Lamia

[ami226]

LAMIA
'And you said you’d pay me for being your guide. And it’s what I want, as my payment. Warmth. Can I have some?' Anything she wanted. Anything. The honeysuckle and the lily of the valley wrapped around him, and his eyes saw nothing but her pale skin and her dark plum-bloom lips and her jet black hair.

Deadly elegance: pale orchid, vanilla amber, black currant, white peach, champaca, coconut, Arabian myrrh, Burmese vetiver, and oude.

On the skin: Let's see.... I can smell a sweetness that must be the peach and the amber as well as a large hint of coconut. There is a very slight earthy note in there that I keep losing that must be the vetiver. Definitely not the dominator in the blend!!

After a bit, all I can smell is a sweetness that I still think is mainly the vanilla amber. It is a slight sweetness. I can also smell the coconut. This reminds me of actual fresh coconut rather than sweetened coconut. It is slightly bitter.

And then poof.... it magically disappears? Maybe my nose is too used to this scent, but I can hardly smell it after the first 15 minutes or so... Will have to test again!

[Invidiana]

I knew I would love this, and I was completely right. It's at the same time dark and golden, an incensey and mysterious scent with a tropical overtone. Wet it's all vanilla amber, which is lovely in itself, but as it dries down the complexity really starts to shine through. The resins deepen, and smooth dark bed of vetiver and oude adds an appropriately sinister quality. All of this is washed in the velvety tropical orchid and champaca and coconut with just a hint of fruitiness from the blackcurrant and white peach. I absolutely love this and am so glad it will be available indefinitely.

[fairnymph]

Dark and sort of flat, very disappointing, nothing at all like the proto. I didn't get any of the sweet, creamy, fruity or floral notes sniffed in the bottle - just dull incense and dusty black myrrh. I hope when I skin test this it's different, bc relative to the prototype I'm deeply saddened by how this scent has been deadened.

 

 

I shall update this review as I properly test all the new releases over the next 7-10 days, just an FYI.

[angelicruin]

Light peach, vanilla amber, & myrrh. Really no vetiver for me, other than a slightly smoky quality to the scent once dry.

[fireweaver]

On me this smelt like a fruitier Snake Charmer, with less of the Snake-y bit. the vanilla amber, coconut and the light peach combined with the hint of vertiver to make this a very gorgeous scent.

[whome]

In the bottle this is this weird bite of earthy... vetiver, perhaps.

Really funky and vaguely unpleasant.

 

Wet I can finally smell some creamy fruit, coconut and amber. Very well blended!

This is a light fragrance. Very light on me and almost no throw.

 

Dry it is a light floral with amber.

And then it is gone.

Quickly!

In minutes!

Today my skin sucked this down faster than than I pound that first cocktail of the evening.

 

Overall I really like it.

It is one that will require re-slathering.

 

 

 

 

[reynardine]

I took a chance and got a bottle of this unsniffed, since most of the notes were win on me (save for vetiver). This is a very odd scent. At first, I got the myrrh and oude, which I disliked, but then it was quickly sweetened by the orchid, peach and currant. There is a touch of coconut here, which I love. It is very light and shall require slathering, I think. Can’t really put a season to it, but it does feel like an evening fragrance.

[hlemonds]

Mmm...definitely coconut right out of the bottle. Which freaked me out a little because i didn't recall that it listed coconut as a note. But now i've double checked and know that i'm not crazy. On my skin the coconut immediately pulls into the background, providing just a hint of sweet creaminess, but this scent doesn't go all suntan lotion-y on me, it's the perfect kind of coconut. On top of that i believe i'm getting a hint of the vetiver, but it isn't strong at all. The base is rounded out by the vanilla-amber, topped of by a hint of peach-black currant fruitiness. I *think* the myrhh may be lending just a hint of sweet incense, combined with the very mild smoky vetiver. Overall i very much like it. It is a somewhat dark scent that still feels wearable any time, whereas a good many of my darker blends end up feeling more appropriate for cold weather.

 

And a hint of the orchid is peeking out, nice!

 

Returning for a secondary review now that the bottle has had a chance to recover from travel. And my nose has had a chance to recover from the massive amount of testing I did the first time around.

 

This is my first full day wear, and I have to say, I absolutely this blend. This is a rich and somewhat dark blend that is brightened by the white peach. It is the perfect sort of "dark" blend for me to wear in spring/summer. It is rich and smooth, but not overly heavy. The vanilla amber is a delicious base, and the white peach swirles with the vanilla to create a wonderful creamy fruit vibe. I get a hint of smokiness from the vetiver, but it is very, very subtle. I think the currant is adding to the fruitiness, but i can't pick it out as a distinct note. The coconut is likewise there-but-not, adding to the heavenly creaminess, but I'm not actually picking it out as coconut. The other notes serve to keep this blend from being too sweet or foody, and lend complexity. I don't get any overt floral or incense. This very much makes me think of Mircalla, but a brighter, perhaps younger, feel.

 

I'm already planning to order a back-up, as i think I will be wearing this one quite alot.

Edited April 27, 2010 by Hillary

[GoldenRubee]

This is a soft sweet peach scent with the vanilla amber making itself known right away. I love vetiver but I really don't detect much of that at all, I think in this case it is used to sweeten and soften the oil and bring out the scents of the other notes. It has a dry resiny presence that I really enjoy.

 

After wearing it since Bat's Day yesterday, I could still smell a trace of it this morning. The Prototype is much stronger and sharper but I think I much prefer the final version that I purchased.

[Cheri]

Lamia is really pretty. I get a soft peach from it and it's sweet, but not too sweet. I usually amp peach, so I'm happy there is enough going on here with the other notes to temper the peachiness. It smells so rich and almost tropical. It's like sitting on a blanket in the shade with a good book. Very relaxing. It doesn't last much longer than an hour or two, but aging might help that. In fact, although I'm loving it already, I can't wait to see what it smells like in a few months.

[saralaughs]

Man, I hate my skin chemistry sometimes. I am seriously not getting any of the amber/creamy/peachy stuff anyone else is.

 

Lamia, to sum it up, is a very dark, cold floral. Very sensual and sinister yet cold and definitely floral. Kinda like I imagined how she would smell from descriptions in the book. Beth did a good job on this one.

 

On, I get the orchid and champaca right away and they meld together and build in strength of scent. They have center stage and they keep it the whole way through. The myrrh comes in with a bit of a bitterness on me, as myrrh tends to be. The vanilla amber isn't really anywhere to be found and I am CRYING over that fact. UGH. Anyway, the vetiver really lends a darkness with a bit of sweet smokiness. Nothing too strong or overpowering. Also, there is this slight fruity/tartness that takes away the sting of the vertiver/myrrh for me and keeps everything from beating eachother up. I suppose that is the coconut or black currant perhaps. I dunno.

 

Very nice. Sophisticated yet feral. Just not me.

 

[Lucretia]

This is much smokier than anticipated. I was hoping this would be sort of like a cousin of M. de Merteuil, and it kind of sort of is. But maybe like a third cousin twice removed. Despite both having vetiver and peach, Lamia is much less sharp and much less haughty.

 

In the bottle it's sort of a cold floral. Once I put it on I get smoke and peach. It's surprisingly sweet actually. I think can detect the tartness of the currant as well. Coconut comes out more in the dry down and the peach starts to fade a bit on me. It's very muted, and a little bit like a second skin kind of scent. I agree with others that it's a slathering kind of scent. It didn't blow me away right away like some scents do, but I love how understated it is. I think I'm going to get a lot of wear out of this one!

[sunshinedaisybliss]

 

This really is an interesting blend, it changes quite a bit in its first 10 minutes on my skin.

 

At first, it's all peach - soft and sweet, and very pretty. A split second later, the coconut kicks in - this is the creamy sort of coconut that announces itself quite loudly at first and then settles down and takes a background role. The blackcurrant is very faint - present, but faint. So for the first few minutes, I get a peach/coconut soft sweetness with a slight hint of black currant.

 

Then the orchid appears, and some of the darkness from the vetiver and oude starts to come out and it goes a little smoky. On my skin, these darker notes do not take over from the softness of the peach and coconut - they just balance it out a bit, smoothing down some of the sweetness. I think I can pick up the amber and myrrh, but if they weren't actually listed notes then I possibly wouldn't have recognised them. I'm not finding any champaca at all.

 

20 minutes later, I can't be sure whether the vanilla ever arrived - the coconut is overriding everything else, to the point where really all I'm getting here is coconut. The peach is still there, but it's behind the coconut. As usual, my skin is making the black currant note smell a bit like cat pee but I only notice it if I take a really big whiff up close to my skin. An hour later, it's quite faint - mostly just coconut now, with a hint of peach.

 

There's a lot going on in here, but my final verdict is that whilst this is very nice.. the dominance of the coconut is a bit too much. Had that not been the case I think this would have been a lovely blend so BOO to you, coconut!

 

[edenssixthday]

Lamia - In the bottle, I smell the vanilla amber, oude, myrrh, and vetiver. It smells "okay," but nothing amazing. On my skin, it completely changes, and turns into something really elegant, beautiful, and downright gorgeous. On my skin, the orchid is the dominant note, with the tiniest hint of coconut behind it, and a thin layer of champaca and peach. The black currant thankfully doesn't show up at all (since it usually turns everything around it to cat pee on my skin). It's such a beautiful fragrance, very subtle, and will need to be slathered and reapplied, but it's worth it.

[Venneh]

Ah, Lamia. I remember you being a bit weird at C2E2, then again, that might've been because I had six scents on my arm (this is why I stick to one a wrist). Let's try you out again.

 

In the bottle, I'm getting the peach and I think the coconut, which is not encouraging. Getting the peach and the oude and myrrh which is not really a good combo on me. We'll see what she does. Fades quick, not for me.

Edited May 18, 2010 by Venneh

[Dianora]

I bought Lamia because the notes sounded lovely, and because I've always loved this character in the book. In the bottle, she smells rich and sweet, with a hint of vanilla that reminds me of Raven Moon and a hint of earthy vetiver. I wanted to cry when I put it on my skin and it went dark and flat, the vetiver amped and it just seemed horribly wrong on me. However, I stuck with it and left it on. I don't know how many hours later it was when I finally put my wrist to my nose again and inhaled... sweet, sexy vanilla-kissed goodness. This did a complete morph on me and went from yuck to amazing. It's sweet and feminine, while still being rich and not overly floral. It's the perfect warm-weather alternative to my usual heavy resinous scents.

 

I wish that Lamia didn't have that yucky wet phase before it gets to the dreamy drydown. On the plus side, that dry phase lasts for hours on my skin, I don't have that disappearing fragrance problem others have mentioned. I have faith that aging will round this one out and make her get better and better over time.

 

ETA: Woke up this morning and my wrists still smelled all vanilla-ambery and lovely. Not only do I not have disappearing scent syndrome with this one, she lasts for ages on me.

Edited May 20, 2010 by Dianora

[RhinestoneHousewife]

I was really excited to try this! Unfortunately I couldn't smell anything, in the vial, wet or dry on my skin. Nothing. I guess it off to swaps!

[Ryvre]

In the imp: Light and fruity, with a hint of coconut.

 

Wet: Floral! Overwhelmingly floral.

 

Dry: It smells like an air freshener. The throw is great. Why don't scents I love even have this kind of throw?

 

I was hoping more coconut and blackcurrant, but I didn't smell either of them at all once it was on my skin.

[tailoredshirt]

Wet, this is peach and...I don't know. Something dry and earthy. I have no idea what vetiver smells like, so it might be the vetiver. I think I could like it in an earthier blend, but mixed with the peach it smells really strange.

 

Dry, this is a bit better. I'm starting to get some of the lily/orchid and a hint of coconut, but there's so much in here that I can't really tell what I'm smelling. That dry, earthy note is still here, and I honestly don't know if I like it or not. A bit later, I still get the earthiness, but less peach. It's just sort of sweet and slightly fruity/floral under that layer of vetiver(?). I keep going back and forth between thinking it smells sexy and thinking it smells stale.

 

I might need to try this again, but otherwise I'll pass this on to someone else.

[Ondine]

Interesting--and totally unlike the Lamia prototype! It's a "thick" scent. Creamy base like Albedo v5 has but no citrus like Albedo. It does have a coconutty note to it. I don't pick up peach or vetiver.

[Jadys]

This is not at all what I expected Lamia to smell like, however it is an absolutely beautiful scent. Wet, I get a very fruity smell, like apricots. (Oops, just checked the notes list and it’s peaches which makes sense since I’ve never smelled an apricot). After a few hours it looses it’s juiciness and settles into a soft peach smell, with a little something extra that I can’t put my finger on. In August, I like to wear BBW’s discontinued Peach scent since it smells like fall to me. This scent will be a perfect layering companion to that.

 

 

[Little Bird]

Lamia starts off gorgeous and then after about five minutes, it softens and becomes pretty lackluster on my skin . It starts off as a burst of rich, sweet black currant and creamy coconut with amber and myrrh warming the scent up <3. And then the black currant disappears (and along with it, a lot of sweetness and depth) and I'm left with light coconut, plastic-y peach, and clean, perfumey floral. After fifteen minutes, the coconut has disappeared as well and I'm left with a clean, perfumey floral that's slightly plastic-y and not so much peachy anymore.

 

It's sad how awesome this is at first and how quickly it morphs into a bland, clean floral...

[countessmouse]

A bit ozony at first (the vetiver perhaps?), but then it quickly morphs into a showcase for the vanilla amber and coconut. Unfortunately, I tend to amp coconut, so none of the floral notes or the peach are making an appearance. It has a good throw and it's very nice, but not what I had hoped for.

 

ETA: 2 hours after application, the florals appeared. It is very perfumey at this point.

Edited June 3, 2010 by countessmouse

[Iceblink]

I thought there had to be plum in Lamia before I looked at the notes and I see it's black currant that was so strong when this was wet. Now that it's dry I'm getting a lot of coconut, a hint of peach, and something that's doing that weird celery thing on my skin. There's an earthy, dark undercurrent here that's interesting but not particularly pleasant.

Loved the wet stage and first half hour or so, but the drydown, not so much.

[Minerva]

Dark and dirty coconut, basically single note coconut on me. I wanted more amber, vetiver, and floral. Oh, well. If you like coconut don't pass this one up.