Agnes Nutter

[sarada]

The mind of Agnes Nutter was so far adrift in Time that she was considered pretty mad even by the standards of seventeenth-century Lancashire, where mad prophetesses were a growth industry.

Gunpowder, charred wood, smoke, and rusty nails.

I sniffed Agnes at Will Call and enjoyed sniffing it throughout the night on my skin, where it lingered the longest and strongest of all, changing slightly as it dried down.

At first it is a strong smoky burning wood like Malediction or Brimstone, very rich and gritty, sooty and ashy, woody and a bit like charcoal. I get a hint of that scent that fills the air after the end of a large fireworks display (a scent I was reacquainted with last week, on July 4!).

The gunpowder and burning scent calms down to a rich dark burnt wood, a strong vetiver (sorry, folks, but I love vetiver!) and some other strong woody scents. The faint metallic note of rusty nails does make a brief appearance early on, but it is fleeting. I can almost taste it when I smell it.

If you like your scents smoky and burny this is the way to go. I LOVE it. This is a new favorite for sure, and it combines what I love from scents like Djinn, Malediction and Brimstone in a new and exciting way.

[squintywitch]

This is wonderful!

 

I bought it to use for a live-roleplaying character who's a musketeer, and wasn't expecting to enjoy it particularly. But it's amazing; it's intensely black-powdery in the bottle and wet on the skin, but as it dries it settles into a wonderful sharp, dark scent. Certainly the gunpowder's still there, as well as a wood-smoke element, but it's more than that - maybe the vetiver? Bonfires and fireworks...

 

Perfect for my musketeer, but great for autumn and cold winter days, too.

[Em-]

I get a definite chilly iron scent from this - kind of like Bed of Nails, but deeper and richer and colder. The nails are embedded in solid rich spicy wood- I get a hint of something almost cinnamony from this, which I can only guess is how my nose and brain are reconciling the gunpowder and smoke, but I can't be sure. I don't get an overwhelming hot smokyness from this, which is good - Brimstone and I are not friends...

 

I am looking forward to trying this blend on my husband, as I think it would make a wonderful blend for him as well.

[mdargen]

The main reason I bought this scent is because my daughter's name is Agnes. None of the notes in it are something that I would normally like but I never seen her name on anything.

 

Anyhoo, it smells exactly like the description. It is is amazing! The smoke reminds me of sitting at a campfire while holding sparklers.

 

This may not get a lot of wear but it could be a really nice winter room scent.

[Meg]

In the bottle: Vetiver, smoke, salty sulphur and a hint of cool metal

 

Wet on skin: Salty woodsmoke, it smells exactly like a bonfire after fireworks. Except for the cool hint of metal.

 

Drydown: It's much more obviously sulphurous, exactly like gunpowder - w00t!! - with a side of woodsmoke and nails that are becoming more and more rusty.

 

Overall: This smells exactly like it does after you've spent all day around a bonfire/barbecue and then you have a big firework display. The only note that jars you from this impression is the rusty nails, which is very very realistic to my nose, not at all the way some ozones go on me. This is a perfect representation of Agnes and a really great scent for someone fiery. I don't know if I'd wear it myself, but it beats Brimstone in my "Abby Sciuto smells like Gunpowder" search for character scents. Also, if there is vetiver here, it behaves extremely well and the blend stays true to itself.

[t_for_tau]

I was sadly disappointed that this blend didn't want to play nicely with my skin chemistry. I love the smell of gunpowder beyond all reason (I'd wear a single note if I could find one), and was really looking forward to this, but no.

 

In the bottle it's a warm smoky vetiver, but on my skin it's virtually vetiver SN. A rather nice vetiver, true, but I have other vetiver scents for when I want to smell like that. After an hour or so the metal peeks out; the wood never shows. I'm going to try this again in the hope that I'm having an off day scent-wise (I've got a touch of flu), because I really, really want this to work. This morning I opened the imp to sniff it again, and it left such a promising charred-wood scent on my fingers, that I'm hoping it'll work when I'm better. I'm getting the occasional drift of black powder, too, which is making me hopeful.

 

But for the time being: a nice vetiver, a hint of smoke, no gunpowder or wood. Sigh.

 

(Edited for clarity)

Edited July 24, 2007 by tau

[shadesong]

In bottle: Woo! Gunpowder.

 

On me: Gunpowder gunpowder. Vetiver-y. A bit of the charred wood lurking underneath. I don't always like her smoke notes, but I like this.

[sookster]

straight sniff from imp is heavy gunpowder and smoke...

 

once applied this is loaded with my beloved vetiver...

 

if you fancy djinn or brimstone, this one is for you...

[olympia301]

Real real nice. I get a lot of vetiver out of the blend, and some smokey too. The smoke is small at first but it sure heats up the room within 5 minutes. Great concoction, that the link between smoke and vetiver was made so smooth and lovely. Real nice. Did I say that already?

[Dinerdulcinea]

My hubby wanted this one so we tried it...unfortunately it is TOO NASTY-SMELLING to even be placed on our bodies.

 

It smells like something rotten. Alas.

 

Going straight to swaps...do not pass Go.

[tindome]

Smokey, and more smokey. in a good way.

kinda like mesquite when you smoke tofu (or whatever you smoke) it has that clingy smell like the fire is gone but the smell remains. It makes me hungry.

[filigree_shadow]

Hmm, that's an odd scent. It smells like a very sweet woodfire. Actually, this is close to what vetiver often smells like on me. But sweeter. I highly doubt I would wear this as a perfume, but the scent is certainly evocative. I would love to use this as a room scent.

[alicia_stardust]

Dead on: gunpowder and dry, acrid smoke. After a while, I get a sort of vetiver-like ozone-like something. I can't pinpoint what it is. But for the most part it's all smoke and gunpowder. This captures Agnes so well. Anyone that likes the more swarthy, woodsy, vetiver-like blends will LOVE this.

[empi girl]

Woodsmoke (I'd say cedar, actually), with gunpowder. A hint of sweetness and a definite saltiness to it. I got a decant mainly for the novelty, but actually like this a lot more than expected. As it dries, it loses it's heaviness and it's salty quality, and becomes gentler and a little sweeter. But it is still a bonfire, just the difference between being in front of one roasting marshmallows and avoiding the smoke, and smelling one on the breeze, a fair distance away. I doubt I'll get a bottle, but I'll be keeping the decant.

[LauraB]

Eh? One of my skin chemistry or my nose is definitely wonky. I get gunpowder and a definite wood note (but not amped to infinity), but then I get - leather?!

 

Unfortunately the leather note becomes really prominent on me and it's one of those notes I can't wear so I washed this off after 15 minutes - which is a shame because the gunpowder was dead on.

[supremegoddessofall]

In bottle: Very metallic. Tingles my nose.

 

On me: Smells like something burning in the distance. Not really great as a perfume, but interesting.

[Little Bird]

Agnes Nutter has that BBQ smell that I hate (which I get from certain types of vetiver and cedar). Mesquite and charred cedar planks. This actually smells a lot like Azathoth on me. It's insanely strong and overpowering just in the decant vial, and it's even worse on me. This makes me smell like amped up beef jerky.

 

I can't smell any of the listed notes except the 'charred wood.' Arcana's "Mutiny" scent will remain my ultimate gunpowder fragrance.

[mooncityminx]

I'm going to have a hard time trying to describe this one, because on me it was so headache/nausea inducing that it's really hard to analyze it objectively. I was actually expecting the smell of firecrackers that I am familiar with, and this was lacking that smell. I still would have expected to like it though, because generally dark smokey scents work for me. Most vertiver goes candy on me. Not so with Agnes. Please understand that Agnes doesn't smell bad, it just makes me sick.

 

In the vial it is dark, smokey and leathery. On my skin the leather amps and amps. I get some kind of smell that is medicinal, almost minty. Super super smokey.

 

At that point it amps and amps and amps. I washed my arm three times and didn't manage to get the smell off until I put lotion over it and washed again. Getting headaches/nausea from BPALs is extremely rare for me. There are some that I don't care for scent-wise but they don't cause a physical reaction. The only other BPAL that made me feel ill had wintergreen in it, and wintergreen usually has that effect on me.

 

I say, if it sounds like something you might like, go for it. It's certainly unique. But for me, I will be staying far far away from this decant. Maybe I got blasted by a cannon ball in a previous lifetime? My instinct from this smell is to curl up into fetal position and clutch at my abdomen. I'm going to go with past-life-negative-scent-association.

[batsy]

In the vial: *coughs* Charred wood and smoke. Whoa... ouch, my nose. It's very acrid.

 

On the skin: Not a heck of a lot of change, but now I smell BBQ sauce. Probably gunpowder too. Yeah, I dunno. This is probably one of the most masculine scents BPAL's ever made. It's slightly mellowing on the drydown, now reminding me of the inside of a Vegas casino at full capacity. I'll have to give it a second try some time.

[funkmoppet]

Agnes Nutter is made of win!

 

In the imp and wet on the skin: HELLO VETIVER! A big blast, clean and lovely and very strong. My nose is far too untrained to detect what else is in there, but along with the clean vetiver, this is very much an iron and gunpowder smell. Emphasis on the iron.

 

This settles down to a much smokier, slightly sweet blend and dries into what really is a unisex vetiver blend. This doesn't have the ongoing harshness of Highwayman, and none of the evil jasmine. It's a wonderful interpretation, and very evocative. Vetiver lovers ought to enjoy this.

 

I would never use a whole bottle of this, but the decant will definitely stay and be used. This entire series has been nothing short of spectacular. Bravo, Beth!

[n0thing]

Loves it!

Got an decanted imp, now seeking out other rejected decanted imps.. *hoardes*

 

Gunpowdery smoke & campfires, the latter smells a bit like Lapsang Souchong tea, which i also love. Smells like Glastonbury late at night, with all the candles & incense & campfires

 

THIS is exactly how all the firey blends *should've* smelled - Djinn, Brimstone etc - i just got vix inhalers off those, and that to me is a COLD smell, not a hot one. There's no hint of eucalyptusyness in Agnes, she's all real smoke, and we love her!

 

(that said, i'm addicted to anything smokey smelling. Smoked cheese, smoked fish, the above mentioned smokey tea that makes my mother thing i've set something on fire everytime i have a cup.. When i first tried Malediction i thought it made me smell like a smoked sausage, but i'm still contemplating getting a bottle. I am quite mad )

[jade_starlight]

Wow. Agnes is definitely not the kind of scent that one can ignore. It's incredibly strong right out of the bottle, and smells almost exactly like the smoke from a wood fire. It doesn't really have that edge that I rather like that gunpowder has, at least not on me, which is a shame. As it is, I smell like I've been rubbing wood ashes on my arm (either that, or standing downwind while burning leaves for a couple of hours.)

 

Agnes is definitely not for me.

[Nehushtan]

Suprisingly, Agnes didn't remind me of Djinn or Brimstone. It was the same type of scent, to be sure, but they don't smell alike.

 

What Agnes reminded me of the most was Alternative Breeding's Under Western Stars. It has the same overpowering campfire smoke scent, not that I mind! The throw is tremendous-- a little goes a long, long, LONG way.

 

The scent in the bottle and the scent initially applied to the skin are very similar. No surprises there-- it's all charred, smoky wood. After about twenty minutes, the smoke stops humping your leg long enough for you to catch the rest of the scent. Anything metallic or ozone-y tends to smell like Axe or Tag once it hits me and that's exactly what I got from the "rusty nails" bit of this oil. However, one of my friends has more fortunate chemistry and I thought it actually did smell metallic on her-- much like sucking on an old key. It had the same tang to it. It was so subtle it hardly mattered, though.

 

So, Agnes smells like charred wood + metal if you're lucky, charred wood + Axe if you're me.

[Ajila]

In the bottle – A bonfire with a metallic twang

 

Wet on me – Dark smouldering smoke

 

Dry on me – For the most part this is like ashes and dust on me, but it does finally settle to a soft warm tobacco

 

Overall – I really like the final dry down, but I couldn’t wear this blend

[kiio]

I was really hoping this would work for me, but once again the vetiver struck and turned sour on my skin. In the bottle it's gorgeous fire heated iron, not quite the scent of a foundry, more that of a bonfire on a dusty day with a hint of horseshoes.