A Sorceress

[Seajewel]

Black silk, golden thread, skin musk, white sandalwood, vanilla dust, red lotus absolute, tonka absolute, serpent scale accord, and black amber.

[Nepthys]

Never have I been so wrong about how something would smell on me. Unfortunately, it doesn't start out great wet and then dries down to smell like plastic. The sorcery here just doesn't work well with me. 

Edited October 23, 2022 by Nepthys

[ND¢]

I ordered this knowing that lotus proved not to be something I'd reach for by default (Triumphant Vulva taught me this) and hoping red lotus absolute would somehow not be lotus. Lol. The scent opens with a kind of billow of what I was guessing is this serpent scale accord and silk? I found it cool and evocative, creating a sense of open space in which the skin musk and red lotus (it is much more sedate than that in TV) can really expand. The sandalwood does come in relatively quickly. I'd bet this is the And Though They Are With You sandalwood, which is a GOAT sandalwood. 

 

If vanilla dust, thus far mainly as a skin-musk amping. If black amber, mainly as a lotus enhancer. 

 

Very elegant and mysterious. 

Edited October 23, 2022 by ND¢

[FebruaryFoxglove]

Woah! Silky skin musk and lush wet lotus poured into a slinky leather catsuit. Smooth, slithery and seductive, but not as sweet as the notes might suggest. The sandalwood is subtle, working with the vanilla dust and black amber to temper the sourness of the serpent scale note.  The overall impression is effortlessly mysterious and quietly powerful. It’s not the sweet floral I was expecting, and is indeed different from any scent I’ve encountered before. This suggestive sorceress would feel right at home with the Shungas! 

[MamaMoth]

i may be way off base here, but this goes on smelling pretty oud-y to me.  and not the good kind, i'm sorry to say.  it has a bit of the catbox to it. 

 

i smell skin musk, which i generally like, but it can be a little overwhelming at times, and this is one of them. 

 

there's something floral...  lotus i guess?  i'm not familiar enough with the note to say for sure. 

 

and i smell a metal note, which i was afraid the "golden thread" would prove to be.  on me, metal notes smell harsh and cologney. 

 

at this point, i have to tap out, because it's starting to give me a headache. 

 

this one isn't for me, i' m afraid. 

Edited November 12, 2022 by MamaMoth

[feyofthefellwood]

This scent is . . . challenging. I do wonder if there's some kind of animalic oud in the serpent scale accord, which I did not expect. (I guess I expected some patch ala Snake Oil or something). Unfortunately I associate the smell of this wet with laundry that has been in the washer too long and needs to be re-washed. As it dries down, I do get really nice, almost cold-smelling silk/thread notes, which are unique and fascinating, but it's a bit difficult for me to get through to the dry down. So, in summary, I like the dry down but not the process of getting there. I'll set this aside for a bit and see if aging smooths it out at all. 

[Sjofn]

It's probably a chemistry thing, but, I get an overwhelming skin musk + lemon. Even in the bottle. Hoping it will evolve over time. 

Edited November 29, 2022 by Sjofn

[theredkilt]

I admit there's an underlying funk here, but the trick here is that you have to take this scent for a walk outside and that is where it blooms. The lotus amber vanilla/tonka trio comes alive and brings the slinky serpent scale accord to the forefront. I'm intrigued. I feel like this would have fit in the Crimson Peak line.

[HerbGirl]

Whoa. Well, wow.

 

I can see why people are mentioning 'funk' however, I love scents like It Wasn't Just a Phase and Dark Rosaleen, so I know this 'funk' will smooth out in a few months. I watched the reviews and let this sit for a few weeks before testing.

 

This scent screams Autumn for me, which is extremely comforting.

 

Honestly, I'm not sure what I smell apart from agarwood, tonka and amber but I love it. I'm glad to have a bottle and I bet that the notes will be easier to find after a year, if my bottle lasts that long. My only gripe is that my bottle was filled to just above the top of the label, which I was surprised to see. This seems to be happening more often lately.

 

Eta - 30 minutes on my skin this is morphing into such a beautiful, slightly sweet (almost floral but not!) scent and the amber/golden thread/agarwood has almost disappeared. I almost forgot which scent I had on! I am not familiar with Black Silk but this makes me wish that I was...I bet the red lotus (never heard of red lotus before!) is doing something magical but again, I'm not familiar with it. Barely any throw for such a statement piece, and stays close to the skin!

Edited November 16, 2022 by HerbGirl

[Viiinylflowers]

I absolutely loved the concept and bottle art for this one - but it is unfortunately really not my cup of tea.  
 

To my senses this is a high pitched very clangy metallic harsh white amber with pitchy musky florals.  

This is accented by an underwaft of what I can only describe as a what smells like a very dirty petsmart style snake cage.  Like a hot poopy serpent smell snaking it’s way through the scent.  
 

It doesn’t really evolve for me, maybe it grows a bit more metallic as I wear it, which serves to create even more of a noxious juxtaposition between the funk and the intense perfumey notes.   

[doomsday_disco]

I initially skipped this one due to the fabric notes.

 

And I am glad I never bottled it... but I don't think that it is the fabric notes contributing to the funk in this.

 

The funk makes me think of animalic musk and/or oudh, and I don't know if there's secretly some of these notes in here, or if it is the (non bubblegum-y, but heady) red lotus combining with one of the other who-knows-what-is-really-in-it accords listed as notes in this blend, but it is a very funky, musky, resinous scent. It gets drier over time as the white sandalwood joins in, but mostly, it's dark and musky (but a different sort of musk than the listed skin musk!).

 

While it is not as scary after several hours as it was initially, I'm just not vibing with something in this scent.

[theseagrows]

i get the aforementioned funk at first (assuming this is the serpent scale accord? smells like it has oudh in it) and it kind of drowns out everything else. there is something fresher smelling underneath but i can't place it. maybe the silk. after about 30 mins or so the funk mostly dies off, and i get that underlying freshness. it takes quite awhile for the other notes to come through but i get something slightly sweet that helps the other notes. maybe vanilla/tonka. the vanilla/tonka/amber grows and the scent is improved but it still has that underlying 'fresh' note which must be silk, that i dislike. if that wasn't there, i could probably wear this. not what i was expecting but still very interesting for sure.
 

 

[DiZZysTARdust]

adding to the oudh detectors. that's mainly all i get in the bottle and on well into the dry down, very agressive and animalic oudh, although this is just a day fresh from the mailbox so i''m determined to retest at a later point in time.

[roseus]

This smells expensive. In the imp I get lots of rich musk, vanillic notes, incense (I think oudh??). On my skin it is similar, but there is a funk. Usually oudh doesn't give funk on my skin, even if it is a funky variety in the imp/bottle.  Luckily it does not take very long for the funk to subside. This scent is gorgeous but I feel like it is wearing me, you know? Like it takes a bad bitch to wear this. I am not rich enough or well-connected enough. I do not have the cajones to back this scent. 

[zankoku_zen]

Lush oudh (hello agarwood), red roses, and silk. This smells like red roses dragged through a swamp. Huge throw, great wear length.

[groovyrooby]

Challenging is a good word to describe this. I think I understand now what snake accord smells like, and that is something to be passionately for/not. To my nose, it was feet. A doozy of sour foot. Like pulling your hand out of a dirty glove. That particular bit calmed down to a leathery note about 30 minutes later, but thing is - I don't enjoy leather notes, either. Womp womp.

 

On the bright side, the remaining elements merged into this lovely, cool, almost aquatic but more ethereal vibe, more silvery than black. Maybe like a pewter or hematite, eh? Soft and misty air, damp and cool scales. I realized later where I had smelled something similar = Kneel Down, Fair Love. Grey, gossamer, silk, shimmery, damp fabric. Spot on vibe. If that's your jam, you will probably have major feelings about this one. 

[Cali]

Oh nooooo! This made me averse my head sniffing from the bottle, not what i was expecting at all! 

However, thank goodness, it calms down on drydown- whatever was not only SO strong (i'm guessing some of the black notes) has gone to the background, creating a beautiful velvety soft blanket of darkness, and on this darkness there's the slightest hint of something similar to fruits. Oudhy, vaguely vanilla, vaguely fruity. Gives me a headache. :c