The farmhouse was dark and shut up. The meadows were overgrown and seemed abandoned. The farm roof was crumbling at the back; it was covered in black plastic sheeting. They jolted over a ridge and Shadow saw it there.
It was silver-gray and it was higher than the farm-house. It was the most beautiful tree Shadow had ever seen: spectral and yet utterly real and almost perfectly symmetrical. It also looked instantly familiar: he wondered if he had dreamed it, then he realized that no, he had seen it before, or a representation of it man, many times. It was Wednesday’s silver tie pin.
The VW bus jolted and bumped across the meadow, and it came to a stop about twenty feet from the trunk of the tree.
There were three women standing by the tree. At first glance Shadow thought they were the Zorya, but no, they were three women he did not know. They looked tired and bored, as if they had been standing there a long time. Each of them held a wooden ladder. The biggest also carried a brown sack. They looked like a set of Russian dolls: a tall one – she was Shadow’s height, or even taller – a middle-sized one, and a woman so short and hunched that at first glance Shadow wrongly supposed her to be a child. They looked so much alike that Shadow was certain the women must be sisters.
The smallest of the women dropped to a curtsey when the bus drew up. The other two just stared. They were sharing a cigarette, and they smoked it down to the filter before one of them stubbed it out against a root.
Dusty, ancient wood, horehound, and sage, with viper’s bugloss, mugwort, chamomile, nettle, apple blossom, chervil, and ashes.
linnealager98 –
I would describe this perfume as sweet yet fresh and magical. It makes me happy when I sniff it. It is quite sweet and strong but not in a heavy way. I mostly notice apple notes from the apple blossom and dragons blood. I am not a huge fan of these notes on their own, but together they just do something spectacular! It´s like bread and butter or apple in a pie, stawberries with cream, they are meant to be together.
I only have an imp of it and I´ve been waiting for a restock forever. Hope it returns soon!
kudrav –
This is one of the most beautiful scents I’ve ever experienced! I originally Thought I was against florals and fruit, being more into spicy/woody/earthy scents, but this was my favorite out of the frimps I received. It’s an incredibly sweet and fresh scent, but very unique and not like any floral perfume I’ve ever smelled. It smells like taking a bite out of an apple straight from the orchard, but it evaporates into this magical, ethereal mist. I hope it returns soon, I desperately need a full size!
yutori19 –
This is LOVELY. I dislike very sharp scents, and was afraid the apple would be too sharp – but it is a lovely apple, fresh rather than sharp. Like the real thing! It is balanced and softened by that wonderful resin and some soft florals rounding things off in the background. It’s only downfall is that the apple fades very fast – within the hour – on me. The resin and florals are lovely afterwards, but they too fade after a couple hours. I need to reapply a lot. However, it is a worthy payoff for a scent so lovely. I’m getting the big bottle.
Kristin –
Ladon is a musky-floral dragon’s blood entwined with sweet apples. It’s one of my absolute favorites. The only reason this is a 4 star instead of a 5 is that it fades insanely quickly. My skin devours apple notes and leaves me heartbroken. If you like apple and apple actually lasts on you, you’ll love this.