Hymn to Proserpine

[TereFaerie]

The darkening amber of faith’s sunset, deepened by the dark fruits of Proserpine.

Hymn to Proserpine works really well with my body chemistry. I get a definite fruity scent on top, with a warm, soft amber, not really a "darkening" one. The fruitiness doesn't really smell like pomegranate to me, it is more sweet than tart, but still nice.
It refrains from going powdery on me like some ambers do, which is a big plus.

*** out of 5 stars!

Tried this one again and the amber smelled a little sour after the first 15 minutes. Oh well, I wanted to like it, but I guess it doesn't work all the time. Edited October 1, 2007 by TereFaerie

[hkhm]

bottle: this smells like a mix between amber and sandalwood on first sniff.

 

wet: at first, still a strong amber and sandalwood scent. then, fruits start to come forward. lots of fruits.

 

dry: the sandalwood fades but the amber remains with a nice fruity back. love this scent.

[Nyneveh]

My first review! This was a frimp, lucky me!

 

Wet in bottle and on skin: sweet fruits, ripe juicy plum and pomegranate tempered by soft amber.

 

Drydown: fades quickly turning into sweet powdered sugar. Unbearably delicious. Hints of ripe fruit. Crystaline and delicate. Ghostly hints of spice coming in during the drydown. Amber mellows and becomes a little more pronounced. I only wish this were bolder. I want to douse my pillowcase in it, so that I smell it in my dreams.

 

After about 10 minutes the bf suddenly can smell me- he thinks I smell "so fresh and so clean"- he even hums a few bars. I think I smell sweet rather than fresh- I want to eat my own amber-honey-candy-plum arm. This scent is an absolute stunner.

 

Verdict: So glad I accidentally splashed this one on my skin. It's perfect for my chemistry, and bottle worthy, for sure.

 

ETA: the bf suddenly added loudly "Smells good! I like!" And he's playing WoW- which means paying attention to what I'm doing is nothing short of miraculous.

[Inanna9]

This is fruity in the vial, with a smooth, dark undertone I assume is the amber. As a lover of all things to do with this myth, I now have high hopes.

 

Alas, it is not to be.

 

You know that smell that comes with spray deodorant? I never use it anymore -- I'm strictly a clear gel girl these days -- but Hymn to Proserpine evokes old memories of eau de Arrid Exxtra Dry. Dead on.

 

It's my fault - my skin chemistry absolutely ravages this stuff. Appropriately enough, I suppose. grumble....

[YoakeNoKami]

(took me a bit to find this--label says "Hymn to Prosperpine")

Imp: Fruit.

On: Juicy Fruit Gum! Interesrting, but soon sticky sweet after drydown. Off we go…

[cassandrakfreaq]

when I first put this on it had a wine-berry quality to it that made me think rich dark fruits like grapes but not grapes. As it drys down for me it goes less fruity and more creamy sweetness. Not vanilla cream it is still most definitely fruit. There is a depth in the background but it doesn't smell powdery and sensual like amber does normally. This is a youthful fragrance to me. I really enjoy it. I will be getting a bottle.

[ACVail24]

Hymn to Proserpine

 

I wanted to love this one - but alas; twas not meant to be.

 

Upon application to drydown all I got was distressed, foul amber.

Amber usually works very well on me ; as does pomegranate ; but apparently not in this perfume.

 

No pomegranate, foul amber and this overall mold smell.

 

not pleasant at all.

 

0 of 10 Ranking

[Christine Daae]

I think I can safely say, for once, that it's not the pomegranate that goes wrong on me, in this. I think it's the amber.

 

I really wanted to like this for the name and the concept and the poem. I still have Fruit of Paradise, though!

[septima_pica]

(Kalirren)

 

Octopod wanted to try this when it first came out because she loves the poem, but amber smells awful on her. So when Kalirren figured out it was good on him, this went straight on the communal wishlist.

 

Wet, lots of fruits and something else which must be the amber. It's an unusually coherent scent, especially for BPAL; no one note sticks out at all. Either it fades quickly, though, or the nose just habituates to it. The fruits can't be distinguished, but there's probably fig and plum in there, plus some other unknown things. Strong, soft, round, and sweet (but not foody-sweet). It has more throw than you'd think from such a quiet scent. This one is a keeper for sure.

[alicia_stardust]

Hymn to Prosperpine is mostly amber with a dark red bite. This is a darker expression of the myth than I usually see and for that alone, I love this. The amber seems really dark and biting and not so much powdery as some amber blends go. The red fruits really enrich this and it brings to mind images of pomegranate seeds in the shadowy realm of the Underworld.

[akiko]

I've always liked Persephone's story, so I had to try this one.

 

Imp: Very resinous, with a hint of red sweetness.

 

Wet: Initially, there's a cloying sweetness, but that disappears within a minute, and it goes to a pomegranate-resin scent.

 

Dry: I think I'm mostly getting amber, but there's a definite note of pomegranate to it. It blends well.

 

This is about halfway between Fruit of Paradise and Mme Moriarty: the former is all fruit, the latter is mostly resin.

[fourspecialgirls]

Dimetapp, baby powder and maybe incense....

 

Smells like my room when my baby is sick...my room always smells like incense and well, you get the rest.

[etienne]

(I'm still confused about the name and why it's spelt wrong on the Lab labels?)

 

I got this as a frimp from a forumite. And it's love.

Yummy amber goodness - to me this is a very sensual scent, I keep wanting to sniff my arm. It doesn't smell very fruity to me but perhaps that's because it's so well blended that I can't pick out the invidual notes.

 

My skin usually eats perfume in a few hours but this seems to be lasting quite well!

This is the kind of scent that makes me think "ah, this is how I want to smell like!" and I think I will need a full bottle of this.

[ImperatrixMundi]

What to say? I love amber and amber loves me. I dont like red fruit and red fruit dont like me. Like any sour fruit scent this kinda smells like red fruit tea together with the sweet resiny amber. Not for me at all.

[drainedblue]

Apparently my body chemistry is on crack, because I first put this on & smelled church incense.

 

It dissolved after a few minutes into something...odd, probably just straight amber, & then suddenly reappeared with a vengeance.

 

There's a mild, dark, fruity sweetness really deep down, but mostly just church incense. Which might be one of my favorite scents ever, so hooray!

[voodoocatwoman]

Two words:

 

Bug spray

 

I don't know what it is in here that I hate so much. I do not recognize particular notes so I have no idea what it is about this that just makes me want to rip my nose off and mouth breathe for awhile. I literally had to scrub my arms to get the scent off and still it lingered... Kill me now.

 

There's a paralegal who attends hearings that I conduct- I have had to ask him to refrain from cologne use because he smells like bug spray and I can not stand to be in the same room with him. Can it be that he's been wearing Hymn to Proserpine... hmmm...

[Suu4LC]

Hmm. I bat a fifty/fifty with amber. Sometimes it works really well for me, sometimes it's kind of a mess.

 

This is...ok. Wet on my skin it's a bit heavier than I would have hoped. A little too incense-y and dark for my tastes. Almost like an evil version of juicy fruit gum...juicy fruit with roid rage or something.

 

Then it just goes super powdery.

 

Nope, not for me.

Edited March 27, 2008 by Suu4LC

[soonyi]

i wanted to like this one cos of the amber and what i suspected would be pomegranate, as part of the fruits. and while the two notes are in here, they come out wrong for me. the pomegranate is so thick, it turns sour and the amber gives the sour some staying power. then it dries down to what has been described as a resin, which to me means it is a scent that i just cant get rid of. it's all just too thick and bloody red for my taste. for me, there are better pomegranate scents to have and to hold: fruit of paradise (bittersweet without the heaviness) and swank (sparkling alcohol w/pom).

[sadtomato]

in bottle - amber, honey and fruit.

 

on skin wet - same as in bottle.

 

once it's dried down - this is a gorgeous mix of a warm, sweet amber and honey-dipped fruits. but not just any fruits...lush, dark, fruits oozing juiciness.

 

There's a warmth and sweetness to this scent which balance each other out so it's not overly sweet.

 

i'm wearing it on a gorgeous spring day, and though the scent is heavier and would be good for a hot, humid day when sweet, juicy fruits abound, it feels light and perfect for today as well.

 

i'm digging this one, for sure...but not adding it to my "want a full bottle of this stuff" list yet.

needs a few more tests!

[northatlantic]

I wanted to like this; I LOVE amber of all kinds and generally speaking, fruit plays well on me, especially darker, more tart scents.

 

Sniff in the imp: VERY strongly cherryishly fruity, makes me think of the wine blends although this has no wine listed. Apparently, grapes and/or cherries are dark fruit. I was hoping for Swank's pomegranate note, but I can't pick it up.

 

On the skin: waugh, this is a HOT MESS. Where is my ambery goodness? White amber, golden amber, and black amber all love me, but whatever "deepening" amber goes to powder--rancid powder at that. And the fruit note is overripe, like something left out on the counter that's gotten too warm and turned.

 

Gave it ten minutes to dry down and settle a little: Same, except all that's left is the powdery funk, the overripe fruit has faded away. Cat is frantically trying to wash my hand. Sadly, I think he's right.

 

I'll give it another try in a week or two just to see if it was an OMGBADSKINCHEMISTRY day, but how disappointing

[Honeygirl]

Bottle: Honeyed fruit

 

Wet: Exactly like before-it's fruit that's been marinading in honey. Don't know why anyone would do that, but it smells good.

 

Drydown: I don't love honey, despite my name. It has an odd note to it that I just don't like, but I'm not getting it with this.

2.5 outta 5

[martiangurll]

Hymn to Proserpine

 

 

Preconceptions: I like the Proserpine mythos so I was hooked from the name and the lovely poem. I imagined it would smell like pomegranates.

 

In the imp: red, ripe fruits and a hint of florals.

 

Wet on skin: Warm, musky with red fruits.

 

Drydown: Musky with dry, warm amber, and... something sweet, like vanilla but the orchid, not the seedpods. Its rich and warm and just a little sweet, but I can't really identify the notes. The fruit is really in the background, not overpowering at all, and is of the plum or fig variety, maybe cherries, but black cherries. Amber sometimes goes powdery on me, but not this one, it stays warm and sweet and golden, if I can apply a little synesthesia. Purple fruits, rich warm amber, and soft, muted dusky white florals swirling together.

 

Overall impression: This is one of the most lovely Lab blends, and it captures the essence of the poem very well. It is reminescent of both Morocco (as previously mentioned in these reviews) and also Jacob's Ladder or the Lion. Most worthy of purchase as a big bottle and all imps will be hoarded.

[thatpirategirl]

I can't even believe how juicy and decadent this scent is. I get amber plum, berry, grape, and maybe apple, with an undercurrent of sandalwood. It definitely reminds me of the myth of Proserpine, much more than Persephone does, actually.

 

I miiight buy a bigger bottle, but since this is a "special nighttime event" kind of scent to me, I'll have to find more events to attend.

[Ophelia193]

One of my favorites. A good balance of earthy scents (musky & woody) and sweet floral scents (rosy & fruity). Good for gals who aren't into super-sweet scents. This is the scent of intrigue.

[CrazyPretzel]

Lush, decadent, and feminine, but also dark, this evokes the imagery of the poem perfectly. It's mostly a dark rich amber on me with a bit of pomegranate. I think I can smell a little bit of honey as well, but it doesn't over-sweeten the blend.

 

Hymn to Proserpine blends wonderfully with my skin too; when I wear it I don't get a 'cloud of perfume' effect but rather an 'aura of scent' effect - definitely present but not overpowering.