Spider

[heywilma]

White ginger, artemesia, vetiver, nutmeg, King mandarin, bergamot, and lime.

 

Soapy? Aftershave? Spider you are a creature of change. The first skin test was a success - I can't remember exactly what notes I got from it, but I do remember that it was nice. Now that I'm wearing it for real, it's kind of like... someone left cleaning products on their table for too long without wiping it off. I'll roll it next time I try, see if that makes a difference.

[Venneh]

Ginger and citrus in the tester, some sort of manly aftershave on my skin. Huh.

[strahlend]

This isn't the kind of scent I usually like but I'm really enjoying it. It's fresh and clean and somewhat soapy but in this way where it seems a lot more interesting than other blends I would usually use those words to describe. I think it might be the vetiver in there giving this sunny blend added depth, even though I can't smell it as a distinct note. There's something kind of sexy, kind of soothing about this scent. I like how bright this scent is without it being traditionally fruity or floral. I'm really glad to have a bottle.

[grrrlennyl]

Spider

 

Note: This is another oil that I adore and wear a lot, but never reviewed.

On: So beautiful. An watery cologne scent. It's difficult for me to tease out the various notes, but I love how this smells on me.

1 hour in: Still lovely. There's a hint of sweetness, but it's mostly cologne. LOVE.

4 hours in: Powdery and citrussy, I think from the white ginger and lime. Fresh and cologne-y.

Overall: I adore this, but I already said that. It's just such a great scent.

[achromance]

In the vial: Ginger and bergamot.

On my wrist: It's turning into citrus detergent at first and I'm a little worried about what's to come, but soon it morphs into a clean ginger scent.

I guess I will just have to give up and accept that ginger is not for me. It amps up like crazy on me and eats almost everything else, leaving only faint shadows of the other notes behind. That being said, Spider is not a bad scent, and it is unusually tender considering it contains ginger. I am however being left missing the mandarin, vetiver and nutmeg which were what first intrigued me about this scent.

Spider fades really quickly, becoming only a lingering scent of bergamont and faint ginger.

[Monday]

Whoa bergamot & aftershave? Very nice! Must be the nutmeg and artemisia combo that is making this blend smell masculine. This one definitely takes you on an olfactory ride, it's slightly bitter but aromatic.

When it dries down the bergamot amps and it gets seriously sexy.

Fully dry it's cologne with heady bergamot and some dustiness from the artemisia.

[Zorra]

I think I must have a very old decant, I got it with another decant that was marked 2007. Because I hardly smell any of the notes and especially not the more volatile ones. I don't smell any citrus, nor ginger, nor (thank goodness) cologne. I think all I get is artemesia with perhaps a hint of nutmeg and perhaps a faint hint of cologne. At least this tells me that Spider probably changes a lot with ageing. I am afraid I would have to test a newer decant to be sure how Spider smells. (And I really must read Anansi Boys)

 

ETA: Wait a minute, it should have vetiver, why don't I smell vetiver? That should stay with time? Do I have a mislabeled decant?

Edited February 12, 2013 by Zorra

[Hadewig]

I bought a bottle of Spider in 2009 straight from the Lab. I can send you a decant if you like?

 

 

To me it smells mostly as a man's aftershave or cologne. Also a very faint citrus scent but way in the back. I can't detect any ginger or bergamot. It gives me a headache if I smell it to long.

Edited February 13, 2013 by Hadewig

[vthesiren]

This smelled SO GOOD in the decant I received (I actually wrote down "this is hot" as a first impression!), but on me it dries down to cheap cologne. And not just any cheap cologne, but the kind that young teenage dudes use in locker rooms. Like Hadewig, it gives me a headache if I sniff it for too long, only I'm amping the ginger and bergamot. Alas! I might age it a bit and try again.

Edited June 6, 2013 by vthesiren

[tharsei-thanate]

In the imp: A cologne/aftershave sort of smell with citrus in the background. Not unpleasant but not my cup of tea either.

 

Wet: Blast of vetiver followed by bergamont. There's a weird sort of bitter greenness that's probably artemisia, which I'm not too familiar with, and waaay in the back is a drop of lime juice.

 

Drydown: I can faintly smell the king mandarin now, but interestingly I'm not getting the spices. I usually amp those. The strongest note now is the artemisia, which I'm not really liking that much.

 

Dry: Ah, there's the spice. It's adding a gentle warmth overall but artemisia is still king. Sigh.

 

Nooot really digging this. The artemisia's too strong for my taste. I really wanted to like you, Spider, but I guess it wasn't meant to be.

[mymymai]

ITI: It's white ginger and something really floral but soapy at the same time, with a significant acidity to it. It reminds me of red wine that is just starting to turn.

 

Wet: Yeah, there's not much of a difference here, but the acidity is now clearly from the lime.

 

Dry: Oh wow, it's really soapy about 20 minutes after application. It's like powdered detergent with a little lime. As it dries further, the ginger reasserts itself, but it is powdered ginger. The scent as a whole still reminds me of detergent.

[Haltija]

Spider is just one of those scents that I absolutely cannot live without!!! I am hopelessly inlove with it

 

It does have that soapy, aftershave quality but that's one of the main reasons why I adore it.

It's undeniably masculine and I don't care because it's so fresh and clean that it just makes you feel happy, at least it does for me.

It also has this underlining sensual thing that comes out the more it sits on my skin, must be the vetiver or the ginger...... ughhhhh PERFECTION

[Jangzonrice]

Citrusy, gingery aftershave...I actually really like it. It's light and professional appropriate. Yes, it gets a little soapy, but with the notes, it still works and smells great! No need for a bottle, but glad to have a decant.

[Anita]

First sniff instantly made me think of my dad. Which is good, because I have always thought my dad smelled good

 

On my skin, definitely fresh out of the shower clean scent, but manly.

 

I really do like it, but I am going to frimp it to my dad, because that's all I can think of with this scent on. And as much as I love my Dad, I don't think I can have my dh smelling the same as him, it would just be... weird. Maybe I will get him a bottle for Christmas.

[LizziesLuck]

Wet: Sweet, gingery, citrusy. Doesn't smell like aftershave to me, but it does smell very unisex.

 

 

 

Dry: Clean, light and fresh. Very nice. Mostly bergamot on me I think. Not me at all though. I shall pass it on.

[ramblingrambler]

Mmmm. I love this. I would want to pounce on anyone wearing it. It's a spicy, citrusy, fresh, clean fragrance that screams "lean in a little closer, baby."

 

I don't even know what I'm smelling---I don't typically wear any of these notes, so it's hard for me to pull them apart---but they smell wonderful together. I grant that it's a little cologne/aftershave-y, but damn. I'm 'bout it, 'bout it. (That is, *I* wouldn't wear it, as I don't generally like to smell this way, but I would like someone flirting with me to wear it. )

 

Yum. This one goes to my partner for *me* .

[bluethorn13]

Ah, spider. I adore this, it could be unisex but I think it smells better on the husband than on myself. I get citrusy clean smell, but its grounded by the vetiver and nutmeg. It's clean and light and I'm sticking it in the pile of keepers.

[whisperstilled]

Wet: Ginger, light and strong. A gingery cologne. I get the mandarin and the nutmeg, which bring a pleasant citrus/ginger/spice quality, giving it a brightness. The bergamot is also prominent. First impression - sweet but not too sweet, with a pleasinng sharpness.

Dry: The bergamot gets a little dusty as it dries. The lime/mandarin/bergamot combo makes for a very well-blended citrus quality, while the nutmeg has moved to ground the scent. Just a whisper of ginger. This smells like a basket of sharp citrus fruits, but that 'dustiness,' wherever it's coming from (the vetiver?), gives it a slightly funky quality that holds it back.

Edited April 2, 2017 by Whisperstilled

[galahad]

In the Vial:

Ginger and citrus

On the Skin:

The vetiver is evident immediately but it's not strong. All of the citrus notes keep the spices and herbaceous artemisia from taking over. Overall this is quite fresh with a deeper and rounder backdrop.

On the Drydown:

Fades quickly to almost a single note ginger

[Lucchesa]

I wear a lot of unisex scents, but Spider reminds me strongly of an aftershave my dad wore in the 70s, which settles this one squarely in masculine territory for me. I'm getting mainly lime and bergamot; the ginger is not at all doing the weird foodie thing it sometimes does on my skin, but is sharp and clean. I'm not getting much in the way of either vetiver or nutmeg. Fresh, citrusy cologne -- I could imagine wearing this one if it didn't remind me so much of my dad.

[torischroeder9]

In the decant: Ginger and lime, with something else rounding it out.

 

On my skin:

 

Wet, it's ginger, lime, and vetiver. While not necessarily lining up with my scent preferences, it's not actually a bad combination. As it dries down, I regret my word choice. Spoken too soon. This stage is definitely reminiscent of an aftershave or cologne my dad used to wear. (To be fair, this is my memory of my dad when I was a kid, so, like, a man in his later 30s or early 40s. It is not Grandpa Old Spice.) After time, the scent stays fairly stable, but the throw dials way back (to the extent that I can smell another scent, applied much earlier this morning, on my other arm over Spider).

 

Yup, faint reminder's of dad's cologne.