Al-Araaf

[LiberAmoris]

Honeyed lilies, dry lotus root and fae flowers.

Al-Araaf is a one that I didn't pick up when the DIMV series went live, because lily and lotus are not always my favorite notes. But I'm really glad for the opportunity to try this, and am very surprised by how lovely the lotus is here.

It is, as others have said, a honeyed lily with a slight vanilla edge and a warm, mellow lotus. As it dries down, it's almost a second skin scent on me, very relaxing and comfortable. Sadly, as it continues to dry, the honey goes a bit acidic on me, something that almost never happens---and it ends up smelling a bit murky. Even so, I think I'll try it again, just to make sure it's not some aberrant chemistry.

I don't think this will unseat Honey Moon as my fave honey blend, but I can see why so many people have enjoyed it!

[supremegoddessofall]

Light honey and florals. Pretty, but indistinct.

[little_galaxie]

Ahhh this is so so beautiful and girly.

 

When I first put it on it was sweet and light, so light I could barely smell it. On the drydown the honey came out to play, and it became a bit spicier, a bit more feisty while still retaining that girlish, ethereal quality.

 

Unlike Tiger Lily, which went frightfully flower-polleny on me, all the notes here balance each other out perfectly.

 

And it's an LE, of course.

[filigree_shadow]

So pretty. Most of the DiMV series didn't work very well for me, but there were a few standouts, and this is one of them. It's a sweet, almost creamy floral (as opposed to the heady florals I don't like). It smells bright and cheerful to me. It's a good scent for a crisp spring day. It's fresh and clean.

[Jheya]

In the imp: Honey and lily and something odd - slightly bitter and almost dusty. There's a definite similarity to Tiger Lily, but this is softer, and not as brash.

 

On skin: The dusty note is less apparent when applied, leaving the lily and honey to dominate. Unfortunately the honey is already doing it's usual thing of turning sour on my skin. I'll have to wait and see if it improves on drydown.

 

It doesn't really change all that much between wet and drydown, and sadly the honey continues to be off/sour on me, which rather spoils the blend. It's not as flowery as I thought it'd be, and if it wasn't for the sourness it'd be a pleasantly sweet, creamy floral. However, the sourness dominates this blend on me, and so this is not going to be a keeper.

[LadyBug]

This is quite unpleasent to my nose. It has a sweet scent mixed with something that smells like it's rotting. This could be the honied lilies, but I'm not sure. The scent on the skin is a little more mellow...not as sour smelling. My imp of this will not be touched again until someone swaps me.

[zankoku_zen]

In the imp: Lilies

 

On Skin: Honeyed lilies, slightly less floral than I expected

 

On Drydown: Muted honeyed lilies

 

Verdict: This is like Tiger Lily's shyer and sweeter sister. Definitely brought Tiger Lily to mind, but the honey is less prominent and aggressive. This is definitely a more delicate. I really enjoy it.

[n1k1ta]

I smell chocolate in Al-Araaf during dry down. There is a wonderful floral that I can't identify too. The honey is subtle and almost candied. It makes the flowers golden and sugared. It's a great combination!

 

Al-Araaf stays that way for about two hours and then goes floral musk on me. I wish I could say I love this perfume, because it's lovely, but I don't. Onto ye olde trading liste it goes!

[stellans]

This is one of the few blends which list honey as a note that made a fan of me...the honey in this blend underlines and supports the other notes rather than overwhelms them, and because I like most florals, that’s a good thing. I never thought about a dry lotus root as a note in a perfume...but it really does lend a lovely base for the ‘fae flowers’ which are also listed as notes. This is a somnolent, lazy sort of scent, perfect for a Sunday afternoon’s worth of reading on the couch or outside in a chaise. I don't know what this blend smelled like new, but age has not hurt it, at least not in my opinion. Enjoy it ...if you can find it.

Edited April 18, 2011 by stellans

[Lamia]

In the bottle, this was very floral. Wet on skin, this made me think of some perfume I wore when I was very young, some perfume that I thought made me terribly sophisticated. GAH, I thought, and considered washing it off. Thank goodness that went away fairly fast. Drydown, it became mellower and less juvenile, but still very floral.

 

After about 90 minutes, it disappeared completely. It returned about 5 minutes after that, smelling like dusty stale honey.

 

Back in the bag.

[donnatron]

Imp: Florals... florals in a thermos that was once filled with milk.

 

Wet: This goes from the horrifying initial sniff to being kind of boring. Faint lilies. Bit of sweetness.

 

Dry: Oh. There we go. More milk. Old, sour milk in a thermos. And lilies. Mercifully this is really, really faint because it is absolutely repusive on my chemistry.

 

Throw: Faint.

 

Overall: That was... unpleasant. It's not a wash-off-right-away sort of scent but that's solely because it's so faint on my skin that I have to get up close and personal to get a good whiff. Really not a great one on my chemistry.

[mymymai]

ITB: The powder scent hits he first, then a bit of the honeyed lilies and oddly enough, something that smells like berries.

Wet:Less powder (thank goodness), more flowery with a bit of the lilies, although the honey scent is in the background. I still get a bit of the fruitiness that I smelled ITB, but not nearly as much on my skin.

Dry (+2 hours): I still smell powder, but it isn't enough for me to vote it off the island. I do smell honey, some lily, but the fruity scent is gone. It's a sweetly feminine scent, but not something I'd reach for too often.

Edited April 19, 2011 by Shollin
Removed Lab description

[angelamaria]

In bottle: somewhat perfume-y, but mostly gentle creamy flowers. Yes on the sweet honeyed lilies. It's pretty, but feels a bit too floral for me.

 

Wet on skin: wow. I think that dry lotus root just needed a bit of warming up--it's not as all-out floral as it felt in the bottle. There is a slight "muskiness" to the blend that gives a good base to the flowers, sweet and pretty. Man, I had this bottle in my "to test" box for a loo~oong time, why did I not test it sooner?! This might actually be in the running of surpassing Evening Star as my favorite DIMV-to-wear scent.

 

Dry: yes, I've definitely missed out so long by not testing this when I received it. This is a gently honey-sweet floral, with lily edging out at the front, but mostly quiet/pensive flowers, slightly vague but definitely present without being overwhelming. A muted musky scent keeps them grounded well.

 

Verdict: definitely a yes!

[Saffrin]

Imp: Slightly sour, creamy milk, with a bit of honey. I don't get any of the lilies.

 

 

Wet: Lilies! Lilies everywhere!

It smells like a creamier version of Tiger lily. It's a pale gold to Tiger Lily's amber-gold.

 

The lilies fall into the background rather rapidly, and leave a creamy-honey scent, with them around the edges. It's morphed enough away from Tiger Lily that they are of the same family, but with very different approaches. It reminds me of O, without the amber that turns it to pure powder on my skin, as it gains its warmth from the lilies instead.

 

 

Dry: Sheer happiness. I wanted to love O sooo much, but the amber rapidly ruined it. Al-Araaf fills that void so nicely. It's comforting, and all sorts of snuggly cream honey warm.

 

... Now if only it wasn't a past LE....

 

 

I want you. I need you. Oh baby, oh baby. <3

Edited January 14, 2013 by Saffrin