Fettered in the Shackles of the Drug

[poofie]

Sweet opium smoke, neroli, yellow bergamot, and piquant, strange star anise.

Sharp and soapy at first application, not unpleasant. Drying down is opium backed by citrus. Opium scents feel very sophisticated to me, this is no exception, but it has a nice brightness from the neroli. I was hoping for more bergamot, but I suppose it and neroli are fairly similar? There is a bit of a laundry aspect to this scent, especially during drydown. However, it mellows into a gentle opium scent with a tiny, almost Jasmine-like edge to it. I am very much looking forward to seeing how this ages! It's different from anything else I have in my collection and I'm glad I took a chance on it.

[Myria Jean]

On me this is mostly opium smoke with equal parts neroli, bergamot, and star anise brightening it up. It's lovely, but not for me I think.

[TallGrrl78]

This reminds me a lot of Carnival Diabolique. On my skin, both produce a lemony opium smoke scent. I think the anise sweetens this up a little after the first hour or so. The anise is not very strong though and the opium dominates on me.

[Allumina]

In the bottle, bright and shiny citrus. Wet, it's citrus with a hint of smoke, but that's quickly overtaken (with a brief, disconcerting trip to baby powder) by the opium, so it's ends up being mostly smoky opium with a hint of citrus. The anise, if it shows up, only does briefly. The opium makes it smell sophisticated and fancy, but...it's not wowing me. I'm not sure if it's my chemistry or if it needs some time, but it's just sort of blandly pleasant on me, with a pretty low throw. I'm going to chuck it in a drawer for a few weeks and see what happens. Right now it's the sort of thing where I'd probably hold on to a decant, but definitely wouldn't need the whole blind bottle I bought.

[radioaction]

Wet: Delicious, bright citrus with a bit of a bitter edge. Entirely my jam.

 

Dry: I guess this is what opium smoke smells like? Citrus is gone, or at least has lost it's bright juiciness, and a slightly sweet smokiness remains. I maybe get a touch of star anise under all the smoke.

 

Verdict: This isn't really wowing me. I think the opium notes in a few of the Ligeias I've tried have taken over and turned into a kind of flat, bitter scent that I don't like.

[lady_pandora]

I wasn't really expecting Fettered in the Shackles of the Drug to be so...bright. Especially in the beginning. At first dab, I was thinking "creamsicle!", and it calmed down a few minutes later into something more like a sweet orangey shampoo. The neroli here is really sweet and bright on me, kind of like what I remember of Akuma (which, admittedly, I haven't smelled in a long time).

 

When this note evaporates, what it leaves behind is a soft, faint opium scent. It hangs close to the skin with little throw, but it's that really niiiice opium note that smells like powdery poppy incense, not hairspray. I can kind of make out anise if I really go looking for it, but it's not immediately apparent.

 

I like this, probably more as a summer scent. I think I'm going to stow it away till it's hot out, at which time (a) I'll appreciate its citrusy brightness more, and ( maybe a little aging will have lent it a little more throw and staying power. It's not at all what I expected (I think the gothiness of the story "Ligeia" had me expecting more gloom than any of the Ligeia oils I've tried have possessed), but it's extremely pretty and agrees well with my chemistry.

 

ETA: What do you know, I can still kind of smell the opium this morning. So it actually does stick around, but is really faint the whole time. My skin is weird.

 

 

Edit 5/23/19: Wow does this age interestingly! There's still a little citrus here, but aged Fettered is very much a spice scent. I get mostly the anise and some opium smoke.

Edited May 23, 2019 by lady_pandora
Including aging info

[Ordo_ad_Chao]

For me this is mostly anise. Which is great, because I love anise, licorice, absinthe and such. It make me think of a pomander ball with star anise in place of clove, and a little bit of smokiness.

 

It is bright and warm and comforting and invigorating all at once, and I want to surrender to it and sink down into a cloud of this, close my eyes, and surrender to vivid, vibrant visions in my slumber.

[Gwydion]

In bottle: Very sharply yellow. Bergamot dominant with strong neroli support. The opium is gentle, but pervasive. The anise is a sharp accent. Wet: Much as in the bottle, though now the neroli is dominant with the bergamot in strong support. Dry: Mostly opium and anise with some neroli.

[zankoku_zen]

Opium smoke with strong whiffs of bergamot and neroli. I can see how it is "sharply yellow", since both the bergamot and neroli just sort of stab your nose with I AM CITRUS, I AM HERE. This recedes as little as it dries, and I get more of the anise on the drydown. It remains a discordant, yellow, sort of fog.

 

I can definitely see how this is the foggy state of drug madness. It sort of evokes that perfectly. I'd categorize this more as a scent experience as opposed to a perfume you can actually wear.

[Magycmyste]

In the imp: Smoky bergamot.

 

Wet on skin: Smoky citrus - the bergamot, and probably the neroli. I'm not getting the star anise yet.

 

Dried down: Still smoky bergamot and neroli, with just the slightest hint of star anise around the edges coming into play. Perhaps the longer it stays on, the more it will come out.

 

Throw: A very little bit. Mostly the bergamot.

 

Verdict: *** Not bad, but I don't think this is something I need.

[DevilsCandyCane]

Short review, since I applied it a few minutes ago so sort of missed the initial stages in depth! My main thoughts were that smells like very nice bubblebath to start with, sort of citrusy-happy but quite soapy. A little later the soapiness died down some, and it reminded me of getting aromatherapy massages, the oil blend the woman mixes up for anxiety - it has a really peaceful, happy vibe, which I found interesting given the name; it's definitely the 'high' phase of opium usage, not the Shame And Regret portion!

 

On my skin it's as good as gone within 15 minutes though, and while it's quite pleasant I won't need more than my decant.

[thekittenkat]

 

In the decant: Sweet opium smoke, indeed!

 

Wet: Still that lovely opium smoke, but now w/ hints of citrus.

 

The dry-down: Not really a morpher, just that wonderful sweet and smokey opium. The citrus has backed off, and the anise hangs out deep in the mix, very deep. Seems to be a nice dream.

[milo]

Well not much oil to squeeze out of this one, but I'm getting kind of a herbal incense, and a freshness, which is probably the neroli. I can't get a very accurate description, as there just isn't enough oil here.

[theseagrows]

got a frimp of this in a swap

 

it starts with bergamot and opium. it's citrussy, but not too strong. i get more neroli after a few minutes and the star anise, which i think adds an almost spicy quality (?) it does smell very yellow, yet smoky. citrus and smoke, an interesting combination, that i was unsure about, but i like it! i think i am amping the bergamot though, as it seems to sort of take over the scent on my skin. the scent seems to be doing tug of war between neroli and bergamot, and the star anise is always hanging on as the mediator. an interesting scent, but not one i need more of.

[whisperstilled]

Anise and opium, the anise much too strong for me. Like others from this set, when I initially tested it the opium was much stronger. Right now my arm smells like black licorice, opium, and a touch of neroli. It's not an ideal combo.