Arachnina, The Spider Girl (2006)

[grrrlennyl]

A swirling, hypnotic perfume of black currant, poppy, red and black musk, lilies, nicotiana, and patchouli.

at first: heavy, heady dark earthy notes.
on: still tons of dark notes with a large does of poppy.
2 hours later: soapy, dark, earthy notes.
4.5 hours later: powdery and a bit soapy.
6 hours later: a very soft, powdery, slightly soapy floral.
overall: this floral just doesn't do much on my skin.

[Alchemy21599]

In the bottle: wow, this scent is much stronger than I thought it would be. Quite musky with juicy red fruit.

 

wet on skin: this reminds me of a musky perfume from the 70's. I wish I could think of the name.

 

Dry: powdery musk. Sadness.

[flyingpizza]

I love red musk, so I had to try Arachnina. However, it turned out to be vaguely perfume-y, as mentioned before. It could be dark and sophisticated on the right person, but to me it was blah. Not a keeper.

[PurringPulsar]

Arachnina

 

In the imp: heady floral currants, tobacco and opium. Whoa, this is intense.

Wet on skin: smoky white flowers and crisp fresh currant.

Dry: mmm, this is quite nice! Very hypnotic, indeed. It’s very floral, probably the lilies, with a smoky touch from the tobacco flower and poppy. The currant is also very strong, an almost biting sharp dark fruity note which pervades the scent, whilst an earthy, dark patchouli note grounds it all. I can also make out the musks, which really just enhance the floral and fruity notes without smelling obvious. It also has a perfumey feel to it, dark and deep and grown up.

After a while: oh no…now it seems that the lily note has turned on me. There’s one lily note, which I encountered in Prague, which turns rotten after a while on my skin. Turns out this lily is in here, and now it smells like rotting flowers over rotting fruit lurking under the layers of tobacco, musk and opium. Darn it, this scent was doing really well before it turned on me.

The sad thing is that even though the lily note smells like it’s fermenting badly on me, the other notes are very nice-the currant smelling almost like a currant wine, the haze of poppy and tobacco, the depth added by the musks, it’s just one of those pesky lilies that prevents me from enjoying this. There are times when this odd scent disappears completely as well, leaving that smooth smoky floral which reminds me of cloth scented with rich tobacco and opium, along similar lines to Mum Moon. And the drydown is pretty, a pale white, cloth-like floral with a bit of currant-though there’s a slightly sweaty feel at times.

Verdict: I’m so torn about this scent-there are aspects I love and aspects I’m really not digging. I really like the beginning stage, a rich, sensuous and heady scent of opium, sharp dark currant, and smooth floral notes, with a hint of tobacco flower winding through, with the musks binding the notes together. Very hypnotic and alluring, it feels a little sinister but also sexy, a scent that ensnares you with its deep, smoky scent. But after about an hour, maybe less, one note in here starts to turn against me. I think it’s one of the lily notes as I get a similar reaction in Prague, in that the floral scent in this scent begins to smell like it is rotting. Most lilies don’t do this on my skin, but one of them in here does. Almost like rotting flowers mixed with rotting fruit, it’s not dominant but it is noticeable enough to put me off this scent. No matter how hard the gorgeous musks, opium and tobacco smokes, and earthy patchouli try to make this scent gorgeous, this one problematic note does ruin this scent a little. The thing is this odd note isn’t always there-sometimes it is prominent, at other times it hides behind the darker notes. It’s a shame really because I like the better stages of this scent very much. But I think my decant will be passed on.

Emoticon rating:

Is it a keeper? Not sure.

If you like this, try: Red Lantern, Dragon’s Heart, Languor, Stardust, Prague, Opium Poppy, Chrysanthemum Moon, Urd

[presotm]

Some reviewers have compared this to a commercial perfume and I concur. To me, it's smells quite similar to Giorgio (you know, in the yellow & white striped box? Which I mind not a bit seeing as I used to love and frequently wear Giorgio ).

 

I'm sure that's not the intended connotation, but now it's in my head, that's all I'm getting.....

[theseagrows]

ooh i like this one. in the imp it's very smoky-floral, with a touch of sweetness. for once the poppy and lilies work on me. this is a bit perfumy, but i like that about it. it's a smoky-sweet floral but difficult to pick out any notes. i think i may have to get a big bottle of this.

[filigree_shadow]

Hmmm, musks and poppy. I thought this would smell perfumey, and it does. I like how poppy can give a scent that husky hazy feel, and it's doing that here. To me, this smells like an expensive perfume. It's classic and refined. It reminds me a lot of a perfume that my mother wore in the 70s/80s, but I don't know what the name of it is.

 

I like this. Most of the time I chose to wear BPAL oils specifically because I know that they're unusual and I don't want to smell like everyone else. But there are some days when I just want to wear a classic, elegant scent. Arachnina is one of those scents.

[blu°]

This is making me think new Barbie dolls out of all things for some reason...

 

Consequently a piece of slam poetry art I once read comes to my mind. It went something like, "...together with my crazy cousin X who confessed was in love with Derrick and used her Barbies' feet for masturbating when she was little."

 

So, ehem... weird associations aside, I really like Arachnina.

 

She's lovely and deep and dark and sensual and mysterious, and I'll probably get a bottle sooner or later.

[Naamah_Darling]

This smells nothing like I would have expected, demonstrating that "Shows what you know!" is still a perfectly valid catchphrase.

 

This is perfumey and bright, sharp and smooth at once. The musks are in the center here. Over them, a thin trickle of poppy and tobacco. The lilies are in the background, and neither the patchouli nor the currant are making an appearance in the bottle.

 

This is very interesting. The currant does come out on my skin, so that up close this has a deep bass note that is sticky and a little disturbing. I'm still not getting much patchouli, which is just as well, probably. The lilies, too, are behaving themselves.

 

This is definitely feminine and perfumey in character, but it's dark and spicy rather than sweet and bright. Chrysanthemum moon was a little like this. Hollywood Babylon, too, only this doesn't have that creamy sweetness.

 

The throw is softer, sweetish musk and fine, white lilies, just a hint of them, and a dash of tobacco. It's definitely detectable, but not overpowering.

[isabella]

oy gods...a headache inducing strong, cheap handsoap.

 

but i wait it out....

 

now...its a faint, cheap handsoap. me thinks lilies and i are not the best of partners....

[supremegoddessofall]

In bottle: Mmmm...lots of poppies.

 

On me: Very pretty. Lots of poppies, very musky. Not too much patchouli. Lovely.

[oakmoss]

As I was heading here to write a little review, I kept thinking, "This is like some commercial perfume from twenty or thirty years ago..." and it looks like many other reviewers were on the same wavelength! Much as I hate to say it, on my skin this blend becomes the kind of strong generic perfume that I shudder away from when I smell it on other people or when passing by a perfume counter -- a muddle of sharp cheap floral twangs that assault my nose and give me a headache. As with any negative review, of course, I have to emphasize "on me" -- you may get a completely different take on it. I know sometimes we use the word "sophisticated" here to mean "I can't pick out any individual notes," but for me, a sophisticated blend reveals notes like a belly dancer swirling her veils -- a hint of this, a glimpse of that. This blend may just be too swathed in veils for me.

[dixiehellcat]

I didn't note the nicotiana listed till after I'd ordered this one, so I was scared it would wind up stinking like tobacco...not to fear, though. I can't smell that at all, except maybe as a slight smokiness that takes the edge off the florals. Despite the musk & incense notes, it's not heavy at all, and has stayed on me (sniffs arm & consults clock) 3 or 4 hours, as of right now. I really like it.

[Keslynn]

In the bottle, Arachnina is very musky, smoky and dark. There is only the lightest hint of currant.

 

On my skin, it has a very smoky background, though not enough to be irritating. The currant adds a roundness to the smoke, and the lily adds just the right amount of femininity. I wish I could explain it better. Arachnina is just plain sexy. She's smoky and sultry, and as the description says "hypnotic." I cannot stop smelling myself when I have this on.

 

Verdict: Dark and sexy. I love it!

[Ahania]

This starts out too heavy with the musk and poppy, and turns into plastic with a hint of juicy fruit gum. I think spiders are cool, but Arachnina and I just aren't meant to be friends.

[Meg]

In the bottle: very fresh florals, a bit of dry poppy, a bit of black currant. It smells sharp, nearly metallic.

 

Wet: patchouli and metallic florals.

 

Drydown: black currant and lilies, with hints of patchouli. The lilies are very perfumy and not particularly pleasant to my nose. I think I get some red musk, which is too sweet and sickly with the rest. The poppy comes out, dry, perfumy. It ends up as a blackcurrant/red musk blend, which is definitely too sweet for my liking.

 

Overall: To me this isn't particularly hypnotic, it's pretty much like a traditional floral perfume, in fact, with sickly sweetness from the red musk. Pity. On the other hand it vaguely reminds me of how I remember Poison, so it sort of works with the poison spider theme.

[cranberry]

This is a morpher of a scent. Initially, I got a whiff of grape or something juicy, plus something bitter like tobacco. After it’s been a few minutes, the juiciness goes away and this scent dries up. It smells like a perfume (yeah, maybe Opium or maybe a variation of Youth Dew) and I can smell the patchouli. Now it’s strongly tobacco and patchouli. There’s a whiff of sweetness in the background but it’s faint. Anyone looking for a good tobacco scent should check this out. It vacillates between patchouli and tobacco. I can’t really smell the musks at all, which I find surprising as it usually takes over. The poppy is faint, as is the lilies. It stays masculine smelling and dry. I didn’t expect to like this one as much as I do.

[naeelah]

I can tell that this one is probably really nice on the right person, but I amp patchouli like woah, so, as expected, this one is pretty heavy on the earthiness.

 

In this blend, the patchouli doesn't take over quite as much as it usually does, but it definitely dominates. I smell patchouli and musks with a faint sweet backdrop of light florals and berries. There's also something a wee bit grassy about it, very subtly, in the background. The black currant here smells nothing like the black currant in other blends, on my skin. Usually the currant is very thick and sweet, but here it's just a faint fruity quality. The overall character is dark but not heavy, and pretty gender neutral.

 

This one doesn't seem to have morphed a great deal on the drydown. I think the musk has become less sharp and blended in better, but that's about it. Throw is light to average. Could be nice, but definitely not for my skin.

[luna65]

Thanks to lorajc for the decant.

 

Vial: The lily is the most prevalent note for me.

 

Skin: Very heady upon application, with a classic perfume feel.

 

Drydown: This dries down to a sexy dark sweetness; mainly the musks, black currant, and poppy. The other elements aren't really discernable so much as I can sense their weight, so to speak. The combination of all of them really does give the impression of being seduced by something that one might find repulsive in the conscious mind.

Edited June 20, 2007 by luna65

[windzswept]

So, me and patchouli don't get on. In fact whenever we meet we have screaming rows and I have banned it from my BPAL collection.

 

So, somehow I ended up with 3 decants of this. I must admit that I did try it on and then attempted to avoid smelling it at all.

 

I did summon up the courage to smell it wet and well, the patchouli hadn't let me down and was screaming at me. I almost washed it off but didn't.

 

One more piece of marked coursework later I had another sniff before washing it off and was pleasantly shocked, the patchouli had given up the ghost. I could smell a musky blackcurrant, which is what I must have purchased it for.

 

If I could cope with the 10mins of Patchouli then I'd love this, as it is I only like it.

 

It's not going straight into the swap box, but it's not being clung to tightly.

[alicia_stardust]

I have no idea what nicotiana smells like but it seems like it might be what I am smelling the most. Overall I get a very strong hit in the face of alcohol-perfume and hairspray. I can't get past that until about 20 minutes later, at which point I get a wild run of florals the lilies. The patchouli seems to combine well with the rest of this.

 

Overall the scent works. The concept and art works. It fits so well with the name, even if the scent itself doesn't work for me.

[Rouge]

In the bottle - A smoky, heady blend with a sharp undertone. I smell primarily opium poppy and musk. It's a slightly more viscous liquid than other blends and has a dark orange tint.

 

Wet on the skin - A very dark floral, only very slightly warmed by tobacco. There's no sign of blackcurrant as yet.

 

Next stages - After a few minutes of wear, the blackurrant note begins to sweeten the blend although the musk and the dark note of the poppy still dominate.

 

Dry down - Musky and soporific.It's certainly a mysterious and dangerous scent; perfect for dark nights and evil plotting.

 

Similar scents - There's nothing else in my BPAL collection quite like this. Dragons' Reverie has the same smoky darkness and Ozymandias has the faint Chanel-like dry sharpness of Arachnina's early stages, but otherwise it's unique.

[aleciarivas]

Swirly fruit and musk, neither sure which is going to be the victor in this battle of scents. Hm, pretty nice, but not for me. This going into the swap pile, maybe it will love someone else more....

[SarahScent44]

In the imp, this is warm and inviting, but sinister - I definitely pick up patchouli.

 

Once it's on, the lilies come out, the warmth of the patchouli is still there, and the musk is there, too.

 

When it dries, it's a warm, smoky musk and patchouli scent. Nice, but nothing special for me.

[CrazyPretzel]

In the decant: Intense red musk and patchouli. This might not go well; I've had similar scents from Love Potions (maybe Ravenous) that flopped on me.

 

Wet: A thick, poisonous, drugged scent: opium and nicotiana (well, I'm just guessing about the nicotiana, actually). Intriguing but pretty damn intense and I don't know if I can pull this one off.

 

Drydown: Musky, of course, but also a little woodsy and bordering on masculine. I think that this is fairly unisex, actually. Very dark and hypnotic and slightly bitter.

 

Conclusion: This would be a stunning fragrance for a 5'9" heavy-lidded gothic beauty with a clove cigarette in one gloved hand. On me, it kind of seems like an ill-fitting hand-me-down.