazing thing ever, the way it is for some people. There's something fruitier about Mme, however, and sweeter.

 

On skin: This smells a lot like Snake Oil to me, except I'm getting more vanilla and pomegranate. It's actually quite delicious. I think I'm liking this more than Snake Oil. SO, to me, turned a bit powdery at the end and was just pleasant enough. Mme Moriarty, on the other hand, is much sweeter (but not sickening) and seems like it'll stay sharp.

 

Drydown: I'm getting more of the patchouli now, and I'm starting to feel a bit wary. Patchouli is generally not my friend. It gives the scent a sharper, almost dirtier edge. I've also dabbed a bit of SO on a patch of skin further away, to compare the two. SO stays its sweet self, though it wanders into powder-y territory, but Mme Moriarty is starting to turn quite sharp. I'm also starting to get what some of the other reviews referred to as "patchouli cola." Hmm...

 

Overall, I don't think I'll be getting a bottle of this. It started off fantastically - a sweeter, fruitier version of SO that I actually liked better than SO. It was intoxicating and perfume-y in a good way. If it'd stayed like this, I probably would've put a bottle in my next order. However, it began to morph into something quite bitter, and while it stayed more complex than SO, I'm not sure I want to reek quite so much of patchouli.

 

Sadly, not a winner (in terms of bottle-purchasing) for me, but I will hang on to my imp and see if it gets better a second time around!

 

EDIT: After wearing the scent a while longer, it actually grew on me! As long as I wasn't directly sniffing my wrists, but rather just letting the smell waft around me, it was actually the sweet, vanilla and plummy SO that I'd gotten at first - and I liked it a lot better that way! Definitely retrying and will consider picking up a bottle before the Carnaval leaves town.

Edited September 6, 2010 by brettashley

[FathomBelow]

I tried this one at Knows Perfume.

 

Wet, the Madame is purple fruit, much too sweet and thick - a dead ringer for cough syrup. Once dry, it quickly mellows into a beautiful scent. Patchouli is the strongest base note here. The red musk is there, but it's not distinct, instead blending seamlessly with the patchouli to provide some warmth and roundness. The juicy, refreshing pomegranate (and to a lesser extent, plum) lightens and leavens this heavy base, with just a touch of vanilla giving the scent a little needed sweetness. This is the scent of someone natural and spiritually and intellectually rich; a person who has a host of unusual interests and is not especially focused on seduction but who attracts others without meaning to, anyway.

 

All in all, an astonishingly beautiful blend that is just different enough to make me spring for a bottle.

[calivianya]

Mme. Moriarty is a very interesting blend. I received a decant from a wonderful forumite! Wet, Mme. reminds me of the shavings small animals live in in pet stores... I'm not sure what kind of wood flakes they are. This made me raise my eyebrows quite a bit, but it isn't necessarily a bad smell. It's just not what I was expecting. Maybe this is the patchouli I'm smelling - I'm still not 100% certain what that smells like. After about 5 minutes, I start to smell the red musk, and I love it. As it dries, I can pick out something that smells fruity - there comes the plum. It still smells faintly of animal cage shavings to me, so it's not a favorite, but I will definitely use up the imp.

[Lydialove]

Oh my.

 

I still can't identify which note does what. It makes my skin smell warm and spicy and sweet. The bright flashes of pomegranate and plum are so ripe they make my mouth water. It's rich and dark and glorious.

 

I love this.

[Myotis]

This reminds me of both Crypt Queen and Snake Charmer...as though the two had a baby!!!!

[subtlesiren]

After reading all the glowing reviews for this scent, I was positive that I too would love it. And I was not disappointed. To me, Mme. Moriarty, Misfortune Teller is like a fruity Snake Oil, just as sexy but more flirty than seducing. It's not quite as spicy, more juicy (go figure). I just know that this will be one of my go-to scents come spring and summer!