Orb Weaver Spider

[zankoku_zen]

East African black patchouli, lilac, lavender, Italian neroli, King mandarin, Terebinth pine, and star anise.

This is such an interesting patchouli blend On wet, its mainly lavender, lilac and citrus (from the neroli and mandarin). And as it dries, the patchouli comes out... and it dries to a citrusy patchouli blend.

I'd recommend this to anyone who was afraid of patchouli. It's citrusy, light and clean.

[strahlend]

This scent is unusual in that it seems to have two types of scents clashing and mixing in an unexpected way.

 

Orb Weaver goes on with a somewhat astringent lavender which seems in close proximity with the lilac and mixing with the mandarin. This is an interesting combination that works well. The other side of this scent is the patchouli and anise, also an interesting and combination that develops both scents beyond their usual profile. Mixing these two 'halves' is the crux of this scent. It strikes me as Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde existing in one body. These two sides clash and mix and dance around each other seeming to remain quite separate entities for quite some time. It's an unusual experience.

 

Late in the dry down I'm smelling mostly a gorgeous soft gently lavendered patchouli with maybe just the smallest touch of pine. It was an interesting ride to get to this point, that's for sure.

[brilliantcat]

It's quite astringent and medicinal in the imp, due to the lavender and pine. I get nothing of the other notes until it hits my skin and then it brightens with the addition, just a drop mind you, of the mandarin. It still smells like some sort of tonic that should be in an apothecary claiming all sorts of ridiculous things. Blergh, it has warmed into a repulsive approximation of just what I think the repulsive little beasts smell like when smashed. I have no idea what hates each other in this as I was expecting loveliness from lavender, lilac, and patchouli. Sad

[OctoberGwen]

shrahlend actually described this scent perfectly upthread. This blend was so astringent at first, it almost made my eyes sting...but I couldn't stop putting my nose to my wrist. There was almost a soft leather-like quality to what I was smelling, too. After several minutes, the anise really comes out and blends wonderfully with the patchouli and whatever is lifting things up here (the neroli or mandarin, maybe?).

 

This is a surprise hit for me, unlike anything else that I normally wear. Beautiful, interesting, unique...and super wearable.

 

I am actually considering a bottle, though my budget probably won't allow it. I will definitely use my imp, though, and probably hoard the last drops. I really like this a lot, despite the fact that it probably qualifies as "masculine", or certainly unisex. Not my usual thing at all, but that's the beauty of BPAL.

[Monday]

Wet on my skin: Dry lavender, pine and patchouli. Then it quickly morphs the patchouli amps, the whole scent softens and gets sweeter. I get hints of star anise when it's nearly dry.

Dry on my skin: Mostly patchouli with a bit of lavender if I concentrate I get the mandarin and lilac.

[Little Bird]

First on, this is sour pine with sharp lavender and citrus tones.. reminds me of PineSol. It's mostly pine for about a half hour and then the patchouli starts to get stronger on my skin, and I like the black patchouli (kinda reminds me of wet potting soil and dead leaves), but there's still an undertone of PineSol and medicinal lavender that I don't enjoy. I'll stick with Depraved for a black patchouli scent.

[AuroraLlew]

Ugh this is not good on me. I agree with the review above, this smells like PineSol and medicinal lavendar, but on me it is not an undertone.

 

I don`t wash things off very often but this one is not my friend.

[tailoredshirt]

Wet, this is mostly lavender with a bit of citrus and patchouli. Maybe a hint of lilac but it's hidden under the lavender. I get a bit of pine, but it mostly comes through as cool earthiness. As it dries, the patchouli and pine come out more. This does have a sharp, astringent quality to it. I don't mind it but I can see where someone would not like this blend if they weren't a fan of lavender, pine, patchouli, or sharp herbal scents.

 

I think this is well blended though. I feel like all of the notes complement one another well. It is a dark, cool, sharp scent. Color associations for me are black, purple, blue, and green.

Edited November 18, 2012 by tailoredshirt

[milo]

At first, this smells like bread mold. After it dries, just a single note patch. Not for me.

[cfrancesca]

I get a blend of astringent lavender, herbs and for some reason I'm also getting a little bit of eucalyptus (perhaps from the pine?). Strange...I'm not really getting any other notes. Although the blend is a little sharp at first (probably the patchouli, which I find really well-blended) it does soften after some time and it's not bad, actually kind of relaxing. I realize this ends up smelling just like my skin does after a spa aromatherapy treatment, it smells just like a spa to me.

[Aveya]

Wet in imp: Dirty dirty pine

Skin initial: Patch pine.

 

Skin drydown: This is tricky. I LOVELOVELOVELOVE black patchouli. I can smell it clearly in this and want to love it. But then there's pine. and they weirdly go together very seamlessly. But it's... wrong. But it's right. It's vaguely sweet, herbal. But it's just MOSTLY patchouli and pine making love on my arm.

 

It's beautiful but it's wrong.

[Lucchesa]

Astringent lavender and black, black patchouli. I have an imp of East African black patch SN, and it's very recognizable here. So, unlike zanzoku_zen, I would NOT recommend this to anyone who's scared of patchouli, because at least with my skin chemistry, this leans pretty close to single note big bad patch. No lilac or star anise, only a hint of citrus ; some pine does peek out once the lavender starts to mellow a bit in drydown. And there's something about the lavender/patchouli mix that's not sitting well with me. I think this would be beautiful if my skin let it express more of the notes.

[Darkersolstice]

I get the astringent lavender and pine notes. The lilac's hiding, as is the mandarin. I don't know if I know patch well enough to identify it here, but I feel like it must be present. There's something rounding out those other notes neatly. I'm fascinated.

 

This scent is wonderfully ungendered in a way that I like. It's green on the nose in ways I really like; a living green, and not sweet. (Which is not a bad thing. I amp sweet like a speaker that goes to 11, and this doesn't have anything for me to do that to.)