The Reaper and the Flowers

[lunchboxmonkey]

A funereal bouquet laid on cemetery grass: longiflorum lilies, white rose, chrysanthemum, and carnation.

For the first few seconds this is a heavy floral bouquet on me, and its nice, but a bit perfumey for me. after it dries though, the flowers a tempered by fresh, dewy grasses. Its still not my favorite, but the grassy note is giving it depth, and definitely making it a more unique scent. I'll be holding on to my imp of this one, I really do like the grass

[talula_fairie]

Well, I knew I was taking a chance with this one (keep in mind, I'm an oriental scents type girl). Yet another floral that smells great to me in the imp and like soap on my skin. You know when you walk into Crabtree and Evelyn and you get hit with that overpowering, old fashioned floral soap smell? It's like that. I'm afraid I won't be doing a full test run. Not for me

Edited July 21, 2010 by talula_fairie

[meredevachon]

Frimp from the Lab

 

In the imp: Heavily floral, strong on the lilies, with rose not far behind.

 

Wet: There's a flash of something green. Grass green. There and then gone. If I hadn't sniffed immediately after putting it on my arm, I wouldn't have caught it.

 

Dry: Very quickly turns to soap on me. Someone mentioned walking into a Crabtree & Evelyn and getting hit with the multitude of scents? Yeah, I could see that.

 

Overall: I didn't have much in the way of expectations from this one, so at least I wasn't disappointed. But I do think it's one that if the florals work for you, you can rock it. I'm just not that person. Into the swap box with The Reaper and the Flowers.

[Altaira]

Carnation is doing its thing and turning this into an old lady. The rose adds a sweetness, but not enough to redeem it.

[lavenderfrost]

Dammit.

 

Wanted to love this one since I love carnations and usually get along well with the other flowers in here, but something about the combination gives me that dreaded sharp almost-cat-pee smell.

[mistressfizz]

Sniff: White florals! This is definitely in-your-face flowers, mostly lily

 

Wet: Heavy, heavy floral. Just a tiny bit aquatic, with hints of green stems. This is not a bright, fresh blend - it's strong and somber, with a reserved, almost cold elegance. I keep picturing a lonely vase in an empty room, sunlight streaming through the window but not providing any warmth. The lilies are strongest, but I also get whiffs of the sweeter blooms as well.

 

Dry: I was worried this would turn to soap, but the flowers hold up on me! It actually smells like dried flowers - a little musty and faint, but still wafting everytime you move. It has medium throw and fades in just 2 hours. This is beautiful, but it's so melancholy, I can't wear it as an everyday scent.

Edited July 9, 2011 by mistressfizz

[Gateau]

Imp -- grass and roses. I like grass and I like roses.

 

Wet -- With the roses and the grass, now there is a touch of spicy chrysanthemum and cool lily.

 

Dry -- Pure rose soap, like my grandmother's fancy soaps in her guest bathroom. Dammit, the lily did it to me again.

[TheFrenchWaffle]

In the imp: pretty floral scent, rose stands out, very fresh

Wet: The floral veers on the green side

dry: Oh, I really did like this. However a friend told me I smelled like soap. Not a bad soapy scent, mind you, but soapy nonetheless.

Final verdict: It was nice while it was wet but once it dried it went soapy. Nice, but not bottle worthy.

[angelicruin]

Too much floral and grass for me. The lily note gives it a soapy quality on my skin.

[Lethran]

In bottle: I will not skin test given how my skin responds to rose. This is a very fresh smelling white rose dominant blend. The lily is second strongest, but all elements are distinct, yet play together well. It’s a lovely white flower blend, well designed.

[karykeion]

In the imp: It's okay? I mean, it's a very pretty scent, but...eh. It's flowers.

 

On me, wet: Fresh cut flowers! Lilies and roses dominate. I don't really smell much carnation, and I'm getting something kind of herbal in the background. I guess objectively I like it, but, like Prague, it's just kind of a flower overload to my nose. It smells like exquisitely lovely scented soap.

 

On me, dry: Okay, some note in here really doesn't agree with me, because I swear it turned into fried chicken. I don't know how that could even happen. Wow. Not a keeper.

[ACVail24]

This is generic soapy florals.

Not a fan.

[84trillion]

My first impression after skin-testing this for the first time is that it reminds me of one of my favorite DC'd BPALs, La Belle Dame Sans Merci. I think they share the same rose note.

 

That being said - I adore this. It's clean, complex, and sad. I feel like the last stanza of the poem:

 

"O, not in cruelty, not in wrath,

The Reaper came that day;

'Twas an angel visited the green earth,

And took the flowers away."

 

really describes the feeling of this blend.

[anastasia]

i am very lucky and seem to have a chemistry which allows me to wear scents pretty true to description. on me this is a large fresh bouquet of hot house flowers smelled outside. very planty even though the florals smell cultivated. with grass... i wore it to a dead can dance show that was in an actual garden amphitheater. now i need a bottle because it will always smell like dead can dance in a garden. like the old black and white poster of theirs...

[Saffrin]

Imp & Wet: A beautiful, even floral. Bouquet is definitely a word that fits here.

 

While I could make out most of the notes, lily being the main, the rose didn't appear for me.

 

 

One and a half hours later: Oh dear. This isn't good. Something in this has turned hot dusty on me. It honestly smells like when you've been using a vacuum cleaner, and open it up to change the bag or filter. Hot dust. :/ Not what I ever expected from this. I can't even smell a floral base anymore.

Boyfriend's opinion is old powdery soap.

 

 

From the wet and imp, I wanted to love this, but just can't justify smelling like grubby overheated housecleaning so shortly after. :X

Edited August 26, 2012 by Saffrin

[JazzieCazzie]

Received an imp of this as lagniappe in a purchase and though I had a pretty good idea of what it would be like based on the notes, I am assiduously sticking to my plan of working my way through every single imp, frimp, bottle and sniffie I have, A-Z, so I can create one comprehensive swaplist and wishlist.

 

IN THE IMP: About as "white floral" as white floral can be. Strong. Clean, Powerful. Florally florally floral.

 

Dabbed on one wrist. Since these notes tend to amp on me, and not necessarily in a good way, not taking the chance of putting it into the crook of my arm where bad scents go to die.

 

WET: All of the floral notes listed are very much presented and accounted for. Hello, lily, with your clean (some might say soapy, but it's a high end soap) scent. Hi rose, doing your usual job of pushing your way to the front of the line. Chrysanthemum, I see you. Carnation, you are being way too shy since you're my favorite note listed. While I know this is listed as a funereal scent, to me it's much more like a wedding bouquet/wedding ceremony of someone who really LOVES white flowers but maybe I'm a glass half full kind of person (actually, I'm not). While wet, it's not TOO in my face and it's more a very high-end expensive soap smell. Nothing wrong with that ... except that, from past experience, I know what these do on drydown ...

 

3 ... 2 ... 1

 

DRYDOWN: Yup. Just gets stronger and stronger to the point of really overpowering me with its white floral perfume. It is absolutely NOT an unpleasant scent. It's just that there's way too much of it for me, and that's even with a very slight application of it.

 

OVERALL: I realize that lilies go "soap" on me and that's not a bad thing in and of itself, it's just too strong for me. Ditto on roses amping up way too much most of the time. I have found that I tend to categorize BPAL florals into two distinct areas -- the "white florals" like this and the "lush florals" which, to me, are scents like Veil and Twilight, two of my all-time favorites. I'm a "lush floral" person. If you are a "white floral" person, who loves the clean white flower scents like lilies and roses, this would probably be absolutely divine on you. It is absolutely "what you see is what you get." But for me, it goes into the swap box.

 

On a scale of 1-5, it's a 3 because it's a perfectly nice scent and isn't stinky on me or anything, doesn't have any dealbreaker notes, it just doesn't work for me.

[CatNipped]

Got this as a bonus from my first order.

 

It's very floral and clean smell. Reminds me a lot of floral soap so it serves me brilliantly after riding to work to be make me feel clean

 

AND it last all day long for me. Don't know how she does it!

[LizziesLuck]

Wet: Very green at first. Can't identify any of the florals individually. Very light, fading quickly, It's not wowing me. Usually I will amp both rose and carnation, and I am not getting either in this, just an indistinct, light floral.

 

 

Dry: Don't know, it's gone within minutes. I think this needed something to ground it, for me at least. Too light and non-descript, not enough throw or wear length to be a keeper for me.

[freyasfae]

Definitely floral, but the grass keeps it from becoming too floral. Nice, but I have other grassy florals I prefer.

[ShunnerOfHugs]

I got The Reaper and the Flowers as a free imp with my last order. (Thanks for that!)

I put on a dab on my wrist and one on my neck this morning, and it was so strong my mom could smell it from across the kitchen when she came down for breakfast.

 

After ten minutes or so the smell had weakened a bit and I only caught a waft of it every once in a while when I was typing up some homework. It smelled nice, like walking in a garden in the morning when there's still dew on the ground.

 

My only complaint would be that the scent isn't very long-lasting. After about five hours, I couldn't smell anything. Not even when I stick my wrist right under my nose and sniff as hard as I can. However, I can't say for sure that's all the perfume's fault. I was cooking all morning, so maybe the smell of garlic and jalepenos and whatnot simply drowned out the light, flowery scent of the perfume. I'll have to wear it again on a day when I'm not planning on being in the kitchen and report back.

Edited March 27, 2016 by ShunnerOfHugs

[PrinceofcatS]

I bought this as a bottle so I might be responsible for anyone who received it as a frimp around the same time, and you're all welcome, because I love this scent.

 

I had this as an (aged) imp a friend gave me and it was dominantly white rose on me with maybe a bit of grass and some other light stuff to smoothe it out, so I tested my imp against my brand new bottle.

 

They're mostly the same, but the bottle is a tad fresher with a slightly stronger lily note that is acutely sweet and almost fruity-sweet, especially at my throat, where I've noticed all the sweet notes in anything seem to amp a lot more than on my wrist. So this one gets a bit stronger of a white rose note with age and its lily note gets less sweet, but mostly stays the same, which is nice to know. The white rose note is probably my all-time favorite rose from BPAL; I find it less sweet, a bit tart, and more understated, but not necessarily weaker, than their other rose notes. It doesn't overpower the other notes in this scent but it's definitely there. I don't amp rose, I don't think, so I don't think that's why it stands out to me.

 

This is such a lovely springtime scent and I'm glad to have a bottle of it. I wish it were a bit stronger as a lily note, as it's one of my favorite flowers, but the search for the perfect lily note continues!

[Cali]

Heavy florals like Hymn, but this is less insency and it's looming. I feel as if there's something earthy in there besides the white florals.
Goes all grass and cold on my skin, not for me, but it and it's inspiration are certainly interesting.

[MonkeysInk]

This is a pretty, white floral. I would say think this could be sold on the shelves next to any traditional perfumes and not be out of place.

 

The grassiness keeps the florals from being too bright and gives this a nice earthiness. This is one I picked randomly out of a jar of unworn imps, and I'll keep it in the pile of ones that I'd enjoy wearing again. It's very lovely and fresh.

[Coldfire]

Imp: Grass and carnations
Wet on Me: more chrysanthemum and carnation...the grass is fading
Drying Down: oh mother of god the rose and lily found my nose! here comes the headache.
Dry: yeah......I amp rose and I amp lily and they give me headaches every time. to the Trade pile!

[VetchVesper]

Aptly named - this is killing me with florals.

 

The grass is a dull and dusty green to me rather that bright and wet. It smelled predominantly of lily to me at first, but I do smell the rose once I'm looking for it. I love carnation, but I don't get it here until the dry down. It's more the sweetness of carnation without the lovely spicey quality I adore. It's a nose tickling, dry, white floral that makes me think less soap and more big formal bouquet in a dusty drawing room. Not me.