Lord of Goathorn

Now I'm not one who is apposed to a bit of wackiness in perfume, testing your olfactory limitations and what IS or ISN'T perfume but by the same rule I'm not on a quest to find the anti-perfume vibes and preach about their virtues, just to be contrarian for the sake of some hipster, cool brownie points. My tastes are very 'pretty' at the moment, Chanel Chic and light musky business so this was a bit of dig back into the indy dirt and I must say I don't get the vitriol? Now I did try the 'new' exclusive version, re-released and stocked at Lush's giant and beautiful new Liverpool store, so it could be different from the original. I was treated to a dark fragrance well and truly deserving of the name, earthy but not too soiled or dirty with sprigs of tarragon anise/metal and that deep licorice in the dry down, I think this fragrance is INSPIRED! I don't get any sourness or mildew? There's more than a hint of the salinated seaweed vibes going on, but they just add to the outdoor effect of this fragrance. It's a mystical outdoors though, perhaps a found footage, Blair witch forrest? Or I picture a Damp, foggy, evening in early winter, hoards of 'local folk' in white robes, burning torches led by a Baphomet figure. This is that fragrance. Now I didn't wear it properly before conducting this review and that's not the usual practice for me but I felt it needed a bit of a positive spin, because to my nose it's a really naturalistic, really decent and innovative scent. I loved it.

I actually forget about having this one sometimes. It is difficult to categorize, especially amidst my predominantly "fruitsalad-in-candyland" collection. To me, this says "savory-licorice." If you were just sniffing it in the bottle, I'm sure it would be a non-selling point for most. That first fishy waft is damned off-putting, but this scent literally blooms in the drydown and leaves no trace of seaweed to my nose. I'm from a land-locked state, so I don't have any old-man-and-the-sea types in my past, but that is definitely the image that I kinda get. To me the smokiness of it is more wood cabin comforting, less hamy-sandwhich/pho gau, than what I think others get. My sister absolutely hates it and treats it like that time I made her sniff Demeter's "Earthworm" perfume - with anger and distrust. Really, some people have no sense of humor... To me this is the pagan sibling of Lush's "Flying Saucers." Comforting in an earthy, almost-foody sense. I'm not sure how this would be perceived in a social setting or even how close it sits to the skin, as I've never worn it as such. I wear it on my wrists before bed. To dream of rainy Autumns and a man from the woods ;)

This is one hell of a frag filter from Lush, and it feels weird leaving a positive review here amongst the many negative ones. It's certainly not something I would wear as a part of my apparel, but this is a frag I'd wear at home just because of how much I like the scent. It really evokes images of an old, dusty apothecary or medicine shop in my head, I can almost smell the cigarettes as the chinese shop owner bickers with a crowd of middle aged uncles when there are no customers at the herb counter where the scales are. Sure, the opening is a bit harsh, but that drydown is exactly what I smell when I open the door to my aromatics cabinet to retrieve herbal soup ingredients or dried herbs. It's definitely an acquired taste. The strength of the scent is perfect as it is, even if the longevity suffers because of it. If they made it any more potent, it would definitely plunge headfirst into unpleasant territory for me.

Ok but I love this. I don't get the terrible opening, maybe the first 10 seconds is a bit weird, with lots of tarragon and seaweed. Then the top smells like pastis on me (a boozy anise, if you will). Then it's cade oil/tar combined with the previous notes. I don't know if I can pull it off but I would try it for like a summer night backyard party kind of thing. Not something I would wear every day or as a signature, but when the mood strikes me, it's lovely!

Nice enough, but too much licorish for me to wear it.