Summer's Last Will and Testament

[Lucretia]

SUMMER'S LAST WILL AND TESTAMENT
What pleasure always lasts? No joy endures:
Summer I was, I am not as I was;
Harvest and age have whitened my green head;
On Autumn now and Winter must I lean.
Needs must he fall, whom none but foes uphold.
Thus must the happiest man have his black day:
Omnibus una manet nox, & calcanda semel via lethi.
This month have I lain languishing abed, ...
Looking each hour to yield my life and throne;
And died I had indeed unto the earth,
But that Eliza, England's beauteous Queen,
On whom all seasons prosperously attend,
Forbad the execution of my fate,
Until her joyful progress was expired.
For her doth Summer live, and linger here,
And wisheth long to live to her content;
But wishes are not had when they wish well.
I must depart, my death-day is set down; ...
To these two must I leave my wheaten crown.
So unto unthrifts rich men leave their lands,
Who in an hour consume long labor's gains.

Doomed summer, supported on the shoulders of winter and autumn: citrus-infused Baltic amber, red valerian, marigold, blood orange, and sunflower subdued by somber myrrh and dry geranium alongside the leaves of autumn and a breath of winter wind.

This is a real pretty citrus floral. My only other reference for a citrus is sol invictus and this is much softer than that one. It goes on a bit sharp and citrusy (but definitely not anything like lemon pledge). Then I get amber and blood orange (although I can't really differentiate the orange from the rest of the citrus) and then some gorgeous flowers in the background. It smells like walking through a field of yellow flowers on a fall day. It's really very evocative. It's not that strong on me and it becomes barely noticeable after about 3 or 4 hours. Really happy I got this one.

[Siberia]

In the bottle and wet, this is a blast of deep yellow scent, very evocative of the sunflowers portrayed on the label. I smelled mostly citrus and amber in the wet stage. The citrus had a bit of an edge, like the pith of a grapefruit, but it was still sweet and pleasant. The scent mellows quickly, but it didn't change a lot for me - it seemed to become softer, and the amber came forward over the citrus. I did not sense the "leaves of autumn" or the "breath of winter wind," but the wet to dry transition was evocative of a change of seasons as the bright yellow citrus of summer faded in the mellow gold amber of autumn. This is a really nice scent, and I'm glad I chose it - this makes me excited to try some (or all) of the other Summer's End scents.

Edited August 23, 2009 by Siberia

[greenranger]

On wet, this reminded me very strongly of the Piper at the Gates of Dawn, one of last year's yule scents. Probably it is the blood orange and the amber that is similar.

 

This one doesn't last very long on me...but, it only arrived today, and sometimes things last longer after I give them a little while to settle.

 

It's a very orange/gold scent. On me it is mostly oranges and resins, with a little bit of sunflower and a few of the leaves poking up after the first hour.

 

 

[Dark Alice]

Wet: Fresh rose and orange tide! On the skin, Bright citrus with hints of amber and fresh rose. From wet to drydown. Although, dry the rose does soften up quite a bit. Still not a huge fan of this...but I will keep my imp to see how it ages.

[GardenCat]

A very sharp, but creamy orange in the bottle, hints of the amber come out on the skin. Very nice late summer scent - perfect for today. I paired it with Indendia - the oranges play pretty well together!

[edenssixthday]

Summer's Last Will and Testament - The thought of the marigold in this scent scared me, and of course it turns out that on me the marigold is the most strongly identifiable note; however, although the marigold is just as bitter and pungent as I anticipated, it blends so gorgeously well with the amber, blood orange and sunflower that the overall scent of this blend is quite beautiful, unique, and intriguing. I am sad to not be able to smell the geranium at all since that's one of my all-time favorite notes. The myrrh deepends and darkens the brightness of the sunny citrus notes. There's a hint of dryness in the background that makes the scent feel a little...somber. It's absolutely gorgeous and just perfect for this time of year when we're seeing the last bit of summer as it fades into autumn. After drydown, it has a fairly light level of throw, and I am sad that the scent completely fades after a couple of hours. Still, it's worth reapplying. It's really lovely. Edited September 14, 2009 by edenssixthday

[topazphoenix]

I get sweet blood orange, roses, amber and myrrh. It's a very somber kind of hallowed scent. A regret tinged sunset. The overall effect reminds me a lot of Cathedral.

[marared]

This is a citrussy amber scent. Very warm and yellow - almost closer to foodie than floral, strangely enough. It puts me in mind of fresh yellow cake that isn't too sweet, with some citrus zest in it somewhere. Not very strong, not much throw. I'm definitely going to enjoy the imp, but I don't think I need a bottle.

[Monster]

In the vial this smells like citrus-scented Irish Spring (is there such a thing?) It's very soapy smelling to my nose.

 

On my skin this is actually a really beautiful citrus scent with a wonderfuly earthy marigold note (I LOVE the smell of marigolds...bitter, sharp...wonderful). I can't get past the soapy note in this though. I'm not sure what's causing it.

 

As this dries my beloved marigold fades completley. I'm left with citrus-infused amber in a field of sunflowers. The soap note has also faded (thankfully).

I'm unsure if I like this one or not. I love bright, citrus scents and the floral notes in this blend don't give me a headache. Hmmm...I think I need more time with this scent. I'm going to wear it for a day and see how I feel.

 

ETA: Yep. Soapy doom.

Edited September 18, 2009 by Monster

[Aldercy]

At first, Summer's Last Will & Testament is ALL citrus-- lemon in the vial, but more orange/grapefruit on me (which is an improvement over lemon at least). It mellows very slowly over the course of fifteen minutes or so, and now I actually get very little citrus.

 

What's left of it is more like dark, bitter orange zest at this point. The myrrh really blooms and comes to the forefront, too, along with a little of the spicy, crunchy leaves. I don't know what sunflower and marigold really smell like on their own, but there's nothing "floral" here (definitely no rose for me)-- I think they're blending in with the amber. If there is a distinction between "Baltic" amber and regular amber, it must be that it's a bit thinner and sweeter (it doesn't smell as rich or golden as it usually does to me). Some unidentifiable herbs linger at the depths of this scent, but it's mostly still myrrh, bitter orange, dry leaves and amber.

 

Definitely glad for the decant, but I can resist a bottle (thankfully)!

[Venneh]

Out of the bottle this smells like that lemonish-cleaning stuff that you use to polish wood. ...Which is called wood polish. *facedesk* It's the same on my skin, wet; VERY strong citrus, borderline citrus cleaning scent.

 

I've had it on for about a half hour now, and it's gotten a bit less strong and softened out, which I think is the amber coming in, but the citrus is still the dominant note. I'll check back in a few hours, but I don't know if I'll be keeping this scent.

 

EDIT: It's definitely softened out, and I'm pretty sure that's the amber, but there's still this tinge of citrus that just isn't doing it for me. I think this one is going into the swap pile.

Edited September 18, 2009 by Venneh

[Seismogenic]

This didn't start out as one that screamed at me that I should try it. I was intrigued enough to test it at Will Call, despite feeling a little wary of all the flowers. Little did I expect that I'd come out of Will Call considering it the hit of the night for me. For one, there was citrus that stayed citrus, which never happens, and for another, it smelled like colors I associate with late summer or early autumn. There was no question that I was going to get a bottle the next Will Call so that I could give it proper wear time, over and over.

 

In the bottle: A note that reminds me a lot of iced herbal tea, present but type-indistinct citrus, and a planty smell that falls somewhere between brilliant gold and the pale brown of wilting. There's a slight cold edge, but the scent is largely warmer.

 

Wet on skin: Still plenty of the tealike note, and still with its citrus component. This blends very well with the dried golden plant notes.

 

Drydown: Freshly dry is pretty much the same as wet, though I would say that the plant notes seem more dry themselves. I suspect that the herbal tea impression might be related to the combination of the florals and leaves with citrus, but I definitely am still thinking tea. I'm also still getting occasional hints of whatever that cold edge is, but it's not persistent. At one hour in, not much has changed. The scent may, perhaps, be a little drier, but the balance is largely the same - including the citrus aspect. I'm actually surprised that hasn't pulled its usual disappearing act on my skin by now.

 

Five hours later: The citrus has flown the coop by this point, but it lasted an admirable several hours. The rest of the scent is decidedly less tealike now, even though I detect some of the same notes that I think melded into that scent earlier. Now, this is largely a field of drying plant matter, some of which retains only a tiny amount of floral sweetness, but not enough to make this fall into a description of "floral," at least not in my mind. I'm actually smelling the amber now, which I wasn't earlier.

 

End of the day: A faint whiff of dry plant matter.

 

Overall: Even after a full day, I still love this scent. It's wonderfully evocative to me - extremely golden, with perhaps just the edges of the color starting to fade into the pale brown of totally dead foliage. It's reminiscent of fields of waving grasses and yellow flowers without, in my opinion, smelling overtly floral, or at least not in an inherently feminine way. I'm also impressed that something citrusy remained such on me for as long as this did, though that's only secondary to the beautiful mixture of notes that gives such a clear image of a golden field lit by a golden sky. I'm very glad to have this bottle.

 

[angelicruin]

Starts out with the Blood Orange note being the strongest. After a few minutes, I pick up amber and myrrh notes. And then it turns more towards lemon. Dries down to mainly citrus with a touch of floral. A bit powdery too.

[Little Bird]

In the bottle, this smells like zingy citrus. I would have said this smells like limes, but it's better than lime, and I must be smelling the blood orange.

 

On my skin, the citrus smells more like blood orange now. I don't normally like citrus scents, but I'm liking this one. It smells like bitter peel, sweet juice, and a refreshing citrus spray. It's a dark, juicy, energizing smell.

 

As this dries down, the citrus stays at the front of the fragrance, but a dry floral and resins scent creeps in as well. Someone took the citrus halves and tossed them into a basket of drying orange, yellow, and red flowers and bundles of dry leaves. The myrrh adds a nice, golden feel to the whole blend.

 

I love the colours that this fragrance conjures up. It's like smelling a bunch or oranges, reds, yellows, and browns - a perfect bunch of fall colors. Marigold colours. The colour of a beautiful, dark sunset.

 

I'm a bit in love with this scent, and happy to have a bottle

[Wwindy]

*whimper* aaayyyiiiieeee, orange zest up my nose!

 

I thought the amber and myrrh might make this work for me, but this blend is just about all SUPER SHARP CITRUS + MARIGOLD as far as I can tell, with maybe a hint of dry crisp leaves in the background. I agree with Venneh about the wood polish association, and also possibly citrus cleaning fluid.

 

The citrus calms down a little as this dries -- it's still just too much orange for me, though.

 

 

[crebbsgirl]

If I had to sum this up, I would say this blend is a dusky citrus. In the wet stages it's very much a citrus floral, but as it dries, the blend gets darker, and a little deeper. It's a little like a sunset in a bottle I think. I like it, but citrus doesn't play particularly nice on my skin.

[kelpsoda]

There's a lot of citrus in the background, but for me it's drown out by the herbal smell of marigold. It's very strong! And interesting smell, but not something I really want to wear.

[milo]

Wet, this reminds me of The Sportive Sun a bit, but with more citrus. Dry, it's all about the blood orange, and what a nice one it is! This is a bold, citrus blend, with maybe a touch of dried flowers, (marigold?). I'm very picky about citrus (especially orange), and this is quite amazing. I accidently purchased two imps, so I think that'll do me. I think this blend is perfect for this time of year, an early fall heat wave that summer just wants to assert before snuggling away for the winter.

[sharybaby]

Tried this scent this morning, and sadly, I had to wash it off and replace it with something else. It's like some kind of citrus surface cleaner on me. It actually made me slightly dizzy. I shall hide it away and let it age a bit... perhaps some of the other notes will come out and play.

[thekittenkat]

In the imp: Some citrus, some dry flowers, some amber.

 

 

Wet: There's a nice spiciness, the myrrh perhaps, when I first apply this, but it's quickly subsumed by those dry flowers. And the sweetness of the citrus and blood orange lingers like the last of the summer. There's a coolness on my wrist which must be that winter wind.

 

 

The dry-down: Once again, everything starts to blend together. But it seems to be fading faster than I would like, not unlike how I wish that summer would linger longer. The last notes are the amber and myrrh, and they seem a bit sharp. I wanted more blood orange from this.

[lishal]

Great big hit of citrus upon first application followed by a citrus fade into a warm, very dry--almost raspy kind of spicy scent. This scent reminds me of those days between summer and autumn when the leaves start to turn. It's so incredibly dry, spicy and warm that it invokes a wonderful mental image.

 

This is a great scent that I didn't think would work well on me because of the amber. Although I get mostly myrrh and amber from this with a faint whiff of the blood orange and florals, it is gorgeous.

[malaliath]

I bought this unsniffed based on the description and ... some breath of intuition.

 

In Bottle: There's a frostiness to this...frosted geranium leaves. Is this the breath of winter wind?

 

Wet, On Skin: Wow, citrus! I'm getting a strong orange/lemon from this. There's still the tickle of frost in my nose. The florals are very reminiscent of a special ravine-type park I used to spend hours in during my formative years. The orange has given over to lemon. Sharp geranium frosty lemon during initial drydown.

 

Dry, On Skin: Lemony dishwashing liquid with a bite. I hope as it continues to dry the myrhh and amber start to warm things up...after about 10 minutes something warm, I think the amber, begins to glow through. It really balances out the lemon...very evocative of warm, late summer nights.

 

Later: After about 20 minutes, we are getting warmer. Amber. Amber infused with myrhh over sun-heated geraniums and marigolds, with a twist of lemon. After 30 minutes, I experience a very brief powdery stage but it passes quickly.

 

Final Stages: Sun-baked earth cooling off as autumn creeps in. A lovely, glowing scent, very evocative of its name. I will enjoy my bottle!

[Lyrical]

In imp: warm citrus and garden flowers with a faint cool whiff of mint.

 

Wet on skin: beautiful and unusual and very evocative of a garden at the end of summer.

 

Dry on skin: this is actually stunning! Very warm and beautiful, with fresh citrus and real flowers not perfume notes named after flowers. Definitely wearable, although perhaps too unisex for me!

[moon_lemming]

Summer's Last Will goes from plain old citrus to a delicious rich orange-y scent at first, but amber has to come along and ruin it. Gawd, I hate amber.

[Jammies]

On my skin, there is a lot of amber, a little citrus and no geranium. I thought maybe I was amping the amber (ambing? lol), so I tried it in my locket. The orange was still swamped by the amber.