Mag Mell

[eatingthesea]

The Plane of Joy, eternal reward for a lifetime of valor and glory. A place of eternal youth and beauty, strength and honor, music and revelry. The warmth of amber, the puissance of white ginger and the clarity of verbena, with fresh green grass, lush sage and cleansing droplets of summer rain.

why, dear lord, WHY?!!?! i'd been sooo looking forward to this scent. how could it go wrong...ginger, green grass, rain, amber...? sounds just heavenly, doesn't it? at least, it did to me. obviously, all that beauty blinded me to the inclusion of one of my few nemeses...verbena. oh, you little trick! so yes, boys n' goils...this scent is all lemon pledge on me. i guess if i were going for the maid-in-distress role, i'd don this mag mell stuff, but i doubt i would be any time soon. the other notes just get smothered and are refused entrance to the playground. it's really sad...there is a cry from that beloved green grass just in the distance...but it's absolutely muted. too bad.

[rayvn1]

I was also really looking forward to this one - I"m a sucker for rain and grass notes! Wet on me it was a gorgeous thick scent like liquid tropical light. After about an hour it was gone, though. I couldn't really get much except the amber thanks to my darn chemistry. Argh!

[aquazoo]

Starts lemony. Sweet, like a lemon drop. I'm not sure if it's candy or a cleaning product. It is a clean scent, certainly. The lemon eventually fades out and then I'm left with a nice floral. Interesting how much it changes.

[tdgnika]

Wet and in bottle, I can smell the amber, I think - a cloying sweetness, but it doesn't smell good. I don't know if that's amber or...something else? Verbena, maybe, since amber usually seems to work on me.

 

After a few moments on the wrist, it smelled like rain the first time I tried it.

 

Drying, I can begin to smell the light touch of sage and the amber? Fully dry, it's almost not there. Just a slight touch of amber and sage.

 

The second time I tried this (first time was during hormonal shifts, so I wanted to give it another shot), it gave me a headache. I'm not sure what I'm smelling, but it smells like spoiled flowers?

 

This one is a pass. It just never smelled quite...right. I'm at a loss for a better description as to why.

[Iceblink]

Bright lemon verbena that fades into gingery amber. Actually I really like the drydown of this; ginger tends to be overpowering on me but here it's soft and pretty. I smell just a hint of green in there too. The wet stage is way too lemony, though.

[juniperus]

bottle: lovely verbena

wet: still mainly the verbena, with the ginger and grass hinted at well behind

dry: greener, the lemon much calmed, and the aquatic barely a hint

later: light, green, and slightly more aquatic... really quite subtle

[femmefatale]

This starts off very very green on me, but ends up drying to a slightly sweet, grassy aquatic. It's very well blended and no one notes really stands out on me. It's very pretty and doesn't go soapy, which is a good thing. It is very light though, but worth slathering. I think I might end up hunting down a bottle come spring.

[wldhrsjen3]

in the bottle: a crisp, sweet herbal and citrus smell. Fresh and clean with a slight lemon tang.

 

on my skin: all green and gold, reminding me of fresh-cut grass and an herb garden wet with morning dew - lemon verbena, lemon balm, and the dusk of sage. There is a warm depth that provides a rich base layer for the lighter citrus notes - I assume this is the amber.

 

as it dries: this fades to a sweet, almost floral citrus scent - as refreshing as sipping cool lemonade in a shady flower garden on a hot day. It smells of sunshine and citrus, but there is nothing sharp or bitter about it.

 

My only complaint would be that it doesn't seem to last long on me and would require frequent touch-ups to last all day, but it would be well worth it. I love this - which surprises me, a little, because I'm not usually a fan of citrus scents. But this is just beautiful.

[ankhfangirl72]

This is really fresh and citrus-y. I can smell the ginger slightly but mostly I get the verbena from this. The grass is coming out more after it's been on a while but this is still mainly a citrus scent. It's not one I would've expected to like (not a ginger fan at all) but I do. It'd be great for summer because it's so light and "happy" smelling.

[cymbeline]

Swap test!

 

Smell alike: My brother’s former shampoo

 

Color impression: bright yellow-green

 

On me: Herbal attack! All I can smell is powerful verbena and sage. Then, comes a very nice fresh citrus-ginger blend

 

Wearing: I like herbal but not as perfume! But I would love this one as a shower gel/soap/shampoo: it has this *I am gonna clean your sleepy mind* scent I love sooo much in the morning

[VioletChaos]

in the imp: mostly lemon verbena. there is a slight, *slight* hint of wetness, but i wouldn't come out and call it an aqua note.

 

wet on skin: same as above.

 

dry down: yup, the staying power of lemon verbena just can't be matched.

 

in all: a nice, light verbena-based oil, i would wear this during late spring and early summer, before the real heat would come and make this feel too sticky for the temperatures. a good "daytime" scent.

 

 

 

[Happicuppa]

I love this in the vial, springtime and aquatic with some nice herbal tones.

 

The scents fight a bit on my skin, I can't really say they meld super-great together but I like them nonetheless. A good summertime/relaxing/cheerful scent and one I will hold onto the imp of for when the mood hits. Might be fabulous in the oil burner.

 

3/5

[stefrand]

ITI: Smells light, clean, and surprisingly floral. It's a little "perfumey" but I'm betting that's the amber.

 

Wet: I like it! It is light, yet has a lot of depth and a little sweetness. Crisp and warm...I guess that's the ginger & aquatics against the sage & amber. I can smell the grass now. It is very clean and springlike.

 

Dry: Sweetly floral, with some chill and wet to it. Like an early spring day....cold, rainy, but with the promise of blooms. Ah, there's the sage! Oh, I do like this.

 

Drydown: The cold, clear, spring rain starts to warm up, eventually letting the amber take the wheel for the rest of the drydown.

 

Final Thoughts: I like it very much, moreso because it is insanely evocative of spring. How did Beth put spring in this tiny imp? Might have to get a bottle.

[CynicalPink]

Imp: Citrus and grass

 

Wet: It's doing some weird, Schrodinger's Cat thing at first - Citrus with some mellow undertones

 

Drydown: Yeah all that complexity is right out the window. It's verbena single note by now and this is only a few minutes later. If I put my nose *right* up against my wrist I can get the faintest hint of grass...but it's totally killed by the verbena.

 

Overall: All verbena all the time. Not my style. While I don't think it goes in to furniture polish territory, it's a skippable scent. I was so excited for all the complex notes, but they never appeared. No sage, no amber, no aquatics, no ginger. All things I love but they're totally drowned by the verbena. It's not offensive or anything, but if I want a perky summertime scent, I'll stick to Schrodinger's Cat.

[blacklacestatic]

In the Imp: Mostly verbena. Where's my amber?

 

Wet on skin: I need to try anything and everything with amber in it at least once. I don't smell any amber with this. It's verbena and sage and grass, and it's fresh and herbally, but no amber. I don't like verbena on my skin, which is a shame because that's what sticks out most to me. The sage kinda makes it bearable with a little herbal sweetness, but it's still too citrusy for my taste.

 

Drydown: There is a hint of my beloved amber, but still mostly verbena and sage. Not really in love with this one, but it is a nice fresh green scent for those of you who appreciate that sort of thing. It would be good in hot weather.

 

Overall: I want to like it, but I probably won't get much use for this imp.

[Seismogenic]

Music, revelry, happiness? Sage, ginger, amber? Count me in on this! Mag Mell was sitting there on my imp wishlist for a while, and then my wonderful Halloween Switch Witch sent me a decant. Thank you, Witch!

 

In the imp: Sweet, dewy, and golden-green.

 

Wet on skin: The dewy grass in here is dead on. I'm getting a little bit of the verbena, though knowing my chemistry, that part won't last. Sage and ginger aren't coming out yet.

 

Drydown: Freshly dry, the wet grass is still most prominent, and the amber's coming out a bit now. The verbena has, true to form, faded, but there still isn't that much in the way of ginger or sage. An hour later, though, the ginger and sage have arrived, and are blending nicely with the amber and grass.

 

Five hours later: The dew has evaporated and the grass has dried up. What's left is something warm and dusty, that's identifiable as containing ginger, sage, and amber if I think about it, but it still blends very nicely into a smell that's all its own.

 

End of the day: Slightly dusty-ambery.

 

Overall: Mag Mell is really beautiful. I'd classify it as another grassland scent; it starts as the plains in spring, with fresh dewy grass, then dries out to warm golden spiced early summer. This is another one that, like Coyote, reminds me of the Carrizo Plain in particular, which is one of my favorite places. This is definitely more of Carrizo in March or April, though, whereas Coyote is June or July. It is a happymaking scent, which it should be, considering its inspiration. This is a decant that will surely get used!

[crebbsgirl]

Mag Mell on me was a very green scent. The aquatic notes were fairly faint here. Wet, the ginger was a standout, and something a little sharp, I think it was the verbena. The grass is pretty prominent as well. As it dries, the amber makes more of an appearance and smooths out the blend a little. The sharp note doesn't go away entirely but blends in after a bit. Overall green and fresh. Again, I don't really do those kinds of scents so I think I'll be swapping this.

[Monster]

The imp I'm reviewing has been aged over a year.

 

In the imp: Gingery Verbena

 

On my skin: Mmm this is a wonderfuly rrefreshing blend. First sniff I get lemon verbena mixed with herbs. The ginger stands out almost as much as the verbena, the sage and grass are secondary...and the summer rain note takes everything and gives it a wonderfuly breezy feel....it sort of brings it all together. This is clean, fresh and happy smelling. I love this!

 

Dry: After about a half hour the ginger completley mellows out and is almost non-existant, it's only a faint memory at this point giving the lasting verbena a bit of an edge. Mag Mell settles in as a sweet/herbal verbena note.

 

Overall: This one makes me want to run barefoot through green grass and chase my baby sister through the lawn sprinklers. This is summery and joyful

 

[Wwindy]

This smells like spring to me, not summer!

 

On my skin it starts out all crushed green stems mixed with lemon pulp and zingy dried ginger (my nose definitely reads this as powdered ginger rather than fresh, don't ask me why). The bright green and citrus notes die down a little over time, mingling with something clean and airy. The amber stays far in the background.

 

This didn't seem like it had a particularly long duration as far as I could tell, but when my husband sniffed me after about six hours of wear time, his assessment was that it smelled like an orchard -- so he must have picked up at least the greenery and lemon verbena.

 

Overall, this is a very pleasant, bright scent... and such a fantastic concept! I think the lemony element might be a little strong in the beginning stages for my personal anti-citrus inclinations, but anyone looking for a good scent for work or other situations where you don't need the heady musky incense-y stuff will want to check this one out.

[asciident]

Wet: Mossy.

 

First on: Minty and mossy. Weird.

 

Dry: Same on drydown. :/

[angelicruin]

Wet on the skin, it's verbena and mint.

 

As it dries, a touch of amber, grass, verbena, and light ginger.

 

Quite pleasant and warm weather scent.

[ImperatrixMundi]

Mag Mell smells like a spring smell, sweet and fresh. It has something fruity, even though it has no fruit notes listed. But I can't smell the ginger. It gets a bit sweeter and warmer as it dries down and the amber shows. But then it fades so fast and dries down to a faded, faintly sweet scent with a sour edge. Which is a pity because I liked it very much when it was fresh because it was not the typical aquatic but a bit greener and sweeter.

[Caerphilly]

In the imp: Clean lemon, and something faintly sweet, like cake. Like a lemon bar. Very clean and crisp.

 

Wet: Lemon cake. The powdery amber is turning to cake on my skin. I don't really mind, but I don't really want to smell like food either.

 

Dry: Very faint. The ginger and verbena almost faded. I mostly smell something watery, grassy. A very light and clean and pleasant smell.

 

Overall: I really like scents like this. I was expecting more amber, as amber amps on my skin. But this was all ginger and verbena. To bad it fades so quickly.

[Mamacat]

I found this in my imp box today and realized I'd never tested it!

 

It smells like lemony rain! What a fantastic scent for a summer evening.

 

[sylvanusurban]

In bottle: Musky perfume.

 

On me, wet: Lemongrass with musk? A very “green” smell, with a not-unwelcome bitter edge.

On me, drying: Fades down, and gets more soft and powdery. A nice scent – not crazy-good, but nice.

 

Verdict: I’m pretty neutral about this one; neither loved nor hated it. I’ll probably give it a second try sometime.