purestmaiden_

I was really nervous about trying this scent- I love rose, but my skin has an unfortunate tendency to amp myrrh notes heck and turn them to straight baby powder. Wet in the bottle: Primarily sandalwood incense with a vague fruity and floral scent to it. Sandalwood and myrrh are the only notes I can pick out, the rest smells like flowers and stone fruits. Wet, on skin: Still getting heavy sandalwood incense with a hint of rich florals- my old friend powder is nowhere to be seen. I also applied this pretty lightly and I was pleasantly surprised by the throw- it’s not overwhelming but you definitely know it’s there. Dry, after about two hours: The rose came to the forefront after about 30 minutes and it’s only become more prominent since then. This scent smells like a bouquet of roses tossed on a rosewood altar, with incense burning several rooms away. The roses are a voluptuous red rose, reminiscent of Two, Five, and Seven or Peacock Queen. The scent has a slight dusty and aged quality to it, but emphatically not in a powdery way at all! The throw has also, weirdly, increased since I applied this scent. Dry, after about ten hours: Still smells like wet, fresh red roses placed in a dusty church. The incense becomes a bit more prominent on drydown, but never enough to overwhelm the gorgeous roses. Final thoughts: I was really pleasantly surprised by this scent. I was expecting it to be rose scented baby powder, but it’s a new favorite for me. I grew up attending a Catholic church that was constructed in 1850, and they had a little alcove with a life-sized statue of the Virgin Mary in a corner. On certain holy days, people would come and leave roses in the alcove, and this scent somehow perfectly evokes the scent of fresh red roses heaped on that little altar in that dusty old church. I have no idea how Beth managed to make a scent that’s dusty without being powdery and I’m so happy. In terms of other lab scents, I would describe this as a cross between Rose across and Bear Prince!

I first ordered my current bottle in 2009, so I just wanted to provide a bit of a comparison on how it ages. Fresh, this scent had a green and sugary quality- the effect was somehow one of candied roses, and it was a light and sweet scent that almost had notes of sugar cookies and sugared grapefruit. On the skin, the food notes faded and I was left with sugared roses. It had low throw but decent wear time, though it faded quite noticeably by the end of the day. Now, the scent has almost an earthy and fruity quality. Upon opening the bottle, the first whiff I get is of roses mingled with jammy pomegranates. These roses arent buds, though- theyre lush, vegetal roses in full bloom, perhaps in the early stages of decay. On the skin, the fruity scent fades completely and Im just left with a rich, voluptuous, and sexy rose scent. Perhaps its just the age, but it smells almost as though a resin note is present in the background. The scent just gets deeper and rosier as it dries, and the scent actually seems to intensify throughout the day. It started to take on these qualities after about a year, for what its worth, and has merely gotten better with age. I first bought this scent when I was 19, and the light and fresh scent was the perfect girlish perfume. Aged, its the perfect mature rose, and I get so many compliments on the scent. I dont own anything quite like it, and I will be so depressed once I finish this current bottle.

Purchased this straight from the Lab in the hopes that I would get a strong floral. In the bottle, the scent smells like a cool, moonless night with a light waft of floral and ozone scents. There’s also a hint of moss and lichen. At first, on the skin, this blend transforms into a slightly ozone-tinged dupe of Bath and Body Works’ cucumber melon body soap. After about an hour, the scent suddenly transforms into an ozone-heavy blend, with whiffs of mint, thyme, and the smallest hint of moonflower. I’m not sure if this is a keeper. The initial cucumber melon phase is unfortunate, and the scent has low throw and weak staying power (only lasted about 4 hours on me). But I do love the light ozone scent I get in the drydown....I may keep it and use it a few more times before making up my mind.

In the bottle it smells strongly of whiskey and smoke, with a more muted chocolate scent and the faintest lingering whiff of coconut in the nostrils. I’m expecting a boozy chocolate scent on the skin, since my skin tends to amplify chocolate notes. But once it hits my skin, the scent just.....vanishes. I’ve tried wearing it on three different days since it’s arrived, and perhaps it’s because the bottle is too fresh, but something about my skin chemistry just cancels this scent out completely. Upon applying I detect the faintest hint of chocolate that completely vanishes after about two minutes. For now, I’m going to set this bottle aside for a few weeks and see if improves with age. The concept of smelly like smoky whiskey with a hint of chocolate is appealing, but the effect of this scent is underwhelming.