Asphodel

[emerald_ibis]

The grey and ghostly flower that fills the fields of Hades.

I received this as a Lab frimp ages ago, and it was in my "keep" box, so I must have tested this at some point, right? I couldn't remember it, though, and that's usually not a good sign. In light of the coming discontinuation, and also because I have a character called Asphodel in one of my favorite writing projects, I dug out the imp and decided to test it again.

In the imp and upon initial application, this is a fresh, sweet floral that I enjoy a great deal. It smells crisp, cool and refined. Then, for some strange reason, it goes through an extremely odd morphing phase where it smells like ... fresh corn. Yeah. As in, just purchased from the farmer's market, unshucked, with silk spilling out one end. That doesn't last too long, fortunately. While I can still smell hints of corn, it is now a pretty, if somewhat unremarkable (at least on me), clean floral. I like it, but I don't love it, and wouldn't wear it.

I'm glad I got to try it, and I will keep my imp, but it's not going to be a bottle purchase for me. Edited January 10, 2008 by emerald_ibis

[ACVail24]

Asphodel

 

In the Imp:

floral and chemical smelling

 

On my Skin, Wet:

eep! sharp, stinging chemical smell - this smells very much like a cheap drugstore perfume - but a knockoff with exceptional quantities of alcohol

maybe that's the "gray" quality making it's presence known?

regardless, this stage is very unpleasant.

 

On my Skin, Dry:

Chemical, sharp and green.

I don't know what my skin is amping that makes this aweful stench, but I smell terrible!

Surely it's my chemistry - there's no way that BPAL would make something stinky on purpose!

 

Verdict:

Way too artificial smelling on me - this won't be a flower that I'll miss from the garden.

1 of 10 Ranking.

[maribouquet]

I really liked this at first - it smelled very cool and almost a touch green to me. Sadly, my skin tuned it into soap.

[Tulliver]

Oh squeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!

 

Now, to explain. A few months ago I got sent an imp of Wilhelmina Murray. Then I got some more, and a bottle of it. Now ALL the imps after the first, and the bottle, smell nothing LIKE the first imp I got and although I do adore Wilhelmina Murray anyway, I was sad at not getting the same scent.

 

THIS IS IT! Whoever did the decant of my first Wilhelmina got it mixed up with Asphodel. And I cannot TELL you how delighted I am to have ordered two bottles of this, even if it was only because of it being discontinued.

 

This is, quite simply, one of the most beautiful, pure hyacinth scents I have EVER smelled in my life. I mean pure in a "virtuous" way, not a single note way (although there really isn't much else here at all). This does have something accompanying the floral. Possibly myrrh and/or ylang ylang. I'm thinking more myrrh, which would actually fit in with the background for the scent.

 

Regardless, I LOVE it. I'm SO delighted to have found THAT scent which I never thought I'd get again, and I'll mourn its passing almost as much as I will my beloved Phantom.

[bryghtrose]

Asphodel smells like a greenhouse: humidity and plants.

 

Then it dries into a nice, generic floral, and then softly fades away.

Edited February 2, 2008 by bryghtrose

[inurbanus]

Asphodel is a soft, mournful little floral. It's very soapy, and the only note I can pick out are some lilies in the background. I wouldn't really describe this one as a white floral, but it's in the same family. Unfortunately it doesn't have that "crisp" quality that I love so much. This isn't exactly how I imagined the concept of Asphodel, either. For those of you who like White Phoenix, Asphodel is very similar, so you might be interested in hunting down some.

 

3/5

[Victory]

When I was younger, my mother had a beautiful lily of the valley single note perfume that I would spritz on and hope she didn't notice I was wearing, and smelling Asphodel reminds me of that. The first sniff is all lily of the valley, but when it dries down, I can smell that green note that others have mentioned. I liked it, and I was sad to see it go, but it wouldn't have gotten skin time, because I already have so much perfume.

[Stormslegacy]

Daffodills? I have no idea what this scent is. I absolutely love it though.

 

It's a very fresh floral, but not powdery or "old ladylike." It is young and has a wonderful crispness to it. It brings me back to a summer garden. I love this/

[Argentwolf]

Oh, dear. I *like* this. It's a nice, light floral -- not sweet so much as...natural and a little earthy. It's much like leaning into the buds of a flower that have just opened, that soft velvety odor that you get from a flower that derives beauty more from the shape and color of its petals than from an overwhelming fragrance.

 

That, and it was long-lived in addition to being pretty...so now I'm sad that it got discontinued!

[alicia_stardust]

Something about this smells so familiar. It is hauntingly beautiful. It is deep and dusky, purple and red, with the right touch of greenery and florals. I will miss this blend now that it's discontinued. It is so evocative.

[fairnymph]

In the bottle: Fresh, light, slightly green floral. Cheerful, ironically.

 

Wet: Very feminine, slightly sweet floral. It's a bit less fresh and headier (lilac?) on my skin. Smells very lily-like to me. And also a bit like lily of the valley.

 

Dry: Eeek, it's going a bit soapy - noooooooo! It's also losing strength quickly.

 

Summary: It's still lovely, and it has great throw. Even though it fades from full power quickly, it stops and stays at a moderate level. I keep getting whiffs from my hand and it's delightful, but when I bring my hand closer, I get that strong soapiness.

[grashopper8]

A clean, soapy floral. I can't pick out any notes or components, but it's a nice wildflower scent. A little too powdery and fresh for me to wear often, but it's pretty nonetheless.

 

3.5 out of 5

[Lamia]

Smells like honeysuckle. Very feminine and floral, husband likes this one best so far, but it's not exactly me.

[heathercaley]

I kept thinking the same thing as everyone else... I knowwwwww this flower!! Pretty funny.. but all I can smell is Hawaii. I went there and THIS is what the airport smells like (when you aren't inhaling jet fuel fumes that is!) I was hanging out in this beautiful Japanese garden at the airport in Honolulu when I first landed... and this is what the garden smells like. Simple...fresh.. and lovely.

 

But as it is drying I am picking up something sinister underneath...just enough that if you don't look for it... you'd miss it.

 

But it is still beautiful. A ghostly scent... hmm.. interesting because Hawaii has a lot of ghosts...

[ForeverSweet]

I love this scent so very much. Like so many other have said - I know this scent. It is so nostalgic and almost annoying because I cant place where it comes from. You just know that you have come across this before. It definitely evokes a feeling of having smelled it before.

 

In the Imp: This is a fairly strong floral. I can't really say what flowers it reminds me of, but its very deep and almost a bitter floral. I don't get powdery at all. This is a scent that I could see having the ability to be "old lady" like - but it seems to avoid that quite nicely. Its strong, bitter, sweet and wet. This is a powerful scent and I just love it.

 

On wet: Love love love love. I can't stop saying how much I adore this scent. I received this as an extra with another order in the past and didn't know how I would feel about it, however, it can possibly find a place in the top with my favorite scents. It is very simple and yet very deep. A bittersweet floral. It comes across as a bit "cold" when wet. I could definitely see this as being the flower that would greet you to the underworld. It's a bit sad and dangerous, but ever so enticingly sweet.

I like this because it smells like perfume without coming across as too strong or choking. It's like the perfume you wish you could smell when you walk into the department store. I also like that this could border on feminine/masculine. Its hard to really find a line with it.

 

Dry-down: The stronger bitterness of this starts to fade, it threatens becoming soapy but not in a bad way. In fact, on drying this starts to get rid of any soapiness and replaces everything with the softest, most gentle hint of flowers. This is like hopping through a garden of flowers in the summertime. This inspires me as a very vintage scent. Perfect for late spring or early summer.

 

I am so sad that this scent has been discontinued, as I was hoping to buy a larger bottle of this. :') I will definitely be on the hunt for a 5 or 10ml of this. A beautiful, strong floral. It definitely makes a statement.

[gchris]

In Vial: strong floral

 

Wet: very flowery. Reminds me of my grandmother. She loved flowers.

 

Dry: Smells like lemonade and flowers. This reminds me of drinking lemonade on the front porch smelling flowers in the yard.

[TPOD]

Smells exactly like Easter Lilies to me. Oh yes, and some kind of cleanser. A very familiar smell, but not terrifically compelling as a perfume for me.

[Delirium1009]

In bottle/imp: Dry, white lilies.

 

Immediately on skin: This smells of very white or light grey blossoms. There is a bit of lily in it, and maybe lilac as well. It has the feel of honeysuckle, but it is not nearly as sweet. It’s a dry and almost powdery sharp floral scent that is reminiscent of sticking your nose into a bouquet and inhaling; it doesn’t smell like a fake scent… it smells like something blossoming and alive.

 

After a few minutes: The flowers in this have become a bit spicier… it sort of reminds me of daffodils. It’s a very fresh, bright floral blend filled with white and yellow blooms.

 

Overall Impressions: Lots of fresh white and yellow flowers… that’s what I get from this. It’s not a sweet floral blend, but it echoes the feel of lots of different flowers: honeysuckle, lily, daffodil, and lilac. It smells like a hybrid of all different types of light spring flowers. For a grey and ghostly flower, it sure does smell very fresh and lively.

[squeakelala]

Asphodel in the imp is PERFECT lily with fresh-cut stems--lightly sweet and green and gorgeous. I love it in the imp.

 

So I was expecting to love it on me. I slathered, I admit. And promptly learned why it is not a good idea to slather when you have never tried a scent before. After a couple of minutes of lily heaven, the scent became richer and darker and fuller and... smelled exactly like my grandmother. Now, my grandma is a great lady and doesn't smell 'old', she just... smells just like this! Heady spring flowers.

 

I'll take it as a learning experience and keep the imp for nostalgia's sake. (Now I have Grandma wherever I go!)

[Schmoozy]

Soft florals and fields of grass.

It begins as a gentle scent, the scent of grass and bunches of flowers that I can't pinpoint. There is a sweetnes and innocence to Aspoel.

It's pretty and very romantic.

[binkin]

In the imp, this reminded me a lot of The Rose; it had that dewy, green, fresh-cut young blooming flower thing going on. It smelled like that on my skin at first, too. As it dried, it got headier and headier, and now I feel kind of like I'm lazing around on the grass surrounded by plants heavy in flower. So basically for me it went from spring to summer in a really vivid way. This is a 5 for me; I have to track down a bottle.

[Gin]

Asphodel

 

Ghost flowers! It's unquestionably floral, but the florals are all pale, translucent. Sweet, but sad.

[melrose]

In bottle, and on, wet: Dead-on jasmine, and I love it. There's no fake sweetness here.

 

Drydown: Something evil this way comes. I can't explain, but it's quite harsh.

 

Far drydown: Beautiful again, but no throw or staying power.

[benthic]

I managed to score a bottle of this, and when I put it on--it's Queen Gertrude! A purer form of Queen Gertrude, almost a single note. Queen Gertrude is one of my very favorite floral blends, so I'm pleased with this one. I don't know which flower it is in QG that is the flower of Asphodel, but it's the major one (or at least the one I amp most), so I'm assuming it's violet. Earlier in this thread people mentioned wisteria too, another note in Queen Gertrude, so I wouldn't be surprised. But either way, this is gorgeous, soft and sweet without being fake or cloying.

[lohengrin]

This is a review of an aged bottle.

 

In the bottle: Green, light florals.

 

On skin, wet: More or less the same as in the bottle, with just the tiniest hint of soap in the background.

 

On skin, dry: Another scent that doesn't seem to morph much on me--still green and floral with a very faint hint of soap.

 

After an hour: The soap never gets strong enough to really detract from the lovely green florals, thankfully.