Circe Invidiosa

[zankoku_zen]

Salt-spray dotting an azure cove, its waters swirling with noxious poisons and venom drawn from dreadful roots: a cascade of blackcurrant and crystalline blue-green waters infused with theriac accord, bruised henbane accord, white gardenia, pear, cedarwood, emerald mosses, tuberose, and bitter almond. 

[bheansidhe]

First impressions: Salty, transparent waves; crisp pear and a lightweight white floral musk over cedars. The base is slightly bitter in the way that fine department store perfume is sometimes bitter to me, but too complex to pinpoint a source. In fact, this is one of the most gorgeously complex BPAL blends I can think of, and I think the reason is the "theriac accord." From what I can learn online, traditional theriac recipes could include honey, cinnamon, cassia, ginger, benzoin, oppoponax, opium accord, myrrh, lavender, rose, lemongrass, bay laurel, parsley, anise, carrot seed, black pepper, St. John's wort, fennel, juniper, clove, wine, iris root, rhubarb, and valerian - WHEW. If even a dozen of those notes made it into the background, haunting complexity is a given. There's definitely a tinge of honey in the base, and I could possibly be convinced that I catch opium accord and carrot seed as well. 

 

The throw is gentle but prolonged. This blend seeps from enchanted ground and surrounds you in a seductive, potentially deadly mist. Once snared, your prey will want to follow you anywhere to find the source. Use it wisely. 

 

 

[Alisha_SBC]

This scent is the sea at twilight for me. I get that sea air aspect that isn't too briney or heavy. I don't really detect any fruit from the blackcurrant or pear, but I'm catching whiffs of florals in the background. I love gardenia and don't actually detect it as anything more than a lush floral, it's that subtle.
The woods stand out most, but in a smooth way that doesn't go too masculine. That being said, I find this very unisex. Clean without being soapy. It's a nice, oddly soothing scent.

[puellacaerulea]

I think I was hoping for more salt/sea air/aquatics in this one, but I'm getting more of the fruits/mosses/florals. There is a blue-green aspect to this scent, but to me it's less oceanic and more muddy and bayou-esque. My skin chemistry might also not be playing well with this one, as it goes slightly powdery for a bit. It's not bad as a green, mossy take on an aquatic, but just might not be for me.

[Mountaingrrl00]

The cedar, gardenia and tuberose are most prominent on me. Something here smells like orange blossom, too, although it's not a listed component - may be the fruitiness of the pear combining with the floral elements. When it dries down, it's a soft woody-mossy scent. I'm not really getting aquatics. The herbal blend is enticing. This stays close to the skin and does not last a long time.

[patina]

This smells of pear, blackcurrant and gardenia.

 

On drydown I get cedar and moss too. This isn't very aquatic at all, but I think the aquatics are softening the fruit. Definitely more of a swamp aquatic than an ocean scent, but only if swamp water smelled of pear and blackcurrant.

 

Something also reminds me of the poison berries in "Her Strong Enchantments Failing", which makes sense. This is a softer scent all around though.

Edited December 15, 2020 by patina

[Casablanca]

Salt-spritzed sea air over cedars, gardenia, and (for the first moment or so) a little black currant.

 

Once Circe has dried, her flowers fill in the salt air. I notice mostly tuberose and cedar here. The background is hard to distinguish.

 

This is one of those perfumes with so many blended notes that everything comes out soft. In that way, Circe reminds me of some of the Moon lunacy perfumes.

 

An hour or so after applying, Circe is floral, clean, and sophisticated.

[Permanent.Black.Ink.]

I got this one as a decant.

In the vial, the pear is very dominant, and I get some undertones of the white florals.  I had very high hopes; I don't have many pear- forward bpal.

wet on skin, the pear gets eaten up by salt and moss drying down the white florals are coming back around...what a walk this takes me on.

It's a soft one, very low throw although it will hang tight through the day, sweet and subtle.

This one has been fun to follow as an imp but I'm unlikely to invest in a full bottle; it's a very low throw and ends up being pretty generic white florals.

[zankoku_zen]

Salty water, pear, touches of gardenia and whiff of cedar. This one smells like it would be a great female pirate/mermaid blend. Slightly feminine, lots of water, hits of florals and salty woods. Good throw and wear length.

[bambi]

Upon opening my decant, I was very confused. Why does this smell like salted peanuts??? And then I remembered that both salt-spray and bitter almonds are components, and it all made sense. This smells completely different on my skin. With that number of notes, it's no surprise that this is a complex scent. One second I get salt and aquatics, the next I get pear and blackcurrant, then florals, then earthy notes of moss and cedar. It's beautiful. As it dries and settles, I get more of the florals. They're soft and almost creamy. Fully dried, the aquatics and florals makes this smell a bit like laundry detergent, but in the best way. I really like this.

[ReallyZeb]

In the bottle - bitter, sharp florals

 

Wet: I get a bit of pear drop but the bitterness persists. The cedar wood starts coming to the fore as it dries. There's a tiny touch of salt.

 

When dry I don’t get any blackcurrant but I do detect the gardenia, along with the still present cedar wood and some green bitterness which I think must be the henbane. It’s a very dry scent when I was expecting something much juicier. After about an hour the blackcurrant finally turns up and makes it a softer scent, but still with that tiny background bitterness

[rivetted]

This one is just so much more.... fruity ? than I expected. hah

 

The blackcurrant seems to be the strongest note I get from sniffing the bottle (smells very plummy & delicious)

 

The fruity notes do not play as "gourmand" however - this is very much an Elegant Perfume smell, of the Dark Elegant Plum variety with beautiful background florals.

 

I think I was hoping for more of an "aquatics" experience from this perfume based on the scent description (having recently learned that I love salty ocean aquatics), but it doesn't play as an aquatic to me at all. Just strong florals & fruits, very perfumey. 

it's quite lovely, really. Just not what I was expecting from it, so I haven't grabbed it very often yet. 

However, I'm very happy with it as a purchase, and glad to add it to my collection. 

Interested to see how it ages as well - it seems like it could get much darker over time.

[roseus]

Well I can detect a beautiful mossy green scent, but unfortunately it is obscured by the pear which is going a bit wonky on my skin. Unfortunate as I had been mooning over this scent for some time!