Megaera

[jj_j]

Orris, black amber, bergamot, plum and grapefruit.

Orris grabs my nose first, but it's quickly overcome by the sparkle of grapefruit and the sweetness of plum. Very quickly, the orris recedes into the background to become a supporting note, and it takes Megaera from having moderate depth to a very complex and strong character.

Although it takes a while, the bergamot offers up its distinct tones, but they don't last long at the forefront. Suprisingly, the grapefruit lasts longer, and the plum stays with me longest of the fruit notes - all of these borne on the soft-as-fur shoulders of black amber, which makes this sultry and just the tiniest bit petulant.

This is such a warm, fruity scent - think of Jester all grown up, completely womanly, and pal-ing around with Old Venice part of the time; that will give you the basic idea of Megaera, but she'll have to be tried for you to really understand her.

[Shollin]

First sniff: Cold white fruit tossed on the banks of an angry river.

 

Wearing: Grapefruit is what I smell strongest, and I swear there’s a whisper of white rose around it, though it’s not in the description. As it wore on, Megaera warmed up a lot and developed a beautiful round plumminess, which I enjoyed immensely. I might stage a face-off between Megaera and Kitsune-Tsuki one of these days, but for now it’s a keeper.

[TygherRayn]

In the bottle: Citrus-y sweet. The grapefruit isn't nearly as strong as in Aizen-Myoo, it's lighter and sweeter, not as tart. This scent is a light orange, sweet, crisp and lovely. Pink grapefruit mayber, while Aizen-Myoo is most definitely yellow.

 

Wet: This stays a sweet, sugared grapefruit at first on me. I can also smell the rich, sweet plum coming out. Maybe a touch of the amber too .. my skin like to amp-up the amber in things, which in this case I can't imagine will be bad.

 

Wearing: The furies did not kill their victims. They made them mad. I can see that in this scent .. I can envision a hideously beautiful woman tormenting a man so much that he goes insane. This scent is that of a woman's jealously .. the jealousy that can drive her to simmering rage so much that she makes all others uncomfortable .. but she is, mostly .. harmless.

 

Another of Brian's Masterpieces, clearly.

[Astarte]

This initially reminds me of a lighter version of Veil, the citrus notes aren't very prominent, but they are there. It smells quite fresh and its very tantalising but just not me.

[lorajc]

I had to have this one when I saw Orris and Plum. I love Orris, as it dries down so beautifully. This is a well-blended scent. I can hardly pick out the individual notes. The Grapefruit is prominent upon applying, but the scent is soon taken over by the orris with a hint of plum in the background. I can't smell the amber, per se, but I think it just grounds the scent and makes it longlasting.....so far. I've only had this on for about 2 hours, but it's still pretty strong. I wore this with Potion lotion from Lush, cuz I think that the carnation and orris go well together. It is lovely together. I always like when I find scents that correspond with my beloved Potion.

[Ishtar]

I am loving the new scents with grapefruit in them, especially on a simmering night like tonight!

 

To me Megaera "feels" similar to Queen Mab and Kitsune-Tsuki. It manages to be both fresh and sophisticated, which is usually hard to find. It is very fruity on my skin (bergamot and grapefruit are the main notes) without smelling juvenile or sporty.

 

I had never worn amber before BPAL, but I have liked all the oils with amber I have tried so far. This one is no exception. The amber is not obvious, but it beautifully softens and grounds the blend.

 

My next order will include a bottle of this for sure

[miss apple]

Looking at the inredients for this oil, I never would have purchased it. I definitely don't like grapefruit in taste or smell, plums are ok but not something I would pick as a scent, and I have no idea what orris or black amber are like at all. That being said, I received this as a freebie and when I put it on this morning I had no idea what was in it but thought it was intriguing enough to give it a try.

 

I don't get a firm impression of this when sniffing it in the vial but I definitely do not smell any grapefruit. On dry-down it is a soft powdery scent with the sharp sweetness of plum piercing through a muted insence note. It's different and quite lovely. I can still catch wiffs of it on my wrists hours later. I'm not sure if I would buy a bottle of this but I may keep an imp on hand.

[feline.by.design]

Okay, this is it. This is proof that my nose is seriously broken.

 

In the bottle, and on my skin, all I smell is....

 

MR BUBBLE!

 

Why oh why has Megaera, the Jealous One, been transformed by my nostrils into a big pink bathtime blob I am absolutely at a loss at even trying to fathom. It's very fruity and fun. But I can't help feeling I should be in the tub.

 

I'm reluctant to let go of the imp just yet, since I really don't think Mr Bubble reeks or anything, plus I want to see if I can try this on my skin in another week or so, in case my body chemistry is seriously kicking Megaera out of whack. I mean, it smells very clean. As it stands, I'd love to wear this if I wasn't feeling especially fresh.

 

Okay, gals, you can banish me from the Reviews pages now that I've blasphemed BPAL by compairing a scent to Mr Bubble.

 

-doreen

[any_old_actress]

FIRST SNIFF: ripe spicey plums

 

WEARING IT: the plum is still strong to my nose but the grapefruit definitely plays a role around the edges. there's a sweet warmth to it in the middle, almost like the scent is glowing - which i think is the black amber. a very sweet and timeless scent.

 

FINAL VERDICT: i didn't have plans on liking this scent and got it as a freebie, but i'll be buying a larger bottle i think, it's sophisticated and pretty.

[malanna]

After application, this smells like grapefruit astringent or just grapfruit juice (this isn't a fresh grapefruit). After a few hours, it fades to nothing, but still maintaining that bit of grapefruit astringent.

[glampyre]

All of the BPALs are great, but on ME, this one is too fruity.

[darklorelei]

Despite my deep and abiding love for Baobhan Sith, I may have a new favorite in Megaera. This will most definitely become my first big bottle.

 

I really have to say that this is a supremely *balanced* scent with real lasting power.

 

It's a nice plummy scent with an acid kick.

 

The base note of black amber is ideal: it nicely gives way to the other notes, lending its lending power and sweetness, allowing the perfume to keep constancy. The amber does not overpower, and does not add the plastic-y afterscent I find in many of the blends w/amber.

 

Megaera is a very dark fruity scent, unlike Bordello, etc. Dark and spicy. The lum is not cloying, and the citrus and the orris nicely balance the fruit.

 

Lastly, I adore the combination of the bergamot and grapefruit. It adds a real kick to the scent, and while the grapefruit fades quickly as a top note, the bergamot keeps continuity.

[hadaverde]

Begins as a brilliantly sweet plum and dry, violet-like floral note of orris, with a subtext of amber. After the first ten minutes or so, the grapefruit and bergamot make an appearance, with plum remaining at the forefront. By the thiry-minute mark, the florals have very much come out to play, forcing the plum to the background beside the amber.

 

As time passes, the plum mellows further, leaving an earthy lower note with a juicy floral overtone.

[Northernminx]

Citrusy and plum in the vial, I really wanted this one to work on me but sadly this just faded out into a vague powdery scent on me. Alas my chemistry doesn' t like something in this and rather than any of the lovely combinations from above, I get baby powder.

[Koumori]

A dry, crisp scent, a robust and well-rounded citrus. The sweetness I get in the vial mellows and sharpens quickly. Excellent balance of citrus and spiciness; Megaera doesn't let her guard down. A winner.

[magpiedee]

If BPAL oils were irritating celebrities, Megaera would be the Mary-Kate Olsen to Kitsune-Tsuki's Ashley, and their sassy younger sister Aizen-Myoo would always be foiling their plans.

 

Megaera screams orange (the color, not the fruit) to me-- sharp, pungent, sunny, confident, bursting. If you remember that gum in the 80's that had squoosh in the middle, it's like that. Very juicy, very bright, very striking. This is what a fiery orange sunset would smell like, blinding and shot through with con trails.

 

Megaera is a redhead with freckles and a temper to match her fiery thatch. She would hit you between the eyes with a snowball. Her smile curves up on one corner.

 

I wear Megaera as a work scent when I want to project that I am a woman who is upbeat, spunky, proactive, scrappy and powerful, kickass and yet controlled. I wear it with coppery eye makeup and calf-high black leather boots. I wear it like a dare.

[Lady_Ell]

Starts off a juicy citrus, really orangey-grapefruit, really bright.

It must be the orris, because when it dried I just smelled like honeysuckle. No more citrus, just honeysuckle and maybe a hint of mock orange or neroli. Nice, but not really me.

[pkwench]

Also a fan of amber and plum, I've been eager to try Megaera. My reactions were thusly: "Oh, nice!" "Mmmmm, gosh this is lovely." "MUST PUT ON MORE, MUST SLATHER ALL OVER BODY!" Oh, yes, I love Megaera. It goes through a lovely phase where the grapefruit really pops out and that's when it started to remind me of the vial of Chaos Theory that Pekeana gave me. I really wonder now how much the two of them have in common. Anyway, if Megaera is the smell of Jealousy, we should all be so envious. *pets*

[Tesseljoan]

Magaera is very plum on my skin, with a sharp citrus-y edge. To me it has the sweet feel of Tamora to it, you know, not candy-sweet but just, erm, sweet. There is small hint of flowers on my skin, but the dominant note is the fruit. Did I mention this is sweet?

[pekeana]

I put just a little of this on my hand at lunch this afternoon -- it started off a bright and mega-plummy scent with almost a ginger and grapefruit kick. It lasted about 2 1/2 hours, and picked up a little bit of the waxy scent I get with the BPAL plum note. Overall, very pleasant and I'll have to keep reaching for it.

[TheDarkMother]

In the Bottle: Megaera is a divine scent of grapefruit and a light floral. YUM!

 

On Me: OOOOH! This has much more grapefruit in it than my beloved Shattered, and to tell you the truth, smells closer to King of Spades than Shattered. The only difference is that the background fruits and florals are brighter than King of Spades.

 

Heavenly! This smells a lot like Darkswan's Great Gatsby! LOVE LOVE LOVE!

[rainbow]

In the bottle- florals with plum.

 

Wet on the skin- grapefruit and bergamot tempered with something sweet. This is a fresh, springtime scent. I guess the sweetness must be the floral- the orris? It's delicate and pretty; I'm imagining white and pink blooms.

 

Wearing- on me this bears a distinct similarity first to Queen Mab (creamy floral) then Macchu Pichu (creamy tropical fruit). This develops into a beautiful fruity blend that is perfect on me. It's hard to pick out any individual notes at this stage, but it is lovely. This is going straight on my top ten and big bottle lists. A big winner for me.

[Macha]

I swapped for an imp of this from another forumite, thinking that I wanted to try all of the Furies and this was a good start.

 

In the bottle: Oh yum. I smell flowers and plum, with the faint hint of bergamot over a creamy amber base. Smells like heaven. Gorgeous.

 

Wet, on skin: The orris and plus are predominant, and although I know grapefruit is supposed to be in this, I haven't caught a scent of it yet. Gentle and sweet, and not at all what I expected.

 

Dry, on skin: Argh! It's turned to soap! No! *gets down on knees and pretends she's a jedi knight in a Star Wars movie* NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!

 

Conclusion: What a horrible disappointment. But, as it is "that time" I'm going to hold out and hope that under other circumstances it might not turn sudsy on me.

[fairywingmaker]

Plum....creamy white florals. Oh this is so beautiful. The Bergamont and plum are really apparant on my skin. I'm waiting for the grapefruit, but it still hasn't materialized, even after the drydown. Very lovely scent!

[surf-tormented]

If purple had a smell, it would be this. Dark floral plum. It smells good, but like Blood Countess, Midwinter's Eve and every other plum oil I have tried. It goes grape candy on me.