Pannychis

[Malista]

Pannychis

 

An attendant of the Goddess Venus. She presides over nocturnal pleasure, nighttime festivities, and all the joy and delight that can be found in the darkness. In later ages, it became the name of the all-night festival that closed the Eleusinian Mysteries. Night-blooming jasmine, moonflower, cardamom, sandalwood, black currant, ylang ylang, frankincense and lily.

 

A lagniappe from the Lab with my much-delayed 4/1 order.

 

I never pay attention to how BPAL oils smell in the imp/bottle. If I have learned anything in the last few months, it’s that they never smell like that on my skin.

 

There’s something in this that I’m allergic to while it’s wet, which rather interferes with my appreciation of this blend, as it makes me cough, but I’ll do my best, because I promised.

 

Freshly applied: This is very, very sweet and floral in that white floral way that often sets off my allergies. I love night-blooming jasmine (actually, it’s “jessamine,” not a true jasmine, and smells nothing like standard jasmines) in Real Time, and can sort of identify it as a player here, but all the elements are so well blended that it’s hard to tell where the jessamine leaves off and the ylang ylang and lily start. There is also the effect of the cardamom, which here seems to be acting more like its leafy incarnation cilantro, which always smells sort of sickly sweet to me. I don’t know what moonflower smells like. The sandalwood is nowhere in evidence, and the black currant, which together with the sandalwood may save this blend for me, is only hinting slyly at its potential presence. I do get some of the incense-y note of the frankincense.

 

We will now take a 10-minute break while I pull my sleeve down over my wrist and hope whatever the top note that is making me cough and my sinuses clog will burn off rapidly. Talk among yourselves.

 

And we’re back.

 

Drying: More cardamom (without the sickly-sweet cilantro green, now) and frankincense, less sharp, floral top notes. This is now quite warm and incense-y, and yes, festive. The sandalwood smoothes and supports the spice and incense, and every now and then I get a clear, cool hit of night-blooming jasmine, just as if I were out walking at night and passed a yard where it was blooming. Here is the black currant, now, deepening and rounding out the blend, but still very much in the background. It’s still very well blended; less individual notes than its own complete self. It’s very pretty. It’s also fading fast.

 

Dry: I wish the currant was more in evidence, as this is going quite dry on me, and could use dampening with some nice dark tangy fruit. On the fade, this finally happens, but by then there is barely a trace of scent lingering on my wrist.

 

Summary: Pannychis is a very pretty blend, but not terribly “me.” The danger of precipitating an allergy attack with the wet stage is something I will only brave for blends that are insanely gorgeous on the dry down and don’t require frequent reapplication (The Hanging Gardens, for instance, where I will put up with the gardenia for the sake of the aftermath). Pannychis is sort of “meh” on me, alas. I’m sure I can find this imp a good home, though.

[merivelle]

I bought this fragrance based purely on its written description, and I am please with the result! This is a beautiful heavily floral fragrance. The jasmine notes are the most dominant, and I never smelled the cardamon, even after several hours of wear. This scent has a strong Victorian feel,and is probably worth a try if you like intense florals.

[lorajc]

The jury is still out on this one. At first, it is all jasmine and moonflower on me (I don't care for Beth's jasmine or moonflower), but I got it cuz I love all of the other notes. I still need to test this more, but after the initial stage, the lily blends in and the currant is barely detectable. The sandalwood and frankincense, more or less, give a depth to the scent, but the moonflower and jasmine remain pretty prominent on me. I may have to swap/sell this one. Of note - I usually cannot wear Beth's jasmine blends and this is no exception. Try Peitho if you want the jasmine to be less prominent (at least that's what my skin says).

 

ETA: I really wanted to love this, as I'm a Libra and Venus is my ruling planet.

[spark]

I went uh-oh as soon as this hit my skin.

 

Wet: It smells like real jasmine... which is disastrous on me. Night-blooming jasmine is botanically completely different from "real" jasmine, but looking through my notes on other night-blooming jasmine scents, I'm seeing a pattern I hadn't noticed before. I think it's the note that gets disagreeably heavy on me.

 

Wearing: Doesn't seem to change much. There's a "pee-y" undertone that I associate with BPAL jasmine fighting it out with my chemistry. Sadly, I don't get any fruit, spices, or resin... just a heavy-duty and not particularly nice (on me) floral.

[UltraViolet]

in bottle

light floral

on

more perfumey than I thought it would be. I don't smell the cardomom really, nor the sandalwood, mostly the florals.

dry

It's a lovely floral when it dries, it's like Endymion with more jasmine and sandalwood (when dry).

bpal scent category

spicy/floral

throw

more than average

purchase again

No. I like Salome better.

rating 1-5 (5 being best)

3.5

Summary

It's a nice jasmine blend and a summer-y light floral.

[SoapyRN]

Wet in the imp, spicy ylang ylang. Very, super sexy smelling.

 

This reminds me of the BBW sensual line that they had with the bath salts. This is a very strong, look at me blend.

 

On me, YLANG YLANG. Not much more than that really. I wanted that cardamon to say hello.

[sarada]

I'm testing Pannychis on my left side, and for some reason the left side of my body is less cooperative than the right, when testing perfumes.

 

In the vial: heady florals. I bet this will give me a headache. Jasmine...more like the jasmine that was in Mi-Go though, which didn't give me a headache. I'm waiting to see if I get frankincense or cardamom, because those are the reasons that I decided to try this...

 

But I just get jasmine! This is a very strong, heady floral to me and I don't really get any other notes. I usually zero right in on the resins but I can't seem to get any frankincense out of this. Damnable left side of the body! It gets a little plasticky and chemical smelling which is something that ylang ylang does to me. Ylang ylang smells like nothing but nail polish to me and sure enough it's going to come out and ruin any chance for me to enjoy the black currant, frankincense or cardamom -- all of which I would love to smell like!

 

Those might come out on someone with more cooperative chemistry but when my skin sees ylang ylang it throws a party and invites all its friends...unfortunately I can't stand ylang ylang unless it's attending a hippie party and smothered in patchouli. Right now ylang ylang is doing its nails and the fumes are going right to my head! Alas!

 

On the plus side, the night-blooming jasmine reminds me of the florals in Mi-Go and Flower Moon, which are two of the only places that I've ever been able to enjoy really fragrant, perfumey flowers in any quantity.

[Lucretia]

I put this on and it straight off reminded me of something else, so I went throught my bpal list and AHA, it smells very similar to morgause! Which must be the same night blooming flowers, only without the violet.

This smells like soft flowers, and moonflower always smells like berries on me. So I get a very soft, airy floral with sweet berries, and then an undertone of something a little bit earthy which would be the cardamom. I like it! For once Jasmine didnt turn on me.

Edited July 28, 2005 by Lucretia

[Blood onmy hands]

Pannychis most definitely hates me. I thought that it had a lot of interestingly combined notes (currants, florals, frankincense, sandalwood, everything). Unfortunately, when first applied, this is just floral. Jasmine to make my brain throb. It has a lot of throw too. Putting on a sweater and tucking my wrist behind my back did not help the headache to cease.

 

After about an hour a sort of fruity note comes up under the loud jasmine (the currants finally coming into play) and I think I smell an odd note that is the ylang ylang. Ylang ylang always turns an odd (but not unpleasant) metallic note on my skin.

 

In the end I scrubbed this off of my wrist... it was just too much jasmine and too much floral for me.

[wolfie13]

Wow. This hates me too.

 

Jasmine and Ylang-ylang - that's it - both of which are always loud and heavy on me. They don't give a single other note in this blend a chance.

[tesao]

when i first put this on, i immediately thought "moonlit garden. white flowers. aha! night bloomng jasmine". my second thought was "wow! i really like this! but i don't like florals on me!!"

 

i've been reassessing that. perhaps what i don't like are non-white florals. i found this to be pale and lovely on my skin. after the dry down, the sandalwood crept out on tiny night creature feet. the lily also showed up, but shyly.

 

currants normally hate me, so i wasn't unhappy that i never detected them. no idea what moonflower or ylang ylang smell like, so they may well be there. i never did smell cardamom. there was a brief, strong scent of something sharp and green when i first applied it, but cardamom is not an herb, but rather a seed spice. go figure that one out!!

 

verdict: i like it!

Edited August 2, 2005 by tesao

[Aredhel]

Rating (on skin): 2/5

Summarised in a word or two: Floral.

 

In the imp/bottle: Bright ylang-ylang, lily and sandalwood.

 

On skin, wet: Lush, sweet currant beneath a strong ylang-ylang.

 

On skin, dry: The jasmine appears after twenty minutes and shoves the currant out of the way. The ylang-ylang and jasmine agree to play together, constantly changing places between primary and secondary.

 

Conclusion: Pretty, but too floral and bright for me to wear as a scent.

Edited December 17, 2005 by Aredhel

[Ina Garten Davita]

First Impression: Heady night floral.

 

Second Impression: I love night-blooming jasmine and this has it, but it overtakes the blend and none of the other goodies seem to come out and play. This is a very heady and sweet floral.

 

Final Analysis: It can't compete with my beloved Nuit.

[Wrenlet]

Imp: Jasmine.

 

Wet: Jasmine.

 

Dry: Hmm, let me think... jasmine! Sadly, jasmine on me gives me a headache. Luckily, jasmine on my husband is a whole 'nother story, so I believe I will pass this on to him.

 

(Why oh why is it, the scents that like me least are the ones that squirt down the side of the imp when I close it?)

[emzebel]

This was laganappe in one of my last lab orders, and is one of those scents I would never have tried on my own because of the jasmine.

 

I think that night blooming jasmine is particularly bad for me. There is a sharp floral note, which I expect is the jasmine, which I just cannot wear. I don't like it. It doesn't like me. Off to the swap/gift bag it goes.

[Lilithlefay]

Very floral, and the jasmine is the most strongest note in here. The ylang ylang does get its punches in though. Once it dries down it is still predominantly floral on me, there is a sweetness to it though, I think that might be the black currant I am smelling. Now this is getting pretty, it is turning into a juicy floral which I love, rather than powdery florals. Later I can smell something resiny underneath the floral and juice, yes I like this one.

[yeahbutnobut]

Pannychis

 

In the imp: fruity sweet jasmine! Possibly currant adding the fruity scent. Very nice.

Wet on skin: still a juicy moist jasmine scent, possibly with some lily and some currants too. it's a waxy white flower scent, but with a touch of something sweet and fruity.

Dry on skin: mmm, not bad. This is a soft, white, clean floral with something juicy and rich, like blackcurrants or dark berries. Maybe some sandalwood too, but it's all about the jasmine here. It's slightly powdery, slightly soapy, but that's no bad thing-in here it does smell interesting, like moonlit flowers, there's something nocturnal about this scent. It's a very clean scent, quite fresh and dewy, the currant gives it an interesting, tangy and dark twist. But I do get a feel of freshly washed sheets hung out to dry in the moonlight from this too.

After a while: the jasmine and currant get richer, fuller and deeper. It's quite a nice combination-the soft, clean, white florals and sandalwood against a background of sweet blackcurrant. Like the moon or the stars against the backdrop of the night sky, these two dimensions of scent contrast each other nicely. Amongst these, I think the other notes like frankincense and cardamom make fleeting appearances, but still remain barely there. It smells more rounded, yet even more ethereal, as time passes.

Verdict: this is an unusual and unique take on a 'nocturnal floral' scent. Thanks to the currant, there's a nice dark juiciness to the scent. But all the while, it has this nice, yet ethereal, scent of white fragrant flowers dappled with dew in the moonlight. It has a slightly powdery and clean aspect, but still with that fruity undertone to make it interesting. It's a lovely scent-but I'm not sure if it's a favourite, as I prefer Nuit and Peitho as my jasmine scents, but I'm keeping the imp for now.

[Scarlettfish]

This is a juicy, luscious, clean white floral. I love jasmine scents, and whilst I still prefer Nuit and Morgause, this is right up there. The currant gives it a fruitiness without being too fruity, and it smells like jasmine and moonflower covered by night dew. I love it and it smells awesome on me.

[wickedgoddess]

Wet - jasmine. This is a very strong scent and has tons of throw.

 

Dry - still primarily jasmine, there's other stuff in here, but no notes that I can pick out. This is very strong and lasts for several hours. I like it, but I have other jasmine blends, such as The Moon and Peitho, that I like better, and really don't have any need for this. But if I didn't already have those two blends, I would probably pick a bottle of this up.

 

On the wickedgoddess scale of 1 to 5, with 5 being best this rates a 3.

[aidenraine]

Wet: Arghhhh I'm being attacked by flowers! ... But wait, this is settling quickly into something really nice, and I tend to loathe floral anything.

 

You know what this smells like? Lush's Fairy Jasmine bath bomb. It's jasmine galore but with a gorgeous duskiness to it. It's one of the most purple, decadent florals I have ever had the pleasure to smell. The ylang ylang keeps it from being too perfumey and the black currant sweetens it. The notes in this really all seem to balance out. I just can't stop smelling myself. What a pleasant surprise!

 

It's one of the nicest, richest jasmines I have encountered.

 

Actually, the drydown is pretty much the same. It's like a jasmine candy with musk (the black currant provides the 'candy' scent.)

 

 

I'm a'keeping my imp and would consider obtaining another!

[arabella]

First Impression: Jasmine

 

Dries down to: Still jasmine but now it's tempered by the other notes, although it remains dominant.

 

Additional Comments: I was hoping the cardamom and black currant would be more evident to me, but they're not. This is another jasmine blend that I can tolerate, once it dries down, but it's just not special enough to warrant buying a bottle.

 

Lasted: An hour or so.

 

Rating: 2.5 out of 5

[Sheila]

This is a very pretty, delicate, light floral. I wish I got more of the black currant, but on me this is mostly jasmine. It's not overbearing, though.

 

This is nice, but not "me." Off to swaps.

[BlueStar]

Got this as a "gimp" from the lab. I love the lab... I figured if they were nice enough to gift it I could at least review it.

 

In The Bottle: Jasmine and Lily to the Nth degree. Smells really strong in the bottle and really floral... and really good. [Testosterone level in the yellow]

 

Wet on Skin: My skin found the sandalwood, and my skin likes it. While it's wet I lose everything but sandalwood and frankinscense. Not a bad thing, not at all, especially since most of the scents I get hooked on have one of the other. [Testosterone on the yellow but moving toward green again]

 

Drydown: Ooops there is that night blooming jasmine and lily again. I still get plenty of frankincense and can still find the sandalwood in there but this dries down too floral for me. [Testosterone in the red]

 

Verdict: Very good feminine smell, must have the wife try this because it is very sizzlingly sexy. I would bet May Britt would smell like this. Mmm May Britt.

[maewitch]

This one is going to make me cry.

 

I get the suggestion of sandalwood and currant and moonflower and it's just so incredibly beautiful together....but FRICKIN' blocked by the ylang-ylang, which crawls up my nose, refuses to budge and proceeds to make me nauseated.

 

Damn you ylang-ylang! ::fistshake::

[coulrophobe]

In the imp: Hmm, without looking at the description, I'd guess there's jasmine in here. *looks at description* Why, yes.

 

On: Neither night-blooming jasmine nor regular jasmine are very good with my chemistry - they tend towards cloyingly sweet yet dusty. While I'm not allergic, I get the feeling of breathing in pollen when I smell jasmine scents - I can just picture spiky little particles attacking my nose. In Pannychis, I get hints of other notes - a faint fruitiness from the currant, in particular - but the night-blooming jasmine is just too powerful - the blend is too sweet and heavy, and ends up reminding me less of a moonlit garden, and more of a stagnant-aired, sweltering one at midday. Bummer.