Eve

[viciousviolet]

The spirit of temptation, the essence of lost innocence. Apple blossom, rose, ylang ylang and golden honey.

As Autumn24 mentioned on the Bust Lounge, BPAL has a way with roses. Normally, I am not a fan of the scent, as it puts me in mind of old ladies’ cold creams or the depressing scent of flowers at a wake, but the variety of rose scents that Black Phoenix has come up with has changed my mind about that flower. I never knew a rose could be as mysterious and dark as Black Rose, or as wet and succulent as Persephone’s rose, or as wicked and winey as Blood Rose, or as dry and lovely as Old London’s, and Eve is no exception. Eve is a crisp, light rose perfume with the tartness of apples and just a little bit of honey. I imagine this was the scent that Biblical Eve bore when she descended from the Tree of Knowledge. This is the perfect springtime floral.

[Damask Rose]

I like this one, but it hasn't really grabbed me. It seems to fade quite quickly too. It has quite a strong rose scent, but with some sweetness too from the honey. I'm not sure about this one. I like it but I'm not sure if I like it enough to order a whole bottle. I think I'll have to try it again to see.

[sedentaryedge]

This is one of my favourite daytime scents. I'm not usually a huge fan of rose perfume, because it smells dry and potpourri-ish. This scent is juicy and golden: the honey is slight to my nose, but the fresh apple-y note really just brightens up the rose: a soft petal scent, without any stem-y ness or bracken.

[Sierona]

Very pretty, extremely feminine light rosey scent. This makes me feel ultra girly, soft, maybe even a bit vulnerable. Feel like i should be wearing a pink dress with frills. Over the past hour of wear i have to admit it makes me feel a lil dreamy, and i have the sudden urge to watch Molly Ringwald movies. This is a beautiful and delicate scent to my nose.

[shriekingviolet]

Initial Impression:

Very rosy, rosier than I wanted it to be. I can smell hints of ylang ylang playing in the background.

 

After Wearing It:

When I first put it on, all I could smell was rose. Really strong rose, which doesn't go over so well with me. The rose note mellowed out a bit, becoming a bit sweeter and more sensual (from the ylang ylang probably), but it's still very much a rose scent.

 

Final Thoughts:

Very feminine. Would be nice for a fan of rose notes, but I am not.

[jj_j]

I usually have issues with ylang-ylang, but I didn't in Eve. A light, sweet rose balanced out beautifully with a touch of honey and ylang-ylang to end up as something that I really liked. The scent seems to retain an innocence of sorts.

 

This is the kind of scent I can see buying for my daughter about the time she turns 16. (Of course, if she's truly my child, she will have been a perfume addict for years at that point; we already have to put perfume on her tummy in the morning when I put mine on, and she's only two! )

[eleventhousand]

This is beautiful...roses, but golden and sparkling. Dries down to dusky honey. One of my absolute favorites!

[Pandorra]

Eve

 

Initial: Fruity, floral. cheerful.

 

During: This is a very cheerful scent to me. I had a dreadful day and after washing off Velvet, this was bright and happy for me. I kept sniffing it just for a little boost to cheer me up. I can't seem to place any of the scents. I just know I am smelling fruit and flowers and something dripping underneath it all. What is that?

 

Final: Its nice. Its happy. It makes me think of a ray of sunshine which is what I really needed.

 

 

Okay, after reading the description, I don't know how I could not recognize rose or apple. sheesh. I sniff it now and wonder how I could have missed it the rose. The honey and apple blossom really add a nice sunny touch to it. I would consider buying this.

[Fulltiltredhead]

Just got home and my package from the lovely Red Witche was waiting for me, with EVE ...

 

I put the bottle straight to my nose the second I opened it and inhaled deeply, and when the scent hit my brain, I almost wanted to cry, got this feeling of laughing/crying for joy, it's so very beautiful. Yes, first roses, but holding hands with apple blossoms and drenched in honey, it's richly, heavenly sweet in the sense of taste, and sweet in the sense of temperament it conveys. Innocent, but not sexually innocent - innocent in the sense of total vulnerability with no fear of harm. Womanly and tender without self-consciousness.

 

This to me could have been called The Garden of Eden - I smell wet earth, I get a sense of lush green grass, flowering trees swaying gracefully in a warm breeze, roses and blossoms in perfect bloom, bees buzzing, early summer, not spring, it's a little more mellow and golden than spring to me. The honey note is strong on me and feels like golden light. It smells fertile. It's etherially earthy.

 

It made Cat Steven's Morning Has Broken start playing in my head. http://www.allspirit.co.uk/morning.html if you don't know the lyrics.

 

I experience this as grace, warm and beneficent, easily giving without measure. It gives a feeling of bliss and optimism and dispels anxiety.

 

It's hard to imagine liking anything more than I like this right now. It's my first BPAL scent, so I imagine I'll wax rhapsodic again and again as I smell each one. But for now, I'm smitten with Eve. Everything should smell just like this.

Edited March 26, 2004 by Fulltiltredhead

[amazonqueen]

In The Bottle:

 

The rose is predominant, but the honey has really sweetened it. It reminds me more of sugared rose petals, like they use on desserts.

 

On My Skin:

 

It's non-descript on me. I smell nice. If this were a colour, it would be beige.

 

Later That Day:

 

It's gone.

 

I wish that this had just a bit more body. Unfortunately, it came and went and didn't really leave an impression.

[twistygirl]

When wet, this is the ultimate girly-girl scent. This is a sunny spring day. It feels pink and green on me. A very pretty pink-and-green floral print. The rose is really balanced out by the ylang-ylang, and the honey adds a taste of sweetness, the apple blossom adds the touch of green. It's definitely the Garden of Eden before the fall.

 

As it has dried down, I sense the serpent entering Eden. It's turned into something far more womanly than girly-girl, yet there is still a touch of innocence. The honey has strengthened and it's not really pink anymore, it's more golden with slight splashes of green. Golden is good. I like golden. Eve's sexuality is coming into play, and I am loving it.

[Ms. MSGirl]

This is a gorgeous scent, though different from what I had imagined it would be. On me it is very floral, I am really not getting any apple smell or that much honey at all. It is similar to the soft, sweet floral of Ophelia or the innocent sexiness of Maiden -- it's mainly rose, though a beautiful rose. I had imagined that this would be crisp apples and honey, and on me it's just not as sweet or as foody/fruity as that. It's beautiful, and I know when my imp is gone I'll be wanting more, but I'm gonna try both Alice and Persephone in my quest for the sweetest, candied fruity rose before I purchase a big bottle of this. I think layering this with O would be amazing.

[Shollin]

First sniff: Smooth honey and tart apples, a very springtime scent. I don’t smell rose in the vial.

 

Wearing: Ah, there it is. Slices of green apple rubbed with rose petals, when first sniffed on my skin, but the rose quickly becomes predominant and twines more firmly around the apple tree, greenery and all. It’s a fresh, calm, sunny blend that I think I really like. I’d categorize Eve as a green/floral. The honey shows up after a couple of hours and turns it decidedly less innocent. I was going to try something else on when I got home, but even after a couple of hours in a smoky bar Eve is quite determinedly hanging on… which is a good thing!

 

She's also responsible for my Very First Lab-inspired compliment... the lady at the blood drive today said I smelled "good... not too strong, but really good." Yay.

[upsidedown]

I've never been a fan of roses, and thus, Eve never even made it onto my enormous "to try" list, but the lovely folks at the lab threw it in as a freebie imp with my first order so I gave it a try today. I must say, I was impressed - that I liked this at all is something considering my immense dislike of most rosey and fruity scents. Started out sweet and girly and just a little powdery, putting me in mind of frilly dresses and pink, pink, pink. As it dried down, though, a slightly tart, slightly acrid smell started to overtake the sweetness, perhaps the apple, or maybe it's honey that doesn't work with my body chemistry, which would really be a pity, as this one also irritated my skin a bit, although not enough for me to wash it off. All in all, this is a beautiful, feminine scent, but perhaps not for me - light and sweet isn't my usual taste, and something in my chemistry just threw if off a little.

[Ina Garten Davita]

First Impression: Roses, gorgeous roses, sweet, sweet roses.

 

Second Impression: A very sweet floral, the apple blossom and ylang ylang are a sugar coating on the roses.

 

Final Analysis: This is pretty and perfect for perking up this rainy holiday. The honey is very thick and sweet but only after the dry down.

[JazzieCazzie]

For some strange and wonderful reason, while most of the heavily rosey (rosy?) scents here don't work on me at all, this one was divine! The apple blossom and ylang-ylang scents were definitely the overriding notes on me, which I just loved. I bought a 5 ML bottle and can't wait!!!

 

REVISITED MARCH 2013:

 

I look at this review, and I look at the non-rose notes in the blend, and I can't figure out -- or remember -- why I don't have any Eve in my collection. So I added it to my "imp wishlist" and my fairy godmother swap-friend added an imp as lagniappe. And I remember why Eve has been such a confuzzling heartbreaker for me.

 

IN THE IMP: The apple blossom is the predominant note and reminds me so much of my childhood and, in particular, a "kid cologne" I owned that came from Avon, I think, and was a little blue bird in a translucent green plastic egg.

 

WET: As it usually does, the honey amps immediately, and the ylang-ylang comes right after it. Those are another two of my favorite notes so for awhile there I smell like apple blossom, honey and ylang-ylang and that is DIVINE.

 

DRYDOWN: I am pretty sure I wrote my 2004 review within a short time of applying Eve. I definitely didn't wait for full drydown. Because on full drydown everything's coming up roses. And I remember why Eve broke my heart. *sigh*

 

OVERALL: I think this would be great as a bath oil or something where I can maintain the "wet" note without the drydown. But, sadly, the rose factor is too much for me and I will somewhat wistfully pass it on to someone that will love it more.

 

On a scale of 1-5, 3 for the lovely complexity but not the drydown.

Edited March 24, 2013 by JazzieCazzie

[Mitzy]

Ah, my rose curse strikes again...

 

This smelled so delicious wet, a truly lovely sweet floral. Alas, not 5 minutes after touching me it turned to stark rose. I couldnt get a feel for the honey, ylang ylang or apple blossom at all. This smelled fabulous on my mom, sweet in the right places but still floral. I wish it worked on me!

[any_old_actress]

FIRST SNIFF: apple blossoms, yay!

 

WEARING IT: apple blossoms still...then turning into roses, roses, roses. this ended up being a really strong floral on me, headache strong unfortunately (similar to how cordelia effected me)

 

FINAL VERDICT: headache inducing, so... not for me!

[iris]

Lovely on first sniff,but then as others have said it turned to a really strong floral scent.Too strong for me.

[paperdoll]

Initial Sniff: I really smell the apple blossom and honey in the bottle, with a hint of something floral underneath.

 

Wearing: Predominately ylang-ylang with a hint of rose. This is just vile on my skin.

 

Final Impressions: When I read the description and sniffed the vial I knew this one probably wouldn't work, but I have a policy of trying every BPAL at least once.

[ninglor]

Lovely, floral and powdery. I can't detect the honey very well on myself, but the apple shows up after it dries. An imp worth hanging onto.

[TheDarkMother]

All I can say about this imp is "Finally! A scent that is close to what its supposed to be on my skin!"

 

In the bottle, Eve is red apple and honey, a nice fresh scent that reminds me of Washington Red apples for some odd reason. The honey sweetens the scent a little as well as lightens it, getting rid of the crisp aftersmell of apples.

 

On application however, the scent is very distinctly green apples with a hint of the blossom as well. The honey is gone and the tart scent of the green apple is just heavenly!

 

As it begins to fade, more of the honey smell and the blossom come out, leaving the apple in the background, but never gone. There is also something else there, something that kinda reminds me of sweet grass, or maybe even the leaves and stems from the apple tree. It gives such a beautiful overall scent that it just makes you fall in love!

 

Thanks for finally having a scent that is close to the description on my skin! I was beginning to wonder if I would ever find one

 

Of course, that means that I'm going to have to try all of the scents in order to find ones that I like, since I never know how its going to smell on me when I put it on!

Edited July 27, 2004 by TheDarkMother

[Hallows_Eve]

I got this in a swap with another BPAL-er I work with. This scent has the most subtlest rose that I have ever had on my skin, which usually takes roses and amplifies it times 10. Also, I am usually allergic sneezy wise to apple blossoms when they are too strong.

 

Neither are too stong on me with Eve. The ylang ylang and honey appear to smooth out the stronger. I wasn't sneezy. I wasnt overpowered by roses. And I got something that has part of my avatar name in it. Cool Beans!

 

When this dries down, it reminds me a bit of a dream pillow sachet, with the faintest powerdy "Afterwhiff" (the ylang ylang). Kind of relaxing.

[ismene]

As others have said, this is a very feminine scent. It's also very overpowering on me. At first I can barely smell anything other than the rose, though it's a soft rose. Once it's fully dry it's a rose sweetened with a bit of honey. I never could smell the apple, much as I tried.

[octopusgrrl]

In the bottle: very strongly ylang-ylang, with hints of apple

 

Wet: fragrantly floral, mainly the ylang-ylang and rose coming through - almost jasmine-y. Light and fresh, but intense, with a hint of spice.

 

Dry: slightly spicy rose-y ylang-ylang.

 

Verdict: I'm not a huge ylang-ylang fan, but I quite liked it. However, the other-‘alf thought it smelled “old lady-ish”, so I’m undecided now. I'll probably try it again, though.