Wings of Azrael

[JuliskaMarie]

Azrael is the Angel of Death, marked as the last being to die in the Apocalypse. Though a harbinger of doom, his duties are an act of mercy: he curtails human life before world-weariness and despair destroys our spirits. Warm myrrh swirled with a bittersweet blend of violet, Lily of the Valley, juniper, cypess and cajeput.

 

In the imp: Notes are exactly as described. This is a holy, comforting floral & yet not comforting in a warm way - it's almost cold & stern. Exactly what I would expect the merciful Angel of Death to smell like!

Wet on skin: The myrrh & florals are leading this, but I'm a little worried about what the juniper is doing! Juniper-scents haven't worked on me in the past, but there's always been something else in them that didn't like me, so I don't know if juniper is actually the culprit.

Dry on skin: I'm not sure what's happening here... I think I like it? Not as nice as in the imp, but not unpleasant.

After a few hours: Not as nice as in the imp but still quite a nice scent, a bit strange though. Most woods tend to turn into antiseptic on my skin & this hasn't, so I like that about it, but the woods still went a bit strange. It's a very woody-violet scent - VERY different from the scent in the imp!

Verdict: I like this, but I don't know how often I'd wear it on my skin. I'd love to test it with a scent locket someday though!

[lucycat]

This was a frimp from the Lab. I could have sworn I already reviewed it; I have an imp that I received from a forumite some time ago, but apparently not.

 

In the imp: Violet in the foreground. I smell more floral than just violet, so that must be the lily-of-the-valley, but violet is definitely the stronger of the two. Behind the violet is the cypress and juniper.

 

Violet is the strongest note here, giving the blend an old-fashioned feel somehow. For a little while I get an “ecologically correct cleaner” impression, which I think is coming from the combination of juniper, cypress and cajeput (apparently cajeput is related to tea tree.) On my arm, there’s a strange, slightly sweet fruity note in addition to the violet: before I looked up cajeput, I thought it must be some sort of tropical fruit.

 

I really like the way Wings of Azrael smells on the back of my hand, where it’s myrrh plus violet: the only place I can really pick out the myrrh. I wish it smelled like that everywhere.

[DiesMali]

In the imp: Sweet, somewhat tangy floral.

 

Wet on my skin: Shampoo-like, powdery Violet. I was afraid of that.

 

Dry: This remains as that powdery, Herbal Essences sort of violet and not much else for about half an hour. Just as I was about to give up on it, however, the rest of the notes suddenly came out. Juniper is the strongest, then myrrh and cypress, then something I don't recognize. Cajeput? Once that Violet fades a bit like this, this becomes a lovely, haunting sort of scent. I love the faint incense lent by the myrrh.

[owlfeathers]

In the imp: Woah perfume. I'm not actually sure what most of the components in this smell like, but I'm not catching any juniper or myrrh. It seems very familiar, like something my mother or grandmother would have let me try off their vanity as a kid.

 

Wet: A musty drawer. I have no idea where that came from. Maybe that's the violet?

 

Dry: Still a musty drawer, probably at my grandmother's house when I was little.

 

After an hour or so it becomes a musty drawer with dried flowers in it. Though my grandmother didn't have one like that, I can't shake the image of opening a dresser while clearing out her room and smelling that..

 

Not something I see myself wearing, but it's a pretty powerful scent image.

[LexieBlom]

Wings of Azrael imp

 

Wet/Bottle - Florals, my old enemy. We meet again. A twinge of myrrh in there as well. This smells like walking through the perfume isle at a Macys.

 

Wet/Skin (5 minutes) - Now I smell like walking through the perfume isle at Macys.

 

I washed it off before we hit the 30 minute mark. It's times like this that I regret vowing to try every imp that makes its way to me, because just reading the notes I knew it wouldn't work. But, a promise is a promise.

[Bassmastadroog]

In imp: Totally fresh, wet, clean, beautiful with a sweet hint of flowers!

 

Skin: Wet smelling, green, airy. Smells a lot like (as someone else said) walking down a perfume aisle...fresh perfumes. I can't pick out anything individual yet, but there is something keeping me from comparing it to regular run of the mill perfumes. Its got a real naturalness to it. Watery.

 

Dry: Crap. Candied powder violets. I think I am going to have to stop making reviews on violet note oils until I find one that doesn't do this to me.

[LizziesLuck]

I had avoided this because of the violet, but got it as a frimp, and I have a rule about trying everything I can, so here goes!

 

 

Wet: Sour. Acrid. Astringent and green. Not pleasant thus far. Hoping the Myrrh saves this from being totally terrible on me. Boy, it's strong!

 

 

Dry: Violet. Really sour violet. Oh well, I tried it!

[stellamaris]

This is really really pretty stuff. Flowery, deep, lovely. Also a green note that is very forest like.

Edited April 4, 2016 by stellamaris

[Casablanca]

On the wand, this smells lily of the valley-dominant to me, with violet and myrrh.

On me, though, violet seems the stronger flower against a background of lily of the valley, myrrh, juniper, and cypress. There is just a little bitterness to this, as the notes say, but I can't tell where it's coming from. I smell more lily of the valley as this dries.

Later, this turns to violet soap.

Not my thing.

[joopjoop]

Very evocative of its name.

 

Initially it is rather an old fashioned perfume scent, and to me it smells a little austere and foreboding at first - like a very plain wooden church decorated with purple and white flowers.

 

Mostly violet to start with a strong backing of the astringent woods. Later the lily of the valley and the myrrh come out a little more and the woods take a step back, but it is still primarily a violet scent on me.

 

It is very interesting and I'm really glad I had a chance to try it, but I'm not a huge violet fan and its not something I would ever reach for.

Edited October 9, 2016 by joopjoop

[VetchVesper]

I love this one as a sleep blend.  It's a dark, powdery violet nesting on a bed of dusty fir trees.  I don't detect lily of the valley, which usually goes soapy on me.  All the edges in this are soft.  I'd say it's a unisex blend.  It doesn't last more than a couple hours on my skin, but it's perfect when I want something calming and regal to wear to bed.   

[Cali]

Very strong herbal mix. It's like falling into a violet blended whirlwind powered by myrrh, lol. Strong greens, light and resiny. The flowery note goes bitter in less than five minutes. Not my thing at all. 

[DrunkForestNymph]

In the bottle: Flowers! that's it! (to be fair, i'm not sure how cypress or cajeput smell). 

Wet: The flowers are definitely leading still, Lily of the Valley especially. It definitely smells a little perfumey, but it's not too much. 

Dry: Oh! I think that's what Cypress smells like! A touch piney, softened flowers, warm. 

8 hours later (at the end of my work day): It went musky (pleasantly so), which I'm guessing is the myrrh.

 

Overall really interesting, and while I don't LOVE it, I like it. 

[doomsday_disco]

This is mostly about the violet on me, accompanied by the coniferous juniper and cypress and eucalyptus-like cajeput. Over time, I get some of the myrrh, and the lily combines with the violet and makes it seem almost bubblegum-y on me.  So it's like a sweet floral and myrrh blend in the end. The cypress hasn't disappeared, but it has been relegated to a background role.

 

I'm glad I got to try this in my quest to try as much of the GC as possible, but the floral notes make this not for me.

Edited June 12, 2021 by doomsday_disco