Terpsichore

[joseybird]

And when Terpsichore, with iris-plume,
Bade o'er her lute her rosy fingers fly;
'T was pleasure all -- the fawns in mingled choirs,
Glanced on the willing nymphs their wanton fires,
Joy shook his glittering pinions as he flew;
The shout of rapture and the song of bliss,
The sportive titter and the melting kiss,
All blended with the smile, that shone like early dew.

The Whirler! She is the Muse of Dance and the Dramatic Chorus. She holds both a lyre and a plectrum. Terpsichore is the mother of the Sirens by Achelous, the River God. Bright, joyful and expressive, her scent is kinetically charged, graceful, and an inspiration to all dancers: vanilla and carnation with neroli, iris, stephanotis, sweet pea, apple blossom and palmarosa.

Initially, neroli is the strongest note--floral and herbal with a characteristic sharpness. The sweet pea and apple blossom make an appearence shortly after, with the palmarosa adding a playful bite. The vanilla and carnation only become evident upon drydown, unfortunately (unfortunately because those are my two favorite notes in the blend :lol). I can't really talk about the other notes because I'm not especially familiar with them

I would call this a neroli-based blend, as that note seems to dominate throughout. It's a soft floral/herbal with a breezy, clean softness that makes me think of blends such as Annabel Lee and Juliet. Very playful and pretty without smelling too flighty =)

[brownbear]

At first it's just neroli. Then it blends into the other floral notes, but I can't separate them. The vanilla never really showed up on me. It's soft and nice, but I really don't think I'll wear it much at all.

[Blood onmy hands]

First on this is sweet neroli... but it quickly dries down to perfumey florals and something sharp and herbal. After about a half hour, there is just a trace of something strange and sour on my skin.

 

I had high hopes for Terpsichore, being a dancer... but this is another muse scent that doesn't work on me

Edited December 28, 2005 by Blood onmy hands

[melange]

Imp: neroli!

 

Wet: It's not just neroli, though; the florals combine to thrust forward in a broader band. It's hard to distinguish individual notes, because they blend as though they are part of a continuum.

 

Drydown: the vanilla appears to give it a little more depth, more apparent as the florals fade just a little, aided by the palmarosa. At one point I get a glimpse of what feels like almond, although it's not in the notes.

 

Worn: I'm not sure whether the fragrance is actually receding this quickly, or whether my nose is tuning it out. A few minutes later, it's sharp, floral, and I can't divine much character from it. It has a few inches' worth of throw and smells about the same up close as it does nearby. Maybe it's the sweet pea or the apple blossom? The stephanotis worked well for me with Regan. Oddly, my right wrist has a little more carnation and a little more individual fragrance, and I can sense more gracefulness instead of just brightness. I'll try reapplying and seeing what happens.... looks to be the same.

 

Then again, when my guy wandered over maybe half an hour to an hour later, he smelled it easily and hesitantly identified it as vanilla. Perhaps half an hour after that, I got the softer, sweeter, balanced fragrance myself, on both wrists this time, clinging closely to my skin. I'm not sure what to think!

 

Conclusion: I was looking forward to this Muse (it's the one I picked to get first), and at first I wasn't sure about it in a more negative way, but now I just don't know. I could imagine a dancer who's practicing on well-worn wood, the sun streaming in from the floor-to-ceiling windows, her short sheer skirt flaring out from her leotard as she turns... and then after some time she's spinning so slowly, or perhaps it's so fast, it looks as though she's standing still. I'll have to try Terpsichore on something else to see how it does without my body chemistry around, because at the moment the beginning's too much and I'm inclined to stick with Regan which has less fade. She's tricky, this one!

[olympia301]

 

Neroli dominates this blend on me to the point that I can scarcly smell anything else in it. The carnation makes a valient attempt to get some attention but, neroli fights it back for center stage. I never got vanilla, stephanotis or anything else. Perhaps there was some sweet pea flitting around in the background but it was awfully subtle. This blend reminds me of something I smelled long ago but I can't name it. If you have a tender spot for neroli, try Terpsichore. It's very young and springlike.

 

The icon is the cat from the flash "film" I'm a Kitty Cat and I Dance, Dance, Dance.... Since Terpsichore is the muse of dance, I thought this was appropriate.

[slave1]

In Bottle: Carnation

 

On Skin: This starts out a bit “Alice” like on me… that’s the carnation and vanilla. But the neroli gives a nice exotic note, and the sweet pea, stephanotis and iris strengthen the floral side of it. The apple blossom is sweet and dry, not juicy. The palmarosa is a bit tart and compliments the carnation well. This is a very feminine scent that is full of energy and seems very bright. If you like strong florals but want something sweet and not so tart, try this scent.

[cupide430]

Terpsichore

 

Sharp, sharp floral. I think it is the neroli at first. There's also a powdery edge to it that I think is partially the apple blossom coming out. As it dries, it becomes this sort of flat, dry, slightly musky floral. There's still the sharpness of the neroli, but it is muted a bit with some slightly sweeter floral notes.

[SeaMonkey]

This is sort of a dusty floral.

 

Initially, I get neroli and carnation, which I don't mind because I like carnation. The vanilla starts to come out to soften it , but it still retains a certain sharpness. This is kind of like Alice's stern older sister

[Ajila]

In the bottle - Neroli and something soapy.

Wet on me - A sweet and quite light floral. Neroli and sweetpea are the only flowers I can identify, but there are definitelly others there.

Dry on me - The flowers fade to leave a lovely, warm, creamy vanilla, which is much more comforting than I would have expeected.

[malanna]

I had high hopes for this, because I love vanilla and thought I loved sweet pea.

 

Like most of the other reviewers, Terpsichore was highly dominated by the neroli on me. However, before it got to that stage (taking about three hours), neroli was simmering in the background while the iris, sweet pea, and apple blossom took center stage. The presence of sweet pea was quite strong, making Terpsichore a bit of a watery scent. When it reached the neroli stage, the carnation make an appearance and sweet pea was still playing strong. I rather wish I had gotten some vanilla from this.

 

I'm glad I tried this, because now I know I'm not as fond of sweet pea as I had thought I was.

[pekeana]

Alas, all (and I do mean all) I got from this was neroli -- I didn't even smell the other components even in the slightest. *is sad*

[Voleuse]

I'm not sure what neroli is, but I'm guessing it's the predominant note in this blend, as most of the other notes are florals I know, and this is definitely not one of them. It's floral, but edging towards herbal, and there's something musky in it that isn't musk. (This review is all contradiction, really.) After a while, I get hints of the other floral notes, but they never bloom.

 

This evokes a warm afternoon, spent whirling and laughing and singing, and by the time it's over, any perfume donned has faded to an echo. I don't think this is a scent for me, but I think it fits very well with the description.

Edited January 17, 2006 by Voleuse

[aidenraine]

This blend sounded absolutely delicious so I had to try it.

When it's wet it's very floral. I don't smell the vanilla or the apple but I do smell everything else. It's very perfumey.

 

I think the iris is definitely dominant. I also smell something akin to jasmine, which I know isn't in here so it's a bit mysterious.

 

I want to write more about this one, but it's a pretty generic floral on me, unfortunately.

[yeahbutnobut]

Terpsichore

 

In the imp: sweet neroli. It’s the scent of orange blossom sweetened with vanilla.

Wet on skin: neroli, vanilla, carnation and sweet pea make for a pleasant tangy-floral sweet scent.

Dry: hmm, that’s unexpected. I now get a green, dry, herbal note-could that be the palmarosa? It doesn’t smell as sweet, it’s now greener and warmer though, and I still get the neroli and vanilla, and a nice amount of carnation and sweet pea. This is a very pretty scent, it’s lively and youthful, with a warmth that brings to mind pleasant afternoons in late spring/early summer. The green dry note is a bit strong now though, reminds me of dry grass or hay.

After a while: after about ten minutes, the neroli and the herbal palmarosa tones down, and a gentle floral note comes to the fore-a combination of sweet pea, carnation iris and stephanotis, possibly sweetened by vanilla.

After 30 mins, sweet pea takes centre stage, with hints of vanilla and carnation and dry palmarosa on the side. It’s a very dainty scent, reminiscent of another sweet pea scent which I can’t remember right now…

1 hour later I get a scent reminiscent of dried flowers. Interesting…and there’s also a scent like golden hay or even camomile (where did that come from??), with the sweet vanilla backdrop and a hint of pale iris and sweet pea. She’s morphing a lot on me, this little muse is.

I do get a wonderful throw from this though, sweet vanilla wafts around me-I kept thinking ‘what is that wonderful vanilla scent?’ and it’s my Terpsichore, it seems. That only happens far from the wrist-close up it smells like sweet pea, carnation and dry flowers on a bale of hay, which is also very nice.

Verdict: the air is fragrant with flowers and herbs and the sun is shining, it’s a pleasant spring day, you want to frolic and dance in the garden because it’s such a lovely day. That’s what this scent brings to mind-it’s a jaunty, dainty scent, lively and light hearted, full of warmth and with interesting complexity…at times it’s sweet, at times it’s tangy (thanks to the orangey neroli), and I also get a dry herbal note reminiscent of hay, which could be the palmarosa, as well as lots of floral notes. it seems to morph on the skin, like the muse it represents, it dances, and I get a different scent each time. I really enjoy this scent and what it represents, I’m not sure if I’ll get a bottle yet but I’m definitely keeping the imp, because it’s a lovely and joyful fragrance.

[desu]

In the bottle: Spicy, sweet florals.

 

On my skin: Mostly smell the neroli and carnation right now.

 

Later on: The vanilla joins the action now, really warming things up. So good!

[isyche]

When wet, Terpsichore is a sharp floral that must be neroli? It goes through a distinct sweet pea/sweeter floral phase afterwards, then shifts to a more carnationy scent. I love how the scent morphs so distinctly, like it's twirling.

 

Unfortunately, the final drydown on me is a musty nose-wrinkly carnation that reminds me of how Morocco smelled on me. I don't think the vanilla/carnation combo is good on my skin.

[LadyWilde]

This doesn't seem to be a scent befitting a dancer. . .to me it seems so heavy. Wet, I get neroli, underscored by creamy vanilla and sweet florals. As it dries down, it seems to get thicker and heavier--cloying and a little nauseating, actually--as the florals fight for dominance and the vanilla deepens and gets sweeter. Even more disturbing is the faint wafts of "bug spray" that keep eminating from my arm.

 

I am debating whether to go wash it off before it gives me a headache, or give it a few hours to mellow out and see what develops. Either way, this isn't for me.

 

Ugh.

[grrrlennyl]

at first: i'm getting neroli and some more flowers i don't think i like.

on: all neroli and apple blossom. not good.

half an hour later: sweeter now. i can smell the vanilla and sweet pea, but there's still too much apple blossom for me.

1 hour later: heavy, lush flowers, with a bit of sweetness. a bit musty, too. it's better, but i don't really like it.

1.5 hours later: pretty, powdery, and soft. i thin i'm mostly getting vanilla, a bit of sweet pea, and some other flowers.

overall: this is nice, but i have other pretty oils i like more.

[Wench457]

Terpsichore: A sweet, light floral - a bit lemony.

 

On: something grassy underneath the lemon.

 

Dry: seems like there is some resin in here. I go back and forth on this one. The throw is intriguing, a hint of sasparilla. All the notes sounded lovely, but this is ultimately not a scent I'm in love with.

[loves_requiem]

well well well...this is a morpher.

 

i was fairly convinced that i couldnt wear it initially, becasue it was rather harp floral and a lil soapy...

 

then...

 

it turns soft, and slightly powdery...lghtly floral...kinda like the dusting powders i used to get into as a little girl in my grandmothers bathroom.

 

reminds me of an innocent, soft child like scent. real pretty. i might be giving it to my daughter.

[sarahj]

Terpsichore

 

in vial: vanilla and carnation

 

wet: same

 

dry: a nice blend of vanilla, carnation, sweetpea, and neroli...lasts about 5 hours

 

verdict: lovely!! goes on my big bottle list

[blu°]

This is the third Muse blend I've tried, and somehow they have all had a similar dusty-powdery structure to them. I guess, this will be the least powdery-dusty one, not having listed orris or other verdicts for powdery, so far.

Still, Terpsichore, too, has some of that dry dustiness. I guess there's just a fair amount of white musk to the muses I've tried so far. It was unbearable in Urania, not quite so bad in Erato, and the least pronounced in Terpsichore.

 

That said, this goes on distinctly neroli-ish with a trace of carnation.

Once applied, my skin immediately amps what there is of sweet pea in Terpsichore, and turns it the strongest note in the blend.

I can sense a vanilla background more than really smell it, but I guess it adds to the powdery structure of Terpsichore. Structure-wise and with regard to the manner of sweetness, I'm reminded Mata Hari now.

 

Terpsichore to me smells soft and yellow, dense, powdery-dusty, a wee bit fresh, a wee bit soapy, a bit warm, and a bit musky.

 

The flowers in this aren't luminous or dew-y. Comparing with other sweet pea blends (as this is dominantly sweet pea on me now), this is softer and more powdery than Aeval, and more yellow.

 

While I'm listening to some nice Mbalax-music (Omar Pène & Le Super Diamono de Dakar), I'm constantly moving, though. I usually do when music is playing, but if I want to think, I'm more inspired than usually, it's quite easy to imagine.

 

I think I'll wear this again when going out dancing and make up my mind about it afterwards.

Edited February 25, 2006 by blu°

[PirateMaggie]

Wet, this is a sparkling white floral with a hint of neroli, carnation, and vanilla. A very graceful scent, and light in the sense of being light on one's feet. Unfortunately, it turns soapy/powdery as it dries, though after a couple of hours it goes back to smelling as it did wet, though milder. Quite pretty once the soapy phase passes.

[tempete]

Terpsichore is nauseatingly sweet on me when wet, for which I completely blame the sweet pea note. (Same thing happened to me with Aeval and Annabel Lee... I should just learn to stay away from the sweet pea blends.) The drydown is not as sweet and more complex as the other notes battle valiantly against the sweet pea, but it does have a funky undertone. I suspect the vanilla note is the culprit here since my skin seems to have issues with general catalog vanilla scents.

[MistressTera]

Fresh From The Imp: Slightly sweet, slightly spicy.

 

Wet On My Flesh: I'm definitely getting florals, with a touch of neroli.

 

Drying Down: Uh oh. It's slightly powdery now. The florals are still present.

 

Hour To Integrate: Still floral, though the combination is making me think of licorice. The powder is gone, though.

 

End Of Day/Final Report: Too floral for me.