Catherine

[InaraRedCloak]

Named for the ambitious, vengeful poisoner Catherine deMedici, who used perfumes to perform her dark deeds. A sinful blend of orange blossom, rosemary and rose... allegedly the exact perfume she utilized in her work.

 

Age Unknown: Date: November 2016

In the vial: Bitter. The flower/floral scents all disappear. I get way more rosemary than anything else. The rose is hiding under the rosemary. The orange blossom is all but bitter. (which might be bitter because of age)

 

Wet on Skin: I finally get some rose. The deep rose hits first then the orange blossom mixed with the rosemary the bitterness is still there It gives a poisonous depth to the scent. I've scented conventional/commercial perfumes that have tried to create this scent. The rosemary lends a very herbal/alchemist shop mood.

 

Dry 30+ mins: The rose has softened and blended with the orange blossom. The rosemary is still grounding everything in the background However, there is a powdery quality I don't like. I've had rose scents/oils before and from the scent and viscosity of this oil, I'm guessing it's over a couple years old. I'm really curious what a "fresh" bottle would smell like.

 

Worn 3+ hours: A lot of the scent ha dried away. I still get a lot of rose. During this time, I caught a lot of rosemary. This oil smells like elegant poison, in a good way; the whole -don't eat this, it's dangerous.

 

Not for me. The rosemary makes this scent too herbal for me and it kills the rose.

[Lucchesa]

Catherine was a wishlist frimp from a generous forumite, and I'm so delighted to get to try it. Wet, Catherine is bracing, and I like it quite a bit. There's rose and orange blossom lingering in the background, but the astringent rosemary is the main player. It reminds me a lot of Bess without the Dimetapp grape interfering. Having been a Renaissance scholar, I have a soft spot for these Renaissance blends. My skin eats up the rosemary within 90 minutes or so, though, after which it is a soft orange blossom and rose blend which is far less interesting on me.

[Eis Hexe]

Catherine never really changes from bottle to skin.  This is a soft rose with a spike of sharp rosemary running through.  The orange blossom here is very soft, and I’m guessing that its inclusion was to bridge and better blend the other scents.  Neroli is always better in small doses in my opinion, so this suits me just fine.  Strong botanicals like rosemary tend to stay true to form on my skin, and this perfume is no exception. Roses do the same.  This is not an overwhelming scent, neither is it dark or complex.  It’s subtle, balanced and reminds me of the scent worn by my mother for years, a floral suited for a classy lady.

It’s a shame this has been discontinued, the trio works well for me!  It isn’t remarkable but it is comforting, and rosemary is one of my regular aromatherapeutic choices.  This would make a wonderful shampoo/conditioner scent. My little imp is likely aged, which probably helped temper the rosemary.  

[doomsday_disco]

Orange blossom is not a great note on me, and Catherine starts off being predominantly an orange blossom scent, before the rose emerges and joins it on the center stage. I enjoy rosemary, but sadly, I am not getting any of it on my skin. This one is all about the floral notes.

 

I'm glad I got to try this in my quest to try the GC, but Catherine is not for me.

[bellumed]

Heavy on the rosemary with some orange blossom present. Very herbal, different from any modern perfume I've tried. I get more of a suggestion of rose as it starts to dry. The combination creates a sort of tingly "spiciness" in my nose. The longer it's dry on my skin, the more prominent the rose is among these notes.

 

Interesting experiment but I'm not sure how much practical use I would get out of this.