The Hesperides

[dnipbhsw]

The Hesperides are the Nymphs of the Evening who dwell in a verdant garden located in the Arcadian Mountains, guarded by the terrible three-headed dragon, Ladon. Within their garden lives the tree that bears Hera’s sacred Golden Apples. Their perfume is that of sturdy oak bark, dew-kissed leaves, twilight mist and crisp apple.

This is the first and only BPAL scent that I absolutely couldn't stand. True, I am not into fruity scents as a rule, but I do find most fruity blends to be pleasant. Not the case with Hesperides.

Normally, I love the smell of apples and I could eat them every day, but the apple in Hesperides, to me, is too ripe to eat, bruised and brown. I wished I could have gotten the crisp, golden apple scent that everyone else did, but I didn't. This is one that my sister won't have to worry about me stealing. Edited September 29, 2007 by Shollin

[smallvoice]

This is another cidery scent, and I do see how the apples could smell a little overripe, but they decide to be crisp on my skin. I love the woods behind it, but eventually it turns really sour. It does not love me.

[nightbird]

I bought a couple of imps of apple-based scents because I love apples. This was the first, and I don't like it at all. I'm not sure what it was, but after the oil dried, it smelled really weird on me. I could smell apple, but it was behind the funky note that made me go "eww."

 

rating: 1/5

[juniperus]

Bottle: bark and leaves, yes. damp, earthy.

Wet: the apple, though - uncanny. smells orchard-y.

Dry: the sharp dampness has passed into a warm woody-ness, but it's disappearing at an amazing rate.

Later: this smells like fall to me, since I take my kids apple picking every year. it's a shame it doesn't stick around...I'm tempted to hold on to it and try it this fall, tho.

[indicolite]

Ah, Hesperides! A frimpsie!

 

Wet: to quote Nanny Ogg in Terry Pratchett's Maskerade: "apples. Well, mainly apples."

 

My brain is smelling something else with the apples, something it is desperately trying to parse as cookies rather that mould. That must be the bark or the mist (HOW do you put mist in a perfume oil? That is Beth's secret). Apple cookies, alright.

 

Dry: apples. Crisp sweet apples.

 

I had been toying with getting an imp of Shango, which when I tried it from a friend's imp went all apples apples on me, but I think the Hesperides would do nicely for my apple fun. "They must not stop our apple fun! Get out, get out, run run run!" - Dr Seuss. It does not quite match the apple scent I would normally get after eating plenty of apples, but, thank the Excolo, it is not too sweet.

 

"Look! Ten apples on us all!

What fun! We will not let them fall!"

- Dr Seuss, Ten Apples Up On Top

[neuilly]

Mmmmm! I was worried that I wouldn't actually want to smell like this but in the end I really like it! I think I'm going to have to get a bottle.

 

Crisp apple with some spices...apple crisp perhaps? A fresh scent for fall. Now I'm going to have to track down a bottle!

[gypsifire]

tart apples and crip champagne-- my boyfriends favorite on me.

[roenim]

I was really excited about The Hesperides since I heard that it was an apple-y scent. My decision to get it was bolstered by the reviews I read. But when I opened the imp, all I could smell was the oak bark. It was overwhelming, and I could hardly stand to smell it nor could I smell anything else. I put it on my skin anyway. After a couple of minutes, I could smell the apples underneath but the oak bark still dominated the scent. I waited for about an hour and it didn't change much from the beginning. I wish the apple scent had come out more. On me, I could smell a tantalizing hint of fresh, crunchy, green apples underneath all that oak bark but unfortunately, the oak dominated the scent and I was overwhelmed.

 

ETA: I tried this scent again after many months and now it smells of caramels when wet. At drydown, the oakbark tempered the caramel's sweetness and I still only smell a hint of tart, green apples. Still no apple-y scent for me, but I don't hate it as much. I'm actually growing to like it, I think the oak bark and the caramel make a good fall scent without ever smelling like a craftstore.

Edited March 18, 2007 by roenim

[maijasu]

This is a really lovely apple scent! It doesn't turn on me like many apple scents do, and it is very fresh and pretty. Wishlist!

[NoirRosaleen]

Oh, my. On first application, it was lovely and slightly apple-y, fading to a very lovely (but not overly feminine) greenish floral...and was eaten by my skin within an hour. >_< I might try again later and see if it lasts longer...I loved the way it smelled while it lasted!

[changeling]

In the bottle: Apple! Real crunchy juicy apple, not fake apple-esque aroma. The oak smell gives it a strong base, and there is a lighter note I can not identify that adds a nice overtone.

 

Wet: Apple. After a few minutes, with a little imagination, I can smell mist.

 

Drydown: A faint, berry-like aroma that faded after about three hours. The oak seems to completely disappear on my skin. Oh, well. This is a fine scent but not exactly my style.

[fiddledragon]

I tried this quite a while ago from someone else's box and it was pure oakbark. I Smelled Like a Tree. Now, to me, this is a wonderful excellent thing to smell like so I set about procuring an imp of my own. Unfortunately, the newly swapped imp was strongly what must have been apple. But on me apple does this weird unripe-fruit thing that's not at all pleasant. If I come across another one, I might keep it and try to age out the apples and get my oakbark back again, but I swapped the one I had.

[DeathBlooms]

BOTTLE:HOLY MACKERAL!!! APPLES GALORE! It smells like the core of the apple, not the flesh. I smell nothing else but apple. It's a real apple smell too, not fake.

 

ON WET:Still smells like apples, only not so strong anymore.It smells so good i could eat it .

 

DRYING DOWN : The dry down doesnt take but 5 minutes for me.The apples are faint now.There's another smell that's hiding, can't tell what it is.Wait! Here it is. It smells like faint florals and herbs and that oak bark is hiding waaay in the background.I also smell some leaves.

 

I'm not a big fan of fruity smelling scents as they turn sickening sweet on me, BUT, this one isn't doing that. It's a good scent. I wouldn't say I'd buy a 5ml bottle of it but this is good for once in awhile wear. Good scent for end of summer- early fall. ^^

Edited October 5, 2006 by DeathBlooms

[citharadraconis]

In the imp: Ooh, pretty! A nice, sweet apple scent.

 

On my skin: OH GOD WHAT HAPPENED?! The nice apples have gone evil and plasticky on me. This is giving me a headache.

 

On the dry down: The plasticky note receded a little, but there's still something about the apple sweetness that is turning my stomach--and I like candy-fruit scents!

 

Overall: I wanted so much to like this, but I'm afraid it's probably not to be. I'll keep the imp around and try it again later--if I don't change my mind, it's off to swaps. :\

[Natch]

in the bottle: Woah! Is there an apple in the somewhere? Honestly... crisp and fresh like the first bite out of a ripe fall apple... mixed with just a little bit of something else I can't reconginize... something deeper and earthier ("sturdy oak bark"?)

 

wet: whatever was underneath the fresh apple comes out more, and I get a slightly more mulled cider feeling... it makes me feel like it is a little overripe or off just a tad atually. Something makes me feel a little fizzy too... perhaps it's sparkling cider? Or a bit of champange? Maybe it's that twilight mist

 

dry: This dries down to something just slightly soapy, and oh so deliciously sweet... not quite candy apples... but something candy and something apple.

 

overall impression: This is the perfect apple shampoo scent. Sadly, it is not shampoo. I really love it, but it has very little throw, and a very slight soapy quality that makes me doubtful. I'll be keeping my imp, but that's probably all.

 

A-

[Alchemy21599]

In the imp: Granny Smith apples!

 

Wet: Granny Smith apples.

 

Dry: Still Granny Smith apples. Not my idea of perfume. Off to swaps.

[supremegoddessofall]

Oh yum! Applies, apples, and more apples. Fresh off the tree, and a little damp. More of a green apple than a red apple.

[lilfaerywingz]

WOAH

 

If you like the smell of VERY crisp yellow apples, you will LOVE this scent. I like the smell of apples, but this was so so strong and stayed strong on me.

[steffanina]

The Hesperides-

 

In Bottle: Bitter (alcoholic?) apple cider.

 

Wet: I kind of like that oaky note. And the apples are still there.

 

Dry: This is kind of pretty! The bitter apple and oak doesn't stay around all that long but while it does I like it.

 

Overall: Not long-lasting but interesting.

[Lari]

In a side-by-side analysis, a naive sniffer could not tell the difference between The Hesperides and Green Apple Pucker.

 

And that's what it smells like to me. In the bottle: it's heavy, heavy apple. When it's wet on me: it's heavy apple and a little bit of forest in the background. It doesn't change much as it dries... it's very very very powerful green apple candy scent, and almost nothing else there.

 

If I were a big fan of green apple, I'm sure I'd be very appreciative.

[evilbee]

In the bottle:

Apples! With an off note that makes me feel angry for some reason.

 

Wet:

Very apple, with that off note wafting.

 

Drying:

These apples aren’t crisp – they’re bruised and soft and have been lying on the ground until late November. I do not detect any wood, unless my nose in misinterpreting it.

 

Dry:

There’s the wood. And the apples have been carried away… it’s like I’m sticking my nose in a cardboard box after a farmer’s market in October. This is a good scent for the Okanagan – natural and dry and golden brown.

[GlowJob]

In the bottle:Smells like an apple tree at the starting of fall.

 

Wet:Almost ripe green apples with a fresh bark undertone.

 

Dry:Woodsy apples.Smells like an orchard in October.

 

A great green scent.May consider ordering a 5ml to have for when it's too cold to spend much time outside but I miss the fresh smells.

[anowyn]

IN BOTTLE: Smells very sweet and apply, but a kind of acidic tinge to it as well.

 

FIRST APPLIED: It smells strangely of nail polish remover, but it still makes me salivate. I do like the smell of nail polish remover, but not as a perfume.

 

DRY-DOWN: It has a smell to it that's TOO sweet to be apples. It smells more like nectar, honey-ish. But tangy, too. Honey with an edge. The smell seems to be dissipating pretty quickly.

 

Unfortunately, because of the acetone smell I first found, my mind is continually trying to link THIS smell with acetone.

 

My boyfriend likes the smell a bit better than I do, but he says it smells a little TOO appley, almost to the point of being synthetic. He compared it to a "Glade plug-in Apple Scent."

 

I still like the scent, but I think it'll take some time before I can get the nail-salon smell out of the picture. I'll have to give it a few more tries before I decide to try and swap it. It's too bad because I LOVE apples.

Edited December 7, 2006 by ☆ a n o w y n ☆

[Gale]

Dear skin,

 

For all of the times I've cursed you for ruining a beautiful scent, I forgive you.

 

The Hesperides is so incredibly, unbelievably perfect!

 

Wet: Apples! I love apples, and these are fresh and crisp.

 

Dry: Apples! Still fresh and crisp, with something underneath (the wood, maybe?) softening it and making it smell even more delicious if that's possible.

 

I'm going on four hours, and it's lasting very well. It's almost creamy now, like warm apple crisp with vanilla ice cream--I love it!

 

I got this as a frimp with my latest Lab order, and was actually hesitant to try it after reading the reviews. I'm so glad I did, though! This would definitely smell heavenly layered with spicy notes, like Bengal, for instance. But it is true perfection alone.

 

(IF you love apples....)

[prunesnprisms]

This smells delighfully of apple candy on my skin. Unfortunately it fades very fast. I was very happy to have ordered a 10mL of this before they were discontinued, because I have to slather it on.

 

It smells like a fall day of picking apples.

 

ADDED 8/2/08:

 

This has always been my favorite of the GC. Sweet apples, a touch of wood. Brings a smile to a bad day every time.