Cassiopeia

[JMorgynWhite]

Unbound from her prison-throne, mirror aloft; within her cloak dance the stories of Bathsheba, Deborah, and Mary Magdalene.

Plum velvet, red wine, and sweet, dark oudh.

Caveat - this is fresh out of the mail.

first sniff was the red fruit. Wet down had a nod to coffee syrup but as it's drying it morphs into red fruit powdery incense. I have high hopes. Praying it doesn't go full powder. It's light too not intense. Will revisit in a day or two once it settles.
2nd round ( a few hours later) - Gave in and it's already morphed into something more sophisticated. I'm going to have to think of what it reminds me of - the fruit is not forward now - its more of a dept store sophisticate. Can't wait to see what it turns into tomorrow.

[VioletChaos]

In the bottle, behind a healthy bit of the same red wine note found in my beloved Glühwein, I, too, pick up on the odd undertone of coffee. It's rich, like a turkish coffee note, but far more subtle.

 

Once it's wet and warming up on my skin, it shifts, the coffee essence disappears and is replaces by the sweet oudh. Oudhs are shape-shifters on my skin, morphing differently depending on the supporting players. In this blend, the oudh gives a kind of rich support that brings to mind myrrh, without the terrible baby-powder that afflicts me with that unfortunate note.

 

The end result is a decidedly sophisticated scent that's somewhere between a debauched night involving sherry spilled on a crisp linen nightdress and a nod to a no-longer-available perfume that Betsey Johnson debuted in the mid-90s.

I'm hoping the oudh will age as well as the wine, and something might transform to become a little more heady and perhaps incense-y. Right now, I like it enough to keep, but not enough to start wearing in regular rotation. :/

[ramblingrambler]

Mmmmm, this is delectable—even freshly out of the mail. Wet, it smelled like perfume and a night out drinking good wine. As it began to dry, it morphed into almost a honeyed tobacco and merlot... and continued to morph into some darkly delicious scent I simply cannot place. It is gorgeous–so rich and deep—and I can't imagine letting this one go. I think with aging, like fine wine, it will only get better.

[lady_pandora]

Cassiopeia is a cousin of Lucille and Black Moths who got lost on her way to the ancestral mansion and ended up in the sky instead. Starts out big bold wine and then morphs into smoky, incensey plum. I agree with ramblingrambler that this will probably age really well too.

[Dark Alice]

This is Lucille's cousin without the fluttering of wings as described above. I need a bottle of this. It is that gorgeous and light and Victorian. Sweet hints of red wine which my skin freaking eats, with plum velvet, and glorious oudh. LOVE!

Edited December 20, 2017 by Dark Alice

[Lucchesa]

Wine can go either way on me, and wet, it went toward grape. So first impression was lots of sweet, grapey wine, and as it dried, the plum and oudh came out and the grape went away, which is fine with me. The oudh is rich and sweet, not the stinky kind at all, and a lovely backdrop for the dark fruit.

 

A couple of hours later, the wine is still gone, and I thought I caught a whiff of - red musk? Could that be part of the Lab's velvet note? If so, it is very, very subtle, since I usually amp red musk to high heaven. Overall impression: deep, sexy, grownup plum.

[torikitty]

Yeah, I'm with Lucchesa. I was hoping for wine, but it went pomegranate on me. Or, like that super cheap Manischewitz wine. Just kinda cheap, generic sweet berry. I'm not getting any of the lovely musk or oude. I'm glad this is going to a better home.

[LizziesLuck]

I am desperate for more dark plum scents, but I am so scared of the oudh! Lol.

 

Wet: Mmm! Oh that's good. Dark, sexy wine and plum. A bit woody, but none of that horrid fecal smell that oudh often has on me. It almost smells like there is cocoa in this. Lovely!

 

 

Dry: Faintly boozy generic "wood". Better than feces, but not something I would reach for. Too bad! It had so much potential when wet, but all the richness has gone and it's just a very faint wine and wood scent.

[roseus]

Mmmm deep and velvety. This fills the hole of The Obsidian Widow that opened when the patchouli started to go off on me. The wine is smoother and more subdued in this. The plum and wine sort of meld and are made incensy by the oudh. This is mysterious and sensual, and like lady_pandora I am also reminded of the dark elegance of Crimson Peak!

Edited November 11, 2020 by roseus

[RedPersimmon]

In the decant: strong red wine vinegar and grapes.

 

Wet: fruity, dark, sweet oudh. All the other notes take a backseat to the red wine vinegar. I like the rest of it, I just wish the vinegar would calm down a bit.

 

Dry-down: the red wine vinegar fades over 20 minutes and Cassiopeia eventually becomes a grape-y oudh. Good throw, but only lasts a few hours.

 

 

Edit: Tried it again at Starbucks two weeks later and it smells great mixed with the smell of the coffee bean-infused air! A rich, velvety, plummy oudh. My friend said that I smelled like merlot. The dark fruitiness stays at the forefront throughout and it's not dry or powdery. The notes are very well balanced and I can smell each of the notes in the description, but I can't tell where one starts and one ends. Okay, I just took another big whiff and now it smells like a big nug of fresh indica LOL. And no, I'm not stoned (right now).

Edited February 12, 2018 by RedPersimmon

[zazkea]

This was an experimental decision. It came out to be surprinsingly beautiful

 

Bottle

Initially grape and oudh. Then a rather fresh feeling; plus smells I cannot categorize yet, because i dont know them (perhaps thats the plum velvet?). Then, and interestingly, I get this image: a very brief "alcohol" feeling; giving me a slight headeache when trying to inhale this too quickly. Then, the alcohol scent quickly changes to this image: standing in the cold, maybe clear view to stars in the winter above me; then, before I get frosted, the feeling of smelling a Glühwein nearby. This feeling changes to smelling, now, non-alcoholic Glühwein. Then to "lets put this on the skin". Overall: Nice!

 

On skin

Wet: wamer and a bit darker, more like wine now (not boozy or deep, more clean), red fruit. Very straight; stays like this. Then, on drydown, I get a (quick, fading) feeling of wanting to "protect" this scent motherly. When dry: dark fruit, yet warm and sweet. The (dark) sweetness still gives me a slight headache. In the background, Cassiopeia is spicy somehow, which creates an autumn feeling (not warm spicy though!). No glühwein/Wine anymore now (thus not recommended for wine-scent lovers, I suppose; this is not like Lady Macbeth for example). More incense, which I do not like that much...also, changes to a bit soapy/generic now - and back to fruit. Thus, need to use less next time. But overall: Nice.

 

Conclusion

I would place this to autumn, rather than winter.

Warm and straight; red fruit.

4/5 (1 point off for the generic feeling in it)

Edited March 3, 2018 by zazkea

[zankoku_zen]

Plum oudh and wine. Honestly, it makes me think of a super floral plum sake. But more plummy and perfumey. Good throw and wear length.

[SophieCedar]

Whoa whoa whoa... where has this blend been all these years? This is the perfect plum perfume. Deep floral note, burgundy and dark purple, not too clean or cloying. This should have been a Crimson Peak scent. My favorite plum yet!

[Cali]

Oooohohhh loovely. Wet, this is a soft, berry wine, with a lil bit of spice. As it dries down, I DO see how people drag black moths into this. This one could be it's "softer" cousin. Really lovely, though the wine note - (could be helped by the oudh, judging by how that used to go on my skin), goes a little sour on me.

[tinyvulture]

First sniff - red wine and cocoa powder! And spiced coffee, like in Cafe Mille et une Nuits. It's pretty, just not love at first sight, er, sniff.

[Dancing Raven]

I'm not getting the coffee note that many others are mentioning, thankfully. 

Wet: A slightly acidic red wine and something like indolic jasmine for the first minute, and I am worried. I think that initial less than pleasant note may have been the oudh which usually doesn't get along with me. Then suddenly, I get one of the lab's red wine notes that I adore. Sweet(ish), but not artificial or grapey. It smells exactly like a glass of red wine. I don't drink, and I don't like wine except the super sweet red and white dessert wines, so I'm not sure which one it reminds me of. Merlot, maybe? I also get jasmine, but no longer indolic.

Drydown: It remains red wine and jasmine for quite some time before I get the bright fruitiness of plum. It then stays pretty much the same for hours. I never get the oudh, which I am perfectly fine with.

Bottom line: Red wine that doesn't go grape, jasmine, and sweet plum. I like it a lot. If you're a fan of the lab's red wine or plum notes, you will like this.

4.5 out of 5 stars. 

[VetchVesper]

Sticky grape juice!  The plum and wine are very prominent in the bottle, but once it hits my skin, the oudh shows up. It's nice here, smoky, spicey, woody, and sans any barnyard. Overall, I get a deep red and purple incense vibe that reminds me of Purple Phoenix without the florals. 

 

P.S. As I'm writing this review, I'm at the park, and a honey bee just landed on me. So there you go: Cassiopeia -- bee approved.

[MamaMoth]

starts with a sour, almost vinegary red wine, but that gives way to a deeper velvety plummy oud.  but something is off.  there's something stale, soapy, and floral that starts to amp on me like crazy. rose and jasmine maybe?  it smells like an old-fashioned floral perfume now.  bummer.