Love-Lies-Bleeding

[zenvodunista]

The velvet flower. A lush, thick, luxuriant bloom, bold and red.

Almost like neroli or mock orange - but not quite. Darkened with something else - the tiniest dash of dragons blood? Something almost spicy, almost like cinnamon but utterly different lies at the base of this oil. It flickers between sweetly innocent (Lolita and Alice come to mind) and something darker. A hint of bright spring green. The sap of the freshly cut flower.

Strange, utterly indescribable. Floral lovers, take note.

n.

[sookster]

straight sniff from imp is pure chocolate and rose!!!

gah!! who would have thunk?!?!?

it stays true to cocoa rose on me but more florals come through

after say, 20 minutes; some myrrh perhaps....omG...another winner...i sooooooo

wish the lab still had 10 mls...guess i will just have to purchase 2 5 mls

of this beauty...yes, this is that spectacular

[Inanna9]

I used to have these in my garden...apologies in advance for all the vagueness here to follow - I had a hard time pinning this one down.

 

Love-Lies-Bleeding is so unusual - I think zenvodunista is on to something when she uses "the sap of a freshly cut flower" to describe this. Every time I sniff I get such a strong image of this plant, as if it were right in front of me. To be honest, I don't remember what the actual plant smelled like, so I think it's just the freshness combined with a thicker, almost woody note that is so evocative of a real, live plant. But it has none of the artificial, sharp "greeness" that sometimes goes along with this sort of blend (which I don't mind, but I know some people don't care for). It's really quite lovely and almost dark.

 

There is a more resinous note in here -- I wouldn't call it spicy, exactly -- but I don't believe it to be dragon's blood, since I usually amp that one, and this is not a sweet, heavy floral - at least on me.

 

Overall, this is such a spot-on fresh plant scent that it's practically a work of art. I think I'll layer it with my Graveyard Dirt and swoon

Edited November 4, 2006 by Inanna9

[Heavenlyrabbit]

florals over roasted grains along with a smidge of garden dirt thrown in for good measure. There's also the barest hint of fermentation, IMO.

Edited November 8, 2006 by Heavenlyrabbit

[filigree_shadow]

When it was wet, I thought it smelled pink. Kind of like a sugary syrup. It smells like it would be sticky. As it's drying, it doesn't smell quite as sugary, but it's still very sweet. However it's not really a foody kind of sweet, more like dragon's blood sweet.

 

It's really hard to describe... it smells soft, velvety, and very feminine. There's a slightly planty green undertone to it, but it's barely there. When I'm sniffing at it, it smells floral and pretty over the top, but when I inhale deeply, I can smell something daker underneath. Really well done.

 

I like this a lot -- it's now one of my favorites in the Garden.

[sophia_helix]

OK, this must have iris/orris in it, because I amp that like crazy and this smells almost exactly like Florence on me. There's maybe a shade more of the "grain" note that Heavenlyrabbit mentions, putting me in mind of Dana O'Shee or Blood Moon, and I'm pretty sure there was a touch of dragon's blood at the beginning, although that mysteriously vanished. There are some other, more watery floral notes as well, kind of hard to put my finger on.

 

I suspect this will be a big hit with other people who might get a more varied result. I like it a lot, but since it really is so similar to my fave Florence, it seems silly to keep it.

[edenssixthday]

Love Lies Bleeding - This is a traditional Valentine's Day present in a vial! I was very surprised, after wearing this scent, to discover it's in the Rappaccini's Garden category because on me, it's predominantly a dark chocolate and hazelnut scent. Beneath the sweetness of the hazelnut chocolate, is the scent of freshly cut flowers -- less floral and more green and bitter like cut stems. It's a strange scent that is very thick and heavy and at times, and it's lightly nauseating to me because it's so strong and foody. Unfortunately, it's not for me, but I can see that those who love chocolate and who love some of the other bitter floral scents could really like this one. Staying power is strong, although the throw is slightly below average.

[Loligo]

There's definitely dragon's blood in here -- the sticky cherry-lilac scent is strong on my skin. There's a pungent earthy note that sometimes smells like garden dirt and sometimes like a cut stem. There's something slightly alcoholic, which in combination with the dragon's blood cherry makes it smell a bit like cough syrup at times. Finally, I think there might be a hint of rose or rose geranium; there's definitely some floral note that's going to soap as it dries down. It's interesting, but I don't think it's a keeper.

 

ETA: later in drydown it reminds me quite a bit of Red Moon, but Red Moon was warmer, sunnier and more layered on me.

Edited November 10, 2006 by Loligo

[Blood onmy hands]

Love-Lies-Bleeding actually reminds me of some of the Turkish Delight fragrances that I've tried from other etailers. Sort of a foodie chocolate-rose scent. A bit powdery and pleasantly sweet.

 

In the drydown it makes me think of powdered sugar, tea rose, and chocolate shavings, perhaps with a bit of a berry wine thrown in.

 

This strikes me as a sort of romantic, thickly foodie scent.

[theblackcloud]

Love-Lies-Bleeding reminds me of baking a red velvet cake. Something deep, thick and red... with hints of cocoa, sugar, cherries and buttermilk (I'm guessing there's no buttermilk in there, but it just comes to mind.. he he). I think of the South, visiting friends and sitting outside on a swing as the wind makes the trees sway. It is a comfortable scent. It gives me comfort and yet makes me feel strong. I'm very happy that I ordered a bottle.

[faifai]

Definitely echoing what the others have said in regards to this being a foody-floral. This immediately does bring to mind chocolate and roses, although the floral scent really isn't that of a rose, this is too fresh and light to be rose (which always overpowers everything else on my skin).

 

But that's exactly the impression I get - Valentine's Day, as someone else noted! The box of expensive dark chocolates wrapped in a red velvet ribbon, the bouquet of lush red flowers, maybe even a hint of the lovely lady's perfume or a waft of the deeply colored wine she's drinking. It's all mixed together and the overall vibe is sumptuous, mysterious, lush, velvety...

 

Very seductive, not something that screams HELLO I SMELL LIKE A FLOWER. It melds with your skin and makes it seem like you smell like this naturally; it's a "warm" floral.

 

It's very odd and isn't as fresh or straightforward a floral as the other Rappacini's Garden scents (especially noticeable to me because I'm wearing this on one arm and Sundew on the other). I would put this in Love Potions if anything, it's got that kinda "feel" to it. Definitely one to wear for romancing your SO (or SO to be).

[sarada]

Blargh! I like a lot of descriptions others have posted of this scent but it seemed to dislike me. In the imp it's not bad, kind of sweet and red, maybe a bit of dragon's blood and cake. But it just goes horribly wrong on my skin.

 

Cherry, almond, nuts, and cake, and soap. That's the order in which the impressions hit me. It reminds me of a bar of soap that is supposed to smell like some sort of ... nut cake. Which I'm sure would be appealing to a lot of people, but not to me. That cherry-almond impression I'm getting could be anything -- it could be dragon's blood and something with a faintly nutty scent, and the soapy quality could be a floral. But it's just unpleasant. I let it evolve a little and washed it off.

 

Several reviewers mentioned grain and that must be what is giving me this idea of "cake." But I prefer to keep my cake out of the bathtub!

[valentina]

I love the Love Lies Bleeding plant a great deal -- I've planted it a lot over the years, and I know that the "flower" itself really doesn't have much of a smell at all, so this scent is evocative of the visual nature of the plant and maybe also of its history. It's impressionistic rather than realistic, and I love that notion. But as a result of being so into this plant and knowing a bit about it, I'm going to over-intellectualize this review, so here goes:

 

Since Love Live Bleeding blooms were worn by Swedish knights on the front of their armor to symbolize fidelity, I expected to smell Dragon's Blood, since knights and dragons just go together in my head -- and I do pick up a bit of Dragon's Blood, but not to excess. I also expected to smell a bit of amaranth, since Love Lies Bleeding is an ornamental amaranth, and I do get an undertone of a slight grainy smell. (A prior review mentioned a smell of roasted grain, and I have to believe that's the amaranth in the blend.) There's also a whiff of dirt, but again, it is slight. What I mainly smell on my skin when this scent dries down is akin to a blend of rooibos tea that I drink, which includes the red rooibos tea, but also rose petals, sunflower petals and blue mallow petals. I also smell iris and maybe a little violet -- flowers that might all be growing around the Love Lies Bleeding. It's a red-blue-purple-ish smell, very deep and velvety, but also very organic.

 

I think it's a wonderful olfactory picture of the plant -- very vivid, very lovely.

[euterpe414]

I am totally floored by this scent! I am not terribly familiar with the plant, so I didn't envision anything in particular plant-wise when I smelled this, but to me the images I get are of draping, soft velvet overlayed with fresh petals. This is an amazing mix of light floral and rich earthy depth. I don't know how Beth did it...

 

I don't get a definitie "foody" note per se, but I suppose that something gourmand could be what is grounding the florals, since it isn't dirt.

 

So yeah, I am smitten. I wasn't going to order anything until the CD update, but I may need to sneak in an order of a bottle of this 'cause I feel the need to have more ASAP.

 

 

edit: I didn't even realize that the word 'velvet' was in the blend's description. Funny!

Edited November 13, 2006 by euterpe414

[slave1]

LOVE LIES BLEEDING

 

In Bottle: Sweet decadent delicious yum

 

On Skin: This is an interesting scent! I’m not sure of the notes other than it seems delicious! It smells like velvet feels, soft, plush, rich… and I do get a gorgeous red tone from it. I do smell something resinous and I’m thinking it may be Dragon’s Blood which would explain the red feel I get from it and the sweetness. I also get chocolate! How crazy! I would never think chocolate from a floral, but I really smell chocolate, or cocoa. Sadly, that’s the only part of the scent not working for me. While I love chocolate, I don’t like smelling like it. Still, it is quite beautiful and I love how original it is and that even though it is a floral scent it’s not the traditional perfumey floral we usually think of. Very light throw and average wearlength.

[LiberAmoris]

Love-Lies-Bleeding is like a light chocolatey floral---with a dusting of something that comes across like berries on my skin. It's such an unusual but wonderful combination, and as it dries down, it just gets better and better.

 

It feels red and white and lush. And there's a delightful creaminess here that seems to come from the interaction of the florals and chocolate that I just can't get enough of!

[sofaking6]

I'm glad someone mentioned hazelnut, because I could not for the life of me put the name to what I was smelling.

 

Not good on me. This actually made me slightly nauseated, like a hazelnut liqueur might. Maybe a bit of cocoa, and a lot of deep resin. I never get anything green or floral.

 

Swap!

[shelldoo]

in the bottle: yes, chocolatey roses sounds about right.

 

wet, it goes slightly almondy, and a hint of bubble stuff, but the bubble stuff burns off way fast, think in like under 10 seconds

 

the hershey spa does chocolate massages, and they often have fresh flowers...this reminds me of my day there. it is a chocolatey, and somewhat floral, but there is also something that reminds me a bit of a massage oil, i don't really know how to explain that scent but it also retains an almond like note. this is a gorgeous scent very red, very sultry, i am glad i got a bottle.

[Iceblink]

I get chocolate floral from this too. It's really unusual and pretty and very femme. Makes me think of heels and lipstick. There's something a bit leafy/foliagey in there that surfaces after a couple of hours, too. Very nice and not an overwhelming scent.

[storme]

In the imp: weird - like a mix of chocolate and dragon's blend and rose.

 

On me, wet: chocolate-rose-porridge-hazelnut. Very foody, but still identifiably a floral.

 

On me, dry: chocolate-hazelnut with a rich, creamy floral base. There's a tinge of booziness to this, and the dragon's blood is back too - adding a slight sticky feeling to things.

 

Verdict: Astonishing. I'd never wear this personally, but it's the closest thing I've found to a chocolate scent I can tolerate wearing.

[roesmoker]

God, I wish I got chocolate or hazelnut from this! Wet it's a blast of almond - in retrospect I can map this to Dragon's Blood - which nearly made me wash it off (cherry/almond makes me seriously nauseous). Then it settled down into a greeny, plant sort of scent that doesn't offend me, but I don't particularly like either. Waaah, off to swaps with you!

[emzebel]

Wow, this is really beautiful - a red sensuous scent, rich and juicy. This is a very visual scent to me - I get ripe juicy red fruit, with the juicy dripping over tonka maybe? There is a lush creamyness to this that is not quite vanilla or chocolate or almond on my skin, and probably the barest hint of Dragon's Blood.

 

Absolutely wonderful.

[maribouquet]

Rich floral with chocolately, woody undertones.

 

This is so yummy, but the wood note goes funky on me.

 

Fantastic blend, though - so original and delicious.

[yeahbutnobut]

Love Lies Bleeding

 

In the imp: velvety chocolate with a hint of red flowers. This oil has a gorgeous blushed pinkish colour, maybe hinting at the presence of dragon’s blood.

Wet on skin: chocolate-dipped cherries, a hint of booze, and flowers.

Dry: chocolate cherries and a bunch of sweet red and white flowers, and a glass of wine. Whoever said this was the scent of Valentine’s Day is spot on. It reminds me ever so slightly of that oil ‘Sweet Patootie’ from AC, only this one has a spike of dragon’s blood running through it, and the flowers (lily? There’s something almost reminiscent of Black Lily here) are sharper, though with that hint of sweet nectar. And there’s chocolate dipped, liqueur soaked cherries here.

After a while: there’s either honeysuckle, calla lily, or lily of the valley here, or maybe even jasmine, because one of the floral notes has gone very sharply green on me. It could be lilac and/or wisteria as well. Probably wisteria. The sweet fruitiness of the scent has become a little sickly sweet, a little overripe, but it’s not too distracting. The cocoa seems to still be there but it’s more muted now. I’m not as keen on this scent now as I was before. The scent becomes a sharp green soapy white-red floral scent with chocolate on top and dragon’s blood. Weird.

Verdict: this has a romantic name and a romantic scent to match. This is bottled (or imped?) Valentine’s Day. A bunch of rich white lilies and fragrant red flowers, petals, nectar and stems. Chocolate covered cherries. Glasses of wine and boozier spirits for later. A sheen of passionate redness cast over the scent by dragon’s blood. It’s very gorgeous and evocative for the first 15-20 minutes but then it just goes weird on me. The chocolate cherry scent which I really like seems to conflict with a slightly aggressive, sharp green floral scent, one or more of the floral notes here goes very sharply green, and not in a nice way. It reminds me of what White Moon did-started out wonderfully, ended with screaming sharp flowers. This one’s sharpness is accentuated by dragon’s blood. It’s a shame because I loved the just-applied scent. Maybe this is one for a locket, or for swapping.

Emoticon rating:

Is it a keeper? Maybe the imp, but I’m not sure.

If you like this, try: Vice (I haven’t tried it but it is chocolate and cherry, like I get with this), Velvet, French Love, Black Lily, Red Queen

[cuervosueno]

While I agree with most of the previous reviews, I have to admit I still expected this would smell more like flowers and less like food.

 

But it doesn't.

 

Red Velvet cake is right on. Chocolate and something sweet....there is a slight floral to it, but it is mostly foody to me. There is also a hint of wine or sherry or something like that.

 

Interesting, and certainly would be a good Valentine's Day scent, but it's not me.