Shadwell

[surlygurl]

Roll-ups, mildewed raincoat, sweet tea, and condensed milk.

So. I sniffed my decant of this odd mildewed raincoat & rollups scent and thought "coconut? Huh?" I decided to wear it to work since I've been on a coconut kick lately. Results of the highly scientific study are as follows

Wet: Coconut. Like Elegba but without the sugared rum. With a milkiness added. And something entwined with the milkiness that I can't quite figure out.

Drydown: Whatever the 'can't figure out' thing is has blended with the coconut to produce.... mildew? No. Dust. Old dust, if that makes sense. At this point it's still softly pretty, but the dust thing is disconcerting. Like finding an old shirt in the back of the dresser. That old wood smell.

Dry: let's see.... Someone took a wooden children's toy, spilled tanning lotion on it, moved the toy to the attic where it gathered dust in that dry lightless place for many years, only to be rediscovered. And sniffed.

This scent scores points for authenticity, but I don't see myself wearing it.

[funkmoppet]

Shadwell smells delightfully sweet in the decant - almost a touch of caramel.

 

On, I get a big whiff of cologne, and light tobacco, but the combination isn't overpowering. It's got a warm, gentle feel that makes me smile. This is comforting.

 

As he dries, the condensed milk and tea come through - the former never getting cloying. This is so beautifully blended. It's warm and dry and completely delightful on me!

 

Another big win for the Good Omens group! Love it!

[jade_starlight]

Huh. This is nothing like what I expected at all. Wet, it's mostly caramel and tobacco on me, sweet and slightly smoky. As it dries the caramel fades out, leaving something that's warm and smoky and masculine without being overly manly. Sadly, the more it dries the less it works on me.

[storme]

In the imp: huh, weird. Lots of linen and tobacco and an aquatic feel behind it.

 

On me, wet: aquatics and tobacco, very pale and masculine feeling - but this feels too *clean* for Shadwell.

 

On me, dry: this is very clean and aquatic now, with a mild linen tinge to it and... hunh, yup, some creaminess too.

 

Verdict: Not really my style, and not really Shadwell-like to me. Swaps.

[Ajila]

In the bottle – Sweet and soapy, but somewhat indistinct

 

Wet on me – Sharp green soap backed by the thick, treacly sweetness of the condensed milk

 

Dry on me – After going through dusty and coconuty stages if finally settles to a warm, dry tobacco scent

 

Overall – I don’t really know what to make of this blend, sweet and creamy I like and tobacco I like, but this blend never seems to sit right with me

[brit_brat100]

Imp: Seemingly gentle with something sweet and almost familiar, but I can't pick out any notes.

 

Wet: Soapy. But not. This is hard to pin down.

 

Dry: Something wet - maybe the coat, but nothing stands out.

 

Final thoughts: This is pretty masculine, I think. I'm glad to have tried it though, even if it's meant for me.

[slave1]

SHADWELL

 

In Bottle: Milky cologne

 

On Skin: Hmmm…. This is an odd one. The cologne notes are dominant. Smoky and a bit leathery. The tea giving a bitter tone and the condensed milk dripping a light sweetness over it all. I don’t smell a raincoat and the mildew is just a slightly off aquatic. Not brisk and fresh, instead more like pond water. The smoky cigar note is strongest by far. Not my favorite of scents for me personally, but I can appreciate the creativity and workmanship that went into this blend and would love to smell it on my husband. The milk note is very light and not overly creamy or yummy like Milk Moon or any of my favorite milk scents. Here it is much more in the background and more like a light vanilla. A masculine blend without a doubt. I’ll see if my husband likes it… I hope he does. After about an hour I begin to like it even more. Light to medium throw, average to long wearlength.

[PurringPulsar]

Shadwell

 

In the imp: tobacco cologne with a bare hint of milk. Surprisingly perfumey and a little caramelised.

Wet on skin: a thick, rich pipe tobacco with a hint of Mr Nancy's foody-sugary scent to it.

Dry on skin: now I smell the 'mildew', which thankfully doesn't smell like true mildew, but more like moss, with a cologne like aquatic to it which is slightly rainy and fresh in feel. Under that I get the tobacco, smelling less like ashtrays and more like a sophisticated pipe tobacco with a hint of treacle. I also smell the milk, which is a light, soft, cool milk note which thankfully doesn't turn sour. But the dominant note is the manly cologne and tobacco, a perfume a lot more sophisticated than I'd expect from Shadwell (though I'd expect the real Shadwell wouldn't smell so good-this is a pleasant scent!)

After a while: after that intense blast of cologne and sticky tobacco, this now fades into something even nicer…a gentle sweet milk (still nothing sour), almost like coconut milk but not quite, and a hint of lighter tobacco. Now it smells more like roll up cigarettes, but in a nice way. this is like Mr Nancy, but gentler, less sugary, and fresher. It seems to go between smelling like men's aftershave and cool milk every now and then, the tobacco always present.

I much prefer the milky stages to the 'raincoat' stages, but the tobacco does seem to be veering towards ashtray territory now, which is apt for Shadwell, but not so good for me! The ashtray stage does fade and the scent ends up as a kind of milky tobacco cologne with a hint of sweet coconut to it. The condensed milk note smells very true now, almost like the condensed milk in kulfi (which I adore) but without the spices, and with aquatic-sporty perfume, powdery moss and dry caramelised tobacco (think Red Lantern and Mr Nancy).

Verdict: Shadwell's scent is unique, interesting and contradictory, a mix of opposing notes that seem to work well together. There's an aquatic component which is lightly mossy, a smart manly perfume, a tobacco note that moves from pipe to cigarette, and a gorgeous sweet milk note which isn't remotely sour. That's my favourite thing about the scent, in fact-the condensed milk note is so nice, comforting and sweet. however, the scent does have moments when it turns a little too masculine for me. the 'mildewed raincoat' note, a mix of moss and rainy aquatic notes, does turn a little bit like a manly aftershave, and this is accentuated by the tobacco which at some points smells a little too much like cigarettes for me. but I like it. it's a lot more agreeable than I expected a Shadwell scent to be, that's for sure! I also love the way that Beth makes such unusual mixes of notes, some of which sound really off-putting (who'd have thought mildew could smell so good?) work really well together, like in here.

Emoticon rating:

Is it a keeper? not really, but it's a very interesting scent!

If you like this, try: Incubus, Mr Nancy, Ogun, Red Lantern, Elegba, Obatala

[moon_lemming]

Is there vinegar in this? Jeez. Let me look up the notes.

 

Okay, no vinegar. I don't get the other stuff, either, though. I'm getting sort of an aquatic scent from it? Nothing else. Wait, there is something in here that reminds me of Dorian, must be the sweet tea.

 

Hmmm... there's a little more sweetness now. This actually reminds me of Selkie for some reason, except more Irish Spring.

 

No, this one's not for me. With few exceptions, aquatics give me a headache, and this is not one of those exceptions.

[Nidaba]

Wow, its crazy how different scents can be on different people.

 

In the vial: Ack, rancid tobacco

Wet: Tobacco, with something sweet. If the sweet comes out I will be okay.

Dry: Ugh! Nasty old wet cigarettes that people have been walking on in the rain for days

 

I could not get this off my skin fast enough! No redeeming qualities at all on me!

[elphaba]

I tried Shadwell at GenCon and ordered a bottle in my first order after getting home. It's beautiful and comforting and just all-around fabulous.

 

On me, this scent is very milky. I would swear it's the same note as in my beloved Milk Moon 2005, but Shadwell might be even better. Milk Moon can almost edge into sourness at times, but this stays sweet and full and round. I swear I slept with my wrist glued to my nose last night and, in the morning, I could still smell Shadwell on my pillow. If this were an LE, I would be ordering a second bottle, pronto.

[Gwydion]

Sweetly enticing in the bottle, though with an odd note that I'm guessing is the raincoat. I admit the description worried me as I already smell of mold thanks to the decrepit dump I live in, but this was not an issue. This is a pleasantly masculine scent on the skin, extremely sweet. It smells vaguely like Dorian, but only vaguely. I do like it, perhaps because of it's peculiarities.

[tinyvulture]

in the imp it smells like condensed milk and very faint coconut and aquatic notes.

 

on my skin, it’s those same notes, only much sweeter.

 

a few minutes later, the tobacco and mildew notes come out and the aquatic disappears. it's not nearly as sweet now. i like it at this point. it's more masculine and earthy now, than when first applied. still no trace of the tea – oh well.

[porcelina]

all this smells like on me is mildew and sour milk! euuughh.

[Electra]

Milky tea with a hint of aquatic. Really interesting and really, *really* nice. I like this one a lot. (I don't get any mildew! )

[DurAnorak]

If I didn't know better (as in, I have tried different samples of Shadwell from different containers, before adding it all to one bottle and GUARDING IT WITH MY LIFE because I love it so), I'd say I'd been wearing a different oil to everyone else who's reviewed this!

 

What I don't get :

Milk, tea, mildewed raincoat, caramel, moss, aquatic notes of any kind, treacle, cologne.

 

What I do get :

High church incense.

 

Seriously. I open the bottle and it's like being hit in the face with everything Henry VIII tried to ban. Huge vaulted ceilings and chanting and statuary and marble tombs - the works.

 

After ten minutes of that, it does, admittedly, turn into 'I have accidentally taken a bath in cigars', but I like that about it. I take it it's just me, though, with the incense?

[zankoku_zen]

I have to say, I remembered that sweetened condensed milk was a component... but I forgot about the tobacco. The sweetened condensed milk is ever present, but the tobacco throws me off. It gives it the smoky qualities of tobacco but combined with the other ingredients it also smells kinda nutty.

 

So I get nutty sweet milk with smoke.

 

And yes, it does make me think of Shadwell... but I'm not sure that's what I want to smell like!

[TereFaerie]

Shadwell is sweet and musty on me, but not unpleasantly so. While this is not a scent I can really wear, a bit too musty sweet, I definitely feel it it strongly represents the character in the book. I really DO smell a mildewy raincoat and rolled ciggies!

 

Love almost all of Beth's Gaiman scents for complexity alone, but many of them are my favorites!

[Torrain]

In decant: sweet tea and thick milk. On my skin, it's moss and milk. Hint of tobacco creeping in. Eeep. I begin to worry.

 

7 min: moss and tobacco in the rain.

 

11 min: same, although the moss appears to be sprouting into something more enthusiastically green. I'm imagining carrot-tops.

 

15 min: Definitely greener. This smells like putting on an old coat and going out into the garden on a not-too-cold day to putter around in the rain. (With condensed milk somewhere in the picture.) It's like a damper cosily-shabby sibling to The Apothecary.

 

30 min: sweet thick milk and tobacco. I've lost the green... and it stays gone through to the hours mark, at least. Drat. I was really having hopes there in its adolescence for a bit.

 

Oh, Shads. I tried you twice, I really hoped... Couldn't you've had a *little* more mildew? *sigh*

 

1:30: it's mellowed down to sweetish milk and tea. Nicer than it was half an hour ago, not nearly as interesting as it was at fifteen minutes. Stays like that until at least the three hour mark.

 

Not really something I could see myself wearing, although I *might* put it in an oil warmer if I was in a very specific mood.

 

Love and coffee,

Franecs

[heartlilly]

While wet, this was kind of frightening. It honestly smelled like sweet, damp, mildew. The kind of mildew that is hidden in an otherwise sparkling bathroom; you sort of smell it, but can't be sure. Almost like phantom mildew. Thankfully that pesky mildew mostly vanishes once it is dry. Then this is very sweet, milky tea with a warm dose of light tobacco. It is much prettier than I expected.

[tartchef]

Oh man, this is so close to fabulous.... Wet, there's a quick little smack of manly aquatic, but then a glorious thick tobacco & sweet milk scent unfolds, with the barest hint of coconut biscuits. There's an outdoorsy element keeping things from getting too cloying, damp air & wet paving stones. This is undoubtedly from a trace of oakmoss, because there's that funky back-of-my-throat reaction that I get from most mosses. It is just a trace, thankfully, and doesn't outright ruin Shadwell for me - it just keeps him squarely in the "fun decant" category. Which is a shame, really, because without it, I'd be all about a bottle... Shadwell is England personified - not the Arthurian/clashing swords & shields England, but the tea & biscuits in the potting shed on a wet day England. Which is the England I love best

[Lavada]

The world must be coming to an end because my experience with this can be written as a very simple formula.

 

Clean + Comforting = Shadwell.

 

Just because I said it was simple didn't mean that it made sense or was even possible.

 

That matters not, because I love it! In the decant, it looks like a very Shadwell colour - I imagine his mack must be this shade... when it's clean. It's a little offputting as I sniff at it, sort of like rubbery tobacco and stale water. So glad I tried it, because on my skin...

 

.snip.

 

If ever there was a aquatic-foody, this is it.

 

.snip.

 

...that quite more or less sums it up perfectly. There's, first and foremost... can tobacco be green? Maybe that's just it melding harmoniously with that watery tea. See, I neither get sweet or tea from this scent, but there's something astringent to this wateriness. Keeping in mind that I get no sweetness, I can definitely detect the condensed milk (it's what drove me to try this otherwise horrid sounding concoction) - it smells a little powdery and creamy (oh my god, powdered milk?! ), but not at all syrupy and rich. To my delight, the condensed milk ever so slowly creeps into a more prominant role as time goes on.

 

This all somehow equals clean to me. It surprised me once again by lingering forever with a throw that I can't ignore. Quite like Shadwell in this respect, really; when you look at him, you can't help but wonder why Azrael hasn't whisked him away yet (while at the same time sympathising with said Horseperson and understanding completely just why).

 

Bottle-worthy for sure. It's something I could wear at any time of the day at any time of the year (but maybe that's because this Southern Pansy is about as sociable as Mr. Shadwell here... ).

Edited March 28, 2008 by Lavada

[dansemacabre]

I kind of liked this in the imp. It was sweet but had a faint smell of mildew behind it. It was a really odd combination. Wet, oh dear, it smells like stale cigarettes and cigar smoke. It was VERY strong and almost antiseptic smelling, almost like a cinnamony-mint? As it begins the dry down begin, the sharp smell of cigarettes is fading and emerging is a creamy heaven like bliss.. almost like coconut oil wrapped in condensed milk. I'd have to say, this does smell a tad masculine, but not in a macho, heavy smell kind of way. The masculine scent is barely there but it gives the milkiness some backing so it doesn't all fade away. It's an interesting blend and something I would have never imagined myself wearing.

[lilacea]

Sweet tea, but mostly wet tobacco in the vial. There's mossy green dark element too. A rotting smell is hiding away there.

 

Unfortunately the milk note goes super soapy and sour on my skin. The tabacco stays around, yet the tea isn't as prominant once it dries. There is an element of something watery and slightly sweet there, but I'm having trouble picking out exactly what it is. It is kind of cactus-y.

Edited May 3, 2008 by lilacea

[GreenSpine]

Shadwell is my favorite comfort scent and I reach for it a lot on chilly, rainy days or before going to sleep. I get sweet milk and tobacco about equally in the front, with fog in the woods (or in an old house) the background. There is just a touch of mildew, but it doesn't smell dirty in a bad way.

 

It feels like drinking tea and smoking cigarettes (I quit them, but still love the scent) in an out-of-the-way little place on a rainy day. My color impression is that of unrefined, off-white sheep's wool.

Edited May 3, 2008 by GreenSpine