Glass Eye

[Franny]

“How’d you lose your eye?”

Wednesday shoveled half a dozen pieces of bacon into his mouth, chewed, wiped the fat from his lips with the back of his hand. “Didn’t lose it,” he said. “I still know exactly where it is.”

The depths of Mímisbrunnr: mugwort and frankincense, grey amber and ash.

This one starts out pretty heavy on the mugwort, it smells kind of sweet but medicinal. Then everything settles in together as it wears on the skin. This is a really beautiful herbal resinous blend, it feels religious to me like I should wear it in meditation. I suppose that makes sense given the inspiration of Odin's eye sacrificed for wisdom. After hours of wear I really smell grey amber and frankincense and a hint of mugwort rather than how it starts out.

[zankoku_zen]

Smells like mugwort, aquatic amber, and a pinch of frankincense. This actually smells like a ceremonial/TAL type blend. I'd use this to summon Odin. It starts off very herbally - I actually thought it was a combination of sage and thyme, and then as it dries you get the amber and the frankincense.

 

It's powerful, masculine, evocative of the deity its suppose to embody, and deeply Nordic. Would have been at home with the Song of Creation blends recently released.

 

ETA: so mr. zee_zee has been having a really torrid love affair with the Glass Eye. He amps his up alot, and I can mainly smell herbiness (again, it sort of smells like sage to me), amber, and a whiff of ash on the drydown.

Edited May 22, 2017 by zankoku_zen

[LizziesLuck]

I've never been able to pick mugwort out in anything, so no clue if I like it. Frankincense is not my friend. But all I saw when I ordered this decant was "grey amber" and I just had to...

 

 

Wet: OMG what isss that?? It's like a punch in the face. Gotta be the mugwort. Wow, that's strong. And sort of unpleasant, but in an intriguing way? Oh and now I get the ash, smells like bonfire a bit. Or your jacket after you've sat in front of the bonfire for hours. I think I hate it? But I keep stuffing my face in my wrist to sniff it again. This is so weird. I have never smelled anything like this.

 

 

Dry: This provokes me to make weird faces when I smell it. It's sweet/sour, but not in a good way. All the ash (which was the interesting bit that I sort of liked) is gone, as is anything I could have recognized and it's just weird. Ya. I'm zero help, I'm sure. I think this is a skin chem fail. I'm going to age it and try again in a few months and see.

 

ETA: So I have aged it a couple months. And after smelling it in the imp again, I literally cannot bear to put this on my skin. That seriously never happens to me, I give things a skin test no matter how horrid they smell in the vial, because I know lots of scents need the warmth of your skin to bloom. And because I am morbidly curious. But this...

It's not even that unpleasant, it's just...SO WEIRD. And it's super potent and strong. It makes my eye water a bit. I feel like I am having some sort of primal reaction to this - like if I were a wild animal, I would smell this and know not to eat it because its toxic. Does that make sense? I feel like you could use this to keep things out of your garden, it just smells so unnatural and forbidding? Is that the right word? Anyway, part of me wants to keep it so I can sniff it and get the heebie-jeebies every once in a while, but the practical part of me who is drowning in imps will send this on to a new home. SO. WEIRD.

Edited September 1, 2017 by LizziesLuck

[Little Bird]

Mugwort makes this very herbal and medicinal, like bitter, dry, green herbs, menthol and a hint of soap. As it dries down, it smells similar, but also like I crushed fresh mint leaves in my hands. It makes me think of batches of soap made with peppermint and fresh herbs. Glass Eye smells like the kind of soaps that are made in small batches and sold at county fairs from little artisanal soap makers, that smell very natural, simple and fresh. I don't get any ash, but I can pick out a bit of a honeyed, sweet, mellow frankincense note after a while.

Doesn't have much throw on me and only lasts about 40 minutes, but is pleasant while it lasts.

[galahad]

In the Bottle:

Mugwort! A little sour and ashen

On the Skin:

Initially, very strong mugwort. As it warms, the frankincense warms the blend and dulls the mugwort edges. I like this more as it settles into the skin but still very herbal.

On the Drydown:

Softens considerably as it dries down, which is a relief. This will be nice after age knocks off the sharp edges.

[windbourne]

I really could have just ordered a bottle of Glass Eye straight up without bothering with a decant. 😂 The ash was the only thing giving me pause, and it's not that prominent. Otherwise, I hope you like mugwort because it's very strong with this one for the first fifteen minutes or so. I love that weird, kind of musty, greenish herbal business, so this is great for me. The frank is gently sweet and mild and the grey amber is likewise, but less sap-like and a bit cleaner. I recently got a decant of The Grey Columns, and it's the same grey amber in there. The ash shows up a bit later to make everything feel a little dusty and not-quite smoky. Overall: grey-green, herbal, throw isn't too beefy, stares at you from a distance and makes you feel self-conscious about all your life choices.

 

A+ would Glass Eye again. Definitely adding this to my wishlist for my next order. 👁️

[doomsday_disco]

Glass Eye starts off strong on the frankincense and mugwort on me and stays that way throughout the wet phase of the scent, but then the ash joins in and becomes the dominant note on me for a while, until the grey amber emerges and cozies up to it. I agree with windbourne -- it is the same grey amber note found in The Grey Columns. The frankincense is still present, but it is smoother and not as bold now. After a few hours of wear, there is only the memory of mugwort.

 

I am not sure how to feel about this yet as I enjoyed the mugwort heavy phase and the final morph of the scent, but I wasn't particularly fond of the phase where it is an ash party. I'll probably set this one aside and retest it in a few weeks to see if the mugwort lasts longer.

[bygraveyardlight]

Starts off sharply herbal- hello mugwort! I really like this stage, for the record. As it settles into the skin the other notes, namely the frankincense and ash come out and it becomes darker and more complex. It smells hot, the word 'smoldering' comes to mind. It's still a bit herbal but the mugwort and frankincense is now next to a deep pit of ash and coals. It smells like the ruins of Pompeii. Not a scent fro the weak of heart! I'm really in love with this.