Morgause

[Veronica]

Earth sorceress and mother of Mordred, she is, in essence, the harbinger of King Arthur's doom and the downfall of Camelot. She is a sister, or sister-self, to Morgan Le Fay. A bouquet of five night-blooming flowers deepened by dusky violet, purple fruits and the barest breath of medieval incenses.

 

Violet goes off on me...a headache-y, shreiking, old-lady, sour powdered white floral.

Edited May 27, 2015 by delighted

[freyasfae]

This is the second time I have tested this scent, and this time I noticed the purple fruits a lot more. The florals are still prominent, too, this is like beautiful and dramatic purple smoke - colors of aubergine - that kind of deep purple with hints of red.

[doomsday_disco]

In the imp: The violet note is pretty intense, but I'm also smelling other florals, incense, and fruit as well.

 

Wet: Purple like whoa! The violet note is still the most prominent, followed by the fruit. The other florals and the incense are background players at the moment. After a bit, the incense note and night-blooming florals begin to emerge more.

 

Dry: The violet still reigns, but the incense and other floral notes are a lot stronger now.

 

Verdict: This one isn't for me, as I am not a fan of violet, and there's too much of it in this one for my liking.

[PrinceofcatS]

I like violet, but find it can dominate a scent in a way I don't like. This is not a fresh, candy violet, though. This is dark and deep violet, purple to the point of almost black, with similarly dark fruits, almost hidden by very dry black incense. This really evokes Arthurian legend and sorcery for me, though it's the wrong sister for that feel. I work really early in the morning and try my frimps at work sometimes. This is the first time I've ever worn something that felt literally wrong in the environment. I shouldn't be here, in retail, in plain clothes, I should be someplace very dark, a large castle, in velvets. It was powerful and weird. I can't see myself wearing this scent a whole lot just because when or where would i? But I'm so glad I've finally been able to try it. I really like this and the way it makes me feel.

[lady_pandora]

Initially, Morgause is dominated by ylang-ylang, but settles down to a scent that is violet-dominant with a bit of fruit (I think mostly plum, maybe a little grape) to round it out and a soft cloud of incense to deepen it. This is a purple velvet dress in scent form.

 

It's really a lot like Purple Phoenix but less grapey. This...is AWESOME. Because I'm almost out of Purple Phoenix and it's an LE from back when dinosaurs walked the earth and now I can get basically the same thing as a GC.

Edited April 8, 2016 by lady_pandora

[maudlinrose]

Dark, heavy floral - which I usually don't like.

But I have never seen it done as well as this scent. It really is a beautiful, complex scent - the floral notes are so well blended, it is jut the right amount of heady, but not too overpowering. Even if you dont usually like heavy florals, this one may work out.

[lizabelle]

This is definitely the same jasmine/honeysuckle blend as in New Orleans, with some ylang and possibly gardenia as well. And maybe moonflower? I have a couple of blends (Long Night Moon and one of the Cancers, I think) with moonflower and this is reminiscent of them. For once ylang and gardenia don't take over and choke out the others but remain firmly in the background. The overall effect is like the lovechild of New Orleans and Defututa--to my nose this is sweeter than New Orleans but darker than Defututa. The incense is present throughout but for whatever reason my skin amps the florals and hides the fruit. And the violet, for that matter. I keep waiting for it to appear but by now I'm pretty sure I amp honeysuckle and it's pretty much taken over. As a white floral this isn't bad, but it's not grabbing me the way others have.

[Miss Landau]

This has immediately become one of my new favourites. I'm guessing "purple fruits" means plums and grapes and I definitely get a lot of the former - but fresh ripe plums, not the over-ripe-turning-to-prune plum of Bordello - but don't think I can pick up anything I recognise as grape. Violet is the flower scent I'm getting, the incense is very much in the background for me.

[Lisa Ing]

Frimp from the Lab, and an unexpected favorite. It goes on with a big white floral bang but settles down quickly to a two-layer scent. Right down near the skin is this deep purple fruit (a thick, jammy sweet with a little sourness -- I'm thinking fig and plum mostly) mixed in with the white flowers, and then there's a floating cloud of light violet and elegant, sensual incense. Whatever that incense is, man, I want more of it.

 

I don't think I saw this in any other review, but I'm pretty sure there's a good amount of fig in the purple fruit blend here because it reminds me of Eden.

[bluethorn13]

The florals are too heavy for me to wear this one in the daytime, but it is PERFECT to dab on the wrists into the evening hours. A bit of a heady complexity that really does something nice on my skin. I almost didn't try this one because it smelled a tad old lady floral out of the imp but I am so very glad I took the chance on this one because it's actually quite sexy in it's own way.

[Lucchesa]

Morgause is strong, and when it hits my skin it is simultaneously sour and sickly sweet. I don't think violet and night-blooming jasmine is a good combination on me. As it dries down it loses the sour patch kids vibe and I get hints of the incense (or is it the Penitence on my other wrist?). Deep, dark, heady floral that would be absolutely gorgeous on someone else.

[achildoftime]

For me, this is a strong jasmine and violet mix with a touch of purple fruits. I think there's some plum and maybe a touch of cherry included under that umbrella. It's sweet and almost bubblegummy on me. Kind of like the small batch floral gum you might see sometimes in specialty stores. This isn't bad, but it doesn't do much for me either. I'm not a massive fan of jasmine, and I'm not a fan of the sweetness.

[Cali]

Whoa! Dark floral, wet and boatloads of violet, which is never good on me. And really has a ...poop-y quality on me. I was gonna say bog-like, but nahh this describes it well. Gahh! Too bad.

[torischroeder9]

In the imp: Violet and dark fruit (probably including plum) as well as other notes I can't currently identify. 

 

On my skin:

 

Wet, it's fruit-forward, and a little tarter now. I wouldn't be surprised if the fruits included pomegranate or currant as well. As it dries, violet reasserts itself, and some of the other floral notes -- jasmine among them, I think -- start to peek out. Ultimately, the jasmine takes over the violet, so it's jasmine over dark fruits.

 

To be fair, it's a very wearable jasmine on me. 

 

On the other hand, my personal scent preferences run much more to violet than they do to jasmine. That I get violet and fruit in the imp but jasmine and fruit on my skin makes it too disappointing from what I hoped. 

[Vefenna]

When I was smelling Morgause for the first time I was not very fond of her - mostly because I don't like jasmine very much. All i got was very strong violet and jasmine. Maybe there was some sweetness but far in the background. Lately I tried it again to look how it changed over time and I was very surprised. It's still heady florals and I have to be careful and use a light hand, but I like it. It's mysterious and sensual, but at the same time comforting. It proves that jasmine can work for me and sometimes you have to give a scent some time to like it.

[daemonkat]

Morgause: herbacious, green, a hint of florals
On Skin: wet: dark flowers with a hint of smoky incense behind
dry: a gathering of dark flowers that was carried in a basket to rest in a damp, closed room. A slight haze of incense drifts about.
There's a sweetness creeping in from fruit a bit further into wearing. The flowers seem to be drifting in the background for me, drifting into a sweet smokiness.

Very happy with how this one doesn't amp flowers for me. I feel like I'm sitting in a dim room by a vase of slightly damp flowers. A bit spooky but not in a spooky-weird or spooky-scary way.

 

After sitting for a while: musk has joined chat!

Spooky Flowers has left chat.

 

Interesting end to this experience, it seems someone has swept up the flowers and departed. A lingering of musk and smoke remain.

Edited August 29, 2020 by daemonkat
adding notes

[hhelix]

This is quite lovely. Wet, it is jasmine heavy, or possibly gardenia. Something bone-white. An hour in, the dark purple fruits emerge and lend a velvety texture. The violet and incense smoke are ever present in the background. The scent is very well blended and conceptually spot-on. Morgause has a classic perfume vibe while still remaining recognizably BPAL. It gets my vote for the Tournament of Underdogs.

 

ETA: I’m still getting lovely wafts of sweet incense after 10 hours. This one’s a keeper 💜

Edited September 1, 2020 by hhelix

[starbrow]

Those five nightbloomers (I think lizabelle hit the nail on the head with jasmine, honeysuckle, ylang ylang, gardenia, and moonflower) are really barking! So is the violet, powdery and wistful. I wish I got more of the purple fruits (PLUM! berries!) because they are far less present than the florals, and I would love it to be the other way around. For someone who likes beautifully blended night florals with perhaps a touch of soft frankincense, this is a nice option. However, an imp is plenty for me, whereas I dearly want a bottle of The Scales of Deprivation, so that should tell you where my vote in Tournament of Underdogs goes  

[RoseThornAndOak]

Morgause in the imp and wet on skin immediately makes me think of a box of imps and The Witch Queen, musky, incensey, floral, dark fruits in shades of purple and burgandy. If that is your jam totally try this one! It's quintessential BPAL. After a few minutes the florals take over and ruh roh, going sharp soapy floral in a cleaner kind of way. Not my favorite stage.

 

Okay the stage mop has been put away, the stage cleaned and we are back to dress rehearsal. Morgause is rehearsing her lines, with more of the fruits taking over the cleaner, thank goodness. A slight play-doh plasticine note, maybe violet is causing it. Overall nice.

 

 

[JuliskaMarie]

In the imp:  As described - rich, mysterious & slightly smoky.

 

Wet on skin:  Same as in the imp, except the violet is taking centre stage. Quite a bit of throw on this one.

 

Dry on skin:  A rich, slightly fruity, very *purple* floral. Very good throw - I can smell it without trying to, but it’s not overpowering.

 

After a few hours: A smoky, incensey, slightly fruity floral. Pretty nice!

 

Verdict: A little on the heavy side for casual day-wear, but for evenings or if I’m in the mood for a slightly darker perfume, this would be great!

[phantasmmysteria]

I'll start off by saying that Morgause is one of my favorite GC blends when I want a darker, more formal floral perfume but she's not for the understated! This scent has quite a decent throw and wearlength, but depending upon skin chemistry the florals can run away with you.

 

In the bottle: I'm not very good at picking out specific florals in a blend, so in the bottle this just smells like sticking my nose in a fresh-cut bouquet; I get no fruit or incense from it yet, and I *think* the jasmine is the predominant floral but I can't be sure.

Wet: Ah, yes here we go! on the skin, this scent starts to bloom and that's when it takes on it's "purple" hue. I also cannot pick out any particular fruits in this blend, everything seems to coalesce with the incense and flowers to make for a heady, brooding floral. This stage reminds me of an incense I bought decades ago from a New Age shop in my hometown which also smelled delicious.

Drydown: Eventually, the fruits evaporate, leaving just a whisper of their memory in a cloud of incensy, violet-tinged florals. I agree with another reviewer who said this blend smells womanly -- not girly -- and is perfect for me when I want a scent that makes me feel powerful yet feminine. 

[ShadowEtienne]

I picked up a somewhat aged imp of this from a friend after she heard that I was interested in it, and it's a lovely blend that I will definitely be tempted to get more of once I run out of this imp.

 

On me, it is a rich, deep scent. Bruised deep purple violets under the waft of other flowers in bloom at night, definitely catching the jasmine and honeysuckle, and I think I'm catching the suspected moonflower as well. All of this is tied together with a rich dark just ripe plum and what smells like a juicy element of black currant to me (would make sense with purple fruits). I'm not getting fig or cherry that other people mentioned which is good for me because those are scents I hate. The soft smoky note in the background helps add warmth and depth to the scent.

 

I definitely feel like for me this is a soothing scent and one that does indeed belong in the nighttime.

[Riletto]

This has been out of stock for a long time....has it been discontinued? What other scents should I try if I loved this one so much? It felt luxurious, mysteries, devious, and PURPLE. 

Edited January 14 by Riletto