Kweku Anansi

[chin]

Vetiver, dusty pepper, nutmeg, thyme and grass over a deep, mossy wooden core.

Kweku Anansi is an oil that I wanted to love, because I grew up with Anansi stories. When I read the reviews above, I wasn't hopeful - but, surprise, this oil does wonderful things on my skin!

At first, I thought I could detect tiny hints of clove, allspice and lime. The overall impression at first was very damp-earthy, but that morphed quickly into a dark, sweet, earthy, powdery scent. It's been about six hours now, and it's still going strong. I think I can smell a little bit of bay, like the way it smells in bay rum, not the leaf. The spices might still be there, but if so they are in the background. I am wondering if the lime I smelled is actually myrrh (sometimes my nose makes this association, to me, sloth smells a little citrusy). I love this - the dark sweet earthiness is beautiful. I will order a big bottle when it becomes available!

[NoirRosaleen]

Wet: Pepper. Lots of pepper. Not enough to make me sneeze, but a little strange. Something else in the background, too...not quite sure what.

 

Dry: The pepper has gone away almost entirely to be replaced with...lemon. How odd. It lasted through a two-hour workout, too, so it*s one of the few that actually sticks to me. It*s a nice scent, but unfortunately not really me...I*ll try it on my boy later, if I can pin him down.

Edited October 31, 2004 by NoirRosaleen

[Penance]

I got an imp of this from Kimmer.

 

First sniff:

 

This is a very complex scent. On one sniff it smells like Constant Comment tea...spicy and clovey and dark and lovely. On another it smells like pepper. And on another it smells like deep woods and damp soil. This is so beautiful and complex! I'm really looking forward to trying this one.

 

Wet on skin:

 

Pepper and moss. I also get a whiff now and then of something that smells like allspice. I'm guessing it's the nutmeg. Whatever it is, it's beautiful. This is a very unusual combination of scents, but it works so well! I never would have imagined that this sort of combination would work so beautifully, but that's why I'm not the one designing perfumes, I guess.

 

Dry down:

 

Peppery and spicy in an allspice kind of way at the same time. The moss seems to have retreated into the background, but I still love the way this smells. I've never cared for the smell of black pepper, but for some reason, this works for me.

 

The bottom line:

 

I love this scent. I had some doubts about whether it would work for me, but it does and beautifully. This is quite possibly my favorite of all of the up-and-comings I've tried. Beautiful, just beautiful.

[Shollin]

First sniff: Kweku Anansi smells… old. And green, and dusty, and… yup, there’s the pepper. Weirdly, it reminds me of an old library, even though there’s nothing bookish about the scent. It smells old in an awe-inspiring way, like Newgrange or the Lascaux Cave.

 

Wearing: I know Anansi is the spider, but… this scent is what Morla, the old island-turtle in The Neverending Story, might smell like. Ancient and green and demanding of respect. I like the scent quite a bit more on me than in the vial – it’s simultaneously firmer and more aquatic, and the pepper (which worried me) seems to be staying in the background; I can only smell it if I put nose to wrist.

[MissAnthropy]

VERY interesting! I'm a HUGE fan of 'Darkness' and 'Noir' and this is very much like those for me. Woody. Dark. Lush. It's what I call a 'parlour' scent.

 

In the bottle: Hmm. VERY woody. Not so peppery. Strong!

 

On my skin: YAY! It dulled down and my skin really brought out the - and it smells woooooooooonderful. Rich, and warm. And it has serious lasting power. It's so... spicy. But not hot spicy, I mean that warm, nutmeggy (is that a word?), Chai kind of spicy.

 

An hour later: It's worn down to being mostly woody now, but I like that, so I am very pleased. This one is a 5ml for SURE.

 

I... am... in... LOVE!!!

 

 

-Leslie

Edited November 13, 2004 by MissAnthropy

[phoefromelsewhere]

Got this from Damask Rose...

 

In the bottle: mint, oil of cloves, earth, dry grass

 

Wet: Cloves, cloves, cloves. Smells like the oil of cloves I used to put on toothaches. Slightly minty? Fresh. Smells like dry grass or the high desert after a heavy rain storm.

 

Drydown: Very sharp, tickles the back of my throat and makes my nose tingle. Dark yet playful. Smells like a dry landscape…when it’s so hot that you see heat shimmers and your nose gets burnt just inhaling. There is nothing wet in this to me, just spicy and dry grass.

 

Later: Now it smells like burnt sawdust. There is stg in this that is keeping it way to strong for me, maybe the thyme or pepper? Now it’s turned into a scent that reminds me of the high desert on the hottest part of the day when the power’s been blown by a thunderstorm and a nearby tree was struck in the storm and the earth is drying off rapidly. It’s nice but too strong for me.

[teza]

Ooooh. This is wunnerful. I got this as an extra from the all-too-kind sarada and tried it on first in lieu of the scent I actually meant to get from her as it was a pre-release.

 

I don't regret putting it on first.

 

In the bottle: I definately smell cloves in here, and peppers, and a sharp thyme that slide sharp down the throat like a blade. It was scary.

 

Wet: ALRIGHT. I GET IT, SKIN. When I put things on you, you like to come at me with a burst of sweetness that has NOTHING TO DO with whatever I'm wearing. My skin is bizarre. Wet, there seemed to be nothing sweet about this. On me, it smells like sweet summer grass over a dark bitter core -- perhaps rotting wood.

 

Drydown: The sweet started to fade and the other scents came out. I think it is the vetiver that is coming out most strongly, but I'm not really sure. It's still subtly sweet -- but not in a candy kind of way. More like a dark, old rootbeer or gingerbeer. It's not sticky-sugar-sweet by any means. It's just something in the flavor or scent or, uh, my skin. ;p (stupid sweet overload. i'm such a sweet person. )

 

Dry: Oh, lord. I want to put this on a boy, slap him in a leather jacket, and just curl up against him for ages and ages. This is definately a masculine scent to me: it has a precised 'boy' edge and scent to it. It isn't OVERLY masculine at all -- I love the way it smells on me, but again, it makes me want to go find a boy and some leather. I'd stick it on my boy, but he's such a scrawny little pretty boy the effect would be ruined. Effluvia said it was masculine for a skinny, pale man with black eyeliner. I'm going to have to disagree and say this is for a cross between said skinnyboy and He-Man. But not He-Man. I don't think I'd go near him, even if he WAS wearing this and a leather jacket.

 

It ended up lingering most of the day. It's 6 now, I put it on around 9 before heading out the door. I can still smell it, but it's pretty faint. Definately a sharp, woodsy herbal scent.

 

Oooh, I gotta stop smelling it or I'm going to go out, trap a guy, knock him out, stick it on him, and snitch a leather coat to wrap around him. :x

[allelujiah]

Well, in the bottle this smelled very dark and as if it had some woody herbal thing going on - not in a wet forest way, but in a furniture makers studio sort of way.

I slathered it on, and at first it was quite lovely. There was a touch of an incensy smell there, but that may just have been the woody darkness

 

It made me think of far off travels, reminded me of Thai markets, New Orleans and monastaries. It just put me in a traveling frame of mind - thinking of far off things. I was digging it for the first few hours

 

Unfortunately at some point during the day I started catching whiffs of something chemical smelling I couldn't quite place. When I smelled my skin directly I didn't get it, but if I turned quickly I could smell, what I came to realize, was the smell of bug repelent.

 

I will try this scent again, as I was liking it for the better part of the day. It might be better as a room scent, as I won't ruin it. I would say this is a great scent for days I want to plan an exotic trip

[sarahmarie]

Kweku Anansi, on me, is lemon (verbena?), wood, something darkly spicey (black pepper?) and something...else. I might decribe it as herbal, I'm not sure - but it's something green and earthy. It's a little bit masculine, a little bit dark and dry, but it also has a that spicey black pepper and fresh, green quality that keep it from being too dark or heavy. It reminds me of Eidolon, but it's not as smooth and simple. Eidolon, to me, was a smooth wooden table with lemons on it, or smooth, shiny round wooden balls scented like lemons (as weird as that sounds, that's what I picture when I smell Eidolon - I also think of buttery lemons ). This, to me, is a dark forest, lit by something friendly. It's more interesting to me, and I prefer it.

 

My spouse really likes it, too. He said it reminded him of camping, because it's outdoorsy (not because it resembles bug spray, because it doesn't - he made sure to mention that ). I think it will be great on him, and I also like it on me. If he wears it, I think I'll want a bigger bottle - I hope this becomes available for purchase!

[northern]

I really like this one. Masculine, but not too masculine for me. Dark, yes, and always the pepper lying underneath it all. Green and murky, yet warm. While drying, I had a couple of moments when it seemed intensely citrusy, but that passed.

 

The scent is still clear after 10 hours on me. Hints of pepper left, but mostly just a vague sense of dark and foreboding green moss-covered cave.

[Lady_Ell]

I am wearing Kweku Anansi today and am still deciding how I feel about it. Do I love it? Hate it? Something about it smells like Bactine and Band-Aids on me, but not necessarily in a bad way. It's like Belladonna, but more nutmeg-y and herby. I don't think I'll buy a big bottle, because I already have a bottle of Belladonna which doesn't smell like a first aid cabinet when it hits my arm. But at the same time, it's so unusual and interesting and somehow very comforting.

 

Ooooh, I know... this reminds me of Poison (Dior?) but less sweet. I think that's why I find it comforting - it has good memories for me. Unfortunately, I don't think it works on me. It smells good for the first hour, but after that it gets a weird dusty topnote that makes me a little woozy, kind of like Laudanum but not as bad. The nutmeg sticks in the back of my throat, and I think that's what is giving me the Bactine smell.

Edited November 29, 2004 by ladylatemar

[tinyvulture]

This had a very strong, sharp, kind of unpleasant lemony smell when I first put it on. As it dried, I began to smell the thyme and nutmeg. After awhile, it mellowed and became more pleasant. I thought it would become more woodsy, but no - it's still extremely lemony on me, in a medicinal kind of way. It's nice, but it's not really me.

[FireInCairo]

Unfortunately, this blend was a bit too strong for me and gave me a headache. The citrus notes in this blend are very strong- a little too overpowering in my opinion..

[k00kaburra]

In bottle: Yucky! Nutmeg/cloves and pepper top notes wiith moss and lichen beneath. Somehow the combination makes me think of mustard. I think I can smell the grass, too. I don't really want to put this on, but for the sake of curiousity I must!

 

On me: I must admit that I expected the pepper to be much more predominant than it is. Rather it is the nutmeg/cloves/kitchen-y spice that is the strongest. The green note makes this become more of a wood scent then a spicy fragrance.

[surf-tormented]

Smells like the desert. Dried strong yellow grasses heated by the sun. Dust and succulents. The darkness of the mountain's shadow.

 

It is a scent of the great outdoors in a place beyond where the eye can see.

 

This would make a wonderful scent for a man. Wild and free as the clouds in a storming Southwest sky. Fantastic.

 

The scent of camping in the desert in a bottle. Wow.

 

That said, it isn't for me. It's too male. It needs to be worn by a very muscular warrior. I think it might be the vetiver, pepper and woods that makes it so. I kept imagining a warrior raging down the mountains with an arrow or a spear.

 

It is close enough to AIRS African Wind, which is high on the vetiver, but seems not too butch on me.

Edited January 8, 2005 by Madame Nyx

[quinkel]

oh oh oh.....what a scent! What a masterpiece!

 

I got this as a gimp from the lab a while ago and didn't give it much attention at first. I knew there was vetiver in the mix and smelling vetiver makes me not happy girl

 

This morning I decided to add it in my carry box. In the bus to work I sniffed the imps I took and....Kweku Anansi makes my mouth begin to water, my eyes popped open and before I knew i doused myself with it.

 

What a pity it's not released yet because it's worth a 10 ml.

 

I get wood, fir, thyme and perhaps juniper and a hint of something nutty. It's a tiny bit like Tarot: The World.

 

It last quite long and doesn't change much, only mellows a bit from spicy herbs to sweet herbs.

 

ETA:I got a lease car for work and the people who had this car obvious where smokers. to make it bearable to drive in it I cleaned the ash trays, and dropped some Kweku Anansi in it, also smeared the weel with a few drops... It smell devine now every time the sum warms the car. It is a scent to keep you awake and focussed and its not disturding or heavy(even the BF complemented on it and didn't sneeze.. and you all know that means it GOOD:-))

Edited April 15, 2005 by quinkel

[inkstone]

Ooh! An unreleased scent.

 

A woody, peppery, earthy scent. Very interesting to smell, but it's for me. It's dark and masculine, and my tastes don't run that way at all.

[pekeana]

In the vial, this is very much dark and dank, but with a strangely uplifting sharpness that sticks out.

 

On me, at first, it's all dark, deep vetiver with a slap of pepper. But as time goes on, it brings up a lovely, dusty and warm scent -- still lots of vetiver and a lot of pepper, but it's very dusty and lovely.

 

And, holy crap -- when I sniff it directly, it reminds me of some ancient tea leaves that were in a container my dad brought home with him from his trip this weekend... But when I'm not sniffing it directly, I smell dusty old books with just a touch of mold and mildew. But it's subtle.

 

Either way, I love this, and it's a total walk away from my usual happy scents. But, nonetheless, delightful.

[paperdoll]

Initial Sniff: In the vial I smell the vetiver and earthy/woody notes first, then the spices (especially the pepper) second. Of Beth's vertiver blends, this is he only one I've tried that doesn't smell... dark... in the vial. There are shadows, to be sure, but there is sunlight in this blend.

Wearing: Like most vetiver blends, that is really the only note that my skin chooses to express. As it dries, I think a little of the woodsiness and pepper creep back in, but that may just be wishful thinking. So on my skin, this is a very dark scent.

Final Impression: I like vetiver, but Saturn is my vetiver blend of choice (of course once my bottle is gone, Kweku is back in the running!). I would like to smell this on a man, but my particular man doesn't get on very well with wood-type notes, so I may just have to wonder...

[regyt]

I'm with all the others who found this to be a dark, woodsy, earthy scent. It smells like pepper to me more than anything. I don't smell any citrus at all, though... no clue why other people are getting that. As it dries, the pepper remains dominant while becoming less sharp. It evokes the sense of the strong wildness sinking into the skin rather than cutting through it.

 

It is a very masculine scent, but I love masculine scents on myself.

 

I'm in love, and can't wait for it to be released so I can buy a bottle! This imp is definitely not enough for me.

[voodoobaby]

In the bottle: Pepper! I smell cinnamon too. Wow, this is fiery, to say the least.

 

Wearing: Yup. Still pepper and cinnamon. A rich woody smell comes out too, I'm guessing sandalwood. I think I smell vetiver, too. This is anger in a bottle.

 

Later: The pepper has died down a bit, leaving the cinnamon and sandalwood to harmonize. It's not as angry anymore, but still fiery.

 

Overall: When I wore this today, it made me feel very edgy, in an angry, rageful way. I think I'll risk a bad mood to wear this, though, because I love the way it smells so much. Never thought that pepper could be such a pleasant smell.

[emilini]

I love this scent!! love it love it love it!!

 

Like others, my first impression was grassy but also kind of fruity. I wondered where it was going.

 

Wet, it was nice but didn't do much for me.

 

But Dry it is very complex on me, I keep getting different whiffs of tea and berries and grass and maybe even some water nearby.

 

This is what I look for in a scent, something that makes me keep saying "wow, is that me??" and want to sniff it again and again.

[helarctos]

I was all ready for Kweku Anansi to smell like pepper. I'd read the reviews. In the vial, it did smell like pepper to me. Then I put it on and asked my husband to sniff my perfumed wrist. He took a whiff and I was expecting him to say it smelled like pepper. Instead, he thought for a moment, then said, "You know, that smells like poinsettias."

 

And I sniffed it, and sure enough, it did. (There were no poinsettias around to influence this, either -- it was the Kweku Anansi only, for sure.)

 

Odd result.

 

I never thought poinsettias had much of a scent to them, either, fwiw.

 

ETA: I wonder if this particular imp needs to age longer. Will re-try in a few months.

Edited January 22, 2005 by helarctos

[laochodia]

got this in a swap. i think because i've worked with food for pretty much all my life, i associate everything with food first and then other things.

To me, in the bottle this smelled like a strong cup of oolong tea- dark, earthy yet refreshing.

Wet- so strong! the feeling of ancient woods is surrounding me.

Dry- i could roll in this scent for days. It smells of trees, tea and a hint of water....three of my favorite things!

[shelldoo]

in the vial this was a dusty peppercorn scent

 

wet the cedar and dusty pepercorn

 

dry wait where is teh pepper? it went very very citrussy not a dark scent at all to me it is herbal citrus cedar