Mary Celeste v4

[Penance]

Origin:

 

Tester from Scrappy.

 

Preconceived notions:

 

I love the idea of a ghost ship scent. And I love the teaser reviews that people have posted suggesting that Mary Celeste v4 is an "old wood" sort of scent. That's the kind of thing that perks my ears up. I'm really looking forward to this one.

 

First sniff:

 

Dry, old wood. It's not aquatic (not even a hint of sea spray to my nose, although it could be there) and it doesn't smell weatherbeaten. It just smells old, like sun-baked wood that's been sitting abandoned in the heat of the sun.

 

Wet on skin:

 

Same as in the imp. I have a feeling this is going to be a pretty linear scent.

 

Dry down:

 

I love this. It's still very similar to the scent in the tester (a very dry wood), but as it dries, it develops a very, very slight peppery note on my skin. That could be actual pepper or it could just be the wood. It's very faint and not really noticeable unless I put my nose right up close.

 

I can't identify what kind of wood is in this, although it smells vaguely like redwood to me. I really don't think that's it, though. I did some searching to see if I could find out what kind of wood the Marie Celeste was made of and came up with oak, birch, beech, spruce and pine. All I can say for sure is that I'm definitely not smelling spruce or pine (it's not an evergreen/balsam type scent at all). I've read that white oak has a peppery smell, so that's a possibility.

 

The bottom line:

 

Mary Celeste v4 isn't an eerie scent, in spite of the name, but that's probably to be expected when it comes to a scent based on something that's not inherently scary (a ship) but gets its eeriness from the circumstances of the story that goes along with it (the ship being completely inexplicably abandoned and crewless in the middle of the ocean).

 

This is a real winner for a wood lover like me. I'm particularly fond of dry wood scents and Mary Celeste definitely falls into that category. I'm actually glad that there's no aquatics or salt/sea spray here because it would have ruined the scent for me (I'm not a fan of salty aquatics or aquatics in general), although it might have made it a more appealing to people who want something more than dry wood in their perfume.

[Invidiana]

Quick background on the name: the Mary Celeste is a famous ghost ship that counts itself among the ranks of vessels such as the Flying Dutchman. Though the crew of the Mary Celeste were all competent sailors, the ship was found completely abandoned en route to the Strait of Gibraltar, all food and cargo on board. The mystery remains unsolved to this day.

 

So what does this ghost ship smell like? If you like Jolly Roger, you'll swoon for this. Also, if you're an oak lover like I am... This is like walking onto a creaky old ship with aged planks of deliciously smoky oak, possibly with some teak which is another favorite wood of mine. It can't possibly be cedar because that amps to eleventybillion on me while this is really warm and rich. When I say "aged" I mean that I'm imagining wooden planks whose scent got deeper with age, not rotting wood. The wooden planks here are juxtaposed with the incredibly lifelike scent of seaspray, salty and aquatic but very fresh like actual sea air, not cologney. It's extremely well-blended; the wood and seaspray scents remain distinct but also harmonize seamlessly. Definitely one of the most unique scents I've owned and a surprise winner!

Edited March 28, 2011 by Shollin
Merged with existing Mary Celeste v4 review topic

[cfrancesca]

I mostly get a dry, old, slightly creamy wood scent from Mary Celeste v4. I find it surprisingly wearable and kind of comforting and cozy.

[zankoku_zen]

So on wet, I get salty aquatic wood and a hint of vetiver... or perhaps it's gunpowder, sort of like in Gun Moll/Agnes Nutter. It dries essentially to a dry, creamy wood scent that I think may be oak.

 

Interesting, but not my type of scent.

[sunshinedaisybliss]

Hmm.. reading those previous reviews is interesting, but on me - Mary Celeste v4 is pretty unexciting.

 

I am definitely getting a strong aquatic tone from it - the overall smell is salty and dry, a bit like the top note in Pirate Moon. There's a bit of a peppery or possibly smokey feel to it as well, and my guess for the wood note would be either a pale oak or a blonde ashwood - it's definitely not a dark wood. There is a slight hint of creaminess, but it's hidden underneath the salty aquatic to the point where it's hardly noticeable unless I really pay attention.

 

Overall, this ends up smelling a bit like a sharp, salty cologne - it's like standing on the beach on a cold winter's day when the wind blows sea spray right in your face - kind of fresh and bracing. I was going to say it's like getting your face licked by a walrus, but I thought that didn't sound quite as appealing as the whole standing on the beach in winter thing.

 

Mary Celeste v4 is totally not my thing at all, but I'm glad I got to try it - thank you to the lovely nursekins for the tester!

[Little Bird]

Mary Celeste v4 sounded pretty cool to me, but it winds up being like a lot of scents that I've smelled before and swapped away. It starts off like sharp, salty, slightly soapy aquatic with something dark and smoky, and then dries down to a lightly soapy aquatic and hints of powdery wood. Just doesn't work on me, and fades away entirely within about an hour. Something about it smells more aquatic than wooden on my skin.

[angelamaria]

In decant: woody tonka, and a bitter, dry note.

 

Wet on skin: very resinous blend with a hint of tonka. Wet, it's slightly salty in feel, an aquatic sort of saltiness, but it's also very dry. "Dry aquatic" doesn't make sense, but this is it. It does seem to be spot on for a Mary Celeste/ghost ship scent. Quite evocative, and I like the smell, but I'm not sure I'd ever wear this.

 

Dry: very woody blend, some tonka creaminess, with a salty dry feel and faint dry greens. Gender neutral and very evocative. Much later, all the creaminess and tonka seem to have disappeared on me, leaving behind old dry oak wood. An interesting development--from a dry and run-down wood with hints of salty aquatics, into a salty old dry wood scent.

 

Verdict: very evocative, and quite pleasing--I'd be super interested to see this get released.