Medea

[Unseelie]

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.

 

My Medea, a 2ml shorty that was split from a larger bottle in February, is initially nearly a dead ringer for Hunter Moon- at least in the early stages when some of the herbal sharpness resembles pepper. The cypress is sharp, and the other similarity that rises to mind when Medea is wet is Nemesis - a green, herbal, scent, but rather than bright, made full and dark by the fruit carrying it. After drydown this clings to the wrist; incense and round deep fruit, I'm nose to skin again.

It's the recent reviews that made me pick this up to try, to see if it had changed much since I'd first received the bottle. It certainly hasn't lost any of its potency, and is wafting well.

[nineveh]

This is a sharp, dark green/purple scent that kind of makes my eyes sting. The cypress is somewhat bitter and there's a strong floral element to this that I don't like. If I breathe really deeply right against my skin, I can catch a warm, sweet incense, but it's not strong enough to make me want to wear this.

 

This scent does seem to embody Medea, but it's too sharp and cold for me. I imagine that it would smell great on someone who likes tart scents and/or whose skin brings out the myrrh.

[pensive]

At last, long awaited Medea!

Preconceptions: Dark, interesting sounding.

Imp sniff: That's got to be the currant. It smells dark purple with a touch of green.

Wet: Rich and lovely.

Drydown (short-term): My skin just cranked this one up.

When a BPAL comes along

You must whiff it!

Before that imp sits out too long

You must whiff it!

Drydown (later): Deep berryish.

Impression: Any scent that makes me burst into song has got something to it.

Cat verdict: Approval.

Verdict: It accents me in a very pretty way. Thumbs up, to a bottle with you!

[Orodemniades]

Where is this dark everyone keeps talking about??

 

I'm getting a high, thin floral that while not unpleasant, just isn't what I imagine Medea would be like. This is more Iphegenia (before she gets on the boat! ). It's a strong scent which is just turning slightly powdery on me, quite sweet, a sweetness with depth, mind, it's simply too high a scent - in fact, it reminds me of when you eat too much hard candy and your stomach goes all sour? That's what I mean by high...

 

Overall, it's a lovely oil, but perhaps not for me.

 

UPDATE: Well, it's a day later and I'm ordering a 5 ml! It's still a high scent, but it does become deeper and warmer as time goes on. So, um, yeah.

 

Oro

Edited May 26, 2005 by Orodemniades

[tesao]

medea: black orchid, black currant, cedar, some sort of green leafy scent i can't place.

 

another gender neutral scent that i reallllllly liked.

 

strangely enough, there is supposed to be some myrrh in it, but the play dough horror that i have noticed in every other scent that contains myrhh never made itself known. not sure WHY....maybe some of the other scents neutralized it? maybe less of it was in the mix???

 

who knows? just goes to show that i can generalize about what works and what doesn't...but the proof is still in the sniffing and dabbing......

[quikslvr]

Dark incense. I do catch the dark orchid here, though, which smells exotic and a little bit threatening. Struck me as too threatening for work, but after reading this thread and seeing the "sophisticated"-type comments, I'm willing to give it another go.

[k00kaburra]

In bottle: Black currant, and green herbal leaves. Definitely cypress. There's also a note of something else, something mysterious that hints at the unusual bouquet in this blend.

On me: The red-wine currant scent with darkness lurking beneath. It's almost like a smoky Lady Macbeth, but less fruiter and certainly less boozier. I like it and will be keeping it to enjoy.

[dreadeddragon]

In the bottle: Orchid, maybe a hint of currant, cedar, and something else...like vetiver?

 

First on: Way floral on me. The orchid is in full force, the cypress & probably the myrtle leaf, and my skin slightly tingles like there's mint, though I don't smell it. There's something in the background I think is the labdanum.

 

Drydown: Mostly currant now, it's blended out in the background. Currant is definitely the strongest note, with orchid and something almost sourly twinging in the very back. If the sour fades slightly but stays just a bit I'll definitely be wearing it more often in the cooler months. It's not a sweltering August scent for sure.

[PennyPretty]

Medea is sweet, dark and floral. The currant adds a sweetness to the orchid and there is an incense/woody scent that brings a sophistication to the blend. Overall I think this is lovely, I can imagine wearing it with a ball gown on my way to the theater. Medea just screams rich, sophisticated with impeccable taste.

[misfitroxy]

Medea is spicy and wet in the imp. I’m thinking of alcohol-drenched cherry cordials for some reason, though it’s not as sweet a fruit as cherry. More like alcohol-drenched pineapple, if that can be imagined.

 

It warms then sweetens even further after it’s on my wrist. This is a very vintage-evoking scent. I’m seeing silent film stars reclining on velvet couches with heavy draperies piled behind them. It’s also bringing me images of lavish golden temples and women covered in jewels (but little else) carrying plates of exotic foods or large palm leaf fans. I’m amused because what pops into my brain at last is that there’s something snobby about the blend. It’s stand-offish and invites a cruel turn of one’s lip. Needless to say, I love it for the visuals alone!

 

This is a strong oil with a lot of throw. It’s heavy and not something I’d recommend for daytime wear. It’s much more of a heady floral than something I’d chose to wear regularly. The orchid is very prominent along with the cereus (which reminds me of one of my favorite books – Shani Mootoo’s Cereus Blooms at Night. This scent could fit right into its pages with ease) but there is a spicy element that grounds them and keeps them from becoming either cloying or overly perfume-like.

 

As a final estimation, I would say this is a powerful oil. A take-no-sh*t oil. Suitable to its name and then some, you wouldn't want to cross someone wearing Medea.

 

I’m hanging onto it for those days when I need some extra oomph. This is also a blend that I can see only deepening and growing all the more rich with time. The prospect sends shivers running up my back.

[dubh_ceol]

Medea...I really don't know how to describe it. Wet, it smells dark-woodsy, with some incense. Then it dries down to this lighter, but still spicey/incensey scent. It makes me feel very 'grown up' and sexy. Definitely something I'd wear out. Has excellent staying power as well. I put it on at 4, and could still smell it when I went to bed at 11. One of my brothers says it reminds him of funerals, but that’s probably because of the myrrh. I'll definitely be buying a bottle of it.

[Essay 28]

In the bottle: strong, overpowering floral. I was almost afraid to try it, due to my usual dislike of floral-dominated scents.

 

On the skin: A very sweet, almost sugary floral, with a hint of green (like bayleaf) in the background.

 

After an hour: The floral recedes somewhat, leaving a sweet incense more dominant. Interesting, and one I'll have to put in the "keep" pile for now.

[Blueelm]

This fragrance lasted all day and then some, and really never changed. Good thing I loved it from the start!

 

I'm usually really good at picking out individual notes, but the blend in Medea is so complex I almost can't say more than "yup, love it". It reminded me a bit of Athens, but with a slight resinous pungence.

 

Sweet, dark, and spicy. I get more fruit/spice than floral, although this is not a christmas candle type fruit/spice. Mulled wine, maybe. Dried currents, dark spices, and wood resins, and herbal scents dominate. With incense in the back. Sacraficial...

 

Myrrh is my best friend, and comes out some in the drydown. At least, I think it's myrrh.

 

Overall this is a definite purchase. This is something I would wear a lot, as it is a great sexy day to evening scent.

[Deepsex]

Medea: This blend is a nice sweet floral with just a little spice on me. I get a little of the myrrh and black currant. After a while I get a little of the cypress. Im thinking about a bottle, I will try this imp a few more times and see.

[aedes]

This came to me in a set of other imps that I wanted to try. The description sounded way too heady, dark, and womanly for casual, nerdy, blonde-haired little me. I was ready to trade it away unwhiffed, but got curious.

 

BOY was I glad I tried it! I'm really liking it! Perhaps even more so than the scents I chose for myself. Wet, I get lovely, rich, but not too rich, slightly purple smells, but there's something in there that also smells like cinnamon to me. Maybe it's the woods and the myrrh. I'm finding myrrh really sings on me and stays on when everything else is gone. This is probably the best smell when wet I've found so far of the imps I've tried.

 

Drying, the spices and herbal scents come out more and more, layered on top of what must be the currants. This scent so far smells EXACTLY like the perfumery my mom would take me to as a little kid in Long Grove, IL. There are so many different, wonderful scents reaching out from wooden cabinetry, or so it smells. It also smells a lot like a candle shop.

 

I'm really enjoying this one. It would be great for the holidays - smelling a bit like spiced plums or mulled wine. I'd say the colors evoked for me are a variegated plum / olive / gold / sienna. *glee!*

Edited September 3, 2005 by aedes

[Miyabi]

In bottle: Hooo, that's strong stuff right there.

 

Wet on skin: OK, I don't know what it is, but I feel like my nose has been punched with something smoky, like sweet tobacco.

 

Drydown: It calms down a little, but the smell's turned into the potpourri smell of this house I used to go to that made me sick after a while. It's beginning to cause a headache.

 

I guess Medea's fury even overpowered me. Off to swaps.

[elphaba]

My first reaction to Medea was, "Whoah flowers!" It actually made my nose itch on first application. About ten minutes in, something dry came up underneath the flowers. I'm guessing this is is the cedar and myrrh. Then, a couple of hours in, the incense almost took over and I started to enjoy the fragrance much more.

 

Those flowers, though, they're indominatable and, after three, hours, they came back to stay. Medea turned out to be just too floral for me.

[Miss Lynx]

I tried this one a few times, trying to figure out what I thought of it. I initially thought I liked it, but wasn't entirely sure -- it's a complex scent, with both floral and dark resinous components, and just a subtle touch of fruit.

 

The floral component didn't seem too strong the first time I tried it, but then on subsequent tries, for some reason, that aspect of the scent seemed to get stronger and stronger. If the florals had stayed balanced with the currant and incensey notes, it might have worked a lot better for me. As it is, it would be a great scent for someone whose skin doesn’t amp florals the way mine does.

 

Grade: C+/B-

[Nachtwulf]

Bottle: Curiously spicy. I can't pick up any of the fruit or much of the florals... It seems incensy, though much sweeter than other incensy sorts like Anathema or Cathedral. There is a floral quality to it, but it's mingled together too much to identify.

 

Wet: Very much 'cypress and myrrh'. The florals remain, softening it and preventing it from becoming churchy, though. The cypress is quite strong, though, verging on being overwhelming.

 

Dry: Still basically cypress and myrrh. Still faintly sweet. It doesn't change much at all from wet to dry. I do like how neither the evergreen nor myrrh notes is allowed to go acrid, though (that happens so easy with myrrh!) It's a pleasant, warm, woody sort of scent that seems kind of deserty to me, if anything. And finally, at the veeeeeery end, I'm getting a bit of currant to sweeten up the woods.

 

Final Opinion: In a way, it reminds me almost of Jabberwocky, except that instead of being a sweet, light cedary scent, it's a lot warmer and spicier. I like that it's /subtly/ piney, not overwhelming. It's quite complex, and I like how it keeps changing. I don't know if I'll go out for a 5ml or not, but the imp definitely goes in the keep slot.

[Eros]

In the imp, first impression, cinnamon?? Then, wth, is there jasmine in this??? uh oh...

Fortunately, the jasmine thing only lasted a couple of minutes after application *whew*. Cinnamon nowhere to be found, either.

The currant takes over nicely with the other notes gently stirring in the background. Also has a bit of dryness to it so it's not overly sweet.

Not sure I'll go for a bottle but I'll probably hang onto my imp

Lovely!

[Colère]

Bottle: Sweet, very organic green.

 

Skin: Gah! Sugar, sugar, sugar! I don't know if the sweetness is exaggerated since I've (more or less) cut sugar out of my diet, but it's overwhelming. There's a condensed, syrupiness that reminds me of a melted Jolly Rancher. What seems like an aquatic note is fleeting and is soon replaced by the scent of dime-store cherry tobacco.

 

Skin, Later: Hobby Lobby or Michael's (a clash between the scented candles aisle and the dried flowers). Double gah, my husband says I 'smell like a new age store', and I can't help but agree. I smell like cherry incense, or one of those fruit scented cut-outs that dangles from the rear view mirror.

 

Verdict: I desperately wanted to love Medea due to the concept, but my skin wasn't having it. The sweetness eventually tapered off leaving the ghostly remains of indiscernible (i.e., overly generic) incense.

[Brianne]

In the bottle:

Bitter and perfumey

 

On me:

It seems like this recent batch of imps I got have a lot of scents that just aren't working with my chemistry unfortunately. Medea is one of them. It's just a generally perfumey smell with a heavy powdery note, which I suspect is probably one of the florals gone awry on me.

 

Final note:

Unfortunately this doesn't work on me, it just smells perfumey and powdery

[The_Merf]

In the imp: Very clean and regal. I don't necessarily smell the green, but I do smell the clean.

 

Wet: As others have said, this is quite sharp. However, I like it. It smells powerful.

 

Drydown and wear: This powders out a little bit (it stays longer if you apply more), but I hold with my initial assessment; it makes me feel quite strong, and I enjoy wearing it. Myrrh is the strongest note here (the leftover smell after it wears off on me is all myrrh), but the sharp cyprus and spicy black currant are the strongest on me before it dries off completely.

[katalia]

In the imp, this is sharp and spicy and herbal.

 

On my skin, it started off very spicy (clove and cinnamon, I think) on top, with an orangey-citrusy middle, and a sweet bottom.

 

When it dried, it went mostly spicy and sweet with still a touch of citrus. It is nice, but it makes me think of potpourri, not perfume. I'll try it as a room scent, though.

[urraca]

There's a lot going on inside this little imp. There's a sharp blast of cypress and then a duet between the orchid and the myrrh. Later in the drydown, it is the labdanum and the black currant that are the strongest. Black currant is the only fruit I feel totally comfortable wearing, secure in the knowledge that its tart sharpness will not make me smell like a candle. I like this very much and may order a big bottle.