The Stranger

[Lycanthrope]

The unknown factor, the outsider entering your town uninvited, unannounced, and unknown: a narcotic black chypre with crushed violets, indigo lilac, patchouli, oakmoss absolute, labdanum, and clove.

Super intrigued!

Wet, it smells very cold, almost like a splinter of blue-black dark. I bet there are some opium notes in this because I get that soporific swell in some of the poppy-containing blends. Labdanum is one of those notes I love, but also jumps out on me, and the poppy-black-musk opening becomes gummy with warmth on my skin and lets out a spicy-sweet cloud of labdanum, made gritty and husky with the patchouli. This is really, really heavy and basically is prowling off my skin. Interestingly, it isn't until at least 15 minutes later, that I can get a bit of the oakmoss/lilac/violets. These are not whomp you on the head florals or greens... a tangle or dark crown or wreath of gray-green foliage scattered with dark, subtle petals, but still a menacing arrangement, lurking in the shadows.

I like this, but it is farrrrrr to dark for this bright violet-wearing metal-aquatic werewolf.

Still, this is super dark, moody, sexy. Complicated and layered. Even with the florals, I think this is unisex and may even transform based on who's wearing it... again on me, a guy, it's an unconventional, dark musky in tone with bruised purple florals lurking but not showy in the background.

[Juliamon]

In the imp: Wow that's dark! I'm mostly getting the labdanum, oakmoss, and patchouli, but there's a lurking floral somewhere.

 

Wet: WOW that's dark. Definitely an uneasy black-as-night feeling. I'm not a fan of violets and they are, unfortunately, joining forces with the oakmoss and clove to stamp out the lilac. I tested this on both my wrist and inner elbow, and interestingly it's becoming more delicate on my wrist. The lilac is finally peeking out as the clove and violet back off. I guess the Stranger has been properly introduced there. It remains uneasy and dark on my arm though.

 

Dry: On my wrist it's vanished, but still going strong on my arm, mostly violet and oakmoss now. Shame, I'd really hoped the violet would have been a minor player. It feels pretty masculine on my arm, though on my wrist it was definitely more unisex.

 

I liked when it started to dry on my wrist, but it was gone so fast. Sorry, Stranger, guess you'll be moving on to a new town. It was lovely to meet you though, however briefly!

[LizziesLuck]

Wet: Dark, rich. Tough to describe, initially. It's velvety smooth darkness, with small pinpoints of brightness, like stars in the night sky. I get no violet, which is what scared me about this blend (thank you so much to my Decantress for the free sniffy bottle, otherwise I never would have tried this!!) There's a hint of spice. but I wouldn't have identified it as clove. More like...white pepper? Maybe I am smelling a part of the chypre. This is SO INTERESTING. I have been fascinated with chypres since Mabel. This is kind of incredible. I keep sniffing it and sniffing it. It's rich, resiny, sweet from the labdanum. Hints of the moss come through very faintly, giving it an earthy quality. I can barely detect a whisper of lilac, but no violet still. But mostly it's that gorgeous chypre which I find so utterly ineffable. Glorious.

 

 

Dry: This goes through a bunch of phases on me. None as good as that first, wet stage. The middle stage is high pitched and quite floral and perfumey, though the floral notes aren't recognizable as either lilac or violet, really. The end stage is still perfumey, but also very mossy, slightly earthy, and somewhat soapy. I know that sounds weird, but it's still totally pleasant and intriguing. It's just not the total glory that was this scent when I first put it on. I may give it another go in a few weeks, see how it does with some more settling.

[torikitty]

Dark, slightly sweet, and foreboding. It seems like the florals are competing for attention, which makes things smell chaotic. I wanted to test this out to see how my skin would respond to lilac.

 

Wet: mostly getting black chypre, crushed violets, and clove.

 

Drydown: somehow it's feeling more mature. Is that the oakmoss? There's a slight smoky smell to it. Maybe the labdanum? Either way, the more masculine notes are coming out, and I'm not amping violets, lilac, or patchouli. I think the clove keeps it uni-sex, but The Stranger is a good name for this one.

[patina]

I keep forgetting that violets + clove turn to powder on me and the oakmoss doesn't help.

 

The chypre is prominant, it's black and matte and a little scratchy. Overall I was hoping for something more slinky.

[zankoku_zen]

Inky black chypre with violets and clove. This one is a dominant black chypre, masculine in its chypre-ness, but softened by the violets. And yet, its only the appearance of softness. You know how a panther's fur looks soft? It may be soft fur, but it's still on a panther. I think the clove adds a bit of Drakkar Noir-ish edge to the black chypre, which is either a deal breaker or just full of nostalgia. Either way, still a panther. Good throw.

[Aveya]

Source: TPP Decant Circle

Preconception: Unsure about this one, but got a decant for the scent experience.

 

Imp: Dark, dirty, damp?

Initial skin: Warm. Fuzzy. Gritty. Dark. Dry spices

Drydown: Vibe is super dark, masculine, spiced, lightly sweetened like a vanilla-esq musk vibe.

 

Verdict: Really well blended, very very dark, musky, earthy, masculine-leaning.

 

Sort of feels like a forest at night in the summer. Spooky stories then getting lost. Horror-themed snipe hunts.

[VetchVesper]

This smells like deep purple velvet to me. I definately smell the violet, but it's a violet with all the sweetness gone. The clove in this is subtle, just a subtle nose twitchy spice behind thick, sweet resins There is a mossiness to this that adds to the soft lushness, but it smells more cool than earthy to me. Thick, soft but not powdery, dark, mysterious, cool but somehow warm at the same time, utterly fascinating to my nose. Velvet in a bottle, which I will be adding to my collection.

[annemathematics]

very beautiful dark liquid purple smooooooooothness. although I don't work with this aspect of the fool in my actual tarot card readings, this scent jumped up and down at me as I read the release. it's a total winner of a blind bottle and my favorite fool scent that I tried. I wouldn't classify it as feminine, masculine, unisex...it's honestly kind of like the tao, in that it evokes many things but yet cannot be boxed in or labeled. I put this beauty on when I get home from work, and the scent washes the day clear away and brings me into my own dark, magical, beautiful space. the throw is good and it lasts until I go to sleep; fittingly, all traces of it are gone the next morning.

[lizardskin]

I looove this one. I'm still not sure what chypre smells like, but I think I like it. This is a dark, mysterious scent, and it calls to mind a forest without actually smelling like trees. The clove is there, but not overwhelming. Patchouli is hit-or-miss with me, but here it is well blended, grounding the rest of the notes without taking over.

[Ghost of a Rose]

Decant from a lovely forumite.

 

In the imp: The oil is clear and a pinkish light brown. It smells like spice and patchouli, with a sharp, sweet, light, bright edge. This is darker than I would associate with The Fool. I see it more as Aragorn, in his Strider role. Even the light and brightness isn't warm or comforting. It is the cold and dangerous brilliance of glacial ice. Light that can blind you and bite off your nose and toes if you aren't careful. But it can also show you the way forward.

 

It does fit the concept of The Stranger. Which of course is a face of the Fool. It isn't who he is, but how the people of the villages he visits might see him. We know that he is young, adventurous, naive, a little reckless, a little foolish, more carefree than is good for him. But they don't know that. As with Strider, they see him as dark, mysterious, and possibly menacing. And maybe there is a small and hidden part of him that is those things.

 

On me, wet: I smell the same notes as in the bottle, but others as well. Some greenness - maybe the oak moss? The scent quickly warms up and loses that light bright aspect. I don't notice any florals. It is unisex to masculine.

 

At 5 minutes: Pretty much the same. A hint of mystery floral may be starting to develop.

 

At 10 minutes: It is very sweet, with that cloying sweetness that certain kinds of patchouli have. The florals are getting stronger and contributing to the sweetness as well. But I have to work to recognize them as floral - that note is more like soap. Clove is the strongest note.

 

At 20 minutes: The soapy florals are becoming strong enough to compete with the clove and patchouli. I'm starting to recognize a little violet. It goes surprisingly well with the clove.

 

At 30 minutes: The patchouli has settled down quite a bit, and I'm liking this more than previously. I have nothing against patch, but this one isn't my favorite kind. I'm finally getting that sense of purple that others mentioned. It's almost fruity, but not quite. Much less sweet now, too. And the soapiness is mostly gone.

 

At 45 minutes: Much gentler now, in both character and throw. The notes are blending together so nicely. It is difficult to pick out individual notes, except for clove. But even that is mellowing.

 

At 1 hour: I can just barely pick out some spice and patchouli in the throw, with a tint of violet. But it takes some effort. Mostly it's a well blended Oriental spice-and-incense unisex perfume.

 

At 1 1/2 hours: Quite mild now.

 

At 4 hours: It actually seems a little stronger now than last time I checked. For a while, it went powdery - like a spicy-scented powder. Now it has lost the powder and gone to a men's spicy cologne. The last thing I would have expected on final drydown!

 

11 hours later, I can still smell it very faintly on my wrist, and stronger on my clothing.

 

Verdict: The Stranger is powerful, probably not something you'd want to wear to the office unless you work in a cannibis store. It is basically unisex, maybe leaning just a tiny bit towards the masculine, but in an incensey way, not in a men's-cologne way.

 

It's not really me (I was hoping for more of a violet and lilac presence), but It is nice enough. It will be pleasant to wear from time to time when I'm in the mood for something different.

 

3 out of 6 stars

Edited September 13, 2018 by Ghost of a Rose

[Biocarbons]

This is almost a clove single note on me. The other notes are ghosts in the background. It was almost totally gone by hour two. Dissapointing.