Morella

[shriekingviolet]

<span style='color:red'>Category:</span> Bewitching Brews

 

<span style='color:red'>Site Description:</span>

It is a day of days, a day of all days either to live or die. It is a fair day for the sons of earth and life - ah! more fair for the daughters of heaven and death.

 

Sage with orris, Florentine iris and a drop of civet.

 

<span style='color:red'>Initial Impression:</span>

Herby, green floral with some spicy/woody undertones.

 

<span style='color:red'>After Wearing It:</span>

This is a predominantly sage fragrance, and for this reason I didn't expect much from it and kept trying to write it off as something that wasn't for me. But Morella is persistant. Yes it smells like sage and Yes it's a lot herbier and green than I usually like my scents, but it's still *very* nice. Morella is a complex floral scent that makes me think of crushes herbs and florals laying the undergrowth of a dark and damp forest, lying among moss and the fungi that would seek to help it decay. It's deep, dark and interesting. Something one of the less benevolent varieties of forest elves might wear.

 

<span style='color:red'>Final Thoughts:</span>

Even if this doesn't initially seem like your kind of thing, Morella deserves a chance to convince you of its charms. It's very unique and pretty unisex, so if it doesn't turn out to be your thing, you might like it on a boy!

 

Mod note: This scent was briefly resurrected from February to May of 2006 as part of the Limited Edition "Into the Maelstrom" series, with the same notes as the discontinued GC blend.

[ebonykawai]

I love Morella, but it doesn't seem to last that long on me. The first sniff from the bottle seemed strong but if definitely mellows out once I put it on.

 

*note to self* slather this one on!!!

[sirensongsouth]

This is gorgeous and unusual. Its a sparkling fresh green scent. I ordered it because sage is my favorite herb when cooking, and oddly enough, I don't smell particularly of sage. I definately detected sage when I opened the vial, but on it mellows and morphs into an herby green fresh scent. It is perfect for a sunny cool spring day!

[Koumori]

This is an interesting scent. It's very green, as others have described, but oddly, I could have sworn I smelled lily of the valley. The sage came out more strongly as it matured into a refreshing green scent. It's an intriguing blend. Unfortunately, as strong as it seemed in the vial, it didn't even last me until noon.

[Lady_Ell]

I love the idea of smelling like sage, but unfortunately as soon as I put it on a sickly flower smell came out (the Iris?), the sage was nonexistant, and yet again I smell like that carpet cleaning fluid that you put into industrial steam cleaners (I used to be a housekeeper, and I don't want to smell like cleaning chemicals).

[Shollin]

First sniff: Morella is very soft cool green, herbal and comforting in a kitcheny way. Sunshine on an herb garden, barefoot in early spring when it’s really still too cold to go barefoot but you can’t help it because everything’s growing and you need to connect with it.

 

Wearing: Still very green, but I can feel the pale-blue powderiness of the iris trying to peek out just behind the greenery. (If I hadn’t tried the single-note iris I don’t think I would have been able to pinpoint it – it’s very subtle.) After a few minutes the iris is more pronounced, a single bloom surrounded by soft green. It faded fairly quickly, and went very softly sweet before it disappeared entirely.

 

It’s very unusual, in a good way – I need to try it again.

[Pandorra]

MORELLA

 

Initial: Sharp and herbaly? Not too floral, but not exactly green either.

 

 

 

During: Its pretty. Maybe there is floral, but more of a stand-offish floral. Sophisticated. Not innocent. There is a bite underneath it all. Like a garden that’s has a blend of florals and greens and herbs and so pretty but thorns underneath. Watch out!

 

 

 

Final: I tried this a couple of weeks ago and LOVED it. But towards the end it turned funky. I was SOOOO disappointed! I decided to try it one more time and this time it did not turn weird on me. So I guess different times of the month DOES affect the scents. Towards the end it softens out and loses the tang and leaves only the sophisticated softness. The Man said this is "me." Pretty with some mystery to it. I would buy a full size bottle of this one.

[saintpaulia]

in the bottle; I can smell the sage predominantly, along with a tinge of floral.

 

wet:no more sage, definitely iris, the other notes are causing me to think of a bit of a musky iris, so it's reminding me of violets, strangely. Slightly sweet floral, it's lost the sage aspect on me. I suddenly feel light and pretty and youthful.

 

drydown; It's becoming a bit more musky, that's not the sage, so I'm not sure if it's the orris or civet. Some of the sweetness has gone, causing the scent to mature, in a way. It's blending very well, and while I thought that the first impression was lovely, the drydown is so much better.

 

1 hour: Scent is the same as drying, but it's faded to the point that I can't smell it unless I sniff my wrist. I reapplied in the hopes to make it stronger, but the same thing happened. I do like this one, and will use up my sample vial. If it gets stronger or if I can apply more and get it to stay, then I'll get a bottle of it, if not, I'll just enjoy my sample.

[twistygirl]

Wet, this was a very strong, nothing-but-sage smell on me. It has since dried down to a softer, spicy green but on my skin I can barely detect anything floral. It is a wonderful scent and I will give it another try but I think it's a bit too masculine for me. I would LOVE to smell this on a man, though.

[JazzieCazzie]

This is definitely not for me, but I can't put my finger on what the notes are that I don't like (maybe the sage, since I'm not sure I could recognize that anyway) ... I don't see it as green on me, just kind of sickly sweet, nothing special, more "department store" scent than most of the BPAL scents (IIRC, Embalming Fluid was the other one I felt that way about).

 

Ah well ... one more for the swap list

[any_old_actress]

FIRST SNIFF: not green, only a hint of sage

WEARING IT: my heart is pounding b/c this could very well become my signature scent!! of course, it's not even something i picked out, but something elizabeth slipped in my package! great choice beth! the smell reminds me of something familiar and it really feels like "home" on me...it's sweet and comforting. i don't find it woodsy or herbally or even green. it's just sweet and undefinable...must be the iris...

 

VERDICT: i like to try things twice before i make up my mind, but i'll be getting a 10ml of this without question.

[Ina Garten Davita]

First Impression: I don't smell sage at all. It smells baby soft.

 

Second Impression: This smells just like my baby nephew PJ in fresh baby pj's washed in All Baby Care Plus. I just adore it. I almost cried when I sniffed my wrist.

 

Final Analysis: A beatiful baby soft smell. It lasted pretty well. I can't wait to wear it again.

[TygherRayn]

Ivory Soap. This is Ivory Soap. Nothing but plain and simple, white and 99.9% pure Ivory Soap. I didn't smell anything else, I'm afraid. I really really wanted this to be nice on me, as it sounded so promising.

 

But. It's soap. A brand new bar of Ivory Soap.

 

*frowns*

 

In the swap pile for this one.

[magpiedee]

Waaaaaaaaaaaaaah!

 

Morella, on me, smells like lemon Pledge before drying down gently to *ass*. There is some note that hits my skin and just turns to... ass. It reminds me of the smell of an old pool float, like when I was little and swimming in the lake and left my raft out in the rain and it dried with water and lake gunk in it. I totally blame my own chemistry. Whatever this secret note is, I think it's in Cheshire Cat, too.

 

I wish I smelled what y'all smell. What is wrong with me?

 

Damn my skin! Damn it all to hell!

 

[Northernminx]

I swapped this one with Tygher and have to say the same verdict: Smelled nice and herbal in the bottle but went soapy on my skin. Glad to see it works with some chemistries but mine said "no way."

 

Oh well, swapping it onward!

[foolssilver]

i didn't look at the description before i tried this one, since ladylatemar let me borrow it. lily of the valley sprang immediately to my mind, like Koumari said. i was quite excited that i was carrying off such a traditionally feminine floral, since i am usually a resin-fiend.then i looked up the description saw that it is not what i thought. perhaps the drop of civet is what makes this wearable on me.

 

i don't smell any civet (or sage), it smells purely like a powdery lily of the valley on me.

 

i would recommend this for snake oil addicts like me who shy away from florals. give it a try! it's not too sweet!

[Ishtar]

*Sigh* Morella is a very, very nice green/floral scent, that, unfortunately, doesn't even last half an hour on me.

 

 

I really like it when wet. It is mostly sage in the vial, mostly iris on my skin. Upon drydown, it immediately turns into the faintest floral ever. I can still detect a trace of greenness on my arm, then... no sage, no iris, no nothing. Gone.

 

This is such a pretty scent that I hate to give up on it, but there is no point in me trying to wear it. It just evaporates like water on me. I guess I should get myself a scent locket.

[Dolly Dimple]

Astarte very kindly included this as an extra in a swap for me, and I will be forever grateful, because I'd never have dreamed of ordering something with civet in it, and I wasn't particularly taken with any of the other notes, but I absolutely love Morella!

 

The first time I tried it, it faded away within the hour. Usually that's the cue for the imp to go straight in the swap pile, but there was something about this that drew me in. It was lemony when wet, but there was a very intriguing, very soft 'pink' note underneath it that stopped it smelling like cleaning products (as citrussy ones usually do on me). So I slathered it on, and went out to a smoky club. A couple of hours later, I couldn't smell it if I put my nose to my wrist, but I was aware of the same 'pink' smell in a haze around me when I moved. The sharp citrus smell faded, and the haze that was left was soft and warm - not powdery, but like 'me, only better'. (I wish I knew which note it was!) It's simply fantastic!

[sarahj]

Morella

 

In the vial: Iris, beautiful iris with a faint smell of sage and something else (orris? civet? I'm not familiar with either of those, so I can't say).

 

Wet: Smells much the same as it did in the vial, but I have lost the sage altogether. Iris, with a hint of something green.

 

Dry: Still smells the same. A beautiful, light, floral, green smell. Very nice.

 

2 hours later: Gone! There is nothing left! I wish this beautiful scent hadn't faded so fast. I will use up this imp, but probably won't be buying a larger bottle.

[TheDarkMother]

In the Bottle: Morella is definately green, though very light. The iris keeps it from having a crisper medicinal quality, thank goodness. Its floral sweet in the bottle with the tinge of grounded sage.

 

On Me: Argh! I don't remember seeing anything in the description about lemon verbena! Why, oh why, is my skin smelling like lemons now? Well, at least it isn't as potent as normal.

 

In fact, the lemon smell fades quickly and it leaves in its wake a light floral sweetness that is the iris. I have yet to smell the sage on my skin, and already it is beginning to smell as if it is fading fast. I enjoy the smell of iris though, so I am pretty happy with this scent, though I still wonder where the lemons came from.

[Nepthys]

Mmmm, this scent takes me back to childhood. The sharp green whiff in this reminds me of playing in woods and fields at the end of summer, when the herbs and weeds had started to dry out and give off a fresh, slightly bitter scent. I always loved that smell. The sage in this was stronger wet on me, but was trumped by other herbal notes as it dried down. I think I slightly prefer Belladonna to this, but this is very nice. It keeps me feeling ultra-clean even on hot AZ summer days.

[Alice Aforethought]

The spicy greenness jumps out first, but quickly mellows into a smoother scent with the orris peeking through. Before it finally disappears on me, it turns into Parma Violet sweets.

 

It has a lovely balance between the herbal/fresh and the floral, I just wish it lasted longer.

 

I've just twigged why it's familiar - I have Yardley's 'Orris' scent. It's the orris in Morella that lingers last of all.

[hypothermya]

I have to say that I've never really given this scent a whole lot of attention. It went onto my "too masculine" or "too floral" sounding list, and I forgot about it entirely until someone sent me an imp of this.

 

First Impression

 

Huh. This is really light. Sweet, but not earthy and not too floral. Just a mix of the too, and this very ethereal sweetness. Weird.

 

Wearing It

 

Both my boyfriend and I tried some of this out. On our skin, it stayed sweet (too sweet for my boyfriend to like), and mainly smelled of iris. Now, iris has always been one of my favorite flowers, but I can't really imagine the scent of the thing. But in this, it's so crystal clear that I'm smelling iris -- clean, floral, and light... None of the heady scents that rose or jasmine illicit, nor the creaminess of lotus. Not the wispiness of lilac. Just a clean, upright, modest iris. Full, without being too overstated. The sage and civet seem to give this a touch of earthiness, lending to its grounded and modest scent. The orris? Maybe that's what makes it feel a bit more enchanted. Overall, it's sweet, floral, earthy, and very beautiful.

 

Lasting Power

 

Poor, I'm afraid. Within two hours the scent had vanished.

 

I think I really like the scent of iris. I'm going to keep my eyes open for it in a less floral/earthy blend. This is nice, but not my style. But I can guarantee that if Beth creates a fruity/citrusy/tea blend that has iris in it, I'm jumping and getting some.

[vitawash24]

I adore this blend -- it's perfect for spring or summer when I want a lighter scent. It's fresh and bright without being overly flowery. There is something that smells inexplicably of Necco wafers in there, but that does fade eventually. The only problem is that like Glitter, it disappears on my skin at the speed of light. So sad, because it's so delicate and pretty.

[Jezebel873]

I got Morella in a swap and thought it sounded like something I would love. Unfortunately, it turned soapy on me. It reminded me of laundry detergent, actually. Luckily it only lasted on me for about an hour. To the swap pile!