Lucy's Kiss

[Delight]

"Created to represent the essence of Bram Stoker's tragic heroine, Lucy Westenra. Seductive, wanton and deadly, but underscored with a soft, wistful innocense. The gentle scent of rose and a blend of Victorian spices."

 

When I opened the Imp, all I could smell was rose. It was sweet and not overpowering, more of an antique rose. I stirred it slightly and met an entirely different scent, something clean but wild.

 

When applied, it began to smell like the seashell soaps my grandparents had when I was a child. Then as it dried the rose smell came out accompanied by something that smelled faintly of pear. I imagine it as Lucy before her downfall.

 

All in all it is a great scent, definately different. An evening in spring would suit it fine. I'm curious as to what the "victorian spices" in the description refers to.

Edited May 20, 2006 by Delight

[Victory]

Lucy gets points for being one of two rose scents that I can actually detect rose in. (My nose is weird- I just cannot smell any of the lab's rose notes.) It's almost a tea rose, I think. Nice. I'll hold onto this one.

[PilotKitten]

Rose and spicy herbal. Good, just not my style. The rose ups it's score though... love BPAL's roses...

[portalkat]

Lucy's Kiss began as a straight rose scent and not the type of rose that I particularly like. I tend to like richer, fuller rose scents and this was of the lighter variety. After about 10 minutes, it deepened and the spices started to develop. It also has some green notes now and has become more interesting to me. Oooh, there is another note developing now, almost like some other floral that I can't really pinpoint. It's really starting to intrigue me.

 

I don't know that I would buy a bottle right now, but every couple of years or so I do get on a rose kick and this would definitely go on my list.

[gloom bear]

On me this is a subtle scent, that starts off pretty rosey. It's not a specific type of rose to my nose (hehe) and not perfumey or too sweet. In 20-30 minutes, the rose gradually faded to a warm skin scent. This is pretty interesting, and might be a good one for skin scent lovers to test out some rose scents. I prefer my acutal skin scent to the one this oil imparts, so I'll be passing on a bottle of this, but it is definitely an oil that I enjoyed trying.

[edenssixthday]

Lucy’s Kiss is identifiable instantly as a predominantly rose scent. After it dried down, it smells distinctly like tea rose, which may just be due to the mixture of rose and “Victorian spices.” It’s soft, sweet, and delicate and is a highly feminine blend. It’s a nice blend to wear when I want rose, but don’t want the funereal scent of Sepulcher, the naughtiness of Whip, or the fragility of Moon Rose. Great scent, light throw, moderate staying power. This one’s a keeper.

[kunoichi]

In the vial this is pure rose, backed with a tangy scent – probably the spices – that reminds me of metal. On my skin, the rose scent takes on a stronger tang which reminds me of blood – in fact, I felt uncomfortable wearing it on the train because it was very reminiscent of the blood smell of menstruation! The coppery blood tang soon fades, and after a few hours on my skin this smells like metallic-backed sweetness. But the remaining scent continues with a slight metal tang sharpening it, though it is no longer a blood smell.

 

The blood smell is appropriate for Lucy, being her vampiric ‘kiss’, but this is not an everyday wear fragrance – but it’s something to wear for a LARP vampire character!!

[TrailerTrashPrincess]

i've never met a rose that smelled like this!

 

i get no spices, nor anything even remotely rose-ish. more like violets and jasmine and a sort of the-dishwasher-just-finished-the-cycle-and-is-still-steaming-hot-and-you-opened-the door kind of chemically citrus-mint smell -- like Cascade ("with Sheeting action")

 

i don't think i can wait to see if this morphs into something bearable, i think i need to go attempt to scrub this off.

[karikazo]

I am not big into rose scents so I haven't used this one much, but today I am wearing it. At first it is just plain rosey, but later on it seems just a *little* bit like ... a rosey Snake Oil? Not quite as spicey/sexy/whatever as SO, but just a little bit similar....and definitely more than just roses there. So a very intriguing blend!

[fairy]

This one was very sharp rose on me, with a hint of soapiness to it. Still on the fence but leaning toward adding her to the swap pile.

[jarvenpa]

Oh, delicious. Pure rose, with tiny thorns.

 

This is the best of the rose fragrances I've yet sniffed (let alone smeared deliriously over my skin). There is almost a mint fragrance behind the rose.

 

This one was also a favorite of my fussy daughter--rare to find a scent we both like.

 

And we do like this. A lot.

[em_h]

This came as a frimp with my latest order.

 

Wet: A surprise hit of mintiness and green grass, which was quite unexpected. Pretty and fresh. The rose starts coming through in a couple of minutes.

 

Drying: That momentary anomalous mint disappears quickly, and it becomes a juicy rose scent, with increasing wafts of spiciness.

 

Dry: Nice blend of rose and spice, very well-balanced. I have way too many rose scents already, but I'll keep the imp for sure.

[Seanan]

In the bottle...hello, roses. How've you been? Do you have any company in there? No? Well, they say you do, so let's put you on.

 

On my skin, there's a brief flare of something more complex underneath the rose, but it's quickly overwhelmed by ROSE ROSE ROSE, as if the floral note had something rather strident to prove. I kept hoping that this would change during the dry-down phase, but alas, that was not to be; the rose remained strong and dominant, leaving the scent cloying and rather unpleasant on my skin.

 

I'm afraid Lucy may give lovely kisses, but I don't really want her kissing me.

[thecaitycat]

In the bottle: Roses! And a hint of something else. The rose isn't overwhelming, however.

 

Wet on the skin: Lighter than in the bottle, but still very rosy. It's very "springtime", but it also might cheer someone up in the dead of winter.

 

Dry on skin: Not much change between wet and dry on the skin. As before, it's very rose-based but there is still a hint of something herbal and spicy in the background.

 

Verdict: This is something I will probably buy a whole bottle of. Lovely!

[storme]

In the imp: sweet, like roses with a chai-like spicy overtone.

 

On me, wet: very sweet and slightly soapy roses, with the spiciness vanishing into baby powder. Much nicer in the imp than on my skin, apparently.

 

On me, dry: This is the rose from London, but in a powdery form rather than sweet and ozone-y. And no spice at all any more. Bah.

 

Verdict: I have nicer roses, I have nicer forms of this type of rose, even. Not one for me to keep.

[steffanina]

Lucy's Kiss-

 

In Bottle: Ooh, kind of fresh and citrusy-floral.

 

Wet: Lemon verbena, I'm sure of it! With some florals behind it. Must see how this settles. The rose starts to come through a little bit. Getting a little Lemon Pledge-y though.

 

Dry: How interesting it is that I always say I don't usually like Rose scent, but all the BPAL rose scents usually end with me saying, "This rose is actually nice." Cool! I don't love this but it's not cloying.

 

Overall: Okay.

[Elemcee]

Lucy's kiss, to me, is a creamy rose tinted with spices.

 

Lucy isn't yet the red rose of the experienced, woman, but neither is she the pale pink rose of the innocent maiden. She is a deep, blushing pink, instead, and for some reason, I picture her wearing a dress (or at least a bodice) in this colour.

[buzz23666]

Man, the lab's rose based scents are so strangely hit or miss on me. I find it strange because if there is rose in anything I am usually in love. But not with this one AT ALL.

 

wet - cheap rose hand soap. Like something that you would buy in the grocery and have at your kitchen sink. There is also a slight spicy floral that feels like carnation witha touch of greenery.

 

dry - ok, I get the award for the most stupid visual to accompany a scent. A plastic cupie doll. That's exactly what this is like on me dry. Go figure.

 

Swap-o-rama

[Naamah_Darling]

Rosy and fresh in the bottle, with a touch of something bright and clean, like soap.

 

On, it's a soft and deeply feminine rose, and a light one. Oh, up close it's all soap, but the throw, now, is simply divine. It's rose like no rose I've smelled – clean, wet, and barely there, the scent of dewy, pale skin fresh from the shower. A drift of something faintly herbal or green is in this, bottoming out the sweetness, giving it a tender, crisp quality. I had a brand of incense quite a while ago that smelled like the spice notes in this, which are faint but definitely there, and the drifting whiffs of it I keep getting are truly delightful.

 

From the reviews, I gather this is not one of the more popular scents. It gets blasted for smelling soapy, and it does, but there's a fresh yumminess to it that smells like a girl who has just bathed in rosewater. It's alluring, sexy, and so very clean. It's taking a virgin girl fresh from the shower and licking the rosewater from her armpits. It's nuzzling her throat and feeling the urge to bite. It's sexy in a thoughtless, unthinking way. It's the back of the knee, one heel cocked. It's damp curls sticking to the nape of the neck. It's pale moon fingernails on crinoline and silk. This is a girl all aglow with lamplight, pretending she doesn't know what you're talking about. This is naughty, but still shockable.

 

Oh, yes, yes, yes, this is so, so pretty, and I should hate it because it does smell soapy, but I can't hate it. It keeps giving me that look. I don't need another rose scent, but this one is different enough, light enough, that it deserves a place in my imp collection. Be advised that normally, rose scents and clean scents are not sexy to me, and I fear the smell of soap the way that infidels once feared the rack, but I am still saying this is sexy.

 

Not for people who have that circuit that makes them equate rose smell with grandmothers, and not for people who fear a bit of soapiness (though I myself don't care for soapy smells), but worth trying for someone who wants to indulge their love of the fairest flower while still smelling clean, clean, clean.

[brownbear]

ROSE! At first it's a creamy rose. Very soft. Then my skin really amps it up and I get a little overpowered with rose. Something in my skin is giving it a tiny bit of a sour undertone. It's too much for me. oh well

[glass_cat]

When I originally finally broke down and decided to invest in a sampler of Black Phoenix scents to see what the craze was all about, I did so because a friend told me there was a scent they had out that was inspired by Lucy Westenra. Since Lucy has always been a character I identify with very strongly, I couldn't resist. Of course, there were two Lucy scents: the limited edition "Lucy Westenra" and then this one from the general catalog. They both sounded heavenly, but I eventually decided on this one. I'm so glad I did, because seriously... I could wear this scent every day and never tire of it. I think it could quite possibly be my favorite perfume of any I have ever worn, and I have already ordered a full-sized bottle of it. I knew that I would the very first time that I sampled this.

 

I don't know that it is for everyone though. It would depend on what type of scents you tend to favor yourself. I personally prefer more old-fashioned, flower-based scents, and this is very much that. This one, however, is best described as "a rose with a bite", much like Lucy herself. It smells very much like something I could actually imagine Lucy wearing, and it definitely properly embodies her spirit. Very Victorian, very elegant and stately, but rather dark and tragic as well. In addition to the roses (and I imagine them as white roses for some reason) I distinctly smell something very crisp and clean as a dominant note... a bit like freshly laundered sheets, but not quite... that is very pleasing and also keeps this from being too flowery. I also detect a breath of something I can't quite put my finger on. It almost smells like the type of incense they burn in churches. It's a somewhat funereal smell, but not at all unpleasant.... just a bit dark. It's just barely there for me though, so it isn't overpowering, and I do think that is what makes this feel "mournful" to me. If a white rose could produce tears, they would smell like Lucy's Kiss to me.

[Monster]

Out of the vial this smells exactly like a fresh, unwrapped Dove bar of soap.

 

On my skin wet the bar of soap smell is still very apparent, only now a light hint of roses are in the background.

 

The roses come out more as this dries down...still very soapy though.

 

Definitely not for me!

[swilde]

You know the scene in Coppola's Dracula when Lucy and Mina are reading Arabian Nights together? This reminds me of that scene. Lucy must store those stiff, lacy. satin gowns of hers in a wardrobe perfumed with rose sachet. This is Lucy the lady, not Lucy the succubus.

[Pachelbel]

I'm not typically one for floral scents (I was sort of made to wear them as a kid, when I thought perfume was too girly for me, heh) but this was a frimp and I do say try everything once. So, here goes.

 

IN THE BOTTLE: Mmm. Roses. It makes me think of white and pink roses, the sort I found up in Portland. There's also something underneath, something more...I want to say 'fermented' but that gives the wrong idea because it isn't a bad smell. It smells like wine, how's that? Wine and roses.

 

WET: Clean, wet roses. They're not quite the kind I'd get from the florist, because those are just a little too manicured and these are just a little 'off'--like the description says. (I'd say wild roses, but I really don't think wild ones smell any different from the garden variety )

 

DRY: Roses, something...almost antique and wooden. (It smells exactly like a Victorian house I toured with my brother a few years ago, which earns props. I didn't think it was possible to put that into a perfume.) And dust. Yes, literally, it smells like roses, antique houses, and dust. (I like dust though. Eheh.)

 

Hm. I still don't like florals, but I might end up keeping this imp. I'll wear it to work and see how that goes.

[blackfelicula]

In the bottle: I smell quiet spice, something that resembles aquatics, and dried roses.

 

Wet: The rose reminds me of when I have left roses too long in a vase on the table. The buds are wilted and drying, the stems are getting fuzzy, and the water smells like roses and decomposing leaves.

 

Drying down: This is not the kind of roses that clobber me over the head and drag me off. They're not the roses I get along with either. The spices, rather than livening the blend for me, contribute to the sense of beauty decaying within.

 

Dry: The spices have warmed up and the rose seems drying but no longer decaying. It is an interesting scent, but it reminds me of visiting my grandma and my great aunt: strong and floral.

 

Later: This is more floral than I prefer. It is like a strong, old-fashioned potpourri.