Love-Lies-Bleeding

[SophieCedar]

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

Wet: smells like the red velvet note of any red velvet cupcakes smell! I like this better though. Cocoa, a red flower that's not rose, cherry and myrrh? Maybe there's a musk in here too. Awesome.
Drydown: cocoa, cherry, and warm fuzzy something... amber and myrrh? Whatever it is, it's really nice and as the description says, luxuriant.

[Korrok]

I'm not sure what it is about this smell, but I can't really place what's in it. It smells floral, more green and sappy when wet, with a chocolate-ish note coming out later. But the rest of it...I can't get it at all, except for the fact it gives me a massive headache. Not a keeper, which is a shame as it came highly recommended.

[AmandaArcana]

Straight outta the bottle this smells like red velvet cake with extra chocolate. Unfortunately some part of it goes soapy floral as it dries. I like it but not sure if it's a keeper.

[valnillarose]

This is so indulgent! Chocolate-cherry heaven is what I get from it. It's a gorgeous color, very fitting for the scent, and the oil seems almost sticky around the imp's cap. I love this!

[ih8perfume]

This scent blew me the Hell away.

 

I understand that it is based on an actual flower. I'll check that out and edit later.

 

I bought an imp of this based on the chocolate / floral mix. St. Valentine from DSH is a favorite, but seems very specific. Chocolate and roses pretty much says "date night" and not much else.

 

Love-lies-bleeding, aside from having an awesomely goth-tactic name is milky chocolate, sweet floral (daffodils, violets, and lilac those soft, old fashioned Spring flowers come to mind, not sharp lavender or herbal or heady), and luscious green sap.

 

When I wear this, I think of a translucent, syrupy, grass green sap surging rhythmically through a tender stem. It's topped with a deep purple-ish blush pink flower with a smell that would subtly entice you to get closer and closer until the vine-et tendrils grab you by the arms and ankles, then the throat, wrap you in a beautiful chartreuse leaf pod and devour you. All the while, looking sweetly demure and innocent.

 

Yup, it takes my mind on a strange little journey, but it comes down to a fragrance that is enticing and sweet, but with a serious hint of power and menace under the femininity. Probably not a work appropriate scent, since its kinda sexy and lickable (as in you want to lick it) and the coy femininity.

 

I really loved this, in case you can't tell, and plan to buy a bottle as soon as funds allow.

[brittanywut]

In the imp: Chocolate and cherries with a whisper of rose. YUM

 

Wet: Cherry and rose, with chocolate underneath it just saying hello.

 

Dry: Powdery rose and a teensy bit of cherry. Sigh. This is like Black Phoenix all over again! D: I really wish this worked on me. Damn my skin chemistry!

[WidgetAlley]

Imp: A sharp green note and a floral. Upon checking everyone else's reviews, I've decided my nose is on crack. I get a cherry cola smell as well but no chocolate or bakery-goodness in the slightest!

 

Wet: Oh! A very planty foody smell, somehow-- green stems, a faint hint of cherry, and something that smells like strong sandalwood and just a tiny bit of cocoa butter. The overall effect is both vegetal and, somehow, fuzzy, which seems perfect for its namesake. There's also something a little bitter.

 

Dry: A smooth, woody, chocolate-cherry-sandalwood-greenery scent. Something in here goes a little plasticky. While it's certainly very unusual, I can't see myself wearing this one very often.

[kolibri]

Lab frimp, came with my shipment of Mabon 2010.

 

 

In the imp: YUM, chocolate. Wet flowers.

 

Wet: Even more flowers, with crushed stems. Vanilla, cherries. Good throw.

 

Dry: Still lots of chocolate, with a side of roses. Something chalky and sweet, like conversation hearts. Behind that, hint of spice.

 

 

Overall: I am in total love with this one. I smell DELICIOUS. There will be a bottle in my stash!

[mymymai]

ITI: It's oddly chocolate-y with something that reminds me of faint neroli.

 

Wet: I still get cocoa or chocolate, but there's something sweet in her too aside from the slight citrus, like sugar or vanilla. This is confusing me. It should be floral!

 

Dry: After it's dried, the chocolate settles down some as does the sugar aspect; however, I can detect just a smidgen of floral now.

[Opulence]

Weird! In the bottle and for the first 20 minutes or so on my skin, this is pure chocolate--well, sometimes it smells like cocoa powder, specifically, but other times it has a creamy quality like milk chocolate. But now it's a very light scent that I can barely smell, but it's definitely not chocolate or not all chocolate. It fades so fast that it's a no go for me.

[hexnut]

LOVE-LIES-BLEEDING

 

I ordered this as part of an imp pack mainly because reviewers mentioned chocolate. Aglaea was also in this group which is why I kept guessing at fruit during the blind test.

 

In Vitro Very pale amber color. First sniff was lovely and sweet, possibly cocoa or fruit.

 

Wet Throw during application. Sweet, probably chocolate, a hint of spice. Over the next seven minutes it remained sweet and went from maybe-chocolate to a slightly foody fruit and/or floral.

 

Drying Less sweet; slightly overripe fruit? Not unpleasant. Three hours after application I wrote, "faint but present, sweet, very nice".

 

 

One month later I blind tested a frimp that I got at a Will Call, which turned out to also be Love-Lies-Bleeding, but... not. More on that below.

 

In Vitro Orange-brown in the imp. Spicy, woody.

 

Wet Some throw. Sweet, slightly spicy; floral or dragon's blood. A faint booze note appeared and over the next few minutes the scent developed into a boozy spicy floral.

 

Drying The same notes as the wet phase but blended and mellower; an overall improvement, and still reasonably strong on my skin. Over the next hour it got milder and more floral-ish, and faded out during the third hour.

 

 

Before I tested the second imp I had Love-Lies-Bleeding as a possible bottle candidate. The difference between the two samples gives me pause, because although they're both nice I like the first one better and with my luck any bottle I ordered would smell like the second batch. Since it's being discontinued soon anyway I'm going to pass on this one, not without some regret.

 

 

108

Edited April 26, 2014 by hexnut

[Jangzonrice]

Bought this as an imp from the lab. Wet: CHOCOLATE and cherries, like a valentines box of candy. Dry:chocolate, cherry, orangey...a little rosy...like fancy milk chocolate. Nice, but I'm not into super foody scents and this makes my blood sugar rise just smelling it so it will be used for layering.

 

Edit: this is becoming incredibly sweet, I think I can only use it for deep conditioner.

Edited February 27, 2014 by Jangzonrice

[MCS4096]

Yep.. chocolate. So weird! It's a sort of plasticy chocolate, which isnt unpleasant actually. I'm getting maybe some amber, and perhaps even a hint of cedar. Fascinating.. I may have to spring for a bottle so that I can investigate further.

[Veronica]

Wet, this is sticky sweet and smells like a half-chewed tootsie roll. Dry...mostly the same.

[SmilesSunshine]

This is straight up flourless chocolate cake a beautiful rose like peacock queen and some rich redvelvet cake frosting. It's like part the debauchery of Halloween in Las Vegas, part cupcake splatter analysis, part candy butcher plus some Black Forest cherry all added to may be 33% peacock queen. Not al all what what I expected!!!! I kinda dig it because normally I'd wash off all chocolate or Black Forest cake or red velvet cake w frosting,

 

This is a happy medium ... like a magnificent chocolate chocolate soufflé, your man presents you with a dozen giant perfect almost frozen red velvety long stem roses, and you have some cherry liquer and creme anglaise folded into that soufflé while your nose is shoved in the bouquet

 

It's a a great moment but I'm not sure I can wear this

[ramblingrambler]

Love Lies Bleeding is interesting, that's for sure. In the bottle, it's floral and chocolate-hazelnutty. Wet, there's no floral to be found at all. It's pure cocoa, caramel, hazelnut. This stays--potently so--very gourmand for at least twenty minutes, past its prime in the wet stage. I am not a fan of deep gourmands, as they often make me nauseated, so I impatiently waited it out hoping to get to the good stuff: spicy floral goodness. Nope. None of it. Florals either aged out of my bottle or my skin devoured them. After the twenty minute of deep gourmand, the only other notes that came out were possibly amber and/or myrrh and/or bitter almond with its whispery cherry breath. Those who said chocolate-covered cherries are dead on. This is chocolate covered cherries on a velvet blanket with a bottle of unopened champagne nearby, and the recipient is in for a dirty, delicious treat that isn't just dessert...

[Pixie-elf]

Chocolate plants!

I'm not sure how to explain that, but this is what my brain translates Love-Lies-Bleeding as. Chocolate Plants.

It's not the chocolate in bliss, it's not a milk-chocolate. It's a different kind. Probably not dark chocolate.

I'm frankly imagining a chocolate tree. It grows some really interesting chocolate bars. And has some gorgeous flowers that I kind of want to sniff... Mmm.

[Lucchesa]

I'm so glad I'm not the only person who got chocolate from this, because I'm not always good at picking out scent notes. But this is the milk chocolate note I wanted Bliss to smell like, with maybe some fruit and florals along for the ride. For me it was like one of those chocolate covered cherries in liqueur, and fairly long-lasting on my sponge-like skin. Not at all what I expected from a Rappaccini's Garden scent. Red velvet cake, though -- nice pun, Beth!