The Ides of March 2005

[joseybird]

... A mixture of springtime greenery and classical Roman cologne: rosemary, bergamot, lemon rind and vervain with costus, benzoin, gray amber, cardamom, white narcissus and iris.

The first thing I get from Ides of March is a something that smells like amber and cinnamon-sugar (cardamon?). I smell nothing green at all, just an incredibly unique and not at all masculine blend that smells resiny and foody the rosemary and lemon peek out a minute late, though both are very gentle and add just a little herbal touch to the blend. I think I detect bergamot (which is the main top note I get from Alice), but if so then it's weaving in and out of the other notes and I can't really put my finger on it

As the blend dries down, the resins subside a bit and the greens and florals poke out a bit more. The blend smells herby, but not medicinal--in other words, not at ALL like Belladona/Water of Notre Dame/The Apothecary. It's fresh and bright but sunwarmed, like the sun kissing the gold-eared wheat as it sinks slowly below the horizon.

This is an incredibly unique scent and not at all what I expected. It's for warm summer days when the sun is hidden and everything around you is in a dreamy shade. Marvelous!

[Hawke]

I tried this twice, as the first time it went floral immediately and disappeared in the space of half an hour.

 

In the vial: Sharp. I thought I got a whiff of something gingery, but it's definitely sharp.

 

Wet: I cannot figure out what floral note it is that comes to the fore right away. It's on the tip of my brain, but I'm so bad about picking out notes.

 

Drydown: Yep. There's the floral. This is like a floral cologne on me, meaning it's too sharp to be feminine-ly floral. But it smells commercial and certainly not distinctive enough to merit wearing. Not me, by a long shot.

 

It also faded within an hour or so again.

 

Someone else will love this more than me.

[rainbow]

In the bottle- lemony and like men's cologne.

 

Wet- this is VERY masculine on me! It smells much like men's cologne on me. It's definitely a mix of herbs, though I don't recognize any of them, and I'm having a hard time picking out any individual herbs.

 

Drydown- this dries down into a far less sharp herbal scent, though the dominant feel is still definitely herbal. The initial stages are just too sharp and masculine for me, I'm afraid, but this would make a great men's scent.

[darkling]

To my nose, the Ides of March smelled a lot like lavendar along with a sharp herbal and lemon edge. It is a sleepy, comforting scent.

 

After a few minutes, the lemon started to smell like cleanser and the other notes were diluted by the chemical harshness.

[~AmusedMuse~]

My Impression:Crisp, clean, herbal, green & a definite citrus note. To me, it almosts smells as though this is so clean it borders on soapy clean. After drydown,

it was as though it settled and I could smell the herbal notes better. Nice enough for spring or summer...

[quimerula]

Wet on my skin I get rosemary and citric notes: bergamot, vervein, lemon rind...

with a soft bottom line made of cardamon, amber and the sweet resiny touch of the benzoin. I can pick a touch of camomile too.

 

As it dries down I get more amber, iris and more floral notes.

It goes deep and bold.

 

Very fresh and unisex, but not a light scent.

Really elengant.

[MaryMoon]

In the bottle I had some doubts about this scent. Very pungent and herby (the rosemary)

 

Oh, how this is lovely on the skin, though. Initially it's almost overwhelming, but it only takes a few moments before everything calms into an even, soothing "green" scent. It's strong, yet light, and very.. for lack of better term, clean smelling.

 

Several hours later, all that's left are soft florals. Lovely lovely scent.

[quikslvr]

The early stage seems very strong, herb-like. Early on, there's also a tinge I associate with cooking (may be the rosemary, may be the benzoin). It lightens quickly to a very commercial-smelling floral, though. Clean, fresh, but definite flowers.

[UltraViolet]

In the bottle

Bright and sharp citrus (lemon) with a tad of floral.

 

On

This is nicer than I expected after reading the description as I didn't really know what to expect. But this is a nice smell. It smells like green. Everything that's associated with green; clover, grass, herbs, lime...and a little floral. Can't tell what kind of floral notes though. I don't do well with "sharp" at all, but this is so different. It is like a men's cologne but just as soon as I think this then the "pow" of lemon comes out and I think to myself "well, that doesn't really smell like a men's cologne now..or does it?". I think this is the most different bpal scent i've tried. So far I like it.

 

30 minutes

Still smells exactly the same, no notes fade or change or anything.

 

Throw:

A goodly amount of throw, yes.

 

Scent category:

Citrus/Green

 

Summary

This scent does not morph whatsoever on my skin. It smells in the botttle as it does on my skin as it does when dry. I think that's a first.

 

Purchase again?

Maybe.

 

1-5 rating (5 being best)

3.5

[twistygirl]

Ides of March is a perfect example of Beth's ability to take notes that you may not normally like and blend them together into something spectacular.

 

I normally don't care for bergamot, vervain, or anything citrusy, but I LOVE this scent. No one note stands out... instead, it's just a delicious, lovely blend that captures the first days of spring perfectly. As others have said, this could definitely be a unisex scent - it's subtle, clean, green, and fresh - and yet there is something very feminine about it on my skin. I suspect that it may be the sort of shape-shifting scent that would become more masculine when worn by a man.

 

On my skin, the scent stays pretty true from bottle to dry-down. It has a decent amount of throw, but not too much, and good staying power.

 

This would be a great scent to wear in hot weather, or on those occasions when you want to smell clean, fresh, and subtle. Very appropriate for business wear, or when you're feeling a bit sporty.

[Yvaine]

I just got my hands on a bottle of this, and I have to say, it is now, sadly, one of my all-time favorites. God, this is beautiful.

 

In the bottle: Creamy spicy greenness. A faint hint of fresh sweetness. Cypress and bergamot, maybe, are the dominant notes at this stage to me.

 

Wet: The creamy greenness rises and the spicyness steps back. Slightly more sweet, but a sweet cut be lemons and orange.

 

Drydown: Lemony cypress top notes. Then the bergamot and neroli just blends with it so perfectly and begin little by little to rise to the top.

Beyond: Fades a little. For about 20 or so minutes, I wondered if it was gone, but then it came back just subtlely and quietly and made everything around smell oh-so-good.

 

If I could buy 10 bottles of this, I would. Wow. I'm in love.

Edited October 8, 2005 by Yvaine

[Blood onmy hands]

Wow, this is a very springy fragrance. Herbal and lime green in intensity, like the first delicate buds of spring

 

This is, as has been said, a nice herbal green scent. It goes a bit soapy on me and the male friend that I used as a tester. It smells just like a really clean male. Makes me think of kissing my boy after he gets out of the shower and his skin is clean and damp and he still smells lightly of the zesty guy-soap that he used.

 

This isn't one that I would ever really wear, but I happily gifted it over to my male friend, who ended up loving it.

[theseagrows]

i dont get a masculinity from this scent at all. in fact on me it smells like herbal-floral and VERY sweet and cloying. so much so that it kind of turns my stomach when i smell it, and i think i am getting a headache. i think it could be the iris, which was in another scent i tried which turned bad. but then ive tried an iris scent through bpal (cant remember which one.) poo. i wanted to like this one.

[SeaMonkey]

Herbally and sharp in the vial, it softens on the skin. Its a little ambery, on my skin its all rosemary and benzoin.

 

Very herbal and green, but with the softness of benzoin

[emzebel]

Trying this without re-reading the notes, I described this as herbal citrus. I'm glad I wasn't too far off.

 

I really like this one and hope it makes another appearance this year, as it would be a staple spring scent for me...I'm not getting a masculine vibe at all, but then again, in my past life, I was known to grab Italian men's colognes off the rack in lieu of more traditional feminine formulations, so perhaps my affinity for this blend is not that surprising...

[tartsquid]

This is my first BPAL scent and I seem to have lucked out in trying this one first because I LOVE it.

 

In the bottle it smells very green, somewhat mediciney and I don't detect any lemon or florals from it.

 

On my skin the rosemary really pops out along with a sweet, slightly floral scent. I'm not really getting any lemon with this but that's fine with me. As it's dried a hint of something spicey has started to come out. I'm finding this to be a very pretty, fresh herbal scent with just a touch of sweet florals but not overpoweringly feminine and girly.

 

Now I think I'll have to hunt for another bottle and hope that it gets rereleased this March.

[slave1]

In Bottle: Sour herbal

 

On Skin: A very regal blend. I smell elegance and haughtyness right away. The rosemary is the dominant scent, followed by the florals. The vervain strengthens the herbal note. It has a soapy feel at first, clean and bright. The lemon rind is tart and the benzoin helps soften and sweeten it a bit. I’m happy that the lemon hasn’t turned Pledge-like like it normally does, it stays a nice natural citrus and is complimented by the bergamot. The cardamom offers a spicy sharp note. The costus is a light ginger that offers a nice golden contrast to this heavily green scent. The gray amber (also called Ambergris) offers a stable deep base to the scent as a whole. The scent is so well blended and evokes a feeling of Roman times in my mind. I can’t help but feel the luxury of wearing it. A little more masculine than I’d like, but still beautiful. I’m going to try talking my husband into wearing it.

[LittleGreyKitten]

The Ides were one I put off trying for quite a while, languishing in my imp pile untested. Then I tried it today, in the midst of weeding out the extraneous imps. Damn, it is amazing! I admit I had low expectations, but wow. I'm not sure what smells so good in this scent- it's crisp yet it has an almost creamy undertone to it, and it is quite delicate and feminine. It smells different from about a foot away (and further) than with my wrist plastered up against my nose; I noticed it, and so did a friend. She actually thought it smelled like Antique Lace from a distance, so she must have gotten a decent amount of creaminess out of it too. I don't really get floral, at least not as the major scent. It just smells different than anything else and quite delicious. Sigh, just what I needed: yet another LE to lust after! For me, 5 out of 5.

 

EDIT: I feel I've failed to convey how amazing this scent is to me. I keep reaching for it over others. It seems like bottled summer moonlight to me, somehow. It's a night-flavored scent for some reason, at least to me- cool, and yet effervescent and translucent. Still no clue what the notes are but holy gods, it's just a beautiful mix of aromas. It is definitely high on my top-ten list. Too bad it didn't come back for this year's Ides! It smells the way you'd want Blue Moon to smell (I've never had the pleasure); like all your high expectations of BPAL rolled into one amazing, light, shimmery scent. Not at *all* masculine. Just fantastic. The longer it stays on me the better it gets, until it goes *poof* after about 4 or 5 hours. After realizing that this and Snake Charmer share benzoin as a common note, I suspect that's the "creamy". I think perhaps benzoin is one that does remarkably wonderful things on me.

Edited March 29, 2006 by LittleGreyKitten

[Voleuse]

Oooh. To my untrained nose, this is a prettier, fancier Nero. The rosemary and the lemon stand out first, but the bergamot pops out after a short while. It's a crisp and light scent, but somehow it strikes me as masculine. The amber lends it a little warmth, but for the most part, this blend gives way to the herbs. Nicely done, and beautifully blended--I can't discern the other notes, but they keep peeping in and out as I sniff.

[edenssixthday]

Ides of March - I like this a lot! Sniffing it wet in the vial, it didn't smell like anything special at all, just another floral. However, after it started to warm up on my skin, it turns into the most lovely spring floral that has the slightest bit of spicy kick, which I'm guessing is from cardamom in the blend. I also believe I smell rose and something slightly herbal, but I can’t identify the note. This is a lovely springtime garden full of flowers and herbs, but I wouldn't say it's highly feminine, as I do with most florals. Because of the spiciness in this, I could see a man wearing it and being able to pull off "very sexy" while wearing it. It's gorgeous. I want more!

[puredeadthingy]

In the imp: Sharp herbal.

 

On wet: Ow. Ow. Strong, rosemary-ish herbal, perhaps too strong?

 

On dry: Settled down, spicy, nice and green and blending. Kinda androgynous. I can work with this. I like it--not enough for a 5ml--but I like it.

[fairy]

This one is really bumming me out. I smell NOTHING. I stuck my nose up close to the bottle...nothing. I put some on my skin...nada. I checked the imp and can see by looking straight down inside that it's not even half way full (boo for me since I just won this on ebay in a lot of 12 other imps). When I turn the bottle over it looks gloppy, doesn't flow well. I'm wondering if whoever decanted (i'm not blaming the person I bought this from, it might be whoever she got it from) this was unscrupulous because honestly, this might as well be labeled "air".

 

I wonder if anyone else had an issue with this one...maybe my nose is just missing every note. I'm going to keep my eye on this thread to see if anyone else ran into this problem.

[Tess]

This sounds almost like Oisin with lemon and spice! Seeing as I loooooooove Oisin and I loooooove lemon and spice, maybe it'll be killer on me! And then I'll have to cry...

 

In the vial - Lots of rosemary with a touch of lemon, mint and spice. Erm, not what I was expecting...

 

Wet - ROSEMARY. And lemon. But dear holy gods, is there lots and lots of rosemary to be had here.

 

Drying - Some spice notes are in there, but the lemon's gone, being replace by some rose geranium. (I love that plant, BTW. LOVE.) The rosemary is still kicking everything else's tuckus, though. Very, very herby.

 

Dry (30 minutes) - This is mostly a very soapy rosemary with some spice and a heavy dose of the iris. I'm not QUITE sure what grey amber smells like, but I assume it's the amber sweetening this up a little bit. There's not a bit of lemon or bergamont to be found here.

 

Overall - This isn't anything like Oisin. It's very soupy and lacking the smoothness I had hoped for. It also makes my sinuses hurt. If it had a dose more of lemon and some musk to smooth things out this would have worked. As it stands, I don't mind swapping this off to someone else.

[QueenFae]

A green, brisk, strong cologne masculine scent. It is very crisp, refreshing, and boyishly clean. This reminds me a little too much of a men's cologne that you would buy at a perfume counter to be one of my favorites. It does smell very good, and the florals and herbals in this blend are very reminescent of spring time. Lovely, but not on my man.

[supremegoddessofall]

This is pretty but subtle. There's definitely an herbal feel here, but it's a mild herbal combined with a soft floral where neither is overwhelming the others. The cardamom is adding a sweet and spicy base. Not really getting lemon.