Mare Crisium

[zankoku_zen]

The Sea of Crises. A discordant, clashing shock of petitgrain, rosemary, and fir needle, roiling with fiery mandarin and acerbic lime.

Bright pop of lime, hits of mandarin and drops of petitgrain and rosemary.

So this is discordant. It's a clash of lime, mandarin and other herbally smelling things. It's sharp, and stabs your nose and in general I'd say that this is the perfume equivalent of being roiled by sea waves. You know, when you dive your head down and suddenly you don't know which way is up anymore.

On wet, it was almost unpleasant because of how strident it is. After it's dried for about 45 minutes, it calms down a lot but not enough that it doesn't just hit you. It just doesn't punch your daylights out.

[Alaeidrel]

For the first 45 minutes this is astringent, discordant fruit loops on me. Literally, it smells like cereal turned weird perfume. After that it morphs into lemon pledge and then vanishes completely. Weiiiird.

[alyelle]

An imperfect review because a) this isn't my bottle, a friend let me nick a bit and b ) it does what a lot of citrus blends do on me, which is induce a migraine. As of writing, I've had a headache of varying intensity for 37 hours (most of which, sadly, I did not sleep through) and I feel compelled to wash this away before it makes it worse.

 

In the bottle: all citrus, and lime mostly, like a very fruity, fresh summer cocktail.

 

Wet: lime with a strong helping of rosemary and pine needles.

 

Dry: ... 'weird' is the only way I can describe this. Citrusy, yes - the comparison to lemon pledge is pretty apt - but also something I want to describe as powdery, except it doesn't smell like talc or the powder that rose notes tend to bring out on me. It's more back of the sock drawer, scent sachet and mildew powdery. I've never worn a blend with petitgrain before and I don't know if it's responsible for this effect. I know it's not the rosemary or fir; those I wear on a regular basis with no problems. And I doubt it's the lime, but since petitgrain is also a citrus derivative, it doesn't seem like something it should be doing either. :/

 

I can't speak to its life, but the throw seems to get stronger as it dries - or maybe that's just because I find it unpleasant. On the right person, I can see it being lovely. Unfortunately I am not that person.

 

Stars: ★★

Edited May 12, 2015 by alyelle

[Velvet Lilly]

I adore this. What a win of a scent for me!

In the bottle: Lime-y citrus and mandarin blend

 

wet: now comes the gorgeous petitgrain and amps into the citrus, blending well...

 

dry down....All the pretty petitgrain, with a whisper of lime and a bright glint of mandarin. It reminds me a bit of an old general store - deliciously herby in a quiet way.

 

I've paired this with The Norn's Farmhouse and it's stunning together as well. Really amps that "old general store" vibe in the very best way.

Storytelling in scent!

[quickdrawkiddo]

This was a surprise hit for me. Wet, it's very tart and astringent lime and orange, which I didn't think I'd be into since the lab's citrus notes don't do much for me normally. As it dries, though, it becomes more herbal and woodsy -- less juicy citrus fruits and more dry woody citrus bark, if that makes sense. The tanginess is still there but it's more mellow. I've been reaching for this one a lot this summer since it's so crisp and fresh. I only got a decant but I may search out a bottle of this one.

[Little Bird]

A sharp, soapy citrus that smells like some sort of chemical floor cleaner.