The Ring

[Venneh]

Antiqued amber, frankincense, patchouli, hay, oakmoss, skin musk, and white mint.

In the bottle, I'm getting amber, skin musk, and hay. On my skin, primarily skin musk and hay. Huh. It's actually so realistic that it's triggering my hay fever. The rest is kind of dusty, and very evocative of a barn (in a good way). Not quite my thing.

[tuesdaynexxt]

I like this. It reminds me of Enyalios, which I love. It's earthy, and a bit incensy. I can pick out the frankincense, and it's grounded by the patchouli. No mint that I can detect. There's very little throw - it stays close. The musk is there, lingering even the next morning. I think this will age well, I'm glad I got a bottle!

[edenssixthday]

The Ring - This scent has a lot of potential, as I love most notes except for the hay and skin musk, which are two scents I generally dislike. I was hoping the resins, oakmoss, and mint would be the dominant notes, but no such luck. From the first moment I put it on, it's 90% skin musk -- ultra-sweet and cloying, and behind it are the hay and white mint. I love white mint, but blended with the hay and skin musk, the overall effect is just kind of weird on my skin. The amber is far in the background and I don't smell the frankincense or patchouli or oakmoss at all. The longer it's on my skin, the more the skin musk amps and becomes sickeningly sweet to the point where I simply have to wash it off. This is one that I just can't handle continuing to wear to see if it balances out nicely upon drydown.

[calivianya]

This is not quite what I was expecting.

 

Wet on my skin, I'm predominantly getting hay, patchouli, and mint. I don't smell the mint so much as feel it. The effect of this is like sniffing some warm hay, but coming away from it with a chill in the back of your nose. It's kind of strange. I was definitely hoping for more amber, frankincense, and skin musk.

 

It doesn't really change over the drydown. This blend is not a keeper for me, which is kind of sad as I had the highest hopes for this scent.

[cfrancesca]

I get hay, amber and soft musk, with soft frankincense in the background, after a few minutes I get a bit of very well-blended patchouli. The hay smells almost nutty to me.

[Little Bird]

The Ring is a really strange scent. I get mostly perfumey skin musk, baby powdery amber, and dusty, dry hay. I can smell whiffs of earthy patchouli every once in a while, but it mostly lends a dirty feel to the hay note. The overall blend is very dry smelling on my skin, and not all that pleasant. As it dries down, I can smell a hint of cool mint, and it doesn't pair well with the hay, in my opinion... everything feels mismatched here to me.

[sqwook]

This is really really good on me - surprisingly so, given some of the other lackluster reviews.

 

It starts off somewhat nutty, and then becomes soft and somewhat powdery-perfumey, smooth, and then over many hours, it's a skin-close spiciness of frankincense. I *love* oakmoss, and it's not sticking out on me here as it usually does - it usually makes things go more masculine than I wish them to, and it's not doing that here. I also don't get any type of overwhelming patchouli, other than perhaps that spiciness. No mint, either.

 

And I even get compliments on it. (Actually, two different compliments from two different people on different days, and normally neither of those people mention anything.) So it's not just me being weird in thinking it smells nice on me.

 

This is now on my want-bottle list.

[astarinel]

I also liked this, but I'm now wondering if there are decanting/batch variations, because it seems like I primarily got an entirely different group of prominent notes.

 

The resins and musks here were really lovely on my skin, dark and rich and even a little bit sweet. I didn't get much hay, and there certainly wasn't anything dry or dusty about this scent for me. I'm having a serious debate, though. I feel like I'd want at least a couple more imps of this or a partial, if it would be this same lovely resinous earthy musky scent, but I definitely don't want more if it isn't going to be the same!

 

I like white mint, also, but I didn't really get any of it here. This scent had a very dark golden-brown feeling to me.

[Aldercy]

*SLATHER*

 

Oh, wow. The Ring is heart-breakingly beautiful.

 

I think I can pick out every single note... the thick amber, mild spicy patchouli and cool skin musk are probably the most prominent, but they're all there, every single one of them. I'm surprised by how well-behaved the patchouli is-- it's just a very delicate earthiness, really-- and how good the hay turned out. Hay can go kind of nasty and dusty on me, but not here... it's like a sun-baked golden field (the note is a little reminiscent of Pa-Pow, though the scent as a whole is different). Weirdly, it's got a faintly foody sweetness to it, but it's not actually gourmand. It's something of a mix between herbal, gourmand and a sexy skin scent. I don't even know how that works, but it does.

 

Instant hit in my book. I MUST have a bottle.

[MCS4096]

This winds up being kinda generic and boring on my skin It's a nice soft amber with a hint of earthy patchouli, but that's really about it. Maybe aging will bring more of the notes out?

[Invidiana]

This is one I couldn't really wear as perfume but can definitely see as an autumnal room spray. It's really warm and enveloping from teh hay and oakmoss with some resinous sweetness and further warmth from the skin musk. The mint is only there for a split second once it hits my skin. This is actually something that's quite comforting to smell; I'd just rather have it around me than on me because it seems like more of an atmosphere thing. If something similar without the mint appears in the autumn room sprays I'll be overjoyed!

[surlygurl]

This scent is mostly sweet powdery amber with fresh hay and some cool mint in the drydown. It's quite pretty, and definitely understated. I expected this to be a big bold scent, but it's just the opposite. It's also much more beautiful than I expected. This deserves further testing.

[theseagrows]

wow, newer bpals are not working for me! at first this is straight up hay, i guess. it's kind of foody-nutty smelling. i think i sense a very slight hint of mint in the background, but it doesn't register as mint, but rather as something slightly wet or bright in all the dryness of the hay. after drying for a bit, the oaklmoss and skin musk seem to come out more, but now the scent has faded A LOT, and i can barely smell it anymore!

[zankoku_zen]

Amber, frankincense and patchouli. Again, a very warm scent. Not a fan of either resins, amber or patchouli. Admittedly, this is softer than I expected and in some ways, it makes me think of House of Mirrors without the aquatics going on, but rather the warm amber base of that. I am pleased, in some ways, that this isn't metallic at all.

 

ETA: September 2016

So, five years changes you. I have come to realize that antique amber is one of my favorite notes. Ever. So yes, amber, a touch of frankincense.

Edited September 23, 2016 by zankoku_zen

[thekittenkat]

In the decant: Frank, musk, amber.

 

Wet: Hints of the patch and the hay now.

 

The dry-down: This continues to be a combination of the five notes already mentioned. The lovely thing is that the amber is not turning to powder; perhaps this it is antiqued, although I am not at all sure what that means. The mint does not play a role that I can discern. The skin musk is perfect for this, as it is indeed a close-to-the-skin scent. If you like Hay Moon, this may be one to try.

[milo]

Wet, a foody, nutty amber. Kind of weird actually, but I love amber so this was a blind bottle purchase. Wet, the nuttiness fades, (thank goodness!!) and it's a slightly perfumey resin musky amber. Quite nice, perfumey vibe is just in the background, and the patchouli is making this blend somewhat 'dirty', but in a good way. I was worried about the skin musk, but it is very subdued. The hay and mint just add a bit of freshness to this blend. I really like it, but it is a tad bit soapy on me. I'll hang on to the bottle for a bit and see if things change, as I'm picky these days and only keep 'loves'.

Edited March 26, 2011 by milo

[brilliantcat]

It smelled utterly beautiful at first. I was getting an incense-y feel and a fresh, sweet note that my husband I finally identified as the hay, with a spark of mint. Then the moss took over. Sadly I seem to amp oakmoss and it stomped all over the nuanced blend and turned it into a muddy, mossy mess. Very disappointed, because otherwise this would have been AMAZING on me.

[tealeaves]

This is not what I was expecting at all. From the notes, I thought it would be warm and musky, with some spice, maybe cut a little by the mint. On my skin, wet, it's sweet, like fresh-baked sugar cookies, and a little sharp. It's very strange, I have no idea where the sweetness is coming from - patchouli or skin musk, maybe? Once it settles, though, it turns into a scent that's very cold and sharp, and almost bitter. It's like the spice of the amber and the frankincense is cut down by the chill of the mint and the whole thing goes bitterly medicinal. It almost smells like valerian.

 

I must have very strange skin chemistry - this is not the first time that a scent people seem to love has gone horribly south on me. Luckily I just bought a half imp, because this one is not a keeper.

[catalyst]

wow, newer bpals are not working for me! at first this is straight up hay, i guess. it's kind of foody-nutty smelling. i think i sense a very slight hint of mint in the background, but it doesn't register as mint, but rather as something slightly wet or bright in all the dryness of the hay. after drying for a bit, the oaklmoss and skin musk seem to come out more, but now the scent has faded A LOT, and i can barely smell it anymore!

I'm getting the foody-nutty thing too, and strongly. The mint is sort of a cool (as in temperature, not hip) thing that happens up in the back of my nose and sinuses. The other notes are pleasant but just kind of "there."

 

I really, really don't like food scents on me. At all. And whatever is creating this nutty-foody thing is killing it for me. The food part does fade after about fifteen, but so does the rest of it, and the little bit that's left is honestly kind of boring.

 

I've discovered plenty of scents where I'm huffing my arm all afternoon and want to make out with myself. This is not one of them. Oh well.

[JazzieCazzie]

Got this as a generous extra in a swap, off my wish list.

 

IN THE IMP: How do I put this ... it smells like a creamy barn. Pungent and fruity.

 

Dabbed on wrist and in crook of my arm.

 

WET: Glad to see, by other reviews, I was not plum-crazy by noting that it's really nutty. To me, it smells sort of like a musty antique mall stall ...

 

DRYDOWN: It's just not something I want to smell like. Not getting ANY of the amber or frankincense. Interesting to see the Enyalios comps since I LOVE LOVE LOVE that one (review coming soon).

 

OVERALL: Just doesn't do it for me. Not sure which notes were the notes of doom.

 

On a scale of 1-5, a 2.

[poofie]

Even though most of the reviews are lukewarm, and the notes are mostly in my undecided/meh category, this one called to me. I got it in a swap, and put it on cold (VERY COLD, it's like 20F out) from the mail box, and... WOW. It's kind of this creamy musky spicy scent, not much throw from my wrists, and so different from anything else in my BPAL box. I don't know that I can pick individual notes out, I know the creamy feeling I get must be amber, and the zippy spice could be the frankincense? No specific patchouli for me, maybe a TINY bit of mint if I really huff?

I can see what other reviewers mean when they say it smells nutty, but to me it's more hay or oak?

 

As it dries it's mostly musk/amber, making it a pretty skin scent.

[theshapeshifter]

Got a bottle of this from the Lab's Etsy shop, and was puzzled when it arrived. It smelled so overwhelming foody in the bottle that I had to re-look-up the description not once, but twice, to convince myself why I'd decided to order it. (Not that I don't like foody scents, but it was unexpected.)

 

However, on the skin it changed almost instantly - at first to a sort of earthy men's cologne type scent, but within maybe 15 minutes a gentler, warmer musky/amber-y scent prevailed and stuck around most of the day. 14 hours later, I can just baaaaarely smell it if I mash my nose into my wrist. I really, really like this, and kept finding excuses to sniff myself all day. (Okay, and admittedly, it's my first new scent in literally years, but this one is definitely a keeper.)

[Cali]

My goodness have I gotten it wrong on the notes this time; usually I pretty much know what I'll like but this caught me off guard. Right off the bat it reminded me of Braving the ice, which I also wanted to work out so bad but alas, I am hit with a scent of something oddly I can either describe as slightly off-date foodie or skin bathed in sugar for an hour.

I don't know. It's just not for me and it's a shame. I so want to like this!!
Goes a little lemony later on, softer, and then the lemon morphs to something a little more soap… and then it's gone. I'm no getting much of the notes (or my brain is messing with me) besides the skin musk...

Sad. Onto the sales pile it goes!

Edited December 20, 2018 by Cali

[doomsday_disco]

When I first applied this, without looking at the notes, I thought I was smelling mahogany, but that must have been the amber and frankincense with some of the warm, chewy hay. The white mint joins in (I was surprised -- I thought it wouldn't stand a chance against these notes), adding a light coolness to contrast with the warm notes. Over time, the oakmoss emerges and gains strength, as it is wont to do on me, and it mostly becomes a mossy resin scent infused with some warm hay and musk. Oddly enough, the patchouli in this did not stand out to me! (I would expect not to get the mint from this, but not the patch!)

 

I wish the oakmoss hadn't ended up being the dominant note, as I was enjoying how the warm resins and hay played off of the cool mint.

Edited March 15, 2023 by doomsday_disco