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.

Unpleasant. Nearly irredeemably unpleasant A scent you would not wish upon your worst enemy. Off-putting overpowered basil, seaweed, liquorice and salt notes. It smells gone off and dirty. There is very little refinement or depth, I feel I'm like being whacked I'm the face with a rock wearing it. The quality of the ingredients and oddity may make you want to have it around to sniff. But it is badly composed and totally fails at everything they were trying to achieve with this one. No person would want this on them or want to wear this in public. I ended up chucking it out before the use by date. I don't think I've ever done that with anything else and no-one would take it off my hands either. Yuck, yuck, yuck. 1/10

I have never resold a bottle of perfume so fast. I can appreciate this perfume for what it is and what it is attempting to do, but this was just not for me. Very much the sort of scent that only the right person could pull-off. It's musty, wet, and tar like, and I could smell it from across the room. Like someone had tucked a soggy crate of seaweed in the corner.

This is a real gagger! I've smelled dead fish on a riverbank which were less offensive. If you desire to smell like this plan on spending many lonely nights.

Nice, if you’re looking for an anti-perfume. I mean, seriously. Why can’t one be looking for an anti-perfume? I picture somebody who gets bored with their own fragrances from time to time, let alone usual generic rubish all around us. As for the rather pleasant part, I could liken it to anise which I’d wear gladly. I had the impressions: 1) a seafront hut where seafood is fried all the time. 2) some strange Asian soup. Expect something of the EDC strength. You won’t need to worry about annoying others with your weirdness. Keep the weirdness up like that, Lush!

Very nice, although I get the negativity because it's impossible to wear it on a regular basis or in any company really, polite or not. It smells like a very old ship, one that has been turned into a museum, the wood is all salty and dried out, the ropes are wet and covered in seaweed. Not much silage and is gone very quickly.

The seaweed in the beginning is quite gagging! Ugh, foul! This is one of the gothic trio, so far the worse one, but definitely interesting. just not sure anyone can wear this. Been waiting and waiting drydown is not sweetening up or toning down. Birch, seaweed, just not nice at all. Piercing, smoky, synthetic.

Overpowering birch tar occluded all other notes in this one for me. I do like smoky birch tar, but not as the main note. I wish I'd been able to detect more of the other notes. Basil gave out a weak peep early on, but it drowned. Definitely strong, intense, dark and smoky and sure not gonna be for everyone.

This smells like ship ropes soaked with tar and sea salt, like smoked fishes and whisky from Isley. I like it very much, but don't have a courage to wear it when meeting people.:D