Proshitapathika

[nikkoblue]

Her lover is away on a long journey, and she is pining for him. Sleepless and disconsolate, she counts the days until he returns: blue iris, fennel, dark musk, verbena, and a drop of star anise.

Oh the pressure of being the first!

Bottle: POOF! very citrusy. I forgot that verbena was in this and wasn't expecting it.....I like verbena.

Wet on skin: lots of verbena with the barest trace of fennel. Is that the blue iris poking its head out? It sure smells like the irises in my backyard....

Dry: It IS the iris....a real, TRUE blue/purple iris.....and the musk is taking center stage in a very sexy way....with the anise just kind of tying everything together. This is gorgeous and it just keeps morphing!!!!!! I'm going to pick myself up at a bar now.

I love this. Second bottle!!!!!

[phedre]

Wet: Lemon Verbena, and tons of it.

 

On skin: Still pure lemon verbena. I hope other notes appear soon!

 

Drydown: Well, there's a bit of fennel and iris peeking around the edges, but it's almost all lemon verbena. This just doesn't work with my chemistry.

[Little Bird]

Like most blends with verbena in them, this is all lemon all the time on my skin. It’s a bit herbal and astringent, but screaming LEMON. After a while there’s a hint of a bitter and perfumey floral underneath the lemon. I really don’t care for this blend.

[hepkitten]

Lots of verbena, with a hint of iris. Lovely for warmer weather.

[Em-]

Very citrus, with a definite shot of the iris. The fennel and anise are trying to make their presense known, bu I think the iris and verbena might be just a little too much for me, although the musk that is developing as this dries more is really nice.

[shelldoo]

in the bottle: lemon verbena..strong, but reminding me slightly of lemon candies.

 

wet:surprise: lemon verbena.

 

this doesn't really change on me. it smells liek lemon candies. sweet and lemony. that is all.

[euterpe414]

I am seconding the "lemon candies" description. For me, too, that is all I get on my skin with this blend. it's exactly like those candies called 'lemonheads' (do they still make those?) that I ate one too many of when I was a kid. I really wanted to get the iris and/or anise in this blend, but I am certainly not.

 

The lemony candy is not a bad scent, but I am not sure that it is one that I will want to smell like often.

[siddal]

In the imp, the verbena predominates. I also detect a touch of sweetness, that combines with the lemon to remind me of lemonhead candies :-) Not in a bad, fake way. It's just the combo of lemon and sweet an musk that remind me of them. On the drydown, I can smell the iris, too. This is so pretty and would make a lovely summer scent, I think. My fave heroine so far :-)

[PurringPulsar]

Proshitapathika

 

In the imp: lemon sherbet! The verbena is strong here and it smells sweet and fizzy as well as lemony.

Wet on skin: verbena instantly sharpens, but hints of musk and iris start to come out.

Dry on skin: mmm, another surprisingly good Heroine. The verbena is strong here, but I smell soft iris and deep musk underneath this lemony layer. And the anise/fennel are actually very nice here-not the liquorice-fest I was dreading, they add a slight herbal edge to this lemon-iris scent. It also reminds me of Jonathan Harker.

After a while: as the verbena starts to take a back seat, the scent is all about the musk and iris, fringed with just the barest, most acceptable hints of anise. It now reminds me of the musky, soft, almost velvety iris of Morella, with the musk taking the place of the barely-there civet in that scent. The iris also develops Harker's fruity tones. It's much nicer than I expected.

Then, the scent becomes a really musky iris after a few hours-in fact, I'm quite surprised at how feral this musk is! Not on the level of civet, of course, but it's quite animalistic…dark and shadowy and a little wild, slightly masculine too, but with a sheen of purple-blue iris to calm it. It reminds me of Siberian musk, but without the sweet spice that SM has. And oddly, it dries down to patchouli…I have no idea why but I get patchouli appearing here after a few hours. It reminds me of when the musk in Krampus suddenly transformed into patchouli on my skin.

Verdict: when I saw the notes for this, I saw fennel and anise and thought this would be the 'attack of the rampant liquorice bootlace'. But that was not so-in fact, this scent is more interesting and less anise-y than I expected. It starts off smelling like another sweet altogether-lemon sherbets, thanks to the fizzy, bright verbena. This then leaves to reveal the iris, a soft fruity-floral-purple scent, and a surprisingly heavy, animalistic yet sophisticated dark musk which has a slight patchouli like feel to it. This musk is quite masculine, and actually makes me think of the scent of the boyfriend who left, and the heroine who waits for him to return inhales the scent of his clothes and his perfume for comfort. I thought that was quite fitting for the scent's theme. The iris softens this rugged musk nicely. This is a very evocative and well crafted scent-and I like the way the anise and fennel are very discreet, adding a little spice but not smelling overpowering. I'm not sure how much I'd wear it, it does smell a little too manly at times, but in a nice way…I'm glad I got to try it, it pleasantly surprised me…if you fear anise, do not fear this scent!

Emoticon rating:

Is it a keeper? Maybe not-it's not me, but it's very pleasant.

If you like this, try: Whitechapel, Jonathan Harker, Morella, Mad Hatter, Krampus

[sophia_helix]

Oh, rats. The opening notes of this were heavenly -- verbena and anise, wonderfully sour-sweet-sharp -- but then it dried down to a musky fennel that's making me slightly sick. Not a hint of iris anywhere, alas. And I'd hoped for the first few minutes that this would be an Ultimate Keeper, because I love lemon and anise together so much.

[savage_rose]

LEMONHEADS! Lemonheads when you bite into them, and it's a rush of citrus and sugar. A hint of floral behind it, but it's so faint I can't tell what it is. Lemon lemon lemon lemon...but a good lemon, essential oil lemon, not Pledge or dishwashing detergent.

[supremegoddessofall]

In bottle: Lemon verbena of death. This does *not* bode well.

 

On me: Lemon and licorice. If I had to pick what hell would smell like for me, lemon and licorice would be pretty close. Barf.

[surlygurl]

Of all the Faces, this one is the most evocative. Bear with me.

 

In the imp: Lemon candy!!

Wet on skin: Lemon Candy!! And something herbal…..

Drydown: Less lemon, more herbs. It goes through a bitter phase that I could do without, but the herbal concept fascinates me.

Dry: dried herbs with very light lemon

 

Once this dries on me (after about 45 minutes) the herbs really come out, but they are dried and soft. The first ‘vision’ I got was of a Greek hilltop in late summer when the herbs were brown & dry but fragrant. Next I saw the small house of an herbalist/rootworker who has freshly picked herbs drying in the next room and is now going through her old dried herbs to replace them with newer stuff. The window is open, letting light and fresh air in, but it’s still a bit dusty from the old herbs.

 

The scent is not sweet, not bitter, just earthy. This is something I’d like to always have on hand, but how often will I wear it?

[slave1]

PROSHITAPATHIKA

 

In Bottle: Verbena

 

On Skin: Verbena loves to amp on my skin… so at forst I get pure lemon. There is the dark musk in the background, keeping it from being too bright and sour. The iris gives a light floral edge and the star anise gives a hint of spice. All in all, it stays pretty lemony on me. It becomes almost a lemon licorice on me… candylike with just that floral hint keeping it from being too foody. It’s pretty but not me at all. Strong throw and long wearlength.

[SultryWolf]

There is the most delightful green tinge to this oil!

in the decant: Verbena sweetened by fennel and anise. Reminds me a bit of The Star.

on: Much the same.

[Miss Lynx]

Ack! Death by verbena. That note amps so much on me that virtually any scent containing it goes to lemon drops on my skin, and this is no exception. There are hints of other interesting notes in it, but the verbena pretty much pummels them all into submission.

 

Not a keeper, sad to say.

 

Grade: C

[edenssixthday]

Proshitapathika - The verbena is the brightest note in this blend when I sniff it in the vial and when I apply it. After it warms up on my skin, the scent reminds me a lot of Polyhymnia's orris root and lemon goodness. It must be the iris and verbena that reminds me of the other blend. I don't really smell the other notes in this blend except to say that while the iris and verbena are the strongest notes, it's definitely more complex than just those two notes. This blend sticks very close to my skin and after about 3 hours, I can't detect the slightest trace.

[RaeiNarcissus]

I think it was the verbena and something else but......... for those of you who use lush, it went AVOBATH on me.

Edited March 21, 2007 by RaeiNarcissus

[sarada]

The thing about verbena is that if it's in a blend, that's all I can smell. For hours! All verbena blends smell pretty much the same to me. I can see from the other reviews that many are similarly afflicted.

 

Unfortunately, same scenario here, but only at first...as it dries some other layers come out. I was expecting a lot of anisey scent, something slightly like licorice, but this is more slightly herbal/medicinal.

 

Verbena has the potential to be very lovely, with its refreshing lemony lilt, a touch of crisp yellow-green herbal greenery, but it's so hard to wear! When this dries I can better appreciate the other layers, and it's a nice herbal-floral middle ground that's not quite like any other BPAL but the verbena is still the lead singer in this band and it's just a wee bit too loud.

[LauraB]

Lemon verbena and herbs - I only know what the herbs are from reading the description, but there's a green herby scent behind the lemon verbena. Very nice and summery.

 

As it dries, the musk becomes a bit more evident, but apart from that it does not change much.

[cuervosueno]

I got this from another forumite and had it confused with another of the Faces of the Heroine scents. I thought this was the herbally one, and was surprised to get the lovely scent of iris right away. Then I looked this up and thought, oh, this sounds nice.

 

And smelled nice at first. iris with something else I couldn't quite identify, and thankfully none of the Star anise. It was a light floral with a gilded feel, if that makes any sense.

 

but then it turned, and it turned pretty badly for me. It turned wierdly sharp/soapy almost like a floral scented deoderant. It really wasn't working at all on me. I hoped to go back to the lovely opening notes, but never did.

 

This one is not for me.

 

eta: I suspect it is the verbena that ruined things for me. It never really works for me, though I like the scent of the real flower.

Edited May 30, 2007 by cuervosueno

[Babylon]

Lemon hard candies.

[QueenFae]

Yes, as everyone has already said, this is indeed a refreshing lemony blend. Instead of smelling like straight up lemons, though, this smells just like Lemon Heads candy! (do they even MAKE that stuff anymore??) It's a sweet, sugary, slightly creamy lemon note, and it's just lovely! I can also detect a bit of the star anise in the background. There's a bit of a licorice kick.

 

This is very pretty, and I like it quite a bit more than I thought I would.

[maribouquet]

The verbena is very strong at first, but tempered, and it fades down quickly enough. This is mostly musk and iris and it's very nice! I'm not sure that I can pick out the anise or the fennel, but whatever they are doing, this blend is lovely.

 

I tend to prefer the paler musks, but Proshitapathika puts me in mind to try more dark musks.

[fairnymph]

In the bottle: Light-medium chartreuse coloured oil, sort of looks like Galvanic Goggles. Sweet, herbal, and LEMONY - the verbena jumps out.

 

Wet: Verbena still in dominance, even amped - this is tarter and less sweet. I'm getting a bit of fennel next, and it's lovely paired with the verbena, not sharp or acrid at all, but sweet and smooth. Very faint suggestions of iris and anise.

 

Dry: Still very lemony, but it's lightened enough for the other notes to shine through, or else they have amped further. I'm getting a bit of heady powder from the iris. The fennel and star anise seem to blend together, with smooth, slightly spicy, sweetness. Unisex.

 

Later: Iris has amped, going more powdery (it's more like orris, rooty), and a strong, dry wood (rosewood?) has emerged, now the strongest note by far. The fennel has gone a bit woody too, the star anise a bit spicy, and the blend is barely sweet now. Lemon almost gone, faint musk has emerged. More masculine.

 

Summary: Primarily dry, deep wood - rosewood or something like it, it vaguely resembles both sandalwood and cedar. Below that, orris-like, powdery-rooty iris. Fainter smooth-sweet fennel and spicy-sweet start anise, and a very light touch of lemony verbena. Strong throw, good lasting power.

 

Bah! I really liked the initial dry stage but then the dreaded dry wood emerged and took over.