The Misericordia, or Tristis, are vampires that are consumed with a longing to regain their lost humanity, some to the point of being driven mad by the desire to be human once more. The shock of their transition into vampirism and the rejection they faced from friends and loved ones was devastating, and it compromises their ability to find solace and comfort.
MISERICORDIA
Eons of grief and unending hunger: magnolia, black currant, castoreum accord, lavender, labdanum, amber, rose otto, and opoponax.
Keep reading for the review...
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Unlike the Transeo, Misericordia cannot merge into human society, but are relegated by their own grief to the position of outsiders. Their inherent melancholy and morose temperaments make it difficult for them to cultivate relationships with either humans or vampires. Most vampires treat the Misericordia with a fair amount of derision, and they are sometimes hunted by Interfectors who see the perspective of the Misericordia as an affront to their way of thinking.
Immediate thoughts: Morose vampires?
When wet: After I applied this the most recent time, I caught a whiff of the bottle as I was putting it back on the shelf and I distinctly smelled leather. On the skin, there's no such smell when wet. Instead what I smell is musky, deep, and mysterious. Hold 0n- hubby is grinding coffee in the next room, and he's messing with my already deficient nose! Imagine I didn't leave for awhile and then come back. OK?
Later: There's a slightly astringent quality to Misericordia. Perhaps that's the magnolia or maybe the lavender or quite possibly it's both. There's also a sharp, pungent note here that I don't quite recognize. It's certainly not unpleasant, but not familiar. Maybe that's castoreum or labdanum. Rose otto does not over-power my experience here, thankfully. Yay, sad vampires!
Later still: When this scent settles on the skin, it is lovely amber with a dirty side thanks to those musky notes. The black currant served to support the other notes, which is a nice change since that particular ingredient can sometimes be heady on my skin. The florals were transient and are nearly gone by now, though one can just faintly pick them up.
An aside: Now that I have this knowledge (regretfully), I must share it. "Castoreum" is beaver musk that is stored somewhere near the beaver's groin. "Accord" means it's actually a few other scents that mix to emmulate another scent (meaning that I assume this didn't actually come from the crotch of a rodent). Why stink like a beaver? Apparently castoreum is a somewhat leather-like scent. Oh, and labdanum (a resin described as smelling sweet, animalistic, leathery, and woody) is thought by many to resemble ambergris, which is basically sperm whale puke (after the original "marine, fecal" odor passes, ambgergis becomes sweet and earthy) . Have a nice day!
Reflections: My husband says this smells like a funeral parlor (I believe he means floral). This is not, to me, "A Floral", though, despite the magnolia, lavender, and rose otto. On the whole, I'd go with "musky amber" though that's not really being fair to the early periods of Misericordia's evolution. The astringent bit at the begining isn't my favorite, but apparently I'm in favor of beaver ass and whale vomit, because I snuffle my wrists like a mad woman once this scent settles a bit. I will say I don't feel particularly morose with this on. It's not a happy scent.; maybe just contemplative. I'll be reaching for this often in the cool months.
Thanks, BPAL, for sending me these bottles to review.
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