Grandmother of Ghosts

[whitsunweddings]

Mania, Roman Goddess of the Dead, Matron of Madness, Governess of the Ancestral Spirits, Bestower of Divine Frenzy. Her scent swirls with a high-pitched tumult of laurel, stargazer lily, splintered woods, peony, mandarin and white musk, and is spiked with pale pepper.

In the imp: Sort of a green, citrusy lily.
Wet: Fresh, green and woodsy, with a slight hint of spice.
Dry: A very fresh and unusual floral.

[snowball]

Imp: It smells sweet and very green to me.

 

Wet: Still sweet, some woods coming through and mandarine.

 

Dry: Florals, lots of mandarine.

 

Later: Mainly sweet mandarine with a touch of flowers.

 

A lovely scent but too sweet for me.

[rosymaplemoth]

I'm a total scent newbie, so here goes:

 

I was a little surprised by the description of this perfume, because 'high-pitched' and 'death' isn't what came to mind... well, unless you view death as comfort.

 

This smell evokes warmth and comfort. Maybe it's the name 'Grandmother' in the title, but it reminds me of my grandmother's bedroom. It seems like it would be a great scent for going out in the snow, because just smelling it just makes me feel warmer and calmer.

 

Out of all the many gods referenced in this line, Mania is not who I would have imagined. However, this is one of my favorite scents!

[mymymai]

ITI: Oh, that was warmer than I excepted. The wood is rich and scented when paired with the musk and faint mandarin. Peony adds just a little floral sweetness to make this a gorgeous scent in the bottle.

 

Wet: The peony is more sharp when paired with the now-prominent lily and laurel. There is a little musk and a hint of pepper, but the wood and mandarin are not present on my skin.

 

Dry: This one didn't last my full day, but on reapplication, it gets a little floral and powdery with the white musk and peony.

[child of drought]

In the bottle: The laurel, lilly and general woody scents are what stick out to me at first. Like a wooded meadow, dappled in sunlight. Warm but sweet, with this hint of sharpness underneath.

 

On wet: It’s kind of clear and refreshing, no real scent in particular stands out. Just the general impression of a sweet, faintly floral, breeze.

 

On dry: Mmmmm as it dried it got much warmer, the musk starting to stand out more. There’s also this faint, almost caramel smell underneath the musk. It’s still very sweet and floral though, no woods that I can discern any longer. I can tell there is pepper because my lips are burning - happens every time even though it’s going on my wrist!

[Lani]

This scent is one of the very first BPALs I ever tried--it was in my first ever BPAL order! Initially, back then, I decided it didn't work on me and gave it away, but as time has passed and I've gotten to know perfumes better, I wanted to revisit Grandmother of Ghosts; particularly since it's on the list to be discontinued in March. I lucked out and got a frimp of it with my Yules this year, and boy, am I glad I did.

 

Grandmother smells just like I remember her in the bottle, but my reaction when I put it on is wholly different. This is a subtle, pretty, well-blended scent. I have trouble picking out individual notes, but I get an overall sense of lightly peppery woods, with the barest touch of floral sweetness. The mandarin really doesn't come through on me at all (typical on my skin--citruses seem to fade quickly or be curiously absent on me), which is a shame but, oh well. Also, this is one of the only white musk blends I've tried where the white musk doesn't seem to give the whole thing an ozone-y quality, for which I'm glad in this case. (Don't get me wrong, normally I like what the ozone-y white musk does, but I don't think it would work well here.)

 

Overall, the whole thing does have a ghostly, floaty sort of presence, which I thoroughly enjoy. I may well snag myself a bottle of this before it's gone.

[cinnamonster]

I ordered this based on an impression of a long-gone imp.

I don't think it's quite the same as I remembered.

 

In the bottle: pencil shavings!

On skin: pencil shavings, fading as something floral appears. Very oddly, as citrus is normally a first smelled note for me and fastest to leave, it takes a minute or two for the mandarin to appear. I don't really know how to describe this. It's way sweeter now, and more so than my memory of it. Will I keep it? Not sure.

[Miss Despair]

I got this for the citrus, which unfortunately only manifests in the form of a lingering sweetness. Everything else is wood. Reminds me alternately of a bonfire, a sauna, and sandalwood (although I don't think sandalwood is listed as a note?). Very matronly and not very me. I'm starting to learn that I can't do woodsy BPALs that aren't also masculine and/or aquatic.

[satinworship]

In the imp it's mostly peony, floral, and woody in that order.

On my skin it does have a sort of matronly smell, similar to what the other reviews noted. I think the peony with it's soft perfumy notes and the herby wood of the laurel that bring the "Grandmother" out in this. It smells so soft and comforting, yet the lily and white musk lend a slightly sad wistfulness to this blend. I wouldn't normally be attracted to this kind of scent, but I find it very warm and comforting.

[freyasfae]

This scent is more evocative of the title than the description for me - it's a little somber and haunting, but there's also a sort of comforting nostalgia there. They wet to drydown isn't as different on this scent as it is for me with most BPALs. In sum: A dry woody floral with pepper lingering in the background. Beautiful and more haunting than screeching - I like it as a winter floral. On my BPAL scale of 1-5, it gets a three - almost there, but something isn't quite right. I think it's just I have some scents with similar qualities that rate just a little higher for me.

[Lucchesa]

This is really quiet on me, not at all tumultuous or screeching. I don't get much citrus, or pepper for that matter, just a woodsy floral that would be perfect for wearing in places where I'm not really supposed to be wearing perfume. I'll keep it for just those occasions. Lovely if I sniff my wrist, but no throw whatsoever although I usually amp lily.

[doomsday_disco]

In the imp: Laurel and mandarin, with some florals, musk, and woods.

 

Wet: The laurel note is the first to emerge, along with some pepper, followed by the stargazer lily, and a little bit of the woods.

 

Dry: This dried down to a musky mandarin and lily scent on me, but after a while, the splintered woods started playing more of a role (and I think a dry sandalwood may be one of the woods). There's a slight kick to it due to the pepper (which I think is white pepper). The mandarin and pepper combo kind of reminds me of Tweedledee.

 

Verdict: This one is okay, but not really me. Still, it was nice to be able to try it.

Edited February 26, 2018 by dementia_divine

[melandie]

Frimp in my latest order. I wasn't expecting to like this as I'm not much for florals, but the woods and pepper come out nicely on me. I can't put my finger on exactly what, but it reminds me of a commercial scent I used to wear years ago. Something by Alfred Sung??

 

I don't mind this; I don't feel the need to wash it right off, but I don't see myself reaching for the imp very often either.