Medea

[Belladonnastrap]

Granddaughter of Helios, Hecate's chosen: Medea was one of the greatest sorceresses of the ancient world. She is the embodiment of ruthless power, indomitable will and furious vengeance. Night-blooming cereus, black orchid, black currant and myrtle leaf enshrouded in the incense of Hecate's cypress and myrrh, and the dark rage of magickal labdanum and intoxicating poppy.

First sniff
Flowery and herbaly and a bit incense ridden as well to my nose. The most prominent note to me is the orchid followed closely by the currants.

Wet
Wet this reminds me a lot of Old Cairo, that sort of incensy, floating down the Nile while half naked oiled slaves feed you grapes and massage your body. However there is a darker element coming into play, sort of like the scent is letting you know its not as bright as it claims to be. The currant and incense is a really heady combination.

Drydown
Wow. This smells like an aquatic-tinged wine now. Very very different from the inital vibe I got its now very dark. A bit sweet as well, the incense is completely and utterly gone now and all I can smell is the currants and orchids.

Aftermath
Orginially I was going to pass up on Medea but the drydown is LOVELY. Imagine sitting by an ocean during a storm, the waves crashing against the shore but you have an EXCELLENT glass of deep dark red wine with you. That's Medea. Tis lovely.

[isyche]

On me, Medea is just dark wet wood and leaves, rather similar to Melpomene, which I'm guessing is the cypress note taking over. I like it, but I wish the orchid and currant and everything else came out more - I was really thinking I'd love it. Cursed skin chemistry.

[Scylla]

In the vial: Exotic flowers with something sweet in the background, which I assume is the black currant.

 

Wet, on my skin: The cereus has come to the forefront (I know this because I can detect that note from Dia de Los Muertos.) It is fresh and green, with the darker, exotic scent of the orchid shining through.

 

On drydown: The labdanum comes through more on drydown, and the cereus fades away, while the orchids stay put. I'm not getting any myrrh. Medea is gorgeous, but is not as long lasting as I would have liked. Disappears after about 2 hours. I think this will definitely be added to my "must have in a big bottle" list!

[feline.by.design]

Medea was a scent that I knew I *had* to try, as the tale of Medea is one of my favourite Greek plays. I love the character of Medea, since she is such a strong-willed woman and a vengeful creature who somehow commits such horrible acts but yet manages to maintain such dignity and grace about it all.

 

A complicated tale deserves a complicated fragrance to represent it, and I think that Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab is right on the money in this one, moreso than even I had hoped for.

 

Medea is a very complex scent, as one can gather from the long-ish list of ingredients. I'm afraid I'm unfamiliar at detecting the notes for pretty much all of them, but let me tell you, the outcome is just insanely good. The florals mingle well with the currant and incense. When I mean floral, don't think of dainty florals but moreso of heady, lust-ridden blooms that drip of lusty humid rain. Or something to that effect. In other words, this ain't yer granny's florals!

 

Wet, it reminds me of Hurricane, but a dark version thereof, as if I had taken the fragrance of Hurricane with its vetiver and wet notes and smeared it onto something like Hamadryad minus the cinnamon or perhaps a darker floral. I'm assuming it's the cypress that's tricking my nose, which thinks its smells vetiver. It also smells the wonderful, wonderful florals and the spicey note that I attribute to the incense and sage.

 

This fragrance lasted well on me, and it wasn't one that really deviated much from its initial scent. Medea is something that could very well be a signature scent of mine if I decided to no longer order mass quantities of BPAL (which won't likely happen, though). It's womanly, not lady-like or girly, but womanly. Medea evokes the image of a woman who can crack skulls just as easily as she could caress them. It's a very flexible scent that could work for the club as easily as it could for the office, for the sinner as easily for the saint. It's this fascinating dichotomy embodied in Medea that makes me really enjoy it so.

 

There are scents I like and scents I love, and Medea would definitely be in the latter category. If I could climb King Kong-style on the Eiffel Tower and scream the virtues of this scent, I would. Crazy, but true.

 

-doreen

[shadow]

I too have always loved Medea. I just instantly connected with the character, and while I can't say that I have a single thing in common with her story, I hold it close. When Beth put the description for the scent out, I was at once thrilled and a bit apprehensive, because I wasn't sure if it would work on me and I desperately wanted it to.

 

I can't pick out any individual notes in this blend. All I get is a picture of scenery, and most of that is preconception, I'm sure. But I get rocky gray coastline, and scrubby brush, with occasional vivid blooms and blue, blue ocean. Something beautiful, but strong and rugged and uncommon.

 

I was going to go on about what type of scent it is, but feline.by.design did such a great job, I'll just second her. Yes womanly. No girly or prissy. Oh, and the currant didn't come out fruity on me, which was a big part of my fear.

Edited November 30, 2004 by shadow

[Northernminx]

This was a STRONG fruity incense in the vial to me, but on my skin has dried into something a little less scary from the bottle. An utterly gorgeous blend of incense and floral notes with the currant adding a dark, fruit base to this. The myrrh is also apparent and occasionally I get a whiff of orchid. Totally beautiful and intoxicating, deep, dark, mysterious, feminine and powerful.

 

Unfortunately it lasts about three minutes on me and while I adore it I'll be swapping it off to someone who it hopefully likes more

Edited November 30, 2004 by Northernminx

[Julilla Regina]

This smells dark on me. I'm getting heavy incense (myrrh) and major orchid. The cypress I cannot pick out at all and very faintly, a cherry'ish scent which is probably the currant.

 

I'm not sure what to think about this one for myself. I think on the right person this scent could really knock 'em out. I just don't think my chemistry is conducive to letting the other notes flow like they should. Damn it, though, because it really is a fantastic scent. I'm going to try this again another week, though, because I want to be sure it's not hormonal!

[VorpalBunny]

On me, it smells like all myrrh and musk, and is like commercial French perfume. It just doesn't work with my chemistry. As it dries down it gets a bit lighter, with the poppy and labdanum coming out a bit, but it still just isn't me.

[ChupaChup]

I ordered Medea for the orchid, hoping for the soft, sweet vanilla of Regan, but the orchid in this is very strong and sharp, or is made so by the other notes. With the purple fruits, it reminds me of Queen Mab, but it is much stronger and long-lasting. It's too deep and dark of a floral for my tastes but I'm sure many others will adore it.

[darkling]

In the bottle: The enticing scent of poppy with a warm undertone of myrrh and an edge of night flowers and greenery.

 

On my skin: Medea is the queen of night with dark rich flowers exuding an image of purple abd mystery. There is a spicy, slightly musky note in the background that adds a layer of depth to this scent.

 

The scent remains stable on drydown and lasted about three hours before requiring reapplication.

 

Medea is a regal and insidious scent that would be perfect for any evening events.

[surf-tormented]

I had high hopes for this one, but Medea smells very flat on me. It smells a little sweet and a little like Catherdral in its incensey way, but doesn't give much effort than that.

 

It is very light on my skin, almost non-existant. Pity. Well, it is off to the trade pile with you, my sweet!

 

After about 15 minutes or so, the black currant came out stronger, so I could smell it and then it turned to powder quickly and was gone.

 

Geez, how disappointing.

Edited January 3, 2005 by Madame Nyx

[Ina Garten Davita]

First Impression: Mmmm, black orchid.

 

Second Impression: Medea is a bit like a Morgause and Phantom Queen. It's got the lovely orchid with that deep incense which love my skin.

 

Final Analysis: Medea hasn't caputured my heart like Morgause or Phantom Queen, but it's a beautiful scent in its own right. I will enjoy my imp.

[Shollin]

First sniff: Purple flowers bathed in darkness. Velvet-soft and mysterious.

 

Wearing: Deep purple, almost black, crushed velvet draped in heavy folds on a stone floor. Medea is regally beautiful, but oh so dark.

[Penance]

Origin:

 

I got an imp of this from Madame Nyx.

 

First sniff:

 

Oh, wow, this is dark smelling. I mean dark as in lack of light...to me, this smells like a swamp - like bayou country. This is what I would have imagined Bayou would smell like. I actually really like this a lot; I love dark, heavy scents and Medea is definitely in that category. I can't really pick out any individual notes other than the cypress, but it is very swampy smelling to me.

 

Wet on skin:

 

Very dark. This reminds me of a cross between Hurricane and Danse Macabre at this point. I don't get any florals from Medea, just dark, swampy wood and vegetation, like leaves trampled in the mud after the rain. It's not a bad smell at all - far from it in fact - it's just unexpected and amazingly dark smelling. I know I keep saying that, but I'm really wowed by it. None of the other BPAL scents I've tried have even come close.

 

Dry down:

 

Whoa, where did that come from?! All of a sudden Medea made a complete 180 and started smelling exactly like Meyer's Sparkling Cold Duck, a drink I've loved ever since I was little. This is the exact smell of a freshly opened bottle...sharp and sour and so intense that you can taste the smell of it on the back of your tongue, like little sour grape bubbles. This is so perfect a duplicate of that smell that it's scary and it literally came out of nowhere! I liked this before, but now I love it. I love the smell of that wondeful drink almost as much as the taste and while I don't normally do fruity or foody scents, this has my name written all over it.

 

The bottom line:

 

A real shapeshifter! Medea went from smelling like the bayou to smelling like sparkling sour grape juice in a matter of maybe 10-15 minutes. I love this! My only complaint is that it's making me crave Cold Duck.

[Red_Hot_Mama]

Have you seen the movie, When Harry Met Sally? Do you recall the scene in the diner where Meg Ryan pretends to be having an orgasm?

 

Medea reminds me of that. No really, it does.

 

It's positively orgasmic.

 

(Everyone else covered the notes so well, I thought I'd add my little bit.)

 

Update 2-11-05: Medea is now refferred to as the official "pretty" perfume in my house. For example: "Mama will you wear that pretty perfume today?" "Mama you smell so pretty!"

 

You get the idea. Medea will be a staple fragrance from now on.

Edited February 11, 2005 by Red_Hot_Mama

[reina]

this reminds me of something Chanel was likely to produce back in the day. Which in most cases would mean something I'd run away from as fast as I could, well maybe a little slower than I would from Patchouli but still pretty darn fast.

 

but no.

 

This is very feminine (not girly in the least!), somewhat heady at first but shifts into something softer as time goes by.

 

This is good for the evening. I'm keeping this one.

[miss apple]

Medea - in the bottle and upon drydown I can't pick out any single notes but this is dusky, smokey, sensual loveliness. There's a little bit of sweetness buried under the darkness and it adds a bit of complexity to this wonderful oil. I love, love, love this!

[Gin]

This is light and floral in the vial, not at all what I expected, reading the description. On the skin, the orchid emerges over a lighter, sharper floral. This is almost purely orchid on me--no myrrh, no black currant, no cypress. I like black orchid quite a bit, so I'm not disappointed, just a little surprised.

[Lucretia]

First on: nightime, in a field. Reminds me of a darker glasgow for some reason. Things you would smell in a field. Plus something more, something juicy! Here is the currant. Burtsing and juicy. Very red.

 

After a while the currant tones down, and I get a hint of orchid and incense. Still the meadow scent though, mingling with it.

 

This is very pleasant, but doesn't really make me go WOW like some other scents I've tried.

[requieminblack]

First sniff from the bottle- Black current which smells kind of like the spicy wine in Madrid.

 

After 10 minutes- This is a really complex blend! I am getting black current blended with equal amounts of the cereus and black orchid and just a hint of spice from the laudanum. The spice is subtle...in the background.

 

After 30 minutes- As it fades the myrrh and cypress come out more. It does smell similar to Madrid to me, but I like Madrid better. The black current is still the dominate note.

 

Summery- I like this a lot. It's like a cross between Madrid and Hunter Moon.

[cormeretrix]

this was a dizzying scent, literally. i think it was the orchid and myrrh working together against me. it was sweet and floral, with dark undertones. a nighttime scent, if you will.

[paperdoll]

Initial Sniff: Dark orchids and currants swirled with incense.

 

Wearing: This starts out as a very heady blend of incense and fruit. As this dries, it calms down a bit and the orchid and poppy come out to play with the currant and incense.

 

Final Impressions: This is very beautiful once it has dried. I like it, but there are other blends with the same dark feel to them that I enjoy more.

[mmcfa2]

Wet, fruit and some sort of green aromatic, eucalyptus or cyprus or something. The fruity note in this is much like that of wolf moon! deep and berrylike. I don't know what this smell is but I find it in alot of the moon blends and it gets stronger and stronger on me. The green sharpness prevents the fruit from doing this in this one though, and I feel it is a tad more balanced. It stays pretty true to the original scent as it dries. I would reccommend this one to those who love wolf moon and are sad that it is gone as an LE

[pekeana]

Strangely, I get lemon + wood + currant from Medea. It's kind of an odd and tickly allergy-inducer, alas.

[antimony]

I love currants, but medea was really heavy on the florals on me. The cyprus is there, but it feels like the scent is primarily orchid, and everything else is trying to fight its way into the scent, but failing.