Mummeries and Straining-to-be-Memorable Passages

[Teamama]

Rosemary is for remembrance: rosemary water with lavender, blackberry, Italian bergamot, and white musk.

I'm reviewing my daughter's bottle, which she generously let me sample.
She and I were instantly in love with this limited-edition. Snarky jab at the Supreme I love to hate, coupled with support of excellent organizations, AND BPAL? As they say, shut up and take my money!

Mummeries is subtle. The Rosemary and blackberry are very well blended, with the sweet warmth of the blackberry surrounding the resinous rosemary. We have both of these plants in our vicinity, and this reminds me of warm, late-summer afternoons in the Northwest. The musk and lavender are in the background, and the bergamot must have rolled into the blackberry note on me, I couldn't find it.

Not a lot of throw, this Scalia-inspired scent is safe for work.

[Auspicious Q]

The concept behind this line is so good, I absolutely had to get a bottle. But I was not expecting such loveliness to invade my life! To me, this blend is herbal and refreshing. It smelled very soapy in the bottle, I was worried. But on my skin the rosemary and lavender came forward supported by the white musk. No soap here! The blackberry and bergamot notes are more subtle, but they round out this blend, giving a freshness and softening the herbs which could be overpowering alone. I really enjoyed wearing this. It's one of those scents that makes you "think pure thoughts." It's a nice "cool" scent for summer as well. I could also see it becoming a bed time favorite for many.

[ReallyZeb]

When wet it's a sharp lavender with a background of the rosemary and an almost citrus edge coming in as it dries. Once dry the bergamot comes to the fore with the rosemary still around. After about 30 minutes its turned into a lovely smooth blackberry and white musk which is mellow and beautiful and makes this a definite keeper. I might even need a backup.

[Gwydion]

In bottle: Lavender dominant, with beautifully blended blackberry and bergamot support. The musk goes well with the dominant cabal while holding it's own. The rosemary gives it bite. Wet: The blackberry is stronger on the skin, displacing the musk as second strongest power and nearly overtaking the lavender. The Blackberry and lavender are gorgeous together and the bergamot bridges them. The musk fades into the main cabal a bit, but retains it's beauty. Rosemary remains understated but gives a pleasant counterpoint. Dry: lavender and bergamot mostly.

[Soupy Twist]

I'm impressed: the Lab has managed to capture the scent of Scalia. Most BPAL makes me think of particular ingredients (vanilla, flowers, coffee, incense, etc.), but this is one of the few which really evokes a thing, a place or a person.

Bergamot in the bottle, which goes on with a bit of musk. This turns woodsy, almost to a pitch pine. The lavender softens it a little, and then morphs into the rosemary. Finishes as a kind of Aqua Velva aftershave.

 

It smells like an Italian man who grew up back in the small family village in the 1950s but is forced to live in 21st-century America. It's masculine, and trying to evoke memories of the Old World and the Good Old Days and The Way Things Were And Still Ought To Be.

[milo]

I'm finding this one a bit difficult to pinpoint exactly what this smells like. Basically, it is a soft, fruity floral with a touch of warm resins on me. It reminds me a bit of 'The Gladdener of Heats", and a less lavender "Moon of the Terrible" and almost like "Mysterious Warning", but with bergamot. I know, not very helpful:) Quite pretty, but I don't think I need any more.

[zankoku_zen]

WAIT WHAT?

 

This one actually smells like a fruity masculine fougere (slightly toward the gender neutral side). Lemme break it down.

 

I get rosemary, black berry, bergamot and watery musk. The blackberry adds some fruity sweetness, the rosemary adds this herbal dimension, the bergamot makes it smell clean. And honestly, this smells like a pretty straight up fougere-like blend. On the right guy, this would be absolutely stunning.

 

I think I really love this. I'm off to try this on mr. zee_zee.

[LiberAmoris]

I love Mummeries—my favorite of the Scalias. I swear that this is so well blended that it's tough to actually find the edges of a single note in this. When I look at the list of notes, I can pry them apart in my mind and yes, they're all there. But they are so much more than the sum of their parts. The lavender and bergamot supercollide to cancel out any edges: the lavender goes pert and neon and the bergamot lowers its eyes. The blackberry and rosemary make this smell juicy and timeless and pitches it at the height of summer. The white musk makes that moment last. This is like blackberry musk with a highlight and a lowlight. Relaxing, pretty, and really unique.

[roseus]

Oh this is much more lovely than I imagined. This was generously frimped to me in a swap, before I never gave it a second look. I am not into herbal scents and rosemary and lavender seemed like they would be the dominant forces in this blend. I thought it was going to be very similar to Arcana.

In the imp this was all rosemary and lavender, very dry and herbal. But on wet the blackberry came out and sweetened it. As it dries there is a nice cool base of rosemary and white musk. The blackberry is the star but it's soft and lightly sweet, and there is a little bergamot floating around for brightness. I totally agree with Teamama, this smells exactly like warm summertime afternoons in the PNW. This blend is absolutely delightful.

[freyasfae]

When wet the bergamot is fairly prominent, but the herbs linger in the background, especially the rosemary water which gives me a very pleasant quality, but not like an aquatic one. As it dries, the blackberry starts coming out and interacting with the bergamot, and it gets almost citrusy, more orange, than dark fruit. Summertime scent, but not much throw and fades quite quickly.

[LizziesLuck]

Wet: Lavender and blackberry, nice! Sweeter than I had imagined, which is great. I adore blackberry. I like how herbal this is as well.

 

 

Dry: I really like this. It's fruity and fresh, lightly herbal. Not sure how "me" it is, or if I would wear it enough to justify a bottle, but I do really like it.

[maudlinrose]

Lavender lemon, a bit soapy. Lavender fans should try this.

[ktesedale]

I'm very out of practice with reading notes, but I just got this scent and had to leave a review. I had a very different experience - in the bottle, the rosemary was the primary scent, very sharp. Wet, still almost pure rosemary, with maybe a bit of the lavender. It might have given me a headache if it'd stayed like that. After a few minutes, it was a gorgeous sweet floral, very complicated - a mix of rosemary, lavender, and a bit of blackberry. The bergamot was undetectable. I couldn't directly pinpoint the musk, but I'm pretty sure it gave a nice base to it, keeping the scent from going too sharp. It was honestly a terrific floral scent, I really liked it.

 

I wish it'd stayed like this for the rest of the time, but it quickly morphed after about a half hour to a bitter floral with a hint of baby powder and soap. Very disappointing, because I loved the just-dry stage quite a bit. Apparently a bad match for my skin.

[lizabelle]

The rosemary/lavender blend in this is gorgeous--deep, herbal, and a touch powdery. The blackberry is a little harder to find, but it blends with the musk to form a sweet, dark base. The bergamot lends a nice sharpness to an otherwise-soft blend, and keeps it feeling unisex. Unlike some of the lab's other primarily-herbal blends, this one actually has some throw on me. That makes it a winner! I think I'll be wearing this a lot when the weather warms up, because for me there's nothing like a fruit/herb blend on a hot, humid day.

[Little Bird]

This smells like a really good soap to me, like one of those all natural, hand-made, small batch soaps that you can find from small companies (not like harsh laundry soap or anything). I can pick out the blackberry, lavender and rosemary, but they meld together into this naturally fruity, lightly purple, clean, herbal scent that I really enjoy. The white musk is smooth and creamy rather than sharp and perfumey. Mostly it's herbal, tangy, soft, lavender and fruitiness. It reminds me a bit of Moon of the Terrible.

[Aveya]

Source: Swap!

Preconception: I love lavender, herbal blends, and berries. Figured it was worth a try.

 

Bottle: Whoa lavender! Prominent.

Skin: Oh mai. This is stunning - right in line with many of the other reviews. First application is utter relaxation. Lavender, sweet herbs. The White musk is adding a "clean" element to the edges of this scent. Just yum. I'm sad there isn't more a fruit note for me. It's mostly a lovely herbal gentle musk blend.

Drydown: White musk, I'm assuming, is making this go super "clean" on my skin. Goes through crisp linen phase, then wet freshly cleaned laundry, then to soap proper, and now heading into baby powder land. I think that's just me "amping" white musk? So sad, the initial phase was just stupidly stunningly soothing. I'll be keeping lookout for other herbal blends sans white musk.

 

Verdict: Super super soothing scent. Unisex, herbal prominent, musky "clean" edge with the barest hint of tart-sweet fruit.

[Casablanca]

Freshly applied, the blend is blackberry-dominant on my wrists, but more evenly blackberry-lavender on my forearms. Either way, the two notes are a pleasant purple pairing. There's plenty of bergamot also, with its quality of seeming to lift a blend up.

Beneath these, the white musk and green and tan herbal notes blend together. They don't start to seem individual to me until drydown.

The musk is pale, floral, a little creamy, a little powdery. Sometimes the powder also seems to come from the herbs, as though they are the edible herbal powder you gel-cap yourself to make herbal supplements.

During drydown I find lots of rosemary, and also seem to smell the fresh thyme I was breaking up for my bird to eat, and for an omelette, a few weeks ago. Sometimes I think I'm smelling a little tan herbal stalk smell that reminds me of angelica. Whatever the nature of the herbs, the blend is fresh and comforting.

Periodically, I get a water impression from the blend. It comes and goes, but it definitely adds to the spring impression I get from the blend.

Mummeries reminds me of early spring, fresh and herbal. But it'll come out on me during all the warm months.

[doomsday_disco]

In the decant: I can smell the rosemary water, lavender, blackberry, and bergamot.

 

Wet: The rosemary water, lavender, and blackberry are the first notes to jump out at me, and then the bergamot quickly joins them. I am generally not fond of berry scents, but I have been trying more of them lately, and the herbal notes are keeping the blackberry in check. This actually smells really refreshing.

 

Dry: I’m getting blackberry, bergamot, white musk, and rosemary water mostly. The lavender is still present, but much lighter than before.

 

Verdict: This is a nice, fruity, herbal scent that would be lovely in the spring and summer months. The blackberry is a little stronger than I’d like it to be on me, and I wish the lavender had stayed around longer, so I won’t be needing a bottle of this one. But I am really glad I was able to try it!

[VetchVesper]

In the imp - Astringent and herbal right up-front, with a hint of tart fruit from the blackberry.  I'm liking the rosemary.

 

The white musk becomes more prominent on my skin. It's not the kind that goes soapy on me, so that's a plus. There's still a good bit of herbaceousness going on, but the lavender has become more identifiable in the mix. The blackberry in this is a dry, tart note. It never smells jammy or fruity per se. 

 

I like this one, though I think my decant is enough. It makes me think of a musky, white tea blend, or a dry, gin cocktail. If you are a lavender or rosemary fan, I'd definitely put this one on your "to try list."  

 

Also, a unique and fitting summer fragrance. 

 

PS - I would LOVE a linen spray of this. 

Edited June 23, 2020 by VetchVesper

[puellacaerulea]

In the decant, I get whiffs of lavender and rosemary, and just a hint of bergamot. Promising start. Unfortunately, I seem to amp the blackberry,  and something about the way those fruity notes interact with the rosemary is just not working for me -- they combine in a way that's cloyingly sweet to my nose. (I had a similar reaction to Bess -- I think I just need to avoid scents that involve a combo of non-citrus fruits and rosemary.) Still, I'll hang onto my decant to see if it works better in a scent locket, given it's way better in the decant than on my skin. Could also see potential as a room scent.

[clockworkcrypt]

I've been home for 6 weeks around my mother, who is very much not a fan of me bringing anything scented into the house. Ergo, a rotation between two bottles and a few imps when I feel like wearing perfume, this being the primary one. Mummeries has very much grown on me over this time period, on me it is very blackberry at first, settling into a blackberry bergamont pool wafting under sofft clouds of lavender steam. The rosemary is probably oomfing something else up, but its not super prominent to my nose. It's very purpley grey to my nose, and as with anything blackberry forward smells to me like a very fancy hotel in the best possible way. I think this is a blend that would be nice on anyone, for any occasion, but this one gets bonus stars for being more of a stealthy cleaner scent, a scent for the distant future when you can go to the office, or to a house that rags on your patchouli one too many times. I also think this one would be quite nice if you're someone who is into sleep scents, and I do echo puella's comment, this would be a fantastic room spray, or dare I say, a bath oil. 

[bambi]

This is really nice! In the imp, it's very herbal, rosemary and lavender all the way. Wet, I get the musk, but it stays largely rosemary and lavender centered. As it dries down, I get a faint herbal-citrus note, which would be the bergamot. The blackberry is hiding in the background, but I can tell it's there. Fully dried and settled, I get mostly rosemary with blackberry backing it up. The lavender has softened, and the bergamot and musk have faded into background notes. It's definitely an herbal scent, with faint fruit notes on me. It honestly smells like a really, REALLY expensive handsoap. 

Edited February 1, 2021 by bambi