Traveling Vardo - 7 Fragrances
I received a batch of scents in the mail today aaand that made me remember that I've had this particular review written up for months and just hadn't managed to get around to posting it. Whoops. Well - here we go. 7 fragrances by Traveling Vardo. From what I remember, all of these are from the permanent collection. At least one of these was an extra thrown in with my order, but hell if I can remember which one it was.
Overall these had pretty much the same wear time as the ones I tested back in autumn - about 5-6 hours. "Nomad" lasts the longest. Usual disclaimers apply: I don't actually have a very good sense of smell, and fragrances tend to play a little differently for everybody.
Psyche
Description: Heady narcissus and jasmine spiked with honeyed blood orange and a dribble of peach nectar, embraced by a deep golden musk.
Impressions: On first scent, it reminds me of some of the powders my mother used to wear. Floral, but gentle, and very pleasant. Not too heavy. And joy of joys, no rose! Sometimes I have so much difficulty finding floral scents without rose. Unfortunately, I detect no hints of orange or peach; for me it's floral and powder all the way down. But since I do like what I can smell of it, that's not necessarily a bad thing.
Pagoda
Description: Asian florals over a rich, seductive base of amber, vanilla, and musky temple incense notes.
Impressions: Sweet, floral, with a touch of musk. It reminds me of a vanilla-orchid oolong tea that I was able to try once. I get a hint of something a bit like tuberose, but it might not actually be tuberose. Regardless, it's really nice.
A Murder of Crows
Description: Deep, smoky sandalwood with an infusion of cocao absolute, a drop of honey, myrrh, a whisper of the season's final peppery carnations, coconut milk, and a dribble of earthy patchouli.
Impressions: The cocoa definitely has a strong presence. I do get honey and a hint of carnation, which compliments the cocoa nicely. Not a lot of sandalwood, but that's fine because it can be overbearing. This is a very "delicious" scent, but not cloyingly gourmand like some of the buttery-sweet Autumn scents I've tried from this perfumer.
Nomad
Description: Nomad is not for the faint of heart - it’s comprised of the richest, most elegant, buttery amber I’ve been able to lay my hands on… infused with exotic cardamom for a bit of a spicy, sultry kick. The effect is softened with peru balsam and grounded with the finest grade of aged dark patchouli, while a blend of dry exotic woods balances the whole glorious mélange on an elegant, smoky base.
Impressions: "Not for the faint of heart" is right. This scent has a lot of kick to it. And it's absolutely gorgeous. Lots of amber, lots of wood; I do detect the cardamom. The patchouli is not overwhelming. There is a hint of smoke at the base, not too much. The amber and wood dominate. This is a perfect scent for me. It's a similar type of scent to For Strange Women's "Violin in the Attic", though that one has a lot more woods emphasis.
Swashbuckler
Description: Swashbuckler.... an elegant blend fit for a chivalrous gent! Ripe plum, bergamot, and rice milk with notes of deliciously aged dark rum from charred oak barrels, smoky leather, amber, and patchouli - among other things.
Impressions: In the bottle, leather and wood are dominant. Once applied, patchouli comes through. As time passes, it goes to a kind of leather-amber-patchouli mix. I don't get any rum, unfortunately, nor plums or bergamot. But someone with a stronger nose might be able to detect it. Overall, really nice, but not what I expected from the description. (Though, after writing this, I have found that I enjoy it a lot as an everyday scene. Go figure.)
Corvus Corax
Description: Tuberose, gardenia, and jasmine with rich, velvety smooth amber, sweet musk, and a whisper of sandalwood, oakmoss, and patchouli. The patchouli is very understated, much more a rounding note in this application to add some body without a predominant patchouli note detectable to the nose.
Impressions: I do detect the tuberose, also the jasmine. It has a slight powdery, pleasant note to it, but not too much. Some sandalwood, some patchouli. I don't get a lot of amber; I think the patchouli might be overriding it, which is a tad disappointing, because I loooove amber.
Dragon's Milk
Official Description: Dragon's Milk.... a decidedly feminine take on Dragon's Blood! I've blended Dragon's Blood with notes of amber and vanilla, added a dribble of sweet cream and a soft bouquet of Asian blossoms, underscored with a soft powdery musk. The dry-down on this is soft, powdery, and feminine without being cloying in the least.
Impressions: Very vanilla in the bottle. Vanilla and floral. It has a similar feel to Traveling Vardo's "Sweet Marie"; it has that same kind of sweet cake note. I don't get a lot of musk in this until well after drydown. It's also more floral than "Sweet Marie".
Final thoughts:
There wasn't anything in here that I outright disliked. I'm a little lukewarm on Dragon's Milk, and Psyche doesn't hit the right note for me, but they're still perfectly fine. The absolute favourites, though, as Murder of Crows, as well as Nomad. (And Swashbuckler comes in third.) I actually ended up buying a larger size of Murder of Crows after this... It's the cocoa+carnation bit that does it; just lovely, and not something I come across all the time. And I'll probably end up with a small bottle of Nomad too, eventually; it's the kind of heavy spice-wood-amber scent that I love.
This entry was originally posted at http://yuuago.dreamwidth.org/3459773.html. You can comment here or at the original entry.
Overall these had pretty much the same wear time as the ones I tested back in autumn - about 5-6 hours. "Nomad" lasts the longest. Usual disclaimers apply: I don't actually have a very good sense of smell, and fragrances tend to play a little differently for everybody.
Psyche
Description: Heady narcissus and jasmine spiked with honeyed blood orange and a dribble of peach nectar, embraced by a deep golden musk.
Impressions: On first scent, it reminds me of some of the powders my mother used to wear. Floral, but gentle, and very pleasant. Not too heavy. And joy of joys, no rose! Sometimes I have so much difficulty finding floral scents without rose. Unfortunately, I detect no hints of orange or peach; for me it's floral and powder all the way down. But since I do like what I can smell of it, that's not necessarily a bad thing.
Pagoda
Description: Asian florals over a rich, seductive base of amber, vanilla, and musky temple incense notes.
Impressions: Sweet, floral, with a touch of musk. It reminds me of a vanilla-orchid oolong tea that I was able to try once. I get a hint of something a bit like tuberose, but it might not actually be tuberose. Regardless, it's really nice.
A Murder of Crows
Description: Deep, smoky sandalwood with an infusion of cocao absolute, a drop of honey, myrrh, a whisper of the season's final peppery carnations, coconut milk, and a dribble of earthy patchouli.
Impressions: The cocoa definitely has a strong presence. I do get honey and a hint of carnation, which compliments the cocoa nicely. Not a lot of sandalwood, but that's fine because it can be overbearing. This is a very "delicious" scent, but not cloyingly gourmand like some of the buttery-sweet Autumn scents I've tried from this perfumer.
Nomad
Description: Nomad is not for the faint of heart - it’s comprised of the richest, most elegant, buttery amber I’ve been able to lay my hands on… infused with exotic cardamom for a bit of a spicy, sultry kick. The effect is softened with peru balsam and grounded with the finest grade of aged dark patchouli, while a blend of dry exotic woods balances the whole glorious mélange on an elegant, smoky base.
Impressions: "Not for the faint of heart" is right. This scent has a lot of kick to it. And it's absolutely gorgeous. Lots of amber, lots of wood; I do detect the cardamom. The patchouli is not overwhelming. There is a hint of smoke at the base, not too much. The amber and wood dominate. This is a perfect scent for me. It's a similar type of scent to For Strange Women's "Violin in the Attic", though that one has a lot more woods emphasis.
Swashbuckler
Description: Swashbuckler.... an elegant blend fit for a chivalrous gent! Ripe plum, bergamot, and rice milk with notes of deliciously aged dark rum from charred oak barrels, smoky leather, amber, and patchouli - among other things.
Impressions: In the bottle, leather and wood are dominant. Once applied, patchouli comes through. As time passes, it goes to a kind of leather-amber-patchouli mix. I don't get any rum, unfortunately, nor plums or bergamot. But someone with a stronger nose might be able to detect it. Overall, really nice, but not what I expected from the description. (Though, after writing this, I have found that I enjoy it a lot as an everyday scene. Go figure.)
Corvus Corax
Description: Tuberose, gardenia, and jasmine with rich, velvety smooth amber, sweet musk, and a whisper of sandalwood, oakmoss, and patchouli. The patchouli is very understated, much more a rounding note in this application to add some body without a predominant patchouli note detectable to the nose.
Impressions: I do detect the tuberose, also the jasmine. It has a slight powdery, pleasant note to it, but not too much. Some sandalwood, some patchouli. I don't get a lot of amber; I think the patchouli might be overriding it, which is a tad disappointing, because I loooove amber.
Dragon's Milk
Official Description: Dragon's Milk.... a decidedly feminine take on Dragon's Blood! I've blended Dragon's Blood with notes of amber and vanilla, added a dribble of sweet cream and a soft bouquet of Asian blossoms, underscored with a soft powdery musk. The dry-down on this is soft, powdery, and feminine without being cloying in the least.
Impressions: Very vanilla in the bottle. Vanilla and floral. It has a similar feel to Traveling Vardo's "Sweet Marie"; it has that same kind of sweet cake note. I don't get a lot of musk in this until well after drydown. It's also more floral than "Sweet Marie".
Final thoughts:
There wasn't anything in here that I outright disliked. I'm a little lukewarm on Dragon's Milk, and Psyche doesn't hit the right note for me, but they're still perfectly fine. The absolute favourites, though, as Murder of Crows, as well as Nomad. (And Swashbuckler comes in third.) I actually ended up buying a larger size of Murder of Crows after this... It's the cocoa+carnation bit that does it; just lovely, and not something I come across all the time. And I'll probably end up with a small bottle of Nomad too, eventually; it's the kind of heavy spice-wood-amber scent that I love.
This entry was originally posted at http://yuuago.dreamwidth.org/3459773.html. You can comment here or at the original entry.