Nevertheless, She Persisted

[sunshinedaisybliss]

Ugh.. at first this smelled like bad farts that someone has tried to cover up with one of those “Sunshine Fresh” kind of sprays. Nevertheless, I persisted. 
 

Then it changed into poop smell that someone has tried to cover up with one of those “Garden Bouquet” kind of sprays. Nevertheless, I persisted. 
 

Half an hour later, it changed into water from a vase that’s held dead flowers for a month smell that someone had tried to cover up with a few good sprays of an engine lubricant. Nevertheless, I persisted. 

 

In the end all I have is a dirty sour floral with a tinge of poop and hint of metal. I no longer persisted, and washed it off. 

[ghoulnextdoor]

Nevertheless, She Persisted is all warmth and edge, a richness cut with a chipped blade, a silver that's earned its patina, illuminated by a cresting shard of dawn. The scent blooms like resin warmed by just enough light to see by, bittersweet, gentle as prayer, steady as stone. It moves like metallic honey, like quicksilver caught in amber - inexorable and incandescent, a sliver of sunshine given weight and anointed with purpose. Beneath its surface lies something unflinching and resolute, like steel threaded through silk, like granite veined with gold, like a sword of thunder wrapped in a ballgown.

[ruinveil]

Nevertheless She Persisted opens on my skin with a smooth, luminous sweetness, where iris and frankincense blend seamlessly. The iris is notably more prominent -- fitting, given the fleur-de-lis was the symbol of the France that Joan of Arc championed. The frankincense remains subdued, more silvery than gold. The result is an uplifting, powdery floral scent, with none of frankincense's usual smokiness.

 

A steely foundation grounds this scent, a bright and sweet metallic note that mirrors the base. I can't quite identify the fantasy accord's individual components, but the cumulative effect is quietly striking. After an hour's mark, the scent begins to fade but the profile remains intact and does not morph. 

 

The perfume conjures the image of Joan herself: the peasant girl who heard voices in church and became a warrior. A lady-knight in armor carrying a bouquet of irises as she steps into mass, frankincense still burning at the altar. A powdery floral gilded by sweet, resinous woods and silvered incense. "I am not afraid... I was born to do this."

 

This is a sweet, feminine-leaning fragrance that holds its steel quietly beneath. What you smell in the bottle is what you get on skin, unwavering luminous conviction. A consecrated blade wrapped in a holy bouquet. 

 

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Additional Notes: I adore this perfume, and purchased mine from a destash. The lady knight is one of my favorite archetypes, and this bottle precisely captures her essence. There is a medieval feel to it. In more modern terms, it conveys the scent story that "soft is strong is sacred."

Edited 20 hours ago by ruinveil