The Hesperides

[cassandrakfreaq]

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.

I have had this for a few months and throw it on whenever the mood suit. I am always struck by how true of a fresh bright green apple this smells like. I put it on my skin and its like I just took a big bite out of a granny smith. I blend it with another perfume that has coconut and vanilla notes and it adds the perfect touch of creamyness to the scent.

I wore this 2 days ago again and in the dry down it morphs to a sort of sickly sweet smell....very similar to what jack does on me so I will probably swap this. I love the begining though Edited March 27, 2008 by cassandrakfreaq

[500ml]

I don't like apples, so this is not for me. I do admire the crips green apple scent coming from the vial, but it's so not my scent.

[labeth]

As I mentioned in my review of Poisoned Apple, I got that, Verdandi, and the Hesperides to pit against each other in APPLE DEATH MATCH.

 

The apple is still clear (similar to the fresh apple in Posioned Apple,) but for me it's muddled somewhat by the woody smell, which I guess just isn't my thing. It also didn't last particularly long, but that's true of both the other apples I tried. If you like woody smells in general, though, this might be the apple for you. Someone said it's like walking through an apple orchard, and that's pretty fair.

 

Unfortunately, The Hesperides is clearly the loser. Verdandi was warm and spicy, Poisoned Apple was crisp and fresh. The Hesperides is somewhere in the middle, and to me lacks something compared to the other two. I think this one will be a trader.

[jasmine]

Apple! Oh, my, that’s lovely -- the first whiff is a strong, bright blast of apple like a crisp Golden Delicious that has just been cut open. This is definitely a golden apple scent, not a red one or a green one.

 

Given a moment, the scent broadens and relaxes. I detect a trace of non-apple underneath the apple -- faint hints of wood and floral -- but the apple is sufficiently strong that it’s really all I can identify.

 

And it has great endurance, and it isn’t metamorphosing on me... yay! Big yay!

 

This is a light, refreshing apple scent that I readily commend to apple-lovers. The Hesperides is a great name for the scent, but an equally good one would have been “Idun’s Apples”, for the apples that gave youth to the Aesir in Norse mythology.

[Vampire Sass]

In the Bottle: Sharp green apple. Something sweet like in Jack.

 

Wet on Skin: Crisp apple, more emphasis on the sweetness.

 

Dry on Skin: Sweet warm apple. Less crisp and sharp. Hint of leaves.

 

 

As with just about every scent it really warmed up on my skin. I'm a little disappointed that it didn't stay more cool, crisp, and sharp. But the scent is wonderful and I'll definitely wear it often.

[underline2]

The Hesperides

 

In the imp:

Cloying, sweet, oh-my-god-my-nose-just-melted apples. Nothing else.

 

On:

At first it's the exact same as in the imp, but then the florals come out. They blend and temper the sharpness of the apples and it turns into something heavenly.

 

After a bit:

The apple has died down into the background and I can't smell it unless I'm holding my wrist to my nose. But that might be because I didn't put very much on. It smells exactly like the descriptions says. A garden of nymphs at dawn, when the dragon isn't a threat and the golden apples are just starting to gleam in the sunlight.

 

After 30 minutes:

The apple comes back a bit and blends flawlessly with the florals. I adore it and will definitely get some use out of the imp. I'm not sure about getting a bottle just yet. I'll have to see how the lasting power and the throw change with time and perhaps a more generous application.

 

Season: Spring, early summer.

 

Rating (out of 5): 4.0

[Crystelle]

Bottle: Flowery with a hint of apples.

Wet: Apples! Not crisp apples but slightly overripe and soft with an undertone of flowers.

Dry: Less of the overripeness and more pure, unadulterated apple. It’s still a very smooth scent and the flowers and woody notes are becoming more prominent

Later: All the scents merge so perfectly, it’s absolutely wonderful.

Imagery: Walking through an orchard where the apples are just slightly too ripe, so they smell really sweet. Nearby there are flowers, and the smell of the leaves and bark mesh perfectly.

Summary: A lovely scent. Very sweet and soft and, of course, apple-y.

[Myotis]

This is THE apple scent I was looking for!

I ordered a bottle without previously being able to test it and am I glad I did!

 

It's that tart apple taste you get when you've just bitten into a crispy granny smith apple.

This smells exactly like that both in the bottle and on me.

 

I believe I have just found a new one to add to my top 10!

[backwards8]

Tart granny smith apples. Very green and crisp.

 

I got this as a bonus imp in my last order. I wouldn't have ordered this for myself since I'm not big on apple smelling things but my sister will love it.

[jbzoellner]

burnt apples which sucks, cuz I LOOOOOVE apple scents... but I just can't wear this one... *sigh*

[daiconharuko]

For bpal, anything that is apple and I sniff from the bottle I hate!

 

BUT, when I put it on... wow... very apple!! And it's not sick apple that I hate... it's nice apple that I love.

 

KEEPER!

[grifyn_whiffs]

I ordered this in my last imp six-pack when Poisoned Apple disappointed me a bit. I've looking for that perfect autumn apple scent that wasn't the sometimes hard-to-get Punkie Night.

 

At first, there's something abrasive, but bright. The minute it hits my skin, however, this is the most beautiful apple I've ever sniffed. It wafts up to my nose in small, sweet surges... just bright, fresh fruit, a clean "golden" smell, no sugary candy at all.

 

And... my kingdom to sniff what makes up the "twilight mist" portion of this blend. I'm in love.

 

You! To my bottle wishlist! At once!

[hkhm]

imp: apples, apples, apples. this transported me back to childhood autumns where i picked apples by the bucketfull and then hunkered down to eat them all.

 

wet: ultra-sweet apple, tickled by something warm and green.

 

dry: the apples went more mellow and blended in to something more apple-flowery.

 

all evening i was smelling the faintest hint of sweet apple on my skin, even six hours after i applied it. my husband thought it was way too flowery/fruity then ended up telling me it smelled much better once it "mellowed out". this is a definite yes for me. i love apple scents anyway but this one has de-throned even poisoned apple.

 

and, just for the record, this my first post/review. yay!

 

(edited to change 'bottle' to 'imp')

Edited October 5, 2007 by hkhm

[FallDaze]

At first sniff I get apple. And not apple, but more like in your face APPLE!

 

As I put it on, the delicious apple turned into something plasticky and not yummy at all...I hope that it turns into something better

 

Alas, as time went on, the plastic is still there, although this time there is like...a lip-sticky smell too, and not in a good way....

 

So, not something that I'll be keeping... Damn you funky skin chemistry!! I really really wanted to like this one too, and it was so pretty in the bottle.

[naiade]

I really like this! Sweet, woody apples. Green apples, too, not super-sweet red ones.

 

But it fades so quickly that I doubt its a bottle investment. Pity.

[The_Merf]

This is a green, freshly bitten into granny smith apple. The resemblance is almost disturbing--Beth did a really great job here. Sometimes there is the hint of wet wood and leaves (as though someone bit into an apple that was still hanging on the tree), but this is as close to an Apple SN as I've smelled yet from the BPAL catalogue.

[Pottersville]

Oddly enough, I kept thinking "pear" while I was wearing it. Perhaps that's due to the oak? Either way, it's a lovely scent.

[SarahScent44]

This was one of the very first BPAL imps I had access to, and, as a love of fruity scents AND a giant Greek mythology nerd, I was super excited for this scent.

 

Alas, it was not to be. In the imp, I smell gorgeous apples, but when I put it on, the apples are utterly subsumed with a weird chemical note, one that I can almost taste. It fades, but so does the scent - it was completely gone within an hour or two. So sad.

[quarble]

Initially, this scent came out as sweet vanilla, of all things. Then, it turned "light and airy and good," as my boyfriend said. A few minutes later, the apples came out, and I was thrilled.

 

And now, a half hour later? Nothing. It's gone

[Honeygirl]

Bottle: Tart green apple

 

Wet: Crisp, green apple. Very tart and very fresh.

 

 

Drydown: Almost too fresh, this might be good with Grog layered over it. It needs some sweetness. But still, best apple scent ever!

3.5 outta 5

[TrailerTrashPrincess]

i love this, i can't believe i haven't reviewed it yet!

 

sniffed from the bottle: a display of apples in the grocery store - lots of apple scents blending together (some real, some "enhanced") and a little bit of plastic, with a wood-crate base.

on skin: on me, the really strong apple high note fades off pretty fast, and there's a wierd plasticky phase that lasts for a bit until the dirt-oak scent comes out (i guess "dew-kissed leaves" translate as dirt to my brain?).... the apples linger, morphing between "real" and "fake" (but nowhere near that "Green Apple" flavoured crap).

a very unthreatening, friendly sort of scent... my friend Kelly has a little boy who always tells me i smell like "Appa" when i wear this.

Edited December 30, 2007 by TrailerTrashPrincess

[taramarie]

On me, The Hesperides is just light, juicy green apple. It's very pretty and definitely a warm weather scent.

[TereFaerie]

The Hesperides is more than just apple on me, more like apple and something dark and slightly smoky. I get a bit of a plastic scent during the dry-down, which is not unusual for fruity scents. It is okay, but kind of a "shampoo" scent to me.

[gchris]

In Vial: apples and cheese?

 

Wet: Still apples the cheese smell is fading, I smell a hint of dead leaves.

 

Drydown: It gets sweet upon drydown. I can't really pick out anything but the apple scent. The other scents probably blend to create the background scent I am smelling behind the apples.:

[willowtreeling]

this smells like a yellow apple on me, very mellow and non-crispy. It is more a more soft, round scent---there isn't that tart edge that I like in fruit scented things...

 

it is pretty, but it ends up with that fruit candle smell on me that I am not fond of.

 

I think of the two apple scents I have tried, I prefer Poisoned Apple...