Umbra

[brownbear]

The deepest, darkest point in a shadow; the area contained within the shadow of an eclipse. East African black patchouli, cedarwood, vetiver and a dribble of cinnamon.

Umbra is very dark, dry, and woody. I really like the combo with the cinnamon. It's a bit too much cedar for my tastes.

[Em-]

Umbra was very dark and almost incensy on me - I don't get much woodiness, which surprised me. There was something very evocative about this scent...it reminded me of something which I really like, but for some reason this scent just didn't sit right on my skin.

[HennaFairy]

bottle:

musky/patchouli

 

wet:

very incensey, patchouli and vetiver

 

dry:

very strong, now I know better what vetiver is. I don't dislike it, but I don't think it's me, at least not for perfume

 

overall:

a little too much incense and vetiver for me

 

rating: 5/10

[edenssixthday]

Umbra is dark and heavy on my skin – way too dark and heavy for me. It is chock full of notes that don’t work on me individually (black patch, cedar, vetiver, and cinnamon) and which, I’ve discovered, are thoroughly appalling on my skin when blended together. The scent is very heavy, thick, and woody, and it’s not feminine at all, which precludes it from being something I’d ever wear. It has a pretty strong level of throw and while the cinnamon fades within the first hour, the other notes last on my skin for about 6 hours.

[Celogrl]

Dark, dark, dark...beautiful and dark. I think this is some stunning stuff. In the bottle, it seemed SO patchouli laden (not a bad thing IMHO), but it's so well balanced by the cedar, and even the vetiver seems in tune! This is just beautiful. It dries down to a woodsy, spicy mist. Just lovely.

[Ciircee]

Umbra is dark and deep and lovely. Mr. Circe spilled it on our checkbook and cashiers have been stopping to sniff the check and ask about it. It is very incense-y as a room scent (or a checkbook scent) but there is this gorgeous darkness to it...I'm in love.

[urbanruralferal]

Oh, Umbra was what I was looking for in Cathedral! It has that combination of incense and wood and just a little bit of candle smoke swirled into it. It is an extremely soothing scent, it just puts my mind at ease without being nostalgic.

It is lovely. At one point I thought it may be almost a touch too sweet for me, but that will be seen over the course of future wearings. I certainly will be trying it again and again.

[dierne]

In the imp - Definitely dark and earthy with a touch of bitterness.

 

Wet on skin - Lighter, with and acrid note added to the earth can't find the cinnamon.

 

Dry on skin - I smell of potting compost but not in abad way. Theres a touch of green there: reminds me of potting up seedlings.

 

Later - Still pleasantly earthy. Not sure if I'd go out of my way to buy this but I do like it.

[Meg]

In the bottle: Patchouli made rich with cinnamon.

 

Wet: Vetiver and cinnamon! It reminds me a little bit of Saturn. Then dry patchouli starts coming out, it nearly becomes peppery.

 

Drydown: Vetiver and cinnamon make a strange combination with patchouli. Vetiver dominates and, as usual on me, goes very sweet and powdery. Cinnamon brings a spicy feel and patchouli is there, wafting in and out of focus with a rather acid woody note. It smells very spicy, I keep on getting this nearly peppery scent from the patchouli, I guess (or could it be the cinnamon?).

 

Overall: A dark, woodsy blend with spices. The cinnamon has a warm quality to it, and all the different elements get along quite well. The vetiver is a very important base note, it comes out when you least expect it. It'll be great for patchouli and cinnamon lovers, it's sophisticated enough to smell perfumy even. But it's really not my type of scent.

[sookster]

straight sniff from imp is earthy cinnamon, cedarwood and vetiver....holy COWzzz

 

once applied the cinnamon mixing fantastically with the patchouli, cedar and vetiver...omG...i love this ... most definitely a big bottle purchase...this has so much depth and beauty...a gorgeous winter scent....strong and beautiful ... just like me

[Loligo]

This is like annointing yourself with black patchouli and then rolling around on the forest floor -- definitely a damp, woodsy, evergreen sort of experience. Interesting, but not for me.

[steffanina]

Umbra-

 

In Bottle: Wood and chocolate! Is that the vetiver?

 

Wet: Definitely patchouli and the cedarwood. A little like cherry?

 

Dry: Patchouli and wood and vetiver, wow. When I want all that dark sweet richness, I'll know where to go. It might not be often, as it's almost too rich. But there are a lot of things about this to like.

 

Overall: Conditional but I like.

[sofiaviolet]

The patchouli and vetiver combine to make a very musty and shadowy scent. It's perfectly suited to its name, but it's perfectly dreadful on me. Ack.

[sterlingspider]

Bottle: really interesting, almost nutty fade between cinnamon and the cedar

 

Wet: predominantly cinnamon with a cedar overtone and a bit of a pachouli bite, very fresh and woodsy

 

Initially when dry: cinnamon backgrounded, cedar much more strong, faint nutty scent

 

Dryer: almost all cedar

 

Hours later: almost like pachouli and amber, not quite powdery but warm and spiced

 

Later: cinnamon coming back

 

This is definitely a summer scent for me. Over the summer I would go out to lunch and sit in the sun reading during my break, and then once I had gotten warm almost to the point of sweating I would put this on. I love how it cycles and how magically every new phase of the scent is actually pleasant to me.

 

I have to be in the right mood to wear Umbra, but when I am it's a solid 4/5

[supremegoddessofall]

Mostly cedar with a touch of cinnamon and patchouli. This is a "dry" scent, and very woodsy. Somewhat masculine.

[cybra111]

Umbra

 

In the vial: Patchoulli and wood

 

On me: This starts out wonderful! Deep patchoulli with a touch of cinnamon and a background of cedar. But it turns awful. Leaves me with a body odor scent. Perhaps this will work on my Sweetie.

[filigree_shadow]

I like Umbra. I'm not a fan of cedar or scents with strong wood notes, usually -- Cathedral and Aureus were both too woodsy for me. But this cedar/patchouli combination with a little bit of cinnamon to give it a slightly spicy edge is much better for me. The vetiver in this is vetiver at its best: Just rumbling along at the very bottom of the scent giving it an interesting and earthy grounding.

 

Although the cedarwood was a little too strong at first, it calms down on drying and this ends up being a very pleasant earthy patchouli scent. The cinnamon also gets stronger as the scent dries.

 

Umbra is truly an example of the whole being more than the sum of its parts -- two notes I normally avoid are in this (cedarwood and cinnamon), and yet when they are in this blend I actually enjoy them.

 

Very nice.

[siggster]

Vial: Earthy and green

 

Skin: Green and honey (yes I know there's no honey in it) and dirt. Sticky and heavy.

 

Dry down: Very earthy and slightly green. Wild and warm. The patchouli is strong and the vetiver shines through too.

 

Deep and dark is right. The cinnamon keeps this from being dank. Spicy woods and green earth and hippie tree-hugging delight. Of course I like it! Bottle buy? Probably not, but only because it is a little predictable and plain. Definitely on my 'like list' though.

[n1k1ta]

This has to be the richest patchouli I've ever had the pleasure of smelling. At application, it bashed me over the head with patchouli. Yeah, it was a little strong. Not really bad per se, but just overpowering.

 

As time passed, the cedar broke though the patchouli and brought the cinnamon with it. Imagine that green-brown moss you find in the forest. That's the color Umbra smells like.

 

Umbra is heady and powerful. It's almost masculine and probably would be on a man. However, on me it's just spicy and primordial forest - very sexy. Not to mention the throw! This stuff doesn't die. I think I'll be smelling this on my hoodie tomorrow. I happily look forward to it.

[sh1mm3r]

I laughed hysterically when I read the description of this frimp from the lab. It could only be a worse combination if it also had red wine in it, as far as notes that are nasty on me.

 

Tried it anyway, tried it anyway, tried it anyway last night....

 

Yep, nasty. Dirt and sludge and chaos. I'll frimp it elsewhere!

[femmefatale]

Hubby tried this (I knew right awayit would be better for him, lol).

 

At first it smell like the rain incense we used to have. yum! As it dried it became darker and smokier. I love the cedarwood I can smell and the patchouli is just right. The cinnamon is very faint, but it's a truer cinnamon as opposed to the sweet candy cinnamon.

 

It's very nice on him, I have a feeling I'll be sniffing him for the rest of the night.

[goth_huntress]

This is one for the boys. It's very dry to my nose, with a hint of fire. I'm not sure I like it on me, but my cat loves it. He rubbed all over my wrist and licked me. Silly cat. He does the same thing for Blood Kiss - must be the vetiver.

[Brianne]

In the vial:

Cola?

 

On me:

When this goes on, it smells like cola at first - strange but amusing! The cedar and vetiver become apparent immediately. Very deep, very strong and quite distinct. Something about this makes me think of incense shops out at our local Ren Fest. It's just sort of deep and resinous and woody at the same time. The patchouli is very nice in this and I get a TINY little bit of cinnamon which ends up kind of adding a tiny little sweetness to this, but not a lot of spice.

 

Deep woods would be a perfect two word review for this. This is SO deep and because of that, it comes off as a bit masculine. It's far too strong and deep for me to wear, but I still somehow enjoy it.

 

Final note:

I couldn't wear this as a personal scent - it's too much for me - too much wood, too deep - I like it though, maybe because it reminds me of something I love. I feel inclined to keep the imp even though I won't be wearing it lol. Such an interesting scent at the very least!

[juniperus]

Bottle: cedar and pacthouli, like 'dirty hippy' meets one of those rustic, woodsy cabin boutiques

Wet: I can discern the cinnamon on the edges, this is turning kinda incensey

Dry: hello vetiver, you bastard. ugh, the vetiver is amping and morphing..not that I'm surprised, it does the same thing on my skin every damn time. I'm close to giving 'hope springs eternal' a swift kick in the arse, though.

Later: OMFG vetiver, or rather - what vetiver becomes...big, ugly, dirty (not like fresh soil, like dust and muck and crap that gets tracked in on your shoes), with a hint of used motor oil. ack ack ack

[Rchll]

Bottle: lots of woodsy patchouli, strong and smoky. I can smell it even before opening up the imp.

 

Self wet: whew, woodsy and incense, reminds me of some vast cathedral in the woods. Big throw. I can also smell the nuttiness that some reviewers mention. It’s a kind of nice earthy smell. Rob Zombie popped up on my playlist as I was starting to test this and somehow that fits. The pounding music and gothish lyrics matched the deep dark dry wood smoke I was wearing. The only downside so far is that the hubby said I smell like an old person’s home and I don't think he meant that as a good thing.

 

Half an hour: nutty turns into cinnamon. Still woodsy, earthy and smoky but now the cinnamon adds some sweetness. Not bad.

 

Next day: still a slightly earthy smell, in a really nice smoky kind of way. This one lasted a long time on my skin, even after most of its throw was gone it was still there.

 

Overall: I like it a lot. A dark and heavy smell to be sure, but I could wear out my imp soon.