Desdemona

[Suu4LC]

Innocent, soft and pure: sweet pea, carnation and water lily.

Ok. I LOVE sweet pea and I LOVE carnation...but I HATE the way this smells in the imp. It's too salty and aquatic, which I'm guessing is the water lily. Hopefully that note will calm down on my skin and the notes I like will come to the surface.

Nope. This is soooo aquatic on me. Darn! Stinky strong aquatic floral. Fail. Need to wash it off NOW! Edited April 23, 2008 by Shollin
BPAL tags

[ryokokoro]

Unfortunately this one ended up smelling very obnoxiously fake on me, like bathroom spray. I'd hoped it would soften into something nice but no such luck. Still no likey. Too bad.

[Kitrona]

Hmm. Not sure about this one; sounds awfully flowery, but I'll try anyway.

 

In imp: Very delicate and pretty, not horrifically gross flowery like I'd anticipated. (Florals + me = ick generally.)

 

Wet: Not bad. More than tolerable, which is more than I'd anticipated.

 

Dry: Meh. Too flowery.

 

Verdict: Swap pile.

[hkhm]

imp: watery sweet pea.

 

wet: this goes are watery and generic floarl perfume on me. the delicate sweet pea scent is lost.

 

dry: very watery with a backdrop of soft florals. much nicer once dry, i just wish the sweet pea were a little more pronounced.

 

eta: waaaaay later the sweet pea emerges and is incredibly lovely. this has an incredible wearlength and moderate throw. i may consider a bottle.

Edited May 12, 2008 by hkhm

[voodoocatwoman]

Soft, sweet and delicate. I can really smell the carnation. Does not last very long on my skin. Pity.

[goblinshark]

Oh man this one is BEAUTIFUL.

 

It did not change much on me. In the bottle it smells mostly of carnation. Wet on my skin, the same: carnation, a light pink feminine scent.

 

After about half an hour it changed slightly and smelled a bit rosy? in addition to carnation...y.

 

My only complaint is that this seemed to fade totally from my skin after about two hours. I also don't think you can smell it if you're very far away from my arm (that's throw, I'm assuming? if so, I'm not getting the powerful throw others described).

[lunaticana]

okey first of all to me this smells like Ruby Red Slippers from Lush and Frou~Frou from Posstes both very beautiful!

and yeey! no cinnamon

it s girly but also ladylike and very femine and warm and soft (like the name itself )

little oldfashion in a way

but pure and POWDERY!

Edited July 5, 2008 by lunaticana

[Heeroluva]

In the bottle it's a watery floral, mostly carnation. Wet and dry it turns to bathroom cleaner. Not pleasant.

[Delirium1009]

In bottle/imp: Very heavy and flowery perfume.

 

Immediately on skin: The lily in this is strong and perfume-y with the sweet pea and carnation coming in behind. The sweet pea adds a nice girly sweetness, and the carnation lends a slight herbal spiciness.

 

After a little while: This has softened into a scent very fitting for the description. It is a light, feminine, girly scent with the carnation and sweet pea now being the main notes and the water lily adding it’s clean floral overtone. The carnation lends a nice smooth creaminess, which is very nice. This is not overly sweet at all, and is quite reserved and innocent.

 

Overall Impressions: This scent perfectly matches the description: it’s girly, soft, and sweet. This is very much a floral scent, but after being on my skin for just a few minutes it lost the perfume-y feel it had at first. The sweet pea, carnation and water lily are very well balanced and go very nicely together.

[crebbsgirl]

In the bottle this is wonderful. The carnation adds a spicy kick to the sweet pea and water lily. I got this because someone said it smelled like Lush's Potion, which I love but can't wear because I seem to be allergic to their solid perfumes. On me, this smelled nothing like Potion. All I can smell is sweet pea. The carnation seems to have disappeared.

[Kabooki]

I tend to amp florals like whoa, and Desdemona is no different. On me its like a spicy water flower that has some amazing throw (which I do like!). It never really morphed on me, and honestly I wasn't sure if I liked it at first, that was until my husband told me he really liked the scent on me . This is a very nice scent and one that I am sure works well on other people, but for me, my single imp is all I need

[mazikeen]

At first, on skin:

Feminine, floral, slightly lemony, ladylike perfume. Not bad, but it's nothing to get excited over. But of course, I'm not a fan of florals in general.

 

A little later:

I smell something familiar in here... my brain says "lilac" but I'm thinking maybe it's actually carnation.

 

A little later still:

Holy grandmother! Old lady-ish, with a really strong throw. Must wash off!

[maika]

In the imp, sweet peas, and not too much else.

 

Wet, the sweet pea is still there, but what has to be the waterlily comes out too...it's sweet, and definitely aquatic...but that could just be my head trying to make sense of the notes

 

Dry, I have a feeling this is not going to work...it's sweet floral in a this-smells-like-fabric-softener kind of way...not promising. My fingers are crossed that this is just a temporary blip. Further drydown has let the fabric softener thing go away, but the whole of the scent is nearly gone too...it's lasted me less than an hour and is gone...so while this is pretty, I don't think it's going to work for me. Off to swaps.

[vikitty]

Mainly sweet pea. This reminds me of the B&BW scent called Sweet Pea, only BPAL's version is more pure, more light, and more clear.

 

Doesn't stick around long, though.

[maromi]

i actually really like this scent. i'm not too much for florals but this is really pretty. i can smell every single scent and they work together wonderfully. i can definitely see myself wearing this a lot.

[Caerphilly]

In the imp: Light and sweet. It's an aquatic sweet pea.

 

Wet: All sweet pea. It's a bit too sweet for me.

 

Dry: Definitely smell the waterlily now. The sweet pea is still there, but the sweetness becomes more gentile .

 

Overall: It's Helena mixed with Ophelia. It's not a sweet as Ophelia, and it's not as delicate as Helena. But I would rather smell like Helena.

[kawaiiferreto]

Wet this is a watery cheery floral - very light and refreshing.

 

When it dries it smells less... wet. I know that sounds redundant, but you know what I mean! The florals are light and sweet and lovely. Not an amazing scent, but very nice. I could see wearing this if I wanted to feel light and airy - like a serene fairy princess wandering through a garden or some such.

[themerrybaker]

Damn this smells good!! I usually do not care for the Illyria scents and had the intention of tossing Desdemona into the swap pile but was delighted by this soft, light, floral. The listed notes include sweet pea, and carnation which are components of very popular blends.

 

I shall wear my Desdemona upon my wrist for daws to sniff at!!

[tajana]

I can definitely identify all the flowers here. Familiar sweet pea and gently spicy carnation, along with aquatic water lily. It doesn't smell unpleasant- these are all flowers I like. But flowers alone can't carry a perfume for me- it's missing an element. Without any other distinguishing notes, it smells too simple and not me at all. It's light but not refreshing. Very girly, innocent, and unassuming. There's no twist. Carnations usually have a bit of zest but it's diluted in watery lily and pillowy soft sweet pea. It smells like something a fairytale princess would wear. I'll try and swap this one to someone who will appreciate it more and stick to Maiden for my light, floral fix.

[isisonearth]

Imp: Mostly a bright sunny sweet pea that reminds me of B&BW Sweet Pea . Not as spicy as I had hoped. Fingers crossed that the carnation makes more of an appearance on my skin.

 

Wet: Umm...I smell the carnation in there but sweet pea = sickly floral death. This was my first BPAL sweet pea. I guess I found a floral I don't like.

 

Dry: Just yuck. That sweet pea is going very artificial on my skin.

[jewelbug]

 

Wet: As expected, very floral. I think sweet pea spells trouble for me—usually, it means bathroom cleaner, and I’m getting a bit of that here.

 

Dry: Yup, floral bathroom cleaner smell. Later, same, but with a citrusy floral thrown in (water lily, maybe?)

 

Overall: Nope, not for me.

Edited July 2, 2009 by jewelbug

[lookingglass]

In the bottle it is fresh and lovely, like arranging flowers in the cathedral on a Friday afternoon. But on me...it smells like nailpolish remover. This is why I generally do not do flowers. I love them...just not ON me.

[ouch!]

I love sweetpea! MMM.

 

But this review will be quite short.

 

I found this to be very very floral (Obviously since the 3 listed notes are flowers). It's more spicy in the wet stage due to the carnation and then it just turns to a complete overwhelming whoosh of flowers. Nice flowers...but flowers nonetheless.

My SO said I smelled like "Zoflora" which is a floral scented cleaning product!!!

 

Off to swaps Desdemona.

[milo]

Hmm, I thought this was lilies or jasmine, as I get a very heady floral. Much too heady, must be the sweet pea. After it dries a bit, it changes somewhat powdery, which saves this blend somewhat for me, but not enough. I wish I got the carnation. Off to swaps.

[TheLetterL]

I'm one of those who gets all sweet pea, no carnation from Desdemona. Very, very sweet floral without being...bright? It's fresh, but it's definitely watery. I was profoundly "Meh" about it until I asked my mother what she thought and she immediately said bathroom spray.

 

Off to a more loving home. Luckily, it smells beautiful on a friend of mine.