Medea

[Summerpixy]

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.

I adore the darkness of this scent, and the way it clings to my skin. Fruity and musky and just a bit sexy. Absolutely delicious, but not sweet and cloying.

Every time I wear it around my boyfriend he always, always comments on how good I smell. A bottle will be ordered shortly My imp is from several months ago, but hopefully it will remain true in bottle form.

ADDED Oct. 16, 2006:

This is a new review.. because this is a new scent...

The bottle I got had almost no fruit or dark resins I had come to expect... My sad conclusion is that this is a reformulation of my old favorite, it's all dry grasses and disappointingly different.

[lohengrin]

Instant, stabbing headache. Curses! I thought maybe because it turns out that a (very) small amount of sandalwood is okay on me after all, maybe myrrh would be the same.

 

Not so.

 

It could also be the labdanum, though I really hope not, since I desperately want to love Jacob's Ladder, and apparently rockrose is labdanum. :/

 

I had to wash this off very quickly, but the brief impression I did get was of very resinous sweetness, with herbal undertones.

[sarahj]

Medea

 

in vial: spicy myrrh

 

wet: orchid and myrrh

 

dry: a lot of orchid

 

verdict: this is ok, but I don't need a big bottle

[Little Bird]

First on this is a sort of fruity floral with a spicy edge. Exotic flowers blooming in the forest, near a wooden shack where someone is burning incense. Black orchid is one of the few florals that I love. It smells dark and juicy to me, and it's the main floral that I'm smelling in Medea.

 

After about an hour it loses some of the floral and the myrrh/incense come out more. It does smell a bit magical and ancient. Sort of a dark fragrance. I like this one.

[Voleuse]

On first application, this struck me as a strong, complex perfume. Heavy floral and incense (but not floral incense). As it dries, however, I get a woodsy note, and fruit as well. Dark and intoxicating.

 

Over time, it becomes a lighter, sweeter floral, with a note of wine grounding it. It's a lovely scent, but not one I'd wear on a regular basis.

[Meg]

In bottle: It smells very powerful, dark and stormy, brooding with a strong smell of resin, probably the labdanum and cypress. It reminds me of a very dark forest by a black stormy ocean.

 

Wet: It's still very dark, but turns into wine and spices, it smells herby, the scent of cypress and resin still dominate. It's very complex and changes pretty fast. Finally a berry sweetness slowly seeps through the cypress scent as it dries.

 

Drydown: the dark and deep florals come through the cypress, making it a dark-sweet blend. Clearly feminine, in a sultry, heady way. There's both the smell of tropical, mysterious flowers and the scent of something more tangy, probably still the cypress or myrrh. Sometimes the florals win out, sometimes it's the herbs. All this on a background note of berries.

 

Overall: Medea is one of my favourite mythological characters, and the perfume lives up to all my (high) expectations. It's complex; dark and sharp at moments, sweet and sensual at others, constantly morphing. It's very much how I saw the character of Medea. It's womanly, mysterious and hypnotic. Yum!

Edited November 23, 2005 by Meg

[ayelienne]

In the vial, MEDEA smells like fancy lady's perfume (horrible description, I know), but not at all in the bright white floral way. It's the other fancy lady's perfume smell There isn't one note that is jumping out from the vial, but it's also possible that in the vial this smells like some perfume from my past.

 

On me, it starts off with a sweet, ripe, juicy purple-ish berry smell with some incense underneath that's keeping it grounded - there's a touch of not-bright floral milling about as well. Overall, it's sort of a rich, regal, purple scent. Slightly exotic and complex. The berry sweetness tones down after a little while and is replaced by a medium sweet dark floral scent that blends wonderfully with the incense.

 

Fantastic. This is a definite keeper and I'm toying with the idea of buying a bottle. I don't think this would be an everyday scent, but it would make for a swoon-worthy special occasion smell. I'm also having some sort of scent memory associated with this one, but I can't pin it down yet.

[PurringPulsar]

Medea

 

In the imp: this is a bit like a more feminine Hades. I get some floral notes, as well as blackcurrant, cypress, and dark resins.

Wet on skin: sweetly floral, heady, rich and deep. This is very nice.

Dry on skin: hmm, what's going on here? First thing I get is a heady, sweet floral-I assume it's orchid and poppy. Then I get a bit of cypress and a nice big hit of fruity blackcurrant and some dark myrrh underneath-but there's an odd note there which I'm not sure about. It smells a bit salty or savoury, and a bit dirty -and I don't mean 'good' dirt, like soil-this smells a bit, dare I say, like foot sweat? It's distracting from the more pleasant parts of the scent. I have no idea what this might be…

After a while: that odd note still lingers, but underneath it I get the most wonderful juicy blackcurrant scent, rich and juicy, and not like Ribena at all. I think there are still hints of the floral notes and the herbal notes too. But I am not keen of that strange 'sweat' note that I get on top of the delicious blackcurrant note here…sometimes I hate my skin!

After about 45 mins-1 hour, it seems like the odd note is fading and I then get a strangely salted fruity incense scent.

After an hour or so, the odd note seems to have moved back into the rest of the scent. The result is an unusual mix of herbal, woody, fruity, floral and resinous scents, with a dash of salt and smoke. It's becoming more tolerable now.

Verdict: I'm not sure what to make of this. I really like most parts of this scent-the sweet rich floral notes, the juicy blackcurrant, the hints of resin and a little twist of cypress and herbs, but there's another note I'm picking up here that I'm not keen on. It smells a bit 'unclean' on my skin, a bit salty and it translates to a strange sweat like note on my skin-and I don't mean clean sweat! Which is such a shame really because I really wanted to like this scent…it seemed to me like a more womanly and wearable version of Hades when I smelt it in the imp. I probably also have the weirdest skin because the reaction I got from this scent was so unexpected. Eventually the scent becomes more balanced into an interesting resinous fruity floral scent with something herbal to it. I might give this another try, as this strange 'off' note may be a hormone thing, and I have no idea what it could be as normally I get on with most of the notes in here. I may swap this.

[malanna]

Medea was heavy on the black orchid and myrtle leaf, but it was especially strong in the black currant department. Thus, Medea was a dark scent, slightly floral and a bit of tang (but not very tangy, actually). Wearing it, I felt like I had a black cloud hanging around me.

[ktesedale]

In the bottle, this smells floral.

 

Wet, it's baby powder and incense. Uh oh.

 

Ah, but once it dries, the baby powder disappears. The incense is the strongest note, but there's current there, too. Towards the two hour mark, florals come out and the current disappears.

 

As others have said, this is a dark scent. It calls to mind deep purple shadows and murky shapes inside a church at night.

 

Overall, this is not a scent for me. I'm not a fan of incense. I'm grateful to Rheliwen for the chance to try it, though!

[Phaedra]

Wet this is sweet myrrh mixed with florals. When first on it's bright, crisp aquatic notes mixed with myrrh. It's a bit mossy and thick too. After a few minutes some dark fruity notes come out. I'm not sure what those notes are but so far this is a nice blend. This is similar to something- maybe Day of the Dead mixed with Arachne? It's also reminding me a bit of Snake Charmer. If this was a color it would be a deep purple- almost black. This is a dark, mysterious and moody blend. I really like this and will use up the imp for sure.

[pixievix]

Initially, this was melon and incensey spice, a surprising combination. As it settled into my skin, it morphed into berries; a wet floral note almost like rose but not quite--this must be the cereus?--more fruit, like apple; with a smoky hint of dark, woody cypress & resinous myrrh that just dodges spice. The blend almost smells like it has a bit of posh tea in it. Normally I don't do sweet, but this is very nice. I have to say I don't feel it's at all purple, or dark. It's like a deep magenta, maybe tinged with violet to me. I'm waiting for the drier, more incensey side to rise up but after a couple hours on me it's still juicy, floral, and sweet. The wood and resin notes keep it from being too sweet, and the flowers keep it from being flat or simplistic. Overall, I'm liking this a lot.

 

To me, this is the young Medea, a powerful witch already, but heady with love and almost joyfully defying her family for Jason. I picture a smokier scent for the Medea of Euripedes' play: rosemary, black patchouli, clove, black pepper, sandalwood, a little of these berries without so much of the juicy flower notes, and then the same myrrh and cypress underneath, and I think that's something like what I was expecting coming into this one. If I think of that younger Medea, this fits. Regardless, I think it's a keeper, one of very few sweet scents I want in my boudoir.

 

Edit: Another 5 hours later or so and it finally transmuted into the spicy wine, ocean and incense I'd been promised, here and elsewhere. This phase is divine. My boyfriend's gonna love it.

Edited January 22, 2006 by pixievix

[bellis]

I was a bit worried about the cypress in this, since it can go crazy on my skin sometimes, but this is GORGEOUS. Currant is becoming one of my favorite notes, and it is absolutely marvelous in this. Rich ripe berry with incense and spicy florals. This is going on my big bottle wishlist.

[tinyvulture]

orchids with a touch of sweet currant and spice. i like it all right, but not enough for a bottle. the orchid is very light – like dried orchids rather than fresh blooms, maybe. when i want an orchid scent i’ll go for kitsune-tsuki or magdalene, where the orchid is more lush and powerful.

[grrrlennyl]

at first: incense, herbs, and flowers. very dark.

on: dark flowers.

1.5 hours later: a soft floral.

3 hours later: gently floral and herbal.

overall: this is just a floral blend on me. there isn't anything in particular that i really like or hate about it.

[jewelbug]

Imp: This smells like the herbalist’s shop at my local renaissance festival. I can’t pick out any notes. Wet, this is pretty, if a little “perfumey”.

 

Wet: Florals, herbs and myrrh. I still can’t pick anything specific out, its just very well blended.

 

Drying: This seems to be going mostly floral, and very perfumey, with a little soapish tinge. This floral is a bit dry, and kinda reminiscient of…jasmine. Hrm. My nemesis.

By 20-30 min, this settles into a floral dry incense. Not smokey or burning incense. This is like an unburned pile of incense. Its very dry, so much so that it's almost powdery. A complex perfumey powder.

 

Overall: Dry florally unburned incense. It does strike me as a very ritualistic scent. It’s a bit oppressive for me, actually. This lasts well over 8 hours. It smells good, but its not for me personally. I think many would like this, though. I'll be shipping this off to a friend who seemed interested.

[mandragora]

In the imp: Perfumey, resiny floral. Smells vaguely familiar.

 

Wet on me: The florals bloom, little sweet, little powdery.

 

Drydown: Well blended scent. Beautiful, sophisticated floral blend with a hint of cypress and myrrh.

 

Verdict: Very perfumey, intoxicating but at the same time it is not headache-inducing nor it is cloying. Lovely, lovely floral. It's a "pretty" scent and it would be perfect to wear during formal dress-up date night. I'll be keeping the imp for sure.

 

eta: Still cannot remember what it smells like, bah!

Edited February 21, 2006 by mandragora

[slave1]

In Bottle: Cypress and herbs

 

On Skin: This is quite elegant, the orchid commands it. The currant gives a beautiful slightly fruity note and the myrtle leaf gives a soft herbal veil. The cypress and myrrh give an exotic and colorful feel. This is not an ordinary “womanly” scent. It is sexy uber-femme but very bold with jewel toned overtones. I feel dark purple and dark greek with splashes of gold. The labdanum and poppy further the exotic tone and also make it quite deep and “naughty”. This is what I want to wear when I want to feel elegant and like a full blooded woman. I NEED a bottle of this.

 

ADDED April 21:

 

In Bottle: Orchid floral

 

On Skin: This starts off pure orchid, extreme and quite perfumey. It has a slight plastic note to it… hmm… I’m not sure what floral is causing that. The notes are very sweet, and dark. I feel like in a garden at night, it’s summertime, very hot and humid and the blooms are all open around me. The myrrh gives a nice soft depth and helps make it not “just a floral” blend... the incense feel is so warm and beautiful. This is a pure feminine blend, not masculine in the slightest. The currant is there, but not dominant, it just adds a sweet yet tart fruity note that trickles in and out. I’m not a huge fan of florals, but if I was to wear a floral blend I might wear this one. It’s another I’ll keep my imp of but probably won’t buy a bottle.

[Aredhel]

Rating (on skin): 1/5

Summarised in a word or two: Myrrh!

 

In the imp: Ugh... not good. Not good at all. Cypress, heavy myrrh, poppy and what smells like rotting orchids.

 

On skin, wet: Oh my, what a change. Thick, oddly violent orchid, fruity currant, myrrh and labdanum. I am... loving this so bloody much. It kind of reminds me of O -- they're both terribly sexy, but Medea is more of a throw-me-down-and-ravage-me kind of scent (with the wearer of the scent doing the ravaging; Medea is not a scent for submissives).

 

On skin, dry: ....Damn it. The orchid has fled to locales unknown, leaving the myrrh to rule in its absense... and the myrrh is not merciful. Have I mentioned that I don't get on with myrrh well? We're not friends, and the myrrh in Medea is starting to give me a hell of a headache...

 

Conclusion: Alas! I tried Medea in a scent locket, and was only able to capture that not-good-at-all rotting orchid, as I smelled in the imp. I may keep the imp around in hopes that my skin comes to its senses and deigns not to devour the orchid anymore.

[Meganaut]

Note: I mixed this with a carrier oil (grapeseed) in a roller bottle before wearing.

At first, this smells strongly of orchid, black currant and cedar.

As it wears, the orchid fades and the woody/black currant scent takes the forefront. I think that is the myrrh coming out.

This really is a dark purple scent. The black currant gives it a tart juicy scent. This currant is not foody at all, the note is almost like a bitter wine.

I really wanted this to last, but my skin ate it up after about 4 hours. That may have had something to do with the dilution. It leaves a very pleasant close scent of cedar and myrrh.

I will use this to hypnotize men into doing my bidding.

Or I'll just put it on the big bottle wishlist. Whatever.

 

-Karen

[Celestyna]

Wow! This was a Frimp from an LJ purchase. I'd never dream of getting anything with orchid in it because they're usually too light and fluffy. but there's some reeeally subtle action going on here. something smooth and velvety. I can't directly smell the currant, but i think that's what's helping round out the orchid from beign too flowery for me.

i really like this.

[GemmaCat]

Sharp myrrh and cypress. Way too strong for me, I'm afraid!

[anomie]

Wet: Starts out smelling like pee. Yeah, I know. Ugh. Then changes to a very heavy floral.

 

Dry: That same heavy, thick floral, like standing in the middle of a steamy greenhouse. I can smell the incense scents, but it's just resonating as unclean on my skin rather than smoky or fragrant.

 

I'm not woman enough for this scent.

[Rhowan]

I have fallen in love with this!! What a myriad of notes that stand each on their own but also blend so well!

 

The myrrh and cereus make a very nice background for the cypress, myrtle and black orchid to rest on. Black currant is the perfect top note balancing out the sweetness to give Medea a bit of a zing! I cannot pick out the labdanum and the poppy.

 

I thought that Medea's black orchid and myrhh would overpower everything but I am nicely suprised. Medea settles on my skin to be a clean, floral scent. I do have to caution though, a little goes a long way and if you over apply I think the orchid will overpower the other notes.

 

LONG wear and really good throw. If you don't use sparingly, I am imagining that Medea will have a major overpowering throw. I think I am just going to stick with the imp for now.

[juniperus]

Bottle: Lots of orchid, and something following that I'm not quite putting my finger on. On the sweet side but didn't make me jump at first sniff.

Wet: That note behind the orchid must be the currant - it's sweet, but not really fruity...maybe it's the cereus - not sure on the exact nature of that one. Anyway, that note is a little stronger now, but it's still a lot of orchid at first whif.

Dry: I'm getting more hints of the mid-tone green woodiness and the incense-y stuff is peeking, but not fully exposed. It's bringing the sweet down some, and that's happy. I hope the myrrh comes out more, I think this would be good on me if it were just a bit darker.

Later: Not a lot of myrrh. *sigh* But more of the cypress, and a hint that the current fruity is there without screaming 'fruit!' (which I appreciate).

I think I like it - it's a darker, more mature floral blend without being Mature. Complex, suiting it's namesake, IMO. I've always been fascinated by the story, so I was excited to try this..what does vengeful sorceress smell like, anyway? hee. She smells of sinister florals, dark incense, and higher almost aquatic notes - an ocean during a storm, maybe, because there's nothing peaceful here. I was pleased that the currant didn't get all over fruity and heady, it just added a bit of deepness and punched the floral with a sweet that wasn't quite sweet. It ends up on the sweet end for my tastes, but has enough else going on that I won't hold it against it.