Cathode

[symbiosis]

A negatively charged scent. Ambergris, Spanish Moss, oakmoss and three electric mints.

Sadly, cathode was awful on me! I didn't even bother to write up a full-length review about it it got that awful that quickly.

As soon as it dried on my skin, it turned into a mixture of baby powder and old lady. (I guess that would make it old-lady powder?) I smelled SO much like a big, round old lady with a heavily scented massive bosom that I had to get the bartender at work to pour me an ounce of Vodka to get it off my skin!

Will definitely trade this one off!

[MaidenGenevive]

Cathode

 

In vial, fresh and herbal. On skin, similar, except tree notes come in. This feels fresh, natural, and light. As it wears, it actually becomes stronger, and has a warmth to it. Overall, it has an empowering spirit about it.

 

[4 - Really Like] I think my husband's going to really like this one, as he's drawn to crisp and natural smells.

[jaeyne]

Lemony mint shaving cream. Nuff said.

[greymatter]

I love this. A light, clean mint that doesn't smell like old candy. It's refreshing and a nice option for a hot day. It does have an electric tinge to it. I don't know how Beth does it.

[Antaria]

The mint vanishes within the first minutes and after that there stays a hospital-scent. Really hospital. After some hours it gets a bit better, not as pungent any more, but after all: This one is not for me. (which I already thought - I just bought it because I liked the name somehow ...)

[suileach]

Upon sniffing the vial, I thought this would be like an aquatic-turned-evil on me, but surprise! The mint lifts it up and polishes it all sparkly-like. This is walking in the rain under flickering lights, in Spring, with wet greenery all around. Lovely.

 

Eventually dries down to a slightly singed smelling powder. I think that might be the ambergris, which tends to do that to me. It's still somehow not a bad scent. I think the few hours that this is fresh, clean, and happy make this more than worth keeping.

 

..Weird. I sniffed it one last time before retiring to bed, and it smelled like metal.

[Pottersville]

I purchased an imp of Cathode from a forumite as a way of expanding my scent horizons (now there's a mixed metaphor!). I love mint, and was hoping the "three electric mints" in this would do the trick. Sadly, I couldn't smell them at all. What I did get was a very unpleasant ozone note, and then nothing at all.

[theGreatMissJJ]

In the imp: Rather less minty than I had expected based on the description, which is a good thing as I'm not a big mint fan. I can't get anything distinct from the vial other than a vague clean, fresh scent. Slightly ozone-y at once, slightly aquatic at another.

 

Wet on skin: It softens up to this...green smell that I'm guessing must be the mosses.

 

Dry: I have no idea what ambergris smells like but I can't really smell anything from this blend but a clean watery smell.

 

Throw and wearlength: Weak throw and nonexistent wearlength. However, I can see this being a nice ambient room scent burned in an oil burner.

[Apple]

Ewww! Exactly like original flavor Listerine. Putting this on one hand and Calico Jack (which smelled like shaving cream to me) on the other, I had the exact scent of my father's face in the morning, before he splashed it with "Old Spice" aftershave. Not an unpleasant memory, but not how I want to smell, either.

[Emera]

IN THE IMP: Sharp, clean, minty – rather like mouthwash, or some kind of disinfectant solution.

ON MY SKIN: Sweet, dry, and very delicately pine-resinous, like dried pine needles and frost. There’s almost no mint in here for me, except for maybe the little edge of clean frostiness. The mosses and ambergris are definitely having it out instead, which leads to a beautifully fresh, foresty smell. It manages to be both smoky-warm (the ambergris) and chilly at once.

LATER: Stays true throughout. Not a strong throw, which is nice, as resinous scents usually overwhelm me. This is a better winter-woods scent for me than any of the blends that I actually WANTED to be winter woods! (Nocnitsa, Wolf Moon 2006, Ulalume…) Not sure if I like it quite enough to get an imp of my own (this was borrowed from a friend), but I was definitely pleasantly surprised. My number-one adjective for this on me would be “delicate;” to be very elaborate about it, it makes me imagine a very still, ice- and snow-brushed pine forest under a pale sky.

[TrailerTrashPrincess]

i do not like mint. oakmoss is frequently overpowering and ambergris doesn't like *me*. Spanish Moss is one of my favourite Yankee Candle scents.

sniffed from the imp: smells like what i expected from Numb... toothpaste-y

on skin: have i mentioned that i don't like mint, at all? well, this isn't anywhere near as awful as i was expecting. not bad at all, in fact. nothing i'll ever choose to wear again but for this evening it'll be okay.

add in a bit of sugar and some good booze and this is just a mint julep waitin' to happen!

[theseagrows]

when i first put this on, there is something SO familiar about it, but i am having trouble placing it. it's minty but with something herbal underneath. i like it quite a lot at that stage, but once it fades, the mint is gone and i get an old and musty smell :/

[Torrain]

In imp: moss and mint.

 

On my skin, moss and what I think is the ambergris (a hint of something softer) start coming out. Two minutes in, it's very much oakmoss. Four minutes in, it's sharp and clear and green—I think the mint is starting to come out along with what's probably Spanish moss; it's got a clear lift to it. Not really getting much of the ambergris.

 

10 min: Spanish moss, with an undertone of something faintly woody. Not picking up much mint (hardly surprising, on my skin). Overall, it's kind of like... electrified juicy green wood.

 

15 min: Sharp, clean, understated scent. It's like electricity without the ozone, but still with a woody element to it.

 

30 min: continuing. I like it, although the woody scent keeps it from having the electric snap I was hoping for. Still: crisp, wet, and woody without being at all cold.

 

1 hr: Slightly less crisp, but otherwise unchanged.

 

1.5 hr: somewhat drier; still damp, woody, and sort of crisp. It's actually starting to smell a little like Ulalume without the bright leafiness.

 

2 hrs: drier and fainter; mossy and woody, with a faint hint of the smoothness of ambergris.

 

The woodiness really keeps out what I was hoping for, but it is a very nice green scent--call it a slightly more energetic sister to Ulalume.

 

Love and coffee,

Frances

[lainevierge]

I wanted so much to like this scent, but all I get from it is a mint gum smell in the imp and a hospital disinfectant smell on me. I wanted to be negatively charged.

[Babylon]

Wet: Very effervescent, bright, almost lemony mint

 

Drying: The moss is coming out. The earthiness of it is helping to ground the scent a bit, but now it's starting to smell like toothpaste.

 

Dry: No more toothpaste scent, just a lot of moss and what I assume is ambergris. When dry, Cathode is quite nice!

[ravyncat]

I love the idea of this because mint is one of my favorite scents...alas it does not love me back.

 

In the imp it smelled like lemony mint...really liked the smell.

On my skin it was very lemony. It started to get minty too and then the mints started to dominate.

This was really nice for about 10 minutes and I was totally thinking I needed a big bottle.

Then some horrible morphing occurred and it started to smell exactly like absorbine jr. - which is this green arthritus/sore muscle liniment my mom used to use. Ugh.

I stood this for about 15 more minutes and the liniment smell faded a bit and got sweeter. Odd whiffs of the liniment keep coming though...mixed with an odd sweet powder smell.

I tried to wash it off ...and of course it won't go away...gah.

 

I'm so sad this doesn't work on me.

I think I might try it in a scent locket though because I really loved the initial scent.

[donnatron]

I tried this on last night without the description in hand and then wrote my impressions on a post it. I have come to the conclusion that I have insane skin chemistry.

 

Imp: It smells like homeopathic muscle rub.

 

Wet: I get a bright mint/citrus scent that lingers for a few minutes.

 

Dry: Dries down pretty quickly. I get that same clean mint/citrus except a bit relaxed. In the background I smell a sort of tangy floral lotion scent.

 

Throw: Very good for what I consider to be a light scent.

 

Overall: This is why my skin is weird. After the final drydown this smelled like the florals in The Dormouse on me without the tea notes. It's a nice, bright scent and I'll keep it around for work outs and hot summer days.

[windbourne]

This (along with the rest of my current collection) was a gift from a thoughtfully enabling friend.

 

Straight out of the imp it smelled rather strongly of lemon, ozone, and cucumber -- bright and crisp. That faded to a mellow musky note with a very electric undertone. As a little time passed I finally got a hint of the mints. The mint never became particularly strong on me, which I thought a little unfortunate.

 

I could easily imagine Doctor Frankenstein smelling something like this; it's fairly masculine and somehow feels vaguely old-fashioned. I get a definite laboratory sort of feeling from it, but it's one populated entirely by rather off-putting men who are too busy working to pay attention to their lives.

 

Nice, but not one I'm totally enamored by. I'll likely wear it during summer (like most of the rest of the reviewers!) and keep looking for my apex of cool perfumes.

[Delirium1009]

In bottle/imp: Mint and soft green moss.

 

Immediately on skin: This is a strong mix of green, lush moss and mint. The ambergris lends a powdery muskiness to the scent, but it’s very faint. Mostly it smells like mint candies sprinkled over a bunch of moss and maybe even some ivy.

 

After a little while: This scent became rather faint very quickly, and turned into a slightly sweet, dry ambergris and mint scent with a underlying woody quality. There’s more of a dry muskiness to it now, and almost a powdery quality. The mint has died down but it’s still there and a little sweet, mixing with the dry musky ambergris. The moss has all but faded completely, but there is a faint woodiness in this.

 

Overall Impressions: When I first put this on, I rather liked the mix of lush moss and mint, but that faded rather quickly and it became more of a powder, dry ambergris and mint scent. There’s a sweetness to this which is nice, and some type of faint wood note. I don’t think feels very negatively charged, but it’s not a very “comfortable” blend for me.

[poisons_sanity]

Cathode smells a little like Absinthe to me. A more soft, feminine Absinthe. I don't like mint scents so much, but the moss rounds it out very nicely so that it is a smooth, soft scent.

[Reaver]

Cathode

Bewitching Brews

 

Light, almost cucumberish, still managing to be quite masculine. Looking at the notes, I put the freshness down to the mint. It’s tangy and very bright, but not sickly cake-mint, which is sometimes far too strong in some blends. The ambergris highlights this scent masterfully, and it makes it quite complex but still light and fun to wear. Most definitly a summer scent. I dug this out to try for a steampunk scientist to wear at my LRP games, and it suits perfectly. I almost get the Frankenstein “It’s ALIVE!” feel.

 

Conclusion: Electricity shot through water, good intentions hiding a rotting underbelly. More please!

 

9/10. What ‘Herbert West’ should have been.

 

 

ETA: I love how, without reading through the pages of reviews before throwing this one out there, I managed to pin it down to Frankenstein, and 'windbourne' 2 posts above did so too. Strange planet, this one.

Edited February 29, 2008 by Reaver

[anna1850]

Smells like metal. Not like copper, more like iron. The name fits it exactly. I'm not getting much mint, I think my skin might have killed those notes.

 

This scent lasts ages on me. I had to wash it off the following morning to try something else. I put it on my wrists and my gloves still faintly smell of it a few weeks later.

 

Overall: Perfectly fits the concept but this is quite a masculine scent. If I were a guy I'd really like this but it's just not feminine enough for me. I'll keep this though as I'd be interested in layering it with a floral to soften it.

 

2.5/5

Interesting but not something I could see wearing regularly.

[fairnymph]

In the bottle: Salty-soapy mint, ozone, and moss. Fresh and masculine.

 

Wet: MINT. Peppermint and pennyroyal (ala Mad Hatter) for sure. I think the third, much fainter, is spearmint. There's the tinge of ozone, but not much scent. Ambergris is sort of soapy and warm and distant. Can't detect moss.

 

Dry: Sadly I am not a fan of pennyroyal which is the strongest mint note - I can barely detect anything else with it bullying this blend. The peppermint and ambergris if I truly strain.

 

Summary: The mints settle down a bit with time, but it's still primarily pennyroyal over faint, salty, soapy warm ambergris, which is a weird mix. It feels disjointed. Strong throw and lasting power.

[gypsysingleton]

Aquatic, Ozone Lemon Verbena (where's the mint?)

 

Not for me - I usually steer clear of the aquatics and this falls into that catagory for me....

[couscous]

A bit of a disclaimer:

If you know you hate ozone or mints, or even masculine scents in general, then this underrated scent doesn't really have much of an advantage going out of the gate. Cathode has moss and three mints listed in the notes section. Did anyone NOT expect this one to be at least a little reminiscent of shaving products?

 

If you find this association completely repulsive, I’m afraid there's only a slim-but-definite chance that Cathode will be the exception to the rule. If you're like me, however, and don't mind an exceptionally clean, bordering-on-medicinal herbal to break up an endless parade of vanilla variations, you're in for a nice surprise.

 

Cathode goes on very lemony and minty at first- very "clean", with an unidentified ozone quality. I say "quality" because Beth’s pure ozones go almost universally fabric-softener on me, and this one does not. It keeps the airy feeling, but no fabric softener so far. I also don't get any medicinal impressions, but I can see how some might with the rioght chemistry. On me, however, it remains a bracingly cool mint for a good hour or so (think The Fool from Beth's tarot series), while the moss mercifully behaves and doesn’t turn it too tweedy

 

As it dries, Cathode's natural sweetness comes through more and more. It's a very light sweetness - is there lotus in here somewhere, or is this that sweet ambergris base? Very nice, very much like Green Tree Viper with respect to the sweet mint quality. Subtle and, actually, very pretty. Cathode doesn't dry masculine on me at all! It's very delicate.

 

If you liked Green Tree Viper, The Fool, are a fan of herbals (particularly Beth's Saint Germain), or a fan of expensive soap, don't be afraid to try Cathode. It's lovely, and perfect for the summer season!