Desdemona

[Lit Chick]

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

Le sigh.

I was thrilled to try Desdemona, as it was compared to Lush Potion. However, I am also missing the spicy carnation... I am not sure if it's the pea or lily, but carnation is far in the back.

Even though isn't spicy as I hoped, this is very pretty. Very fresh - but not outdoor fresh. It's the smell of a beautiful day, but from your bedroom. It's sweet, but not overly so (I hate sweet on me). It's the pinks and greens of a Georgia O'Keefe painting. And just as feminine...

I've been wearing this for hours, and it has tremendous staying power. It's not one that I'll be drawn to repeatedly, but I can see myself wearing this again.

[Falathwen]

When I first applied this blend I was very amused because, initially, it smells like a peppered slice of watermelon.

As it dries a bit, it is clearly a very fresh and peppery carnation and a rather gentle lily. There is a softness to this and a sweetness it the back round that I assume is the effect of sweet pea. Overall this is lovely and surprisingly kicky. As it dries down, the scent changes slightly and I start to love it even more. The carnation grows more mellow and full, blending perfectly with the lily. It lasts a long while on me.

[UltraViolet]

When I'd tried Desdemona awhile back I haden't been able to find a BPAL floral that suited me, until Desdemona. It's light yet it's much more fragrant than Maiden. This is a girlie scent and not necessarily a shy one. The carnation does not stand out in this scent because it is so perfectly balanced with the other ingredients.

When it dries down it unfortunately has the bad habit of turning into a burnt rubber scent on me. (Damn) I'll have to let you know if this rubbery scent goes away with even more drying down.

If it wasn't for this disappointing rubbery thing that happens in my chemistry I think Desdemona would have the win here as far as pretty floral scents.

I think Maiden is more "Potion like".

[Jessica]

In the bottle Desdemona smells sweet, light and innocent. I was cautious about this scent because I didn't want it ending with a powder smell. I hate powder smells!

 

However, on the wrist it is at first very overpowering in its sweetness and fresh scent. Dying down it settles into a light, again fresh smell that I absolutely love. I hate it when the scents stick to the back of your throat - I get that a lot with spicier notes and heavier scents. Desdemona has none of that and reminds me of sunshine and pleasant weather. I shall keep you.

[rainbow]

In the bottle- a light floral. Lots of sweet pea and carnation.

 

Wet on skin- a watery summer floral.

 

Wearing- this is like a summer version of Ice Queen to me. It's got a green background and is a very delicate floral. I can really smell the carnation. The reason I compared it to Ice Queen is because it has a similar vibe of watery fruits and flowers, but this is liquid water, as opposed to Ice Queen's, well, ice.

 

Overall, a nice summery scent. Very fresh.

[ismene]

I'm beginning to think that all florals hate me. Desdemona gives me a headache, even though none of the usual culprits are listed in the description. I can't pick out any individual floral notes - they all blend together into one sweet, strong scent.

[judas_kiss]

This scent didn't work for me. It's got a green, floral vibe to it, but there's also something that seems almost aquatic (probably lily?). It's very pretty and fresh, but it's just not me. I also cannot really pick out any one scent, even the carnation is really well blended into the other notes. This would be great for those who like very fresh, clean florals.

Edited February 12, 2005 by judas_kiss

[byrdie]

TMI ~ This is the first full day of my period, which could effect how this tarted imp reacts to my skin. On the other hand, I've tried this one before and don't remember having any real strong reaction to it one way or the other.

 

Vial ~ Oh, nice! Sweet lemonade.

 

Wet ~ The initial waft after I applied it was still sweet lemonade. Once I put my nose to my wrist I found that the scent had darkened immediately into a musk and is barely recognizable as citrus. If it were unpleasant, I'd say that the lemons were off, but that's not quite it.

 

Drying ~ Musky. Lemon. Cake. My skin is deranged. On the, um, good side; this means that the lemon scent is coming back in. yay?

 

Drydown ~ It's faded considerably. While there's more lemon, it's still in the musky cake variety. This isn't a bad thing so much as weird.

 

Dry ~ It's now a war between the memory of warm lemonade and the reality of musky lemon cake.

 

Fade ~ The lemon has turned dusty now, and I really have to get my nose close to my skin to be aware of it at all.

 

Final thoughts ~ For a random lemon scent, it's nice. It's not rolling my socks down, but it's nice.

Edited February 17, 2005 by byrdie

[gingersnapp]

I didn't really care for this in the vial... it smelled too powdery and floral to me. But once I put it on (used BBW Sweet Pea body wash and lotion too), it mellowed to a nice creamy floral. I'm really enjoying the carnation as the strongest note on me. It's kind of like a lovely corsage under my nose all day.

 

Very smooth and enjoyable.

[Julilla Regina]

Oooh, such hopes I had. I love sweet pea, and I love carnation, too. In the vial this smells pretty and feminine.

 

Unfortunately, it went sharp and green on me. The sharp, green scent stayed the longest. Now it's dulled down into a gentle flower petal against my wrist, but I don't know if I want to smell the sharp part of this for the beautiful petal softness that comes hours later. It just doesn't work on me.

[mmcfa2]

HIgh soft and sweet. I smell mostly sweet pea and that's how she stays. VERY girl scented, in fact, too much to me. This reminds me of a posh high end botique lotion or soap. If you like girl scents, this is a fabulous one, no objectionable notes, decent throw, sweet and pretty and feminine. I however like to smell a bit dirtier or darker...

[sarada]

I tested this last night before bed...it's not one I would have chosen myself, but I always try to test out unexpected imps as long as they don't smell like butter!

 

This is a good nighttime fragrance as it turns out, though definitely not my kind of smell...the flowers are very very sweet and white, somewhat reminiscent of Lily of the Valley because of that delicate, childlike sweetness. As it dries down slightly it smells almost exactly like a fresh bunch of flowers -- a dew-kissed bunch of Lilies of the Valley picked by a little girl in the springtime. It has a vivid, crisp early spring sweet freshness to it. Amazing how they capture that scent. It's not something that I like to wear though, I'd rather smell it in the garden...this was a nice experiment before bedtime but florals like this aren't my thing. I am mainly just getting lily and sweet pea from this, I don't sense any of that slightly spicy carnation smell from Alice, but perhaps it would develop more if I wore it during the day.

[Digital_Hypoxia]

Cloying, noxious, and heavy.

 

I wanted to like this so much, sweet pea is one of my favorite notes.

However, when mixed with lily and carnation, it goes to syrupy sweet on my skin.

[pkwench]

Desdemona

 

Sweet, wet, & floral-that's the easiest way to sum up Desdemona for me. It reminds me of a hypersweet Szepasszony. It has more of a rounded note, where as Szepasszony is sharper, somehow. I think that must be the combinatin of sweet pea and carnation. It's a very feminine perfume, rather traditional too. I think it's a good one for sweet, summer days, funerals, or meeting someone's Churchy granny.

[Shollin]

First sniff: Sweet aquatic flowers. Big ones.

 

Wearing: Desdemona is very pretty, very sweet-floral, and ultimately, probably too girly for me.

[shelldoo]

in the vial it almost smells like bubble stuff

 

thank goodness that passes as soon as i apply it it is a soft, light, grassy type smell, not dried grasses, but fresh green sweet grass there is a very light hint of floral nothing overpowering

 

within a few minutes i can no longer smell anything, it is that light

[OdetteOdile]

Desdemona

 

There's something thick and floral that smells like tuberose to me (I know, it isn't in the notes list, but still...) and something really clean-fresh - like rain or freesia (that's probably the water lily). Definitely an aquatic floral

I don't smell the carnation at all - it's very well-blended into the rest.

This one is too much of a heavy, white, watery floral for me. There's something in it that gets into the back of my throat & upsets my stomach a little (aquatics often do that to me). But I do think it's pretty in a lush, feminine way. If I was inclined toward these kinds of scents, I'd like this one.

[joseybird]

Gentle aquatics and soft, waxy white lilies, spiced up beautifully with carnation I don't really smell the sweet pea, and the aquatics dissapear after the wet phase.

 

I'm put to mind of a beautiful woman--young yet elegant--sitting quietly, vulnerably, sadly. It's the scent of sad innocent beauty about to end.

Edited May 24, 2005 by joseybird

[quikslvr]

Soft and light floral. Springtime. Dulls to carnation (a bit bitter) within the first hour. After two or so, gets a weird tinge of the latex from balloons on me.

[OriginalWacky]

Bottle (Imp): That is *really* fresh. Very flowery as well.

 

Just On: Watery, fresh, a tiny hint of flowers.

 

An hour or two later: Definitely some softer flowers, nothing sharp. It's fresh and pretty.

 

Around 6 hours: The flowers and water have combined to make pretty dryer sheets, and it's not quite so fresh, but this isn't a bad thing. It's a pleasant scent, but not really my type.

 

12 hours: It's alllll gone.

 

Overall: It was pretty nice while it lasted, but like many others, not quite my type of scent.

 

After reading other reviews: I didn't get soap or powder out of this one.

Edited June 12, 2005 by OriginalWacky

[QueenFae]

A light blue, water blossom scent. Feminine, light, airy, and scrumptious. The water lily is the strongest note by far, with a touch of breezy, watery perfume in the background. This makes me think of exotic, flower covered ponds of blue on a breezy spring evening. Lovely, I'll enjoy my imp a lot.

[olympia301]

 

When I was eight, my parents gave me a bottle of little girl perfume that smelled exactly like Desdemona. The brand name was "Little Lady". I thought I was Quite Grand with my own perfume. Now that I am a "grown up lady" (or owl) I am associating Desdemona with that child's scent and get a nostalgia wave from it.

 

It is pretty and soapy and quite old fashioned. You could lace yourself into a white summer Victorian gown and dab on Desdemona before you go prancing downstairs to flirt in The Conservatory with some mustachioed gentleman. This scent is prim, proper, and sweet sweet sweet.

 

(But I'd "whack it up" with a good blast of deSade before stripping down to your black leather corset and warming up the old boy's buns with your cleverly concealed riding crop )

Edited June 19, 2005 by olympia301

[zankoku_zen]

In the Bottle: Very floral and very sweet. It reminds me to Juliet.

 

On Skin: I can smell the sweet pea and the carnation. The sweet pea is the dominant note right now.

 

On Drydown: The sweet pea mellows out a bit but its still very sweet. Almost too much.

 

Verdict: This has the same basic appeal that Juliet does but Desdemona is too sweet and almost too floral on me. I don't get a very strong feeling for it, although its a very pretty floral. It's off to swap.

[Stumbeline]

I smell like a bathroom!

 

Very aquatic, and it made me sad for a little while, I'm not sure why. However, after some time it was just a very strong, soapy smell that reminded me of my days working in a hair salon.

 

Not for me, unfortunately.

[aurore]

Desdemona- Unfortunately, this is just much too dry for me. I'm saying dry like dry red wine, tickle your nose dry. It's something sort of inbetween sharp, biting, and bitter... it's really none of those, but I can't think of any other way to describe it. It's kind of the way your nose feels after sniffing too much hairspray. I think it's the carnation... I love the smell of carnations and Lush's Potion and I even love the smell of carnation oil, but only the slightest whiff from far away. Any more than that and I get a headache and feel nauseous. I don't think the sweet pea really agrees with me either, but I haven't tested any other oils with sweet pea so I can't say for sure. It's too bad... I enjoy these scents, but my brain just can't tolerate them. *sigh*