Monarch

[angharad]

King mandarin, red ginger, sugar cane, golden amber, mango, and pumpkin.

When I saw the description for this, I WANTED IT SO BAD. I loved the pumpkin and red ginger in Pumpkin Queen, and I love all the other notes in this one, so I thought for sure I'd love Monarch! Instead, my body chemistry turned just plain EVIL.

In the bottle, I smelled a gentle pumpkin with a touch of sweet citrus. So nice! Then I put it on. Half an hour later, I keep checking my son for a dirty diaper because something in the room smells that bad. Suddenly I realize that it's me. I had to wash it off and have been too upset to try it again. Definitely not a keeper for me.

[jencallisto]

In the decant: Sweet, warm, a little spicy, a little fruity.

Fresh on the skin: Very very fruity. Candyish, sugary, but with a warm, round base. Yummy! The sugar's a bit scary, though.

5 minutes in: The sugar's not backing down, which makes the whole thing a little cloying. I'm having a bit of the caramel problem; possibly some combination of the pumpkin + mango + pumpkin + sugar cane. I do get a distinct light citrus-and-ginger at the edge of the scent, which I quite like, but I wish it were a lot stronger.

10 minutes in: Fuzzy, warm, sugary. A very orange scent. I'm not sure the amber is playing nice for me today.

15 minutes in: Oh, hey. I think I spoke too soon! The sillage on this is gorgeous! There's still a bit of not-quite-appetizing fuzz right near my wrist, but I think the scent as a whole is becoming something quite pretty.

30 minutes in: Still a bit syrupy, alas. Fairly pretty in a warm way, though.

1 hours in: Still warm and rather sugary and syrupy. The pumpkin's really coming out.

2.5 hours in: Fuzzy, sweet, still a bit syrupy but now it's almost chocolatey. The super-sweet cheap kind made with high fructose corn syrup. Doh.

4 hours in: Fuzzy, sweet, vaguely like cheap chocolate syrup, yup. Not what I was hoping for.

9 hours later: The chocolate syrup is still around.

 

Verdict: There's a rather pretty stage in the middle, but the sugar shock at the very beginning and the cheap chocolate that it settles into fairly quickly make it not really wearable for me, sadly. And I had such high hopes for this one.

 

One word: Syrupy.

Edited September 13, 2010 by jencallisto

[sprocket21]

GACK. Syrupy potpourri. Not sure what's causing it - perhaps a mix of the sugar and pumpkin? No fruit, no amber, no ginger (or perhaps the ginger is manifesting itself in the potpourri smell somehow). Bah.

[Lorna Brigid]

I wanted, expected to love this soooo much. I was looking so forward to getting it and trying it.

It was a warm day today, so I wore it.

So beautiful in the imp! I could smell the mandarin and ginger, with the hint of the sugar cane and buttery pumpkin making it smell kind of like an orangey or apricot pastry.

Alas, I finally understand what you all mean when you describe a "plasticky smell" for any given scent.

After the drydown, this is quite weak and faint on me. It stays a long time, but just is so mellow. It turned into a plastic and powder smell quickly and stayed so all day. Baby powder and melted plastic with some sugar on it.

[thekittenkat]

In the bottle: the fruits and their sweetness, but there's ginger in the depths.

 

 

Wet: lots of ginger amongst the fruits.

 

 

Dry: a nice blending of all the fruits. The sugar cane keeps it sweet, but the red ginger keeps it spicy. An appropriate scent for this wonderful butterfly that haunts our backyard in the summertime. However, I can see wearing this in the autumn as well as on hot summer days.

[Voleuse]

The first note that strikes me is orangey, but the pumpkin is a rich, buttery undertone for the blend. Interesting! This is such a strange blend to my nose--not in a bad way--because it alternates between the cool sweetness of the citrus and the warm pumpkin and ginger. I think I catch a bit of rounder, sweeter mango, as well, but this never quite settles down for me. It's a bright, fleeting scent, like a cool, sunny day just before the sun starts setting.

[pandorasmuse]

In the decant: Lots of sugary spiciness with a hint of citrus. A very warm scent.

 

Wet: Still quite spicy, with more fruitiness coming forward. Spiced juicy mangoes. The pumpkin isn’t very apparent. It’s hovering around the edges binding the other smells together.

 

Drydown: More orange, mango, and pumpkin now, and the sugar cane is stepping up. The ginger is still very there, but it’s less dominant than it was. I’m not getting any amber (I don’t think, anyway).

 

Later: Nice! Lightly spicy, moderately foody—autumnal and quite pleasant.

[angburfield]

It must be my skin chemistry because this on ROCKS on me..Beth's pumpkin note is always incredible and that combined with the ginger and amber with the kiss of fruit (mango/ mandarin) is absolutely incredible. I kick myself for not getting a back up of this..but that is the gift of Beth..she just keeps wowing you. TDF!!

[gchris]

sweet toasted nuts and honey. On skin, Now I'm getting the mandarin. This reminds of cookies with orange, honey and nuts. Real foodie. I smell pumpkin! wow. I don't think I have ever tried any blend with pumpkin because I don't like pumpkin pie but I'm loving it in this. The pumpkin compliments the orange so nicely. This is turning into a cookie recipe to me. I love to bake. I don't know that I am getting any of the other notes. I figure that the mango is lost somewhere between the mandarin and the pumpkin and they are playing off of each other. This is a warm, foodie scent.

[Suu4LC]

I am excited to try this! I love all of the notes in it...EXCEPT red ginger. Red ginger is sometimes a death note on me...so I am hoping it is not too strong here, because I really like all the other notes.

 

A lot of sugar cane in this-Yum! I do get the red ginger, but fortunately it is not overwhelming in the imp. Love the mango and mandarin notes, the buttery pumpkin helps around it out.

 

Oh yes, I quite like this! A red ginger scent that works on me? I'm shocked! It goes perfectly in this blend-the other notes seem to keep it in check. The mango and mandarin are such win, and I love the buttery creaminess of the pumpkin. I actually think the strongest note in this may be the sugar cane though, which is fine with me!

 

It does get a bit more red ginger-y as it dries, but not like War which almost killed me ded. Mandarin comes out a big more as it dries as well. This really might be the first red ginger scent I can wear!

 

Yep-the red ginger never went overboard. This is an amazing fruity sugar cane scent with just the right amount of red ginger kick. I don't think I would need a full bottle of this, but I am definitely gonna be on the lookout for a partial!

[Gin]

I love Monarch butterflies, so I had to try this. I wasn't sure about the notes, but all fears evaporated when I smelled Monarch. OMG, so good. It's warm and orange and spicy--but not buttery-bakery dense like pumpkin pie. It's light, maybe from the mandarin. Absolutely delicious.

[porcelina]

monarch is disappointingly flat on my skin. i don't get a lot of amber- just a faint, ginger citrus scent, very orange, that fades quickly. it leaves behind a nice pumpkin note, but not much else.

[mymymai]

ITI: Very strong ginger and pumpkin. This does not bode well for my nose.

 

Wet: Well, at least I get a little mandarin to temper to overpowering sweetness of the pumpkin and ginger. The sugar might be amping the pumpkin a bit as it smells like spiced pumpkin latte.

 

Dry: Yep, that’s still pumpkin, sugar, and ginger. I wish more of the fruit complexities came out on my skin.

[Dani87]

This did not morph on me at all, smelled the same in the imp, and on my skin the whole time. I didn't get any manderin, mango, and I couldn't really pick out any sugar cane. It was all buttery pumpkin, amber, and ginger. I love it, but was hoping for the mango, and manderin, will let it sit for awhile to see if they come out.

[doomsday_disco]

This starts off dominated by the fruit notes (mandarin and mango), accompanied by the sugar cane, but then the ginger and pumpkin join in not long after. The fruit notes are quick to lose their strength, leaving behind a sugared amber warmed by the ginger and the ghost of the mango.

 

I think this is nice, but I wish it had retained the sugary mandarin mango goodness!

[LavenderCoffee]

Yum, this is a good pumpkin-y pumpkin scent. I almost get honeycomb from this when freshly applied, and just a suggestion of something vanillic. Mandarin provides a juicy topnote, mango is missing in action. Red ginger caused a bit of a skin reaction for me but I like how it spices things up.