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juushikaMORGAUSE (GC)
A bouquet of five night-blooming flowers deepened by dusky violet, purple fruits and the barest breath of medieval incenses.
I purchased this while in search of a purple scent. (For those that are curious, Phantom Queen is my current pick is a purple blend, but I'm still looking for more.) Generally, florals don't do much for me. I've had limited experience with plum and grape, and good experiences with incense.
In the vial: Vaguely unpleasant, and I think also vaguely medicinal. It's smoky, a little bittersweet, and might smell like ... grape cough syrup, but less sugary.
On me: The medicinal smell disappears almost as soon as the oil goes on, and the scent warms up into a very distinct coupling of rich, slightly sweet purple fruit and heavy incense. The purple fruit has the decadent sweetness of fig, but, unfortunately, that's where the goodness ends. It's purple, flat, and the sweetness is almost cloying or fake, reminding me again of grape cough syrup. The incense is smoky black and very strong. The two elements aren't very well blended on me, and instead almost seem to compete.
Over time: I've tested this blend three times. After about an hour, it's dried down twice to unpleasant and unnatural flat sweet purple fruit, and once to a pleasant smoky purple/dark gray/black incense. I don't much care for the fruit drydown, but the incense drydown is pleasant. All told, the scent has a pretty substantial throw and is very potent close to the skin.
Verdict: I wanted to like this scent (Shakespeare geek, looking for a "purple" blend, and I like the incense drydown), but I'll pass on this imp. Not an easy decision, and I did have to test it three times--if my body chemistry were more predictable, I'd feel better about either keeping or passing on this imp. As it is, the overall blend is too strong for me, and the purple stages and drydown aren't to my style, even though I rather like it when it goes black incense on me. I don't want to take a risk with the fake purple fruit each time I wear it.
TITANIA (GC)
White grape, white peach, iced pear, musk rose, sweet pea, moonflower and snapdragon.
This was a frimp from the Lab, which is the only way I ever would have tried it. I don't like predominant or mixed florals, and I don't like predominant fruits, or pear or peach at all.
In the vial: Fruits and florals. Of the fruits, the pear is predominant; of the florals, I get a mix, but I think I can pick out the sweetpea and the rose. The smell is bright and wet, and it reminds me a bit of any commercial blend of fruits and flowers, almost like a Glade candle, if Glade candles didn't smell like chemicals and artificial scents. Perhaps I should say it's what every other Glade candle is intended to smell like.
On me: The blend doesn't change much, although the fruits step up and the flowers step back. The pear is first, the peach a ghostly second. They are very fresh, very wet, and maybe a bit overripe, but at the same time they don't quite smell real ... there's something too perfect, too pure about them. The florals are now impossible for me to discern from one another, and are instead blended, smooth, like the breeze off of a wildflower field. There's a distinct sweetness to the blend, but fruit sweetness, natural sugars, not thick honey or added sugar. There's no wild morphing going on here as far as I can see.
Verdict: I can't talk about longterm wear of this one because I ended up washing it off after about an hour and a half. It's not unpleasant by any means, but it's absolutely not my style--in fact, it contains just about every note I would never wear. I wouldn't mind smelling it on someone else. It's very bright and pure and cheery, sparkling fruits with a floral base. There is something a little commercial about the scent, and it does make me think of Glade candles. As such, this might be a good blend for someone transitioning in from commercial fruit and flower perfumes. (I plan to pass my imp off to my commercial-perfume-wearing, fruit-loving sister.)
CHUPAROSA (GC, Conjure Bag)
The Hummingbird of Love, the Rose Sucker. A potent, benevolent, merciful love blend.
This was a frimp from a seller, and since I'd never heard to it and it has no listed notes, it came to me without preconceptions except for a general wariness of everything rose.
In the vial/On me/In the air/Everywhere: I've never tested a blend that was so steadily unmorphing. Chuparosa changes not a bit for me from vial to skin to anywhere else. The scent is incredibly familiar, but I can't quite name it. The closest I can get is a pure, distinct sharp green bright pink rose, like a bright full pink rose just freshly cut from the bush, the green stem still leaking sap. It's not cloying or heady, but it is overwhelming because it is so strong. Just touching the closed vial makes my hands smell like Chuparosa. Wearing it, the scent pervades the whole room.
Chuparosa feels to me like a very enthusiastic young lover: HELLO I AM CHUPAROSA! NICE TO MEET YOU! I swear, this blend talks in all caps. With exclamation points.
It's not bad, precisely, but I do feel the urge to wrap it in plastic and shove it in a sock to muffle it a bit.
Verdict: This is not for me, and I'm a bit hesitant about giving it to someone else, just in case it is as loud to them as it is to me. Most of the people I mail my rejects to are newbies or non-BPALers that I'm trying to enable, and I wouldn't want to scare them off. The scent isn't unpleasant, it doesn't morph, it's not remarkably complex, but it is very bright! green! pink! rose! and lacks any sense of subtlety. I'd never wear it. I also can't speak for it's voodoo/magic use, except that potent it certainly is.
A bouquet of five night-blooming flowers deepened by dusky violet, purple fruits and the barest breath of medieval incenses.
I purchased this while in search of a purple scent. (For those that are curious, Phantom Queen is my current pick is a purple blend, but I'm still looking for more.) Generally, florals don't do much for me. I've had limited experience with plum and grape, and good experiences with incense.
In the vial: Vaguely unpleasant, and I think also vaguely medicinal. It's smoky, a little bittersweet, and might smell like ... grape cough syrup, but less sugary.
On me: The medicinal smell disappears almost as soon as the oil goes on, and the scent warms up into a very distinct coupling of rich, slightly sweet purple fruit and heavy incense. The purple fruit has the decadent sweetness of fig, but, unfortunately, that's where the goodness ends. It's purple, flat, and the sweetness is almost cloying or fake, reminding me again of grape cough syrup. The incense is smoky black and very strong. The two elements aren't very well blended on me, and instead almost seem to compete.
Over time: I've tested this blend three times. After about an hour, it's dried down twice to unpleasant and unnatural flat sweet purple fruit, and once to a pleasant smoky purple/dark gray/black incense. I don't much care for the fruit drydown, but the incense drydown is pleasant. All told, the scent has a pretty substantial throw and is very potent close to the skin.
Verdict: I wanted to like this scent (Shakespeare geek, looking for a "purple" blend, and I like the incense drydown), but I'll pass on this imp. Not an easy decision, and I did have to test it three times--if my body chemistry were more predictable, I'd feel better about either keeping or passing on this imp. As it is, the overall blend is too strong for me, and the purple stages and drydown aren't to my style, even though I rather like it when it goes black incense on me. I don't want to take a risk with the fake purple fruit each time I wear it.
TITANIA (GC)
White grape, white peach, iced pear, musk rose, sweet pea, moonflower and snapdragon.
This was a frimp from the Lab, which is the only way I ever would have tried it. I don't like predominant or mixed florals, and I don't like predominant fruits, or pear or peach at all.
In the vial: Fruits and florals. Of the fruits, the pear is predominant; of the florals, I get a mix, but I think I can pick out the sweetpea and the rose. The smell is bright and wet, and it reminds me a bit of any commercial blend of fruits and flowers, almost like a Glade candle, if Glade candles didn't smell like chemicals and artificial scents. Perhaps I should say it's what every other Glade candle is intended to smell like.
On me: The blend doesn't change much, although the fruits step up and the flowers step back. The pear is first, the peach a ghostly second. They are very fresh, very wet, and maybe a bit overripe, but at the same time they don't quite smell real ... there's something too perfect, too pure about them. The florals are now impossible for me to discern from one another, and are instead blended, smooth, like the breeze off of a wildflower field. There's a distinct sweetness to the blend, but fruit sweetness, natural sugars, not thick honey or added sugar. There's no wild morphing going on here as far as I can see.
Verdict: I can't talk about longterm wear of this one because I ended up washing it off after about an hour and a half. It's not unpleasant by any means, but it's absolutely not my style--in fact, it contains just about every note I would never wear. I wouldn't mind smelling it on someone else. It's very bright and pure and cheery, sparkling fruits with a floral base. There is something a little commercial about the scent, and it does make me think of Glade candles. As such, this might be a good blend for someone transitioning in from commercial fruit and flower perfumes. (I plan to pass my imp off to my commercial-perfume-wearing, fruit-loving sister.)
CHUPAROSA (GC, Conjure Bag)
The Hummingbird of Love, the Rose Sucker. A potent, benevolent, merciful love blend.
This was a frimp from a seller, and since I'd never heard to it and it has no listed notes, it came to me without preconceptions except for a general wariness of everything rose.
In the vial/On me/In the air/Everywhere: I've never tested a blend that was so steadily unmorphing. Chuparosa changes not a bit for me from vial to skin to anywhere else. The scent is incredibly familiar, but I can't quite name it. The closest I can get is a pure, distinct sharp green bright pink rose, like a bright full pink rose just freshly cut from the bush, the green stem still leaking sap. It's not cloying or heady, but it is overwhelming because it is so strong. Just touching the closed vial makes my hands smell like Chuparosa. Wearing it, the scent pervades the whole room.
Chuparosa feels to me like a very enthusiastic young lover: HELLO I AM CHUPAROSA! NICE TO MEET YOU! I swear, this blend talks in all caps. With exclamation points.
It's not bad, precisely, but I do feel the urge to wrap it in plastic and shove it in a sock to muffle it a bit.
Verdict: This is not for me, and I'm a bit hesitant about giving it to someone else, just in case it is as loud to them as it is to me. Most of the people I mail my rejects to are newbies or non-BPALers that I'm trying to enable, and I wouldn't want to scare them off. The scent isn't unpleasant, it doesn't morph, it's not remarkably complex, but it is very bright! green! pink! rose! and lacks any sense of subtlety. I'd never wear it. I also can't speak for it's voodoo/magic use, except that potent it certainly is.
