Three Swords

[Lycanthrope]

Three Swords, Nicholas Roerich.
A snow-touched olistolith, embedded with quartz, red clay, limestone, shale and granite, with a hint of wild rhododendron.

Wet this smells like motor oil and gasoline.

On, the sharp, bright oily notes turn into a very eerie blend of tossed, dry dirt, and a little dust. Very strong on the 'stone note' (the craggy, pumice-like, gritty note). It still smells like gasoline every now and then. I wonder if that's the rhododendron? There really isn't very much, if any at all, of the usual 'snow' or 'ice' notes in the foreground.

This smells like hiking, but the part after you've fueled up a car and are covered in dust, and got a little of the gas on your fingertips while filling.

Very evocative, but definitely not 'pretty' or a traditional perfume!

Another that I'll keep the bottle and probably try it a few more times prior to seeing if I want any more. I don't think anything like this has been in the lineup before.

Try this if you loved Moai, although they aren't quite the same.

[zankoku_zen]

Glittering motor oil and gasoline. There's definitely something 'metalic' and 'shiny' to this blend, as well as an underlay of clay, and grittiness.

 

It smells like a gas station.

 

Or when you go get your oil changed.

 

So... yeah, not really a perfume per se, but WOW, its like A GAS STATION IN LIQUID FORM. Which makes it an awesome scent experience.

[Gwydion]

In bottle: This is a multiple stone blend, which means I may have trouble telling which accord is meant to be what. It’s surprisingly industrial, and reminiscent of a construction site which makes sense. It is very much a stone blend, indeed the strongest stone blend I’ve encountered. The rhododendrons are pervasive and actually contributing to the industrial feel through accidental accords with some of the stones while still being clearly floral. It suits it’s art concept beautifully and is quite unusual and subtly unsettling. I don’t know if I want to smell like this, but I am fascinated by it. Wet: Much as in the bottle, only with the clay more differentiated and the rocks more nuance. As it warms, the rhododendron spends less time smelling industrial and more smelling floral. Dry: Above average staying power for a stone blend. I suspect it is bulstering by clay and rhododendren that make it possible. Still, it evenually goes mostly to clay. I’m not that big on clay, as it turns out.

[calivianya]

I smell... dirty rocks and flowers. I totally get where others are getting the gasoline-smell from, though. I really, really like it when it's wet, and I'm shocked that I do. These types of scents are not usually my thing.

 

However, something in here starts going a little plastick-y a la Snow White or anything with violets in it. Maybe it's the rhododendron. It dries down sweet, plasticky, and flat. I'm really not too sure about this one. It is really interesting and very unique. I may have to keep this around for a while.

[WidgetAlley]

More Roerich goodness!

 

Imp: A blast of something really, really, really familiar, but I can't tell what! Not motor oil, not gas station, a botanical note that I absolutely know but cannot for the life of me recall. It's sharp and a little metholated, but also-- TEA TREE! THAT'S IT! This smells like straight up tea tree oil! Pungent, medicinal, and (to my nose) quite pleasant.

 

Wet: The tea tree dies down is replaced by a powdery, soft rock-flour smell. I get the gas station comparisons, but really to me it smells like a weird combo of potato starch, tea tree oil, an ice note, and medicinal herbs. Odd but not unpleasant. An oily component finally appears later on.

 

Dry: Tea tree, potato starch and motor oil. What a bizarre combination.

[fairestrocza]

That gasoline comment from the first review kinda got it my head and stayed there. I wonder how my impressions would have changed with out that little tidbit in my head.

Wet: Yup, something automotive, but oddly compelling nonetheless.

On Skin: Starts out the same as the imp smell, and I start to wonder if I really need perfume that achieves a scent I can get just by helping the husbeast with his car.

But then that harsh wet note starts to fade, and I start to smell something vegetative that I can only assume is the rhododendron.

A bit more time passes, and ... holy bpal, it smells exactly like rocks. There is a wall of purple shale in one of our canyons, and at the top of the wall there are some awesome (if you're a geo-geek) boulders with glacial striations. This is the scent that gets stuck in my nose scrambling up and down the 'path' to the top of the shale wall.

A bit more time passes, and this starts to remind me of a harsher Staged Moon Landing.

... and finally, a bit of ozone emerges, but I can only assume that this is how ozone is supposed to smell on people with the right chemistry, because I think this is the first time that it hasn't amped to take over a blend.

Three Swords will need a full day test on pulse-points before I make a final judgement, but in spite of my trepidation smelling this in the imp, I am glad I took a chance on it. I will definitely hang on to the decant for the scent experience aspect.

 

I asked my husband to sniff me (without telling him anything about it), and he said "Is that sand? Or maybe silica?" He worked in the oil fields for a while, and when I asked about the 'gasoline' that people have mentioned, he agreed that maybe that is why he associated the scent with sand/silica, but he thought the smell was closer to an engine additive or fuel injector cleaner, though he could see where people might get a petroleum impression.

[Monday]

Wheee a blend that smells like clay. Yup clay, a bit like greasy clay but clay. *cough* It does turn slightly industrial and plasticky after a while. Ends up as plastic petroleum.

[brilliantcat]

Imp: Clay, dirt. Quite unusual!

 

Wet: Clay and dirt underlaid by a chemical scent that I can see might be where others are getting gasoline.

 

Dry: Clay, dirt, and gas. An extremely unique scent but not one I want to smell like Still, I'm glad I had the opportunity to try it!

[milo]

I get the gas and oil comparison, but to me, this smells more like Tea Tree oil at first, which I do like for medicinal purposes. Does fade to a smell of a garage. Interesting, probably something I've never smelled in bpal land before, but not for me.

[fufu_berry]

Ughhhh, of course I managed to get sick right before Christmas and not be able to smell anything until after the Pickmans came down, so I couldn't test my decant. And of course, that means I loved this scent!

 

On wet: A little bit of something like menthol or eucalyptus; very natural and herbal.

 

Drydown: New tires on asphalt. I love this smell - I almost bought Bvlgari Black just for the new-tire topnote even though I am deathly allergic to jasmine and hate vanilla, so I am pretty much on cloud 9 with this. Somehow it still manages to smell very natural and not cloying even with the rubber note.

 

Dry: A little bit of a spicy floral coming through (assume that's the rhododendron) - very dry and earthy, so I definitely can "feel" the stone/clay notes.

 

I will definitely be seeking a partial of this!

[Little Bird]

This starts off very weird and medicinal on my skin, like menthol and bitter, sharp herbs. The drydown does have a strange grease, earth and burnt rubber feel to it, but I don't find it pleasant or really wearable. I was hoping for more of a clay and stone natural scent. It comes off as rather pungent and chemical smelling.

 

I'll stick with Kinnabari v4 for my earthy, wearable clay scent (that one really does smell like red clay to me).

[tharsei-thanate]

Wow, this is surprisingly wearable! In the imp it's floral with a touch of clay and on my skin it's an interesting mix of stone and clay and subtle herbs enveloped by a light, sweet floral perfume. A dirt note emerges when it's dry and blends in very well with the other notes. This is so unique- I'm quite pleased with it! I just wish it lasted longer, haha.

[Aveya]

Source: Old decant circle from the forums I neglected.

Preconception: Just curious, no idea or prejudices against these notes.

 

Imp: Dusty hills

Skin: ... Road trip. This smells exactly like a road trip. Leather, skin, faint waft of gasoline from so many stops, and dirt - dry natural summer dirt.

 

As a lover of gasoline smell (I was that weird kid inhaling deeply at the gas station, and my mom freaking out that I was going to give myself brain damage) I have to say it's NOT prominent. It's just the barest edge of passing by a gas station or car repair shop.

 

Drydown: I actually really love this one. Smells like the Black Hills. Motorcyclists and all

 

Verdict: Sturgis scent. Leather, motorcycles, nature, beautiful endless horizons, maybe a stray buffalo. First scent I've ever had from the lab that roots me back to South Dakota. Not my home state, but my current home.