Les Fleurs du Mal

[lilfaerywingz]

The scents of the blossoms of darkness, condensed into one perfume. Features a rose base, softened with lilac and wisteria.

In the bottle: very very floral and sweet

On wet: smells like a cleaning product that smells REALLY good

On dry: turned more of a bug spray trying to be lilac

[indicolite]

I am not getting the lilac. I am getting rose. Dry rose.

 

And dry rose.

 

Not good enough for me, but some may like it.

[The_Merf]

In the imp: Florals--I can't really tell any of them apart, though I don't know wisteria all that well.

 

Wet: Wow, the rose really comes out on my skin (and I don't usually amp rose--at least I don't think I do!).

 

Drydown and wear: This stays very rosey and does a a powdery drydown. It's very nice in the imp, but I think it would be served better by someone else's chemistry or someone who really loves roses.

[Diva Urd]

In the imp, this mainly smelled of roses to me - white roses, if I'm not mistaken.

 

On me, the lilac comes out beautifully, the rose just harnessing it to keep it from becoming only lilac on me. Later, the wisteria starts coming into the background. It stays a fresh floral bouquet on me for quite some time and lasts surprisingly long, considering that I usually need a wood-"anchor" to keep scents around for longer than a couple of hours.

 

Gorgeous! I love lilac, and this rose is just right to go with it. I definitely want more of this!

[supremegoddessofall]

When first on:

 

Definitely getting the rose. I like rose. I can smell the undertones, but I don't know that I would say "Hey, that's lilac! And there's wisteria!"

 

I've always liked rose-scented things. A lot of people complain that it's too grandmotherly, but that's a good thing to me - grandmas are comforting.

 

This scent says "innocence" and "happy memories" to me. So far I'm liking it a lot. It also says "clean."

 

The longer it's on, the more the undertones are coming out.

 

This one's a keeper.

 

Score: 4 out of 5

[spaceprostitute]

I'm not one for straight florals, but this one is one of the few that doesn't have me crinkling my nose. The way it blends together reminds me more of ylang ylang, but this is feminine and not overtly sexy like ylang ylang (particularly in La Petite Mort).

 

It's a sweet rose and lilac scent, a bit powdery, but not too dry. It reminds me of expensive French-milled soap. Very Victorian and womanly, an older scent. That's really the best I can do description-wise. It's one of the few straight florals that I actually like, but I wouldn't rush for a bottle. I'll finish the imp and won't turn away any other imps of this that come my way.

[PilotKitten]

At first whiff I get a very nice rose note, but the lilac isn't right... like it's an oddly dry bitter note. Doesn't work on me at all.

[blackfelicula]

In the bottle: To my nose, this is solidly floral. I can smell rose, but the other notes are difficult to distinguish.

 

Wet: So far the rose does not overpower the rest, but it is strong.

 

Drying down: Something deeper is coming out. The rose is taking a supporting role. My nose is not very skilled in discriminating floral notes.

 

Dry: Le Fleurs du Mal is flowers, flowers, and more flowers. It is sweet, dark, and heady.

 

Later: This is definitely too floral for my taste. I can see how some will enjoy it, but it overwhelms my nose.

[Ryokumuji]

It smells a lot like incense. I can't really detect the "rose base" but I can smell the lilac. I'm not really sure what wisteria smells like though. This scent is powdery but pleasant. In a lot of ways, this scent reminded me of Norturne. I've been looking for a lilac blend that I'd really love but this isn't really my style either. I plan to use up my imp at least.

Edited November 22, 2006 by Ryokumuji

[storme]

In the imp: sharpish wisteria and powdery soft lilac.

 

On me, wet: lots of wisteria, green and sappy-smelling, over sweet lilacs. Clean and slightly bitter, rather than oversweet, which was my fear.

 

On me, dry: Oh, there's the rose, faintly. Unfortunately this appears to be turning into talcum powder on my skin - nice talc, but still, too faint and powdery.

 

Verdict: Three notes I like, apparently not working together for me. Bah.

[Ciircee]

I smell like a funeral. I really, really do. That heavy, almost cloying scent of roses mixed with other really sweet, strong florals--it almost smells like lillies, but it's just the lilac and wisteria mating. It's really strong, too--just a drop on the wrist and across the room my kids looked up at me and asked 'what's that?'. Lasts ages.

 

Very not me, and it gave my husband bad memories of his mother's funeral last winter so I washed it off (which is how I know it survives several washings). My middle daughter loves it, however, and it doesn't go overpowering on her (she's nine) so I gave her the imp.

 

It's a lovely scent, but I've got too much baggage that goes with it.

[eanewsom]

Wow, I think I found my sexy, sinister scent! The freaky part is that I don't like roses, and that's about all I can smell. I definitely don't get the lilac. I may get the wisteria, but I don't know what that smells like, so it's tough to say. Here's what really gets me- it goes on like dark, lush roses, and over the period of a few hours, I can smell them withering and dying, and eventually I end up smelling like dried roses. It's amazing.

This reminds me of the story of Sleeping Beauty- the massive, overgrown roses surrounding the castle, and the princes trying to get through but being caught and dying in the midst of all these blooming flowers.

[Jenesis]

I think it's time to admit to myself that rose doesn't work on me. This turned into sickly old-lady soap within a few seconds, and lingered far longer than I would have liked after I tried to wash it off. It's a shame, because I'd love a floral blend in my collection, but it's not for me

[roxyhead]

In all fairness, it smelled pretty much the same in the imp as it did on me, so I can't say I wasn't warned that my nemesis, the sweetpea, was coming. At least I put it on lightly. Or maybe it's not quite as strong as the knock you down and beat you senseless with the flowers Desdemona. Still, it's sweetpeas and soap from beginning to end. Though, reading the scent description, maybe my nose is hallucinating and I've forgotten the difference between sweetpea and rose. And I sure as hell am not going to open Desdemona back up to compare! Either way, I'm only smelling one flower in this, and it's one I do not like. Bubblebath and ick.

[lapillus]

In bottle: Roses

 

Wet: Oh there’s the lilac (and I’m not sure if this is good… ).

 

Dry: Lots and lots of lilac. Rather ammonia-ish lilac.

 

Later: Given a couple of hours it calms down to something much more pleasant the rose (and maybe the wisteria, although given I’m not sure quite what wisteria smells like I’m not sure if it’s that or just a different rose).

 

Summary: given its unpleasant start I’m not sure I want to wear this. I may see how it works as a linen spray sort of thing. The dry down is quite nice. If that doesn’t work, off to the swaps. (Too bad, I like Baudlaire)

[brit_brat100]

I'm awful with flowers, other than rose, and I really dislike the scent of flowers on my body with rare exception. This was no different for me. I got it as a frimp and was so scared to try it - and scared I should have been. Massive flowers and after a few hours I had to hop into the shower to get it off.

 

I'm so glad that there are people here who love the florals, but I really can't care about them. Oh well. C'est la vie.

[Nia]

I have not tried this on myself but on a volunteer, my boyfriend.

 

On imp: I say it's very cologne-y, a typical floral. He asks, what's exactly wrong with that?

 

On him: I think the roses are very discreet, the other flowers come out better. His opinion: "This smells exactly like a garden, but not an ordinary one but something out of Edgar Allan Poe. Yes, I know the book was French and Poe American, but it smells like a garden in Poe should, right?" He said it's a shame it doesn't smell as a man's perfume at all, as he loved it.

 

I must try it soon to see if he likes it on me.

[Neely]

In the bottle: rose, lilac, and wisteria.

 

Wet: I can wear lilac and rose as long as they are tempered with something non floral to ground them. I don't know about wisteria. I am not even sure what wisteria smells like. I smell like Jasmine, strong nasty jasmine. I was afraid of this. I can't wear florals as a general rule.

 

Dry down: I am surprised this made it to the dry down, and I am not sure I will make it to my usual 30 minutes +. This is really strong and really nasty with my skin chemistry. This would smell absolutely divine on my mum, or even my friend Mandragora.

 

30 minutes: is there some sort of BPAL medal for valor? I have pledged to try every BPAL if I can, even the ones I think are going to smell like ass on me. This one is sooooo nasty on me. The florals have all jumped me, and beaten me and taken my wallet. I feel like the fax machine in Office Space. UGH, and it has this tremendous throw so I smell like floral ass even from 30 feet. Oh my!

 

Conclusion: my inability to wear this lovely blend has nothing to do with Beth and everything to do with my stoopid chemistry. But, as I said, Mum could wear this and smell like a goddess. So Mum gets a present and I get to enable yet another possible victim of BPALitis.

 

Rating 1-5: on my skin this is a 1.

[purplemoonshoes]

Very sweet. I get a lot of lilac, especially on my skin. Not as dark as the name implies. I wish there was a bit of spice to temper this down, because it's sweeeeet, as Napoleon Dynamite would say. Lasts a while for a light floral.

[CrazyPretzel]

One of the first ones that my BPAL-disdaining boyfriend has had a positive reaction too Peculiarly I can't smell roses too strongly in this one -- I totally forgot they were in there and misremembered it as a violet-based scent. It is strongly-scented with a good throw, and calming -- seems like a very blue scent to me (maybe that's why I thought violets?)

[bryghtrose]

This perfume went through distinct stages, and there was nothing harmonious about it. It went from heady lilacs to rosy lilacs-->rosy wisteria-->powder-->nothing.

 

Not for me. Off to the swaps.

[laliloo]

I received this as a frimp from the lab.

 

A very soft-smelling floral. It doesn’t smell overly rosy on me - the lilac and wisteria are definitely ahead of the rose here, and the pink rose is just hanging around in the background. I see this scent as a soft lilac colour, with some tiny gold flecks glittering around it.

 

It's got quite a strong throw - I dabbed a tiny swipe on the back of my hand and I can smell the florals wafting up at me as I type. A very feminine, womanly scent. Not an absolute favourite, but I'll keep the imp for when I feel the need to smell all flowery and womanly.

[Torrain]

(I believe this was the third or fourth rose oil I tried, and the one which prompted several days of chat complaints about how roses *always* smelled like floral soap on me. I've since learned this is not true, but I was very annoyed. This may explain why my notes and review aren't very good.)

 

It starts out as a sweet and quiet floral in the imp, but on me it promptly drops its hat on the ground, puts its boots up on the coffee table, and starts going on very loudly about the benefits of floral soap. My body chemistry just completely wipes out any nuances.

 

I'm not *that* heartbroken, as it contains lilac, and my husband is allergic. Still.

 

Love and coffee,

Frances

[303marlena]

I liked this one suprisingly, as it was distinctly a white floral, and these are not fave category--I tend to like the resins! Also, rose can be a real problem note for me, it can go powderly or soapy.

 

At first, I smell the wisterias, sort of cloying, but not overmuch. The rose seems like a white variety, stays soft in the background. There is some morphing--and there was a period where it got a little soapy--I suspect that was the lilacs, since I dont usually wear them.

 

On the dry down, it smells like a fading bouquet of white flowers, with a whiff of green, not quite herbal, grassy notes as well. There is a faint powdery smell, more like burned a long time ago incense or dust, not resin or smokey.

 

Soft and femme with moderate throw. Wearlength wasn't long, but I can slather--I deemed it bottle worthy. I did not find it "old-ladyish" at all, but chic and sophisticated.

[Ravenclaw79]

At first whiff, this smelled kinda lousy, like a cheap rose perfume, very perfumey in that bad, chemically sort of way.

 

But when I put it on, that dissipated, leaving a big bouquet of roses. Dry, nothing changed -- lots and lots of roses.

 

I was a little disappointed because I had hoped to smell the lilac and I never did. But the throw was nicely strong, and my mom loved it, so after she tried a dab, I ended up giving the imp to her.