Clockwork Couture: Female

[Schmoozy]

Leather, golden amber, vanilla orchid, Spanish moss, Oxford clay, and tonka.

Soft sweetened leather with tonka and amber. It's delicate and subtle and extremely sexy yet comforting.
I need more!

[filigree_shadow]

I expected to swoon over this one, partly because it seems so popular and partly because I like all the notes in it. I figured I'd put it on and be awash in scented glory.

 

Er, not so much. When I first put it on, it was so soft I had to put on more. It was barely there. A very, very subdued vanilla-ish mild ambery scent. A little bland, to be honest. After about 30 minutes or so, when I sniffed it again, I could smell leather in it for sure. Probably one of the most feminine leather blends I've tried. Instead of being wowed, though, I thought it smelled a little too cologne-y for me.

 

I felt cheated.

 

So, I tried gently rolling the decant and then putting some on a different part of my arm, just to see what would happen. WHOA vanilla orchid. Big time. Almost a candy-ish floral. That didn't happen the first time. And now when the leather peeks out, it's covered by a pretty floral scent. Much, much better. Not leather-cologne at all, much more feminine.

 

OK, now I like it.

[StevenBoatman]

Awww, and this had bunches of notes that I love, too!

 

Sadly, while it smells awesome in the imp, it turns to (gag) Baby Powder of DOOOOOOOM! on me.

[a_llb]

In vial: Sort of a prickly vanilla. I think orchid usually tickles my nose, so that must be it.

Wet: The leather comes out, but vanilla is still the main player. I can see why a lot of people would swoon over this!

Dry: The amber really comes out, not very powdery on me, but noticeable. I get just a touch of moss.

 

Verdict: It's easy to see why it's so coveted. I'm just not wowed by it though! It's quite similar to Liz or Paladin (to my nose at least).

[Vega]

(Note to myself: I got a sniffie of this and there was barely any oil for a skin test.)

 

Sniffed: Sweet vanilla and dry leather, with a clean earthy touch from the clay.

 

On skin: Mm-mmmm, what a delicious vanilla-tonka combination -- creamy, smooth and very delectable! This sweetness is not entirely vanilla, but mixed with something that's a little off-beat and intriguing (and reminiscent of how The First of the Three Spirits turned out on my skin). I'm guessing this is from oakmoss and florals, most likely the orchid. Vanilla-tonka increases over time, and this becomes very snuggly and very delicious, without any hint of metal/leather inorganicity like I smelled in CC: Male. This steampunk lady is spunky, independent, but so sweet and warm. Colour impression is cream, tinted with brown and red.

 

Verdict: Now I understand why CC: Female is such a loved and coveted blend! It gets just a little bit too sweet for me, but it's so delectable. I may have to track down a decant...

[Alethia]

Thoughts before testing: Leather, vanilla orchid, and tonka? The only thing that worries me slightly is the amber because it tends to go powdery on me, but we'll see what happens?

 

Wet: Female opens with a strong blast of amber powder, but it's immediately gone and replaced by the most gorgeous sweet smooth leather backed by a beautiful vanilla. ZOMG.

 

Dry down: No change, just this beautiful vanilla leather.

 

Dry: The leather deepens after about an hour and is to die for. Sweet, smooth leather and vanilla FTW!

 

Final thoughts: I am in so much trouble! This is the best leather blend I've ever smelled. It's feminine and soft and crazy long lasting.

 

Verdict: Hoarding commences!

[mymymai]

In the Imp (ITI): My first impression is that it smells like a sweet cologne. I get the vanilla orchid and the tonka muddled with amber and something that smells very so slightly of berries.

 

Wet: Warm amber and tonka with brown leather that gently supports the orchid and moss. It's rather pretty.

 

Dry: Tonka, amber, deliciously worn and supple leather, with hints of vanilla orchid and moss. Wonderful!

[paintednightsky]

Sugared amber/leather. Smells very earthy and sweet. A slight floral lavender, but amber is always brought to the forefront for me. Amber and me unfortunately do not mix. For me I couldn't wash it off fast enough and washed it twice and the smell is still on me.

Edited October 29, 2012 by paintednightsky

[yakiguri]

Maybe my skin chemistry's out of whack since it's TTOTM, but all I get is a very muted, almost watered down vanilla. It's almost like Lyonesse, but after it's been on after an 8-hour work day. I have to be thisclose to my skin to even get a whiff of it. I can't tell the other notes, but overall the blend is very sweet powdery vanilla.

 

I'll try again under more normal circumstances, but so far I'm glad I never bought a bottle blind.

[celestia]

♔ Clockwork Couture: Female

 

In the Bottle: Clay-like ceramic-y, Sugar-powdery and White Vanillic-y Marshmallow

 

Getting down to the last few scents I still need to review from my favourites list.

 

Wet: It kind of reminds me of the drydown I get from Pediophobia- a ceramic, clay-like, gauzy white vanilla and clean white sugar. It smells a little like the marshmallowy inner from a pavlova, rather than a buttery mallow musk. The vanilla orchid in this is definitely musky and vanillic (boosted from the tonka)- but still reminds me more of the Vanilla Orchid SN and Cascading Blossoms, than the Vanilla Orchid I get from being infused with Madagascan Vanilla Bean (as with AL/Elf 4). I pick up some really soft, sweet leather from this too. I don’t get any moss and the amber hasn’t made an appearance yet.

 

Drydown: I still get this lovely clean white sugar note- it’s still not quite as rich for me to call cotton candy or spun sugar, it just barely misses that mark. There is also a smooth smelling leather coming into the forefront now. It’s not the sharp or black leather I get from other blends, which means it must have aged out quite a bit since the initial reviews. I feel like it’s absorbed some of the golden properties from the amber- it smells like a soft, lightly golden speckled, creamy, mild leather. The amber also comes out here, it’s sweeter than normal golden amber, a little sweet, but not as beautifully sweet as the sweet amber from Mrs. Bunce. The amber blends beautifully with the leather and vanilla. It’s also a little powdery I can’t tell if that’s the amber or vanilla orchid. It hardly breaks the blend, it kind of enhances it, actually. The vanillic and sugary notes sort of lends to the impression of soft white marshmallow and soft, mild creamy leather. It’s different from a lot of other sugary, powdery and vanillic blends I have… the amber and leather in this gives it so much depth.

 

TL;DR: Soft white marshmallow, white vanilla orchid, clean white sugar, and creamy gold-flecked, mild-smelling leather.

[LizziesLuck]

I have put off trying this, because I only have a decant, and I knew as soon as I tried it I would need MOAR. I was not wrong...

 

Wet: The amber in this is sweet and feminine and GORGEOUS. There's something almost musky about the scent - like a glowing white or vanilla muskiness. It's sugary and lovely. The leather behaves itself well for me in this. The clay is there, giving this a really neat mix of warm and cool notes. I love it.

 

Dry: I love how sugary this is, that was unexpected and awesome. The amber gives it a perfumey quality, and the leather makes it bad-ass (did you know that? leather makes your bad-ass factor go up by at least 3!). I need more. MOAR.

[Just Kitten]

This is in my top five. It’s sweet and leathery it’s kind of like mouses long and sad tale (also my fav) less sweet with a very soft leather. I admittedly hoard it. 

[ND¢]

 It is a pale, somehow fragile, fuzzy sweet vanilla-tonka and the amber comes out in the drydown. Maybe a little hint of depth. I can see where some reviewers found it got too 'powdery' but I don't think it quite gets there and it's very unique. Almost... nostalgic? I'd say if I was blind guessing, I'd think some Lace relative. 

Edited December 16, 2022 by ND¢

[Amoraexcena]

I recently got myself a bottle of this. I tried a decant ages ago and wasn't the biggest fan back then. I'm really glad I'm now able to try it from the bottle, as it's different from what I remember.

 

On my skin, CC:F is mostly the softest, gentlest suede, sweetened by tonka. It's got the slightest hint of some sort of metallic substance - the clay? it smells like copper, maybe - which reminds me of Antikythera Mechanism a bit, though this is much more wearable for me than AM. This isn't as floral or sexy as Liz, and they're pretty different, considering the similarities in notes. I want to wear Liz with a nice leather jacket and skinny jeans and red lipstick. CC:F is what I want to wear with a pretty cream-coloured Free People dress and suede belt and boots and natural makeup, if that makes any sense. I'm definitely enjoying both!