Sic Erit

[Monday]

Slender arrows lodged in my heart: red amber, benzoin, red musk, bourbon geranium, oak bark, Atlas cedar, and 13-year aged Sumatran patchouli.

In the vial: Red musk, herbs and menthol. Yikes.
On my skin wet: Eep still mentholly red musk but with patchouli. Not really an improvement.
On my skin dry: Listerine and red musk. The geranium is trying to get through.

I should have known that the oak was going to do the mouthwash impression it always does on me.

[milo]

Dark and soapy at first. It kind of smells like a fancy orange blossom soap with something dark, like patch or musk. Even though it's soapy up close, it smells really good around me. Think a darker Khrysee or Snake Charmer with more musk, (maybe a bit of Crowley thrown in?). After a bit, it is that same great smell up close now, with a bit of vanilla sweetness to balance out the darker notes. I too, wonder why this isn't getting more love. It's an amazing blend, and I predict it may be sought out after the fact..I sure hope the lupers can hang in a couple more days, I need at least one bottle.

[strahlend]

Sniff – VERY NICE. I smell the red musk, the amber, a little dry wood the bark and cedar I suppose and a thick, rich, vanilla patchouli that reminds me of snake oil with just a bit of that bourbon geranium. If the skin test goes well, this would be a bottle for sure.

 

Skin testing – seems maybe like a snakepit/snake oil – lite. It's a more tame version of red musk and patchouli. Which is not to say that it isn't nice. The amber does pop in and make things sort of vanillic and slightly resinously sweet.

 

Skin testing further – vitamins? Benzoin, geranium and oak bark I think. The geranium is making this seem kind of high pitched. In a different mood though, I can also see how it could seem very 'sophisticated lady in an occult shop.'

[mymymai]

ITI: Ah, that's better. It's resinous and lightly floral from the geranium patchouli, benzoin, and musk. There is a slight hint of cedar that adds some depth here.

 

Wet: It's wet and earthy from the patchouli, slightly astringently woody from the cedar, and floral from the bourbon geranium. So far, it's a beautiful scent to my nose.

 

Dry: It's soft patchouli flanked by resinous benzoin, sweet musk, and light geranium It's gorgeous!

[elfnwitch]

Rich, spicy, exquisite. This is the love child of Sin and The Coiled Serpent in equal measure! Love it!

[wendyb1063]

When I first tried my bottle (had to get a bottle as I loved all the notes), I was slightly disappointed as it seemed very heavy on the geranium. Now, 3 months later, it is GORGEOUS! The geranium is still there but the red musk and the patchouli have come out and it is amazing!

 

So glad I have a bottle!!!

[mistressfizz]

Much more mellow than I thought it would be! Patchouli is dominant, earthy and scratchy, but tempered by a slightly herbal, gentle red musk and warm woodsy amber. It's got a subdued tone, calm and hazy. Given that patchouli and red musk can be diva notes, it's nice to see them playing softer roles in this blend.

 

As this dries, the geranium comes out, a bit sharp and sour. It starts getting powdery as well. The soft earthy notes from the wet phase are not as apparent, which is too bad. I like the beginning, but the powder finish means this is not a keeper for me.

[theredshoes]

I had the same experience as Herb Girl with the geranium. It was pretty much all geranium all the time in the wet stages. Much later into the dry down other notes began to assert themselves, mainly the red musk and woods. It stayed sharp on my skin though, and I'm not a fan of that feel in my scents.

 

Yeah, this is just about what happened to me, sadly. I was a little heartbroken, because the musk and amber and woods and even the patch note sounded great.

 

 

In the bottle: A lot sweeter than I expected, plus a sharp edge.

 

Wet: A strong, sharp, UNPLEASANT weirdly sweet scent. It is just about like bad department store men's cologne. Total ugh.

 

Drydown: A couple of hours later, the 'bourbon geranium' (what the heck) dies down some, and the scent becomes sweeter and less sharp. It's still kind of spicy. I like the aged patchouli -- normally a death note I hate -- but it's pretty buried. Ditto the bark and cedar. The benzoin comes out a bit, not much. I think the musk is tamping things down, but there's a definite Old Spice vibe here for me. The longer it's on, the better it gets, except it also gets more faint (not necessarily a bad thing there!).

 

Verdict: This has been aging since Feb. and the sweet/sharp/spice effect is still there. Not much complexity or depth at all. Maybe in another year or so....I bought all these bottles together as a set, so I don't want to sell it off, but I am going to let this age for a very long while to see if the geranium/spice at least softens.

[boomtownrat]

2015 version:

 

I'm surprised this scent doesn't get more love, because it's a gorgeous red musky, woody, resinous blend that is not too sweet and never headshoppy. It's been in my top 3 ever since the original release.

 

The 2015 version is virtually identical to how I remember the 2013 version being when it was fresh. If you missed out on that earlier one, you can always enjoy this newer release, and if you're a fan of the original who's in need of backups, here you go. After falling hard for the original, I've bought one bottle of 2015 and plan on buying at least one more (I go through bottles slowly).

 

If the bourbon geranium is the only thing that's giving you pause, I still think you should give it a shot. I can't do most floral notes, but on me the geranium in Sic Erit mellows from an initial spiky hit into a much quieter spicy kick. For those who don't like woody notes, it's a little more likely to be an issue because I do get a lot of cedar and oak from this, but the amber, musk, and benzoin keep it from smelling like full-on sawdust and planks. This patchouli is a pretty quiet one, just hanging out in the background singing the bass parts. I have no trouble picking out individual notes, yet they all sing in perfect harmony.

 

Sic Erit isn't a big-time morpher, but it can be a bit of a chameleon from one wear to another. I've noticed that on some days it's sweeter and muskier while on other days it's woodier and more resinous. It can survive my own volatile skin chemistry.

 

If you like Clive Barker's Imaginer, then I recommend Sic Erit.

[Magycmyste]

In the imp: Wood, patchouli and benzoin.

 

Wet on skin: Sweet, with a hint of mint.

 

Dried down: This is interesting. I like all the scents in this, but... it's a little a little medicinal at the moment? It's also turning a little lemony.

 

Throw: Almost none on me.

 

Verdict: *** Not bad,but not for me, I think.

[Tal Shachar]

2015 version:

Oh boy. I like sharp, medicinal, herbal notes, but the geranium in this is way too much for me. It hangs around for a long time, and what's underneath is a respectable woody patch scent but to be honest, I have others that fill that niche for me. I wish I got some benzoin but I don't, unfortunately. The bourbon geranium (probably combining with the cedar) smells like Deep Woods bug spray on me. Sic Erit and I just can't be friends.

[rayvn1]

I also amp red musk, so I agree with the forumite who posted a review about it being almost a single note red musk. There's a little more to it with the benzoin and the patchouli, but it's very faint. Good thing I love red musk like a fiend!

[DiesMali]

This is the 2015 version. I was holding off on reviewing this because it wasn't great on me when I first got it early this year. Then I forgot to review it...and now it's been aging almost 10 months. HOLY MOLY what a difference! Let me review the 10-month aged stuff.

 

In the bottle: Sharp, almost menthol-like red musk and woods.

 

Wet on my skin: UNNNNF. This immediately blooms into a gorgeous, heady blend of all of the listed notes. They all combine into this gorgeous, red, spicy goodness.

 

Dry: This doesn't change much as it dries. The red musk and patchouli are to die for, the woods combine to bring it from earthy to rich and resinous, and then that geranium and benzoin give it SPICY KICK. The amber sweetens and mellows it just enough that it's not overwhelming. On me, the geranium isn't really floral at all, just spicy. This scent is red, but not like crimson. It's a slightly-rusty orange-red, with some dusty earthiness making the edges just a little fuzzy. This has actually nudged out all the competition except For Each Ecstatic Instant, making it my #2 favourite from the 2015 Lupercalia run.

[agirlnamedfury]

Something about this gave me an immediate headache as soon as I applied it. A shame, as I usually love patchouli scents.

[LizziesLuck]

2013 version

 

Wet: Red musk, sweetened by amber, and wood. Very sexy, right off the bat. Hints of geranium as it warms, which is nice with the musk. Creates a very incensey effect, somehow.

 

 

Dry: Red musk and geranium, in perfect balance and harmony. I never would have imagines those two notes would be so perfect together! I really like this a lot, and will absolutely pick up a bottle next time it is released.

[supreme_c0rt]

First impressions wet -- this is reminding me a lot of Spellbound. There's no rose listed in this, but ya coulda fooled me. The spicy geranium with the red musk create a rose-like profile. The up-close scent and the wafted scent are actually quite different, which is a nice surprise. The distant-wafting-smell is a sweeter musk, with the same gorgeous vanilla-patchouli that's in Crowley. Up close it's much sharper, spicier, and almost single-note red musk but less sweet. I don't know geranium very well but this is a beautiful introduction. 

 

Dries down to a sexy, gorgeous hybrid of my all-time favorite lab notes. The sweet patchouli-vanilla of Crowley, and yay! the woods finally show up (hello oak, my precious, and there in the back is the dry cedar). A bit like Fenris Wolf, kinda sorta, but drier. It really is all my favorite stuff in one blend. I totally love it! If it ever returns I'll snatch up a bottle without hesitation, but in the meantime I think I could probably scratch this itch with Crowley. 

 

Love. 

Edited August 20, 2019 by supreme_c0rt

[Lucchesa]

Wet, the geranium ran off with this one.   Sharp, spicy, herbal geranium, though I couldn't have specifically identified it as the bourbon variety.  It was all geranium all the time for nearly an hour before the red musk showed up, with the amber playing backup.  Then it lasted quite a while as a fruity red musk/geranium blend with amber and faint woods in the background.  I was hoping for a lot more patchouli but the red musk and geranium ganged up on it.  I think this would be amazing on the right person, but my skin gave too much prominence to the geranium.  Super glad I got to try this one!