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Scarecrow

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An agricultural gargoyle. Though he is the Guardian of the Crops and Keeper of the Fields, his visage is still the stuff of nightmares. The scent of a hot wind blowing through desolate, scorched, barren fields.

 

I got this as a frimp today and my goodness the first sniff reminded me of soap in run down rest stops on a cross country road trip. Thinking for a moment and taking another sniff I do smell the The scent of a hot wind blowing through desolate, scorched, barren fields. In fact that's exactly what it smells like, plus soap? I haven't worked up the courage yet to try it on, between the overwhelming bathroom soap scent and not much desire to smell like texas fields in a drought.

 

Likely not for me but I may save it to sniff and try later.

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On the wand, this smells just like its description. Hot wind rustling sun-scorched hay and brittle, dead grasses. The blend sits on the edge of smelling burnt. The magnifying glass has directed the sun at dried hay: it’s browning, starting to smoke, and is about to catch flame.

 

On my skin… Well, it’s not a pretty scent. No happy spring floral here. It smells like a Rubbermaid box of car exhaust.

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I'll try to update when I've given it a full day's wear, but my initial impressions are very positive. I definitely get "sun-baked" rather than "scorched" or "barren," and nothing nightmarish about it. On me, Scarecrow has the same full, rich, rounded, Mother-Nature's-loving-embrace quality that I get from Theoi Nomioi, but maybe with some florals and a hint of field stubble in place of the trees. It's a beauty with a nice, mid-range throw.

That said, I got my imp secondhand, so it could have been a well-aged sample I tried. I'll know better once I buy a bottle brand new.
:wub2:

 

ETA 2017: After getting a lab-fresh bottle, I definitely understand where the banana and/or nail polish comparisons were coming from. Those elements diminish on dry-down, but this may be a scent that requires a little aging to reach its fullest potential, and I think it's worth it.

 

ETA 2020: My bottle is now 3 years old. It smells pretty nasty in the bottle and absolutely glorious the moment it hits my skin, just like the original imp I tried. No artificial banana nail polish smell during drydown. So glad I didn't give up on it!

CluckingBell

Edited by CluckingBell

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My bottle is aged about 3 years and at this point, half empty. I never noticed 'til now just how much I used to wear it.

 

It's true that from the bottle this is a very harsh and chemical scent, almost flammable. For me, this persists a while when wet before quickly settling down and warming to something more amiable. I mostly get the smell of singed straw, maybe some that had been dampened previously. Hot, blustery nightfall - perhaps with impending rain - after a harshly sunny day. I can see why some made comparisons to a spooky hayride. Imagery isn't too hard to conjure up for this one. Throw isn't too strong from a distance, but up close it endures for quite a while. I'm very glad to rediscover this and will likely seek to replace the bottle once it starts to dwindle.

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In the imp: There’s a sharp, somewhat sour (like vinegar) note, and something sweet, accompanied by what I think could be hay.

 

Wet: There’s something sweet, but then I am hit with a blast of that sharp note that I, too, can’t help associating with nail polish remover. It’s like nail polish remover and banana!?!?!?!?!?! I just had to do a search of this thread to see if anyone else happened to get banana. Glad I am not the only one. I hope this changes.

 

Dry: It takes a long time for that sharp, nail polish remover-like note to calm down. When it does calm down, I do get smoky, scorched fields. It’s sharp, somewhat smoky, with dry grasses and dry dirt, but oddly, there’s still that sweet banana-like note in the background.

 

Verdict: Well, Scarecrow was a scent experience… but not one that I particularly enjoyed. The wet phase was unpleasant (and unexpected), and it isn’t until it has been dry for a while that I think it resembles its inspiration. So if you are wanting to smell like a dry, scorched field and dirt, you may have to brave the wet phase first, unless that was just an epic skin chemistry fail. But wet or dry, Scarecrow is not for me.

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Yep, Scarecrow starts out as acetone, but it doesn't stay that way long on my skin.  It turns warm and dry and perfumey.  (Hay and soil notes often go towards high-end perfume on my skin.)  This is an older imp and may have softened somewhat from the original conception, but I'm not getting acrid smoke or the sense of postapocalyptic desolation that other reviewers have described.  Low throw and wear length.  I'm glad I got to try this, but I will probably pass it on so someone else can have the opportunity.  

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