Scrappy Damsel

[The Poison Queen]

No tower too high, no dragon too mighty! Get in ass-kickin’, self-savin’ gear with this bright, energetic perfume! Orange blossom, neroli, white musk, shimmering amber, yellow sandalwood, Himalayan cedar, radiant saffron, and golden honey.

In the bottle: Musk and amber with a touch of orange blossom.

Wet: Cedar and saffron with just a touch of musk. I am not a huge cedar fan and I am so worried this is going to over-run all that gorgeous orange blossom and neroli that I wanted from this.

Dry: Powdery cedar with a touch of neroli. I am hoping this ages well and the cedar mellows out some.

[stellamaris]

This is gorgeous, glorious, so perfect love it love it love it.

It's warm and pretty, creamy even, dries down to a nice rich powdery thing. Fantastic.

The rewards of being nice...

[Lycanthrope]

Definitely my interpretation of this scent is not necessarily a statuesque, strawberry-blonde heroine, but I see instead a little mischievous prince, blonde, with a hint of a goatee, kind of like a Liam Hemsworth of Princes, looking playful yet a bit devious.

 

To actually describe the scent, I suppose...

 

It is strong on the dry initial bite of cedar and the light 'acidity' of that note has remained on me throughout wear. The scent itself is definitely not strong and has less throw than I would like. It is a cuddly sort of thing, like a blanket or personal force field. I would have to say that the floral aspect of this scent is a mild radiance or a gilded edge rather than strong petals. The scent dries down surprisingly woody and nutty almost, a soft, hazy skin-scent that is a touch exotic. Amber does a little bit of that Lugubre Gondola prettiness but it is not strong!

 

Surprisingly unisex, worth a shot. Try this if you like, um... The Coiled Serpent, Aureus, um... maybe Penitence?

[ReallyZeb]

I'm in love

 

In the bottle I get the cedar and neroil and its quite sharp.

 

Once dried this is soft, warm and golden, with an almost nutty note in the background. I don't get much cedar, or much honey but I get rich gold spices and the white musk peeping through, and a touch of powder from the amber.

[ellocentipede]

I was super excited about this oil, as all of the notes are the stuff of magic and dreams for me. I'm so happy that I wasn't disappointed!

 

In the bottle, Scrappy Damsel seemed a lot like Khrysee, all rich neroli with golden amber and a hint of cedar. When wet, it morphed from all neroli all the time to a gentle cedar, then to a really lovely and well-matched pairing of the neroli and cedar with the amber, musk, and sandalwood coming out to support them. When completely dry, it reminds me again of Khrysee, but a soft, musky Khrysee. I never get any of the saffron or honey.

 

This oil is utterly beautiful and I'm so glad to have a bottle!

[yakiguri]

Ahh skin chemistry, you do the wonkiest things. Even though Scrappy Damsel only shares honey in common with Variety of Pleasing Amusements, they translate almost exactly the same on my skin--spicy tobacco honey. There's definitely things trapped in the honey of both blends, but they're scarily similar, like scent siblings.

 

As Variety of Pleasing Amusements is a favorite, and I also have two bottles of it, I think one Scrappy Damsel is enough. I'm curious to see though if further aging will turn her into something more unique, or at least unique to my stash.

[OctoberGwen]

I had very high hopes for this, because the only note that gave me pause was the honey. Lately honey has been behaving quite well for me, though.

 

Alas: something in Scrappy Damsel disagrees pretty violently with my skin chemistry. All I get is plastic!

 

No orange blossom, no white musk, no cedar, no sandalwood.

[ow1goddess]

I can't pick the notes out on this, but I really like it! The combination together smells kind of like jasmine to me, and overall it makes me think of a "girl" version of Dorian. I get a sort of sweet floral but the cedar saffron etc gives it that suggestion of cologne, I guess. Not what I thought it would smell like but I love it.

[HerbGirl]

White musk, amber, sandalwood, a touch of cedar and a hint of saffron. Man, this is creamy, musky, woody and very nice. I'm so excited to not smell honey...that was the only note of doom here and I don't smell it so yay! Lots of sandalwood...this must be the type I love...grounded. Nothing high pitch here. My only complaint is that I don't smell neroli or orange blossom at all and I was looking forward to them.

Overall this is gorgeous and I may need a bottle.

[zankoku_zen]

Musk, amber, and orange blossom. This reminds me to Khrysee but more resinous, and yes "scrappy" comes to mind.

 

This is the scent of a nice girl who is completely capable of doing everything herself. Or in the words of the immortal Princess Leia, "Do I have to do everything myself?!?"

 

Yes, in other words, this makes me think of Princess Leia. Womanly, competent, and not afraid to make her own escape.

[DovaKitten]

Princess Leia is a perfect comparison for this scent! Bravo, zankoku_zen! That's a great image.

 

Like all of the other Yules I'm loving this year, this blend was a surprise for me. I was expecting it to be soft, powdery, and floral in a bad way. Instead it was rapidly-fading honey, sweetness, delicious spices, and florals that hold it all together. I really do feel empowered by this scent. If zankoku_zen's Leia image isn't working for you, then maybe think of Daenerys Targaryen in a far-East spice market or Katniss Everdeen at a dazzling Capitol dinner party. You get the sweetness, the girlishness, the prettiness, but also the raw, sexual, power of saffron and amber.

 

That said, there is cedar in this, and cedar is forever a masculine scent in my mind. The blend as a whole is still very feminine-feeling, but I feel like it could be more tomboyish or even unisex with the right attitude and skim chemistry. The only people I would not recommend this for are people whose death notes are cedar, orange blossom, neroli, or amber. Everyone else should still give it a shot, in my opinion. It's a very lovely, very complex, very evocative scent worth experiencing at least once.

[Aviatrix]

Echoing OctoberGwen, on me this turns to plastic.

 

It shouldn't, because all the notes are made of win, but alas.

In the bottle I can smell the wood and the orange blossom, but once it goes on my skin, it all just turns weird.

 

I'm sad, I had really hoped this would be a major winner for me.

[Bookgroper]

I could weep. Seriously. This oil sounded so fantastic, all those beautiful notes, and on me it's nothing but wood and a weird rancid musty sourness that I think is partly the honey (and I'm normally good with honey, helloooooooo Mead Moon my beloved).

 

BITTER. TEARS.

 

Edit for typing fail.

Edited January 11, 2014 by Bookgroper

[Astarial]

This is a manlier damsel than I expected, though she is scrappy so it might be fitting. I get a lot of cedar and sandalwood when wet, softened by the honey and the saffron. The amber starts to come out as the damsel dries, along with I think a touch of white musk. I don't get any of the orange blossom or neroli, as far as I can tell, and this dries down into a golden mix of amber, saffron, and honey. Very nice!

[Balame]

Wow, this is pretty. I wasn't sure what to expect from the note combo; orange and cedar? Seemed a little dodgy, but it's surprisingly nice. Another poster mentioned A Variety of Pleasing Amusements but I don't think it's very similar (not as deep or sweet, plus no leather).

 

For me it's close to Vasilissa; creamy sweet amber, sparkling musk and a touch of vibrant orange blossom. The cedar was noticeable when wet but disappeared after a few minutes. The honey is a pleasant addition. It's not overbearing, but makes the scent more languorous. Fairly light overall and stays close to the skin. I like it, but not enough to want more when I already have a bottle of Vasi.

[ScabbyLucy]

I get mostly cedar, amber with a touch of orange blossom/neroli from this. I'm glad the musk shuts up- musks have ruined far too many nice perfumes. While I wish the saffron and honey were more apparent, I do really love this. Scrappy is a good term, this is a scent for the heroine comfortable in the woods and stables.

 

Though at some distances it kind of almost smells like Coca Cola.

[astarinel]

This is extremely woody wet, and I definitely had the moment some other reviewers mentioned where it comes off as masculine/unisex at first because of the heavy cedar.

 

The wood + musk combo reminds me of Aziraphale. I really wish the other notes were more evident, because I love honey and neroli/orange blossom, and I start to smell them if I sniff REALLY close, but the throw is all musk/wood on me, even long into the drydown. This isn't a particularly complex scent on my skin, which is unfortunate because I actually really like almost the entire note list with the exception of cedar, and that's definitely at the forefront here.

 

I find it sort of pleasant and unisex, but I'd rather wear Aziraphale for a similar vibe. I was expecting more bright sparkly-ness from the notes, so I'm a bit disappointed.

[aquazoo]

Pretty flowers! Very bright and clear.

[MCS4096]

Oh this is so gorgeous!

 

Creamy, musky amber and orange blossom/neroli. Soft, powdery, clean.

[milo]

I was quite excited when I heard comparisons to Kryshee, as that is one of my all time fave blends:) On me, no. At first, I can smell the neroli, but then the WHITE MUSK amps and ruins everything for me. I'm also getting an odd sweet caramel note. This is really odd on me, perfumey, foody, musky, and not in a good way. Glad to have dodged a bullet, and quite happy I still have lots of Kryshee left:)

Edited January 30, 2014 by milo

[VioletChaos]

In the Bottle: Although not listed in the notes, at this stage, this smells a whole lot like Silver Haired Bat. Specifically the ambergris note from that scent. Which is a note I adore, so I'm not complaining.

 

Wet On Skin: Same

 

Dry Down: If Tombstone and Silver-Haired Bat had a baby, this would be the scent. The dusty, light-musky combination of those two comes alive in this scent. If you love either of them, definitely check out Scrappy Damsel

[LiberAmoris]

Scrappy Damsel was another standout for me from the Naughty or Nice Fairy tale Inquisition. The orange blossom is so restrained in this blend it's almost tough to pick out, and on my skin it's more like a white musk/honey/cedar skin scent with just light touches of warm saffron and amber, shimmering orange blossom, and that gorgeous yellow sandalwood. It's subtly blended, and I find this is one I feel very comfortable wearing to work—and do often, with Hair Loosened and Soiled in Mid Orgies hair gloss. I have about half a bottle left, and will be sad when it's gone—it's innocent, plucky, and very pretty.

[Aveya]

This scent is not one I was clamoring for, but came up for a swap so went what the heck, and did a bottle swap. I don't like florals so wasn't sure this would work or not for me. I'm also on the fence about sandalwoods, ambers, and honeys. As they're sort of hit or miss for me. That said...

 

In the bottle: Musky. Slightly woody. Slightly sweet. Masculine and darker.

Wet on skin: POOF nothing. Vanishing act. I've been testing a few sandalwoods & honey lately and they all seem to do this to me when I first put them on skin. *waits a few minutes*

Dry on skin: After it sinks in, this is soft, sweet, warm, smooth. This is morocco-esq to me. I think that means it's sandal-wood prominent, rounded out by a sweet honey. Minus the spiced chair aspect, but add in the barest wiff of a lighter orange peel vibe.

 

This is super close to skin. I've got very little throw. The florals I was afraid of are nowhere to be found. It COULD be that this is what it does aged.

 

This is warm, soft, musky. There's this faint trace of an orange floral maybe underneath, but it's been literally drowned in warm soft amber-wood.

 

If you love morocco or maybe mouses's sad long tale, this could be a love for you.

[torischroeder9]

In the decant: It's a very round, golden scent, slightly sweet but not overly so. Probably the only notes I would have called accurately from the scent description are amber and honey. 

 

On my skin:

 

Wet, I definitely can pick out some of the orange blossom and neroli, though this is in addition to the rounder scent supporting those notes. As it dries, there's some lovely, soft, warm cedar close to the skin but a lot of brightness -- honey, for sure, probably orange blossom, I'm not sure what other notes -- in the scent's throw. Once it really has time to develop, I can see how well blended the notes are here. There's definitely orange blossom giving the scent its airy quality and cedarwood grounding it. In between are amber, saffron, and honey, giving it some depth that is almost crystalline in quality. Bits are sweet, bits are airy, bits are woody, bits are citrusy bright -- and it all comes together so nicely. I wish I had come upon this sooner so I'd have a better chance at finding more than a decant, but I'm definitely glad to be able to wear what I can! 

[Cali]

I feel like i'm not all there for saying this, but this weirdly reminds me of Funnel of love, but a very soft, more sweet version of this. (VERY soft, considering my Funnel of love is so strong I need to turn my head away before I sniff when I open my bottle). But for some reason I'm getting something leathery, and something slightly green. Not sure what note's doing that for me here. Definately orange too. 

On my skin it goes even softer, I can barely smell it. It's very pleasant though, orangy sweets and then those notes that I just mentioned. Too bad my skin just makes this ...dissapear.