The Emathides

[roxyhead]

Gleaming eyes, screeching voices, glistening wings: black amber, black orchid, black currant, olive blossom, wood violet, lavender, blue musk, rose attar, and cedar.

Amber, rose, and cedar - three things I'm not too fond of, why did I order this one again? However, I only read the ingredients again just now as I went to write this.

When I first put it on, it smelled like caramel and a bit of currant, not as strong caramel as many of my other foody favorites, which was nice because it didn't make my dad go "What *are* you eating???" when I wandered into the kitchen for breakfast, as some other scents have done. After an hour or so, I start smelling nice woodsy stuff, like mild holly and juniper, but the caramel's still there in the background. It's a very good woodsy, and I don't get any cedar at all, which is a very good thing. I love this scent! I'm so glad I took a chance on it despite the scary things in the ingredients, because they're not showing up at all on me, yay!

[Ahania]

I almost passed this one up because of the cedar, but everything else sounded so good, I decided to go for it, and I'm certainly glad I did. I never got any cedar from it at all. For Christmas last year I got a bag of lavender cream Earl Grey tea which is pure heaven, and this smells so much like that tea, plus caramel. The lavender stays fairly dominant on me the whole time I wear it, but it doesn't overpower the creamy caramel goodness. I don't smell any fruit or other flowers at all. I really, really like it a lot.

[theseagrows]

wow, this scent is beautiful! it's a creamy musky floral, and there is something that reminds me of vanilla in a way, which i think might be the olive blossom? luckily the cedar makes no appearance on my skin. i think i am mostly getting black amber, black orchid, blue musk and olive blossom. however, the notes are blended so well, i can't really be sure. this sort of reminds me of love and pain from the salon, but the lavender is subtler here. i love this scent and i am so glad i bought a bottle!

[jade_starlight]

This one is mostly woodsy, though I don't smell the cedar anywhere. And I think I can smell caramel lurking somewhere in the background. This is very nice and slightly sweet and understated; something I can wear around my scent-sensitive sister with no problems.

[TrueStar]

This scent has no personality for me. In the bottle and immediately on the skin, it smells like sharp perfume. After awhile, it changes to potpourri. I couldn't pick out any individual scents and I just really felt 'blah' about it.

 

This will be traded away.

[n3m3sis42]

Wow, this one totally morphed on me, but it's about to be that time of month, so who knows what my body chemistry is doing.

 

In the bottle:

Lemongrass?

 

Wet:

At first, this smelled so much like the "green grass" note in Fairy Market that I actually ran upstairs to make sure I hadn't somehow put that on by accident. The only common note I see is the lavender, and since I'm pretty darn sure I know what lavender smells like, this must be a result of lavender mixed with something else. Anyway, after a while, that backs off and I can tell that they are not the same perfume.

 

Dry:

I hate cedar (it goes pencil-shavings on me), but I don't smell it much or at all in this blend. It's mostly amber and herbals and it's very pretty.

[Little Bird]

The Emathides is nowhere near as bad as I thought that it would be. My skin turns amber notes to dust or baby powder and amps it up like mad, but I actually don't smell any amber at all in this. The Emathides starts off rather sweet and pleasant on me. I do get that caramelized lavender that other people have mentioned, but this turns into more of a candied violet on my skin after a while with hints of dark, fruity, sweet currant and herbal-esque wood notes. Unfortunately, this gets a little too perfumey and sharp on me in the drydown, perhaps thanks to the other floral notes. Still, there is a sweetness and a woodiness underneath the perfume that I do like. I'll probably keep my decant of this for aging, but I don't need a full bottle.

[abejita]

I am really surprised at how much I like this scent. When I saw the notes listed, I was on the fence about even trying it. The last five notes were what gave me pause. Any one of them in a blend would have been okay, but all together, I thought it would just make it an herbal/floral/cedar fest. Instead, this is a study of balance and blending. The scent is a lovely, dusky purple. Very beautiful.

[GirlDetective]

I know this isn't listed anywhere in the notes, but I get straight up black licorice from the Emathides. No florals, no woods, just delicious black candy. It eventually dries down to a dark vanilla, which is also not listed in the description. I'm confused, but happy, enough so that I am in the process of buying a second bottle off of someone.

[heartbeast]

Straight out of the bottle, I got a delicious smoky purple scent--the lavender and violet dominate on me, and it's a nice soft lavender, too, not a sharp herby one. I am normally not a slatherer, but I loved this one so much and it was so soft that I put on quite a bit more than I usually do. True to the theme, it made a normally articulate woman run around the house flapping her arms and shrieking--with joy. I'm glad I was home alone!

 

Later it turned into a crisp, slightly peppery herbal/floral, which was nice for a hot day running errands. I was a little disappointed to lose my smoky purple cloud, but it was very pleasant; I was thinking "hmmm, scent locket?" though. But then. Oh, but then. In the middle of the night--that's right, a good 18 hours after I first put it on--I woke up absolutely surrounded by this warm, herbal amber scent. I was dreaming I got a big box of BPAL and had several different scents on, and when I woke up I was like "what the hell is this smell?? This *can't* be the Emathides; it's too warm and spicy!!" But after a while as I sorted out dreams from reality I remembered that I hadn't actually put any scent on before bed, and there was nothing else it could be. It's not exactly the same amber that's in the Ides of March, another favorite, but it's similar and it interacts with the herbs and florals in a similar way. Normally I'm annoyed by my insomnia, but I was so happy to just lie there in that sensual cloud of smell!

 

A very big win here!

[Delirium1009]

This starts out very sharp and "screeching" on me, but that phase doesn't last very long. I can smell the warm amber, the orchid, the sweetness of the black currant, and the sharp twang of the lavender, but they (and all the rest of the notes) all blend together to create a scent that is resinous, deep, smoky, and rich. If this scent could be a color, it'd be dark and smoky blue-purple. This is absolutely gorgeous and a little sure goes a long way.

[evilbee]

I almost didn't order this because of the cedar (I'm noticing this is a common thread here) but I'm ecstatic I ordered it anyhow because I'm in deep deep love.

 

This starts with brisk lavender and hint of cedar, but not at all pencil shavings. It deepens very quickly into syrupy black orchid, chewy black amber and an all encompassing, luminous musk (not white, not black, not at ALL red - more like a shimmering, chilled gold or skin musk). I can smell a hint of dark, juicy fruit, the black currant which briefly did the cat pee thing on me the first time I tried this (almost breaking my heart!) but hasn't done it since then. I also detect what others are mentioning - the caramel. It gradually dies down into purely orchid, amber and blue musk with just an earthy breath of something I assume is the olive blossom. It lasts a good 3-4 hours with better throw than usual - I've had a few great comments already.

 

I hope one bottle is enough for me.

[PurringPulsar]

The Emathides

 

In the bottle: ohh, sweet amber lavender. Like Old Scratch, but even nicer.

Wet on skin: smoke? now I get a hint of something smoky, almost foody, but also almost like bonfires.

Dry on skin: how intriguing. this is, for now, very heavy on the lavender. I also smell the cedar, and that smoky note which seems almost autumnal but almost caramelised. Here's to hoping that smoke doesn't turn too foody. I think I smell a fleeting hint of something floral? This is the darker side of the Agony of Loss-that same smoky lavender and cedar. Whilst that one was bright and airy, this one is dark, moody and sweeter. I can smell the amber here and it is gorgeous, though more apparent when smelt further from the wrist.

After a while: after the lavender tones down a little (it doesn't go completely at this stage-unusual for lavender) I smell more of the orchid, the currant, the violet and the ethereal blue musk. The currant gives a tart, fruity bite to the scent. The amber is also more apparent-a gorgeous, dark amber which is deeper and less golden than most, but with an entrancing, incense like resinous sweetness. There's a lovely, balmy herbal scent to it, warm and haunting. This scent is deep blue-purple-black in feel, glossy and shining yet dark and mysterious. It reminds me of Lurid, but much darker, heavier and more hypnotic. This is the scent I was hoping to get from Love and Pain.

I'm amazed at how the lavender in here sticks around, it still adds that almost sleepy scent to the whole fragrance, giving it a very nocturnal feel. I still smell the currants and flowers, the amber is still wonderful, and the cool, pale notes of violet and musk giving the impression of a moonlit sheen to this fruity-lavender amber blend.

The amber just seems to grow and strengthen gently over time, by this point it is magnificent and rich, it smells golden now, and reminds me of other amber scents which I love. With the currant, I get a slight resemblance to that Heroine scent beginning with S that I can't spell, but without honey. Now the lavender is gone, the contrasting yet complementary scents of deep amber and airy musk are dominant.

Verdict: now this is the kind of 'purple' scent I like! A scented rendition of deep indigo-purple black, like a twilight sky, I really love this deep, alluring, haunting scent, and mysterious. It's quite a feat for lavender to last so long and in here, it sticks around for at least two hours. The scent is a smoky, herbal sweet lavender with a shadowy, velvety undertone and a glint of lighter musk. It gives the impression of herb-scented summer night air filled with incense smoke. Then the currant slowly replaces the lavender as the dominant 'purple' scent in here. There's a very pretty violet (not a powdery old lady violet) and a ghostly blue musk over all the sultry dark herbal woodsy fruit. Underneath it all is the amber, slowly growing and then really blossoming at the drydown as a wonderful full-bodied golden amber-it blends magnificently with the currant and is nicely contrasted by the musk. I love the amber in here-I love Beth's amber-heavy blends in general, and this is a new favourite of mine-it’s my favourite in the sweet smoky lavender genre. I bet it will age wonderfully.

Emoticon rating:

Is it a keeper? yes! I'm glad I have two bottles.

If you like this, try: Lurid, Old Scratch, Yvaine, Gaueko, Kalahantrika, Love and Pain, Svadhinopatika, Khephra

[savage_rose]

So complex! There's an aquatic undercurrent to it...aquatic-flower-woodsiness. It's one of those morphers that seems to change with each sniff. On the cedar-prominent sniffs I feel a little headachey, but on the floral or aquatic sniffs it's amazing! Especially the orchid-violet notes...I didn't even think my skin could accept violet. But evidently wood violet breaks all the rules for me. Mmmm!

[gwynethr]

Damn, but I wish I got what so many others here seem to have got from this scent. I was fascinated by the notes listed, and thought that the combo would dampen some of the notes I don't usually go for, but... it's just a very sharp, almost powdery or soapy scent, smelling too much like a store-bought perfume for me. I had high hopes, and tried again after I recovered from bronchitis, but still no go.

[jesvet]

This seemed such an unusual combination of notes that I had no idea which way it would go. Fortunately it fell squarely on the nose-stuck-to-wrist side of things.

 

It's one of those scents where the individual notes are so well blended none jump right out at the beginning. The overall scent is more of an impression than a specific note. It's sweet and mellow, dusky purple, that morphs from floral to woodsy to soft and back again. After reading the description, it's possible to pick out the notes as the wear progresses, but it never hits a one note stage on me. And as others have noted, despite a history of having lavender and cedar clobber other notes into submission when I wear them, they are very well behaved in this oil and remain where they belong in their supporting roles.

 

Love this one!

[Rovylern]

This was so odd on me.

 

Emathides started off smelling EXACTLY like Avon Skin So Soft, and it was so strong that I almost gave up on it right then and there. But after it dried it changed to dark, juicy berries with a hint of woodiness underneath. Not my normal scent inclination but very nice all the same, not overpowering but with a good throw. After a few hours it morphed to a very overwhelming baby powder-ish smell. Then that faded out and it became the berry-and-wood scent again, only much lighter. That final stage lasted for another few hours and then poof! It was gone.

It was very pretty and feminine and grown up, and I can see myself wearing this out for formal occasions.

 

And for once, a scent that I love didn't work better on my kiddo than me! Muahahaha. She tends to lean towards light, floral scents, and this was all musk on her. It was a very light musk, but she didn't like it at all and wound up washing it off after about an hour.

[Astarte]

I found the Emathides a very complex scent with deep nuances. I found that on my skin, it was a very deep dark purple candy scent but also very rich. Whilst I can appreciate the care and complexity into creating such a scent, it unfortunately can become slightly overwhelming at times which is a pity.

 

A winner but not for me.

[bombus]

the first thing I got when I opened the bottle was the sweetness of the black currant, but then wearing it I feel like it is very well balanced. I love that I can smell the olive blossom, glad I got this one almost passed it over.

[LiberAmoris]

Yay, Ovid! I probably would have ordered The Emathides just for that reference alone, but the notes sounded too good to pass up anyway.

 

On me, this is like Lavender Plus. Like lavender plus a million other little things filling in its cracks and fissures and rough places to make it smooth and dark and burnished. It's gorgeous and complex. It's like looking at the wing of a blackbird in sunlight and seeing all those other colors dashing about in what looks like solid black from far away.

 

If I look at the note listing, I feel like I can detect the rose attar and the blue musk and the black currant. But the whole is so much more than the sum of its parts. So glad I have a bottle of this one.

[Severuslovesme]

This is one that smells really different in the bottle and on my skin. In the bottle I smell a sort of sour fruity note, probably the current. But on my skin it's mostly floral, a lot of rose and what I think must be the wood violet. A hint of musk adds depth to the scent, and the ceder is just barely present. I like this a lot, and I suspect that it will grow on me even more.

[Mamacat]

When it's wet it smells like a vaguely fruity deep lavender.

 

As it dries down more fruits come out and so does a sugary/marshmallow-y scent. Mmmmmmm . . .

 

After an hour or so I get a vanilla, sugar, currant, musk. This blend is beautiful. I love it!!

[DenMother]

This was one that I had no idea if I would like it or not and can I just say I am so glad I went with my gut and I have 2 bottles of this baby now

 

When I open the bottle take a whiff it is very pretty, I can pick out lavender and there is a definite sweet water feel to it that is hard to explain but it is quite different to anything else I have tried yet.

 

So on it goes, this is a gentle scent, not a 'in your face fuck me now' one by any means, this is like walking along a shaded forest path, the smell of wood and leaves in the air and a picnic of sun ripened fruit bursting out of it's skin. It is lady like, almost fairy like, I get the caramel note but it is very soft and creamy, almost a vanilla caramel fudge dipped in honey and fruit and popped in a wooden box with a pretty ribbon on it.

 

Unfortunately it does stay very close to the skin and you would basically have to shove what ever body part you were wearing it on up your partners nose so it kinda negates the lady like quality it has. But I like to slather and I have 2 sweet ickle bottles, and with our hot summer on the way it will be one I will wear often and with no regrets.

[aine]

Oh my, this is almost all-caramel-all-the-time on me. That and a head-shattering musk. Ouch.

 

And it throws like a mutha. I could knock people out at six paces - the staff in the next office could smell it, even after I had tried to wash it off.

 

Didn't work for me at all, and I was desperate to get home and have a shower.

 

When I got in the car after work, my husband told me I smelled fantastic. WTF?

[Em-]

Fruity, rich caramely amber. Not caramel as in burnt sugar, but thick and heady and oh-so-comforting and lovely.

 

I devanted a bit of this before bed one night and woke pu with my hands still smelling of it...oh so beautiful.