Black Annis

[mmcfa2]

...Black Annis' perfume is a mixture of damp cave lichen and oak leaf with a hint of vetiver, civet and anise.

dark dank earth, not dirt, but earth, followed by the annis. The licorish smell is amazing and so much more than licorish candy though, so don't let it put you off in the description. While I find this pleasant on me, I would likely DEVOUR a man wearing it! It quickly becomes dry and earthy and smokey with a peppery bite. This is the first civet blend I have tried that didn't smell like cat pee! Mysterious and dark and DRY!

[quimerula]

Wet it's anise, strong bitter-sweet anise, lichen and vetiver, followed by the leaves and civet.

 

Dry it goes woody, with vetiver in the first line.

Strong and quite personal, I have to say that it's not one of my favourites.

[Northernminx]

I was very surprised I liked this as much as I did usually civet is not so nice and vertiver hates me. This was actually surprisingly earthy and light in the bottle and the anise was the most prominant on me, making this a little sweet. It had a dangerous, mysterious edge to it though that was definitly unsettling. Very much a sweet, luring scent with something darker beneath it.

[Finny]

Out of the imp, herby and dry.

 

On, well...

Not pleasant. I can join not able to wear civet club. It smells dirty on me, not pleasant earthy dirt either. Unwashed dirt, not good.

 

For those that can get the scent from the imp, I salute you. This one is going in the swap pile.

[aritei]

licorice! Not me at all, but fun to try anyway.

[Lucretia]

This was suprisingly pleasant!

I really like vetiver, and this is my first civet. I was worried, but I like this alot!

 

It first really dark, musty, evil. Does sort of smell like old people. But the fade down is to a very vetiver, mossy, dark and dry scent. But at the same time that its a cave, it's also very cozy. I would put this on to cozy up on the sofa with a good dark book in front of an open fire.

 

Definitly conjures up dark evil imagaes, but at the same time.. i like it! and somehow it smells cozy, like an old blanket that the cat has been sleeping on. (but not in a cat pee way, I get no civet=pee notes here at all)

[slave1]

In Bottle: Anise and wood.

 

On Skin: I’m assuming the lichen, oak leaf, vetiver and civet mixed are giving off the woody smell. It’s earthy yet deep and musky. Very, very masculine. I think it’s the civet that isn’t working for me though… it normally turns a bit funky on me. Interesting scent though and I love the description.

[allamanda]

Black Annis

 

I was a bit nervous trying this oil, vetiver can be overpowering on me and civet rarely works with my skin chemistry.

 

Very strong vetiver when first applied, turning mossy with a touch of anise. I’m surprised, this is nice.

 

Once dry I can detect the civet, so well balanced with the other ingredients that I am really enjoying it. Gorgeous and long-lasting.

 

I didn’t expect to fall for Black Annis but I did and now have a big bottle.

 

If you also love Black Annis, make sure you try Czernobog.

[Lizbet]

I was a little dubious about this one, and when I got it in a swap, I didn't think it would do anything for me.

 

Oh my goodness, How wrong was I?

 

This scent remind me of my grandfather. In fact, it's Grandad, bottled. It moved me to tears. It's been too long since I've smelled this scent.

 

On me, it's sweet pipe tabacco, with a hint of something fresh, almost a mint, but not quite. It's sweat, heady, and still manages to be fresh.

 

Don't let the sea hag put you off, it's fabulous.

[tempete]

With Black Annis, Beth has somehow managed to capture the scent of the interior of a cave: lichen, mold and damp, decaying earth. The civet note doesn't smell like cat pee to me (at least in this case); rather, it adds a dark, feral edge which fits the persona of Black Annis perfectly. A truly evocative scent, but not really for me.

[binkyboots]

I love the idea of a hag scent, love it.

 

black annis, I bought a big bottle unsniffed, just had to really!

 

I'm not mad keen on liquorice/anise scents, I'm on a soluble medication that tastes of aniseed and is quite gagworthy.

 

still, I've tried it and now worn it on many occasions.

 

it smells very dark, mossy and earthy, happily I only get a very faint anise note from it, that makes me very happy indeed!

 

it reminds me of going hiking with my school, we got half way up ben nevis, stopped for a rest and a drink.. we drank from a stream, it tasted of peat.

 

as we were standing around the mist rolled in, the atmosphere changed to being rather creepy... it was very dank, could smell the people around me, the moss underfoot and the peat from the bog.

 

it sounds wierd, but I like it very much.

[olympia301]

This is such a strange scent, and I really do think it is one which captures exactly the idea of Black Annis. The first thing I noticed was the burned aspect of this smell. Something like cigarette smoke and leather. Then the civet started to assert itself. Civet is "puey" but it's making apoint here, so bear with it.

 

When this dried down, it kept on putting out a fantastically beautiful fragrance (almost an apricot) which rode on the civet smell. It never did lose the wild animal facet but the amazingly lyrical bits of Black Annis never waned either. The "beautiful smell" could only be picked up when your nose was not too close to the source of the scent, if you got too close you would only smell the civet and vetiver.

 

This isn't a perfume for everyone. You would have to like: the dark sexual smells, smells of corruption and indulgence, and to find the fabulous and precious in the base and cruel. It is a highly complex smell, not for people who are too timid to try something new and different. It's a kick and a bit of a roller coaster, and it will make you feel as if you have done something naughty or downright bad. But, sometimes you need that, and Black Annis is that kind of perfume.

 

I don't know if I could live through an entire bottle of this, but the imp is intriguing and I am going to keep it for "strange moments".

[Dark Sparkle]

Black Annis was love at first wiff for me - I honestly think it is soo gorgeous (not the character Black Annis though ).

 

It is a little hard to describe this scent but for me it spells very "tomboy", rough around the edges and feral - there is a lot of "natural instinct" going on here, sexual even, sexual and dark.

 

Wiff from the vial: Anis! Lots of anis (I love anis), and something tangy, maybe that is the civet?

 

Wet on: Yup, anis all the way, but subtle and sweet. Something dark and musty lurking in the background, ah it is just grreat !

 

It lasts most of the day on me which is always a big plus, and...hell, I have nothing bad to say about this one - I even get lots of compliments when I wear Black Annis .

[ismene]

This oil is very earthy, but also quite sweet. In fact, it sweetens even more as it dries and fades. It's not as green as I expected to be from looking at the notes; it's one of those oils where I have trouble identifying any individual notes.

 

Some people commented on how dark the scent was, given the legend of Black Annis. I didn't get that at all, even knowing a bit of her story, and found it a surprisingly light, sweet scent. Maybe I'm just a baby-eating hag at heart.

[tourmalinqueen]

Hot damn!

Sexy and powerful, quintessentially a MAN's scent but I can't wait to try this in a crowded bar, or maybe just a quiet board room meeting of mostly males!

Leather, bourbon, cigars all mixing quite wonderfully together. The sort of scent I would imagine someone like Ralph Fiennes wearing. Moderately long lasting. A strong sexy surprise. A masterpiece. Not for everyone..........

[blood*rose*flowers]

In the bottle: Vetiver and what must be the moist lichen and oak leaf

 

on wet: Anise hits first with a touch of something moist and slightly woody. But I am now getting more of the vetiver and what might be the civet.

 

Dry down: Darn it last time the anise held on much longer so I thought I liked it but even with the anise coming back for a while on the dry down I just don't think this scent is super me. Though it isn't that good for me I think overall its not a bad fragrance darn vetiver

[Galena]

this would be great to have in an oil burner while telling ghost stories at midnight on Halloween, you think?

 

 

not so very far from where I live (Cornwall, England. okay this place I'm talking about is in Devon, but not far from me all the same) there is a place called Lydford Gorge.

 

at the end of the Gorge is a chamber, water worn from the boulders, called The Devils Cauldron. you walk along a metal bridge type thing into the heart of the chamber and you are entombed in the Cauldron. it's very Earth Womby. the rock curves around you with only a very little daylight through a chink at the top. the water roars below you, white and fast and cold. the rock is wet and cold, and you can taste stone in the damp air you breathe. mosses and lichens cling to the walls and drip.

 

it smells a lot like this.

 

The Devils Cauldron, Lydford Gorge, Devon

 

 

and another one

[Blueelm]

Why does this scent strike me as... sexy? I was much romanced by the notes. It sounded like the sort of dark fragrance I kept trying to find and failing. I am so in love!

 

At first I was grossed out because the opening notes smell like a stale ashtray to me. Ash dry vetiver and sticky sweet anise, like the way your clothes would smell if you spent the night at a smoky bar drinking rootbeer and rum and spilling copious amounts on yourself. Yikes!!

 

It smelled cold and dry, and then cold and damp. Dry leaves over cold damp lichens.

 

But the scent kept drawing me back, getting darker and more soft. The sweetness and smoke gave way to civet, which has always been dead sexy to me. Nostalgic, that strange deadly combination liquorice and animalic musk, on such a cold background. This ends up mossy and powdery, with a sad soft sweetness that does some how remind me of old people. But in a good way.

 

A completely unusual scent, and maybe my favorite so far...this is a definite full size order for me.

[Orodemniades]

Mr Oro thinks my skin + Black Annis = curry.

 

I'd like to think that this makes me sound edible, but he was under the influence at the time, and probably just hungry, so I'm completely discounting his thoughts on the oil. Nontheless, I thought I'd share.

 

Personally, on my skin I think this smells boozy, like a bar (non-smoking) the day after the night before. Reminds me of Roadhouse and Katmandu, only not so overt. I can't say I like this. It's vaguely spicy, and the scent doesn't change much between the wet and drydown.

 

Off to the swaps it goes!

 

Oro

[Barb25]

I love Beth, and I love bpal, but this is the worst scent I have ever tried.

 

I don't like vetiver, civet, or anise, frankly I can't stand them, so it really didn't have a chance.

 

To me, it was an old man rolling around in a wet ashtray. Not a nice, grandfatherly old man, a gross, lecherous one.

 

I dumped the rest of the imp down the sink. Then my husband got mad at me for stinking up the bathroom.

 

HOWEVER, there are a ton of scents I do love, so I guess running into a really bad one is worth it in the long run.

[Avery]

whoa. Okay, so I had read the description and the reviews prior to getting my imp of Black Annis, but... really, this is amazing. This smells *like a hag*. I don't know how Beth did it, but... she captured hag perfectly! Amazing.

 

Now while this is not something I want to smell like, it is a SERIOUS feat of craftsmanship. This was my first run in with both vetiver AND civet, so I knew I'd be given a run for my money, but I wish I knew if it was both or either of these notes that lent that... hag smell. I had expected more herbal anise. I wanted a LOT more anise. But what I got was hag. It freaked me out, like I had seriously just contemplated eating a child. hee. Anyway, she's moving on to hopefully meet somebody whose chemistry is more agreeable to eating children than mine.

 

ETA: This one had a reverse-tolerance effect on me. After than initial application apparently I just got more an more sensitive to it, to the point where I picked up the imp and frimped it off to a fair swapper (who will hopefully enjoy it more than I did) and the scent lingered on my hands. Ug! I didn't even open it! Get thee gone, cannibal hag.

 

x2: I found out that the culprit (as far as I can tell) is vetiver, which I'll be studiously avoiding in the future if I can help it. I'd like it if this worked on me, but it just amps and amps until it's screaming dirty things. I WISH I got licorice. *sigh*

Edited October 1, 2005 by Avery

[QueenFae]

This is a very unique one, I can't think of anything to compare it to. I can definitely smell the anise, and a bit of the oakmoss, but the civet is not really showing itself. This one comes out smelling very much like black licorice on me, unfortunately, since I'm not a fan. It's a very complex oil and I'm sure it's lovely on the right skin.

[aidenraine]

Wet: I smell the anise very strongly, so strongly I can almost taste the Good N' Plenties in my mouth. There's a strong wooden backdrop to this, and some sugar. Definitely licorice candies, minty herbs.

 

As it dries the wood fades back and it's all anise, nothing but that and maybe some sugar. I can't find the vetiver, civet, or oak in here at all.

 

 

About 30 minutes after application the musk and wood reappear, but remain behind the anise.

 

 

Hm, not for me.

[Bean Rua]

When I opened the imp, I thought

 

THIS IS PERFUME??

 

I put it on, and exclaimed:

 

This STINKS!

 

I waited and said:

 

This stinks....so....very....good?

 

Good! Really good!

 

Yes, this is an all hag scent. It's not playing. It's serious old child eating hagginess. But the longer it stays on me, the more the illusion is played. The hag showing herself as a beautiful woman. Alluring. Slightly woody, slightly flowery, slightly powerdery...underneath...grave dirt. Evil and grave dirt. Any minute now...full frontal HAG!

 

It's sexy and menacing.

 

It's impersonally rageful.

 

It's not a fun scent. It is seducing.

 

It reminds me of Devil's Icebox, a cave system near my home:

http://rockbridge.missouri.org/virtual%20Tour/wrb11.htm

 

I like it, but I don't know if I will wear it often enough to get a big bottle.

[celtic_tiger]

I got this as a frimp in a swap.

 

First smell: Wow, a very complex, deep scent. At first, I smell the civet and vetiver most. Sadly, the anise comes out quite quickly and bashes me over the head. I hate everything and anything having to do with anise. I am not a very picky person when it comes to smells/tastes, but I loathe this. I'm sorry to say that, because all the other scents I've tried have been lovely, but after ten frantic minutes of scrubbing (yes, I did try it on, just a little, to see if the other notes that I liked would come to the fore) I can't swap it off fast enough.