The Perfumed Garden

[white_jenna63]

The Perfumed Garden for the Soul’s Recreation. This scent is based on a venerable Tunisian perfume that was used to excite the senses, inspire sensuality and inflame passion. Myrrh and Moroccan jasmine with apple peel, Indian sandalwood, myrtle, quince, citron, and thyme poured over soft musk.

(ahem)
First hour: jasmine jasmine jasmine jasmine jasmine......
Second hour: jasmine jasmine jasmine, oh hey, something soft and sweet, can't tell what it is. Too little, too late. Off to the swap pile! Edited November 18, 2007 by Shollin

[treska]

I am one of the lucky ones who has a warm and friendly relationship with jasmine. We go way back. We're good pals. So, it's no surprise that Perfumed Garden is quite kind to me.

 

I can't pick out specific notes, but this is very sweet, floral, and maybe a little fruity on me -- but not at all cloying. I generally groove on the warm, incense-y, amber-y scents more than this, but I love how this smells on me. Who cares if it's not a "me" scent, it makes me so happy to sniff it all day. It's even helped to keep me cheery during a company-wide internet outage and email squalor (I work at the help desk). That's some potent perfume!

[kunoichi]

In the vial this is a gorgeously sweet floral, almost bubblegum-like sweet so it reminds me of lotus though it has none in it, as well as sweetly delicious jasmine. On my skin, the sweetness is quietened somewhat by another scent – that of the musk, and perhaps sandalwood and thyme - underneath the jasmine flowers giving it a touch of sensuality and much less girlish edge. I don’t smell the fruit in the fragrance. After a few hours, this is a soft and lovely sweetness on my skin that is just so gentle and very pretty.

[fairy]

This one practically leapt into my favorite bag It smells quite aquatic in the imp...once applied it takes on a fruity, almost gum-like, smell. Fantastic! There is just enough floral to where it isn't too much fruit. Perfect combination and fragrance

[Shollin]

First sniff: This… may not work. It appears to be utter jasmania in the bottle. It’s rather restrained for jasmine, in that it isn’t attempting to climb up my nose and shriek its jasmininity into my brain, but it’s still quite sweet.

 

Wearing: Serious jasmine. Jasmine, jasmine and more jasmine. I was going to write it off as just too much jasmine, but… it seems to be a rather nice noncloying variety, more Alkmaar than Flying Fox. It still isn’t one I’ll wear often, but it’s nice enough to hang onto a wee bit. Yay for restrained jasmine!

[nancybridget]

I'm devastated...

 

I keep trying and trying, but often times jasmine decides to do that pee-pee thing on my skin.

 

This continually breaks my heart.

[crescentmoon]

I adore this scent. It's sweet and girly on me with a hint of sexy incense underneath. This one has been a big hit at work! It is a bit potent at first but it soon fades down to this beautiful floral masterpiece without being too in your face girly. It's great for those days where I still want to be girly around the house while wearing a baggy t-shirt and jeans.

 

I'm SO glad I have a bottle of this one!

[Meg]

In the bottle: Apple, lemon and a bit of quince, I think. It's extremely pretty.

 

Wet: White musk, very airy, with... undefinable notes over it? Apple maybe? A hint of myrrh and herbs.

 

Drydown: I get some lemon and a bit of sandalwood, and generally, all the notes in the description pop out at some point, specially the apple, sandalwood, myrrh and herbs - but everything is extremely subdued, which means that I had to reapply to actually be able to smell it. The most prominent notes end up being myrrh and lemon over the white musk.

 

Overall: For the life of me, I don't understand this blend. It's absolutely beautiful when it's in the bottle, and then as soon as it hits my skin, it all but disappears without giving me a second glance. I so much wanted to smell the quince and the apple on my skin, or even see the jasmine pop out. But no, it's just a touch of faint sour lemon and burnt myrrh, like a memory of an incense stick. Sigh.

[azhure]

In the imp: Very soft florals.

 

Wet: This actually smells like an entire garden, slightly damp from the rain, including the scent of the earth.

 

Drydown: Unfortunately my skin eats this. After only about twenty minutes I'm left with a faint ghost of the myrrh and jasmine.

[supremegoddessofall]

When I first put this on, it was almost all citrus, with a touch of sandalwood underneath. Which is a bad thing, because citrus and I are not friends. The longer it's staying on, though, I'm getting more of the myrrh. Unforunately, I'm also getting more of the jasmine as well, which is not a floral that works well on me. Swap pile.

[emzebel]

Oh but how I would love to love this. Oh but how the jasmine makes it impossible. SOB...

[chrisann]

I don't even know where to start with this one... It has changed my mind about the dreaded jasmine! There has not been a single bpal perfume that touts jasmine in it, that I could wear, until now. The Perfumed Garden is HEAVENLY

 

I'm not going to go into notes, because frankly, I do not smell jasmine. Maybe, it's because morrocan jasmine is a whole other animal on me, but man this is TDF! The notes twine around each other so harmoniously that it becomes this balenced, yearning skinscent. Like being in a eastern garden. The scent of that garden mingeling with the scent of wet skin crushed against sex and musk. It's hard to describe, and I don't usually wax poetic, but this is so exotic on me.

 

Up on my top 10 it goes

[kraken]

In the Bottle: Apple/quince over myrtle/thyme. I can't quite figure out the exact notes, but it is fruity sweet over an herbal.

 

Initial Wet: Immediately I get a very strong apple and quince throw. Once that fades a bit, the myrrh and musk start to come through. Strange that I get no sandalwood or jasmine notes as usually those are the first that I can pick out.

 

Initial Dry: The blend sours for a bit (either the fruit or the musk combating my skin chemistry). Then the sour fades. The throw is still sweet, but now with a resin undertone. The sandalwood also comes forward and I can get just a hint of the jasmine.

 

Drier Dry: Now it's a sweet ripe fruit and floral over the musk and myrrh. The sweet isn't overwhelming or cloying at all like fruit juice, but more like smelling a ripe fruit through its skin. The jasmine is present, but lies just under the apple and quince. Underneath that is the musk and myrrh, giving the blend a darker note and drawing the whole picture together.

 

I think this is a very aptly named scent because I really get the impression of a garden on a warm summer night, lit with some torches. This is probably one of my signature floral blends since I can't pull off a mix of floral notes very well. It's a nice sweet scent that isn't foody.

 

Edit: This is for a bottle of the 2006 edition, now aged about a year.

Edited February 2, 2007 by kraken

[edenssixthday]

The Perfumed Garden 2007 - The '06 version just about killed me with the overwhelming power of the jasmine. The '07 version, however, is absolutely to die for. It is truly amazing and has gone on my "must have a bottle of this!" list. It's definitely among my favorite BPAL florals. If you've ever read Jitterbug Perfume by Tom Robbins and are familiar with the perfume named "K23", this is what I imagine it smells like -- very much a "woody floral" blend. The scent is comprised of the resinous scent of myrrh entwined with sweet jasmine, layering beautifully with the most gorgeous sandalwood I've smelled in ages. The other notes all blend together to boost the scent to a level of gorgeousness that almost makes me giddy. I cannot believe the jasmine is working on my skin. I simply cant get enough fo this blend. I'm so glad that despite my terrible Perfume Garden '06 experience, that I decided to throw in for a decant of the '07 version. I can't imagine not having this incredibly spectacular scent in my life. The throw is very strong as is the staying power. This blend is exceptional in every single respect.

Edited March 18, 2007 by edenssixthday

[reenie212]

Ugh, I was looking forward to this, since I love jasmine. But here, the jasmine totally died on my skin. I smell like nasty nail polish remover.

[SultryWolf]

eta: This is for the 2007 version, though I do have a decant of the 2006, and they are roughly the same.

in the decant: Complex floral, with a hint of that "nuttiness" I get from Khajuraho.

on: No one note dominates - a 'garden' indeed! This really does remind me of a lighter Khajuraho.

Edited March 9, 2007 by SultryWolf

[yeahbutnobut]

The Perfumed Garden 07

 

In the imp: the jasmine in here is much sharper than it was in last year’s.

Wet on skin: sharper, biting jasmine over a fruity-incense base.

Dry: damn, this jasmine is a pretty fierce little flower! And usually Moroccan jasmine is beautiful on me. The reason I adored last year’s PG was due to the softer jasmine note which at times reminded me of Lush Fairy Jasmine. The jasmine here is much sharper, almost viciously so, and more like the regular jasmine notes, or maybe the sambac…if it is sambac, it may calm down and become beautiful in five minutes. I smell the fruity notes underneath, but not as much of the incense as last year.

After a while: eventually the jasmine loses it’s bite and I get a scent of jasmine and fruit slightly reminiscent of last year’s…but it’s not the same. The jasmine still has a bitterness to it that I’m not keen on (though this may fade with age). There’s none of the sandalwood and myrrh I got last year. And the jasmine doesn’t turn creamy and smooth at all…and it doesn’t remind me of Fairy Jasmine. There are moments when I think it will improve and turn smooth and creamy, but this jasmine seems to retain it’s bitter, almost wilted scent.

Finally after many hours the sandalwood incense comes out, and the jasmine is more acceptable.

Verdict: I loved the Perfumed Garden from last year. It was a beautiful smooth jasmine enhanced by bright fruit and warm incense. The jasmine in that version was fantastic on me-heady and sweet but soft and smooth, like jasmine flowers should smell, in fact it reminded me of Fairy Jasmine, both fresh and now aged, it is even nicer. The jas in here though…now that’s a different story. It hates me, pretty much. And I’m a little shocked since I usually love Moroccan jasmine (like the one in Eshe, and Urania) but in here it smells just like the one jasmine note that doesn’t agree with me-it smells sharp, harsh, biting, and acrid at first. It does lose its initial sharpness but I don’t like the bitter aspect of the jas that lingers in this scent from start to finish, it smells like dead jasmine flowers as opposed to fresh ones. I get hints of the incense background from last year but the jas overpowers it for most of the time here, and I don’t smell as much of the fruit either. I think this decant will have to go-I have enough PG 06 and the jasmine in this version doesn’t agree with me. (Actually, I now agree with what reenie212 says in her review-it does smell like nail polish remover!)

Emoticon rating:

Is it a keeper? No, I prefer last year’s.

If you like this, try: Feu Follet, Eshe, Black Moon, Peitho, Nuit, Nyx, Hanging Gardens, Kanishta

Edited March 20, 2007 by yeahbutnobut

[oakmoss]

Perfumed Garden '06:

I hadn't tried this in quite a while, so I took it out for a spin last night. At first, this was a sophisticated elegant blend of flowers, reminding me of classic French perfumes of a bygone age, perhaps. You know, Audrey Hepburn in a Givenchy gown sort of thing. Alas, my chemistry amped up the jasmine and within minutes this was pure dish soap. Not unpleasant, but still... dish soap. Within an hour, it was gone completely, which surprised me, since the scent was quite vivid when it was working. This might be one I'll try in the scent locket to see what it blooms into when it isn't fighting my skin.

[mspixieears]

I can smell the jasmine in this instantly from the bottle and wet on my skin but it seems to disappear as it dries, despite spilling a big drop of it on my pants! A bit disappointing…perhaps it doesn’t age well? I can’t detect much of this other than the jasmine but it does seem to be one of the more typical perfumey-type BPAL scents I’ve tried. This is nicest I found in hotter weather as it needs a lot of body heat to work with, and it did develop so that the jasmine became more prominent and true to its scent when the flower is in full bloom.

[vylit]

Wet or dry, all I got from this was jasmine and musk. Jasmine has such a strong smell and my skin amps it anyway, so the end result was strong enough to make my eyes tear up.

[sedona]

I'm not really a floral girl although I thought I was pre-BPAL!

 

This one is a sweet floral in the imp with no definite note.

 

Wet there is a note striving for prominence, myrhh, the jasmine maybe? A trace of apple rears its head also.

 

This dries down to a lovely mixed floral with a wood edge, perfect for my sense of what's good

 

It's my favourite floral, go figure, as it's LE!

[LadyCrow]

First hour: jasmine jasmine jasmine jasmine jasmine......

Second hour: jasmine jasmine jasmine, oh hey, something soft and sweet, can't tell what it is. Too little, too late. Off to the swap pile!

I see I've had my review written for me!

 

Very sweet at the beginning; almost like New Orleans in evoking a heady, damp, sweet flower garden.

 

Then, for the rest of the wear length, this is practically a jasmine SN on me. I mean, I like jasmine. I like it in my tea; I like it just fine on my skin. But I was hoping to get some of the other notes out of this, too. Swaps ahoy!

[Styx]

The perfumed garden (Yellow Oil)

I am guessing this is the 2006 version by previous reviews.

 

frimp (Thank you!) : Sweet and high pitched flowers.

 

Skin: Jasmine! But its not the heavy bitter note jasmine, its the well behaved jasmine. Creamy, and slightly sour on the edges, but beautiful. I can smell some apple too. This lightens it up a few levels, usually I find jasmine quite heavy. In the drydown there is something softly woody; maybe this is the sandalwood? But it is so gentle, almost unnoticable.

A feminine, soft and round jasmine blend. heavy to middle weight, room temperature, Winter and Spring blend.

Edited October 1, 2007 by Styx

[PersephonesChild]

Sniffing this from the imp, I was sort of overwhelmed by all the different sorts of scents which didn't seem to blend together into any single perfume. I'd been wanting to get a decant of this for a while, so I was a little disappointed.

 

However, once I put it on, my disappointment was completely replaced by sheer pleasure. The apple peel note come forward, with a backing of something smoky-- sandalwood, but not my usual sandalwood, something slightly darker. There's also a certain creaminess to the blend as a whole that is just delightful. And although jasmine and myrtle have been problem notes for me in the past, here I don't even notice them.

 

Mm, and have I mentioned how sexy it is? I am very pleased.

 

ETA: Whew! Mad-morphing! it's been close to four hours since I put this on, and i now have a light, close-to-the-skin, delicate floral. Maybe this is what jasmine smells like when it's not attacking? I don't know, I'd have been more likely to call this a very gentle rose. Mmm! Wow, I love this scent!

Edited November 8, 2007 by PersephonesChild

[hkhm]

bottle: apple and citrus and musk. this smells quite familiar...

 

wet: the jasmine comes out but it's manageable, this is sweet and pretty. the citrus and quince are in the background.

 

dry: this dries to a nondescript fruity floral. i'm not sure if the bottle i'm testing is from 2006 or 2007.

 

(edited for spelling idiocy)

Edited February 17, 2008 by hkhm