Absinthe

[stardust]

Fall under the spell of our Green Fairy! An intoxicating blend containing wormwood essence, light mints, cardamom, anise, hyssop, and the barest hint of lemon.

This was a freebie from the lab. It's not something that I would have ordered, because: 1. I don't want to smell like alcohol (as I had incorrectly assumed it would smell) 2. Absinthe makes me want to gag 3. Didn't think I'd want to smell like anise.

Well...I was wrong. I really like this one.

On me, it starts out very lemony, with a hint of anise. Later, the anise takes over as the prominent note, with the lemon ever-present in the background. I never detect the mint, but I think I can detect some cardamom. Mmmm.

Thank you, lab!

[leapylees]

In the bottle this was very herbal and minty. Unfortunately, on my skin it became soapy (though with a slight hint of anise) within a few minutes and faded fast. I'm really disappointed as I adored this in the bottle.

[surf-tormented]

Pros: Smells like the components of Absinthe on me, lemon, mint, anise.

 

Cons: Fades really quick and I think I am allergic to anise.

 

This one is great for any Absinthe fans out there because I can smell all the herbage in this one. The anise comes out really strong on me. But, I know some people break out when exposed to anise oil, much like cinnamon oil, so I would recommend getting an imp of this first to check that out. I once used anise in the bath to horrible results. It made my skin break out and then, since it was an oil, it stuck to my body and I couldn't wash it off! But enough about my bad memories!

 

I wish this oil was as strong an hour later as it is when first applied. If so, this would be a keeper. To wear now and then when I am daring and willing to take the risk of a breakout. But I will probably trade it to people who are less sensitive to anise than I am.

[scourgeotheseas]

This one is definitely NOT for me.

 

In the bottle: a bit of mint, and some unidentified herbal scent.

On me: Lemon Pledge and licorice. Nothing else came out at all.

 

I don't want to smell of Lemon Pledge and licorice.

[Ishtar]

This is incredibly close to the smell of actual absinthe! I swear that when I applied it, I even caught a whiff of something boozy on top of the anise and herb blend!

 

After 30 minutes, Absinthe became rounder and sweeter on my skin, while the anise note kept getting stronger. The herbal/woody base seemed to fade a little, leaving me with a soft licorice scent that was quite enjoyable.

 

This is a very light scent on me and it does not have much staying power (2 hours or so). I would nevertheless recommend it to anyone who likes fresh, clean fragrances and enjoys the smell of anise. Another very evocative blend

[Nadirah]

I love this! Its making me crave a shot of anisette, this is minty and full of black licorice. Dead on Absinthe. Not to mention that I love the smell of cardamom. If you can't get ahold of some absinthe, grab a bottle of anisette, the labs Absinthe smells just like it! This fades into a softer scent, I can see how some may say it is soapy but it smells more sweet to me. A beautiful, very dejvu inducing scent!

[inkstone]

This was a freebie from the Lab.

 

In the imp: Vaguely woody and herbal. All right, let's give this a go despite the lemon.

 

Wet: Black licorice. Um. What?

 

Drydown: Black licorice mingling with lemon-scented insect repellent. Maybe giving this a go was a bad idea.

 

Final thoughts: My accursed skin chemistry strikes again!

[diabolique]

i think this was a lovely gimp from the lab a couple of orders ago, and i was SO excited to see it sitting there among the others!

 

this smells exactly how i envisioned absinthe to smell. i was tempted to drink it, but i somehow managed to refrain. of course, there isn't much else you can say about it other than it smells like lemon and anise. very herbal-smelling and wonderfully, lightly boozey. i dig it, but i passed it on because there's no sense in keeping something around that you won't wear.

[Theravada]

Minty, green, medicinal. Very, very interesting and unique scent. But honestly, this isn't something that I can picture myself wearing and it's a bit wierd as a room scent, so I think I'll be swapping this one.

[fairywingmaker]

Absinthe ~ Fall under the spell of our Green Fairy! An intoxicating blend containing wormwood essence, light mints, cardamom, anise, hyssop, and the barest hint of lemon.

 

 

This was sent to me by MissAnthropy, and I'm so happy to try it! On me I can smell the mints, the lemon, and wormwood. It's a very clean uplifting scent. Very light, and airy. I also tried this on my husband...on him it completely loses the lemon, and smell very woodsy, with just the freshest hint of mint. This is a keeper!

[Cedar]

I've never smelled absinthe (I live a sheltered life), but I did like this fragrance. Initially, it's quite strong and a little minty, with the anise and lemon strongest. When it dries, the anise is still strong, but it's balanced out by the other scents. It's clean and refreshing, even on drydown, where more of the lemon comes through. The only thing I didn't smell was the cardamom, but that's probably mixed in with the general wormwood scent, for all the sense that makes. Will probably put in an order for a 5mL of this with my next order.

[aimeceleste]

I smelled mostly of anise the entire time I wore this.

 

Periodically I would scent lemon, or mint, or a sharp green smell, I'm guessing wormwood. But overwhelmingly, I smelled anise. Anise is one of those things I always seem to buy for myself, especially in teas, thinking "great, I'll love this" and it never rises up to my expectations of it. Unfortunately, Absinthe falls into this same category for me.

 

A swap for sure.

[siriusstar]

When I put this on it seemed very familiar. Then I realized what it was- black Necco wafers! They smell exactly like this. Now that it's been on a bit it smells like black Necco wafers with a soft minty undertone. It's actually quite pleasant, and nothing at all like any perfume I smelled before. I'm not in lust with it, but it'll be nice when I want something different.

[Penance]

Origin:

 

Lagniappe from the Lab!

 

Preconceived notions:

 

This one's intrigued me for quite a while, but I never got up the nerve to try it until the Lab chose to gift me with it. I love mint and I'm very curious about wormwood (no idea what it smells like, but it sounds fascinating) but I hate anise and lemon, so this is probably going to be a love it or hate it kind of scent.

 

First sniff:

 

Okay, so far so good! I smell mint, a hint of anise and something bitter smelling (is that the wormwood?). All in all, this is quite nice. The anise is very faint so it's alright for now and the mint is lovely. I'm interested in that bitter note, though...every time I try and pin it down it hides behind the other notes.

 

Wet on skin:

 

Very unusual. This one's a quick-change artist for sure. First I get mint, then anise, then lemon, then cardamom, then something floral and finally something slightly bitter and the lemon, all in a matter of seconds. My skin tends to amp up lemon, so right now I smell like Lemon Pledge and...something, which isn't good.

 

Dry down:

 

Lemon, lemon and more lemon. It's taken over the entire scent, drowning everything else out to the point where it's all I can smell, which makes me very sad. Absinthe just doesn't like me, apparently.

 

The bottom line:

 

Another scent ruined by lemon. It's quickly becoming one of those notes I resent because it has an unfortunate habit of ruining scents that are perfectly lovely otherwise.

[LiberAmoris]

Absinthe smells just like the home-brewed bottle of (wormwood-free) Absinthe that was set in front of my boyfriend and I in a back room of a New Orleans bar. Just like it!

 

As a personal fragrance, the licorice/anise smell mingled with the mint might be a bit too pungent and herby for everyday use, but I can see myself popping open this imp in the summer for a dinner date. It's really refreshing and unique.

[Lucretia]

I've, sadly, never actually smelled absinthe in reality before, but if it tastes anything like my imp smells, then damn, I'd love it. However, i dont really want to smell like it.

I get anise, and something else very tart, which I guess would be wormwood. This is nice, but it's far too bitter for me to want to wear on a regular basis. Very nice anise scent though.

[voodoobaby]

In the bottle: Hmm. Minty. And lemony. I normally wouldn't think that a mint/lemon scent would be too exciting, but this is. I credit it to the faint bitterness that the wormwood provides.

 

Wearing: The anise comes out, as does the wormwood a bit more. Now see, anise oil straight makes me sick, but this is gorgeous! The mint and lemon are still clearly here, but not as much as the anise. It is, as expected, very green, but it's more of a bright and sparkly mint green than an absinthe emerald. The scent stays consistent as well, which can be a good thing.

 

Overall: I don't usually like fresh scents, but I love this. It's heady, yet undoubtedly energizing. And the boy likes it, which is unusual. This is so definitely a keeper.

[UltraViolet]

I don't know if you've ever smelled absinthe but this smells just like it. It smells licorice-y with a mint scent in the background, there's also a lovely lemony tone and a wormwood smell. It is a woody kind of a smell way in the background.

I loved it the moment I smelled it. Very different...and addictive. Absinthe always seems to point me towards mischief, fun and sensualness.

I bought a 5ml after I used my imp.

[sarahmarie]

I thought I reviewed this one already, but I guess not!

 

Absinthe smells much more complex in the imp than on my skin. In the imp, I smell boozey lemon and anise, and other green-ish things I don't really recognize. It's almost medicinal to my nose, but in a light, not-unpleasant way.

 

On my skin, the booze goes away and most everything else does too - except the anise. Absinthe is very anise-heavy on my skin. My skin does this with Baku too, so it's my chemistry...but oddly, I like it anyway. It's a sort of light, purple-feeling scent, and every now and then some of the other notes appear lightly, just a little. It's light, but it lingers. I'd like it better if it remained more complex on my skin, so I won't be buying any bottles of this one - but I think I'll use up the imp.

[harlequin]

Well, I've never smelled actual absinthe, but my ex said that this smelled just like it in the vial. I'll have to take his word for it.

 

on another unfortunate note, I don't think I've actually smelled a bunch of the things that are in this.. Wormwood, cardamon, and hyssop specifically.

 

Wet, I can definitely smell the Mint and Lemon with an undercurrent of something slightly spicy. Not something typically boozy, but definitely heady and intoxicating! Liking it.

 

As it dries, the mint fades away, predictably. (*sniff*) I think I remember reading that cardamon is cinnamon-like, and I can definitely smell that coming out now... and the Anise definitely... reminds me of cookies my grandmother made. ..and a little bit of the smell of black licorice, but not quite so strong as that.

 

ETA: duh. it was Cassia that was cinnamon like.. cardamon was carnation like, i think? either way, it smells more cinnamonny.

 

Verdict: Oh dear Green Fairy, come out and play any time!

Edited February 3, 2005 by harlequin

[sarada]

I've wanted to try this one but never put it on a wish list or order because most of the blends I've tried with anise in them come out as being nothing BUT anise on me, and while I'm not wholly opposed to that licoricey smell in food (I love fennel seeds, for instance) I don't like it as a perfume. So when the lab gave me a bonus imp of this I was glad to get to try it!

 

This is much different than I expected. I thought I'd be overwhelmed with licorice and lemon, which was the combo that I think I smelled in Mystery, but since I have never smelled real absinthe (I'm a teetotaller but I like the IDEA of absinthe) I don't know how this compares. I'm guessing that the unidentified scent that I get is wormwood -- something slightly bitter and herbal. Fortunately, the anise scent that at first comes out strong on my skin quickly burns away and is replaced by glorious mint. I also like lemon when it's not too strong, so the slight hint of lemon is nicely balanced in this.

 

Again, cardamom was something I didn't think I'd like in a pefume. I love the spice and use it in Indian cooking, but I don't like to wear spices. Happily, all of the BPAL scents I've tried that have a spicy element in them, incorporate it so nicely that it just adds a bit of energy and fire to a blend and keeps it going nicely on my skin without overpowering it.

 

Like I said, this wasn't exactly as I expected, and that is a good thing -- where I expected to be smacked in the face with a licorice stick, there's just a slightly sweet and spicy quality to this underlying the wonderful minty herbs. Minty herbs are my friend. Definitely want more of this -- not sure if I could use up a bottle, but an imp or two would be great! It fades very quickly on me as do ALL perfumes that aren't heavily incense-laden, but I can see wearing it occasionally.

[anmorata]

Today's BPAL scent du jour: Absinthe.

 

Wet: Pine. Smells like a freshly cut Christmas tree. I can't smell the other scents at all.

 

2 hours later: I smell like minty-pine. It's not bad. Normally, I detest the smell of pine, but this isn't half bad.

 

I wish I could smell the lemon. I think it'd be a nice touch.

 

All in all, I doubt I'd wear it on a regular basis, but I don't hate it.

[dcmo]

On first applying this, I get just a straight scent of licorice. I'm not picking up the lemon scent others mentioned. After a few minutes, I do get a light, fresh, green scent that I'm finding quite energizing. This is a nice scent, but not for everyday use.

[Finny]

Out of the imp, licorice.

 

This is very unique, it smells of licorice, but lemony, mint licorice. It has a faint bitter odor also, wormwood? It tickles my nose, and makes me keep sniffing it. It changes too, going from the licorice to lemon, then back to the licorice again.

 

It is one that I will be wearing a few more times, I want to see how it ages and how many other aspects of the oil will come out, before I decide if it will be a 5ml for me.

[klowey]

On initial application, I smell a spicy, dry wood. I'm assuming that's a mix of the wormwood, anise, and cardamon.

 

As it dries, I smell the green herbs more, in fact there's an overlay of something alcoholic and intoxicating to the scent. Sparkling almost.

 

Worn for a while it's spicy and woody.

 

All the stages are lovely. This was a freebie from the lab, and I probably wouldn't have ordered it on my own, but I'm really glad I have it and I'll definitely order more.