Goneril

[bodegaselkie]

White geranium, calla lily, cedarwood and black orchid. A gentle floral bouquet masks a sinister and black-hearted core.

In the bottle and on skin, Goneril smelled like sharp soap. I didn't let it stick around long. I don't even like soap that smells like soap, for heaven's sakes.

[LiberAmoris]

I'm not quite sure what note in Goneril turns the blend into something so sharp, but whatever it is, it is unpleasant on my skin. It's a great blend for the character name, but it's not one that I want to wear.

 

I think this one will be going into the swap pile for someone else to enjoy. The cedarwood and lily are very nice, but something in the black orchid or geranium is disagreeing with me.

[elphaba]

My first reaction to Goneril, a freebie from the lab, was that is was a nice, clean, woodsy scent. I couldn't place either the "clean" or the "woods," but the combination was fresh and outdoorsy. About five minutes in, I sniffed my wrist again and CEDAR! There was no mistaking it by then. This was a cedar forest.

 

The cedar stayed strong on me for maybe ten or fifteen minutes before the florals began coming up again, but in a way that didn't seem overly flowery--probably because of the wood at the scent's heart. I think this would make a great masuline scent, but my husband isn't fond of cedar, so I won't subject him to it.

[urraca]

This was a frimp that came in an order that included Ephemera which also has calla lily and geranium, so it made sense to include this one too. I'm not crazy about either one, as it turns out, though surprisingly for different reasons. I thought it was the calla lily or the generanum that made Ephemera go a little sharp on me. This has quite a different scent even though it is sharp too. Woodsy and green is a good general description. The cedar makes it a little bit odd, I think. Not hamstery, just a little off. The orchid doesn't sweeten the mixture quite enough for me. Enormous throw and lasting power though!

[Scarlettfish]

This was extremely sharp on me upon application. I don't know what is causing the sharpness, however. Upon dry down the florals are barely present, although there are hints of lily underneath - the cedarwood dominates on my skin. There is still a definite sharpness to it and it is a very strong scent with lots of throw. Not for me, unfortunately.

[Orodemniades]

Wet:Hmm, there's that pickle-y note again...I think I smell lilies?? Whatever it is, it's familiar.

 

Drydown: A wet powdery scent that reminds me of something, but I just can't put my finger on what. Licorice, maybe? It's okay, but nothing I feel the need to keep.

 

Oro

[wingedcorset]

The cedar really came through for me in this one. Like a bunch of flowers stuffed in a cedar chest.

[theseagrows]

this is one of those florals that just doesnt work on me, and was way too strong for my liking. i cant pick out the florals at all, i just know that it doesnt smell good on me.

[niter]

Imp

Right out of the imp I smell a delicate floral layer over top of a spicy cedar base.

 

Wet

A light cedar scent is all I pick up. I think my senses are overwhelmed, though. The more I sniff, the more I am certain that I pick up the black orchid. It is a floral note, but definately not lily...or at least any BPAL lily I have sampled. Next, a very green, lush note is pushing forth.

 

Dry

This mellows a bit into a lasting floral cedar scent. Neither the cedar or the floral notes are too demanding and overall this is a lovely blend.

[feline.by.design]

I popped the top off of Goneril and gave it a sniff.

 

"Hmm... why does this smell like something I'd *eat*?"

 

It wasn't until I looked at another review that got the same reaction that I did: pickles. Goneril isn't insanely dilly, but it does smell like crisp, kosher pickles. On my skin, it still has that sort of pickley undercurrant, not quite sharp enough to be vinegary. The oil I got on my fingers smells more floral than the back of my wrist, which I applied the imp to.

 

Okay, after a couple of minutes, Goneril starts to go from sandwich filler to faint floral garden. My fingers actually smell a bit powdery, while the back of my wrist is emitting a clean smell. It eventually also catches up to the powdery stage, but it's very faint and not particularly bothersome. I would say that the lily and orchid notes are becoming more prominent. I don't note the smell of cedarwood I'm normally used to (ie hamster cage). Maybe it's in there somewhere, but it's very faint, as is the overall fragrance. I might be imagining this, but I detect a very, very faint trace of melon, though that could be one of the floral notes.

 

Well, I do like green fragrances. I like light florals. However, Goneril doesn't particularly strike me as something I would want a larger bottle of. It smells nice, but it's pretty faint for me, and the smell I do get seems something I would rather use as a room fragrance to freshen up a house (though I would need gallons to hose down my apartment, thanks to stinky boys and a stinky kitty, sigh). It's kind of a smell that would be good on a dryer sheet.

 

Goneril, for me, is one of those scents that is very nice, but I just don't need it. If another free imp manages to make its way to me again, I might be willing to give it another shot, but at the moment, I am just not clicking with this oil. There's nothing I specifically dislike, it's just kind of "blah."

 

-doreen

[Voleuse]

I'm a sucker for anything with calla lily, but on first application, this is almost all cedar, with a faint floral note in the background. It's rich and earthy.

 

Over time, the cedar lightens, and the overall scent becomes greener. I can't pick out individual floral notes, but they're definitely present, though indistinct.

[Celogrl]

While I love cedar, I can't say I enjoy it mixed with florals. I'll always love the lab for including 'try me' imps, but this just does not work for me the way I hoped it would. It confuses me! The florals just don't (in my subconscious, anyway ) mix with the wood. It is an interesting scent, but this one may end up being swapped. Thanks Lab for including it, though!

[Sheila]

This scent perfectly captures Goneril (the character). It truly has "a sinister and black-hearted core." So much so, that I couldn't wear it without feeling kind of creepy.

 

This smells like light florals and cedarwood to me, with the cedar completely taking over. The cedar makes the scent dirty and dark (at least on my skin).

 

Amazing what Beth can capture with scent!

Edited December 19, 2005 by Sheila

[SeaMonkey]

this smells like Calla Lily soap on me........then, like shroud, it smells like pickles for a minute or so, then the cedar comes out. The cedar mixes well with the calla lily. It get soft very quickly

[AlaskaSnows]

Wet: Spicy, vinegary men's cologne??

 

Dry: Spicy cedar overlaid with a tangy green earth note. Smells like being outside in trees smelling a flower on a bush. More bush than flower. Not bad.

[Naamah_Darling]

In the bottle, Goneril is light, bright, cold and almost metallic. It's a floral, but it's not sweet or close. There's a hint of green here that smells like bruised leaves. It's well-blended, and I'm not familiar enough with geranium, lily, or orchid to tell which scent is which. I don't really smell the cedar, though I think that's where the metallic smell is coming from.

 

On, the cedar lays hold of something – the geranium, perhaps – and wrestles with it. It's alternating cool floral with a harsh blast of what almost smells like evergreen or juniper. That must be the cedar.

 

Drying, a smell comes out, delicious and dark, that's almost like the turned-earth smell in Zombi. It's a thick, cool floral, and from what others have said, I'm guessing this is the lily. When I say this is a grave scent, I mean that in both senses of the word. This is the solemn yet lovely smell of funeral flowers. The throw is wonderful – floral without being soapy or geriatric, making it one of the rare florals I can actually wear.

 

I can see how it wouldn't be for everyone – there is an aggressive touch to these florals, perhaps the geranium, that won't sit down and behave, and that combined with the cedar borders on high-end hand soap/bug spray at times. My chemistry is not enough to turn it rotten, but this is a very delicately balanced scent that always smells like it's just about to go bad.

 

It fades fast, though, to a generic sort of wispy floral, and it is overall not earthy or sexy enough for me to wear, despite the dark streak running through the middle of it. I like it. I won't wear it much, but I'll hang on to the imp. Very nice.

[smelly]

I know Goneril is from a Shakespeare play, but I can't help it, I keep thinking gonorrhea. I mean, if someone were to ask me "What's that scent?" And I were to answer "Goneril" Let's face it, they're going to hear "Gonorrhea! I had a little bit of gonorrhea and I liked it so much I got more! I never thought gonorrhea would smell so good! I got it from this girl on the Internet..."

 

Anyway, I like it. Gonoreil, I mean, not gonorrhea. On my skin it smells like the cedar and floral are perfectly blended. It smells like a kind of wet or green cedar and the flowers are just a little spicy or peppery or something.

 

I just put it on, about ten minutes ago, so if something goes wrong, I'll come back and edit this post. Otherwise, you can assumed that this scent evolved nicely. Either that, or I contracted gonorrhea...

 

Update: Got more florally and less cedary as time went on but very nice. I'm generally not into floral but liked this one a lot. Unfortunately, I got a very slight headache toward the end of the day. I'm going to try this one again, to be scientific about it, and make sure it was the culprit. But it probably was. Too bad. A lot of perfumes give me headaches.

Edited February 16, 2006 by smelly

[tereshkova2001]

Clean and fresh. Cedar, not the cut wood used in closets but the tree, green and promising of that wood. Subtle florals soften the wood. Some of the orchid I adore in Phantom Queen is there, but here it's refreshing and centering. Not sexy, in fact rather neutral, and something I might wear to teach. It's something like cleaning supplies, but in a fresh green way, not harsh or antiseptic.

[sthenno]

This is similar to Kostnice, except sweeter. Perhaps because of the orchid?

 

It starts out as sweet cedar. After a while, the florals come out and play. It remains more floral than cedar for a bit, but ultimately dries down to mostly cedar. A pleasant but unremarkable scent.

[ariesathena]

I adore this scent. It's very floral and I didn't think I would like the florals so much, but I'm finding that if they have a deeper undertone, they really appeal to me and Goneril is no exception. The floral-ness is almost too overwhelming while wet, but I still love it and the only way I can think to describe it is as if someone took a bunch of magnolias, lilies and roses, threw then in a swamp and stomped on them.

 

Hmm...and looking at the description, the only flower out of those three that's actually in the perfume is the calla lily. The magnolia is likely geranium. Not sure where I'm getting rose, but I never could tell my flowers apart anyway.

[MistressTera]

Fresh From The Imp: Geranium & cedar.

 

Wet On My Flesh: A lot of cedar, with a hint of flowers.

 

Drying Down: Lily is coming out, with the cedar still lurking underneath.

 

Hour To Integrate: Flowers died down, cedar again.

 

End Of Day/Final Report: Swap.

[storme]

In the imp: Lily, and, man, cedar - I guess now I know what that smells like. This smells slightly aniseedy - actually, it smells like those little dishes of seeds left by the exit in indian restaurants.

 

On me, wet: still smells like those seeds, now overlaid with some thick white emulsion with paint thinner glopped in it.

 

On me, dry: wargh, generic perfume and urine. oh god, the longer I leave this on the more it smells like dried urine. *scrub scrub*

 

Verdict: Aie, no. What the hell? No BPAL perfume has ever gone to pee on me before. Yick.

[themerrybaker]

Out of the imp, Goneril smelled rosy then like lily of the valley. Good grief, guessed wrong on this one!

 

 

 

The tart scent might be rose geranium - another lovable plant for me and a happy surprise because the Lab's Lily of the Valley notes have not been coming across on me.

 

 

 

I really didn't get a coniferous cedar phase, and finally ended up with tart geranium and incense.

 

 

 

One of the better surprise frimps, I'd consider a big bottle if it were possible to fit any more BPAL in my house. Only wish MY pee smelled this good!

Edited May 5, 2006 by themerrybaker

[gwyllgi]

The first time I tried this, it smelled almost alcohol-based; it had that nose-burning not-scent. This time around, I don't get that... but I do get the presence of my bane: cedar.

 

When it's wet, it's lovely on me. It's a lot of florals with the faintest hint of sharpness underneath. As it dries, though, the cedar comes out and promptly goes sour on me.

 

If I let it sit for something like an hour, the cedar will recede a bit and the florals will come out again to match the description: a bouquet masking a sinister core. At that point, it's perfectly lovely, for a dark floral. The problem for me lies in getting to that point.

[ajcj213499]

This was very woody on me, almost like fresh cut lumber or sawdust. Behind the overwhelming woodiness I could smell a nice floral though...