House of Mirrors

[shelldoo]

Antique amber frames a series of distorted, eternally warping clear crystal and glass notes.

in the bottle: crystaline is right, and citrussy sunny smelling

wet: not as ozoney mostly sweet citrus, like tangerine, or orange


as it dries the clean laundry smell comes in, it reminds me of the smae feel as dirty, but not nessicarily the same notes, i also get some salty ozone, and aquatics here, but the sweet orangey scent keeps it from becoming too sharp, sadly i do not get amber in this one at all. it is a fresh, sweet, clean scent very summery to me Edited August 15, 2006 by Shollin

[sarada]

This is the real House of Mirrors -- and it smells very much like what I remember from Sea of Glass, as other reviewers have said.

 

I knew that it would probably be aquatic because of the glassy notes, and I agree with olympia301 that there does seem to be a kind of grapefruity element to those. The main impression that I get from both this and Sea of Glass was a sort of green aquatic though -- not of seaweed or ocean, but a pool tiled in shades of green and blue, with water reflecting onto the walls and ceiling.

 

The fact that most aquatic/ozone scents make me think of commercial perfumes puts me off a little bit but I like the imagery that they create in my mind sometimes. I can't smell the amber but this is a bit stronger and less fleeting than most aquatics so perhaps that's how it's manifesting.

 

As always, I think the imagery that Beth uses to describe scents really adds to my enjoyment of them. If this had been called something else, like "Flip-Flops" or "Beach Bag" I wouldn't have any interest in it at all but the thought of warping crystalline mirrors is very compelling to me! I don't know if I'll keep it, I might like to swap it for something else that I missed out on but it's interesting and it might be especially appropriate on icy cold days in the winter or on rainy days in the fall since I like to match my perfumes to the weather and time of year (among other things!).

[Sistinas]

a review of House of Mirrors

 

Vial ~ spicy and citrusy

 

Wet ~ wet on my wrists, it is not so cutting. I am not picking up either

of the two components that I listed earlier.

 

Drying ~ As it is drying, the citrus is coming out more and I think there

might be some pepper (not sure). It sure is warming up on my wrist.I am

beginning to have high hopes for this scent.

 

Dry ~ It is spicy, I believe I can detect some musks along with the citrus.

This is not what I expected at all, I wonder if there is some ginger in

this also.

 

Fade ~ the scent softens down,and I think I have found a new love. It smells

so good and it fits into the scent category that I truly adore. Warmm,

spicy and just enough lasting power so it does not die down too quick.

Definitely need another bottle of this.

 

Final thoughts ~ This is not what I had expected from this fragrace. I was

thinking more along the lines of shattered. But this is a very warm scent

that I also am able to find some comfort from. On scale of 1 to 5, I give

this scent a 5..

Edited October 20, 2005 by Sistinas

[lorajc]

I wore this to work yesterday and had the worst day I've had in a long time. I really need to wear this again before I give it a fair review, but here goes. This smells like Sea of Glass to me. If you have a bottle labeled HOM and it has no "crystal" or "sea like notes", you don't have HOM. The amber only grounds it a little. The dry down is only slightly less intense, but does not really morph much on my skin.

[Muppetk]

Lovely, aquatic notes with cucumber peeking through, but no hint of amber for me. Really, it's a nice aquatic blend, stronger than most (it took a whole hour to fade rather than the usual 20minutes on me) with a surprisingly decent throw for something this light. But no amber. I'd really wanted the amber. I don't do aquatics.

 

Edited to agree with other reviewers: it's alot like Sea of Glass on me, but with more oomph.

Edited August 22, 2005 by Muppetk

[PurringPulsar]

House of Mirrors

 

In the imp: tangy, salty, lemony marine ozone. Similar to Sea of Glass, but more citrusy.

Wet on skin: still a fresh, tangy ozone scent. Reminds me of a perfume I've smelt before…and smells like a sea breeze.

Dry on skin: fresh and sharp ozone. Hints of citrus and sea air, it's salty and zingy. I'm not getting any amber here-just that cool aquatic citrus scent. It's very nice though, it's a clear, watery scent. it reminds me of a perfume I smelt somewhere, and it does remind me of Sea of Glass- the 'glassy' reference is appropriate for a scent that evokes mirrors.

After a while: it's very consistent on me, a salty marine ozone scent. there's a hint of something resinous, this may be the amber, but it's still all 'glass' on me.

Verdict: this is a fresh, clean, bright, salty and tangy aquatic ozone fragrance. A clear and slightly metallic scent hints at the silvery reflection of the mirror with the scent of waves on the sea like the rippled surface of the mirror. It's like sea air, the ocean surface glistening in the sun, warm and yet cool. However, there's only one drawback- it's all ozone on me, very similar to Sea of Glass, which is loooovely, but I was hoping for an interesting amber dimension to this scent. I don't get very much amber at all. So whilst I do like this scent, I don't think I'll get a bottle but I'm keeping the imp.

[tsarina]

This smells like glass, which blows my mind. How do you make something smell like glass? I love it though, because it's just beautifully crystalline and smooth. There's a resiny sort of warm background to it, and it reminds me intensely of summer afternoons. Glass, warmed and smooth.

[coulrophobe]

This is definitely the "real" House of Mirrors. Straight from the bottle, I'm getting a citrusy, breezy aquatic scent. Not what I usually go for, but quite pleasant.

 

On: Oh no! I smell cucumber, which has a tendency to go all sharp and sour in aquatic blends when it hits my skin... after it's dried down for a while, it's still a bit sharper than I'd like, but I seem to have avoided the sourness. It's a clean, soapy smell, very airy and, dare I say, glassy. It's not very "me," but it's nice.

[Krista]

House of Mirrors is really beautiful. It's clear, clean and shiny. I love it! It reminds me of a perfume I once knew, but I can't put a finger on it.

 

I really like this one. I have a hard time describing it perfectly, but I do like it a lot. It's very very floral but not the floral that usually makes me recoil in horror! This is really pretty.

[Lilithlefay]

This is a citrusy amber. I also get a little ozone from this after it has been on my skin for about 15 minutes. I love the amber in this but I just can't do citrus, it makes my nose twitch, and while the citrus has calmed down from when I initially put it on, it is still there. The amber in this is absolutely beautiful though!!!!

[Belldandy]

As I smell House of Mirrors I am reminded of Sea of Glass. I compared them side by side and the only difference is the House of Mirrors is sweeter the Sea of Glass. What can I say I love the florals. And I love House of Mirrors. Sea of Glass was one of my top five before I found you House of Mirrors. Makes me kinda sad.

House of Mirrors

[grrrlennyl]

at first: some amber, but mostly an almost aquatic, sharp note. definitely reminiscent of crystal.

on: wow. if glass had a smell, this would be it. very clean.

1 hour later: very pretty. it's cleanly aquatic and almost soapy. there's a gentle sweetness underneath.

1.5 hours later: this is sharper and masculing on me.

overall: while this is nice, it isn't really something i would wear.

[tesao]

this scent, to my nose, is "BPAL light".

 

in the bottle: faintly aquatic, faintly grapefruity.

 

on my wrist, wet: more grapefruity. not compleatly, but i can't make out what other note(s) i smell.

 

on my wrist, dry: quick cucumber stage. it's over in a flash. this is faint, faint, faint. seeing myself from a loooooooooooooong distance. it's cool and soothing.

 

it isn't my favourite aquatic, but it is quite lovely. a perfume to wear when you don't want to wear perfume.

[Belladonnastrap]

First Sniff:

...it smells like Buck Moon & Kingsport got together and had a sun. Aquatic Amber? OMGWTF.

 

Wet:

Ooh. I like this. It's a light amber colorin my mind, vaguely aquatic but with a hint of earthiness.

 

Drydown:

*sigh* It's turned into a masculine aquatic amber on me. Which would be okay if I was a man but alas I'm not *pokes the girls*

 

Aftermath:

SO incrediably sad this didn't work out on me but que-cera cera.

[emz83]

At first it smells to me like a warm version of Sea Of Glass, but then it goes extremely resin-y amber in a way that goes all powder on me, then it goes into an aquatic floral with a hint of the powdery resin in back. Could see this on others but it's just not me.

[DameBecca]

This scent stayed surprisingly true from bottle to drydown.

 

For me, this smells just like a very nice, but very strong expensive men's cologne. Like Belladonnastrap said, great for a guy, but just waaaaay too much for me. It was only slightly aquatic and I didn't get any citrus. I was surprised because the bottle tht I smelled at Black Broom seemed to have a nice citrus edge to it. Towards the very end, I got a little bit of a woody base to it, but it was very faint.

 

This one lasts a loooong time and you don't need much of it. I highly recommend this one as a men's scent for a posh evening out.

[arabella]

First Impression: Aquatic and floral.

 

Dries down to: A warm watery floral - lily of the valley, if I'm not mistaken. The mental image I get is a glass full of ice sitting next to some stems of lily of the valley on a table in the hot sun - the glass is sweating profusely.

 

Additional Comments: I love what the amber does to this one - it makes it feel warm and cool at the same time. Although many have mentioned a citrus note, I don't get any at all. This oil is perfect for hot summer days.

 

Lasted: 3-4 hours.

 

Rating: 3.5 out of 5

[Lycanthrope]

From my first official CN order!

 

In the vial, House of Mirrors reminded me very strongly of that same citrus/grapefruit aquatic that is used in Sea of Glass. Applied, it retains that same slightly tart, bright aquatic note, but unfortunately to me, seems to be so similar that I don't see House of Mirrors as being that uniquely different. On skin over time the citrus doesn't really fade much, which is the same reaction I had with Sea of Glass, and there may be a hint of sweet amber, but it's not very dark, deep, or sultry, which I was hoping for. A bright scent, perhaps a less floral Sea of Glass.

 

Like it, but don't love it.

[urraca]

I find this scent is quite distinct from Sea of Glass. Right off I do get a citrus from HoM but it is much tarter than Sea of Glass --- more like lemon and orange or possibly white grapefruit rather than SoG's pink grapefruit. As it dried down, House of Mirrors retains its distinctiveness with a much sharper scent. It's more crystal and glass than salty water. It's also more (to my nose) masculine. I prefer Sea of Glass; others will feel differently.

[Diana]

I originally got Snake Charmer in my House of Mirrors bottle. I finally got my HoM, and I'm annoyed with myself for not trying this *before* CN went bye bye.

 

Holy Wowzers.

 

In the bottle, it's very citrusy, with a slight pine note to it. Kind of like when you drink orange juice after you brush your teeth and run around going CHA CHA CHA? ok, maybe not.

 

On the skin, the citrus note kind of goes away, but not entirely. This slightly aquatic, slightly piney, slightly musky. It reminds me almost dead on of a Sephora perfume from a year or two ago called "L'eau Bleu Relaxant" which lists notes as Green Pine Floral(Jasmine, Violet) Musky Woody. At times it is a dead on duplicate, at times it takes on a more masculine cologney-old spice kind of scent to it. Either way, I freaking LOVE this.

 

 

This is a light, slightly masculine, clean scent. I dig.

[paperdoll]

Initial Sniff: Cool, clean, and slightly citrussy in the bottle.

 

Wearing: This is very cool and crisp. It stays fairly true to the bottle scent throughout its time on my skin.

 

Final Impressions: Where's the amber? I was hoping for something much more complex and interesting than this, but it is nice all the same.

[gingersnapp]

Light and crystal clear, if that can be a smell. It was more citrus than aquatic, but light and refreshing nonetheless. I didn't get the amber I was hoping for, but it was non-offensive and quite pretty. A good blend for a day of sweltering heat.

[quimerula]

I smell glass, a soft glass note with a smooth ozone touch.

The amber warms it a bit, but it's still a light and transparent perfume.

Light and neat.

[Batgirl]

To my nose, this has similar qualities to Azathoth. I agree with people that are saying this is a masculine blend, it has a definite cologne-y feel. It's a light citrus/aquatic and I don't detect amber at all. Nice enough, but probably something I won't be keeping.

[sophia_helix]

In the bottle:

 

Unfortunately, a friend described this as "citrus over hand lotion," and the description stuck with me, so I did notice an unpleasantly creamy note behind the clean scent.

 

Wet:

 

The creamy scent is going away, and so now I get clean n' citrus. Makes me think of crystal blue and bright orange.

 

Drydown:

 

Very invigorating. Reminded me a lot of Storm Moon, although this is definitely less aquatic, more astringent clean. Luckily, I like astringent clean (Windex is one of my favorite scents!), but I would have liked a little more punch to this scent.

 

I'm going to hang onto it for now, since I don't have many bottles, but I may end up swapping away eventually.