Mary Shelley

[doomsday_disco]

The scent of absinthe, lightning, stormclouds, and laudanum crashing through a veil of soft Victorian oriental perfume.

 

In the imp: Ozone, laudanum, and perfume.

 

Wet: At first, I get the ozone, but then, hello, absinthe (and its black licorice-y-ness)! This is a curious combination. This scent is pretty sharp. It's threatening to turn soapy, but hasn't turned to full-on soap yet. At one point, there is a bit of prickling on my skin (are there spices in this?), but I haven't had a reaction.

 

Dry: Something herbal and dark has emerged. The absinthe and ozone notes are still present, but they aren't nearly as sharp as they were in the wet phase of this scent. There are indeed spices in this, but my nose cannot identify them. There is also a breath of the oriental perfume (perhaps that's where the spices are coming from?).

 

Verdict: This one is not for me, as I dislike the absinthe (though I am glad that it wasn't black licorice like whoa on me).

Edited September 20, 2018 by dementia_divine

[VetchVesper]

I'm a gigantic fan of black licorice, so I was very eager to try this one.

 

In the bottle I get a cool, cologne smell with a slight tinge of anise in the background. Once I put Mary Shelley on, the anise really starts to come out with a powdery mintiness. It's soft, clean, and light and makes me think of mint Lifesavers candy. On the dry down, the mint/anise settles back and the cologne starts to peak out more. I think I get a little sandalwood and maybe some very faint tonka. I'm not getting any florals, and I'm not sure what BPAL's ozone and lightning notes smell like, but this doesn't feel aquatic to me at all, which is good. I'm not usually a fan of aquatics.

 

The soft, powdery sweetness of the anise in this makes me think of Black Anise, but where as that has a murkier, muskier quality, this is light, soft, and feminine, I could see this being nice in the summer. Unfortunately, it only lasts a few hours on me. I think I'll stick to Black Anise. 3/5 Stars

[d0gbones]

In the imp: Like a bottle of alcohol you've had for ages and rarely drink. Not at all like absinthe, weirdly.

Wet: I get the sliiightest hint of absinthe now, but something creamy is throwing my nose off and I don't know what that could be.

Dry: Bright and absinthey. I don't actually get any of the perfume scent with this, but it does a great job of evoking the description. Fresh and unusual, but not one I'd wear.

Edited November 10, 2015 by d0gbones

[LizziesLuck]

This was a generous frimp.

 

Wet, lots of boozey absinthe! Very anisey. I like it! I was a bit afraid this would be really ozoney, which is a scent I don't care for. I also get little hints of floral spiciness, which I am taking to be the "oriental perfume".

 

This is pretty, but doesn't last long on me at all. It's also not really my style, but I do like it much more than I figured.

[whoahorsey]

My experience with this oil seems to be different from everyone else's in this thread. I don't get any anise or ozone. To me, this smells like a more feminine version of Dorian, with more flowers. It's very lovely and heady.

[Mermaid-on-Land]

Hmm. I recognize notes from Absinthe and Laudanum, both of which I loved. Mostly the sweet sassafras/nutmeg of laudanum minus the tingly-nosed medicinal effect I liked so much, and the anise of absinthe which appeared and disappeared pretty fast here, much like in the original. Then I end up getting the soft oriental perfume, just a touch. Eventually it all dries to sweet but indistinct before fading on me. The throw started off good but dropped over the course of a couple hours. I like Laudanum and Absinthe better by themselves than the hints of each I get here. I was mostly hopeful about combining them with the ozone notes. But sadly, I actually got no ozone. I didn't dislike it but I guess I liked its components better by themselves than the combination.

[Little Bird]

On me, Mary Shelley is tons of sharp, intensely soapy ozone, smelling like soapy dryer sheets. I can smell hints of the mint and black licorice as it dries down, but they're covered in an unpleasant, sharp, dry soapiness. Starts turning baby powdery after about a half hour. I don't care for this one at all.

[Coldfire]

Imp: a gentle sweetness overlaying a faint spice-y ness
Wet on me: sweet. almost sasarparilla sweet. light but pleasant
Drying Down: the sweetness is softening and now getting a 'woody' note trying to rise to the surface....
Dry: the wood went away, mostly this soft powder-y sasarparilla sweetness. nice.

[lizabelle]

This is quite a bit perfumier than I expected, and while I don't hate it I also don't love it in the way I had hoped I would. I definitely get absinthe and ozone at the beginning, and then it softens into a powdery resin scent. It's actually pretty unisex! After the initial burst it's faint on me and it's just not grabbing me in the way my favorite BPALs do. If some of the absinthe would stick around on my skin this would probably be a winner.

[joopjoop]

This is so good. Airy and erudite - but definitely feminine - the perfect scent for a lady scholar with a scientific bent. Delicately old-fashioned, but very modern girl at the same time. I can see this as a companion scent to The Robotic Scarab, which is metallic-anise with a touch of floral, while Mary is ozone-anise with a touch of classic 'perfume.'

 

Sadly this is so faint with my chemistry and has almost no throw on me. I have to almost have my nose glued to my wrist to smell it. So I'm sad because I loves it. I'm thinking scent locket or air diffuser for this one. Or maybe I will make my own linen spray with my imp - this would make a great sleep scent I think.

Edited July 5, 2017 by joopjoop

[KezzieZ]

In Bottle: Floral perfume, incoming stormy weather, and a citrusy bite (maybe the lightning notes).

 

Wet on Skin: Same, but it softens a bit. There's still a small sharpness, though I feel like I'm mostly getting that floral perfume. Actually, it feels that the stormy notes and florals tend to morph back and forth in strength. It does have some throw to it, though it may be because the fans in the house are on full blast.

 

Several Hours Later: I had fallen asleep for several hours, so it's understandably weakened by that point. It smells more on that citrusy/stormy side. I still get a little floral in there, but it isn't as strong. There's also a bit of a warm, maybe boozy note in there with a little anise (I guess that's the absinthe, though I don't know what that actually smells like).

 

Honestly, it's a cool scent, though I think the florals were a bit much in the wet stage for me in this case. Still, I'd solidly recommend trying out a sample to see how it goes.

[theseagrows]

i got this as a frimp in a swap this is much softer and sweeter than i thought it would be. i get the victorian oriental perfume along with hints of absinthe. it's a light, slightly sweet scent, but not as charged and intense as i thought it might be from the description. there is something almost floral in this but i'm not sure what it is, maybe lotus? or maybe it's just absinthe, it gets mildly sugary which makes me think it may be the absinthe. this is a pretty scent but not really me. also it's soft, my skin seems to eat it up.

 

 

[achildoftime]

I get mostly absinthe from here when it's fresh. It's sweet and a little boozy. For me, it's almost like the Absinthe scent but with a little extra ozone. It's also slightly more floral. I'm not fond of absinthe in general, but this is just different enough that I find this much more wearable. The other notes cut through the booziness. I'm still not a massive fan of this, but if you liked the idea of wearing absinthe but are afraid of the alcohol burn this might be worth a shot for you.

[cassiejaynebunk]

in the imp it was so strong! but on my skin it is very light. I smell the absinthe definately, and it's mixed with some light powder womens cologne. i get the gothic undertones, i just wish it were stronger!

[roseus]

Started off as a general sweet perfume with a touch of ozone. The absinthe takes over a bit in the end on my skin and is quite like licorice.

[donkehpoo]

Wet: Ozone and absinthe. Fairly light on the skin.

 

Dry: The absinthe is very sharp now, and I'm not too fond of it. Ozone has mostly died off. Almost like an absinthe cologne? Not a scent for me.

[clockworkcrypt]

In Bottle: Heavy Sweet Florals, a hint of anise, and something that is less aquatic and more soapy. There is a hint of something peppery

 

Wet on Skin. Floral, but with an edge, The anise and what I assume is the ozone and rainy notes are lurking, but the impression I'm getting now is sweet rotting flowers in a vase on a side-table somewhere. Slightly unpleasant, but holds promise of a really good scent under the heavy florals

 

Dry on Skin. This aquatic is not playing nice apparently. One friend says I smell like soap. My roommate says I smell like his grandmother, specifically of White Diamonds. It's nice enough, pleasant but sadly soapy instead of the absinthe dream I was expecting. I'll keep it around, and I think it would be lovely for a situation where you want to smell nice but not overwhelmingly like you're wearing perfume. Not for me, and sad that I don't seem to be getting much of the absinthe, but I don't actively dislike it.

[monocainsheresy]

Gooey green absinthe (exactly like the GC scent to my nose) underscored by ozone and the faintest hint of florals 

This really is rather a weird scent but it's gorgeous

[FebruaryOwen]

Just got an imp in a swap.  I adore Mary Shelley, and I'm a big absinthe fan.

In bottle: definitely get the absinthe, with a bit of... cherry?

On skin: Oh, yum.  Gentle florals (? perhaps.  They're not overly sweet), with a hint of absinthe.

After a few hours: I like this.  It's got just enough to not feel too "perfume"y.

Keeping the imp!

[artisjok]

Mary Shelley is a classy gal. I don’t get much ozone or lightning, I get absinthe and flowers, maybe a touch resinous, that dries down to something like black tea and a sweet floral touch. I like it! Not sure how much I will wear it, as I have other loved black tea scents I only occasionally grab. 
 

 

[fairybites]

In the Imp: It almost smells like maple syrup and florals to me.

On Me: I've never had the drink absinthe so I cannot comment on how accurate this scent is to it, but now I'm definitely interested in trying it out sometime. I wore it yesterday and it did not last long at all on me, about 3ish hours? Can't see myself getting a bottle of this, but I do want to try the original Absinthe scent to see if I would prefer it more, or if at least it'll last longer on me.

[Honey]

Wet on, I can smell faint flowers, maybe even the green stem sap of flowers. Very green, premature, fresh and tart.

I don't get any absinthe - maybe the faintest hint? I was expecting more of an anise note to be honest.

My skin eats this up almost entirely. There may be some stormy aquatic quality to it, but it's nowhere near the stark ozone that I get from A Torrent of Light, for example.

There could be a white or light green tea note in this. But I don't get any spices or resins.

The scent is so super light, even if I slather it on, I cannot pick out any prominent and individual notes.

 

Aha! What a miracle. The anise note develops during drydown.

Now I get the 30% light version of the Absinthe blend with added tea and floral freshness.

I think that's a good pick for someone who likes it light, only slightly feminine, not too offensive - for me though, my skin just eats it up and I can barely detect anything.

[SophieCedar]

I get soft victorian oriental perfume and laudanum with a green ozone. Pretty nice and cozy. I was expecting a cacophony of atmospheric notes and an overall unsettling experience but no. Its warmer and more wearable than preconceived.

[Lecter]

When this first arrived from the lab the scent was so light it almost wasn’t there. Over time it has warmed up and a pleasing ozone/ spirit scent comes through. But not like a blast to the nose, a silent slow creep up 

[Cali]

Oooohhhh. Moody, feminine, victorian. Sooooft absinthe, ozone and dark gloom, with a herbal-floral perfume wayyy in the background.