Medea

[zankoku_zen]

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.

From jewelbug! Thanks love!

In the imp: Smells green and herby and slightly sharp. Another whiff, and I get the undertone of spices.

On Skin: Herby, I can't pick out any of the notes. Unfortunately, something about this goes typical old lady perfumey on my skin.

Twenty minutes later, I have a mild headache. I don't know if its me or this perfume. I will have to try it again some other day.

Verdict: I like the initial green but I don't know if I like the perfume. Perhaps Medea is simply too strong for me?

[desu]

Cool, incensey, tinged with a sweet floral. If my granny's bloodchilling glares had a scent, this would be it. On me, it smells about the same as it did in the imp although less of what I'm guessing is the cedar.

 

Later on: starting to go soapy on me? Odd, this doesn't contain rose as far as I can tell/smell. Too bad, because I like the concept behind it. :|

[medvssa]

Wet is smells flowery/woodsy, it has a sweet component, but it is kept in place by the woodsiness. The incense and myrrh are subtle, but gound it nicely. A very nice floral in fact.

 

They are a mature womanly kind of flowers, sweet in the beginning, but in a dont-fuck-with-me way. If that makes any sense.

 

Later: as it dries down, I like it more and more. When I smell my wrist, I get a veyr lovely myrrh and cypress, as the flowers have vanished in great measure. I like it MUCH more, and I would consider a bottle when the budget allows. Adding it to the list...

[gwyllgi]

The cypress and myrrh made me nervous - the latter in particular. My experiences with myrrh have been varied and usually distasteful, so I wasn't quite sure what to expect from this blend.

 

What I ended up with wasn't anything like what I'd thought. It's a blend I can't really pick notes out of, just as I can't really pin down what type of scent it is. It's floral, but it's herby, it's dark, it's sharp, it's languorous. I wasn't expecting to like it as much as I do. It's the wrong season for me to want anything but an imp yet, but I'll keep it in mind for when I stop wanting sweeter, lighter scents.

 

This is also a scent that for some reason doesn't provide me with any imagery. It smells like a sacred grove, but it eludes me otherwise. Given this, I think it would be marvelous for a scent to use when writing something dark and mysterious; it's inspiration in a bottle.

[PilotKitten]

Not bad... a heavy floral but not 'heady'... just darker. I can't pick out any notes in particular though. They all blend together so well.

 

Just as I start to identify the cypress, it melds into the labdanum and black currant for a sweetened 'woodsy' scent.

 

It actually reminds me of walking though a Civil War battlefield in NOLA, right off the river. Cypress and flowers. Just gorgeous and intoxicating.

[lookingglass]

Wet this is very like a wet forrest. The green woods, smokey labdanum. and the warm bite of myrrh evoke a similar magical, misty fresh, slightly fruity vibe of Phantom Queen, Hamadryad, or Bewitched. Drying out the currents emerge...dark plum colored muskiness. The floral notes makes this the true perfume that it is...heady and oriental...mysetious and dark while still very alive and fresh. Love it...

Edited October 17, 2008 by lookingglass

[Nekomata]

Green and fresh in the imp. The dry down is very nice and herbal. Medea seems like a perfect scent for summer evenings.

[HennaFairy]

bottle:

floral and musky, hint of fruit

 

wet:

same

 

dry:

fruity floral - but a "dark" version. Similar to bewitched but slightly musky, more floral.

 

overall:

nice!

 

rating: 7/10

[septima_pica]

Something about this is a little funky. I smell the currant and myrrh which make it sweet, and the incensey herbal smells, but somewhere in there a floral is spoiling it. I suspect it's the poppy, which is an unpredictable one on me.

 

So -- nice, but nothing to write home about. Just a bit too feminine for me, and with a funny funk on the drydown.

[provocateur]

In bottle: mm, black currant

 

On skin, wet: black orchid and myrrh. It's light, but there's a hint of something heavy in the background.

 

On skin, dry: poppy and labdanum (which must have been the heavy previously). It's bliss. Shortly thereafter, it morphs back to the orchid, and then true to orchid form, dissipates.

 

Conclusion: Lovely, but I may just keep this as an imp when I'm feeling the mood for floral.

 

Rating: 3/5

[Eunice]

Lovely! The poppy and cyprus together are just divine. The orchid is light as is the myrrh. No black currant at all. This was a frimp from the Lab and it's sold me on purchasing a large bottle. Simply lovely!!!

[valentina]

Medea, in the imp, smells very floral and sweet. On the skin, it went into a muddle that's a floral/fruity incense amalgam. My body chemistry sometimes tends to muddy certain complex blends, and this no exception. If I had to pick out the primary notes, I'd guess it was the combination of the orchid and currant, with a background of myrrh. It's not a bad combination on my skin, although it's not as crisp and well-defined as I prefer. Medea also fades out rather quickly on my skin, so ultimately, it's just not a scent that I can wear with great success. For those of you who love florals and can wear complex blends, do give this a try.

[BrightRedScream]

This was a frimp from the lab

 

In the vial: A forest with flowers and fruit trees. It's kind of dark smelling...and I think I'm picking up green notes, and a little bit of the myrrh.

This is interesting.

 

Wet on the skin: Wow...myrrh, poppy, orchids....it's floral with incense underneath...but there is something in this blend that I really, really don't like. I think it's the myrrh, because me and myrrh are very hit or miss.

 

Dry down: This is....not me.

It's very incensey, very floral...just..too much.

 

I'm sure this blend will make someone else much happier.

 

Edited to add: This blend really really makes me sneeze...

I couldn't stop sneezing with it on!

Edited July 7, 2006 by BrightRedScream

[Galatea]

In the Imp: Very flowery, and a bit resinous.

 

Wet: Piercing green scent; deadly blossoms. This is at first a flowery and yet herbaceous blend.

 

Dry: This quickly reduced to a powdery-flowery blah on my wrist. I've noticed a few of the blend with cypress in them tend to do this. The cypress takes over and just turns slightly woodsy/flowery but mostly just plain powdery.

 

Throw: Ok. It's strong enough, but a rather normal-perfume smelling blend I think.

 

Overall: Maybe a note in this blend just went bad on me, but overall I'm not impressed with Medea. Yeah, for about 15 minutes it was a little bit magically resinous and a dangerously fragile flower, but after that goes away it smells all too normal. It goes powdery and gets bland.

 

Rating: -

[storme]

In the imp: very green and sharp herbs, over slightly sour florals and something very dark and sweet.

 

On me, wet: mm, the sourness and herbs vanished on my skin, leaving a slightly taclum-powdery floral-and-sweetness.

 

On me, dry: hm, a slight return for the herbs, but the black currant is mingled in too. The longer this stays on, the nicer it gets - a lovely warm rich dark floral-and-incense-and-deep-rich-currant scent.

 

Verdict: You know, this is nice, but something is stopping me from getting too enthused. Maybe it's because it's not quite sure if it's floral and sweet or dark and dangerous. I'll keep the imp around - but I suspect I won't find myself reaching for this much. We'll see.

[neuilly]

Very woodsy with an herbal element. I think it fits Medea's sorceress side very well, but it's not my type of scent at all. I actually don't get any sort of floral/fruity element to it, just dry forest floor.

[fairy]

In the bottle it smelled very sharp. I thought it wouldn't be nice to me. Once applied it morphed into a very pleasant smelling ambery golden smell, with a slight spice thrown in. Nice

[edenssixthday]

Medea - a deliriously complex scent, full of seductive notes such as poppy and currant and orchid. This scent is a very dark fruity-floral, and oddly enough, the cypress and myrrh, both of which rarely work on me, blend together beautifully with the other notes to add depth and darkness to this scent. This is one of the BPAL scents that reminds me that in many cases, BPAL is about pleasing more than the olfactory senses, but the visual sense as well, because the scents contain so much color. This is definitely a mystical scent. I don't see myself wearing it to work, run errands, shop, etc. It's more of a night-time scent, one that is worn with the intention of creation a dramatic aire of mystery and seduction. It's definitely a dark, sexy, and very feminine scent.

[Trish]

In the imp: Reminds me a lot of Hades (in the imp, not on skin), must be the labdanum and/or cypress. Sweet, slightly sharp floral with a touch of incense.

 

Wet: The sharpness disappears and ooh I like this! I can't really pick out individual notes, but it's floral and incense.

 

Dry: Yep, definitely floral. But a good floral, one with a touch of incense and spice. And the tiniest touch of fruit. It still reminds me of a lighter Hades without the dark earthiness, and I suspect it's the labdanum. I love Hades so I don't mind at all!

 

This is very good. Warm but not quite as dark as some of my other favourites. Doesn't have a lot of throw. Probably not a bottle scent, but the imp is definitely a keeper.

[Jerre]

Medea:

 

Women’s alcohol based perfume with cocoa-(not chocolate!) There might be a hint of spice there, something that brings the cocoa scent to life...hmmmm, what is that?

 

Summary: Intriguing, medium strength women’s perfume with a hint of spiciness and uncut cocoa! This one could grow on you!

[bodegaselkie]

Ugh. Medea was primarily fruity-floral on me, and started to give me a headache almost immediately. It's nice to know there is one scent that myrrh doesn't totally dominate on my skin, but I wish it were one I actually enjoyed. I washed Medea off almost immediately.

[ND¢]

The florals are most prominent on application and remain so on me. It overwhelms the possibility of smelling other notes. When I exhale, there is an unpleasant acrid 'aftertaste' in my nose that I've had from a few other BPALs. I wish that the orchid/cereus hadn't drowned out the other notes, but I tend not to prefer florals by nature; they tend to seem too audaciously flowery on me.

[Faeried]

This was a frimp, I received from the lab. Sadly, it's yet another scent that seems to run together, and just ends up being very over powering.

 

...Though, I will say the dry down is very nice.

[steffanina]

Medea-

 

In Bottle: Strong sweet plummy fruity florals.

 

Wet: Erg. Musty-dusty something--reminds me of what I just went through in Succubus. (But that also turned nice later.)

 

Dry: This is more like it--sweet plummy berry scent. Much nicer! I don't think it's going to be one I love, but this musty-dusty to sweet-and-fruity fascinates me.

 

Overall: Nice.

[sofiaviolet]

This went kind of sour on my skin. Looking at the list of notes, I'm going to blame cereus because it's the only likely culprit, being the only one I know nothing about, and all the other notes work on me in other scents.