Swank

[jasmine]

Simply cool, the essence of Lounge: the scent of a crisp pomegranate martini.

I find myself puzzled: didn’t I review this before? Obviously not, since my imp is taped up. A bit of research reveals that I’m mixing it up with The Hamptons. Cosmopolitans should not be confused for pomegranate martinis, even if they are alcohol. Let’s see what this is like.

Straight off the wand: nice! It does indeed smell like pomegranates and alcohol, with that chirpy, crisp edge so characteristic of a martini. There’s just enough fuzzy depth to the scent to remind me that it’s a perfume rather than actually being a cocktail, but that’s a good thing, not a bad one -- it makes it work-wearable. This is a fresh, summery scent, a playful juxtaposition of sweetness, tartness, and breezy ebullience. I find myself waiting apprehensively for the other shoe to drop.

Realism only lasts so long, and the pomegranate begins thinning away when I smell it directly. It becomes a touch fragile and a touch artificial, which saddens me. However, the scent lingers around me in a cool, enthusiastic, reddish-pink cloud of fragrance, and there is nothing artificial about the throw -- just the direct application point. I am utterly charmed.

[i realized I was at the top of a page, so I edited this to add the description.] Edited September 30, 2007 by Shollin

[tisha]

Oh I just love this scent. Its so crisp and perfect for summer. It dosnt have a alot of staying power. I would say the scent lasted about 4 to 5 hours before I applied more. All the more reason to get a big bottle.

[The_Merf]

In the imp: Yep, this smells like an iced version of my pomegranate tea. Good times. There's a bit of a sugariness to this as well.

 

Wet: Damn it to hell, I can already tell that this scent isn't going to have any staying power on me. Wet it is fruity, but deep, just like it should be, and that sugariness is actually quite strong. Right now it almost smells a bit like powdered drink mix.

 

Drydown and wear: I am extremely happy to report that the sugary/drink mix smell gives way to a lovely deep fruit and that this scent has more staying power on me than I thought it would. I'm absolutely going to hold onto the imp; it does a very good job--especially in the drydown--of staying true to the fruity scent.

[prettybird]

I was looking so forward to this scent. I love pomegranates, and since Persephone had rather too much rose in it for me, I had high hopes for this one.

 

Sadly, it was not to be. In the bottle it smells exactly like an anesthetic my old dentist used. It smells absolutely repellent on my skin, horribly sharp and far, far too sweet. It didn't get any better as it dried or faded, and I felt like I could smell it for days afterwards.

 

I ended up giving it to a friend (who I have gotten addicted, hurrah!), who absolutely adores it. I think perhaps Beth's pomegranate note and I just can't be friends.

[Hayet]

Tart, tart, tart....a bright effervescent sweet tart that lasts all day. It's tickle-your-nose-with-the-bubbles kind of tart, so I would call this pomegranate champaigne instead. Suddenly in my top ten!

[stasha]

I love pomegranate but Persephone's rose killed the scent for me, so I ordered Swank in high hopes of a nice, fruity scent for the end of summer. In the imp it's a beautiful pomegranate scent with a boozey background that gives it a kick, not a "drunk in the Hamptons" kind of smell. I can definitely detect more alcohol as it begins to dry on my skin but the pomegranate remains the fore runner. It's such a perfect, refreshing hot weather scent. I'm starting to think that the only way for me to wear fruits and not have them turn to cleaning solution is to have an alcoholic base, oddly enough.

 

Much, much love for Swank!!

[n3m3sis42]

In the imp:

Oranges? Okay, I'm sure it's actually pomegranates, but to be honest, I haven't smelled a pomegranate since I was a small child.

 

Wet:

Now that I have it on, it's obviously not oranges. This is sort of embarrassing, but my nickname as a kid (at home) was "Pomegranate" so I am kind of hoping this one works out for me. So far, it smells awesome, like bright, sweet, very juicy fruit.

 

Dry:

This is one of the rare ones that hasn't morphed much at all on the drydown for me. It's very different from what I'd normally wear, but very pretty. Keeper!

[lilirose]

This was one of those "accidental" applications- I got an imp, broke the top whilst trying to catch a quick sniff, and was forced to slather it all over myself as I decanted as much as I could into another bottle. Now both me and my bedroom are all Swank-y.

 

I Swank. "Crisp" is a perfect definition. It's easy for a fruity sent to be heavy and cloying, but Swank is yet light and bright, yet still sweet and pomegranate-y enough. It only has a very slight alcoholic tang- enough to make it "pop" but not so much that it becomes boozy.

 

I give this a 4.5/5, and will probably buy a 5ml.

[modernsaints]

Exactly the same as the Hamptons at first. EXACTLY. Sugary and sweet fruit and then the alcohol note kicks me in the face, sour and dry, and it becomes utterly unwearable. Boooo.

[ravenfeathers]

in the bottle pomegranate! it's tart and juicy and really fresh smelling.

wet on skin pomegranate! it's a tad bit sweeter with a little whiff of juniper, just a tiny, tiny note that dries it out incredibly.

dry on skin it transforms further, drying, and now it's almost on the edge of being a bright floral, crisp and red.

 

i haven't been wearing this yet for two hours, but several people have come into my office this morning and remarked on the lovely smell. it's got a ton of throw, obviously.

i just happen to have some pomegranate lip balm, too. i'm a happy bird.

[hkhm]

imp: sweet and boozy! two of my favourites! i'm already thinking i'll need to add this one to the bottle list.

 

wet: this smells like jolly rancher candy dropped into a glass of booze. i'm in heaven here!

 

dry: oh wow! this is such a yes! i'm just hopping up and down in excitement over the next order i'm gonna place, but there will be two bottles of this sweet, yummy scent in there. this is going to be one of my favourites, perhaps even a top ten.

 

[SarahScent44]

In the imp, I get the sweet fruity-ness of the pomegranate, with a small bite from the booze.

 

Once I put it on, it's almost citrus-y (which, citrus fiend that I am, I LOVE) - I get the fruity smell of the pomegranate with the sharpness of the martini, but it's so well-blended my brain reads it as citrus. As it dries, there's very little change - still that fruity-sharp, clean, light scent. This is such a fresh scent! I love this!!

[Gaidig]

Note: Late in cycle. Imp straight from the Lab, but about eleven months old.

 

In the bottle: This smells much sugarier than pomegranate. I should know, it's my favorite fruit. This smells like SweeTarts to me.

 

On me: I'm getting some more of the booze now. As it dries, the sweetness is falling back. (Thank the Goddess!) It's still sugared, though. Not a lot of throw. And not sultry. Crisp, yes.

 

1 hour+ later: This doesn't scream "pomegranate" to me, icon_sad.gif . it's pretty sophisticated for a sweet scent, and it's kind of pomegranaty. It's very light, but it does last a long time.

[alicia_stardust]

SWANK

 

This is a deliciously juicy, tart pomegranate scent with just the barest hint of booziness to it. It's really quite lovely. It sort of has an intoxicating red, energizing quality to it. It's a lot of fun to wear out to a happy hour or a night on the town.

[LadyCrow]

In the imp: Whoa, alcohol!

 

Wet: I am drunk, and somebody's sugaring up a pomegranate.

 

Drydown: Deliciously strong throw. After the initial stage of OMG BOOZE, it goes more fruity-sugary, but always with that tartness -- both from the pomegranate itself and the alcohol.

 

What bugs me is the relatively short wearlength, because the drydown is so nice.

[dirtytrip]

What the hell are people talking about when they say this is pomegranate? It's fruity for sure, but it's more like cheap citrus candy drops to me. I think Persephone does a much better job with this note. The wear length is nil. Pass.

[mspixieears]

Swank doesn’t smell of a pomegranate martini to me. It’s crisp, clean and tart and has the zestiness of pomegranate but none of the aromatics of the martini. It has a cologne sort of smell to it and reminds me of a drier version of Bon Vivant. Very uplifting, surely there is citrus in this? Also, very gender neutral.

[aleciarivas]

I guess I am one of the strange ones then, because this scent is HEAVENLY on me!!! I wasn't too impressed straight out of the imp, and so tried it twice on my arm before breaking down this morning and slathering it on. OMG! VERY yummeh! By the time I got to work I had decided I needed to add it to my 5 ml WANT list.

 

Fruit for sure, but I can catch hints of that boozy smell under it all. Very nice sweet/fruit/foody scent. On me lasted most of the day at work.

[megank4]

This makes me think of one of those Demeter "Sex on the beach" or whatever alcohol-themed fragrances. They are just way too sugary for me. Not sure what I was hoping for.

[YoakeNoKami]

This one is a lovely, tart pomegranate in the imp-- a bit less mellow to me that Fruit of Paradise was, but a lovely, bright scent.

 

On: Pomegranate, and something like a "dry" berry (i.e. like a cranberry rather than a blueberry) on me. I saw someone else mentioned juniper berry? Maybe that's it.

 

Drydown: Sweet-sharp pomegranate, with some strange floaty alcohol hint in it, and a faintly sugar-crystal edge.

 

ETA: Left words out. Oops.

Edited January 13, 2008 by YoakeNoKami

[socialtaboo]

After reading these reviews, I feel almost guilty for not liking this one. I got it as an extra imp in my order, and in general I'm not one for super fruity scents and this was no exception. It smelled very sugary and at first I thought I could handle it if I were feeling young and innocent one day. However, after about 30 minutes I reminded myself of an industrial-type air freshener. Sort of like a bathroom in an airport. I'm so ashamed....

[inurbanus]

I don't think I would have ever tried Swank on my own, but I got it as a freebie in a swap, so I decided to try it out. I'm so glad I did! This is delicious, and smells exactly like Sweetarts on me. Granted, there is a little too much alcohol (which reminds me of dryer sheets), but I can deal with it since the pomegranate is so tart and refreshing. This is definitely an excellent BPAL for warm weather. I also think it would really be accessible for those new to BPAL; it smells like something from Bath & Body Works. Mmm...I think I'm going to have to get more of this. I can't stop sniffing my wrist.

 

4/5

[ImperatrixMundi]

Thank you for the frimp, dear lab, but no. Smells tart and crisp in the imp but like any red fruit scent, whatever it is, smells sour in a bad way when actually on my skin.

[suki]

i *love* my bottle of Fruit of Paradise, so i'm interested to see how this compares...

 

in the imp: like sweet tarts thrown in a big shot glass of alcohol. and someone mentioned the dryer sheet thing? i get a whif of that too.

 

wet on skin: the alcohol mellows and the sweet tarts and dryer sheets duke it out for who's on top.

 

dry down: it has elements i like or love in other things- the fruity aspect, the tart pom, the sugar, but something is off, and this smells very chemical on me.

 

in all: dryer sheets win, and i'm *so* glad for my bottle of Fruit of Paradise! :shrug:

[etienne]

I got this as a frimp from the Lab in my first order.

 

I smell citrus. In the imp, on my skin, wet and dry - citrus all the way. Very bright and crisp but definitely citrus rather than pomegranate.

 

Unfortunately the smell reminds me of the cleaning product my mum used to use for cleaning the bath when I was little... I don't think this is really for me, so it's off to the swap box...