Roux-Ga-Roux

[GypsyRoseRed]

... Spanish moss, swamp jessamine, bog water, cypress, hickory wood, lobelia, sweet flag, wisteria, and marsh milkweed.

Hmm. I think of all of the reviews, embezel's is the one I agree with the most - why is no-one else getting this delicious creaminess out of Roux-Ga-Roux? It has a faint touch of dry wood, but none of that skanky pine/cedar that turns to hell on my skin. There may be florals in there, but they're distinctly in the background for me, but it all blends together that makes a very sexy nature scent. I adore it. Edited April 18, 2007 by Shollin

[readiness]

I got a decant of this not knowing what to expect but I actually really like it!

 

The Spanish moss is what comes through the most. It does smell a little masculine but also invokes swampy-ness but NOT in the nasty moldy way but in the fresh clean way.

 

Great throw and last a long time! love it

[forspecial_plate]

I like woods, aquatics, even some flowers. For whatever reason, I just wasn't sure about the notes in Roux-Ga-Roux, so I didn't take the plunge and order a bottle. Turns out I was right!

 

Honestly, I don't hate this scent. My problem is, I'm starting to think my skin amps sweet notes like nobody's business. In short, this is like cotton candy on me. Or marshmallows. I get the impression it's the milk weed and/or sweet flag causing the trouble. Actually, it reminds me somewhat of Midnight On the Midway, but I like the incense in that a lot more.

 

I have to really use my imagination to pick out any woods or aquatic notes in Roux-Ga-Roux. The moss is there at the beginning but it's quickly drowned out by whatever sweetness is going on here. Nope....I will eventually get a bottle of Midnight On the Midway, and wear that happily. This decant will be finding a new home!

[deleahrium]

It's hard to describe, but it has that green aquatic feel to it (as opposed to the blue aquatic). I don't know what most of these notes smell like on their own, but there's something tingly and spicy, and then something floral and light. It's nice, but not me.

[sea_of_flame]

Wah! A werewolfy scent that really isn't good on me! *sobs*

 

It was interestingly aquatic when it first went on, but it's rapidly gone all to talcy, soapy, floral! Like Nanny's bathroom - cleaned to within an inch of its life, with some Crabtree & Evelyn talc nevertheless sneaking in the white-on-white corners, and the window open just a crack blowing a breeze across whatever flowering potplant is sat there on the sill, primly perched on its little lace doily.

 

Possibly worth trying a second time, but I fear it's on to the swap pile for this one...

[mmcfa2]

"An aquatic floral with a paradoxical earthiness to it. Much more substantial than most aquatics."

 

I could not describe it better, and I love it!!

 

My only wail is the short wear time. it fades into nothingness rapidly and I have to reapply. BUT that is countered by the fact that it is an immediate LOVE on my skin with no wait time for it to bloom. I'd love to find another bottle.

[storme]

In the imp: aquatic and warm woods and florals - wow, this is rather delicious.

 

On me, wet: oh, geez, that's gorgeous a warm mossy floral-and-spice blend. It feels musky, too.

 

On me, dry: it's become almost a skin musk now, intimate and warm and creamy and slightly spicy-warm. Yum.

 

Verdict: Oh dear. From the notes I would never have guessed this would be so gorgeous. Oh well. I guess it was about time I found yet another LE bottle to crave.

[slave1]

ROUX-GA-ROUX

 

In Bottle: Planty and aquatic

 

On Skin: Wow, this scent is interesting. Very aquatic, but swampy and dark. The wood makes it even more outdoorsy and the moss and plants give a dirty earthy feel. It seems slightly more masculine to me, but I also could imagine it on a woman. I guess the aquaticness of it leans towards cologne like. Most aquatics seem so bright and crisp to me… but here it is without a doubt very dark and the woods give it an almost incense feel. They are not sharp woods at all. One of the florals is also a bit creamy, making this scent smell thicker than most aquatics. Very nice, not something for me exactly, but I’d love to smell it on others… especially my husband if I can talk him into it. Moderate throw and long wearlength.

Edited September 17, 2007 by slave1

[Mishinka]

Oh, this is wonderful! I bought it mostly because I love their description, though I don't think they quite meant it to give me the mental image it does, of some wolf-woman in lying-around clothes nomming down a quart of ice cream and watching late-night TV. Because seriously, that right there defines "mindless hunger" for me.

 

In the bottle, it has a deep, piny, backwoods scent. It almost smells like a room freshener. Wet it still smells swampy--not like stinkwater swampy, but swampy like a swamp, wet and woodsy with lots of flowers and green growing things. The woods fade as it dries, leaving this floral blend. I can't identify any individual notes because I don't know what any of those flowers smell like, but its a floral scent that seems very southern to me. It makes me think of old New Orleans or Atlanta, one of those big old southern cities full of gardens and big, pretty houses. It lasts a long time and has a slightly different scent from far away as it does up close--at a distance, I get those moist southern flowers, but up close there's sort of a musky and spicy undertone to it. The wood smell is still hanging around a little too. Perhaps the desperate hunger is what happens when this stuff runs out, because it's a discontinued scent from last March and my imp is already almost down to the label need moar!

[Heeroluva]

In the bottle I get mostly wisteria, maybe a woodsy note. Wet the Spanish moss comes out, along with the bog water. Dry I'm getting a lot of floral notes. No more water. A bit too strong for my taste. I had high hopes for this one.

[hellomoonglow]

It is so weird that this smelled like dusty roses on me, based on the note descriptions! I tried it last night with the intention of reviewing it today (at work ). I sniffed, and sniffed, let dry, sniff some more, Ooo! An hour went by! Sniff, sniff sniff. I got roses, old, dusty roses. After a signifigant 4 hours of dry down I also got some candle wax. Weird, eh?

[zankoku_zen]

Hmm... this one is plant-like, a touch aquatic. I get the dry woods, the swirling aquatic and a hint of pine.

 

Really, this seems like a nice friendly puppy, one that likes long walks and splashing in puddles.

[Tess]

In the bottle - Oh goodness, this is WONDERFUL. The woods with the sweet flag give this a fantastic creamy texture. And the floral notes mix with the "swampy" moss and water to give it a lovely depth.

 

Wet - The moss comes out with a pow!

 

Drying - Okay, it's mostly moss, wisteria and cypress right now, which is... actually not that bad a thing. As time goes on, the creamy nature comes back as the hickory and sweet flag flex their muscles more. So far, I'm adoring this. It's not a light aquatic, but it's certainly not that dark on me. A nice medium.

 

Dry (4 hours) - This has some nice staying power. It's a slightly more powdery version of how it was before.

 

Overall - It's nice, it really is. But is it nice enough for me to keep? Nah. I can see this being lovely on someone with more distinguished tastes or more closet space!

[Invidiana]

I knew I had to try this whatever happened because I'm just a huge fan of werewolves (and vampires, ghosts, etc). I was a bit afraid of the whole moss/swamp plants/bog water thing but just needed to see exactly what eau du New Orleans werewolf was, and I couldn't pass up a New Orleans werewolf because that's the birthplace of Anne Rice and fictional home to Lestat and his cronies. Roux-ga-Roux was a very pleasant surprise! It's not green or marshy at all on me, but rather a dark aquatic floral that isn't floral-y at all, if that makes any sense. My synaesthetic tendencies would do best to characterize it as a deep teal color. It's hard to pick out individual notes, but it reflects the concept of a werewolf lurking around a swamp very well without actually smelling like a swamp. It's a very mysterious scent perfect for wearing when you want to feel like a dangerous lady of the night.

Edited December 31, 2009 by Invidiana

[krissstephens]

I don't get the aquatics in this, which is great because I really don't like Selkie at all. I LOVE this scent. I wear it when I need to feel fierce..the moss is amazing on me and even my guy likes it. The cypress doesn't have that powdery undertone that it can get, in this, it has a nice bite.

[pandorasmuse]

Meep. Moss. I grow wary. But, nothing ventured, etc. etc.

 

In the imp: Yep, I definitely smell the moss in there. I the florals, but I have no idea what's what. I also smell the aquatic edge, which is good--aquatics are good to me!

 

Wet: At least one reviewer has mentioned that this smells masculine. I agree. Ugh. Not a fan.

 

Drydown: More floral-y, but not scarily so. The moss is backing off (thank goodness).

 

Later: I like this, surprisingly. It settles down nicely. Maybe Spanish most isn't as deathly on me as other kinds. It's not very strong, though. I'll have to apply more than once a day, I suppose.

[wolfensong]

I know this is late in coming, but I couldn't NOT add my review of this.

 

Roux-ga-Roux is a scent I've been after since I got into BPAL. There was much angst in my first few attempts (I always seemed to -just- miss it), but a fantastic person sold her bottle to me in some pretty extraordinary circumstances and here I am, addicted.

 

First Notes: Aquatics dancing with florals with an undercurrent of green, green woods, a very green/blue scent with an almost starlit quality about it. I don't know why I'm getting a little hit of the same kind of shine I get in black pearl, because there's certainly no coconut in this... it could be the darker, muskier notes playing off some lighter florals, which creates the cross-sense feeling of a "shine". This is like moonlight shining down on a dark, wet forest.

 

Under Notes: There is something amazingly WILD about this scent, but I can't say what. Drying, the aquatics and the florals are -still- very well balanced, but there's a musky sort of warmth coming through. There's the moss, prowling in the background, holding this scent up like a well-run trail.

 

Dry Notes: My skin tends to eat this like many other blends, but it holds out longer than most. Four hours later I still get some deliciously soft moss, and that wild, untamed scent is still lingering. It's like fur or skin rubbed with greenery, that fresh, clear scent that makes the soles of my feet itch to be gone running through the woods.

 

This is an incredible scent, with a lot of pure, wild spirit to it that still manages to maintain a bit of slyness, a sidelong look that seems to whisper "Won't you run with me?"

 

I will definitely require more.

Edited May 7, 2010 by wolfensong

[sarielswish]

In the vial, it's a bit bitter but it's a floral bitter. Not what I expected. Color wise, it's very green. Mossy green.

 

Wet on my skin, cypress and wisteria jump out. It's much more floral than I'd thought. It's almost got a cologne-ish smell to it, too. Very pleasant, but I don't know that it's *me*.

 

10-15 minute drydown - Much softer now... almost musky. The aquatic quality it had wet is all but gone now. If this one wasn't so hard to find, I might actually consider looking for a bottle. Definitely keeping the imp, though.

 

1 hour drydown - I spoke too soon. Something smells like violets. Violets and myrrh. Overpowering and it's making my head hurt.

[windbourne]

Dark, murky, woody, weird. The strongest note to my nose is the hickory, thick and smoky, followed by a dim swampy note and some very greenish florals. There's a strong sweetness to this.

 

The wood backs off fairly quickly, and it cools to the scent of earthy water and rushes. There's something very humid about this scent, very evocative of the swamps of the Southern US, especially in cooler weather.

 

It really feels more of an autumnal blend than a spring, despite the release date.

 

It's very strange, and keeps shifting back and forth on my skin, swamp to woods and back. The flowers drift in and out, a medicinal wisteria and very yellow jasmine-type note.

 

Late drydown returns pretty solidly to a smoky hickory scent, albeit much fainter. It's fairly short in terms of wear-length, maybe four hours tops.

 

I can't decide at all what I think of this. It's -very- shifty and very elusive on me. I really want to wear it during the late summer, when the shadows are stretching out and you can almost see eyes gleaming in them. Which is to say, the bottle art is spot on.

[Mister Azure]

A wicked beast comes to claim what is their to devour. 

 

This scent is rather interesting for me. When first applying I feel as though I’m wandering a moist bog or swamp area at night. Stagnant waters, creeping cypress trees and thick moss. Those come through in their own ways that are very immersive. 

 

Dry it takes on a more notable natural incense quality that melds with the missy and bog like quality. Later still after several hours, it goes sweeter on me. Faint but sweeter. 

 

This is not a bad scent but I really do not know how to feel about it. I don’t hate it but I don’t love it their. Will try wearing a few more times. Others that smell it one me don’t mind it at all nor find it offensive. Just interesting.