Ephemera

[yellowrose]

Your eyes that once were never weary of mine
Are bowed in sorrow under pendulous lids,
Because our love is waning.'
And then She:
'Although our love is waning, let us stand
By the lone border of the lake once more,
Together in that hour of gentleness
When the poor tired child, passion, falls asleep.
How far away the stars seem, and how far
Is our first kiss, and ah, how old my heart!'

Pensive they paced along the faded leaves,
While slowly he whose hand held hers replied:
'Passion has often worn our wandering hearts.'

The woods were round them, and the yellow leaves
Fell like faint meteors in the gloom, and once
A rabbit old and lame limped down the path;
Autumn was over him: and now they stood
On the lone border of the lake once more:
Turning, he saw that she had thrust dead leaves
Gathered in silence, dewy as her eyes,
In bosom and hair.
'Ah, do not mourn,' he said,
'That we are tired, for other loves await us;
Hate on and love through unrepining hours.
Before us lies eternity; our souls
Are love, and a continual farewell.'

The scent of loss, love and the echo of time without end: sorrowful violet and chamomile with muguet, white geranium, calla lily and tea rose with a hint of autumn leaves.

Honored to be the first to review Ephemera. This was a very special gift from an exceedingly generous soul. THANK YOU!

I was eager to try this newest scent because of the mix of violet, muguet and leaves. I was curious about the dimension chamomile, geranium and tea rose would add. I couldn't work out in sense memory what this might be like nor did I have any especial preconceptions. Roses are often iffy on me, so I was a little timid about trying Ephemera. It's one of my favorite words and, well, to the review.

In the bottle: muguet and tea rose dominate.

Wet: chamomile and violet with something a little ineffable and sharpish. The scent is floral and perfumey. Tea rose becomes more to the fore with violets softening. Oops. They change places. Very unusual.

Drying: since this was applied on the wrist, it was subjected to a couple of handwashings. Thus, it didn't last as long as it might have in another spot. It's tough to separate the lilies from each other. My assumption is, based on my experiences with geranium in the garden, that sharpish note may be the geranium. The scent does start perfume-y. Stick with it! It mellows quite nicely. The autumn leaves scent is barely there. It is similar to the leafy fall note in Dia de los Muertos.

Longevity? Uncertain. See above.

In summary, an extremely feminine scent with wistful overtones. And, as the name would imply, it is sort of a nostalgic scent that might have been worn by Victorian or Edwardian ladies with heaving bosoms and sweeping coiffures, however this is definitely NOT a demure scent.

This review will be updated with subsequent wearing.

[blackrayne]

Yay for new imps!

 

In the vial: violet, a hint of rose, and muguet (more commonly known to me as Lily of the Valley).

 

Wet: violet. But softer. I have a horrid sinus headache right now, which is being made worse by screaming kids, so it's hard to concentrate on this one... it's beautiful. But I need to try it again and review it properly when my head isn't throbbing and kids aren't getting mad at each other. Hopefully I will be able to edit this soon with a better review.

[slugbait]

A freebie from the lab. Thank you!

 

I was a bit skeptical after reading the description – geranium and I don’t get along very well. Out of the imp I can identify the chamomile right away, it smells a bit sharp. On my skin it smells a bit like green apples (how chamomile smells to me), then fades into violets. I can smell just the tiniest iota of rose lurking beneath this. Interesting. I don’t smell any geranium, which is a good thing. Sniffing closely this does remind me of the smell of leaves in the fall- after they have fallen to the ground and start to decompose, giving off a sweet aroma. How I love fall!

 

After this dries, I can smell mostly violet and rose - think superlight Marie. This is a very light, pretty scent. But I don’t think I will be keeping it.

[slave1]

In Bottle: Violet and mint.

 

On Skin: The violet stands out the strongest. I think the mint is actually the ozone note from the muguet. This is a pretty feminine scent, with the florals as the dominant notes. The tea rose calla lily and geranium blend well together. The autumn leaves give a little depth and a darker note. All in all, it is too much of a floral for me and kind of reminds me of an old ladies perfume.

[Blood onmy hands]

I wanted to try Ephemera for the 'autumn leaves' part of the description. Unfortunately, this does not smell leafy to me at all. Autumn or otherwise.

 

Perfumey white florals attack my senses with this one. At first the tea rose comes out and it is a nice sweet rose, but the perfumey florals are backing it up and giving me a headache.

 

After about 15 minutes this fades considerably. I'm left with a light powdery violet scent. It's pretty much disappeared before I've even been wearing it for a full hour.

 

It is a very fleeting scent. Probably a good thing on me, because it was starting to give me a headache before it faded away.

[Ina Garten Davita]

First Impression: More violet.

 

Second Impression: Violet can be so invasive to a blend, it just screams on my skin and that's what it is doing here.

 

Final Analysis: For violet floral lovers, Ephemera is a perfect dream. But not so for me.

[shelldoo]

did someone say violet lovers??? i come running in, pouncing like tigger.

 

in the bottle, there is something sharp, perfumey and floral...i was hoping for something not so sharp

 

wet: rose and lily. i am not a huge lily fan.

 

after mere minutes it becomes a beautiful violet rose blend, w/ a hint of white lily lingering ever so lightly in the background. i adore violets, and roses. and they smack the lily into submission and make this an overall success on me. thank goodness whatever that sharp scent was it ran and hid.

[~AmusedMuse~]

Oh the lovoiness of this, violets and roses & a soft powdery type of scent as well.

This is a very ligjht scent and does not seem to have a lot of throw to it but it is imppressive. My scale of 1-5....4

[darkwitch]

In the imp straight up chamomile nothing else. On the skin the chamomile tones down and is replaced with the violets, after about 10 minutes I get a blend of voilets and lilies with a chrispness of fall in the background. This is a very pretty and light scent, something that I'll have to try a few more times before I decide on a bigger bottle or not.

[UltraViolet]

4

 

In the bottle

A perfumey clean blend of lily and rose...the chamomile in the middle making the blend kind of perky at times.

 

On

I don't smell the violet nor the autumn leaves but I do smell the lily, rose and bright cheery chamomile.

 

30 minutes

The lily is more primary now.

Turns a bit soapy on me when dry but nothing heinous.

 

Throw:

more than average

 

Scent category:

Floral/Herby

 

Summary

This is a feminine light floral, not sweet at all. It has better than average staying power. It's what some would call "perfume-y" but in a light way really.

It's sort of airy and whispy as the name suggests.

 

Purchase again?

I think not, it's nice but I like "The Apothecary" more for this type of clean herby floral scent.

 

1-5 rating (5 being best)

4

Edited November 28, 2005 by UltraViolet

[Northernminx]

Violet, a touch of chamomile, and a little bit of lilly are the predominant notes in this for me. A soft, classic floral that's light enough not to be overpowering, it's still traditionally floral and feminine. I was hoping for a little more of the autumn leaves in this but alas none such appears. Beautiful but nothing that's making me leap around to buy a big bottle with my chemistry

[grrrlennyl]

at first: very soft. i think i can pick up the violet, but not much else.

on: a touch soapy, but not sharp. this is very fall-like, but hard to explain.

2.5 hours later: soft and a bit warm.

3 hours later: very, very soft.

overall: this is really beautiful, but...i'm not sure if i'll keep it. i might just end up holding onto an imp for myself.

[yeahbutnobut]

Ephemera

 

In the imp: soft, slightly soapy florals. I can make out the camomile and violet, and maybe the lilies.

Wet on skin: camomile! Lots of camomile, it smells almost like camomile tea with violets and a soft background of other nondescript flowers.

Dry on skin: now this gets interesting. The camomile and violet are still there, but I think I can make out the other flowers. I think I'm getting a dry, crisp rose-almost a Victorian rose scent, which grows stronger, and little bit of geranium, and maybe just a faint hint of the autumn leaves-there's definitely some hint of a dry leaf/petal scent here. Very intriguing, it's got many dimensions to it.

After a while: oooh, rose! The rose in this strengthens as time passes. It's a dry, dusty rose scent-it seems mixed with dry leaves, faded with age, with violet, lilies and camomile lingering. It seems wistful and nostalgic a scent, hinting at a time long ago, a melancholy memory.

Verdict: this is a very enigmatic scent. I love the way BPAL floral scents are usually very multifaceted as opposed to generically one dimensional-this one is an example of that. It's a dry, faded, dusty floral, a crisp Victorian rose with camomile and violet and dried leaves, with an old fashioned feel to it-but that's not a bad thing at all. It's a very evocative scent, it seems emotional, nostalgic, even sorrowful. It's beautifully crafted and another example of how Beth can create art and poetry with fragrance. Having said that, I'm not sure it's me, although I do like it and found it a very interesting experience to wear.

[urraca]

It goes on smelling a bit like wet leaves --- could this be the camomile or the "autumn leaves?" Then there is a kind of sharp lily scent. Muguet usually works well on me, so i susect this is the calla lily not being my friend. The drydown is nicer, a soft rosey violet scent, but it is a little, well, ephemeral, and I prefer Marie.

[LiberAmoris]

I love the camomile in Ephemera, and there's a dappled, sunny note that smells like autumn wind that is just delightful---but after ten minutes these notes are overpowered by the violet, and that's all I get from then on.

 

I always thought that I was the kind of person whose skin did not amp up certain notes overmuch; recently I've discovered that violet is a note I should steer clear of. On my skin it just drowns out everything else around it.

 

I love the smell of Ephemera in the vial, this might be one to try with a scent locket.

[clover]

Ephemera

 

Ah, Ephemera....so sweet, so lovely, so fleeting.

 

I just love the scent of violets, especially this time of year. And that's the first scent that hits me when I open the bottle of Ephemera - innocent, beautiful violets. After applying it to my skin, I can pick up just the tiniest hint of geranium, and a few other light florals, but it's mainly violet. It's a sweet little nosegay of a scent, really.

 

After a while: I can't help wishing that this was stronger - I generally like my perfume to knock me upside the head - but if it were stronger, would I like it so much? I don't know. Although I don't think Ephemera has musk in it - I kind of see it as the floral equivalent of a skin musk, almost a second skin floral kind of scent.

 

A little while later: Predominently violets again!

 

You know, at the risk of sounding totally pompous (in a "this scent brings to mind a book I was reading" kind of way)...I read the most interesting thing about violets the other day. In A Natural History of the Senses, Diane Ackerman says: "The thing about violets, which many people find cloying to the point of nauseau, is that no response to them lasts long...Violets containe ionone, which short-circuits our sense of smell. The flower continues to exude its fragrance, but we lose the ability to smell it. Wait a minute or two, and it's smell will blare again. Then it will fade again, and so on..." Apparently violets are the only flower which contain this substance. Intersting, huh? So, I guess, my point is that the violet is the perfect sense to capture the fleeting wistfulness of Ephemera.

 

Conclusion: Subtle, soft and lovely. A winner.

[wickedgoddess]

Preconceived notions - I can't stand violets, but chamomile is one of my favorite notes, so I thought I would give this a try anyway.

 

Wet - a surprisingly pretty floral scent. Yes, I can smell the violets, but the chamomile is the primary note.

 

Dry - The chamomille stays prominent for quite a while. Considering it contains violets I am really surprised that I can wear it for as long as I did, but eventually, the violets win out.

 

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

[Sistinas]

a review of Ephermera

 

Vial ~ Chamomile and autumn leaves seem to dominate this scent.

 

Wet ~ I am picking up traces of violet and other florals begin to bloom

on top of the chamomile

 

Drying ~ Very floral, tea rose peaks out more and the violet and muguet are

getting stonger too.

 

Dry ~ It is all violet and muguet now, floral and sweet, but not

overwhelming to me. This scent is extremely feminine and perfect for a

spring fragrance.

 

Fade ~ After about 40 mins it has faded away, but while it was on my skin,

it was a very lovelly scent.

 

Final thoughts ~ Ephermera is a wonderful scent added to the GC. I highly

recommend giving this one a try, only if you like florals. On a scale of

1 to 5, I give it a 4.

Edited October 20, 2005 by Sistinas

[Macha]

Oh, this is a hard one to describe. My own personal love/hate relationship with rose is due to the fact that my skin tends to simultaneously amp it and then turn it into soap or something equally objectionable. And I do smell rose in the scent more than any other. What's interesting is that the violets do in fact do a lovely job of morphing in and out, fading and then reappearing throughout the day, floating over a bed of other smells, the autumn leaves and the much fainter smell of chamomile.

 

Overlike, I really like this, although it's probably not quite "love" enough for me to keep it. The rose does go ever so slightly soapy (stupid body chemistry) and that's just nagging enough. It doesn't ruin it for me, but it's not true love either.

[PeshaRocha]

I love florals and had high hopes for this one. Unfortunately, on me it turns to almost pure violet and has just taught me that I'm allergic to violets! Sneezing up a storm, even after washing my wrist three times. So sad, as I love roses and muguet, chamomile, geranium, and lily.

[LushNatty]

In the bottle: I would say the first thing that pops out is citrus, then something kind of sharp underneath it (like, thorny) and then you detect a rose in the background.

Application: Mmmmm. Blossomed into a lovely tea rose. Very nice—hasn’t started cloying yet like most roses so far have done on me. It’s a light throw, though—it’s definitely not something that would be noticeable from afar even though I put on the normal amount. I’m kind of disappointed, however, that the citrus disappeared because I was in the mood for something citrusy today and that’s why I decided to test this imp.

As the minutes go by, I’m starting to get a drift of something that smells like "Grandma" (that’s the only way I can describe it!) from my cleavage. Weird. The rose is starting to be cloying, definitely. Damn. Very, very close to the skin I can smell the violet, which is too bad because I love violet and wouldn’t mind that jumping to the fore.

Only 15 minutes after application, this is starting to totally disappear. It was kind of like the life-cycle of a rose, in fast motion.

An hour later: there is a VERY faint cloud of rose around me, but the complexity is totally gone unless I bury my nose in my wrist. (And my applications are not skimpy!)

Bottom line: a pretty, delicate scent, but not great on me. The biggest problem (resulting in the loss of a point) is that it is much too short-lasting; it fades to almost nothing before I feel like I have even had a chance to experience it-- and the only thing left is the cloying, faint cloud of rose.

On a scale of 1 to 5: 2.

[arabella]

First Impression: Softly floral and lightly green.

 

Dries down to: A very pretty, whispery floral.

 

Additional Comments: Like its name, it's short-lived. I can't really distinguish the individual notes, although I can detect the presence of violet, calla lily and muguet. The geranium, tea rose and chamomile are even more discreet and the autumn leaves give this blend a nice grounded feel. I'm really happy that the tea rose didn't decide to dominate. The violets are the most obvious and that's what I was hoping for. It's very pretty but very, very light on me. I'd rate it much higher if I didn't have to work as hard to smell it and/or if it lasted longer.

 

Lasted: An hour or so.

 

Rating: 3.5 out of 5

[Fefferbella]

Soft floral with a hint of violet. This is really pretty, but I'm not a floral person.

 

Dries down to a violet note with a bit of chamomille.

 

Sadly the scent was gone after 30 min or so

[Wench457]

ITB: A sweet violet scent, with a hint of citrus.

 

On: The citrus smell comes to the fore for a bit, then the musky violet comes back out.

 

Dry: A sweet, light violet scent without even a hint of the powderyness I often get from violets. Very pretty. It was also quite strong on me, and a little went a long way, and lasted quite well.

[ajcj213499]

This is a wonderful elvin sort of scent. I love it, although it is gone in less than an hour on me. It seems my skin eats all the beautiful whispery fairy scents that I love. ...sigh...